and off we go. /  by jen geigley


Yup, we're going back.

Travel mates include Erin and Trisha plus new pal Shannon. Representing Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, respectively.

Last year brings back fond memories and inside jokes.

Hazzzaaaar.

Breakfast pizza.

Perez.

Zoltar.

Britney. (Okay, we didn't actually see her... but she was there.)

Beer pong and Guitar Hero.

Taco.

Gerbils.

Get ready, Vegas. Here we come. (See you next week.)

digits /  by jen geigley


Just in time for the 3-2 yesterday, we posted a challenge at the Creative Type that's all about numbers. Which is the perfect opportunity to record an infinite amount of random facts about your life as it is right now. (Yeah, 643 Twitter updates, 244 blog posts? Woah. I can't even tell you when I became that kind of girl. And I didn't even get into my Tumblr stats.) I dare you to play along – you have two weeks to make a page using lots of numbers and link it up here. Go forth.

Also, speaking of Twitter. I am currently taking CZ's microblogging class. It's basically perfect for me. I love to embrace the inner monologue. You scrapbook your Twitter updates. To describe it in 140 characters or less, it's genius.

I had always intended to do something with the 'good' ones (because it really is cool to read back over the past year and see what kind of random stuff I had posted) but sometimes it takes a little push from an pro to actually get me to put it down on paper. Stoked. (Okay, there, Aaron. You said I Twitter about blogging, but asked when I'd blog about Twitter, so here you go.)

the new ride. /  by jen geigley


So excited to get a new car after five years with the old one. Bo has a Civic hybrid so now we are officially a 100% hybrid family.

And I'm so not even worried about what my neighbors think of me by now. They already know we're weird. Had to get the jump shot; I have no shame.

I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it /  by jen geigley


Friday means time for a new Dare. I am in love what the other girls did with this one. Up today – Style: your signature thing ... a piece of jewelery/shirt/shoes/bag that completes you. Everyone has something and I bet a lot of people share mine. I started wearing Converse in high school. The days of metal (and okay, Nirvana and Pearl Jam.) All because of three boys named Blaine, Brian and Mark; one played drums and the other two played guitar. They introduced me to the best shoe in the world and I've worn them ever since. I still have my very first pair of (now) faded black hi-tops from high school that I drew all over (and I think there are stickers on them, too.) I even wore a blue pair of light blue All-Star lo-tops (and Bo wore black Vans old skools) for our wedding. For a very very long time, I have either worn Chucks or Vans (a very close second) every single day of my life.

Listening to this today...

If you haven't already, you can download the free NIN/JA EP here.

I sooo wish we were able to catch them on tour this summer, but it is just not going to work out. I'll be in Vegas during the Kansas City show, and the show in Chicago will only have NIN and not Jane's; we just saw NIN by themselves not long ago so it has to be both. Then they're playing Bonnaroo in TN like a week or two before I go to Nashville in June. Dang. I keep trying to win tickets on Twitter anyway. :)

ziggy stardust /  by jen geigley


Remember that second skein of yarn that I was talking about?

Handspun scarf no. 2 is done!

The last one was Iron Maiden, so naturally this is Ziggy Stardust.

This yarn was such a blast to work with; every few stitches brought in a new color.

This one turned out to be about 5" longer than my yellow/black one but I love that they're both nice and long. With loooong fringe.

So now what am I going to do? I am actually working on this completely crazy, semi-dangerous new project that I'll show you soon. I stayed up late last night getting it started and my fingers are about to fall off. Tonight's plans to see My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult have been squashed (they canceled) but I'm not sad, because I can just work on project crazy instead.

tulips and ... motocross. /  by jen geigley

Just a ton of photos, really...

Mother's Day weekend part 1: Tulip Time festival in Pella.

(Sometimes I think Lotus kisses the flowers instead of smelling them...)

The Dutchesses.

I love the dancing and singing. All in Dutch, and it's a family affair. Even the littlest kids participate.

This song was so sweet ... the kids sit on their dad's feet (under the 'windmill') and then the boys come and grab the girls' hands and then they run away together.




The Dutch letters were delicious.

The tulips were perfect and so bright and it's cool to see all of the varieties.

Lo and I wore matching Vans. Ha.

It was pretty much a perfect day to spend outside, and the perfect Mother's Day activity.

Part 2: We found out that there was going to be a freestyle motocross demo at Val Air (as part of the Disturbed show that night) so we headed over to check it out. Not the concert, just the motocross. Because Lo was with us.



Riders were Tommy Clowers, Myles Richmond and Destin Cantrell. They were doing crazy tricks and back flips. And probably nearly causing accidents for the cars passing by since the ramp was in the parking lot, right on Ashworth. Super fun to see, though. Hope you had a great weekend!

bento love /  by jen geigley


Wishing Wendy (Wendolonia) a happy one year bento-versary! She has pretty much been my intro to bento and actually has me excited for preschool days and packing lunches. Wendy has been documenting bento lunches made for her son for a year now on her blog. (More than 175 lunches and she photographed all but 3 or 4.) As the mom of a super picky eater, I'm all about embracing cute food. Here are some of my faves from the blog...

I've been taking notes... cute shapes cut with cookie cutters.

picks and kabobs.

cheese shapes.

silicone muffin cups.

cute animal dividers peeking out.

tofu shapes and sprinkles on fruit.

roll-ups.

checkerboard apples.

cute fruit.

and bunny sandwiches.

But of course the best part of bento lunches are the super cool containers.

And supplies/accessories. (all photos from Wendolonia)

Anyway, I'm still a rookie but since Lo has had a hard time branching out on her food choices lately, here's her simple lunch from today.

We'll settle for grape jam sandwich strips and cheese stars on a plate for now. Luckily, I have a little while before she heads to preschool to hone my bento skills. Thanks to Wendy for the fantastic ideas.

Unicycle to work day /  by jen geigley

Bo kicked off Bike to Work week by riding his Kris Holm 29" unicycle to work this morning. Check the local news coverage here.

And watch this to see the most sick unicycling you could ever imagine. Kris Holm, my friends. Bo's hero.