Two years later…..

January 28, 2010

It’s hard to believe that i’ve been writing

here for two years….
two years this month….
and what started as a blog about my shop happenings..
turned into a daily view on my life..
my family…my home.

It’s also hard to believe that we {my family} has lasted

in Illinois for two and a half years.

Bryan grew up in florida…

i grew up in so. cali…

we met in vail, colorado…

married…

moved to the bay area {san fran}…

lived there for 3 years…

had our first baby and named him Mason.

I love san francisco…

i would move back in a heart beat….

but bryan has a job….

so i guess we should stay here.

When mason was 6mo…we packed up

and moved back to colorado…

this time settling outside of denver.

Had another baby when mason was 16mo old..

named her lola.

Eye’s were rolled when we named her…

but we had always loved that name…

and stuck to it.

Then people like Kelly Ripa, Denise Richards, Jennie Garth,

and Madonna all called me to see if it would

be ok for them to use that name as well.

We agreed.

We are still awaiting for a handwritten thank you card…

and everyday i check my mail…

my hottie{ mailman} knows i’m waiting.

Lola turned two and i found out there

was going to be another baby.

Who the hell has three babies in less than 4 years…

well….

at least the baby was cute…

and we named him fin.

I really wanted to name him atticus…

after atticus finch…

my favorite book is to kill a mockingbird…

i like to think that fin is short for finch…

but bryan likes to think of fin

after a shark fin…..
{which i’m not going to mention the fact that bryan has a shark tatoo on his ankle}

because he dreams of one day moving back to florida.

I told bryan he can move to florida and i’ll move

back to the bay area.

that didn’t go over very well.

Anyhoo….

fin was born…..lola was 2.5…mason 4.

I begged my doctor to give me some medication…
ya know…to help cope.
Tom cruise tried to talk me out of it…
but i told him to back off….

i loved my prozac.

Fin turned two and we found out we were moving

to illinois.

moved.

started the blog.

met friends.

met blog friends.

travelled.

travelled with blog friends.

write.

drink skinny vanilla lattes.

write some more.

photography.

shop.

shop for shoes.

shop for more shoes.

exercise.

exercise a lot.

watch the scale not move.

kick the scale.

have a glass {or three} of wine.

shop at anthro.

feels better than prozac.

buy a new canon 50d.

volunteer at kids school.

vow never to home school.

drive a mini van.

love my mini van.

hate my mini van.

put on my {snuggie.}

eat ice cream.

get cozy.

kick the scale.

Are you still reading…..i’m impressed if you got this far…

but totally understand if i lost you an hour ago.

But….

for those of you still here…..

i want to thank you.

thank you for reading …

thank you for commenting..

thank you for letting me know that my life

is a little crazy…and nutty…

but so completely normal.

Oh…

i suppose a little giveaway is in order.

one lucky reader will recieve all of this:

a $25 starbucks giftcard {get a handfull of your own skinny vanilla lattes}

a $25 target giftcard {get your own snuggie to keep you warm}

a $25 restaurant giftcard {to have dinner..or drinks with a friend}

a $25 movie theater giftcard {because i know how i just love a good flick}

and a one year subsciption to Boho magazine {because it’s a fav of mine}
*oh…and here is another giveaway {here}

Filed Under life Leave a Comment

Do something amazing……..

January 27, 2010

I feel at times i could change the world.

The reality is….i can’t…..

nor do i really want to.

{ i mean…can you imagine the pressure ….}

At the end of my day i like to be able to go to sleep

knowing that i at least tried.

Maybe not changed the world…

or travelled to a third world country…

to feed the poor.

I can’t do much.

I wish i could…..

but the reality is…..

i can do something.

I live in a pretty wonderful neighborhood of older homes.

The neighbors are really fabulous….

we all get along….we help each other out.

A few doors down, a single mother lives

with her daughter in a flat.

The daughter…is the same age as lola…and from here on out…

I shalll call her “A”.

The mother works full time….. there is

no father.

Actually…there was a father….but he lives elsewhere

and when the mother took him to court for

mandatory child support…..

he took off.

I have been helping watch “A” for the last year now….

she comes over 3 mornings a week before school..

and on fridays after school.

My other neighbor watches “A” the other 2

afternoons.. after school.

“A” leads a rough life….

her mother doesn’t have much money…

she gets shuttled around on the weekends so that

her mother can work.

My little family has helped her out this year and payed

for her to be in girl scouts with lola….

we take her with us to dinner…

we let her be a part of our family..

but there are definitely some complications.

She is not used to having a father figure…

so it’s hard for her to take direction when bryan is home….

she argues a lot with my children…

she’s very strong headed {just like lola}…

but we love her.

I won’t be able to help watch her forever…

because we will be travelling a lot this summer…

and it worries me.

I worry about who will be watching her when i

won’t be able to…

or when my neighbor gets a job to help support her

own family..and is unable to help as well.

What kills me is that i worry about what will

happen when i’m not there.

I’m not her mother….

but i ache for her…

i ache because i know

what her situation is like

at home.

But…..

right now…..

i can do something amazing.
I am helping form a young girl…
who has a pretty rough life.

I go to bed knowing that i am

doing something good….
it might be so small…

that no one notices…

i only want ONE person knowing…

one small person.

One small girl to be able to climb into bed…

feeling like she is loved…
and is part of a family.
It just takes somebody….
to do something.
you can do it also…
something amazing…
even if no one even knows.
Try it.
p.s. my brother and his wife had their first baby last week. His name is Preston…

and i can’t wait to meet him in 2 weeks! I know someone is getting a prize from

the ‘name the baby’ contest…so as soon as i find it…i’ll let you know.

Filed Under life 1 Comment

Solo momma…..

January 25, 2010
{Part one}
Wednesday afternoon came around and it wasn’t looking
good for bryan to break free from his back to
back meetings so that he could take us to the
airport.
Oh well.
It’s a good thing i know the number to
the car service.
yup.
It’s not really a limo service….
but that’s what showed up at my home on wednesday
to take us to the airport.
a stretch limo…
with drinks…
a movie playing…
the works.
I had a good feeling
that the trip was going to be good….
especially since i was a travelling momma…
solo momma.

We have the traveling down to a “T”.

We carry on…

we do not check any bags…

the kids are in charge of their own suitcases.

I got their matching suitcases

and backpacks at target.

sheesh….

i need my whole suitcase to myself….

and i must say…

i was pretty proud of myself for only bringing

four pairs of shoes with me.

We arrived late Wednesday night….

in West Palm Beach….

only to walk off the airplane …

stripping off our sweatshirts…and layers.

Have i mentioned that humidity and

my hair do not get along?

no???

I won’t go into detail right now..

but have you ever seen what

a person looks like when they stick

their finger into an electrical socket?

uh huh.

that’s me.

FRIZZY

Oh….

how i love Florida in the winter….

but so do a lot of “older” folks.

Ever wonder where the saying..

Early bird

comes from?

yup….

good ole florida in the winter.

But really….where else are you going to get a

steak dinner with potatoes

and veggies…

oh…don’t forget the bread with butter.

{which is SO hilarious….because every menu makes sure to say…bread and butter

like a meal is not a meal without bread and butter…

real butter….}

for the wonderful price of $14.

Oh….

and that meal comes with a glass of house cabernet…

with bread and butter.


Day one.

We were on the beach at Ten sharp…..

I really wanted to get you a good shot

of the wind surfers above…

but that darn boy was in the shot.

Don’t you worry though…..

because i know you can still see

the wind surfers in the background…

it’s just that the camera was focused on

surfer boy.


Then this boy came along….

thinking that he would

suffice as a surfer boy….

i kept yelling at him to move out of the way…

move.
out.
of.
the.
way.

Oh…

he moved alright…..
he moved and shaked…
danced a bit…
pulled out some moves i’ve never seen.
dang…..
he’s only four….

Then i caught this boy.

a real version of what a surfer boy is.
alright…so he’s minus the surfboard.
he’s more of a boogie boarder…
or a boogie eater.
alright…not a boogie eater anymore..
xo
*{french elements chose thewinner of the sponsor giveaway :* Amy of lemon cottage}
Filed Under family Leave a Comment
« Older Posts