Marathon Bird

Hello February

2012-02-02T09:10:00.002-06:00

well helllooooo february, you sneaky little thing you. somehow you popped onto the scene before i could say jack robinson.

but welcome just the same.

i actually finished something y'all.

the #janphotoaday challenge in instagram.

i know, big whoop, i managed to take a photo a day for a month, give me a prize.

but for a girl who usually gets distracted by other bright and shiny things and fizzles out on projects 2/3 of the way through...i'm a wee bit proud of myself for sticking it out.

28. light

29. inside our fridge

30. nature (actually a combo of nature, water, reflection, my shoes and a bit of me)

31. me, again (no make up & sweaty after an awesome turbo fire workout)

so that was a fun little photo challenge. i started fatmumslim's new one yesterday (feel free to join me).

speaking of being sweaty from my turbo fire workouts , i've made more of an effort to do them, you know, regularly. last week i exercised 5 days and am on track to do the same--or more (!!)--this week, which feels, well...fabulous. i love the music, the moves, the intensity, the punches and kicks and the challenge. my goal is to stick with it for a month (of 5+ workouts a week) and see what happens.

of course my food choices could be better. i have patterns of good days followed by scary days, so as always, consistency (discipline? commitment?) is still my biggest struggle.

sigh.

in other goal related news, i read 6 books in january (i'm keeping a list in my 10-yr journal):

1.) the phantom tollbooth by norton juster

2.)in the garden of beasts by erik larson (very good)

3.)rules of civility by amor towles (nyc in the 30s, loved!)

4.)11/22/63 by stephen king (could. not. put. it. down. soooo good--even if you think you don't like stephen king, this is not horror guru stephen king at all, it's history, it's time travel, it's what-if, it's a love story and if you are a fan of his novel IT, you are in for a treat)

5.)i feel bad about my neck & 6.)i remember nothing by nora ephron (so funny and sharp)

i also started a few others but quit them when they didn't grab me or make me want to care about them.

6 down, 37 more to go.

(i made a goal to read at least my age in books this year.)

this month i hope to:

exercise 5-6 days a week

eat well (less meat & junk, more fruit and veggies)

read my bible & pray more

Project Life: Week Four

2012-01-31T14:14:00.000-06:00

Here we are at week four of Project Life. That's almost a full month my friends.

Pardon me while I do a quick happy dance, m'mkay?

All righty now. I'm back.

Once again this week I've kept things simple, using only the Clementine core kit cards, a stamp or two and address labels for additional journaling on photos.

My *new* thing this week is using japanese wash tape.

L-O-V-E.

(I tried my best not to go cray-cray with it.)

Here's an overview of the entire layout.

The left side.

See, washi tape. I told you I fell in love with it.

I used a plain 8.5x11 page protector to store Annelise's speech meet results and the journaling card she filled out (she won first place in her category and will get to go to the next level of competition, woo hoo!).

On the back side I added some art from school (a poison dart frog to be exact). It's great to have a place to keep a few papers and/or art that might otherwise have no home (and let's face it, get trashed).

The right side.

A life tidbit this week was to include part of the Netflix shipping envelope. I want to include more things like this (wrappers, receipts, tags, etc.) each week to give a feel for the ordinary stuff that makes up our weeks.

Again with the washi tape.

I think I have an addictive personality.

I used a flip up 4x6 protector again this week. It's so nice to have that option!

I also added a date tag to the side (made by a Stampin'Up punch).

I also like using address labels on photos for extra journaling space.

(I tried a shellac manicure for the first time. It's supposed to last 2-3 weeks. It's holding up quite well so far, we'll see...)

I'm so happy to have almost a month of our ordinary, daily, this & that life recorded. Project Life is, well...awesome.

But I suspect I don't have to tell y'all that.

Happy, happy memory keeping!

I'm linking up with The Mom Creative again, be sure to pop over there for tons of Project Life inspiration.

#janphotoaday {days 13 - 25}

2012-01-26T11:50:00.002-06:00

the #janphotoaday instagram challenge has been so much fun this month. having a theme each day has been helpful (so i'm not just snapping oodles of photos of our cats or my feet--notthattheresanythingwrongwiththat) and has motivated me to take at least one photo each day.

here are the latest and greatest...

(you can see days 1-12 here)

13. inside my bag

14. was supposed to be something i was reading, which at the time was in the garden of beasts by eric larson but i deleted some photos from my phone after making these collages and had my days mixed up and guess what? that photo is gone, baby gone. oops.

15. happiness (morning coffee, are you surprised?)

16. morning (MLK holiday = IHOP breakfast)

17. water. ( that's some of our high quality h2o)

18. something you bought (breakfast taquito) (actually, scott bought it)

19. sweet (overpriced candy at the movies)

20. someone(s) you love (my people) (and tex-mex)

21. reflection (after getting my hairs did on saturday)

22. my shoes (after a workout, whoop!)

23. something(s) old (my diehl fan collection, my maiden name was diehl)

24. guilty pleasure (my hips & heiny enlarge as soon as i walk in the door, but it's so good and so bad at the same time)

25. something i made (lunch) (tuna salad)

there are only a few days left for january's challenge, but guess what? fatmumslim has created a new list of daily photo challenges for february.

(!!)

i'm so happy the fun will continue!

y'all should join in too, the more the merrier.

some days i miss (or feel uninspired) and i have to play catch up, but that's okay. if you skip a day or two or whatevs just catch up when you can or just jump back in. no pressure. no rules.

it's inspiring to see so many interpretations on each day's theme and a fun way to document your month.

i hope y'all will play along!

p.s. i'm marathonbird on instagram

p.p.s. i've been using the project 365 app on my phone to keep track of my photos and must admit it's highly satisfying to watch the month fill up.

Project Life 2012: Week Three

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

I can't help thinking that if I am already so happy about Project Life at Week 3 (well, truth be told I was so happy about it before I even started!) then I'll probably be waaay over the moon with joy when I get to Week 52. I don't know if I'll be able to handle myself! I so enjoy seeing the little everyday tidbits starting to weave together and can only imagine the full story they will tell at the end of this project.

Here is an overview of this week's entire layout.

A closer look at the left side.

This week, just for kicks, I mixed in a few journaling cards from the Amber kit with the ones from the Clementine kit and was pleased by the results. I like how you can mix and match to stretch your supplies even further and everything works together well.

One little life tidbit I included this week was a screenshot from Pinterest attached to a journaling card to show some of the recipes I want to try. I made one dish this week that was a HIT with my people so I talked about that on the other card and tucked them both into a 4x6 slot.

In the other 4x6 slots I used a photo of a surprise silhouette I snapped of Annelise at chapel and at the bottom I tucked in one of Annelise's homework pages where she wrote about serving others.

Here's a look at the right side, with a 6x12 insert.

I just slipped Annelise's report card that came home this week into the sleeve, along with a 4x6 journaling card (one of the folded ones left open). I love the flexibility of using inserts like the 6x12 sleeves or another divided protector trimmed down (I do like for the inserts to be smaller than the layout spread if possible, it just seems more cohesive to me).

Here's the right side without the insert.

I can't believe we saw two movies last week, that's so not the norm. Since Monday was a holiday we three went to see We Bought a Zoo and then I'd been dying to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close since I had loved the book, so Scott and I went to a matinee on the day it opened (FYI the book was better).

I tried using plain return address stickers for additional journaling space right on the photo. I like having the extra space but am still on the fence about attaching a sticker right on the photo, also I worry it makes things too busy--and yet I still like it. Wishy washy is what I am.

I also used an adhesive flip-up page protector for a few extra photos. I like how they provide more photo space when needed and add dimension.

And that my friends is my third week of Project Life.

I'm determined to keep this project simple, using the core kit cards, photos and weekly memorabilia and occasionally adding simple embellishments. So far it's been totally doable and not too labor or time extensive at all. For reals. That makes me very happy and highly optimistic about seeing this project through to the end. (!!)

I'm linking up at The Mom Creative, be sure to pop over there for more Project Life inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by & happy memory keeping!

A Not So Typical Sunday Morning

2012-01-22T11:13:00.000-06:00

So our little is sick this morning. This time it's a combo of sore throat, cough and a 99.7 temperature. With a side of glassy eyes. I'm blaming our yo-yo weather, cold-hot-cold-cold-hot-hot--often on the same day, even though there may not be any basis for my theory.

At first Annelise was camped out on the couch under a blanket but now she has gathered her strength to sit on the floor in front of the couch and build Legos while watching streaming Netflix. So far we've seen an animated Joseph movie, which I slightly pushed since we were missing church this morning and it turned out pretty good and now we're watching Veggie Tales. I love those little veggies and I'm glad she still enjoys them too.

There's a pot of taco soup simmering on the stove too, which is odd because I don't usually cook on Sundays. It might also seem a bit odd that I fixed taco soup for a cold, but I didn't have the fixings for chicken noodle soup so... taco soup it is.

Yesterday I had an appointment for a fairly long overdue hair refresher. I got my color and highlights jazzed up, said buh-bye to my grays for a while and got my hairs cut a bit. I would show you a picture but I don't have one yet. Plus she blew my hair dry using a round brush and oh my goodness my hairs were puffy. I felt like I was wearing a bouncy helmet the rest of the day. They've only just now began to settle down after sleeping on them for 7 hours. I know I should be thankful I have thick hair and plenty of it, and I am really, but it can be frustrating sometimes (just ask Susan when she's having to blow dry it with a round brush).

I got a disturbing email the other day about the photo site Picnik.com closing in April. Why Picnik, WHY? How am I going to make my 12x12 photo grids ever again without crying? I'm not sure, but I think Google is to blame somehow.

What else do I have to tell you? Oh...are y'all watching Once Upon a Time (on ABC Sunday nights)? It's sooooo good!! I'm hooked. You should totally check it out and set your DVRs (and as another arm twist, the creators--or writers?--of LOST are also behind Once Upon a Time). While you're setting your DVR timers you should also add Masterpiece Theater's Downton Abbey (PBS Sunday nights) to your schedule. Oh it's beyond good y'all (if you like period dramas, clever dialogue, class differences and Maggie Smith that is). You can catch up on last season on Netflix too.

And believe me I've noticed how I talk a lot about TV and movies and light and fluffy daily drivel-y stuff a lot lately (always?) and not the heavier stuff like Scott's ongoing unemployment, a looming sense of uncertainty and gaining weight (me). I don't know. I feel like I censor myself here sometimes or just avoid talking about certain things because they are 1.) depressing and b.) not bright and shiny and 3.) I truly don't have much to complain about because there are oodles and oodles and caboodles of people in far worse situations so what business do I have to whine and complain anyway? None.

But then those thoughts still swirl around in my head and really want to be free (as in out of my crazy place).

So.

I avoid them.

But maybe I should get back to journaling? That would probably be a good thing. Yes.

I can carry on a compete conversation by myself.

It's good to have talents.

This & That Thursday

2012-01-19T10:25:00.003-06:00

I know. That title just draws you in doesn't it?

But how else does one address the many randoms in one's life?

Yesterday, second grade put on a little skit in chapel based on Harry the Dirty Dog (I know, a bit of a stretch, but think about Harry getting a bath and our sins being washed away), which turned out cute. Annelise (and most of second grade) was a narrator and they all lined up on one side of the stage to rotate through their turns while a few of the other boys and girls acted out the *story*. I took a few pictures but they all were a little blurry (kids, why must you always be moving?) BUT I was surprised by how much I ended up liking this surprise silhouette.

I never got around to making one of those like I said I would years ago. Maybe I still could (should).

Since Monday was a holiday (thanks MLK!) we had a late--and delicious--morning breakfast at IHOP.

And no I did not exercise that day either.

And yes, not only is this post random, it's also out of chronological order.

I am living on the edge people.

When we left, our waiter brought me a to-go cup of fresh hot coffee unsolicited. (!!)

How did he know coffee is my love language?

He was already a really good waiter in my book but he immediately moved to the top of the class.

We rolled on out of there on our full tummies and made our way over to the movies to see We Bought a Zoo.

When we pulled up to the theater for Scott to drop us off so Annelise and I could buy tickets while he parked (we have a system) he noticed me rearranging my purse so I could ever-so-carefully stuff my fresh & hot to-go coffee inside and smuggle it inside the theater. He asked me what in the world was I doing.

What? Like I was going to let a FREE steaming cup of coffee that hadn't even been sipped yet go to waste?

Annelise didn't even bat an eyelash, she knows me and remembers the Ramona incident all too well.

The good news is 1.) I have a big purse, b.) the coffee didn't spill a drop and 3.) I got to enjoy my coffee throughout the movie. Score! We also ran into a friend of Annelise's from school, which resulted in the required shrill squeals of glee and hugs in the lobby, followed by a bit of seat rearranging so they could sit together.

The movie was really sweet and funny in parts, but there was some language. I knew there might be since it was PG but I forgot to check it on PluggedIn before we went. The good news is Annelise really doesn't know bad words when she hears them. The little girl (Rosie) was absolutely adorable in the movie, but it really wasn't necessary to have her say, "So and so, you're a rhymes with Rick." Of course Annelise and her friend were all, "What's a rhymes with Rick????...What's a rhymes with Rick mean????"

Sigh.

In other news, we watched American Idol last night. I made my yearly protest that I wasn't going to get sucked in again no matter how much I like JLo and Steven Tyler and then of course settled right on in and watched it. Two things: a.) I really, really, really liked Phillip Phillips there at the end. Was he not the cutest thing? And oozing talent too. And 2.) What in the world is up with Steven Tyler's pimp hat? Is this going to be his trademark thing this season? I kept thinking of Fat Albert's friend Shell.

Or maybe Jimmie Walker (DYN-O-Mite) from Good Times.

Okay, I have a third thing, I didn't notice it so much last season, but the way that Steven Pimp Daddy T. was ~~looking~~ leering at some of the girls was downright creepy. Ugh.

And finally, did I tell y'all that Annelise and I are doing Mother/Daughter tap again? It's true. We are. And I'm actually not dreading the whole thing, so that's good. It's also good that our costumes this year, while still spandex, do NOT have fringe, gingham or misplaced stars. Right now it's only the moms learning the dance and then the girls join us sometime in March.

See, there's some proof (I snapped that at the end after most everyone left, so it only looks like I was dancing by myself a la Billy Idol).

This year we're doing a routine, well, there's just no easy way to say this...

We're Angry Birds.

The girls, of course, are the birds and the moms are the big bird (?) that tries to catch them.

Or something to that effect.

It should be pretty cute.

The song is techno-dancey and a little fast, but I have hope that I will master it. Eventually.

Okay folks, I guess that's plenty enough random for one day (cue marching band & fireworks).

Happy Thursday, y'all!

Project Life 2012: Weeks 1 & 2

2012-01-17T12:16:00.000-06:00

Who's so excited to be working on her Project Life album for 2012?

Is it me?

Let's take a peek at the cover page first shall we?

A simple combination of 4x6 & 3x4 cards from the Clementine core kit along with a few photos are working for now as the first page to my 2012 album. I used some of my stamps to add a bit of flair (?) to the red and blue postcard title card.

I stamped the word family on a scrap of patterned paper and added it to this photo of our family of Chucks. I like the way it turned out but I don't want to get in the habit of thinking I always need to stamp or add embellishments to my layouts (more on that in a bit). Simple is A-OK!

Here's a look at Week 1:

A closer look at the left side.

I tucked our movie tickets in with the photo of us holding them, redundant I know, but still, along with part of our candy box. I used one 4x4 Instagram photo (printed through the Postal Pix app) along with a journaling card to fill out the 4x6 slot. The small photo of our discarded Christmas tree was printed 2x2 which fits nicely on a journaling card. The rest of the photos were printed 4x6 on our home printer, some were trimmed down to fit in the journaling card slots.

Here's a closer look at the right side.

I did add a few simple tags with bakers twine to two of the larger photos. I also tucked in a note Annelise wrote about how she promised to use the laptop only for educational games. I slipped in some patterned paper I had on hand to fill in the space behind it.

Here's the layout for Week 2.

This week was really, well, ordinary. I was worried I wouldn't have anything to fill the slots and absolutely no story to tell. I briefly thought about combining weeks (which might happen from time to time) but didn't want to do that the second week in 2012 (that seemed right out of Loserville to me for some reason).

So four of the photos were taken on the same day and there's no *big event* of our week to tell, but I realized that's okay (I'm learning it's really hard to shift my mindset from event type documenting to ordinary weekly, daily stuff).

A closer look at the left side.

I used photos from my #janphotoaday challenge, one of Annelise doing her homework and playing possum on the couch and wrote a little about all that on the journaling cards. I added one tag wrapped with twine to a photo for a bit of extra journaling space.

Here's the right side.

We played games Friday night so I ended up using photos from that (I used the self-timer to take the shots of us playing) and Annelise even wrote about her favorite games on a card. I felt like I was stretching things a little this week since I didn't take a lot of photos of us during the week doing whatever we did. I hope I get better about that!

Here's a closer look at what Annelise wrote on a journaling card. I love including her take on things in our album (Scott's too) and hope she'll always be agreeable when I ask her to fill one out.

As another little filler, I printed a screen shot of recent texts between Scott and me (and Annelise). I had texted him an 80s reference and of course when he didn't text me back I had to send him another one. Good thing there are always plenty of 80s references handy when you need them.

Weeks 1 and 2 of 2012 were just ordinary weeks for us, no major events or celebrations, just life. As I said before, this type of non-event driven memory keeping is new to me, but I'm trying to focus on the bigger picture of all of these ordinary (and probably a few not so ordinary) weeks all eventually adding up to tell our story for 2012.

That's going to be a big batch of awesome!

And just in case anyone is new here and wondering what in the world I'm talking about...

I'm using Becky Higgins' Project Life system to document our lives each week for 2012 and then showing y'all my progress each week (or so) here on my blog. Wait, does that mean I'm going to be making 52 scrapbook layouts this year? (Gulp.) Yes, yes it does. I'll be using Design A divided page protectors for the bulk of my album, along with occasional inserts when needed. My goal is to keep things simple (keeping the emphasis on photos and journaling) mainly using the cards from the Clementine Core Kit, Sharpie markers and pens, a date stamp and my Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper to round my photo corners. I might scrap things up from time to time with other papers, stamps, tags or simple embellishments but I'm making a pact with myself to use what I have in my craft stash first (!!) and not allow the evil foe comparison steal my joy when I see fabulously crafty & creative layouts online (whoa, that last part is a doozy).

I'm joining in the link-up at The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday, be sure to pop over there for more layout inspiration!

Thanks for reading & happy memory keeping, y'all!

#janphotoaday {days 1 - 12}

2012-01-13T11:46:00.002-06:00

y'all.

i've actually stuck with something for twelve days (technically thirteen but that's for another post).

(!!)

in an effort to ease into a project 365 photography project for 2012, i jumped in to the #janphotoaday challenge on instagram. it's been fun to have a theme every day.

here are days 1- 12:

1. you (or in this case me, already in bed with my book, i found out about this project late in the day).

2. breakfast (coffee and steel cut oats with strawberries)

3. adore (my new boots)

4. letterbox

5. something i wore (and i actually exercised!)

6. makes me smile (sonic happy hour for 3)

7. favorite (healthy green smoothie)

8. my sky (gray & cloudy)

9. routine (car pick-up line, my nemesis)

10. childhood (hot cocoa & marshmallows, our child's favorite treat)

11. where i sleep (my side)

12. close-up (my favorite silver rings)

stay tuned for the rest...

***EDITED TO ADD***

here is the list for #janphotoaday in case any of y'all want to play along too. c'mon, it'll be fun!

****************************************

and on another note of randomness that i must get off my chest, i was trapped in a PTF meeting this morning for over a ridiculous hour and am feeling a bit bitter about the whole thing.

not that it's that big a deal or anything.

but i was only interested in my responsibility for the class art project for the school auction, which was covered in the first 15-20 minutes. fine. then an overview of the entire auction plans/committees/tasks/past experiences/ blah diggity blah began and i was trapped, trapped i tell you on false pretenses (i thought the meeting was only about the class art projects, not the entire auction).

and there were several miss know-it-alls in attendance as well.

oh the horror.

it was all i could do to not roll my eyes eleventy thousand times.

if i ever come across as a miss know-it-all you hereby have permission to slap me.

okay. i feel better now. thanks for listening.

happy friday, y'all!

12 on the 12th: January

2012-01-12T21:01:00.000-06:00

01. a fabulous handmade gift from a fabulous friend (!!) (we met this morning for bible study and a brunch and i took zero photos, other than this one. loser. is what i am).

02. coffee. i think this was mug #3. or was it #4? today was so windy & cold I kept getting refills and lost count. if i'm wide awake at 2:14 am, at least i'll know who to blame (me).

03. car line pick up. and yes, annelise was standing outside holding her jacket instead of wearing it. girrrrrl, you crazy.

04. our happy, happy girl.

05. our view from our driveway this afternoon. loved the contrast of the trees & sky.

06. me (with the girl in the back hamming' it up).

07. spelling homework (sentences) & a snack (a clementine, animal crackers, a cheese stick & milk, so random).

08. sadie, our dog, hoping to have some of that snack herself.

09. paying the piper, er, i mean the dance studio. and yes, i have sesame street checks. long story. okay, it's not really long, just ridiculous.

10. lego construction zone. no bare feet allowed.

11. bank drive through. i was the only one there and for some reason this fact did not work in my favor (sllllooooooowww).

12. dinner for 3 at our favorite tex-mex place.

and that my friends is a little peek at my 12th, such as it is. i wasn't feeling motivated to pick up my big dog camera this morning, and i was in a rush, so i ended up using my iphone for all of today's photos. it was convenient but i found myself missing my dslr (i think she gets jealous of my handy dandy phone sometimes).

last year i was rather hit or miss when it came to the monthly 12x12 challenge. my goal for 2012 is to participate each month, no excuses, no whining. i also want to push myself to be more creative, try different angles/perspectives and use the self-timer (or remote) so i get in more photos with my people.

(of course, i really didn't work on any of those things this month, this was more of a "get 'er done" month.)

i'm linking up with amy's blog, be sure to pop over there to see more 12x12 posts.

Wordless Wednesday {A Peek Into Her World}

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

I'm linking up with AngryJulie for Wordless Wednesday, pop over there for more photo fun!

Books. I Think I Will Read Some This Year.

2012-01-10T10:27:00.001-06:00

I realized soon after I published my goal post (and no, not goalpost, because that would mean I was making a football reference and I'm not) last week that I forgot to mention another goal.

Typical.

I decided I need a bit of a push to read more books. Don't get me wrong, I almost always have a book in progress and plenty others waiting in the wings, but I've always been rather willy-nilly about the whole thing. I read this, I read that. Some books I can't put down, others gather dust on the nightstand for a while before I finish and others are completely abandoned (which is okay, I've let go of the guilt). I occasionally update my currently-reading, read and to-read lists on Goodreads but never really kept track of what I read from one year to the next. And that's always worked for me. Until now.

I recently tried to remember some outstanding reads from 2011 and drew a blank. How sad is that? I read lots of different books over the course of the year but could hardly pull any titles from the recesses of my brain.

So I'm going old school for 2012. I'm making a list. With actual pen on paper. In my 10-year journal (the regular upkeep of said journal is another goal for this year).

I'm also ready to challenge myself a little.

I decided I'm going to read 43 books this year.

Forty. Three.

Why that particular number? Well, 52 seemed like too many and a little too much pressure to read one book a week, so I decided to go with my age instead. Plus I like having a buffer.

Can I do it? Maybe. At least I'll try. If I don't make it, well, no biggie. At least I will have read (insert number) of books and kept a record of it.

I'm also giving myself a few guidelines:

* no purchasing of books this year (except for possible Half Price Books or garage sale, etc., but this shall be limited and as a last resort--as in my life could not go on without purchasing that used book type of situation).

* use the library

* choose books from my shelves here at home

* if the book is not holding my interest after a while I give myself permission to move on

* include a few nonfiction books

* maybe post my progress occasionally here on the blog

All that being said, here is my fresh stack from an after school library trip yesterday:

I'm currently reading The Phantom Tollbooth.

And if any of y'all are wondering, I abandoned the stack I showed in last week's post (except for The Phantom Tollbooth) and returned them to the library unread (I only made it halfway through Work Song by Ivan Doig, it dragged). I'm fickle.

On a related note, Annelise checked out a hefty stack yesterday (love!) and decided to keep a list too. She doesn't have a set number goal, but thought it would be fun just to keep track of her reading and see how far she gets.

And on another literary note, Scott got Killing Lincoln for Christmas and...

(Are y'all sitting down?)
(Good.)

he is reading it. (!!)

Yay!! Plus I can't wait to get my hot little hands on it.

*Do you keep a record of the books you've read?*

*What are you reading lately?*

Project Life: How I Jumped in Feet First

2012-01-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here's an overview of what I've been up to with Project Life recently.

I'm using a plain faux leather black 12 X 12 3-ring scrapbook album from Hobby Lobby and divided page protectors from Becky Higgins (Design A) for the core of my album. I decided to use elements from both the Turquoise and Amber Core kits throughout the album (not together on the same layout--though you could).

Since I decided to take the Project Life plunge late last year, I was conflicted about making an album for 2011 (backtracking) or starting fresh for 2012. Well, I just couldn't wait and I knew I would regret not having much of our life in 2011 documented in a tangible way. I love my blog and the memories it holds, I love photo books (like Shutterfly) for events and my blog books from Blurb, but I miss actual photos and stories in albums. Enter Project Life.

I've always been more of an event (special occasion, travel, milestone) type of scrapbooker instead of a daily life type (though my blog covers most of that). As I was getting started I realized I am a photo-a-holic and it almost physically hurts to cut certain photos out of a layout, but I'm slowly adapting to choosing fewer (and hopefully the better) photos to tell the story.

Since I was backtracking for 2011, this album is definitely event driven and less daily life. It also has gaps in it, but I think I managed to create at least one layout for every month, so that makes me happy.

The bulk of this album covers our trip to New York in February. It's very photo heavy, but there's plenty of space for journaling details and storing keepsakes. I tried to keep each day in NYC as one layout spread, but soon found myself spilling over. I started each day with a 4x6 printed date card from the turquoise core kit (though not shown in the photo below, that day spilled over) and tucked in 3x4 journaling cards.

Some photos I trimmed to fit in the 3x4 card slots because I just couldn't cut them out. I also love having places to keep ticket stubs, cards, programs, etc.

On the right side of this layout I used a 6x12 page protector to hold extra photos. It's great to have this option when I need extra space!

And you may have noticed the blank journaling cards. Yes. This is a work in progress.

I think the NYC section ended up close to 10 pages (front and back, yikes!), so yes, I went a little nutso.

The rest of the album contains regular 2 page layouts (whew!). I tried to cover our spring (our Florida trips), summer, the start of school, Annelise's birthday, fall and Christmas. The layout below from June/July is a little overview of our summer (and a whole lot of Annelise). And yes, it's still fairly photo heavy (I think).

I'm using mostly 4x6 photos, some are trimmed to fit in the 3x4 slots, along with some InstaGram photos printed through Postal Pix. They are 4x4, so I used a journaling card to fill the rest of the 4x6 slot. I'm still figuring out the best way to use 4x6 vertical (portrait) photos, having just been slipping them in the Design A slots and turning my head when needed. I have another page protector set (Design B) but haven't used them yet (I haven't had enough vertical photos in one layout yet--and for the flip side, which would be the next layout).

Here's a look at the layout from my birthday trip in November:

And here's the right side. I also used a 6x12 dived page protector (not shown) for extra photos (are y'all surprised?).

This is one from December that covers a variety of little things, so it's a switch from my *event only* mindset. I also experimented with 2x2 size photos for the journaling slots. The Jesse Tree photo on the bottom should actually be vertical, but I just slipped it in sideways to fill the space.

And here's the right side of the layout.

I used a few adhesive flip pockets to show more photos from our walk through Bethlehem. I like having different options to include extra pictures when needed. And I need to glue that little 2x2 photo in place.

And here's one more layout from the week before Christmas.

I love the variety of little daily tidbits documented and having a place to keep a note Annelise wrote to me thanking me for letting her stay up late over the holidays. And I need to remember to glue those little photos down.

I also love that Project Life is perfect for getting the whole family involved in the memory keeping. Annelise filled out a card to document her favorite memories from our Florida trips last spring and for her class field trip in October. Scott is going to write a few cards too (soon he says), so our album will have little bits from all of us. Heart swells.

Y'all.

I can't tell you how happy having our 2011 recorded in this way, even hit or miss, has made me. I love looking through it! Annelise has been spotted leafing through, and even Scott has commented on how nice it is to see and touch our memories.

For 2012 I plan to follow a weekly overview type approach with Project Life, instead of only events. I want to record the big, the small, the everyday life stuff. If I can stick to this plan, by the end of the year I will have a layout (2 page spread) for every week, so 52 weeks of our lives will be documented and tangible. I'm sooooo excited!

I've ordered a new 12 x 12 black 3-ring album, I plan to mainly use the new Clementine core kit and Design A page protectors. I'll also use 6x12 page protectors and the photo flips when needed. I'm not planning on adding much, if any, scrappy embellishments (though you certainly can). I want to keep this project simple. My only other tools will be my new Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper (you don't have to round your photo corners, I just like that look, and the kit cards come that way) and pens. If I'm feeling particularly crafty I might stamp something, we'll see.

I hope I don't drive any of y'all cray-cray with all my Project Life talk, but I'm so excited about this because it's a project I can actually see myself finishing. It's totally doable, one week at a time. I also plan to post about my progress, maybe weekly, maybe every two weeks. We'll see.

The great thing about Project Life is you can totally adapt it to what works for you, maybe it's a monthly overview or a Project 365 or a child's school year(s), etc.

If y'all have any questions about my approach, such as it is so far, to Project Life, feel free to ask away. You can find ideas and inspiration on Becky Higgins' blog and by checking out the Project Life Creative Team for 2012.

Happy memory keeping (in whatever form!), y'all!

Five for Friday {The It's Good to Have Goals Edition}

2012-01-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

So I decided I should document a few of my goals for twenty-twelve after all.

Even though they are basically the same ones I carry over year after year.

I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing.

1. In the health & fitness category I'm committing to the following (again):

* eat cleaner, limit processed & fast foods

* eat less meat & dairy, eat more fruit & veggies

* limit refined sugars (ha!)

* exercise regularly, like 4-5 days a week, daily would be best, including home cardio/strength DVD workouts (TurboFire, ChaLEAN Extreme & eventually P90X) & running

* track my calories

I've had the My Fitness Pal app on my phone forever and only recently started using it (sporadically at first during the holidays and now more diligently). I like the satisfaction of seeing my daily intake (it's already made me more aware of certain choices and make different ones) and know I'm at or under my daily goal. I'm not sure if the calories burned are truly as high as it says, but they're probably in range, and it's nice to have that little buffer on the days I exercise (although I guess the wise thing would be not to eat back the calories you burned, right?).

2. On the spiritual side:

* follow a daily bible reading plan that allows you to read the entire bible in a year.

I did do this last year but there were gaps for sure. I hope to fill in the gaps this year.

* recommit to memorizing scripture.

* grow in gratitude by noticing and documenting the gifts from God that surround me.

I've started reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, ever so slowly to let her wonderful words soak in. She has a free iPhone app to help you record your gifts through photos and text that, once again, I've had on my phone for a while but only started using yesterday.

3. On the creative side:

* improve my photography skills

I think the best way to grow and improve my photography is by taking more pictures and practicing different techniques, especially with my DSLR. I find myself using my iPhone more and more for photos, since it's so handy and easy (and I almost always have it with me), but I also use my big dog camera almost every day too (I leave it out on the counter in the kitchen so it's ready to grab).

To help me practice and take more photos I've been following this challenge on InstaGram.

And I've been keeping track of my photos with this Project 365 app on my iPhone (I think it was free).

So far it's been lots of fun (especially since there's been a theme for every day) and easy to do with my phone (both the taking and the storing). I'd also like to do a Project 365 (or 366 since this is Leap Year) with my DSLR but have only taken three photos for that so far (I hate being behind!) and can't decide the best way to document/track my progress yet (on the blog as a weekly collage? just in iPhoto?).

* document our lives in 2012 through Project Life (squeal!!).

* pursue other creative outlets (knitting--which I'm finding tedious at the moment, totally should have picked a project with larger needles & chunkier yarn, sewing, etc.) and actually finish a project (or two).

4. Work on being a better spouse, mom, friend in general. This last one is huge, and the most difficult to elaborate on for some reason (ha!). Let's just say there is always room for improvement. You know what I mean, Vern?

5. That last one was so huge (yet still rather vague) that I don't really have a #5. Oh wait, I just remembered. I do. Be a better blogger. One of the best things about blogging is the feeling of connection, that someone out there hears you and *gets* you. I miss that. I must admit I've gotten very, very lazy with leaving comments on other blogs. I always tell myself I'll go back later to comment, but I don't. I'm a faithful reader of lots of blogs, and think about lots of my bloggy friends, but I haven't been taking the time to comment and tell them. I guess that's selfish too. I don't think it's necessary to leave a comment on every single post you read because that would be almost impossible but I want to make a better effort to leave a comment more often, even if it's a quickie. I need to be better at replying to comments on my blog as well, either through email or in the comments.

I feel like that last paragraph is as clear as mud and not really what I mean. Ugh. Do y'all get me? I hope so.

Happy Friday, friends!

*Did you make some goals for 2012?*

*Have you used My Fitness Pal or anything like it? Tips?*

*Wanna join me on a Project 365?*

Hello Again

2012-01-04T12:43:00.000-06:00

And now you might be singing either The Cars or Neil Diamond in your head like me.

Actually, Neil came to mind first, which was rather surprising since I ~~was~~ am a die hard Cars fan.

But I love Neil too.

Don't judge.

Hello 2012.

Four days in and all.

So far so good.

I haven't made any new goals/resolutions, at least not in a formal way, yet. I think they're the same ones I carry over from year to year. Do better, eat better, exercise better (like regularly), yada, yada, yada...

But I do like the freshness of a new year. A new beginning.

This sight makes me a little melancholy every year.

Goodbye Frasier 2011, you were a great little tree. Thanks for keeping us company and sharing your fragrance (and your needles) over the last month, we appreciate your service and your sacrifice so much.

We should plant a tree in your honor.

We ~~probably~~ won't, but we should.

I'm also a little sad there will be no more lazy morning Lego assembly around here (Annelise has put together the Night Bus, Hagrid's Hut and is now working on Hogwarts).

It was a little rough this morning (too many late nights and a skimpy refrigerator) getting ourselves, and I guess by that I mean Annelise, together (breakfast, packed lunch, etc.) and out the door.

The good news is she was EXCITED to go back to school and we somehow managed to be early.

Now let me tell you a little about something I'm excited about.

I've jumped in feet first to Project Life and am in red hot love with it.

As I am prone to do with new things.

It's a back to basics approach for scrapbooking, using divided page protectors and pre-made inserts/journaling cards that keep the focus on the photos and the story.

I love that.

I'd had the supplies for a while but of course hadn't started. I was trying to decide whether to try and backtrack for 2011 or start fresh for 2012. For several weeks this was my dilemma.

And why is it again that I never seem to finish anything?

I finally decided I could do both. Or at least I'd try.

So for several days over the holiday break I could be found merrily working away at my craft table (but only the center of it) while watching The West Wing.

Sidenote: My craft room is a disaster. Totally a hot mess going on in there. I've ignored it for far too long, but the urge to get started on Project Life has so far overpowered my revulsion to the clutter surrounding me.

I love the simple concept of Project Life, the flexibility, the supplies, the colors...all of it! Slipping in photos, a main colored date card and the journaling cards puts scrapbooking in a whole new realm for me, as in not so overwhelming any more. It's simple, but the layouts still look great (at least I think so). There's plenty of room for journaling--either a lot or a little--and places to put mementos like ticket stubs, receipts, mementos, etc., which I love.

I will hush up about it for now (but plan to do another post about it soon).

(This was me most of Monday. PJs and Project Life most of the day. Swoon.)

And here I am yesterday. As in the first day I got dressed and put on my face in far too long. Possibly a week? That's terrible. (I did shower every day, but just put my PJs back on.) Maybe I've been blahpressed (which is my word for a general feeling of the blahs for no particular reason). And? I think my junk food and laziness has caught up with me. Pufftastic.

We finally saw the new Muppet Movie yesterday.

It was cute.

Not as fantastic as I was hoping, but cute.

I'm glad to see an interest in The Muppets resurge and a whole new generation (or two) discover their awesomeness, but...Jason Segel bugged me and parts of the movie dragged and seemed forced to me.

But still, they're The Muppets and I l.o.v.e them.

After the movie we had a late lunch early supper at one of our favorite Tex-Mex haunts. I snapped this photo of Annelise and was surprised to catch a glimpse of her younger self. My heart breaks.

On our way home, since I was dressed and wise enough to take advantage of this rarity, we stopped by Office Depot to feed my Sharpie addiction. Bliss.

My recent library haul:

I'm reading Work Song by Ivan Doig right now and I like it. I really enjoyed his book The Whistling Season a few weeks ago. I haven't read anything lately though that just grabs me and won't let me put it down. I miss that kind of reading. I'm sure I'll have to re-check these as I've been a slacker reader of late.

And finally...

Wait, is anyone still here?

With Frasier gone our family room is back to normal. Except it's not so normal because I decided we should leave our Christmas tree inclusive furniture arrangement for a while instead the way it was pre-Christmas.

(Sorry for the dark photo)

Scott is slightly opposed to this since one chair blocks the fireplace, but since I'm a 43 year old hormonal banshee I'm fairly positive I won't be missing a roaring fire in a confined space anytime soon.

I think I told y'all this before, but on Christmas Eve I had an urge to update our photo frames/put out new ones, and so I did. New photos are happily residing on our mantel, top of our armoire, side bookcases and nestled in our bookcases upstairs. The photos are from our NYC trip, our Florida trip and just some general ones. And I LOVE how it's made our room cozier and homier. And me happier. I don't know why I always put that kind of stuff off (laziness? procrastination?), but I do. So I'm kind of proud of my little old self for actually following through with something.

(Sorry for the super bright photo.)

Here's a closer look at the mantel. I still feel like it needs something. Or am I cray-cray?

Okay, I apologize for the longest, rambly-est blog post ever.

But I haven't blogged for four days.

Now we know how dangerous that can be.

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

*Do abandoned Christmas trees twist your heart a little too?*

*Are you getting back to a post holiday routine?*

*Any (new) Muppet Movie opinions?*

*Do you have spells of blahpression too? Antidotes?*

*Do you feel pufftastic like me?*

*Read anything that grabs you and won't let go lately? Please share!*

2011: A Look Back in Photos

2011-12-31T23:09:00.000-06:00

So.
I made my first iMovie today.
And you can totally tell it's my first.
It's a little retrospective of 2011.
Through photos.
In amateur movie form.
It took me almost all ding-dang day (off and on, but still).
I wanted to post it much earlier in the day and not like an hour before 2012 bursts on the scene.
But here we are anyway.
There were many, um...technical difficulties.
And I could never figure out how to get music from our iTunes library so I had to make do.
Feel free to press mute.
And I gave up trying to add captions too.
Sorry about that.
I also feel I must confess that the first version weighed in at almost 19 minutes.
Nineteen. Minutes.
What the what?
Photos. I like them.
But I wheedled it waaay down to a much more manageable 5 minutes.
You are ever so welcome.
And I totally understand if you just can't bring yourself to watch the whole thing.
It's okay. We're still friends.
Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet from time to time and occasionally saying hi.
You are good people.

2011, you were a good year.
No offense to 2011, but here's to 2012 being even better.

InstaFriday

2011-12-30T10:11:00.002-06:00

It just dawned on me that this will be my last InstaFriday post of twenty-eleven.

Because I'm quick on the uptake like that.

And still find substituting twenty-eleven for 2011 highly annoying.

But might follow suit for 2012 just the same.

All of these photos were taken with my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app, which is always a favorite of mine because of the edgy randomness from all the lens/film choices. My current favorite combo is the Bettie lens with the Ina 35 film just in case anyone cares.

We still have our tree up and plan to enjoy it for a few more days.

Since we didn't go all out decorating this year I'm not feeling nearly as oppressed by Christmas decor as I have in the past as December rolls to a close, so I'm not in an all fire hurry to cast our tree to the curb.

There has been a lot of Lego assembly happening, which I love.

Annelise put The Night Bus together by herself and she and Scott worked on Hagrid's Hut together (she wanted NOTHING to do with that giganto spider Aragog). Next on deck is Hogwarts, which is a daunting task since it's an enormous set.

Monday night, on our way back from visiting Scott's family, we stopped at Gringo's for supper.

I almost always get the same thing, their tortilla soup with avocado. Love.

We can't seem to go three days without Tex-Mex.

Which is as it should be.

Our wreath of holiday happy.

In fact, it makes me so happy I leave it up most (if not all) of the year.

I need to find a better way to store past holiday cards. I used to include them in our scrapbook albums, but they take up a lot of space, and, well, I pretty much stopped scrapbooking. Now I just tie them with ribbon and set them aside. Maybe I should try punching holes and using a ring to make a flip booklet? What do y'all do with your old cards (especially the photo cards)?

In a crazy fit of following through with my ideas last week, I ordered a canvas of our family photo from our Christmas card, from Easy Canvas Prints. I thought it would take longer to arrive, so imagine my sheer delight when it showed up on our porch Wednesday afternoon. (!!)

Now it's happily hanging above our mantel in our family room.

I'm kind of in love.

I'm also trying to decide what to do around it, like maybe plates or a big letter or other photos.

I feel like it (the wall/mantel) needs something, but I'm not sure what.

Ideas?

This is happening again.

I'm hoping a scarf will eventually materialize.

I'll keep you posted.

I'm linking up with Jeannett again, be sure to pop over there for more InstaFriday fun.

Happy Friday, y'all!

Christmas 2011: That's a Wrap

2011-12-27T21:30:00.000-06:00

01 - 04: Annelise's Christmas program at school. They did a pseudo-play-musical hybrid that was cute, had catchy songs and was actually not boring. I am a fan of not boring.

05. Annelise could not put Diary of a Wimpy Kid down the afternoon she got it (from her class exchange). Santa brought her the recent Cabin Fever one and she has of course breezed right through it like butter. I'm glad she likes them but I think we'll stick with the library from now on.

06 - 08: The photos from our Christmas card. I'd show you the card but the Shutterfly embed thing is huge and annoying, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

09 - 10: The annual Christmas Eve pickle search yielded a book (surprise!), The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which was cute. We also did our last Jesse Tree advent, baked the world's yummiest gingersnap cookies along with the devil's pretzel ~~crack~~ bark, I decided to update photo frames & arrangements throughout the house, because projects like that are critical on Christmas Eve and not cray-cray at all (the mood struck and could not be ignored), and finished things up after our little elf went to bed with a late night wrapping fiesta while watching A Christmas Story. As you do.

11 - 12: Christmas morning dawned grey and rainy instead of bright but still early and the flurry of unwrapping began. We then feasted on bubble bread and piggies in a blanket before scrambling off to church. After church we enjoyed a yummy lunch at my dad and Peggy's house followed by lots of basketball and sports watching (Peggy's grandsons were there and Annelise was in heav. en). Unfortunately, in all the flurry, I did not take many pictures. Blerg.

13: Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

14 - 19: We spent the day after Christmas out in the country with Scott's sister, brother-in-law and brother which involved cuddling with two adorable dogs, the care and feeding of horses (Annelise & Aunt Karen), fire safety & adventuring (Annelise & Uncle Bill), duck feeding, movie watching, soccer (Uncle Ron, Uncle Bill, Scott and Annelise) kitten playing, eating (all of us) and the all important roasting of marshmallows & s'more consumption. Which are all the makings of a good day. I took a few pictures but never got any of everyone together. Blerg.

20: Is there anything better than sleeping late in your cozy new princess pajamas and then spending a handful of gloriously lazy hours putting together one of your three new Harry Potter Lego sets? I think not.

It's been a wonderful holiday.

Although I'm slightly confused as to what day it is.

And I can't tell you the last time I exercised.

And I've eaten waaaay too many gingersnaps and pretzel crack bits than can be good for one person to consume.

I have a huge zit on my chin to show for it.

But like I said, it's been a wonderful holiday.

How was yours?

Because Nothing Says Festive Like Sequins

2011-12-23T23:31:00.000-06:00

How many sequins does it take to cover a styrofoam ball?

A lot.

Like, a lot, a lot.

Especially if you are 43 and slightly OCD.

(Joan Collins called and wants her sequins back.)

However, if you are 8, you have a much shorter attention span and a much lower commitment to full sequin coverage.

The good news is I did not bug her about this. No pressure, no sequin coverage expectations here. Gaps were A-OK. I was calm, cool and collected. A cucumber, that was me. Over the span of 2-3 hours and four holiday shows she managed to finish almost 3/4 of her styrofoam orb and professed plans to pin her final sequins in the morning.

I remember making styrofoam ornaments with my mom, except she was more ambitious than I am. She used velvet, felt, beads, pins and sequins to create little foam works of art..I remember her proudly hanging my woefully sequin deprived ball every year next to her fancy creations.

I get it now.

Even though Annelise was only so-so excited about this last minute craft and at times intimidated by the sheer remaining styrofoam - sequin ratio, I'm glad we did this together. She asked me why we were making ornaments two days before Christmas, and while I had no reason for the tardiness except for that pesky pal procrastination, I told her I used to make styrofoam ornaments with my mom and I wanted us to do that too.

She seemed pleased by my answer.

And with a long-suffering sigh she poked a pin in another sequin.

Holiday Sk8 Date

2011-12-22T12:17:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night Annelise and I had a date at the skating rink. And by date I mean I took her there to meet three little friends from school and then sat there and watched her skate for 2.5 hours. I briefly considered donning a pair of skates myself but just could not find my inner 6th grade rollerskater for some reason.

I have a whole new respect for my dear granddaddy Archie for carting me (and sometimes my friend Robbie Ann) up to the roller rink and sitting there, waiting patiently in his Sears zip up retirement jumper, one or two times a week back in the day.

Tuesday night was dollar night and let me tell you, that word gets around.

Crowded. Is what it was.

$2 entry, she brought her own skates, and $1 pizza and $1 soda brought our grand total for the evening to a whopping $5.50 (I had a piece of ~~cardboard~~ pizza too and gave her .50 for a game, after which she spent her 11 tickets on pixie sticks and sweet tarts, score).

There was even a skinny skating Santa.

Which wasn't disturbing at all.

But Annelise got to see her friends, skate to her heart's desire, jump in the bouncy house, eat junk food and stay up late, so I'd say she had a good time.

We might even go back before the holiday break is over.

In other news, it's cold, rainy and rather dreary again today. Scott is braving the elements and possible crazies to get a few errands & last minute shopping done. I always tell him he's a good man, Charlie Brown.

Annelise and I are still in our PJs.

And if you pop by later today there's a 99.8% chance you'd find us still in our PJs.

Because we're over-achievers like that.

Happy Thursday, y'all!

Tuesday Morning Coffee {the 5 days before Christmas edition}

2011-12-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

Good morning y'all!

Do you ever wake up and plan for a lazy day on purpose? I have a sneaky suspicion today, or at least the majority of it, will be a homebody's delight. PJs, coffee, crafts and holiday movies just might be filling our dance card today. And I'm not-so secretly dee-lighted by this plan.

Besides it's all rainy and grey and pitiful outside. Blech.

Yesterday morning we were surprisingly productive by getting up earlyish and heading out to Target first thing. The good news is there was hardly anyone else there, which was delightful, and we finished up our holiday shopping all by 10:00 am.

I think.

At least I'm pretty sure we're finished.

We then rewarded our efforts with an IHOP breakfast (after Annelise dropped two toys in their Toys for Tots box, which we'd been meaning to do forever and yesterday was the deadline).

Sidenote: Did you notice Annelise's smile in the above photo? She lost another top tooth at school on Friday (but she was thrilled because 1.) she's never lost one at school before and her friends have and b.) the office gave her one of those cute tooth shaped tooth holder thingies), so she now has a four tooth wide gap across the top. I love, love, love her gape-y smile!

We also mailed out our Christmas cards yesterday morning, which made me want to do a happy dance right there on the sidewalk in front of the post office (don't worry, I restrained my urge) and then stopped by the library on the way home which was the perfect ending to a perfect morning (read: no crowds, no traffic, no lines, no stress and pancakes and free books).

My feet are hiding the fact there are no wrapped presents under the tree yet.

Is that pitiful?

Sometimes, when we're on top of things (HA), we'll have wrapped gifts under the tree before Christmas Eve/Christmas morning, but obviously this is not one of those times. It is kind of fun though to see it suddenly go from empty and sad to spilling over in one one fell swoop of a wrapping frenzy.

Last night we had big plans to meet up with our besties for dinner followed by a trip to a local park that's all over the top decorated with Christmas lights and such.

We all made it to dinner (food is a priority you know) but then bailed on the whole walking through the festive park thing.

The kids were having so much fun playing together and the grown-ups were having so much fun chatting no one was all that interested in traipsing through the park after all and the funny thing was, no one was even slightly disappointed.

Are we grinches or what?

In our defense, it had been raining and we were worried we'd get caught out in a sudden shower. And it was muggy and humid instead of crisp and cool.

Or maybe the kids just wanted to keep playing and the grown-ups wanted to keep chatting without having to hop on a shuttle bus and navigate through crowds of strangers and we all just wanted to hang out at our friends' lovely new home and nibble on sweet treats until 11:30 at night.

Whichever.

A merry, merry time was had by all just the same.

InstaFriday {but on Saturday. Again.}

2011-12-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here I am, late again, with this week's InstaFriday.

Oh well, as Doris Day sang, "Que Sara, Sara."

Last Sunday evening after church we went to another local church (gasp!) to walk through Bethlehem and then ended up at IHOP. As you do.

I was going to do a separate post about walking though Bethlehem, but quickly realized that might never happen, so I'll just tuck it in here. Y'all don't mind, do you? Good.

It's a great living history type of experience where you get a hands-on glimpse into bible times at the time of Jesus' birth. As you wait outside there are townspeople, dancers, shepherds, soldiers, and even a wise man or two, or three, to see and talk with. Once inside you weave your way through the marketplace where you see tradespeople model their craft, from bakers, scribes, weavers, to potters, rope makers, carpenters, an apothecary and the like. Annelise really enjoyed sampling not only the food but molding a small clay bowl, twisting rope and drilling and hacking at wood. After making your way through the market you end up at a modest stable where you meet Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus, which was of course the perfect ending to our visit.

Just me and my Chucks.

Just because.

Making treats for Annelise's class party.

Unfortunately I left the first batch in the oven too long and actually baked the kisses instead of gently melting them. Opps!

It kind of hurt my heart to toss an entire tray of ruined pretzel kisses into the trash. Especially since I had spent the previous sweet forever unwrapping said kisses.

Thanks to Pinterest I was able to cute up Annelise's gifts for her two teachers.

Inside each cup was a Starbucks gift card tucked into a Vera Bradley ID/card holder thingie.

I thought the to-go cup packaging was a neat idea, simple and cute (and free).

Even if I never make 1/8 of the crafty or food-y things I've pinned on Pinterest it feels good to know the ideas are there whenever the mood strikes. If ever.

I am happy to report that Annelise's class party yesterday went well. Surprisingly well. Which is refreshing. First they had their book exchange, sitting in a boys circle and a girls circle, listening to me read Twas the Night Before Christmas and passing books on the word *and*. Annelise was beyond thrilled with the book she received and completely forgot her sense of injustice that she gave two books and only received one, so that's good. After fortifying themselves on an array of snackage we herded them down to the science lab for the Gingerbread House Building Extravaganza 2011.

Oh my.

It was a little bit crazy and a whole lot of messy, but no one cried (though one little boy was this close to losing it when he couldn't figure out how to make his graham crackers fit one certain area) and 23 boys and girls managed to create holiday dream home masterpieces dripping with all sorts and forms of colorful sugar.

And memories.

Which are most important.

Happy weekend, y'all!

Thursday. As In 10 Days Before Christmas.

2011-12-15T10:30:00.000-06:00

I feel the need (for speed).

(Negative Ghost Rider, the landing pattern is full.)

Maverick buzzes the tower anyway.

Oh Tom, Tom, what has happened to you?

Okay, really...I feel the need to unclutter my brain a bit and what better place to do that than my blog complete with random holiday photos that have nothing to do with this post?

Monday afternoon after school and with approximately 1.5 hours remaining of usable light, my people and I got ourselves together for a little photo shoot for our Christmas cards. Some of you may be clicking away right now because you can't handle the fact that we were just then doing something about our cards at a shameful two weeks before Christmas, and I totally get how disappointed you are in me, but I hope we can still be friends.

The thing is, in the early fall, when one might start to think about taking pictures for one's card, here in Texas it's still a sauna. I can't even contemplate getting ourselves all together and posed and then watch while we all melt into a cranky puddle of sweat while looking cheery. Not gonna happen.

This year we thought of using a photo of Annelise from earlier this fall that we already had for our card and came this close to clicking place order, but I just couldn't do it.

Not because I didn't like the photo, I did. Not because I didn't like the idea of the caption, I did. But I always enjoy seeing the whole family on the Christmas cards we receive. I totally get why you might not want to be in a photo you're sending out to oodles of your family and friends (hey, I'm right there with you!) but I think it's important to include at least one photo of the whole family if possible.

Thankfully, we found a suitable spot close by and managed to get a few keepers before my people declared mutiny on me. No tears were shed and no one yelled, but there may have been a few clenched teeth pronouncements made. I consider that minor collateral damage for the greater good.

It was rather hilarious (and pitiful) that we had to spend a good 10 minutes trying to attach my camera to the tripod. I guess I need to use it more, huh? It was also a little challenging to find a good yet not distracting background, arrange ourselves into semi-flattering poses without sitting on the damp ground (who forgot the blanket? was it me?), where our height differences wouldn't look weird (steps are always helpful with this problem, but there weren't any) and I could hide the remote (at least somewhat). Since we were short on time (and patience) we didn't try lots of poses or backgrounds but it still worked out fine. I think.

The good news is our order is already on its way (hooray for Shutterfly 2-day shipping and a coupon code) so our cards just might make it to their recipients by Christmas. Whew!

And speaking of cards, I'm starting to wonder if we've been crossed off of lists (what?) or if everyone is running late like us or maybe not sending cards this year or something. I love checking the mail this time of year but this year seems to be, um...slim pickin's. At least so far.

And still speaking of cards (because I can't let it go) if I've sent you (and I mean you, my dear bloggy friends) a card in the past, don't give up on me, they'll be on their way to you soon. If you're a new bloggy friend and would like to exchange Christmas cards (wouldn't that be fun? yes!) let me know in the comments or email, m'mkay?

Things are slowly getting crossed off our to-do lists, but more likely than not they're just getting carried over to the next day.

Procrastinator.

Is what I am.

Teacher gifts. Check.

School Christmas program tonight.

Dance Christmas party this afternoon. (Iffy, heavy on the if)

Class party tomorrow.

Chocolate pretzel turtles made. Later today.

Book for class book exchange. Check.

Wrapping book. Not checked. Yet.

And speaking of a class book exchange, I'm really excited about it. The girls are trading *girl* books, boys trading *boy* books while listening to The Night Before Christmas (and passing when they hear "and"), which should be fun. The guidelines were not to spend more than $10, so we (and by that I guess I mean me) decided on two paperbacks, Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and a Christmas-y Magic Tree House that way a variety of reading levels/topics are covered and we were still under $10. Well. Annelise is all up in arms about giving two books and suggested giving one to her class library and exchanging the other (don't let her fool you for a moment, she's thinking she'll only get one in return, which she might). There may be drama tomorrow.

In fact I'm girding up my loins in anticipation of party drama.

Along with the book exchange there will be a craft.

And not just any craft.

Twenty-three 7 & 8 year olds will be making gingerbread houses all at the same time tomorrow.

I haven't been sleeping well.

I'll let you know how it goes.

That is, of course, if I survive.

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

hello wednesday.

hello my wiww friends.

this week's edition is short and almost to the point (have y'all met me?)

dress: target

grey sweater: downeast basics

jeans: old navy

mustard statement necklace: allora handmade

frye jane boots: zappos

i love the look of wearing a short dress over skinny jeans. for one thing it makes me feel like i'm 8 or 9 and it's 1978 again (dresses over pants was big, and then there's Maude) and for another thing it stretches my wardrobe options a bit further, which is always good (not that i'd ever, ever, ever wear that short of a dress without jeans or leggings anyway).
law.

did i tell you i'm in red hot love with my boots? like i'd wear them every single day if it weren't for this texas yo-yo weather (we're back to warm, sigh). i love their rugged kind of quirky look, their semi-slouchiness, their suede-y feel (is it weird to pet boots? no?) and even their stacked heel--and i am usually not a heel loving gal. y'all may get sick of seeing them and listening to me sing their praises, but if any of y'all are boot lovers i have i feeling y'all will understand.

my next boot challenge to myself is to wear fun tights--maybe patterned--(??) with a dress and boots. i also want to try boot socks, they look so cute (on others) when i spy them peeking out over the top.

i'm linking up again with lindsey and nina for fashion accountability and inspiration.

happy wednesday, y'all!

12 on the 12th: December

2011-12-13T09:07:00.000-06:00

01. the morning sunrise through our shutters.

02. morning joe. self-explanatory.

03. morning quiet time.

04. merry & bright.

05. lego star wars advent check-in first thing in the morning (apparently this is mandatory).

06. breakfast.

07. lunch assembly. i realized i always, always, always spread the peanut butter first. i might freak if i had to do jelly first. what about you?

08. three looooong overdue miles. who keeps forgetting to train for that pesky half in early march? is it me?

09. quick target trip for craft supplies (read: candy & graham crackers) for second grade's class party later this week. who thought making gingerbread houses with numerous small children would be fun? was it me? hold me.

10. waiting. car line.

11. wrapping up our highly amateur photo shoot for our christmas card. annelise's face says it all, no more, mama, no more. yes, we're always late like this with our cards. you?

12. snuggled up on the couch catching up with our jesse tree devotionals.

thanks for taking a peek at our twelfth. how was yours?

i'm linking up with amy, pop over there for more 12 on the 12th fun.

InstaFriday (er...Saturday)

2011-12-10T05:02:00.001-06:00

Here's a mini window into my week via my iPhone photos and my fave photo app, Instagram.

Based on the fact there are only four photos and two of them involve the TV, I can't say we've had the most riveting week.

We have had a fantastic week of cold weather, like for several days in a row (in Texas, this is a big deal, trust me) and I have been l-o-v-i-n-g it (even though it's made me a bit more hermit-esque than usual).

After a yummy supper of homemade chili (which of course turned into Frito Pie because chili without cheese and Fritos would be wrong), we settled in to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, which is always a favorite.

For some reason we always crack up when Linus says, "Lights, please" right before he launches into a speech about the true meaning of Christmas. He's such a serious little guy with a blanket.

The next night I made crock-pot chicken and dumplings which at the time my people raved about but then refused to eat them again for leftovers. Their behavior makes me question their original chicken & dumpling enthusiasm.

I guess that tangent has nothing to do with this post, I just needed to share I suppose.

One morning after taking Annelise to school Scott and I decided to make a schlumpy shopping trip on the way home ( a schlumpy shopping trip involves being basically dressed but unshowered and certainly not looking cute).

To our pleasant surprise the Dollar Tree was open (!!) and I was able to get the ribbon I'd been meaning to buy for over a week. For $1.00.

I have plenty of ideas but they often die a slow death in my brain before I actually follow through with my plan. If I have the supplies, great, if not, well, that's the craft kiss of death.

ANYway, I had saved the lower branches from Frasier in order to make a hopefully cute and free door swag thingie. I even thought about shopping for a monogram letter and spray paint, but Hobby Lobby at this time of year makes me break out in hives covered with boils, so the Dollar Tree came to the rescue. Long tangent short(er), I tied the branches together and hung them on our back door and for two days they drove me cray-cray because they shed needles every time we opened the door and were so thick (wide?) we had a hard time getting through the door without feeling like we'd gone through a forest. Now monster swag is hanging on the other door (we have french doors), still not looking particularly cute, but still almost free.

I realize that story has nothing to do with the cup of coffee in the above photo. I'm getting there, I promise.

I think ALL stores should open before 9:00, at least at this time of year. I hate that lost window of peaceful shopping opportunity between school drop off and store openage.

At least Scott and I got to kill time inside Starbucks (hot chocolate for him, coffee w/cream for me) (along with an old-fashioned doughnut for him and lemon pound cake for me) (I have no idea why we're feeling so, um, pufftastic) before browsing the delightful aisles of Barnes and Noble, otherwise known as Nirvana.

I was schlumpy, but still sported some lipstick as evidenced in above photo.

Scott and I had a semi-spontaneous lunch date yesterday to an Indian restaurant we'd been meaning to check out for over a year. We were worried about what to order, since our Indian food knowledge is quite limited and based only on buffets where you can try lots of different things.

Imagine how pleased we were to discover this place has a weekday buffet too. Score! (And ordering ignorance lives on.)

I promise I was much more excited than I looked in the photo. I find myself resorting to the semi-smile or the squinty-smile of late in an effort to lessen The Puff Face. And yes, I realize we were about to indulge in an Indian buffet full of rich and mysterious foods and had had treats at Starbucks the day before. What? I'm sure the two are not related at all.

Denial. It's where I thrive.

After school Annelise asked for hot chocolate and to watch The Muppet Movie, the original one, circa 1979, which warmed my heart. I think we need more Muppets, don't you? We only watched about half, and she's seen it before, but it was fun just the same. I'm so happy there's a resurgence in Muppet Mania thanks to the new movie, which we haven't seen yet, but plan to soon (ish).

I'm linking up again with Jeannett, pop over to her place for more InstaFriday fun!

Happy weekend, y'all!

This Christmas Season

2011-12-07T10:00:00.000-06:00

in the wee hours of the morning i tip-toe out toward the kitchen (because that's where the coffee lives) while the rest of the house snores.

even the cats.

along the way i plug in the lights on our christmas tree, catching a whiff of the glorious scent as i do.

coffee in hand, i settle into the chair closest to the tree with my bible in my lap in an effort to return to what really matters this season (and always).

the sun is still hiding and the lights on the tree are glowing.

it's a perfect way to start my day.

why do i forget that?

why do i willfully choose to do otherwise?

sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening--and even sometimes doubling up and reading in the car on the way to school because we started late this year--we're trying to focus on what's most important.

our jesse tree devotionals.

for advent.

i love the simple bare branches surrounded by pinecones, all from our yard and free, waiting to be filled with paper ornaments, that tell of Christ's coming.

and some of them even have glitter.

of course annelise is slightly more eager to open a window in this advent each day.

and that's okay.

there's room for Jesus and star wars i suppose.

this christmas season i'm choosing the simple and not the frou-frou (notthattheresanythingwrongwiththat).

one tree instead of many.

not a lot (okay, hardly any) of holiday decor throughout the house as in years past.

and you know what?

it's fine.

perfectly fine.

(in fact, my people haven't really noticed).

this christmas season i'm choosing not to compare myself to the way others celebrate or decorate.

and believe me, that one's a doozy because of television, blogs, pinterest and the like.

this christmas season i'm sure we'll do lots of fun things--we may even do crafts (!!) -- but none of those things are set in stone and are certainly not essential to our overall holiday enjoyment.

this christmas season i'm choosing the calm over the cray-cray.

(fingers crossed, of course)

how about you?

InstaFriday (on Saturday)

2011-12-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

Hi y'all.

I finally, finally, finally gathered my courage to wear my cowboy boots with a dress.

On Thanksgiving no less.

But then forgot to take a picture of the whole ensemble.

Part of me felt cute and sassy and the other part was slightly insecure.

After three partial days, three trips to Walgreens for new lights (buy one, get one half off), a banged up pinky finger and a scary tumble that thankfully only resulted in a splinter, albeit a thick, nasty splinter, Scott finished hanging our Christmas lights on our house.

Clark Griswald would be proud.

This little Frasier Fir came home with us the other night.

We were in and out in under 30 minutes.

It was a Christmas miracle.

And thanks to my dad for letting us borrow his truck we won't be finding pine needles in the back of our SUV in late July.

After rearranging our furniture (which I'm actually thrilled about the new set-up, change is good), finagling with lights (Scott's department), and stressing about leaning to the left (maybe Frasier is a liberal?) and pine needles (me), Frasier happily joined us in our family room.

I love, love, love the stark simpleness of just the tree and white lights.

(But we decorated it Friday evening after eating Chick-Fil-A on TV trays while watching Elf.)

(We love Elf.)

Annelise was beside herself with glee when she found her advent calendar after a super duper quick round of the hot or cold game game (truth be told, we didn't hide it very well).

What? Who's to say Lego Star Wars characters didn't celebrate the birth of Jesus?

But we're so doing our Jesse Tree advent too.

And maybe the little stocking advent too (note to self: buy treats ASAP).

That is, once Scott gets the rest of the boxes down from the attic.

Maybe, just maybe, this guy was one of the wisemen on Tatooine?

No?

I'm linking up with Jeannett, pop over there for more InstaFriday fun (even on Saturday, or whateverday).

Spreading More Sunshine {One Act of Kindness at a Time}

2011-12-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

November 2011 will go down in my personal history books (you know, my blog) as being one of the best months ever. Normally November gets a 3 or 4 star rating from me anyway because my birthday fell on the 22nd and Thanksgiving and all its trimmings came along right after.

So why is this particular November getting the full 5 star rating? Because of my birthday challenge and The Happy Day Project. Practicing random and more intentional acts of kindness has been such a blessing to me (and my family) along with blessing others with happy little surprises here and there. Almost every day I'd think about what I (or we) could do for someone and then look forward to carrying that task out. If I didn't *do* an act of kindness for a few days, I realized I was crabby. I bet doing something for someone else would have zapped that crabappleness right out of me in a jiffy!

You can read about my first acts of kindness for my birthday challenge here and here. My goal was to complete at least 43 acts of kindness by my birthday (11.22). Here's what's been happening lately...

14. Returned two stray shopping carts to the corrals along with my own at Target.

15. Dropped off two dozen do-nuts (still piping hot and smelling sooo good) to our local police station (this was also a Happy Day Project task). We planned to take one dozen to our fire department and one to the police, but the fire station didn't answer their doorbell so the police ended up with both.

16. Became sponsors for Nayeli, an 8 year old girl living in Ecuador, through Compassion International. This is something we've talked about doing for the last year or more and just never did it (ugh!), but finally sat down together and Annelise played a large role in the decision process. It was hard to still see so many faces of children that need sponsors and wish we could sponsor several more. We'll see. Maybe we can.

17. Held the door for an elderly lady at the post office who was walking with a cane.

18. Annelise put quarters in the candy machines at Dollar Tree.

19. Packed a shoebox for Samaritan's Purse & Operation Christmas Child and Annelise took it to school (this is something her school does every year, love that).

20. Checked her class shoebox donations for her teacher by making sure each had shipping $, appropriate items and were evenly filled.

21. Left a Snickers bar in our mailbox with a note for our mail person.

22. Paid for the lady's order (got off easy, she just had a large Diet Coke) behind me in the McDonald's drive-thru when I stopped for my morning coffee (cream no sugar).

23. Baked pumpkin bars for the PTF dessert giveaway at Annelise's school.

24. Helped with Annelise's 2nd grade class Thanksgiving party. Yes, I am so counting that. I was sweat.ing.

25. Assembled blessing bags with my bestest girlfriends.

26. Took dog and cat food to a local animal shelter.

27. Left two boxes of K-cups in the teacher workroom at Annelise's school. In all honesty, they were not my favorite flavors, so I was happy to pass them along and maybe someone else will like them.

28. Offered to take a couple's photo at the Grassy Knoll during my birthday extravaganza.

29. Put extra coins in the meter in front of the Texas Theater (also part of my birthday stalking).

30. Held the bathroom door for a mom wrangling with a stroller and three children at The American Girl store (birthday trip again).

31. Scott and Annelise dropped change into the Salvation Army bucket while shopping at Fry's.

And then I sort of fizzled out.

With only 12 more acts of kindness to go.

I know!

And here's where I stomp my feet and pout and whine a little and feel like a failure for not finishing my acts of kindness by my birthday. And then for not finishing them before the end of November. And then considered completely giving up, throwing in the towel, dropping the ball, waving the white flag, insert your favorite fizzle out metaphor here, and just slip myself on into some comfy sackcloth and ashes.

I even dragged my feet on posting this recap-failure update because, well, it's not so cheery to talk about fizzling out--on an act of kindness challenge of all things.

But then I changed my mind. So I didn't complete 43 acts of kindness by my 43rd birthday (or even by the end of November).

As the prolific singer Pink says, "So What?"

I'm still a rockstar...

And I will finish. I WILL. Eventually.

But I would LOVE to hear about your acts of kindness!! Whether you did one or ten or fifty, whether they were simple or elaborate, whether they cost money or were free, I'm sure they were fabulous. I'd love to hear how you felt afterwards (or during) too. You can share your experiences in the comments, through email or if you want to write a post at your own blog feel free to leave a link in the comments so we can find you. I can't wait to hear what y'all have been up to!

Plus I may need to ~~borrow~~ shamelessly steal some of your ideas so I can finish my 12.

So start talking.

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-11-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

hello friends!

i only have one outfit to share this week since everything else has been either schlumptastic (read: dullsville) or I forgot to take a photo (that's right thanksgiving, i'm talking to you).

without further ado, i present brown & black with a pop of color:

black dress: old navy

brown cardigan & belt: target

boots: frye jane from zappos (an early birthday present to myself which i fell madly in love with as soon as they arrived at my door, they even smell good)

turquoise necklace & bracelet: sam moon

initial charm necklace: the vintage pearl

this was my first time to wear a belted cardi and i must confess feeling a bit, um, odd at first. i was never sure if the belt should go right under my shelf or at my waist or where exactly. then i worried i looked too thick. but in the end, i liked it. and even felt a tad bit sassy. i really liked pairing brown and black together too (with a pop of color) and will definitely mix them together again. they're kind of like peanut butter and chocolate or popcorn and m&ms of the fashion world. or maybe not and i'm just hungry.

i'm linking up again with lindsey

and nina of momma go round for real momma, real style

be sure to pop over there for more fashion fun and inspiration.

happy wednesday, y'all!

JFK & Me {and cheesecake}

2011-11-28T12:26:00.001-06:00

Last week, in a fit of semi-spontaneity, we headed for the Big D, and I do mean Dallas, for my birthday.

I know!

I amused myself along the way by snapping photos which is not annoying to my people at all.

Or maybe it is and they love me anyway.

We hit town right before rush hour Monday evening (who wasn't packed and ready to go as early as we should have been? was it us?) and made our way to our hotel conveniently located in the west end of downtown.

Within walking distance of this...

Yes, you guessed right, that's Dealey Plaza, Elm Street and the Texas School Book Depository.

(The top photo in the collage is the view from our hotel room (!!), zoomed in a bit, which could not have been more perfect.)

I'm sure some of y'all are scratching your head wondering why in the world I would want to celebrate my birthday there of all places.

Well, I'll tell you.

November 22, 1963 is the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and five years later I was born. Growing up, in a sense, JFK was always a part of my birthday through grainy film, news coverage and newspaper/magazine articles and "Where Were You When" talk among the grown-ups. As I got older I started reading more about what happened that fateful day and became fascinated. Or a little obsessed. Whichever.

For all my obsession I had had only two brief visits to the site. I vaguely remember a loooong time ago, while visiting my cousins who lived in Dallas, my aunt driving by the Texas School Book Depository building and pointing it out to me, but I have a much more vivid memory of her showing me the house where they filmed Benji a few minutes later. To my 7 or 8 year old self, Benji was much more interesting than JFK. I later visited Dealey Plaza during college and always wanted to go back. Scott casually mentioned going for my birthday since Annelise would be out of school (and sometimes being unemployed has its perks) and I was all. over. it.

As we drove into downtown Dallas and got closer and closer to the corner of Elm & Houston my heart started beating faster and faster, which may sound silly but oh so true. Seeing photos and watching videos and movie are one thing, but actually being there, even 48 years later is something else. At least to me.

After checking into our hotel we walked over to Dealey Plaza to prowl around a bit and take things in. The area is actually smaller than it might appear to be in the old films, if you were standing on the curb along Elm St. or along the grassy knoll back in 1963 you were right there, right next to history as it happened.

I can't imagine.

Maybe if you're a Dallas-ite and drive by there often you might be immune to its history, but I was overwhelmed. I couldn't imagine driving by all the time and not thinking about what happened there. On a slightly morbid, but freakishly interesting side note, there are two large Xs painted onto Elm Street that mark where the shots hit (I'm guessing they were added by the Sixth Floor Museum as part of their walking tour, but I'm not sure).

We stayed there a while until it started to get dark and our tummies were rumbling for supper. Scott bought me a *historical newspaper souvenir* from a *reputable street vendor* before we left, which I thought was sweet.

My birthday dawned crisp and bright Tuesday and chock full of giddy anticipation over my present from Scott and Annelise. They know me so well. (Okay, I may have pointed it out to them and said emphatically, "I want this book for my birthday please.")

I do like Stephen King. At least the *old* Stephen King.

Are we still friends?

After a lazy morning we got ourselves together and made our way over to Dealey Plaza where a small crowd had already gathered. There were history buffs, tourists, protestors, and conspiracy theorists mingling around.

We fit right in.

There were speeches, songs (Beverly Oliver, allegedly the Babushka Lady, sang Amazing Grace, which was interesting since she was a former entertainer at a club next to Jack Ruby's Carousel Club) and even a moment of silence at 12:30.

I can't say Annelise was all that interested or that it's even appropriate to expose an 8 year old to such things, but I gave her my small camera and that kept her spirits up.

We walked all around the famous Grassy Knoll (I'm not sure why a sign was necessary, but there you go).

We peeked out from behind the picket fence where a second (or third or fourth or whatever) shooter could have been perched depending on what you believe.

We walked over to the railway overpass and imagined the motorcade view from there.

Take this with a grain of conspiracy salt, but just under the pass, where the streets merge, a man was struck on the chin by a piece of chipped concrete from a bullet (which bullet? which shot? how do you explain that away?) and on the right, directly across from the street sign on the left, where there's a sewer grating, another bullet was found, collected by *officials* and never explained.

We listened to conspiracy buffs peddle their DVDs under the pergola.

And don't tell anyone, but I bought some.

Back down on Elm we eavesdropped on Mr. Brandt recall his memories from that fateful Friday in 1963. He was 37 at the time and had stood on the corner of Elm to see the president pass. He's 85 now and dons the fedora he wore that day and comes down to Dealey Plaza every year on the anniversary to remember. He recalls three shots and believes the Warren Commission. He hid behind a nearby tree after the shooting.The man on his left was also a witness that day but he didn't talk much. They were being interviewed by Austrian documentary filmmakers.

Thanks to technology we were able to watch the Zapruder film on YouTube on my phone while standing right where Mr. Zapruder stood. Eerie. Surreal. But cool.

We also chatted with another documentary filmmaker who's making a film about the curious history and characters that flock to Dealey Plaza. She doesn't believe the Warren Commission.

A few people left flowers at the Dealey Plaza memorial plaque (which does not mention the assassination) next to Elm Street, directly in front of the X that marks the fatal head shot.

And you know I ran out there and had Scott take my picture, don't you?

I was in my element.

It was fabulous.

In a slightly morbid way of course.

Here are a few more photo highlights of our afternoon:

After, oh, a good long while outside, we finally made our way into the Sixth Floor Museum inside the old Texas School Book Depository building (it's called another name now, but it'll always be TSBD to me).

The museum exhibits are set up across the whole sixth floor and give you a wonderful background of JFK, his presidency and of course the events of 11.22.63. There are informative photo and evidence displays along with video clips that you wind your way through while listening to an audio headset.

You can't take photos inside, so I snapped a quick one of my little conspiracy buff before we went in.

The exhibits are very moving, no matter what you believe about a lone assassin vs. two or more shooters a la conspiracy, though they are definitely slanted toward the official version (some would say the official fiction). It catches your breath to stand next to the *sniper's nest* (the actual corner window- and area is preserved behind plexi-glass) and look down on Elm Street six stories below and wonder.

America certainly changed that day in 1963.

By force. By violence. By murder.

One last look back before we moved on to the next phase of my birthday celebration.

Food, glorious food, of course.

At The Cheesecake Factory.

Does it make the gluttony less if I tell you that I ate a salad and we shared that piece of Hershey cheesecake and took a Red Velvet to go? Or is it about the same?

The next morning we said goodbye to Dealey Plaza from our hotel window.

Until next time.

Maybe the 50th anniversary in two years?

(See the red topped shack in the left corner of the parking lot behind the grassy knoll? That's where Lee Bowers, a railroad employee, witnessed suspicious behavior (cars circling the lot, men against fence, well dressed hobos in a box car, lights or smoke after shots rang out, etc.) He's only one of many witnesses whose testimony was not included/investigated and who met an untimely *accidental* death.)

Before heading out we made a little detour into Oak Cliff to see the Texas Theater where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested.

The marquee is the same as that day. (It's still a working theater, recently refurbished.)

Annelise's good sportsmanship through Mama's Obsession paid off with a special detour on our way out of town.

Can you say excited?

I was too.

My 43rd year is off to a great start!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:30:00.001-06:00

May your day be filled with yummy food and time with those you love. (!!) Even if your meal includes popcorn, toast and jellybeans and you find yourself sitting at a ping-pong table after fighting a ornery folding chair, next to a chef-hat-bedecked beagle (with friends who invited themselves over, and I'm talking to you Peppermint Patty).

It's all good.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

*******************************

I'll be back soon(ish) with all the deets from a semi-spontaneous birthday trip and an update on my act of kindness challenge. I'm over 3/4 of the way toward my goal but I need a bit more time to wrap things up, so YOU can still join in the fun and do something--or several somethings--for others and then come back here and tell us about it in a few days. Won't that be fun? I can't wait to hear your stories!

Bags Full of Blessings

2011-11-19T11:49:00.001-06:00

One of the ideas for The Happy Day Project was to prepare blessing bags to have on hand when you see someone in need (maybe someone at the intersection holding a sign or at a rest area* or in area where there are more visible homeless). Last November I read about Leslie and her family preparing blessing bags and knew that was something I should and could do.

But then I didn't.

This November I mentioned the idea to my bestest girls and they were all over it! After bible study last week we made a list of items, divvied it up and then all met back this week with our loot for the bags. Since there are five of us, and this was our first time out of the gate doing this, we decided to bring enough items to fill 10 bags, that way we'd each leave with 2 filled bags ready to share. Here are some of the things we each brought:

*socks

*small bibles (from the $ store!)

*lip balm

*travel packs of Kleenex

*toothbrushes

*toothpaste

*wet wipes

*individual pkgs. of anti-bac wipes

*fruit cups

*cheese & cracker pkgs.

*raisins (small boxes)

*Slim Jims

*almonds

*granola bars

*tuna salad (foil pkgs.)

*individual pkgs. of peanut butter

*pretzels

*bottled water

We also included a verse and a card from our church. (I tried to print out the cute printable Julie made but our ink cartridge ran out of yellow, boo. Next time.) We might have been able to stuff everything into a gallon size baggie, but we used the 2.5 gallon size just to be safe (though they are giganto). We set everything out all fancy like onto the floor (ha!) and then passed the bags around to fill them. Easy breezy, Cover Girl!

Don't they look so happy sitting there all in a happy row ready to hopefully make someone happy?!?

Yes!

Now we have two bags of happiness in our car** just waiting to bless someone--hopefully soon! The thing is though, we don't see a lot of homeless people in our area. If they are around it's not very obvious (like when you are in certain areas of downtown Houston). So I'm praying for my eyes to be opened and really see others that might be in need but not necessarily look like I think a homeless person might look. I'm sure there are more than I realize in that situation.

My girlfriends and I plan to do this regularly now, like maybe every other month or something, so we'll always be prepared to bless someone. That feels great! They didn't cost too much or take too long to make, what with everyone sharing the task and all. That feels great too!

Maybe you and your family and friends can make some too. C'mon, I double dog dare you. xo.

*I'll never forget the time in high school, while on a family road trip to Florida, stopping at a rest area and seeing a family with car trouble that had posted signs in the rest rooms and wanting to help. Of course my dad was convinced it was a scam (sadly, that happens) and refused to give money, so we gave them our sandwich fixings. The mom looked grateful, but the dad looked disappointed and my dad still teases about the family that *stole* his baloney.

**Any tips on how best to store the bags in the car so they don't get too hot or cold or spoil? Any ideas for other items to include next time?**

InstaFriday

2011-11-18T10:17:00.001-06:00

While Annelise was at a birthday party at Mr. Gatti's last Saturday, Scott and I hopped across the street to 888 Bistro for an impromptu lunch date.

This was my fortune, which I liked. At first I took it to mean that little things can make a big impact, which fit nicely in my act of kindness challenge (to do at least 43 acts of kindness this month in honor of my birthday) and The Happy Day Project , then I wondered if it meant I tend to make mountains out of molehills. Both are applicable I suppose.

Monday (11.14) was Annelise's Gotcha Day (her adoption day). Things were fairly low-key this year as far as the celebrating. She asked if we could eat at Fuddrucker's and we were happy to oblige.

Within approximately 45 seconds she *lost* her dollar in the jewelry claw game. I'm not sure why she hasn't caught on that those games are rigged and choose a game you can actually shoot something or drive something.

In honor of Gotcha Day (but a little early) she got a new Build-A-Bear friend, Cody who is a koala. I kind of love that she still loves Build-A-Bear.

I met with my bestest girlies this week and we assembled blessing bags. We each brought several items from food, to hygiene products to small bibles, stuffed the them in an assembly line (or circle, we were on the floor) and each left with two bags to carry in our car ready to give when needed. I was SO excited! We plan to make some more in a few weeks to have on hand for the Christmas holidays and hope to make more every couple of months or so. (This was Day 6 for The Happy Day Project, of course we did it later and of course when you do it doesn't matter.)

This is fairly self explanatory.

Fresh color and trim make all the difference, don't they? Yes!

My cut is still about the same but with a little more bob and a little less angle. I'm recommitting to letting it grow. Again.

I've never gotten too hooked on many games/apps on my iPhone but lately I've found myself lots of aliens by flinging presidents' heads at them.

It's so fun.

And educational.

Annelise plays too.

And I might as well admit that too.

Are we still friends?

Look at my sharp dressed man!

Scott had an interview this morning with an energy company.

An actual interview with people.

(!!)

Of course he's not sure if it would be the best fit for him (big change from aerospace industry) and there would be a 40+ minute commute each way or if they'll even offer him the position.

But at least it's a step in the right direction.

And finally, this week was shoebox collection week for Operation Christmas Child which is part of Samaritan's Purse. Annelise packed her box, wrote a little note and took it to school earlier this week, I helped check her classes' boxes after school the other day and then they held a special chapel this morning. My heart was about to burst watching all the children, from toddlers in preschool to awkward 7th graders carry their boxes to the front of the sanctuary. They ended up making a beautiful wall of love! Warm fuzzies galore, I tell ya.

And finally, finally I may or may not have given myself an early birthday present which I'm wearing in the photo above (top right corner). Any guesses?

I'm linking up again with Jeannett, be sure to pop over to her place for more InstaFriday fun.

Happy, happy weekend y'all!

Thanksgiving in the Trenches (Otherwise Known as a Class Party)

2011-11-17T01:00:00.000-06:00

Just when I think I might be relinquishing my perch on the tippy-top of Control Freak Hill, I get an in my face reminder that, yep, I'm still earning my Control Freak merit badges.

My time in the trenches, aka second grade, Wednesday afternoon brought my quirks into sharp relief.

As room mom, or co-room mom or whatevs I am fairly laid back and I can certainly roll with the flow. I just want to know what the flow is and feel confident that there are plenty of snacks.

Priorities you know.

I am also a fan of posting a sign up sheet so that ALL parents have the opportunity to contribute to the party, whether they choose to or not and then fill in the missing pieces if needed by party time.

For the Thanksgiving party, which was for both classes together, things were a bit different than the plan in my head (the nerve). Instead of posting a sign up sheet or emailing or sending a note the moms in the other class decided to just divvy everything up between them. Which in theory should work, and even though I oppose it on principle I rolled with it. Between the five moms we agreed to provide snacks, a Thanksgiving book, a craft, drinks and a movie. On paper things looked good.

Here's how the snacks broke down:

(1) bag apple sticks

(1) small dish of pigs in the blanket

(2) trays of fall cookies

(1) tray of pretzels, cheese cubes and goldfish (that I kept refilling) (This is what we brought.)

(2) boxes of Capri Sun pouches (only 20, there are 23 kids)

So I basically became the snack table Nazi. Not to each child's heartwarming endearment I'm sure. First, since we didn't have serving spoons and the fact that many grabby, grubby, germy hands make me unhinged, I took it upon myself to serve them. It took a little longer, but we really had to police things or we would have totally run out of food before they got their first serving. I had to say, "Sorry only one pig in the blanket right now, and only one cookie, which one would you like leaf or pumpkin?" and we ran out of drinks (which was inevitable). I had asked Annelise to give up her drink and have water, one boy was disappointed but held it together and one girl burst into tears and another girl kindly gave up her drink pouch to her. I hated that there was drama and that three kids didn't get what the others did.

One little smarty pants was overly bothered by the fact I wasn't letting them serve themselves and kept trying to do it herself. And then, and then she said to me, "Well, can I eat it myself?" Yes, with The Tone. Oh how I hate The Tone. She's 7!! I raised myself up as tall as I could, gave her my best stink eye and said, "Yes you can." Though in my head I prefaced it with ,"Well, bless your heart," which here in the south can either mean yes, bless you, you sweet darling or kiss my foot, let me smack you, you little stinker. (Can you tell I'm still irked? What type of child smarts off to an adult that's shoveling snacks on her plate?")

Moving along to happier memories...

We also played a fun little game that I saw on Pinterest and adapted a bit called The Turkey Roll. I couldn't find a craft that seemed doable in 10-15 minutes and didn't require paint (eeek!), so I filled in with an edible game instead.

After they paired up they took turns rolling three dice, finding the sum and then building a turkey out of an Oreo, M&Ms and candy corn by following a simple key. It was fun to see how they built their feathers--everyone had a different perspective, which was great. I think they had a fun time, which was a relief (you never know how things are going to turn out--remember the snack drama).

I also read a Thanksgiving book and then they watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (which is always in style).

By the end of the party I was a twitchy, sweaty, retired-snack-Nazi-heap.

But I think it was a hit.

Bless my heart.

Do class parties make you twitchy too?

How do you handle The Tone in other children? Ugh!

Would you rather divvy up between a few moms or post a sign-up sheet?

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

how sad am i that i only have one outfit to share with y'all this week?

very.

because it means i did not follow through very well with my whole getting myself together daily plan.

again.

but look, this week i'm outside!

and still posing with at least one hand on my hip. blerg.

white dolman 3/4 sleeve top (my mom & i used to call this style "batwing" sleeves, i'm glad to see them back in style): target

grey tank: target

scarf: downeast basics

jeans: lucky

lucchese brown pointy-toe cowboy boots: cavender's boot city (so comfy!)
(you can barely see them, they're hiding in the grass)

aviator shades (on top of my head): target

i know i told y'all last week i had big plans to mix brown & black, wear cowboy boots with a dress and try a belted cardigan but this yo-yo fake fall texas weather has not been very cooperative.

but i will try again once the risk of heat stroke is reduced.

i'm linking up with the pleated poppy and momma go round again for fashion inspiration and accountability. be sure to take a peek over there!

happy wednesday, y'all!

A Running Experiment

2011-11-15T11:30:00.000-06:00

I think I've mentioned once or thirty times that I follow a run:walk interval pattern when I go for a run. It used to be a five minute run followed by a 1 minute walk, now it's morphed into 3:1 and I haven't challenged myself to increase my run interval lately. I'm kind of lazy like that.

The theory behind run:walk interval training/running for longer distances is that taking frequent walk breaks helps you reserve energy to finish strong. It's also a helpful method for beginner runners to build up endurance and stay injury free. I've always trained this way (even when I started running on the treadmill in 30 second intervals years ago) because for me, knowing I have a walk break coming helps me run (after all, running is 90% mental).

I set my Garmin to keep track of my intervals, but I've also used a Timex watch and now there are apps that will do that for you too.

I like my intervals. I really do. And I don't want to hurt their feelings but I sometimes wonder if I could ever be a straight run runner. I've always admired *those guys* (and gals), running mile after mile without taking a walk break and making it all look so easy and effortless (and truth be told I kind of hate them).

The other day I decided to give it a whirl. I set my Garmin to run one mile at a time with a 2 minute walk break in between miles (hey, baby steps y'all). The good news is, I can do it. In fact I managed to knock out four miles.

But I was more tired at the end.
And my knees were sore (more impact without breaks).
And running a mile straight seems sooooo much longer than my 3:1 intervals.

But I can do it.
At least for shorter distances.

(I can't imagine what running straight for 13.1 much less 26.2 would be like. Ay, yi, yi.)

I just don't know if it's the best thing for me.

Do you run straight miles or follow run:walk intervals?

Pros/Cons/Thoughts?

P.S. Check out JeffGalloway.com for more information on the benefits of interval running (and training plans too).

Could Someone Please Refill My Cherry 7Up-tini?

2011-11-14T09:25:00.000-06:00

Who popped off a snarky blog post last week about over the top birthday parties that tweak adult indulgences for children, as in a spa birthday party for 7 & 8 year olds?

Was it me?

Who then allowed her 8 year old daughter to attend anyway?

Was it me?

Who had reservations on principle (and a not so distant memory of the booze and the bouncy castle) but felt obligated since this birthday girl came to my birthday girl's skating party a few months back?

Was it me?

Who was over the top e.x.c.i.t.e.d. when she was given a glitter-y little purse filled with her very own make-up palette and a turn in the massage chair and dunk her tootsies in the swirling blue water?

Was it Annelise?

Who thought the snacks were delicious and the sprite served in the cute plastic glasses was the BOMB? Who had no clue that those cute plastic glasses were, um...martini glasses?

Was it Annelise?

Who almost came unglued at the sight of 7 and 8 year old girls sitting in spa chairs sipping bubbly from martini glasses (a few even put strawberries on the side!), wearing eye shadow and getting manis & pedis?

Was it me?

Of course I held it together (remembering my own pretending with candy cigarettes back in the day), but the blurry line between adult and kid behavior did give me the heebs just the same.

Of course Annelise had a blast.

But knows spa treatments are not in her future anytime soon either.

***************
In case you couldn't tell I was conflicted about going to this party and conflicted while I was there. Maybe I shouldn't have let her go. Maybe I should have replaced her plastic martini glass with a styrofoam cup. Maybe she was fairly oblivious and just had fun getting pampered with her friends. Maybe I tend to over-react. But I've only got one 8 year old precious girl and I don't want her growing up too fast.

Spreading Sunshine {One Act of Kindness at a Time}

2011-11-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

Y'all.

I had no idea how much being purposeful with acts of kindness would change me.

You know how The Grinch looks down upon WhoVille at the Whos merrily singing without their presents or tinsel or roast beast and his heart grows 3X its size?

That's me.

For realsies.

Here's a rundown of some acts of kindness completed toward my birthday challenge:

01. Scott and I dropped off a 3/4 full bottle of detergent we can no longer use (we have to use HE stuff now) and put quarters on top of about 8 washers for future use at a local laundromat (I wanted to tape them, but Scott ixnayed that). I realized how much I take having a washer and dryer in our home for granted. What a drag to have to haul your clothes and unmentionables to a laundromat, wait for them, fold them in front of strangers and then haul them home. I hope this made a dreary task brighter for someone!

02. We taped $1.10 with a note to a Red Box for a free movie for someone.

03. We donated a children's book to a local hospital while shopping for a birthday present at Barnes & Noble. Annelise was thrilled to share Ramona--even in Spanish--with a girl in need.

04. Annelise put coins in a few games and candy machines at Cici's Pizza.

05. We taped .50 with a note to a pay phone.

06. As part of The Happy Day project this week I baked pumpkin bars for our neighbors. Annelise was our happy delivery girl. She took a pan to the neighbors on our left, the right and her grandparents who live two houses down from us. Why don't we do this more often? I don't know, I hope we will. The recipe makes a ton, so we had plenty to share and we got to treat ourselves a little too.

07. So I made some more pumpkin bars Monday night and Annelise gave them to the office staff at her school and her two teachers. This time I rolled forks up in fallish napkins just for kicks.

08. Day Two of The Happy Day Project was to send a handwritten note, which for some reason was the hardest to do so far, at least until I got in the groove of it. It's something I used to be much better at, but it became something I'd put off and rarely follow through with. I think that's why it was so hard to sit down and actually start writing. Once I got going though I ended up writing nine notes (!!) and Annelise even got into the swing of things and wrote a note to her Aunt and Uncle in Maine. I felt soooo much better when I was done because several had been on my to-do list for far too long. I hope I'll keep this trend going!

09. One of the notes was for Wren. That note was hard because I didn't know her, but I muddled through as best I could.

10. We tucked a small Kroger gift card in her note.

11. Day Three of The Happy Day project was to give gift cards to the homeless. I love the idea of having something ready to give when you see someone in need, but we've never been prepared. Today we bought five cards for McDonald's and put them in our glove box so we'll be ready. It didn't cost too much and will hopefully give someone not only a hot meal but provide us an opportunity to share some comfort and love. We'll be looking!

These things, along with the two from last week, bring me almost 1/3 into the ballpark of meeting my goal of 43 acts of kindness by my birthday. That's incredibly exciting! As I've been working on these acts of kindness I've learned a few things...

*No one looks at you funny if you tape coins to things with a note, even with zebra duct tape. This is cool. Or perhaps worrisome?

*I'd like to have a little printable, maybe with a scripture, but haven't come up with anything yet. Right now index cards are doing the job.

*One of the keys I think to a project like this is being prepared. How many times have I thought, "Oh I wish I had abc with me so I could xy and z" so I miss an opportunity. Now we have tape, index cards, coins, sharpies and the McD's cards in the car so we're ready. I'd like to start carrying a few bottles of water and eventually blessing bags for even more opportunities to lift someones spirit.

*There is definitely a kindness-adrenaline-rush-endorphin high, both before and after. Who knew?

*There's also a snowball effect. You want to keep doing and giving!

*I'm seeing people more, thinking about others more, looking for needs, stepping out of myself. That feels so good!

*Yes, several of these things cost money, nothing huge, but it does add up. I'd like to focus on doing a few things that are free or dirt cheap for a bit but am having a hard time coming up with ideas. Can y'all help me out?

Let's spread a little happy y'all!

(y'all can still join in!)

(c'mon!)

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-11-09T06:46:00.000-06:00

Here are two quick takes on what I've been wearing lately:

white tank, t-shirt, navy striped cardi & mustard flats: target

jeans: old navy

mustard rosette necklace: allora handmade

belt: sam moon

spice drape-y cardigan & cream/peach lace tunic: downeast basics

grey tank: old navy

jeans: banana republic

zebra flats: target

triple strand pearl necklace: target

pearl bracelets: sam moon & target

i don't know why i'm standing with both hands on my hips.

awkward much?

i don't know if the drape-y cardi look is still hot this season, but it better be because they are a key item in my fall(ish) wardrobe. the truth is, i'm a simple girl that likes cute, casual but comfy clothes that i can mix and match and spruce up with different accessories. jeans are my friend. i wear the same things a lot. a lot, a lot. like i get stuck in a rut. so, i'm challenging myself to shake things up a bit next week by embracing the cowboy boots with a dress, mix brown and black and wear a belted cardigan.

oh my.

i hope i make it.

i'm linking up again with the pleated poppy and momma go round for fashion fun and accountability.

happy wednesday, y'all!

Tuesday Morning Coffee

2011-11-08T11:14:00.001-06:00

Good morning, y'all.

I am on cup number two, how about you?

I took a little time over cup number one this morning to catch up on Prime Suspect on Hulu. As it turns out our DVR had neglected to record an episode (oh the horror!) because of a scheduling conflict (Thursday nights are busy for our DVR), so I was happy to find it on Hulu. And free Hulu, not Hulu Plus, so yay!

In other news...

I ran four miles this morning. Which makes two runs in the past four days and based on my past average, I consider this a big fat hairy deal. In my favor. My goal is to get at least two, in a perfect world three, weekday runs and a longer weekend run. It's good to have goals.

This morning as we were walking to the car, Annelise was tickled that I used her sidewalk chalk to document my miles. Then she said, "I've always found it hard to make a cursive f."

Which cracked me up because they've only been learning cursive for the last eight(ish) weeks. I told her it was even harder with sidewalk chalk.

The Happy Day Project is rolling merrily along. Today is handwritten note day and I am about to get on that in just a bit. Instead of just jotting out a quick note when the urge--or need--strikes--I don't usually do it. I think I have to, have to make a cute card (since I have all the crazy supplies gathering dust upstairs) and then of course I don't ever make the card and then days (weeks, months) pass and I forget and eventually I remember and am crushed with guilt. I used to be much better at sending thoughtful notes and I really, really, really hope to get back to that place. Starting today. In just a minute.

Yesterday's Happy Day thing was to share a homemade treat with your neighbor(s). I made some pumpkin (topped with cream cheese frosting, oh my!) bars on Sunday and Annelise (with a bit of help from Scott) happily delivered them (more on that in another post), which was great. Last night Scott and Annelise begged me to bake some more, and since they are so yummy I didn't need much arm twisting. The recipe makes a LOT, so this time we (and I mean me) packaged up some for the sweet office staff at Annelise's school and her two teachers. I hope they like them!

And if y'all want to jump on The Happy Day train, go right ahead. There's a little something nice to do every day this week and since it's only Tuesday it's not too late (really, it's never too late) to join the fun. Really. And speaking of nice and kind, I hope y'all will join me in my birthday challenge too. I'd love to hear what random acts of kindness (or intentional ones) y'all come up with, whether you do one or five or ten or even forty-three (hee hee).

A box full of happy arrived yesterday evening from Amazon. Not only did it contain new K-cups for my Keurig, it had what might become my new favorite kitchen gadget, a Vacu-Vin pineapple slicer. We love, love, love fresh pineapple and I had long resigned myself to the fact that cutting up a pineapple would be messy and there would be waste. I was skeptical to try a gadget based on my experience with a craptastic As Seen on TV pineapple corer a few months back from HEB, but after hearing raves about Vacu-Vin I decided to take the plunge. Y'all. It really, really, works. (!!) It's easy! There's hardly any mess or waste. This is a pineapple game changer.

The happy box also contained my Project Life supplies. Says the girl who hasn't done a scrapbook page in over two years (I think). I miss it though and feel mountains of guilt about not documenting memories in some manner more tangible than this blog (not that I don't love my blog, I do, y'all know that). I like the simplicity of the Project Life system because it focuses on photos and journaling, not all the do-dads, and seems easy to use with the divided page protectors. I can't wait to start playing!

Okay, my coffee is long gone and it's hardly Tuesday morning any longer. Unless I pretend I live on the west coast.

Hope your Tuesday is happy, happy!

cringe

2011-11-07T21:50:00.000-06:00

hi.
i had this whole other post thing going (with photos!) and when i opened it up to put some words with the photos i realized i had no inspiration in that particular direction tonight. maybe tomorrow.
so.
do y'all ever open up your email and cringe?
tonight i cringed.
annelise just received her third birthday party invitation for this weekend. it's stacking up like jenga around here.
this particular party is going to be at a nail salon.
what the what?
they're 7 and 8.
i know, i need to chill, but i think that certain things should be waited for, anticipated, and looked forward to.
and prepositions shouldn't be left hanging at the end of sentences.
i know, i need to chill, but i think spa manicures and pedicures fall in the category of wait-until-you're-older, like a teenager at least. or older and you make your own money or it's a special, special occasion.
adult indulgences being tweaked to entertain children bug me.
i'm bugged.
why can't we let our little girls be little girls for as long as possible?

(!!)

am i a freak-a-zoid?

This Running Post Brought to You By the Letters...

2011-11-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

A for alarms not being ignored.

B for beautiful blue skies. And Body Glide.

C for cool(ish), crisp weather that made running exhilarating instead of a soul sucking sweat fest. And Coldplay. And for coffee when I'm done.

D for dogs, specifically the friendly black lab that kept me company for the last mile. Fist bump (paw bump?) to Bandit! Also to the man letting his three rather large dogs play off leash, thanks for calling them back to you when I wogged by.

E for Eminen's Lose Yourself playing on my trusty iPod shuffle that started off my run.

F for five. Five MILES that is.

G for grateful. That I have the ability to run, that I have strong legs to carry me (go thunder thighs, go!), that my body shows up and performs when I ask it to do hard things even when I don't always treat it right and so on and so forth. Also, G is for Gossip Girl which is playing on Netflix as I type this.

H for hydration. And happy. Running makes me happy.

I for my iPod shuffle packed with an eclectic mix of tunes that keep my feet shuffling merrily along.

J for Just Do It. Nike is so right.

K for keep going. Just keep going. Just. Keep. Going.

L for lip balm.

M for music. I don't think I could run without it. And my Mizuno running shoes.

N for no pesky mosquitoes.

O for one mile at a time.

P for Proud Mary. Tina Turner style. Could I have her legs for like, one day? Maybe two? Okay, a week.

Q for Queen. As in old school Another One Bites the Dust (and Fat Bottomed Girls) that made me run like I was in sixth grade again. I even clapped.

R for running mojo and mantras.

S for shower. I need one.

T for my Nike Tempo track shorts, which are the most comfortable running shorts. Ever. (Honestly, I'm a little self conscious, see thunder thigh note above, but I try not to dwell.) And for the Taco Truck that drove by around mile 4 that made me realize I was hungry. (See above thunder thigh note, again.)

U (I got nuttin')

V (ditto)

W for waves. I don't pass a lot of people when I run near my house, but when I do I usually give a casual-hand-flick wave. Some people wave back, others are crabs and don't. Oh the humanity.

X (again with the nuttin')

Y for Yaz. Hello, the 80s called and wants its dance mix music back. Move out. Don't mess around. Move out.

Z for Zaat's all folks!

You're welcome.

InstaFriday

2011-11-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Annelise had two birthday parties at the Kemah Boardwalk. What are the odds, right? The first one was after school Friday, which is actually a nifty time for a party. They were in the party room at The Aquarium restaurant for a bit then, and then, they each got a wristband to ride unlimited rides on the Boardwalk.

I know! A kid's dream come true, right?

It was a lot of fun, but slap your granny it was COLD and we were not prepared for that. Who forgot about super cold windy wind blowing off the bay? Was it us?

Annelise's favorite ride was the mini-drop ride thing (think super mini-Tower of Terror or Dungeon Drop) because it bounced you bunches. She and her friends rode it on repeat. Even three and fourpeat.

I know I mentioned this in yesterday's post, and I realize I may have just scraped the bottom of the bloggy basement by bringing it up again, but I like easy meals that require not too many normal ingredients and are yummy, so now I'm showing you a photo of our Hawaiian chicken supper. Frozen chicken breasts or tenders, crushed pineapple and hawaiian BBQ sauce (I actually used marinade because HEB didn't have the other--c'mon HEB) and a Crock Pot = easy, tasty dinner.

I heart Pinterest.

I haven't made, sprayed, baked, printed, copied, sewn or arranged hardly any of the things I've pinned.

Yet.

We're finally having another cold spell.

Like in the actual 40s (albeit briefly and before waking hours, but still).

It's so nice to snuggle up and feel all cozy.

Our cats agree.

And, for no apparent reason, I snapped a self-portrait yesterday while out and about.

I guess I've got my eye on you.

Happy weekend, y'all!

And don't forget to set your clocks back Saturday night.

(I love fall back, spring forward, well, notsomuch.)

I'm linking up once again with Jeannett, be sure to pop over to her place for more InstaFriday fun!

Stay tuned...next week kicks off this batch of awesomesauce:

Woo. And a hoo!

This, That and the Other {& a RAoK Update}

2011-11-03T20:12:00.000-05:00

Can I just be honest with y'all?

(Yes, yes I can because this is my blog and I know y'all get me.)

I did my first two random acts of kindness (RAoK) today (for my birthday challenge remember?) and doing those two little things for others today made ME so stinking happy.

(!!)

Who knew?

(I mean, of course I pretty much knew that blessing others--in itty bitty ways and in bigger ways--blesses me too, but I still don't practice what I preach as well as I should or could.)

I could easily get addicted to this.

And that would be a good thing.

Today I sent three small loaves of banana bread to school with Annelise, for her two teachers and the sweet lady that works the morning car line. That was easy! I hope they liked it and it brightened their day.

This afternoon I decided to do my first random, random thing, like for a stranger. I gathered my courage and got into the drive-thru line at Starbucks. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to treat someone to a latte (or whatever) because no one pulled in the line behind me for a while. (!!) Just as I was about to pull up to the window I noticed another car behind me. Yay! And for some freakish reason my heart started beating faster. (!!) What in the world? There must be some sort of RAoK adrenaline rush that I had no idea existed. When I handed the Starbucks lady my debit card I asked her if I could pay for the lady's drink behind me (as if I needed permission? I don't know. What should I say?), and she said sure. And that was that.

Except I was sooooo happy as I drove off to know I surprised that lady and maybe made her afternoon a little bit better and maybe, just maybe she'll do something nice for someone else.

As I'm working on my little challenge this month I'm so encouraged to know that many of you are joining me in your neck of the woods. Thank you! That makes me crazy happy! Some things will be random, some will be more intentional, some will be for strangers or community service people that I don't really know, some will be for friends, some will cost a little $$, some a little bit more $$$ and some will be basically free. I'm crazy excited about this!

And...along this same random (or intentional) act of kindness vein, have you heard about The Happy Day Project?

Julie and Jeannett have teamed up to spread a whole bunch of awesome.

And that's, well, awesome.
******************************************************
This:
Was our supper tonight. Served over brown rice and with oven roasted broccoli.
My people raved about it.
Okay, not really. They liked it and ate it.
Even though I made the tragic mistake of serving Annelise's over her rice, instead of separately. Oh the horror of food and sauce mingling.

That:
I've been listening to my She & Him station on Pandora this evening.
It's blues-y and quirky.
Pretty much awesome.
I may need to download the She & Him Christmas album. Not yet, but soon.

The other:
I've made a firm commitment to exercise every day until my birthday (11.22) following a random plan of running (or wogging), TurboFire, P90X, etc.
I did shoulders & arms of P90X (my arms finally recovered from chest and back last week, ay, yi, YI) and a TurboFire disc on Tuesday (11.1). It felt great!
Then I did nothing on Wednesday due to a smashing headache that lasted most of the day.
So I'm obviously off to a roaring start.
But I did TurboFire again today, so I'm back on track. It felt great!
And I only ate two pieces of candy from Annelise's stash today. This is progress y'all.

Happy Thursday, my friends.

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-11-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

This WIWW post is brought is brought to you by lameness with a side of schlumptastic.

I say that because I only have two outfits documented this week. Most days I stayed schlumpy in jeans and a t-shirt (sweet), my workout clothes (working out was actually optional, pity) or if I did gather myself I forgot to take a photo.

You know how you throw something together and you think, m'mkay this is looking mighty cute and then you catch a glimpse of yourself in a window or full mirror or your husband kindly snaps a photo of you on your porch?

Suddenly you're mortified you left the house and pranced around in public.

Exhibit A: My outfit for church on Sunday. We had a cool-ish spell so my first thought was, "Break out some boots!"

Except I look like I just hopped off my horse and onto our porch.

When did my boots become so cowboy-ish?

Yee. And haw.

grey dress: Down East Basics

pink ruffle cardi: Down East Basics

Frye Carson boots in fawn: Zappos

silver choker with cross: James Avery

I love wearing this necklace because it belonged to my mother. She also had a big sand dollar pendant, very 70s, which I switch the cross out for sometimes.

And another view of my boots.

Maybe I should've worn my taller boots?

See, I want to be the type of person that can wear cowboy/western boots with dresses and skirts with confidence and flair(a la Tami Taylor on Friday Night Lights) and I'm just not there yet. Sigh.

Monday evening: Trick or treating & halloween carnival

grey & black t-shirt: Stein Mart

grey layering tank: Old Navy

black drapey vest: Forever 21

jeans: Lucky

initial necklace: The Vintage Pearl

silver chain necklace: Kohl's

black blingy flip-flops: Yellow Box

And there you have it, a short and sweet WIWW.

Be sure to visit The Pleated Poppy and Real Momma, Real Style for more fashion inspiration!

What do you think of boots and skirts (not too sort of a skirt, mind you) on say, a 42 year old? Hip & Fun? Appropriate? Edgy? Ridiculous? Do tell.

11.1.11 {and a random act of kindness challenge}

2011-11-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

Hello November.
And welcome.

Have I told y'all that I love, love, love the month of November?

I do.

And this love may or may not stem from the fact that my birthday is in November.

Don't get me wrong, I love the fall-ish weather, the changing colors, Thanksgiving and all its trimmings too, but I tend to put my birthday at the top of the list. As you do.

It's the 22nd, just in case you want to mark your calendars. Go ahead. I'll wait.

This year I have a wild hair plan to make my birthday even more awesome.

And I kind of need your help.

First, grab a cup of coffee (or your favorite beverage) and read about how this clever woman celebrated her birthday by doing 38 random acts of kindness. No really, read it, yes, go ahead, you'll feel all inspired and goose-bumpy with happiness.

See, I told you so.

Because I am a shameless copycat, I decided I must celebrate my birthday in the same way.

Except I'm turning 43, so I'll need to do at least 43 random acts of kindness (RAoKs).

Won't that be fun??!?!?

The truth is though I've never been super swell at doing things like this. I mean, I do nice things sometimes but they are usually for friends or family, and maaaaybe the occasional stranger, but my biggest pitfall is I think about doing nice, thoughtful things and that's as far as I take it.

So I'm taking it to the blog for accountability.

And your ideas.

What kinds of things should I do? What would you do? Anything I should no-way-no how attempt to do?

Halp!

I'd love your input.
For realsies.

I don't think I'll wait to try and do them all in one day (on my birthday), because that might be overwhelming, but on the days leading up to it (remember, it's the 22nd) and save a few special ones to do on my birthday too and then of course document my RAoK adventures here on the blog.

Whaddya think?

AND guess what? You know what might make this even more awesome?

If y'all join me, you know, virtually, and do some RAoKs sometime this month (or on the 22nd, whichever) in your neck of the woods and then tell us all about it here at a link-up party, on, wait for it... my birthday (11.22.11).

Wouldn't that be awesome?

(and the blog says amen)

I hope you'll join me!
For realsies.

BOO! {a photo review}

2011-10-31T22:35:00.000-05:00

we have hermoine in the house, y'all

{and her hair too}

{yowza}

the last few days have been filled with

pumpkin carving and porch posing

extensive wand waving

fierce face practice

{did it work?}

trunk or treat after church with good friends

trick or treating with pappo and grandma

halloween carnival-ing

{ hosted by her school's church}

bouncy houses, bean bag tosses, washer throw, gourd bowling, sponge splash and our hermoine's hands down favorite: the donut challenge.

{she did this twice. ahem.}

fun with friends

traditional viewing of the classic it's the great pumpkin charlie brown

{my favorite scene is Sally's breakdown in the patch after snoopy's shadow bursts linus' bubble, i've been robbed!!}

and don't forget oodles of candy.

happy halloween, y'all!!

InstaFriday

2011-10-28T11:24:00.002-05:00

Here we are the last week of October and we've finally fall-ed up our front porch.

I know!

We are nothing if not timely.

The good news is when you wait this long you can get mums on serious markdown (we bought several different sizes, they're just not pictured) and pumpkins were buy one get one free.

In other late breaking fall news, the inside of our home still has no inkling of Halloween or fall like it usually does. Nary a cute pumpkin, jack-o-lantern plate, big furry spider, leaf garland, morsel of candy corn, bric brac place mat or ghost dish towel in sight. And I think I'm okay with that. I miss the festive decor a smidge, but not enough to dig through oodles of Rubbermaid tubs. And another thing, my people haven't even noticed the lack of fall surrounding their space. Hrumph.

Yesterday I baked pumpkin bread in a fit of spontaneous fall-ness, following my trusty red Betty Crocker cookbook to a T, substituting whole wheat flour, like she said you could, and ended up tossing one and 3/4 loaves promptly into the trash after sampling. Hrumph.

Annelise took two small mums to her teachers earlier this week after we made simple tags and I wrapped each pot with jute. I am a fan of simple.

Since Annelise didn't have school on Monday (some random weather make-up day) we had a lazy morning topped off with a late breakfast at IHOP.

I kinda love our little family of Chucks.

Family happy hour.

We've fallen into the weekly habit (sometimes two times a week) of getting snow cones after school. (Well, Annelise and Scott do, I get a Starbucks.) Maybe it's just the shifting of the seasons or a staffing problem but their favorite place is only open on random days now. Bummer. This week instead of driving off heartbroken we consoled ourselves at Sonic. It was much cheaper anyway.

And finally, some random clouds with the sun barely peeking through caught my eye yesterday on the way to school.

And they made me happy.

Be sure to pop over to Life Rearranged for more InstaFriday fun.

Happy Friday, y'all!

Texting: A Cautionary Tale

2011-10-27T10:15:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder what can happen when two friends start texting?

Let's take a peek, shall we?

(I'm the blue bubble, just FYI)

And BOOM!

Look what we'll be doing in early March...(cue squeals of glee and fear)

13.1 miles baby!!

It's been far too long since my last race and I really, really, really am the type of slacker that needs a goal, and a goal with $$ on the line is even better.

The Rock and Roll Half normally costs $90, which is kind of ridunkulous anyway, but since the Saints won their recent football game they offered a discount of a dollar off for every point scored, so by entering a special code we saved a whopping $55!!

That in itself made me giddy.

But then I remembered I'll have to, you know, actually train for this and, like, run regularly and stuff*.

That in itself made me pause.

So, my friends, let this serve as a cautionary tale to spontaneous texting.

In a good way.

P. S. Like re-re-re-commit to cross training with things like P90X. Ay, yi, yi. I started Tuesday with Chest & Back and can not fully straighten either of my arms ever since thanks to all the push-ups and pull-ups. Starting over is hard, good but hard.

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-10-26T02:00:00.000-05:00

Are y'all sitting down?

Good.

Thanks to my re-re-re-commitment (honestly, I've lost track of how many times I've fallen off the wagon) to What I Wore Wednesday I managed to get myself together and document this feat with photos almost every day last week.

I know!

Nothing too fancy, nothing really new, nothing really fashion forward, but still dressed enough to show an effort was made. Yes, this is a big deal, y'all.

Wednesday: school drop off, early bird matinee date with hubby to see the new Footloose, errands, church that night, etc.

rose-mauve-y bubble tank: Stein Mart

grey boyfriend cardigan & silver ballet flats: Target

jeans: Banana Republic

Thursday: So I wore my workout clothes most of the day--and never worked out--and then finally got myself together for school pick-up and dance. Not the most intentional day.

beige asymmetrical tank: TJ Maxx (or was it Marshall's? I forget)

grey layering tank: Old Navy

grey boyfriend cardigan (again), jeans and leopard ballet flats: Target

initial necklace: The Vintage Pearl

I've made a promise to myself to wear what I have more often and no longer (or at least not that often, hey, I am a girl after all) give into those feelings of I can't bear it one more day without something new, in other words, practice contentment. I'd been coveting chunky flower rings but decided I'd be just as happy wearing my three Dianne Malouf rings more often. And I am.

Friday: (early release day from school) afternoon showing of Dolphin Tale, early Tex-Mex supper and stops by Hobby Lobby and Goodwill.

orange flower-y top: Stein Mart

brown layering tank & necklace: Target

jeans: Lucky

brown bling-y flip flops: Yellow Box

polish: Devil's Advocate by Essie (a black with a hint of burgundy)

I pinned my bangs over with two bobby pins in an effort to tame them. Cute? Not so much?

Sunday: church, lunch, etc.

dress & mustard flats: Target

mustard rosette necklace: Allora Handmade

Yes, I know there is no mustard anywhere in this dress, but I went out on a limb with a punch of color.

I am a rebel.

Monday: (school holiday) family breakfast at IHOP (translation: throw on some clothes and go)

grey tank & white top: Target

olive distressed khakis: Old Navy

grey Chucks: Dillard's

I hate to leave y'all with such a blah last outfit, but such is the bitter truth. And no, there are no photos documenting Saturday or Tuesday. Trust me, this is a good thing.

So to recap:

* this week was waaay better than last week, with 5 or 6 outfits to last week's, um...1

* we saw two movies last week (what in the world?)

* I always, always pose the same way

* yawn

* I'd like to take some photos outside but the mosquitoes are taking no prisoners around here lately

* I really, really like my grey boyfriend cardigan

* I'm trying to practice contentment

* It's not as easy as it sounds

* and yes, I have a muffin top (loaf?) and we ate at IHOP

* getting myself together really makes for an all around better day (even though I know this, I forget)

Be sure to stop by The Pleated Poppy for more What I Wore Wednesday fun!

InstaMonday (or I totally dropped the ball on InstaFriday)

2011-10-24T07:42:00.000-05:00

I totally did not plan on doing another InstaFriday post on a Monday again, because twice is the beginning of a pattern isn't it? And not just any pattern, a slacker pattern.

Oh well, here I am.

And, as a public service announcement, brace yourselves not only for mediocrity but gigantor photos as well. On a whim I clicked on extra-large instead of original size, and oh my, these pictures are super sized.

(Do you want fries with that?)

01. I was planning on doing a separate post about Annelise's second grade field trip to the Children's Museum last week, but guess what? I changed my mind. In a nutshell, it was the perfect field trip. They had their own guide, a cute girl dressed as a peacock, and we chaperones just traipsed along behind them from exhibit to exhibit. And by exhibits I mean play areas because the Children's Museum is totally hands on with tons of things to do and experience and role play and so forth. Annelise's favorite area was Kidtropolis which was a city street lined by a bank, market, news station, clinic, diner, vet, etc. where they could role play.

02. Friday morning Scott and I chased a few hot air balloons around town in the futile effort of trying to get a good photo with my iPhone. The ones I took of them in the air looked like dots, but here are some closer dots landing in a field at JSC (not pictured but over to the side were several longhorn cattle dozing, you'll have to use your imagination).

03. We rewarded our efforts with doughnuts. As you do.

04. These are my feet outside of Annelise's dance place. I'd just signed up for another year of Mother-Daughter tap and had to take a minute to collect myself. We don't start until January, so I still have time to gather my courage.

05. My bangs were tormenting me so I tried to restrain them with bobby pins. I ended up feeling nine again. But they stayed out of my face.

06. Friday afternoon Annelise had early release (not sure why), so we treated ourselves to an afternoon movie. and gave Dolphin Tale six enthusiastic thumbs up.

07. Annelise had brain freeze with her free ice cream cone after our late lunch-early supper at Gringo's. Totally worth it though.

08. This has taken over our dining room table, 1000 pieces of fun and family togetherness otherwise known as a jigsaw puzzle. I'll keep you posted on our progress (and our sanity).

09. Lunchy-brunch after church yesterday. I heart La Madeleine. That is all.

And that, my friends, was a peek at my week brought to you by my iPhone, InstaGram and PicFrame (for the collages).

Be sure to pop over to Life Rearranged for more InstaFriday (or Monday) fun!

Let's Hear It For The Boy

2011-10-20T12:42:00.000-05:00

When I first heard rumblings and rumors about the remake of my beloved teen flick, Footloose, I vehemently opposed it. I was a true blue Kevin Bacon-ite and no way no how was I going to darken the door of any theater showing a remake with a Ren McCormick wannabe.

At some point I saw the trailer for the new Footloose and was briefly tempted to change my strict no-remake policy (it's not just for Footloose, I tend to boycott remakes on principle) because I do like Julianne Hough (from DWTS), but I strengthened my resolve.

Until the movie opened last weekend. Suddenly I forgot my stance, my resolve and my principles regarding remakes.

Weak. Is what I am.

We weren't able to see it right away, so I used some down time over the weekend to prepare. I dug around and found the original, on VHS no less, and popped it into our last surviving VCR to do my homework, you know, brush up on the far reaching, deeply moving themes of the original.

Or just enjoy a little date with Kevin Bacon. Whichever.

And really, this movie has no far reaching, deeply moving theme.

The kids just want to dance.

As I settled in I was quickly surprised that I was allowed to see Footloose back in 1984, when I was 14 or 15. I'd forgotten all about the language, the teen s*x, and stuff, nothing too explicit (especially by today's standards), it was PG, but still. I think at the time I was all about the music, the moves and Kevin Bacon.

Watching it again was the prefect time capsule back to the 80s what with the ruffle shirts, big hair, cut-off sweatshirts, acid washed jeans (some with pleats!), skinny ties, cassette tapes, jam boxes the size of Rhode Island, Sony Walkmans, high waisted jeans on girls with skinny belts and Member's Only jackets. My favorite parts are (still) the tractor chicken race, Ren teaching Willard to dance, and Kevin Bacon's solo dance/gymnast routine in the empty grain warehouse. The ending dance scene is fun, but Lori Singer's cheesy fake screams are highly annoying. In fact, Lori Singer is just annoying, but I heart Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Penn.

By the time Wednesday rolled around I was giddy about seeing the new version at the early bird matinee with Scott (one of the small perks of unemployment).

I know. 180s. Am a fan.

And guess what? The new Footloose is good.

Really, it is. They changed a few things, which actually improved the story a bit and of course updated the music (by keeping the original songs but with different, I don't know, styles and adding some new songs), the dialogue (but also kept some of the original which warmed my true-blue heart) and the outfits (get ready for some skimp). I liked the new Ren, the new Ariel and the new Willard was. a. doll. (Seriously, who came up with the names for these characters?) If you liked the original, you'll probably like the new one too (I know, I can't believe I typed that, but it's true). It's a cotton candy kind of movie for sure, but like Ren and King Solomon remind us, there is a time for everything...even a time to dance.

Just between us, I did kind of keep hoping for a cameo by Kevin Bacon though.

Do you love the old Footloose?

Who's your favorite character? What's your favorite scene? Song?

Will you see the remake?

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-10-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Please pardon me while I state the obvious:

I've fallen off the What I Wore Wednesday wagon.

Again.

Hard.

I need the accountability otherwise I schlep around in the t-shirt I slept in and ratty shorts or my workout clothes for the majority of the day. Shower and make-up optional, heavy on the optional. Needless to say the schlumpiness outside makes me schlumpy inside too. So I'm going to try and shake off the schlumpy, get myself together and document this feat with a photo each day. Or at least most days. Again.

This week is super short and sweet since I only recommitted to WIWW yesterday. This is what I wore to accompany my sweet daughter on her second grade field trip to the Children's Museum (post on that adventure to come soon).

patterned top: Stein Mart

boyfriend jeans: Lucky

super comfy, blingy-flips: Yellow Box (here in Texas flips are almost year round footwear)

grey modern statement necklace: Allora Handmade

dangly silver earrings: Stein Mart

Later that evening we went out to our favorite Tex-Mex place and we were actually experiencing a cool(ish) spell, so I tossed on a coral sweater from Target and changed my flips for mustard flats (also from Target). I love being able to switch things up as the mood strikes!

And after looking at these photos I think I need to switch out my summer Bare Minerals foundation for a lighter shade. Oops. (Twist my arm, Sephora here I come!)

Be sure to visit The Pleated Poppy for more fashion inspiration and fun looks.

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

InstaFriday on Monday (Otherwise Known as InstaMonday)

2011-10-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

I thought about doing an InstaFriday post on Friday.

Obviously that's as far as I got.

So I guess I'll call this InstaMonday.

01. I helped sort papers for Annelise's teacher one morning last week. It's definitely not rocket science, but I was happy to help just the same.

02. We became that family. The one whose child does her homework at a restaurant because we were rushing from dance to dinner then to football.

03. Our waitress asked us if we were our daughter's grandparents. And no this didn't bother me at all or cause a sudden anxiety attack or anything. Okay, it bothered me a little. We are older parents (49 and 42 respectively) and all, but grandparents to an 8 year-old? Really?

04. Thursday night lights. Not quite the same as Friday Night Lights but since there are five high schools that share district stadium, someone has to draw the Thursday night short straw. We were cheering on my old high school (Clear Creek) against last year's 5A Texas State champs (Pearland). We were losing when we left after halftime and missed a strong come back (this always happens to us). We still lost but at least it wasn't as humiliating as 50 something to 7.

05. Look what arrived in my hot little hands Friday afternoon (!!!) thanks to FedEx and a timely pre-order from AT&T. Of course we were holding out for the iPhone 5 and were initially a tad disappointed when we heard about the release of the 4s instead, but decided to jump in anyway since moving up from the iPhone 3g to the 4s is quite a leap up for us.

06. Of course we had to trek over the mall Friday evening so I could get a case for my new precious ~~baby~~ phone. A little browsing at the Apple store and an AT&T kiosk led to a new pink Otter case and a very giddy girl (me). We ended up at the food court, as you do, for supper. It was like I was 15 all over again. Except I had a kid.

07. We spent the rest of Friday evening at a fundraiser for Annelise's school, which ended up being lots of fun. We felt kind of guilty because we'd never made much of an effort to attend in the past, thinking (wrongly) it would be a high-pressure hit up for $$$. As it turns out, it was very relaxed and informative, no pressure to donate on the spot and there was coffee along with yummy desserts.

08. I actually got up early Saturday (!!) and hit the street wogging. Thanks to the clear skies, ever so slightly cooler temps and good tunes in my ears, I ended up doing 5 miles. (!!)

And then we got Shipley doughnuts.

And in case you don't know, fresh, hot, glazed Shipley doughnuts are a little slice of heaven.

And I'm confident they didn't completely negate my five miles of sweat and effort or anything. Ahem.

(What? Don't you lie to yourself too?)

I'm linking up with Jeannett again for InstaFriday. Or in my case InstaMonday, which is basically the same thing.

Or not.

12 on the 12th {October}

2011-10-13T09:46:00.002-05:00

01. coffee, coffee, coffee.
02. quiet time.
03. kix. it's what's for breakfast.
04. packing annelise's lunch.
05. bank drive-thru (those new fangled, fancy schmancy cameras freak me out a little, i was fine with just the static-y speaker and a little anonymity).
06. mulled cider candle burning, my only acknowledgment of fall so far (though there's rumor of a cool front coming).
07. my breakfast (spinach-kale smoothie).
08. after school smiles.
09. after school mcflurry treats (i think we'll stick with dairy queen from here on out).
10. after school room cleaning frenzy (thanks to my morning tantrum).
11. someone thinks mad libs are the coolest thing ever (which of course they are).
12. my supper (see #09).

there you have it, a little peek at my 12th. how was yours?

i'm linking up again with amy's blog. be sure to pop over there to peek at more 12on the 12th posts.

p.s. i think this might be my last post without capital letters as i'm starting to feel guilty about disappointing all my elementary school teachers. i also worry if i continue to eschew capitals what else will i do? i fear it's a slippery slope.

parenting fail #342

2011-10-12T12:37:00.000-05:00

have i told y'all how much i love (okay, adore) the show parenthood? no?
well, i do.

please forgive me for not mentioning it sooner, and by all means set your dvrs for 9:00 tuesday nights if you're not already because it really is delightful. laughter. tears. dreams. reality. kids. parents. messy. hope. life. family. it's all there, and they get it right, mostly, without cheese or a laugh-track.

and yes, i talked about tv again. shoot me.

this morning i got up early(ish) and had some quiet time with my bible, a notebook, coffee and prayer before the house woke up and the morning scramble started. i prayed specifically for me to choose my words today carefully, to speak gently, with love, to hold my tongue when i should and not allow sarcasm or irritation win. you know the drill, right? my emotions tend to bubble up to the surface, sometimes surprisingly fast, and often erupt with a raised voice or harsh word or frustrated tone directed at the people who live here (and sometimes the pets).

right after amen i carried a basket of annelise's laundry upstairs and woke up my still slumbering daughter. as she was stretching and starting to get up i started to put her socks and undies away in her drawer and hopefully find the missing partners to 4 freshly laundered socks in the process. i opened her top drawer, and it was as i expected, a jumbled mess. we've been down this road before. too many times i've straightened her creatively folded (read: mess) shirts, shorts, jeans, pjs, etc. before putting the neatly folded fresh laundry away, all the while my blood is boiling and i'm pontificating about the need for her to keep her drawers tidy. i've also had the not so proud moment of dumping her drawers out on the floor and having her refold everything. lately though i've tried telling myself that it doesn't matter what the insides of her dresser drawers look like as long as they're shut, because really, the whole drama only stresses me out (read: boiling blood and raised voices) and ends in hurt feelings (read: both of us).

are responsibility and respect directly tied to tidy dresser drawers? maybe. are messy dresser drawers at eight-years old a prediction of her future or a reflection on her parenting? maybe. should i be a drill sergeant about this (and the state of her room in general) or be more relaxed? maybe.

as i rummaged in her drawer and looked around her room at various piles of toys in mid or forgotten play, books needing to be reshelved, scraps and do-dads from crafts and spontaneous art, i felt those frustrated emotions start to bubble up. uh-oh.

she was getting dressed and her wednesday was just beginning. at that moment i had a choice to either nag and pontificate and complain about the state of her room or i could wait until after school. i could give either guilt or grace, which would it be?

i'd like to say it was grace.

but it wasn't.

i could have sent up a quick prayer or two for control of my tongue and emotions, but i didn't.
i resorted to nagging and complaining and frustration and expressing disappointment.

all before cereal.

sigh.

before we left for school i talked more gently to her and apologized for getting so upset. we hugged. she told me she forgave me.

she extended grace.
just like that.
easy.

why can't i do that?

p. s. we're tackling her room, together, after school
p. p. s. even though she was quick to forgive, i know my outburst put a damper on her morning just the same. i hate that.
p. p. p. s. i guess this post didn't have a hill of beans to do with the tv show parenthood after all, except that is seems easier on tv.

*do you often feel challenged by a weakness soon after you pray about it?*

*ouch*

*do messy drawers bother you much?*

*what are your expectations for your child's room (neatness wise)?*

*do i need to take a big ol' chill pill?*

edited to add: i think i knew all along that getting upset about her drawers or her room was ridiculous, because 1.) they weren't really as terrible as i was making them out to be, b.) in the grand scheme of things, and at the expense of her feelings, this wasn't worth it and xyz.) there was a better way to address the issue. but i let my feelings take over anyway and spent the rest of the day feeling guilty and small. after school we did tackle her room and her drawers and things are much better. (!!) having fewer things in each drawer will help a ton (i hope). there was even a goofy moment near the end where i burst into her room and sang like jasmine from aladdin "a whole new world", but i sang room and dressers instead.

running: same song, different verse

2011-10-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

at 5:30 this morning the alarm on my phone went off and i did not ignore it.

this was progress.

i didn't actually rise and shine right at that very moment, but soon(ish) thereafter i found myself outside about to go for a woggle (walk, run and waddle) which was a feat not performed in quite some time.

i could tell you that this is the turning over of a new leaf, a jump back on the wagon, an insert your favorite idiom here, but i won't because i've told y'all all that before and that tends to set me up for failure. so i'll just say i had a good time and hope running calls me tomorrow morning for another date. a girl can dream.

the stars were still shining in the predawn sky and i was tempted to plop right down in the grass and gaze for a while. but i didn't. stars always take my breath away when i stop long enough to notice. i saw a young deer in the early morning misty fog and it was beautiful. and skittish. i also smelled fresh grass, exhaust, coffee and what i'm 92% sure was a skunk, but not all of those smells were sniffed at the same time so it wasn't terrible.

over the last month(ish) or so(ish) i've been doing turbofire and chalean extreme workouts at home, and i've really enjoyed them, but i've missed running too. i'm sure there's room for both but i've got to stop laziness and sloth from getting in the way. and sweets. i'm not certain, but i have a hunch that a lot of my food choices are canceling out 86.2% of my sweaty workouts. either i make good choices through most of the day, and exercise, and blow it that night or i have a good week with food and exercise and blow it to bits over the weekend or both.

i hate that.
stop it.
no really, stop it, holly.

fingers crossed.

(is this whole lower case, i'm too good for capital letters thing annoying or artsy? i can't decide.)

saturday confessions

2011-10-08T11:23:00.000-05:00

good morning y'all.

i'm sipping on my green smoothie and feeling smugly good about it because even if i eat not one more morsel of healthy food today at least i've had my green smoothie.

i realize that's totally twisted and can't even be remotely true, but it's working for me.

i've also had too large mugs of coffee so this post may be interesting.

i think i'm typing faster.

scott is in the midst of a softball tournament this morning and i am the not so dutiful wife sitting at home not cheering him on. but he's totally okay with that. which is nice. because of his neck surgery he had to sit out from softball this summer and has only recently been able to return to the field, but then half his team had to bail for this that and the other so it hasn't been quite the stellar return he was hoping for.

annelise is over at her pappo and grandma's house and is having the time of her life ruling the roost i'm sure. she hasn't had a sleepover in several weeks and was chomping at the bit to haul her little self over there. or ride her bike. whichever.

i hesitate to tell y'all this, since admitting you're just watching tv and typing a blog post on a beautiful saturday morning while sipping a green smoothie sounds so incredibly lazy and pointless, but i'm all kinds of hooked on the show damages right now. streaming netflix is a joy. and a curse. but have y'all seen it? glenn close is scary. and fascinating. my head is spinning with all the intrigue and mind games and lies and paranoia and murder.

it's good.

i love tv shows (and movies) set in new york. the city is like another character. sometimes that fact alone is what keeps me watching. mad men (when oh when will it return?), white collar, suits (i only saw a couple of episodes but liked it), and now damages are some ny faves. oh, scott and i started watching (well, dvr-ing) person of interest and prime suspect which are also set in ny.

we haven't added too many new shows to our already tight tv/dvr schedule this season. along with person of interest and prime suspect*, we added the x factor after friends raved about it. now we're hooked. in other shocking news, we broke up with dwts. it's true. no more sequins and spray tans two nights a week. and that's okay, our dvr stays busy without the body glitter. we have dishnetwork, which we're quite happy with, that is until there is a conflict and both tuners are busy recording and scott loses all ability to channel surf (oh the humanity!) or we have to drop a show because we can only record two at a time.

i know, first world problems, right?

scott's dream is to someday get att&t uverse so we (he) has plenty of dvr recording options and not lose the apparently essential freedom to channel surf.

yesterday i had a sudden urge to do something crafty. something involving burlap and ribbon and hot glue and pins. i may have even had the urge to do two crafty somethings.

but then i realized this urge would also require a trip to hobby lobby and home depot in order to come to fruition and i had to shut it down.

there's no way i'm heading into either one of those places on a saturday.

i'm rescheduling my crafty urge for early next week instead.

now i have plenty of time for damages.

happy weekend y'all!

*in the spirit of full bloggy disclosure i should tell you that i started watching ringer because i'm a semi-closeted buffy the vampire slayer fan and have a soft spot for sarah michelle gellar. and switched twin identities shrouded in mystery and intrigue with a side of cheese. oh, it's set in new york too. win-win.