Pages

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Permission

Give yourself some

Eat chocolate

Order a full-fat Cinnamon Dolce Latte

Do both

Make some art

Get paint and paper and crappy brushes and have a little fun

Let the kids help

Especially the wee ones

Paint their feet and have them walk all over your art

Give them the brush

Get construction paper

And scissors

And good old fashioned glue

Make a card for somebody you love

Or hate

Or don’t know but want to know

Act goofy

Walk this way

In public

Listen to White Wedding

Or Tequila

Or Who Let the Dogs Out

Or Copa Cabana

As loud as you can stand

Dance wildly

Color outside the lines

Wear all your favorite things at one time

Even if they don’t match

Mix polka-dots and stripes

Wear colors that don’t blend

Pray out loud

Rearrange the furniture

Hug everyone you know with abandon

Run, don’t walk

Because you are alive and you can

Monday, February 18, 2008

Pigs, School, Skills and Hugs.

Well...finally, I'm putting up the pictures...

Don't mind me if I drift off...The hubby and I are still on the mend...whew, this cold takes a lot out of you!

First on the agenda today - the Pig.

This is Petunia Pig...she is handmade by Grandpa Steve...she came complete with her own story (as any good pig should!)...she eats quarters...and she is obviously loved. Can you tell?


This is my big boy on his first day of school with this new big boy shoes and his new Superman Backpack. If you look closely, you will see that Daddy is holding him up. hmmmm...maybe the pack is a little too heavy?


This is Miss Debbie...Jayden LOVES Miss Debbie...or, has he says, "Deddie? Deddie?" He goes to a Christian Academy for Pre-school. Lately, he has added a couple of new words to his vocabulary - Babble...and Cheeses...I'm thinking he means Bible and Jesus...or...he could mean just what he says...Who knows?


Here, the boy is taking a rest after practicing his favorite new skill - climbing. In this photo, he has climed on the seat of his chair (the blue object there in front), over the back of the chair and onto the end table. Where, good little man, he has chosen a great Bible study to spend some time with.


And, perhaps the cutest thing EVER, Jayden giving Buddy the Dog a very joyful Valentine's hug...at Buddy's request of course!



Peace, ya'll!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Sick day “fun”

I spent my entire weekend and Monday and Tuesday sick with the first illness brought home by Jay from school…

In honor of my four days on my butt…here are some sick day “fun” things:

BEST sick movie: You’ve Got Mail or Sleepless in Seattle – If you’ve seen it at least once, you can drift in and out as you nap and still know what's going on. If you set the movie to repeat over and over again you might actually see the entire movie, just not in chronological order.

WORST sick movie: Dukes of Hazard. I STILL want my two hours back…even though the two hours were miserable. Also, Terminator, Rambo, the Bourne Movies, the Harry Potter movies…pretty much anything that is really dramatic. Seriously…you won’t get any rest.

BEST sick TV: Monk marathon, Stargate marathon, Psych marathon or some such marathon. This is TV that is kinda funny, interesting enough, the good guy always wins and there is nothing so dramatic that the back-ground music would wake you if you’ve happened to drift off. OR the cooking channel. And if you have kids – Curious George…there is no annoying music in Curious George, just a soothing narrator and a charming life lesson.

WORST sick TV: Law and Order, Crossing Jordan or any other crime drama as well as soaps. You cannot rest when you HAVE to pay attention to the plot.

BEST sick meal: Soup, crackers, oranges or other fruit, sugar free popsicles and hot tea…lots of fluids, soothing tastes, no guilt.

WORST sick meal: Full sugar soda, full sugar popsicles, fruit juice, toast with butter. Too many calories, too much guilt. Who wants to be sick and then feel guilty for not eating right on top of it?

BEST sick activity: Magazines. No investment, short articles, not too much to think about. OR Books on tape – which are especially good if you can’t LOOK at something but staring at the back of your eyelids makes you want to call 911 just to ease your boredom.

WORST sick activity: Reading a novel. OR caring for your nearly-healthy-and-hyper-due-to-his-cough-medicine child all by yourself. Too much thought, too much concentration, too much effort.

BEST sound: Silencio, nada, nicht, nothing...

WORST sound: this is a toss up…crying child or ringing phone.

Thankfully, we are all on the mend. Jay is pretty much back to normal. Scott is convinced he has Gremlins. I’m somewhere in the middle.

Oh, and PS, still have not updated my links or posted the 1st day of school pics...sigh...sometimes you just have to go with the flow, right?

Blessings and Peace, everyone!

Friday, February 08, 2008

Yes, it IS a new format…

I wanted a more gallery-like blog…

For all the picture I post…I thought maybe the green was affecting my pictures…like somehow I’m a fabulous photographer – HA HA!!!…but seriously, when you don’t take the greatest pictures in the world in the first place, the back-ground shouldn’t detract further, right? I’ll be posting some new links by the end of the weekend too.

Speaking of pictures, I have the pics of Jay on his first day of school, but he’s been a sick little boy and so I’ve had zero time to actually do anything besides hold him in my lap and enjoy the moments of pure love and cuddling that can only happen when a boy is sick.

Speaking of Jay, he’s been talking and talking and talking…he was already VERY verbal, but it seems like he adds a new word or two every day. This week we’ve gotten:

Aun’Elly (Aunt Kelly)
RRRRRAAAAAHHHHHRRRR (what does a lion say)
AHN – A – PEE – SHE – DEE – EEE – HEFF – AAHF (this is what his little alphabet learning tools do)
TURTEE (turkey)
MAMAMAMAMAMAMBASHISS (My, my, my, my, my boogie shoes as in KC and the Sunshine Band)

Speaking of KC and the Sunshine band…mmmmmmm…..wellllll...

Peace, everyone!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

The rebel in me…

The rebel in me…

I know I promised 1st day of school news…

But I have to get this off my chest…

Four times in one day and then again twice the next, it was said in my presence that I was a (insert insulting job title here) on a project I’m working on.

The comparison would be something like this: You are the supervising Marine Biologist but somebody says you feed the fish.

Not that the title itself was really insulting…in fact, many fine people choose that title as a career path and are extremely good at their chosen vocation.

Its just that I WAS a (insert same job title referenced above)...15 years ago…and I’ve worked very hard and been blessed mightily by God in the ensuing 15 years to find a career path that requires a far different skill set.

The first time it was said it was funny…

The next time I felt a little slighted.

The third time, I realized it was being done to imply that the skills I possess could easily be handled by somebody else AND to indicate that the person saying it was too important to do the work that was asked.

There are specific tools I use in my trade.

And wanting to be diligent and to earnestly grow through the experience of my job, I’ve made learning how to use those tools efficiently and effectively a priority.

This was the first time in my entire career where a MAN used my SKILLS against me, and with a SLICK little TWIST OF THE TONGUE, implied to ANOTHER MAN that I somehow meant less than HIM.

Which, if you had any inkling of the full spectrum of this story, would make you guffaw like a horse.

I’ve been insulted before…and by MEN…for being a WOMAN and nothing more…

I’ve been ever-so-subtly discriminated against for having boobs instead of balls (pardon, me…)…
But I have never come across a male chauvinist so skilled in the rhetoric that he could actually turn my SKILLS into something demeaning.

It was art, I tell you…ART!

In the moment, and very aware that I want to be a woman of God, to act in God's will and do things that are Honoring to Him, I was silent.

But the rebel in me…

Well…

The rebel in me thought,

“What part of ‘princess’ do you not understand, you Toad-Faced, Mule-Mouthed, little Napoleon? Don’t you recognize REAL royalty when you see it? Do you actually KISS your MAMA with those venomous, backward, NEANDERTHAL lips?!?!?!?!?!?!? I’d ask you what in the WORLD you were thinking to let those thoughts leave your mouth, but it’s OBVIOUS you HAVE NO BRAIN!”

I hope my brain-to-mouth sensor never goes on the fritz...

If it ever goes out on me, I'm doomed.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Catching up - the Scrap Crap Shopping Tour

Last weekend at this time, I went on wonderful little scrapbooking journey.

Berta, Debbie and I went on a “local” store tour with my Christmas gift card (THANKS MOM AND DAD!) and had a girls day of shopping and much, much, much, much coffee drinking…did I say much? Anyway…

On the tour was Scrap Shack in Mooresville . This is the cutest little store and has a really great product mix and SUPER friendly staff…It was the GREATEST way to begin our day (after two Starbucks, of course…yes…I said TWO!) We were ahead of schedule at this point in our trip and so were actually waiting for the store to open – Does anyone remember the Mervyn’s commercials? OPEN OPEN OPEN

Next was a place called Stamper’s Alley also in Mooresville… this is a WHOAH store if you are NOT into stamping for purposes other than scrapbooking…I had NO idea how many things there were for stamping in the world…it is literally wall to wall stamping.

Next was one of the biggest stores I’ve ever seen – Enchanted Cottage in Lewisville. This store actually made me glassy eyed…which is a bit of a surprise. I got a little stunned at the mere selection. This store has so much stuff that it is impossible to even see it all…They are the first store I’ve visited that had the Creative Café set-up…literally a candy-store style set up of supplies.

We did a fourth store, but, honestly, they were very expensive a more than a little rude…except for ONE girl…so I will not even mention them here. Suffice it to say I will not go back…

Anyway…on to the haul…I had a $100 gift card…and I’m happy to say I spent a mere $5.64 cents over my gift card and got QUITE a bit of stuff…it was worth EVERY penny…

Some random things to finish a few layouts – Cookie Monster, Heidi date stamp, some Christmas things, and a pack of super cute Bo Bunny decorative brad:;



I bought some things for a special project: Karen Russell and some Doodlebug:



I got some things for Valentine cards: Bo Bunny, more Karen Russell and a little Queen and Company felt:




I found that I grabbed a series of things in the same color scheme without even meaning to…wonderful how a brain can work, huh? A few of the Creative Café things (The buttons you buy by the SCOOP, any color, any mix you want and most of the rest you buy by size…there is a little size chart and you just pull from color-matched candy jars…totally cool..AND they have the neatest labels and journal spots), along with some Scenic Route, more Queen and Co felt and some KI lace paper:



Some AMM finishing touches for papers I already have and a few more of those beautiful lace papers (I love this stuff!):



And the coolest find of the day – EK Success Bookworks pieces..if you haven’t seen these they are so cool…it’s a series of things you can make into your own book, all pre-punched. There are different sized covers, inserts, pages, overlays, paper ribbon, labels…you name it:



Today is the boy's first day of school...more on that later.

Peace, Everyone!

Friday, February 01, 2008

What We Eat...

As Americans, most of us get obsessed with food (or trying to eat less of it) after the new year...Resolutions and all that...

Almost as if on cue, I received this from my friend Tara today.

Thought it was interesting...especially how more and more people get added to the pictures, even though the food gets smaller and smaller.

Its also interesting where the fruits and veggies are...

Enjoy!

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07




United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week $341.98




Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11




Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09




Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27




Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53




Equador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55




Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03




Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23