Papers & Pretty Things

Jumpology

I've been on Photojojo's mailing list for awhile now, and one of the subjects a few years ago was jumping - a sure fire way to get smiles! One of the links in the article led me to a Smithsonian article about the founder of the jumping photograph, Philippe Halsman. Which in turn led me to his book, titled Philippe Halsman's Jump Book, published in 1959, which I am currently reading. An inspiring book and concept, I thought we could try it out!

(Disclaimer - these first two photos were my first attempts at this concept of Jumpology - as such, the flash is a little strong and the backgrounds are so unspectacular, as it is simply the kitchen/hallway. That little yellow thing which I could have/should have photoshopped out is half of an Easter egg for the cat.)

Later, Pete and I went for a walk through one of the local parks around sunset, which gave some interesting lighting as well as swarms of, guess what, mosquitoes. (Ugh. So tired of them.)

 

I have to say, this could be a fun way to document the journey of life.

Today: A little road trip to Cambridge with mom, grocery planning, and possibly some more laundry.

Text the Bocce Fire

Yesterday was a wonderfully tiring day full of money spending and time spending in the out-of-doors. After researching phones online for several hours, I narrowed my choices of a new phone down to two for me and three for Pete. The problem was I had a hard time navigating one of the two and was vetoed on the other. I was told 'no' to the beautiful iphone, and ended up with the Samsung Eternity.

Photo: AT&T

Which, by the way, after playing with it all day, is still a pretty sweet phone. I now have a full QWERTY keyboard and can text all fast and proper and not get seriously annoyed by the mutli-tap process. Pete chose the Samsung a777 in orange, which he loves. (The phone and the color.)

Photo: AT&T

It only took an hour to pick them out and two different stores and two transactions to make the transfer to a new carrier. Thankfully, the store locations were close which also led us to lunch at Panera.

Afterward, we grabbed the cat and headed over to my mom and dad's for the rest of the afternoon. We bathed kitty, but only got in one Burn Notice, one Top Sniper, and one Barefoot Contessa before dinner. But by then we were ready for some time outside since the weather was so nice. A new bocce ball set was broken in, but for this lawn game, I was unable to demonstrate any kind of prowess on my part. [Shame] [Gloom]

Pete suggested a fire in the fire pit and a half an hour later, we were swatting mosquitoes again. With the moon as bright as it was, we dragged out the binoculars and telescope to check it out. This sparked some interest in the possibility of a visit to the Planetarium/Observatory. Perhaps in the near future.

Today: House chores, new phone exploration, cat medication application (how exciting), and more photo scanning.

Friends + Family

Whenever someone uses the "+" symbol, I never know immediately if they meant it to be read as ____ plus ____, or ____ and _____. In this case, I mean "and". As in friends and family. &.

Just so we're all on the same page.

I am so thankful that I had yesterday off from work, so that I could accompany my husband to Milwaukee to visit our friends and family. It seems that whenever we go to R&L's, we're the first ones there - at least that's how it's been the last two times. Hey, at least we're prompt! We must be channeling Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee and Mai. ;) 10 points to anyone who knows what I'm referring to.

Grilling is so much more fun when you have people to do it with, especially when you can hang around outside while it's happening. Not to mention, sampling the new blue Mountain Dew! I have to say, I've never grilled my 'mallows for smores - usually they're roasted over a campfire. But dudes, SMORES! How awesome are they? Delish.

After trying my hand at two new games - Yard Toss and Rock Band, Pete and I headed out to a family member's house for more grilled meat product and salad and soda. At that point in the evening I was stuffed and sadly did not have any more room for the yummy looking eats. By then the state bird had made its appearance and much swatting and scratching ensued. (And by state bird I mean the mosquito.) A yard toss game was also present, at which cousin T and I won all three games we played!

Big thanks to the Rob(b)s who hosted parties yesterday!

Today: New cell phones with a new provider for less money, but hopefully the same phone numbers. An easy-going Sunday with my fam and catching up on Burn Notice. Oh and the cat will finally be getting her bath.

BEES!

Well, bee, actually. I discovered one buzzing in the transom window above the walkout doors.

What is it with bees infiltrating my apartment?! I mean, c'mon. The last apartment we were in, 3 years ago, I had 4 bee-type-wasp things make an appearance.

I truly hope this is not a recurring theme.

Have you ever been kicked out of a store?

I almost was.

I was at a wholesale grocery/we-sell-everything store, making notes of products and prices. Which, by the way, I've been doing for 3 days now, in bits and pieces. I made sure to stay out of the way of people who were shopping and employees who were stocking. More people than I expected asked me what I was doing these last few days, with some questions being, "Oh, doing inventory, huh?" "Do you work here?" (both customers) "Do you need any help? (No thank you, just checking prices and nutrition facts *smile*) "Oh ok, thought you were from [Other Wholesale Store Name]" "Do you need help finding something?" "Are you doing a project?"  And then the one that just about got me ejected - "You are not allowed to do pricing here...you need to stop or leave."

I told this employee that I was almost done and would go when I was finished - she left me alone after that but was the one checking receipts at the door. Sigh. It makes me a little upset that they "don't allow pricing" - because I want to be a well-informed consumer. This "rule" (if it is indeed a policy) just reaffirms to me that warehouse wholesale prices may not indeed be the lowest around.  When the quantities are so much larger, it's a little tougher to compare accurately. They do place the unit price on the signs, but this doesn't mean much if you don't pay attention to that in the grocery stores. (Especially when the grocery store unit price tag is printed about 2 mm high. To make sure that I purchase the best deal, I want to price foods I usually buy. Ugh. I guess it was my fault for going on a weekend when there are more employees around.

I just hope that this doesn't happen at the other two places I need to price too.

It's a Hope Update!

A month ago, Pete and I attended a live telecast by Dave Ramsey, Town Hall for Hope, a message about hope in the current economy's storm of fear. The video is up on hulu (my TV replacement) and available to watch for free. I highly encourage anyone reading this to watch it, and head over to his website if this sounds like something that interests you. It's an hour and 40 minutes, so watch when you've got some time. You can watch it in standard resolution or high resolution, it is up to you.

The Freshest

A few weeks ago, Pete and I went downtown to the Farmer's Market on the square, but didn't arrive until 10am or so and it was the first weekend opening of the season, so there wasn't much there. I've wanted to go earlier, but could never get myself up at 6 to do so.

Today, was another story. Since Pete didn't want to wake at such an hour on the weekend, I figured I'd try a different market than the downtown one.  Driving in the rain, I headed out to the FM in Middleton. Unfortunately I must have had the wrong address or wrong date, because I couldn't find anything.  Maybe another location would bear fruit (haha)...so I tried another place that is supposed to have a FM. But no, the second location was a dud too. I ended up taking a different way home, and ironically, stumbled upon white tents! With vegetables! And honey! And milk! A real Farmer's Market! By now, it's pouring. Of course.

The good thing with the rain is that not many people were out, so I only had to wait in line behind one person in one booth. On the other hand, I was completely soaked by the end of the trip.  I think my favorite encounter was with a vendor who was about 13 or 14, very polite but rather unhelpful. When I asked what kind of lettuce a particularly beautiful chartreuse head was, he laughed and said, "Oh, no! Don't ask me that! I'm not sure what kind it is, but Mother likes it best."  So I think to myself, well, if "Mother" likes that one best, I can't go wrong!

And I now have some deliciously fresh produce, bread, eggs, honey and preserves. Excellent.

Well ya see, it's like this

I sort of fell off the face of the blogearth. But I do have some fantastical news!
Yes, our house has sold, we closed on Wednesday, May 13, and the paperwork was finalized on Friday, May 15. The payoffs went through yesterday, and our mortgage accounts are at $0. (ZERO!) Yes, I know that is how it works when you sell a house, your mortgage(s) get paid off. It's just crazy to actually see that balance.

While we took a huge hit in the price and ended up having to pay (literally) to get rid of the place, it is no longer our responsibility, no longer a weight dragging us down. It is a monetary setback, and we are now back at square one with savings and debt reduction. On the other hand, we have gained valuable experience and knowledge. So, it's done.

Thank you everyone who was praying for us for the last year about our house!

Secondly, I have a job interview on Friday, which is really encouraging, especially following the situation with the house. So, more prayers requested, if you're willing to send 'em up!

Thanks for stickin' with me if you're still reading this blog, I really appreciate it!

Hope on the Horizon

This evening we will be attending Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope, a message about the economy and what we can hope for.

Happy Earth Day

Such a generic title. I know.

I'd like to get to this movie opening today, to celebrate. Surprisingly, Amazon alerted me to this, as opposed to Disney itself, even though I am on the Disney mailing list. Huh. Probably because I bought Planet Earth off of Amazon.  :)

UPDATE: I wish I could demand a refund of my $16.50. If by "the next chapter" they mean the identical footage already shot and produced and released in Planet Earth... then sure.

Having seen everything already - it was a disappointment. Even more so it was frustrating and irritating, as they gave human emotions to animals and added supremely tacky/stale/used/generic dramatic music, ruining the natural majesty of the animals themselves. They pretty much tried to cram the entire 5 disc set into 90 minutes - it was such a disarray of scenes... 10 seconds or so for each. Ugh. Disjointed. Not to mention the narration by James Earl Jones was flat, lacking the deep, gravely, rock-solid pitch he usually has...and that all his lines were either verbatim from Planet Earth, or so dumbed down it was scoffable.

I think the worst part was when the "daddy" polar bear didn't make it, "but his spirit will live on in the hearts of his young ones". There was an identical audible exclamation of disbelief and disgust from Pete and myself. (You're kidding me, right?)

Thank you Lord

Someone just made us an offer on our house!

Now the paperwork just needs to go through.  I can't begin to explain this feeling of relief.

Write Everyday

It's something I've always wanted to do.  Maybe I can try and keep up with that.  Even if I don't publish it on the blog.  Just write something.

Apron Possibilities

One thing I'd like to change about my daily routine, is to wear my nicer clothes every day and not only when I need to leave the house.  In the past, I'd just throw on a pair of comfy yoga-type pants, a graphic/printed tee and maybe a sweatshirt.  But this kind of apparel does not make one feel very attractive or productive.  Just blah and lazy.  One could reason that while cleaning and cooking, you'd want to wear these types of clothes so as not to get your good clothes dirty.

Remedy:  An Apron

Duh.  How did I not think of this before?

Ok, on to the pattern searches.

I only found a few, but they all have potential:

Butterick, McCall's, McCall's, Heather Bailey

But why make one when I could buy one for about the same price as fabric, the pattern and the time it would take to make it?

Good idea:

Fresh Pink Poppies Polka Dot Ruffled Full Apron - by My Sunday Apron



The BELLA Vintage Inspired Brown Modern Pears with Turquoise Full Apron - by Boojiboo

The FAMOUS CHLOE Vintage Inspired Black and White Damask Full Apron - by Boojiboo

I have to say, this last one just might be my favorite!!  It was featured in a SONY magazine ad.  SO DARLING!!

But then, I could just enter a giveaway and WIN one.  That just might be the easiest!

New To This Whole 'Mommy' Thing is giving a Boojiboo apron away, as is Simply Stacie.  So, ladies, here is a blog post about the aprons and your giveaways!

What I Miss

Seeing as our house is still on the market in Texas, it is always on my mind.  And usually not in a pleasant, calming way, but a, nagging, unsettling, worrisome sort of way.

Well, at least something happy crossed my mind in regard to the house today - I love how I never had to turn on a light until about 7 or 8pm, because there was so much natural light streaming in through the windows.  It was so comfy and sunny, and I really miss that.  An apartment doesn't give you much in the way of natural light.  While we do have windows (and lots of them in one room) we don't get any more than an hour of a sun-patch.  It's all indirect light.  And, while I suppose that I should be grateful for that, I do miss the bath of sunshine you got when in the house.

On a completely separate issue, are cats supposed to massively shed for 3 months?

I think

I think I take on too many projects at once.

Just Have To Add

I am loving the homepage today!  Yay first day of Spring!  Yay Eric Carle!

Foto Friday: Cannelle et Vanille

While I wish I was a genius in the kitchen, I am not,  but that doesn't stop me from drooling over other peoples' culinary talents.  Aran of Cannelle et Vanille, is one of those individuals who can not only make something delicious (I can just tell from the ingredients she lists) but beautiful as well.  She captures her lovely food with stunning photographs, making them even more mouth watering.  She can take something simple, like sorbet and make it look positively divine.

{photo from Cannelle et Vanille}
 
She also has a flickr site, with just the photos of her fabulous food.

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Foto Friday is a weekly installation, occurring every Friday, exploring Photographic websites and books as well as other Photographic topics.

While I Wait

I just started (yes, another project) a free online .... system... for lack of a better word right now.... that deals with keeping your home and family and life organized, clutter free, clean and cheery.  One of the things that one must do, is every morning (for those who don't work outside the home) to "get dresses to shoes".  As for me, I still don't know why they insist on a grammatically incorrect phrase, but the gist of it is to get dressed from hair and make up, all the way down to tying up those shoe laces.  This way, you're always ready, and have a can-do mentality right from the get-go.  As for me, I am a firm believer in the no-shoes-in-the-house philosophy.  Less dirt, no scuffs, and more importantly, no broken kittie toes in the case of accidental steppage.  (just loud meows.) 

The solution to this is to have a pair of shoes only for house-wearing.  So, I stopped by DSW on my way home from dropping off Pete's forgotten keys, and was saddened to find not one satisfactory cute pair of tennies.  (They HAVE to have laces - no slip-ons.)  Enter the internet.  Behold, the shoes I am waiting for.

Image found on goldencan.com.

I only hope the colors are more like the photo on dsw.com....

I've been busy!

Catchin' up on some projects...

More coming soon!

P.S. Look what came in the mail on Friday:
SO EXCITED!!!

I won something!

Not just any something, a really awesome something!  Holly Hanks, author of The Charmed Life blog, Design Team member of Label Tulip, Pink Paislee, and Chatterbox, Inc., held a giveaway on her blog last Wednesday.

 She graciously was offering a brand new copy of Elsie Flannigan's Love, Elsie Recipe Idea Box, a book that I have wanted since it came out, but everywhere had sold out of! 

And I won!!

Thank you so much Miss Holly!!!