laughs

{smile - march 2008}
"can't deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants."

- stephen king

changes

"it's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear . . . . it's like being between trapezes. it's linus when his blanket is in the dryer. there's nothing to hold on to."
- marilyn ferguson

places

{solo road trip to temple - "the mothership"- april 2008}
"a person needs at intervals to separate from family and companions and go to new places. One must go without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change."
- katharine hathaway

sunday fun

what to do on a cloudy sunday afternoon:

take three similar sodas...

fill a couple dixie cups with each...

and let them figure out which soda is which... very serious business as noted by nathans hand-on-brain posture.
very good for the spelling lesson as noted by colins attempt to spell 7-up correctly.
very fun for justin because we just did this experiment with root beer last week.

birthday wishes

{paul. debbie. victoria. daniel - crescent beach - july 2007 -photo taken by my sil lisa}

happy birthday paul!

may you enjoy today as much as april 15th!

heres to birthday cakes and lasertron games!

six candles for willa

{willa at crescent beach- sand castle contest - july 2007 - photo taken by my sil lisa}

happy birthday willa!

may your day be filled with sweet candy suckers and colorful balloon animals!

happy day!

welcome back kotter

no words necessary.

this is how we hang out on friday nights.

to bad about the tornadoes.

nesting project #10

the before picture...the after picture
wow...now i might actually want to be creative again on that clean and
organized work table...
happy nesting!

tonight

the nightstand photo for tonight...

looks like i've got a lot of reading planned...

looks like i've got a lot of movies to watch...

looks like i've got a lot of calls to make...

nesting project #9

inspiration book

aka the leftover journal

aka the island of misfit

paint colors, decorated rooms
scrapbook layouts and articles

entertaining ideas & gift ideas

just stuff. just stuff. all in one spot.

taped. stapled. glued.

no more overflowing piles of magazines.

just rip/stick/move on.

pass the magazine on/recycle it/just keep it from filling up our house.

i already can feel the clutter leaving.

i already can feel the excitement of trying some new recipes.

i already can feel the joy of ordering take-out.

i already can feel a little bit of control in this wonderful game of life.

i already can feel peace replacing crazy.

i am nested - for a day or two.

nesting project #8

this project was originally a weekend creative valentines project downloaded

from ali edwards blog that progressed into a belated anniversary present for steve

that is filled with wonderful treasures from the 'us' shoebox -

you know the special things you save - ticket stubs. post-it love notes. cards for no special occasion. pictures that never make it to the album. words that only have meaning between us.

all smashed together.

in one place.

held together with two circle ring clips.

15 years in the making...

pictures from the special day to the everyday...

pictures & party invites from the dating years...

pictures of us throughout the years, throughout the glasses...

little bachelor invites & big silly smiles...
pages from filofaxes and pages from newspapers....

pages from today.... happy fifteen years.

happy days always.

heres to adding to our book.

heres to adding you + me.

happy birthday wishes #1

"true friends are those who, when you make a fool of yourself,

don't believe that this condition is permanent."
— erwin t. randall

-

happy birthday susan!

heres to coach purses. blue whales. sheeben. stuffed mushroom. calligraphy lessons. absolute kurant. bloodys. lots of laughs. lots of weddings. regan & white couches. pens. more pens. perfect writing tools. mary allens shoes.

thinking of you on your special day.

enJOY !

happy birthday wishes #2

happy birthday melanie!

cashews & cottage cheese

school bus rides and walks

the b-52's and champagne

almost fainting on the altar this day

wegmans cherry bombs

enjoy your special day!

happy birthday wishes #3

just kidding...
seems like there has been a lot of numbers in my posts lately...

nesting project #8 - sneak peek

i've been working on this project for a while but now i'm determined to actually finish it as part of the nesting project week...keep ya posted from project central...

nesting project #7

quotes.

i collect them.

i jot them down everywhere.

i have them all over.

in journals.

on my calendar.

in my filofax.

on the phone book.

tacked to the bulletin board.

taped to the refridge.

but now they have all a home.

together.

too many page protectors today.

but never too many quotes.

nesting project #6

project: print blog

plan of attack: one month at a time without duplicating previously printed months

time spent: hours

ink used: much

color ink used: much more

number of pages: too many

verdict: too much blogging

solution: less blogging on earth day

bye..

nesting project #5

problem: project #4 leads to project #5

when opening the recipe cupboard to put away project #4, a overstuffed file folder filled with ripped out magazine pages covered with delicious looking recipes was staring me in the face which leads us to...

solution: recipes to try binder

stored right next to the cookbooks...
filled with pages from different magazines collected throughout different stages in my life...

every kind of recipe from play dough to the perfect apple pie...

almost makes me want to whip out the kitchen aid & apron...

watch out iron chef...

nesting project #4

problem: the one magazine i have never ripped or thrown away or recycled can be found in the magazine basket in the family room & the bottom shelf in the pantry & in the cookbook cupboard above the stove.

solution: one recycled binder with a bow.

yikes...i can feel this project leading to more in the recipe cupboard.

nesting project #3

problem: too many take-out menus in too many different places in the house/kitchen/car/purse/cup holder in bag chair.

solution: mini binder with altered page protectors

all menus/all coupons/all punch cards
all in one safe spot & ready for dinner!
(right next to the car keys...)

heres to take out dinners everywhere !

nesting project #2

write it down...

problem: i faithfully printed out each of shimelles daily writing prompts for the entire month of february but never but my pen to paper.

solution: the mini photo album.

now each creative writing prompt is located in its own pocket.
total time: 10 minutes
cover: spring catalog from neiman marcus
space reclaimed: kitchen drawer/office folder/nightstand table
writing project: ongoing
nesting project #2: done

nesting project #1

problem: i got 'caught' throwing away colins school papers a couple months ago & ever since then he carefully places all of his papers in a folder at the end of each day which leads to an overflowing mess in the kitchen drawer.

solution: the binder with page protectors +

a couple of pictures +
a personalized name tag =
one happy colin enjoying his very 'own' book !

he loves flipping through the binder.

he loves reading his daily journal pages.

he loves watching himself evolve/change/progress.

he loves adding to his new book.

he loves project #1.

(and so do i !)

reflections

{picture from campus at ut...april 2008}

" Walk in the rain, jump in mud puddles, collect rocks, rainbows and roses, smell flowers, blow bubbles, stop along the way, build sandcastles, say hello to everyone, go barefoot, go on adventures, act silly, fly kites, have a merry heart, talk with animals, sing in the shower, read childrens’ books, take bubble baths, get new sneakers, hold hands and hug and kiss, dance, laugh and cry for the health of it, wonder and wander around, feel happy and precious and innocent, feel scared, feel sad, feel mad, give up worry and guilt and shame, say yes, say no, say the magic words, ask lots of questions, ride bicycles, draw and paint, see things differently, fall down and get up again, look at the sky, watch the sun rise and sun set, watch clouds and name their shapes, watch the moon and stars come out, trust the universe, stay up late, climb trees, daydream, do nothing and do it very well, learn new stuff, be excited about everything, be a clown, enjoy having a body, listen to music, find out how things work, make up new rules, tell stories, save the world, make friends with the other kids on the block, and do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage, balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, relaxation, communication and life energy. . . to all living beings on this planet."
-bruce williamson

thinking today

reflecting today

enjoying today

living in today

go.live.now.today

weekend recap

i love our weekends together.

i love watching the boys play football.

i love seeing their commitment & teamwork.

i love our blue sunny skies.

i love our car races home.

i love relaxing with friends.

i love watching spy kids with the boys.

i love their excitement when we pick them up from sunday school.

i love it that they actually like to go grocery shopping.

i love sunday night grilling.

i love sippel stories.

i love our silly family weekend traditions.

honoring uncle pat

raconteur

executive

worldly

outrageous pig roasts

amazing woodworker

husband. brother. father. uncle

christian friend to all

we love you

we'll miss you

your stories will be our memories always

peace