my happy little life

feeling all girly and flea markety and cupcakey

1. Mini cup cake collection 2, 2. Teapot #2, 3. Strawberries & Cream Candy Bites, 4. whisper baby pink, 5. Vintage Handspun Hand dyed Yarn Pink, 6. "new" vintage prom dress, 7. Shabby Pink Canister Set, 8. Vintage baby planter, 9. Hazel Atlas Ripple C/S, 10. yum yummy, 11. Thrifted Pink Gooseberry Pyrex, 12. just 4 u, 13. Um ano de Pano p'ra Mangas, 14. shy girl, 15. Perfect Party Cake, 16. Sweet pink and white

*******

ps- i think kherrington got what she deserved and i think lil c's comments to her were spot on. other dancers have been ripped week after week and have taken it with grace and determination to do better. when i saw k's mom's face after i could see where she got her sour puss attitude! the mia michael's angel dance = the inside of my heart and soul that got put into a dance which made me shed many tears. and go nigel!! and i was really sad about gev. i think he's been more diverse than twitch and i was even willing to let go of mark to keep gev. so next week comfort will go, then courtney g, then the finale. next week i think twitch should go, then mark. and josh and will in the finale. but from here on out it gets soooo painful, huh. for real for real. just kidding, i think that arm thing is so lame! 

serious fun...

...with a serious wedgie.

 

cate is averaging about 4 hours a day in the pool. playing hard and swimming laps. and she still has the energy to fight bedtime at night. she's something else! and those buns!!

 

*****

 

ps- um, ya, chelsea and gev's little arms number was the most amazing dance ever ever. i am so sick of kherrington and last night she totally brought down mark and it made me mad. i loved mark's solo. and joshua's. and the modern ballet, are you kidding me? it was amazing. they had to have fixed the picks because no other couple has the skill to do it. and i loved comfort and twitch's hip hop. bless their little soon to be kicked off hearts. what did you think? where has wade robsen been? and shane sparks? and where was mia last night? and please never do another country two step. bleeeeeah!

the mccaleb family had a hard week...

so last night we decided to go make it all better with some ice cream and sunshine.

don't you just want to kiss those lips? sorry, they are all mine!

no, it won't all go the way it should...

but i know the heart of life is good.

***

ps- thanks for all the etsy support. i am busy shipping the orders today and i'm so grateful for your business! i love etsy and i love you!!!

the shop is all stocked

tons of patterns, tons of my scrap fabric, and a few little mama clothes. i (of course) didn't get the quilt kits done, that'll be for next time... check it all out in the etsy shop.

come back...

three things making me smile again...

1. our vegetable garden is sprouting and then some! i was quite distressed over it looking like nothing was going to happen for a bit, until grant informed me that it needed to be watered... who knew? someone should really tell you that before you try and grow things! anyhow, the watering was greatly increased (slash actually done), and viola!! we got a late start to begin with, so we won't be eating anything for another month probably, but i am still so happy! this year i was just trying to understand the whole process, and have a couple yummy salads at best. but i think we will get a lot, everything looks great. next year i will be more brave and try to sprout the seeds indoors earlier and plan for two or three crops.

2. it's the little things, you know? i just put this wallpaper on my phone and everytime open it and see the love between mr. and mrs. skywalker i get butterflies and a smile on my face. and then i think about the doom for which that love is headed, and i feel inconsolible. and then i think my problems aren't so bad. my crazy clomid behavior isn't going to take down a galaxy, ya know? but then i realize that in the end, their heart breaking love story brought balance back to the force, after years of war it caused, it was always the will of the force...and i wonder if the evil clomid will be able to bring balance back to my body after these hormonal battles that are raging? and in the back of my mind i hear yoda say "help you, it will. toooo impatient you are!" haha.

3. twitch's solo last night! woooooohooo! it was awesome. i have watched will and jessica's garden of eden dance a thousand times, it was the most gorgeous piece of art i have ever seen i think. and how fun was the bollywood dance? and how freaking hot is chelsea? i loved that mia said she wanted to stab her! haha. ah yes, i'm feeling better!

"tmi, tmi... i used to say 'don't go there', but that's lame"

oh that michael scott. he says things just right, doesn't he?

i try not to post when i'm feeling all clomiderific, and i've been feeling really clomiderific lately. that's my affectionate term for the fun symptoms brought on by that wonderful baby making pill, clomid: crazy bloating and hot flashes, irritability like woah, extreme sensitivity which leads to frequent crying (fun for the whole family)... not to mention the feeling that your ovaries are about to burst (requires a lot of googling the words 'how to tell if your ovaries are bursting')....and then getting super depressed realizing that while you are feeling like this, you have try and make a baby... you know... do it, or it's all for nothing. which really, it has been all for nothing anyway for three months now.

what? you're uncomfortable? i told you i shouldn't be posting.

i'll try this posting thing again when i've returned to hormonal balance. in the mean time, i'll be crying through every mia michaels routine and half the commercials on tv tonight. and yelling at cate to get back in bed or i'm taking away every toy she ever had. and turning down the air to 68. and googling on the laptop "really sore boobs" and "ovary pain". and telling grant not to say another word as long as we live because he is rude and i can't take it anymore (after telling me it's a little too cool in the house). ahh yes, just another peaceful clomiderific evening.

***ps- don't worry about me, i'm mostly kidding. i'm just, what doctors like to call, "dramatic". or, my friends put it this way: "she exaggerates". or, grant gives this diagnosis: "crazy".

our weekend in beautiful lake tahoe

have a super weekend!

1. Heat Relief, 2. Salute, 3. sweethearts, 4. Red, White, and Blue row houses, 5. Granny Along: The road to No-where., 6. DSC_9126, 7. First day without tights :), 8. red pie at night, 9. Red, White, and Blue, 10. Birthday, 11. Pinwheel pillow, 12. b0003, 13. Red, White And Vans., 14. patriotic.qov - 484, 15. A patriotic house in Annapolis, 16. patriotic cupcakes

today she is five.

happy birthday to my sweet girl!

cotton candy and thank you kisses

 

summer trips with cate and lizzie

summer trip time means sleeping on floors, running and playing hard non-stop, scraggly hair, sugar cereal, living out of cars, and seeing cousins. and cate is never happier than when she's with cousin lizzie. they have been attached at the hip for the last five days since my sister heather and brood has been here from arizona. we carted all the kids to idaho to hang with sister coco this weekend, and we will all head home to lake tahoe for the fourth. can't wait! a gazillion more pictures to come...

why it's my favorite show

they (miss hightower and mark) totally rock my world week after week. i totally cried watching this the first time. i also haven't been able to stop rewatching joshua work those meaty legs in those little samba pants! i am so glad that chris and chelsea are gone. i want matt, thayne, jessica, and comfort to go the next two weeks. then courtney g and gev. then it will get tough because i am madly in love with the rest of them. but mostly in love with mark. and joshua. and joshua's samba pants! ha. oh my gosh i love so you think you can dance! i keep bleeding...keep keep bleeding love....  so what did you think?

beloved homes from ikea

my sister turned me on to this incredible book that was only ten bucks at ikea, and by the opening page i knew i had to have it. never before have i seen in a decorating book what i considered my dream rooms pictured so beautifully and exactly how i imagine them for my someday house. i think i am so inspired by it too because they are not professionally or ikea decorated homes, they are swedish family homes that they photographed. pick it up if you like ecclectic white cozy antique modern book based unfussy artsy unique decorating. it's called beloved homes. i wish i could scan every page, but here's some faves:

 

25 things to remember about right now

1. you love star wars as much as your mama, and get so happy when you spot a girl jedi. 2. you spend all day asking for brothers and sisters, or at least someone to come over and play with you. 3. you love to do puzzles, and can put 100 piecers together faster than me. 4. you steal sips of my diet coke whenever i'm not looking. 5. you get yourself dressed everyday, and really look cute. you like to be colorful and fun and you always put together outfits that inspire me. 6. you aren't super into tv- you'd rather be playing. 7. you tell me all the time that you want seven kids. 8. penny is your little sidekick. you love that dog and smother her with affection. 9. your prayers are so sensitive and loving. you always remember to be thankful for your family and puppy. 10. you recently have started actually letting me brush/ do your hair. you never would before, but all of the sudden you are asking for braids and pig tails and i love it. 11. we told you you get your freckles from your dad, and you thought that means they jump off his nose onto yours when you snuggle. so now you snuggle him trying to get more freckles. 12. swimming is your favorite pastime and you feel so lucky to live in papa's house with a pool. 13. you are so excited to go to kindergarten, and i am so sad that you are getting so old. i will miss you when you are gone every day. 14. your eyes make me happy everytime i look at them. they are so expressive. 15. you talk with your hands. everything you say is acted out in gestures and arm movements. it makes me and daddy laugh so hard. 16. we love you more than you can ever know! 17. you are still sucking your finger, even though we have been trying so hard to get you to stop. 18. you understand so much about the gospel. it is so cute to answer your questions and see you get it. 19. you always tell me you miss grandma reneer and wish you knew her. 20. you call coco from my phone when i am not around just to say hi to her. 21. you are a really good thrifter, and can always find something awesome when we go to d.i. 22. you are obsessed with writing and spelling and making me notes and pictures and drawing and reading. you are so smart. 23. you go to granny's on saturdays to play and swim with max and charlie. this is your absolute fave day of the week. you adore your granny, and have been known to say "at granny's i can do whatever i want!!" 24. you have been doing so good going to bed alone. i put a cd player and cd's in your room and you fall asleep listening to primary songs or classical music. 25. you are the light of my life!! i love you i love you i love you!

my weekend

 

lows: i spent most of last week sickie in bed with dogs rolling and fighting over me. and i was really pathetic because i was mourning no baby this month. just needed a few days to be down. that's alright every once in awhile, right?

highs: but i was cheered up quickly by the arrival of my favorite visitors! my cool grandma and lil sister came to hang out. we read trashy mags, watched lots of law and order and classic movies, and i dragged myself out of bed to go thrifting! my grandma is 87 and is so much fun and so positive, she's a joy to have around. she deserves her own post another day.

new obsession: mr. robert redford. i had no idea he was so hot and such a great actor, i've never really seen his movies. we watched the way we were and butch cassidy and the sundance kid and i think i'm in love. i tried to get anyone to go out to dinner with me at his sundance restaurant saturday night as we heard from one of the servers we know that he was on the books to eat there that night. but everyone said i was crazy and wouldn't go. i almost went alone! oh well. i'm sad that i didn't know i was in love with him during the byu years- i had a pass to sundance and often when i was snowboarding i'd see him skiing and didn't care at all. at least i could've followed him for a run or two singing "memories". haha.

more highs: i've been wanting this duvet cover from ikea forever and finally got it. so cheap. and i love my doggie. and her doggie mommy came to visit, i like her too. and neither got hit by a car during their many naughty escapes which was miraculous.

and now: back to work. feeling good (almost). i have so many quilts half made, so many things that just need listing, i am so excited to spend some time in the craft room...and a little by the pool too! but even more exciting is my sister heather is driving right now with her five kiddos to visit! grandma's still here, and this week will be a blast. being sick gives you a new zest for life when you feel better, doesn't it?

my symptoms

my left eye has been twitching for twelve hours...i have a shooting pain in my left shoulder...my neck is totally stiff....i can't swallow...my eyes are itchy...my nose is like a faucet....my ears are plugged...i can't taste food...i am scared to find out i am not pregnant this month for the millioneth time...my body aches...i am highly irratible...my sinuses are throbbing...in short...i am sicky. as soon as i feel better i have all my fabric scraps/ paper crafting bits/ extra patterns/ other fun stuff to list in the shop. but for now i'm singing to ferris...when kelly was in egypt land, let my kelly go.......

weekend inspiration::handmade little girl wardrobe

1. sweatshirt, 2. Apple Tree T shirt, 3. eyelet apron skirt, 4. California Fun skirt, 5. blue field dress, 6. Woodland Skirt, 7. Simple Dress for a Two Year Old, 8. Yellow linen peasant shirtr, 9. twirly skirt, version 2.0, 10. hellblau.., 11. IMG_4824, 12. kleedje gebreid voor Nuncia, 13. Vintage Fabric Girls Dress k, 14. polka_1.jpg, 15. liberty3, 16. other side

in grant's office

1. the three people he loves most in the world.

 

2. who he wishes would walk through his door...

3. daydreaming of a championship..."oh kobe i love you...."

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LAKERS!

garage saleing makes me so happy

this is my favorite recent find. huge vintage woven picnic basket with a wood hinged top and metal handles. and inside??? there was this adorable stack of picnic trays, matching cups and two (not pictured) picnic blankets! i didn't even try to offer her less than the $5 it was marked at because i was happy to pay that much (little) for it. i don't come home with very much each week, i usually spend about five to ten bucks since i don't want to just fill my life with junk... but i always find two or three amazing things each saturday that's worth shelling out a few bucks for that leaves me smiling (and unwilling to shop) until the next saturday. have you gotten anything good lately?

scrapbooking keeps happening and other stuff.

just a quick share. my favorite pages are ones that are fast, and this one took about ten minutes, so i love it. typewrite-d my feelings about the picture, stitched on picture, fabric, a strip of paper and a couple flowers. makes me happy! this is my last month on the design team over at poppy ink. the combination of focusing on getting pregnant, my pared down approach to scrapbooking, and no time to ever update the etsy shop made me feel like it's time to move on. but i sure love those kits. i am working hard getting fabric scrap packs and paper crafting packs together to share here before my garage sale. for those of you who are local i will tell you when/ where before i do it. ok, back to work, have a nice day!

indulging in baby hunger. care to join me?

this picture popped up on our rotating picture screen saver and it made me so happy...and baby hungry. this was cate's nursery in our little old house in provo. i nursed her and read stories to her in that chair and then tucked her into her white crib that was along the opposite wall. i really love baby rooms.

so then i was thinking about all the images from the martha steward baby mags that i love. i have each of those issues completly memorized, i can look through them in my mind without getting up to get the mag! i love martha stewart baby!

and then there's baby quilts to make, booties and hats to knit, clothes to buy. being pregnant with cate was the happiest time of my life (after i stopped the puking). i love baby clothes! the simpler, the better.

and then there's baby gear. i just love strollers, bouncers, toys, it is all so exciting to me to decide what you want, what you need. i love baby stuff!

 

ok i guess that's enough. i got in this mood yesterday when i had to stop by the hospital to get some insurance paperwork and it got me so so so so baby hungry just being in there. i'm ready. this is the month. i can feel it. (or not). but maybe please?

 

working hard... as opposed to my usual hardly working.

today's to-do's: 1. fix the blog and images on the blog so that it doesn't take a hundred years to load. (how do you do that?) 2. photoshop cs3 just came in the mail! i've never used photoshop and i'm sure i'll be seated here at the computer for the next hundred years learning it. 3. speaking of, i have been getting a lot of emails for photo shoot info so i need to write info for the side bar for those interested in me snapping away at them. 4. as requested, prepare the online garage sale, and etsy update too. 5. wash all the bedding... our little puppy is a woman now, in her first heat! so wash the bedding. eeeww. and,

6. drink a lot of diet coke....

the return to scrapbooking continues

yesterday i spent about 12 hours doing this. everything i own for paper crafting has been reduced to what is contained on top of my desk in jars (and the jars also house multipurpose items like ribbon that i use mostly for gift wrapping and buttons that i use for everything, and general supplies like pens, scissors, craft glue, etc). so the paring down was extreme. the only thing you can't see in this picture is my drawer of stamps that i love (for gift tags, my etsy shop tags, etc.), and a not large stack of paper. i feel soooo excited to sit here now and play. next up for my organizing is my fabric stash, where i won't be quite as brutal, but certainly discriminating. i love pulling out the boxes of stuff to get out of my house! and yes, i'll be having a garage sale soon.

my beauty of a girl

 

she is growing up so fast! she looks older every day. and she dresses herself, which often leads to me pulling out the camera because the fun colors she has chosen are begging to be photographed. oh, and her eyes...that smile...yes, they have their part in getting the camera out, too! i seriously need another child...

weekend inspiration::i am a quilter and this makes me happy

1. cecelia's quilt, 2. Mini swap quilt detail, 3. Autumn day quilt - back detail, 4. Autumn day quilt - detail, 5. doll quilt close up, 6. barn baby quilt backing, 7. Brown Coaster Detail, 8. "Genova, forse... ?" détail, 9. peachy keen back, 10. peachy keen detail, 11. Doll quilt. Detail, 12. doll quilt detail, 13. pie, 14. Gray vs. Orange (detail), 15. Doll Quilt Detail 1, 16.quilt wall

cate and her art

 "every child is an artist. the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." pablo picasso

the scrapbooking delima decided: i'm back in the saddle.

here's the thing. i love scrapbooking. i also think scrapbooking is super lame. since i have been using the blog as a kind of recorder of what we've been up to and such, i haven't scrapbooked nearly at all. but i miss playing with the paper, the paint, the goodies. i miss sitting down and being sentimental and artsy at the same time. but then, i think a book full of weird titles and trendy crap is really really dumb. but i love to read what i have written in the past about a picture i love. and i love pretty things. and my past scrapping books are cate's most treasured possessions. so that's pretty cool. but i hate cheesy pages and pages that are more about the crap the person bought at a store then the pictures and feelings that is so rampant in the scrapping world. but i realized recently just because i hate 99% of what is shown in scrapbook mags and what is sold in scrapbook stores doesn't mean i should stop doing something that is meaningful to me and my family. i am again totally excited to get all my pictures printed (there are 1000s more than i ever show on the blog waiting on my computer for someone to love them), slap them on a page, type my heartfelt feelings about said picture and add a little yummy to make me smile. that is my scrapbook style, that is what i love to look at, what i'll be grateful to read years later, and what i love to do to feel creative. i'm diving back in. i did this one yesterday. and i love it. and more important, cate really loved it. and even more important, in 20 years it will be pricelessly loved. amen.

PS................MY SCRAPPY SISTER IS PREGNANT WITH HER SIXTH!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!

etsy picks: i feel like cooking!

           

           

           

           

            

i wish i were donna reed. well, i wish i were donna reed with the internet and sweats and del taco, ha! click on picture to be directed to the etsy listings. and have a great day!

we are so ready for summer!

to do list: work on our garden, swimlayinthesunswimlayinthesun, do some quilting, make some strawberry jam, eat veggies from our garden, snap away on my camera to remember this great time of life, go camping, snuggle my girl like crazy before she begins kindergarten, read some mindless novels and watch some mindless movies (like meatballs, a summer fave), and... just be. what are you planning for the summer? 

weekend inspiration::feel, let go, dance

one of my favorite things to do is turn on loud music and interpretive dance. if you think i'm making that up, ask anyone i've ever lived with- they will tell tales of many a late night leaps and hair swings and pointy kicks! my mom even named my style kellet (like ballet). what can i say? i like to express myself, and there's just no way more freeing than using your body and not caring the slightest what comes out. i challenge you to go in your room, shut the door, turn up some music and just let it all come out! come back and tell me that you don't feel like a bird let out of it's cage! happy weekend! and i hope you dance...

1. IN LOVE WITH SUN, 2. RPOP, 3. CAPRICCIO, 4. GODESSES IN THE RAIN, 5. "E.E.D.L.M.V" Exhibition by moi., 6. water dance, 7. Ballet dancer doing stretching exercise on a floor, 8. Negative Movement, 9. Take Off, 10. Spreading them wings, 11. if emotions could be held..., 12. More Like A Movie, 13. DANCE WITH ANGELS, 14. Ballet, 15. as a fairy, 16. dancing

tonight. it's the night. i wait for all year. it's here.

i am, of course, refering to the return of sytycd. and my beloved mia michaels. i've said it before, and i'll say it again: my celestial kingdom is dancing like mia michaels in a flowy dress in a open field of wild flowers. the new seasons bring a bittersweet feeling because i miss the last year's dancers, and feel like i'll never love again. i tried to determine my favorite dance of all time, and decided i could no sooner choose a favorite star in the heavens! but i do remember having probably the most intense reaction to this dance by ivan and alison. he is an amazing street dancer, with no formal training, whose style i love. but to see him so vulnerable, doing this contemporary routine, and his emotion really pulling it off... it brought tears to my eyes. and my little anakin neil with your whirly twirly legs, i'll love you forever, but i can't wait to fall in love all over again this season!

            

preschool graduation

                

and it might as well have been high school graduation for how emotional it made me! but seriously, look at these girls, little teenagers stuck in 4 year old bodies! i don't want them to get one second older. oops, too late.

a quilt for charity

"we, the healthy, are responsible to help heal the sick."  i don't know who said that, but it's one of the many inspiring thoughts on the cute brandy's blog. brandy lost one of her best friends to cancer and now is helping to fight back. she contacted me about the upcoming relay for life wondering if i'd like to donate something to be bid on in the silent auction. i was so happy to oblige. i decided to make a newborn quilt and onesie set. i decided on shabby chic- i thought it would be timeless and appealing to lots of different ages/ tastes, so hopefully will fetch a generous donation! go brandy!!! i admire what you're doing, thank you for your example of service, thank you for asking for my help, and thank you for allowing me to do something, however tiny. i am so inspired by people like you, who, of their own will and motivation, are anxiously engaged in a good cause. who spend their precious leisure time lifting the burdens of others. i want to be more like you, brandy!! anyway, here's what i put together...

 

in case you were wondering...

family pictures by tara whitney, my idol and friend.

   

there are so so many more i love, but i have to stop somewhere! oh TARA i love you! i felt too chubby to be photographed and grant will avoid photo shoots at all costs and cate hasn't let us brush her hair in two years...but she said WE ARE DOIN THIS and truly by the end of the shoot, grant had a crush on her, cate was in the palm of her hand, and every picture she took made me feel beautiful just as i am. these images are PRICELESS to me. thank you thank you amazing tara! more of her brilliance can be found at tarawhitney.com.

weekend inspiration::where people craft

1. fairy tale wolf bag in progress, 2. My sewing machine, 3. Craft Room - Studio Worktable, 4. Craft Room - Studio Desk, 5. Studio : Childhood Desk, 6. sewing corner, 7. The Posie studio, repainted and reorganized at last!, 8. Studio: Entry, 9. Sewing Area, 10. inspirations, by my desk, and baskets of work., 11. My sewing & crafting studio, 12. Red gingham edging on the shelves, 13. The Posie studio, repainted and reorganized at last!, 14. The Posie studio, repainted and reorganized at last!, 15. Work table, 16. Studio Organization

golden

we were driving home yesterday and decided to pull over because the sun looked so pretty on this open field and my camera sat on my car seat calling me. cate started picking all the dandelions, which she declared the prettiest "flower" in the world and then insisted on delivering them to granny's house "because they mean i love you". she was running and playing and looking so beautiful, i took 175 pictures! and i love them all! they warm my heart, because she warms my heart, and she won't be four forever. my challenge: drop what you're doing and take some pictures of your kids today! don't brush their hair or change their clothes, just get outside and start snapping! weeds, blurry pics, and dirty faces are beautiful when they remind you of a happy moment. :)

sewing with ms. bean

since her family's return to the promised land after living in brooklyn, alysha and i have made sewing dates a weekly tradition. how it works: she brings big diet cokes, we let the kids rule the house, and we retreat to my sewing room to talk fabric, pet fabric, cut fabric, admire fabric, and occaisionally we even sew fabric. she is totally my style icon. i so admire her ability to make amazing, perfectly fitting clothes for herself- something i stink at (well mostly i stink at finishing a garment i start. she is really good at not resting till it's done- a true talent). a few of my favorite alysha creations:

happily, after much begging, she finally is opening an etsy shop!!! her plans are to have it up and running tomorrow. check her blog, brooklyn bean, for updates about exact time and to see more of her cool stuff. her first etsy offerings? summer smocks for the girlies and cotton ties for the little men. don't miss out! (look how stinking cute the ties are. pair one with a d.i. church shirt and you have the cutest boy on the block). and we'll have to convince to list summer dresses for the mommies, too!

confession

a typewriter and a rose

my mother's day rose was blooming so beautifully today! i was in cleaning up the guest room and thought it would look pretty on the desk even though i'm hardly ever in this room. i went and got it and set it next to the typewriter that coco bought me at a garage sale for my birthday (i collect them). stacked to the right are thrifted copies up of my all time favorite books. the scene was so simple and beautiful to me i swelled with inspiration. and i decided to make this room a place i do frequent. i think i will shut the door when i need some peace and quiet and sit and type a journal entry or funny story for cate's memory book. and i'll pretend i'm a writer in a flat in a paris writing something transcendent. and i'll walk out of the room ten minutes later totally calm and refreshed. isn't it amazing what one little rose can do? now hear this ladies: flowers are not a waste of money!

awful young

the price of wheat going up has made me so very angry and antsy. we are at our budget limit for food, and are trying to build up our back up supply of wheat, rice, etc. too, so the recent "shortages" and price hikes have been a sore subject with me.

but i forgot to take into account the power of garage sale-ing and thrift shopping! this weekend i had some goreous girlies in town and we did a lot of both. one item i have been looking for diligently is cool bins to put the recycling in. i was delighted to find these huge bins, painted so cute, on wheels for $5 and $10!! so you can't even begin to imagine my happiness when i opened them and found about $50 worth of wheat inside!!!!!!!!!!!!! i LOVE garage saleing!!! everytime i am depressed about something we really need but can't afford, if i have the strength to not just go crazy and buy it, i always find it at a thrift store, or from freecycle. it's an exciting way to receive blessings, cause it's so fun!

the old man selling the wheat bins loaded them into my car and as we were about to pull off he knocked on the car window and asked "what are you going to do with all that wheat?" i said, "grind it and eat it!", to which he skepitcally replied, "you're awful young to know what to do with that..." he was so cute. and it made me happy that i do know what to do with it. and it makes me happy that i can find good things for my family by being resourceful.

tara and em were staying with me while they had some work to do in utah, and wanted to go on a thrifting whirlwind (which i was so happy to take them on). it was so much fun to be with girls who enjoy it as much as i do and have great taste and find the coolest stuff- although they were depressed because they found so much furniture they wanted that they couldn't buy and get home. i love yindi's arms in this picture. "woo hoo let's shop!!" and then there's cate trying to decide what she wants for her "one thing"- either the patio chair or the wild animal puzzle. (she picked the chair):

other great scores of the second hand weekend: cute clothes for all involved, lots o' pyrex, tara got the cutest blanket i have ever seen (blast her for finding it first!), great fabric, lovely accesories, and much more. i can't wait to do it all again next weekend! :)

weekend inspiration::motherhood

1. Westerbouwing, 1947: mother and son, 2. Curlie Top, 3. Mother & Daughter - Vinatge, 4. The Ladies of the House, 5. Martha - Vintage Photography, 6. Mother and Child, 7. If Monet Had a Camera in his Old Age..., 8. 1952, spring, Utrecht, mother and sons, 9. Untitled, 10. Long Day At the Circus, 11. My Grandmother with my Brother Brooks, 1945, 12. Ruby in Sleigh Bed, My Mom as a Baby, 1914, 13. My Mother as a Baby Oklahoman, Anna Leigh's Great Grandmother & Great Great Grandmother, 14. Me as a Toddler with My Grandmother Groves, about 1949, New Braunfels, Texas, 15. The Bath - 1934, 16. Mother & Child - Vintage

about to fall in love.

i came across this picture tonight and it just melted my heart. it was taken as we were leaving on our first real date in the fall of 2001. we had previously hung out with mutual friends a few times, including one double date where grant was paired with my roommate and i was paired with his friend, and needless to say, grant and i should've just been on the date alone. we are both very passionate and intense people and we quickly fell in love, like woah. we didn't get married until almost a year after this photo was taken, but after our first few dates we kind of knew that's where it was going. gosh, i would do anything to re-live the month that followed this picture. the butterflies, first kisses, late nights talking.... it was the beginning of my happy little life. 

growth

if spring is the season that we concern ourselves with fertile ground and planting seeds, then this is the springtime of my life. right now all my time is spent trying to get things to grow. not only have i been frequenting the local nurseries, graphing plots, and mixing soil... i have been popping pills, peeing on sticks, and counting days trying to grow a different, more precious type of seed: mine. i do already have one seed that has sprouted to a little girl, and she needs a lot of daily pruning. and then there's the seeds of faith that i'm continually trying to nourish and keep the weeds away from. these seeds take the most patience of all. assessing all i am trying to accomplish can leave me feeling tired...and barren.

so, the question i asked myself today was: do i have it in me to keep up the work required for all this harvesting i want to do? do i have it in me to continue improving my soil, both real and metaphorical?

in a word: yes. because happily, there's a master gardener who owns the land i am tending, and we are creating the harvest together.