When life gives you rainy days...

...make cookie dough to share!



We've had a run of yucky rainy days here in Tennessee and the mood in the house was starting to reflect it like a mirror. I had to act quickly, but what to do?
I grabbed the ingredients and set to work. It had to be dairy free to suit Alden, and egg free so we weren't eating salmonella. After a few minutes, viola! We were in cookie dough heaven, moods set free. The boys loved every minute of their utensil-licking time together.




Moral of the story? The easiest way to lighten the hard times is with simple pleasures :)

Dear Stephanie Meyer

I'm going to start this by saying this: Sometimes I think I don't like you very much. Yeah, that's right. Let me tell you why:
I started reading Anne Rice years and years ago (it's not important to give away my age!) and became obsessed. I am an Aries, afterall, and I live my life in my head - my own personal non-reality. Strange, I know, but the truth. Maybe it's a defense I've built up. Maybe it's just me. Anyhow, I grew out of it. I put Lestat somewhere deep in my brain where he exsists still (sometimes), but I stopped obsessing. I married my love, have my own kids, and started living reality.
Well, ok, so I still don't live in reality - more on that later.
So there was an epidemic. A strong surge I felt coming at me from all sides. Everyone was talking about Twilight and how I HAD to read it. I put it off knowing I haven't gotten through a book in years, even my own (will get to that with the non-reality part later).
I saw it at WalMart of all places. My boys were with me, I was having a poo-poo of a day and thought, heh - why not. Maybe I can get away for a bit in my head. It was like a shiny beacon. "Read me, you know you want to".....
Two days.
Two days the book was finished.
So why does that make me not like you?
1. I feel I am cheating on Lestat, who will forever be my vampire love
2. I did nothing for two days except drag around a tattered book. I ignored everyone and didn't even notice that I forgot to sleep.
3. I am way too old for that!!! It's about high-schoolers. Really.
4. I found myself at WalMart at 7pm racing around trying to find the next book. Desperately. More desparate than I like to admit. When I didn't find it at first, I was so sad. Over a book!!!
5. I am now scared to start the 4th book because I know it's the end.

You. You did this to me!

But there is another reason............
Did you know I've been writing a book, too? I mentioned that I live in my own reality....and to get it all out, I started writing down everything - dreams, thoughts, song lyrics that inspired me. And here's the problem. I'm slow. And the storylines are kinda close. Ah, well. It was for me anyway, right?

So there it is, Ms. Meyer. I hope you're happy with yourself.

But then again, you've given us Edward, right? :)

Thanksgiving

It's so odd how everything changes. And how quickly time passes.
I remember Thanksgiving meaning something entirely different growing up. It was a time to either travel long distances to meet up with relatives we see every year, or get the house all nice and clean-looking for them to arrive. We'd eat a ton of food, there would be talk of who's been doing what, what grade are you in?, oooo - do you have a boyfriend?, watch a game or two, and then listen to all the men snore. Happy Thanksgiving!
Then around college time, I was thankful to be able to go home to get a load of wonderfully home-cooked food (mostly). By then it was low stress, not many family members anymore. Why? I'm not so sure. Maybe we just thought it was more realxing that way.
And here I am now with TWO kids.... And what does Thanksgiving mean to me? Well, honestly, trying to fix a bunch of food that won't get eaten while fighting the kiddos to actually eat something other than cranberry sauce and stuffing. Tears, screaming (normal dinner routine). Lots of leftovers they won't eat. Bathtime, bedtime. The end.
But when it was all over, I got to thinking about things more deeply. Times are getting harder and I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to have that kind of fight with their kids. To have so much food you know you're gonna be eating on it for weeks. And suddenly I was filled with so much love. Love and luck. I have a beautiful (semi-healthy) family, and we don't want for anything. How much more can I ask for?
So Happy Thanksgiving. Remember the kids will cry, there will be tears, but there will always be someone who would trade places with you in a heartbeat.

Newness, Sewing, and Time

So here it is, all new and shiny - my new blog. Did I hear you asking why? Well, because sometimes I just have to type and why not share.
It's a cold night up here in the sewing/office and I know it's just going to get colder. I'm not such a fan of cold. Or hot for that matter. But then again sometimes I live in my own utopia inside my head where it's 70 all year. Yeah.
I want to sew. Alot. But up here in the cave I can barely see anything. I hunch over to see where the needle's meeting the fabric and my back starts protesting. So I'm done for the night after finishing up two cloth diapers.
And then there's this problem I often run in to - time. Wouldn't it be nice if I didn't have to sleep but everyone else did.... I could clean and sew and bake lovely things everytime the kids went to sleep. Everyone would oooh and aaaah and ask, "Where do you find the time?" And I'll just laugh and say, "It's so easy, anyone can do it" and secretly think, "ha, ha, you'll never live up to me!!"....

Starting to wonder if you should've maybe NOT have read this thing because you've discovered I'm a loonie-bird? Or maybe that you're just like me? Hm.

So I met the lovely Anna Maria Horner on Saturday. Actually there were several events on that day that have recently inspired me to get off my tush (doesn't that make it sound so much smaller?) and get to work. I want to splash her colors all over my sewing room and let them inspire me on a daily basis....I want to be fabulous and get all the ideas in my head out onto my "canvas"...... I plan on visiting her site on a daily basis to keep up the inspiration.

In the meantime, here's the inspiration out the front door--



Come back anytime. There's enough crazy to go around :)