Every year I get the email about participating in the cookies exchange, and I think to myself,  “oh fun!  I can bake holiday cookies, decorate them up pretty and then share them with others (I’m so altruistic like that).”  But as the day of the cookie exchange gets closer and closer I find myself avoiding the kitchen and the thought of cookies with the same intensity as I used to avoid those asinine English papers dissecting long forgotten tales of whoa.

The day of the cookie exchange arrives and I pour over my cookbooks and click my way through pinterest looking for cookie recipes that are both super easy but look like they took a lot of time and effort and present well.  Then I realize there is no such thing and I start wondering if it would be lame to show up with chocolate chip cookies (because it doesn’t get much easier than that).  This morning I decided that chocolate crinkles cookies would work (but- Oh the hand rolling of every blasted cookie!).  I find myself once again….hours before the event quickly baking and preparing for a trip to Wal Mart because where else can you find cute cookie containers on short notice?  Let’s face it, the cookies that look the nicest get eaten instead of left to dry out on the counter.  And, by golly, if I took days to procrastinate and hours to actually bake the dang cookie, somebody better eat them!

I think a cookie recipe exchange would be better, I’ll bring six copies of a yummy looking cookie recipe (no baking involved)….but oh then I’d have to design up a cute recipe card and remember to have them professionally printed DAYS in advance.  That to seems like too much work. sigh.  Wonder if anyone will invite me to participate in their cookie exchange next year….and what the heck am I going to do with 2+ dozen cookies this weekend? Gain 10lbs is what!

All through the holiday gauntlet (Halloween through New Years) you hear people talking about keeping perspective, and to remember what matters most in life.  “Don’t get caught up in all of it”, the voices say.  It got me thinking….

Have you ever done an art project with small children….and glitter?  They adore glitter. “Too much” is really never enough, they just can’t help themselves- all that glue and the shiny-shiny of the glitter.  No matter how patiently you explain the concept that less is more and that you only need a little glue….They pour the glue into globs that will take a min. of 4 days to dry and will dump the entire 3oz container of glitter onto that one little spot.

My mailbox (both virtual and literal) is bursting with catalogs & slicks ads.  My television is blasting commercials about all sorts of items I can purchase to fill up that space under the tree.  Clever bloggers are posting pictures of their magazine worthy decorated homes, all ready for Santa.   I’ll admit that some of those items the slick little advertisers are pushing my way are very much like glitter to me.  Shiny, sparkly items that I want just as much as that toddler wants the jar of glitter.  The key is moderation.  Because, like glitter, a little bit can go a long way.  If I focus on what is really important to me in my life then the glitter isn’t quite so tempting, and little bits here and there add shine to my life.  If I focus too much on the glitter then who I am gets lost in the glob of glue and the blinding shine of the glitter.

Here’s to not getting blinded by the glitter this year…but finding just enough sparkle to make you shine!

(taken at Lynx Lake near Prescott, AZ)

In our early marriage I think my husbands mantra was “have an attitude of gratitude”.  Guess what?  He’s right, life is better with an attitude of gratitude.  Because when you are grateful, it makes that what you have is enough.

Here is the short list of what I am grateful for (in no particular order):
-this blog and the ability to express myself through written word
-family, for the shared past and the hope of a shared future
-amazing friends
-my husband and beautiful children
-life…the ability to experience all its highs and lows and the lessons I learn
-for my brother-in-law who agreed to cook the turkey this year
-that I have food and room to share this thanksgiving

May your day be filled with warm food, great conversation, and help in the kitchen!

xo

(source: tlcreations)

About a year ago I decided to take up biking.  My plan was to loose some baby weight without going to the gym and having to leave baby in the nasty gym daycare.  In my mind I thought it would be a little less mundane than walking on the treadmill.   My hopes weren’t high about this being any fun.

Here it is a year later- the baby weight is gone and I.LOVE.RIDING!  Who knew?! I bike between 18-20miles a week, which might not seem like much but its a lot to me!  I actually found an exercise that does not make me roll my eyes and groan.  I ride 3 mornings a week with a girlfriend, we tow our respective babies behind us, me I’m pulling about 50lbs, she pulls about 100 (2 kids).  Which is great training for the nights….

The nights when the day has been long and I really need to clear my head (who knew exercise could help you relax?!).  I bike alone.  I ride hard and fast and the music is LOUD.  Without the 50lbs of baby and trailer behind me I can FLY.  I swear it grounds me.  I love the endorphins.  I’ve heard runners talk about how a good run can clear their mind, but this is me and running.  We don’t mix. I’m so glad I found something that does!

I’ve been riding the last year on my husbands Trek, but I think I’ve proven (to myself) that this is not a passing fancy.  Which means its time for my own bike.  My riding partner also rides on a Trek and really likes it, and I do like my husbands Trek…but I wondered if anyone else had any recommendations for a good bike?  I adore the beach cruiser as much as the next girl, but I need a really good riding bike.  Anyone want to shout out about how great their bike is?  (Any bike company out there want me to test out their bikes?)

Any suggestions for some music I should add to my playlist?  I’ve been listening to a lot of Blue October, Silversun Pickups, Imagine Dragons, and Neon Trees….just to give you a feel for what I like.

Source: redbubble.com via Heather on Pinterest

Because it is important to know your strengths!

p.s. I LOVE pinterest…check out my “truth” board here

(snapped this at the PHX zoo over the weekend)

It seems there isn’t enough me time anymore….and I know with the holidays fast approaching the pendulum is going to continue to swing in the opposite direction.  By “me time” I don’t mean time alone (I get 2 hours of that a day during the blessed napping hours), but time to do what I want. Guilt free.  When there is a free minute or two it seems that there are so many other things that beg to be done, rather than working on something I want.

Yesterday afternoon for example, I left the house at 3pm to pick up the kids and then raced them to their dental appointments.  When we got home it was time to start dinner, but first I had to start the dishwasher and hand wash all the dishes that were in the sink (I can’t cook in a dirty kitchen).  I got dinner done and on the table but the resulting mess was huge (and my kitchen floors were nasty).  So the kids played a game with Dad while I cleaned, mopped and started Strawberry Short Cake (as requested for an eating as a family FHE).  It was after 8:30pm by the time we were done and I put the baby to bed and sat down to return emails when a call came in (hi Jaylee!).  I got off the phone just in time to catch Castle (one of only 3 shows I watch all week). I had such high hopes of being to bed BEFORE midnight last night but it just didn’t happen.  When the show was over Aaron and I got to talking about life and stuff and the hours crept by.

It feels like from 3pm to midnight I had only 1 hour to do what I wanted to do.  Maybe my expectations are too high?!  Right now, for example, its 9:15am, I’ve been up since 7 but haven’t even taken the time to eat breakfast, there are just too many other things to do!  Lunches to make, clothes to sort, emails to return, meetings to prepare for etc.

I think to get through the holidays with some sanity intact I am going to have to lower my standards.  A little more time spent doing things that help me smile and less time worrying about the floors or crumbs on the counter (although, I do have a hard time relaxing in a messy house…???) Its a catch 22 really.

THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE CHRISTMAS
-sew this maxi skirt

-make winter pants for baby (*must be done soon or she will freeze!)

-make holiday dresses for girls (and maybe me?!)

-make peppermint bark

-make diaper clutch

These are just a few of the things I want to do…but I feel like putting a list together will force me to manage my time and be accountable to accomplishing the list.

What about you, do you get enough time to do what you want? Or do you feel overwhelmed with completing what needs to be done, and feel there isn’t enough time for the fun stuff?  Have some time management skills you want to share?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how fluid life really is. I’m trying to teach my children this concept, what you feel and think today- may not be the same tomorrow (do I really need a disclaimer here that states that I do believe in some absolute rights and wrongs that are not subject to individual whims?!).  The concept that people change, change for the better.  I want them to know that they can always improve and be better people- they aren’t stuck with what they have/are today.

It seems really easy to look into my own life and say- “See, I am not who I once was!”.  I have overcome this, or learned to be more understanding of that, or more sensitive, etc.  I think it can be easy to see the changes in ourselves, but really hard to accept them in other people.  Here is an example to better illustrate the point.

When I was in 6th grade I, like many young girls of the time, was head over heals for New Kids On the Block.  I had posters, cassette tapes (remember those?) and big dreams for that Joey!  6th grade ended, summer came and with it a little more life experience.  My tastes in books and music changed a little bit.  Mid way through 7th grade a girl I knew in 6th grade over heard me say that I didn’t like NKOTB.  She called me out saying something a long the lines of “Last year you liked them, how can you not like them now?”.  Basically she accused me of being a liar, either now or then, and she wanted to make sure I and everyone around me knew she felt that way.

I reflect on that experience now and I think it perfectly illustrates the way we get locked in, in our judgements of other people.   This way of thinking it totally counter productive to what I am trying to teach my children.  I want them to be able to change, I want people to accept them as they change, and welcome the growth in them.

I have a friend (Diane, I am calling you out!), who is AMAZING at taking people as they are.   I have learned so much from her!  Perhaps it is forgiveness that she quickly bestows on others?  Whatever it is she is so willing to take people at their very best and to assume that whatever mistake they’ve made is just that, not a reflection on who you are.  She has lived in the same town and associated with the same people for the last 30 years.  Yet, she doesn’t treat people based on her experiences with them 15 years ago, she treats them based on how they are today. I’m lucky to have her as a friend, no?!

Life is fluid, and that is an amazing thing.  If life were static we’d be stuck.  We can grow, we can change, we can be better (or worse).  I hope my children will understand that they can change, and I pray that they are willing to see growth and change in those around them.

Enough already with Instagram!  I fully admit to loving the Hipstamtic App, but I think if I read one more line about how much people love the Instagram app I just might scream!

I want to introduce you to the Retro Camera App, which is available to both iphone & driod users (instagram is only for iphone).  I recently added the FREE app to my growing list and I really like it.  It comes with six (only 5 pictured below) camera options, some with both color and black and white.

Hipsteroku Camera

The FudgeCan
(my husband on our lunch date to Golden Chef today)

The Bärbl
(this is the chair my kids always read in, I love the washed out colors of this camera!)

I really like the noise and film scratches on this one.  It looks kinda goofy with horizontal shots though, oh well.

Little Orange Box
(I’m not thrilled with the border on this one, but I really like the saturation and color)

So, what I’m really saying is, go download this app, I think you’ll have a lot of fun with it!

Well, this past weekend was semi-productive.  We went to Tempe Town Lake to check out the new pedestrian bridge to find that it was STILL not open.  Talk about being behind schedule!

I did get some quilting done.  First I tried putting sections of the quilt into my largest embroidery hoop and found that it was very tedious as I was needed to move it often.  Next I tried this set up, push pinning the sides of the quilt to some scrap boards and then setting it up on the chairs (like a make shift quilt frame).  This didn’t work out so well either.  Currently I have it pinned really well and am just bunching it up in my lap to hand quilt.

I quilted kind of an ornamental circle thing in the center and then cross hatch designs in the center of each plate.  I am quilting about a 1/2″ around each plate as well.  I am not sure what design to quilt onto the border?  I was thinking maybe scallops?  or 4″ spaced lines a at 45degree angle?  Any suggestions?

Well, sort of.  I got home last night and promptly went to bed.  I was fighting something off before I went to Denver, and it seems I still am.  Been nursing a low headache for 4 days now, yeah me!

Enjoyed Denver with these two people (my sister and Step-mom).  The weather was WONDERFUL.  My first night there, I was so cold in my sisters basement I asked for socks and slept curled in a ball.  I haven’t felt that cold in ages,believe me when I tell you I was so happy to feel cold!  The high in Phoenix today is supposed to reach 112, so I try to enjoy cold whenever I can.

This was really the only good shot I got while we were in Breckenridge for horse back riding.  Have you ever tried to shoot a DSLR while on a moving horse?  Not so easy.

If you’ll excuse me now, I think I will be scarce this week while I try to feel better again.

xo