Request

To all of you who are going to see New Moon tonight...please don't tell me anything. I'm not going until December 2nd. That's my birthday. I know that waiting that long to see this movie could quite possibly mean that I walk around with my fingers in my ears for the next week and a half and may even lead to a small bout of insanity in which there will certainly be gnashing of teeth and tearing of clothing but it's a small price to pay. I mean, how many of your husbands VOLUNTEERED to take you to see it?!? Yeah...exactly...worth the wait.

Now, go in peace and enjoy yourselves, but keep your mouth shut when talking to me. Kay? Thanx!

My Little Pony

I'm a child of the 80's. I loved My Little Pony and Care Bears and ThunderCats. But mostly I loved My Little Pony. I was a My Little Pony Mommy...

and yes, I was happy as can be.

I watched the TV show...

every day.

I had quite a few. I had some earth ponies, some unicorn ponies and a few flutter

ponies too.

But my favorite

pony was a twinkle eyes pony...

Sweet Stuff.

I got her when I was 6. For my birthday or maybe Christmas, I think. We were

living in Hawaii. Very soon after I got her, my family took a trip to the Big Island.

We were camping and there was snow on the ground. I know that sounds

weird...snow in Hawaii, but we were high enough up in the mountains that

it was possible.I remember we went hiking and we saw the black, cooled lava and it

smelled funny. I also remember a little park near our camp ground. There was a

merry-go-round. And that's where I believe it happened. I lost Sweet Stuff.

I equate that entire trip to this one sad fact. Well, that and the fact that I got

attacked by a big black lab while collecting newspaper with my mom for the

fireplace in our cabin, but I digress.The point of this post is that I loved My Little

Pony. And it's back!

And Eva LOVES it.

And I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty cool. One thing I absolutely love about being a mom is being able to share all the things I loved as a child with my children.

So Christmas should be a blast this year. I can't wait to get all of my ...er...her new My Little Pony stuff. If I'm lucky, maybe I can find another Sweet Stuff pony :)

Gloria

Photo by Paul

"I wish I could crash like the waves and turn like the autumn breeze

In effort to praise You

I wish I could smell like the forest, the fragrance lifting a mighty chorus

In effort to praise You

In effort to praise You

But I'm such a limited creature

And my words can only paint so many pictures

But somewhere I think I read that I am treasured over all creation

So I know that I must try

I wish I could roll like the thunder, to leave the earth below in wonder

In effort to praise You

I wish I could fall like the summer rain and every drop would sing Your name

In effort to praise You

In effort to praise You

But I'm such a limited creature

And my words can only paint so many pictures

But somewhere I'm sure I read that I am treasured over all creation

So I know that I must try

photo by Paul

Gloria, glory in the highest

Forever I will hide myself in Thee

Oh, gloria

Glory in the highest

Forever I will hide myself in Thee

Every breath that I breathe, every moment in my history

Is an effort to praise You

An effort to praise You

Glory in the highest

Forever I will hide myself in Thee

Oh, Gloria

photo by Paul

Glory in excelsis Deo

Gloria, Gloria, Gloria

Gloria, Gloria, Gloria"

-Watermark

Annapolis Part Deux

Yesterday was a lovely, warm day. It was a nice break from the freezing, rainy days we've had lately and so Paul and I loaded the girls up and headed to Annapolis. We had two motives...to sightsee and to shop! And let me just be straight up, I was more excited about the latter. I really like to shop. I do. It's a sickness. I don't always buy things when I shop, sometimes I'm merely making mental notes. This was the case yesterday.

We went to Crate and Barrel. Angels sang as we walked through the doorway. Why? I'll explain...

Paul and I are polar opposites. He likes warm, I like cold. He likes salt, I like sugar. He likes to watch sports on TV and I like to be where the action is. He likes to stay home and I like to go out. He likes all things modern and I like traditional.

photo by Apartment Therapy

That's why Crate and Barrel is the PERFECT store for us. It's traditional, yet modern all at the same time. The pieces would work well with a really contemporary motif as well as something a bit more classic. So, Paul and I found that we have one thing in common...Crate and Barrel. We will hinge our marriage on this fact forever more. Well...not really, but at least if we're mad at each other we can hit up a C and B and mentally redecorate our home to put us back on the same page.

After our revelation at the Annapolis Mall, we headed downtown in search of cupcakes and good photo ops. The cupcakes were a bust because the little cupcakery I've been dying to try was closed but we got some icecream instead and ventured out in search of lovely things to take pictures of. And there were lots...

I love Annapolis. It's a quaint little town on the water with brick laid sidewalks and cute, colorful townhomes all in a row. It has a colonial feel along with it's obvious nautical aspect. It's a family oriented yet trendy city where people are out with their jogging strollers and dogs. Dogs everywhere. There's old taverns in the buildings that are a century old and cute coffee shops. You're bound to run into a dozen midshipman on any given weekend as the Naval Academy is right there on the water thus giving the whole experience a subtle patriotism as well.

The air is crisper in Annapolis. Walking down the back streets all lined with 100 year old townhomes takes my imagination to a different place. A place where people still get around in horse drawn carriages and women wore long dresses and bonnets when venturing out to Mainstreet Market. Men worked on the docks and came home smelling like fish and the children ran down the brick streets with home-made sling-shots while they're mothers called to them to keep their knickers clean.

I could seriously sit on a bench by the water all day in Annapolis, watching people go by and taking in the salty air.

Paul likes Georgetown better.

Naturally.

Joe and Flowers

Paul knows me. He knows me well. Maybe too well. In fact, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with his level of knowledge when it comes to me.

Paul knows I like presents. I do. I'm not one of those people who "doesn't need anything" for my birthday. I might say that to take the pressure off but in reality, if I don't get anything on my birthday, I'm sad. It's true.

Paul also knows I like coffee. And by "like" I mean live it, breathe it in like oxygen and cannot function without it. I'm a sucker for Starbucks. I like all the froo-froo stuff. I don't take my coffee black, I like LOTS of creamer. And to be honest, I'm not a coffee expert. I can't tell what kind of coffee I'm drinking, whether not it's Columbian or Arabica, Starbucks or Maxwell House. I just know if I like it or not. And there's not a whole lot of coffee I don't like...well, I don't like Dunkin Donuts coffee. But Burger King coffee is surprisingly yummy. Just so you know.

Anyway, while most girls like to be surprised by their beloveds with flowers or candy (and don't get me wrong, I won't turn down either), Paul knows that the way to my heart is through a coffee mug. I love to get a new coffee mug. It makes my heart happy.

So, every once in a while, when Paul returns from a business trip or heck, even a trip to the store he surprises me with a coffee mug.

And just in case you believe that to be entirely unromantic, he does bring me flowers every now and again.

But the best kind of surprise, is when he brings both!!!!

Photo Booth

Eva had a friend come over to play today and this is what I caught them doing on our Mac. Eva really isn't supposed to be touching the computer but I have to be honest, I was too impressed at the ease in which she manipulated the Photo Booth program to scold her.

It shocks me...the exposure that young children have to such advanced technology nowadays. I know I sound like a grandma saying something like that but it's true.

I remember my family's first computer. I must of been 7 or8 when we got it. It too was a Mac. But it was bulky and big and really only good for word processing and Oregon Trail. Do you remember Oregon Trail? I loved that game.

Anywhoo, I remember when my dad brought it home and set it up in our living room. We weren't supposed to touch it without "express permission" and it was always engulfed in a frosty, vinyl, custom-fitted cover while my dad was at work. Some nights, after dinner, he'd let us take turns playing Oregon Trail or Number Munchers... I was really good at Number Munchers...not so much at Oregon Trail.

I also remember my first cell phone. I was 19. Did you catch that? 19. Yeah. Can you believe that there are 8 year olds running around with cell phones?!?! And Eva can handle her daddy's iPhone with little effort. He has apps downloaded specifically for her. It's a flashcard app and she knows how to open it and do the flashcards. She even knows how to take pictures with the thing! Crazy!

Don't get me wrong...as amused as I am at how naturally kids these days seem to "get" modern technology, I am no advocate for kids with their own computers or cell phones.

Still...it's amazing to see.

Projects!

Just so you know, if you ever come visit me at my house, I will give you a project to do. I always have a million potential projects running through my head at any given moment just waiting for an unsuspecting victim...er...friend to help me get them started.

Edie over at Life in Grace posted a tutorial for these adorable fabric birds last week as part of her 12 Days of Handmade Christmas series. I took one look at them and just HAD to make them. Only problem was....I've never set foot in a fabric store.

I was afraid. I despise, loathe and abominate feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing (have I mentioned I'm a control freak?) and the thought of wandering around a fabric store with little idea of what I was looking for overwhelmed me to no end.

So when Masie and Yosie showed up on Sunday afternoon, I did my evil laugh on the inside and plotted our excursion to JoAnn's.

Masie is a seasoned seamstress! She can make anything. She crochets, knits, sews and is a regular domestic goddess. She believes a woman without a sewing machine is only half a woman...needless to say, I'm in the market for a good sewing machine :/

Sooo...I dragged her to Jo Anns. This particular JoAnns is H.U.G.E. I would've whimpered and peed myself at first sight had she not been with me.

But once in...I was in heaven. Ideas swirled through my mind like a locomotive on speed as I found isles filled with beads, threads, yarns, ribbons, papers, and fabric. I swear there was actual smoke coming from ears. I. Love. JoAnns.

Anyway, once we got home, we printed off the pattern for Edie's chickadees and got to work.

My kids sat in front of reruns of Ni Hao, Kailan all day but whatever...I made three birds!

Thanks Masie. One day, I hope to be a whole woman with a sewing machine...just like you.