Batteries and a Beautiful Day

Hurray!! I have my camera back! I caved and made a trip to the store last night, just for batteries. Vaeh and Gabe were perfect little angels and the trip was one of peace. It's been raining a lot here lately. A lot. We knew the weather report was calling for some much needed sunshine today, so last night we decided we would go for a morning walk to the man-made lake near our house. Camera in tow, we headed out.

It sure was a beautiful day.

This is the lake just a short walk from our home. I love it here.

The beavers have been busy. They have a home set up in the lake.

Throwing rocks into the lake is always a favorite.

She loves this special place of ours.

So do I.

   Gabe was as happy as can be. He kept posing and saying "Cheeeeettthhhh!"

My sweet, sweet boy.

On our way home we passed through the community garden, and were greeted with little bursts of vibrant shades of pink. It was nice to see such color in winter.

It was the perfect day :)

Where For Art Thou

I feel lost today. Utterly and completely without purpose. Like a shepherd without a crook. Like a painter without a paintbrush. I have felt like this for the last few days. The reason for my total dismay? My camera batteries have died. OH WOE IS....okay fine. I'll stop being so dramatic. But I do feel a little lost. I'd become so attached to my camera and used it so frequently throughout the day that I've lost the will to....blog. It's not as fun without pictures! I know what you are saying. "Ummm, why don't you go to that place called a STORE and BUY some batteries". That would be a logical solution to my problem. Unfortunately I just cannot justify making a trip to the store just for batteries. sniffle.

As sad as I am, I can't do it. Not only is it a huge waste of gas (in my mind) to drive to a store for one small thing, it's also quite an ordeal. Let me run through with you what I would have to orchestrate in order to make a "battery run":

1. Gabe would need to be dressed. Yes, he is only in a diaper. Yes, this is his preferred daily outfit. Yes, this is a regular scenario in our house.

2. Getting Gabe dressed involves a sudden burst of his favorite game "Catch Me If You Can, Mommy!" (not sold in stores). True, my legs may be longer, but that boy is shifty.

3. Eventually Gabe's uncontrollable giggling would slow him down and I would manage to snag him and put his clothes on. This is not an easy feat with continuous giggling and kicking feet. Trust me. I have bruises to prove it.

4. The jacket and shoes. (See: #2-his favorite game)

5. While all of this is going on, Vaeh is running around on all 4's acting like a dog, therefore encouraging Gabe's waves of excitement and giddiness.

6. Getting Vaeh to calm down enough to get her jacket and shoes on takes at least 6 repeats of "Vaeh", each time with Mommy saying it louder.

7. Finally I catch Gabe and with the help of Vaeh holding him down, I get his jacket and shoes on.

8. Me, flustered and now sweaty from all the "game" playing, don't particularly care about how I look and just want to get home before I even leave my house. Keys, purse, kids, lets go.

9. Load children. Each piece of cargo gets strapped into it's respective spot. More kicking, laughing, squirming, laughing.

10. 7 out of 10 times Vaeh gets her seat belt unimaginably twisted and can't pull it far enough to click it into the buckle. This is usually associated with stomps of frustration and mini tantrum-pulling (from her, not me). This then means I have to climb into the van, crawl over to her seat, hang over the back of her seat and try to untwist the massive knot of death she had somehow created. Odds are this scenario WILL happen if I dare venture out for a "quick run to the store". FYI: that doesn't exist.

11. Once we actually get on the road (Thank you LORD) and after they have been perfect angels for the 10 minute duration of the drive (why they can't be angels outside of the vehicle is beyond me) we arrive at the store.

12. Unbuckle. Unload. Lock doors. Make sure I have the keys in my hand. Close doors. Enter store.

13. I will save you from the horrific details of the goings-on that take place with my children in the store. There will be running. There will be grabbing of items off store shelves (glass is not immune from the clutches of Gabe). There will be crying (it's inevitable). There will be yelling. And that's just the first 5 minutes in. This is usually associated with stomps of frustration and mini tantrum-pulling (from me, not them).

14. Grab batteries. Buy batteries. Hurry out of store before store owner bans me from coming back.

15. Load children. (see: #9 and #10. Seriously?! Two twisted seat belts in one trip?!?! How does that happen?!?!)

16. Arrive home with a strong desire to kiss my living room floor. Pick up shoes, jackets, clothes (he is THAT quick) off the floor, hang everything up and put the shoes away. Beg both of them to please, please, please stop running in circles through the living room and kitchen screaming at a pitch that makes my eardrums vibrate.

17. Flop down on the couch and completely forget all about the batteries.

I don't know about you, but I think I'll just wait until I HAVE to go out. I can go a couple more days without my camera. Especially if it means staying sane.

Change Is Good

I've noticed that when you start to make major changes in one area of your life, it starts to creep into all areas of your life. At times it's almost hard to keep up with it but it's necessary. At least for me. I believe that if you aren't changing you are just standing still, just existing. I think in order to move ahead in life we need to make changes. It's how we grow. I've been working hard at changing my lifestyle, my surroundings, my business, my state of mind, and I'm trying even harder to surround myself with things that best represent me and what make me happy. Including people. The Pastor at my church always says that if you want to see a glimpse of your future, look around you, because what you surround yourself with will determine where you end up. That's good stuff.

Over the weekend I got rid of some of my office furniture, putting me one step closer to setting up my ideal workspace. I haven't had much of a chance in the last couple of weeks to visit any thrift or antique stores to find a new work surface. I've been looking on Craigslist and have seen some really nice, big, old tables which is what I want for my new work surface, but they go so quickly!! They seem to be a sought after item. I know I'll find the right one soon enough.

Last night I spent far too much time working on my blog. As you can see, I made a few changes, but today I am exhausted. I was up late. I just couldn't stop playing around with the HTML. I never seem to put 'sleep' at the top of my priorities. I should look into that.

The Morning Says Hello

What a greeting I received from the sun this morning! The perfect way to start off any day is with a little inspiration.

Yesterday I went on another organizing mission. It's starting to get a little obsessive. I guess there are worse things in life. One good thing about my cleaning attack was that I came across all of my old cross-stitching. I'm going to tell you something right now. This is perfect example as to why my resolution for this year is to finish what I started.

This here is my very first cross-stitching project ever. I did this one maybe, 18 years ago? That's not a typo. Notice anything about it? How about the fact that it's not finished!

Then there is this one.

This was started shortly after the first one. Don't adjust your eyes. It is still in the embroidery hoop. This one holds quite a bit of meaning to me as I was just a girl when I did this, and years later I had a little blonde daughter of my own that loves to pick me flowers.

Here we have another.

This one I started a couple of years after the last, but again, unfinished.

THIS one, I love. And this one I actually completed.

This I began shortly after I found out I was expecting Vaeh. I worked on this throughout my entire pregnancy in the hopes I would hang it over Vaeh's crib when she was born. Didn't happen. But at least I finished it! The stitching anyway. This one was a big project. To give you an idea of the size, I took a picture of it next to Gabe on the floor.

So there you have it. This is my year to finish what I started. At least I'm not in over my head. I don't think.

Free Hugs For All!!

I just wanted to send out some virtual hugs to all of my virtual friends (and real life friends!) tonight. I had a wonderfully chaotic but fun day today, I received two hugs from two new friends, and I want to share the love. So hugs to you all, and make sure you go and hug someone and make their day. I promise it'll feel really good and make you, and them, smile :)

{{{HUGS}}}

Confessions Of A Single Mom

Okay people. I have a confession to make. It's a doozy. Are you ready? Here goes........

I have a crush.....on Mantracker. Not only am I totally addicted to this show but I have a major, major crush on the guy. I'm sure I've got it pegged as to why. This guy is a true cowboy. *drool*. He's got to be, at best, twice my age but I don't care. He's a hottie. If you aren't familiar with the show, please tell me what rock you have been hiding under and then get your butt in front of a tv and WATCH IT!!! The guy, Terry Grant, tracks people in the wilderness with such a skillful relentlessness, you can't help but get sucked in. And he does it on horseback. Nummy :) It's not just me either. Vaeh thinks he's totally handsome and thinks I should marry him. So Mantracker....Mr. Terry Grant....if you ever read my blog I will put it out there that I would gladly accept a marriage proposal from you. It's the will of the children. We must oblige.

If you'll excuse me now, the commercial break is over and I have to return to watching Mantracker.

Sweet dreams everyone!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like....Spring Cleaning??

Today I was a busy gal. Today I cleaned like a mad woman. And not just typical cleaning was happening. I was on an organizing mission. A mission that would rival Martha Stewart's best day. Okay that's a big fat lie. But I did get a lot done today and it felt fabulous. I think what triggered my madness was the packing up of all the Christmas things around the house that we did on New Year's Eve. As much as I love, love, love Christmas, it felt so good to take the tree down, pack up all the trinkets and get my house back to normal. It felt like a really good way to spend New Year's Eve as well. Waking up on January 1st and not seeing any fake snow, or plush Santa's staring at me felt like a fresh start to the year. We did, however, partake in one activity on the 1st that involved a Christmas tree. 

Yes, that would be a Chia Pet. Vaeh has been asking for one for the last couple of Christmases and believe it or not the stores are sold out of them by the time I do my shopping. They only come out at Christmas time here, which doesn't help. This year she finally got one and has been chomping at the bit to start it. It's soaking in water in that picture but we have since spread the seeds and are awaiting sprouts. Exciting stuff, I know.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed as I really had the urge to do some crafting today but I got so caught up in cleaning that it just didn't happen. It was a cold, rainy day and it just made me feel so good to be at home. These kinds of days always seem to put me in the mood to craft. I did manage to get one small step closer to my big studio re-do and cleaned my office out. I did some crazy purging today. What a release that is!! Sometimes I wish there were more hours in a day so I could get more things done, but I'm satisfied with what I accomplished today. I recently read something about purging and things to remember when doing so. It went something like; get rid of everything you don't use, everything that is broken, everything that holds no value and anything that is not beautiful. I'll be keeping those things in mind as I continue to get rid of all the stuff I don't need, and simplify my life.