every leaf speaks bliss to me...

since my first job
(@ mcdonald's, thank you very much
i made the biscuits back when
they were actually made with a mix
not delivered in their hockey puckish state)
i have always had a few jobs at a time
or at least switched often
& i've only been fired once
(& that was because that dumb guy
didn't show up to cover my shift
& also
i hadn't gotten his signature that he would cover it
& also
when that happened i was in mexico)
anyway
i like the variety
& doing lots of different things at once
(yes, i have considered getting tested for adult adhd)



so right now one of my jobs is
doing seasonal displays for my friend
who owns a spa
she loves different & over the top
& she gives me lots of freedom to play around
tonight i'm going to do christmas displays
so i thought i would show you my fall stuff

(if you are morally against
tearing pages out of books
& painting them
& cutting them to look like leaves
you might want to just move along to
another blog
or go read my last post
there's new born babies in it!)

anyway i guess i just explained my process:
tear all the pages out of a book
(an extra copy of jane eyre that i had)
~paint them with watered down paint
so that the words show through
~let them dry
~cut out leaves free hand
~cut so many that you don't even care if they resemble leaves any more
~hot glue them to a tree
remember that originally you had wanted to
get a great looking branch
but then didn't find one
so you had to buy a fully green leafed ficus tree
& cut all of the leaves off
& then glue all of the fake book page letters to it
remember that the easy way is never quite as fun
& that if it had been easy & fast you wouldn't have been able to watch
7 episodes of gilmore girls while painting cutting & gluing


i also do things for the tables
& usually those have to do with things
in
around
& sticking out of
a vase or vessel of some sort
but this time i decided to make little
stand up quote decoration-ie things (official name)
brian made the wooden stand up part
& i did the quote decoration-ie part
i love doing this stuff
i go late at night
& listen to podcasts
& just enjoy some creative time
also i love fall
so playing with these colors
is really nice
& also
usually there are little treats
sometimes m&m's even
happy fall, friends...
:)

halloween
& come play photos coming soon...

let's hear it for the boys...

william edward
4:31pm 6lbs7oz 19.5 inches

calvin charles

4:29pm 5lbs13oz 19.75 inches

so sweet & so healthy

& everyone is so glad:)

kate's water broke yesterday morning
& so the boys were ready to be done
even though it was six weeks early!
they are in the nicu for now
but they are breathing on their own
& trying to nurse or bottle feed today
so hopefully they will be out soon:)

kate is a champ & she is doing well too
a bit sore & tired...
i think a few people have said, in not so many words
'the soreness will go away
but the tired is just beginning' :)

if you have some wise baby advice,
wise twin advice
or just want to wish her well
you can put it in the comments here
& i will email them to her
she will love that:)

hooray for boys!

love, auntie em:)

eugenie stuff...

if you are a local friend
or want to visit beautiful eugene oregon
in the next couple of weeks
i have some suggestions for you...

first bring a rain coat & dress in layers
:)

second
go to this awesome sale
itty bitty boutique
wednesday october 22- saturday october 25
it's a consignment sale where tons of moms
bring their kids gently used clothes
(or in my case hardly worn
cause my kids don't gently use much of anything:)
on wednesday you can find awesome things at great prices
then on saturday everything is half price!
the girls who organize it are so great
& the sale has a really fun vibe...
this year they are also going to have
a section of new handmade things
all created by moms:)
i think that will be so fun!
click their name & go see...

thirdly
come play with me & my friends!
saturday november 1
i'm teaching the advent calendar in that picture up there
there's more pictures of it at my other blog
emily ruth scraps
& jill is teaching a super cute project too
go check it out over here
the come play blog has all of the info
so come see:)

numero four
check out some little sneak peeks of what will be there
at the creative boutique blog
(yet another blog i try to keep up...)

coincidently i will be at all of these events
hope i'll get to see you local kids
& all you residents of other states & cities
go find some good handmade,
locally organized stuff to support...
it's just the nice thing to do

:)

to eat while you watch falcon crest...

how great are these?
they are from guess who...
of course:)

the picture is from black eiffel
because in order to see miss martha's
you have to watch a whole video
& i have much more important things to do
like post pictures of
cupcakes that look like
mashed potatoes

:)

okay okay i'm doing it...because i am a lemming...but for the positive...

you know
i love this sort of thing
clever things
like this
& like you
you clever thing...

:)

as miss m says just as i am leaving from tucking her in 'wait! i need tell you somthing'

a few somethings that i've been stacking up...
(& to make this a little more fun
i'm going to try out the webdings font that i just noticed
to bullet each point
oh the fun never stops round here...)

hwe just watched wordplay
oh my goodness
it is so good
jmbmommy mentioned it a few months ago
& i put it in our queue
& promptly forgot about it
& then with the gilmore girls
i just got so wrapped up in stars hollow
& i wasn't ready to leave even
two weeks after i watched the final season
(brian gave me season 7 for our anniversary...
i love that he gets me:)
but finally i broke out
& i left the city limits
& i watched sweeney todd
which drove me screaming back to stars hollow
for another week or so
just watching random episodes
(it helps when you own seasons 3-7
& then are surprised on your birthday with season one
thanks, ang!)
anyway
yes
wordplay
a documentary about crossword puzzles
i know sounds like
yawn
but it is so great!
& reminded me of spellbound
(which is i believe exactly
what jmbmommy said when she mentioned it...
what can i say?
she's always one or two steps ahead of me
paving the way
to better documentaries)
spellbound being the documentary about spelling bees
i know double yawn.
not even...
so great & funny
so anyhooo
get them both & make it a geek night
you won't be sorry!
(hey, jess!
what are we watching next?)

bcheck out this amazing wedding shoot
love the wedding dress!
& the bouquets
sigh sigh sigh
i want another wedding!
same guy
different stuff!

k& another amazing wedding
with another amazing button bouquet!

,favorite recent Q-isms:

me: Q do you want some of my blueberries?
Q: yes please (he got his manners from his father)
i hand him a spoonfull of blueberries with yogurt on them
Q: no thanks, i don't like yogurt. it's just the way God made me.
(hello brilliant! i can't even tell you how many arguments
i could have stopped in their tracks when i was younger
if only i had this little gem!
'sorry i don't wash dishes
it's just the way God made me')

miss m sneezes
Q: MERRA STOP IT!
me: Q please don't yell at merra
Q: but mom she just bless you'd on me!

;)

& then...

(the world's first unmanned flying desk set)

there's laundry
& there's dishes to unload
& then there's that guest blog post that you can't remember your password for
also the event you're organizing in november
& the email that she sent you last week
that you have said to yourself everyday
'i need to email her back'
there's those two packages that you need to mail
because those ladies have already paid for them
& then writing down what you ate today for lunch
so that you don't lose track of your points
there's the clothes that you are selling at that consignment sale
that still need to be labeled & double checked for stains
oh & your layouts are due in two days
there's months worth of pictures to go through
plus about ten emails that need to be answered
& your desk is looking very sad
because it's only job in the last few weeks
has been holding containers full of stuff you want to use but haven't
thank goodness the shower is over
(it was very fun though!)
but now you need to remember to go through
the pictures & try not to blame yourself too much
that you didn't take that perfect picture
you know the one where
you stand on the landing & everyone else looks up at you
& kate is in the middle of everyone with her adorable belly full of boys?
try not to blame
cause you can see it so clearly in your head...
there's also all of those ideas
just floating around your head
ideas to plan & make & create
but
but
but
but
but
the blasted internet...
an expert on the art of time suckage

but i did manage to do a post
with two ethan hawk movie references
so all is not lost...
(do you see them?)

:)

ps
i know that isn't a desk set
but it is on my desk...

something cozy....

for the little husky fan:)it's all about the lines of quilting
back & forth
back & forth
back & forth
& then i appliqued (is that how you spell it?) the W
& free motion quilted inside it...
when i appliqued i used purple thread on top
& yellow for the bobbin thread
so the back looks like this...
(these pictures are not so good
i know
believe me
i know)
& check this out...
the boy himself
in his official hospital photo:)
welcome sweet simon!
you are so loved
even if you are a husky fan...

:)

today is snuggle down at our house
(jammers all day
& we don't leave the house
or at least the driveway:)
& i get to work on finishing quilts for
some other very special boys...
the shower is sunday
can i do it?
yes i can!
:)

(i have already started the quilts for the twins
thank goodness:)

i don't have a picture but i sure wish i did...

~Q's bright blue painty hand prints on our
just-painted-this-summer side of the house
(our house is not bright blue)
...no pictures because i found it more important
to try to get the paint off while it was still a little wet
instead of grabbing the camera...
i know
what kind of scrapbooker am i?

~eugene celebration parade...
always full of
color & crazy
hippy & happy
politics & purpose
marching bands & walking dogs
bikes full of flowers & the willamettans
belly dancers & the merry pranksters bus
there were some great sights to be had:)
but none of them captured on film by me...

~tired hungry kids
eating ice cream sandwiches
made from homemade cookies
at the saturday market
weaving their way through the crowd
chocolate faces
creamy fingers
refreshed

~little hands
holding paper baskets of strawberries
red juice blending beautifully
with the remains of ice cream sandwiches
yum.

~the faces of people
as they walked toward us
grins as they said
'did you see that little boy
with the chocolate mustache?'
'oh they are enjoying those strawberries'
'she is so cute!'

& even though taking pictures is one of my favorite
ways to experience life
these lyrics are some of my favorites...
(just a few lyrics here, not the whole song)

didn't have a camera by my side this time
hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way with words

today I finally overcame
tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame

(3x5 by mr. john mayer)

some days you just need to leave the
lens behind...
even if you do feel quite bare without it
:)

anything you've seen lately that
you didn't get to capture on film?

hunt & gather...for girls:)

ps (that stands for pre-script
don't worry there's a real ps at the end:)
oh so many pictures in this post!
i think i might need to think more about getting that flicker account...)
one day there was nothing on that shelf
& the next day there they were...
i didn't happen quite that fast
but that's how collecting works
you just keep picking things up along the way
& along the way i started picking up vintage hats
super cute
well made
velvetie
silkie
tullie
we already had a few things that belonged to relatives...
did i mention that this was when i was in about 7th grade?
we weren't a family who woke up on saturday morning
(or for the hard core friday morning)
looking for estate sales
but we would stop if we saw one...
even just that little bit
ignited a passion akin to that of peanut m& m's
(just one will not do)
& i had a friend who helped me out
because she had some incredible hats herself
(thanks, emmi!:)...
as is my personality every few years or so
i would say
'do i really need all of these?
simplify!
simplify, i say!'
& i would sell some hats at a garage sale...
& then sad regret a few months later...
i can still picture a little green velvet number
that i just let walk away
without a good bye even
sigh
anyway
now that i have kiddos who like to dress up
(& if i wasn't worried that in a 10 years his class mates
would somehow find them online
& make posters
i could post some show stoppers worn by a certain young boy:)
the hat love is back...
this weekend i got to do one of my most favorite things:
shop the coburg antique fair
& what's more
i got to do it with about ten other crazy
6am treasure hunters...
i have gone for about 7 years or so
usually with my sister
(i missed you, kate!
but you are doing a good thing
growing those two boys:)
& going early is so fun!
there's nothing like seeing the sun rise upon a box of
old tinker toys to bring a smile to your face...
some years i buy
some years i just wander
& enjoy the great displays & quirky stuff
& cute shop girls
(hi sue!)
(sue is with kathy
who owns colby cottage
she does some great sales around eugene
her christmas sale is amazing)

we all kind of split up into little buddy systems
& would see each other here & there
toting our wares:)
this year i bought a bit...
i walked by this little stool four times
& finally when i was a block away
i realized i needed it
so now it's under my art table...
some cute little stuff needed a home
& so here they reside:)
a sweet little booth had this amazing veilie hat thing going on
& just had to have a picture in it
& then i put it back

but then i was caught
just one table over
this adorable little
super-loved-by-someone hat
for $2?
i picked it up
i put it down
i picked it up
down
up
down
i could have churned butter
for how many times i picked it up & put it down
(hey jess remember that giant butter churner we saw?)
finally i decided to get it
& wouldn't you know it
the shop girl offered me a deal for both hats!
all of my posing got me in trouble...
a wonderfully sweet kind of trouble
for then i couldn't stop with two
so i found one more...
oh honey
come home with me:)

i had the joy
neigh the privilege of walking around with jessica
(i love how the sign behind us says
'fresh for you right now!'
that's us...)
& a one point she yelled
'the woodsies!'
& we walked into a booth that magically
transported us back to 1979
the whole booth was filled with toys from our childhood
(don't get me started on how
i could be old enough to have toys
that i played with as a child
be at a sale with 'antique' in the title)
i will be showing more pictures of
those toys over the next few months...

& then there were these little cuties
inside each little tin box was a film strip
used in sunday school
with pictures & words to songs
some were little stories
they were so neat
i wanted this one so bad
& the grumpy man at the booth said that they were $5 each
i offered him $3
& he said
'those are really old'
um i know
i'm at an antique show
will ya take the $3?
nope he wouldn't
& so left them there...
was it worth it to not buy them
for the cost of a peppermint hot chocolate?
sniff
only i can be the judge...
oh well jesus loves him, right?
:)

then
we all met up at 9 to do show & tell
(i'm not in there
but my little red stool is...)

& it seemed that everyone found something


& an obsession is rekindled...


& i'm not going to sell these hats
my grandkids can do that...
hear that kids?
obey your grandma
& wear those hats
before you sell them...
:)

if you want to see some more coburg fun
check these girls out...
jmbmommy
ali edwards
on the road less traveled
life's rich pageant
pens & needles (love the name of this blog:)

just learning...

(Q's desk)

one of my most favorite blogs is finslippy
one of my most favorite friends, rachael told me about it
so it was bound to be a favorite, right?

finslippy is written by a lady named alice
who is so funny that i really do laugh out loud sometimes
& who is so real that sometimes i cry
she wrote a post a few days ago
that i just read today...
why don't you go over there & read it
it's titled 'few words about writing'
(click that sentence that's a different color)
& then come back
& we will discuss, okay?

okay...
so good right?
& so what i needed
i have been in such a funk
& not a good
marky mark & the funky bunch
kind of funk
(that link's for you, kate)
an icky kind of funk
(careful spelling that girls)

not sure exactly what i'm supposed to be doing creatively
not satisfied to just make stuff for me
but not interested in starting a business to sell stuff
(well maybe a little
but only if i got to make stuff
design displays & order things
& someone else dealt with
money
schedule
employees
(except for interviews
i've always wanted to interview someone)
& customers
(i'll help the happy ones!)
so basically i want a business where i
get to do whatever i want
& i only have to talk to people when i want to
& only if they are nice...
that should be very easy to find)

i struggle with just being satisfied with being a mom
(by the way
i love my kids & i love being a mom!
i just have to say that for myself
& my kiddos when they are old enough to read this
('hi Q & miss m! you sure are cool! obey your mother! love you!')

i always wanted to be an artist or a teacher
(that's what i would always write on my school papers
never 'an art teacher' for some reason:)
& i knew i would be a mom
but i'm so agitated
that i can't get a good balance
with the practical & the creative parts
i guess balance is it
but ugh
that is so typical isn't it?
& i just wanted to be different:)

anyway
what alice said
'doing stuff is always better than not doing stuff'
& the ceramics study she noted at the end of the post
& the ira glass thing
all compile to tell me
that i just need to do some stuff
& not worry about what it is
or what anyone else would say about it
& maybe
just maybe
then i will get my groove back
& figure this out
or maybe i will just keep growing
& that's okay too
i guess...
:)

ps i was just thinking, too about how
sometimes artistic types think about what
they are going to do so much
that once they do it
it doesn't come out how they pictured it
& so then they are afraid to try again
or something
& how no one would ever send a guy out onto the football field
& say
'i know you've never been on a field before
but you know what a touchdown looks like right?
you've thought about it
go do it!'
practice
& repetition, my friends
i think that's a big part of it

also this:
progress, not perfection.

& what i say to Q often:
'we are all just learning'

lots of pieces
& just making stuff
might do the trick...

:)

well, turn it up...

you know how sometimes you go on a site or a blog
& music starts playing
& either you think
'ugh, if i wanted to listen to classic rock
i would go watch dazed & confused'
or
'agh! that scared me
don't you know that i'm blog surfing at 2am?
geez!'

not so with this blog
in fact when i line up my blogs to read for the day
using the handy tabs maker
(puppy foot T for you mac users)
i often make it one of my tabs
& then i just listen to her list
for the hour or so that i am allowed on the computer
(my parents are so mean!!!!!)
it is so lovely
& i'm going to order some songs from itunes soon
thanks to emily ahern...

oh those emilys
let's just bookmark all emily blogs
shall we?
actually i have quite a few emily blogs in my
own bookmarks...
i smell a new link list
& strangely enough it smells like peanut m&m's...

:)

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
:)