It's the little things that make me happy #401

An entire washload of PINK baby clothes. :)

Mommy's Little Rastafarian

My brother Kristjan is the consummate Bob Marley fan. When Maren was born he sent us this hilarious onesie with Bob's face adorning the front. It's still a little big for Maren, but I know Kristjan has been waiting a long time to see her in it, so we put it on the other morning and took a few snaps. Not sure what Maren is doing in the top picture--I know she wasn't crying; she was actually quite happy. Perhaps she's Getting Down With Her Bad Self, or doing some sort of Bob Marley wail. Couldn't tell you, really.

"CAN" I wish you a Happy Valentine's Day?

These are the little goodies I made for the ladies I Visit Teach. It's kind of hard to tell from the photo, but they are actually made from those little cans that mandarin oranges come in; the kind with the pull-tab lid. But these cans contain Hershey's Kisses and Hugs, not fruit! Clever, no?

The trick is that you open them from the bottom using one of those can openers that removes the entire lid, not just cuts out the top. Put the treats inside, decorate the outside, and then glue the bottom back on. I'd be tickled to get something like this, but then I'm easily amused! Anyway, hope my VT ladies are equally pleased.

Hostess ain't got nuthin' on me

This, my friends, is heaven in a cupcake. Yellow cake (from a mix ), homemade chocolate buttercream frosting, filling, and holiday-appropriate sprinkles, of course.

I've had to use every ounce of restraint I possess to keep from gobbling these little beauties like they're going out of style.

Thrift store finds: last Friday

Found a few fun things this week:

Another vintage Christmas tablecloth. Unusual, since they put the Christmas stuff away until next year. Somehow this one escaped, and I'm glad for it! It does have a few spots, but it will be fine in a stack. Someday I will find a brilliant and clever way to display all of my tablecloths. I'm still working on that. For now, they're in a drawer.





I'd never seen these trays before until I started thrifting here in Colorado, but apparently they must have been a popular souvenir at some point, because I've seen them for nearly every state in the Union. At one point I thought maybe I should start collecting them, and bought a Minnesota tray on a whim. Then I realized that I was crazy, and what on earth would I ever do with a collection of these trays, and I haven't bought another since. Until Friday! I only bought it because it was a Utah tray, and I've been collecting Utah-themed souvenirs for a little while. I'll put this one with the rest of my Utah stuff in the guest room.










A cute (maybe vintage) crocheted potholder. It's in great shape, and the colors are fun and bright--yellow, red, and green--with the cutest crocheted rose on the front. Maybe I'll eBay this one.

Some random things about Me

This is in response to a journaling/blogging challenge posted by scrapladyb on Two Peas:

1. Where were you born?
I was born in Provo, Utah. My parents were students at Brigham Young University at the time. That's also where I went to school and where I met my husband.
2. Name something you've always wanted to do.
I've always wished I could do the splits! Sometimes I even have dreams that I can do the splits.
3. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be the kind of person who makes you feel good when you talk to them. Not sure if I'm explaining myself well, but I knew a person like that once and I always came away from our conversations feeling better about myself.
4. What's the number one problem we face in the world today?
People refusing to take personal responsibility for their actions.
5. If you could change the world, what would you do?
Get rid of scorpions, cockroaches and mosquitos, in that order. Make it just as easy and fun to lose weight as gain weight. Oh, and World Peace.
6. What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done?
Thawing meat on the counter instead of in the fridge? I don't know, I'm a pretty big wimp! Not much of a risk-taker, this one.
7. Favorite word?
Loquacious.

Say Chee----Hey! Get Back Here!

The photo at left is what resulted from Tuesday's "Maren is 10 Months Old Today" photo shoot. Sadly, it is the most representative photo of the day--Maren streaking out of the frame at full-speed. I foolishly thought I could handle both baby-wrangling and camera duties at the same time. You can see for yourself that I was sadly mistaken.

It is not coincidental that the number of photos I've taken of Maren has decreased inversely proportionate to how mobile she's gotten. Nowadays, everything's just one big blur. How the heck do those Kiddie Kandids folks do it?

Insult to Injury

So, the Broncos lost the big game on Sunday. I think the above photo of Maren accurately sums up the general sentiment around here on THAT subject.

To really pour salt in the wound, however, my Grandpa (who holds the season tickets that my brothers used for the game on Sunday) received a letter on Monday from the Broncos, stating that he'd been chosen in the lottery such that if the Broncos had won their game on Sunday, he'd have the option of buying 2 tickets TO THE SUPERBOWL.

Oh, that just sucks.

You're in Bronco Country

There's definitely some Bronco Fever going on at my house in preparation for the big game today! My brothers flew in from Salt Lake yesterday to go to the game, and it's so much fun to have them here visiting. Sadly for us, the game is at the exact same time we have church. I was thinking that maybe we could say we're going to learn about the Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil, and as an object lesson, we could watch the game. I doubt that will happen, though, so I'm hoping someone can at least give us score updates throughout Sunday School.




GO BRONCOS!!!!!!

Last night we had breakfast for dinner, so Maren got her first taste of pancake, and she loved it! She snarfed that and the scrambled egg down without hesitation. I love having breakfast for dinner--it seems so cozy, which was perfect for yesterday since it was snowy and cold all day. I made pancakes on my big griddle and fried bacon in my big cast iron skillet, then scrambled the eggs in the bacon grease. YUM! I love how it makes the house smell when I cook breakfast, specifically the bacon. It smells like Denny's, only without the additional and markedly less appetizing aromas of stale cigarettes and burnt coffee.

Tonight I'm tired and so I've just called in to order a pizza. We checked out a DVD from the library that is due back tomorrow, so we'll have a pizza and movie night. The movie is "The Great Raid", which is based on an event that happened in WWII when Rangers were called in to rescue American POWs from Cabanatuan in the Philippenes. The story is pretty amazing, so I hope the movie does it justice. If nothing else, it has Joseph Fiennes in it, and he's yummy.

In the clink

This is a sight I saw far, far too many times last week. Maren shocked us all by learning to crawl up the stairs on Christmas Day at my parents' house. She just crawled over to them and headed up like she'd done it a million times before. Since we've been home, she's been up our stairs many times each day. If it got at all quiet, the first place I checked was the stairs, and 9 times out of 10, I found a sight much like these pictures. She hasn't fallen once, and she's very confident and fast, but I worried that she might get distracted and fall--and it's a long way down with a hardwood floor to land on, and I was tired of chasing her up the stairs. So this is the sight I see now:

Oh, that's just sad, isn't it? Poor Bronco has to suffer too, and he didn't even do anything wrong! Even though it makes me feel a little guilty to cage my kid, it's been so nice not to have to worry about her going up (or more specifically, down) the stairs. It's also made loading the dishwasher much easier as well, since I'm not fighting Maren for the silverware. I do half wonder if one of these days, she'll plot with Bronco, and he'll lift her up and over the wall to freedom. I'll be keeping an eye on those two....

Love and a wet pink nose

One year ago this weekend, Bronco came to live with us. Quin had made two appointments for us for Saturday to meet 2 labs. I still wasn't 100% on board with the whole getting a dog (and a big one, at that) thing, but I went along anyway and tried to have an open mind.

The first lab we met had a body more like a greyhound--long legs, skinny hindquarters--and long hair. We spent a couple of hours on that unusually warm and sunny January day walking around the park with him and his foster dad, but I knew I didn't like him. Didn't like the long hair and didn't think he looked "labbish" enough. I knew he wasn't the dog for us.

The next interview was at a doggie day care place across town. We drove over and told the girl at the desk that we were there to see Santos, and she disappeared into the back to retrieve him. She opened the Dutch door that separated the waiting area from the doggie area, and out he ran, going full-speed. He sniffed and snorted his way around the tiny room while we filled out the paperwork that would allow us to take him home for a trial weekend.

It was a little surreal, driving back home with a big, strange dog in the backseat. He was almost white, with a pale pink nose and the square head I associate with labradors. He looked exactly like what I thought a lab should look like.

I will admit it. I loved him immediately.

It didn't take the full weekend for us to figure out that he was the dog we wanted. In fact, on the way home with him we stopped at PetSmart and bought food, bowls, and a leash--that was how fast we knew! He just fit. From the minute we brought him home and let him out to explore, he acted like it was his house, and he'd known it all along. The people that fostered him had named him Santos, but we gave him a new name--Bronco.

We honestly couldn't have asked for a better dog. Bronco ended up at Safe Harbor Lab Rescue because he was picked up by Animal Control and put in the pound. He didn't have any tags, and his owners never came for him, so Safe Harbor took him. He came to us already house-trained, which was SUCH a blessing. I was 7 months pregnant and in no mood to have a dog peeing all over the house. He didn't chew, dig, or bark--three bad habits labs are notorious for having. He was healthy and friendly with the neighbor kids. We took him to obedience classes and he learned quickly. We were a little nervous about how he'd react to a new baby, but once he figured out she was here to stay he adjusted quickly and painlessly.

Now, Bronco and Maren are buddies. He is so patient and easy-going with her. She climbs all over him, pulls his whiskers, and generally mauls him, and he doesn't seem to care. The other night he was on the floor sleeping and Maren was using her two hands to pry apart his lips and poke at his teeth and gums, and he never even twitched. Maren loves to play Tug with him and I know that as she gets bigger and learns to walk and to run and throw a ball, they'll become the best of friends.

We love Bronco--he's part of the family now, and I'm so thankful that we were blessed to find him. I hope he lives a long and happy life, and that our kids will have fond memories of him when they are grown.

And now, I think it's time someone had a little Happy Anniversary Milk Bone! (No, not me. I prefer Beggin' Strips, anyway.)

UFO sightings

I killed two UFOs today. UFO in this instance stands for UnFinished Object, or more specifically, any of the seemingly zillions of unfinished projects I've got hanging around, weighing down my To Do lists. I've been feeling really energized by the new year, and have been trying hard to tackle some of the things I've had hanging over my head for a while now. Today I completed two UFOs, and I am proud! Feels so good to accomplish something--I should try it more often! This afternoon I finally hung the hook rail I ordered back in oh, Novemberish. I also hung the paper lantern (that I can't even remember when I bought) in Maren's room. Both of these things were really very easy, when it got down to it. Makes me wonder why I let them sit for so long!

The next big project I'm going to tackle from my UFO list is fixing my duvet cover. Now that I finally got my sewing machine out and wound a bobbin of the correct color of thread, I just have to actually DO IT. It will be trickier than today's projects, but I know that it will feel SO good to have it done and actually be able to use my duvet cover and really make my bed with matching pillows and everything, which will in turn make my whole bedroom look better.

Because I am a compulsive list-maker, I made a list for every single room in this house with the UFOs and yet-to-be-starteds for each. I'm going to try to cross a lot of them off in the next couple of months. Will 2006 be The Year I Stop Procrastinating? We'll see.

Ten Things I Like About Me

I fear that lately I've been spending too much time concentrating on the things I'm not so thrilled with about myself, so I thought it might be a good idea to balance out all that negativity by taking Sophia's challenge and post 10 things I like about myself. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. I have pretty hair
2. I'm organized
3. I'm a good cook
4. I'm creative
5. I have a good memory
6. I'm even-tempered
7. I'm positive
8. I'm tall
9. I'm dependable
10. I have a fun sense of humor

Too Much Information

You were warned.

If you've ever bought baby formula, then you know that it is unbelievably expensive. Honestly, the only drawback so far to weaning Maren has been the expense. In an effort to save a little moola, we decided to try the generic brand of formula sold at the BX (the military store), but the only kind they had at the time was the soy formula. I don't know if it's the soy or if it's the brand of formula itself, but I'm telling you, it gives Maren THE STINKIEST diapers. Now, I'm not saying that baby poop smells like roses to begin with, but seriously--the stank off these diapers could strip the paint off the walls of Hell, it's so bad. It's astonishing that such a vile stench could come out of a little creature who doesn't even weigh 16 lbs and whose diet consists almost entirely of fruits, veggies, and Cheerios.

You get what you pay for, indeed. It's back to shelling out the big bucks for Enfamil for us. The Diaper Champ can only take so much, and wearing Quin's protective gear while changing Maren's diapers is getting a bit unwieldy.

'Zat you, Santy Claus?

Everybody now:
"Awwwwwwwww"

Picture taken at our church Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. Maren's first encounter with Santa, and she was fascinated. I love the look on her face here--in true Maren fashion, she seems intrigued, but not a bit fearful. Cheeky little monkey.

Thrifting on the road

This past week Q got to go to Steamboat Springs for 'work' and Maren and I joined him for a couple of days. The weather was snowy and cold, but otherwise it is a cute little town. Tuesday we went downtown to go to a store that Q had his eye on, and I noticed a thrift store across the street. I'm telling you, I can positively sniff them out at this point, I'm so trained. Unfortunately, most of it was junk, but I did find this cute fabric for a buck. The colors are quite bright and the graphics are fun--various storybook types of illustrations. There's not quite a yard, but I thought I could make a cute pillow or something. Or, I could just stuff it into my closet for about 10 years until I figure out what to do with it. I'm guessing the latter is probably what will happen. Couldn't pass it up, though!

Someday I'll learn to stop procrastinating. Not right now, though. Maybe later.

Despite my best efforts at procrastination, it looks like I actually got everything done that I wanted to before we leave tomorrow to spend Christmas with our families in Utah. Oh, I still have to go to the grocery store, the post office, take around our neighbor gifts, wrap presents, and pack, but I really think I might be able to get it all done without becoming a shrieking banshee and being up all night long. Well, I hope, anyway. Better make this a short post!

The photo at left is a display sitting on my kitchen island. It's a series of three stacked glass cake pedestals, and clustered on it are my 'special' ornaments. These are the very best of my vintage ornaments; the ones that are anything besides just a plain, shiny glass ball. I actually changed it after I took this photo, and the reddish-pink indent ornament on the second tier is now displayed atop an upended glass candlestick that I placed on the top layer to make one more tier. It's probably my favorite ornament, so it gets the place of honor. All of these ornaments came from thrift stores or garage sales over the past couple of years. They've been hard to find, so that is why they are special to me.

I don't know why, but this year I have found almost NO vintage ornaments at all, with the exception of the pink and silver centerpiece and the 2 Shiny Brite boxes from my Thrift Store Extravaganz a couple weeks ago. I don't know if it's just not out there, if I cleaned them all out last year (which I find hard to believe) or if everyone else is just beating me to the good stuff. Oh well, my plastic boxes are about full anyway, and I didn't even get them all out this year because I didn't have a place to put them. Must work on that for next Christmas.

And now, off to turn my TO DO list into a TA DA list!

Serendipi-tree

I mentioned in an earlier post that I decided to forego ornaments on my small tree this year, as they would most definitely be fodder for Destruction by Baby And/Or Hound. The tree looked so forlorn and naked though, that I had to do something. I found some leftover torn fabric strips that I had been using in this cute little garland we made at Enrichment Night. I was going to throw them out, but in a moment of serendipity, I realized they'd make great, non-lethal tree decorations!

I tied the little strips here and there on the tree and used the remaining larger piece of the fabric to make a tree 'skirt'. The fabric is a cranberry and cream plaid, and works perfectly with the other reds in the room. I grabbed a handful of raffia from my craft closet, tied a quick bow, and -voila!- a cute, country tree that I really like. Plus, if Maren pulls it on top of herself again, the fabric and raffia won't hurt her. I've never heard of anyone losing an eye from fabric strips or raffia. Well, not yet anyway.

Bathing beauty

Somebody get those Johnson & Johnson people on the phone...I've found their next model! (photo taken by my brother Kristjan)