company's comin'

12:54 am
day after christmas
sitting on my parents couch

high speed blogging
company potatoes as my companion

brian in seventh heaven
high speed shooting & stratagizing

once you go high speed you never go back
they all say

i'm beginning to beleive them...

:)

company potatoes...
a tam christmas tradition
i 'm not sure what's in them
besides potatoes
but i'm guessing crack has to be at least
one of the ingredients.
maybe two.
has to be...

plus she always has them ready before
anyone comes over
i think i'm on to something...

:)

okie dokie....

so i guess that's why they call this the busy season...

i have seriously been thinking in blog
like i was writing in my head
brilliant brilliant things
to make you laugh
out loud even
& perhaps shed a tear
the kind that just pops out of your eye
& then rolls all the way down your face
until it falls onto your chest...
yes.
they were that good.

but now faced with the blogger screen
all i can think of is
merry christmas to all
& to all a good night...
very inspired...

but for fun let's add two more things...
one.
i am generally not an over acheiver in life
walk into my house on any given day
& this fact will be startlingly clear
but when it comes to christmas cards
i usually try to go way beyond the rhelm of reality
always dreaming of making a card that will use many cutting edge techniques
but not too many
(don't want to look like i'm trying too hard)
& a letter that will touch & inspire
but usually it ends up like this...
i buy paper i love
just the right green
25 sheets
i will cut them in half
print one try on them
i can't read it
the perfect green is too dark
it's too late to go search for something else
i print on regular paper
& swipe a stamp pad over it
hoping it will look planned
curse christmas cards
& the perfect green...
woohoo!
merry christmas!

now last year...
(ah last year)
for thanksgiving we went to california
& we got
(i am not joking)
the best family picture ever.
really it was so good
we were on the beach
the ocean looked unreal
everyone was smiling
it looked planned but unplanned
the perfect picture can cover a multitude of sins...

this year
pictures are not even on the radar
i try for a few at my sister's wedding
but someone who is older than 30 months & younger than 33 months
refuses to look at the camera
& when he does
he is giving this look
as if to say
'i just have one question for you
are you feeling lucky?
well, are ya?'
(& he looks just like clint eastwood when he says it)

so another brilliant idea
i'll make a photo collage
our favorite pics from the past year
i love photoshop
so this will be FUN...
long story short
i hate photoshop
i hate the walmart 1 hour photo place
(i'm sure i am not alone in this)
& i especially hate all of my friends
who just chose their best picture
whole family or not
smiling or not
& ordered the cute border
& sent them off...

so my cute blogger friends
you will now be the only people on the face of the earth
to see what could have been
our best christmas card ever.
evah!



ta~da!

oh well...
i'm going to go watch the office
(season 2 episodes 11-16
plus deleted scenes)
& address our new year cards...

have a wonderful christmas
celebrate your family
& Jesus...
i think having had babies just increases the feealings
can you imagine giving birth in a barn?
(i will just let you sit with that)
& then rasing the son of God...

but beyond that
Jesus came to give us all hope
& i pray that no matter how things go
perfect or not
(christmas cards out or not)
that what you feel is hope
hope for the best life
hope for better things for the people in our world
hope for a great future for our kids
hope for anything you can imagine
& a reassurance that you are so loved
truly loved.

enjoy your christmas...

:)

i now pronounce you...

for now
a few shots
of
love
joy
smiles
forever
happiness...



& a couple drinks
never hurts;)


plus my favorite pictures of the moment...
please...
is there anything cuter than a boy & his daddy all dressed up?



more later...

:)

somebody's getting married....

today is the day...
kate's getting her hair done...
the wheels are turning
it's happening!
& don't you worry
pictures will follow
very soon:)

my stomach is in knots
& not because i've been doing sit ups
i'm toasting tonight
& i am nervous
too long?
too short?
fortunately kate & ryan told me
that i didn't have to be funny...
seriously
they said
'the best man is really funny
so you don't have to be'
thanks.
so i guess i know how they feel about my sense of humor...

boy do they have a surprise coming
cause i have a juggling routine down...

until the balls all fall...
:)

ps
i tried out the instruments of torture
(aka the wedding shoes)
at the rehearsal
& they felt....
bad.
but so did everyone else's including BM#1 & #2
so i am not alone
let the limping ensue...

:)

meet my arch-nemesis

five days to go
five days
until the wedding of the century

there are many
sweet
crazy
blood boiling
dramatic
heartwarming
stories about this wedding to be
but will i be talking about those right now?

no
because there are greater issues at hand

ladies & gentleman
the bain (?)
of my existance....


i put no blame on the bride
(for 2 reasons:
1) she did not pick them out
2) who in their right mind would
put the blame on a bride for ANYTHING
5 days before her wedding?)

the blame goes to two bridesmaids
who i otherwise love & adore
& i'm going to chalk it up to a giddy excitement
over being all together in a shoe store...
who is in their right mind in a shoe store?
i'm sure the conversation went something like this:

bridesmaid #1
(holding up a pair of wellies)
'i bet you wouldn't wear these in the wedding'

bridesmaid #2
(holding flip flops)
'bet you wouldn't wear these'

BM #1
(that abbreviation in no way reflects my feelings toward them
only toward their shoe choice)
(holding up very sensible 1 inch heels)
'bet you wouldn't wear these'

BM #2
(holding scary 2 inch heels)
'bet you wouldn't wear these'

BM #1
(hold above pictured shoes of death)
'bet you wouldn't wear these'

BM #2
'yes i would & i think we should make everyone
wear them too. even the pastor'

well, the pastor got out of it
lucky SOB (sorry grandma)
but all of the tall skinny bridesmaids
& me
did not.

let us just see how tall these heels are shall we?


now i would have to ask carrie bradshaw for an official ruling
because i'm not sure if you measure
right up to where the heel meets the shoe
or from the ground to where your physical heel is
(plus this measuring idea was lovely
except i should have possibly
put the ruler & the shoe on the same surface
so now they look like they are 3 & 1/2 or 4 inches!)
any which way...
i'm going with 3 inches...

THREE INCH HEELS

this is not going to be pretty
no matter how cute they are...

& you better believe i am bringing
shoes to change into
& they will be flats.
that's no inch heels...

:)


ps if you do want to know about the
sweet
crazy
blood boiling
dramatic
heartwarming
stories
they are well documented on
wanttobeabride.blogspot.com
very cute...

from my family to yours...

snow
yes
even a small drift
can lift me up
to happiness

snow
yes
even a small patch
can make me fall
on my tush

:)

ps
i love the snow
whether i'm up or down
:)

for these things i am...

thankful
thankful
thankful
for more than i can list

but here's a few

a husband who makes me laugh everyday
digital cameras
(please may i never have to live without one)
paper & glue
(any paper, any glue)
tank tops with built in bras
(can't sleep without one...not comfortably at least:)
paint
good friends
(who laugh, accept & comment on the old blog:)
(any paint, any time)
george clooney awards
(did you see? 2nd time...go george!)
black & white
(perfect combination)

when a certain little boy says
'mama, i have a present for you
let's go to the park'
(irresistable!)
skwooshy pillows
(i hoard them!)
parents, grandparents & great grandparents
(to love us & save our bacon on a regular basis)
baby wipes
(can you even imagine life without them?
no, don't even try...this is a happy blog...)
people who help other people
( aspire...)
road trips
(more please!)
converse
(classic. middle school memories. good ones.)
i am completely & unconditionally loved
(thank you, God)

my little girlie waking up with a huge grin
(everyday that happens! too cute:)
the office
(always lives up to expectations!)
a place to write, gush, blab, rant & just be me
(thanks my bloggy friends:)
& of course
kids in fall leaves...
(even crying kids)

what are you thankful for?
:)

bookmark it...

here's a new one to add to your list of blogs not to miss...
jmbmommy.blogspot.com

this is my dear friend jbmommy
(not her real name)
we have been friends since the 8th grade
(7th for her)
with a small bit of time in there that we just refer to as
'when we weren't friends'
but that could never last!

she was the one who made the bag of
'word of the day' papers
& every day we would draw one from the bag
& a group of us would find out the word
then as we walked the hallowed (sp?) halls of oaklea middle school
we would see each other & say something like
'that is a very INTERESTING shirt you are wearing'
& we would all scream
ala peewee herman
(this was obviously before his 'other performances' were revealed
though once you love peewee you just do
disgusting displays or not.
i forgive him
i just don't want to hear about it ever happening again...
you hear me peewee?)

so jessica...
yes jessica
she is just too cool
funny
sweet
& not afraid to tell you how she feels
in the most lovely way
so that you go away thinking
'i had never thought of turtles rights that way before
but now i must go buy a turtle
& join every turtle cause there is'
(turtle rights is actually not one of her causes
it was just a fake example
because i am not a political blog...
though if you are interested in turtle rights
i'm sure there is something out there for you
they do desreve our respect
shell or no shell)

anyhoo
her most recent post rocks.
it's about going on the road to producing &
excelling acedemically
(with spelling like that i obviously needed a little more acedemics)
& careerwise
& then realizing that maybe a break from that isn't a bad idea
especially when two sweet boys are involved
i loved it most because
i was never on that track
i always knew i was going to be a stay at home mom
& wanted to be
so i love a different perspective
& i think she is so brave
& just wonderful!
check her out
this post is serious & sweet
but there are bound to be some funny rants mixed in too
(get cracking jb....
love you!)

:)

gripe fest '06...come join the fun...

things to do today

5:30am walk/run with tina

5:32 wonder why i ever agreed to walk/run with tina

6:02 remember why...cause it feels so good when you're done

6:13 stretch & sit-ups & listen to brian's morning songs

6:40 shower...sometimes alone, sometimes with a pint sized audience
'takin' a shower mommy?'

7:30 start cleaning the house because the tyree's are coming over

7:42 wonder why we invited the tyrees over
maybe we could just meet at target
target is always clean
you never find a 3 day old sippy cup of milk sitting around at target

8:04 return to the real world & continue cleaning

9:00 trudge down the driveway with kiddos
weighted down by diaper bag, blankie, stuffed cow named 'grandpa calvin'
wonder when i became a sherpa

9:12 quick stop at albertson's to but cold & cough medicine for merra & i

9:30 drop the kids off in child care
apologize to teachers for forgetting burp rag, milk & diapers
what the heck is in the diaper bag?

10:00 meeting with rachael & jeannie
talking about adult things with adult people
dare to dream...

11:02 get kiddos from child care

11:05 chase Q around church lobby
'want to stay with clara'

11;13 wrangle Q into car with the ever popular 'bribe & threat method'

11:19 drive through starbucks to get a gift card for coach ramie

11:38 go to soccer
strap miss m into bjorn & zoom around with Q
last day of this session
Q loves it...every night 'God bless coach ramie'

12:22 buckle in two on the edge of nap time kiddos into the car

12:27 drive through any place with a value menu

i am getting tired just typing this...
let's just say
the day is full...

things i want to do today & for the rest of the week...
dig a hole & crawl into it
with some hot chocolate
an US magazine
& john mayer, serenading me
(he's not in the hole with me
just sitting on the edge dangling his feet)
(it's a deep hole...)


please come to gripe fest with me!
i don't want to go alone!
what if i don't know anyone?
what if i can't find the bathroom?
we can buy t-shirts!
come on....

what going on with you...

:)

funny thing is
one look at this little sweetie
& none of it even matters
& i'll gladly drive a car full of 2 year olds
& 8 month olds to kansas & back...
(well, at least to vancover...
washington, not canada)

zap!

thought the computer got me didn't you?
after i pushed publish on that last post
it just reached right out & zapped me...
these machines can be very touchy
they don't like to be insulted
even when they deserve it
(did i say that?)
anyhooo
much
much
much computer drama
still going on in fact
someday
when the moon is full
& we are all sitting around a campfire
i will tell you the scarey tales
of
emily & the computer of doom...

but for now i will say...
thank you to the mac store for renting computers
& thank you to joe p for hiring brian & i
to do a slide show for you & for paying for the rental of said computer
so that we can actually do the slide show...
& the biggest thanks of all
to my dearest coolest awesomest brian
for setting up the rented computer
sending me upstairs to catch up on the blogging world
making my blog our home page
& keeping mr. Q downstairs with the promise of 'monster, inc' & candy
you are a dream...

:)

that's it?!!!?
gone for two & a half weeks
& all you get is a measley 2 paragraphs
(if my little bits & peices of sentences even qualify as paragrahs)
take heart young friend
while my computer was layed up in the mac hospital
i have been blogging in my head
many
many
prize winning blogs
& some will make it to you...
maybe today
maybe tomorrow
maybe some day
& definitely for the rest of my life....

stay tuned
it can only get better...

:)

(save)

my computer is not on my good list
not even on my kind of good list
not even on my would be nice & say hi if i was in the same aisle of the grocery store with it but probably wouldn’t yell hello across the parking lot list

no idea what’s wrong
that is not my department
i’m in the blog & play with photoshop department
the manager of the fix it department says it will take a few hours
& he is not willing to give up sleep
so that i can blog with out the screen freezing every 20 minutes
selfish!:)
actually he’s going to look at it tonight
so maybe
maybe
i can learn to love my emac again…

i am accepting it now
the fact that maybe
if i don’t save every 2 minutes
i will lose blogs & pictures & other important things
(save)

i have been through the 5 stages of computer grief
denial:
‘this is not happening…my computer did not just freeze
the mouse simply decided to take a nap’
anger:
‘what the…..AGAIN?!’
followed by many words
that shouldn’t be read by your innocent eyes
bargaining:
(does anger come before or after bargaining? can’t remember…)
‘okay..if i only have safari & photoshop & email running will you please not crash?
okay if only have safari & email running will you please not crash?
safari?
pushing the on button?’
& finally acceptance:
‘i have come to take it as gift every time you freeze
because it means i can clean up small parts of our room
while you warm up again & again you crappy piece of crap…’
oops am i back to anger again?
so soon?
(save)

& that
in a nutshell
(the saying doesn’t specify the size of the nutshell…)
is why my blogging has been
sparse
(save)

but believe me
when we are back on
we are back on…
(save)

:)
(save)

wowza!

you know how sometimes you see someone so much
that you don't really SEE them?
when i saw this picture i thought
'goodness...that is one handsome man i've got'
(& the little girlie on his lap just adds to the love...)
sigh...

:)

ladies & gentlemen...the incredible marathon blogger...

too much in brain…
must purge…

sister shower…
the shower for kate was very fun
a great mix of people
(shout out to grandma, angie, rachael
& any non posters out there)
& just a lovely little time to love on kate
& laugh & give her some presents
i refrained from doing the
‘what you will say on your wedding night’ list
(instructions:
write down interesting things
that the bride to be says as she’s opening gifts
then read later
such amusing things as
‘it’s so cute’
& ‘where did you find that?’
cause giggles
throw in a
‘you should get your own web site’
(thank you monica)
& you’ve got a pee your pants good time…)
ryan’s grandma was there
so i held off
i don’t think my grandma woud have minded
(would you grandma?)
but you don’t want to show all of your crazy to the new family…
until it’s legal…
also ryan’s grandma made the cutest
aprons for kate & ryan
& i’m secretly hoping for one someday
& i don’t think she would make one for
‘that girl with the inappropriate shower game’
(why i think my sister’s grandma in law would make me an apron
is another subject entirely)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
las vegas…
i know i mentioned it before
but i think this is as close to my dream job
as i’m going to get
at this time in my life
seriously
the show was so great!
i love to see all of the new stuff
& my brain is just in it’s element
with all of the colors
& patterns
& designs
& cute
& cool
dancing around in it…
bliss
:)

& i’m getting paid to play with paper
if i’m dreaming let me sleep a little longer…

the site is looking really good
when it is up
you will be the first to know…

plus i saw my friend eileen
i truly thought i might never see her again
due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control.
but God had other plans…
she is just the greatest girl
we met when i worked at the scrapbook store
but we were bonded for life when we discovered
(i am not kidding)
that she dated b in high school!
is that kooky or what?
& if there is a picture here you will see
we can surmise that b has a thing for
brunette
crafty
witty
intelligent
fun
cute girls
you could tell that all from a picture can’t you?
anyway...
so so so
happy
to see her again!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

on the move…
yes we have a crawler
i think that is what you call it
when they are up on all fours
& moving their arms & legs
& they end up across the room from where you left them
she’s not going to win any baby olympics quite yet
but just give her time
her brother placed in hammer throw
& 100 meter dash
when he was her age:)
so she’s got a good coach…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

movies...

b & i went to see invincible
a few weeks ago
i am a total sucker for sports movies
ever since hoosiers
is it the predictability?
is it the fact that i wish i was an athlete?
is it the slow motion action shots?
the sweat?
the muscle?
the cheering?
the losing & coming back again?
yes it is all of the above
add in marky mark wahlburg in denim bell bottoms
& pouring down rain mud football
& i’m there…

high school musical…
i mentioned a song from this a few weeks ago
so let’s just add the whole darn soundtrack now.
darling erin let me borrow her dvd
& she may never see it again...
let’s put it in SAT terms, shall we?
emily ruth is to high school musical
as mr Q is to the incredibles
in other words
i wake up & say
‘can i have chokit milk & watch high school musical?’

akleelah & the bee
ummm am i in a feel good movie mode or what?
this is good
a bit unpredictable
but in a predictable way
you know?
& the kids in it are too cute
in a too cool kind of way…
right.

a cinderella story
(note:
this may seem like
a crazy amount of teeny tweeny movies
for a 32 year old to be watching…
blame it in the netflix, yeah, yeah…)
hillary duff
chad michael something or other
(love him in freaky friday
which i own…
come on someone top me!)
a young girl’s father marries a crazy mean lady
he dies
&…
oh you know…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tiny tots…

miss Jessica
aka jbmommy
introduced me to this most excellent place
there is nothing better on a rainy day
than to take a little Q man
to a giant room full of plastic toys
& cars
& slides
& say
‘go for it’
& go for it he did…so much fun
playing with sammy...
while Jessica
& i hung out
wearing matching babies
(born 12 hours apart)
& talking to a woman
who had an 11 pound 8 ounce baby
no joke
she said she thinks she was off on the conception date
he may have been in a month too long...
yes
when the baby walks out & says
‘hello, i’ll be your son’
he’s been in a tad too long…
the mother was quite adorable though
so i’ll give her a little grace
(see where being cute gets you?)
we will be joining this group
& i will rename it
‘mommies little sanity club’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the office…
this is the perfect show
this show is the son of seinfeld in our house
never thought jerry, elaine, george & kramer
would even have a close second…
but michael, dwight, pam & jim (sigh)
congratulations
'world’s best show' mugs for all….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
today my cool
cute
nice
funny
smart
kind
strong
two year old wrestling
third grade teaching
seven month old tossing
(not too high)
wood working
husband came home with a hot chocolate for me

love that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
oprah & gayle’s road trip
i have the bug
get me in a car
throw in some nacho cheese doritos
an i pod
a map of any state
& a half tank of gas
(i like to live on the edge
as an 18 year old angie,
a little blue hundai
the LA freeway
& an empty gas tank will attest)
& i’m off…

i’m going to do a road trip memories blog someday…
get your stories ready…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

what’s swimming around in your cute little brain?

:)

sheesh!

okay! okay!
so i am a shopper
& a baby girl clothes hoarder
& a buy girl clothes even though you are pregnant with a boy shopper
but you guys way overestimated me!
i feel silly even writing how many of each item
miss m actually has
because it sounds so piddily in comparison to the guesses


but oh well
here are the real numbers
dresses 23 (highest guess 50! five oh
as in oh my gosh do you do anything but buy dresses?)
shoes 12 (highest guess 23, that would be 46 individual shoes)
cardigans 14 (highest 16, close close)
hoodies 8 (highest 15)
jeans 7 (highest 13)
the person closest without going over is.....
no one
but the person closest WITH going over is.....
kel!
nice going kel
i will send you a little fun pack
next week!
& i will save a few of those little dresses
for you
someday you may need them:)

oh & on that note
my dear friend emily h
whose husband's entire side has had baby boys
for the past 2 generations or something
does that make sense?
is that possible?
maybe that's not right
anyway
she has 2 boys
& now she's having a girl!
3 boys would have been just great
& tons of fun of course
but emily with a girl will be so beyond cute!
a little farmer girl!
i love it!
congrats em!
can't wait to buy you some red & pink stuff...


hey thanks for your guesses
maybe i'll do another contest sometime
guess how many storage containers we have without lids
or something exciting like that...
just you wait & see

:)

oh & one more thing
(promise)
las vegas was awesome
rephrase...
the scrapbook show was awesome
vegas was...
vegas
i think my airplane snacks say it all...
actually, i was thinking of changing my blog to this:
'otherwise known as plane cheesey'
what do you think?
(more scrapbbok stuff coming soon...)
:)

dream a little dream of me...

tomorrow i am off to las vegas
as a part of what may very well be
the closest i ever get to my dream job

right now i am working for my friend, tricia
as the creative director
(or something like that, no official name yet...)
for her business...
cocoa daisy
it is a kit club for scrapbookers.
so you can go on the site
(goes live very soon
& don't worry i'll link you up...)
& order a kit that we have put together
handpicking products from lots of different companies
but that all go together really well.

i get to help her choose a theme
& pick out stuff
& then i get to design pages
& projects for the site to show
the design team has 7 other people on it
so there will be a wide variety of examples...

this is my almost perfect job because
1. i get to play with paper & glue & other fun stuff
2. i get paid for it
3. i don't have anything to do with paying bills
4. i get to play with the newest scrapbook stuff
5. finacial matters have nothing to do with me
6. i can work on my own time

the only thing that would make it more perfect
is if there was a store front
& i got to design displays with unlimited budget
& time
& a babysitter paid for
& george c. serving me drinks, while john m. sings
(they're back!)
yes.
show me that job
& i am there.

anyway
we are going to lv for 3 days
for a scrapbook trade show
memory trends it is called.
so we will get to see all of the newest stuff
hello heaven?
is that you?
i loved trade shows when i was a buyer & when i was a rep
they are just fun
lots of excitement in the air

& vegas..
watch out
hundreds of scrapbookers on the loose
you'll be able to see the camera flashes from space
(just like the laser at the luxor)

& you know what they say...
what happens in vegas stays in vegas
unless you are ascrapbooker
then it's photographed, journaled about
& decorated with tastful embellishments...

:)

norm, have you seen the super glue?

each & every single day
i think of new things i want to post…
i love blogging
i’ve never been this consistant in journaling
for some reason
this works for me
(read: it involves interaction with others:)
plus my kids will have yet one more thing to look at
when they grow up
a lovely chronical of their life
in addition to scrapbooks that leave out
giant chunks of their life
(by the way, i have made peace with this fact
i want to enjoy scrapbooking
not feel guilty
so i just do what i can do…)
so thanks to you dear readers
(commenters & non-commenters alike)
i love hearing (& not hearing) from each of you:)

anyway…
on with the show…

Saturday morning we went to the pumpkin patch
this was a brilliant idea on my behalf…
our october is pretty filled up
what with fun wedding stuff
plus the fact that we love UofO football
(go ducks!)


so we headed off to the farm…
sadly the farmers were not in sync with me!
no wagon ride to the pumpkin patch
plus the patch
(& i quote)
‘isn’t really ready yet’
um hello?
halloween is a month away
do they need to go buy pumpkins
& super glue them to last years stems or something?
(how kind & generous of spirit am i?)

anyway
none of that mattered
first off Q had no idea what he was missing
he didn’t remember that a hay ride was even possible
for all he knows
pumpkins grow in big pile in front of Albertsons

second
isn’t the point of this all just to be together?
& together we were!
feeding animals
cutting the u-pick flowers
playing on the play structure
& choosing our favorite pumpkins


i loaded everything into the cutest little cart
because i knew it would make a great picture
& it did
even thought the wheels hardly turned
& there was really no steering to speak of
& it made me want to cuss
but boy did our stuff look cute in it:)

this time of the year is so wonderful
around here…
it is my favorite
& by favorite i mean the change part
especially the change from summer to fall
& winter to spring

i love that in oregon we get every season
some wetter than others
but there is a distinct change every 3 months or so…
& getting cozied up in sweaters?
come on!
what is better than that?
(a close second is
putting them away for shorts in may…)


so we are ready to carve!
the funny thing is
this is our first of 3 trips
to pumpkin patches that we have planned!
it is probably good that the wagon wasn’t running
who could handle that much excitement in one season?

:)

free stuff? did you say free stuff?!?

saturday night was all about adult entertainment
no not that kind
you’ll have to go to a different blog
if that’s what you’re looking for…

so for b & i that meant
kiddos to grammy & pop’s house
(what a ginormous, hugio blessing that is)
& us back to our house
for a couple of hours of doing whatever the heck we wanted
in a house not filled with the sounds of
‘mama?
need shokit milk!
mama?
i NEED shokit milk & juice’
(sorry buddy, one beverage at a time here
what do we look like a college bar?
no double fisting!)

so off b went to the wood shop
seriously
every husband needs to find that place for themselves
where they can just have fun
no pressure
& accomplish something
(this is a big one for b)
he just loves it in there
(& oh boy how happy
it would make my grandpa to know that:)

& i headed off to miss m’s closet
i know it sounds weird & mysterious doesn’t it?
like what could i possibly WANT to do in there?
is there a portal to another land?
where i sit on the beach & scrapbook
while george clooney brings me giant glasses of ice water
(never let it get below half full, georgey)
& john mayer sings gentley in the background
(be a dear & bring a glass for john too would you, george?)…
ahhh….

back here on earth
i love to organize
those of you who have been to my house can stop laughing
right now.
i didn’t say i was tidy
or even a little bit of a clean freak
but i love folding things
& making them look oh so lovely on the shelf
just waiting for a photographer from real simple to arrive…
still waiting.

anyway
poor miss m
her closet needed a do over
thus far the only time i have a moment to do some organizing is
when she is asleep
& strangley enough
she sleeps in her room
where her closet is located
(weird right?)
so i went in there & got busy
(again, not that kind of blog)

now you may think
‘how long could that little job take?
the child in question is only 6 months old
i’m sure emily was back in her geoge clooney portal in mere moments’
(maybe this IS that kind of blog…)

you would be wrong.

how many dresses does a baby
(who can’t even sit up on her own
by the way)
need?

that, my friend is for you to answer
& who-so-ever guesses closest gets a prize
delivered to their home
& a trip through the closet portal…

so post your guesses here in the comment section
& if you don't want to comment publicly
(the pressure of choosing a screen name is quite paralizing, i know...)
email me & i'll post your answer for all to see

extra credit:
how many pairs of shoes does a girl who doesn’t even crawl yet need?
(though she just started that
getting up on her knees & rocking thing yesterday!
brian keeps saying
‘push her down! remember what happened with the other one?’)
how many cardigan sweaters?
hoodies?
pairs of jeans?
(wow, you are going to be rolling in the prizes)

i'll give you a week to ponder this
so next thursday
(a little more than i week i guess)
i will announce the winner

i will even post pictures!
i know.
you can hardly wait…

:)

ps i just want to add that i didn't buy all of these clothes
not that i am not a champion shopper...
but after having Q
i realized that they really only wear each thing a few times
therefore most of the ones i did buy were from garage sales:)
the rest are from various friends who are mom's of girlies
(thanks angie, rachael, wendi & susan g.)
also from grammy (thanks!)
& last but not least from auntie kate
who, when i called to tell her that i was having a girl said
'i'm going shopping tonight'
& she did:)
thanks kate:)

peek a boo...

guess who's six months old...
(give or take 4 days:)


age...
half
.5
6/12

love...
whole
full
complete


:)

there's a scrapbook page in there somewhere...
(isn't there always?:)

happy happy...things that make me so very happy...

...portland...
this weekend
just me & my girl
got to rona’s house
new john mayer cd on the bed
(early christmas present she says:)
what a cool mother-in-law!
love her…

saw kate’s wedding dress
oh so beautiful
i had that moment
when you first see the bride
& everything just stands still
it is so perfect
it is just so her.
beautiful.

funny funny bachelorette party
kate was at the helm of that one
monica is marrying a boy named jack
so everything she had to do was jack related
‘split a jack & coke with a stranger’
‘find 2 people to do jumping jacks with’
‘have a cracker jack eating contest with someone’
‘have someone act out ‘jack & jill’ with you while reciting it’
(the guy she did this one with was very good
he even fell down & broke his crown!)
it was great
& monica was totally game:)

fun hanging out with my friend emily
(she’s emily anna:)
when we were in high school
people would call us ‘the emilys’
& we would say
‘emily & emily, we are each individual human beings’
that is exactly the kind of smarty pants girls we were
& as it turns out
still are…
:)

miss m got to spend time with her grandma alone
i think that might be a rare occurrence
just because we usually go up there all four together
so i was so glad that they got to hang out
& rona got to know her 3rd granddaughter:)

10:30 service at southlake
(i love that church)
&
a stop at my favorite scrapbook store
on the way home
to complete a lovely weekend
girlie all the way:)
~~~~~~~~~

...20 minute makeover...
my new thing…
i put both kids down for a nap
set the timer for 20 minutes
then clean up all i can in that amount of time
when the timer goes off i’m done
& free to do what i want
any old time:)
it has been so good for me
i can now blog & surf with no guilt
cause i already did my 20 minute clean up
i love this
it fits me just right:)

...grey’s anatomy...
a tv show that makes you
laugh
cry
want to download music

all in one episode?
that is my kind of show…

...Q...
‘i want to see my liver’
after asking ‘what?’ 12 times
i finally realize he wants to drive over
& see ‘his’ RIVER again
i am half disappointed, half relieved
‘my two year old KNOWS what his liver is?!?’
(i always knew he was advanced)
‘my two year old wants to SEE his liver?!?’


...sharpies...
brian brings home
new colors
every time
a rainbow to choose from
a charmed life i do lead…

...prison break...
i
like
that
show
A
LOT.

...oregon/oklahoma game...
don’t care if it’s fake win
a win is a win
(that’s what fake winners always say:)
& it was so fun & crazy
we were hugging everyone around us
plus
toby keith was there
& i saw him
he’s a country singer
& a oklahoma fan
poor toby keith

...hershey’s caramel kisses...
trouble
big trouble

...the jiggles...
a song
(not a description of my tummy
well, actually it is a description of my tummy
but not what i am about to talk about here
& everybody said 'phew!')
by bradley whitford (of 'the west wing' & 'studio 60')
& jane kasmerick (of 'malcom in the middle')
they are married
& this song is great
if you have itunes & a child
this is a must have.
it'll be in your head for days
& yet you won't care...

...clean closet...
equals
happy mommy:)

what’s making you oh so happy today?

:)

cuttin' for the very first time....

i’ve been a weird al fan
(don’t even think i’m going to attempt his last name:)
since ‘like a surgeon’

if you can recite all of the words to
‘eat it’
this is for you…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw

thanks to Jessica
my dear hilarious friend
who is herself
whiter than sour cream:)


:)

there's a pattern here somewhere...

we laugh
& talk
for hours
about
nothing
& everything

cheerleader barbie
& plus size nancy drew
post quarter life crisis
nothing unsaid
nothing held back
everything real
everything love

questions
& comments
feel happy
feel history
feel better
feel cuter

husbands
& kids
true love
true challenge
true life

heritage
& future
mom’s daughters
daughter’s moms

margaritas
& cute cake
2 bar stools
6 years past 26
& $20 each
equals
everlasting friendship
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i love you, gwenie
(with a heart over the i)

:)

the hills are alive….

i love music
& thanks to me
my children will have quite a variety of it
in their musical memory…
ABBA to veggie tales:)

& may i also say that ipods rock?
we were given one by a kind benefactor
who can’t resist new, fun electronics
(love you dad!)
he bought a nano
& we inherited the little white machine of tunes…
for a mixed tape lover like me
this is heaven
& no hitting rewind
then play
then rewind
then play
then fast forward
nope
i hit one button
& i’m back to the beginning of dancing queen just like that
& if i want to listen to knarls barkley
over & over & over
i can.
this is love…

so here are my favorites right now…
(i want to emphasize RIGHT NOW
(that is why i capitalized it:)
these are not my favorites of all time
(so don't go freaking out that there's no mj or whatever:)
just on my playlist at the moment
best songs of all time?
that is another day….)


‘we’re all in this together’
high school musical

this song is stuck in my head all day
& i love it
i haven’t seen the movie yet
but it’s in my queue at netfilx…
can’t wait:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

waterfalls
tlc

great lyrics
great message
great beat
try to,listen to this without
just MOVING
it is absolutely addicting
& after you’ve listened to it 20,000 times
you just feel so cool…
rolling down the street…
radio blasting…
two carseats in the back seat…
whaaat?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

daughters
john mayer

i loved this song before i had a daughter
now?
forget it…
can’t even make it through without a hankie…

ps i will listen to anything john mayer wants to sing..
phone book?
grocery list?
crime & punishment?
bring it on.

pps anyone heard his newest album?
want it…
waiting:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i guess that’s why they call it the blues
elton john

always a forbidden song in my mind
(the ‘rolling like thunder,
under the covers’ line)
but i love it
& i’ll sing it loud too
watch out…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

such great heights
the postal service

‘i’m thinking it’s a sign
that the freckles
in our eyes are mirror images
& when we kiss they’re perfectly aligned’

come on…
one of the best first lines ever
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mmmbop
hansen

not a recognizable sentence in the whole song
but i can’t take it off my
‘em’s listening to…’ playlist
it’s just too good
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

forever
ben harper

‘give me your forever
please your forever
& not a day less will do
from you’

wish wish wish
i had known this song when we got married
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ain’t no other man
christina aguilera

‘do your thing honey!’
never heard anything like her voice
& this song is just the cutest thing
in a bad-ass way:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mama mia
abba

this is just a crazy song
& a crazy band
& just one of the best things ever

‘mama mia
here i go again…’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

sexyback
justin timberlake

since i heard ‘rock your body’
a few years ago (4 to be precise)
i have just loved him…
downloaded this today
but i can already tell it’s going to get heavy rotation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sweet potatoe pie
ray charles & james taylor

i don't even know what to write
a few years ago at the grammy's john mayer
introduced james taylor
'& now, the blueprint'
i love jt
& this duet is just awesome

& as my dear friend theresa said one time
'when i was growing up it went
air
water
james taylor'
yes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

just like heaven
the cure

high school
ahhh high school
some songs take you back…
yep that would be this song

‘i’ll run away with you…’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so go ahead tell me
what’s got you singing in the shower?

:)

i'll be more light hearted...tomorrow...:)

‘We often fantasize about the perfect day- something exotic & far away. But when it comes to those we miss, we desperately want one more familiar meal, even one more argument. What does this teach us? That the ordinary is precious. That the normal day is a treasure.’ Mitch Albom

this was in the parade section of the sunday paper
an article written by the guy who wrote tuesdays with morrie
it was about what you would do
if you had one more day
with someone who died

& of course it made me think of my mom
but beyond that
it made me think of my kids
& that every day does not have to be disneyland
or even the enchanted forest:)

that every little thing we do can be a little treasured memory
(hopefully the mommy mess ups become little forgotten memories:)
this is practically my friend ali’s scrapbooking mantra
she does pages all about ordinary days
& simple things.
one time she did a layout about
what everyone in her house was doing
on a random day at 10am…
what an awesome little slice of life
that her family will love to look back on…

& you don’t have to be a scrapbooker to do it
thanks to that sweet little magazine
that i love to mention
wondertime
i have started a little memory jar
whenever Q says something great,
fall over laughing hilarious,
or just does something i never want to forget
i write it on a random piece of paper
date it
& put it on a jar above the fridge.
no frills
just throw it in there.
no pressure.
but later on
maybe even in a few months
taking those out
& reading them is going to be so fun
a little snapshot of who he was at that time…
(& miss m will have her own soon, too:)

i want to remember
& i want them to remember…

:)

oh & just in case you’re wondering…
we would go for a jog
(slowly because i’m just starting up again)
get starbucks
(i’d take her to the drive through one
that she would have no doubt been a regular at;)
eat a cookie
shop at nordstrom
watch tootsie
go to zenon for salad & dessert
& introduce her to her grandbabies…
a very good day.

:)

pouring...

we had rough midmorning…
by this i mean to say between the hours of 10:30 & 12:30
i wanted to be anywhere but with my dear sweet children
i would have gladly pitched a tent
in the sock section at fred meyer the day after thanksgiving…
at least someone maybe would have acknowledged my existence
even if was just to kick me on their way to a pack of tube socks

many things happened
which i will not recount here
because some day i would like you to read this blog again
& not because you are interested in hours of SAHM complaining:)

anyway…
on the way home from
breaking up countless
‘that’s mine!’s at play group
& not going to soccer
& not having lunch with my sister
i was feeling pretty icko
&
it started to rain
& it rained
& rained
it rained so hard

every time it rains like that
i think of lloyd dobbler in ‘say anything’
after she gives him the pen
he’s sitting in his car
& it’s pouring rain
& he says
‘the rain is a baptism…
the new me…
power lloyd!’

& though, to the disappointment of many
i am not going to start referring to myself as ‘power lloyd’
i did let those drops
help me
& i felt better
& when we got home
we ran from the car
through the rain
laughing all the way
& when we got inside we were drenched
& we laughed some more…

& we started over again
& this part of the day?
not so rough…

:)

it only comes once a year...

our play group has 7 mama birthdays in august & september
& because i love our play group
& each mama
(even the ones whose birthdays aren't in august & september)
i’m going to wish them a happy birthday…
(only the ones whose birthdays are in august & september at this time...:)

in order of birthday appearance…

emily h…
let’s just say it
she’s a wonder woman
canning, baking, keeping a house running
tearing apart their deck
all with 2 active little boys & one baby on the way…
& one time in the middle of february (is that right breanna?)
she called the gents & brian & i
& asked us if we wanted to come over for dinner
because she had an extra turkey
when we got there she had prepared
an entire thanksgiving dinner
down to mashed potatoes
(don’t even think that they were out of a box…)
let’s all say it again
wonder woman.

emily g…
out of all 7 girls on this list
i am the only one i wished a happy birthday to
on the actual birthday day
hmmmm….
self centered much?
:)

nozomi r…
sweetest girl in the world
hands down
she makes an effort to talk to everyone in a room
& every time i look over she’s just having the greatest conversation
with whoever it is that is lucky enough
to get her at that particular moment…
& she always says
‘Q is the neatest boy’
& i am pretty sure she says that to everyone about their kids too.
but not in a smarmy
kiss up way
she truly believes & knows
that he is the best Q g. who has ever existed:)
a real gem
she is
:)

erin f…
the day after Q broke his arm
& had surgery
we got home & she called
& said ‘what do you need?’
this is the essence of erin
she will do anything you ask of her
she has a true servants heart.
she is really really fun to just hang out with
& she reads every dang book on the book list
darn her…
:)


rachael p….
so there are a few people in life who you just
can’t do justice to in words
they are just irreplaceable
& fill up a part of you that needs it…
rachael is that person for me
we have been through a lot together
mostly awesome, fun, crazy laughing good times
our kids love each other
& we have been pregnant together twice
she is just too cool
i love her…
& i love how she often starts her emails with
‘howdy’
makes me remember my farm girl roots
:)

janna s…
this girl has the most incredible email décor
like even on a little
‘how ya doin’?’ email
little things dancing around
& colors galore!
you don’t need a dvd player or netflix
when you have janna to send you emails:)
she is a busy girl
& we hardly ever see her
but she’s a boatload of fun
& the garage sale queen:)
(i am a mere princess in comparison;)

emily w…
oh you know about emily…
she’s the third emily to join playgroup….
she’s the one with the blog that throws my blog on the floor
& wrestles it until it says ‘you rule the blog world, oh great one’…
she’s the one who has the amazing frye boots
which she wore to a wedding reception with a cammo mini skirt…
she’s the one who had her birthday party at El Vaquero last night
& ordered every amazingly described appetizer on the menu,
but loved the mac & cheese the best…
she’s the one who has an awesome (faux?) fur coat…
she’s the one who makes me laugh…
& tells me tales of her life BE (before eugene)…
she’s the one who insanely loves her son,
even as she’s calling him a deranged tree monkey…
she’s the one who’s my newest friend
& i’m hoping will be an old one…
:)


so there they are
happy birthday to them…
(or as Q always makes sure…
first you have to put something on your head
napkin, cup, sock, anything will do
then & only then can you sing happy birthday)
:)

by the way
to anyone who lives in or is visiting eugene
El Vaquero is excellent
it’s across from joe federigos
on 6th street
so so yummy…

another one of those serious ones...

i just didn’t want this day to pass
without saying something
i really don’t know what to say, though

i was thinking about it
& all of the people who lost family members way too soon
& hey, i’ve had experience with that
& how certain things just hit you at strange times

like walking through target
& seeing a red sweater for sale
& thinking
‘that would have looked so cute on my mom’

that is normal
& it’s good too
good to remember

but when i think about
all of the footage
& seeing the planes hit over & over
i just ache
for the people who had loved ones die
how would i feel if i could just randomly turn on the tv
& see my mom’s car crash?
i would feel like i was in hell...

so today
as i remember
what happened
on septemeber 11, 2001
i’m also going to say a prayer
for the friends & loved ones
for strength
& good memories
& more happy times to come
& permission to keep the tv off…

& god bless you, too…
what ever you’re going through today
big or small
you are loved
:)

hey, where ya been?

this morning i stopped right before
i put baby formula into the dishwasher
so
that’s how my week is going…

how ‘bout you?

i’ve been working on wedding invitations
for my faux little sister, monica
(sister of my friend & friend of my sister…
read that again…
tricky…)
& every time i am just about finished
doing invitations for someone
i think
‘i will never do invitations again
i hate them’
& then someone asks me & i say
‘oh sure!
i would love to’
help!

if i just had some little elves
that did all of the putting together work…
i love designing them
but putting together 200?
that is not artistic
that is hellish repetition
that is like watching
the 30 second preview for the movie ‘cars’
over & over
because it is on the dvd of ‘the incredibles’
that you borrowed from your neighbor
but i wouldn’t know anything about that…

& the house
ughhh
one word:
pit

it is messy
messy
messy
not to the point of the lady on oprah
just left the dog poop everywhere
(speaking of... i haven't seen the dog in weeks...)

but it's not good...

at one point
the pile of clean laundry was taller than Q
& i was so crazed that i didn't even take a picture
you know that is bad...

&
&
&
my shirts in my closet
are hanging out of order

those who know me well
may be surprised to learn that
i always have my closet rod organized

first
patterned/new shirts
then
tank tops
sweaters
(i know they should be folded)
short sleeved
¾ sleeved
long sleeved

the rest of the closet can be hideous
clothes all over the floor
shoes in a pile
but the shirts are always in order
you may be surprised at this sudden onset of OCD
only in the closet
only on the hanging rod
or you may want to refer me to a counselor…

anyway
tank tops are next to long sleeved shirts
there is a sweater touching a patterned shirt
& don’t even get me started
on where the ¾ sleeved are hanging out…

life is messy
& that sums it up…

on to cleaner & better things…

some new spots for you
to spend all of your hard earned
time & money...

few new favs…

visionphotography.blogspot.com
a really great photographer…with a lot of creativity
he also has a lovely assistant…oh & he sleeps right next to me!
check him out (the site i mean…not him…he’s mine:)

kateandryan.name
see what kate & ryan are planning for their big day, check their registries,
send them a congrats….fun to see their cute pictures…

andriahigginsdesigns.com/IFP010/P8.asp
my friend andria is so talented…she designs & sews clothing & purses…
she also makes jewelry & cards & journals & anything else
that pops into her cute little head…crazy affordable…& cute/cool as can be:)

that’s all for now…

but watch out…
more excitement to come…

:)

boys are cool:)

our little neighbor boy, gavin
has been hanging out with us
for the last two weeks until school starts
he is 4
& let me tell you
sometimes the difference between 2 & 4
is nothing at all
(when it has to do with throwing things & driving trucks)
& sometimes they might as well be 10 years apart
(when Q wants to play with anything gav has & vice versa)


okay.
so i know
someday Q will find out about guns
& knives
& machetteys (ooh spell check? grandma? anyone?)
& grenades
& dying
& basically anything you might see on an episode of 24
but it would be nice
if we could hold off
until he’s at least two & a half
or fourteen
(a mother can dream)



so last week when they were jumping on Q’s bed
(a completely okay thing with me
heck if there was a guarantee
that i wouldn’t go crashing through the floor
i would be doing it myself)
& gavin fell down on the bed & said
‘i’m dead’
i thought
‘oh no! here we go…’
but i was overjoyed when out of my little innocent cuties mouth came
‘i dude’

yes.
yes you are..
the cutest dude i know

:)

and the winner is...

they can't actually say that any more you know?
they have to say
'& the emmy (oscar, tony, backyard junior theater award made of tinfoil) goes to..'
musn't make anyone feel bad
there are no losers...

did i mention that i LOVE award shows?
i'll watch anything
whether or not i even know what it is
it's a good thing we don't have cable
or i would be watching
'the golden hammer awards
for excellence in home repair'
or
'the silver scissors awards
gong above & beyond in the catagories of hair styling'

i loved everything about the emmy's last night
from the red carpet
(did you see candace bergins disaster of an outfit?
& julia loise dryfus's awesome black & white dress?)
to the opening
(pure genius to have conan drop through the 'lost' hatch onto dwights desk on 'the office'
pure pure genius)

from the great awards
(magan mullally choked up over her last award for 'will & grace')
to the boring awards
(sound editing anyone?)

from sweet tributes
(dick clark had me teary...)
to other sweet tributes
(arron spelling's wife was really hard to watch i must say
not that she wasn't sad or anything
but from what i've read in the very reputable US magazine
she is not a nice person
& may have a had a boyfriend before poor arron was even dead
plus she's mean to tory...
poor, sad
trillion dollar tory)

from cool entrances
(the original charlies angels..
excuse me
but is farrah faucet creepy or what?
everytime i see her
she seems to tripping on something
that makes you slur your words,
touch everyone around you entirely too much,
& wear really tight badly constructed dresses...
okay now i feel a bit bad
maybe she does have a disorder or a disease something?
i don't want to be coming down too hard on
72 year old sex symbols...)
to more cool entrances
(introducing the lawyers who count to ballots
like basketball stars
with kareem abdul jabbar..
fu-nny)

from every conan joke
(i love conan
we go way back
to when Q was tiny
& would eat for 45 minutes a pop
at least twice a night
i would take him downstairs to the futon
(no we were not in college when he was born...why do you ask?)
& watch conan on the live(?) broadcast at 1am
& then again on replays at 3am
i also developed a tiny crush
on one of the reporters on the abc all night news
i can't remember his name right now
but when he moved on to bigger & better things
Q magically started to sleep throught the night
hmmm...)
to every poorly read teleprompter joke
(why do i always feel so bad for the actors
when 'their' joke doesn't get a laugh?
they didn't write it!
they are forced by the man
to skwint (how do you spell that?)
& time it right
poor poor million dollar actors...)

from silly introductions
('our next presenters are an actor who likes grapes
& an actress who ate one for dinner tonight')
to the good intros
(i really liked
'here's an actress with two first names
& an actor with two last names,
evangiline lily & wentworth miller')

it all makes me happy
& i love it
give me conan singing & dancing
ellen pompao clutching her train
charlie & martin sheen trying to banter
&
the chance to see jim from 'the office' in a tux
i'm there
everytime..

& the winner is
me.

:)

a blog 32 years in the making...

dark hair?
check.
chubby cheeks?
check.
almond shaped eyes?
check.
slightly rumpled shirt?
check.
hands ready to scrapbook the crazy adventure she just had?
check.
strangly shaped head?
check?
(who knows what's under all this hair now?)

yep.
that’s me.
32 years ago.

some things never change…

:)

ps
in honor of my birthday
i wanted to tell you about something
that involves some of my favorite things
scrapbooking
cool home decor
treasure hunting
snacks
garage sale

my friend, jill
is having a mega garage sale
crazy garage sale
i went to help set up her last night
& she has
SO MUCH STUFF

our friend ali gave her
tons of scrapbook treasures
a lot not even opened

she has clothes
& a bunch of shabby chic home stuff
& a snack booth
(to keep up your energy while you're looking for treasures:)

it is a find & a half
& if you like any of the things i mentioned
you will be happy indeed:)

so if you're in the eugene area
or even oregon & like to drive:)
it's friday & saturday
9am
on sterling street
off of silver lane (near north eugene high school)
off of river road
off of beltline
off of I-5
(oh tricky directions in reverse:)

happy hunting:)

sugar, spice & beyond...

thumbsucking
&
toe holding

spending time on her tummy

giant take-up-half-her-face smiles
&
adorable giggles

wearing the same sunsuit every other day

cracking up at her big brother
&
making her big brother crack up at her

waking up talking


rolling over
& over
& over
& over

covering her eyes with her arm while she eats

sleeping with bum the in the air
&
thumb in the mouth

turning toward daddy, mama & Q's voice

waiting for her hair to grow
&
buying barettes for when it does

giant you-go-girl burps

grabbing at everything
&
putting it all in her mouth

melting hearts all over lane county

sweet smells
&
big dreams

that’s what my little girl is made of…

who wears 'em?

i just went in to Q’s room
because he was yelling
‘MAMA’
(pause)
‘MAMA’
(pause)
‘MAMA’
(pause)
‘MAMA!’
at the top of his lungs
while he is supposed to be napping
hmmmm…
anyway
he piled all of his pants on his bed
& was driving matchbox trucks through the legs
‘i playing pants mama’
he says
cute as can be….

ah, that age old game, pants.
i love that one too
although my version usually involves
me balancing on one leg while holding merra in one arm
trying to get my pants up over my bottom…

i’ll have to try the cars version…

click.click.click.click.

one thing
you could never accuse me of
is missing a chance
to take a photo booth picture

when i was in high school
my friends & i
would go to woolworths
in downtown eugene
& collect hats
& scarves
& glasses
& take pictures in the photo booth
changing props every shot

one day we wnet to do it
& there was a sign
'please no unpaid merchandise in the photo booth'
bummer

but we made due
with our gorgeous smiles
& sparkling personalities

i really should dig up some of those
i'm sure there are some great shots of
angie & i
jessica & i
darci & i


after we got married
i heard about a wedding
where they rented a photo booth
& all of the guests got their pics taken
how beyond cool is that?


so here we are at the lane county fair
believe me
it was the place to be on tuesday:)

Q, miss m & i
went in the morning
(every two feet Q would point & shout
'mama, wook at dat!')

brian & i went at night
it was grand
as only the county fair can be...

:)

i watched this dr. phil last week
it was horrible
i cried through pretty much the whole thing
it was this mom who was awful to her kids
AWFUL
i can’t even write what she did & said
i hear it in my head
but to say it or describe it would be too hard
i know it’s not the worst thing that happens to kids
but i just imagine those things
this i had to see
because she had a camera in her house

anyway
i had seen the commercial for it
& decided i didn’t want to watch it
but i turned on the tv anyway
i really just wanted to see what dr.phil would say to her
what i had seen on the commercials was bad enough
but when i turned it on it was in the worst part
& i couldn’t look away
i turned it off at one point & put my hand over my eyes
but then i turned it on again
i hated it
& i went down & talked to brian who was watching it in the garage
& who gave me a hug
& said maybe i shouldn’t watch it
then i went & hugged my napping kids
& Q (who wasn’t actually napping)
was a little perplexed i think
but that doesn’t matter because
who doesn’t need more hugs in the middle of their nap time
& for someone to say
‘i love you, you are my favorite boy’?

what i really wanted was for dr. phil to bash her
i wanted someone to punch her in the face
i wanted someone to hit her
& yell at her like she yelled at her kids
but dr. phil told her she wasn’t evil
(i said ‘yes she is!’)
that she needed help
he would get it for her
i was a little disappointed in dr. phil to be honest

for days after i watched
i would hear the things she said in my head
sometimes when i looked at Q i would hear what she said
& i couldn’t believe
that she would say these things to her sweet little babies

i felt like that show haunted me
i thought it was a mistake that i watched it
& that i would be paying for it for a long time
because now it was in my head

i thought it was a mistake until today

i am reading this book
blue like jazz
it had been recommended to me by my dear friend rachael
& brian read it by a recommendation from his best friend dave
brian told me i should read it
he really wanted me to
i said okay
& proceeded to not read it
but then i decided to.
my procrastination is everything here.
the timing.
i guess sometimes even the bad traits are used for good:)

this book is incredible
that’s what i say after every chapter
it’s subtitle is
'nonreligious thoughts on christian spirituality'
it is startling & thought provoking
i will write more about it later
maybe
or maybe you should just read it…

anyway
he’s talking about the verse
‘love your neighbor as yourself’
& how you can’t really love your neighbor until you love yourself
my pastor says this same thing
so does oprah
& i always think
‘that is so right.
yes.’
but i don’t really know how to love myself
what does that look like?
it sounds very cocky
& not humble
it’s kind of confusing

today it came together for me
i have been talking to myself the way that that woman was talking to her kids
horribley
unexcusabley
very badly
& that is not okay

i might not know how to love myself
but would i ever say the things i think about myself to brian?
to angie?
to kate?
to rachael?

would i EVER treat my family, my friends, my neighbors the way i treat myself?
N-O.

God loves me with a love that is unexplainable
& really hard to understand
because it isn’t based on what i think about myself
or anything i do
i have a hard time with that

obviously i don’t have this figured out
maybe i never will
but i know that i’m going to stop treating myself like an abusive mother treats her kids
& i’m going to try to interrupt my own naps
& say ’i love you, you are my favorite emily’
or something like that

i am God’s child
& i wouldn’t want my kids talking crap about themselves
so why am i talking crap about His kid?

i’m going to stop
& think you should too
because you are loved
wholey & dearly loved.
you are.

have i ever mentioned…

i love scrapbooking
L-O-V-E

to me it is the perfect mix

i get to be artsy
i get to play with paper
& ribbon
& paint
& anything i want to

& i’m preserving my family’s memories
FOR ALL TIME (say with an echo effect)

a perfect mix
a sweet little dance

L-O-V-E
:)

tell it.

sometimes when i type in my user name i accidently type
emilytruth
it's a good reminder really....

shout out to the preggos

when i was pregnant with Q
i listed all of the other preggo girls i knew
& there were 16
(including gwyneth paltrow)
when i was preggo with miss m
there weren’t quite that many
but still a bunch
(including gwyneth paltrow)

& now another boom
i’m not in this one
(let’s all say amen to that)
but i’ve got a few friends who are

so a big congratulations
to the current preggers
(not in delivery order)

angie:)
holly
jamie:)
lydia
nozomi
(insert name here when she tells)
hillary
jen
bethany
& (this bears giant shouting)
HEATHER
(who has 3 year old triplets!
sending up some mega prayers for her:)
(& it's not that i forgot their last names
or think y'all know all of them on a first name basis
i just wasn't sure how they would enjoy
having their names on my blog for God & everyone to see)
(yes, God reads my blog...)

love those babies!
do you know any who are on the way?

& speaking of babies
here are mine with my grandma…

oh for cute!

:)

:)

‘i now pronounce you’
seems like
minutes ago
hours ago
days ago
years ago
decades ago
centuries ago




lots of laughs ago
two doggies ago
billions of kisses ago
a few passed aways ago
two sweet kiddos ago
some pounds ago
many tears ago
bags & bags of popcorn ago
countless x-files ago
two houses ago
buckets of smiles ago

too many bags of peanut m&m’s ago
lists of hard talks ago
tons of movies ago
two schools ago
lots of prayers ago
eight million loads of laundry ago
so many dreams ago
dozens of talking in your sleeps ago
four cars ago
a kizzillion pictures ago
bunches of ‘whose your favorite…?’s ago
a handful of vacations ago
trillions of hugs ago

8 years
so many more agos
to go
i can’t wait…

:)

i do!

brian & i have photographed a few weddings
this summer
tonight brian did one alone
(left me with those crazy kids:)
check out this great pic...



i'm not sure but
i believe this ended in a trip to the hospital
(not really...but wouldn't that be a great wedding story?)

doing weddings is so fun!
i absolutely loved our wedding day
(drunk groom & all:)
& i've been coordinating weddings since then
bri & i just started working together
in the photo realm
& it has been really great
we're a good team:)

so if you know anyone who needs their picture taken...

:)

An email worth sharing…

i just got this in my in box

From: jesus
Subject: VIP handbags replica

- Elite Handbags - Louis Vuitton (217 mod.), Chanel (29 mod.), Hermes (9 mod.). $164.99 - $324.99


at first i thought
the Lord works in mysterious ways
so okay, Jesus, if you really want me to…
BUT
that’s all it said
so on further thought…

A) if Jesus was going to give me a good tip on handbags
he would at least include a note
‘hey, noticed you were doing a pretty good job
but it looks your purse (read: diaper bag) is a little worn out
thought you might need a tip on some savings’

B) if Jesus thought i needed a new handbag wouldn’t it just come straight to me?
appear on my doorstep one morning or something?

C) Jesus knows what i can afford
& it’s about a tenth of the lowest price listed
(more like a twentyth)

D) (& this is for people who actually think capitalizing is necessary)
wouldn’t his name have been capitalized?

E) even if he forgot the note,
forgot my financial status,
forgot home delivery
& forgot to capitalize,
wouldn’t the Lord, the savior of the universe
be giving tips on AUTHENTIC vuittons & chanels?

The universe is full of questions…

:)

swim, pray, relax, run…gulka’s week o’ lots of fun

this is a long one
(with a few pictures
so if you have dial up
just go watch an episode of friends
& come back
& it should be just about loaded...)
but i find if i don’t just write everything i want to
i end up putting it off
& then it’s too late
example:
who has just been waiting on pins & needles to hear about our 4th of july?
exactly!
but now it just feels too late to write about it
maybe on a cold & wet november day…

anyway…
saturday brian’s mom, rona & brian’s brother’s daughter (aka our niece), rachel
came down & we went to amazon pool
a super awesome pool with
baby pools
& shower/waterfall thingies
& slides
it was just great
Q LOVES rachel
so they just had a great time
& even better
they slept so hard
worn out , they were!



especially after we heard the ice cream truck
& then ran all over the neighborhood
trying to find it
in 102 degree heat
ah what one will do for a popsicle
nevermind that we have a box in the freezer
they taste so much better
after you find the truck;)

sunday we dedicated miss m at church
it was really special
practically our whole family was there
actually almost everyone who lives in oregon was there:)
my dad (pop)
tam (grammy)
rona (grandma ro or grandma norma depending on Q’s mood:)
kate (auntie)
ryan (soon to be uncle)
lilli (auntie)
great grandma betty
Rachel (cousin)


at one point Q whispered in my ear
‘lot’s of people mommy’
translation:
‘all of my relatives are here
what the heck is going on?’

it was so neat
miss m wore the dress
that my mom wore
when she was dedicated 57 years ago
hello can you say
‘my mommy is a nervous wreck?’
the dress has been hanging on a tack on miss m’s wall
for about 3 months
just sitting there
taunting me really
saying
‘hi I’m a family heirloom
your great grandma made me by hand
& you have to put me on your daughter
your daughter who spits up
A LOT’

i finally tried it on her 2 days before the dedication…
believe me there were a lot of prayers being sent up
in front of the changing table
of course it fit perfectly
& she looked like the sweet little angel she is
she even sat on great grandma’s lap for the whole service
just hanging out with ggma!
so adorably cute (both of them:)



we went up to pray for her
& it was just so neat
different generations
different families
all there to make one big family
i can’t say it wasn’t sad either
especially because pastor gordon kept saying
‘merra susan’
so for anyone who knew
it was very obvious that susan was not there
boy do I miss that lady:)
can’t wait to tell miss m & Q all about her…

in fact Q kept saying
’merra susan, merra susan’
then he said
‘there’s merra
where is susan?’
(insert teary eyes here)
i told him susan is his grandma who lives in heaven
thankfully he didn’t ask what heaven was
or I would have become a puddle in the middle of the street

anyway
it was great to have everyone there
loving on our little girlie
she is a little piece of heaven
so sweet
& smiley
even as she’s spitting up all over your new black shirt
:)

monday i met with a bride
whose i wedding i will be coordinating
she is having her reception at the art museum on UofO campus…
can you believe that?
if only i had known 8 years ago….


monday noonish brian & i drove to bend
for our anniversary
(actually on the 1st)
we stayed at a mcmenimen’s hotel/pub/movie theater/soaking pool
down town
it’s called st. frances school
& we stayed in a classroom
it was so great
if you don’t know about mcmenimen’s
they are brothers who buy old buildings
& make them into restaurants/hotels/pubs
but still call them whatever they were
& try to keep the décor & names of parts of the building the same
so this one had a nunnery & things like that
it was so nice
we just hung out
& did whatever the heck we wanted to
including
but not limited to
sleeping
watching cable
going to 2 movies
walking around downtown
walking in to a shop that, had i been with my children
10 things would have broken
if we had so much as looked in the window
but it was just us
adults
so we went in
& ooed & ahed at lots of breakable things:)
picnicing by the river
strolling around & stopping in for dessert at 10pm at a wonderful little restaurant
drinking alcohol (more than once)
reading
& generally having a lovely time

I love my husband
& not just because he put up with my roller coaster like mood swings
(i stopped nursing & got my period on the same weekend…lovely timing:)
he is just the funniest person i know
& such a great dad
& is always doing such nice things for me
& he loves me
how that happened I’ll never know
but boy am I thankful
:)
(more on this on august 1st)



we also saw our friends
chris & nishka
& their adorable twins
emma & bella
so nice to see them all
the girls are a few months older than Q
but they are so tiny
& they have little mice-in-cinderella voices
i picture Q meeting them
looking down
in a jolly green giant voice
'HELLO GIRLS!'

wednesday
we got back & picked up the kiddos
from my dad & tam’s house
(by the by
they are the reason we got to go on this lovely few days
they gave us a gift certificate for christmas
for hotel & babysitting
we were supposed to use it before miss m came
but ha ha
we fooled them
we waited until after she came & they had to take care of 2 kiddos!
kidding
we messed up & didn’t make reservations
so we had to wait to go
however they are so great
they had fun with both kids
& are going to watch them again on friday
hello grandparents of the year…)

anyway
we picked up the sweeties
went home for nap
then headed to Hayward field
a big track on Uof O campus
a track where steve prefontaine ran
a track where the Olympic trials have been run
a track where world records have been made
a track where a debut was made
wednesday july 26
introducing…
Quinn Gulka!

they have this all comers meet
6 weeks in the summer
(of course we went to the last one)
starting at age 1
yes you read that right
we are already a year behind
but if enthusiasm counts for anything
we will more than make up for lost time



Q L-O-V-E-D it
no really
insanely loved it!
the kids get to do 3 events
long jump
softball throw
& 60 meter dash
he did the long jump like 40 times
it combines two of his favorite things
strike that THREE
running
sand
& falling

they get ribbons of participation
so cute!



then he practiced running before the race
before he starts…
‘ready set go’
& he gets this determined look on his face
does this little half twist at the waist
& he’s off
swinging his arms like crazy
smiling like someone just said
‘it’s raining matchbox cars’

he was in the 2 year old boys heat
smart people i say
if they combined 2 year old boys & girls
i picture a lot of crying, pushing & a bit of blood
& that’s just the parents
(duh-dum-dum...thank you i’ll be here all week)

8 two year old boys running straight at me down the track
(with dads in tow)
what a total joy to watch
we will be doing this event for many years to come…

whew!
what a week!
now on to the next…

:)