4 Months

A month of Owen . . .

My Favorite Things

For a few months now I’ve wanted to add some other “feature” to this site. A regular update on some theme that would kind of serve as a snapshot of our lives even when I had nothing really to “say.” I just couldn’t come up with a good idea. Then dooce went and overhauled her site and added this nifty “Daily Style” section. And being a really good copycat, I thought, “That’s just what I’m looking for!” But, I don’t think I’m so surrounded by style, or even a strong aesthetic, that people are clamoring to see. That’s where holiday inspiration (and Oprah) came in – what about some of my favorite things? I could regularly post a photo of a “favorite thing” – something I bought, or made, or experienced, or use, or whatever. And while sometimes friends and family are interested in the coolness that is me, it is really a cool way to track who I am. After all, that’s what this website is about – logging who we are and what’s happening for posterity.
I can’t promise it will be daily. And, ideally, I won’t be posting here in my main content space. But, until I can get the new site to work, here are a few of my favorite things this week.

Arts and crafts time. Zoë is finally getting old enough to really enjoy craftiness. And while introducing a 20-month-old to bottles of glitter may be a mistake, she’s helped remind me how much I love these things that I long ago, foolishly, cast aside as “childish.”

My Santa advent calendar. We got this as a housewarming gift before our first Christmas as a married couple. I’ve always liked hanging the little ornaments each day, but, like most things these days, experiencing it through the eyes of my toddler makes it all the more magical.

Anyone who knows us knows that our Christmas tree is dominated by Hallmark’s collectible Star Wars ornaments. And the more lights and sounds they have, the better. This is one of this year’s additions. You have no idea how cool it is. It plays the Star Wars theme. Zoë thinks the whole tree is “neat” (her word), but she has to have me play this one daily.
I’m so excited about these necklaces. I was thrilled when I found the beads for them, even more stoked when I found these adorable toggle closures. But the finished product is even better than I expected. I look forward to giving them, but kind of wish I didn’t have to.

Winter is nearly here

It's been colder this week, below freezing some mornings, and I'm faced with the harsh reality that winter is almost here. Granted, we've been kind of lucky temperature-wise. Must be all that global warming. But I think it's that much harder because it is only now getting cold. I got complacent.

Today was icky - gray, slightly rainy, cold. But BJ got productive and (with Zoe in toe) headed outside to winterize the roses and bring in the hoses. (Such rhyming!) He had our little girl toddle into the house bearing this:



The last rose of the season. They really stayed in bloom forever and this one is a beauty. All yellow and sunny, it just reminds me of warmer, brighter days. They will come again. Besides, now I can gear up for the holidays! While I was at the mall today I tried to point out Santa to Zoe. She was a bit oblivious - distracted by the mall milieu. I will have to bring her out to meet him before long. She can get freaked out like every other 2 year old.

Project 365 - #1

A long-awaited plate of Chinese food. Happy New Year!

Project 365

I'm so sick of New Year's Resolutions. At one point, I thought making "goals" would be a better way to frame it. But, they all just kind of go down the tubes. And has any resolution I've ever made really improved me or my life? Enh, can't say that they have.

But, I wanted to do something new to a) kick up this blog a bit (lack of time and inspiration have totally turned this into a saccharine, run of the mill mommy blog) and b) improve my photography. I mean, BJ and I spent plenty of money on this rockin' piece of equipment, and have picked up some more bells and whistles, so we better put it to good use.

Therefore, starting tomorrow, I will be completing a so-called "Project 365", inspired by Photojojo, their tips, and this. Every day this year, I will be taking a picture. I'll be hauling around the old Rebel and attempting to catpure a highlight of that day. I'll place them in this Flickr set, but occasionally I will post the photo here with a brief entry.

So, keep checking back! It should be fun . . .