Simple Things

Goodbye & Hello

2010-02-01T14:16:00.003-05:00

So I've clearly been slacking in my posting over the past few months. I've had some health issues get in the way but mostly I've been mulling over the idea to scrap this blog (I know, I know... I keep doing this, but at least it lasted longer this time, right?) and to start a new blog. I've finally gotten my act together and pushed myself that last 5% to just dive in head first. My new blog, Button & Bean, will be focusing on all of the creative adventures in my life. So come on over, check out the new site and let me know what you think. I may occasionally post to this blog, but most likely not (never say never though). And I of course am still a part of the virtual quilting bee Sewer's Block.
Thank you for all of your past support and your continuing love!

Resourcefulness

2010-01-15T14:17:00.005-05:00

Emma and I found a make-shift barn for her animals today.

Perhaps I should actually make it look like a barn instead of a weird animal brewery.

My Favorite Fabrics of 2009

2010-01-07T09:43:00.039-05:00

I've mentioned it before, but just in case you didn't know this about me, I love drooling over designer fabrics. Most of them I can't afford seeing as though we're a one income household with a 16 month old... but it's still fun to dream ;)

One of the many craft blogs that I love to read, True Up, had a wonderful idea of launching a Favorite Fabric of '09 meme (to sweeten the deal she's also graciously giving away many gift certificates from her site's sponsors).

I of course had to jump on board and make a list of my own. So without further ado, here are my faves of 2009:

- Favorite Overall Designer:
Anna Maria Horner
Like many others, I believe that Anna Maria Horner can't be beat. I'd be hard pressed to find a fabric of hers that I wouldn't like. Her new lines in 2009, Good Folks & Little Folks (which just came out in December) were brilliant.

photos courtesy of Anna Maria Horner, Westminster Fibers and FreeSpirit Fabric

- Favorite New Designer:
Lizzy House
I love love love her fabric. This year she came out with both Red Letter Day and Lizzy Dish and this Spring she will be coming out with a new collection, Castle Peeps!

photos courtesy of Lizzy House and Andover Fabrics

- Favorite Geometric Print:
Jeneane Morrison, Picnic Parade
I just stumbled upon this designer on the FreeSpirit Fabric page and I love her collections, so vibrant!

photos courtesy of Jeneane Morrison, Westminster Fibers and FreeSpirit Fabric

- Favorite Print from [Country of Your Choice]:
Heather Ross, Far Far Away
Technically Heather Ross is an American, but they are printed by a Japanese manufacturer, Kokka. If you like these you should get out her older collections, especially Mendocino!

Photos courtesy of Heather Ross and Kokka

-Wildcard Category: "I don't know why I love these but I do":
Amy Butler, LOVE
Paisley, floral... who knows, I just love them... love, get it? :P

Photos courtesy of David Butler and Amy Butler Design and Art of the Midwest, LLC.

- Favorite Organic Print or Collection:
Betz White Indian Summer & Family Cottage
I love everything Betz White. I first learned about her because of my addiction to felting but now I love her fabric lines too. I'd love to test out my tote making skills with these!

Photos courtesy of Betz White Productions, LLC

- Favorite Holiday Fabric or Collection
Michael Miller, Classic Christmas
Michael Miller has my favorite novelty and children's print, but also, he has the best modern holiday prints out there. I'm not a huge fan of novelty or 'themed' fabric, but his are so modern I just can't resist them! I slightly prefer his holiday fabric from 2008, but his 2009 collection is pretty special too.

Photos courtesy of Michael Miller Fabrics, LLC.

- Favorite Juvenile Print:
David Walker, Oh Boy!
Most would call this a "boy's" line, but I feel that it could be gender neutral. If you like this line you should check out Robots and Spring Fling, also by David Walker.

photos courtesy of David Walker, Westminster Fibers and FreeSpirit Fabric

-Collection that makes me feel the most happy inside:
Heather Bailey, Nicey Jane
I would love to make a Spring quilt out of these. The carefree prints and bright colors can almost make me feel the warm Spring sun on my face!

photos courtesy of Heather Bailey, Westminster Fibers and FreeSpirit Fabric

- Favorite Flannel Print:
Valori Wells, Urban Flannels
These would make adorable and snuggly baby quilts... and we all know how much I love to make baby quilts! (These technically launched in Dec 2008)

photos courtesy of Valori Wells, Westminster Fibers and FreeSpirit Fabric

- Favorite Handprinted Fabric
Hoffman Fabrics Fall 2009 Collection
I don't know if I'd ever have the nerve to actually cut a piece of quality batik like these. I'd probably just want treasure their beautiful colors and patterns by simply staring at them in amazement.

Photos courtesy of Hoffman California Fabrics

- Favorite Fabric Crafting Book:
Anna Maria Horner, Seams to Me
Okay so technically this came out in October 2008, but it was new to me in 2009 as I received it as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.

photo courtesy of Anna Maria Horner and Westminster Fibers

I also have to mention that my favorite fabric themes this year have been vintage reproductions and any modern Japanese designers (except kawaii)!
I can't wait to see what 2010 has to offer!

Happy Birthday Jill!!!

2009-12-08T12:59:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to one of my best friends. I love you Jill and your friendship means more to me than you will ever know.
Here are just a few amazing Jill moments for your viewing pleasure:

A woman of many expressions :)

What I'm Listening To: Matt Hires

2009-10-24T08:18:00.000-04:00

So far I like everything of his that I've heard, here are some examples:

Out Of The Dark (Album Version) - Matt Hires

Turn The Page (Demo) - Matt Hires

Honey, Let Me Sing You A Song - Matt Hires

Pay It Forward

2009-10-23T09:39:00.004-04:00

Sesame Street lets me know every morning that "connections make like meaningful." Yesterday, I was blessed to be part of one such connection.

Emma got the first half of both of her flu shots yesterday morning. On the way home from the doctor's office I decided to stop at the grocery store to pick up a few items. This was a risky decision because Emma was very teary from the stinging needles. Upon entering the store she calmed down and enjoyed the people watching. One of the items on my list was oatmeal, so we found the aisle and pulled our cart up next to a sad looking elderly gentleman. I smiled and nodded at him and proceeded to figure out which flavor I felt like purchasing. Several seconds later I turned to see Emma with the hugest smile on her face and waving at the gentleman. I looked at him and he also had a large smile on his face. He then turned to me and said "I was having the worst day and your daughter just made it so much better, thank you."

It might not sound like much, but it really made me feel good (even though it was all Emma's doing and not mine). As we were leaving the aisle I gave Emma a kiss on her head and told her I was proud of her and that I loved her (all the while trying not to tear up of course.)

Blogiversary

2009-10-21T09:40:00.002-04:00

Today is my one year blogiversary! Can you believe it? Me neither! I honestly didn't think I would make it. I mean, this is about my third attempt at keeping up a blog. (Third I think... right Molly?) Looking back over the year my blog hasn't changed drastically but it has definitely turned into something I enjoy doing. It's not one of those blogs that has a specific purpose or even a niche audience of readers... but that's the way I like it. It's simply turned into a journal of sorts for myself, so that I can look back and say "Ah, look what I was doing back then..." I enjoy the occasional comment from my family and friends but I don't strive for them or get disappointed when I don't receive any. Overall, I'm pretty happy with where is it right now and as long as I still enjoy posting I will keep blogging :) Love to all!

Happy Birthday Kensington!

2009-10-19T09:20:00.002-04:00

Yesterday one of my nieces turned 4, boy do I feel old!

Happy Birthday Kensi, I love you!!!

4th

2009-10-15T09:05:00.002-04:00

Happy Anniversary Honey!

I love you.

Absent Apology

2009-10-14T17:43:00.004-04:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. There's been a lot going on lately, different stresses etc. I have been posting over on Sewer's Block. Feel free to go check it out. I've been writing about my craft projects over there, and don't want to duplicate them here, so I thought I'd let you know. You can figure out what I used the above fabric for :)

National Sewing Month

2009-09-16T09:45:00.008-04:00

September is National Sewing Month! "The observance of National Sewing Month began in 1982 with a proclamation from President Ronald Reagan 'In recognition of the importance of home sewing to our Nation.' "

In honor of sewing month I thought I'd show you some of the projects I've been working on lately (over the past 4 months):

I also have a couple of Emma sewing projects that I'm still working on that I'm excited to show you soon!

Eight Years!

2009-09-15T15:31:00.003-04:00

What I'm Listening To: Jason Mraz

2009-09-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Jason Mraz can't go wrong in my book: Bella Luna

	- - jason mraz/bella luna

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Recipe: Slow-Roasted Oven Tomatoes

2009-09-11T11:15:00.006-04:00

I've run across recipes for slow-roasted tomatoes too many times lately to not give them a try. They looked too good and sounded too easy to make, so I finally got to it yesterday... and let me tell you, they were INCREDIBLE! One bite and I was hooked (as was Chris who asked why we had never made these before... my thoughts exactly.)

I used this recipe (minus the coriander) from Whitney in Chicago:

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Sea Salt and Ground Coriander

From Molly Wizenberg at Orangette

Ripe tomatoes, preferably Roma
Olive oil
Sea salt
Ground coriander

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the tomatoes, cut off the stem end, and halve them lengthwise. Pour a bit of olive oil into a small bowl, dip a pastry brush into it, and brush the tomato halves lightly with oil. Place them, skin side down, on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle them with sea salt and ground coriander—about a pinch of each for every four to six tomato halves.

Bake the tomatoes until they shrink to about 1/3 of their original size but are still soft and juicy, 4 to 6 hours. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator. If you want to freeze them, once they are cool, place the baking sheet in the freezer and allow them to freeze individually, then place them in a bag. This way they won’t clump up.

We didn't have any roma tomatoes, so I just used grape and cherry tomatoes. I honestly wish we had tried these out earlier in the season, because the tomatoes I used were the last from the garden, the blight plus the 40 degree nights have killed off the last of them unfortunately. I'm sure that store-bought tomatoes would taste good too, but nearly as good as organic fresh from the garden home growns!

If you have any tomatoes left in your gardens, or can get some fresh ones from your local farmer's market I highly recommend trying these, you won't regret it, I promise!

Prep...

Ready to head into the oven!

After one hour in the oven.

After two hours in the oven. I took some out to eat, I just couldn't wait the remaining two hours. They were delicious, but even better after the last two hours, it's worth the extra wait :)

These are what was left after we had them on top of our pesto pasta last night (by the time I finish this post... there might be none left)

Sidenote: Molly Wizenberg of Orangette is also the author of A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, which I hope to be reading very soon!

Sunflowers

2009-09-09T12:59:00.005-04:00

Happy 30th Chris!

2009-09-06T17:17:00.000-04:00

Chris turns 30:

Happy Birthday honey, I love you!

Happy Birthday Emma!

2009-09-05T12:33:00.004-04:00

I can't believe my baby turned 1 today! Where did the time go?!?!

Home Grown Vegetables

2009-09-03T13:38:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I shared some photos of our 2009 vegetable garden with you. Today I'm going to show you just a small percentage of the vegetables we've harvested from our garden :)

Our Vegetable Garden

2009-09-02T09:35:00.003-04:00

Here is our garden throughout it's various stages this summer:

This is from May after Chris rota-tilled and put up a new fence. Nothing growing yet, but the peas and green beans have been planted. You can also see some milk jugs on the far right with some winter-sown vegetables ready to be planted.

Here is our garden in June. You can see the pea pods and green beans on the right nice and bushy with new growth. Behind the green beans are a row of edamame, not yet growing. In the middle are the tomatoes and beets. On the left are various leafy greens (mesclun mix lettuce, spinach, arugula etc.), broccoli, swiss chard and more beets. Along the left of the fence (not yet large enough to be seen in this photo) are yellow squash, zucchini, delicata squash and butternut squash (which later turned out to be acorn squash, grr). Along the front fence are pickling cucumbers. Along the back fence are burpless cucumbers and spaghetti squash.

In the beginning of July after everything has had some time to grow we put down wet newspaper and add a thick layer of hay over the top, this keeps us from having to weed everyday, it's a real lifesaver!

Here is our garden in August, you can barely see the hay rows to walk on because everything is so huge. At this point we've harvested everything previously listed (except broccoli which bolted too soon). We had a great harvest this year and we'll still be picking cucumbers, squash and zucchini for the next month or so! In the above photo on the left you can see some of the sunflowers I planted along the outside of the garden this year. They're so beautiful, I'll post more photos of those later :)

Ethan and Braeleigh

2009-09-01T19:42:00.005-04:00

The last two babies of the summer (for my acquaintances anyway) have been born!

One of my best friends from high school, Paul, and his wife Erika welcomed their son Ethan on August 17th.

Welcome Ethan!

My cousin Jessica and her husband, Ty, welcomed their third child, daughter Braeleigh, on August 26th!

Welcome Braeleigh!

What I'm Listening To: She&Him

2009-08-12T07:33:00.002-04:00

Woah, I haven't done a "What I'm Listening To" post in a long time.

Am I really behind in just realizing that Zooey Deschanel is in a band called She&Him? I loved her voice in Elf, so I think this could be promising. So far this is the only song of theirs I'm in love with... the others sound too "oldies" for my taste. What do you think?

	She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Prizm to Santa Fe

2009-08-11T14:44:00.005-04:00

Chris has been driving the same car since his sophomore year in high school. He's never really had any problems with it but for the past couple of years we've been nervous that it would die. Well... last week it finally happened. It didn't die per say, just the starter died. But it was enough of an issue that we decided that keeping it through the winter wasn't a risk that we wanted to take.

We looked into several larger (smaller to mid-sized suv's) to accommodate future passengers of the child variety. Chris found a great deal on a used 2009 (yup, used 2009) Hyundai Santa Fe. He liked it more than the Toyota and Honda equivalents so we now have a new vehicle... which is of course exciting but frustrating at the same time (new monthly payment, our other two vehicles had no payments).

Here she is... thoughts on names? (Prizm had no name, Saab is named Star...)

1996 Geo Prizm

2009 Hyundai Santa Fe

1999 Saab 9-3
(not wanting to be left out of the photo op)

Welcome Sam

2009-07-17T11:29:00.003-04:00

Congratulations Beth and Chris and welcome baby Sam!

7lbs 2oz  born 5:13am 7/17

Scott & Amy

2009-07-05T11:13:00.002-04:00

Scott and Amy got engaged last night under the fireworks. I am so happy for you two... CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Strawberries!

2009-07-02T10:47:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday Chris, Emma, various Geraghty family members and I went to the annual Strawberry Festival at Cedar Circle Farms in East Thetford. Back in October we had gone to the Pumpkin Festival at the same farm and had a great time, so we were really looking forward to this summer celebration!

We ended up picking seven pounds of berries and at only $3 a pound, it was a great deal. Granted, strawberries are only $1.50 per pound in the grocery store at the moment, but I feel better supporting local farms even if it means paying a little bit more.

When we got home I did lots of research on strawberries. I learned lots of very valuable information like: you should only wash strawberries right before you eat them; when you do wash them, hull after washing to preserve flavor and vitamins; store strawberries in fridge uncovered and in a single layer to keep fresh longer; for optimal flavor eat fresh strawberries within two days of picking.

We ended up freezing part of the berries in order to keep them fresh longer... we used this method:

Wash berries in cold water and pat dry. Discard any strawberries that show signs of mold, damage, or discoloration. Remove stems and leaves with a small, sharp knife.
Place berries on a baking sheet, arranging them close together but not touching each other. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about an hour, then transfer sheets to the freezer for 6 hours or overnight.
Once the berries are frozen, seal in an airtight container or zippered plastic bag and store in the freezer.
Alternately, you can crush or slice your strawberries before freezing them. Place the berries in airtight containers. If using sliced berries, mix one quart of water with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice; pour mixture over berries to cover. Seal containers and freeze. The lemon juice will help the strawberries retain some of their color.

Chris wanted to make strawberry shortcake... it kind of one of those thing you just have to do with fresh strawberries, especially in the summer, not making strawberry shortcake would just be wrong!

I was inspired by Jill & Jeremy's strawberry jam, but wanted to make some that didn't contain pectin and had much less sugar, so I made some strawberry preserves. I ended up using Martha's recipe as a base to go from but ended up using 3 pounds of berries with 1 cup of sugar. The preserves ended on the tart side, but we love it! From start to finish I'd say it took just over 2.5 hours, but the cutting and hulling was honestly the hardest part. For our first canning experience it was lots of fun... it was disappointing not to hear the "pop" of the lid once it came out of the water (we were in putting Emma to bed). But I look forward to hearing it when we make pickles later this summer!

Chris helped me sterilize the canning jars and lids.

The picture on the left is the bowl of berries for the shortcake and the picture on the right is the washed and hulled berries for the preserves.

After the berries simmered for an hour here is what we ended up with, one whole pint of preserves (plus a little extra)!

Etsy Jewelry For My Friends

2009-06-18T09:33:00.010-04:00

I find jewelry to be one of the hardest things to buy for people. Here is my attempt to window purchase necklaces for my friends (I only picked those of you whom I think read this blog...). How did I do? (constructive criticism welcome)

For Molly:

Circlets Necklace $26.50
GreenErica

For Jill:

Olive Green Maple Leaf Necklace $38
alisonkelleydesigns

For Sara K:

Strawberry Pop Tart Necklace $10
fakerybakery2

For Kathy L:

Delicate Leaf Necklace $50
jezzabell13

For Jenny:

Have a Heart Bust Pendant $180
margauxlange

For Beth:

Tiny Elephant Necklace $15
GirlTuesdayJewelry

For Stacy:

Dancing Pearls Necklace Noir $22
BunnyInDisguise

For Kate:

V-Line Necklace $36
Gosia

For Me:

Alba Lariat Necklace $36
bellina

Relay For Life 2009

2009-06-09T08:13:00.005-04:00

This past weekend was the Greater Lebanon Area Relay for Life. I'm not sure of the exact amount raised but it was at least $27,000! Although I didn't reach my personal goal, our team (Team WOW [Wicked Outstanding Walkers]) met our goal of $2000 which is super exciting!

I just want to send a heartfelt thank you out to everyone who supported us with monetary donations, donations to our craft sale/raffle and most importantly for your support!

Sorry, I was so focused on walking and supporting my team that I didn't take many pictures.

Not a Winner.

2009-06-04T09:37:00.004-04:00

After entering about 30 of the supposed 400 giveaways... I did not win anything. Although, someone named Elizabeth did win two items, not me though. It's alright, it was still fun to look at everyone's creativity and marvel at their generosity. Did any of you win anything?

Here is the item I most wanted to win... it just screams Elizabeth, doesn't it?

Quilt by Rachel at p.s. i quilt

Master Chris

2009-05-30T12:02:00.000-04:00

I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 100th post than to honor my husband. About a month ago he completed his MEd (Masters in Education). Two weeks ago was his graduation (he chose not to go, I don't blame him). Last week his diploma came in the mail and last weekend we had a party for him at his parent's house. It was an overcast day with small bits of rain, but we still celebrated in style! The day was filled with, badminton, a wiffle ball home run derby (he won), several "About Chris" quizzes and a British game called Blockbusters with current political questions (my team won the first game, his team the second... I was not an asset to our team.) I made Chris a red velvet cake and we all stuffed ourselves with bbq yummies. All in all, it was a wonderful day.

Congratulations Chris, we are very proud of you and love you very much!!!

Etsy Finds: I like grass

2009-05-29T12:39:00.003-04:00

Tall Grass Pillow $42

Porcelain Eggshell with Wheatgrass Seeds $12.95

Grassy Green Earrings $31

Linen Ribbon Grass Placemat $19

May Giveaway

2009-05-28T07:00:00.021-04:00

Sew, Mama, Sew! blog is hosting a May Giveaway Day. I follow this blog in my google reader, I don't know why I didn't realize they were doing this giveaway sooner, or I definitely would have signed up. Oh well, next time!

For now, I guess I'll just enter other people's giveaways. There are about 250 giveaways in total, I entered maybe 10 of them... but I think you should all go check them out. I really want someone I know to win something. You are able to enter until midnight on May 31st, so go enter and let me know if you win!!!

Other than the fact that the possiblity of winning one of these items makes me so excited... is the fact that I have now stumbled across even more amazing blogs to add to my reader (just what I needed, haha)!

Here are just a few of the amazing giveaway items you could win: (I entered 4 out of these 12 giveaways, which do you think they are?)

Notecards by Journey and Inspiration

Tablecloth tote bag by Julie-K

Tote by Katydid Inc.

Bunting banner by {kimmymade}

Necklace by koala brains

Button jewelry by Lauren Williams

Makeup bag by Liesl Made

Little Bird magnet by marelle

Bathtime goodies by MarmaladeKiss

Little Chefs Apron by Max and Ellie

Panty Liners by modernAcorn

Quilt from Mushyhed's Sweatshop

Maum

2009-05-27T12:20:00.004-04:00

These might be the most creative most awesome tea bags I have ever seen. Are they actually for sale?!?!

Look What I Made: Decoupage Clothespins

2009-05-26T08:50:00.007-04:00

Great news, my cousin had her baby! Juliette was born on Friday morning at 12:34, Juliette and Amy are both doing well and are back home adjusting to their new routine. I can't wait to meet the newest addition to our family :)

Down to business: remember when I found this idea for decoupage clothespins and told you that I was working on some of my own... well I am finally getting around to showing them to you!

I ended up making about 200 of them (hehe) but am proud to say that I only have about 20 left after giving them away (perhaps you received some from me?!?).

Here's a closer look at what I ended up with:

Look What I Made: More Baby Shower Gifts

2009-05-19T10:59:00.004-04:00

More babies are on the way! The last baby shower gifts I showed you were for my cousin, Amy, her due date was last Saturday. No news yet... although I told her that I had a dream that her daughter Juliette will be born on Wednesday, haha.

The next baby on the list is my friend Jeremy's sister, Heidi, she is due in June. Here are the items I made for her baby (unknown gender, but I think it will be a boy).

I made her a stuffed animal and embroidered two onesies (her nursery is an arctic babies theme).

Happy Birthday Stacy

2009-05-18T11:40:00.008-04:00

Happy Birthday to one of the most fun, most lovable, most laid-back people I know. Happy Birthday Stacy!!! I wish I could be there to rock out some karaoke with you :)

While going through the photos on my computer I realized that I desperately need to scan in some college photos. I promise to do better on next year's birthday post.

Look What I Made: Blue Dress

2009-05-15T13:31:00.004-04:00

So I made this dress for Emma a couple of months ago, but just forgot to post about it, so here it goes:

One of my favorite button down shirts from high school/college was this sky blue American Eagle shirt. It has a slight stretch and the cotton is just super soft. I haven't worn it for years because it had a sizable stain near the bottom of the buttons, but could never bring myself to throw it away, sigh. Now that I'm into refashioning for Emma, I realized that this shirt would make a perfect summer dress! I actually only thought of it after seeing this , this, this, and this.

My sewing skills are nowhere near Dana's, I just don't have the patience, but this is my favorite Emma refashion so far! Unfortunately (again) it won't fit her until at least next year because I wanted to maximize the fabric usage, if you know what I mean. (love making up words)

I drew the general shape that I was shooting for onto the shirt (inside out), removed the fitted darts, added the cotton lace to the bottom, removed the collar, sewed the buttons closed (except for the top two) and added the purple ribbon waistband. I thought that the royal purple contrasted well with the sky blue. I only sewed the ribbon to the front of the dress, so that we could just tie it into a pretty bow in the back. I was able to re-use a shirt that was in great condition other than the stain and make into something cute for Emma to wear (stain free)!

Is it perfect? No. But also I don't think my photos do it justice. So... I'm happy with it.

Etsy Finds: Pendants, Pincushions and Prints

2009-05-13T08:26:00.007-04:00

Pendant by NaomiMurrell $40

Pincushion by Alleluja $30

Print by BonnieBoden $23

Happy Birthday Victoria!

2009-05-12T10:57:00.004-04:00

Today is a very special day for one of my most favorite bloggers, VicChick!!!

Victoria and I went to the same college, had many of the same friends and knew of each other (um, at least I did), but somehow never became friends. I find this to be a shame, because from getting to know her better through the blog world and Facebook I think that we would have gotten along smashingly :)

So cheers to you Victoria, I hope you have an amazing birthday and that we get an update soon on Some Things that have been going on in your life ;)

Hugs!

Fresh Laundry

2009-04-28T13:27:00.007-04:00

Easter Eggs

2009-04-14T08:21:00.009-04:00

Easter was always my favorite holiday growing up. I was always more excited for Easter than Halloween or even Christmas. Thinking back, I've been trying to pinpoint the exact reason for this. I think it was partly because Spring has always been my favorite season, what with everything coming back to life and all. In the end, it wasn't difficult to realize that the real draw of Easter for me was the Easter egg hunts. I mean, the chocolate was great and all... but it was the hunting that I lived for. I'd beg my parents to hide the eggs over and over and over so that I could find them, and I'd get upset if they made it too easy. Needless to say, I haven't been egg hunting the past few years (although I do hide them for Chris... and he's a good sport about it.)

Because I don't do much hunting anymore I have done my best to keep up the tradition of egg decorating. The past few years I've really enjoy blowing the eggs out before decorating them (instead of hard boiling) that way you can keep the eggs if you want. I (we, Chris helps) decorate them using the traditional food coloring method. I've also been known to use a piece of uncooked spaghetti with un-diluted food coloring to 'draw' on the eggs. Or for more precise application, just used sharpies.

Front and backs of our eggs from Easter '07 & '08.
We usually decorate each other's eggs.

This year I almost didn't get to decorate any eggs... oh the horror! You see, every year I get all excited to decorate, then when I finally decide that I have enough time to sit down and tackle the eggs, I realize that we purchase brown eggs, not white... this results in a rush to the store to try to find white eggs (which are usually sold out). This happened again this year, and I didn't go purchase white eggs until the day before Easter. In the end, I didn't think I'd get to decorate them at all because Saturday was filled to the brim with a trip to the thrift store, a trip to the playground for a picnic lunch and then Jill and Jeremy came to stay the night. Jill was super helpful though and helped me with the eggs (though she said she hadn't decorated eggs in about 20 years... gasp!)

Because of time constraints I ended up hard boiling the eggs instead of blowing them out (which takes forever, plus I was already dizzy and didn't feel like passing out from all the hard work.) I didn't even end up pulling out the food coloring to color these eggs (I didn't use Paas either, although we had been given two boxes this year. Sidenote: my brother tells me that the Paas box lists off the colors to try to entice you to purchase their product. It says something like "Seven colors... including brown!!" Um... who dies their eggs brown?) Anyways, I decided to try a new decorating method that I found online from Martha Stewart. I couldn't understand how this method would actually work, so I had to try it for myself: first with just one egg, to be sure that it worked, and then with the other 11. Here are the instructions:

Materials and Tools
Small- to medium-size raw eggs
Glass or enamel pot
Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, cut into pieces large enough to cover an egg
White sheets (or pillowcases or old tablecloths), cut into pieces to cover silk-wrapped eggs
Twist ties
3 tablespoons of white vinegar
Warm water
Vegetable oil
Paper towels
Tongs or spoon

Silk Tie Easter Eggs How-To
1. Cut silk into a square (or a piece) large enough to wrap around a raw egg.

2. Wrap a raw egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn't fit perfectly around egg.

3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of white sheet, pillowcase, or old tablecloth and secure tightly with a twist-tie.

4. Place the egg(s) in an enamel or glass pot. Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add three tablespoons of white vinegar.

(I didn't have glass or enamel pots for the stove top, so I used Corningware.)

5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20 minutes (longer if you plan on eating the eggs).

6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool.

7. Remove silk from cooled egg.

8. For shiny eggs, wipe with vegetable oil after completing step 7.

Resources
Silk goods such as ties, blouses, and boxers can be purchased at rummage sales or thrift stores. Silk can be reused on eggs.

I am happy to report that it worked beautifully! I had to run to the thrift store to find silk ties for this project. Oddly enough, they didn't have much variety for my choosing (I had read the darker the colors and the uglier the tie, the better it would turn out). I only purchased 3 ties (for about a dollar each) and they were right, the ugliest tie made the coolest eggs. So I'll definitely have to be on the lookout for ugly ties before next Easter so that we can have a wider variety of eggs!

Bathing Beauty

2009-04-10T08:34:00.007-04:00

It's almost bathing suit weather (okay not really) but I can wish that it was warm enough for that! Even though there was frost on the ground this morning I found myself daydreaming about playing with Emma in her kiddie pool this summer. I'm going to be completely dramatic and say that I plan on avoiding putting on a bathing suit all summer. Emma, on the other hand, will be in one a lot! The only problem... we don't have one for her yet. You all know how obsessed I am with Old Navy and I will probably go pick one out for her while I'm in NY visiting the Fontenaults next weekend but for now, here is what I'm drooling over...

Okay, these last two are from Baby Gap, and although I would never spend the money on them, they are admittedly my favorites... especially the green one of course.

Look What I Made: Purple Dress

2009-04-08T09:02:00.004-04:00

So, I've been messing around with re-fashioning adult clothes into clothes for Emma. I've been kind of going crazy with them... but I'll only show you one a day.

This time, I took one of my old purple t-shirts, sized small, and tried to turn it into a dress for her. Sorry, once again I totally forgot to take a 'before' picture, I'll try to be better about that in the future.

I don't work well with patterns (or pre-ironing for that matter) I'm to impatient, so I just kind of messed around and went with it. Looking back, I should have made the chest area smaller. In this photo it looks like a shift dress, but there is a bit of an a-line to it in person. So, the light purple bit was the t-shirt and the floral white and purple bit was some fabric I had that I thought would go well. For about a week now I've been trying to decide if I should embroider something on it. In person the dress looks pretty cute, but in this photo I'm thinking that it look pretty bland. Improvement thoughts?

I'd show you a picture of Emma wearing this dress, but it's way too large for her... I'll save it for next summer (which will probably end up being the case for most of these dresses that I make her, since I don't take the time to measure out her size, I just work with the size of the garment and maximizing it's fabric potential, haha!)

Look What I Made: Baby Shower Gifts

2009-04-07T08:03:00.011-04:00

My eldest cousin is due in May with her first baby, Juliette. I was fortunate enough to be able to make it to her baby shower a couple of weekends ago. It was nice to celebrate with her and the rest of our family!

I also took her being pregnant as a wonderful opportunity to make some baby items... my favorite crafts to work on! The most recent craft I am trying to teach myself is embroidery... so I embroidered these three onesies for her.

Next, I of course had to make a baby quilt. No attempt at a fancy design on this one, I just picked fun fabric and did plain squares. I did however mess around with embroidery some more on the middle square.

The first thing I had started for her, and the last thing I finished, was this teddy bear which was refashioned from a couple of wool sweaters. The white sweater had pockets, so I incorporated one of them onto the front of the stuffed animal so that he could be holding a tinier stuffed animal... a bunny. I also, of course, embroidered onto the pocket, haha.

Lastly, I made her some of the clothespin magnets that I told you all about a couple of weeks ago. I still haven't finished the others, but I thought these came out cute for baby Juliette. I thought that my cousin could use them as clothespins or to have photos of Juliette on the fridge.

I'm sure from all the photos that you've figured out that the theme of Juliette's room will be mostly red, black and white. Her baby bedding (according to my cousin's registry) was red, black and white with ladybugs and flowers... so I tried to work around those images.

Now onto the next babies due in June, July and August! (Not the mention the two weddings in April and August.)

7 Months and 28 Years

2009-04-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

Harrar Love

2009-04-05T06:30:00.001-04:00

Happy First Anniversary Molly & Danny!!! I can't believe it's already been a year, it seems like just yesterday we were dancing at your wedding. Much love to you both! {{{HUGS}}}

Look What I Made: Placemats

2009-04-01T07:51:00.004-04:00

Back in the summer of 2006 my mom threw a bridal shower for me. It was on this day that I received a lovely tote bag made by my friend Devon. I fell in love with it the second I saw it, and have been using it for various purposes ever since (mostly for traveling and/or carrying sewing projects with me).

In a totally unrelated turn of events, my best friend Jill and her husband Jeremy decided to move to Saugerties, NY. I was very sad of course, but I decided to put my emotions towards something more positive... like making them a "going away/new house" gift. For a long while I have been wanting to try my hand at making place mats, so I figured this was my chance. (This is where Devon's bag comes into the story.)

Jill and Jeremy love trees and autumn... and I love Devon's bag. So I totally stole Devon's design (or perhaps just borrowed her inspiration?) and made these place mats for my NY-bound friends.

What do you think? I'm very pleased with them for my first place mat efforts and will hopefully be making some for us soon! (Although, I never seem to get around to projects for myself & Chris... I always have more motivation to make and finish items for other people... hmm.

Here they are in the NY'ers new place :D

My Mo

2009-03-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Molly!!!

Today is a VERY special day, it is my dear friend Molly's birthday! She is one of the only people I know who is as obsessed about her birthday as I am and what's even better is that we share a birthday week! We haven't been able to celebrate together for a few years, but I know that we're ALWAYS there for each other in spirit and I usually spend her whole birthday hoping that she's having the BEST day ever (because I know how we can both be so easily disappointed by our birthdays, hehe).

So, here's to you Molly, I hope this year's birthday is as AMAZING as you are!!! I miss you and love you very much {{{HUGS}}}

Recipe: Strawberry Spinach Salad

2009-03-27T13:27:00.003-04:00

For Molly:

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Salad dressing:

2 tbsp canola oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 ½ tsp fresh dill

½ tsp dried dill

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ground mustard

Salad:

8 cups spinach

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 tbsp red onion

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

½ tsp sesame seeds

Combine dressing ingredients and shake. Mix salad items in a large bowl and toss with dressing, enjoy!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

2009-03-27T09:15:00.004-04:00

So last night Chris had Parent/Teacher Conferences until 9pm. I had to come up with something to do to keep myself occupied (other than watch tv) so that I wouldn't just slowly watch the time pass. I had seen these online, and had to try some of my own.

About 100 clothespins later, Chris came home. I think I might have gotten a little carried away :P I'll take some pictures of my own once I get the magnets on the backs!

Obemma

2009-03-20T08:44:00.003-04:00

Okay, so you know how I wasn't able to turn Emma's photo into an Obamicon? Well, my brother took it upon himself to make some for me. The only problem is, we disagree on which one is better. Let me know what your vote is please!

25 Things

2009-03-19T08:54:00.002-04:00

I never did the "25 Things" note on Facebook. So here are mine (I tried to think of things that not everyone might know):

1. When I was little (before pre-school) I would get jealous that my brothers got to do homework, so I would ask my mom to make some for me.

2. I have to cut out the tags from all my shirts, they are beyond annoying. I am glad that tagless shirts are finally here! Also, I tell anyone and everyone when their tag is sticking out of their shirt, this particularly amuses Chris.

3. I have to cut up all of my food before I can start to eat.

4. Sometimes I just want to go sit and hide in the closet. Okay... more than sometimes.

5. My dad has called me 'Peanut' since I was a baby. I get angry when other people use it for their babies.

6. The "Disney Vault" bothers me to no end.

7. I have always called Parmesan cheese "shaky cheese" and I have always called ice cream sprinkles "jimmies"... and I get made fun of for both.

8. Ever since I was little I thought that every time I got a new birthmark/freckle that it meant that someone new loved me.

9. Whenever I'm concentrating on something I forget to breathe ... as in, I hold my breath without knowing it.

10. People that leave their dogs outside for the majority of the day (especially in winter, and at night) really piss me off.

11. I mute commercials because I believe that they are noise pollution. They're also usually more entertaining without the sound.

12. Our set of silverware came with two different sized forks (as most do), I will only use the smaller ones. Also, I don't like eating with three pronged forks.

13. When I'm sleeping my hair has to be flipped up onto the pillow above my head, it can't be touching my neck or face.

14. Other sleep quirks: I can't be wearing socks, my feet can't be uncovered, I can't sleep without at least one layer on top of me (no matter how hot it is), it has to be completely dark and I have to have some sort of white noise (like an oscillating fan).

15. I have had five surgeries in my lifetime. Because of this I am missing two organs, four teeth, I have a port in my chest and too many surgery scars to count.

16. Despite #15, I really like hospitals.

17. Dancing in public embarrasses me more than anything... ever.

18. I had never had sushi before I went away to college (thank you Molly) and ever since Japanese has been my favorite food. I am currently addicted to edamame (thank you Jill).

19. I am completely disgusted by commercials and ads that make cartoons out of things from the insides of our bodies. I want to vomit just thinking about it.

20. I have always been convinced that I am going to die before I'm 60.

21. Smell is my favorite of the five senses. I believe that everyone has a particular 'scent' (not in a gross way) and it my favorite thing about people.

22. I believe that chiropractic care is as important to my overall health as a yearly physical.

23. I was raised Catholic, but am currently not practicing. I believe that I have greatly disappointed my parents because of this and it makes me feel very guilty and very sad.

24. I have to have chapstick with me at all times. I carry one in my pocket, in my purse, in the car, there is one in most rooms of the house etc. This has become a problem now that I have had to switch to just Vaseline (it is a huge container).

25. I used to love going on road trips, or anywhere in the car with my Dad. The older I get, the more I hate to travel (no matter what the mode of transportation is). I love visiting new places, friends, family etc. but I despise the 'getting there' part.

The Spirit of Ireland

2009-03-18T07:47:00.005-04:00

... the answer to yesterday's question.

Green, Green, Green

2009-03-17T08:13:00.011-04:00

I love the color green (it's my favorite), I love Ireland (I did a term abroad there in college, and that's where Chris and I fell in love), I love my Irish heritage (which I wrongly think is a higher percentage now than pre-marriage)... I LOVE ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Hmm, the choice now becomes, Guinness, Smithicks or Jameson? Yummm.

Emma has many, many green clothes (a shock, I know!). I had been wanting to put her in her "First St. Patrick's Day" onesie, but curiously enough it is for a 24 month old child. So instead I have her in some "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" pj's. And her St. Patty's Day gift (shamrock headband)... YES!!!

Emma may have been wearing sparkly silver Converse.

Half-Birthdays

2009-03-06T09:30:00.007-05:00

So yesterday was Emma's half birthday! In honor of her six months, Chris and I made some hand and foot prints. It was a bit messy, but totally fun. I've been waiting for months to do this! I figured, since we had her footprint done in glass on her first month birthday... we should wait to do the ink on six months.

Don't worry, it was child safe, non-toxic ink. It was also labeled as "washable", this was only somewhat true. It came off to the degree that she wouldn't go around staining everything she touched... but her feet and hands are definitely still a bit black, oops!

I Heart Herbal Tea

2009-03-05T11:38:00.019-05:00

That is our tea drawer. Sadly, we have more tea than that, it also spills over into the cabinet. Did you know that I love herbal tea... ya, I'm pretty much addicted. Lately I've been drinking an average of three cups a day. Is that too much? I figure it must be better for me than drinking that many cups of coffee a day. Not that I ever did drink that much coffee, I'm not really a coffee drinker. I mean, I like coffee (especially hazelnut or cinnamon) and I will drink it on occasion, but it's rare. My hot beverage of choice (besides dark chocolate hot chocolate) is definitely herbal tea... be it black, green or white, I love it!

My current favorites include:

With my breakfast, either Whole Foods Green Tea with Pomegranate & Cranberry or Earl Grey... if I feel I really need a caffeine boost. I only recently tried Earl Grey, and was pleasantly surprised. I love it's intensely strong flavor in the morning, and if it's a really good Earl Grey, like the one pictured here, I can even get two mornings of tea out of one bag... which is nice, because this brand is particularly expensive. This pomegranate green tea is actually pretty cheap, $3.99 for 80 bags... a great deal in my book. Unfortunately, we don't have a Whole Foods store anywhere near us, so my parents usually bring me a box when they come to visit!

Before Bed: I absolutely have to have Sleepytime Extra by Celestial Seasonings. The only way I will have regular Sleepytime is if we are out of Sleepytime Extra, and let me tell you, it just isn't the same! I don't actually believe that this tea helps me to sleep, I just love it's light flavor before bed, plus the tiny bit of honey that I always put in it (which I'm finding is a great addition to most any herbal tea).

During the day, if I have a cup, it always varies. One of my absolute favorites though, is this Republic of Tea's Lemon Wintergreen. I can't actually taste the lemon part, but if you're a fan of peppermint tea, but want something not quite as strong, but still with an awesome flavor, I highly recommend trying this one! I used to drink peppermint tea almost exclusively, but then it started giving me bad heartburn, that's when I stumbled upon this jewel. I don't know if they sell it in bags, I imagine that they do, this particular canister is the loose variety.

Here are some of my other favorites: I really love most of the Tazo teas, especially Calm, Passion, Refresh, Chai, Zen & Lotus. I really want to try their Lemon Mate and Sweet Cinnamon Spice. I typically don't like "Christmas-y" flavors in my tea, but I have a feeling I would like this cinnamon one. And the Lemon Mate... yum! I like mate for the extreme caffeine, but mate by itself can sometimes be too strong, so I feel like the lemon might calm it down a bit. Chris' favorite, by far, is their Wild Sweet Orange, luckily for him, I can't stand it. I like oranges as a fruit, but I hate orange flavored things. It's weird, I know, but it's the same with other fruits, such as bananas. I generally like most fruity teas, especially the zingers (though I think most of them taste the same no matter what the fruit). I also love to drink echinacea teas when I have a cold, especially: Celestial Seasonings Echinacea Complete Care and Throat Soothers. Though for colds, if you can afford it, the Traditional Medicinals teas are outstanding! Another one that isn't pictured, that I like, is Celestial Seasonings Perfectly Pear white tea. If you've never tried white tea before, I recommend trying this one. White teas have a much milder flavor than black tea, and even green tea... so on it's own it's a bit weak, but with the pear it has just enough flavor to make it tasty in my book!

Most of the tea brands that I've mentioned are on the pricier side, so I will only buy them if they are on sale. I'm not really a fan of Twinings or Bigelow, but will drink them if they are the only thing around. I tend to find them a bit watery. I'm one of those people that leaves their tea bag in the mug until the last sip is gone and even then I squeeze out the bag and sip the super strong last sip. I also let the bag steep for at least 1o minutes before I take a sip. I like my tea strong, so Bigelow, Twinings or other store brands don't usually cut it. I do however like Lipton for their plain black tea and plain green tea. Sometimes I need to use two bags of the Lipton in order to get it strong enough, but they're cheap enough, and you can buy them in large enough boxes that I'm okay with using two bags.

And that's all I have to say about tea. Okay... other than the fact that I've always thought about making my own loose tea mixes. I love to grow herbs, and am seriously considering giving this a try this summer.

What are your favorite tea flavors and brands?

Recycled Cardboard Toys

2009-02-19T12:27:00.004-05:00

I am SO making these for Emma once she is old enough to play with them! Love, love, love them!!!

Kitchen

Washer/Dryer

Doll Furniture

Haircut

2009-02-12T12:16:00.005-05:00

I am in need of a haircut! Usually I have Chris cut my hair because it's cheaper and I just pull it up anyway. I often want to get a "real" haircut but I always have the same response to new haircuts "This shows off the fatness of my face too much." or "I miss my old hair." Eventually (usually) I grow to like it/live with it.

I can't remember the last time that I got my hair cut, even from Chris, so I've finally given in and made an appointment for next week. I have a gift certificate for a pedicure, so I'm going to trade it in for a haircut... wish me luck!

I usually get my hair cut just above my shoulders, I'm thinking about to the chin this time. Knowing that I'm not changing my hair color, that I will never get bangs again, that I have the flattest hair ever and that I don't have time to style my hair (I like to just shower and go) ... here are some ideas. Thoughts? Other ideas? (I know these require styling, ignore that fact.)

Look What I Made: Stuffed Animals

2009-02-10T11:16:00.006-05:00

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I've been felting a lot lately. I mostly like to shrink down wool sweaters and make fun things out of them. For Christmas I decided to try my hand and making stuffed animals for my nieces. I think they came out pretty well, and making them inspired me to make more. I will have some up on my Etsy page soon (since the CPSIA postponed testing regulations for a year, which were originally supposed to start today, YAY!!!) These are horrible pictures of the stuffies that I made for my nieces, because I forgot to take pictures of them... but you get the idea of what they look like :)

(This is only the back, I couldn't find a pic of the front, sorry)

Obamicon!

2009-02-05T11:30:00.001-05:00

Look what I found... outstanding!

Obamicon your own photo. I've been trying to Obamicon Emma for days now, but can't get it to work. Can you?

Babies on the Brain

2009-02-03T13:07:00.007-05:00

No, we're not thinking of having another baby already. Someday! But not anytime soon. Babies are on my brain because so many people I know are pregnant and it's beyond exciting!

The pregnant list: My college friend Beth is due in July (I think it's going to be a boy, but I want it to be a girl), my friend Jeremy's sister is due in June (I think? my guess for her is a boy also), my cousin Amy is due in May (she's having a girl, Juliette) and my cousin Keith's girlfriend is in labor right now (she's having a boy, Andrew)!

Too much excitement to handle!

side note: I'm reworking the layout of my blog, I'm only letting you know because many of you read this through a Reader, so you wouldn't know otherwise ;)

side note #2: Emma turns five months in two days! I'm not entirely sure where those five months went... or what happened to my infant, she's changing so quickly!

Look What I Made: Green Dress

2009-01-28T11:54:00.012-05:00

Ok, so I've been into this new craft called felting, it's addicting and really fun. There are many different ways to "felt" but my favorite, by far, is up-cycling wool sweaters into new creations (technically called fulling). Here's a page that explains the three different ways to felt, 'accidental', 'wet' and 'needle'. I've tried each and can say that they are all fun in their own unique way :) I'm working on several projects for my Etsy page, but for now I wanted to show you something that I made several weeks ago for Emma. I'm really proud of it! I was in love with this sweater when I found it in the thrift shop, and knew I wanted to try to make something for Emma, so I just messed around a bit, and this is what I came up with. I admit that it looks better on the hanger than on Emma, but I made up the pattern, so I'm okay with that. After I made it my conversation with Emma went something like this "Mommy made this for you, it might not fit correctly and you might not like it, but until you're old enough to pick out your own clothes, you'll wear it... to make mommy happy. Because sometimes we do things that we don't want to do for the people we love... because we love them!"

As I write this she is on the floor on her play mat (from Stacy and Kate) kissing herself in the mirror... hmm...

Kate the Great

2009-01-23T11:24:00.013-05:00

Happy Birthday Kate!!!

It is obviously impossible to not have fun when Kate is around! Oh ya, and she likes tongues.

Etsy Finds: Bunny Vase

2009-01-21T11:27:00.004-05:00

I discovered Etsy ("your place to buy and sell all things handmade") about a year ago. It's a great site, I love poking around and seeing how creative people are. A few months ago I started putting together my own Etsy shop, it's not up and running yet (I only have a few free minutes a day to work on items to sell) but I'll let you know when it is. Until then (and after then) I thought a fun new segment for my blog could be "Etsy Finds" cause I'm always finding cute things on there. This new segment will be similar to Disgraced Shopping, but I don't think she'll mind ;)

Here's my cute find for today:

Bunny Vase by prettyrandomobjects

$48

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T10:57:00.003-05:00

What I feel today: pride, relief & hope!

Recipe: Boursin Pesto Dip

2009-01-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

Aunt Pat’s Dip

2, 8 oz containters of boursin or boursin like cheese
container of pesto sauce
container of sundried tomato pesto

Line a bowl with saran wrap and then coat saran wrap with olive oil. Layer ingredients in bowl starting with boursin, pesto, boursin, sundried tomato pesto, and ending with boursin. Chill until ready to serve , then invert bowl on a plate and remove bowl and saran wrap. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

(Sorry, I forgot to take a photo, and can't find one online, trust me though, it's incredible!!!)

Life Questions

2009-01-10T12:11:00.006-05:00

Questions courtesy of Jenny.

1. What's the one thing that's changed since you became a mother that you weren't expecting/prepared for?

I'm not lying when I say that I can't think of anything that I wasn't expecting (as far as how it's affected me). Then again, I've only been a mom for 4 months. As far as Emma is concerned, I totally wasn't expecting her to sleep through the night so quickly. Please, don't hate me.

2. What's the most frightening dream you've ever had?

I have nightmares all the time, so there are a bunch. But the one that came to mind immediately was a dream that I had about 5-10 (not sure exactly) years ago. It was a dream in which my brother, Matt, had died. We were all at his funeral and I was sitting with my family crying my eyes out when Matt, as a ghost of sorts, appeared in the chair next to me trying to console me. At that point I woke up from my dream... crying. I believe that's the only time I've woken up from a dream crying (as an adult anyway.)

3. Do you want more kids? Is that answer the same or different since having Emma?

Yes I do. Chris and I have always wanted more than one child and Emma's arrival has only increased that desire. (We will be waiting a while before the next one though.)

4. When you were in school (any), what teacher had the greatest (negative or positive) influence on you? How so?

I had an art teacher in college who was the advisor for my senior project. After I hung my art in the gallery she informed me that if I did not re-hang them at the "proper" level that I would receive a B instead of an A for my senior project.
Throughout high school I took great pride in my grades and was very harsh on myself if I got lower than A's. However, in college, especially after this incident I came to realize (for me anyway) that it was more about the experience than the grade.
This college teacher simply set in stone, for me, a belief which I had already adopted. That school is about learning, not only about subject matter, but about yourself. I strongly believed that in the rest of my life the difference between an A and a B in a college senior art project would make absolutely no difference (whereas my teacher made it out to be life or death, a great job or no job at all, getting into grad school or getting rejected.) I was happy with the outcome of my senior project, and in my mind, that's all that mattered. I didn't care about her "proper level to hang art" and I didn't care what grade she gave me, I was just proud of what I had accomplished. I have to say that was one of my proudest moments in life thus far... (practically) telling her to shove it.

5. You have to choose between accomplishing one really great thing that will make the world a better place, but will be perceived as awful and your fault, or one mediocre thing that doesn't do anyone any good but will make you a hero. Which? Honestly.

Honestly... I wouldn't want to be in the limelight either way, and both options would do just that. I hate being the center of attention, for good things or for bad. So for me, it simply comes down to "accomplishing one really great thing" or "one mediocre thing". I choose the great thing. Sorry Jenny, I don't think that was the answer that you were looking for.

Thanks for including me in your question fun Jenny... anyone else have any questions ;)

Side note: I am constantly amazed at home many truly messed up people there are in the world. I was watching Wife Swap last night (Friday night tv is the worst) and "pageant mom" had this to say about life: "If you're not a winner you're a loser. Life is one big competition and the sooner my children realize that, the better!"

Wow... so sad.

Copycat

2009-01-06T11:44:00.003-05:00

For the first time ever, I actually want to make some New Years resolutions. Not a very long list or very creative, but since it's my first time, they mean a lot to me.

Hopes for 2009:

Lose some serious weight. (everyone says this, I know...)
Worry less. (realistically probably won't happen, especially now that I'm a mom)
Reduce the amount of medication I take. (totally out of my control, but I want it on here anyway)
Read more. (1 book done already!)
Figure out a way to make some income while at home with Emma. (hmm...)
Be happier. (don't be so hard on myself all the time)
Be a better wife and mom. (It's not that I'm a bad one, just always trying to be better.)

We'll see how it goes. I've also been working on a life list. Also, not something I've ever done before, but I think it'll be fun. Again it probably won't be too long, and may change throughout the years, but I think that's to be expected. I thought about posting it here, but it would only be a partial list and I don't want to have to come back to this post to update it every time I think of something new. Plus it'd probably be boring for the rest of you.

Sidenote: I've been thinking of not blogging anymore. I'm not telling you this so that you'll beg me to stop. I'm not telling you this so to get you to make more comments. I'm just letting you know that it's been on my mind. For me, this blog isn't about entertainment for anyone else. I'ts not useful in anyway to anyone (eg. doesn't update people on my life, doesn't give me a place to practice creative writing, doesn't hold any useful information). It's just something 'fun' for me to do for myself. And I figure... if I'm not enjoying it anymore, why bother keep blogging, since it serves no other purpose than entertainment for myself. I might as well be writing in a journal (except that I'd have nothing to say, I've tried that before). This third blog of mine lasted much longer than I thought it would, so I'm proud of that.

Seriously... I'm not trying to get comments or begging... just giving you the thoughts in my head.

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009!

2008-12-31T12:26:00.004-05:00

I'm back! Sorry, I took a much needed break after 30 days of non-stop posting (even though they were only songs, it was tiring). I will post a holiday update next week once things wind down, things are still kinda crazy around here. For now I'll fill out this 2008 year in review that I stole from Jenny and Molly!

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Gave birth and other things I'm sure.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any, I never have... but I'm going to start in 2009!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes... myself, my husband's cousin and Heather.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully no, but I'm dreading 2009 because I'm sensing 1 or 2 on the horizon :'(

5. What countries did you visit?
Just the one I live in.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Better health.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
April 5th, by birthday now being wonderfully shared with Molly & Danny!
September 5th, Emma's birth!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Giving birth. (sorry, this will be the answer for a lot.)

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not improving my health, not losing enough baby weight, not producing enough income.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
My Lyme Disease (plus a new Lyme infection... but that seems to be gone now.) Oh... and that "morning sickness" that I had for the majority of my pregnancy... it was awesome :P

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Wii!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Chris' for putting up with my pregnant craziness!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Appalled... a certain nameless "friend".
Depressed, my own behavior at times.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage, Emma, bills.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Hmm... EMMA!!!
And Molly's wedding :D

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Molly & Danny's song.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter
c) richer or poorer? Same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Eve: in-laws.
Day: our house.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
yes, with Emma... and my love for Chris' grows every day.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Too many: LOST, The Office, Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother, Survivor, Top Chef, Project Runway, Grey's Anatomy, The Soup.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate anyone... that's a strong word. However... I do like some people less this year than I did last year.

24. What was the best book you read?
All my pregnancy books.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Greg Laswell.

26. What did you want and get?
A baby :)

27. What did you want and not get?
A lower BMI.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
So many good ones... perhaps Juno!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
27... and I attended Molly's wedding!!!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less financial worries.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Trying to be comfortable while pregnant and melting. Trying to be comfortable while covering excess baby weight.

32. What kept you sane?
Chris, Jill, Molly. Movie theater popcorn and Iced Chai.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
none.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
nothing stands out

35. Who did you miss?
Everyone that I don't get to see on a "regular" basis. Mostly family.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Kathy!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Any difficult pregnancy is worth a baby bundle of joy!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Mahna Mahna, doo dooo do doo do"

Holiday Music: Days Left: 0

2008-12-25T09:00:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! My wish for you all is to have a happy and healthy day filled with lots of love :) Hugs for all!!!

	Whoville Carols - Welcome Christmas

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Im A Jew - South Park

Holiday Music: Days Left: 1

2008-12-24T09:00:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve!
(especially to you Jill, because I know this your favorite day of the year!)

My Christmas Eve traditions:
-We always opened one gift on Christmas Eve, usually the gift from my dad's parents (they were usually knitted slippers.)
- We always have Chinese food (strange I know... don't know how this got started.)
- My dad would read from the bible and my brothers and I would ring bells.
- We'd write notes to Santa and leave out cookies, milk and a carrot (my mom made us do this up until we went to college!) She still has all the notes, some of them are pretty funny. I believe that one year I told Santa that by brothers had been bad and shouldn't get any gifts, haha.

	no artist - Christmas Eve Montage

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	Riley School of Irish Music - Christmas Eve / Christmas Polka

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Holiday Music: Days Left: 2

2008-12-23T09:00:00.004-05:00

Happy Festivus everyone! Who wants to join me in the three tenets of Festivus: The Festivus Pole, The Airing of Grievances and The Feats of Strength?!?

	David Ippolito - It's Festivus Time

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Holiday Music: Days Left: 3

2008-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hanukkah begins today, so here are a bunch of Dreidel songs!

	Chilren';s Village Of Jerusalem - I Have A Little Dreidel

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	Jill Sobule - Jesus Was A Dreidel Spinner

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	- - -

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	voicedude - Dreidel All The Way

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	South Park - Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Holiday Music: Days Left: 4

2008-12-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

I couldn't do this list without including a Barenaked Ladies Christmas song... I love their versions!
There are so many to choose from: perhaps I'll post a bunch ;)

	Barenaked Ladies - Green Christmas

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	Barenaked Ladies - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Do They Know Its Christmas? - Barenaked Ladies

Christmas Pics - Barenaked Ladies

Elfs Lament (With Michael Buble) - Barenaked Ladies

Sleigh Ride - Barenaked Ladies

I Saw Three Ships - Barenaked Ladies

Jingle Bells - Barenaked Ladies

Holiday Music: Days Left: 5

2008-12-20T09:00:00.003-05:00

Has anyone ever been on a real sleigh ride? I have... just once I think, at the Occum Pond Party in Hanover a couple of winters ago.

	Squirrel Nut Zippers - Sleigh Ride

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

ps. Yay for the Squirrel Nut Zippers!

Holiday Music: Days Left: 6

2008-12-19T14:30:00.002-05:00

So... much... left... to... do... before... next... week!!!!!!!!!

Bright side: Chris got home early today due to more snow.

	Dean Martin - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Holiday Music: Days Left: 7

2008-12-18T09:00:00.001-05:00

I probably should have mentioned this story back when Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was the song of the day, but I forgot, shame on me :( Oh well!

So back in elementary school we'd have a Christmas concert in the middle of the day and each grade would have a song that they'd sing together. I don't exactly remember what year it was, maybe kindergarten or first grade, our song was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The teachers painted our noses red and everything. I was pretty excited about, I think mostly because we got toe be fun and paint our noses red. Well, when it came time for our grade to get up and sing I froze up and simply frightened to go up on stage with everyone and sing. I think it was pretty traumatizing for me, because to this day I always think about it this time of year. My mom was off-stage with me and kept bribing me with candy just to go out there, she said I didn't even have to sing, just stand there... it didn't work. I was a super shy child, but I think this incident topped them all. After that I always got up and sang with everyone, I'm not sure what changed... besides the fact that I was ashamed and embarrassed about the Rudolph incident.

Since I'm not gonna post Rudolph as a song again how about... Run, Rudolph, Run:

Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry

Holiday Music: Days Left: 8

2008-12-17T09:49:00.004-05:00

A Charlie Brown Christmas was on last night, yay!!! It's snowing again here, but at least this time it's just snow and not freezing rain and hail, I don't think NH can take it for a while. Many school have actually closed down until January because so many roads are un-travelable (I make up words, sorry).

I finally sent out the last of my holiday cards this morning, I'm ashamed at how slowly they went out this year, sigh. I love sending them, I think they might be one of my favorite parts of the season. I especially love ones that people send me with photos in them, thanks Molly & Jill! This was the first year we sent a picture along with ours, it's not "Christmasy" but it is one of my favorite pictures, and one I think people will love... let me know what you think!

I've also wrapped the majority of the gifts we got. I love wrapping gifts, is that sad? I have one more family gift left to finish and some stocking stuffers to create then wrap and I'll be all done... oh except for the family gifts for the annual Christmas party on my mom's side of the family, geez, I better get moving!

I think this song is pretty fitting for today:

Making Christmas - The Citizens of Halloween

Holiday Music: Days Left: 9

2008-12-16T09:00:00.006-05:00

This past year I was part of a mix cd exchange that my friend Molly organized. My month was December, here is the cd that I sent out to everyone:

December Mix

1. Carol of the Meows - Guster

2. Blue Christmas – Bright Eyes

3. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Death Cab for Cutie

4. Last Christmas – Jimmy Eat World

5. All That I Want – The Weepies

6. What Child Is This – Matt Wertz

7. Lonely Christmas Eve – Ben Folds Five

8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Jack Johnson

9. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Coldplay

10. Donde Esta Santa Claus - Guster

11. Winter Wonderland – Phantom Planet

12. Valley Winter Song – Fountains of Wayne

13. The Christmas Song – Weezer

14. Do They Know It's Christmas – Barenaked Ladies

15. Christmas Day - Dido

16. Frosty - Fiona Apple

17. Green Christmas – Bare Naked Ladies

18. Little Drummer Boy – Greg Laswell

19. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day- Sarah McLaughlin

20. Love Came Down at Christmas – Jars of Clay

21. White Christmas – Michael Buble

22. Peace – Norah Jones

23. I Saw Three Ships - Sting

24. Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Various Artists

I've already posted many of the songs on this cd here on my Holiday Music Countdown, but here's another from one of my new favorite artists, Greg Laswell!

	Greg Laswell - Little Drummer Boy

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Holiday Music: Days Left: 10

2008-12-15T16:48:00.006-05:00

Ten days left until Christmas... ahh!! Chris was at a Model UN conference in Boston the past four days, so I'm exhausted and totally worn out... the ice storm didn't help! We didn't lose power, but most towns around us did, and a tree that was just barely on our neighbors property instead of ours fell on their house, yikes!

Perhaps Irish Christmas music will give me some energy back? I just got the cutest Aran cable knit booties for Emma from Kate, THANK YOU Kate, we love them!!! I had been wishing that I had the foresight to purchase something baby related when I lived in Ireland during college. Thanks again Kate the Great! (I looked for a picture online but couldn't find one, sorry.)

Christmas in Killarney - The Irish Rovers

Holiday Music: Days Left: 11

2008-12-14T09:00:00.005-05:00

Has anyone ever had a roasted chestnut before? I tried one from a street vendor in Italy when Chris and I visited in 2001. They always sounded so good to me, but I took one bite, and had to spit it out... I thought it was horrible! It was really interesting to watch the roasting process though.

Are they any better in Germany Kathy?

	Nat King COle - Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Holiday Music: Days Left: 12

2008-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not Jewish, but I can still love these songs... right?!?

	Barenaked Ladies - Hanukkah Blessings

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	Adam Sandler - The Chanukah Song

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	Adam Sandler - The Chanukah Song Part II

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	Adam Sandler - Hanukkah Song III

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

(sidenote: I have a friend from college who is related to Adam Sandler... does anyone know what happened to Orly?)

Holiday Music: Days Left: 13

2008-12-12T09:00:00.003-05:00

I'm addicted to BabyLegs... thanks Molly! I just think they are the most fun accessory ever. They come in so many fun patterns and the best part is that they fit babies up to adults! Just thought I'd share :)

Holiday song of the day: one of my favorite church-y Christmas songs.

	Bing Crosby - Do You Hear What I Hear?

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Holiday Music: Days Left: 14

2008-12-11T09:00:00.001-05:00

Has anyone ever gone Wassailing or made Wassail? I went to a Wassail festival once in Woodstock, VT. Well, I was actually there working, taking photos for a newspaper, so I wasn't there to purely enjoy the activities, but it was still fun. In fact, the Woodstock Winter Wassail Weekend is this weekend, if you live in the area I suggest checking it out (although it'd be more fun with snow on the ground!)

Here's one of my photos from the Woodstock Wassail Weekend of festival-goers gathered around a Yule fire.

And the Wassail song:

	Traditional - Here We Come A-Wassailing

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Whenever I hear this song I think of this movie clip: (fast-forward to minute 7:00 to see what I mean).

Holiday Music: Days Left: 15

2008-12-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

I still have a headache... and I still love current singers singing Christmas songs :D

Can you believe there are only 15 days left until Christmas?!?! I can't!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Jack Johnson

Holiday Music: Days Left: 16

2008-12-09T09:00:00.001-05:00

I've had a major headache for three days now... so I don't have much to say, except that I love the DCFC version of Baby Please Come Home!

Baby Please Come Home - Death Cab for Cutie

Holiday Music: Days Left: 17

2008-12-08T17:32:00.003-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL!!!!

I don't know what your favorite Christmas song is Jill, but I know you love Christmas music and that you are going to decorate your 13 ft tree tonight, so hopefully this will make you cheery :)

Carol Of The Meows (Non-Album Track) - Guster

Holiday Music: Days Left: 18

2008-12-07T09:00:00.005-05:00

Yay for decorating for Christmas!! This weekend Chris and I cut down cut down our Christmas Tree (a must), decorated it and the house. When I was growing up we would always cut down our tree the day after Thanksgiving. Now that I'm married with children of my own, we cut it down as close to that as possible.

When I was young, my dad would then set up the tree in the stand, turning and turning until my mom said it was in the right spot (Chris & I do this too, hehe, usually takes several adjustments, until I realize it will never be perfect.) Then we let it sit overnight. Shortly thereafter, my dad puts on the lights (my job now) and my mom & I wade through boxes & boxes of decorations. We usually we all helped decorate the tree (my mom and I did the rest of the house, my favorite parts were setting up the nativity, I got very elaborate with boxes and tablecloths making hills and such, and also hanging garland and the stockings on the banister.) As we got older my brothers would help decorate the tree less and less, until we had to practically beg them to just help put on the tinsel (which I would end up redoing anyway do to their 'lumping' issues). Then we rotated in who got to put the star on the tree.

Chris & I put up our tree and decorate it and the house usually in one day. Our tradition is to turn on the Christmas music, make fresh hot mulled cider and decorate together... I love it! We have an angel that we put on top that was Chris' grandmother's, which our children will get to put on someday too. Then the next day I make Christmas swags from branches Chris trimmed off the tree instead of purchasing a wreath. We also carry on the tradition that both of families shared of getting each other one ornament each year, I can't wait to find the perfect one for Emma this year!

We have many other traditions too (advent calender, cookie baking day etc.) What are your holiday traditions?

	Charlie Brown Christmas - O Christmas Tree

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Can you tell that most of my favorite holiday songs are from movies? hehe

Best children's Christmas movie snippet:

Holiday Music: Days Left: 19

2008-12-06T09:46:00.002-05:00

Here's what I'm doing today... hooray!!! One year my family had 20 ft tree, no joke!
(photos to come maybe?!)

Trim Up The Tree - The Whoville Chorus

Holiday Music: Days Left: 20

2008-12-05T09:29:00.005-05:00

Hmm, did anyone else find themselves wishing that yesterday was Thanksgiving again? Can't say that I've ever done that before! That reminds about this Christmas eating song...

Has anyone ever heard this song before?

	Swedish Chef - Christmas Smorgasbord

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Who is your favorite Muppet?

Holiday Music: Days Left: 21

2008-12-04T10:28:00.005-05:00

First: Happy Birthday hugs to Abby!!!

A note on yesterday's song. That seriously is one of my top 5 favorite Christmas songs, is that sad. My tradition is to play the song while I'm putting the lights on our Christmas tree. My favorite character is #2, the guy putting up the lights, he has by far the best lines, my favorite line from the song, "Fine, you're so smart, you rig up the lights!!!" It's funny to me for a few reasons, which probably won't come across as humorous in written word, oh well.

Growing up, my dad was always the one who put the lights on the tree. It was a very precise operation and there were strict rules to be followed. I used to find it frustrating back then... but now I totally get it. The first year we lived together Chris put the lights on our tree... and I didn't want to be mean, but he could tell from the look on my face that his job was just not acceptable. Yes... I was that horrible person, I took them off, re-did them, and have had the job of putting the lights on ever since. I'm one of those people that likes to have lights even spaced around the tree, and most importantly on the inside as full as on the outside, yes, this makes for an insanely bright tree, sometimes I overdo it (10 strands to a 5ft tree). But he's really sweet about it, and I think he actually appreciates the fact that I like to put them on and would rather not doing it himself. He always lets me know how much enjoys my over-lit creation (even if he doesn't like it) and he always puts up with my frustrations and grumbling while I put them on. In the end, I guess the apple didn't fall too far from the tree!

Did anyone else watch Rudolph last night?

Were A Couple Of Misfits - Burl Ives