{Eau de Poisson}

Thought it'd be cheery to post a picture of Claire and little cousin Elsie. Aren't they just the cutest?

The last two weeks have been particularly crappy - mainly work related things getting me down. My attitude has turned around though, thankfuly. Probably due in part to last night's book club gathering. It was refreshing to drink wine and talk (and talk, and talk) with a group of such wonderful, intelligent women.

So, today I woke up with fresh, new resolve to make it all work and so far I've been victorious over several of life's little battles:

Firstly, I did not suffer an emotional setback when I broke two nails while putting on my prosthetic leg.*

Secondly, I bravely soldiered on with my treadmill time despite the fact that my ipod didn't have enough battery life to play even one song.

And, thirdly, I refused to buckle under even when I was unceremoniously sprayed with tuna juice while preparing my lunch: streams of juice and bits of tuna squirted out of the pouch, hitting me directly in the chest and proceeded to drip downward...requiring a complete change of clothing and a rather extensive bathe.

Mondays are the best, aren't they? I think I still stink like tuna.




*by the way, I don't actually have a prosthetic leg (but it looks like I do). It's a game I play to remind myself that there are worse things than lymphedema.

Winter

Did Hillary make a stop in Effingham?

So, it's mid-January and I'm not counting the days 'til spring. Weird, huh? Maybe the winter "newness" hasn't quite worn off yet.

Last weekend was super busy: I spent Friday evening at a crop with my sister and my friend Tasha. We had an uproariously good time. I didn't get much work done. (actually no quantity OR quality!) I think the other tables were jealous that we were having so much fun. I'm sure we weren't disturbing them with our incessant chatter and peals of laughter. Of course not. Saturday morning I had breakfast with my friend Jill, invited a couple of Claire's friends over for the day and THEN hit the High School Musical production at that Fox in the evening. HSM was better than I expected - and Claire was enthralled.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a few quieter days this weekend. My gumdrop pillow experience has me inspired and emboldened. I think I'm going to *try* to sew an apron. I bought two different patterns last night and will start looking for fabric Friday. I'm thinking vintage, ruffle-y with rick-rack. We'll see.

Oh, and just one little story. I drove Claire to the bus stop yesterday morning and my neighbor pulled up her car to the curb facing mine. When the bus arrived her little daughter was having some difficulty with her backpack so Anne had to get out of the car to help her. And that's when I saw the ensemble: heavy coat, pajama pants, little footy-athletic socks...and clogs. And, I thought to myself, "Oh. My. God. We're wearing the exact same outfit!" And I am not even kidding.

{Happy New Year!}

Wow, time really slips by quickly while you're on break. I haven't posted since the 28th.


I know you all are probably anxious to see the last of the Twelve Days gifts...sorry for the delay. Gorgeous earrings from Beth. Her blog is listed to the right AND you can link to her etsy site from there...in case you want some for yourself!

And, check this out: can you believe I made this? It's an Amy Butler gumdrop pillow. (Though I

didn't use Amy Butler fabric). This calls for another big thanks to Beth...she coordinated a big craft day where eight of us (not sure I counted right..) created these big adorable pillows.

What else is going on? We've been painting like crazy. My mom's house is finished and we decided that painting before they moved would be a good idea. It was a good idea, but that house has a lot of wall space.

I've also been really digging deep and working out my goals for the year. I'm following the "one word" concept. Did it last year and it was incredible how much more effective that was than having a bunch of resolutions. You can read more about the idea on Ali's site or at http://onelittleword.typepad.com/ Along those line...I think I'd better go get caught up on my email!

Oh, my word by the way is quality...