Blah. January.

Is it over yet?  I feel as if my life has been snow.  shovel.  snow.  shovel.  repeat.

How cold is today?  Glasses frozen to bridge of nose cold.  Icy sidewalk cold.  Frozen respiration on hair cold.  Kids in the house cold.  High of 34 cold?  Wow!  Balmy.  But cold.

Happy-ish thoughts:  Miriam's birthday party is Saturday.  Eight nine year olds usually liven things up.  January is almost over.  And February is short.  I need a sponsor to send me to South America.  Any takers?

Vodka in a Pinch

This article in the Exponent made my day.  I loved it.  I don't know if my visiting teaching companion has vodka, but I love that I could ask her!

Bygone Crafts?

Last Saturday afternoon, Jesse and I split up and took the girls on dates.  I had Miriam this month and she wanted to go to the antiques store.  Not a problem.  We wandered the stores' three stories and talked a little.  Mostly we just looked.  But upstairs, I found these gorgeous pillowcases.  They reminded me of my Great Aunt Edith's work.  She did amazing needlework and tatting.  I slept on gorgeous pillowcases my whole childhood thanks to her.

The older I get, and the craftier I get, the more I lament not learning from my grandmothers and great aunt.  They were masters with their needles and knew crafts like tatting, quilting, embroidery.  And here I am learning these same crafts, but on my own without the help of these artists because they've all passed on now.

And how about you?  How are your hand crafting skills?  Do you hand quilt? Embroider? Tat?  Knit?  Crochet?  Who taught you?  

Organize/Purge

 

Jesse was inspired by my sister in law, Amy's closet.  Everything was neatly boxed and labeled.  He said the order of it made him happy.  He feels that way in Master Brooke's house, too.  She is very organized and good at getting rid of things she doesn't need.  

I decided to try and organize one of our chaotic places with see through storage bins.  This is stuff that would be in a linen closet if we had one.  I have a box for medicine, hair stuff, travel size, first aid, toothbrushes, and contact/glasses stuff.  The basket on top has lice stuff (remember last year?).  And the basket on the bottom has nail stuff.  

I'm surprised by what gets used the most.  It's not what I suspected.  The hair dryer gets a lot of use but no one is asking me for all the barrettes and rubber bands I put away.  They just use the 10 barrettes I left out.  Hm.  I'm in the medicine box almost every day for cold meds or ibuprofen (I have been sick, but I still feel like a junkie every time I open the box).  But no one has used a band aid in the last two weeks.  

This organizing-purging bug has bitten me big time.  I took 4 bags to Goodwill today and then found more things to purge from the kitchen.  Even I don't need 5 silicone spatulas.  Who knew?  I am officially down to 2 colanders.  But I looked at my bento making paraphernalia and promptly put it back on the shelf.  There are some things that you cart across an ocean and a continent and my bunny egg mold is one of them. 

Stuff Conundrum

Are you like me?  Do you read *this article and get totally inspired to jettison all non essential items from your home?  (Hello three colanders.  At least one of you is leaving this week.)

But then on your shopping trip to Target where EVERYTHING is clearance priced you buy red sparkly shoes for the girls For Next Year.  Five of the same crafty toy for Future Birthday Gifts.  Two dolls your girls were coveting 4 years ago because they are on Clearance.  And a new pair of boots, also on Clearance.

 Is it just me that loves/hates stuff?  Where does thrifty end and hoarding begin?  

*Thanks for the link Da.

Visibility. Yet Sartorially Challenged

Seriously.  Wouldn't you want to get lost in the woods in this outfit?  So warm.  So visible. 

Finally! Some FUN in 2011!

It's hard to be FUN when everyone is sick.  Sick kids.  Not fun.  Sick Mom.  Not fun.  Sick Dad.  Definitely not FUN.  And then miraculously, everyone starts getting better! 

And we have FUN!  At Shades State Park.  Where they aren't collecting the usual $5 entrance fee because who in their right mind would want to tromp through the snow?  Us!  Our 1.2 mile hike took over two hours.  Obviously, we weren't going for speed. 

I love being outside, even if it is a little coldy.  I love my purple snow pants and lime green coat because they keep me warm and I will always be the first one found if we ever get lost.  I love all the winter gear we've accumulated that has made it possible to spend hours outside in brrr cold temperatures.

I love spending a Saturday doing this. 

Behind the falls on trail 2

Not this.

Last Saturday Mim slept until 5pm!

Bronx Zoo

The enclosure is open and the lemurs often have to be shooed back in by a zookeeper whose job it is to make sure they don't harass the patrons. 

I have to post some pictures from the Bronx zoo.  It's an amazing zoo and it's pay what you wish on Wednesdays.  What a deal!  We got to bring my nephew Tenney with us.  Isn't it funny how adding one kid to the mix makes it easier?  T is known for his dislike of using his own feet, but he was a speed demon with us.  He ran around the whole park leaving my girls in his dust.  And he shared his goldfish with me.  What a man!  Did I mention that he is super cute photogenic as well?  Next time I want to spend one on one time with each of the cousins.  It's so fun to get to know them as individuals. 

J's 33rd

Happy birthday to sweet Jesse. So I'm about a week late but that's been the story of my life lately. I'm so glad he was born. I am a super lucky gal.

I'm also glad that Amy made him flan, Ben brought ice cream. And everyone gave him cool gifts. It made it easy to stick to my no gift deal.

Jesse is a great husband, an awesome father, and a really nice friend. I love you!

Free Prime

Did you see?  You can get free Amazon prime (free 2-day shipping) if you're a Mom.  Or a Dad.  Or a caregiver.

Or, you can get free Amazon Prime if you're a student.  Brilliant.

Of course there is some fine print.  Just read it.  Then write down on your calendar when you need to cancel so you don't get charged.  Easy peasy.

Gwyn Is Six

I was awake for about 3 hours of Gwyn's birthday.  I am so grateful to Jesse and Amy for making sure she had a party.  Jesse went shopping for her.  In a store.  That's love.  Amy got her balloons.  And Ben and Yuki let her spend the night with them. 

I was in charge of the green lobster jello.  Her request.  She was happy.  I was too, since that was about all I ate the whole day. 

Happy 6th birthday Gwyn!  We are so glad you were born.

Happy 2011

Hi!  Happy New Year! 

I've missed you terribly.  You know all those signs advertising flu shots?  Next year I'm gonna get me one of those.  I would gladly spend $25 if I could get last week back.  And now the kids are sick, too. 

Luckily for you, you don't have to hear us hacking and snorting, puking, and moaning.  But didn't that make you want to go out and get a flu shot?  Right now?  Me, too.

I've missed all sorts of special days, but I'll put them up shortly.  You are going to LOVE Gwyn's birthday lobster.  I just know it. 

See you soon! xoxo