The Last Day

Every time we enter the door of our house or anyone else's house, Arwyn says, "Phew! We made it!" I made it all the way through November, posting each day. Now for a few housekeeping issues. We are (hopefully) procuring a new computer. This means I will be offline for a few days as we transition over. Please don't cry, I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, you can check us out at flickr.

Here are a few things to keep you busy during my break. Hannah over at haeshu has started another blog, this time relegating her talents to the field of cooking.


I've recently discovered some foodie blogs. What can I say, tis the Christmas season and that means it's time to eat! Oh, yeah AND I've been interested in buying more organic products and feeding our family well. I think that's a long-term goal. Check these folks out.

• Foodmomiac
• Orangette
• Everybody Likes Sandwiches

See you soon!

In the Mood

When I was a kid I only ate oatmeal when it was freezing out or I had a sore throat. As an adult, I have discovered its fibrous filling properties, and soon tire of it after eating it every day at breakfast for weeks on end. When I saw this post over at Alicia's, I suddenly became in the mood for oatmeal again.


As luck would have it, on a trip to the grocery that evening I gave the oatmeal section a glance and found the very same oatmeal that she wrote about. So, naturally, I had to give it a try.


I'd never had steel-cut oats before and the texture was very different from what I was expecting. It still tasted delicious, but I liked it better the next day when I added lots more milk and cooked it a bit longer so the oats were softer. Arwyn took one bit and spit it out, so I'm taking it this won't be a staple of hers.


I'd fancy myself to be either English, Southern, or both. Is this how Brits take their tea (Twinings English Breakfast Tea with milk and honey)? On a trip to the organic market today I picked up a box of Yogi Tea Green Tea Energy. I'll let you know if I suddenly feel like running a marathon (as if).

Visa Will Be Calling Me Any Minute

Number of times today she's asked "What are you doing, Mommy?": 16*

Number of times today she's asked "Where's Daddy?": 6*

2:00 - 4:00 pm naptime: priceless

*Yes, I actually kept track. That was just from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm.

Lions and Tigers and ... Barbies???

We took Arwyn to the Hadi Shriners circus Thanksgiving night. I had never been to it and Bubby hadn't been since he was a kid. That mofo is LONG. It started at 7 pm and we left at 9:45 and it still wasn't over. Arwyn LOVED it. She talked of nothing else for three days.

If you came early you could take a ride on an elephant (if you wanted to pay $5 for a 30-second ride). Arwyn wasn't too sure about the whole thing, so we saved our money for popcorn and a coloring book. She looked like this the whole time we were down watching the elephants:


... very worried. Like we might just toss her out there and let the elephant chow down on her precious toddler limbs. The elephants, and all the animals really, looked kind of sad. It was a bit depressing. Not that I expect them to be happy about their situation, but it was just ... sad.


When the bear act was on, I just kept thinking, "Those bears should not be wearing a red sparkly vest and riding a motorcyle. They should be catching a fish in a stream somewhere." I appreciate the work the Shriners do, I just wish there was another way.


Luckily, Arwyn is too young to have angst about the circus animals. She ate German kettle corn and clapped and yelled "Woo hoo!" She called the acrobat girls "Barbies" and collected a sticker from a clown at intermission.


Maybe next year we'll make a donation instead.

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear Go Upstairs

This was the invitation I made at age 12 for my sister's baby shower. I can't believe my sister was so nice that she actually let me make these and send them out to people. People that we knew.


Perhaps I was just sorely lacking in quality art supplies. It looks like I painstakingly wrote every word in pencil, then went over the pencil in marker and pen.


I especially like the pleading "Please come!" as if my sister had no friends and I didn't want her to have a baby shower and nobody show up so I begged people to attend the shower. On the back it says that everybody gets $5 for attendance. KIDDING.

Now this baby is an 18-year-old know-it-all freshman in college who'd better get his grades up by the next time I run into him.

Model Citizen

Arwyn has been having fun playing with some of her hats of late. She wears one, I wear one, then she runs around until the hat purposely falls off and says, "Oh no! Hat fell off!" Then I put the hat (and fuzzy pink gloves) back on her and we do it again 18 million times.


We just returned from a long day at my parents house for our family's Thanksgiving. Arwyn played with and was tormented by her cousins, we ate and played games all afternoon. After a too short nap in the car and an ill-fated trip to Target, we are home ready to crash.


Coming soon: the circus trip!

Retro Friday is Back!

I dug up this old Polaroid from an album that my mom gave me for my 21st birthday. I'm not sure how old I was, possibly around 5 or 6. The picture didn't have any info on it, so I'm guessing. This was during my dad's Pickle Farm Period (similar to Picasso's Blue Period). The fields behind our house were planted with cucumbers which were then sold for pickles. He built the sled contraption that was pulled behind the tractor, slow enough for everyone riding to pick cucumbers and throw them into the bushel containers.


My brother is beside me, my sister is in front of him and our mom is in front of her in the stylin' do-rag. Everyone but me would get up early to start harvesting the pickles. I got to sleep in since I was little and couldn't really help much. When I woke up, I'd get dressed and run out to the fields to find them. I'd jump on the sled and ride around making mud pies and "communion bread" from cucumber leaves pressed into the mud while everyone else had to pick cucumbers and my dad drove the tractor.

I can remember driving somewhere far away (to me) to deliver the cucumbers. The back of the truck was packed with bushels and bushels of cucumbers. Wherever we delivered them (the pickle factory??) had a conveyor belt running up into a barn with thousands of little cucumbers zooming along. Just think, we could have been the next Klausen!

Giving Thanks

Family, friends and loved ones. I'm thankful for all of you.





Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Family Party & Loot

Sunday we had Thanksgiving dinner for Bubby's mom's side of the family. It was my actual b-day and Bubby surprised me with balloons and icecream cake. Of course, Arwyn thought the balloons were for her and I did share.


The cake was from a local icecream shoppe and it is yummy. There are still two pieces left. They won't last long. It is vanilla cake on top and chocolate chip icecream on bottom.



Juju sent me a surprise also. This baby arrived Thursday night. Now I won't have to borrow hers all the time.


iMollie gave me these awesome books. I'm still looking forward to digging into them. They are on the top of my To Read pile.


Bubby completely blew me away. I wasn't expecting anything because we just bought a new bed and had a $1,000 car repair. But when it comes to my happiness, money is no object. Right, baby? Hello??



I've worn this totally cool soccer jacket almost every day since I got it. Love it and I look like I'm cool and know something about soccer, which I do not.



Bubby got me this wildly different (for me) purse, which I like to call my carpet bag, even though he thinks it is hideous. It is HUGE. I could stick a cat in there, if I still had one.


And inside the pocket of the bag was this little number. I didn't even see it until about 10 minutes after I opened the box that the bag was in. I kept hearing a rustling sound and thought there was some paper stuffed inside the pocket.


Yep, I'm spoiled. Or well loved, however you want to look at it. Thank you everyone for all the wonderful gifts.

Grown Up Par-tay

We went out Saturday night with some friends from work to celebrate my b-day. We had pizza at Deerhead, arguably the best pizza in town. Double decker pizza rocks!


Everyone looks bored in these photos. Perhaps they were just trying to dissuade the photographer from taking so many pictures.


Don't fruit the beer.


Somewhere in the evening, we all drew our family trees on napkins. It seemed like a good idea at the time.


Then we found out the Miller girls were coming by. Two people in our group were drinking Miller Lite, so we HAD to stay for the photo op.


They had these nifty belts that said Miller on them, in case they forgot?


But I did get some free loot out of the deal.


Here's one of Bubby's fruity girl drinks.


I'm not sure what I said here, but it was really funny! This was right before I spilled a glass of water all over myself and went home looking like I wet myself.

The Letter L

A while back I participated in Moki's initial swap. I was waiting until I received all of my packages before I posted the pics. Last week I got the final one and here they all are.


Thanks, everyone, for such a great swap. Everything has found it's own special place in my studio corner. I'm taking a break from swapping for awhile. I don't foresee myself having much time with the holidays taking over shortly.


These two shots are of the cardboard I use to cover my drafting table. I change it out when it starts to get sticky and the cards pick up debris from it.


I thought they were interesting and I'd get one last look before they hit the recycle pile.


I know I said there would be birthday pics today. We can either say I forgot, or we can blame blogger for difficulty in posting photos, or both.

Mood Altering Images

I've been playing around with this book and branching out style-wise.


I may have attempted too many style changes at once. This was Papaw C's birthday card. His b-day was Friday.


This was his present. Pumpkin cookies.


Grandma C's birthday is next Friday and this is her card. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read the ol' blog, so I feel pretty safe showing this.


My birthday celebration pics still to come!

Blogging on the Run

We've had a super busy weekend and are dropping off Miss A at the in-laws while we go OUT to celebrate my b-day (which is tomorrow). No time for pictures. Will have much more tomorrow!

Proof of Life

When you have children in your home, their belongings tend to overrun the entire house, unless you spend countless hours putting everything back in its place or you have a giant playroom and they will actually leave their things in one room (highly unlikely). I found one of Arwyn's necklaces on the kitchen counter the other night after we put her to bed. I try to pick up toys every night and contain the mess to her room and the living room since we don't have a playroom. Sometimes I like to see something of hers in an odd place. It lets me know she was there, playing, observing and learning, whether I was aware of it or not. Now if I could just get her to use the KitchenAid ...

The Prodigal Passy

Arwyn has always loved her pacifier, which she calls "passy". She only gets it at naptime and bedtime. A few nights ago, she was distracted because she accomplished climbing into her crib by herself and forgot to ask for her passy. We decided to see what would happen and after kisses and love yous, left the room as usual. A few minutes later Bubby heard her talking to herself. We stood outside the door and heard her say "No have passy. Passy? No have it." Then a few seconds later, the unmistakable whimpering that comes immediately before an all out wail. We went in and she exclaimed "I need passy!" I gave it to her and she said "Thank you!" like I had just saved her life with an organ donation. She kept telling Bubby "Passy!" as in My passy was lost and now is found. It has been returned to me. Kill the fatted calf.

Prima Ballerina

Last night Bubby worked late and Arwyn played dress up all evening, which included (Mommy) dressing and undressing the babies 15 times. She said she was a "ballerella" and the band around her head was "exercise". Not sure where that comes from, as I don't usually dress like Olivia Newton John when I work out.


We watched the dancers on tv, danced around the living room and clapped for everyone all the time. Not a bad way to pass the time.

Alleluia

Apparently the thing to do after chapel is meet your buddy by the tree and poke at the tree with a stick.


When I was a kid the cool thing to do was play shadow tag (which I made up) on the side of the building, but things have a way of changing. Also, they aren't quite old enough to grasp the concept of tag.


iMollie and I joked that they were carving their initials in the tree with a big heart around it. TLF.


Thanks to Hubby Bubby for taking the photos.

Crazy Neighbors Part Dos

Halloween is over, Thanksgiving time is here. You know what that means, it's time for ...


... Super Gobbler!


Arwyn asks to drive by the "big chicken" every time we leave the house. At least it is entertaining to someone in the neighborhood.

We're Going to the Zoo Today

We had a playdate at the zoo on Friday trying to take advantage of the warm fall weather and sunshine while it lasts.


Here the kids are checking out the otter tank. The otters are sooo cute. I want one. Not really, but they are very cute. The kids can crawl through this tunnel and watch the otters swim around.


The gibbons were whooping it up while we were there. I'm not sure what all the fuss was about, but then I'm not a gibbon so why would I?


We've been shopping for tricycles and bicycles all weekend. Miss A may be getting a big bike (it seems really big to ME) with training wheels for Christmas. We found one we really like today. If only Santa would front us some cash... Hope y'all had great weekends.

Be A Star

Here is another freezer paper shirt that I made for Miss A. I think I am fresh out of unembellished shirts, so I might be done with this activity for a bit.


We just spent $1500 on a new bed. YIKES! But we have been sleeping on a full size our entire married (and non-married) lives, so I think five plus years is long enough for that nonsense. I got a kickin' deal on a sheet set at my beloved Marshalls. Oh, Marshalls, what would I do without thee?

Time for a Trim

This just in from the trenches of motherhood: If you are sitting outside on a picturesque fall day, enjoying the sunshine and singing songs to your little girl, she will suddenly think she is falling off your lap and use any means necessary to prevent her head from hitting the pavement, even if that means digging her claws into the flesh of the woman that gave birth to her.

Are You Sick of Us Yet?

You can't stop our love!!!! Here are the gifts that we gave each other for our anniversary. I made two cards for Bubby. This is a horrible picture of the tree card (the tree is actually an eggplant purplish color), with one silver heart signifying each glorious year of marriage.


Here is the other card I made him. Pretty self explanatory.


This was how I embellished the backs of the envelopes, putting them together for a little puzzle. So fun! I am so cheesy today.


I'm glad I made him something because Bubs blew me out of the water, per usual, with this fabulous booklet that he made for me. He designed, printed, cut and glued every page and bound the book.


He drove around town to all of "our" places and took pictures for the book.


Isn't he sweet? Hmmm, that might have had something to do with why I liked him in the first place.

Vintage Goodies

We picked up these on our New Harmony trip. I'm not sure what we're going to do with any of it yet. I'd like the bottle to sit somewhere in the kitchen or dining area.


I think we might frame the Santa postcards for Christmas decorations. I don't know where I'll use the buttons but I liked them. These are the only kind of antiques I can afford!

Ginger Pumpkin

A while back Alicia wrote about making this bread and as I was in the mood for pumpkin, I decided to give it a try.


My verdict is kind of blah. I thought it was ok, and I LOVE pumpkin. The recipe said it made two loaves and I thought it would have been better as one big loaf instead of two smaller ones.


I also thought it turned out a little dry, but that could have been my fault. I ended up eating one slice and giving the rest of that loaf to my in-laws and sending the other loaf to work with Bubby (they'll eat anything - hi work friends! love ya!!). It looks good though, doesn't it?

More

This is a picture of our backyard taken through the window before we left. You can just barely see my gigantic overgrown mum on the right.

Friday morning we ate breakfast at the Main Street Cafe, apparently frequented by every retired smoker in the county. "What are you gonna do today, Earl?" "Well, I thought I'd go down to the diner, drink some coffee, and smoke 400 cigarettes."

As you can see it is cheeeeeeeeeeeeep, so long as you don't mind the slightly broken in dishes and twenty pairs of local eyes staring at you as you eat your meal.

Here's another shot of us at the church. It was a beautiful chilly day on Friday.

I'll leave you with two pictures taken down by the Wabash River Friday evening when we were on our bike ride.

We were enjoying this tranquil, picturesque sunset over the river when I looked down and saw this in the rocks at our feet.


More pictures on flickr.

Roofless, Yellow and Golden

Our trip was quiet and relaxing. It already seems a distant memory as I type this listening to our daughter scream and cry because she can't have anymore candy or icecream, poor thing. But enough about that, back to the trip.


We were married in the Roofless Church in New Harmony, a quaint little town that was once a Utopian society. It is an open air brick structure with lots of beautiful trees and flowers. We return there every year to celebrate our anniversary. Over the past five years, we have had fun exploring the town and discovering something new each year.


This is the ceiling of the Yellow Tavern where we dined Thursday night. I think this year we discovered that we aren't going back to the Yellow Tavern. It wasn't so much the ceiling held together with duct tape directly over my head that bothered me as the extremely smokey atmosphere. And while I'm still battling this ferocious cough, it didn't seem too prudent to hang out there.


All the cool kids in New Harmony tool around town in golf carts. The inn where we stayed employs several of them for employees to zip around the grounds. Bubby jumped in for a quick photo op on our way back to the room.


This sleepy kitty was in the window of the coffee shop where we had breakfast Saturday morning. It was the one place in town we've found where you can get a reasonably priced latte (smoke-free!) and a non-fried snack. It probably won't last.


Friday night before dinner we decided to go for a ride on the complimentary bicycles. I wanted to try the bicycle-built-for-two, but Bubby said he wanted to ride side by side. So here he is, twenty feet in front of me. Ahem. Neither of us had ridden a bike in several years, and I was proud that I didn't wreck and still managed to take some pictures while riding. I loved the old fashioned bikes and it really was fun to ride the empty streets at dusk.

Home AGAIN

This post was supposed to have pictures, but the computer, internet and blogger seem to be conspiring against me.

We had a great time relaxing in the middle of nowhere. Now we're trying to get back in the swing of things, unpack and catch up on laundry. Today Arwyn took a great nap and then asked to go to bed early (??!!) so we've had some time to unwind.

While I was lying on our hotel bed surfing the web via free wi-fi (yes, I'm rubbing it in), I noticed that some of my sidebar links are outdated and I will be working to correct that and adding to the lists over the next few days.

I hope to return with pictures tomorrow!

Five

They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, cause I'm never never
Givin' you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, cause I'm never never
Givin' you up

As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, cause I'm never never
Givin' you up

Lullaby by The Dixie Chicks

I love you, Bubby. Happy Anniversary.

Leavin' Town

Some gratuitous shots of the babe playing in the leaves at my sister's house. We don't exactly rake leaves at our house, so I'm glad she got to do this elsewhere.


The Bubs and I are celebrating our five year anniversary this weekend. I plan on posting from the wild if possible. I have to fulfill my duties!


I should have lots of fun pics when we get back. Have a great weekend!

Zoinks!

We had a full day on Halloween. First up was the party at story time at the library. I was the slacker mom who didn't put my kid in her costume. But she had a cute Halloween shirt and she still got all the candy, so she didn't care.


In the afternoon we hit the trick-or-treating at Bubby's work. All of the employees bring in candy and anyone who has kids can bring them in. I forgot Shaggy's goatee, but drew it on later. Bubby made the Scooby Snacks box and she put her goodies in it.


She was a little shy when we arrived, but once she figured out everyone was passing out candy, she somehow managed to get over the shyness very quickly.


She was supposed to carry Scooby also, but Mommy ended up lugging him around. She did try to feed him some macaroni and cheese at dinner, although she didn't share her candy with him.


She started asking for suckers and candy at 9:00 am today. Hmmm... Nino's idea is looking better and better! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!