some random information

here is the latest page i made with my Red Velvet Art kit .
rachel and emma are doing a great job with these kits!
if you are not a scrapper, but you sew, check out their may project kit!
CUTE CUTE
CUTIE CUTE-ERSON!
(the word CUTE starts to look funny after awhile)

i have never used kits before
it is challenging
but i really like the gratification that comes
from challenging yourself to use
products you might never choose or put together!
love it!
(it doesn't hurt that rachel is the sweetest thing!
so fun to buy something from someone you like!)

well, i cleaned out my dresser drawers today
just like i have written on my list.
"organize drawers"
done.

but leave it to me to clean them out
sort them out
refold and reorganize them
and leave all of the rubble
(you know the clothes that need to be
given away or put in the basement or just
hung up in the closet)
in a huge pile on the bed.

don't worry herb, it will be taken care of
before you come home.

i am procrastinating
can you tell?
two other things i am avoiding:
i have to call my insurance company
and i need to write client notes
i just don't like either of those things
and apparently it has gotten so bad that my
dresser drawers are now organized and purged
of things that don't fit.

when you start putting things off things you don't
want to do by doing other
things that you have been putting off,
you know you are having "a moment".

i took herb on his "may date" this weekend
(we alternate taking a turn each month to plan a fun date)
after saturday, i am proud to state that
i think i qualify for "most mediocre wife ever"!

why?
well, the date itself ROCKED
breakfast at his favorite place
touring the city in the mini cooper
looking at cool architechture and new lofts
coffee and newspaper
a flee market
and the best . . .
we went to watch a "dance dance revolution tournament"
at the library
(this left a lot to desire, but it was a funny idea
the fact that it was hosted by the library should have tipped me off.
but like the marching band at my high school, our public library system
is one of those things that should be nerdy but is actually pretty cool!)

now, the fact that i am a bonehead sometimes
coupled with the fact that i was not necissarly herb's favorite PERSON
on the planet during out date
(in fact maybe at the bottom of his list at the time)
takes the "awesome factor"
down a few notches
but when you mix it all together,
i figure it qualifies me as:

Most Mediocre Wife Ever

i'll take it.
live and learn
live and learn
and don't be a bonehead to you
sweet husband.
try.
try hard.

other news:
i had my hair colored dark a few weeks ago
i am not sure if this picture is pretty and dramatic
or just sort of creepy,
bordering on "psycho-killer".
you decide.

i love love love it (the hair)!

and we bought this cute new flower pot yesterday

it makes me happy with the marigolds in it
we buy marigolds every year
as a sort of informal, unspoken tribute to herb's mom
(she passed away several years ago)
i like having them right there next to the front door.

here is a picture of my sweet birthday soul sister, aly
my cousin's little girl
we share a birthday
the thing about aly is that she REFUSES to have her picture taken
at christmas, the only half-way decent picture i could get of her
had her finger up her nose
on purpose.

it was only after i asked her to help me take a picture of her dog lucy
that she would show me her face
i think she forgot i wasn't taking picture of the dog anymore.
so funny!


TONIGHT is my april date from herb
(sometimes we get a little behind)
if the weather holds,
we are going to the botanical gardens
and either way, dinner.
sound fun!

and i got my first ever order of Hambly products
this afternoon
if you don't scrapbook, this means nothing
if you DO, then you know i am a little bit excited
to try out these fun papers and overlays!
YES!

okay, i need to go be productive.
really.

i mean it this time.

WHERE Has That Girl Been?

Well, the OCD monsters seem to have crept in and taken over these past few weeks . . .
I said I was going to engage in Advent and blog about it every day . . .
and then I missed a day.
and then another one.

and then the voice inside that says,
"If you can't do it just right, then don't do it at all!
What's the point?
Oh, and by the way, because you are a Christian, by nature,
you believe that NOTHING can be done just right."

And then you KNOW nothing happened after that!

SO, I was MIA for awhile.

here are a few little thoughts and tidbits . . . .

I have now tired three times, and failed, to make Christmas candy!
I had a group of ladies over last week to make candy with me . . .
three types of candy were on the roster . . . .
I was in charge of one of them.
It ended up in the trash.

So, we enjoyed the other two kinds of candy for a few days.

And then I decided that a toffee recipe should not be able to stump me . . . .

So I tried again.

This time, I wised up and didn't triple the recipe.
This was helpful in making it more manageable when stirring . . . .
and also when throwing it away -
again!!!
At least I didn't have THREE pounds of almonds and THREE pounds of butter to throw away this time!
That was a $20 Christmas candy mistake!

So, I decided to make something more simple today.
Peppermint Bark.
Easy.
Couldn't be easier.
Melt white chocolate.
Crush up some candy canes.
Stir together.

Well, I somehow managed to burn the chocolate.
On top of that, it didn't melt.
It just didn't melt.
Is chocolate that picky? Can it choose when to melt and when to clump????

But if there is one thing I am, it is determined.
Mix that with a mild (maybe make-believe) case of OCD . . .
and well, I am not finished!
I still have fudge and macaroons to make!

We'll see.

This year I made my own Christmas cards!
That makes the list of "things learned the hard way"!
We made 100 cards . . .

and next year . . .
a 20 pack from this great place.

But . . .
they did turn out great!


Today . . .
it is snowing.
Really snowing.
So bad that Herb didn't even take the Mini out today.
It is all public transportation all that time for that boy today!

I think I heard him yelling at Mother Nature as he left the house today.
Sort of a "bring it on" thing!

He was as a giddy as a school girl as he left to "go on an ADVENTURE!!!" (his words!)

I am doing laundry . . . . and things like blogging and making yet another unnecessary Christmas stocking stuffer for my mom . . .
putting off the things I don't want to do . . . like paying bills and filling out my billing sheet for work. Keep in mind, I don't have that many clients. This is not rocket science! But, I have a little bit of self-sabotage mixed in with that OCD!

I have an art project that I am working on . . .
being paid to do!
she is buying the supplies . . .
and instead of paying me for my time, I asked her to display the piece in her shop with my name and number displayed.
She is a small business owner with a LOT of creative souls (and soles) tromping in and out of her doors all day!
I can't believe i am being paid to do this!
I have been praying for something creative to do for work . . .
Counseling is something I am good at, but don't always have space in my head or heart for it.


How about these AMAZING earrings I received in the mail this week from Herb's folks!?!??!


And . . .
Our "first" Christmas decorations:

Last year, our first holiday season as a married couple was a whirlwind.
I won't complain . . . I mean, it was a blur because we just returned from two weeks in Southern Italy.
But it did make for limited attention paid to the holiday season.

This year, I am excited about having lots of (second) firsts!

The first Thanksgiving meal . . .


The first Christmas Card photo shoot (can you tell which ones where posed by Herbie???) . . .



The first Christmas tree . . .

The first time sticking our heads through a ply wood cutout!


Oh . . .
And for your reading pleasure . . .
A quote from my man . . .

"Do you think that if I was a cheeta, I would sweat when I ran? I mean, they can run much quicker, with less input of energy."

Come Stay Awhile

URBAN CORNOCOPIA





GRATEFUL HOUSE















GRATEFUL GIRL

Well, the guest room is complete. And later, I will post some pictures.

For now, let me share the joys of painting with a four year old . . . .

A few days ago, Herb asked if it was cool if he had a few friends over to join him in his man cave (IE: the basement on a sunny, beautiful Colorado afternoon) to watch the Wolverines play some football.

I said, "Sure".

We had a few "stop-by'ers", and one tried and true . . . our friend Russ came over with his two boys.
And stayed for five hours.

Nathan, or "Na-Na" as they call him, is two.
The NA in "Na-Na" is pronounced, nae.
Between the fact that he is two, and my theory that the entire second year of human development is just one big drunken acid trip, he is a very rambunctious boy.
Made of rubber.
Doesn't cry or whine.
Just throws himself across the room until he hits a hard surface.
His brother actually rolled over his head and he just laughed.
And is always ready to fight.
I think it is because he is twerked that they call him Na-Na.

Christopher is four.
The differences between two and four amaze me.
It is the difference between,
"I need a bobby (bottle)!!!!" and a consistent need to have your butt wiped by another human being

and

"Miss Cara, excuse me, but there is a bad guy behind you. I am just going to shoot him real quick."

After a few hours of watching the boys catapult themselves off of the couch and onto a pile of pillows and cushions, I decided to start working on the guest room.

Christopher could not have been more fascinated by this.

I pretty much felt like a celebrity.

"You're going to PAINT?!?!? NIIIIIICCCCEEE!"

Okay, first of all, I LOVE that these two little people say "dude", "nice", and "sweet". SO funny!

Second, you need to understand that Christopher has bright red hair, glasses, and yesterday - an eye patch!
I do not have words for the cuteness here.
And unfortunately, I am still learning to take decent pictures . . . plus, he kept posing with his gun, so I don't have any great photos to show you.

Christopher was convinced that helping me paint was the best way to spend the rest of the afternoon. I figured that the 20 minutes it would take me to set things up would be long enough to disinterest him and cause him to move on.

Not so.

He waited with baited breath, perched on the edge of the bed.
And sometimes standing over the unopened paint can, lunging, with the roller in hand.

Being that I might have some sort of inner-Montossori school teacher dwelling inside, I decided to let him help me. It is the same place inside that, several years ago, felt it was good idea to let the baby I nannied for feed himself . . . his mother finally asked me to stop, because, while it was "sweet to let him help", the squash and mashed pea stains were a little excessive.

Apparently convenience and cleanliness outweigh exploration and discovery.

But what do I know, I am not a mom.

Turns out, Christopher was actually quite good at painting.

And fun to paint with.

You can always count on a four year old to keep things real.
At one point, after switching places, Christopher said, "Thanks for trading, Miss Cara."
Well, you are so welcome Christopher.
Really, what a lovely thing to say.
Us grown-ups should try being sweet like that.

At one point, we heard the grown-up boys yelling at the game on TV. Christopher looked at me and said, "Miss Cara, don't you think my dad and Herb are CRAAAZZZY?!?!!?!?"

An hour later, they yelled again.

Chrisptopher, "Really, Cara, don't you think they are crazy?"

Maybe.

At one point, Christopher decided that it was a good idea to paint with the enormous rubber glove that he found in the painting box.

ME: "We are not going to paint with gloves on."
Christopher: "Yes. I can do it."
ME: "No, we are not going to paint with gloves on."
Christopher: "But I want to."

And then I had the gratification that parents who use "Parenting with Love and Logic" must feel all of the time! I can't believe this stuff works!
You give two choices.
Both of which you will be equally satisfied with if the child chooses.
Then they get to decide which one they will do.
In the end, they are happy because they think it is THEIR choice.

Suckers.

Too bad this doesn't work with bosses.
"You can either give me a year off, at double pay OR let me have an early retirement while continuing to pay me 75% of my salary."

So, I said, "You can wear the glove. That is fine. But you won't be painting. You can either wear the glove OR paint. It is your choice."

Christopher: "I am wearning the glove."

This lasted about three seconds, until he realized how boring glove-wearing alone can be.

Christopher: "No, I want to paint."

Glove off.
Reinstatement of free and effective child labor.

Score!

Eventually, after the first wall was painted, I realized that I no longer had the patience to have a four year old help. Not because he was not useful - we really should re-examine those child labor laws - but because with a four-year old comes a two-year old brother on an acid trip. Na-Na periodically decided to "help". This mostly comprised walking in the room, picking up something random and trying to dip it into paint.

SO, the guest room had to become a no-kids zone.

But later, when I was cleaning up in the laundry room, Christopher ran in, took one look at our space-age looking, front-load dryer as it spun a load of darks, and said, "NIIIICCCCEEE!!!! That's so cooool! I can SEE what the clothes are doing!"
And then, pointing to the washing machine (which was not running at the moment), "I wonder what THAT one does?"
"I wish I could be clothes, so I could spin around and around in there too!"

Christopher, I wish you could live at my house so I would have a constant flow of entertainment by a little person that actually says, "I wish I could be clothes . . . "

Seriously.

It makes you want to rent a four year old.

Today . . .

* scrap book new pictures from anniversary trip to the mountains
* pick up "brother's bbq" for herb's football watching pleasure
* paint guest room
* clean bathroom
* eat some guacamole

I am so excited today!
In my basement guest room, I have the makings of a cozy, comfortable space! I picked out some delicious paint colors . . . and spent the morning trying them out on the walls. I have decided on grizzly Bear for three of the walls . . . and a pumpkin spice shade for the focal wall . . . where the bed will be! The bed is covered in a yummy new brown quilt, with circles of pink, red, blue, green . . . i drug in a groovy hutch from another room . . . and I am going to stain it green. And I have another cool night stand . . . very rustic . . . that I will stain pink or blue. . . I have not decided.

Designing a beautiful home is something I always wanted to do. I just didn't have the space, time, or money to do it. It is difficult to make a place your own when you are competing with the styles and preferences of roommates. Little did I know that marrying a sensitive, creative, FABulous man would lead to similar road blocks.

Unlike many husbands, my man cares about design, color, texture. It is fun when we are out shopping or daydreaming. But when push comes to shove, we have both found the house to be a place where our fears of being unheard and disrepected are inflamed. The home is a place we express ourselves. It is a place where we vulnerably put ourselves "out there". And "ourselves" tend to be very different.

He loves clean lines and mod patterns. He loves Eurpean style. He likes maculine, sophisticated colors. I love that too. But I also love distressed barn wood, old quilts, and chunky pottery. I love folk art and just the right amount of clutter. I love stacks of rocks from various trips on my window sill. I love notes stuck into the corners and crevises of mirrors and cabinets.

Merging our homes has been a challenge this year. Learning that "I don't like that" does not mean "I don't like you"! Obvious, but hard to learn.

But today, I am happy. I have a little corner of our world where I get to express myself! And it makes me feel like "myself" is totally loved, accepted, and celebrated!

I will post pictures this weekend!

Some Things I Love About Fall

Pots of warm, tastey soup on the stove.

Yummy fall clothes!

Pulling out the delightful quilt my grandmother made for me!

Warm, rich colored Mums!



Cozy beverages to fill heavy, comforting mugs.

And don't forget . . .
The crisp cool air that feels good on your face but still warms your skin and smells hot.
Pumpkins to decorate the porch.
Wearing your favorite jacket, hat, or scarf for the first time since last year!
Pumkin, cinnamon, and vanilla candles!!!