The Chocolate and The Cheese

The little lady is two. I mentioned it before . Nothing in her short life thus far has been so difficult. The late night feedings, the poopy diapers, the cracked nipples, the sleep deprivation. No, now it's the temper tantrums and the hitting and the defiance and the general twoness . But she's never been more wonderful. We were out shopping today and she was being extremely good while I tried to hurriedly pick out some fabric. ( Addiction anyone?) She kept asking me to "Hold you.", which I couldn't because I was busy looking at bolts of fabric. As the woman was cutting my selections the little lady entertained us both with her normal sweet, charming antics; but she still wanted me to hold her. I felt bad, but told her that I would hold her after we paid and were leaving the store. Finally as we were leaving, I picked her up. She clung to my neck in her version of a bear hug and said, "Mama, little lady happy. Like shopping mama." Just stick ...

I'm not very artistically inclined. I don't have a good "eye" and I constantly need verification from other people that what I'm trying to put together looks good . However, I am crafty. Not as in that late 90's witchy movie , but in that I can take things and make them into something new. When I was little I used to make jewelry and friendship bracelets and cross-stitch pictures for my teachers. You see, my mom is crafty too. I think I've come by it pretty honestly. I kind of gave up on crafting after I went to college. I didn't have a lot of disposable income, or time, to spend whipping up crafty creations. I had bills to pay, food to buy and beer to drink. Perhaps if I had bought more sewing supplies and less keg glasses I would have some resemblance of a six-pack today. (Ok, probably not. But one can dream, can't she?) After the Mr. and I moved in together I had a short burst of domestic production, but it quickly died after I made c...

Last week my little lady turned two. I really can't believe it. The cool thing is that she was born my best friend's daughter's birthday. (Do you have any idea how much easier it is to plan a birthday party with someone else? Especially when that person is the nicest, laid-back, cool mama ever? Well, it simplifies things.) Her daughter was two when the little lady was born. Which means that big girl that visited us in the hospital was the same age as my little girl now. How does that happen? Where does the time go? Throughout the week (yes, week) of birthday festivities I was busy. Busy cleaning, cooking, entertaining, crafting. It was wonderful, but I'm glad to get back into a somewhat regular routine. Including blogging. During all of that busyness I had plenty of time to think. I thought about a lot of stuff. There have been some exciting changes in our life and more to come soon. (For the hundredth time, I'm not pregnant!) I thought about this b...

A new post is coming soon. No really, I promise! I've been a bit busy as I prepared for the little lady's second birthday. Lots of parties, lots of prep and perhaps a little too much sugar. I'm working on finding a little direction over here too. More on that later. Until then get outside, feel the sun and enjoy your day. I'll be back soon!

Happy Friday everyone! Because I don't have a shred of humility and because it's a gorgeous Friday, I'm going to go ahead and let you in on my ensemble at the gym this morning. Sound boring and inconsequential? Well, if you had seen me wearing this, you might think differently. Black, kitten heeled shoes with a flower on the toe. Black, saggy yoga pants that are the Mr.'s, and have bare spots on the legs where some unknown substance ate away at them while in the trunk of my car. Coral tank from Old Navy that now reaches almost to my knees because the hem has ripped out. Floral scarf with turquoise flowers and olive green leaves. Old grey zip up that has started to shrink North, thus leaving the pockets almost at my bosoms. And since I like you, and it really does complete the outfit: A white elastic headband, desperately trying to keep my hair out of my face. If I was simply headed to the gym and didn't have to talk to anybody before I got to the locker room, it ...

I need a plan. I need to make some lists. I need to clean. I need to organize. I need to figure out family pictures. I want to buy a new lens. I need a few more hours in the day. I need to find this book. I want to buy more fabric to make more dresses. I need to pay the bills. I need to buy a swimsuit . I want to go to the gym. What do you need today?

I'm struggling with my To-Do list today. The To-Do list of the next five or so years. So, I'm taking one item on at a time. Now, I just have to decide where to start.

This time of year the clock seems to move faster. The days are longer, but for some reason we're packing more and more into each day. I know why, we live in the mid-west and there are only so many months that it is pleasurable to be outdoors. So we picnic and BBQ and head to the park and go for walks. All the stuff that the other eight or nine months of the year it is difficult to do. I can't even say how nice it is to simply walk out the door, and go for a walk. No forethought about jackets or temps or any of the extraneous items that you need in the depths of winter. But all of the fresh air makes me exhausted. Maybe it's the fact that it's light longer and thus my days are longer too. We get up earlier, our day gets going faster and we spend it run, run, running. Even at night it's not difficult to be out past nine or ten. Try doing that in mid-January, when the temps fall by the double digits as soon as the sun sets. At three o'clock. There's ...