problems are only opportunities in work clothes

“Life is full of problems. Opposition is not only unavoidable, it’s essential. Without opposition, without problems big and small to test our resolve and stimulate our thinking, we would accomplish very little. Muscles do not grow without resistance and neither do people”
Music & The Spoken Word

inside my head

i've recently finished a book that i thoroughly enjoyed. it really is what is says it is. there were so many funny thoughts, quips, and musings that really resonated with me and i laughed out loud throughout the book....often in public...which garnered many strange looks.
one of my favorite things she wrote was this:

"i think 90 percent of what/who we are is never really verbally communicated...
i like to write things down - moments, memories, lists, quotes, thoughts.
compulsively sometimes.
i need to gather all the thoughts that are locked in my head and put them on paper."

i completely agree that people really don't know most of what we are about. it's kept safely in our heads. a lot of the time this is a great place for it to stay, but i also think we could truly know, appreciate, and understand someone better if some of these little tidbits were exposed.

this is why i'm starting a new little feature called 'inside my head'. it'll show up any time i feel i have something...or several things about me that i'd like to document. of course, blogging in general can be a lot like this and i've done it once here, but for me i've focused more on using the blog like a scrapbook or journal. 'inside my head' will be very random...and hopefully fun.

so, here is my first list of tidbits inside my head.

• why do i mostly write in all caps and type in all lowercase?
• i think it's funny that my brother in law, who is an attorney, is married to a girl named sue.
• i seem to want to buy every new piece of clothing in gray. not sure why because i see my personality more of a yellow, or green, or maybe blue....
  
• what's the difference between gray-grey anyway?
• i really like the look of flap pocket jeans but it drives me crazy that i can't just stick my phone in the back pocket on the run.
• i am always the last to leave book club.
  
• i feel bad when i realize how easy it is to make my parent's day, and that i don't do it more often.
• i hate the lid to the pam cooking spray. it always hits the nozzle and sprays right at me!
• it is so much easier to parent one child at a time. i'm a really good mom when i'm one on one.
  
• once i sold every piece of clothing i owned (because i hated most of it) to a consignment store and took that money to buy just a small batch of things i loved. it was awesome and liberating.
• when asking nora what she wants for her birthday her answer invariably starts with, 'hot pink sparkly'. insert whatever you want after. (purse, shoes, lip gloss, nail polish, etc.)
• in most situations i take two stairs at a time. what does that say about me? i'm anxious?
• i think it's weird to write a check on your birthday. one part of me wants to tell the person i'm handing it over to that this isn't any ordinary day...but i don't...because it is.
• i'm almost always a member of the 'clean plate club'.
• i love root beer barrel candy...but never go looking for it.
  

that's enough for now. i think i'll end these posts with one of the things from this book that really struck a chord with me.

'but writing with simplicity requires courage, for there is a danger that one will be overlooked, dismissed as simpleminded by those with a tenacious belief that impossible prose is a hallmark of intelligence."
-alain de botton, the consolations of philosophy

lucky number 13!!

13 really is my lucky number...and now it's yours peri!!!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

13

Timestamp: 2010-03-15 04:55:33 UTC

if anyone wants one of the lucky necklaces just drop me an email at thisandthatjewelry {at} gmail {dot} com. they are a lucky $13 a piece!

sunday stew...bite size

this is what my kids are doing right now...love it!

my new solution for shirts with stains...t-shirt transfers!

the birthday cake my dear friend erika made for me. not surprisingly...i cried.

playing with the drums max got for lego rock band. yes, i get into it...it's fun.

max and his silly friends on the field trip bus on his birthday.

aren't these boys adorable?

nora and my darling niece audrey reading happily in my window sill. i love it.

the darling note we found from jack to ella. these two get along famously. really. it makes my heart happy.

the semi-trailer truck that smashed into paul on a drive up north. thanks to the snow bank for slowing the truck down, or paul may not be with us today.

paul's car.

sweet nora jayne at 2:00am after a trip to the emergency room. after falling out of bed a few times it finally caught up to her. possible hairline fracture, but she's still smiling!

the end

post edit: i just downloaded the images from the web for the t-shirt transfers. legal? not so sure, but i'm not making a buck off of them...unless you count the $$ saved by not having to buy new t-shirts.

feeling lucky?

anyone want one of these?
i think they are adorable and fun for st. patrick's day. leave a comment on this post and i'll choose a winner sunday night. i just love giving things away!!

winner winner chicken dinner

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

20
33
1
10
37

Timestamp: 2010-03-06 05:23:11 UTC

this means my winners are:

mother beck

julie (of parker colorado)

michelle

crockett family

adrianne

yay!! i am so excited. i need all of you winners to email me your mailing address. thanks for making my birthday special!

let's do it again!!!

last year for my birthday i did a giveaway. it was so much fun. it actually made my birthday something i really looked forward to because one of my all time favorite things to do is make something and give it away.

so...

let's do it again!!

yes...today is my birthday. now that that's out of the way let's get down to what's really important.

the giveaway:

if you want a chance to win, leave a comment. easy.

on friday night i will close the comments...when i go to bed...no specific time.

saturday i will use random.org or some other number choosing site to choose 5 winners.

5 WINNERS PEOPLE!! did you see that? yes...5.

the fun part is that i will get to give you anything i want! sorry, it's my birthday...i get to choose.

it will probably be something like these. but, you never know...my itch for sewing more again is needing to be scratched.

so, let me know if your interested, and have a great day.

max is 6!

hApPy bIrThDaY mAx!!

max. what more can i say? this kid lives life to the max...and i love him so so much.
his new thing is that he wants to either be called maxwell, or maximus. it changes daily.
this kid needs/loves his sleep. he often asks to go to bed if it's well after 8:30pm. in the above picture he had enough of the family christmas celebration. it was just too late. i mean he got his comfy pillow pet and his $5. what more do you need?
while we were in utah for our quick post christmas visit, we couldn't get this kid out of the snow. one day we went sledding for a few hours, and when we got home he spent the next 4-5 hours in my sisters backyard. max has two best buddies...his dad and his brother jack. i can't explain how happy this makes me.
when we returned from our trip to hawaii we brought the boys t-shirts and shark tooth necklaces. they were so excited that they set out their outfits for school the next day. jack's clothes are on the right and max's are on the left. do you see something missing from the get up max put out? i've tried and tried, but that kid just doesn't like that extra undergarment. someday...
this picture cracks me up because it says so much about max, nora, and their relationship. nora is constantly posing for pictures. max is constantly being silly, and again...has a messy face. also, you may notice the blur that is nora's hand. she was in the process of hitting max on the head with a perfect smile on her face. oh the joy.
here are some other random facts about max that i don't want to forget.

• he is a great reader and gets 100% on almost every spelling/math test despite the fact that i never study with him.
• he still spits a little when he talks. watch out if your too close. it's annoying now, but i'm sure i'll miss it once that darn overbite gets fixed.
  
• he loves to color and write nice notes. i get an 'i love you mom' note almost every day. i love them and feel a little guilty throwing them away.
• he wants me to sit next to him while he does his homework even though he can do it all by himself. yesterday was painful. i need to work on the skill of sitting still. it's hard for me.
  
• he has a temper like none of our other children. paul says he was exactly the same way...which gives me hope because paul is pretty tame.
  
• max wants to have a friend over daily.
  
• he loves his 'star blanket' that i made. he is definitely my comfort/cuddle kid. i am currently just taking a break from making him another cozy blanket with the leftover fabric from out duvet cover. he loves to get in our bed and pull it up over him. he calls it the cold blanket...go figure. i think it's because the fabric is almost silky and feels cool on contact.
  
• max will eat almost anything and has a very mature palate. when we go places and the other kids order kids meals, max usually gets soup and a salad.
  
• i flippantly told max that if he could get a green light everyday of the school year i would give him $20. to be honest i thought there was no way that would happen. only 2 1/2 more months of school and this kid has never had a yellow or red light. go max!!
• max is the second tallest kindergartner. the tallest is almost 8 months older. let's hope he enjoys his height while he has it, because with parents like paul and i...i don't expect it to last.
• max is extremely patriotic. i know this sounds weird to say about a six year old, but it's true. he wants to be a soldier in the army. his favorite colors are red, white, and blue. he begs for me to turn on 'god bless the usa' by lee greenwood on the ipod. he points out every american flag he sees. i truly believe this is something close to his heart...and it warms mine.

we love you buba-lou!! thanks for bringing so much to our family!