Moved on to my playlist full of songs that mention dancing, involve an actual dance (like “Cha Cha Slide”), or that are just very dance-y. It began with a rather boring name, quoting one of the songs toward the beginning of the list. Literally, just “Get on the Dance Floor.”
But having listened to “Sex and Candy” several times (which isn’t on this one, but I have it on others), and often wondering what Disco Lemonade would taste like, it dawned on me it would be a great playlist name. Thusly, Disco Lemonade the playlist.
Not sure if I shared it under its former incarnation, but here it be!!! In all its glory.
Having some tea, in the direct path of the AC again, because it somehow got stuffy in here, even just in the short span of time I was gone. I had called my parents to give them a heads-up about packages on the way to their house, that would be for me, so nothing “hinky.” My dad seemed to really, really want me to come over for dinner at that point. He’d offered before, when I called after work to check in, but I was still thinking I’d stay in, at that point.
BUT, I relented, and had a lovely meal. Salad, even. And cooked veggies. And my mom and I went for a walk. I got a selfie of us on a walking bridge over a wooded ravine in their neighborhood.
So that was definitely a “step” in the right direction (dad pun FTW).
Over 2 miles of walking in, today, between that and work.
And, I was surfing through my old photos on my phone, as part of my “Tackle the Digital Madness” to-do in my Finch app, to see what I could maybe stand to delete.
I came across the Big Tex photos from kiddo’s first Christmas here after she moved away. Or rather, a bit before Christmas. But close enough. We had a close call on the road heading back to the airport in poor weather, so that was the first AND the last winter trip, back.
I know “all we have is now,” as I was reminded by an inspirational quote photo on the Pexels website. But it made me immensely happy to look through Big Tex’s adventures, and remember all the good times we had, and chuckle at my daughter’s sense of humor.
As a reminder, assuming you may not have seen my earlier post about it… she picked up a refillable Big Tex cup in Texas, at I think a major college football game? Or a fair? I will have to ask again. And she thought it would be funny to bring it with and have Tex tour the town.
I’m going to share the snaps, to spread the joy.
A little “Christmas in July,” if you will.
Keeping the spirit of that mother-daughter bond thriving.
Reminiscing over kiddo’s first job. We had to cruise through there. And Big Tex had to lord it over all the other reusable bottles, that don’t feature iconic cowboys.
BAH I didn’t crop them all evenly. They came from her Snapchat. Hence the style of the captions. But, here we have Big Tex meeting the infamous dino at the Dino Stop gas station, where we also took kiddo’s boyfriend when he visited. It’s loaded with Packers and cheesehead paraphernalia, which checks out– close to the stadium. And a trip to the grocery store, where kiddo thought Big Tex would be amused by the sign that read, “It just wouldn’t be Wisconsin without lots of ice.” But couldn’t it be?! Pretty please?
And a trip to the candy/chocolates store. Our favorite chocolatier.
When I was last on the phone with kiddo, and had told her I planned to pop into one of their two locations before work to poke around, see what kinds of trouble I could get into (where I found Tea Sugar!), she had said, “Man, I could KILL for some Seroogy’s!” So I promised her we’d get her some when she comes up.
We’re already making lists of alllll the restaurants and adventures we have in mind. Time will tell if we make it to all of them. But she’s down for more All-You-Can-Eat-Sushi. That one was her idea. I might end up gaining some weight BACK in the 5 full days she’s here! Seriously, even if I *do,* it will be worth it.
Anyway, Seroogy’s has AMAZING handmade chocolates, greeting cards, gifts, and all sorts of candy. And apparently, crystalized Tea Sugar! I can’t believe how much it doesn’t taste like the sugar I’m used to, even if I also can’t fully pinpoint how it’s different. Is some of it the texture? I ate some by itself, to satisfy my curiosity. I suppose a chunk of crystallized sugar is bound to give a different experience than something granulated. But I’ve also read that most table sugar is made from sugar beets, not sugar cane. This is pure cane sugar, without any processing, beyond crystallizing it, I guess.
Even though her boyfriend’s dad and stepmom are very health-conscious and likely wouldn’t eat chocolates, we got his dad a Seroogy’s baseball cap when kiddo came up with her bf, on a different visit. It was a very cute hat. He was a bit challenging to shop for, but I guess he likes souvenir hats?
Moving on.
Don’t mind kiddo’s typo.
This was December of 2021, and I had art of some kind in a gallery show near downtown, which needed to be picked up during the time of her visit. She didn’t get to see it up on the wall THAT time, although she did see my stuff at the Pride show, last summer. But I thought it would be fun to bring her with to pick up my art!
This is geometric and abstract art in the parking lot and entryway.
Had kiddo been to the newer location of Bath and Body Works, close to my parents’ house? I’m not sure. That may have been the first time. Before, there was just the one in the mall on the other side of town, I believe, which is still there. BUT to have one so close by, so CONVENIENT! So TEMPTING!
Big Tex came with to check out the fragrances, and one of the employees was kind enough to pose with him, and even gave us permission to use the pic on social media. You can see how tickled she was by the request. I don’t imagine it’s every day that they’re asked to pose with a cowboy water bottle LOL.
Don’t recall if that photo was my idea or kiddo’s, but it’s adorable. Reminds me a lot of the one I took of kiddo when she was little, when I had presented her with a handmade construction paper monster card, at Starbucks, and bought her the monster mug she’d wanted. The Starbucks employee is in the background smiling.
The very last time kiddo was here, June of 2024, we plumb forgot to take her to her favorite meal-with-Grandma restaurant, even though it was the very FIRST item on her wishlist. But I guess it being my birthday weekend, and having such a short amount of time to work with, we had a lot of action to cram into a short amount of time. And she was a great sport, about going with me where *I* wanted to go, too, not just making demands. She has a very generous nature.
But in THIS photo, you can see Big Tex assessing her favorite wrap. I have promised this next time, we will get her there ASAP. She’ll be coming in after 10 PM, so we can’t head there right after the airport. Breakfast or lunch the day after, perhaps. Their breakfasts are really good, too, but I think her fave wrap is likely only on the lunch menu.
My parents got into the spirit of the visit, too, and agreed to put up the Christmas tree a bit earlier than they would have otherwise, and open presents while she was here.
Holidays and birthdays without her are still hard, so this one was very, very precious, for everyone involved. Even Big Tex. Here he is, nestled in the family Christmas tree. Getting “big festive.”
This was the year I gave my mom a collection of cow-themed gifts, including a sleep mask and fuzzy cow socks, a children’s book about a cow, a painting I had made emulating the style of cow on the cover, a coffee mug with udders (which sadly later we discovered was cracked, and had to return), etc.
I like themed gifts. Another year, it was Golden Girls. The item she gets the most use out of is the dishwasher magnet. The Blanche side is “Dirty,” and the flipped Rose side is “Clean.”
Since the Big Tex era, I sent her a Baby Mothman crossbody bag from Squishable, and she took at least one photo, that I remember, of HER Mothman having been sighted out and about (in a section of their grocery store featuring Wisconsin cheese– a little taste of home). So maybe we’ll do more of those? I will definitely make a more concentrated effort to get photos of us together, even if I have to approach total strangers to take them. But selfies with our faces crowded into the frame would work, too.
She has told me Mothman garners her many, many compliments everywhere she goes. It was an Easter gift. Thought it would give a lot more mileage than candy.
Heck, we could do Parent and Child Mothman photos with her purse and the itty bitty one on my keys! ALL THE POSSIBILITIES!!! The main thing is that she’ll be here. OMG, she’s actually going to BE here! Not just a series of words on a screen, or a voice on the other end of the phone line, or the occasional face on a video chat. Squee!!!
When she was young, I had undergrad classmates tell me they were surprised I had a child because I didn’t talk about her much. I was fierce about guarding my independent identity. Now that she’s “gone,” that attitude seems a little silly. It’s okay to sometimes gush about your kid, while also being an all-around, creatively-minded, passionate badass in your own right. I can contain multitudes.
Ooooh more Lady Gaga.
She has a LOT of songs about dancing.
Definitely a peppier playlist than the other one. Sometimes, you need to groove through the sad for a bit, and other times, you need to pull up out of it. There are some that are kind of guilty pleasures because they are SO mainstream. I guess I like to think I’m more indie/eclectic than that? Lady Gaga is pop, but she’s also very avant garde. Anyway. It’s a fun one.
I leave you with one last bit of whimsy, relating to kiddo. She loves snakes, and lizards, and toads, and frogs, and loves to document them. There’s a certain kind of toad that’s very prevalent by their place. Or else, it’s literally the same toad that she keeps encountering, because she said they look exactly the same. I like to think it IS the same toad. She called him Mr. Toad. Maybe in his small, toad-y brain, he recognizes her. I dunno if toads think like that, but it’s fun to imagine they do.
Anywho. Kiddo and Mr. Toad.
Peace!
All the Bright and Sparkly Things 
Leave a comment