Blow me over

and the power lines too! The above pictures may seem quaint, even romantic maybe, but not at 7am on a Wednesday morning when I am trying to get one little boy off to preschool, myself dressed and all four of us fed. Top photo is my shower lighting...bottom photo is breakfast. And not that you would ever need to convince me to have a gas stove (can't cook on anything but), but a power outage is a really good time to have gas. I even made toast - stove top style :-) I swear our house is jinxed. Our power has probably gone out 5 times in the last 10 years. And it never effects our neighbors, just us??!! John says we should probably just put PP&L on our cell phone speed dial. And of course it happens in JANUARY in the freezing cold...surely not August when who cares if you have no electricity; it's light out till 9, everything is cooked on the grill anyway and a cold shower is actually welcome. Sigh. I kept telling myself that someday, when we build our new home, it is in a community with underground power lines and this will never happen to me again...I suppose good things come to those who have patience.

Family time

I recently went looking for containers, boxes and organizational materials for my desk at home. I did not have much luck, but I did come across these cool tea tins. I loved the look, loved that they had tea in them, and loved the "recycle" aspect of them. They now hold pens, markers, scissors, knifes and other desk stuff. And they were probably 1/4 the cost of real desk stuff. On a different note... The four of us went out to dinner tonight and it was SO nice. We went to Olive Garden - not for the food, but for the dinner together. We had a gift certificate so it was a good excuse. I must say, it was just delightful. It was nice to have someone else cook, it was nice to sit and talk with John. The boys were so good, they colored and we actually talked about our day. For some reason, when we are at home, there is always a distraction, I am always getting someone a drink, telling someone to get back in their seat, John and I are screaming over children, the phone is ringing...you get the picture. Well, it was just so nice to sit together, eat, talk and BE a family. Then it was nice to walk out and not have to do the dishes! Remind me to do that more often, okay?

Heaven

Because I have had a few inquiries... They are amazing. They are like butter. They are like sleeping on puff clouds. We LOVE them. They are not too hot (for us), in fact we even added our down comforter back for more warmth. We (all four of us) could not be happier. And for those of you wondering what in the world I am talking about... http://www.thecompanystore.com/parent/Sheets+Solid/3001/EY29X_2/ Microfiber Fleece Sheets...who invents this stuff??

This and that

It took 9 1/2 hours and there is still a long way to go, but you can get an idea. We didn't have time to hang all the pictures (obviously), but all the big pieces are moved. Day 1 went pretty smooth considering. The computers worked, the phones worked, and by 11am we even had heat! I spent most of the day a bit out of sorts ~ it's hard for me to just plop down and restart. It doesn't quite feel like home (office) yet. Mostly that will just take time. The top photo is the reception area, the bottom photo is the view from my desk looking out. The worst is over, now it's just a matter of moving things here and moving them there until they are just right.

On a slightly different note, is January really almost over? When did that happen? My mom and dad are soon off to Roatan ~ mom for 1 month, dad for 2. This makes February (and March) tough months...more feeling out of sorts. I have to admit though, having my own family (or small children I should say), helps a lot. I used to just hate it when my parents left, I would feel really alone, but the boys help ease that...

Another thing to look forward to in February ~ I promised myself that because we are not going to head to St. Croix or Roatan this winter, I am going to take a few days off to scrap. I need to re energize, get creative and brush off some winter yuk. And now that I have my scanner, I can even scan some of my creations and share them with you!

Oh, and whoopie, my brother comes home any day now...that too will help the winter blues. Looking forward to hanging with him...having him show me how to use my new iPod...and sharing our preliminary house plans with him.

Heading off to beddy now...goodnight all :)

Color

Remember my office dilema? Trying to pick colors to match the horrid carpet? Well I finally decided on the three above, but when they went up on the wall I was worried...somehow it still seemed remnicent of an emergency room instead of the carribean water/sand theme I was shooting for. But low and behold, the dark walnut trim started going up today along with the french doors and the new lighting and things are MUCH better. And then I came home and found the new House Beautiful in my mailbox... Am I right on or what? Feeling even more relief...

Special Day

First - happy birthday to my baby, my sunshine.

Second - this year Dunc shares his day with another very special man...

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This Momma rocks!

When I went to tuck Duncan in last night, I noticed something peaking out of the top of the covers... Can you guess what I found underneath? 2 purple bats, 2 Ned's and a Trevor. I did it...whew. I don't know who was happier, him or me ~ just made me feel awesome to make him so happy.

**Yes, I know they are not really purple bats, but they are just what he wanted...I guess you just have to live with him to understand ;-)

Sunny

This amazing little boy turns three on Monday and tomorrow is his big birthday party. This boy has brought me so much joy, so many smiles and yes, taught me so much patience. Most of you know, I call him Sunshine (or Sunny for short) ~ he got his nickname when he was a baby because he was such an easy baby and just smiled all the time. I would go to get him out of his crib and he would just be standing there smiling from ear to ear...THAT was sunshine in this momma's world. So you can imagine I want to give him a perfect 3rd birthday. His list is not long...just, odd. He wants a yellow baseball cake with strawberries on top - but NOT vanilla and NOT chocolate, on this he is very specific. When I ask him what kind of cake, he just keeps saying "yellow" (well, "lello"). Hhhmmm...okay? Then when asked what he wanted for a present, he simply said, "two Ned's and two purple bat's". The Ned's were not so hard ~ Ned is a character from Thomas the Train. The purple bats on the other hand have been rather difficult. He keeps saying he wants a purple bat like the Red Sox's one at Cooper's field?? Huu? He tries and tries to explain what he is talking about, we have brought Cooper in to translate, but still we have no clue what he is talking about. I have now purchased three bats, hoping that maybe just maybe I will come close to whatever this amazing 3 year old dreams of getting on his big day... Wish me luck.

Sometimes

you just need to be a shark.

As you can see we had to go up to the attic to retrieve the shark costume. It's interesting to see Cooper's winter fascination this year. As you all know, Spring, Summer and Fall are 100% baseball, but there is that one season that it just not conducive to baseball when you live in PA - Winter. Last year Cooper's fascination was Thomas the Train. This year...sharks. Sharks, sea animals, whales and more sharks. We just told him that in the Spring we (along with Grammy K and Pop Pop) are taking him and Duncan to the Baltimore Aquarium. He is SO excited. He keeps asking me when Spring is going to be here. The excitement prompted the need for the costume. I love it - he knows more about sharks than I do!

Have I taught you nothing?

So I was emailing with my dear friend Bryn today - a fun back and forth with laughs and giggles. Without filling you in on the full context of the days worth of emails between the two of us, I will just say that my final email said "have I taught you nothing?" And this was her response... 1) Buy generic drugs 2) I should floss more often than do 3) Make your bed every day (groan) 4) When cleaning make your bed first, then pile everything on top of it. Then you will have to put everything away before you can crawl into bed. And when you reach the end of your pile you are rewarded with a beautifully made bed. 5) 5 fruits/vegetables a day is not a target, it is a starting point 6) You can compensate for really hideous carpeting with just the right paint and accessories 7) Cheese sauce doesn’t have to come from a jar 8) If you are demented enough, you can teach your kids that making their beds is a treat & they will race to do it each night. 9) Avoid “Sun-in” hair-lightener unless you want orange hair 10) OB tampons rule over every other brand 11) Birthday “pie” is even better than “cake” 12) You can open a bottle of wine with a drill 13) Vacuum cleaners (some models) have bags that have to be removed and replaced. Periodically. Who knew? 14) People can ‘hear’ you smile over the phone 15) And certainly not least of all, you taught me to drive stick. Now, it was on the flux and I ruined the transmission, but I learned. Sorta Gotta love girlfriends - love you dear!

Color

1. Channel to Paradise, 2. 7th Course: Tasting of Ice Creams, 3. silk in motion: teal, 4. Vanilla Cream Cakes with Pear, 5. mmmm...coffee ice cream!!, 6. teal grape tea..., 7. Peeling Teal: Closeup, 8. off-white, 9. 3rd interpretation of Brown and Turquoise

This morning John had to run phone/computer lines in my new office space - thank goodness he had the help of my mastermind IT guy Hep and our dear friend Richard. The space should be ready in about 2 to 3 weeks, then we have an end of the month move to look forward to. And being the girl that I am...my biggest worry right now is...well, color. Hey, I probably spend more time there than I do home!! My biggest obstacle is carpet that is not being replaced and it's ugly to stay the least...so, I'm trying to "work with what I have". The carpet is a greeny teal and strange brown, gold, orange taupish. John has agreed to stain all my new wood trim dark walnut...and the above mosaic is me just trying to come up with some colors that work. I'm liking the coffee ice cream above. Dark teal, coffee, and cream... What do ya think?

Stay inside weather

When it's cold outside (currently 21º) curling up with a new video game is a pretty nice idea. This is Cooper's new Leapster game...which is actually educational. For now he has no idea what xbox is and I'll enjoy that for as long as possible.

Off to Aunt Barbie's tonight for dinner and flu shots~gotta love that "one stop shop".

If you're local ~ stay warm, cuddle the one you love or your heating blanket...

Happy New Year

Author Unknown : This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good.

Simpleness

1. Untitled, 2. The best wishes in 2008 for you !, 3. Christmas Love, 4. cranberry sauce, 5. Who needs orange?, 6. plate wall

Things I'm finding simple and pretty this morning...

Can't believe it is almost 2008. I managed to get our tree (and all the holiday stuff) down yesterday. John still needs to tackle the outside; but inside things are feeling much more manageable. I love January. I am not much of a New Years resolution kind of girl, but I do set goals and plan for the year. I usually try and set a budget and have financial goals for the year. Plus I think about what I want to get accomplished ~ this includes in my home, hobbies, maybe books I want to read, vacations or places I want go with family. Sometimes I write these down, sometimes they are just a constant running dialog in my head. I'm mulling all of this over in my head right now...as soon as they are a bit more clear, I promise to share.

Looking forward to snow this afternoon and evening...so very...January.