quack.

i had big plans today friends
big plans
oh good ones
a good post
full of ideas
& what i'm working on
& my trip to the farmers market
where i ran into a friend that i was a camp counselor with
(hi lisa!)
& about how i went to a few yard sales
by myself
& found a treasure or two
& how our beloved ducks are playing tonight
at autzen stadium
(where it never rains)
& how it's the first game of the season
& how they are playing the huskies
(& how by total coincidence
i am making a quilt for my dear friend's baby who shall arrive soon
& how my friend
(let's call her dawn
cause that's her name)
already has four girls
& now she's having a boy
& her husband is so over the moon about it
that he made the nursery into a football field
with a big giant W
for washington huskies
on the wall...
& how the quilt is husky colors
& has a big W on it
& wondering if i should feel guilty
that as i am sewing i am chanting
'lose. lose. lose.'?
after the game i promise i will only chant nice things
like
'love.
joy.
peanut m&m's.
the new season of the office starts on september 25.'
you know
things that sooth babies
& how none of this would even be relevant if
we were playing ucla or someone like that...
of course the larger question is:
is it even relevant today?)
& how we have season tix
& how we sold said tix to tonight's game
(by the way when we refer to them
in real life
we always say tickets
because we are not cool enough to pull off saying tix
but i thought that typing tix would be a nice time saver
here on the blog...
cause i'm always here when you need to save time
or was that i'm always here when you need to waste time
either way
i'm always here
that is the magic of the internet
thank you al gore)
anyway
we are not going to the game
& brian is shooting a wedding
& i am doing what i always do
hanging out with the kids
& making stuff
& complaining...
(hey, i don't make the rules...)
anyway
so, too bad i'm not going to tell you about
all of that stuff
but i will tell you
that we are rooting for our duckies
no matter where we are
no matter what we are doing
no matter how cute we are
& there are a few of us
who are just too cute for words...

:)

ps we have no idea who #12 is or was
but apparently they were popular to some family
whose garage sale i went to...
& yes Q is wearing his shirt backwards
because he is cool enough to pull it off...

cool & cooler

oh how i love it when creative people get their hands on
stuff that is already great
& make it cooler
click on either image to link
to where they came from
(or where i found them)

keep calm &
oh you know...

:)

come play some more...

the next come play event is coming up
& i didn't want to forget to tell you all...
i'm super excited because this one
has a field trip along with
the usual projects, treats & general merriment:)
hop on over to the come play blog
& check it out...
i think it's going to be super fun

:)

okay, it's me...

this girlie
turns 34 today
sheesh
seems like just yesterday she was 33

(& thankfully at age four
she was able to have that floating arm removed from her head
it was touch & go for a while
but surgery was successful
& now there is a big mess of curls to cover the scar
so she only gets teased when she wears a side pony)

:)

i demand a recount!

oh my gosh!
oh my goodness!
this is so unexpected!
i would like to thank the academy
& all of my fellow nominees
you guys are amazing
& i'm honored to be on the same list as you all...

first
i would like to thank the portland art museum
for making my sunday afternoon
so spectacular
i especially loved seeing the
contemporary northwest art awards
& laughing through the modern art section
with my sister

thank you to my dear friend gwen
who allowed us to stop by her house
& stay for hours
talking & laughing
& watching her adorable kids play
(go harry!)
& to her husband timothy
for hanging out with us too
(great haircut, dude!)

i would not have been able to achieve this without the
support of my sister, kate
who provided a bed & a couch
& a tummy full of boys
for whom i got to organized bags & bags of clothes
(no more 0-6 month clothes!)...
& her need to rest often
which helped me to slow down too
& just enjoy the fact that i was only in charge of my self...
thanks kate!
your knowledge of great shops
& stores in the portland area is inspiring

to my step mom tam
who is a endless fount of hilarious stories
(ooo scary ghosts!)
& hugs
& dinner
& breakfast
:)

to my stepsister lilli
(the third picture down on that link
is a cute one of her
in a scene for this movie called 'phoned')
for planning her trip to portland on the same weekend that
your mom & i were going to be there...
none of us knew that the
others would be there
which just proves that this award is
not all about talent
there is a lot of luck involved, too...

to the city of salem for having a rocking downtown
(take notes, eugene...)
which allowed me to stop on the way home
& wander around
cute stuff
cute
cute stuff

to the purple truck for getting me safely home

& most importantly
to my husband brian
without whom none of this would have ever happened...
thank you buddy for making it possible for me
to take a few days away
to recharge & relax...
thank you for being such a great dad
that three days with the kids doesn't scare you
& for being a husband who knows
that sometimes a girl just needs to run away...

& finally to all of the moms out there
i am living proof that dreams do come true
if you believe in yourself
& have a supportive husband
& a car
& a place to stay
you too can have a getaway...

oh & i almost forgot
thank you to my sweet kiddos!
if it weren't for you two this couldn't have happened
because i would have nothing to get away from
(i do love you both with all my heart
but seriously
sometimes mom just needs to go)

:)

there it was...

when you were younger did you ever think about
what it would be like when you were older?
not what you would do
but what it would be like
how it would feel
how you would feel

about a month ago
perfectly warmish coolish day outside
brian
in the garage/woodshop making a bookshelf
me
in the kitchen starting dinner
front door
sliding glass door
garage door
every door
open
& the kids
running
in & out
around & through
sunflowers from the farmers market
on the counter
&
there it was
that feeling
just right
exactly where we were supposed to be

exactly right

:)

one

twothree

four

five

sixseveneightnineTEN!There's no combination of words

I could put on the back of a postcard,
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,
Like a shoe box of photographs,
With sepia tone loving,
Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together

MMM, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone,
When the morning light sings
And brings new things,
But tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too,
Too many things I have to do,
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I'll be under the impression,
I was somewhere in-between
With only two,
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do,
Or places we got to be
We'll sit beneath the mango tree now

I believe in memories
they look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
you look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
There is no, no song I could sing
and there is no combination of words I could say
but I will still tell you one thing
We're Better together

Better Together
Jack Johnson
:)