Sunday, June 22, 2008

The List

#1 I've made 7 postcards so far! WOO!


#2 I wrote a letter to my sister and my sister-in-law.


#9 I'm thinking of abandoning this one. Last weekend 2 of my friends came into town for a bachelorette party and the party basically started Thursday night and ended Sunday morning. I had made arrangements for Jimmy to have the kids most of the time so it was a pretty carefree weekend. It was definitely fun. I had a really great time, dressed a little trampy, drank way too much, etc, etc. All the things we used to do. But it just wasn't the same. I missed my kids, my head hurt, I accomplished absolutely nothing all weekend. I just felt really empty when I woke up on Sunday afternoon. The house was quiet and I just wandered around aimlessly until my kids came home. So strange. So maybe it's true that you can never go back.

#11 Going to Pocatello for a week in August!

#14 Wrote a letter to my sister.

#21 Going camping next weekend for my "get out of the city limits".

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

What do you want to be when you grow up?


If time, money and education were no object. If you could just *poof* one day be a....what would you be?


I would be a lavender farmer...
Strange? Yes, I know.
I visited a lavendar farm in Sequim, WA (sounds like squim) about 8 years ago and totally fell in love. I'm still in love with it and if money were not an issue, it's exactly what I'd do.
How about you?

Monday, June 16, 2008

Happy Father's Day

I had all these plans for writing super nice things about my dad and my kids' dad but I am really discombobulated (love that word) today.
I went out on Thursday night, then again on Saturday...my friend Jen is in town from SLC for her bridal shower and bachelorette party...I accomplished nothing but a wicked hangover all weekend. I am seriously too old for this crap.
So anyway...Happy Father's Day (yesterday) to all the dads in my life. I do feel so lucky to have a terrific dad to model my expectations after and I am really, really lucky that my girls have a fantastic dad too.
Love you Dad...Love you Jimmy...neither of them read my blog..someone pass the message along, K?

Thursday, June 12, 2008

What's that? What do we do with all of our television-free time? Well here, let me tell you.

The TV left us some new art supplies. Some markers, colored pencils, oil pastels and watercolors for each of the kids. Having your own set is very important in our house. We all use our art supplies differently and some of us (Olivia and I) get really annoyed with dull, broken crayons and messy watercolors. Ahem. And we each got a new sketchbook. We have all been using them nearly every night and sometimes a couple times a day. Everyone's looks different. Mine is a mix of writing (mostly) + project ideas + sketches + things glued in for inspiration. Olivia's is usually a very complicated, mixed media drawing with a detailed story behind it. Jamie is all about the process. She writes with a pencil just so she can erase it and blow away the eraser crumbs. She mixes markers with oil pastels with watercolors just to see what they'll do and if mom will get annoyed that she's "ruining" them. (Which I haven't so far. I've been very good about letting everyone work in their sketchbooks in their own way.) Jimmy's is Sharpie doodling. He is a little resistant to my proposal that he can do whatever he wants in his sketchbook..even write about things he needs to do at work and that the important part is that we are all doing it together. I'm pretty sure he thinks I totally suck and that getting rid of the TV was the worst idea ever.

Although...here is the good that came of it..well, a lot of good has come of it but...Jimmy took his drums over to his parents house about the time Jamie was born because we didn't have the space for them. He's been meaning to pack them back home because he has the space for them in the garage now but he just hasn't gotten around to it. On Tuesday night he finally went over and brought them all home. Yesterday he took the kids to the store and got them kid-sized drumsticks. Last night they all played together for a while then Jimmy played on his own while the girls danced around. It was so cool for him to be able to share with them, something he was so passionate about. Olivia woke up this morning and went right out there to drum before she even got dressed. Had we had the distraction of the TV she would have never done it.

We've also done a little embroidery. The kids are using burlap and tapestry needles. Jamie is, once again, all about the process. She loves switching colors and putting the needle in and out. Each time she flips it over and contemplates the next poke. It's so adorable. Olivia wants to make "something". She started on a cat that I just hand drew on her burlap for her. She told me that when she gets better she wants to embroider a bike for Uncle Warney. So sweet.

It's been a really great experience so far. I'm happy that I took the leap and just did it. I've been wanting to for a long time

Oh yeah..I was pushed over the edge by this website and her book

Edited: My gosh someone call the grammar police on me. Apparently I need to practice writing a little more. Sheesh.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I DID IT!! I DID IT!!!

I made my first two postcards for the swap.
Check #1 off the list...make a collage. Made 2!
I actually danced a little jig when I finished the first one. Who knew paper and glue could make a girl so happy?
Well, I actually knew paper and glue made me really happy...but it hasn't for almost 2 years now. I just had to find a new way to put it all together and I knew that collage was it. All I needed to do was take that first plunge and I did it!!
(I know that some people reading this will totally get it and some of you will wonder if I used a little too much glue...know what I mean?)
Oh paper...I missed you so. I promise to never tangle our love up in a crappy business deal, ever, ever again.

More on the postcards later. It's going to be a series...something about the colors and simple pleasures of summer.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Time to revisit the list

1. Make a collage
* I joined a post card swap here and I am going to make 10 mini summer-themed collages. Nothing like a deadline! They have to be mailed out by June 21st.

2. Write letters
* This one is taunting me. I want to write them but who am I going to write them to? Can I modify it to "send mail"?

3. Park my car once a week. Take public transportation or ride my bike to work.
*All I have to say to this is...UGH! I suck.

4. Surprise someone with exactly what they want.
*Still looking for the perfect opportunity.

5. Make out at the drive in movie.
*Woo! It's drive in season!

6. Watch 5 classic movies.
*I've watched A Streetcar Named Desire and Breakfast At Tiffany's. This one will have to be put on hold while my TV is at the beach.

7. Switch to re-usable bags for grocery buying.
Done deal. I love my bags so much I've been using them for everything, not just groceries.

8. Take Olivia skiing.
*Waiting for winter. This one actually serves two purposes. I really need to get back on skis. It's been over 5 years and I think that the longer I prolong it, the harder it will get.

9. Go on a weekend trip with my best friend...like we used to.
This one is going to take a commitment to just make it happen. On this one...It's not necessarily a trip that I want to accomplish it's more about capturing that feeling for a little bit. Carefree, 21, totally penniless. I might leave out the promiscuous part this time. (Plug your ears mom)

10. Go on a weekend trip with just my kids and I.
*I had a trip planned for this weekend but it didn't work out. I should just go tomorrow.

11. Go on a weekend trip alone.
*No plans yet.

12. Remember to floss every day.
*Rockin' on this one! It's one of those things that takes just a minute but I never remember!

13. Call my oldest brother.
* Workin' up the nerve

14. Keep in better touch with my sister.
*AHA! I can write letters to my sister!

15. Unsubscribe to all that crap that floods my inbox.
*Done deal. It's so nice to get email that I actually want to read.

16. Take my kids rollerskating with my dad.
Rollerdrome, here we come. I just need to make this happen.

17. Go paperless as much as possible at home and work.
*I have one thing to say about this. Intermountain Gas totally sucks.

18. Go without eating at a restaurant or fast food for a month.
*I did this April 22-May 22. I was not totally faithful to it so I'd like to try again but I did cut down a lot and have carried the habit over into the next month.

19. Get a front porch. However it has to happen.
Big big sigh

20. Spend at least 4 nights of this summer with my backpack only.
I have a trip planned for a weekend in July with kids. The director at the kids school recommended 4th of July creek in the White Clouds as a great family trail. I'm trying to plan a 4 day trip to Seven Devils in August. It may end up being a 2 day trip elsewhere.

21. Get out of the city limits once a month all year.
*I'm doing pretty well on this one. I went to Joe and Kels' in April(?), Miracle Hot Springs In May, and I'm going camping in June, backpacking and camping in July and the same in August.

22. Eat more green stuff. Encourage my family to.
*Slacking

23. Write in a journal 2 times a week.
*I'll do a longer post about our new sketchbooks that the TV left us. But I classifying mine as a journal and I've written/sketched 4 times in the last week.

24. Don't flinch.
*I never did explain this one. (Start laughing now...) Jimmy got me hooked on shooting shit in the desert (I like to say it that way. It makes it sound as trashy as it is) And I flinch every time I shoot certain guns (ok, all but one) So I end up shooting seriously lower than I aimed. Jimmy says it's just a matter of practice. I'm working on it.

25. Say what I want.
*Everyday battle. I guess the first step to saying what you want is knowing what you want.

26. Read more non-fiction.
*No progress.

27. Figure out that whole map and compass crap.
*A few years ago I went on a backpacking trip and we decided to go a different route to a lake rather than go on the trail. My friend Justin had it all figured out and knew that other people had gone this same way before even though it wasn't really a trail. He showed me the way we were going on the topo map but it made no sense to me so I decided to just trust him. We were a little way into it and all was well until a certain point where Justin wasn't 100% sure which way to go. He figured it out but still didn't seem very confident to me and I started to panic. I ended up going back to the camp and taking the trail the next day while they went on ahead on the non-trail. They were at the lake within 20 minutes of me leaving them. I took the OH MY GOD GRUELING 9 mile trail the next day and didn't arrive until late afternoon. It totally sucked. Had I been able to read the map I would have had a little more confidence and went with them or known whether they knew WTF they were talking about. I don't want to be in that situation again. Anyone wanna teach me how to read a topography map?

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Hello Summer! Goodbye Television!

We came home on Monday night and in the place that the television used to sit was a letter!

To: My Family
From: Your TV

I'm sorry to leave you so suddenly but I was getting really tired. I went to the beach for the summer but I left you with some new games and art supplies. I also left a list of things that you could do while I'm gone. It's just a start so use your imaginations to think of some more things!

Etc, etc...
It was a very nice letter from our television.