When I'm bored...

....or, why I'm glad paint is inexpensive....

I painted my Kitchen/Dining room, (again). When we bought the house, there were these funky coppery 50s tiles in the kitchen. I love them. The walls are nearly the same cinnamon-y color now.

These pictures found a home.

This painting feels right at home.

The wall, the tile, the cabinets, and a reflection of the cook~book~ends.

Out with a bang!

Well, my friends, I am one lucky ducky.

I received this beautiful journal from a girlfriend for Christmas. I sat down this afternoon to write in it, and reflected on the year past. My life. My blessings. Wow. I have so much to be thankful for. While my life is no where near perfect, I am happy. I have what I want, and I want what I have. It's a great place to be.

I also made my New Year's resolutions, all resembling the resolutions I've made for the last several years....hmm....

I decided to make small {feasible} changes to benefit my health. You know...finally lose the baby weight {from the baby that is now, ahem, 3 years old}, eat more healthily, etc. I've come to the conclusion that the easiest way to begin, is with baby steps. Step one: take the cream out of my coffee. So far, so good. Until tonight. It seemed only fitting to have one last hurrah...thus, this is the beverage of the evening. Good bye delicious mounds of foamy whipped cream. I will miss you. My thighs, however, bid you adieu.

Heaven

I've been thinking a lot about Heaven lately. I'm not sick. Just dying. Eventually. Like the rest of the world.

My kids ask about it...they want to know what it will be like. Well, I know that it is wonderful. WONDERFUL! W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L!!

We talk about how great it will be there. That we'll get to meet Noah, Jonah, Mary and Joseph, King David, et al. How it will be better than any place on earth. They'll get to meet grandparents they didn't know here. It will be awesome! Beautiful! Delicious!

And you know, those are the terms in which I've often thought of Heaven. How great it will be (and it will!). But the One MOST IMPORTANT REASON for wanting to be there, was usually left out of those thoughts. Am I kidding me?! Jesus will be there! We'll be able to sing His praises. He. is. there. That's why I want to be there. That's why I want to want to be there. That is why I want my kids to want to be there. Not because it is some magical land of wonderfulness. But because the Saviour of our souls is there, waiting for us!

I get so caught up, sometimes, that my focus shifts from the reason I'm here. The Reason for this Glorious Season. Christmas. CHRISTmas. Jesus Christ was born. And died. For me. (and for You!) HE is in Heaven. But the best news of all is that He paid the price of admission.

May you not lose sight of the Reason.

Merry Christmas!

Does anyone have a paper bag?

She has a boyfriend....I mean, a "special friend". A little more special than some of her other boy friends, but not as special as her girl friends, who are also special friends. (Initially she labeled him "boyfriend," but I think my eyes spoke a language that made her do a quick down grade.)

She's FIVE. I realize that this is likely nothing to get worked up over, but perhaps you've noticed by now that I tend to be dramatic. REALLY dramatic.

He gave her a gift today. Thank goodness. Because up until she walked to my waiting arms this afternoon, I was unaware of any unrelated special males in her life. I asked why this boy was giving her a gift. Did he give everyone a gift? No? Um. Are you his girlfriend? Yes? Is he your boyfriend? Whaaauuuh?! *nervous laugh on my part*

Well. Hmmm. I was hoping to deal with this in 5 years. Is it too late to start home-schooling?

Twice IS Nice

I was driving by a local thrift shop yesterday evening, and spied this lovely little table. I stopped and peeked in the window, and the price sticker? Eighteen dollars! The store was closed, so I had to spend the evening and night wondering if I would make it in in time to snatch it up. Whew! I did. It's mine and I love it.

I thought I would wander through the store a bit, and happened upon these beautiful sisters:

I'm not exactly sure where they're going just yet, but had to share them with you. Aren't they wonderful? They fit my home so well...they feel sort of Courier and Ives. Oh! And they were marked down from $40 to $20, for the pair!

Merry Christmas to ME! And you, too!

It's Boookay...

My favorite way to pine away the hours (or half hour) on Saturday evening? This. And of course, this, too.

Am I completely lame? I do believe I am. :)

Tree

yarn on fabric stretched over canvas

Brilliant Jane

A present to me {from me} arrived today.

So, I'll see you in 20 hours.

so much to do....so lots of time....

I'm sitting here wishing that I had some clever project to share. I don't. I have tons of things rolling around my brain...but I'm not clear on how to convey those types of things with you.

My bedroom is so awesome {in my mind's eye}. You should see the bedding! {but you can't...since it isn't tangible.} And the paint color is perfect. Perfect green? Perfect brown? Perfect red? I'm not positive, although I'm pretty sure it's not the current color.

And the end table....my husband is going to make me the perfect little table...he just doesn't know it yet. After which, he'll make the little nook bench...and I'll make the cushions and pillows.

My kitchen keeps telling me it wants to be brown. Like coffee. Or chocolate. I hate when it does that! Can't it just be happy where it is?!

You should see my house once I'm finished with all the projects I want {my husband} to do. :)

I think I should seek contentment this Christmas. I found it awhile ago, but it got lost under that imaginary bedding. Stink.

A bedtime funny....

her: Dear God, thank you for my mom and my dad and my brother. Amen.

him: Dear God, I forgive you for all my family. Amen.

crackle crackle

I was busy switching the clothes from the washer to the dryer when I heard it. A quiet, little, crackly kind of sound. I froze. No sound. I tried to reassure myself it was nothing. Certainly not a mouse. Went back to the task at hand, pivoting from one appliance to the other. There it was again. Crackle crackle. Oh no. This time there was no denying the noise. I stopped. It did, too.

I am mentally running through the possibilities. A mouse, a bat, a rat--dear me, we'll have to burn the house down. (I lean towards the dramatic. Sometimes.)

That's when it hits me.

The sound. It isn't coming from a rodent. It's coming from me. My ankles. Every time I moved, my ankles crinkled and crackled. Well isn't this wonderful? Hello, thirty. I didn't think you were coming until May.

{wip}

(in very poor lighting)

Pear

A quick whip-up for today. Some linen. Some thread. Some stuffing.

Moms for Modesty

I found out about this here. ( lovely blog!)

Modesty! What a novel idea. Have you had to shop for a little girl in the last {1}5 years? Whew! There are definately some wonderful options in terms of modest dress, but you need to dig to find them. I want my little girl to look like a little girl. (Not a call girl.)

Skirts are short, jeans are low, shirts are fitted....what is going on?!

Moms for Modesty lists their mission statement:

* As a Mom for Modesty I believe in common-sense modesty for girls and young women.

* I believe in refraining from sexualizing our girls and young women.

* I believe that it is unwise and unfair to taunt boys and young men by permitting my daughter(s) to dress in an immodest manner.

* I believe that true beauty comes from within and I strive to teach my daughter(s) this truth.

* I will loyally shop at retailers that provide girls' and young womens clothing that is modest, affordable and stylish.

If you feel the same and want to sign on, you can do so here. They just grow up so fast, anyhow...

I was thinking...

(I know those words make my husband shudder.)

I really love my town. A lot. It's wonderful. BUT! As with all towns ~ everywhere ~ there are spaces and places overtaken by shady characters. You know, the places where you don't necessarily care to be alone at night. Places where everyone assumes that drug deals are being made, where teenagers are being taken from angst to addiction...places that should be filled with fun and innocence:

The skate park where children with fantastic abilities should be able to do their tricks, expend their energy, where they should be able to hang, and chill, and be unique and individual exactly like everyone else.

The beautiful park north of town where two "gangs" fought once, that should be a place for families with children to spend weekends picnicing, having bonfires, roasting s'mores...where everyone is now afraid to congregate past nightfall.

The strip club...where men are trapped in a lustful web of sin and deceit.

There are so many many wonderful corners of my town tainted by the evils of society. I've had enough. Do you know what I think would be enough to cure my town? Moms. Lots of them. Armed with coffee, cookies and prayer.

I think strategically placed groups of a dozen {or so} moms could cramp the style of all that is wrong in my town. Moms clapping after the coolio moves of the skateboarder. Moms offering cookies and hugs to the children who's mothers don't bake or shower them with love and snuggles. And moms making eye contact with the men walking past them and in to the strip joint.

As the "cool places" grow and change, the army of mothers could grow and change. We could love up all these lost souls, so that the void ~ that they are trying so hard to fill ~ isn't so empty.

Think it could work?

It's been one of those days, again.

You know the kind? When you finally tell your naughty son, "There will be a consequence. You'll have to wait until your father comes home." (age three is tougher than two--hands down.)

So, what is a gal to do after saying those words? Why not string together some beads? (Gotta do something to keep the sanity.)

The knitting is not going as planned. I can cast on like nobody's business. Nobody's. It's the stuff that comes after that part that isn't working out so well. Boo. But, beads...you can't really go wrong there. There's only one hole to poke through, and I can handle that!

And then there's the stew that I made yesterday that I had planned on serving through out the week. Uh, who knew that rutabaga and yams don't blend so well with green peppers? You know now. Even some wonderful parmigiano-reggiano didn't save it.

So, tonight my friends, tonight, Daddy's cooking. Which means we're eating out. So the dishes are a good catch for my necklace. (It is advisable, when contacting your husband about said naughty 3 year old, to do it while he's yelling in the background--it has more oomfph...and increases your chances of eating out.)

Maybe my favorite sister-in-law would prefer a necklace around her neck than a scarf?

I'm SOMEBODY!

I was in the coffee aisle of my favorite grocery store yesterday. I was trying to decide which flavor of coffee bean to chose (Highlander Grogg), when I noticed him. He was (sort of) patiently waiting for me to move. I was blocking one of the two grinders, and he wanted the one I was in front of. He apologetically mentioned that he didn't like how the unobstructed coffee grinder ground his coffee. He is picky. He is from Seattle.

There was a lot he wasn't saying...and I wasn't in a mood to engage, so I just scootched over, nodded an acknowledgement, got my beans and went on my merry way.

I couldn't help but feel sorry. Sorry that I didn't allow him to be SOMEBODY. You know. More than just anybody. He was from Seattle. Coffee Headquarters. He just wanted to be special. Not just an older, ordinary, lonely nobody. (Not in the creepy-I'm going to follow you home- kind of way.)

I've certainly been there. In the I'M SOMEBODY Doldrums. When life is little, and you want people to know that you're big. That you have a bachelor's degree. You wiped 2 butts, 10x a day, but you don't have applesauce mulling about in your brain. You're somebody. You're not "just a mom" (I know, that is my LEAST favorite phrase of all times) you're a designer, just on hiatus. (ahem, my email was born during that time period) *snicker*

You are more than meets the eye. You are interesting, and fun, and you know a lot of good junk. Only, it doesn't appear that way. It appears as if you don't own a mirror, and that the only clothes that fit you are stretchy. The former may be untrue, but the latter....well....

I just wish now that I would have been more sensitive to that poor old fellow. A simple, "wow, you must be picky! I hear Seattle really knows it's coffee" would have been easy for me to say, and could have been the kind of silly thing that made his day.

Ever felt like a nobody? My personal goal is going to be to make at least one person feel like a SOMEBODY every. single. day.

So, Mr. Seattle, next time, I'll ask for your personal recommendation in the coffee aisle.

I'm going to give it a go...

Knitting, that is. My fingers have always worked at a different speed than my brain. Every previous attempt as left me frustrated and flustered. This time will be different. This time my brain and fingers have vowed to work in tandem. We shall see...we shall see...

Special company

My parents are in the middle of a move. I have the distinct pleasure of furniture sitting for a little while. These two pieces were really lonely being stored, so I made them a tad more comfortable...(Mom, I promise that they aren't too comfortable, I will hand them back when you are ready!)

They belonged to my Great~Grandmother.

Aren't they wonderful?

Meme.me.me

I've been tagged by Visty for a meme. This is my first, and I really don't know what 5 things would be worth knowing about me....

Let's see...

1. I'm afraid of {almost} everything. Spiders, rodents, snakes, heights, birds, cats, losing control.....

2. I'm a control freak. I know it's something that I need to work on. I know that ultimately I am not in control, which, perhaps, is the reason I grasp for it any time I am able?

3. I love weirdness. The color of my kitchen is this strange green, and I only really like it because it's a little weird.

4. My dream is to open my own store, or 4. I have them all conceptualized, I've written notes and some general missions for all of them. I would like to be the maker of most of the stuff in at least one of these stores (I know, not entirely feasible, but since it's a dream, I figure I can aim high). One main problem, is that I don't care to make more than one of anything. I lose interest REALLY quickly once I know I can do something. We'll see if any of these ever come to fruition.

5. I love to love. Love it! You know; people, places, things, coffee...I'm a glass half full of love.

I'm supposed to tag 5 more people, but really don't know who {whom?} to tag...so if you've read this, consider yourself tagged...feel free to list your 5 in the comments!

Christmas outfits

I'm in a whole new mindset with my handmade Christmas mission. What do I dress my children in? (Such a quandary, right?) Well, we had this great dress that my daughter wore in a wedding, as a flower girl, this summer. Adorable dress, but ivory. Ivory is perfect for a wedding, but not so perfect for the Holidays. (I realize that these are small beans...not the hugest of deals, but fun problems to have.)

I remembered a blog I read a few months ago, where this clever gal dyed some stained onesies to bring them back to life. I thought, "why not try that with the dress?!" So I did. And it worked! The dress was dyed in the same bath as the oxford shirt my son will wear. The shirt is a great burnt orange, and the dress a very light coral. I dyed a stained pair of khakis, a turtle neck and some tights in cocoa...and the results are as follows...

The bow came with the dress. I'm loving the goofy mix of colors.

Even the pearl buttons took the color. (I know!)

This used to be a stained white oxford with grass knee khakis...

In a word...

...if you could describe yourself in only one word, what would it be?

I've been thinking on that {for no real or logical reason} this morning.

Me. In one word: Jazzy.

You know, the word itself seems kinda fun and weird all at once.

Plus, it's fun to say. Jazzy. Jazzy. Snazzy. Oh. Maybe I'm snazzy. I like that one, too.

How about you? In one word...

Jumping the gun

If I knew how to add music to this blog, I would have "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" playing. Alas. I do not know how to do that, but thought that just typing out those words would make you hum it or at least play it in your mind. Did it work? Great!

So, last night, the tree went up. Woot! I'm such a Jesus' birthday lover! What a celebration!! I am so thrilled with the season, and The Reason for the season, that it is all I can do not to start the festivities in September.

I am also super pumped about the gifts under the tree! The doll, little buddy, Al O. Dile, ssSylvester, the peanut, the purse, and the ornaments (1,2). I'm still planning on making more, but have hit a bit of a creative slump. The way I've been working (mostly) has been to lay out the bits and baubles that I have on hand. I look at them until they become something in my mind, and then I try and make the idea tangible.

Hopefully, the creative juices will start flowing freely soon. Project homemade Christmas isn't over yet!

Back at it

I took a bit of a break over the weekend. Project Handmade Christmas is back in full swing. Here's a little purse for my girl...

...some frills...

...and the opposite side.

The hardest part for me, is knowing when to stop. Knowing when a project is done. I think this one is done. And this brings me to 8. Thank you very much. :)

His

A truck ornament for him. That puts me at seven.
Stay tuned! More to come!!

An angel for my angel

This is an ornament for my girl. Number 6 in the list of things I've made for Christmas. Next up, and ornament for my wee man. To be completed by this time tomorrow. It's so much fun to come up with gifts to make. I feel a great sense of accomplishment. :)

Al O. Dile

Whew. I had to take this picture quickly. I nearly lost my hand. (Don't be fooled by his lack of teeth...those gums are D.A.N.G.E.R.O.U.S.)

He's a biggun. Over 3 feet long. That's right. Three long feet of danger. Fortunately, I know someone that likes to wrestle large reptiles. Good thing for me!

(Um, that's Me~5, China~Zero)

Ah. Yes.

Coffee. With cream. And sugar. I love it. It sings to me.

Is that weird? Yes. I know it is weird. But, it's one of those things that is bigger than what it actually is...it's more than just a beverage. It's calm. It's special. It's happiness. (Have I shared too much?)

And autumn. Goodness! This is the BEST time of year. It's beautiful. It's mesmerizing. Last Sunday, I sat and watched the leaves fall off the tree. For 20 minutes. There was one leaf in particular that looked as though it was ready to fall. I made a pact with myself that as soon as that leaf fell, I would get on with my day. I would peel myself from the window. I can't remember who needed me and what they needed from me, but someone pulled me out of that trance. I stopped to look on Tuesday and *the* leaf was still there. So it was probably a good thing that I was pulled away from the window on Sunday. I might still be gazing there now. Huh.

There was going to be a point to all this rambling, but the I've lost my train of thought. I'll pop back in tomorrow. I'm sure it will come back to me at 3 am.

5 a day swap

I received these in the mail today from Jen.

Thanks for the fun mail!!

{wip}

Here is the start of the hutch project. There used to be some sloppy shelves here that I nailed up when we first moved in. This little niche is perfect for shelving. These are a huge improvement. This piece was part of a large wall unit at my Granny's house. By the grace of an aunt, they came into my possession. My house isn't large enough for them to be anywhere in their former splendor, so my talented husband set to dismantle, trim, cut, repurpose, and then REmantle them. (is that a word?)

If you follow this, you can see the dorky shelves that I stapled up. Really...I should steer clear of all things construction.

This piece still needs its top, and a door at the base, and perhaps a stick of crown and a few of facia trim...I just wanted to put this up so my parents (and you!) could see the progress. Next up on the docket is a little bench to go here.

The Doll's doll

They seem very happy together, but can't wait to meet their mother.

SSSsssssssss.....

Ssssylvesssster.

The half hour handmade stuffed snake.

Ooohhh. He's a scary thing, this one.

Be wary when you hear the rattle. One never can tell the capabilities...especially of the shifty eyed.

Little Buddy

Is not afraid of heights.

Quit climbing so high, little stinker.

His stiff arms pack a tiny wallop if you twirl him from side to side. There was a short list of stipulations for this guy. He needed not to have hair-like daddy. And his limbs needed to be firmly attached...since both buddies are extremely fond of rough play.

Two Christmas gifts down. Several more to go.

(Me ~ two :: China ~ zero)

Progress

So the Christmas Dolly is coming along.

She's waiting for her own little dolly, and a blanket.

(She wanted to be photographed out in the tree, but it's raining--that's why she looks to be sulking. Sassy thing.)