Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Avenue Q




So, I'm not saying you should base your life philosophy on the show...but it was really great :)


some of the wisdom in the show:


"life may be scary, but it's only temporary...it's only for now"


and:



"the more you love someone, the more you want to kill 'em" (good thing he was sitting right next to me and laughing along with this! oh wait...)


and my favorite (it's actually the reason I ended up with tickets to the show!):



"there's a fine, fine line between a lover and a friend, there's a fine, fine line between reality and pretend...there's a fine, fine line between a fairy tale and a lie. there's a fine, fine line between 'you're wonderful' and 'goodbye'... and there's a fine, fine line between love and a waste of time"


and hey! I learned a new word: schadenfreude. "happiness at the misfortune of others"

so, I know I have peaked some of your interest--and that's good! it is a show well worth attention, BUT! I am going to put a disclaimer in here...why? well, because some of you may not know that i have an appreciation for naughty humor done well (yikes! should i admit that?!--'oh dear, a new look to her blog and all of a sudden she goes crazy...is she still going to church? i don't know, i don't think i saw her on Sunday...' )

in case you lost track from there to here...this is now the disclaimer...


... before you run out and look up this musical, I must warn you that there is ADULT CONTENT in both the lyrics and many of the reviews out there about it. and by adult content, I mean, this show is rather naughty at times. one review I read simply stated 'muppet sex' and give it a great rating. of course, like I mentioned a tiny bit before, I requested tickets to the show after only hearing one of the songs. not until after I was committed to going (ie...had already purchased tiks) did i begin to look into more of the songs and read about the show. truth be told--I'm really glad i didn't know before. i would never have asked for the tickets and i would have missed out.



definitely gets a rave review from me. but then, I always suspected that muppets had sex.

Monday, June 23, 2008

scrapbooking...no more?



as i mentioned in my last post, i went to a weekend scrap retreat. for you non-scrapbookers, this may seem a bit extreme. 3 days dedicated to scrapbooking.




scrapbook (skrap book) n. a book of blank pages for mounting newspaper clippings, pictures, souvenirs, etc.




this is how the Webster's on my desk defines scrapbook. not even a verb definition offered. of course, 1991 is the last publishing date listed inside the cover. much has changed in the scrapbook world since then. while certainly not an Olympic event, scrapbooking is most definitely an action worthy of verb note.




that being said...i actually agree with those who nodded their heads in agreement to 3 days being a bit extreme. it was great being able to spread out papers without fear of sticky hands grabbing them, and laying down my nice pens for a second without fear of them walking off only to be found months later, uncapped and dried out among a box of crayolas. and it was especially nice to be able to talk for hours with Heather and Sarah and all the other ladies at the retreat, without having to worry about 'doing' anything else, and while also getting LOADS of pages done.
AND! (side note!) for this time away, i am so grateful for a husband that is not only willing to have the kiddos on his own for the weekend, but actually excited about it, with fun things planned for them to do in my absence. (note for any of you unmarried gals out there ...do not marry a man who is incapable of preparing food and cleaning. it is highly unlikely that these things will change after you are married, so if you ever want time away--ANY time away--you will find yourself writing notes describing in detail how to heat up food that you have spent extensive time cooking and freezing to ensure the family does not starve while you are gone, only to return to receipts piled on the counter from each meal ordered out. this is not my experience, but then, i married a capable man. choose wisely.) and, while i most certainly love my man...




i discovered that i am not in love with scrapbooking.




it is not an entirely new revelation. really just a confirmation of what i suspected. i do love the art form. and i especially love admiring beautifully done pages, but the actual process of scrapbooking does not create a desire in me to do more. i simply want it done. not to do it. just to have it DONE. and, as any scrapper knows, it is never done.




so, what to do with this information? chalk it up to one more thing i have tried and now don't do anymore? that leaves me with many unfinished albums (4 of which are my children's baby/school days ones!) and random pages through the years (not to mention the thousands, no that's not a misprint, of dollars worth of supplies sitting in the dedicated 10x12 room my husband designed and built for me to scrap in--oh, how i love him! oh! how he is not going to love reading about this...!). keep going, despite the knowledge that i would rather be doing something else with the massive amount of time this hobby requires? i am opting for a more moderate approach. there are certain albums i will finish, namely the baby books and wedding album (yes, ours. hey! i've been busy these past 12 years...) but beyond that, i am committing myself to ordering prints of the photos i take within a week of taking them, so that the hard copies can be put into albums quickly. despite not being as creatively laid out as i would like, nor embellished with the latest techniques, more importantly than either of those factors, they will be SEEN and ENJOYED. and i will have more free time.




hahahahaha




well, at least i will have less guilt.

Friday, June 20, 2008

sunshine and a coconut






Weather forcasts in the Pacific Northwest should be taken with a grain of salt. I know that. Everyone who lives here knows that. And yet, as a 'rule-follower' and one who loves to capture information, I am constantly basing my plans on the weather report. Weather man says it is going to be sunny this weekend? Let's go to the coast! Lovely rain at the coast all weekend. Weather man says it is going to be rainy tomorrow? No, we can't go to the zoo. Instead, we sleep in late...too late, before realizing, once again, that weather man was WRONG and a lovely blue, sunny sky is over us. it is over the zoo, too, but it is now too late to pack up and get there before we would have to turn right back around for nap time! sigh.


This weekend (actually in about 15 minutes!) I am headed out for a scrapbooking retreat. My friend, Heather, has done these before and I have wanted to for a while. So, we are both going this time :) Weather man said it was going to rain all weekend. and I was actually not to upset, in a very selfish way--I have to be indoors scrapbooking, so sunny skies would just be a distraction!--sorry to all that are not indoors scrapbooking--actually, no! wait! no apologies needed...because, of course, weather man was ...you got it...WRONG AGAIN !! Not only is it not the raining, it is not even overcast--it is, in fact gorgeous :) and i am actually ok with that, i will probably take a couple more walks than i should while paying to be scrapping, but it's worth it to enjoy this beautiful weather.


The kids are splashing outside in the pool--it's the first day of the season (HELLO SUMMER!) and we are enjoying it as it is meant to be enjoyed: frolicking through water, munching on watermelon and laying in the hammock.


so what's this about a coconut? gab had been begging me to buy one. so i did. daddy cracked it open last night and we all tried the 'milk' and a bit of the 'meat' inside. i did a recipe search and found a no-bake recipe that uses both the coconut flakes and milk. so, as the kids run through the sprinkler outside, i am inside for a moment mixing these little cocoa (and coconut!) gems(I found the recipe at cooks.com under the label 'boiled no-bake cookies' if you are interested in making them) and, of course, blogging about it all.


So, there's the most random post on here yet! Anyone actually make it all the way through my ramblings? ;)



Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day

(an opportunity to post this pic again!) :)
the most amazing father I know: my husband

my brother, Justus, and my dad.

(and me, but I'm not a dad, so I don't count this time!)


dad gove, my father-in-law.

To all the amazing father's in my life!



There are, obviously, more than just the ones pictured above, however--these are a few of the ones I am privileged to be related to :)

I will blog more about this another day. For today, I am staying off the computer, as a gift to my hubby. (he is under the impression that i spend a bit too much time on here! ) ;)

for now...happy father's day, guys. hope it's wonderful. to those that i cannot give a big hug to--know that I love you and miss you very much.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Saturday, June 7, 2008

The Last

her last day of high school.

"Firsts" are quite often noted, celebrated, and recorded. A baby's entire first year is a catalog of 'firsts': first bath, first smile, first tooth, first time they roll over, sit up, crawl, walk. As the child ages, more 'firsts' fill their memory books, like their first taste of a certain food, their first trip to see someone or something special, and their first best friend. Even possessions get in on the 'first' action, with many first teddy bears, bikes, and, eventually, cars photographed, written about and heralded in this journey of newness.



Of course, right along with all these 'firsts' are many 'lasts'. But how many of them are even noticed? It may be years before a 'last' is recalled as having been a 'last'. "Do you remember that trip to Mexico? That was our last we took as a family." There are varying reasons why 'lasts' aren't recorded as such when they occur, the most obvious reason being, we don't plan for them. It's not that we wouldn't record them if we could (I know I, for one, will photograph anything given enough warning to grab my camera!), it's just that they seem like any other event at the time, then something changes in the participant's life that causes the repeat of the event to be impossible, and it becomes a 'last'. 'Lasts' happen every day in subtle ways. The demolition of an old building along your drive to work means that was the last time you ever saw that brick work coated in years of graffiti. The opening of that new home furnishings chain store means that couch you bought was the last you will ever get from a mom and pop shop in the area, as they have all closed their doors.



And, while familiar buildings and events hold 'last' moments for us to note and reflect, it is the 'lasts' with people that may leave us wishing we had known. Our children grow so quickly, we capture those 'firsts' in a blur of film, as the 'lasts' pile up unnoticed...until...that day, last summer when you were pushing your son on the swings, you could not have known then that by this summer he would be too old for such things. The last push. Or, that kiss that set your world spinning, you could not have known that person would abruptly change heart. The last kiss. Or, that person who gave you life and loved you unconditionally through so many 'firsts' and 'lasts', you could not know, whether suddenly gone or gradually watching them slip from you, exactly what morning would be their final. The last day.



All this to say that the few 'lasts' you are able to capture, do. They are often as important as the 'firsts'. I know the 'last' that yesterday held for Shell was. The last day of high school.