leta joy

Goodbye

2007-04-26T15:49:00.000-05:00

This will be my last post on blogger. Come visit me at letajoy.com! Please update your bookmarks and feeds accordingly. Thanks.

Newborn

2007-04-16T16:30:00.000-05:00

I have started a new blog, shut up and read, where I will be posting reviews of books that I have recently read. Come on over and take a gander.

Moving Day

2007-04-16T08:28:00.000-05:00

I am in the process of moving the blog to wordpress. If you can't find me try
www.letajoy.com or www.letajoy.wordpress.com.

Thank you for your support!

Daily Dose

2007-04-15T15:29:00.000-05:00

So, yeah the natural doc thing. In January I started seeing a doctor of natural medicine. I'd been having some health "issues" and felt that my family physician only wanted to treat the symptoms I displayed and never tried to get to the root of what was causing the problems in the first place. I knew about this doctor through some work that Bubby had done and after talking with a friend that had seen her, decided to give her a call.

I liked her and felt that a lot of what she said made sense to me. I knew that I would be making a big commitment if I decided to pursue this: change of diet, lifestyle and that pesky little matter of money. Insurance companies don't look too fondly on the world of natural medicine, it seems. I was already shopping for organic food and filtering our water. If my health improved, I felt it would be worth the extra cost.

After three months of treatment the majority of the problems I was having before are gone. I have increased my water intake drastically and it is now just a part of my day. My immune system is still low and she is still concerned about my liver and adrenal system. I do not know how long I will have to continue the litany of pills and drops and I DO get frustrated with dietary restrictions that I've never thought about before. I will say that I do not adhere to the diet as strictly as I should and I'm sure this slows the process down. If I could just give up the cokes and sweets! Is life really worth living without Coke and dessert?!

One of the strangest and best side-effects of this whole process has been the common ground it gives me with my parents. I have talked to my mother a great deal about my current health concerns and hers, something that rarely happened in the past. She asks about my health and doctor appointments, something that has only happened when I was pregnant. My parents and I have a somewhat tense and shaky relationship and anything that gives us something to talk about that won't cause even more tension is a wonderful gift. I'm trying hard not to focus on the dollars flowing out of our bank account and instead find the benefits of this journey. If I weren't going through all of this myself, I wouldn't understand their fascination with homeopathics. I joke with Aunt Banana that our parents are turning into hippies in their old age. Next thing you know they'll be growing pot on the back forty of the family farm.

Red

2007-04-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

A book we found at a local antique shop that we like to frequent.

Yellow

2007-04-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

Two rooms I spend a lot of time in.

Pink

2007-04-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Mamaw Ruth made a quilt for each of her grandchildren to be given when they were married. I think I had my choice between two or three and this is the one I chose as a teenager and then received several years later. It has grown on me over the years. I am not a fan of storing things away never to be used in daily life, so this is currently protecting our recliner from all things child-related: mac-n-cheese, yogurt, toe jam, etc.

I am quite picky about my quilts. They must be thin and soft and two is my maximum unless it is frigidly frigid. Bubby prefers them heavy as hell and piled up to the ceiling. I don't know what this has to do about anything, I just thought it would make an interesting story. Perhaps I was wrong.

I wish I were:

Remember when I used to post about crafty things and stuff? Yeah, what happened with that?

One Year

2007-04-10T14:40:00.001-05:00

Julie at handmaid is reviving Colour Week. I missed out on Monday, so here's what I found in my search for a green view for Tuesday. Green napkin, green drink and green Care Bear (Good Luck Bear glass circa 1983).

Today marks the one year anniversary (birthday?) of my blog. Thanks for visiting my corner of the world.

Bunny Recap

2007-04-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

What better way to kick off Easter weekend than with a pitcher of Blue Moon and the best pizza in town? None, I tell ya! Arwyn's at her aunt Banana's house for the weekend? Even better!

We'll skip right over Saturday and the boring trip to Lowe's to pick out faucets and grass seed (we just go hog wild when our child is out of town) and get right to the good stuff. Who wouldn't love to wake up to a plate of orange rolls hot from the oven and an Easter basket on the table?

Bubby's basket. The Easter bunny gave him women's flip-flops. Oops. No pictures of Arwyn with her basket because she got so much crap from other people that we decided to keep the goods and use them as potty ~~bribes~~ presents.

Neither bone-deep wind chill nor snotty noses shall keep us from hunting eggs at Grandma's house. Those cows better stay away from my eggs.

Breaking up fights between cousins and eating your kid's chocolate. Its what Easter is all about. Isn't it? What?

Smells Like Christmas

2007-04-04T15:46:00.000-05:00

I went to bed with the AC on and woke up to turn the heat on. Bizarre weather that put me in the mood for baking and soups, so I tried the no-knead recipe that Alicia posted recently.

I am a fairly accomplished cook and I love to bake, but there are some things (mostly bread-y products) I just cannot make, no matter how many times I try. I've overcome my pancake problem by sticking with a recipe from a Bizquick cookbook. I just add different things to it to make various flavors of pancakes. Its the only recipe that works for me, whatever the reason. This might be my new bread recipe.

Isn't it pretty? It was easy to throw together, it rose like it was supposed to, and it is de-lish. I pre-heated the oven early and left the oven door cracked to raise the kitchen temperature, so perhaps that's why a bread product finally decided to turn up properly. It was easy enough to make while running to the basement for laundry and overseeing a paint project by my very own little Picasso.

It made a lovely afternoon snack, topped with Dillman's Black Raspberry Seedless Preserves (shameless family plug).

I give it a hearty five fruits.

Swaparooni

2007-04-04T10:46:00.000-05:00

OMSH is cookin' up a swap!

New Knife

2007-04-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

Not Chai

2007-04-02T15:42:00.000-05:00

My doc of natural meds recommended I drink a cup of this vile concoction every day:

Brew 1 cup peppermint tea. Mix equal amounts of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cayenne pepper, and cardamon. Add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp to tea. Use Stevia to sweeten.

Every morning I get to look forward to the sensation of my mouth and throat being licked with the flames of hell.

I would MUCH rather be drinking this:

Goodies!

2007-04-02T15:14:00.000-05:00

I received my order from the super talented Theresa of Rock-Paper-Scissors fame last week. So much fun stuff! I immediately tore the package open to see inside, but haven't had a chance to play with any of it yet.

Go check out her etsy shop!

More Potty Talk

2007-03-30T16:00:00.000-05:00

I'm researching potty books and DVDs online. On Amazon, I come across a cute book called Does a Pig Flush? WHY is this book $73.96?!?! Does someone from the publishing company come to your house and potty train your child for you? If so, then it might be worth the price tag. OK, it would definitely be worth the price tag. (Hey, maybe I could start my own business: We Wipe for You) Is this a typo? After looking at this listing three separate times and trying to figure out what I was missing, I finally see (in small type) that there is a paperback version available for $5.95. That, I might consider.

No Words

2007-03-30T14:27:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I rail against the forces that brought me to be living the life that I am. Sometimes I get so angry for having to do all of these jobs. Sometimes I am ungrateful and ugly. Sometimes I lose my shit. Sometimes I read something that makes me remember how lucky I am.

As My Garden Grows

2007-03-30T14:12:00.000-05:00

This tulip is outside our back door and it has now been joined by seven of its brothers and sisters. And that black plastic which I loathed? Gone! I plan on filling this space up with flowers, flowers and some more flowers. We might be eating canned beans by the end of the summer, but at least our yard will look good. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

This is a small tree in our backyard. It was half expired when we moved in and we (by 'we', I mean Bubby) had to remove several branches, and we weren't sure if the tree would survive the amputation. Now it is so pretty! Our neighbors told us it had beautiful flowers in the spring, but this is the first year it has looked this good.

The peonies are coming out of hibernation. These babies grow so fast! I think I took this picture two days ago and they are already doubled in size. Incidentally, I've always called peonies "pee-on-mes". Sick, but true.

I have no idea what my recent fascination with the flowers in the backyard is all about, but I'm going with it. It's that or poop talk. That's all I've got right now.

This is a really pretty little tree on our side yard. I have no idea what anything is called. It has these gorgeous flowers in the spring and then dark red heart-shaped leaves in fall. I like it.

Bubby, I hope you like canned beans.

A Real Moment

2007-03-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

I saw OMSH had joined the Real Mom 'movement' and decided to start my own flickr set celebrating moments of what? Insanity? Ineptitude? Survival?

More times than I'd care to admit, Arwyn enjoys her lunch in front of the computer or the tv. It keeps her busy and quiet for a few minutes so I can enjoy my own meal without the constant stream of "Sit down. Get back in your chair. Don't do that with your fork. Eat your lunch." etc, etc. This works as long as it is a game she can do by herself and I don't have to rescue her.

Today's Real Moment was brought to you by the letter P and the number 2.

Oh My

2007-03-28T15:15:00.000-05:00

I just discovered another blog to add to my ever-growing bookmarks. Because really, who doesn't have the time to read 500 blogs per day?!! I mean, its not like I'm doing anything but cleaning up bodily fluids anyway.

I'd seen OMSH referenced on other sites but had never checked her out before today. And wow, I'm really glad I did. She's straight forward and funny and sounds like a person who would be great to get to know. And she loves Sonic, so how could I resist? I'm loving her Real Moms flickr set and have decided to attempt something along those same lines.

Tonight the girls and I are having a night on the town. And by girls, I don't mean me and my ta-tas. I mean iMollie, our buddy BJ and myself. I think we're all looking forward to it slightly more than may be appropriate, so here's hoping it lives up to the hype.

And now I'm craving Sonic. The best birthday gift my brother-in-law BW ever gave me? A Sonic gift card. I'll have a large coke, please.

Can You Dig It?

2007-03-27T16:37:00.000-05:00

I made a list of everything we planted so I wouldn't forget anything. I'm such a nerd, but we already knew that, didn't we.

Hyacinths (2) - one purple, one white
Cosmos (seeds) - orange and yellow
Zinnias (seeds) - multi-colored
Daisy mix (seeds) - multi-colored
Anemones - purple
Dutch Iris - don't recall
Bearded Iris - black
Phlox (2) - purple
Viola (6 pack) - orange and purple

Here is the "tool" I was using before Monday. This is actually a promotional item given away at a library grand opening. Suffice to say it was not meant to be used to dig any actual holes, but I did anyway because that was pretty much all I had on hand.

My first actual gardening tool. Its amazing how much faster the digging went once I wised up.

My assistant's tools. They don't dig too well either, but they do fling dirt really well in all directions and water anything in sight.

Wilderness

2007-03-26T14:53:00.000-05:00

We walked outside this morning to leave for errand-running and were thrilled to see a profusion of flowers had popped up overnight. This is the second year for these and they were one of the first things I planted in our yard. We have an odd assortment of things planted around, but most of them were put there by the previous owners. I was truly amazed that they lived and continue to do so, as it seems the multitude of squirrels living in the tree above these tulips like to dig up the bulbs. Perhaps I'm messing about in their favorite nut hiding place.

We have quite a few daffodils scattered around and I'm always glad to see them show their sunny heads. These are in our front yard, which is still a bit of a muddy mess from pulling out old shrubs last year.

Arwyn and I spent some time outside Saturday and today putting in a few new additions to the 'flower garden', which is quite an overstatement. We both ended up sweaty and covered in dirt, but I felt like I'd accomplished something and have the sore hands and arms to prove it.

And, lest you think the whole place is brimming over with beauty, we have a few of these as well. I actually don't mind them and Arwyn likes to pick them, which keeps her from picking the actual flowers. Although, she seems to have moved on to a worm obsession and every time one was uncovered she would carry it around until it escaped her clutches.

The weather here has been amazing, and even a little frightening. 80+ degrees and running the a/c in March seems a tad scary, even though I am so glad for the sunshine and ability to be outside for long stretches.

Happy Monday.

Poop Fest '07

2007-03-23T14:29:00.000-05:00

Who would have thought that a day that started out with this:

would end up like it has? A little time line of my day so far:

8:40 am Arwyn announces her awakening.. She has peed out of her pull-up and pooped. Clean her up, strip bed and changing table, get her dressed, start laundry.
9:00 am Eat breakfast. Watch Sesame Street.
9:30 am A friend calls, inviting us to the park. Throw on clothes and pack a bag.
10:00 am Arrive at park.
10:30 am Arwyn has to pee. Park bathrooms are LOCKED. Concept of squatting has not yet been introduced. Attempt to hold her above the ground behind a trashcan while she pees. Partially succeed.
10:45 am Get pooped on by a bird. I could not make this stuff up.
11:50 am Grab Arwyn's feet to keep her from falling off playground equipment. Get kicked in chest and covered in wet sand.
11:00 am Arwyn has to pee again. Attempt behind-the-trashcan maneuver a second time. Succeed less than first time.

11:45 am Arrive home covered head to toe in wet sand and dirt. Strip Arwyn outside, try to shake off sand. Comb sand out of Arwyn's hair and give her a much-needed bath. More laundry.
12:15 pm Make and eat lunch.
12:30 pm Arwyn pees in her pants on the recliner. Strip Arwyn, get her dressed again, strip recliner, scrub recliner, more laundry.
1:00 pm Play computer games with Arwyn.
1:15 pm While I am in the bathroom, Arwyn poops in her pants, then sticks her hand down her pants. I return to find her covered in poop. CUT OFF her clothes and throw them away. Give her another bath while she cries, throw away bath puff and get her dressed for third time. Clean tub, bathroom floor and chair she was sitting in. Take out trash. More laundry.
1:45 pm Put Arwyn down for a nap before I lose my mind.
2:00 pm Take a shower. Wonder when I can start drinking. More laundry.

Spunky

2007-03-22T14:06:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is our niece's 14th birthday. Fourteen?!! How did this happen?? Our sweet little funny gal has grown up into a punk-loving awesome teenager(!), hence the stripes and skull. She lives in Texas and we don't get to see her very often. She was in town last week for her Spring Break and we had a great time hanging out and shopping, of course.

Bubby and I feel that she is part of the reason we got together. She was here for a visit when the Bubs and I were working together. I saw what an awesome dude he was with her (great daddy-to-be) and he saw what a goofball I can be. She has always been, and definitely still is, a completely wonderful and very special person to us.

Happy B-day, Tay. We miss you.

Rainy Days and Mondays

2007-03-20T14:25:00.000-05:00

Dreaming of what the weather was like last week (was it only last week?) when Arwyn and I spent the morning at the zoo with friends. I saw our first daffodil is finally blooming this morning, so I am holding out some hope for Spring's return.

I finally got my cookie fix. I know you all were worried. Crisis averted.

Arwyn modeling her tiara and earrings (thanks, iMollie!) and trying out her new jump rope. They're never too young for multi-tasking.

B-day Mania

2007-03-17T16:37:00.000-05:00

Mid-February marks the beginning of birthday season among our group of friends with kids. Saturday we went to a raucous party at iMollie's house for Henry. Best quote of the day: "Time to break out the New Castle."

His pressie was a retro-throwback t-shirt. I got a red and white three-quarter-sleeves t-shirt for my 8th(?) birthday that had letters just like this, only mine were my initials. I love making (and buying) things that remind me of stuff I had when I was a kid.

Sunday's party was an indoor/outdoor affair complete with blow up jumping thing in the yard. Arwyn declared her place as life of the party by walking into the garage and announcing, "I pooped!" to anyone who wished to hear.

We spent the remainder of the day camped out at home with a recurring fever, which seems to have mysteriously disappeared over the course of today. I'm hoping we didn't spread the germy love to everyone at the party.

I've spent the majority of the day pouring over the Strawberry Shortcake listings on ebay. We are currently in a phase and I am happy to encourage this one. It brings back all those rainbow colored childhood memories, coveting my friend's humongous Strawberry Shortcake collection while sniffling over my one little measly doll. I sound like a spoiled brat. I wasn't then, but am now! hee hee

After reading a magazine article about people who won the Lottery, Bubby and I had a funny discussion about what we'd do if we hit it big. Now he's accusing me of harboring a secret toy fantasy all these years. But it's all for the girl! I swear!

Outdoor Cooking

2007-03-12T17:18:00.000-05:00

This morning I spent $13.73 (including tax) on a little thing I like to call MY SANITY.

Thank the Good Lord it has been warm the past few days. If I have to watch one more episode of Dora the Explorer I'm going to vomit. Then Dora will scream at me from the tv, "Vamanos! Help Arwyn's mommy clean up the vomit!" I'm all about the cultural diversity and introducing Spanish to the youngsters, but why does she have to yell all the time?

While out running errands we stopped by the thrifty consignment shop to drop off a few things and this lovely plastic kitchen happened to be sitting outside. I've thought about getting her one for a long time, but had no idea where to put it. Inspiration smacked me upside the head this morning and I thought, "Well, duh. We'll put it outside." The pots and pans were brought outside as well, and then we made soup for an hour and a half. And the only person yelling was me, which I don't particularly like to hear either, but we seem to be going through a "willful stage" otherwise known as age 2.75.

Combine that with the potty training and it makes for some interesting days. I'm not sure if she just isn't used to what all this feels like yet or what, but while we were outside she had to come in 12 times to go potty. Of those 12 trips inside, she only actually peed three times. And she would walk. as. slow. as. humanly. possible. inside. to. the. bathroom. Mama needs to grow some patience. Do they make a plant for that?

Milestones

2007-03-10T15:37:00.000-06:00

I'm blaming my absence this week on the potty training going on at our house.

It's been a little difficult to get much of anything else done. Such is life, I s'pose. It beats buying diapers!

Easy as ...

2007-03-05T10:53:00.000-06:00

This is a little ABC book that I made for Arwyn a couple of weeks ago. I knew if I didn't make it right away, it would join the pile of unfinished projects on the dining room table, so I stayed up until 1 am to finish it. Go me!

Bubby researched Disney characters for me to fill in some of the difficult letters (I and Y). I started out wanting it to include only people we knew, but that proved to be impossible. So I switched gears and included several characters that she is familiar with and a few that she's not.

This was a fun project and would make a neat gift for a kid. As you can see, I just printed the pictures out and glued them to some card stock. I used a black Sharpie to draw the letters. Not very glamorous, but she doesn't care!

I punched holes on the fold and tied it with a pretty ribbon.

Self publication is the way to go.

Lazy Sunday

2007-03-05T10:51:00.000-06:00

A typical Sunday morning breakfast at home. Blueberry pancakes (with blueberry yogurt, sooo good) and tea + juice for me and chocolate chip (with lots of whipped cream) and coffee for Bubby. Nothing but milk for Arwyn, thankyouverymuch. I even broke out the cloth napkins. Fancy!

You know what they say about an apple a day. Arwyn and I shared one at lunch.

This morning's breakfast. Oatmeal with brown sugar, touch of cream and blueberries.

Slight food obsession going on here. Dreamed of Tagalongs (the Girl Scout Cookies PB Patties) all weekend. Couldn't find any in town. Might have to make Ritz Cracker Cookies instead. Or buy them off ebay????

--------------------------------------------

Ritz Cracker Cookies

-Ritz crackers
-peanut butter
-chocolate bark

1. Put peanut butter between two Ritz crackers. Make about 25-30 sandwiches
2. Melt chocolate bark as directed on package.
3. Dip sandwiches into melted chocolate and put on wax paper to dry.

Alone Time

2007-03-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

This week I was able to get all of my cleaning, laundry, grocery getting and errand running (my life is so thrilling) finished before Thursday, so I had some free time while Arwyn was at school. I chose to spend that time hitting a few thrift stores. I only had time to visit two, but hope to remedy that sad situation over the weekend.

I was feeling a bit of a thrifting slump, feeling quite sorry for myself actually, which is ridiculous. But THEN I ventured into an area of the shop I normally forget is there and found these two beauties for 25 cents each. When I got them home and removed the price tags I discovered that the one on the right is Harmony House China in the Blue Snowflake pattern.

I also picked up these vintage books for the girl child. Currently she could care less, but I thought they were awesome.

The rest of the images are from the "Around the World Cutout Book" by Annie Galst, which is just so incredibly darling. It is copyrighted 1964 and published by Wonder Books. It has a price of 29 cents on the cover. It is in excellent condition and has instructions on the last page for making your own cutout picture book.

All of the images look as if they are cut out of felt. It reminded me of Roz's work.

I might have to keep this one for myself. The thought of sticky little hands tearing the pristine pages makes me want to scream a little bit.

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

Love Boat

2007-03-01T15:59:00.000-06:00

Arwyn ran a fever for a couple of days earlier in the week. As a consequence, we stayed home for two entire days and nights, finally escaping to Grandma's house last night for a reprieve. Two days of entertainment is about all I can sanely handle. Then the Cruise Director turns into the Dictator.

In between bouts of cleaning and laundry, Arwyn needed to play with "Mommy's markers". Apparently, my markers are the three highlighters kept in the middle drawer of the computer desk. Who knew.

Her masterpiece:

I snapped the pic before I was instructed to "draw a face with a bunny hat" and write the word "draw" over and over. She also entertained herself with an empty daily pill dispenser most of the day, asking me what each of the letters stood for repeatedly. I did not know I would be teaching the days of the week to a 2 year old who has no concept of time except for nap, it's not time for nap and it's not time for night-night.

Fun on the Farm

2007-02-26T16:56:00.000-06:00

This weekend Arwyn and I took a little trip to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins. They live on a small farm and they had 10 calves, but we only got to see one and it was kind of far away. Arwyn didn't really mind. She was just so very excited to be on the farm and see the cows. She wanted to get in the pasture and run around with them.

It was so fun to take her to a place that I loved as a child. The truly wonderful thing was, it hasn't changed one bit. It seems like so many times when you grow up everything is different than the way you remember it. My aunt and uncle's house is just the same. The only noticeable difference I could detect was the living room furniture. And it's not as if the house is falling down or anything, it was all just so wonderfully the same. Even the upstairs carpet is the same as I remember. I'm not against change, I just find it hard sometimes, especially with things that pertain to getting older. It was almost a relief to drive down that winding country road and see their house and barn sitting off to the side and feel like I was going to a very happy, peaceful place.

My cousin is a year older than me and we were very close when we were growing up. I got the most awesome hand-me-downs from her and would get SO extremely excited when they came for a visit. She usually got me in trouble of one sort or another, but I didn't care. It was fun.

In the summers she would come and stay with our grandma for a week and I would go to their house for a week. These were some of the best weeks of my childhood. I have fantastic memories of the time spent there. My aunt's big, comfy kitchen overflowing with her collection of cookbooks. My uncle telling long, involved and funny stories. My cousins running around, fighting with each other, and just being kids. Rollerskating in their garage. Riding my cousin's awesome purple bike with the banana seat. Climbing on huge, round hay bales. The smell of honeysuckle always in the air.

I hope I get to take my little rock star city girl back for many more visits.

Patchwork Card

2007-02-25T16:10:00.000-06:00

Here's a little card/tag that I made for a birthday present for a friend's little girl. I whipped this up while Arwyn was "helping" and it probably only took about 10 minutes. I didn't think it turned out too bad, considering all the help I had and the time limit.

I drew an 'm' freehand on a folded piece of cardstock and cut it out. Then I outlined the 'm' with a marker and cut out little pieces of scrap paper to fill in the inside of the letter. I punched a hole in the top and threaded a ribbon through to attach to the package. Can you tell what we got her? (Cheap see-through wrapping paper) This was easy and fun and also used up some scraps. I will probably make more of these in the future.

We had a really good visit this weekend with some of my family. Pictures soon to come!

TTFN

2007-02-22T20:56:00.000-06:00

This is Arwyn's house. Those are Arwyn's blocks. Don't even think about touching them, unless you are specifically instructed to do so. And even then you will probably do it wrong and be informed of this great travesty in a very loud and vocal manner. Repeatedly.

Did I mention she's a tad independent? And bossy? And changes her mind every 2.5 seconds? But also sweet and funny and goofy. Yesterday she told me that Big Bird is her cousin. I had no idea that giant yellow talking birds were in the family tree. Who knew?

Tomorrow morning we are traveling a few hours to visit my cousin (hi, cuz and cuz-in-law!) and their new baby boy. Good lookin' out, dawg.

Berry Good

2007-02-21T17:36:00.000-06:00

I saw a link to this recipe on another blog (can't remember who right now, sorry) and decided to try them, as raspberries are on the list of alkaline foods I'm supposed to be eating a lot of right now. The raspberries that I bought already had mold (!) on them, so I went digging in the big freezer and found some blackberries harvested from the bushes at Bryan's grandparent's house.

I love to bake, especially with foods that came from someone you know. Being on this "diet" has forced me to curb my enthusiasm quite a bit. I'm supposed to be avoiding refined sugar, which is not an easy task. I love to take something I've baked to someone I love and see their look of delight as they sample it. On Saturday mornings I would much rather make pancakes for everyone than have Bubby run out to get donuts, which he totally doesn't get but he's happy to eat the chocolate chip pancakes. Sometimes it just feels good to feed your family.

I had originally planned to take the cupcakes to a playdate yesterday (excuse to bake!), but then I started imagining four toddlers trying to eat a cupcake with runny cream in the middle and reconsidered my plan. Plan B involved using the icing left over from the Valentine's day cookies. I added a little sanding sugar to the top, just to get as much sugar on there as possible. That, and it looked pretty. Because toddlers care about pretty cupcakes. Well, at least their moms do.

This saucer is part of the set that I picked up thrifting a few weeks ago. If I ever need to serve tea or coffee to 12 people, I can do it. The awesome calender towel is also thrifted, for a song. I once visited a house that had a separate closet off the dining room solely for housing dishes and linens. It was awesome. This is one of my many materialistic dreams.

The cupcakes disappeared quickly at the playdate and the look of bliss on my mother-in-law's face when she ate her mini-loaf somewhat made up for Bubby's lukewarm response to my question, "Aren't they great?!!"

"Yeah."

Definitely a five out of five fruits recipe, and even if your husband doesn't appreciate your culinary efforts, someone will.

Creative Endeavors

2007-02-20T21:41:00.000-06:00

Inspired by Alicia, I planned to put up some white lights in my kitchen a couple of months ago. I thought since it was the holiday season, I would have no problem finding lights. I was wrong, so very, very wrong. After digging through every end-of-the-season lighting display an idea finally struck: the wedding department at Michael's. And lo and behold, they came through. They were $5 a box, but they were there.

After a false start, I managed to hang two strands of lights without short circuiting anything. They definitely brighten things up on dreary days, but not so much that it gives you a squinty-eyed headache (i.e. a headache from squinting your eyes too much).

I've also been working on one final freezer paper shirt for Arwyn. This did not come out as I had envisioned it, but most things don't.

I think I need some freezer paper tips. How do you super crafty folks keep the paint from seeping under the stencil? And how do you get such intricate details?? My shirts just don't ever seem to come out as well as I think they should. Maybe it's all just part of the creative process. Maybe it looks more authentic that way. Or maybe it looks like crap and I just want to think it looks authentic! There are some people out there making some amazing things and I want to know how it is done. I thought if I made enough of these it would get easier and they would look better, but I am getting impatient. If you ever buy a cheap boy's t-shirt from Wal-Mart for this project, don't freak out if the iron discolors the fabric. It seems to go back to normal after a few minutes.

Did anyone else watch Idol tonight? I thought the majority of the boys were a tad on the sucky side. I was a little let down. Perhaps I get a bit too excited about complete strangers singing on tv ...

Heart Day Goodies

2007-02-19T09:59:00.000-06:00

Bubby has outdone himself in the present department over the last year. I was totally surprised when he came home Wednesday night with a bag from Nance Galleries. Inside were these two wonders.

A citrine (my birthstone) ring from India. Every item from Nance comes with a little card that explains the item's origins and meaning. It says, "Citrine is know as a 'success' stone thought to promote success and abundance...It is thought to enhance mental clarity, confidence, happiness and will power."

This little beauty is a Raku Pear Form. "The origin of 'Raku' was founded by Raku Chojiro in the 16th century Japan as the Ceremonial Tea Ware of the Zen Buddhist Masters. It is valued because it is believed that the spirit of the maker is embodied in the form and revealed at the foot, which is traditionally left unglazed." This pear is amazing. The artist is a self-taught potter from Indianapolis.

I also ordered myself a little something from Amy's wonderful site. I love her blog and shop and would like to live inside of it, or maybe just visit on a regular basis.

The packaging was so fun! She puts a lot of thought into the details and the shipping was super fast. Go order somebody you love a fun gift. They will adore it.

Wind Burn

2007-02-15T14:49:00.000-06:00

I was never really into playing in the snow, even when I was a kid. The best part of the whole deal was going back inside and having tomato soup with grilled cheese and hot chocolate. Therefore, I've never really felt the need to play outside when the temperature drops below 40 degrees.

However, lately I've been trying to change my lifestyle and mindset and decided a few minutes outside in the FREEZING cold wouldn't kill us, or probably even maim us temporarily. We lasted about 30 minutes, long enough to make footprints in the snow, "skate" on the ice, kick the ball around a few times and take some rides on the outside toys that work much better when there's no snow on the ground.

After all that exercise we'd worked up an appetite and we had to make some heart cookies for Valentine's day. We bought the sprinkles a week ago and finally got to use them. Arwyn enjoyed the dough just as much as the cookies, just like her mama.

Happy Hearts Day

2007-02-14T14:40:00.000-06:00

I managed to get Arwyn's shirts done in time to wear out and about this week for Valentine's Day, although today we are out of shirts. But we haven't gone anywhere except the backyard anyway.

This is the whale shirt, and it did turn out nicely. Arwyn doesn't really seem to see the need to dress appropriately for the weather and doesn't really dig sweatshirts too much. But she will wear the whale sweatshirt with the heart. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the heart is silver. Actually, it is Pearl White, which I discovered when I bought another bottle of Pearl White, thinking I had silver at home. Three trips to Michael's in one week (I have to return the paint!) might be a personal record for me.

Arwyn enjoyed her Valentine's party at story time yesterday a lot. It might have just been the copious amounts of candy consumed, but I like to think it was the camaraderie and togetherness of friends. Right. That and lying on the floor inhaling chocolate by the fistful.

Have a wonderful sweetheart's day.

Your Butt Feels Like Pancake Mix*

2007-02-12T22:36:00.000-06:00

I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that I think we are finally out of the woods. Phew.

Seeing as Arwyn barely touched anything edible for five days, I pretty much fixed her whatever she wanted. One day she wanted pancakes at 10:15 am, so that is what we had.

Then twelve hours later I had the leftovers for a late night snack with some peanut butter and syrup. Mmmmm.

Anytime I had a chance this weekend I was running to a craft store. I made one trip to JoAnn's and two trips to Michael's over the past two days. I am going to be crafting it UP! Let's hope what I've been working on tonight doesn't fall into the Nothing I've Done Today Has Gone Right category. First I was trying to hang up some lights and stapled right through the wire. And I was so proud of myself for loading and using my staple gun all by myself. Then I was printing out some pictures and somehow they all came out about 1 inch tall. THEN I forgot dinner was under the broiler and burned the first batch of sandwiches. Um, no pictures of the black subs.

*The title is a reference to something Bubby's niece once told him when she was about six or seven years old.

Puke in a Bowl

2007-02-08T23:50:00.000-06:00

Arwyn caught some sort of 30-hour stomach bug and I spent the better part of the day doing laundry and flinching every time she coughed. She made a miraculous recovery just in time for Daddy to get home from work. Amazing how that works. I'm so glad she's feeling better, it is just very convenient how I get puked on all day, then Daddy arrives and ta-da! She's running laps in the living room. Grumble, grumble.

I did steal a few minutes away from the recliner to finish up her Valentine's shirts. I still have a sweatshirt in the works for her, then I think I might work on something for myself (non-Valentine related). These are long sleeved t-shirts that I bought on clearance and then worked some freezer paper magic.

What I am typing isn't even making sense to me anymore, so I think I should head to bed.

Edited to add: Yeah, um, NOT a 30-hour bug. Last night was some sort of freak brief respite. Still upchucking. Lots of fun at our house.

Cinderella Dressed in Yella

2007-02-07T14:27:00.000-06:00

A little booklet we picked up at our favorite new antique store. Bubby loves all things Disney (yes, I knew this about him when we got married and I still married him). I'm not sure if that's what drew him to it, but I like it because it is gorgeously illustrated. Our tastes in most things are very different, so when we agree on something, we have to buy it. It's a non-written rule of our marriage.

It reminded me of the jump rope rhyme that we used to sing at recess:

Cinderella dressed in yella (hey, it has to rhyme)
Went upstairs to kiss her fella
Made a mistake and kissed a snake
How many doctors did it take?

Then you keep counting until you miss the rope. That's how many doctors it took to bring Cinderella back to life. But why would Cinderella even need a doctor? Couldn't she just call her Fairy Godmother, wave the magic wand around a little and be good as new? Was Fairy Godmother on vacation or something? And even if she was, hello she's magic! She could just blink herself right back to the castle asap.

Don't you just love the logic of the Cinderella story? She got the Prince because her foot fit in the slipper. Not because she was pretty or smart or skinny or clever. Just because of the size of her foot. So simple, yet so perfect.

Fingers

2007-02-05T14:12:00.000-06:00

Possibly the weirdest pictures I've ever posted on this site.

This is in response to the questions regarding my Six Weird Things post.

Maybe I'm not as weird as I thought I was.

Maybe I should have asked Bubby what makes me weird. New meme: Six Things About You Your Significant Other Thinks Are Weird.

Pre-Valentine

2007-02-05T13:47:00.000-06:00

My Valentine hung some recycled blinds for me in the dining room and kitchen. I am no longer blinded by the afternoon sun. Thanks, hon!

The top of the bookshelf, which has turned into my seasonal display of sorts. Lots of candles, some of them recycled from Advent.

The Bubs and I on our honeymoon at Disney World. And some unsuspecting lady taking a picture behind us.

A teeny vintage Valentine. Does not look tiny in this picture, but it measures about 2 3/4" x 2 1/4".

Six Weird Things

2007-02-04T16:01:00.000-06:00

Nino seems to have tagged the whole world for the Six Weird Things meme.

Um, only six?

1. I have multiple To Do lists at all times, including ones in my head that I haven't written down yet. I just might possibly spontaneously combust without my lists.

2. I do this weird (ha!) little clicking thing with my teeth, usually in rhythm with a song in my head. You can't really see it or hear it, so if I didn't blab about it on the World Wide Web no one would even know! Currently playing in my head: Apples and Bananas by Raffi

3. I can flex my fingers so that the third row phalanges point downward and my finger makes a "U" shape. This tends to freak people out, though I've never understood why. Makes a great party trick.

4. I can cross only one eye (see photo).

5. My grandmother and Larry Bird's mother were first cousins. Seriously.

6. I am currently drinking in excess of a gallon of water per day. I am peeing a LOT.

Let me know if you'd like a Six Gross Things list. Tag, you're it!

Not Campbells

2007-02-04T14:03:00.000-06:00

I recently made Kerflop's potato soup and I thought it was awesome. Bubby liked it, but will "pick out the potatoes next time" because he doesn't really like potato soup. Who knew? Arwyn, of course, took one bite only when forced. Hey, more for me.

Last week I bought a lot of organic produce. I couldn't get over the color of these potatoes.

Throw in some crusty bread and a salad.

De-lish! I used all organic products except for the cream of chicken soup.

Definitely five out of five fruits. I haven't discussed it much on here, but I have started seeing a natural health consultant and am taking steps to overhaul not only my diet, but essentially my lifestyle. This is not an easy task, but I feel it will benefit our whole family. Wish me luck!

No School!

2007-02-01T12:44:00.000-06:00

Today came the day I never thought I'd dread. A snow day. If I've learned anything at all in 31 months of parenting, it's never say never. Our Moms Morning Out program follows the local school system. They were operating on a two hour delay, so we were out of luck. Arwyn was crestfallen when I told her there was no school, until I added that friends were coming over to play. Friends to the rescue!

Does that whopping quarter inch of snow on the ground that doesn't even cover the grass require us all to be stuck at home? I think not. Whoever is in charge of making school cancellation decisions obviously didn't grow up in the kuntry where you learned how to put on snow tires and chains at age 10, throw some firewood in the back of the pickup truck for added leverage and take off to run donuts in an empty parking lot.

A few additional items I picked up at the thrift store on my last trip.

Extended Playdate

2007-01-31T15:15:00.000-06:00

We went to a friend's house this morning for a crafty playdate, which turned into a lunch playdate. Everyone got along well, played together, the moms got to chat and we ordered pizza. It was the holy grail of playdates. This was not something that I expected when I decided to stay home, that I would begin to rate my days based on the quality and length of playdates experienced. If we had only thrown a drink in there, we might have made the news.

Thanks, girls, for a lovely morning. Thanks to Andrea for the great photos. I have serious camera envy.

Lazy Blogger

2007-01-30T08:48:00.000-06:00

I haven't been feeling the blogging mojo much lately. Sorry for the long absences. I thought I'd share some vintage Valentines that I've been picking up at an antique store over the last few weeks. Some of these will go in the same frame that housed the vintage Santa postcards at Christmas.

This one is my current fave.

There were several more that I had to leave behind, sadly. Maybe they'll find a nice home!

New Addiction

2007-01-23T21:49:00.000-06:00

I've been at it again, hitting two of my favorite thrift stores last week, one of them twice in one week. At one of the stores, they practically give the stuff away. I'll take a big stack of items to checkout, checkout person will look them over, shrug and nonchalantly say "It's a dollar." How can I stay away? And I always donate to the collection jar, so I'm actually helping people while I shop. So this is totally altruistic. Completely. Never mind the fact that my cabinets are going to simply fall off the wall under the weight of all the ceramic currently stored inside of them.

This coat still had the price tag on it. I can't wait to wear this in the spring time, when the daffodils are blooming and the birds are singing, while I go skipping down the lane. I'm having some sort of Mary Poppins moment.

One of my great accomplishments of late, my organic lunch. Organic cream of tomato soup, organic wheat bread (delish), organic cheese. Changing the way you eat is hard.

Cranberry Cold

2007-01-17T16:30:00.000-06:00

It has been quite chilly here the past few days, though I was excited to see snow flurries yesterday. I'll take snow over rain any day. We are tired of rain. Boo, hiss on you, rain.

However, we did get some new rain boots to help make the continuous rainy weather a bit more fun.

Anyone else craving soup and chocolate? This recipe has neither, but it certainly is yummy. Think Rice Krispie Treats with ~~Cheerios~~ toasted oat cereal in place of the Rice Krispies. And throw in some cranberries.

I added a bit too many marshmallows. Oh, darn! Gooey, yummy goodness. And it's good for you, it says "Whole Grain" right on the cereal box! And fruit! TOTALLY wholesome, I swear.

This much gooeyness deserves the first five fruits of the year!

A Do(ug)h in Dos Partes

2007-01-15T19:29:00.000-06:00

I went all crazy with the oatmeal cookies the other day. They started out as Chewy Oatmeal Cookies (recipe from the Crisco container, sooooo healthy) and I ended up throwing so many things in that I'm calling them Kitchen Sink Cookies.

I can't really do the "healthy" sweets, somehow cookies made with carob and flax just aren't the same (although I'm pretty sure that's the point). So I'm thinking lots and lots of good things and moderation in the bad things.

Four out of five fruits.
A very different type of dough: Play Doh. It is the bane of my existence, but she loves it so what are you gonna do? Pick up itty bitty pieces of it off the rug until she turns 12 and eschews all things "uncool".

Or donate it all to her school?

Recent Finds & Craft

2007-01-11T14:25:00.000-06:00

My MIL informed me that a thrift shop around the bend from her house was having a half price sale. Nothing to do but jump in the car and make a mad dash down the street. I came away with a whole box of items for under $5. It was a bit of a maze but worth the meandering aisles and claustrophobia.

A Mikasa butter dish with matching tea cup (not pictured). They also had a matching salt and pepper set, but I couldn't seem to convince myself that I "needed" them.

A school desk for Arwyn. This wasn't included in the half price sale, but I paid only $5 (It was marked $7 and I didn't even ask the guy to come down. This has never happened to me before, must be the red hair). Grandma got her the chairs sitting alongside. All we do now is sit at this table and make balls and cupcakes from Play Doh. Those little chairs were not made for my 31 year old behind. The things I do for art. Bubby is convinced Arwyn will get tetanus from the rusty spots on the desk.

A blue Ball jar and a sweet little cup painted with a bunny face. The face came off in the wash, oops, and I was informed that this now looks like boobies.

A well worn Glasbake soup dish. Why didn't that come off in the wash?

Arwyn's new fave, the fuzzy Ernie blankie.

Two vintage pillowcases for my growing stash of fabric, even though I don't sew. Yep, I'm one of those people. I have every intention of having a (working) sewing machine one day. The fabric with the blue dots may soon discover his true destiny as a valance.

And finally the beaded tree that wasn't. Wasn't finished, or even started for that matter, by Christmas. There's always next year.

Cooking 101

2007-01-09T18:29:00.000-06:00

It's my first new recipe of the year! I've been watching a lot of Rachael Ray lately and I made her Tortellini en Brodo. I even got all fancy and served it up with some crusty bread and peppered olive oil for dipping. It was Yum-o, as they say. That's wilted spinach you see floating around in there. I'm not big on wilted anything, but it was pretty good. My only complaint was the cheese melted into one big glob on the bottom of my spoon as I was eating.

I'll give it a three and a half out of five fruits.
Last night I whipped up this veggie dip. I forced Bubby to eat raw vegetables, how cruel is that?

I got the recipe from Bubby's aunt's boyfriend. The first time I had it I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. When I made it myself it was good, but not quite the same somehow. I even bought the same brands of sour cream and mayo that he used, so I'm not sure what the difference is.

Uncle Dave's Veggie Dip

1 8 oz. Daisy sour cream
8 oz Hellman's mayonnaise
1 tsp Accent*
1 T dried minced onion
1 T dried parsley
1 T dried dill weed

Whisk together mayo and sour cream well. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Place in fridge and let stand overnight.

*Accent is basically MSG, so if you are allergic or averse leave this ingredient out.

Four out of five fruits.

Red

2007-01-04T17:27:00.000-06:00

Bubby's new nickname for me. I got my hairs did yesterday, getting my inspiration from a Stacie doll of all things. I think it's a bit darker than this photo shows.

What happens when the only vegetable in the house is an onion and you really really need to go to the grocery?

Why, breakfast for lunch, of course. My brother and sis-in-law work for the jelly maker. I worked there one summer in college. It was really hot. My brother took requests and gave us a sweet gift box for Christmas. Now I have to eat my way through four jars of jelly.

I used the divided plate I bought for ~~myself~~ Arwyn. My food touching other food on my plate causes me angst. Most of the time I just deal with it and I'm better than I used to be. But I'd really prefer if every plate on earth were divided. How else can you have syrup with your smokey links and ketchup with your eggs without it all running together? My grandma used to have a stash of plates at her house just for me. Ok, I don't know if they were actually purchased for my use, but I used them at every meal I ate at her house.

I used to do this thing where I would pick someone else sitting at the table and every time they took a bite of something, I would take a bite of the same thing for the entire meal. If they took a drink, I took a drink. I don't think anyone ever caught on, but wouldn't that be really odd and annoying if you were, say, my brother's girlfriend? She probably just thought I stared at her a lot.

Got Da Funk

2007-01-02T18:53:00.001-06:00

Anyone seen that Honda commercial? That's where it all started ...

New Year, New You

2007-01-02T17:44:00.000-06:00

I'd almost forgotten about the notes I had scribbled a couple of weeks ago about my resolutions but after reading Hannah's post I resolved to dig out the notes. See, one resolution fulfilled already! I'm not really big on resolutions, per say. No reason to set yourself up for certain demise, I say. It's kind of like dating that bad boy you can't resist. You know it's going to end bad, but you do it anyway.

Our lives have seen a lot of changes this year- some good, some not so much. I have struggled with many of these changes and felt helpless in the face of others. When I see the losses others have recently suffered, it makes me realize how much I have, how many wonderful people I have in my life, and thankful that somewhere along the line I made a few good decisions. I have often felt that something was missing in my life, that I wasn't doing what I was "supposed" to be doing, but had no idea what that might be. I have felt unhappy and alone more times than I care to remember. My resolution this year is to be happy. To spend less time thinking about what I don't have and more time thinking about what I do. To let the important people in my life know they are loved. Like Hannah so eloquently wrote, I will choose to be happy. Maybe that's all it takes.

On a lighter note, I'd also like to keep track of any new recipes I try this year and have some sort of year end round up or rating system.

Also happy 200th post to me!

Missing Miss A

2007-01-02T09:22:00.000-06:00

Miss A is off to visit her Aunt Banana this week. It seems the older she gets the harder it is for me to let her go. I thought it was supposed to get easier?

This is what she does now if she doesn't wish to have her picture taken. I think she was trying to flip me off also...

I'll be using my free time to take down the Christmas glitterama, catch up on some crafts, wait for the washer repairman to show up, all kind of fun and exciting things!

New Design

2006-12-31T22:50:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the multi-talented Bubby for making me a new header as one of my Christmas gifts. And for figuring out how to get it to work. And for just being awesome in general.

Christmas Thrifting

2006-12-31T00:50:00.000-06:00

Nobody told me you could find cool old Christmas stuff at thrift stores around the holidays. I discovered this on a quick run through my fave thrifty store a couple of weeks ago where I picked up this little guy. I think he is actually Pinocchio from a McDonald's meal, but I thought he was neat. His nose goes in and out.

I also got this little skater girl, a whole pile of Golden Books for Arwyn and two gifts for my MIL. I think I spent under $3.00.

Continuing the Krause Ban

2006-12-31T00:48:00.000-06:00

Arwyn painted herself silly for an hour yesterday morning. She tried out all the colors, then just stuck with blue for the remaining 45 minutes. It's her Blue Period.

I let Bubby take my picture while still in my pj's. Have I even gotten out of my pj's this week? I'm not even sure what day it is most of the time. Ahhhh, vacation. As Bubby said yesterday, "I think I'd better take a shower today because I can't remember the last time I took one." Now that is relaxed.

The reason she wanted to paint: I had out all of my paints to finish up this gift for my cuz.

It's called 809 Dots. Yep, I actually kept a running total. Because I'm weird and anal like that.

Last Christmas Post

2006-12-30T16:17:00.000-06:00

I may be making my Crazy Mama Double Chin Face but I am wearing one of my totally cool Christmas presents from The Bubs. Does one cancel out the other?

Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year.

Princess Arwyn

2006-12-30T16:10:00.000-06:00

She is patiently waiting for all of us to hurry up and open the damn presents already! This was our Christmas exchange with Juju and Big D.

Juju gave her a Disney Princess pillow, plate, fork and bowl set, and robe and slippers. She put this on and promptly twirled around and said, "I'm a princess." Indeed, it does say Princess on the back and she does have the hair fling down cold. Bubby is a lover of all things Disney, I am a hater of all things overly girly and fru-fru. My daughter would have to love the Disney Princesses. And Barbie. And Kelly dolls. And Polly Pocket. We're amassing quite a collection already.

This was her outfit on Christmas day. I love this dress and want one for myself. Why must every clothing item I love be made for small girls? Why, Target, do you tease me with your perfect green fabric with brown apples?

The Three Wise Men had a very interesting conversation on this day that ended with "Let's go! OK!"

Milk and Cookies

2006-12-30T15:56:00.000-06:00

These pictures crack me up. We had a very lengthy discussion with Arwyn on Christmas Eve about Santa coming to bring her presents and leaving milk and cookies for him to eat. She really, really wanted to eat the cookies herself.

Here she is looking at Daddy and saying, "I eat that? Arwyn eat those cookies?" No, honey. Those are for a big strange man to eat when he comes down our chimney with no fireplace and brings you lots of toys for no good reason. How do you explain this tradition?

After we put Arwyn to bed Bubby said we had to eat the cookies. I had already eaten more than my fair share of cookies that night and on the verge of cookie overload, I really didn't want any more. I wanted to stick them back in the cookie container and be done with it. As he was dropping crumbs everywhere on purpose, he said, "We are Santa. You have to eat it." So I did. Santa left a very sweet note for Arwyn. He's such a good daddy.

If Your Last Name is Krause Stop Reading

2006-12-29T22:32:00.000-06:00

I made a small photo baby book for my cousin who is expecting her first baby in January. If you guys are reading this, stop now!

My dining room table while I was working on this project.

The front cover.

The illustrated pages are from an activity book that I bought for Arwyn at a Starbucks in Georgia last summer and has now been dismantled for artistic use.

The back cover.

I'm still working on one last thing to add to the box before it gets shipped out.

Cheese Is Good

2006-12-29T00:57:00.000-06:00

I don't think I have mentioned it here, but Bubby got a new job at the end of November. We have a lot of good friends at the old job (we both worked there) some who still work there, some who don't. In honor of all this confusion, we had our First Annual Ex-Employee Holiday party in mid-December. Yes, I am just now blogging about it, shut up.

Here's the newly weds, Juju and Big D. Juju is sporting one of her Christmas pressies from yours truly. They have nothing to do with our ex-workplace, but they came anyway, MOOCHERS!

Juju and moi. I tried to give her a smooch under the kissing ball, but she was having none of that. She just likes to have her picture taken next to me so that she looks even more bean-polish than usual. I have no pics of me and Bubby, but you have to get the BFF shot!

A pink frosty beverage. Juju gave me a Cosmo mix and I erroneously followed the directions. Those puppies were strong! And they came with lovely sanding sugar for the glasses, which I also later used on some cookies.

The spread. It looks like a lot, but amazingly there really wasn't that much left over. What I'm really trying to say here is our friends are hogs. I'm kidding! I love you guys. I busted out all our fancy china, dishes from my grandma, and wedding presents that hadn't seen the light of day in over five years.

These flowers are just now starting to fade and the party was 13 days ago.

Bubby chillin'.

This one's for the boys.

Holiday Baking

2006-12-29T00:33:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the goodies I made this year to enjoy and give away. I seem to still be in baking mode; I've been craving Puppy Chow.

These were Spritz cookies that I made with my cookie press. Someone who shall not be named used to make these for me every year and has wussily copped out the past several years. That's right, I said several. There goes my chance to stuff 50 cookies into my trap in one sitting. I found a recipe and decided to try it myself. They turned out pretty well.

Arwyn thought the dough was Play Dough and demanded to get hers out and make birthday cakes.

I saw the cocoa mix that Alicia posted about and decided to give that a whirl as well. I gave these to my siblings, my sister-in-law and iMollie (and kept one for myself).

The Lemon Curd was probably the most demanding thing I made this year, mostly because I'd never made it before and wasn't really sure what to expect. Oh, and because you have to zest and juice 5 lemons and cook it for 8 eons. I made this for my sister, who claims to love the stuff, and I really hope she enjoyed it because I'm not sure I'll be making it again unless she specifically ~~begs~~ asks me to.

The tags were from Jenny.

Two Days Later

2006-12-27T11:25:00.000-06:00

We now have 47 million more toys than we had a few days ago. But she is having a blast playing with everything and isn't even asking to watch tv!

Arwyn on the way to Grandma's house Christmas Eve.

I haven't uploaded all my photos yet, but here are a few from St. Nick Day. Every time Arwyn opened a present, no matter what was inside, she said "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I hope you all had a lovely and peaceful holiday.

Now back to doing laundry, cooking something besides cookies and finding somewhere to put all this trash.

Three Days til Christmas

2006-12-22T15:36:00.000-06:00

We're doing a lot of cookie baking and last minute shopping around here. Not last minute frantic I-have-nothing shopping, just oh, let's go there! shopping.

Martha Stewart ornaments under a bell jar.

Vintage postcards in a shadow box frame.

Counting down the days tin sign.

Ho ho in the kitchen.

Glitterama on the tree.

Four Days til Christmas

2006-12-21T21:12:00.000-06:00

Not able to upload pictures to blogger. Getting highly ticked off. Typepad, anyone?

Six Days til Christmas

2006-12-19T13:33:00.000-06:00

My most favorite nutcracker (or as Arwyn calls them "crackerman"). It's a Steinbach, handmade in Germany that I was lucky enough to snag after Christmas last year. I haven't seen any yet this year that I like as much as him.

Another glittery ornament from the tree.

I don't really like regular peppermints, but I do like the soft pillowy kind. Arwyn calls these "red candy" and likes to carry them around for an hour or so, occasionally licking on it for a bit.

These are picture frames that hang on our living room wall and it was Bubby's idea to wrap them up.

Bubby bought these stacking boxes for me for Christmas last year and I could never think of a place to put them until I got out the Christmas decorations and stuck that green bow on top. Voila, instant presents.

Seven Days til Christmas

2006-12-18T13:18:00.000-06:00

We went to the library to see Santa last week. In true toddler fashion, Arwyn was all excited about it on the way there, then when we arrived ... not so much. She was fine with him from a distance, but when I asked her if she wanted to go talk to him she replied, "Nope."

He read several books to the kids and led them in some Christmas songs. After the brave ones told him what they wanted he wisely told them he'd do the best he could and ask if it was ok if they got some surprises too.

One surefire way to get a Chatty Kathy to clam up is stick a big stranger in a red suit in front of her and try to get her to sit on his lap.

I think she was more excited to see Daddy than Santa and who can blame her for that? At least we didn't spend $14 on a mall picture.

Eight Days til Christmas

2006-12-17T22:20:00.000-06:00

It's beginning to be a bit of a holiday whirlwind around here, but we are trying to enjoy it.

This is the other garland that I made from Amy's pattern. This one is hanging over my kitchen window. I plan to do something with those circus tent curtains sometime soon.

This is an Advent calendar I made for Bubby a few years ago. I think it was originally a Martha Stewart pattern.

These little buddies adorn my kitchen window sill and keep me company while I wash dishes. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.

This is the first year we have put lights up outside, and by "we" I mean Bubby. We have one big bulb on each fence post in the back and along the front porch as well. I think with the light they put off you could probably land a small aircraft in our backyard and they will probably stay up year round. Yeah, we're those people.

These are the Martha Stewart ornaments I purchased this year. I had big plans for those styrofoam trees but those plans have yet to come to fruition. There's always next year, right?

10 Days til Christmas

2006-12-14T17:31:00.000-06:00

We had a cookie baking and decorating playdate with some friends at iMollie's this week. Considering there were 6 kids, most of them shoving cookies in their mouths as fast as they could, it went really well! But it wasn't at my house so I can say that.

Here's Kole posing for me.

Baby S was unfortunately too little to enjoy the goodies. But she thought they were pretty.

Arwyn especially liked rolling and cutting the dough. Just like playdough, which I despise but luckily for both of us Grandma lets her do it at her house. That's what grandmas are for! The little rolling pin she's using was mine when I was little.

She was covered from head to toe in flour. We had to borrow a shirt from Henry, which she now calls "Arwyn's Henry shirt".

BJ and Calvin show us how its done.

The finished product. They are yummy! Thanks everyone for a fun morning.

13 Days til Christmas

2006-12-12T14:54:00.000-06:00

Today at lunch I was squirting some ketchup onto Arwyn's plate for her frenchfries (baked, because we're healthy like that). The almost empty bottle made a fart-ish noise and she said, "Did you hear that butt ketchup?" Funniest parenting moment evah.

This is our Advent candle arrangement this year that I have remembered to light approximately twice. Oops. Maybe next year she'll be able to remind me to light it every night. The tray was from our wedding (used to hold cards maybe??) and the berries I meticulously cut off a bunch of fake berry branches. Some of them are sparkly and some are not. I'm not usually one for spending a lot of money on candles, but for this we go to Pier One and pick out some that are ... "really nice". [First one to name that quote gets a gold star.] This year's flavor flavs are Cranberry Cinnamon and Candied Mint. They smell freaking awesome. One night I forgot that I'd lit the candle and kept thinking, "It smells like yummy food in here. What is that?"

Speaking of Pier One, I went into a Christmas coma last time I was in there. All of their decorations this year are kick ass. No, they don't pay me to say that (how I wish).

This little cutie is another purchase from last year. I bought a lot of stuff last year apparently. But I love this line and this year have grievously avoided the stores where I shopped for these. After Christmas sales, here I come. I think they are Seasons of Cannon Falls, but I can't seem to find the ones I have online.

This is the gingerbread man garland that I made from Amy's pattern and the giant is one Arwyn made with a little help. We're kid crafting at home, it's crazy! That is really the only kind of crafting that seems to be going on around here lately. She loves her some glue stick. It is hanging on the bookcase in her room.

Tomorrow: Cookie Extravaganza!

14 Days til Christmas

2006-12-11T15:21:00.000-06:00

I was going to do a 12 Days of Christmas kind of thing, but I took so many pictures that I'm just going to go ahead and start!

We currently have a white pre-lit tree that is actually meant to be used outdoors, but who says you always have to follow all the rules? It's a bit wacky and modern but we like it. I'm pretty sure we got it at Target last year, but I can't find it on their web site. When we started putting up the tree Arwyn said, "Oh, we're making Christmas!"

This is a cute little stripey number that I got last year. I always think, "I'm not going to get any more decorations this year" and then I see something I can't resist. I've only bought 3 boxes of regular ornaments this year. So far.

This is the top of the bookshelf in the living room. I've used that silver bead garland all through the house.

This little guy was Bubby's. He is pretty old and he still lights up. He is currently residing on the kitchen counter.

I'm happy to be back in the swing of things but I'm still working on figuring out my new baby.

Hmmm

2006-12-10T17:09:00.000-06:00

Getting back to regular blogging is taking longer than I expected. We have our new computer and are getting ready to switch to DSL. I still haven't had time to play with any photo applications or even hooked up the camera to the computer. A certain husband is HOGGING it, ahem. But he is pretty helpful and knowledgeable, so I guess I can't complain TOO much. Anyhoo, hope to be back on a regular basis before too long. And I have pictures! Lots of pictures! And a 12 days of Christmas thingy in the works.

Thinking

2006-12-08T15:50:00.000-06:00

I can't stop thinking about the Kim family and their huge loss. If you feel inclined to help, please visit the family website.

Sad

2006-12-07T00:00:00.000-06:00

My heart goes out to the family and friends of James Kim. I'm so sorry this story did not have a happy ending.

In our Thoughts

2006-12-02T20:58:00.000-06:00

I do not know these people personally, but many people in the crafting community have posted about the Kim family. We'll be praying for their safe return.

The Last Day

2006-11-30T11:00:00.000-06:00

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.

See you soon!

In the Mood

2006-11-29T14:55:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-28T15:23:00.000-06:00

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???

2006-11-27T15:14:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-26T17:22:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-25T22:00:00.000-06:00

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!

2006-11-24T13:05:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-23T11:22:00.000-06:00

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

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Family Party & Loot

2006-11-22T13:49:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-21T08:40:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-20T21:14:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-19T21:52:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-18T17:33:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-17T09:10:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-16T12:27:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-15T12:35:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-14T08:48:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-13T10:02:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-12T14:48:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-11T15:19:00.000-06:00

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?