12.23.2008

merry christmas

this

wishing you all a holiday filled with love and joy!



*** taking a break for a week or so to visit the in-laws. looking forward to reconnecting with you in the new year! ***

12.19.2008

photo friday.21


things are as they should be (except the weather).

12.17.2008

feeling a bit like this lately?



me? i am going back and forth. some days i have the spirit others i don't. this week, not so much.
first of all, while the rest of the country is getting blanketed in snow and ice - we are experiencing record highs (70's). while some of you may envy this, it doesn't really help put you in a holiday mood. i need to be inside crafting and baking, when i really just want to be outside. i'm having trouble splitting my time up.

speaking of baking. i discovered over the weekend that i am not one of those people who excels at baking and decorating sugar cookies (i really do envy you people). especially when my two year old helper has barely napped and i am already in a pissy mood. not a good combination.
then it also doesn't help that i pretty much suck at baking and decorating sugar cookies. i promised henry that we would get better at this as the years go by. then as i am beginning to clean up this is what i witness:





okay. so next year i can just have him do it on his own. even better! *and for the record, i looked nowhere near at ease as he did.*

i'm trying to stick with the things i do grasp and have a small amount of experience with. it's a little limiting. but i am making do. and without trying to rush or stress myself, i still have several projects to start and complete over the next week. so i will be popping in and out, here and there over the next week.



i know many of you will be working your magic at full speed over the next week too. hang in there, and stay calm and relaxed (and breathe). enjoy your gift of craftiness. you are what makes this time of year special for those around you, so take time to revel in it too.

12.14.2008

on the make (holiday secrets)

making a gift that i already know will be hard to part with, but it is going to just the right person.
loving. LOVING. this yarn. it's soft and luscious. and the perfect amount of funky. not usually my choice of color (for myself) but i am really into this combination.




and working on this, which i will repeat (hopefully) 2 more times before the holidays! it's the perfect pattern. more on that later.

12.12.2008

photo friday.20



still here. just unplugged for a few days and trying not to lose my head.

12.08.2008

random randomness

i was tagged by the ladies of two black sheep to amuse you with six random things about myself so . .
here goes:

six random things
(you may or may not want to know)

one::
though i was young in the eighties, i am still a product of it. i liked michael jackson, i used to roller skate in our garage (the floor was perfect) while singing along with licensed to ill, i coveted swatches, wore stirrup pants and leg warmers, layered socks and rolled jeans and yes, i collected unicorns.

and for the record i still love the beastie's, wear leg warmer's, and may have just rekindled my wanting of a swatch watch by going to that link. the unicorns, however, uh, not so much.

two::
it drives me bonkers. seriously bonkers, to hear or see someone bite into anything really cold. it makes my teeth hurt just to watch it. i don't even have to hear it. it gives me the willies. i have been like this as long as i can remember. and wouldn't you know it, both henry and matt do it when eating popsicles and ice cream. yech!

three::
in the year 2000, matt and i had been together for about 5 years. i discovered this little tradition that in leap years women would/could propose (marriage) to their men. so i did it. i proposed to matt on february 29, 2000. (he said yes). i called his mother and asked for her blessing and i gave him a pocket watch (it seemed traditional). we were happily married on june 8, 2002.

four::
{this one was going to be about my crush on lyle lovett, but matt didn't think that was very nice. love you, matt.}
i once skipped a test in a poly sci class to go and see spike lee speak at my school. i agonized over this for days. should i go or should i take the test? well . . . we know what happened. my main reason for going - crooklyn*. i LOVE this movie. LOVE.
i had to go listen to the man who directed this (and has worked so many times with john turturro, love him too). spike was pretty laid back and seemed nice, not as conceited and cocky as he appears to be at times. he autographed my crooklyn cd and my copy of please baby please that i bought. it was worth skipping the test and i still got an A in the class.



*if you have not seen this and you want a good laugh, and a good cry, all while listening to an awesome soundtrack, i highly recommend this film. it's one of my top ten, maybe even 5.

five::
i am not the cook in this household. if you ever see photos of me cooking it is only as proof that i do it on occasion. i may help every so often, though henry helps more often than i do. i am just lucky in that my husband enjoys cooking (i usually don't) and is very. very. very good at it (see random thing #3). i may be the baker, but the chef i am not. i could delight you with stories of my cooking follies for hours. like the time when i was maybe 14 or so and i had start dinner before my mom came home. we were having turkey and it had one of the bags with the innards in it. yeah. i was freaking out about sticking my hand up there and yanking it out. i went and got our neighbor to come and get it out. (this is the same neighbor who used to bury our deceased pets for us behind our garage. until the time he asked if he could keep one. but i digress.) is it sad that i can tell you i almost repeated this same scenario when i was a nanny 14 years later? only i didn't know any of the neighbors. but i had the mom almost peeing her pants on the phone because i was freaking out that i had my arm shoved up a turkey butt and i couldn't feel any bag!! i'm telling her i'm violating her bird and she says 'oh, well there may not be one (bag of innards) in there." there's more embarrassing stories here, but we'll save those for another day.

six::
i have a foolish fear of heights. i get panicky and feel like i am going to pass out. this did not develop until i was in my mid 20's. i get woozy looking over a second story balcony. there have been times i have been so scared that i bawled like a baby. in public. my husband likes to laugh at me while this happens (while rescuing me and telling me that i'm not that high up and i could just jump down).

Here are the rules for the meme: Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

so, most people that i know read my blog may have recently been tagged for this meme or a similar one. so i am inviting lucy jane, seemownay, kristin, amy, diane and holly to play along if they so choose or if they haven't already been tagged.

12.03.2008

upcycling the holidays

yesterday i posted a picture of my recycled garland i made last year. it came about because i never knew what to do with all of our christmas cards we receive and i hated throwing them out (well, into the recycle bin, but still). i don't think this is my original idea, but i can't recall where the idea came from (if anyone knows, let me know).

after the holidays, i gather all of our cards we received from our family and friends, some thread (ribbon would be nice), a package of zots, and a 1.5 inch and a 2 inch cirlce punch.
first i take the circle punches to the cards. then i stick a zot onto one of the cut-outs and place the thread onto the zot and sandwich it in there with another cut-out, so that there is an image on both sides. that's it. it's that simple. and i think it's really pretty cute.









i think with this years cards i will add an even larger punch to the mix and then punch small holes in the cut outs and string with ribbon.

*since i used such thin thread, storing this was a concern. i just took a piece of cardboard and carefully wrapped the garland around it. *

do you have any creative ideas for repurposing the holiday cards you receive? i'd love to hear them!

tis the season (now get to work)

i feel very neglectful of this space and that i am hurriedly putting posts up here just to be posting. i think some days will just be hit or miss as things are getting busier and busier around here (as i am sure it is with you also). i have much knitting and creating to do. henry is very interested and curious about christmas this year, so i want to take things slow and enjoy this season with him and experience it a little more through his eyes and get him involved.
so if you are wondering what i am up to i am doing a lot of knitting (i always start my holiday knitting in november),

cutting, gluing, painting (assisting henry really)
and baking (inspired by diane and her study plan i am baking all of our bread).

sporadically putting up the holiday decorations as i find them or make them. listening to holiday music and enjoying some evenings by the fire. having a few cups of hot chocolate or maybe a glass of wine. and always. always. wishing for snow (and for someone to clean my windows).




*and if you like that star made from sticks and jute, head over to a foothill home companion for better pictures and a tutorial. (henry loves helping with this one, he is a master stick gatherer)!

12.02.2008

november favorites 2008

november favorites 2008

back from the feast











we are back from the great's and it was a great start to the holiday season. i don't know about you, but our thanksgivings are never a quiet affair. there are too many of us. it's always loud and its always good. i wish it happened more than once a year.
i hope all of you enjoyed your time with your family as much we enjoyed ours.

11.26.2008

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.

~ ralph waldo emerson


i am thankful to all of you who stop by this spot of mine and give me a few minutes of your time. when i started this little space i didn't know what would come of it and had no expectations. i never would have guessed that it would lead to new and developing friendships which i am so grateful for. wishing everyone a happy and safe thanksgiving!

see you back here monday!

passing it along

thank you lucy jane for sharing. had to pass it on.

11.25.2008

it's phoney

but i don't care. maybe i'm late coming to this, maybe not. but if you haven't checked this out yet give it a try. it's fun even if it's fake.
there are a few drawbacks (that i'm aware of). it is only mac compatible at this time. and you can't center your pictures the way you might want. if there are more drawbacks i haven't figured them out yet. but with the scarcity and cost of polaroid film, this is a fun alternative i think.



11.24.2008

weekend of changes = happier me

we have lived in this house for close to eight years now. this past saturday we finally rearranged our furniture in the living room. now, i am one who enjoys rearranging furniture, i've even been known to move large, heavy pieces on my own because i couldn't possibly be patient enough for matt to come home and help.  but unfortunately the layout of our house (and the placement of vents, windows, and doorways) really limits us. 
back in september we decided to rid ourselves of our old, green, over-sized sofa that could only be placed in one particular spot due to the size of its massive arm rests. to replace it we opted for a slightly smaller couch, with less vulgar arm rests. and with this purchase came the freedom to move things around!
we finally got our couch off the wall and into the room. we have a chair in a corner that has never seen anything but a bookshelf.  our living room windows are no longer at our backs, but we can actually look out them while cozily relaxing on the couch (that isn't sitting against a wall!).
i know this may seem insignificant, but i have wanted to be able to arrange our room (something) like this since we moved in here. and it has really opened up the room, amazingly. 
we had a couple people over for dinner each night this weekend and everyone commented on how much BIGGER the room looked. this makes me happy.


we've always had two T.V.'s in this house. one in the LR and one in the BR. i've wanted to rid ourselves of one of them for some time now. i finally got matt to agree with me about just having one, so we are finally saying goodbye to the older one. now we no longer have a tv in the bedroom and the nicer tv is in the living room. this makes me happy.

there has been a dead elm tree in the corner of our yard for a while. it sits right at the back corner of our house near our bedroom. i was and still am upset about the loss of this tree. in the spring and summer it cast the prettiest shadows on our bedroom curtains and i loved lying in bed with the windows open watching its branches dance in the breeze. it was nap inducing.
on the other hand, having a large dead tree looming over your house right above where your family sleeps is a little frightening. especially at the onset of winter. we just haven't been able to have it removed from a financial standpoint. 
so this weekend, my sister and her (very nice) boyfriend came over and helped matt cut it down. and our house is still completely intact. while it was sad to see our tree come down, we will now have enough firewood for a couple of winters (at least). this makes me happy.


a few weeks ago, i started a post and never finished it. okay, i'm sure i started several posts and never finished them or they turned into something completely different than i had planned, but thats beside the point. 
anyway, maybe the post i started was therapeutic and that was its purpose. it was about how trashed my house was. i'm talking about piles of stuff shifting from room to room and never finding a home, dog hair everywhere, dust, garbage, laundry, dishes, - you name it. it was driving me insane. it was becoming completely overwhelming. i felt hurried and stressed.  yes, i realize i have a new baby - but that doesn't make it anymore bearable. i know i had a good excuse, but it was still wearing me down just being in the thick of it everyday. and having all those piles and not knowing where to put anything just makes me feel like we have too much, more than we can handle, and why do we have it if there is no where for it to go???  
well, the beast has been tamed. or at least contained to the office. and that suits me just fine. there are still piles, but the piles are now organized piles. some need to be removed from the premises all together (donations), some need to be filed, some need to be paid, and some just need to sit and wait until after the holidays. but at least the rest of the house is contained and clean and the laundry is under control (how does such a small person generate that much more laundry?) clean house, clean  laundry, clutter under control = ability to slow down and breath a little better. this makes me happy.

oh, and i got a haircut this weekend. not sure if this change is making me happy yet. i may need a week or two to adjust.

11.21.2008

photo friday.19


i am still here. i've just been filling up my spare moments. 
i've also felt like i've had a lot to say, but i've been having trouble getting it out and into the right words. maybe i'll have better luck next week.

11.18.2008

why i didn't even touch my camera today

i had the full intention of posting here today about our dilemma regarding henry and dinner time.
but to be honest, i don't have it in me tonight. i didn't have it in me today. i was almost defeated today. i had a boy who was testing my patience more than he has in a long time and it took all i had to get through the day without tears.  at one point i was so frustrated with henry and i believe the feeling was mutual, that i just sat and hugged him till we both had calmed down. it took a few minutes. by that time, i had already raised my voice more than i care to admit, and had finally realized that much of my frustration was due to my being tired. i switched gears after that, we did an easy impromptu craft with cut paper, fabric, glue and then we had an early lunch. then i did the best thing i could have done for all of us. 

i took a nap, snuggled between bea and henry. some days naps are magical (and completely necessary). 

while the rest of my day did not go perfectly, i was much better equipped to handle it. 
we even accomplished baking cookies together and that helped sweeten our evening.

11.17.2008

blog interrupted

again.
but this time for my flickr addiction. i can't seem to set my camera down for more than 15 minutes lately, so there are few words and many pictures.

took some shots this morning for s t i l l :body

join the fun.

create

strength

11.14.2008

photo friday.18

11.12.2008

afternoon in the woods (a pictorial)

sunday we spent a few hours out in the woods and walking next to the lake.
we were hoping to head into north georgia to enjoy what is left of the fall leaves, but we just didn't make it there. so, we stayed close to home and headed to red top mountain which is only about 10 minutes or so from our house.

an afternoon in the woods

11.11.2008

then / now

it's really hitting me how big Henry is getting. i think a lot of it has to do with bea. she gives us lots of reminders of henry as a little babe and we find ourselves often saying, "remember when . . ."

time flies

2006 / 2008 (november)

kitchen mishaps(?)


i found this on my coffee table after leaving the boy unattended for a few minutes. luckily nobody was hurt. (hello! he chose to get out chili powder and pepper!!! he couldn't have chosen the greek seasoning?) so one of our next projects will be letting him choose whatever ingredients he wants and letting him 'cook'. oh and that is his cereal under all the chili powder.


my mishap, if you can call it that, was trying to open a screw top bottle of wine with a corkscrew (notice the hole in the cap). and the worst mishap of all, is that the wine wasn't very good. and i was so looking forward to a nice glass of wine. ah, well. at least i learned to check whether my bottle has a cork or a screw top!

11.10.2008

hoping it's hereditary

we don't have a video camera. if we did i would have captured some of the finest dance moves ever witnessed last night.
my boy was giving james brown a run for his money. seriously. it was awesome! besides his amazing dance moves, which made me laugh till i was crying, his taste in music is delighting me.
so, although i have no proof, please imagine a wee small boy doing some serious james brown foot work (while holding a green snuggly frog) while jamming out to this (i recommend turning up your volume) :

11.07.2008

photo friday.17

11.06.2008

busy hands

what we're working on.

while i check email:


learning new things:



my sweater: