31 December 2008

29 December 2008

she...



"who is this?" she says pointing to her new christmas undies
"tinkerbell" i tell her
"tinker bell! tinker bell! tinker all the way!" she sings...

:)

can you believe that hair
sometimes i can't believe that little blondie
came out of me...
i know where the blond came from of course
let's not start any rumors...

:)

she will be three in march
& giant Giant GIANT fits are now the norm
& hitting her brother
& yelling 'NO!'
& screaming (oh dear God, the screaming)
& making silly faces with arm motions to match
(she's very 'vogue' in her movements)
& singing her own made up songs
& coloring very small deliberate marks
& mommy-ing her babies
& giggling & giggling
& 'reading' us books
& asking what each letter is
& every night after we pray she says
(faster than anyone who is not me or brian could ever understand)
'i want to tell you a story
mommy & poppy go to the park
that's a good one'
& asking for 'lips' (chapstick)
& saying 'i love you so much in this world'
(she pronounces world 'wor-yold')

:)

she reminds me of this great
fresh ink hallmark card i saw once
'you are a human sparkler, you are'
she is
she is...

:)

& no little girlie
i would rather spend my days with...
love you miss m!
so so much...

before it's too late...

(gulka 2008 christmas card photo)

hope it was & is fun...
as fun as photobooth posing...

:)

ps i know
my kissing face in the bottom picture
is totally wack-a-doo
just for the record
i don't kiss like that on a regular basis
only when i'm trying to 'look' like i'm kissing...
come on, emily! relax, man!

:)

27 December 2008

okay

so maybe i like those word verification things
a little too much
but i got such a good one today
when i was friending someone
on facebook
(oh yes i'm friending...watch out!)
it was:
yourself grand

isn't that good?
:)

25 December 2008

even though it's almost over...

merry christmas!
hope it was grand...

:)

24 December 2008

twas the day before christmas & all through the house...

if you think i am together enough
on the day before christmas
to write a little poem
you give me much more credit than i deserve:)

i'm off to shop
& hang out with my sister
& enjoy the hustle & bustle

oh & i joined facebook yesterday
because
you know
one more thing on the to do list...

18 December 2008

everything must go!


a few years ago
(actually it was probably about 8
geez i'm getting old)
a large department store in my area was closing
(i think it was the emporium, for those of you
present or past eugenians:)
so of course i went to the big
'we're closing out doors' sale
not sure what i would find
but always excited about the possibilities...
on a table they had a big pile of these
little price sign holder thingies
(official name)
for $1 each
i saw them & instantly had a few ideas
so i scooped some up
or rather
awkwardly walked around
trying to balance them on my arms...
& so
once again
when we lived on the farm
& had no elves running around
(except for the little furry ones that
we could lock outside if they were getting in the way)
i tried an idea
& it stuck...
snowflakes & angels
hanging out in the frames...
once again i hadn't used them for a few years
but this year they called to me
& so i set them up outside on the porch
where they had been on the farm too
(snowflakes & angels do enjoy the outdoors)
sprinkled a little fake snow
(which apparently called to it's friend
the real snow
to come for a visit:)
& called it a merry christmas!

i also think it really dresses up our shoe shelf
& everyone knows
those little shelves love a little flair...

i think pictures would look really cool in these too
don't you?
for a party maybe
or just a fun display in the house
if we ever have a surface
not covered with crayons
or dollys
or cars
or legos
or paper
or fabric
or camera equipment
yes
if.
:)

ps
yesterday the snow all melted
& then last night we got more snow!
it is so beautiful
but
i am such a wimp
& plus i like to be free to drive my car
so i'm ready for this to go too...
although
a white christmas would be really fun...
:)

snow business...





:)

16 December 2008

o christmas wreath...o christmas wreath...


i love decorating for christmas
& i'm so glad we did it early this year!
when brian & i were first married
we lived in the house i grew up in
on my grandparents 107 acre farm
(yes it was beautiful & wonderful:)
for christmas one year
i made this little wreathie thing
to hang over our table...
since we moved i only pictured it above
our table
& i didn't want to drill holes in the ceiling
(well, honestly i would drill holes
all over the house if it were up to me
but my husband
the logical one
thinks that would not be so good
because someday
we might need to try to sell the house
& people wouldn't want to live in swiss cheese...
sheesh!)
so year after year
i just left it in the box
but this year
THIS YEAR
i pictured it someplace else...
so to make it
i used a fake wreath
(i mean EVERLASTING wreath:)
& set it on a table
then wrapped lights around it
twisting the wreath branches around the wire
i used tulle to hang it
but you could use ribbon or twine
or whatever strikes your fancy:)
the tulle worked well because it hid
the wire from the lights...
to finish it off i hung sparkly snowflake ornaments
around at random spots...
i'm so happy that it worked outside
why didn't i think of it before?

here's to all foliage everlasting!
:)

ps
i had never been a big fan of
non-real plants
(i can't afford the kind that look real
& i can't make the cheaper one's look good
like i've seen friends do)
but one year i bought a few wreaths & garlands
& i worked hard to make them cute
& so for christmas
i am big fan!
:)

12 December 2008

paper & glue= :)



i've really been liking
playing around with these old dictionary pages
& paint
& ribbon
& glue
& buttons
serious fun.

& so there are a few new things in my etsy shop
closer to christmas than i wished
but it came so fast!

hope you are checking things off your list
& enjoying it...

:)

09 December 2008

08 December 2008

que?

that's mustard up there
& that address was for a really cool holiday sale
& the other note?
doesn't it just beg the question
will the neighborhood pizza & the neighborhood quiche
be mad that i'm not emailing them?

:)

05 December 2008

there's snow place like handmade (or something like that...)

i've been playing around with pipe cleaners & buttons
i love doing things with simple materials:)
& i put a few in my etsy shop
so if you're yearning for snow
& you don't have it
maybe some of these little sweeties could tide you over
until the real flakes start to fall...

click on the picture to go to the shop...
buying handmade
ahhh
almost as refreshing as a true snowfall
:)

ps i also made some other ornaments
& i was planning on putting them in the shop
after the crafty christmas sale
but
(get this)
they all sold!
so i'm going to make some more soon
here's a little sneak peek:



we are getting our tree this afternoon
woohoo!
it's the most wonderful time of the year...

:)

stars hollow & gabon...

(if you already know what this post is about
just by the title
ten points for you!)

i am looking for a very specific subset of people
shall we see if you are in it?
are you a gilmore girls fan from at least season 3?
are you watching survivor:gabon on thursday nights?
if you answered yes to both
then you are just the person i am looking for
check it out:

stars hollow...
i came to gilmore girls a little late
we never had the channel
& my sister would rave about it
i could see how it would be great
but never saw it until netflix!
(thank you netflix!)
anyway
we got the first two seasons from netflix
four episodes at a time
& then i couldn't wait for that red envelope in the mail
any longer
so we started buying the seasons
(they were written into our budget for 4 months:)
& since then i've watched the entire series
7 seasons
two times
i'm working on my third right now...
okay so
(now i will be getting specific)
remember the third season
when rory & jess weren't talking
because in season two he wrecked her car?
& when she came back from her summer in washington dc
(at politics camp or something...)
& she sees him making out with some blond girl
& then for the next few episodes
he's just always making out with this girl
& rory finds out that she works at the beauty supply store
when she & laine go to get hair dye
because laine is feeling rebellious
& dyes her hair purple for 45 minutes
before she gets scared & dyes it back to it's original color
(but it was still dyed! so she's still rock & roll!)
okay so anyway
that girl that jess was making out with?
blond & cute & sassy & grumpy
her name was shane
& so i was watching those episodes this week during nap time
(i don't really watch them around the kids
though if i'm watching anything they say
'are you watching gilmore girls?'
& they both know the theme song
where you lead i will follow
anywhere...)
& this time when i saw shane i was like
what is she on?
she looks so familiar
so i started going through the show we watch
the office
30 rock
ncis (i was conned into this one but now i like it:)
grey's anatomy (me, watch online)
private practice (me, watch online)
samantha who (which coincidently sukie from gg is on...just keeps getting weirder!)
i didn't even consider the reality shows we watch
amazing race & survivor
because that would be silly
& then!
last night!
survivor comes on
& there she is!
sugar!
sugar is shane!
& i'm like
'brian!
remember!
gilmore girls!
the girl jess makes out with for three episodes!
remember!
(& god love him he did remember:)
it's sugar!
SUGAR!'
(yes her name is sugar
at least on survivor it is...)

i told brian i wanted to blow this wide open!
give me a radio show!
i said
i will tell the world!
then i realized the chances of
anyone even remembering her on gg
were slim
(though lydia, i have faith that you remember her
& kate? you too!)
plus those same people watching survivor this season?
maybe there are 8 of us out there?
but boy would i love to meet up with those other 7
they would call us the the survivor-gilmore 8
(like the oceanic 6, you know
oh, we watch lost too)
we could have coffee at a diner
(or rain forest)
i picture that meet up going something like this:
'wow, shane is sugar'
'i know! sugar is shane'
'it's really crazy'
'yes it is.'
'so...'
'so...'
'do you watch battlestar galactica?'
'no. do you watch project runway?'
'no.'
'do you want to see my gilmore girls collector plates?'
'YES!'

so anyway
i am so happy to get that out
into the open
i feel so free...
now to ponder how she got to survivor
& is that a step up or step down from gg
(i think we all know the answer to that one)
& would she ever admit it
like if someone was so hungry & starving
& they started to hallucinate
& images from their past came back
christmas when they were 5
third grade spelling bee
mom reading them a bedtime story
first kiss
high school graduation
college graduation
wedding
birth of children
third season of gilmore girls
& they were like
'hey!
you're shane!'
would she say
'go back to your daydreams bucko'
or
'yes that was me & i got to make out with the guy
who is now one of the main guys on heros
pretty cool huh?
by the way
can i have the fake immunity idol?
thanks!'
i know i could find out most of this info online
but speculation is way more my style....

:)

ps
okay so i had to look it up
i googled:
shane from gilmore girls sugar survivor
& found this
with video & everything!
woohoo
i love the internet...

:)

pps
i have seen all of the seasons of gilmore girls
for about $15 each at costco, target, walmart
& in fred meyer ads in the past few weeks...
so if you're looking for the perfect gift
for the special (& freaking cool) someone
i would recommend getting them a season or two
they're the gift that keeps on giving...

:)

04 December 2008

mix it up...

i'm so excited for christmas
i will be posting a lot this month
(have i jinxed myself now?
we shall see)

as soon as we got home from portland on friday
Q started asking
'are we going to get the christmas stuff out now?
now?
are we going to do it now?
okay. now?'
& so we got it all out
(actually
i held him off until saturday
feeling like a grinchy mommmy...
seriously!
if i can feel guilty for waiting until the saturday after thanksgiving
to put up christmas decorations
you can see i am a world class guilt monger:)
so saturday
the earliest ever for me, i must say
& i also must say that is it so great
to just have it all out
& getting to enjoy it
plus
(don't faint)
we put all of the boxes away...
i know!
no red & green tubs in the corner?
no snow village foam & cardboard boxes floating around?
the age old question:
if there is no mess after decorating
did it really happen?
it did!
& i am gleeful about it:)

only the stockings are left to do
i will post about that soon
we each have to choose our button
& that's all i will say
i know, suspenseful!
(though if you have been
reading my blog since last christmas you already know
what that means
i'm not much of a mystery writer i guess:)

& i need to mention that little star up there
it was in a cute little primitive shop
& i am not really a primitive girl usually
more vintage is what i am
but
i love it
i have to say
i do.
& i stuck the hanging silver merry christmas thingy
(official name)
on it
just to see
& i wondered
is it the mixing of two too different things?
like ketchup & chocolate
good apart
not so good together
you know?
rustic & shiny.
but i decided that i like it
it's two of my favorite things
a good visual of me, my life:
country girl dreams of the big city...
& that my friends is the true official name of my
outside
to the right of the front door
decoration.
the end.

:)

ps i got the star at a cute little shop in junction city
buttermilk junction is the name
it's primitive & sweet & rustic for sure...
but not so primitive that they don't have a web site
click on their name to see it
or if you just want to see how much i spent
on the star click on the picture
i know tricky...

i can't remember where i got the
hanging silver merry christmas thingy
probably some year at the target after christmas sale
75% off is hard to resist...
:)

03 December 2008

the sequel...

lots of cute stuff...
come visit:)

01 December 2008

& so it begins...

after a lovely little (long) thanksgiving weekend:

wednesday night:
work work work

thanksgiving day:
drive to portland
fun with great in-laws
cousins running around in their undies
(okay that was just my kids)
pumpkin cheesecake
(so incredibly yummy
& the only reason i tried it
is because i knew it would be rude
not to try the homemade dessert:)
'& because there is such a thing as manners
these fish?
these fish have manners.'
name that movie:)
kids to bed & watch cable
give thanks that we don't have cable

black friday:
6 am lessons learned
(1.check the store open time
2. make sure the comforter you want is on sale friday not sunday)
cuddle with the twins
drive home
date night at home
(feed kids early
put them to bed early
eat homemade calzone
& watch the brave one...
that's a crazy movie)

saturday:
thanksgiving dinner 2: the sequel
sausage stuffing
(i know!)
fire eater
(lilli's boyfriend is! really!)
the civil war game!
(the civil war game!
you know!?!)
rock band
(i am so in love with this game...
so glad we don't own it)
spend the night on the most comfortable couch ever

sunday:
late to church
(surprise! surprise!)
soccer game (Q)
nap (miss m)
sesame street live at the hult center
(so fun to take my kids there for the first time...
the place where i saw
annie
& the nutcracker
& chicago
& les miserables
& stomp
& amy grant
& many others)

a great weekend full of
great people
great food
great things to do
great! great!

& now on to the next!
i love this month
i love the bustle & busy-ness
& decorating
& wrapping
& happy happy:)
& i love that we made our list
& budget
& we have cash for every bit...
i might love that the most actually:)

can't wait to just enjoy this time of year
both of my elves are at great ages for christmas magic
& they are elves for goodness sake!
this is their time:)

hope you're excited too...
try it, it makes everything more bearable & fun...
happy december!

:)