angie's challenge

My friend Angie is very awesome.

I've known Angie since I was 8 and I could tell you a lot of funny stories about her from the time I met her all the way through high school and when we worked together at Scrapbooks Etc. She's one of those people that makes any situation 10 times more funny because of her quick wit and silly phrases. Most people read her blog to be inspired by her creativity (she teaches incredible scrapbooking classes) or to check out her delicious daughter but yesterday, she posted something a little more serious but not any less inspirational. She's invited the blogging world to join her in her quest for a healthier life and I'm so joining in. You should too by clicking here.

{how about orange}

I found this blog today: How About Orange. I kind of love it. Correction: I REALLY love it.

Great DIY projects. In fact, I'm going to use this one this week for my craft room/guest room/office.

Picture from How About Orange. Thank you Jessica Jones.

{blog bailing}

Diggity-dearest friends,

This is me, looking back fondly on the years I've been blogging on this blog o' mine (actually it's me hiking in Hawaii) but I have some news. The time has come for me to decrease my blogging. I hate to be one of those people who just slowly starts to bail on their ever-so-devoted readers, so I am giving you all a heads-up.

As much as I enjoy doing it, blogging at work is not very ethical so I've got to give it up (that - and I have a sneaking suspicion that the company I work for can track which websites I go to and I'm afraid of getting caught. I didn't say that.). That leaves blogging at home. My choices at home are usually to either blog or cuddle with my delicious husband . . . hmmmm. Have you seen my husband? He's a babe. So, there I'll sit, cuddling on our white couch, watching some television show and probably eating a cookie(s) . . . and not blogging.

I'm not saying that I'm going to stop forever, I'm just going to cut back for a while. Most of you probably don't give a hoot but I thought you should know. Check back every once in a while and say hello and feel free to buy some stuff on Etsy. I'll try to update it again soon!

Love, Me

{hawaii}

Aloha from Hawaii! Just wanted to share a couple of pictures before our wireless internet closes at Border's.

This picture is on Waikiki beach in Honolulu. It was a gorgeous day.

We have been eating a LOT of tropical fruits (as you an see in this picture). Papaya, Starfruit, Dragon Fruit, Ramuton (?), Mangoes and Pineapples.

I'll blog more later.

Aloha!

{the many faces of my links} part 4

alice k{i}nd

Sisters are often a lot alike . . . which is most definitely the case with my sister, Alice k{i}nd. She's so shrewd with all that "k{i}nd" stuff. You see, she really is "k{i}nd" and those letters are also her initials. She's ever so clever. She also really, really loves the Suns.

Alice and I have a lot in common. For example: We both have blonde hair. We both have the same "singing nose". We both love her children . . . a lot. We both love the Imogen Heap song from "The Chronicles of Narnia" and could listen to it on repeat on her kitchen iPod while we discuss the best way to make a recipe.

Another great thing about Alice is that when she was single and living at home, we had to share a room. I don't know how she could bear being 26ish and sharing a bedroom with a young girl at 11ish, but she did. When she would go out on a date, I would lay in bed and watch her get ready in the adjoining bathroom and then she would turn on Christofori's Dream when she left so that I could sleep. I still love that song.
Alice is the busy mother of 3 children. She drives them to and from school, lessons, activities and thousands of other things. She has a singing group for children, a time-consuming church calling, a {really funny and cool} husband and various other activities that take up her blogging time. Be sure to check her blog for sporadic postings. It is very fun read . . . especially when she writes about something her adorable children say or do. See Alice here.

{the many faces of my links} part 3

Eldon

My cousin, Eldon, could have possibly been on my "stranger no danger" list were it not for blogging. Being 15ish years older than myself, we never really spent much time socializing at the family Christmas party . . . especially when our other 90 or so cousins were all there to take up our precious cousin time. Needless to say, I had no idea when I was growing up what a riot he is! Reading his blog has not only let me get to know my cousin a little better but I have also learned a few things from him:

1) Living in San Diego is a dream. Like, I didn't already know that.
2) His wife and children are blonde beauties and he is madly in love with his wife.
3) He seemingly has a very stylish and glamourous work life, including traveling the world and eating interesting things.
4) He is a bit of a crazy person when it comes to ice cream and pumpkin carving.
5) He is a really good Dad.
6) He is super "SoCal" (and by my standards, really cool).

7) He respects women.
Reading Eldon's blog is a little treat for anyone with even half a sense of humor. The experiences he has are pretty commonplace but the way he describes each one and how he reacted, will make you giggle (or perhaps "Guffaw") as you read. His writing style is brutally honest, and therefore, hilarious. Do yourself a favor and read here.

{the many faces of my links} part 2

C Jane

You haven't lived until you've read C Jane's blog. I don't know how she does it, but when this woman blogs it makes you wish you were half as clever (or had half as interesting of a life).

C Jane is NieNie's sister . . . and those two surely love each other. I have 6 sisters of my own but if you combined all of our relationships into one, I don't think you would have the kind of relationship that those two girls have. C Jane is married to a equally fabulous man. I've only met him once and, I have to be honest, he scared me a little with his looming height and bushy beardness. I knew he had to be wonderful though because all I heard around the house was how great Chup (the neighbor) was.
One of the best things about C Jane is her fearlessness. I mean, the girl sang a rendition of cheesy songs in front of my entire family at NieNie's wedding dinner! Now that takes guts. I remember being a little unsure of how to react during her display of music. At 16 years old, I didn't want to laugh at someone older than I (especially a stranger) but her singing was so funny that I'm sure I snickered a little. She lives a ferocious life and couldn't care less if she looks silly doing it.

The best part of C Jane's blog is how easy going she is but in a really anxious sort of way. It's very urgent, the way she writes, like a call to action. Her blog header named, Enjoy It, is self-proclaimed as merely "an invitation not a requirement" but I disagree. It's practically impossible not to Enjoy It around C Jane's blog. She also reads all her comments and will probably respond to them too! Amazing when she gets greater than or equal to 30 comments a day!
Plus, she doesn't get enough credit for how beautiful her house is. She mostly gets credit for being clever, cunning, hilarious and fun to be around. Check out all the fun here.

{the many faces of my links}

Last week, I promised that I would blog about the wonderful folks on my links list. I apologize if some are longer than others but that is just the nature of knowing some of you and hardly/not knowing the rest of you. Here I go with #1 {and then on down the list}:

NieNie

NieNie is my fabulous sister-in-law. She is a world-class blogger. You think I'm exaggerating? NieNie is known in magazines like Cookie Mag, Dolly Mix and the Martha Stewart blog, Blueprint. Her cleverness defies all others.

In real life, NieNie is exceptionally kind. She is not faking the love she has for my brother or her children. She genuinely loves everything about them and helps them be better.

Plus, she is the mother to these children:

NieNie is spectacular with Claire (age 6 today!) in that she is her best friend and helps Claire be confident in her abilities.

NieNie has made sure that Jane (4) is always included. That's a hard task when you have 4 children and they all have strong personalities. Jane is the younger sister with a fiery personality . . . and Stephanie knows how to balance that.

Oliver (3) is an adorable handful. Stephanie has allowed Oliver to experiment with his own boundaries and in the process has molded a little boy with a huge imagination and a love for adventure.






None of us really know what Nicholas' personality is really like at 1 year old, but I can tell you that he loves, loves, loves his mama. She's definitely doing something right.















The best part of her blog, is how good you feel as you read it. NieNie reminds us all that there is beauty in the small things and a light of family that can't be replaced. If you haven't already been a part of the crowd that reads her blog daily, join in here {and check out her recipe blog here}.

{a dilemma}

The truth of this picture is astounding.

In other news . . .

After my brother sent out a creepy e-mail about blog stalkers, I've been feeling very scared about how public my blog is. Here are my options:

1) Go through each blog entry since May 2005 and omit true names and any indication of where I live.
2) Make my blog private and in the process completely screw myself over with any chance of selling my products on Etsy, forgo possibly rekindled relationships with long-lost friends and feel stupid for actually believing that people will log in to Blogger just to look at my boring blog.
3) Not be scared of blog stalking and take my chances.

Thoughts? I don't know what to do. My choice would be to do Option #1 but that would take me months! Does anyone know of an easier way to do this?

I'm busy as a bee today. Be back tomorrow!

Hurrah! My chair fabric came yesterday! It is as beautiful and perfect as I imagined. I am very impressed with the eBay shop I bought it from: The Fabric Bolt. I highly recommend it.

Sorry I don't really have time to blog lately but I have a ton to do at work and then I'm going home to recover those chairs so we can sit on them. I can't wait! I'll post pictures of the finished product as soon as I can (and all my Halloween decorations that I've already had up for a week! It looks spooky!)

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I had zip, zero, zilch time yesterday. Grammy's funeral and then 7 hours of driving to and from Snowflake for the burial in one day, made for one tired evening. I promise to update soon. Maybe tonight?