Give away heads up!

Its funny how my blog focus shifts as my hobbies change. Well, maybe not funny but interesting to me. Anyhoo, I've become a huuuge fan of everything photography lately and I wanted to pass along this give away. Her shots are so lucious and ethreal. It definetly inspires me to explore my home more and play with light.

http://paisleepress.blogspot.com/2010/10/photographer-crush-tracy-heyman.html


Go forth and be inspired!!! Pretty up your nest with her prints

my homies

I apologise for the 90's nostalgia with the title but Rob's been playing a lot of Sir Mixalot and Beastie Boys lately. We went to the pumpkin train today at the Railroad museum. No, it was not a train made out of gigantic pumpkins unfortunately. That was the totally awesome idea of one of the guys at church. We took B to it last year and I remember thinking that she was just the tiniest little shrimp back then.

The teeny little hand holding onto Rob's hand makes my heart ache just a wee bit. This little one that stole my heart with such ease just like her daddy did.

She definitely got more out of it this year. But with her complete lack of fear and lightening speed, we spent the better part of the morning dashing to grab her from ladders and steep steps. Case in point. Here is Bridget with her friend Lisa. There was no stopping Bridge at all. I will admit, next time she will either be in the ergo or on the puppy harness thing.

You may say "Where is her mother at this point?" Yeah, I'm totally guilty of taking pictures of my daughter trying to jump from a train instead of saving her. Ironically, the train they were on was the Safety First train.

And as I was laughing at the picture this evening, I was overcome with how thankful I am for the friends who don't have kids that stuck with us and are so patient and stay despite the random screaming fit & who don't roll their eyes when you tell yet another Bridget story. To our friends who choose to carry on conversations with my wacky little child and allow her to lead you in circles around the house while she looks for a cat. Thank you for the nights of babysitting on short notice and not minding the fact that we never stock the fridge with frozen pizzas, chips, or anything cool(except for the occasional six pack.) Couldn't do it without ya. So today, I'd like specifically to thank Lisa and Seth for coming out to the pumpkin patch(even though the ticket taker thought you were a little creepy for coming to a children's event without your own child) and helping us corral B.

so long, its been good to know ya.....

I don't know what pushed me to do it... but I quit sugar. My blessed beloved sugar. I love ice cream.... cookies.... milk chocolate.... Over the years, I've tried to be more conscious of the kind of sugar I took in. But those bursts of awareness usually fizzled out after a few days when I forgot to keep checking labels or was too lazy to make things from scratch. Or the friendlier sugars like agave nectar created a slippery slope back down to where I started. Then I would realize that I had failed again and that would trigger a phase of "i just don't care cuz i can't do it." That lovely cycle of what I want my life to be like but then getting hung up on the snags along the way until I finally return to my old ways. Like they say, if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. And in my case, its a body that keeps me from being the down and in the dirt kinda mom I want to be, and the smokin' hot mama that makes other guys jealous of my husband. Last week, a thought finally sank in, I never fully commit to kicking the sugar habit because unconsciously it scares the crap out of me. Which is completely INSANE!!!

I'm a girl that's faced some pretty gnarly things in my life. Most people know that there was a period in my life where I really enjoyed cigarettes. But I knew it was possible to stop, and so I quit. Before that, I had a lovely funky little life in Seattle where I really wasn't at a loss for anything I wanted.... except for this lovely funky man who happened to live in the Midwest. I knew he was what I wanted, and so I moved. Both of these were huge scary and difficult changes in my life, and yet I did it to be the kind of person I dreamed to be. I could not believe that the thought of quiting sugar gave me more anxiety than quiting cigarettes. It really sunk in that sugar was just as much of a drug.... that it triggered things in my body that are slowly trying to kill me and to take me further from the life that I dreamt of living. Now, I know that some of the things I ingest still have some form of sugar in them.... bread, fruit, etc... but I just want to focus on this one simple step. I think that my past attempts fail when I let the plan get ahead of itself. I'm still eating cheese... I still enjoy some french fries and bacon. And once in a great while, a scoop of ice cream or a piece of birthday cake is allowed if I can remind myself that I will have to wrestle those cravings again like an alcoholic after a fall from the wagon. My hope is, making a sugar free life the norm, then I can add other changes as I go along and see the positive changes along the way. I should note, that the sprinkled cone in the pictures is really an apple muffin cone I bought at the dog bakery booth at the farmers market. Bridget's begging for it looked like how I used to feel when I'd see a pan of brownies. I need to remember that I didn't spend my whole life dreaming of polishing off that carton of Ben and Jerrys.... I spent my whole life dreaming of a healthy body that could hike at the same speed as my friends and a body that stopped guys in their tracks with how it looks in a pair of jeans... jeans I could buy in a store other than Lane Bryant ;) So, sugar, my sweet old pal, its been fun. But we're really not good for eachother. Its not your fault.... well, yeah, its sort of your fault. But I can't change you.... and I can't change myself with you. So, its time for us to see other people.

the summer that barely was....

How is it August? How is it that I didn't post at all the whole summer? I shall lay the blame on making the most of every moment when the truth is, I had a good amount of blissfull down time along with bursts of wild action. B has proven to be an amazing road tripper at this stage of the game. She made the drive to Massechuesette and back and her very first camping festival like a seasoned veteran. This season has also brought us to the point where we set the "date" for our westward move. My dad's 70th bday and realizing that at some point, B will enter school have prompted us to get that dusty "to do" list out and crossing off projects. Car loads of boxes have already been driven to the thrift store. I am embarressed by the shear volume of crap we possess. Maybe it says something about how well I take care of stuff cuz I have loads of clothes I've owned for 10 years that are still totally wearable, but seriously, why do I want to keep it? On any given day, you will probably see a glop of drywall compound in my hair or paint under my fingernails. The idea of sellling the house freaks me out to no end. Its not the fear of leaving this home that we love.... its the dread of housing market crashes, realtors, and making that basement suitable for people to enter it. But I over power that dread with dreams of a barn home near the beaches of Washington..... taking B to my parents' house to play in the pasture..... watching my brother help Rob shop for just the right starter boat.... and raising B in a community of friends with kids the same age. I try to reign it in sometimes because realizing how far away our move date is sometimes brings down that curtain of blue around my heart. I have no doubt that when that day comes, I will be able to look at this post and laugh at myself since time flies way too fast now a days. So, to make up for the lack of summer posts... here are some of the highlights.

~girls and skirts

Its funny how you can dream and hope for something for so many years.... and then not even realize that dream came true when it is right in front of you. I have been sewing clothes for little ones for as long as I can remember. When I was living in Seattle and selling my patchwork goodies, I would try to imagine what my future child would look like and if they would love to play in patchy skirts and pants as much as I hoped. I even held onto a couple pieces of work over the years as I loved it so much I had to see my own child in it. So color me surprised when I started crying after I slipped a little patchwork skirt over B's bare bum(her pink bum wanted air but I wanted her decent enough to play on the front porch in front of the neighbors). There before me was my daughter running and playing in this sweet little hippie skirt. It took all of 10 minutes to make. But it fulfilled about 10 years of day dreams and hopes. When I went to share that with Rob, I was caught off guard by the tears that started flowing again. So while I'm still on this crest of creativity, I'm jumping on the band wagon of bloggers who are working on making something new everyday http://www.elsiemarley.com/kids-clothes-week-challenge-buttons-rules-and-players.html
I've also been pulling out old unfinished goodies to complete too. One of the things I detest in life is hemming things. I don't know why, but when I get to the end of a project, the last thing I want to do is hem it up. Which results in lots of things left on the "almost done" hanger and never touched again. So this weekend I am digging through the boxes, tubs, and closets for long forgotten goodies. The above skirt was day 1. The skirt below was day 2.

Rhubarb comin' out the ears

I love rhubarb. Lovvvvvves it. But seriously, the plant in my yard is just plain out of control. I spend a good portion of my summer wrestling prehistoric looking stalks out of it as it takes over my lawn. So, this is the summer of rhubarb recipes. First attempt was rhubarb sorbet. My first icecream maker adventure was a bit too rich, chocolate mint chip. The heavy cream was just overwhelming. So I was excited to try a fat free recipe. I would have used all agave nectar but lord almighty, that stuff isn't cheap and I prefer to use it for my daily coffee and tea and cereal so it lasts longer. Instead, I used up the last of last summer's lavender sugar and then the rest was raw sugar.
So first I chopped the monster stalks up in one inch sections. The recipe called for 1 lb. Well I'd chopped a lil more than a lb so we went with that. Next, tossed all that in a sauce pan with 1 tsp of sugar and 2 tsp of water. Turned the heat up to medium and put a lid on it. While this was stewing, I measured up the sugar for the simple syrup. Like I said before, I used a combo of lavender sugar I made last summer and some raw sugar. Next time I would go for more Lavender.... probably just toss some blossoms in with the rhubarb while it simmers away.
Next, the rhubarb is all nice and mushy and bubbly. Turn off the heat and pour it into the food processer. Blend until smooth... Now, take the 1 cup of sugar you measured and dissolve this into 2 cups of hot water. The recipe said to simmer on the stove but I think nuking the water and adding the sugar after was just fine and didn't mess up another pot.

Okay, pour the rhubarb smoothie into the syrup and pop it all into the fridge to cool off. Once properly chilled, put into the pre froze icecream maker and let it work its magic til it looks like soft sherbet. Pour into a container and stick in the freezer til it is more firm. Enjoy! Its tart & wonderful. Loads of room for experimenting.

~the smell of oil, sweat & ideas

I've neglected an old friend for far too long. It happens to the best of us. We get so wrapped up in our day to day "have to" list and forget to take a few moments and sit down with a loved one and catch up. She's been my sidekick for as long as I can remember. She's listened to me cry, scream, and daydream. She believed in me when others called me crazy. She helped me do the impossible at times. And when the coin purse was rather light, she pulled through to help me make ends meet. During those years where I never thought I would be a mommy, she didn't judge me for secretly making little tiny sundresses and pants which I stashed away, afraid people would see and pity me. We used to stay up way too late in highschool working on projects until my mom would eventually come down and tell me to go to bed. So I am determined to be a better friend. I need to find a place for her in my day to day again. Luckily she isn't one for holding grudges. We just pick up where we left off.