Competition

I am a competitive person, but only in certain areas.  If I'm in an exercise class of some sort, I would definitely want to do the most, the biggest, the spunkiest version of whatever the step is.  That is not to say that I can actually keep that up for more than 10 min but the urge to be the most energetic in the class is still there.
I am NOT competitive in the blog world.  I am doing my three blogs (yes, three) strictly for my own pleasure.  This means there sometimes are long gaps between posts, I do not always take pictures with my fancy camera to post and I do not count my followers or try to get more.
Same thing with my short stint in the world of YouTube videos.  I was amazed at the push for followers, just anybody and everybody.  The number of followers you had indicated success and possibly brought deals from companies wanting to use you for advertising.  I did a couple of giveaways and you had to be a follower to win, but other than that, I never pushed for followers.
Now, I have a business, an Etsy shop.  I hate sales.  No, no, I like getting a sale in my shop, but I hate being a salesperson, the business of sales. I hate feeling like I'm competing with other people making bags.  I don't want to feel like I have to make better bags than them.  I just want to make the best bags I can in fabrics and using designs that I think are attractive.  I don't like mentioning my business unless it comes up in easy conversation.  I don't give my card out unless it's asked for, usually.
Probably not good for business, but if I'm going to promote, I'll definitely have to grow into it.  I do want to be able to give more to the Balama Project (www.balama-project.org).  Since I give them 10% of profits, more sales would mean more to give.
If you want to help me give and get a pretty bag or earrings to boot.  Go look at Molly Blossom and see if there is something that tickles your fancy.
There, I did it.

Christmas is Coming

I know you're probably wondering why I titled my post what it is titled.   Well... it's true, isn't it?  Christmas is coming slowly but surely.

I be you're also wondering what the cute pictures above have to do with my title.  

Here's the deal.  I have a tradition to uphold and I've got to start now, even 9 months ahead to think of our next great Christmas photo.  I'm sharing my process with you.  I think that some sort of Christmas card using multiple photos as if they were one would be cute.  I have no idea what we would be doing in the photos, probably not kissing, but something.  

There you go, that's how my fantastic ideas start.  ha!  :D

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

This is a post taken from the blog A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.  I've been pretty stressed out about dealing with my two girls lately and I'm on the search for some pertinent encouragement.  I was thinking tonight about what my Dad used to pray over me every night.  I Googled the verse and this blog entry was one of the links that came up.  It was worth sharing.  It's good, but a long and challenging read, so be prepared.

The Bible tells us this about daughters in Psalm 144:12-13,
“That our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: that our garners may be full.” 

As corner-stones, polished after the similitude of palace, God desires that our daughters grow up to become strong and beautiful ~ and adorned with all the ornaments belonging to their sex. What are the “ornaments” that the Bible teaches belong to the female sex? Titus 2:4-5 describes them as: soberness, love for family, discretion, purity, excellent housekeeping, goodness, and submission to authority.

That’s a tall order, isn’t it? And the reason that it is so important that our daughters be taught and trained in these areas is because (as the Treasury of David so wisely puts it), “Daughters unite families as corner stones join walls together, and at the same time, they adorn them as polished stones garnishing the structure into which they are builded.”

Daughters are an important part of every family, and it is our duty to teach them how to be a blessing to our families now so that they will understand how to be a blessing to the family they will marry into later on.

Matthew Henry writes, “That our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace or temple. By daughters families are united and connected to their mutual strength, as the parts of a building are by the cornerstones; and when they are graceful and beautiful both in body and mind, they are then polished after the similitude of a nice and curious structure. When we see our daughters well established, and stayed with wisdom and discretion, as cornerstones are fastened in the building; when we see them by faith united to Christ, as the chief cornerstone, adorned with the graces of God's Spirit, which are the polishing of that which is naturally rough, and "become women professing godliness"; when we see them purified and consecrated to God as living temples, we think ourselves happy in them.”

So, how are we to go about accomplishing so great a task?

First of all, we must remember that daughters have a great need for love and security.

1. Daughters need to be treated with kindness.

2. Daughters feel loved when we are patient with them.

3. A critical spirit is a destructive thing to a daughter’s spirit ~ it causes her to feel insecure about who she is and what she is able to do.

4. Comparison also causes daughters to feel insecure about themselves. Daughters are in desperate need of acceptance in order to become the polished corner stone of the family that God desires them to be.

5. It’s a mothers job to identify the special needs that her daughter has and help her to overcome or practically accommodate them.

6. Mothers must be careful not attribute motives, nor take offense, lose patience, or take the ridiculous things that daughters do too personally.

7. Mothers must remember that daughters need to be raised in a happy, loving home in order to feel totally secure. No amount of love, compliments or kindness will make up for the fear that is brought into a daughter’s heart by marital strife or divorce.

Secondly, daughters need to be taught to control their emotions.

1. Whining, gossiping and complaining should not be tolerated. Make every effort to train your daughter to be sensible by teaching her how to be thankful, patient and kind as she deals with her every day issues of life.

2. Emotions must be taught to follow and not allowed to lead. The best teacher is example. Make it your goal to be a good example of this so that your daughter can “see” how this is done.

3. Daughters must be taught that they may not use their “hormones” as an excuse for sin!

4. Teach your daughter how to manage her tears. There is a time for tears ~ when they are hurt, when someone they know or see is seriously injured or dies. But crying is not something that should continue on and on ~ they should be short and brief. Even in the case of death of a loved one: there is a time to cry, and there is a time to cease from crying.

5. The same goes for silliness. Giggling and acting giddy is fine at times, but too much of it makes a girl ridiculous.

Thirdly, daughters must be raised to embrace their femininity.

1. Daughters should be taught to be home-centered. They should be encouraged to love working with their hands ~ both in housework and handiwork.

2. Daughters should be encouraged to wear dresses, fix their hair and want to look pretty.

a. However, we must be diligent to encourage them to be MODEST and pretty. The female body is a beautiful creation of God and modesty teaches them that it is a precious thing that must be saved for their future husband (and not the whole world) to enjoy.

b. We also must be careful not to raise our daughters to be too prissy or “primadonas” who only a mother and father is able to tolerate and love :).

3. Daughters must be encouraged to play with toys that will encourage her to home-centered and not bedroom-centered.

4. Daughters must be taught and trained how to respond to the men around them.

a. Daughters have a God given need for male attention. Teach them when they are little how to love and serve Dad, so that Dad will enjoy being around them.

b. Teach your daughter how to respect her Dad and brothers. This is will prepare her to enjoy good success when she is married to her own man later on.

Mothers are the role models for their daughters, and it is important that we realize that we are teaching our daughters every day by the way we live. As Christian mothers, it is vital that we commit ourselves to living as the godly women that we would want our daughters to grow up to become. This is a tall order, but one which is certainly possible as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our loving God.

Another great article by Mrs. Julie Fink @ Lessons for Ladies

Visit her blog and be blessed by her Bible Studies!

From Scratch

My hubby baked butter cookies from a 1940's recipe yesterday.
Well, the whole process started the day before, but he threw out the whole ball of crumbly dough and, consequently, hours of work.
He tried again a second time yesterday and after making another huge mess and then cleaning it all up, ended up with this...

 and this...

 and these beauties!

I hate baking and, although he did a great job persevering though the difficulties of a novice baker with a yummy outcome.  I felt his pain and I do not aspire to try cookies from scratch any time soon.

White, Fluffy, Bearded Lies

This blog might be all over the place because I am not doing it while the kids are napping.  That means Eden is on the couch talking about whatever crosses her mind, because she MUST be talking CONSTANTLY.  This girl does not stop.  She's complaining of a tummy ache, but she's not resting or anything like that.  NOooooo.  Play through it and talk through it.  That's her motto.

I am trying to keep Arielle from being bitten because she is pretending to feed Dolce something imaginary from her little chubby fingers and Dolce doesn't like my children.  And, of course, by the time I've written a few more sentences, that all will have changed and they'll be doing something else completely.

Onward.  A friend of mine asked me a couple weeks back what my views on Santa were.  I told her the short version because there were babies fussing and toddlers waiting for a moment of Mommy distraction to take advantage of.  Since then the deliberate decisions we as a family make about this holiday have continued to be brought to my attention.

First, let me give you some background on how I was raised.  My parents treated Santa almost like the plague, along with Mary Poppins and the Smurfs.  I'm sure I was aware of him, but we never did pictures with Santa (that's right, there's not a single picture of me crying in Mall Santa's lap in my baby albums).  We didn't read books about him.  My dad might have done some readings of The Night Before Christmas when I got older for the sake of good literature and classic poetry (loves of his), but that was the exception. We had no likenesses of Santa in our home except a small figurine of him kneeling at the manger.  I don't remember what I thought about other kids and their views of Santa.  I don't remember feeling the need to correct them, although that would have been JUST like me to do so.  I don't remember ever wanting to join the long line of fussy children to sit on Santa's lap.  I don't remember feeling left out because I wasn't writing letters to the North Pole.

Fast forward to today.  I have two little girls and this is the first Christmas where I'm really having to live out the path I assumed I would take regarding Santa and his hold on this holiday.

In short, I have made a promise to my children never to deceive them.  And yes, I have thought about all that that entails.  I do my very best to stay truthful about everything.  That means if Eden wants another cookie and I don't want her to have one, I don't look in the box and say "uh oh, they're all gone."  I say, "no ma'am, you don't need another cookie."  I can't think of any other good examples of the white lies that we parents tend to use on a daily basis, but you get the idea.  I try to eliminate them.  I want my child to have a commitment to the truth so that I can trust her when I ask her a question.  I tell her the Upshaws are truth-tellers so that she can have a family identity that includes integrity.

Ok, this is getting long.  I knew it would.  I'm pretty sure you can extrapolate from here how we treat Santa.  We've come to a happy medium between my upbringing and my husband's (a more typical, Santa inclusive one).  I don't treat Santa like the plague, but I try to make sure he is not the reason for the season or even the slightest majority of its focus and, as you've guessed, I will never tell my children he is real or brings us presents or is omniscient and knows what every child is doing all the time. 

Ok, bunny trail... can I just rant for a moment about how Santa is very God-like.  He is loving, he knows what you're doing all the time, he can be everywhere at once (pretty much, since there's no scientific way to deliver toys to every kid in the world in one night), children essentially pray to him about bringing them what they want and I'm sure there's more.  That all bugs me.

Back to our family... 

We do have a picture of the kids on Santa's lap from this year, but we didn't wait in a long line or pay for it.  I'm not going to dedicate to much effort to that.  And there will not be a page in the album (wait, what album?) every year dedicated to that picture.

We have been watching Wonder Pets save the Baby Reindeer every day by request and we have been reading a book called "I'm Not Santa!" (in which the "real" Santa shows up at the end) every night by request, but yesterday, I did start to see the need for some major balancing with some baby Jesus stories.  Especially after Eden said "Santa loves me.  He wants to come into my heart!"  Woops.

Alright, we need to go to the grocery store.  My friend Misty was brave enough to state her views on her blog without apology, so I got the courage to do the same.  Love me or hate me for it, that's where I stand.

Don't hate me though, because Santa will know and you will get coal in your stocking.  :D

I know it's backwards.  I know I'm lame for taking a picture with my computer because I didn't want to upload a picture from a real camera.  But there he is, the same figurine my parents had, now displayed in our home.

And, of course, Eden just saw it and said, "Is it Santa Claus?"  Don't ask about baby Jesus, nooooo.  That seals the deal.  More Jesus needed in this house.

Ok, really leaving now...

Wassail

At Fat Free Vegan's blog there is a yummy sounding wassail recipe that I thought I'd share with all of you. I have not tried it, but all the ingredients leave me with no doubt that it would be the perfect toungue-pleasing, inside-warming drink for the cold days ahead.
I copied from there and pasted here just to make it that much easier for you.  :)

New World Wassail

1.5 quarts apple cider or apple juice
1 quart natural cranberry blend drink (no sugar added)
4 sticks cinnamon stick
8 cloves
10 allspice berries
1 quarter-sized slice ginger
1 orange, sliced
1/4 cup cranberries (optional)
1/2 – 1 cup brandy (optional)

Place all ingredients except the brandy in a large, non-reactive pot or crockpot and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Simmer for at least 2 hours (may be kept in a crock pot for 4 hours). About 15 minutes before serving, add the brandy and continue to simmer on low.

Strain out the spices and fruit and serve with cinnamon sticks and fresh slices of orange.

Servings: 10
Yield: 2.5 quarts

Lit. Revisited

I've been going through a box of memories and pulling out some things that make me smile.  One piece of paper I just read, I decided to share.

This is from Literature class where I was learning different poetry forms by writing.  I was 15.

A Question of Speed

Everyone marvels at a snail's sluggish pace.
It's quite easy to see why this is the case.
But really, the reason is not hard to trace.
Why run fast when you're not in a race?

:)

Hydrangeas

I don't even really like their name... hydrangeas.  It's so complex and scientific sounding to me.  It doesn't sound like a flower.  It sounds like a disease.  You drink too much water and become over-hydrated and develop welts all over your body.  They're called hydrangeas.
This is not a post about hating hydrangeas, because, well, I'm actually starting to like them for the first time.  I never saw what all the hubbub was about.  The bushes are big awkward things with poufy clusters of tiny flowers that, on their own would be nothing to speak of.  I was recommended hydrangeas by the florist who did my wedding bouquet and I was horrified by the idea.  I'm still glad I didn't take her advice, but I AM warming up to this southern favorite.
I came across a lovely blog and particularly this lovely post and beauty like this is just begging to be shared.  I won't spoil it by trying to describe it, but let's just say that my warming up to the hydrangea may have just bloomed into love.

Tale of a Tailor

You know those jeans I had tailored?  Well, here's how it went.
I put them on and stood on the little pedestal while the Asian woman pinched and pinned until I was satisfied with the fit in the rear and waist.
She said they'd be ready in a week and cost $25.
They were and they did.
And they are a PERFECT fit!!!  These jeans fit the best of any pair I've ever owned and the little yellow stitches all look exactly the same as if they had never been ripped out and redone.  She even put the tag back in as if it had never been touched.  The only evidence of her work is a seam line on the waistband in the back, but it's barely noticeable.  I'd say a custom-fit pair of jeans for $30 ain't half bad.  Totally worth shopping for more consignment gems.

Real Simple

This mag is one of my all time faves and I simply cannot get enough of their "New Uses for Old Things" lists. I really wish I could remember all the clever ideas I've read here over the years.
They've done is again with this post on their web site.

A First

I'm going with Chuck to the tailor later this afternoon.  He's getting some suit pants hemmed for his high school reunion and I'm getting some jeans tailored.  I'm hoping to anyway.  I've heard Stacy and Clinton (from the TLC show What Not To Wear) say over and over again, "Get pants that fit your hips and then get them tailored to fit your waist."
I get so frustrated with the lack of "curvy" options out there for women whose waists are smaller than their hips.  You'd think that was every woman, but apparently not.  The majority of pants I try on, especially if they have no stretch to them, gap in the back at the waist.  I suppose these pants must fit somebody, but not my body.  I happen to know a few other girls with this same issue and then there's all the African American women out there who must also have this problem.  They must!  I see them with their belts on, walking around the mall, and in the back, I can see that there's a pucker in the waistband under the belt.  All that to say that I am not the only one with this problem.
Even Gap's Curvy fit doesn't really work for me.  Old Navy's Sweetheart fit is the best I've found, but I don't want to be confined to shopping for pants at Old Navy the rest of my life!
So, last week, I bought a pair of Ann Taylor jeans at a consignment shop for $5.  They are too big in the waist and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to see if Stacy and Clinton are right.  I'll let you know in about a week.

Cute or Corrupt?

All too often, I run across things targeted for kids that make me do a double take.  Are adults really going to continue to complain that abstinence doesn't work and that kids and teens are too out of control to be trained if they think things like this are ok!!?
It's REDICULOUS to assume that things like this are innocent, buy it for your child (who will see it, memorize it, be wrapped up in it every night) and then have any credibility whatsoever when attempting to train your kid not to be promiscuous!!!
Grrrrr. It makes me so angry.
Look to the right hand column for similar items they recommend.... DORA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Linens 'N Things would like me to consider Dora bedding right along with this bedding.  You know who likes Dora?  My two-year old!  I can see it now.  "Hey Eden, tell Mommy what comforter you want for your big girl bed.  Do you want Dora or Sex?"
Did I say it was rediculous?  Well, I wish I could think of a stronger word.  It's downright dangerous to let that kind of thinking invade your home while your child is still, well, a child.  Equally dangerous to allow a teenager to think this was just cute and nothing else.
I'm so steamed.  Satan is so crafty.

Job Hunt - The Memories

Browsing the Anthropologie website this morning got me thinking about my days of job applications, interviews and employment.  I don't know if I'll ever revisit those days again, but I was wondering, if I ever did have the option, where I would put in applications.

I remember being so desperate for ANY sort of job... well, not desperate enough to not be somewhat discriminatory about the applications I filled out.  I remember walking the mall and bringing home 25 pieces of paper to fill out and planning to fill out 5 or 6 more online as well.  

I remember taking them all back and being frustrated by not being able to see a manager and no way to find out if the store was even hiring at that time.  Everyone was so vague.  And, of course, the current employees had no interest in truly helping me.

I remember thinking an interview went well and never getting a call.

I remember being offered the position of manager, but then being told that the pay was only 50 cents more and hour and no holidays off.  No thanks.

I remember filling out an online application with all sorts of moral questions about honesty and integrity and thinking that my answers were definitely going to be more than satisfactory.  A few days later I was told that my online quetionairre answers were not acceptable and that I could try again in a couple of weeks.  I did.  I got the same response.  What?  Why don't they want an employee with high moral standards?  Did they think I was lying because no one really could answer like that honestly?  I still wonder... and I'm still offended.

I remember working for the Disney Store and what a really, truly fun and positive environment it was.  I wanted to keep working there and rise through the ranks to become a manager, but then I went to college.  Bummer.  :D

I remember, while in college, getting fired from not one but two different jobs.  That hurt my heart even though, in both instances, it was a mistake on the part of the manager and not me.  The first time, I was fired because I didn't show up when the manager thought I was on the schedule, but I really wasn't.  The mistake was recognized and I was offered the job back, but I just couldn't bring myself to work with someone like that.

The second time, I was fired because I showed up ready to work because I couldn't remember if I was working that day and I didn't want to miss a shift if I was supposed to be there.  What?  Yes, you read that right.  The manager saw me there and asked me why I showed up when I wasn't on the schedule.  I told her I wasn't sure about my schedule. I just wanted to come check so I didn't accidentally miss a shift.  She fired me on the spot.

Ah, the joys of working hourly wage jobs.

So back to my original thought.  I was thinking I would like to work at Anthropologie a couple days a week.  It's funny, even though I'm 30 now, just the thought of job applications takes me right back to my late teens, early twenties.

I guess I'll keep my current day job for now.

Love

  

Wherever this is (I found it here)... I MUST have my picture taken there someday.  Or have this piece of art, which looks very much to me like Frank Lloyd Wright, in my home (the quote in the background, not the photos themselves... creepy).  One or the other.  Or both would be fine.

I went back to the post again and read it instead of just looking at the pictures.  Amazing what a wealth of information you can find just by reading.  ha.  The location is The Cliffs Restaurant in Laguna Beach. Perfect.  Our next trip is planned as of now.

I Wish

The beauty in the words of this belief statement I wish I could say originated with me.  My feelings coincide, but the words are not mine.  Ann Vonkamp wrote them here and I am only pasting them because their beauty should be shared and used to stir others of like faith.  Read on:

I believe in Jehovah God who created the whirling galaxies, the birds soaring in the sky overhead, the endless crashing waves and all that dances within them. I believe in Father of all who knits together life, made in His very own image, in the secret quiet of our beings.

I believe in Jesus Christ, the One with no earthly Father, with the dust of this earth between His toes, and with our names etched onto the palm of His hands, right beneath the nail scars…Who now sits at the Father’s right hand making endless intercession on our behalf. I believe in the stone rolled away, in the Body being raised, in the first fruits of the dead…and us all following soon, very soon.

I believe in the Cross as our only Hope, our only Claim, and our only Foundation. I believe that in the pounding surf of life we have only one thing to cling to: the feet of our Lord, hanging on that tree, His lifeblood flowing down, washing us whiter than snow.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, moving, whispering, indwelling our very skin. I believe in living by the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, and producing fruit in the Spirit…in the Spirit who helps us in our weakness with groanings that can’t be expressed in words.

I believe in the infallibility of the Bible, God’s Word - a sure Word, a pure Word, the only secure Word. I believe the words on those pages are breathed from the very throne room of heaven, are the love letter penned from the heart of the Lover of our souls; a beacon of light for stumbling feet to find sure footing on a dark path.

I believe there is more than believing. There is living what I believe.


I have posted another selection from her very amazing blog over on My Cup Runneth Over.

Quite the Opposite

We decided to leave that first house and it's owners in the dust.  We went back and forth with them, but they were unwilling to budge and we were unwilling to pay more than our realtor told us the house was worth, so we walked.  The very day we decided to quit and go back to the drawing board, our realtor went by a house that wasn't even on the market yet that a fellow realtor was getting ready to sell.  She told us she had just found our perfect home. 
We couldn't resist looking, even though it was out of our original, somewhat arbitrary, price range.  Wow.  It's a really great house.  Chuck fell madly in love.  I saw some details that weren't my favorite, but, overall, it had great potential to be our next bid.  We had our realtor feel out the owner to try to see if he was interested in a particular price which we thought we could afford even though it was less than he thought he could sell it for on the market.  He said he'd certainly look at it, so we made an offer contingent on the sale of our home.
He returned to us with a suggestion and that suggestion ended up being an amended offer that he accepted and we officially have a contract!  Now we had someone that really wanted to work with us.  His suggestion was that we take ownership of the house in August, but then rent it back to him for two months to give us more time to sell and him a place to live while renovating the condo he's moving to.  The rent he will pay us is more than the amount we will owe on the mortgage and will cover not only the months he's there, but a month or two more after he vacates.  This arrangement give us until January to sell our current home without feeling any repercussions in our wallet.  Even better, if we can get someone to buy our home sooner, but wait to move into ours until he vacates, we'll be able to just pocket the extra rent. 
We've taken a big step and the only things left to do are secure our financing and get the inspections out of the way.  Oh, and sell our house.  We're using this Wednesday as a work day.  Chuck's taking a vacation day and we're going to do as much as we possibly can to get our house on the market. 
I've already started posting about some of the changes over at The Pretty Pickle.

It's a No Go

So we offered the homeowners of the house I blogged about $25k below their asking price, because, in this market, you never know. We expected them to counter and hoped to meet somewhere in the middle, no higher than $10k below the asking price.

They don't want to budge. They only went down $5k and when we tried again, they stuck with it. We're not budging on our max, so...

nobody's moving yet.

And we're continuing to look.

Goings On

I'm 30!

Chuck worked from 7am to 7pm, so I celebrated with a birthday donut with my daughter. It was her suggestion, and a great one at that. Who knew Krispy Kreme could be such a fun afternoon outing? We got to watch the donuts roll by on the conveyor belt and get covered with glaze. (I just re-read that and it sounds like we got covered with glaze. That was not the case, although her hands did end up covered in glaze.) She tried counting them, but got stuck at 8 or 9, just like usual and then would start back at 3. hehe

I met with a landscaper this afternoon who wants 3-4k just to spruce up our yard. Um, no. Next, please.

I made an appointment with a painting company to come give us an estimate on touching up the exterior and should be seeing a guy about our interior repainting tomorrow or the next day as well.

Chuck stained and sealed the deck yesterday.

See a pattern here?

Yep, we're gettin' our butts in gear and preparing to put our house on the market.

We drew up an offer to buy a different house this evening. Things have moved pretty quickly, but we're excited at what the new house has to offer... IF we can get it for the price we want. Here are a couple of pictures of the interior for you to enjoy.

This is the huge living room and archway into the dining room. I've already begun to "decorate" and have decided that there's enough space in this room for a craft area, which is very exciting.

This is the den with opening into the kitchen and french doors to the screened in patio/sunroom. The layout of this house is actually almost identical to our current home, there are just a few key differences.

Some of the important changes from one house to the other are as follows:

The yard of our current home is expansive. Beautiful, but expansive. We do want a yard some day. We both love a big blanket of green to welcome you to the house, but Chuck simply doesn't have the time to maintain it at this stage of our lives. The yard of the new home is small, but beautifully landscaped so it has lots of character.

The deck and playset in our current backyard were part of what was attractive about this house, but the screened in sunroom (I HATE mosquitoes!!!) and the covered patio (the sun is just scorching in the summer... or else it's raining) and the POOL at the new house are going to be the perfect escapes from the heat for two girls and their mommy.

The carport in our current home was the MINIMUM we would accept for parking options and, unfortunately, we didn't even really have the choice of any other homes in our price range with garages at the time. In fact, many just had a driveway with no cover. The new house has a two car garage. Yipee!

The master bath in our current home is a jack and jill with the girls' bedroom and opens to the hallway as well. It's just annoying and we never even open the pocket door to their room. The new house's master bath does open to the hallway and the master, but not to another bedroom.

Our current home is a 3 bedroom. I have been saying ever since we got pregnant with Arielle that I wasn't sure how the girls sleeping in one room would work. We made the switch this month and it hasn't worked out at all. They both began waking up earlier and earlier and waking each other up as well. As soon as we put Arielle back in the guest room, everyone got to sleep later. Mommy is happiest with more sleep, but we need a dedicated guest room with a king sized bed. (My parents bought it for us because they refuse to stay with us if they have to sleep on anything smaller.)

The new house has 3 bedrooms, one for us and one each for the girls. AND a pool house with it's own full bath. Hellooooo guest cottage. HAha! I'm so stinkin' excited about our guests having their own quarters that I hardly know what to do with myself. It's possibly THE best thing about the house.

The offer expires tomorrow at 5pm.

Fingers crossed.

Not a Kid Anymore

It is the day before my 30th birthday.
I am having cheese puffs and wine for my afternoon snack.



There is no party tomorrow.
But we might be putting an offer on a house.
I am not depressed, but I am... feeling... different.



My mother was 30 and just about to have her first and only child, me, this time 30 years ago.
What a huge change for her, and she was already 30 when I happened.
I have two girls, am about to (possibly) own my second house, am married to a doctor, have succumbed to the mini-van mom monster (but I refuse to ever don "mom jeans") and am still coloring my hair red, which I began doing freshman year in college.
Did I mention I turn 30 tomorrow and I'm kind-of conflicted about it?


I might learn to embrace it by the time I turn 31.
I'll let you know.

Homo H8?

I'm about to open a can of worms.  But it's my blog, so if I want worms all over it, that's my prerogative.

I believe homosexuality is sin.  I believe it is wrong.  I do not want gay marriage to be widely legalized.  There.  Now that that's out of the way, this post isn't really about my beliefs on that subject, but I wanted to just go ahead and put them out there, because I don't want to dance around that question the whole post.  Onward with what I really wanted to post...

I go to E! Online and get my celebrity fix every other day or so.  Today, I came across this article about the NO H8 campaign.  It was the first I'd heard of it and was curious.  I Googled it and read a little bit and saw some more of the photos.  I was starting to get perturbed, but decided I needed to learn more before I jumped to conclusions about what the duct tape across the mouth meant.  As I continued to research, my first gut reaction was confirmed and I had to do a quick post.

I believe the photo below is the photographer himself, Adam Bouska, if I'm not mistaken.

There are different interpretations of what the duct tape means, but before I even address that.  I think the  8 in the NO H8 slogan is very clever way to reference to Proposition 8 (The California Marriage Protection Act), but I don't think the creator is being fair by using the word "hate" to describe the result of a fair vote that didn't go the way a group of people wanted it to.  There are always majorities and minorities in votes.  The minority doesn't win.  So that means the majority HATES the minority?  No.  It just means the minority doesn't have enough voices yet.

Speaking of voices, now to address the duct tape.  It can be interpreted a couple of ways.  I read that some people think it means that this is a silent protest of the "hating" that's going on toward gays.  Wouldn't that be kind-of redundant though, since a photograph is inherently silent?  Still others (and this was my gut reaction) feel that it means that the people "hating" need to be silenced.  Once again, I don't feel like this was really well thought through.  I'm going to give the creator the benefit of the doubt and assume that he didn't mean for me to read into this all that I did.

But what comes to your mind when you think about a person's mouth being duct taped?  Just play the game with me.  First thing that comes to your mind...   Kidnapping? torture? ... these are extreme, but I'm just saying.  When else is duct tape used over the mouth?  I didn't vote obviously, but if I had, I would have been on the side voting against gay marriage.  

I do not hate gay people, but I am labeled as such and (silently) requested to put duct tape over my own mouth (or maybe they wish to put it there for me?) and support something I don't believe in just to prove I don't hate gay people.  Since when is voting on one side of an issue hating the people that vote on the other side of it?  Since when is voting not a fair way to determine the laws in our country?  Since when is it acceptable by a wide range of people, including Cindy McCain (surprising to me) to want one side of an issue to have no voice?

Isn't the problem that gays feel they don't have a voice?  that they don't have a fair say?  The solution is not to wish a different group the same unfairness they imagine to have.

And here's another article that takes a completely different, possibly less controversial, twist on how the whole campaign just seems to be self promotion of beautiful people under the guise of a "good cause."  Really, their cause is getting less attention or effective action since the voters are who they really would need to get ahold of and the voters who voted against gay marriage probably wouldn't be influenced by hundreds of unoriginal photos.  Just sayin'.