today

{my filofax - my survival kit - my daily life - my journey}

life is short

break the rules

forgive quickly

kiss slowly

love truly

laugh uncontrollably

never regret anything that made you smile

-unknown

hello blue...i {heart} u

{picture from back patio...today...austin texas}

well so much for the black & white & grey day today.

"one day at a time - this is enough. do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. live in the present and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering" - unknown

live today.

black + white = grey today

black & white picture scrapiness today...

black & white reading enjoyment...

black & white photo project in the making...
grey hairs got rescheduled for one more week...
grey skies at the bus stop this morning...
grey wool skirt at old navy for $6...
heres to mixing black & white today...
go.grey.live.

my word this year...

{pottery barn frame...live fully...christmas present to steve...december 2007}

i've been thinking alot about my 'word' for this year...

i've been chatting alot with my sil debbie about my 'word' for this year...

i've been pondering alot this month about my 'word' this year...

i've been talking outloud (?) aloy abount finding my 'word' this year...

and i didn't even need to worry about my 'word' for this year...

because justin found it for me.

today when i picked the boys up from the bus stop, justin jumped into the van and said totally unprompted "mom, i have your word for the year ...LIVE."

how can i argue with that...

so i'm retiring peace from 2007.

so i'm retiring change from 2006.

so i'm saying hello to live for 2008.

go.live.fully.today.

tuesday

When I opened the door this morning to walk to the bus stop, I was greeted by a wonderful warm wind…the kind of wind that reminds me of flying to florida for easter vacation as a child…we would leave buffalo in the cold gray winter season & when we arrived down south and stepped outside the airport in our layered clothes that blinked 'we are from the north' you had to simply stand for a moment to let your mind reprogram…let your body adjust to the sunny warm temperatures…your feet saying lets get some flip flops on…your lungs swallowing a huge gulp of delicious spring air…what a wonderful way to start a day with a great childhood memory…I hope I am making the same wonderful childhood memories for the boys…

Today it is going to be in the high 70's...sunglasses & sockless kind of day.

Tonight it is going down to the 30's…sweaters and blankets.

Winter in Austin…

Heres to a day of new and warm memories!

creative colin

austin thru the eyes of a 5 year old...target/firehouse/toys-r-us...please note the daily grill restaurant in the lower right hand corner...most children would have mcdonalds or sonic but colin loves their fancy mini burgers on the childrens menu...happy monday!

three big words for sunday

science fair projects!

{justins' carbon dioxide exploding bags}

{nathans' inflating ballons with soda & vinegar}

we are so proud of the boys for participating in this years optional science fair...we experimented with lots of baking soda and vinegar over the past week & produced some exciting results...when nathan finished his poster board today, he seriously said "i feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders"...honestly, where does he come up with these lines?? happy day....

top 10 today...

{100 % texas - big state festival - october 11, 2007}

• completing my first scrapbook page in 7 months
• working on science fair projects x two today
• blue skies, warm breeze & flip flops in january
• justin winning his basketball game today
• open windows throughout the house
• great neighbors gathering around the workbench
• figuring out how to print pictures at home
• saturday morning breakfast tacos from rudys
• watching vh1 top 20 videos & mtv cribs with justin
• working on saturdays newspaper sudoku puzzle with nathan

saturday notes....

colin: "mom,do you know what i call the lines around my sun?"
mom: "rays?"
colin: "no mom, EYELASHES !"

inspire me.

{my table. my space. my inspiration board = my closet}

today i cleaned off the scrapbook table.{maybe to make a layout soon}

today i printed out this little project. {early valentines gift?}

today i ordered this special journal.{can't wait to write in it}

today i made this notebook.{it really works}

today i found this cute idea. {i have lots of treasures to fill it with}

today i printed this recipe. {perfect weekend treat}

today i created a page in this. {totally different}

happy creating. happy weekend.

colins friday

our guest blogger today is curly colin...

6am - one more day to stay home & recover. yes.

9am - errands. yuck. oh well, these can't take long.

11am - wrong on that last comment.

1pm - zigity. markers. paint. wood spaceships. spongebob.

6pm - chilis for dinner. tgif.

9pm - fell asleep on the couch.

happy birthday timmy

{charlie.timmy.colin.uncle tom.justin.lars.nathan - canada - july 2007}

happy birthday timmy!! enjoy your special day & eats lots of cake & blow out all those candles!

sips and chips...

curly colin woke up at 1 am with the flu.
you know the rest of the story.
two boys down, one left to go.
the only thing that the boys share is sickness.
cold & grey around here today.
perfect day to be sick, if you have to be sick.
feel better soon buddy.
ice chips and sprite for breakfast.

live fully

"we can only be said to be alive in those moments when our
hearts are conscious of our treasures."

thornton wilder

today i...

had six eyes watch me do the laundry...
chatted with debbie on the phone...
made baking soda exploding ziploc bombs with justin...
hung out with colin at school...
made chocolate brownies with nathan...
ate chicken parm subs for dinner...
watched american idol tonight...
got the commission reports called in a day early...
hit the grocery store/dry cleaners/post office/gas station-making only right hand turns...
everyday memories...

m3...monday movie madness

{movie time sugar}
{homemade tickets}

martin luther king holiday...cool & rainy

no school boys x 3...pajamas all day

zigity games in bed

back 2 back movies x 3

just my luck...firehouse dog...over the hedge

candy...pop...popcorn...pillows & blankets

reading...coloring...dancing

no emails...no office work...no laundry

priceless

weekend fun

science fair projects

basketball game & win

workbench project continues

church & sunday school

haircut for justin

reading library books

blokus games

watching football game with hensons & smiths

papa murphy pizza

football cards at target

downloading music

uploading pictures

austin boat show

hanging with my boys

looking forward to next weekend

chick flicks

lauren, hannah, mike, sandra, julie and i watched the nanny diaries together this week...total chick flick...just loved hanging out by the roaring fire...chatting..laughing...catching up...connecting...playing with hannah...enjoying today...

friday notes

{our backyard - way home from the airport - january 16th, 2008}
nathan home with the flu - unpacked my bags - reading atonement & loving it - watched we are marshalls with the boys tonight - catching up on office work & emails - whole weekend to enjoy - thoughtful cvs bags with treats left on our front door to remind us of aunt ellie - happy friday!

memories and smiles....

{ryan, me, mike and lauren celebrating with aunt ellie stories}

home to remember aunt ellie.

missed connection in chicago.

drove from rochester at 1am.

homemade chocolate chip cookies.

giggles with lauren all night.

prayers in church with paul & debbie.

fannys for lunch with stories of remembering.

afternoon movie with hannah.

brennans for dinner with gang.

visited grandmas new pad.

zumba laughs with mom.

homeward bound.

peace in life...just peace.

weekend recap...

basketball season started. workbench created. mousetrap playdates. avocado cupcakes. poker games. unaccompanied minor movie laughs. popcorn & pizza. football cheers and tears. airplane tickets. camera cases. off to buffalo to honor aunt ellie. peace today.

sunday dreams...

colin fell asleep waiting for us to tuck him in...notice all of his treasures surrounding him...his cat in the hat inside his step stool & his red snake from taelyn...love your little snores...love your sleeping smile...love your nighttime prayers...sweet dreams always.

saturday...remembering

{great aunt ellie and i - christmas 1969}
today was a blessing...my great aunt eleanor went to heaven finally...after a long year and a half waiting to meet her maker she finally received her wish...aunt ellie was a strong & independent woman...she was a working woman before there were working women...she was the sole caregiver for her mother...she lived in the same house forever...she was there before the 290 was even built...her jokes were the best, especially the ones shared around the thanksgiving table...she went to tim hortons for coffee & a danish EVERY morning in the tony walker plaza & i loved meeting her there with the boys when they were babies...she was the kind of aunt that if you said you loved something materialistic of hers, it was secretly delivered to your house the next day with a thoughtful note...i'd often arrive home with the boys at the end of the day only to notice a bag tightly wrapped around our front door handle - aunt ellie would drop off a little sugar treat for the boys because she saw it in walgreens and thought the boys would love it - there was never a note, we just knew her thoughtfulness...if you stopped by her house for a quick visit, she would never let you leave without a little something - maybe the pin she was wearing or a bag of chocolates from the candy dish at the front door or the book she had just finished reading or some pocket change for a cup of coffee...aunt ellie was always up on current affairs and gossip, she always knew what was going on/who was dating who/what movie was hot...she was a courageous woman who decided to fight cancer with life & succeeded for a long time...heres to a great aunt who was a great aunt...we will miss you always.

tgif...just thinking

i love when something causes me to stop & remember...like whenever i hear a sonny & cher song, it reminds me of eating dinner every sunday night on tv tables in our family room in front of the tv watching their show...like whenever i see my cousin suzanne i remember all the sleepovers at her house where we would build huge play houses out of all the discarded boxes from the brand names store up the street & how elaborate they would be & how long we would spent decorating it with markers...like when ever i smell shalimar perfume, it reminds me of mom and her mirrored perfume tray that was always filled with wonderful different beautiful bottles on her dresser (does anyone still do this?)...like whenever i see a razor scooter, it reminds me of my kick-n-go scooter i had as a kid (i was so proud of that mode of transportation)...like whenever i see a rotary telephone it makes me think of grandma zang probably because she actually still has one...all good memories...all good stuff...go.make.more.memories.

thursday randomness...

thankful for so many things and just realized how much fun we are having with all our holiday gifts...love my new digital camera from steve (thanks hon - how did you know?!)...justin and nathan are enjoying their mp3 players and spend much of their free time downloading songs...colin loves his new lego airport and lego dump truck - i just love watching him build these masterpieces out of 750 pieces...the electronic dart board has been a big hit & now has found a home on the garage wall - we all have been practicing our skills - maybe a little tournament on the path is in the future...the tool kit was a big hit with colin (thank goodness santa read that late letter that we sent fedex to the north pole)...steve has been wearing his new jacket to work & i'm working on breaking in those cowgirl boots...othello is a fun new game around here - colin has mastered the logic behind it & now can beat me...just a little holiday recap.

back on track...simplify

little by little i'm getting this holiday house turned back into our home...still vacuuming up confetti and fake pine needles...still drinking starbucks holiday blend coffee...still writing christmas thank you notes...on the flip side, i'm really looking at things in a new perspective this year...my goal is to simplify some things around here...for example - when i want to jot a quick thank you note to someone - i keep the notes in a drawer in the hall closet, the return address labels in our desk drawer in our bedroom, stamps in my filofax, which could be just about anywhere in the house and pens in the kitchen drawer...how about just a "note" basket with a pen, a book of stamps, several sheets of return address labels and a couple packets of thank you notes all in one place...another crazy place i need to simplify, my makeup bag...my morning routine is pretty simple but finding the mascara in the bottom of the bag is a huge challenge - i have to make my way past bottles of nail polish, tubes of unused lipstick, compacts of eye shadow (hello? when have i EVER worn eyeshadow?), bottles of foundation (the colors appear to be ghost-like...) and travel toothpaste...hummm, i could probably save 5 minutes every morning if i just rethink this bag approach a little...well, you get the idea - now lets see if i can do some simplifying around here...going to start with a page or two of these labels - i've got this freezer that needs to be simplified since i spent 5 minutes tonight looking for a bag of frozen corn...hope you can find an extra 5 minutes in your day today!

back on track...reading

almost finished...what an amazing book...been working on this one since july but its so worth it...had a little help from oprahs notes (which made it an enjoyable read)...this was my third attempt to read it & i'm so excited i was able to stick with it...thanks steve for not giving away the ending completely...i'm already looking forward to picking out my next good read...maybe something just a little lighter...maybe a book already sitting on my bookcase...maybe time to reread a favorite...heres to making just a little read time everyday...

back on track...

just for laughs...i just saw this on the today show...gotta love bill gates for creating it..its a spoof of his last day at work...talk about some cool fun friends....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/22554840#22554840
the boys are back to school today...it is a little too quiet around here already...lots of things to catch up on...laundry/emails/office work/cleaning/putting away the remaining holiday decorations/finish the thank you notes...just to name a few...simplify the house...organize the projects...update the calendar...catch up on the blog...upload the pictures...off to get something done...go.

last day of holiday vacation...

{justin.nathan.taggert.colin-warm and windy today at the courts}

today was the boys last day of vacation...i have absolutely loved the no routine-no schedule life we have enjoyed over the break but i am also looking forward to getting back into the productive to-do list kind of living...we enjoyed the warm day and spent the majority of the day playing outside at the playground/shooting hoops at the court/football in the street...off to order new filofax pages/off to create new to-do lists/off to pick a new word for 2008...heres to new stuff in your day.

sunday visitor...

look who dropped by today from california...cousin beth was in town for a wedding and spent the afternoon with us...it was so great to see her and catch up...laughing about old times...her visit here was way too short...lunch at the daily grill...safe travels home...

saturday fun & lots of candles...

happy birthday to riley today...he's a big boy at 4 years old today...love the cute sayings that his world provides for all of us to enjoy...keep on smiling birthday boy....also, birthday wishes to grandma rice who turns 85 years young today...keep on smiling too grandma...she still goes to work 3 days a week and just recently moved into a retirement community "to give it a try"...just enjoying the last couple days of our holiday vacation around here...justins basketball practice started this past week and he is loving it...keep you posted on his season...happy saturday.

friday...new year.new project

ok...task at hand...date stamp all the photos in the 2007 picture box...figured it would take an hour(took 2 days)...figured it would be fun(more like frustrating)...figured i would set aside some great pictures to scrapbook(didn't happen)...apparently i have this habit of searching through shoeboxes/hopechests/photo albums until i find the picture from 1990 i was looking for then i scan it/use it/blog it and unfortunately just toss it into the current years photo box - so this fun little project turned into a big project...now i just need to sort through 2006/2005/2004 - and beyond...maybe that will be a project for next year!

january third...trying

we have been talking a lot around here about going green/recycling/reusing/taking care of our planet & the boys are so aware of many things we can do to change some of our current habits...yes, we recycle but we could recycle more...we turn off lights when we leave the room...we brush our teeth with the water off (nathan learned this water saving tip last year)...we are planning on only buying 'new energy efficient' light bulbs from now on...and we are using our new plastic shopping bags for grocery shopping...i still am getting into the habit (as with any new change)...gotta remember to bring them TO the store...gotta remember to bring them INTO the store....gotta remember to hand them to the bagger at the BEGINNING of your check-out experience...but we are getting better and even used our new "bags" at target this week...it may not move mountains of landfills but we are aware & working toward going greener...i know its working when i hear colin tell the target cashier "no plastic bag for me, i'll just carry it."...heres to little changes....go green.

january two...projects

i love this time of year...cleaning up from the holiday parties/sorting out the old games/packing away the decorations...today we updated our silver dollar coin books from granddad...all the books and coins were in my hope chest, some coins in the correct spot, some just sitting around - so today we pulled them all out...sorted...arranged and labeled each book...nathan, of course, decided to figure out the exact value of his book at todays value of silver - he now has a new appreciation for his coin collection...he will probably want to take his book to bed with him tonight...still enjoying the non-schedule life around here...looking forward to picking out my word of the year...time to move forward from peace...

happy birthday taggert

happy seven to you...happy seven to you...happy seven dear taggert...happy seven to you!! heres to days filled with bike rides, touchtowns, basketballs, toad catching and hanging with your friends on the path...

happy new 2008

happy new year.
happy new day.
happy new beginnings.
happy 365 days of clean filofax pages.
happy resolutions.
happy no resolutions.
happy content life.

happy 2008 to y'all.