Forward Day By Day

Summer So Far

2010-07-01T14:16:00.000-06:00

Just a little over a third of the way thru our summer...thought I'd post a summary. We're more on track than I expected we would be with our to-do list but a few big things just haven't happened yet. I guess we have 2/3 left to get it all in.

The great garden experience isn't panning out as I had hoped. And, the herbs, flowers, and peppers that I did manage to get in the ground are not thriving. Kind of disappointing but will keep watering and tending. This was going to be the year I made jelly and canned everything I could get my hands on but it just hasn't worked out (yet?). I have been churning a lot of ice cream this year. Well, frozen custard, actually. Not super-happy with any of the recipes I've tried unfortunately. It's going to take a while to zero in on a couple of crowd pleasers...especially considering the price of dairy these days. It is NOT cheaper to make your own!

Claire is on her way to launching her own fashion line (she thinks). She has sewn a bubble skirt and a little dress on her birthday sewing machine and did really well. They were both extremely simple projects with no patterns. Next will be a simple pattern project (yet to be selected) and then she wants to make a little Nancy Drew inspired jumper. She already bought the pattern...super cute.

Next week we're taking Claire to see Wicked. She's been begging to go for some time now and I think she's old enough to enjoy it. I splurged on some fairly decent seats, hope it's worth it. Claire got to meet one of the characters a few weeks ago when he offered a dance workshop at her studio. All the girls enjoyed it, he was a very impressive dancer. Speaking of impressive dancing, Claire and I also attended two of the three nights of Spring to Dance at Touhill. It was a great mix, some we loved / some we hated. Kind of amazing to have that much variety. I suspect that Spring to Dance will become a yearly "must-do" for us. Can't really beat the price - $10 a ticket. I guess to round out the report on the arts I should mention that I attended my first opera. Marriage of Figaro was pretty amazing. I'd definitely hit the opera again, but I'll be honest...I don't think season tickets are in my future!

The rest is just normal summer stuff: violin practice, pool time, reading, etc. We have a list of "simple pleasure" activities intended to fill our time. We've been good at cracking these too but again, in the interest of being completely honest and open, simple pleasures can be really freaking boring. I hate to admit it - and maybe I'm still adjusting from my faster-paced, working girl life, but there are days when I think throwing money at a gltizy summer vacation (or maybe even Six Flags) would be more satisfying. Time will tell...

Fried Chicken: The Holy Grail

2010-05-19T10:53:00.000-06:00

The working title for this post had been, "I Can't Fry Chicken to Save My Life". Well, truthfully, it was more along the lines of , "I Can't Fry Chicken for Sh!t." I was quietly composing a whiny post in my mind as I struggled along at the stove trying desperately to follow Alton Brown's procedure for perfect chicken. I've always considered fried chicken to be the ultimate yardstick for a cook's abilities. Kind of the official certification for motherhood. I mean, who doesn't want to sit down to a plate full of mama's fried chicken?

I'm not so good at it. I've tried time and time again, although I must admit each attempt has been spaced by a multi-year interval. It's just so discouraging. And messy. And unhealthy, and most of all smelly.

I've read that the odd, over-sized breast of our modern chickens creates some difficulty for chicken frying because they are out of scale with the rest of the bird and don't cook at the same rate. Many recipes have recommended buying a whole chicken and cutting it up yourself to alleviate this problem to a certain extent. I'm serious about this chicken thing, so yeah, I bought a whole stinkin' chicken. Being the modern girl that I am, I cranked up You Tube for a couple of lessons on cutting a chicken into eight pieces. Success! I wish my knife had been sharper, and there were a few ick moments but I prevailed.

It didn't seem to be going as well with the actual frying part, though. They pieces were much darker than I would have liked (but not actually burnt). I guess I had a problem with my oil temp because the outside cooked a lot faster than the inside. I brought the platter to the table while announcing that an emergency trip to McDonalds might be in order. But, guess what? It was pretty dang good! I don't think I'm sticking with Alton's recipe...but fried chicken is going to be on the menu again soon. I think I may just conquer this one afterall. And then you can all call me Mama.

Nine Days and Counting

2010-03-03T11:00:00.001-07:00

Just nine days to our first "official" competition of the season! We competed one dance a few weeks ago just to test the waters...but now it is crunch time. I thought I was completely ready, but not so much. Here's my punch list:

pickup faux ponytail
buy one more pair of caramel tights
sew tan fabric on Carolina bodice - two inches from V
add rhinestone flower to Carolina bodice and do other rhinestone repair
remember body tape on Ghost Town
cut tags and long straps
find tights to cut into "boy shorts" for Carolina
sew crotches in all tights (six pairs)
sew elastic to bottom of hip hop pants

Did you know you have to sew the crotches in tights before performances? I learned this last year...if you don't everyone can see this goofy looking circle of fabric when the girls kick. Nice. I have one costume hanging outside today airing out...also sprayed it with a fair amount of Febreze. Unfortunately, the lady who made it is a smoker. I think she may have tried to spray the costumes with perfume to mask the smoke. Bottom line is that the thing was stinking up my house! I can't imagine having to actually wear it.. Hope the fresh air / miracle of science cure works. I'm open for suggestions if anyone has a sure-fire way to eliminate smoke stink. I can't actually wash this one. The double whammy is that we kind of hate the way it looks, too.

On Your Mark, Get Set, ....uh, hold on....

2010-03-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Dang. Not off to a great start here in the EXCITING NEW WORLD OF HOMEMAKING. Sunday afternoon I threw my back out while dusting. Yeah, dusting. Not even exerting myself. Whatever.
I had to cancel book club and spent the evening in the company of a big bottle of Aleve and about six pillows. On Monday, Day 1 of the EXCITING NEW WORLD OF HOMEMAKING I wasn't really moving very well. So, I spent the day alternating between my bed and the sofa. Tried to catch up on Big Love and worked on some knitting. Pretty boring stuff considering the list of projects I'm anxious to tackle.

Day 2 isn't going much better. Still not moving around so well. I had hoped to run a few errands to get out of the house for a while, but nope, not so much. I have a flat tire. And, no, I wouldn't even attempt to change it even if my back were in good shape. Have you seen my giant car? Trying to recover with a few little things that have been long awaiting some attention. I spent some time cleaning out the fridge, prepped some vegetables for meals this week. And, my mind keeps wandering to "green" thoughts. We recycle religiously, use reusable shopping bags, swapped to CFLs (may not be a good thing...will post about that later). I just don't think that's enough though...still need to make up for that enormous SUV in the garage. (the one with the flat tire). So, reducing packaging is the latest thing in my green cross-hairs. We've switched to glass-bottled milk in re-useable bottles, have weaned our selves from paper plates / plastic cups, use sport bottles instead of bottled water. Next on my list:

Use butter sticks instead of margarine tubs. I think this might be helpful: Butter Keeper
Switch to bar soap instead of bottled shower gel. I thought this was a cute idea too: Ruffled Rose Bath Pouf GREAT way to recycle.
No more pudding cups or individual fruit cups. I may break this rule is for apple sauce...and, obviously, yogurt.
Bye-bye cute Simply Orange juice bottles, we're using concentrate now.

Something to remember when re-using and recycling is that we need to keep sending stuff down the cleanliness ladder. I found a blog that recommended disassembling and crocheting old bath poufs into pot scrubbers. I'm sorry folks, but NOTHING from the bathroom should ever find its way to the kitchen. That goes for toothbrushes, too. I can see using the old bath pouf for scrubbing the trash can or maybe to scrub bugs off the windshield but ick, not my cookware.

Saving the Swarovski

2010-01-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

Taking care of odd and ends around the house this week...practicing for when I become an official SAHM. (Soon, people, soon!) One little project was to salvage rhinestones from one of last season's costumes. I pulled off rhinestones until I couldn't feel my fingers anymore. Not sure what we'll be able to use them for but guess what? I pulled off FIFTY dollars worth of Swarovski AB30s! Aren't they pretty? I love rhinestones...I didn't used to. Maybe it's the glue.

BREAKING NEWS!!

2010-01-20T08:58:00.001-07:00

Recently unearthed in an archeological dig in the Glen Carbon area:

VINTAGE TEXAS TOP TENS!

I know, it's a little too exciting for words:

Texas Top 10 1994

10. Hey! Is that Ann Richards?

9. Three duels in one day?!

8. "T. Cat. Away."

7. No doinking the driver!

6. I don't care.

5. ....same difference

4. My butt hurts.

3. DAVE!!!

2. Doink

1. Waka Maka Bea(ch) Side

Texas Top Ten 1995

10. Cry me a river

9. I'm running but I'm not getting anywhere.

8. If we're gonna do it, let's do it!

7. We use napkins here.

6. We need out of here in a bad way - times two.

5. It's a five foot swing.

4. I hope you find you a good man honey.

3. Eye mile tough gas.

2. My Leinylodge didn't have a big butt!

1. We're down to two bottles of Triple Sec, it's Mother's Day!

Shhhh...

2010-01-07T10:29:00.002-07:00

Making some changes...check back soon.

This Year's Box

2009-02-13T09:50:00.002-07:00

Everyone's doing the iPod valentine lately - here's our version. Used a cereal box. It was fun to do. Family Fun has a great version of the iLove valentine on their website.

It Wasn't Pretty

2009-02-12T19:49:00.002-07:00

Sorry, no pictures of the bread. It was pretty much a complete disaster. Heavy as a brick and not really any pumpernickel properties at all. It was the wrong color and the whole wheat overpowered the molasses, cocoa, and caraway.

The little scheduling experiment is working pretty well, though. Haven't quite reached nirvana - but I've lost my resentment towards work really quickly - actually enjoying it again. Weird.

Hitting all kinds of child rearing milestones this week. One of which is our very last school party ever. It's making me a little sad to think we don't have any more valentine boxes, toilet paper mummy races, or winter holiday bingo games ahead of us. It's just not fair how it all slips through your fingers. My new philosophy on adolesence is that the rebellion isn't so much for the kid to want to test his wings as it is preparation for the parent to accept (or eagerly anticipate) the separation. Somewhat akin to the misery of the last few weeks of pregnancy.

So, I'm hoping for a quiet weekend, I have two netflix envelopes waiting for me, a zillion projects to work on, an out of control pantry that needs attention, and maybe even Coraline. We'll just have to see.

the best blog post EVER

2009-02-06T13:52:00.003-07:00

I'm trying something new. Instead of letting each part of life "infringe" on the other I'm going to try a little scheduling discipline.

That's pretty vague, isn't it? Here's an example: my work life is out of control. So, instead of wasting my precious personal time trying (unsuccessfully) to catch up I'm going to keep work within its proscribed timeframe. My theory is that if I can do that then I'll be happy and content (due to the absolute Nirvana that my personal life has become) that I'll become absolutely unencumbered by any external worries and my mind will focus (like a laser beam) on my work.

What? It could TOTALLY work.

Shut up, it could so work.

The other part is I'm trying to focus more on keeping forward motion on each task rather than focusing on completion. Nothing is ever done, it's just depressing.

Moving on...

Something much more exciting is the big box from King Arthur Flour that was delivered yesterday. Oh, yeah, there's some homemade, whole grain Pumpernickel bread in my future. According to the experts (John) Pumpernickel is tricky and best made using a combination of a pre-levain AND day old bread. I have a fairly simple recipe to start with that doesn't employ either of these techniques, we'll just have to see how it works out. Baby steps for me...(although I have graduated to using a scale as opposed to those measuring cups the amateurs use). If it's pretty I'll post a picture.

Post-Holiday Funk

2009-01-10T19:45:00.002-07:00

Hi all. Recovering from the first week back in reality. My two-week holiday break was really great. I think I could get used to being a lady-of-leisure. I have so many projects going on that still aren't finished...work is just getting in the way!

You probably didn't notice since I update my blog so infrequently, but I also took a break from the computer. Ignored email and the internet to the best of my ability. So, if you're waiting to hear from me, my apologies...working to catch up.

One of my goals for the year was (yeah, past tense...already) to pare down all the running around we do. That was pretty foolish of me. Dance competition season starts in 2 months...and the extra practices are in full swing. The girls are doing great - but they really do need the additional time. If anyone's interested in coming out, we'll be in St. Chas March 13 weekend. Let me know and I can get you more details. You should call my cell, because I'll be in the car.

Redecorating my "studio". Got a few new Ikea pieces and re-arranged a bunch of other furniture that we already had. I think it's going to work out. I bought paint today but it'll probably be next weekend before that happens.

Dang, this is a boring post. Sorry.

At This Pace...

2008-12-22T08:50:00.003-07:00

I could be chiseling my blog posts on stone tablets. I know.

I've been wasting technology very consistently all week. Here are a number of charming, happy memories that I neglected to capture on camera:

Claire's first orchestra concert

Claire's second to last classroom party ever

Norman Rockwell worthy Christmas Pageant

Birthday dinner party for the December boys last night

Elsie's immediate infatuation with....karaoke. Guess it's genetic. Also, apparently, the mic is pretty tasty.

Just like last year, I am loving Twelve Days. Unlike last year, I have not been posting daily updates. Sorry. Here's a bit of a catchup. And, yes, my catchup shot is like...three days old already.

Check This Out...

2008-10-21T20:29:00.004-06:00

Very, very sweet video from one of Claire's classmates. I wanted to post the video directly to the blog, but they disabled the embed code. I suppose I might have done that too if my kid was posted on You Tube. Anyway, made me tear up a little. Go check it out:

African Vision of Hope

Where the hell have I been? I don't know...just busy. Here's what I haven't blogged about since my last post (not necessarily in chronological order):

Claire's birthday parties
Dancing at Busch Stadium
Pumpkin picking at Eckert's
Trip to Disney
Hurricane Ike
Trip to Houston
Girl Scout Cookie Caravan
Trip to California
The Sale of my Childhood Home
The Great Panic of 2008
Picnic and visit to New Salem
OktoberFuest
Bizarre Email Exchange with Group of Small Minded, Racist, Religious-right, Texan Stamping Ladies
Football Season
Strange Folk Art Fest
Mary's Birthday partay
Dad's Birthday partay
Random Act of Starbuck's kindness
Angela B's surprise birthday
Visit from Paula (including scary Lemp Mansion and the delightful Emma)
Twelve Days Preparation
Big Picture Scrapbooking Class (Design Your Life with Cathy Z. LOVES IT)
and a Whole Lot of Dancing

w h a ?

2008-08-28T20:44:00.005-06:00

Tired. Stupid tired. Weepy tired. Bored and tired.

Half listening to Obama...and have to say: He's no Bill. I miss Bill, would vote for Bill again. Monica? whatever. How does that compare to Iraq, and the economy, and big oil, and...and..
Sorry, didn't mean to get emotional. Just that I miss Bill. Life was just all rosy when Bill was around. We had a surplus. And can someone say healthcare? Yeah...he tried and now he can say he told you so.

Speaking of Bill - there are a lot of Bills in my life these days. Do names cluster for other people? I have multiples of Scotts, Kims, Bills, and Richards in my life...more Kims than anything. Are these especially common names? Because I don't really think so. I thought Michael and Jennifer were the most common names.

Waiting around for bedtime, going home tomorrow. Looking forward to a long weekend...maybe even extended a bit depending on what Gustav decides to do. I think I may be wrapping my computer in plastic before I leave tomorrow. Isn't that just weird?

My head is completely full of work crap. Not too many fun thoughts sneaking thru, but one super bright spot is the TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS kickoff note I got from Beth. I started working on my project quite a while ago but haven't finished yet. Can't wait to get back to it.

So, have you noticed that Joe Biden's teeth are freakishly white? It's just not right.

Sheesh, I'm kind of random tonight huh? No, I haven't been drinking. I told you , I'm stupid tired.

PS - my hair looks FABULOUS. and I'm in Houston. For those of you who can grasp that enormity, here's the key: Aveda Smooth Infusion. Now go into the world and do good hair.

Hello.

2008-07-06T11:19:00.003-06:00

Hope you all had a happy 4th. We did...hosted a small family gathering here and really enjoyed it. We had food, and fireworks, and Wii Rockband.

I should be working, but feel the need to procrastinate first. Thought I'd check in on the blog. Which reminds me - I'm terribly overdue in making a shout out to MARJORIE FROM TEXAS!

Marjorie is one of my favorite people in this big world and she found my blog and left a comment a few months back. Marjorie, a big, long, newsy email is heading your way.

If I'm lucky today I will get to scrapbook. I have not had the time for scrapbooking lately and I'm dying to get back to it. I was able to catch up on all Claire's school year stuff - thanks to the Becky Higgins KOTM. She put together the best system for school memorabilia. She swears she's not going to offer it again, but I think that's crazy. It's one of the best, most practical kits I've ever seen. Next up on my SB to -do list is Claire's dance book. I made the title page and gathered photos from every year she's danced...so I'm poised for some serious productivity.

Lame post, I know...but I should get to work. I hate posts without pictures, so here's a random one. I made strawberry jam a couple of months ago. I was very worried about it being runny since I didn't use pectin. Ha. It's not runny. It's not spreadable. Not even sliceable. Guess I'll try again next year.

Some Years Are Bigger Than Others...

2008-05-05T21:19:00.005-06:00

...if I may borrow a line from the Smiths. Cinco de Mayo celebration was low-key. Just the three of us. But, the fajitas and guac were fierce. (If I do say so myself). The only evidence I have is this tortilla wrapper.

We've had a busy couple of weeks. Managed a quick trip to the zoo. I ended up with a bunch of cute ZOO pics, including this sweet one of little Elsie.

We also bought some patio furniture. That was interesting. My (wonderful) husband can get just the tiniest bit stubborn from time to time. We were able to get all the boxes in the Expedition but needed to tie the back hatch down. He didn't have any rope in the car and he was sort of, um... PISSED... that the store didn't have any either. (IKEA always does...) He refused to buy any. Refused to call my dad for the truck, refused to call my sister so one of us could ride home with her. We spent an hour in the parking lot re-arranging lawn furniture until he could close all the doors. Nice.

Claire was selected to be a poster-girl at school for some of the "Character" posters they're working on. Her winning entry was, "I have the right to talk to my friends and the responsibility to do it at the right times." The irony there is unbelievable...

She wanted curly hair for the photo shoot, I think it turned out cute:

The only other thing I have to say is, take it easy on Miley, y'all. I have this bizarre maternal, protective instinct about the whole debacle. She's only 15. Fifteen year olds do worse things than this all the time. But I can't imagine how a 15 year old can cope with the kind of backlash she's suffering through right now.

Alright, that's all. Carry on.

My Life in a List with Links

2008-04-22T07:46:00.012-06:00

It's been over a month since my last post. I had a million things to say, no time to share them. So, I think a list is in order to catch up. It's not in chronological order. I no longer have that kind of cranial fortitude. I decided that every item on the list should include a link to a related website. Just in case, dear reader, you need a little context.

Your Austen Heroine - Which Jane Austen Heroine are you? I am, apparently Elinor Dashwood.

Marlboro Man Sandwiches - Yes, from the Pioneer Woman herself. We had these for our Sunday night supper. Just okay. I skipped the hot sauce but found them a little bit too salty, I think it's the Lawry's I didn't care for. Might try again with a little seasoning change up.

Harlem Globetrotter - I spent two hours on a SW flight chatting with a former Harlem Globetrotter who was flying in to hang with a few other former Harlem Globetrotters while the current team was playing in StL. Also saw a blazing apartment fire on takeoff - it was intense. I could see the bright orange flame through the holes the firemen made in the roof. Crazy.

Houston Classic Country - I'm sorry but there is no better place to hear "Looking for love in all the wrong places..." than Houston, Texas. Except possibly Pasadena, Texas - but I'm not a big fan of Pasadena. You can take a listen yourself, thanks to the miracle of the world wide web. http://countrylegends971.com/ While in Houston I was also surprised to hear the Violent Femmes. But not on this station.

CKC - Sigh. I so look forward to the scrapbook convention each year. I spent GAZILLIONS of dollars. I was surprised to hear afterwards that the country was still facing a recession because I certainly did my part. Seriously, I spend a lot but not as much as some. There were ladies who spent thousands of dollars. Even if I had that kind of money to spend at CKC I don't know that I'd find a way to unload that much cash.

HBO - I think I mentioned that I got sucked into "In Treatment" so much that I came home and ordered HBO. Missed it you say? Well, it's not too late you can watch it here: http://www.hbo.com/intreatment/ Still kind of loving HBO. I enjoyed (but didn't l o v e) the John Adams series.

My sister's blog - Mary has joined the blogging masses. Check her out here: http://www.splendorfallsmc.blogspot.com/ AND I've added a link to her site in my permanent link list.

King Corn - Okay, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ONE. It was a life-changing experience. You need to see this, find it, watch it. I have been making great strides in putting more wholesome food on our table but DANG. I knew about high fructose corn syrup but not quite how bad it was. What I didn't know about was the BEEF. Cattle aren't supposed to be corn fed. My grocery bill is about to get a lot higher.

Earthquakes - I'm tired of earthquakes. In a few short hours I've gone finding them exciting to absolutely dreading them. Hello? We are not in control. Did you realize that? Life could change (i.e. STOP) at any moment no matter how careful we are. Not a happy thought for a control freak. This is as good a source as any for earthquake information (and basically there isn't any.) Can't predict. Dunno if this is normal. Dunno if our little quakes are helpful or a dire sign. We're on our own.

That's all I can muster for today...I'm heading downstairs to paint "Sissy" and "Bud" on the doors of my Expedition.

Pure Sweetness

2008-03-16T20:12:00.005-06:00

Great weekend. Claire and Elsie had some Easter pics taken - inspired by a picture of Mary and me at the exact same ages. Yes, I'm that old. Shut up already.

We also managed to do a powerful lot of shopping. I got shoes and purses and makeup and, and, and... it just goes on and on. I was joking that we were doing our patriotic duty - to spark the economy and all that.

My brother is branching out to bread (from the pretzel making - and believe me, his pretzels are high art). This makes me happy: today I got a loaf of freshly baked challah bread that I didn't even have to bake myself. PLUS I now have someone who understands that a $500 stand mixer is completely reasonable. Bargain, actually. Yeah. It's a nice warm feeling - I think it's name is enabler. Love you bro. Bake on.

{Well, this is kinda huge!}

2008-03-05T20:10:00.003-07:00

My friend Beth is the Featured Seller on Etsy today. Yes, it's the one over there...in my list of links. Elizabeth Williams. Go check her out. Buy something. You won't be sorry.

http://www.etsy.com/featured_seller.php

On an unrelated note - my sister is concerned that the aforementioned hoosier neighbors may be reading my blog. I guess it's possible, but I don't think they even know my name. If you are out there reading my blog: Well, hey there. I knew you'd come through on the blinds. Okay, well, I was hoping (praying) anyway. They look great.

CNN article about Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea)

2008-03-04T09:08:00.001-07:00

Just saw this on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/03/three.cups/index.html

{PRAISE BE!}

2008-03-03T18:09:00.002-07:00

BREAKING NEWS....

My hoosier neighbors finally broke down and bought blinds. Installed 'em too.

No more foam puzzle rug pieces propped up in the windows!

No more glaring views of the air hockey table in the dining room!

All this and they've started to put their trash cans away. Life is good.

Hallucinating?

2008-03-03T14:20:00.008-07:00

Back home after a week in Houston. It was not easy to leave the 70-80 degree weather.

On my way home as I was waiting to board my plane I noticed a woman walking across the terminal who bore a striking resemblance to Sande Kriege ( http://sandekrieger.typepad.com/ ). Walking in the opposite direction I noticed a woman who I would swear was Heather Armstrong. ( http://www.dooce.com/ ). I decided that it would be highly unusual to see two bloggers that I read in the same trip...so I decided to mind my own business and stare at the people pouring into the gate from the plane that had just landed. And, I noticed a woman that I used to work with. Soon, more and more people from my directorate came off the plane. Easily ten of them. That's when I decided I must have been hallucinating. If anyone is aware of some sort of MOD convention / group trip that would have brought everyone home on Friday- please share with me. It will put my mind at ease.

I added a couple of links to the blog that you might find interesting. In the past few months I've enjoyed several books dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan: The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Three Cups of Tea. I found these books to be tremendously helpful in gaining some perspective on the Afghan and Pakistani cultures. You should take a look, if you haven't already.

{All Better Now...}

2008-02-22T13:10:00.007-07:00

Uh, yeah...sorry about that previous post. I frequently confuse exhaustion with boredom: too tired to actually DO anything somehow translates into boredom in my fatigue affected brain.

So, today - much better. Still working like a dog, but that's a good thing. No school today, and I'm hoping that David makes it back from Georgia at a decent hour. He's already been delayed quite a bit. I guess that's February for you.

I've got something interesting to tell you about today: WHOLE WHEAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Seriously. And the recipe includes cider vinegar - which thoroughly terrified me. But I tried them anyway, and guess what? They are wonderful. The recipe (and the Organic White Whole Wheat Flour) is from King Arthur ( kingarthurflour.com ) I figure, if you're going to eat cookies they may as well be whole wheat. This recipe seems to have less saturated fat as well.

Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Light and crisp, absolutely packed with chocolate chips, this is the quintessential crunchy chocolate chip cookie. To ensure crunchiness, be sure to bake these cookies thoroughly; they should be golden brown all over, without any hint of softness in the center.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable
oil3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 large egg1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour, Traditional or White Whole Wheat
2 2/3 cups (16 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, sugars, vanilla, and salt till smooth. Beat in the vinegar, egg, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in the whole wheat flour, then the chocolate chips. The dough will appear oily, and because of the quantity of chocolate chips, it won't be completely cohesive; that's OK.Drop the dough, by tablespoonfuls, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies are an even golden brown. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Yield: 33 cookies.

Boring, boring, boring Sidney.

2008-02-21T13:44:00.002-07:00

I'm bored. Bored with work, bored with housework, bored with scrapbooking, cooking, eating, sleeping, reading, shopping.

Bored. I'm even bored with Guitar Hero.

Really, really bored.

{Eau de Poisson}

2008-01-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

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!}

2008-01-06T13:34:00.001-07:00

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...

Ten, Eleven, TWELVE!

2007-12-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know you all are anxious to see those crafty gifts!

Number Ten is a set of little wooden Christmas houses from Claire. She suggested that we could turn them around and use them after Christmas as well. I think that's a great idea...and I'm considering my three-letter word options OR adding one initial for each of us (we're a three-person family) instead of leaving them blank.

Number Eleven is from Beth. I felt compelled to show her packaging as well as the gift. Isn't it elegant? Beth made little pouches with clips that are loaded with Aveda goodies. I'm particularly excited about this because my cell phone is a perfect fit!

And, number twelve is from Tasha. Are these the sweetest little birds? I'm calling them my Two Turtle Doves...

One more to open! This has been just the most fun. What an amazingly creative and talented group of ladies.

{Testing, testing}

2007-12-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

In love with the playlist on Beth's site. Wanted to try it. Unfortunately have THREE Pete Yorns. Will fix it later...

T.

A Day Behind...

2007-12-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry. Since Friday morning I've been late on every single thing. I'll have to post day ten later.

Gift number nine is a PIDGE, and I love it. Thank you Donna! What's a pidge, you ask? Well, it a very tiny knitted scarf, kind of like a detachable color. Take a look for yourself:

Claire was sick yesterday, little tummy bug. It wasn't too fun. She's much better but we kept her home all day today. Need to make sure she's good and healthy for the big day.

We had a nice surprise tonight, carolers on horseback. They come through our 'hood every year and it's just the warmest, cheeriest Christmas tradition ever. Caroling is always nice, but somehow the horses and the jingle bells just make it that much better. I choke back tears every time. I got some pictures, but as you can imagine, they're not that great.

{Day 8}

2007-12-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Day number 8 is Mary Claire! She made these clever little stands from silver spoons. They are intended to hold your recipe cards while you cook. Cute, huh? As a bonus, she also made rings out of vintage buttons. I have to confess I did receive a button ring earlier in the year - and it has gotten some major attention whenever I've worn it.

I'm proud to report that I am completely finished with my Christmas shopping. (Though I may brave the malls tomorrow to find a pair of shoes.) Now, just wrapping and cooking ahead of me. Yay! I can almost relax. Today was NOT the easy work day I had envisioned. In fact, I'm still reading email obsessively. Need to let go...

My Turn

2007-12-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, I had day number seven. I knitted mini-purses. Technically they are felted - but there were huge differences in the way each color felted...the oatmeal was the most stubborn, and the orange felted the most. (you can see that at picture time the orange was still in production!) All the same wool, weird how the dye affects it.

...

Today had a GREAT work day. I'm all caught up and will only work a few hours tomorrow. Then, it's vacation time and I am ready. Still have some Christmas stuff to take care of. I haven't wrapped anything at all and have a handful of little things to buy yet.

Last night was the December birthday dinner. We had much to eat and drink, much fun. I really love doing week night parties. It feels somehow extravagant - and it sort of lengthens the weekend. We shouldn't be living for the weekends anyway, should we? Here's to more fun Monday thru Thursday.

{Cute as a Button!}

2007-12-19T19:57:00.001-07:00

Check out these fabric covered button magnets from Kristi! Cute, cute, cute!

Just a short post tonight - this week is a bit hectic - I'm still working (I have to stick it out through Friday, dang it), and still so much to do for Christmas.

Cinq Cinque Funf Vijf Cinco

2007-12-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

I can't overstate how fun this is. Behold, gift number five:

This one I had to put in the dining room - breaking my own rule about keeping them on the sofa table. The silver bells and the green bow match my dining room Christmas theme so well that I couldn't resist putting it in there. Thanks Tracy!

Also, just updated my links list to include Beth's blog, particularly for my non-12 days peeps. Y'all need to see this girl's jewelry. Actually, Dawn got some of it for Christmas last year!

Back to work. I'm counting the days 'til Christmas vacation.

{Interesting Times Article...}

2007-12-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

All about Etsy...mentions the Renegade in Chicago but not the Rock 'n Roll Fair in StL.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/magazine/16Crafts-t.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=53ee17396750479a&ex=1355461200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Days Three and Four

2007-12-17T07:48:00.001-07:00

Sorry for skipping a day - Sunday was a busy day.

SO, day three is a cute, cute hand stitched dove ornament from Maggie. It's adorable. Two shades of blue, detailed in French knots.

Day four is CHOCOLATE! Each piece beautifully wrapped in gold and silver foil. That was such a surprise... thanks Amy. And that pretty little snowflake? Yeah, it's gone already. EDITED: I'm giving away my sweet tooth (as if y'all couldn't already tell) but, it's not only chocolate but yummy vanilla caramels as well!

So, why so busy? Well, after church the Sunday school kids had a bake sale. Our contribution was a basket of gingerbread cows. They are working diligently to raise $1000 for a "milk menagerie" from Heifer International. You can learn all about that here: http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.2699393/ They are about half-way there! $500 to go...

After the bake sale the kids had a pizza party lunch and then went caroling at a local county-run nursing home. That was a sobering yet heartwarming experience. We've done the caroling thing at "commercial" retirement/nursing homes before with girl scouts, etc. This facility was so much more modest than others we've seen and the residents were so excited about us being there. They all joined in singing and were thrilled to get cookies and candy canes from the kids. I must say it left me feeling kind of like a jerk. They were happy to get a candy cane, and my wish list? Well, it starts with an expensive electronic gadget and ends with a big giant house. Nice.

{On the Second Day of Christmas...}

2007-12-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Look what arrived on my doorstep today! Holly delivered this beautiful embellished hurricane. My mom happened to be home when my sister and I opened our gifts and I think she was a little jealous!

Holly, my husband feels bad that he hadn't shoveled the sidewalk before you arrived. Sorry about that.

Today's been a great day to stick close to home. We did a major grocery expedition: dinner party for the December birthdays this coming Wednesday PLUS holiday baking equals a big grocery day. David came with me - he hasn't done that in quite a while - and he completely freaked out over my $9 block of gruyere. Might be better not to bring him from now on.

Claire is making the most of the snow we've gotten. I swear she doesn't feel the cold. We had to force her to come in. (Actually we lured her in with promises of hot cocoa.) Here she is standing on her aborted snowman flashing her gang sign.

Day One!

2007-12-14T10:56:00.001-07:00

What a great start to our Twelve Days! Brooke made this scrumptious monogrammed pear... Love it! It's going to be great on my desk, but for now I plan to keep all the Twelve Days gifts displayed for all to see.

Package #9 arrived today...I'm keeping my fingers crossed for #2!

Looking forward to a little snow here in the midwest. I have to admit I have my finger's crossed for a decent accumulation. We haven't seen a significant snowfall since we've lived here and Claire's unused sled has been waiting in the garage for quite a while now.

Christmas Projects

2007-12-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

We're busy little people here getting ready for the holidays. Thought you might like an update:

David is now "aging" his Christmas brew. He refuses to give any bottles away yet so don't even ask him.

I'm participating in a Twelve Days of Christmas craft exchange. (It's actually thirteen, we get a bonus!) I'm #7. Finally shipped my little boxes on Monday.

We'll open one gift a day starting on December 14th. Here's my pile so far. It's killing me not to snoop!

{Photo Catch-up}

2007-12-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

So, here's photographic proof of our little November adventure. Sorry I'm only now getting around to posting the pics. To be honest, the only reason I did get to it is because I need them for my next post!

Ren-Faire Claire:

The Alamo from our hotel room. It was Veteran's Day weekend, that's why the soldiers are there. They don't have a basement at the Alamo but they do have air conditioning.

Random RiverWalk shot:

Stuff I've Seen

2007-11-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

I've been traveling all over, glad to be home.
Here's what I've seen in the last 10 days:

1. Six Airplanes
2. Five Airports
3. Four States
4. Three Hotel Rooms
5. Fireworks
6. A handful of Harlem Globetrotters
7. The Alamo
8. The HOLLYWOOD Sign
9. A minor altercation on an airplane
10. A possible drug deal
11. A parade
12. Mexican Dancers
13. Irish Dancers
14. Drunk Dancers
15. Ded Bob

{The Stars At Night...}

2007-11-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Actually, they weren't so big and bright, but we still had a good time in Texas. We pretty much kept to ourselves, eating, driving, reminiscing.

Our San Antonio hotel room had a spectacular view of the Alamo. It was especially pretty at night. I tried to capture it with my camera - not sure yet how well that worked. We also saw the Alamo IMAX movie again. I have to say that even as cheesy as that movie is, it's still a powerful story. We also hit Fredericksburg, the Texas Renaissance Festival, and Clear Lake.

I'm tired...not much else to say, so I'll leave you with that infamous Davy Crockett quote,

"Y'all can go to hell. I'm going to Texas."

That just never ceases to amuse me. Too bad it didn't work out so well for him.

The Bambinos Were Salty

2007-11-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a weird day.

Claire was an acolyte today at church, and just before communion she fainted. Luckily she was kneeling so there wasn't too far to fall. Her ear hit the altar rail and left a nasty bruise. The acolyte master managed to scoop her up like a little rag doll and get her to the sacristy - losing a pink shoe in the process. It was a bit of a scene, really. I rushed up to the altar, and kind of hesitated. I didn't know whether I was still expected to bow at the altar when my kid lost consciousness. (I opted not to). Anyway, she's completely fine, we probably created a hideous scene and broke three zillion rules or something.

And, tonight was the first big book club meeting. I was overprepared, almost to the point of being uncomfortable about it. Also, the shrimp bambinos were EXTREMELY SALTY. And, they kind of stuck to the little napkin I placed them on. And, they didn't broil evenly. Some were cold, some were burnt. I don't know that I will ever get over it. Although, I am finally able to live with the memory of Claire's 3rd birthday. Perhaps seven years from now I really won't care if the bambinos were salty.

I just don't know these ladies well enough to trust that they can overlook such an egregious breach of civility and good taste. I'm sure this would never happen in Europe.

{TEN Pounds}

2007-11-01T08:54:00.000-06:00

Is how much candy my little pink stinker collected this year Trick - or - Treating.

I'm glad October is behind us. I keep thinking I'm on the verge of being "on top of everything" and then I never quite make it. I'm there once again, let's hope it's not just another case of foolish optimism.

That's all you get today - must get back and climb that hill if today's going to be the day I make it all the way up.

Looking For a Shout-Out

2007-10-21T23:01:00.000-06:00

Seems to be an awful lot of interest in my blog from the Show-Me state. I'm curious - if you are not someone who happens to know me, what brought you here? How did you find my blog? Let's hear from you!

{Happy October!}

2007-10-16T08:07:00.000-06:00

The latest banner - my favorite one yet, even though it's not hanging just right. I just really like orange and black together. Halloween is such a fun time. The paper is Martha Stewart, the letters and buttons Making Memories.

Also showcasing some of Uncle Johnny's photoshop magic...

Complete Waste of Time...

2007-09-10T08:05:00.000-06:00

But kind of funny. If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)

Boots Expedition

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)

Praline Chai Snickerdoodle

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)

T-Fue

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

Black Giraffe

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)

Thefue

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)

The Pink Margarita

7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)

Lyman Ralph

8. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite scent, favorite candy),

Cinnamon Licorice

9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),

Roger Reno

10. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).

Fall Hydrangea

11. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)

Strawberry Socksie

12. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)

Bran Willow

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)

The Scrapping Thunder Tour

I actually have real stuff to report, but much real work to do. Here's a picture to make up for it.

{It Was Inevitable}

2007-08-28T14:29:00.000-06:00

How could I not see this coming?

Hand-crafted beer + Hand-crafted bavarian pretzels + German Heritage =

OktoberFest at our house.

For those of you on the inside: date/time will be forthcoming.

Tired of the Drama

2007-08-25T12:32:00.000-06:00

Taking a break from the Peas...not that I was a very frequent post-er but it's gotten to the point that I don't want to be any part of it anymore. The drama over Big Picture Scrapbooking has pushed me over the edge. I feel like these Peas are being unfair and unkind. It'd be one thing if it were the first time someone was being slammed...but it's not.

I believe in telling the truth, and I believe that it's important to give negative feedback to a company when you've had a bad experience. But I also believe in Respect, Kindness, Forgiveness, and Second Chances. I do not believe in personal attacks.

I'm going to go register for a BPS class. Right Now.

So There.

{Domestic Bliss}

2007-08-22T16:55:00.000-06:00

Ahh, new school year, perfect time to nestle in and get all domestic. Lots o' domesticating going on in this household.

I usually wait to do our closet cleaning when the weather actually starts to change. But my closet was just a disaster so the other day I decided it was time. I purged like you wouldn't believe and probably have more things that could be ditched. A couple of things I don't understand about myself come to light when I do this little annual project. For instance, I understand that holding on to clothes that are too small is a sign of optimism. But I can't fully explain why I hold on to the clothes that are too big. Insurance I guess. I also hold on to sweaters that are pill-y. Shirts that are faded and wonky-shaped. Even this year there are things that I put in "purgatory". I just have a hard time letting go I guess.

My triumph though, has been the pantry. Technically, I suppose it is OUR triumph. It really is like our own, personal little "Gift of the Magii" and loaves and fishes miracle wrapped into one.

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time you'll know that my husband's newish hobby (the only hobby he's ever had) is beer making. The latest major purchase in support of this undertaking has been (sigh) a keg-erator. Yeah...I was wanting to support him, but not exactly loving the idea. So I made the decree that it would live in the garage. Well, the garage is really not the best place for a refrigerator, too hot...blah, blah, blah...and D approached me about making room for the (sigh) keg-erator in the pantry. Now you see, my pantry is crammed full of the stuff I used to store in the kitchen that was twice as big as the one I have now. (sorry about the whine) But, I decided that I needed to be reasonable about this. So, we planned to complete the installation of permanent shelving, leaving a spot for the (sigh) keg-erator, and then see how much of my crap was left over.

Well, lo and behold! Not only did it all fit - there is room to spare! This is a miracle. And you would believe it if you had ever walked into my pantry. Someday, after I'm gone someone will have to make a note of this in case il Papa wants to canonize me. And I am not even being sarcastic about this.

First Day of School

2007-08-21T11:11:00.000-06:00

Dang. My little independent girl didn't want me to drive her! She took the bus, dragging her big box of school supplies with her.

I guess really by this age most kids are heading to class on their own. I think I had an unaturally long time to take her in the first day because this is the very first time she's returned to the same building two years in a row. Isn't that weird? And next year she'll be in a different school again. Some of this is move related, some not. I hope this doesn't make her a restless adult.

In other news, well, there really isn't any. How about a random photo just for fun?

{Not Sure This Captures the Real Me}

2007-08-12T22:14:00.000-06:00

Here are the results of my "What Kind of Wine Are You Quiz". Not sure it quite got me: I'm not popular, I'm quite smug, I'm not approachable or easy to get to know. What kind of wine are you?

You Are Chardonnay

Fresh, spirited, and classic - you have many facets to your personality.
You can be sweet and light. Or deep and complex.
You have a little bit of something to offer everyone... no wonder you're so popular.
Approachable and never smug, you are easy to get to know (and love!).

Deep down you are: Dependable and modest

Your partying style: Understated and polite

Your company is enjoyed best with: Cold or wild meat

What Kind of Wine Are You?

Don't you hate it when...

2007-08-08T09:46:00.000-06:00

...bloggers only bother to update every couple of weeks. Just whenever the whim strikes them?

Sheesh, I both hate it and I'm guilty of it.

So what's new? Well, the summer's practically over and I've only done ONE of the fun things I had planned. I keep looking at the calendar and wondering how I could possibly fit all the rest into the next eleven days. (yeah, it's just not going to happen)

My brother and I have a new obsession...we each are trying to re-create our fave hot pretzel recipes. (To be fair, he started first.) I like Auntie Anne's and he prefers the pretzels sold in the German section of EPCOT. Last Saturday we tried two recipes and plan to make some tweaks from there. I think I got lucky and found the closest recipe to AA's that I can get. I just need some technique changes. The next challenge for my bro is to recreate the shiny brown exterior on his version. We have a few leads and will be trying them out soon. If we're successful we'll be a musical, scrapbooking, ren faire-y, beer and pretzel-making family. Dang, we're weird.

What else? I don't know. I seem to be stuck in a multi-year slump. At any moment, though, it could turn around, right? Uh-huh. I don't seem to have mastered the ability to deal with the big disappointments in life: I'll never be hot, I'll never walk on the moon, I'll never be the star of a reality TV show, I probably won't be CEO of a major corporation... There are a few others, but you get the point.

{Howdy}

2007-07-22T13:54:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the shameless cliche...checking in from Texas and I couldn't resist.

I've got my sidekick with me and we're having a great time catching up with old friends and visiting all our favorite places. I'm making a conscious effort to slow down a bit - we've been pushing ourselves way too hard. So today we're just hanging at the pool. Well, we will just as soon as it stops raining! There are all kinds of people wandering about the halls here in the hotel, I suspect that we all have the same plan.

I visited the new scrapbook store in Clear Lake. I literally *cried* when I left it. Yes, I cried. Actual tears. The most amazing place. Seriously. If you're in Texas go check it out, if you're not in Texas check the website: http://www.tracykeith.typepad.com/

Introducing Elsie Grace

2007-07-10T09:23:00.000-06:00

She's a beauty! Mary did great...

I didn't get home 'til after 1am, feeling a little bleary-eyed today.

{Hello? Is This Thing on??}

2007-07-06T14:56:00.000-06:00

Uh, sorry. It's been a while. Again. But, I've been busy...yeah, that's it. Busy with stuff...

Seriously, it has been an unusual couple of weeks since I last posted. We went through this big, dramatic health scare with Claire involving lots of worry and a long wait to see a specialist. The good news is that we're 99.9% sure she's perfectly healthy. Working on a second opinion appointment to get that remaining 0.1% assurance.

Getting ready for another kegger. I kind of wish Birch Lane would move back to bottles, it doesn't seem very sophisticated to have a big ol' kegger party. I'm trying to class-up the hors-d'oeuvres to compensate. Not that our guests will care whether I serve seven-layer dip straight from the plastic grocery tray or prosciutto-wrapped melon. You know who you are, people--tell me it's not true!

I started a new project that just about crippled me: DAYS OF THE WEEK KITCHEN TOWELS.

They are beyond cute, very very retro. I went all crazy the first day and embroidered like a maniac. Several days later I still cringe to think of picking up a needle.

Well, blog posts are no fun without pictures, so, here's a completely random selection for you:

Yeah, I know...

2007-06-20T12:39:00.001-06:00

It's been forever since I've posted. The last couple of weeks haven't been the best.
Don't have much I'm inspired to post about, but I do have some LOs I can share. I've wrapped up 2002, can you believe it?

{Brought To You Courtesy of...}

2007-06-04T19:52:00.000-06:00

This blog post is brought to you courtesy of the free google wi-fi in Mountain View, California...sort of...I started it in Mountain View but never quite finished. Just got too busy/tired.

Happy to back back in the lush, green midwest. And if that seems strange to you, well, I think you may have never really looked at life with your own eyes but possibly someone else's instead.

Sorry for being so cryptic.

Anyhoo, here's what Claire was up to while I was working away in California.

The Good Stuff

2007-05-31T21:59:00.000-06:00

Coming out of a month long slump.

I've been completely wrapped up in all the things that I / we haven't yet achieved, finished, purchased, et cetera. It's a coping problem--we've planned the plan and now we're working the plan and there just isn't anything that's going to make life speed up. And, really, who wants to speed life up?

Finally a little light bulb kind of buzzed and blinked on for me: part of the reason I'm so emotionally tapped is that I have been neglecting to make the tiny extra effort to go for the good stuff. Quality. Substance. Stuff that makes me happy, fills me up, gives me a little extra boost.

So, that's my summer experiment: go for the good stuff. Quality over quantity, substance over the superficial.

Kind of like Ali's "One Word" (which is TOTALLY working for me, by the way). I'm going to surf NPR instead of PerezHilton (okay, maybe in addition to). Buy the good shoes instead of 5 pairs of flip-flops. Go to the local market instead of the grocery store. You get the idea.

And, on a totally unrelated note: here's Claire at her second dance recital. Holy cow, things change, huh?

{Warmed Us Right Up}

2007-05-22T15:41:00.000-06:00

Claire and I caught this little story on NPR yesterday and loved it so much we've gone back for another couple of listens. Check it out:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10305707

Miss Arabesque

2007-05-20T20:52:00.000-06:00

Praise Be, she totally stuck the arabesque at the Sunday recital. Saturday was good, but a little wobbly. We're all a little relieved to be through the recital...and almost to the end of May.

{Good Stuff}

2007-05-13T11:35:00.000-06:00

Had one of those enlightening experiences at church Sunday. Our choir is sort of locally known for being wonderful. Most Sundays there is at least one song that is so wonderful that I have to physically restrain myself to keep from applauding. Today was one of those days - but even to a greater degree. I literally couldn't speak afterward for fear of crying. (Yes, on a good day they are that good.)

And it got me to thinking. People really ought pursue their creative passions whether they have any glimmer of hope of ever making the big time. Seriously, the best art is art that is personally experienced. So, consider it your civic duty to start that garage band, or perform in the local theater. You might make someone's day.

All kinds of other good stuff going on too:

New Bedroom Furniture! For the first time ever. Ever. I'm really happy with it, even managed to paint my room before it was delivered. I feel like I've been painting constantly for the past 4 years. I guess I probably have been--I never even finished painting all the rooms in League City and then we moved. Only 2.5 rooms to go in this one. Then, if I'm lucky I can start all over again in another house. Maybe. I hope.

Also on Sunday my nephew graduated from High School. Graduations just make me all emotional. High School graduation is such a huge rite of passage. In way it reminds me of bringing a baby home from the hospital. Leading up to the day there is all this guidance and structure and then BOOM. It's over, get out...buh-bye. You are free to go, on your own. Go to college or don't, whatever. Crazy stuff, that freedom.

Cinco Deeee Mayo

2007-05-07T10:33:00.000-06:00

We had a party. A little fiesta - and I didn't take any pictures! I started to take a few, decided I should wait 'til the party was in full swing...and then never thought about it again. Even though I have no compelling photographic evidence, it was fun. Get a load of our fancy keg cooling system. Hmmm, maybe those New Yorkers were right about us after all.

I did carve out time to complete one layout on National Scrapbook Day - and I'm really happy with it. I just got my Basic Grey distressing tools from Two Peas and I have two things to say:

1) How did I ever survive without these tools? Seriously, they make covering chipboard unbelievably easy. I'll never go back to sandpaper and emery boards.

2) Two Peas shopping ROCKS. Again, "seriously". I got the stuff in like, a minute and a half.

{Holy Schnike!}

2007-05-02T22:19:00.000-06:00

So, I was just (obsessively) checking my work webmail to see if there was any news on a potential server crash when I decided I'd take a peek at my blog stats.

A decent number of hits considering I hadn't posted in a few days--but three from New York? Interesting.... So, I dig a little deeper.

And there it was.

These three hits were from MARTHA STEWART LIVING. As I live and breathe. You see for me this is as big as, oh I don't know, a visit from the president. Okay, way better than that.

Why, oh why did I have to dis' their scrapbooking stuff?

COME ON BACK MSLO PEOPLE!! You can hire me as your ace midwestern scrapbooking consultant, you surely need a design team (all the big scrapbook lines have them)--pick me!

I'm never going to wash my blog again...

Yes, I am offended.

2007-04-27T08:52:00.000-06:00

Alrighty, where to start...?

The new Martha Stewart crafting line is hitting the streets. I managed to get a sneak peek last night at Michaels. I have to admit, I've been searching the internet for weeks to get even the slightest hint at what the line might include. So, I was pretty excited to see the display. It's quite impressive I must say...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Along with the product launch there has been just a bit of media attention. After my Michael's shopping experience I happened to stumble upon the Wall Street Journal article heralding Martha's entrance into the craft market.

This particular article was fairly poorly researched and was mildly offensive. It referred to the craft industry as "dowdy" and reported that the MS products would basically bring the hobby up a couple of notches with it's innovative products. Well, I have to tell you...as much as I love Martha, this line is anything but innovative. In fact, it's only slightly less dowdy than, oh, maybe Mrs. Grossman's stickers.

The displays are really impressive, very sleek, very Martha. I loved the glitter, some of the ribbons looked pretty cute, and there were a couple of sort of retro looking stickers that I was interested in. I was most interested in the food related items...boxes and wax papers for packaging baked goods as gifts. Super-cute. Unfortunately, most of the directly scrapbooking related stuff was, well, a big disappointment.

So, anyway, back to being offended. I guess it's pretty normal for wsj articles to spawn other articles in other pubs. There was one in particular that I found via a TWO PEAS thread that kind of sent me over the edge. I'm not going to provide a link to it because, frankly, I don't think they deserve the traffic. But, they referred to scrapbooking as a "white trash hobby". And their readers had some equally gracious and informed comments to share. Such as, "Scrapbooking is NASCAR for fat women." or "I hate all crafts, but seriously scrapbooking is the lowest form of it. I can't think of anything more lame."

Yes, I am offended. To the point where I cannot even begin a rebuttal.

{Honk Jr. and the Three Drunk Bros.}

2007-04-25T20:36:00.000-06:00

The third grade did a spectacular job with their performance on Saturday. Honk Jr. was a wonderful success. Gosh, they worked hard. It was really amazing to see these kids on stage and remembering so many lines and songs.

In other news, we're pleased to report that The Birch Lane Brewery has expanded to include a gleaming new second brewhouse. In addition, we've taken on an apprentice brewer (on a trial basis...)

This weekend, work was underway on our third brew which will be unveiled at our 3rd Annual Cinco de Mayo Fiesta. We finally got the equipment, and this one will be a kegger!

The cerveza is tentatively titled, "Tres Hermanos Bebidos". Translation: Three Drunk Brothers (aka 3DB). Not sure I got the spanish right--I'm open to suggestions on that.

CKC-St. Louis

2007-04-15T11:24:00.000-06:00

It was good this year!

I'd have to say that the shopping was the best part. I went a little crazy over acrylic stamps and more than doubled my collection. I also got some stickles-(glittery glue stuff)--and I really like it. I wasn' sure until I saw that nearly every LO at the Technique Tuesday booth had stickles.
I also ended up with a pretty good new stash of pp and a few new brads and a whole bunch of other stuff that is just slipping my mind at this point. Disappointments in the shopping area were that I couldn't find any Heidi Swapp -or- any Hambly. I'm also on the lookout for a large scalloped circle punch. (If you've seen one, please point me in the right direction.)

My favorite class was called "I Can See Clearly Now" If they offer the same classes at other CKCs...just note that one gets a big, big nod of approval. I believe Paper Crafts sponsored that one. We used transparencies, clear stamps, clear buttons and slides. Cute stuff. REALLY cute, actually.

{Whew!}

2007-04-09T21:41:00.000-06:00

We made it! Survived the double-whammy weekend of Baby Shower and Easter Feast. ... just a few pictures from all the activities:

(That's a pretty geeky coffee mug collection, huh?)

My Easter Challah. Kind of culturally confused, but dang, this stuff is g-o-o-d.

Pictures from the shower. I was so tired afterward I needed two naps, Aleve -and- Tylenol to bring me back to life.

I didn't buy this, but can't wait for Elsie to wear it!

Some Pictures

2007-04-03T21:10:00.000-06:00

Just a couple--

A few peeks at some of the shower projects. And, one of Claire and I that Dawn took the other day. If you haven't looked at her gallery, you really need to. (See link to Dawn Goodwin Photography). Dawn rocks.

In case you're wondering, I made the boxes with Cricut "Tags, Bags, Boxes & More".

My LO shots didn't work out today. It was storming, not much natural light. I did try using the flash...and it made a big white reflection on the LO. Will have to wait for a better day.

{Best Intentions...}

2007-04-02T14:37:00.000-06:00

Today I was planning to start catching up on posting the LOs I've been working on all winter. But, alas, technology is once again conspiring against me. I have long ago given up the evil scanner in lieu of the much less cranky digital camera. Unfortunately, the camera's batteries are dead. Maybe tomorrow.

baby baby baby

2007-03-31T23:11:00.000-06:00

Up to my ears in baby stuff, working on favors for my sister's shower. We're doing sort of a floral theme--A Baby Is Blooming!--isn't that cute? We have all kinds of sweet little surprises. The floral in the little circle is from Rhonna Farrer, by the way.

I'm searching for shoes to wear to the shower--all I have are heels and my foot is still not okay. The latest theory is that it's a stress fracture. This is a little upsetting to me for a couple of reasons, but primarily because I realize that if I don't start cutting back on the Diet Lime Cokes that my whole skeleton will become a stress fracture. (I won't say how many I'm up to per day, it's a lot.) Also trying to decide if it's okay for a grown woman to wear footless tights/leggings with a skirt. 'Cause I really want to but there's a fine line between Audrey Hepburn and Hillary Duff. And I really shouldn't cross it. (Stream of conciousness...try to follow: shoes, feet, tights...)

I bought a bottle of whiskey (I hear Pete Yorn when I read that) tonight at the grocery store. It felt a little weird seeing it on the belt with all my very family grocery items. Alton Brown has a ham recipe that involves whiskey and a squirt bottle...really. I couldn't make that up. It's darn tootin', too. So, I told D the whiskey was for Easter. He didn't even flinch.

Where oh where have I been?

2007-03-28T13:06:00.000-06:00

Took a little time away from the blog. Back with a new look.

What's going on? Well, let's see...

I'm in the midst of planning a baby shower for my sister, working working working, dreaming of a Disney trip, and counting the days until the CKC convention in St. Louis (actually Collinsville, but what ev...)

My left foot is swollen to an embarassingly puffy state for no apparent reason. I have now had more kinds of ultrasounds than I care to list. But, the good news I don't have a blood clot that will strike me down anytime soon. I feel like an old woman--or I would, if it weren't for the fact that I've been carded for buying beer TWICE in the past two weeks. Once would have been a fluke right? Twice MUST mean I am eternally youthful.

Spring is absolutely upon us and I can barely wait to start planting. D bought me a cute little porch rocker for the...um... porch. (duh) It looks great next to my little ikea table. Now I sit in the rocker every afternoon and wait for Claire to get off the bus.

Other things that are in the works for us: backyard landscaping and patio plans, basement finishing, Cinco de Mayo party and "cerveza style" home brew--which will be in a keg. (Finally we're going to have that kegger.) Whew. We're gonna be busy.

{the felted purse bandwagon AND procrastination}

2007-02-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm on the felted purse bandwagon. I'm not a total follower...I had been sorta kinda wanting to make a felted purse for ages but Donna Downey's bag is what finally got me off my butt.

http://donnadowney.typepad.com/

Is that not the cutest thing? I tried really hard to find the same stinking colors for my bag but couldn't. I ended up with heathery green and blue.

I finished my purse a couple of weeks ago and have been meaning to post a picture--I realize it's kind of pointless to blog about it without the picture. I didn't take a picture of the purse but I did start working on this post a few days ago but didn't have time to publish it. Now I have the time to finish and publish the post, but I'm in Houston. And I don't have the purse or my camera. Did I mention that my mom started her felted bag about the same time I did and I think she's already on her fourth one. Don't know what else to say about that. But if I owe you email or a birthday card or something this should paint a picture for you.

This knitting thing is crazy. I'm so addicted that I stashed my leftover wool and some knitting needles in my carry on. I'm knitting on the road. I think I have enough yarn leftover to make a little makeup bag to match my purse. Maybe I'll post a picture of it on my blog.

On a completely different note, it is most exciting to be Houston this time of year. It's supposed to be in the mid-70s for my entire trip. Ahhh.... I'm just soaking up the warmth and humidity. My skin is happy.

Pictures!

2007-01-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the collage was somewhat hastily thrown together, but I'm excited to be back in the photo business. I had been having some wicked bad problems with the Kodak s/w and finally just gave up on it. Had to completely and painstakingly remove every tiny bit and piece of it.

About the collage: the background paper is Rhonna Farrer (from Two Peas) and I don't claim to know or be any of the people in the photos.

In other news...
Claire had her long hair cut and we mailed a 10.5 inch ponytail to Locks of Love. I'm so proud of her. And, she looks really cute with her short hair! A great way to start the new year.

{Things You Don't Hear Everyday}

2006-12-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

Mother and daughter overheard in the Los Angeles airport:
"Come on, hurry up. I mean it...[frustrated pause]...the limo is waiting."

The glamour factor in my life is clearly too low. I never have to use that one on my daughter.

Ice Ice Baby

2006-11-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well, when Claire wakes up in the morning she'll find that her prayers were answered. She will experience her first snow day ever.

She literally prayed for school to be canceled. I, on the other hand, am praying that we don't lose power. Last time I checked the news 80,000 people in the St. Louis area were without power. And, from time to time we notice our lights flickering a bit. Yikes. We keep waiting for the snow...but don't think it'll be here 'til after midnight. Ice is really beautiful though. Our icicle lights are now real icicles. Maybe I'll get a few pictures in the morning.

On a completely different note, I need a laptop bag. Who knows where I can find a cute one (that doesn't cost $400?) I've got another trip coming up and need to find one soon.

{Wireless}

2006-11-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, I'm a little slow to pick up on new technology...but I'm wireless now and pretty dang excited about it. New laptop, new router. I feel all shiny. (I realize that wi-fi has been around for a while now but it's new to me.)

Leave it to me to be able to girl-ify this technological breakthrough. I spent all morning looking for a laptop bag. (The standard-issue Dell bag is not going to cut it.) I was thrilled to find the perfect one- a soft black leather Michael Kors bag, with Chanel-esque quilting, beautiful distressed brass buckle. I was not thrilled to find that it was completely out of my price range. Sigh. Maybe Santa will come through for me. Santa?

Anyway, so far my long holiday weekend has been great. Dinner with D's family, lot's of shopping yesterday, and best of all, I cleaned my oven today. I've lived here a year and a half and had not yet cleaned the oven. I was really fearful of the self-cleaning thing--kept thinking it would cause the entire stove to explode. I realize that's irrational but things tend not to work right the first few times in this house. So I procrastinated. Until I could no longer use the oven without setting off the smoke alarms. Yes, really. So, without going into any more detail, I used the self-clean function, the stove did not explode, the house did not burn down, and my oven is ready for the Christmas food-fest. We will have smoke-free cookies this year. Also, now that I'm over my fear of oven cleaning I think I'll do it more often and the world will be a better place.

{This message was brought to you from the living room sofa.}

These Look Like Nice Folks...

2006-11-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

{yes...still here}

2006-11-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

But I haven't touched the blog since before Halloween! Yikes, I've been busy. Traveling more than I ever expected. That should slow down considerably, though. Need to start focusing on the holidays. I plan to make Christmas cards this year, but I don't know. So far not feeling the magic. I guess I'll come up with something. I haven't tackled anything fun since before my last post (when I was aching to start something creative). It never happened and now I'm just too tired.

On the Road

2006-10-23T20:59:00.000-06:00

That's where I've been. For the better part of a month I have been away from home...out of state...gone. Between vacation and business trips I have logged a gazillion miles.
And, as fun as it all has been, I'm tired. And it's taking a toll. Miss Claire is acting out, the house is a disaster, I'm crabby as hell, the cat is traumatized, and D is stressed (okay, that's not exactly new).

Travel always provides me with ample reading time but now I am literally STARVED for a creative project. I need to plow through my list of overdue tasks first but, dang, I want to pick up some kind of project. I'm going to have to hold off until I can diminish the mountain of laundry waiting for me.

I have been catching up on my blog reading. I hate that both Cathy Z and Rhonna F have stopped blogging. Two of my favorites.

Alrighty, I don't have much else to say. Except maybe:

GO CARDS!!

{Still Recovering}

2006-09-30T22:53:00.000-06:00

The Disney trip was great fun...we got home Wednesday evening. The laundry's finally done (and put away!) but I still haven't bounced back. So, another lame post - at least I'm giving you a picture to make up for it.

Birthday Number Nine

2006-09-14T22:13:00.000-06:00

Keep 'em busy was my strategy and it worked.

A little late in reporting - but we did manage to survive the slumber party. It'll be a while before I decide we should do this again. It was, though, a great party. Miss Claire was beside herself, "it was the best party EVER." No one fought, no one cried...only one thing got broken.

The girls got a huge kick out of the old "who am I" party game. I printed a bunch of 'tween heroes and popular character names on adhesive mailing labels and stuck them to their foreheads. They walked around asking questions about their character and tried to guess who they were. They played so much that their little heads were getting red spots from the stickers.

I had a ton of help - my mom and my neice were brave enough to face eight screaming girls. The girls thought my neice was so cool and so pretty. (and she is!)

My secret weapon was High School Musical. The sheer mass appeal of that movie astounds me. I have never, ever seen anything like the High School Musical phenomenon. Every single girl knew every word of every single song, dance move, character, movie flaw. And they don't get sick of it, ever. Ever.

{The Morality of Art}

2006-09-12T08:41:00.000-06:00

Forgive me for being just a little bit introspective after the 9/11 anniversary. I spent a good deal of the day yesterday reflecting on the terrorist attacks and how the world has changed, how I may have changed. It's important to remember. For me remembering brought me to consider what in life is really important and worthwhile. And that lead me to think long and hard about how I spend my time.

Is scrapbooking a self indulgent, colossal waste of time bordering on sinfulness? Shouldn't I be feeding the poor? Shouldn't I be sheltering the homeless?

As I turned it over and over in my mind throughout the day I began to see the importance of art in human life. Art is the language, the medium for conveying, communicating, and decoding complex human emotions and experiences. It touches us deep within to help release feelings of joy, love, grief. Art not only enriches our lives but it eases our hardships.

Is scrapbooking Art with a capital "A"? Does art have to be world-class to be worthwhile?

No.

First of all, the process is beneficial to the scrapbook artist. Not only is the need to create a very real, driving force for many of us...the very process of creating feeds us. It is meditation, reflection, stress relief, refreshment.

Your work and my work matters. It matters to us, it matters to our families. It matters to our fellow scrapbookers. We are frontline artists. We create homespun art on a very, very personal and local scale. We create art that touches lives on a personal level that no "real" artist can reach.

That doesn't sound like a waste of time at all.

Crabby

2006-09-08T13:16:00.000-06:00

Yup. Crabby. If you happen to be one of those people who will interact with me in person--consider yourself warned.

I'm a little overwhelmed with getting ready for the big ol' party. The monkey cake isn't going to turn out the way I thought it would. The house is still dirty. I still need a million dollars.

But, to be honest...that's not what is really behind all the crabbiness. I believe the real-deal is that I didn't get to attend a certain meeting at work. Ridiculous, I know. It is suddenly super-duper obvious to me that I am:

1. a glory hound

and

2. a terrible behind the scenes person

It's not that I can't be behind the scenes...I can. It just KILLS me to stay there.

So. There you have it. Not very flattering. Oh-- and no photo to go with this post. You really don't need to see me pout.

{Kansas City}

2006-09-05T09:54:00.000-06:00

What a great place!

We enjoyed a long weekend shopping on the plaza and visiting the Ren Faire. We're not exactly back in the swing of things but we are unpacked and I did manage to download my photos.

Boy, they sure like dogs in KC...lots o' dogs on leashes (and in baby carriers) and all the shops had water bowls outside their doors for the dogs. Crazy.

More later - I've got to get my life back in order!

High School Football

2006-08-28T21:19:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy weekend followed by a busy Monday. School is back in full swing...but thankfully the extra-curricular stuff won't kick in for a few more days.

This summer my daughter took part in a dance camp hosted by one of the local high schools. The experience culminates each year in a performance at the first home game--which was this weekend. Claire did a beautiful job dancing and just generally had lots o'fun. The people-watching opps at the game were amazing. I could barely focus on the football with so much teenage drama unfolding all around me. You couldn't pay me to go through high school again.

And, I've been scrapbooking! Haven't scanned anything yet but will soon. I also re-organized my printed paper stash. I have a big thick stack of paper to give away so I can start using the even bigger stack of paper I've acquired recently. There is more good stuff out there than a girl can buy and use. I got a box from Stampin Up! on Friday. I bought a couple of Christmas sets and they are CUTE. I want to start working on cards but I haven't quite settled on a design yet. It's better not to force the issue...it'll come to me in time.

{Funny Little Poem}

2006-08-23T12:08:00.000-06:00

I've been reading the Jill Carroll story on Christian Science Monitor each day and tend to surf their site a bit afterwards. I saw this funny little poem...cute and old fashioned.

The Proof is in the Pudding
By Glenna Holloway

Be more aloof
With chocolate pudding
Lest your proof
Gain too much padding.

Anyway, here's a link to the Monitor...check out the story, it's fascinating.
http://www.csmonitor.com/

I realize I haven't posted a LO in ages...(those digi things don't count! That's just a way to publish a couple photos to the blog at one time.) I'll do better now that the invitations are finished.

Enough Already

2006-08-22T22:45:00.000-06:00

Okie dokie, I've tinkered enough with the BLOG template. You can't tell I've done anything? Well, that's because I always un-do it. I know just enough html to be a serious hazard at the computer. I did manage to replace my links on the sidebar and make all the titles match. That's as much as a french major can handle on her own I think.

It's been busy here. Yes, I did finish that baby hat. I haven't taken a pic yet but it's CUTE. A little problem with the size...more like a toddler's hat. I can live with it.

Getting ready for our first slumber party. I must be crazy. Here's a peek at the invites.

That's all I have for now - it's a school night!

{A New Look}

2006-08-10T22:54:00.000-06:00

Still tweaking the blog...decided a new look was in order. I'm still considering a different banner...but nothing to show just yet.
Finished LOs for a design team call and it flat took it out of me. I'm creatively drained.... My first instinct was to pick up something totally different and that's what I've done. I'm trying knitting (again). I think the reason I never really progressed is that I didn't find a project appropriate to my skill level. Scarves were just too boring, afghan too big, tea cozy...yeah, not ready for that. This time it's going to be a baby beret. I refuse to buy any more yarn but I am going to have to spring for some more needles.
I'm also feeling inspired to clean out the craft closet. It'll be a miracle if that urge sticks with me. But, stranger things have been known to happen.
Anyway, sorry for the boring post. Not even any cute pictures.

Wacky Tapas

2006-08-06T20:53:00.000-06:00

In spite of struggling with a wicked cold I've managed quite a full weekend. Much to report.

First of all, the St. Louis Scrapbook Tour was great. The shopping was only so-so but the classes were super-fun. We took the Rusty Pickle paper bag class and the Gin-X "match made in heaven class"--taught by Ginger herself! Ginger was great--laid back, really nice. I think we may drive to Indianapolis to take more of her classes. My sister and I worked the paper bag album concept into some mini-baby albums using white lunch bags. They are so cute I can hardly stand it.

Pale to the Queen

A Fine English Ale Engi-Brewed For Your Pleasure

Saturday night to celebrate the unveiling of Brew Number Two we held our first annual "Wacky Tapas" dinner party. Why wacky you ask? Well, we wanted a tapas party...but there was no spanish cuisine at the table. In fact, not much of what was on the table could be considered "cuisine" with the possible exception of my bruschetta. (imagine I'm Giada when you read that). Anyway, there you have it, Wacky Tapas.

And, in case you're wondering what's next for the Birch Lane Brewery...we're thinking KEGGER! Seriously. Plans are in work for a seasonal brew to be ready in time for an autumn kegger/bonfire extravaganza chez nous.

{scrrrreeeeech}

2006-08-03T15:01:00.000-06:00

Whew--Gotta put the brakes on my previous pouty post!
CarlaSofia put my SweetiePea LO on the 2Ps PeaNut Praise board! Such a sweet thing to do and I found it totally by accident. Big ThankYou to Carla. Boosted my spirits like you wouldn't believe. Off to Target.
{edited} OH! and Thank You's to Ammie and Lynda for the kind words as well. I was in such a rush to get to Target I forgot to put that in. ~T.

Sweetie Pea

2006-08-02T21:11:00.000-06:00

Dawn took over a hundred photos of Claire at my sisters house this spring with her new camera. They're pretty much all amazing. I love this LO--but I must be the only one. It's not exactly causing a stir on Two-Peas. I'm such a glutton for validation--I totally need to get over it.

Today I volunteered to work at our elementary school registration. Zow-ie, there are some special people out there. It's been a long time since I've had to deal with the general public.

Claire was super-happy to spend some time at her new school and to even bump into a few old classmates.

Other than that...well, nothing. Friday can't get here soon enough.

{Chloe the Cat}

2006-08-01T08:35:00.000-06:00

Here she is, Miss Chloe. She likes to hang with me in my studio while I'm scrapping or working at the computer. This is her favorite spot, under the ribbon basket. Her second favorite spot is behind the desk where she plays with the PC wires. It's really hard to fish her out of there. Just more of her dangerous living. I keep trying different ways to block the opening.
I've started calling our study "my studio". It really bugs D, I think that's mostly why I do it. It was his idea to combine the study and my scrapbooking room (which allowed us to have a guest room). Unfortunately for him, between my scrapping and working at home I've pretty much taken over the place. I'm not sure he's still loving his brilliant idea.

Stinky Chloe4

Linear Foreign Object

2006-07-31T21:16:00.000-06:00

Cats have very small brains--and (luckily) nine lives.

My little Chloe's just used number two of her nine.
She found something unraveling (no idea what) and decided to eat it. Apparently vets call this Linear Foreign Object ingestion. Apparently it's a very common thing for cats to do. And, apparently it kills a lot of cats.

I discovered this little problem as we were flying out the door to go boating with D's family. I was worried but didn't realize how serious this could be until afterward when I had time to google it. (What did people do before the internet?) I'm relieved to say that she appears to be out of the woods. In case you're wondering, the first life was spent when she decided to climb the stairs on the outside of the railing and fell from upstairs to the hardwood foyer below. She's all cat...what else can I say. I tried to upload a picture of the little stinker but Blogger isn't cooperating. I'll try again later.
St. Louis Scrapbook Tour is this week! Signed up for a Rusty Pickle class and a class with Ginger Rohlfs (Gin-X). And, of course, looking forward to lots o' shopping.

{Me and My Sweetie}

2006-07-27T13:12:00.000-06:00

Isn't she just the cutest? Nothing else to post now...must work (as in real, actual work.) I've been working like crazy this week. I can't say how much because my friends who work full time will fall out of their rolling desk chairs and sustain injuries from laughing so hard. (It's a lot to me and that's what's important.)

By the way--I decided to add the cute little brackets to my title because that's what the cool girls are doing. :-) Oh, and how 'bout some comments? No one ever leaves any...

Back to the salt mines.

Baby B and I'm no Heidi Swapp

2006-07-24T23:10:00.000-06:00

Just finished my "Baby B" book for some friends who are expecting a baby boy very, very soon. Here's a peek:

In other news, I came to the realization that no matter what I do I will never, ever turn into Heidi Swapp. That's a shame, 'cause she's really got it goin' on. I guess there should only be one Heidi Swapp anyway. I just read that big, giant Heidi Swapp embellishment kits are now available at Costco. I need to find a friend who's a member...or...maybe I can talk my dad into joining! It's pathetic the depths one will sink to just to get a big load of really cool embellies.

On a totally un-Heidi-related note, we went to the drive-in last night. It was super-fun. I had hoped to do a "drive-in" LO, but the pics are kinda fuzzy. Not sure it'll work out. We'll just have to see.

The Aforementioned Strappy Heels:

2006-07-22T14:42:00.000-06:00

Lovely things, aren't they? And so nice for running.

Check yesterday's post for details.

Sweet Mother of Pearl...

2006-07-21T22:31:00.000-06:00

...we had drama today.

For the second time in three days we had a big (b-i-g) storm that caught me by surprise. So just as I'm stepping out of the tub (yeah) the wind starts blowing and the sirens start wailing. I manage to pull on shorts and a t-shirt, forget about hair and makeup. DD and I stumble down the basement stairs, grab the flashlight, and set up the handy little portable TV so we can catch the weather report. I'm tuning in and DD realizes she's barefoot so finds a pair of strappy heels--how an eight year old gets a pair of strappy heels is a story for another day--and puts them on.

The weather man says Doppler radar indicates rotation right over my house, take cover immediately. (Okay, that's not exactly what he said but it's close.) Hmmm...not good. Hail outside, sounds of chairs flying, swing set flipping over. DD points out fairly large amounts of water dripping on the floor, I investigate, determine it's mainly condensation from the A/C ductwork and feel a little nervous about its proximity to a bunch of electrical cable.

And, that's when it got ugly.

Every flippin' smoke alarm in the house starts blaring. My heart sinks. Lightening strike? Water meets electricity? I figure I don't have time to investigate, we've got to get out of the house. We fly up the stairs, don't smell smoke--forget the stupid cat--out the front door. We stop on the porch. DD says, "where are we going to go?" Crap. Rotation right over my house. Driving rain, flooded street. Cowering on neighbor's porch doesn't seem safe. I remember seeing another neighbor standing in his driveway so I figure it's a safe bet he's home. We tear down the flooded street. Me in my stupid t-shirt and no makeup, DD in strappy heels. Luckily whole family is there...from the basement they hear banging on their front door and very kindly offer shelter to the soaking wet, nearly hysterical woman and little girl in strappy heels.

Anyway, it's twelve-plus hours later and I'm still feeling a little wobbly from the adrenaline rush. I'm incredibly grateful to my neighbors and plan to bake them something spectacular as a thank you. And, no, the house didn't burn down. It was just some driving rain that accumulated around one of the upstairs smoke alarms and caused it to short out.

I realize this is irrational, but I'm ticked off at my house. It didn't shelter me. It put me and my daughter in harm's way. All for a little puddle of water that it shouldn't have let in. I didn't like the house too much to begin with. Not sure this bodes well in a stagnant housing market with rising interest rates. One of us is going to have to make some serious changes or this relationship is going to get messy.

Busy Doing Nothing

2006-07-17T22:38:00.000-06:00

Feels like nothing at least. I'm constantly running, making lists, but when I sit back and think--nothing is really happening. Laundry and errands are not too interesting. No wonder all I ever want to do is scrapbook.

We did manage to finish redecorating DD's room. I guess, technically, we're decorating this room for the first time. Painted it Tinkerbell Green ( = glowing lime green) and found a really sweet asian-inspired comforter called "Tearoom". Perfect for her. We even sawed the handles off a couple of her silk umbrellas and hung them on the walls. If you haven't figured it out yet, DD is crazy for all things asian. So, it looks like " 'Tweens in China" Actually turned out really great.

Speaking of DD, here she is four years and two houses ago, in my latest LO:

Altered F/Altered Attitude

2006-07-13T22:43:00.000-06:00

Found myself feeling discouraged last night. Self-doubt, self loathing. Pretty pathetic. I couldn't deal with any more LO work so I decided to start working on my "Altered F". (I had been looking for a large letter "F" to hang with my picture collage in the stairway. I gave up looking in home dec stores and decided--even though altering things isn't really my thing--to buy one at the scrapbook store and see if I could make it work.)

Somehow, while altering the letter F I had a bit of clarity and managed to alter my attitude at the same time. I realized that I had become way too self-absorbed and decided that in the morning I'd devote myself and my time to other people. Like my friends, my family. Not by doing anything heroic, but just keeping up my end of the social/family contract. And, at the end of this day, I 'm feeling pretty good about it. My list of deeds isn't super-impressive but you know what--it doesn't have to be. I did my part...maybe even a little extra.

Flashback! Remember when beaded pens were the rage? Well, I made a bunch of them for the Peacock ASCAN class (2004??). My friend Amy wanted one too and I promised to make one for her. Infertility treatments, miscarriage, and a cross-country move sort of monopolized my time and attention for a while but I decided that on my day for others I should take the time to honor my promise. So, here they are, the beaded peacock pens:

As it turns out the original pens suffered from a design flaw (they began to separate at the seams). I think I corrected it so, in theory, Amy's getting the better end of the deal. I just hope she subcribes to the "better late than never" philosophy.