why /
Sometimes people ask me why I do the things I do. Why I stay up late making weird things, why I blog, why I make little books filled with nonsense, why I spend too much time on this or that or whatever. Sometimes they kind of laugh, and I get it. It doesn't make me mad, but sometimes I wish I could explain it.
Sabrina Ward Harrison said it far better than I ever could.
'I believe we must create what we most need to find. I don't aim for pretty, I aim for release. We have to make room for our life in progress. As women, we must be heard along the way. We must share how it really feels, what we know but can't place. We must take a deeper breath and let go. Trust yourself. Leave ripples.'
Journal Your Christmas /
Hello hello. I know it's January and the holidays are long gone, but here's my December book that I made for Journal Your Christmas. I did a page a day from December 1-31 and even though a lot of the pages were super fast – stick, write and be done – I'm so happy I stuck to it and finished. It doesn't have to be perfect and pretty. It tells the little stories of our holiday season as parents, and records Christmas memories that Lo can laugh at later. Like how she ended up eating all the cookies we left out for Santa.
(Just roll over and click on the arrows to see some of the other pages... )
(Just roll over and click on the arrows to see some of the other pages... )
ummmm, yes. /
yesterday /
me: messing around on the laptop, completely oblivious to what's going on around me.
bo: making water for tea.
me: looking over to the counter (maybe five or ten or fifteen minutes later) and I see a cup for me.
me: 'awww, you made me some water!'
bo: 'i told you i made it a long time ago.'
me: 'you know i can't hear when i'm on the computer.'
me: 'do you think it's still hot?'
bo: 'in japan they say that if you're a good person, your water will stay hot.'
me: 'did you make that up?'
bo: making water for tea.
me: looking over to the counter (maybe five or ten or fifteen minutes later) and I see a cup for me.
me: 'awww, you made me some water!'
bo: 'i told you i made it a long time ago.'
me: 'you know i can't hear when i'm on the computer.'
me: 'do you think it's still hot?'
bo: 'in japan they say that if you're a good person, your water will stay hot.'
me: 'did you make that up?'
i'll be fine in 2009... /
Yup, I'm totally putting these out here, so don't laugh. I challenge you, too, to write out your goals for 09. Even if they're crazy and far-fetched.
Here we go...
- write in a journal every day
- take a quilting class
- knit a sweater for Lotus
- break out the paints again and make something cool
- save money
- drink more water
- take Lotus to the Art Center/Science Center more than once a year
- take photography class
- run more
- stop neglecting my guitar/piano
- do 25 sit-ups and push-ups a day
- read 10 books
- cut down on the fast food
- be more adventurous with my wardrobe
- take photos
- document life
- make out with my husband more often
;)
I was all excited to open my fortune cookie from my lunch today, thinking it would contain some meaningful insight into the new year, but it said this: 'You can prosper in the field of medical research.'
That's what you get when you have high hopes for your fortune cookie.
Do you have fantastically fun plans tonight, or are you just hanging at home with beverage in hand? I was kind of hoping to go to Corey Taylor's Dysfunctional NYE. It happens every year; we never go. But we do have some chill kid-friendly plans tonight, which will be perfect. We'll hit up the metal madness next year.
Happy 2009 to you!
Here we go...
- write in a journal every day
- take a quilting class
- knit a sweater for Lotus
- break out the paints again and make something cool
- save money
- drink more water
- take Lotus to the Art Center/Science Center more than once a year
- take photography class
- run more
- stop neglecting my guitar/piano
- do 25 sit-ups and push-ups a day
- read 10 books
- cut down on the fast food
- be more adventurous with my wardrobe
- take photos
- document life
- make out with my husband more often
;)
I was all excited to open my fortune cookie from my lunch today, thinking it would contain some meaningful insight into the new year, but it said this: 'You can prosper in the field of medical research.'
That's what you get when you have high hopes for your fortune cookie.
Do you have fantastically fun plans tonight, or are you just hanging at home with beverage in hand? I was kind of hoping to go to Corey Taylor's Dysfunctional NYE. It happens every year; we never go. But we do have some chill kid-friendly plans tonight, which will be perfect. We'll hit up the metal madness next year.
Happy 2009 to you!
Christmas in pictures /
Whew! Did you make it through the holidays with flying colors? Returns are done, we've had time to recover, I've taken a break from my email and the internet in general, and eaten way too many cookies, but so it goes. Here's what we've been up to the past week or so...
I took L to see Santa (again) on Christmas Eve. We stood in a very very long line, but it was actually kind of fun. There were no tears this time but there's no mistaking the look of fear in her eyes.
We decorated (and ate) cookies.
Hung out in pj's on Christmas Eve.
Lo ate the treats we set out for Santa and Rudolph.
Christmas morning – just us three. Gifts, stockings, hot chocolate.
Smiles...
...concentration...
...and abc's courtesy of Paul Frank.
All of my favorite gifts this year were paper. Listography, a ticket stub diary (for all my concert tickets - hooray!), Angela Adams' box of labels and my new favorite journaling-prompt book, the True and the Questions by Sabrina Ward Harrison. Which is so amazing that I can't stop paging through it. (Totally forgot to include my new copy of Handmade Nation in this photo! duh!)
Off to grandma and grandpa's for fun with aunts and uncles and cousins.
Five cousin pile-up. (A sad attempt to get one picture of all the kids.)
On to Aunt Mel's to see great grandma and the rest of the family. And eat yummy desserts.
And to sing silly songs (that we don't know the words to) over and over again.
Then we traveled in the fog to my dad's house in northern Iowa. And got to spend some quality time with Uncle Chris and the grandparents.
And Chris' sweet girlfriend, (Lo's favorite pal) Lisa.
Chris and Lisa and my mom followed us back to DM for yet another family gathering at our house. (I gave out nine scarves that I knitted this season – here are two of them!)
And last but not least, we had a traditional Christmas dinner at my aunt's house.
Ham, mashed potatoes, cranberries, pie and lace tablecloths. Memories I've had since I was little. The food, the family ... traditions handed down over the years, and now I get to share that with little Lo. And as my mom pointed out, now I'm the one who brings the pies.
I took L to see Santa (again) on Christmas Eve. We stood in a very very long line, but it was actually kind of fun. There were no tears this time but there's no mistaking the look of fear in her eyes.
We decorated (and ate) cookies.
Hung out in pj's on Christmas Eve.
Lo ate the treats we set out for Santa and Rudolph.
Christmas morning – just us three. Gifts, stockings, hot chocolate.
Smiles...
...concentration...
...and abc's courtesy of Paul Frank.
All of my favorite gifts this year were paper. Listography, a ticket stub diary (for all my concert tickets - hooray!), Angela Adams' box of labels and my new favorite journaling-prompt book, the True and the Questions by Sabrina Ward Harrison. Which is so amazing that I can't stop paging through it. (Totally forgot to include my new copy of Handmade Nation in this photo! duh!)
Off to grandma and grandpa's for fun with aunts and uncles and cousins.
Five cousin pile-up. (A sad attempt to get one picture of all the kids.)
On to Aunt Mel's to see great grandma and the rest of the family. And eat yummy desserts.
And to sing silly songs (that we don't know the words to) over and over again.
Then we traveled in the fog to my dad's house in northern Iowa. And got to spend some quality time with Uncle Chris and the grandparents.
And Chris' sweet girlfriend, (Lo's favorite pal) Lisa.
Chris and Lisa and my mom followed us back to DM for yet another family gathering at our house. (I gave out nine scarves that I knitted this season – here are two of them!)
And last but not least, we had a traditional Christmas dinner at my aunt's house.
Ham, mashed potatoes, cranberries, pie and lace tablecloths. Memories I've had since I was little. The food, the family ... traditions handed down over the years, and now I get to share that with little Lo. And as my mom pointed out, now I'm the one who brings the pies.
and so Happy Christmas! /
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you!
Bo, Jen and Lotus
Bo, Jen and Lotus
and what it all comes down to... /
I have been insanely busy this past week putting in late nights working on a design project. Keeping up with holiday preparations and family visits, ice storms, wrapping/baking/last-minute-shopping and the rest has been more of a challenge than ever. Yet everything still falls into place – I'm always amazed (and relieved) when that happens.
So this is our Christmas this year: we have a solid family-rock-block from Christmas Eve through Sunday, which is cool. Even better is that we're not traveling at all on Christmas day, and we're waking up in our own house – just us three, to do our thing before the rest of the gatherings begin. Grateful for that, and really looking forward to Lo opening presents this year. When she sees something she likes (lights on a tree, for example) she gets this tiny shy/embarrassed smile that is just too sweet for words.
Now that my crazy rushed freelance gig is wrapped up (and I mean 'wrapped up' literally – I put a big red bow on the disks as I handed them off today) I can relax and enjoy our Christmas Eve tomorrow. Whew. So glad the project is over but also so glad to have the work.
Watched The Hills finale (but not a finale) last night. Not sure if I'm excited about The City yet, or not, but you know I'll be watching. Was not a fan of Lauren's hair on the after show. Ditto for Whitney's large floral out-of-season headband. But my love for those girls goes on. (Wasn't it sweet that Whitney got a pair of Manolo's signed for Lauren? Aww.)
On a totally different tangent, I must say that I was so sad when I found out that we were going to have to say goodbye to RVKC. But I'm so very excited to see what's ahead with the new Red Velvet Art store (because you know that whatever Elsie and Rachel are dreaming up, it's going to be absolutely rad.) I'm so grateful that I got to be a tiny part of Red Velvet Kit Club and it was an honor to work with very talented Theresa, Marie and Michelle. A huge thanks to Rachel for having me on her kick-ass design team (and taking a chance on me.) It really was a dream come true.
*Also, for the record, this may be my first post ever that does not have any photos. Heartwarming Christmas family photo coming tomorrow to make up for this boring post!
So this is our Christmas this year: we have a solid family-rock-block from Christmas Eve through Sunday, which is cool. Even better is that we're not traveling at all on Christmas day, and we're waking up in our own house – just us three, to do our thing before the rest of the gatherings begin. Grateful for that, and really looking forward to Lo opening presents this year. When she sees something she likes (lights on a tree, for example) she gets this tiny shy/embarrassed smile that is just too sweet for words.
Now that my crazy rushed freelance gig is wrapped up (and I mean 'wrapped up' literally – I put a big red bow on the disks as I handed them off today) I can relax and enjoy our Christmas Eve tomorrow. Whew. So glad the project is over but also so glad to have the work.
Watched The Hills finale (but not a finale) last night. Not sure if I'm excited about The City yet, or not, but you know I'll be watching. Was not a fan of Lauren's hair on the after show. Ditto for Whitney's large floral out-of-season headband. But my love for those girls goes on. (Wasn't it sweet that Whitney got a pair of Manolo's signed for Lauren? Aww.)
On a totally different tangent, I must say that I was so sad when I found out that we were going to have to say goodbye to RVKC. But I'm so very excited to see what's ahead with the new Red Velvet Art store (because you know that whatever Elsie and Rachel are dreaming up, it's going to be absolutely rad.) I'm so grateful that I got to be a tiny part of Red Velvet Kit Club and it was an honor to work with very talented Theresa, Marie and Michelle. A huge thanks to Rachel for having me on her kick-ass design team (and taking a chance on me.) It really was a dream come true.
*Also, for the record, this may be my first post ever that does not have any photos. Heartwarming Christmas family photo coming tomorrow to make up for this boring post!
so much to do! /
Hi all, it's almost Christmas! I have so much on my plate right now (and I wish it was turkey, but it's mostly freelance design work, which is good, but I'm stuffed.) Just don't ask me about the Dewey Decimal System. It's a long story.
But work can't stop me from getting my Christmas on. I've been knitting lots of scarves for gifts. I'm on number five, almost to number six. Totally addicted.
And I mailed some surprise little giftys last week. ;)
Mailed off most of the Christmas cards.
And made cinnamon Christmas ornaments with Lotus.
(don't gag... we're wearing our matching aprons from Anthro...)
The cinnamon dough was super messy but this was the only craft I could think of that Lo could help me make. Besides coloring, which we do all the time and is kind of played. (We'll give these to the grandparents.)
I jacked the recipe from Angie ...
I had remembered making these in girl scouts when I was a kid, and they smell so good.
And I must say, I am so grateful to have such talented friends. My friend Yana came over last Saturday to take some photos and I am blown away by her skills.
She totally captured my kid in all of her shyness and seriousness and silliness. So awesome.
Big news: last night, L peed in the potty chair. I took a picture. She just brought the chair to Bo, he asked if she had to go, she said 'yes' and then she did. We haven't been doing any sort of potty training so this could be a complete fluke, but maybe she's ready.
Random note: we decided that the Eames stamps are frame worthy.
And the new vintage holiday/list-making challenge is up at Work Your Soul!
Go check it for some awesome Christmas eye-candy from our super awesome guest (and one of my fave girls ever) Sandy Pool.
But work can't stop me from getting my Christmas on. I've been knitting lots of scarves for gifts. I'm on number five, almost to number six. Totally addicted.
And I mailed some surprise little giftys last week. ;)
Mailed off most of the Christmas cards.
And made cinnamon Christmas ornaments with Lotus.
(don't gag... we're wearing our matching aprons from Anthro...)
The cinnamon dough was super messy but this was the only craft I could think of that Lo could help me make. Besides coloring, which we do all the time and is kind of played. (We'll give these to the grandparents.)
I jacked the recipe from Angie ...
I had remembered making these in girl scouts when I was a kid, and they smell so good.
And I must say, I am so grateful to have such talented friends. My friend Yana came over last Saturday to take some photos and I am blown away by her skills.
She totally captured my kid in all of her shyness and seriousness and silliness. So awesome.
Big news: last night, L peed in the potty chair. I took a picture. She just brought the chair to Bo, he asked if she had to go, she said 'yes' and then she did. We haven't been doing any sort of potty training so this could be a complete fluke, but maybe she's ready.
Random note: we decided that the Eames stamps are frame worthy.
And the new vintage holiday/list-making challenge is up at Work Your Soul!
Go check it for some awesome Christmas eye-candy from our super awesome guest (and one of my fave girls ever) Sandy Pool.