Nightly Routine

Last week my scrapbooking hero Ali Edwards issued a little challenge for us - her loyal followers - to record our nightly routine. I love this idea as I'm really focused on enjoying every minute of Brody's toddlerhood (even thru the tantrums and blatant disobedience!). On a good night, here is how it goes...

5:30 - 5:45PM Kevin comes home and he and Bubba play while I get dinner ready. I look forward to this time all afternoon! The whole process of cooking dinner relaxes me. Yes, even the clean up!

6:00PM - Ideal dinner time. Dinner varies from pasta to chicken to homemade pizza to meatloaf. Traditional stuff. Brody usually dines on mac-n-cheese but recently has been eating what we eat. After dinner we enjoy some more play time and really try to get him active so that (1) he might get tired and (2) in case he has to poop!

7:00PM - Bath time! Brody's bath tub has a removable shower head. It's perfect for bathing toddlers. He loves spraying it everywhere and it makes washing his hair a little less traumatic. The bucket of toys include various bath books, little sea animal figures, empty bottles, balls for a basketball net that hangs in the shower, plastic cars, etc.

7:30 - 8PM - Brody likes to run around naked for a while. The other day he pee-peed in the potty for the first time! It was a big deal to Kevin but Brody sort of shrugged it off like, "No biggie". Sometimes we'll play Easter Egg (an attempt to get him familiar with the hunt game so that he gets it during Easter!) where I'll hide various animal figures all over his bathroom and he'll find them. He's REALLY good at it!

{the picture below is of Brody's 'Big Smile'. For some reason, his 'big smile' translates into a serious scowl. I thought I'd give it try!}

Sometime after Bath & Before Bedtime - Brush Teeth. He doesn't spit yet but he sometimes does a really good job of brushing his little baby face teeth.

8:00 - 8:30 PM - Read Books. When I put him to bed it's about 8:30pm. When Kevin does it, Brody is usually in bed by 8PM sharp. I love this time of cuddling and reading books. He's started rebelling against bedtime a bit but most nights he goes to bed pretty easily. Typically we read between 1-3 books/night. Then we'll turn off the light or let him do it and spend a few minutes saying nighttime prayers and singing songs.

8:30Pm (at latest) - Bedtime. There are two bedtime buddies Oso and Coco. We all give each other hugs and kisses and if necessary....tickle time. It can be traditional tickle time or involve the itsy bitsy spider (ee-bee-pie-dur) or the little piggies running all the way home. As long as it involves crazy laughter, we're good.

I'm only speaking for myself here. I think Kevin's book - bed process is slightly different. All I know is that when K puts him down it's usually quick and quiet. For me there is often about 5-10 minutes of screaming. At very rare times we'll have to go back up and calm him down.

8:30 - 11:30PM - TV, Surf, Read, Bed....we spend this time watching our favorite shows (we love you, DVR!) and checking/answering emails and catching up on our fav blogs. We go to bed as early as possible without being early enough every night and do it all over again in 24 hours.

Good times. Great times. Even when it's rough...it's all about the now. We wont have these times with Brody forever. In fact, when other babies come along...we'll never have these times with Brody again. Wow. So thankful for the routine. So thankful for the time!

Booger Story

You know that rubbery adhesive gook that they use to stick credit cards to paper when you get them in the mail? Well, last weekend in a moment of total insanity I showed Brody how remarkably they resemble actual boogers. To do this, I balled up the previously mentioned gook and stuck it to his face just under his nose. We laughed and tricked Daddy and then I thought it was over. Too bad Brody was shoving the gook as far up his boogie nose as possible! I realized the gook was missing about the same time I noticed his look of worry. I reached my finger as far up his little nose holes as possible but only got snot (as he had a cold at the time). Kevin was sure it came out but I was super concerned and kept bringing it up throughout our movie night!

Later that night during bath time Brody was crazy sleepy and something set him off into a crying fit. All wet and slippery he lurched out of the tub and cried into my shoulder. When he pulled his head up he left a huge gloppy mass of what we thought was mucus on my shoulder. For a moment, very disturbing but ultimately a total relief!

I learned two things from this event: (1) I have to always trust my Brody instincts and (2) teaching my child to shove things up his nose is very not good. To my defense, the day before Kevin taught him to eat lemon grass...something that lead to him picking and tasting all things green and leafy. Honestly....poor kid.

My Green-Thumbed Hubby

BEFORE (ABOVE)
AFTER (BELOW)

Check out our cute new garden! Kevin knocked this puppy out in one afternoon. [Edited: The image on top is how it looked when we moved in almost 3 years ago!]. This area used to be an over-grown jungle of weeds and ground cover and a huge lavender bush (bumble bee magnet). Now it's a lush and lovely area that reminds me just how amazing my husband is. Thanks babe, for your hard work!

Brain Wrinkle: "COol BikES"

Apparently....'nice' bicycles don't have kick stands. Whell.

Last weekend we went for a family bike ride for the first time. While Kevin was wrestling to get Brody in his bike-seat I innocently asked 'Where is your kick stand?'. He laughed embarrassedly and sort of glanced around to see if anyone heard me and said, 'This bike doesn't have a kick stand." Well. Well. Well. Excuuuuuse me! He went on to explain that typically the more expensive bikes (unlike my $53 mountain bike from Target) don't include this convenience. If I paid $400 for a bike it damn well better have a kick stand on it! I don't have time to be holding up my bicycle. Pah-leez. I'm all for kick-stands. I'm PRO kick-stand.

New Brain Wrinkle

Tonight I learned how to do this in Photoshop. I'm very pleased with myself to say the least. I've always wondered how this is done and wished I knew how! I'm a little annoyed at how basic a skill it is but I'm glad to know the skill nonetheless. Very clever. Very clever indeed.

Resolution Update

At the first of the year I made a few resolutions. One of them was to LEARN things and another was to do things that SCARE me!

I am learning a lot these days regarding photography and some photoshop so I tend to think that fulfills that particular resolution. However, today I learned something that I hadn't known before - rather than a skill. I learned that a female fox is called a VIXEN. Did everyone know that? Of course I'm familiar with the word 'vixen' but I always have only known it to refer to a bad-guy-sexy-woman. And one of Santa's reindeer. So that was a new brain wrinkle!

Our dear friends the Richters are full-time raising support so that they can serve with Athlete's In Action in Ohio. I think they are so amazing. Heather has really blessed my life this year. I am inspired by their desire to serve and especially by the humility they have to have to ask people to support them financially (and spiritually).

Ok - now for the scary part. During a lunch date with Heather I realized that I needed to introduce them to my boss (W). He and his family have such a compassion for missions and support many organizations financially. I committed to Heather that I would speak to W about meeting with them which was easier said than done. I was very nervous about how to approach the subject. Exactly how do you ask someone to meet with and/or give money to your friends? I did pray about it but I wish I had rehearsed (another story another blog)! Short version: I asked him to meet with Matt and he graciously agreed. I was way out of my comfort zone doing this but by God's grace I was able to connect two people who might be able to do great things for each other. Feels good.

Again with OPRAH!

I don't care what you say - Oprah is truly inspirational. I'm watching the Building A Dream: The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy. "When you change a girls life it's not just that life you effect. A family, a nation. I'm telling you...women are going to change the face of Africa." She's not the first to make this statement about women being the catalyst of change in the world and she certainly wont the be last but she is the loudest, strongest, most powerful voice in the nation right now and what she's doing in this world is absolutely historical. Our values and beliefs are often different but I find her immensely inspirational. I believe that one day I can be a part of bringing change to a life or two along the way. This is my prayer.

Heart Breaker

Sometimes you catch a moment, a glipse into the future. I look at my baby boy's face and I see a 15 year-old looking back at me. In this photo he's frowing because of the sun but I can just see the 15 year-old boy sick of his mom always shoving a camera in his face. Sorry, Buddy. This you'll have to deal with. I love you, Face.

Santa Barbara Saturdays: Take a Hike!

What is the point of living in or visiting Santa Barbara if you don't spend as much time as possible outside!?! There are countless hiking trails in SB for all levels of hiker. My favorite is Cold Springs trail to the waterfall. It's a level 4 out of 5 (see Sweetie...no wonder I have to take so many breaks!!) and at one point there is this rediculous boulder-climb that is nothing short of hysterically funny to watch people navigate (Hello, Sarah!).

The Knapps Castle hike is one I hope we get to take soon. Neither Kevin nor I have ever been to the castle but most of our friends have and have all said it's a fun date. I'm more of a dinner-and-movie type girl but like I said...what's the point of living in SB if you don't enjoy the beauty and weather as often as possible?! Honestly. Hiking with Brody will be harder now that he's too big for the backpack but there are pleny of nature walk trails and beach trails. We've cruised the Butterfly Perserve a few weeks ago and he was great. Unfortunately the monarchs were asleep but it was still great to be in nature with him and we hope to encourage him to appreciate and love this planet and the surrounds God has blessed us with. Amen!

For directions, difficulty, and reviews on local hikes check out http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/. Take lots of water and your camera.

Cheryl's Tip of the Week

Oh you must check out Cheryl's blog! Brody's little face is featured!! Her tip this week is what I've been working on for the past two weeks: creating a sharp focual point and blurred background/foreground. My little lens doesn't always get what I'm asking it to do (although, my lens mostly blames me!) but I've been able to get a couple of decent examples. I'm posting this pic mostly b/c I think Brody looks so freaking adorable but you may be able to see the blurred background. Yea me! I used AV setting at f5.6 because I didn't remember that you could use the macro setting. I'll be going there this week!

This pic is from our fun visit to Salt Lake City last week with the Wold family. It ended up snowing one day (which was totally unexpected) so Brody got to play in his 1ST SNOW! He loved it although he'd cry when his hands got too cold. How sweet is that? He and Kevin rolled around for a good 20 minutes and then we were done. Short but sweet! We are looking forward to his first actual ski trip someday. SO CUTE!!

Cheryl's Tip

Cheryl May is one of Santa Barbara's best photographers and a really rad girl. I just love her work and was fortunate enough to actually have a tutorial session with her this afternoon! She showed me how adjusting my apeture and shutter speeds will result in soft focus fore and backgrounds while keeping my subject in sharp focus. I'd NEVER used the Av setting on my camera before so this was very exciting for me. She also let me use her lens and let me just tell you...that was very cool!

So, today on her blog (http://www.cherylmay.com/blog/) she gave her first TIP. It was on the 'Rule of Thirds'. This basically means you want to avoid placing your subject in the dead center of the photograph. I've been putting my subjects off center for a while now and so this is total validation! I love the look of it but never knew that it was a principle. She did says something that I hadn't considered before. The rule also applies on verticle photos. Subjects eyes should be in the top third of the frame. This is cool. I don't shoot a lot of verticle pics but I'm going to be more aware in the future.

I got to photograph my girlfriend Nancy's daughters Katie and Sarah. Katie is 4 year's old and ready for modeling contract. To see all of the photos from this shoot check out http://picasaweb.google.com/chrystal.sturm/NarettoGirls?authkey=_a0XZXW6MzQ

Easy Philanthropy

We have a plan! As a way to make some extra money that is soley for the purpose of donating to charities and causes. I've posted an ad on Craig's List for local home sellers and real estate agents. I'll photograph their listings for $25.00! If I can photograph 20 houses in a month that's $500 I could donate! So great.

Additionally, Kevin spoke to a real estate contact of his who said that he would definitely use me and possibly get me an opportunity to present to his office. I'm so excited.

Recently I've learned (it's actually soaked in!) that the people who are happiest in this world are those who are following their passions. I love photography and gosh-darn-it I'm pretty good at it. If I can actually make money by shooting photos then I would be totally fullfilled in my career. Talk about waking up happy to start the day! YES!!

So, this is the start. Making money so that I can give money. I'm stoked. Hope you are too :) OH check out www.goodsearch.com for an easy way to donate to your personal causes!

The Power of Positive Thinking

"Giving up the hope that the past could have been different"
"Nothing new can come into your life w/o the FEEL of gratitude"
"Energy flows...where Energy goes!"; "Your energy becomes what you concentrate on"
"Everything is in the PRESENT!"

Yesterday's Oprah was really powerful for me even tho it's pretty 'New Age'. It was on The Secret. The Secret is really just learning how to use, hone, believe, internalize, apply the power of positive thinking. If we focus on all the bad in our lives or the world than we will eventually drown in a preverbial ocean of negativity (my words). BUT if we REALLY believe that things are good, we are good, and that we deserve good things, and I'll add that God is in control of everything and only wants good things for us! (1 Chronicles 17:26)....just think of the possibilities.

Our FEELINGS, THOUGHTS, ACTIONS determine our success in life. FYI success and celebrity/wealth are not the same thing. Success is being fulfilled.

Here are a few of the many negative labels I've given myself:

* I'm a mean person
* I will probably never be thin
* I am not a morning person
* I'm chronically late
* I don't deserve my amazing husband
* I'm just the idea girl...
* I'm a terrible housekeeper ;)
* I'm not (book) smart

I made myself all these things. These characteristics didn't come about as a result of the environment, life circumstances, bad decisions, my family, past relationships, etc. Because I think these things...I am. You know?

I've always known about the power of positive thinking. I've seen it in my mom my whole life. She has tried so hard to not let the tragedies of her life define who she is. She taught me this principle and I'm so impressed by her. Although she has yet to achive the greatness that I know she will one day attain...she gets it. I think it's time I start choosing to believe in this so called law of attraction. Positive thinking, yo. It's a big deal.

I like it. I'm gonna get the video. Good stuff...

Brewing...

I'm thinking about something. It's somewhere back there, in the back of my brain...working it's way to the front...slowly.

I want to support causes. Autism. AIDS Awareness. Breast Cancer. Missionaries. Women. Kids. Homeless. Mexico. Africa. India! Every day I learn about a new organization offering an opportunity to better this world and I do so little. I do so little because I of course feel like I don't have enough to give. Money, that is.

Is there a way for me to earn additional money to be used specifically for charitable causes? What do I enjoy and how can I make money? I'm loving photography at the moment. Being artistic through photography is an amazing outlet. What if I started a (one-man) non-profit offering ameture photography sessions for whatever price and all of that money went to my charity of choice? I saw a cool idea on-line yesterday for offering a service to realtors to take pictures of their list homes for them. I don't know...I'll have to research a bit. I would love to be able to give $500 every month to causes. Or just to have a growing nest egg so that when something big comes up we have the resources to give. Sounds fun!

New York, New York

Ah....New York. Kevin and I took our first No Baby Trip and it was to the Big Apple. We had such a blast. Kevin planned this trip to see the Millrose Games with his college track coach and mentor, Russell Smelley. We decided to make the trip a weekend event and are so glad that we did. The night that they were at the track meet I got to see A Chorus Line. It was wonderful. When I was in elementary school we had cable for about a month and I watched the movie about 25 times on cable. I also watched Zanadu at least as many times! It was so exciting to see it on Broadway. The next night Kevin and I saw a new play called the Drowsy Chaperone. The tagline for this play is "the funniest musical on Broadway" and that is NOT an understatement. It was laugh-till-you-cry funny. I was pointing, wheezing, and knee-slapping at more than one point in the play. Soooo funny. I had never heard of it but after seeing it I'm not at all surprised that it won 5 Tony's this year. Go see it! Besides the theater we did a lot of walking, shopping, eating, and hanging out. This picture is in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn after eating some amaing pizza. That's the Brooklyn Bridge behind us. It was cold and I was severly unfashionable in my big black $20 Foot Locker jacket but I was warm and that was a good deal. On our last night we stayed in the Murray Hill area of NYC in a super great little hotel called the Shelburne Murray Hill. Amazing hotel and we plan on returning if we can get the same amazing rate we got this time ($109!). I'm so looking foward to our next visit to NYC and I'm also planning a girls trip for sometime next year. Yahooo!

Words

Tonight Brody said "apple sauce" about as clear as anything. Watching him go from a baby to a little boy has been such an amazing blessing. He is wonderful in the true sense of the word. Wonderful. Marvelous. Astonishing. Miraculous. He also says "home depot" when asked what his favorite store is (thanks, Daddy). Smart baby. Beautiful baby.

Santa Barbara Saturdays: Farmers Market

Santa Barbara has the best Farmer's Markets in the world. My favorites are the Saturday morning event on Cota St. & Santa Barbara St. and the Tuesday one on lower State Street. There are most amazingly gorgeous organic fruit and veggies; flowers and extra fun goodies like flavored nuts, oils, breads and juices! It's the perfect way to start your weekend on Saturdays and a great way to end your day on Tuesdays. Just a blast!


You can go to a FM every day of the week except Sunday. To check out the schedule: Click here to download SBCFMA weekly schedule

So fun!!

Funny Picture

And speaking of the carousel - we all got a good laugh at this shot! Clearly, Kevin had no idea where his hand was resting. Hee Hee!

Santa Barbara Saturday: Merry-Go-Round

This gorgeous carousel is located at Chase Palm Park on Cabrillo Blvd. Do you know that I've lived in Santa Barbara for 5 years now - what?!?! - and had never been to the M-G-R area of Chase Palm Park. And now, I'm hooked! Brody had so much fun going round & round. It was, in fact, magical. He wasn't ready to mount the horsie just yet but he had a blast sitting on one of the mermaid benches! :)

I'm so excited about taking any and all of our future kid (and adults) visitors to the park! In fact, how fun would this be for an upcoming BDay party!?!

Location: 223 E Cabrillo BlvdSanta Barbara, CA 93101805 963-9463 Hours of Operation: 11am - 6pm (winter)

Also, nearby is the amazing Shipwreck Playground! Kids and adults can't resist jumping aboard! Hope you can make it to the park. You will not be disappointed. Oh - and the pier is right across the street!!

Photog 101

Last night I went to my first photography class. The professor is a 60 year old hippy who pronounces it 'fertogrefy'. It's two hours and what I hate about it will eventually be the best part. He's really into the science of photography. As in why and how the light of the world reflects off of x number of glass pieces in the lens and at what distance they can be calculated. We only picked up our cameras once. I for sure was bored but I learned stuff so that's good. It was also a good time for me to read the owner's manual of the camera! I'd never done that before and it was extremely informative. Between the two, I think I might just learn a thing or two about fertografy yet.

Santa Barbara Saturday: Alameda Park

I absolutely love this town. It is my dream town. The place I always wanted to live but never knew about. I seroiusly thought that the soap opera Santa Barbara was the name of a ficticious beach town in California. Isn't that crazy? I feel like SB is in the media all the time now. Maybe it's because I live here and so I notice it more but I really believe it has become more popular in recent years. I mean, Oprah lives here!


The truth is, I don't know how long we'll be here. As much as we love it we just don't know how long we can decide to pay the price (literally) to be here. I say 'decide' because it really is a choice. And a hard one.


So, once a week I want to highlight a place in Santa Barbara that I love. I call it Santa Barbara Saturday because they will mostly be family-friendly places that can be enjoyed on Saturday. I don't promise that they will be 'little-known' spots. In fact, they might be down-right famous. But they're places I love and would recommend anyone checking out if visiting our beautiful little town.



ALAMEDA PARK and ALICE KECK GARDENS
1400 Santa Barbara and across the street

These parks are amazing. Alameda park is a wonderland for kids. We were there this afternoon and Brody attacks it every time like it's the first time. There are always kids there and it's in a really safe part of town - huge open land surrounds the park. There is a toddler section but most of it is for older kids. There are several places to picnic, throw a disc, practice yoga or take a nap (a regular sight)! It's just a really fabulous park and I'm considering it for Brody's 2nd birthday. No reservations required but you also have no guaruntees on spaces.

Alice Keck is an amazing memorial of gorgeous low-water plants (you find flowers here). The trails and the plants are great but the real center-pieces of this park is the koi pond. The kids love this - HUGE fish, millions of turles flapping around and usually a duck or two can be found. This is also a great place for a private picnic or date night (I've heard of a Valentine date where a girl set up a table with linens and heat lamp and brought in catering and everything. Tre romantic!). There are a lot of weddings here as well but it's also a place that doesn't take reservations.

These places rank so highly on my favorites list that they were part of my last birthday which I consider to be my best birthday yet! So check it out. You will love it!!

Happy NEW YEAR!!!

I've decided to make some things important in 2007. Along with my goal to look 'presentable' when veturing outside of the confines of my homestead, I'm adding a few more personal goals and blog features including:

* Challenge Wednesday will be in full effect - you might remember it from several posts ago. An abitious goal I made just before traveling for 3 weeks and the end-of-year festivities. In the new year, this will become a regular feature.

* Santa Barbara Saturdays. This will be a post highlighting our favorite Santa Barbara activities or places or people even. Look for restaurant reviews, family-friendly adventures, little-known spots of interest, and much much more! To be clear, they will not always be things done on Saturdays - that is just when I'll make a habit of posting.

* Elenore Roosevelt famously said "Do one thing every day that scares you." In theory, this is great but I'm not sure I can fully grasp it on a daily basis. Not immediately anyway. However, I love the idea of pushing myself to do things that I don't think I can normally do! Therefore, once a month, I and a few others (I hope) will write about what they have done "today" that scares them. I'm so amped on this idea!

* My Cup is Empty. In his Rich Dad series, Robert Kiyosaki talks about entrepreneurs needing to be eager to learn. Always learning. They need to never be a specialist but remain a generalists (like my Sweetie). He said that people who 'know everything' have a full cup and the goal is to keep your cup empty. My goal is to learn more...from the mudane (did some research on Kwanzaa recently and was blown away by what I found) to the major (global warming, anyone?). These posts might be lame to you geniuses but it'll keep me learning. And might even make me more interesting too!

Whew. I've got lots of business to get to! Really looking forward to the new year and what God has in store for us. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas, Brody Bear

Look how big you are! This Christmas was so much fun. You still don't get it really - getting you to open gifts was like pulling teeth. You were totally uninterested. But you were so great through it all. You sat thru church like such a big boy. You came down stairs Christmas morning and walked around from toy to toy like, "hey, a piano", "hey, a guitar", "hey, a shopping cart". So precious.

Unfortunately, you got pretty sick at Mor Mor and PaPa's house in Phoenix over New Year's but amazingly you were still sweet, fun and funny. Saying "No, thank you" and "Peeeez (please)". And all sorts of other big 21-month-old words. Even holiday words like Santa, Snow Man, Ho Ho Ho. What will the next 12 months bring? New words...new tricks and talents...new excitment over things like trains, dump trucks and air planes, oh my! I can't wait, Buddy. You are such a wonderful, amazing, little man.

Bald Guy Greeting Cards

Thank you Rhettorical Letter Writer for directing me to these v. funny (tho a bit raunchier) line of greeting cards. I laughed outloud at this one...

Check out www.baldguygreetings.com

Pierre and LaFonda

So, Cara and Brody like to bond over a little face drawing. Cara thinks it's hysterical...I fear it's going to cause ink poisoning. But I love how much they love each other so, what's a little ink poinsoning gonna hurt? FYI Pierre LaFond is a local entrepreneur in SB. Great chicken salad!

No. I don't work here!

I can't tell you how many times I'm mistaken for a store/some-place-I-don't-work employee. Actually, I could but I wont. I'm not completely proud of these moments because mostly they are all times when I probably look like a Ross/Days Inn/Home Depot (in this case, I was 7 months pregnant and sitting in a chair reading a flipping book!!)/etc. employee. My mom, who works a retail position, is always asked if she owns the store she works at. She attributes this to the fact that she has fake (very classy) nails. I find it hard to not take this personal. I also find it difficult to believe that it's not prejudice thing.

However. I don't put on make-up most days, I never brush (like with a brush) my hair and I take a shower maybe every other day. Also, I dress down. Very down. Tshirt and cut-off sweat pants down in public! It's sad really. And the thing is - I clean up pretty nicely, if I do say so myself.

For 2007 I'm going to make more of an effort to look presentable when going out in public. Touch of make up. Clean hair. I might even start 'getting ready for the day' as some might say! But the biggest correction I'll make this year will be to dress in clothing that doesn't make me look like I just came from the gym. Dressing up comes with additional responsibility such as getting in shape AND spending money on clothes. It's been a long time since I've bought new, fashionable, figure-flattering clothes. I guess it's time.

I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions. More for New Year's themes. This year's theme will follow the theme of this blog (No Regrets...) and also a theme to be MY very best. And to stop being mistaken for a blankity-blank store EMPLOYEE!!

Happy Holidays!

Ok - so I can't create a scrapbook page every Wednesday. I had the best of intentions (if I do say so myself) but I was out of state for 3 straight weeks and now I just don't have the space to scrapbook. I AM STILL ENTERING THE COMPETITION but can't commit to the weekly posts. I just want to send an update. Humbly.

Happiest of Thanksgivings

Had an awesome time in Texas for Thanksgiving. It was so rad getting to spend 3 weeks instead of the usual 5 jam-packed days. We got to visit all of our favorite friends and spend lots of special time with Grandmama. She was so amazing. Played with him every single morning so we could sleep in (GLORIOUS) and did the bedtime routine almost every night! It was such an amzing treat - a luxury.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for so much. My wonderful husband, our delightful and brilliant baby boy. Our town. Our church. The life that God has so graciously given us. What is this life?? How do I deserve it?? All I can do is be thankful. It's that simple.

Thank You, God.

Our Austin

Just a quick post to highlight our amazing visit to GUS & GAL's river house in Austin, Texas. We absolutely love this place. So relaxing and fun. Tons of land to run wild (and we do) but so pretty and peaceful. Deer roaming wild. Playing in the river bed. Skipping rocks. Playing cards. Eating like kings. And getting to spend quality time with our PapaJoe!!!

Introducing Alexa and Michael Hulsey!!

Quick note about how precious Mike and Alexa are. They are so perfect and beautiful together. The wedding was absolutely precious and can I just tell you how amazingly gorgeous the two of them were!?! As you can see they were beaming. Their love is huge. God's blessings to the happy couple. OXOXOX. 

Challenge Wednesday

I hate challenges and avoid them religiously. It's a not-noble characteristic and I know that. So, my new-year's resolution (I'm also a procrastinator) is to not only take on accept certain challenges but to also announce these challenges. Announcing them makes me accoutable - another thing I avoid at all cost. :)

The Big Challenge:

1.) Creating Keepsake's Hall of Fame 2007. I'm gonna enter! Entries are accepted from January 2, 2007-February 10, 2007. This is going to be a particularily difficult challenge as I haven't scraped a single complted page in years. I really want to stretch myself artistically and I love scrapbooking so this challenge is going to be an exciting opportunity and I ACCEPT!

So, every Wednesday I'm going to post a page. I appreciate all feedback on these layouts by Feb. 10th there should be about 14 (goal 10) layouts posted. I'm traveling for 3 weeks in November so I might not get to post every Wed of that month but I'll work to make up for it by doubling up in December.

Thanks in advance for keeping me focused on my self-subscribed challenge and for your encouragement. I look forward to getting started. Stay tuned for tonight's post!

Good TV: Monday Nights!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a fan of television. The truth is....I'm a bit of a tvoholic. I am! I'm not ashamed!! ;) So, every now and then I'm going to devote a blog about to particularly good TV. Today’s entry is about Monday Night TV b/c it's that good.

The night kicks off with Prison Break on FOX. Somehow, even tho the boys are free from prison this season the show is still surprisingly enthralling! And this week Tea Bag made off with the loot. Very sneaky. The addition of the alien cop from Invasion as the crooked FBI agent is a good move. We want to hate him but something makes us curious about him? Good actor. The girl we could do without but she makes a good story line AND were we sad to see the kid get shot to pieces 2 episodes ago? 'Does my momma have big breastes?' Nuf said. Love this show.

Then we move on to NBC's Heros. Such a freaking good show. I'm a comic-book dork wanna be. I love all the comic books come mega movies but I've never read one. No, not one. BUT my Grandmother sold all of my dear dad's beloved (and extremely valuable) comics about 100 years and I think he's just now coming around to forgiving her so I have to believe that the love of comic books & their heros might just run in the blood. And I married a comic book loving man! Anyway, if you haven't; you must. It's so good. It is suspenseful, confusing, funny, intriuging, confusing...all the things you want from the small screen. I'm hooked. [Dad - are you watching this show? If not, rearrange your life around it. You'll thank me.]

Finally, there's Studio 60 also on NBC. It's just great. Just great. The writers outdo themselves every week. The actors are brilliant (especially Amanda Peet who plays Jordon McDeere, the lovably goofy but genius network president). And the story lines are interesting and powerful - much like it's grandfather West Wing - but so funny and charming. It's really sort of disarming. I'd for sure date Studio 60 were it a living, breathing man.

My sweetie and I can sit next to each other and communicate only on occasion and usually only with grunts and facial expressions that say "oh...my....gosh" or "uh-huh, that was funny" and be perfectly content with life. We can always talk at 11pm when we're climbing into bed exhausted and stuffed full of good TV. ;)

Oh Great Pumpkin!

Brody and Miss Maddie Wold (Sturm). She is 8 months and an absolute doll. Brody, at 18 months, is either totally loving and smothering her with himself or irritated about the intrusion of another and trying to pinch, push, or throw things at her. I think he's flirting but it's totally inappropo. We're working on it.

My First Digital Scrabpook Layout!

There was a time...

...not so long ago (even tho it was) I was a half-way decent cheerleader. I don't want to get into the 'atheletic sport' debate (it is, by the way) but I think we can all agree that there is a certain amount of coordination involved with being a half-way decent cheerlearder. That said, I think I've lost all capacity to even pretend that I am or ever was a half-way decent cheerleader. Today, while visiting with my Freshman cheerleader neighbor, I was so bold as to imitate a motion. Do you know what she said to me? "Stop! You look just like my parents." Pause. I was horrified. I absolutely remember telling my mom (the captain of her HS drill team squad, mind you) to 'STOP! YOU LOOK REDICULOUS!' Oh...my....gosh. I'm an uncoordinated, uncool, uncheerleader mom-type now. How the hell did that happen? And how do I make it stop!??!

What to do?

There's a great quote by Geroge Carlin that goes something like, "I have a lot of great ideas. The problem is, most of them suck." Or something like that? That's how I feel. I have a TON of great business ideas, if I do say so myself. And it's not really that they suck...I just am too much of a chicken-poop to actually try one. Today I'd like to highlight two ideas that wont get out of my head. I'll create future blogs about the other ideas. So far, there is still room in SB for these two concepts....

1. Sno Cone stand in Santa Barbara ("The only place it snows in SB" - just made that up). How on earth do we live in a beach town and NOT have a sno cone stand. Every in-land town in California boasts one. How can we not? And why do they always seem to show up at every local festival in town (of which there are many) and not be available to the hoards of visitors vacationing in our wonderland? I want to open at least three: one in SB (ideally at the Dog House on Milpas) another one closer to the beach would also be good (like at the bike rental place x from the pier); in Goleta (in the Albertsons parking lot near the Camino Real shopping center & UCSB) and Carp (location tbd).

2. A maternity resale store in SB: reBorn. Why the capital 'B'? Just cuz I like it. There are exactly three places to buy maternity clothes here. (1) Due - think, $100 t-shirts (2) Motherhood - think run-of-the-mill and (3) Ross - which on a good day might actually yeild a major find but for the most part is really just 3x clothes passing as maternity. There are SO many pregos in SB and many of them are the type that actually shop at Due. These women then probably give away their duds after producing babies but what if there was an alternative. My store would be cute, clean, and cater to the pregnant clientle: * fully functioning rest rooms w/baby changing station * play area w/tv for kid-os * water for hydration and possibly fruit and cookies daily * figure-flatering mirrors (jk) * library where you can actually check out books (or trade?) * some baby clothes, but not many * and I'd even consign furniture (displayed in a photo album, not onsight). Also, I envision having evening events like parenting classes, crafts, cooking lessons, ladies-night-out night (??), book clubs, etc. Is that too pie-in-the-sky?

Both ideas take money. Money that I do not have. And time. Time that I do not have. I don't want to have B in daycare all day. And I don't want to have a business that runs my life. But what if I could somehow open these businesses and let other people run them while still making a profit in the land of high-rent? Maybe I'll make some calls about spaces for lease. There are a few locations in town that I've seen. Stay tuned...

edited 10.18.06 I've started a companion blog for the ReBorn idea....check it out!

For People Who Have a Twisted Sense of Humor...

...like I do. Please take a few minutes to check out the really funny folks at Uncookedland. Especially funny is the firsts 'Tales from Uncooked' (picture me alone w/my laptop in a crowed coffee shop laughing and crying out loud...ironically, no body even looked up but within minutes everyone seated around me had left the building). These cards/stories are my kind of funny!

Baby Sister

I borrowed $100 from my baby sister today. How humbling. How precious. Aren't I supposed to be the responsible, smarter, older sister? Currenly I'm only 1 of the 3!

Living with Cara this past year has been such an wonderful delight. I get to laugh - like from the depths of my bowels laugh - every day. I get to be a part of her always entertaining and at moments distractingly mature life. I get to gleen these nuggets of wisdom which come from her as naturally as tho she were reciting the ABC's. I get to be a part of her life and it's wonderful. And better yet - she gets to be a part of Brody's life. He is NUTS about his 'Rah Rah'. Not a day goes by that he doesn't call for her..."Raaahhh Raahhh (where are you)?!". I get sad when I think about the fact that I'll never get to be as close to her future children as she has become to Brody. They have a soul connection that I am confident will last keep them connected for always.

It's so great having a sister. And I'm especially blessed to have Cara as mine. And not just because she loans me a hundy when I'm in a crunch! ;)

Darth Baby!

Would you just look at this face? This is Brody in his Darth Vader costume (thank you, Uncle Nooch)! Unfortunately, it's too small for this year's Halloween but he had a blast playing in it the other day.

I really love this kid. He's so smart and so funny and so beautiful! He understand so much now and is a terrific communicator. He's starting to take nice long naps now-a-days. Usually a solid 2 to 2.5 hours/day (although there are off days but they are very rare lately). He is going to bed at night like a champ. He fusses for a second and then resigns. Asks for a kiss ("mmmm") and goes to sleep. WOW! That has been a long time coming, for sure. Wakes at 7am most mornings and is pure joy all day. I am just nuts for him and although it's a lot of work to be sure -- it's worth it every single day. Mommy's baby. I really love this kid.

The Worst Day Ever

I know it's been a while since I've blogged and perhaps I should log an entry about how great life is or how awesome our trip to Colorado was or how smart and perfect Brody is....but those will have to wait. This entry is about my very terrible day yesterday.

Day started off ok. Only rough part was that Brody napped for about an hour - a least an hour too short - but we've done this before. It was Cara's day off from work so she joined us on a trip to the mall. First stop, the baby shoe store. In the store was another woman with her young daughter. Brody kept trying to take the woman's keys from her purse which was sitting on the floor. "Teese". So, I gave him my keys to distract him. Surely you can forsee the rest of the story from here. We bot shoes, we went to Gymboree, we set off for the car. And...where....are....those....damn....keys? No way. Yes way. They're gone. Disappeared. Dropped off the face of the earth. I got back to the shoe store, Gymboree, the stores Cara visited, the security office....Nothing. Nathan. Nada. Ultimately, we have to call Kevin from the office to come rescue us but since we lost the spare keys ages ago the plan was unclear.

Fast forward 4 hours, I'm still at the mall. Kevin, Cara, and Brody have gone home in Kevin's truck. I stuck around just in case the keys turned up. Cara was supposed to come back and get me but it took her an extra hour b/c at home Brody fell in the tub and busted his head AND Kevin had a 7pm conference call with China and so she was suddenly tasked with getting Brody to bed. And it was cold outside for the first time in months. I was chilly.

About this time I realize that my office keys were probably on my key chain as well. Nice early impression this will make! The new set of car keys cost $140 for the first set and $30 for the second. WHAT?!?!? Luckily the office keys (which, by the way, I found tonight tucked safe & sound in Kevin's work backpack today) only cost me $3.00 to replace.

The car keys are still lost - although, my best guess is that Brody dropped them into the purse of the woman at the shoe store. What's the lesson? Don't give Bubba my keys w/o retrieving them afterward? Or is it that life is no bueno sometimes and you just have to figure out how to get by w/o banging your head into a brick wall? Both. I guess. Baby got a new pair of shoes. Maybe that's all that counts. :)

My Most Favorite Friend