Writing to Remember

Star Creek Creations

I started doing appliques on shirts a while ago...making them for my kids, then giving them as gifts, and then selling them to friends.  After some prompting, I finally decided to open an Etsy store (called Star Creek Creations) and see how it goes.  I listed a few things this week and am working on several more things to list very soon.  I am really excited about it and hope that everyone who shops my store will be as well.  I have a new blog associated with the store in order to keep people up to date on the status of their order, as well as any store updates I might have.  I hope you will take the time to check it out!

www.starcreekcreations.etsy.com

www.starcreekcreations.blogspot.com

One of my oldest friends...

Is about to have a baby!  I just got the text a little bit ago that she is being induced this morning, and I can hardly control my excitement! 

She and I met when were seven, so we've been friends for...quick mental math...about 24 years.  Yikes, we can't really be that old can we?  We spent a ridiculous amount of time together as kids.  We were gymnasts and were in the gym together for around 30 hours a week.  We didn't think that was enough time together so we had sleepovers on the weekends.  I was bossy, she was bratty, and we were great friends.  We spent a huge part of our childhood together, grew up, life has taken us in all different directions over the years, and yet we still remain great friends. 

When I had Jack, she was one of the first to arrive at the hospital to visit me that morning.  Bret had to run to work for a little bit and she stayed with me.  I had just had a c-section and my legs were still pretty numb, so when Jack needed his first diaper changed she stepped in.  It is an experience I'll never forget, and one that I'll laugh at every time I think about it.  She was trying to change his diaper, and he kept pooping while she was trying to change him.  We didn't think we had any wipes, because we were looking for a box of wet wipes and there weren't any.  Finally we realized that the paper squares on the cart were wipes and that you were supposed to get them wet in the sink.  I couldn't get out of bed, neither of us knew what we were doing, and Jack was crying and pooping all over.  It was hilarious then, and even more so now. 

When I was going through all of my fertility struggles she was always there to talk to me and listen to me.  Later on, when it took her quite a while to get pregnant, my heart broke for her because I knew that she was having to feel the way that I had felt for so long.  When she told me she was pregnant I couldn't stop crying because I was just so unbelievably happy for her. 

Today she is being induced and will very soon meet her beautiful little girl.  Earlier in the week I told her that she needed to have the baby on Thursday or Friday so that I could come visit her over the weekend.  Looks like I am getting my way and will get to go snuggle a sweet newborn baby girl this weekend.  Yep, I'm still bossy, and she is still bratty, and it works...we are still great friends.

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I would never have left the flour out of some bread I was making this weekend.  I know better than to look at runny batter, think to myself that it sure could use some more flour, and then go ahead and put it in the oven without doing anything.  Nope.  Not me! 

 I would then certainly not turn the oven timer to 60 minutes for said bread, and then proceed to go take a shower and get ready.  All the while, I would not  ignore the fact that I could smell something burning, and just pass it off as something that had previously spilled in my oven burning.  Not me! 

Furthermore, it was absolutely not me who then took a look in the oven, turned it off, and then left the overflowing goopy, lacking flour mixture that had overflowed into the entire bottom of my oven, in the oven because I didn't really know what else to do at that point.  I would have definitely cleaned that mess up promptly.

So, it is definitely not my house that smells like a fireplace because I had to put the oven on self clean on Saturday to git rid of the enormous amount of burnt to a crisp "would be Amish friendship bread mishap. 

However, it was me who later redeemed myself and made another batch of bread that turned out so good that we ate an entire loaf in one day.  That I will absolutely take credit for!

Another year older...

I am a birthday girl today!  Actually, I kind of celebrated for two days which made it even more enjoyable.  Yesterday Bret sent me to get a manicure, which I haven't done in years.  Last night we went to a party at our good friends Ryan and Aspen's house and I had "Happy Birthday" sung to me too many times to count.  We had a great night hanging out with great friends and I couldn't have enjoyed myself more.  Today Bret cooked lunch, and my mom, brother Britten, and sister Ciara came over with a cake.  Bret gave me the Flip Ultra HD video camera that I've been wanting forever and I am super excited about it!  Tonight my dad and brother Sam stopped by for a visit.  I just had a great relaxing day with my family and it was a great birthday weekend. 

Good thing I kept the candles from Jack's previous birthdays!  I knew they'd come in handy someday.

 

Not Me! Monday!

 

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Are you feeling guilty for using hand soap as body wash in the tub because grocery shopping is long overdue? Overcome with shame because raised your voice at your kids outside church yesterday and you're pretty sure the pastor overheard you? Well don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

-  I certainly have not neglected my blog for weeks now even though I promised myself I would keep up after my last hiatus.  Nope, not me!

-  I definitely did not let Ruby come sleep in my bed after she woke up at 3:00 this morning.  Especially since I declared last week that if she woke up in the middle of the night anymore, that I was going to sit up with her and get her back to sleep instead of just letting her come to my bed.  That must have been someone else that went and got her and brought her to my room because it was not me!

-  Lastly, I did not have a piece of dark chocolate for breakfast this morning.  I know better than that, and would never think of eating anything other than a healthy, balanced meal to start my day. 

Is there any way I can get a few extra hours (without kids or any other responsibilites) in my day???

My list of things that I want to do keeps growing and my amount of time to do them in just keeps getting smaller.  I have a lot of things that I am interested in, enjoy doing, want to do more of, etc. but never seem to get the chance to do.  I feel like I can't even keep up with the stuff I "have" to do, so I don't ever feel like I can spend time on things I "want" to do.  I have stacks of books I want to read, tons of scrapbooking I want to work on, things I want to sew, walls I want to paint, and a piano that stares at me daily and begs me to sit and play it for hours at a time.  All things I love to do, but just can't justify spending any time on. 

Try as I may, my house is never 100% clean, my car is always full of crap that needs to be brought in, and my to do list is never complete.  I continually hope that someday I will be so caught up with things that I feel I "have" to do, that I will have time each day (or even every few days) to do the things that I really "want" to do.  Hey, never hurts to hope right?

I'll never change...

I am a professional procrastinator...I'm not sure why I feel the need to announce it like I just had a new revelation, because I am pretty sure that I've really never denied that fact.  I wait until the last possible minute to do things, and I think I work best under those situations.  In fact, sometimes I wonder if I'd ever accomplish anything if it weren't for the stress induced adrenaline that is produced when a deadline rapidly approaches.  When I was in school I never did homework ahead of time, and I would venture to estimate that I started 99% of my projects and papers with just barely enough time left to complete them...even if I had all the free time in the world leading up to the due date.  If I have housework to do before someone is coming over, I manage to leave just enough time to get it done so that I am scrambling to complete things right up until company is walking in my door.  I can't even tell you how many times I stopped at the grocery to pick up snacks on the way to take Jack to school last year when he was snack helper because I put it off the day before until it was too late to go.  If I am leaving on an early morning trip, packing is started late the night before and carried on until the wee hours of the morning.  Bret has many times said "it wouldn't be a vacation without you staying up all night the night before packing."  He really couldn't be more accurate. 

Each time I have something to do I give myself the talk about how I am going to be super prepared this time, and that I am going to get things done early.  All the while I know the reality is that there isn't a chance in hell that I will actually follow through with that.  If I have to be somewhere, I'll be there, on time even, but it will only happen because of a last minute panic attack and desperate attempt to do 5000 things at the last minute.

I plan for things, don't get me wrong.  I like to know what is ahead of me, and I totally have a calender right next to my desk with important dates and upcoming events carefully marked.  I just don't do anything about those things until, say, the day before it is going to happen.  We made the decision two months ago to have Thanksgiving at our house and then let people know.  I found great entertainment in that one of the first responses I got was someone asking what they could bring...my answer of course, was that I had no idea.  No matter how hard I try, my mind just doesn't work that way.  I have hosted Thanksgiving once before and literally called my mom about 10 times while I was at the grocery the day before to discuss with her what items I needed to get (and yes, I am pretty certain my issue with procrastination is an inherited trait because I know my mom saw nothing abnormal about that phone call.)  That being said, we had a fabulous meal and it was hands down The.Best.Thanksgiving.Ever. 

Don't let this blog stop you from asking me for help or to do something with you.  You really don't have to worry about me.  I'll get things done...but with not a minute to spare.  :)

What it all boils down to is that I think I am finally coming around to the idea that this is just the way I am.  There really is no point in even telling myself that things will be different because I know that isn't the case.  Actually, maybe I'll start working on it...tomorrow?

Thirsties Giveaway from Barefoot Mommies

I love to enter contests and giveaways, but really really love it when the item being given away is something I really love.  This giveaway (Thirsties Duo Wrap Review and Giveaway) is one I really want to win because I love these diaper covers!  I just bought two a couple weeks ago to try and they are fabulous.  I've always loved Thirsties brand cloth diapers (and they are even made in Colorado which makes me love them more!) and I have been super happy with the new Duo Wraps.   

Drunk girls + short dresses + dancing = Bad idea

On Friday night I went to a bar to watch my brother Ryan play a show.  These days, every time I attend a music event I feel very, well...old...and oh, so much wiser.  As I sat and witnessed a table of young ladies complete idiots celebrating one of the girl's 21st birthday, I couldn't help but hope that I am able to guide my daughter into a more classy adult existence. 

Don't get me wrong, I am all about fashion, but first and foremost I feel that it is very important for people to...
 1)  Know what size they actually wear and purchase accordingly.
 2)  Take a good look in the mirror prior to leaving the house, and be brutally honest with yourself.  (Just because you really, really love an outfit on the hanger, doesn't mean you are capable of wearing it appropriately in public.)
 3)  Take note of behavior modifications that will be necessary while in public as a result of your wardrobe decisions.

This group of girls at the bar that night didn't take any of those things into consideration...dresses were much too tight, much too short, they looked like idiots trying to walk in their super high heels, and the more alcohol they consumed, the less they remembered they were in fact wearing super short dresses and not jeans.  The dance moves were ridiculous, crotch shots were plentiful, and they were completely unaware of all the people laughing at them throughout the night. 

It always entertains me that these girls honestly feel like they are looking super hot and are busting out the most impressive of dance moves.  I would love to watch themselves look in the mirror prior to going out and understand what is going through their head.  Are they honestly thinking "I look super hot tonight.  Clown makeup is awesome, this dress barely covers my big ass...I am super sexy?"  I think it would be a hilarious requirement of just one of their evenings out to have one person video taping the nights events and then to make everyone sit and watch it the next day.  Oh, how I would love to see their faces. 

After I witnessed one girl fall down right in front of me, (sadly, only a couple people saw this and I almost died  laughing when my brother said into the mic "Way too many people just missed that shit!") we made a fun little game out of it...that girl with the skunk hair will definitely flip her hair 10 times in the next minute, the one in the ridiculously unflattering and short blue dress is going to  move wrong and show her butt soon, and the newly 21 year old will certainly fall down during one of her crazy dance solos.  (I am still baffled because how she managed to stay on her feet after all those drinks and all that stupid jumping around is beyond me.  I like to think she did eventually fall even if I didn't get to see it.)  

I have no problem with having some drinks and doing a little booty shaking, but please, for the love of all that is holy, wear pants next time.

Oh, and take some dance lessons while you are at it.

Furthermore, if one of you happens to come across my blog, my advice for you is to worry less about the fact that I've posted your picture without your authorization, and more about why it was posted in the first place.

 

Me? Irrational? Never.

Saturday morning I put a leash on the poodle, we stepped out of Bret's mom's house into the beautiful sunshine, and then spent a glorious 60 minutes running/walking around town.  It was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had in awhile.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, I was able to run farther without stopping than I have since before getting pregnant with Ruby, and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to think without any sort of interruption.  What do you get when I am granted 60 minutes of mind clearing freedom?  A new blog entry.

I grew up in the country.  Our only neighbors were my grandparents, and their house was at least 100 yards away.   I wasn't denied human interaction by any means, but I did not experience any sort of "city" life until I was almost 15...at which point I moved to an actual neighborhood, but in a town of only 6000 people so it really doesn't even count.  Where am I going with all of this?  Well, all of that led to my completely irrational fear of being followed, then kidnapped, and then never to be seen or heard from again.

I played outside all the time when I was a kid, but with no interaction from the outside world.  We lived in the country and we had a lot of land.  Neighbors were simply the house you could see across the creek or at the other end of the pasture and across the highway, and weren't people who were ever close enough to talk to.  We had a driveway that was a quarter mile long and only ran to our house, so there wasn't any other traffic on it other than my family.  I loved it, but in the long run it helped me develop an irrational fear and become an often paranoid individual. 

I remember being around seven and going to a friend's house in a very small town near us.  They lived really close to a school and we were allowed to walk there to play.  My friend and her siblings thought nothing of the experience I'm sure, but for me it was new and frightening.  For whatever reason, I was convinced that every car that passed us was going to stop and kidnap us.  Here I am over 20 years later and no matter how irrational it may be, I am still convinced that the same thing is going to happen. 

I don't like being out and about by myself.  If I am driving at night I always manage to convince myself that someone is following me.  All it takes is a car taking more than one of the same turns I take, and then I watch the car in my rear view mirror like a hawk making sure they aren't following me back to my house.  I hate going on walks by myself because someone is surely going to pull over, jump out and grab me, and then I'll never be heard from again.  I now take the dog with me when I go, but don't really feel any better because, well, he is a poodle with a fluffy ball of fur for a tail.  Even at 75 pounds with a head that is waist high, he is not exactly intimidating. 

Before I went out to run/walk on Saturday morning I consulted Bret for quite some time about where I should go.  I struggle with outdoor exercise because I don't want to go on busy streets, yet I'm way too paranoid to go too far off the beaten path.  He gave me some ideas and I headed out...fluffy tailed poodle and all.  I discovered on this adventure that my slightly ridiculous behavior is not entirely unjustified....people do slow down sometimes when they pass me.  During that 60 minutes I watched as multiple cars slowed as they passed me, felt my heart race for a minute until I was sure they weren't turning around to come back for me, and then eventually came to a realization about what was going on.  They aren't slowing down to see if I am worth kidnapping (in fact they rarely looked directly at me), they slow down to figure out what kind of dog to admire the majestic poodle.  You see, Dupree is a Parti Poodle, and not many people have seen dogs like him.  Standard poodles are not uncommon, but the Parti variety isn't seen as often.  His spots throw people off and lots of people who see him will ask what kind of a dog he is. 

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it was the poodle that people were admiring, and not the mom of two who was out trying to burn off the last of her baby weight.  :)