Blooming Beauties

I went grocery shopping today and thought it would be a lovely thing to brighten my day to get myself some flowers. I toyed with the idea of the $3.00 carnations but I have never felt very passionate about carnations. Then I saw the discounted roses, nearly a dozen for the same price. Of course, some were on their way OUT (but I use the petals just fine too!)

The following photographic redundancies are because of said flowers. I thought, "Oh how LOVELY would these roses be against the snow..." and then, as they often do, one thing led to another. In fact, one now awaits my Love to return home, proudly perched next to a written note in the snow where he will park his truck.

I hope you enjoy!

He who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth is generally
considered a fortunate person, but his good fortune is small
compared to that of the happy mortal who enters this world
with a passion for flowers in his soul.
- Celia Thaxter

I'd Rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck. ~Emma Goldman

If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful
roses, what might not the heart of man become in its
long journey toward the stars?
- G.K. Chesterton

One of the most attractive things about
the flowers is their beautiful reserve.
- Henry David Thoreau

To analyze the charms of flowers is like dissecting music;
it is one of those things which it is far better to enjoy,
than to attempt to fully understand.
- Henry T. Tuckerman

Not to forget the minor details...

It is at the edge of a petal that love waits.
- William Carlos Williams

“Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense.”
~ Mark Overby

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it,
it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to
someone else. Most people in the city rush around so,
they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see
it whether they want to or not.
- Georgia O'Keeffe

Nimbleton

I don't recall the last time I missed posting on a Monday. It has been a long while, for sure. In fact, I am surprised I am posting today. I am wrapped up, front and back with hot corn bags and biding my time until my medicine kicks in...it should be soon, right?!?

Two days ago, I was getting sharp pains in my abdomen, localized on my right side. The next morning, yesterday, I woke up hardly able to walk and able to think of nothing other than the pain I was having. Matt came home early yesterday and took me to the hospital where I waited for two hours for the doctors to send me away with a paper saying get rest and take tylenol. I had an extremely high temperature and an ovarian cyst-both of which would resolve themselves with ibuprofen and rest. Constant heat compresses on the outside and hot tea on the inside are my own prescription.

Matt is a bit perturbed with the doctors for sending me away with such a high temperature. He wants me to go back but I have begged him to let me wait it out. If the emergency room doctor says it will resolve itself, than probably another doctor will say the same thing. My temperature broke last night (or more accurately, early this morning...) so, I will wait and pray that I feel better soon, to avoid ANOTHER doctor visit (since the ONLY time, it seems, I go to the doctor is when I pregnant!)

I was concerned with the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy or an appendicitis, both of which were ruled out. Praise God for His GOODNESS.

So-I suppose when it rains, it pours-only THIS time, it is I who is caught without an umbrella. :-)

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For fear of this post being dreary and discouraging...(goodness me, I don't want to sound like a hypochodriac!) there are good things to announce too. The first and most important...

Andrew is on the mend and is nearly himself again! Such a RELIEF it is to see him NORMAL again. I will slowly re-introduce dairy products in a few weeks, after he is completely off of his medication to see if there might have been a problem with those things. In the meantime, I am ENJOYING his diaper changes, looking forward to fetching him from bed, and am being made content to see his belly working in a more normal fashion!

The other is much more superficial but praiseworthy, nonetheless.

I am not one that easily lays about all day-most often I need to be doing SOMETHING. So, when I am incapable of leaving my shell of a bed, it doesn't take long for me to be driven to insanity. My children and husband would not do well with an insane woman about, so I began to start another project. A *BIG* project. A CHRISTMAS of 2007 project. Yes. I am allotting myself an ENTIRE year to finish it, and will no doubt need it!

I have lots of projects in the works, now...I need to STOP adding to my list and start to FINISH them off but this is the LAST exception!!! ;-)

Truly, I am excited about this. I adapted a 7inch square pattern from my afghan sampler into an actual afghan-big enough for a double bed!!! I am making it for Matt for Christmas (I told him about it since I will OBVIOUSLY not be able to hide working on it!) and I am very excited about it. It is made of a lovely, extremely soft, yarn colored in muted blue. Below is a small picture of the pattern which repeats itself. This is my first time 'creating' a project without a pattern, so I am proud of myself and I completed four rows of it yesterday. Just another six feet to go!!!! hehehe

My crochet projects in the works are...a poncho for Corynn, my afghan sampler, Matt's afghan, and any small crochet projects I can get my hands on. I am thinking...maybe FINGER puppets?!?

The two biggest projects, the afghans, I am giving myself PLENTY of time for which is good...BUT, on the other hand, I like to see the FRUITS of my labor. I like to see COMPLETION and I love instant gratification...which is why I need smallish projects every now and again.

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Today I am going to be resting, and am going to try my very best to overlook the mountains of laundry and the pages of newspaper that Andrew has strewn throughout the house. I am going to rest...and maybe crochet. ;-)

frameable

The lock photo, below, has got my eyes searching out unlikely frames. I know, silly me. Simple pleasures for SIMPLETON'S. Oh well. I was nibbling on a dried pineapple slice and caught a glimpse of my Mattie. Yep. Had the camera ready...

Quickdate

I had a few minutes today and thought I might just as well get on the computer, since I am so unwilling to do anything else except of course, snuggle with Mattie while watching AMADEUS (which I plan to do in about 2.5 nano-seconds...)

After stewing and worrying, I decided I didn't want to wait to get Andrew to the doctor's on Monday so I called to see my options. I took Andrew to the doctor yesterday and the doctor gave me three different prescriptions. One for salmonella poisening (which he believes is the culprit though the sample came back negative), one for medicated cream for his nether-regions (Andrew's, not the doctors) and a yeast infection that has gone to his belly (!?!), and one for vomiting. Andrew had lost a bit over two pounds.

The doctor told me to stop peanut butter all together but to continue milk would be fine. Still, I hesitate. I gave him a cup of milk yesterday, confident from the doctors assurances, and this morning was a repeat of every other day. I may stop the MILK feeding all together (but I will continue cheese and so forth) just in case. Maybe too much of milk is not helping any.

I went to the pharmacist next door and got two of the three prescriptions filled (the other was not in stock. On a side note-this same prescription had me travel to TWO OTHER stores who were ALSO out of stock for it so that perscription will have to wait until Monday.)

Back to my story-I have to say, I planned to pay for the prescriptions with my debit card. Unfortunately for me, they only accepted cash or check...neither of which I had. Oh dear! What to do. I was mentally evaluating my options when the (very kind) man (who was, by the way, a very muscular, necklace wearing, head shaving, Hulk-Hogan look-alike) said to me, "Don't worry about it. Mail me the check."

I was floored. WHAT? Trust? A business offers TRUST in the 21st century?!? That just made my day. I think that is the greatest thing ever.

So-that is the scoop on Andrew. He is still a sick puppy but I hope that will be changing soon. In the meantime, he has his usual verocious appetite, he drinks like a fish, and is happy as a clam. As long as he is not getting a diaper change! And he is proudly vomit-free for a WHOLE DAY! ;-)

Thanks for all your prayers and support. I really appreciate you all.

REALLY.

mason cups

Matt surprised me with dinner out last night and we decided to do some exploring. We went to this restaurant called Jethro's. We were looking for something a step above fast food but not expensive (or TERRIBLY expensive I should say, since really, ALL premade food is expensive! hehehe) The sign had a picture of a redneck old man with a piece of straw in his mouth and leaning against a pitchfork. We thought- "Ahhh-now THAT place can't be all that expensive!" We got in the joint and let's just say, it had a different feel to it than we expected. I did like very much that they served all drinks in mason jars. That is just cool.

a good concept

I liked this because the lock served as an interesting frame for Corynn. I am just disappointed it is so blurry. I suppose, if I had set up a tri-pod outside of the bathroom door to avoid camera shake I could have avoided the blur. But I don't know how that might have looked being at a restaurant and all. I might have revealed how WACKO I really AM!

I am glad I thought it up and I will try to do a better VERSION of it if ever I find a good lock. It was a good concept, anyhow.

Mirror Image

Bathroom Mirror picture, who wudda thunk?

Bittersleep

If ever there was a time when a woman needed a break...the woman would be me and the time would be NOW. :-)

Here is a run down of my night, last night. To bed at 10:00...out of bed until midnight. 1:00am Andrew had thrown up-I rocked him back to sleep. Between 2 and 3am, I was up with my own issues. 5:00am Andrew was screaming the most horrendously painful screams I think I have ever heard. His diaper and clothes were a mess and apparently he had been laying in it all for a while because his whole diaper area and up past his belly button was candyapple red and sore to even look at. I cleaned him up-again-got him some water and laid him in bed with me. But laying NEXT to me was not good enough. He cried and sobbed. About a half hour later, I put him on TOP of me and he threw his head in the crook of my neck and fell asleep instantaneously.

Picture me-stiff as a board-laying on my back with my ankles crossed~an exhausted babe drooling down my neck, one leg flung over my waist, the other curled up by my chest. I couldn't move my head-or his head would move and he would wake up. I could move my arms or he would roll off.

We stayed that way-stiff as a board until Corynn woke us BOTH up at 6:50...approximately 45 minutes after the Panda had pewtered out.

I have not been having the best nights lately, for various reasons, so it isn't as though I have all sorts of stored 'sleeptime' to fall back on. No. Just me and my lost REM cycle. What a day.

My head is already starting to pound. I hate it when that happens. I might break my own rule and nap with the kids today. And my to-do list? That flew out the window last night when the gusts of wind blew the lower window DOWN onto Corynn's bed (true story!). Maybe I will watch a movie and so some crocheting. I am counting the minutes until our doctors appointment on Monday and I am praying that my little guy gets to feeling better soon. Ah-there he is now, looking for a snuggle.

Have a great weekend everyone, and sleep well for me! :-)

Stationary Sachets

This is such a sweet little project to do. Easy and fast.

Some people have elaborate projects they are shelling out every few days-not I. My elaborate projects are few and FAR between, with sweet and simple occupying my fingers most of the time. These sachets are made from teabags! Perfect for putting in drawers or stationary boxes.

Here is how you make them...

1st~ You snip off the top of top of a teabag (or CAREFULLY split the top in two) and empty the contents-if you have a tea 'ball' that is even better because you don't waste the contents.

2nd~You crush potpourri with a mortar and pestle OR a rolling pin (and ziploc bag.) You must do this so that the large pieces of potpourri do not tear the fragile tea bag. Notice the vibrant colored petals? I used a bit of my living potpourri which has since dried...



3rd~Carefully spoon potpourri into the tea bag and make a whip stitch with colored embroidery floss around all four sides, being careful to leave several inches of thread hanging from your first stitch.

4th~tie off the excess thread from first and last stitch into a nice little bow. Trim the tails or leave hang.

5th~Optional. Add another strand of thread to the back of the teabag and glue two round circles (or hearts, squares...whatever) together, sandwiching the thread within them. Decorate one side with a sticker or drawing, and write the scent of the sachet on the other side.

(If necessary, you can spritz with additional scented oil or spray.)

Sweet Returns

My mailbox has been gifting me with a special surprise each week for the last five weeks. It all started with the apron that I was awarded. A letter and cd full of photos, a Valentine, lovely books and magazines, homemade soap and washrag, and a whole box of goodies later-my arms and heart are brimming.

Of course, it wasn't ACTUALLY the mailbox who has made my daily visits so enjoyable...it has been from the generosity and thoughtfulness of my dear friends from afar, both new and old.

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful kindness to me. It might be fairly obvious as this blog has become near obsession for me, but since our move I have found myself trapped between two worlds. The old world, where all my friends and family still exist-and the new world, that I just can't seem to grasp since we are so often visiting the OLD world. :-)

My days are spent keeping that 'lonely' monster locked in the closet. Thankfully, I have children, so I have FAR less time to feel sorry for myself than I would otherwise.

All this to say, your letters and packages have been so wonderful to receive and I have cherished each one. Thank you for making these last few weeks so laden with special surprises!

Yesterday, one of the last things I had to do was finish the contents of this little package. Just a *little* sweet return-but I mustn't reveal the contents or the surprise will be ruined! And because I love my seals...I just had to include another photo of it!

Check!

With the weekend, projects, and every other lame excuse in the book-I can honestly say this house has more MESSY areas than clean ones. Last night, I knew it was time to bring out the BIG guns and get SERIOUS~so I made myself a to-do list. (On a side note: to-do lists are VERY motivating and prevent thumb-twiddledge so in my book-they are top notch!) My list for today was on a sheet of notebook paper-and EVERY SINGLE line was used up with the exception of THREE. Those lines were time frames saying 'In AM', 'During Nap' and 'In PM'.

Wouldn't you know, I am here sitting on the computer and simultaneously eating my lunch, just a bit after noon and guess what? I have only FOUR more things to accomplish on my list for today! THAT is how motivating these lists are to me! A few more days of ridiculously long to-do lists and this house might be close to presentable! ;-)

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I got a hold of the doctor (cough cough-yes, I called THEM...two days after they said they would call me...) and found out that the results on my Peanut Butter eating Panda were negative. So-that is WONDERFUL news. And yet: there is still the issues with diaper volcanos and vomiting. I am going to have to get creative now. My plan of action is to cut him off of milk and peanut butter products. If he returns to normal, I will introduce one of the two. My only thought is he is having adverse reactions to one of these two things. I set up an appointment for him next week to get some shots-so if things are not better by then, we can chat about that as well. I sure do hope I can figure this stuff out. My poor little guy is acting a champ-but I KNOW he can't feel all THAT great. I will be glad to be done with all of this as will my washing machine!

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This is day TWO of beautiful blue skies and mild temperatures. What a WONDERFUL change it has been! I can actually see our blacktop again! Hurrah! I could DEFINATELY get used to this!

Well, that is about all I have time to talk about today. Four more projects to check off, after all! The best part is-all for are FUN and creative ones! You know the saying...best for last, right? Just wait until you see what my fingers are going to be occupied with today!



This is a photo of Corynn's doll that was once my doll. When I was but a girl, she donned an apron for working and took care of her wee babe. Those have since disappeared, but she alone gets lots of love these days and is often trekked to stores or for car rides by her newest Little Miss. I am so glad that my young and naive self didn't sell at a yard sale ALL my outgrown things-to see my child play with my own playthings from days gone by...well, it just does my heart good.

Birthday Pictures

You asked...and you get! (Or wait...DID you ask?!?-Oh well!) I meant to post a COUPLE pictures, and yet, an HOUR later and fifteen pictures later....I think I might have over done it. Oh well. Thanks to Elizabeth for all these birthday pictures...

Here we come!

The good stuff

Everyone brought goodies to share and we had sheet pizzas. We were munching well into the night!

It was so good to reconnect with old friends!

cute lil cowboy

The Owens have a dress up selection to die for. That seemed to occupy the kids most of the time!

the REAL party's in here!

Future Mrs. Andrew Leigh???