Working on stuff

You may have noticed that I’m not posting as often as I have in the past.  That’s because I’m working on a new project.  Not a craft project really, but a life project.  More details on that one to come as things develop, but needless to say its taking up a bit of my time.

Crafting and homemaking has not stopped either, but my ability to get pictures transferred to the computer and then up on the blog certainly has.  I’m hoping to get moving on that one this weekend.

Anyway, just a not to say I’ve not forgotten about you all entirely and that I’m hoping to have some new exciting goodness to share shortly.  Stay tuned.

Priceless

Thank you Liana at Mixed Plate for bringing this video into my life.  I especially love the shiny yellow pants.

Consumed by life and oh boy is this really cool

Ok first off.  Sorry for being MIA for the last stretch.  I’ve literally been consumed by life.  Life  took me over and swallowed me up for a bit, but I’m trying to regain a bit of control over it.  I think my whole life needs a bit of spring cleaning and I’m on a mission to refresh and rejuvenate, my mind, body, spirit, soul, and my house.

Anyway onto other things.  This is REALLY cool.  Not sure if you’ve all seen the new movie trailer for the planned movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things are by Maurice Sendek which is directed by Spike Jones, but you HAVE to watch it.  It looks really cool and I now have another new movie obsession for the the Fall — scheduled to be released October 09.

Ok also.  How bad ass am I for embedding this video into my blog?  Seriosly I’m really proud of myself for doing this without having to ask Robbie for technical assistance.  Today I rock.

Spring fever projects and my creative space

Thought I’d share my a couple of my spring fever projects today and what’s in my creative space.  Truthfully not feeling all that creative today because I’m SICK AGAIN! I’m going to have to scrub my entire house with Thieves Oil to disinfect it as I’m sure we are just recirculating these bugs.  However, it is a relatively warm day here (50’s ish) and sunny so it’s lifting my spirits.

Spent way too much on yarn yesterday, but excited about the projects on the docket.  These lovely pastels are for some bunnies I’m making — One for the bunny contest at Seed Stitch Fine Yarn and the others to fill Easter Baskets.  I’m not going to give up the pattern I’m using for the bunnies until after the Seed Stitch contest.  Don’t want to tip my hand.  When I’m done, I’ll show you the finished product and share the ingenious pattern I found online.

The sage green, which is hard to see the exact color way in this pic, will be for this great pocket zip vest from my new Debbie Bliss book. How cute huh?  Thought I’d make it in a gender neutral color so should we have a boy in the future it can do double duty.  I think Mazie will love stashing all sorts of treasures in these pockets.

All this yarn is Rowan All Seasons Cotton and I LOVE it.  It’s my first time knitting with it, but has a nice hand and is easy to knit.

Stepping back, I’m also spending the morning on the computer seeing what others are doing, finding inspriation via my tweeters, and looking forward to reading my new Mix Tape, which arrived last night.  Yahoo!

Nothing makes eating sweet treats sexier than this

I’m in LOVE with this photo.  I found it though guest blogger, Amy Doobleh-vay and Little Alouette, at LilBee who attributes finding it at It’s Mary Ruffle and I believe the original source is A la discotheque.!’s Flick file.

Anyway, forgive me all those involved if I’ve mis-credited the work or the source.  I was just so draw to this photo I had to share it with everyone here.

Why I’m not a fan of the bathroom at Michael’s

Public restrooms are never an enjoyable place as we all know. However, I’ve recently become even less of a fan of the bathroom at Michael’s (the craft store). On a trip to Michael’s for some pre-Christmas craft supplies and I should have known better than to have several cups of tea before our journey, but it was one of those mornings when I needed more of a pick me up than usual.  You know late nights, restless sleep, oh and say a toddler.

So half way through the trip, off to the ladies room with Mazie. I headed for the handicap stall because Mazie was recently the lucky recipient of an American Girl doll bitty baby, which she insists on bringing everywhere with us, and the regular stall would be a bit cramped. Bad move.

As I’m sitting (well attempting to squat without sitting) in the far corner of the stall, my child decides it would be prudent to suddenly learn how to open the stall door and run out.  Again remember, multiple cups of tea here.  So of course I scream all sorts of you you get back here young lady’s, which does result in her return, but not of the guilty conscience.  She’s now empowered by the fact that she can indeed open the door and do what she wants.  So, again still squatting here, she now throws her new Abby doll (aforementioned brand new American Girl bitty baby) on the floor.  The public restroom bathroom floor people!

Which of course results in many more pick that up young lady’s.  Well now she’s mad and has decided (reminder still peeing here) that it would be a good idea to shove Abby under our stall to the stall next door, which of course is not acceptable to me nor to her, because now Abby is in the next stall and she’s not.  Thus, logic would dictate that she crawl under the stall…public restroom floor here people…to the stall next door.

Now I’m finally done ridding myself of the massive amount of tea I previously ingested, gussy myself up, and then throw open the door of the stall next door to retrieve my child and an Abby doll that both need to be sanitized head to toe.

Seriously people, can’t a mummy use the ladies room with a bit of dignity?  Anyhew and this is why I’m not a fan of the bathroom at Michael’s

Slow and with Intention

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the pace at which our lives move and wondering if we’re missing something by not “stopping to smell the roses” so to speak. I’m going to make a concerted effort moving forward to take things slow and have an intention for my actions and activities. Now by slow, I don’t mean I’ll really stop and smell all the roses and I’m definitely not going to start walking a west coast slow walk. I’m a mom who works part time — get real people I get more done before 7 am than most people get done in a whole day. There is nothing “slow” about our life. By slow I mean slow in the “slow food” sort of way — being conscious of the process by which we do things.

In addition to slow, I’m also going to try to be more cognizant about setting an intention for the things I do. If you’ve ever taken a yoga class you may have heard the instructor ask you to set an intention for the practice, e.g. I’m going to try to let go today, I’m going to try to concentrate on my breath, I’m going to focus on my core, whatever it may be. I’ve always found this a very good way for me to feel fulfilled after practice and think that by setting an intention for my activities and creations I can become more fulfilled in them.

I’ve done this to a certain extent in my handmade gifts because I make them out of love for the recipient. But I think I’ll try to personalize it more with a specific intention for each project with the hopes that the intention behind the gift with the hopes that the intention will be apparent in the final product. I’m also going to try to bring more intention into my daily activities, setting a specific intention for my walk to the store, or to making dinner, or just in starting out my day.

Everything in our lives has become so immediate. We can connect with all of our friends instantaneously via our tweets and status updates on Facebook. We can find out what happened across the globe almost instantaneously by turning on the TV. Blah Blah Blah I don’t think we often have time to appreciate what goes into all of these things and what it means. Therefore my new mantra will be “slow and with intention”. Say it with me people “slow and with intention”.

When you say “whimsy”, you really mean crap

I watch a lot of design shows and flip through design magazine. I’ve mostly whittled my way down to only watching the top design shows and reading the best blogs, at least in my mind, like Divine Design with Candice Olsen, Room Service with Sara Richardson, and Design Sponge written by Grace Bonney. I do however often get sucked into the second tier of design shows, mostly because I can’t wait to see how awful the room is.

I think one of the core things they have in common is the use of “whimsy” in their rooms. Typically this means reusing some old unidentifiable material and turning it into a lamp or candle stick holder or some other flare for the room. They are horrible. “Whimsy” is the design show equivalent of the craft made out of a toilette paper tube. Without fail when a design show says that this is going to add a bit of whimsy to the room, it ultimately means this is going to add a bit of crap to the room.

When you walk into our house, I strive for a house devoid of “whimsy”, at least “design show whimsy”.

A random list of questions and answers

So I found this random list of questions on a blog I stumbled across. It’s one of those lists people who have just discovered email — you know the people who forward you every forward, urban legend, chain mail, etc– forward you and hope you send back so you can get to know each other better. Well I read this random person’s list and it entertained me so I thought I’d subject you to the same thing. Here they are.

1. FIRST NAME? Courtney

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No. I was almost named Nina after my great grandmother, but my dad vetoed it. As a child I was really glad he did, but now as an adult Nina would have been a nice name.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Hmm last week in an overtired, desperate state after having been up all night with my daughter and then having her stand at my feet screaming “Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy” until I picked her up

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It’s not so bad. But it’s definitely getting worse as the years go by.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? I don’t really eat lunch meat. First of all it’s hard to find gluten free lunch meat and I also HATE lunch meat after a day or so. If it’s at all shiny…UGH.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Totally. Probably best friends.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Sort of. I never kept a journal until recently. I read about a common trend at the turn of the century called a “line a day” journal that basically was just that – short snippets of each day. I thought it would be a really neat record of our lives for my kids and their kids. I’ve been doing really well but will admit that last entry was July – all of July in one entry. So much for one entry each day that month huh?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I don’t think so. It seems like it would feel like going over a big bump in the car but magnified by like a 1000 and I get pretty car sick easily. I don’t think Sea Bands could help me there.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Gluten free crispy brown rice with rice milk.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I try to avoid shoes with laces at all times. The one exception would be my pair of Keen walking shoes and I don’t untie them before I take them off.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Ahh probably not.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Vanilla ice cream with maple syrup poured on top. It’s a New England thing.

14. SHOE SIZE? It was 8.5 but after having Mazie it’s now 9 and never went back. Many friends were the recipient of some very nice and only slightly worn size 8.5 shoes.

15. RED OR PINK? Hot pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My Knees. They really aren’t good.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Hands down my grandmother. She might have been one of the greatest women who ever walked this earth.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No, I repeat please no. I’m not going to read it, which I recognize is totally hypocritical because I’ve answered these questions and subjected you to it, but please no don’t send it back.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Shoes: Pinstriped pants, white button down shirt with a brown tank underneath (surprising since I almost always layer with a tank in hopes that people will mistake my mummy tummy for a roll caused by my layered tank top), and blue Dansko sandals.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Oh a delicious salad with beets. God I love beets.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The sound of my office fan and the copier stapling things.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Flesh color. It’s very nice.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? My daughter. See this post.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My voicemail.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Hands. Always the hands. Creepy hands and you’re out. I’m not even sure we can be friends if you have creepy hands.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I’ve never met her before. It’s a random blog I stumbled upon off of my Ravelry page. [Editors note: Ravelry is a social networking site for knitters. I’m a knitter.]

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Jasmine tea. It’s the best way to start my morning.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? To watch: baseball. To play: nothing that involves running. My theory on running: I don’t run even if I’m being chased.

29. EYE COLOR? Brown

30. HAT SIZE? Normal I guess.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope. I like the way I look in glasses.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Really can you have a favorite?

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I don’t do scary. I watched the Facts of Life Halloween special one year and had nightmares for a week. It’s just not in my best interest to do scary.

34. SENSE OR SENSIBILITY? I’m not really into this question.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Spring and Fall. Fall mostly. I LOVE Fall.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs. Hugs make me feel plugged in. Like you’ve just plugged me in and recharged my soul. Ooh I can’t wait to get home and have a hug.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Well pre-Celiac diagnosis I would have said something like a heavenly chocolate cake, but alas that is not in the picture any more, nor is it appealing when it makes you sick. Now, most definitely crème brulee from Soma in Beverly. Ooooh so good.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Again, don’t respond.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I hope all of you.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Witch of Portebello

41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? I don’t use a mouse pad. I have a trackball mouse.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Bad TV night last night. Although Monday was great with Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill reruns. Oh boy. My husband says they are lame but he always ends up “doing work on the couch” on Monday nights with me.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Recently, I’ve discovered I like the noises Turkeys’ make. I didn’t realize that Turkeys have a different sound say from other barn yard fowl like Chickens, but we’ve been visiting farms a lot lately and Turkeys sound really nice.

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Namibia, but at the time it was home. So does that count? Who cares you’re not going to respond anyway.

46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Making up random lyrics to songs on the fly.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Hyannis, MA

Filed under Hmm not sure | Comment (1)

Hmm sounds like….

Ok this one is not related to parenting or any of my normal topics, but I’ve been having a good chuckle over this new TV ad for a food snack. I think they should have done a bit more user testing or convened a focus group prior to launching their TV ad campaign.

Several years back a friend and I had a great chuckle over the ad campaign for a furniture store called the Sofa King. Now Sofa King was very clever and deliberate in their ad campaign, unlike the aforementioned company which I will discuss further in a bit. [Now’s the time when you might want to read this post out loud.] Sofa King had a great series of ads that played off of their name. Like: “Our sofa’s are sofa king comfortable.” “Our sofa’s are sofa king affordable.” Very cute ad campaign and a great play on making their name sound like something it wasn’t.

However this latest company does not appear to realize that when said fast like the Sofa King example its name and ad campaign do not actually sound like its name but in fact a male body part. I only hope you can have as good laugh at the Nut Snack ads I have recently had. Please now say aloud, Nut Snack, several times quickly as if you’re a TV announcer.