Farm

It was Jared's birthday a few days ago.. What a party we had! Lots of friends, food...what more could a party want?
Here are some of my favorite picts of Jared. Going through photos was an rejuvenating experience. Photographs remind us so much of who we are and what a singular life we lead, each of us. Just about every picture made me smile and feel immense gratitude for a truly one-of-a-kind husband. How did I get so lucky? So he won't cringe we he reads this, I'll end and let the photos speak. You're the best!

Fly Lady

I'm a Flybaby and love it. It's been almost a year! The daily grind is no longer a grind. Progress is a wonderful feeling. I can't wait to see where I'm at in a year from now. Thanks to my dear friend, Karen, for spreading the word.

For non-Flybabies: Fly Lady developed a system(?), yeah that describes it well for me anyway, of keeping your home organized and clean. It's taken time to find my routines based off of hers and to actually put those routines into consistant action, and I am FAR, FAR from perfect, but it's made a huge difference.

Here are a few gems from her:
*clean while things are still clean---in otherwords even if the tub/floor/drawers are acceptable, clean it anyway and on a regular basis so it never gets bad. Throw out the rationalizing and putting it off for later mentality.
*Set aside time for everything that is to be done. This is also an idea from Sarah Ban Breathnach. When there is a time and place for laundry (ie. Friday morning) or what I call paper shuffling which happens on Wednesdays(ie. paying bills, answering letters, filing), it won't pile up out of control. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had to live by this principle out of necessity. Washing on Monday, bread baking on Tuesday, etc. Order is remarkably freeing.
*Home Blessing: cleaning is not a chore, but a way to bless my home and make it place I and those I love want to be.

I'm amazed at how fast it is to now have my house clean. I feel authentically at home. Please, it's certainly not sparkling, but it's a happy, warm, inviting place to be. All because of little things over time. Great things and small things!

Click here for her website.
I'd recommend her book, Sink Reflections over the website for complete info. Pick it up at the library.

Oh, and there's one more reason why I think you'll like her: she's got a great cartoon of herself! It reminds me of an aunt I simply adore, but you'll have to check out her site to view it.

top number lists

My journal is chock full of top 10 lists. I like making lists because it gets the point out without a lot of inbetween words to try to fit together. Most of them are actually top 7 lists or top 3 lists because it's my journal after all and edit it throughout the month. Sometimes I only have 3 things to list, anyway. I journal on the computer for these top TBA reasons:
1. No worries about handwriting and I can clickety click faster than pen.
2. I can copy/paste photos, quotes, inspiring things and just like that it's all put together.
3. It's in a format easy to transfer and record elsewhere to places like...HERE!
4. I like to type with my eyse closed. One, because it makes me focus on my thoughts and not on the page. Specifically if spelling and grammar are correct, or more likely, incorrect---what distraction grammar and spelling but oh so necessary this I do believe. I also like to type with my eyes closed because I like to listen to soft tap tap tapping of the keys. It's melodic in a way. Something soothing as well as smart. I like to think about being smart.
5. It's easy to come back to and add "editor's notes" about past events and thoughts. So instead of a finished, one dimensional record, it's a flexible often circular record of growth and happenings. I must note that I never change or delete past writings, only add notes because I think it's so important to preserve the authentic voice even though I may feel or see it differently later. This includes mis-spellings. Afterall, isn't it a sign of growth to pick out a word you previously mis-spelled yourself?
Here are a few top ____ lists I pulled from past journal entries I want to share with you! Hopefully you'll smile because we share top favorites. I often make "new favorite things" lists. This one is my most recent.

7 of my new favorite things (april 26):
1. triple chocolate twix
2. beignets (actually the Ernie home in entirety)
3. Life of Pi (more on this later)
4. Natalie asking me (telling really) to call her “Honey Bun”
5. Sun-napping (note: this isn’t a new favorite as in just tried it and am addicted, but it’s finally sun napping season again)
6. Gmaj7
7. a new friend, Kami, and her delicious pizza braid (more to come on this later, too)
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10 Favorite Foods
1. milk shakes
2. juicy hamburgers with the works
3. teriyaki chicken + stirfry veggies and rice
4. still-warm-from-the-garden-tomato sandwiches (with real mayo)
5. any soup my mom makes
6. fruit smoothies
7. hot waffles or pancakes
8. toast
9. broccoli salad
10. chocolate milk
I really want to put ribs on there, but I’m trying to figure out what I love it more than…Blueberry Buckle definitely deserves a place as well…hmmm…this is tough! Yikes! I just thought about s’mores around a campfire. I best stop thinking. Oo, oo, and cheerios with banana slices.
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10 Books I’d Like To Read---either I’ve never read or haven’t in a very, very long time and have forgotten so much it would be like reading for the first time:
1. Bleak House
2. Persuasion
3. Silmarillion
4. The Princess Bride
5. Jackaroo
6. The Number One Lady Detectives Society (I’m not sure that’s the title)
7. A biography of Harry Truman
8. The Scarlet Pimpernel
9. Their Eye’s Were Watching God
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10 Favorite Books (not in order):
1. Rebecca
2. Woman in White
3. On Fortune’s Wheel
4. A Tangled Web, OK really anything by LM Montgomery
5. The Lion House Entertaining cookbook
6. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
7. Readings for Intensive Writers, textbook
8. Simple Abundance
9. All Creatures Great and Small
10. Physical Science 100 textbook
*These books were chosen from a pool titled “Books I stayed up all night reading.” From there, two thoughts: could I call it an “old friend” or in case of the 2 textbooks that I never re-sold them even though the $2 I would have gotten back would have fed me for a week I was that desperate but still did not sell.
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yum celery

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

This is my first movie post. Enjoy!

sweaters for penguins

My friend Amy found this and forwarded it to me. Thanks Amy!!! This is the coolest "service" project. LDS women in Australia and New Zealand organized a sweater knitting project for endangered penguins whose feathers were damaged in an oil spill. 1,800 were created for the foot high birds to prevent them from preening and ingesting oil as well as to keep them warm while their bodies recovered.
Here's the original new briefing from the church's website:
click here.

For Esther

My sister asked to see some photos because she knows “some ladies who are pregnant too and they look like they’re going to burst.” So she’s wondering how big I am. Just think, Esther, I still have 2 ½ months to go! Here’s a little progression spread---the first photo I took of myself, obviously, when I was between 4 and 5 months. I feel funny posting it but at the same time not too lame because I doubt any of you have not taken a self-portrait before. But anyway, I took it for my mom and I’m including it with this one which was taken yesterday---I’m just into my seventh month according to the nice little calendar my doctor gave me.

Apparently Natalie is trying to tell him with her kazoo the party is out with her. Note the new paint job in the background.

This will probably be the last of the photos chronicling my growing tummy because at the rate I’m going this is how big I’ll be tomorrow:

nothing particularly witty

Dear Blog,
I promised I would write but have successfully put it off for a week and a half now! (How's that for an opening?) Because as my title alluded to: I have nothing witty, clever, or hugely noteworthy to write about. So, you are probably thinking, "What's been keeping you then?!"
Here goes some ramblings for the past few days:
Monday was the best birding day all season! A pair of american goldfinches visited my feeder along with a male cowbird. Both are quite common in Ohio but since this was the first time I've seen them, it was noteworthy to me. In fact, I've always wanted to see a cowbird and so I feel somewhat fulfilled now as a grown woman. I rushed to take a photo but they took off. The cowbird is not much to look at or it's name for that matter, but it has the most interesting call. The only disappointing part, the official feederwatch season ended last Friday! So I can't technically count these on my records but am sorely tempted to fudge on my dates---I won't.



The weather could not be better this week. Blue skies, 70-80 degrees, dramatic thunder/lightnight rainstorms at night. Perfect spring. For those of you not from Ohio, I will sincerely try to get a photo of the on/off ramps here. They are in full daffodil bloom and it's one of my favorite things about Columbus.
Lastly of note is my current obsession: chocolate milk. Jared was so good to me a couple of nights ago and ran, literally, the mile and a half to Kroger to pick up a gallon. Fortunately he brought home two. What a stud.

Aspiration

Natalie tells me she's growing up. "I growing up, momma. Yup, growing up." I tell her she's got to stop doing that.

missionary

She drew this "missionary" to be sent to Jared's mom and dad who are on a mission in Germany. I couldn't part with it. Thank goodness for scanners.

Go Bananas and Trojan Horse

Our ward had a Pinewood Derby---funny since there are no cub scouts in our ward. No webelos either. Or any sort of Boy Scout. In fact, no "real kids" over the age of four. Since I've never been to a Pinewood Derby I wasn't sure what to expect but had the best time! These are our two entries. You're probably guessing it wasn't your traditional Pinewood Derby although there were tons of "real" race cars. Jared's, "Trojan Horse" won an award for best design because he put a pole in the horse's mouth which prevented any cars from passing ahead of his car (he only actually put the pole in for a few runs). Ingenious or sly? Ingenious. And, he won husband of the year award when he turned his car around backward when our two cars met head-to-head because my car, Go Bananas, never crossed the finish line except when the pole pulled it across.

On the way to the church I said to Jared, "I hope no one else shows up with a fruit car."

What a weird kid! She just inches her way up the back of the chair absentmindedly as she is so intent on her drawing.

These are some of my very favorite photos of Natalie. They were taken in December. Click on the one of her looking at the camera. It captures her spice and funk. And note the blurry-ness of the one pict.

Meg Ryan

I've been Meg Ryan-ish the past few days. I clipped the daffodils which bloomed in my flower box and brought them indoors. I feel a twinge of guilt because they are no longer there to brighten passerbyer's days. But, But, I carry them about the house with me to brighten all my moments. Like, Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail although she carried about daisies.

Daffodils are just as friendly.

spring

Spring is a good time for renewals. So, to the two of you who keep checking here hoping to see something, anything, and are disappointed: be disappointed no longer. What true friends you are! Especially considering sometimes we practially live in the same house we see each other so often!

Admittedly, it will take some time to update since I haven't written since November! How fun---not the being a slacker blogger, but to update. It's after midnight but I would rather update you all than sleep. And, I especially don't want to miss out on Natalie tomorrow by doing this, not that you aren't worth it, but she is.