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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

photo friday.18

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.

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 . . ."



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!

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) :

photo friday.17

busy hands

what we're working on.

while i check email:


learning new things:



my sweater:

my evening

my evening.

1. knit night
2. laundry
3. jon stewart
4. glued to the television
5. stayed up way later than my companions






Thank you voters! especially those of you who endured waiting in line. i appreciate you!!!

this could be an interesting day

did you do it?
doesn't it feel good?



i am an emotional person yet i am surprised by the excitement and nervousness i'm feeling today. i keep thinking about the possibilities that could arise after today's outcome.
it amazes me when i think of all those who stood up for their beliefs and their rights and fought for this day to not only be possible, but to even be imagined. and how fortunate i feel to be a part of this and a witness to it.




if you haven't voted yet, please GO !


(when i was done, we played outside the church where i voted. i felt so good and the sun was shining so bright and i couldn't help but smile when i saw that the one toy left outside was red, white, and blue.)

sunday morning

lazy morning.



got up and made this yumminess for all of us. we didn't have chocolate chips so i improvised with chocolate syrup. henry was pretty darn excited to have 'warm' hot chocolate for the first time. i hope he doesn't expect it every morning now.


had snuggle time on the couch. i could almost fill my days with this right now.



watched jurassic fight club, while doing all of the above.


it was a good morning.