312/366: Catch Up

I missed another day!  Oops.  This Postaday is tough, but I'm almost there.  I remember the night I decided to do it...Gretchen, why didn't you talk me out of it?

I would have done it anyway.  I love the challenge.

Yesterday, I cleaned the living room.  Today I did the dining room and moved the furniture around in the living room.  I really like it.

It makes me open to other improvements in the house, like our baseboards.  We never painted them when we painted the walls seven or eight years ago.  Sad.  They are still boy's locker room blue with scratches all over.  One task at a time.

What I wanted to look up was this picture I took November 23 of last year.

My strong Christmas Cactus, aka Thanksgiving Cactus, is at it again.  The tiniest of buds are forming on the tips of the leaves. 

I showed the boys, "What?  We have a cactus?  When will it look like a cactus?"

I'll turn their thumbs green eventually.

307/366: Smell of Wet Wool

I'm certain I've spoke about my love for the smell of wet wool.  Specifically hot, wet wool.

My brother loves the smell of gasoline...perhaps wet wool is an acquired sense...I certainly don't care for the smell of gasoline or stargazer lilies or skunks.

This new purse will be dried, trimmed and embellished and available at the Artists in Buffalo's Holiday Open Studios on December 1st and 2nd at the Red Cross Building on Delaware Avenue.  Here is the website with the downloadable pdf file with map and locations and the artists at each one.  I'm alphabetical with WashMyCloth.  Hope you can stop by and say hi!

I'm looking forward to a fun weekend, surrounded by artists and customers of the arts.

Have a great weekend!

306/366: Calendar

Since most of my life has gone digital, it was time my calendar followed.

I used to use an At-A-Glance datebook for work and would add personal things in there as well.  As my appointments and commitments changed at work, I was using it less and less.  Then we got Outlook and I was using that calendar.  That worked well, but I had to be at my computer to access it.

Then one day, I went into the Calendar on my iPad.  It was pretty cool.  Helpful.  So I started using it.  I would put things on the electronic calendar that was on our dry erase board in the kitchen.  Then I started doing the reverse.  Since I don't need Wi-Fi to access and edit the calendar, the iPad became my new calendar. 

I've been taking it along with my in my purse to meetings, kids' activities, even out with friends.  It is becoming more and more important to me.  Last week, I started color coding things.  Blue for Tom, Green for the boys and family things, Yellow for me.  Pink is US Holidays and Gray is birthdays imported from Facebook...super cool.  Any event can be a full day or specific time frames.  An event can also repeat - monthly, annually, etc.  You can turn off selected calendar types (gray, yellow, etc) to easily see what the kids have on their agenda or what I have to do.  It's really easy and free.

My mom thought I was overly organized with my Christmas Gift Giving Spreadsheet...wait till she sees this!

I'm available for tutoring.

 ***** In other news, National Blog Post Month (NaBloPoMo) starts today. One post a day for the entire month. Here we go. ******

Thoughts

Source: tumblr.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Christmas Cactus

My thumbs aren't green.  They aren't black, either.  Sometimes I have luck, other times I just have dead plants.

I have found the plant for me.  The Christmas Cactus.  Loves being dry.  Like rock hard dry.  And after you forget about it for months, it comes back with the most abundant and interesting flowers ever.

I wish I could have timed this one a bit better, as in a delay of a week or two, but I'll take it.

My orchid...isn't doing as well.  It makes me nervous. 

Stuffed, Clean and Trying to be Prepared

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Stuffed myself on chicken wing dip and gluten free stuffed mushrooms before the turkey even came out of the oven. 

Today, we did a big cleaning of the house in preparation for the holiday season.  I truly enjoy a clean house, why is it that I let it get out of hand?

Yesterday, I tried to be proactive and not be stressed at the 15th of December trying to come up with a Christmas card picture.

This was the best one.  I kid you not.  It was an epic fail. 

Sadly, I'm tempted to use it.

Giving Thanks

As I realize that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I know, it's been on the calendar for 364 days, but holidays always seem to creep up on me, no matter how hard I try.

This morning, as I turned on my computer to check work email, I saw this.

My big guy.  Working on a book.  At 8:00 AM.  Our dining room table has become the author studio.  I think he loves all the paper and pencils and tape and markers and 'craft line cutter' all strewn about.  It's almost a rustic mess.

Last night, he told me he is going to be an Author Illustrator, but more of the Illustrator part.  He is going to be famous and his book, this book, will be available in the library.  Perhaps even made into a movie.

I love this kid and his creativity.  He told his brother that being creative and making books is healthy.  And he is unhealthy because he is always playing computer games.

And the big guy is right.  He is often playing some electronics.  Our new rule, you want to play iPad, you must do 30 math facts.  You want to watch TV, you must do math facts.  Math Facts on the iPad are so much more fun than flash cards.

We have a healthy mix of activities here, we can always do better, but for now, I am thankful how things are working.

And I'll be sure to let you all know the date that the big guys book is available for purchase at your local bookstore, or if so inclined, as an eBook!

Tuesday

It's no secret that O is a loving boy.

He is playing Pokemon Yatzee with his father.

Big Brother is watching, and I am "working".  I've been doing data entry for what feels like months.  Oh, it has been months.  Hopefully the looming work will dwindle as the brokers seem to check out for all of December.

So, as I am entering some data, O kisses his big brother. 

What a good, kind, loving boy.

Wait....!

Big brother just returned the sentiment. 

I must be in another dimension.

The shops have been busy this week and I'm trying desperately to get some more items in the WashMyCloth shop.  I have a couple purses, a pillow and some new stockings that will hopefully show up before Christmas!

Imagination and Creativity

We have new neighbors across the street.  The mom is from Japan and asked me the other day about some American customs and proper American etiquette.  Oxymoron?  American Etiquette. 

She was afraid she wasn't being a good mom and wanted some advice on the most important things to teach her kids.

I told her that if they use Please and Thank You, they will be all set.

On Friday, I was watching my kids out our front window setting up this mini obstacle course, like they have done before, and realized I need to add two more things to that list.

Imagination and Creativity.

Imagination to realize your dreams and set goals.

Creativity to not sit in a box and copy what others have done before you.  This doesn't mean you have to make clothes, or build shelving, or develop the newest software.  Just explore your mind.

This is my parenting advice for Monday morning.  Say Please and Thank you and be imaginative and creative.

And if you didn't ask for it (which you didn't) too bad.  And if you don't have kids, still use Please and Thank You.

Sunday Morning

 I am smitten with this project.

It is so easy, so cheap and I think it looks funky.

The photo from Pinterest and my post last night, showed the original just painted white.  I have enough plain walls in my home, that I wanted a little more color.  I picked up a dark blue that looks like denim.  I thought I would paint it heavy, but as the sponge brush was sliding the paint down the grain of the canvas, I had to stop.  The glue took the paint 100%, and the white canvas soaked in some of the paint.  My brush took much of the paint off as well.  I used about 1/3 of a small bottle of acrylic paint.

This is another view with light catching it in a different way.

Now...the possibilities.

Kid's art?  Christmas Tree?  Spring flowers? 

Saturday Night

Source: virginiaandcharlie.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

I've seen this come up on Pinterest a couple times.

And I've thought...so easy, I need to try.

And so I did.

Elmer's Glue on a canvas.  That is it...until it dries.

{this moment}

So maybe not the most intriguing, sentimental this moment post, but I do want to remember these pomegranate seeds...how beautiful and sweet and tart at the same time.  But mostly, I want to remind myself that this bright red from nature is the only kind of red dye we need.

Monsters on my Driveway

We had a great couple days around here.  It was warm enough to pull out the chalk.

Chalk led to monster mouths.  Teeth all over my driveway.  Apparently, if you step inside a mouth on the driveway, you will get eaten.  This is not good news.

Especially if you want to go inside...

Crafting with My Boy

We got an early start on our "Homemade Christmas".  O was very willing and interested in making a gift.

Unfortunately, that interest fizzled out when approached by his older brother to play.

So, we have one completed homemade gift.  And if that weren't enough...hold on to your seats (especially my mother), O and I assembled little bags for his classmates for CHRISTMAS..yes, an event over a month away.  Completed. 

Something is happening to me...I even had to ask my Sister-in-Law to update my nephews' and niece's wish list...she is usually asking me!  Maybe it's the weather.  Maybe it is the new year I added on to my age.

Or perhaps I'm just procrastinating so that I don't have to clean the house?

The Perfect Cupcake

 via Pinterest

Seriously beautiful.

I'd like to imagine these are red velvet AND gluten free.  Play along with me, won't you?

I also found the most adorable little hat.

 

Source: melondipity.com via Carrie on Pinterest

And since we are Pinterest and I am too lazy to see if I have any post worthy photos on my camera, and I have a pile of things for the shop I want to finish, I'd like to leave you with this...

Source: ffffound.com via Bill on Pinterest

Leaves Are Gone

Sometimes, I think I got "the" picture.  This time, I was pretty sure I didn't. 

And then I saw this one.  So silly.  No idea what O was doing here.  Earlier in the day, the boys were playing with face paint sticks.  Love face paint sticks.  Beats the Sharpie on the face any day.  And yes, we have had Sharpie on the face in the past.  This rain and wind has taken the last of our leaves to our neighbor.  I love a good wind.

As I am typing this, the boys, all three of them, are watching The Hobbit.  The cartoon version with all the songs.  This is the movie that Tom loves.  He tried to have me watch it multiple times.  And for each time, I fell asleep.  I just have a hard time getting interested in a cartoon.  But this time, I think will be different.  This is the second time for the boys watching it and already they seem to be re-enacting and talking about different scenes.

It will be interesting to see if they hold this movie as dear to their hearts as their Dad.

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.
The chances, the changes are all yours to make.
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.

The greatest adventure is there if you're bold.
Let go of the moment that life makes you hold.
To measure the meaning can make you delay;
It's time you stop thinkin' and wasting the day.

The man who's a dreamer and never takes leave
Who thinks of a world that is just make-believe
Will never know passion, will never know pain.
Who sits by the window will one day see rain.
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said
The chances, the changes are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.

BNL Bad Day

The Barenaked Ladies have a great Children's Album called Snacktime.  The songs are true to the BNL exciting, funny and up tempo style.  One song has caught my heart, Bad Day.

Now don't get all down thinking that I'm down in the dumps, I'm not, I just LOVE this song.  The BNL version is so much better - I just don't know how to get that on to a blog from a CD, new computer, rights and all.  So this will do, this guy does a fairly good job and if you google BNL Snacktime, you can hear some of the live clips from the BNL tour.

If you have a child on your Christmas List and need something different...this is GREAT!  Parents will even enjoy it, and by enjoy it, I mean not tear your eye balls out when the kids request 'children's music'.

It's All Greek To Me

O got a Wii game for Christmas last year.  He is just now getting into it.  And by into it, he is now talking in tongue.

"Mom, you won't believe this but when Hyperion attacks Rhenoinal with his fire power then that unlocks the doom dimension and releases the ultimate Firenenioloid.  According to my calculations if we just get Rhenoinal and you just need to get the bonus on we know how to do it."

Huh?

{this moment}

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

 If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Chicago Fruit

I have been going through my old photos, editing, deleting, saving and came across this one.  It is from Sam and my visit to Chicago in August.  We had just completed our drive by of our home on Eddy Street near Pulaski and Addison.  Oh, how I love that neighborhood. 

Surprisingly, not much has changed since I last saw the neighborhood.  The house looks like it did when I saw it last, except that poor tree in our front yard.  Tom and I planted that tree.  We were so proud of that little tree.  I want to go help by just standing there with my hand supporting the 55 degree angled trunk.

I miss that old house.  From the Zodiac neon contact paper used as wall paper in the kitchen, to the checkerboard siding used in the foyer to the 23 layers of paint on the banister, I loved it all. 

This wallpaper was the best...

This was Sam's house...I remember these days so fondly...

Now I'm all nostalgic and sad...at the time, those days seemed so hard, but now, they seem so easy.