life as me

more moving

2011-12-21T10:29:00.001-06:00

Entertaining themselves while we unpack endless streams of boxes (moving from a 4 bdrm house to a 2 bdrm apt is crazy town)...

2011-12-20T07:49:00.001-06:00

You worry you might have scarred you child when he wakes you up with: "so we don't have to go anywhere again?"
No, poor child! For the first time since midOctober, we slept in our own beds last night! I'd call it "luxurious", but in reality it was a game of puzzles since we couldn't find our sheets & had to piece together make-shift blankets & sleep in the middle! #1 priority today is finding the sheets...
and the spoons... cereal with out spoons is quite messy.
Oh, here's to another day of unpacking! Slowly but surely...

dear arkansas

2011-12-18T15:52:00.001-06:00

im writing to inform you that you are #8 in the list of the 8 states we've been through on the gypsy journey.
you have nice scenery. you're home to people like bill clinton, the duggars, & bev stevens. good bbq. you had so much going for you. then the gypsy wagon hit close to an hour of one lane, creeping traffic for one 50 yd section of road work.
uncool.
if it weren't for Dora the explorer, i'm not sure we would have made it.
please. get it together.
sincerely,
kelly harp

help.

2011-12-15T09:51:00.001-06:00

Help. I've eaten waaaaay too much (for weeks straight) & I can't get up. Or try on clothes with the sweet gap gift card I scored. Waaaaaaahhhhh!
All I can do is sit here & blog.
That's it.
Soooooo... How about some pics from the gypsy journey?
UK.DAY ONE...
big ben (hudson & his clock fetish self was pretty thrilled)

westminster abbey

st. james park (a happy, unexpected find that was perfectly autumn)

buckingham palace

on the way home

& back @ the hotel

It was a great day :)

& now if you'll excuse me, I'm must get back to lamenting my holiday food binging...

seeing santa...

2011-12-13T22:55:00.000-06:00

popping in to share our ~~joyous blessed~~
interesting time seeing santa here {in atlanta}...

oh blessed event.
{in my poor children's defense, we've never taken them to see santa before, so they were a little shocked. to put in mildly.}
tis the season!

2011-12-04T19:11:00.001-06:00

highland park christmas lights with the haneys. good times.
*also: i prefer you think of me as the fun mom who puts her kids in pjs to go see christmas lights as opposed to the mom who sort of forgot to get her kids dressed all sunday & so they still had their pjs on sunday night. thanks for your participation.

normalcy

2011-12-03T12:59:00.000-06:00

normalcy is so boring...
except when you don't have it!!!

we gypsies found find ourselves in dallas this weekend. thanks to your sweet friends, the haneys, we spent the day in total normalcy & oh, was it so luxurious!! i shall never take for granted the simple pleasures of easy washer, dryer, dishwasher access. a simple day all together, catching up on laundry, grocery shopping, washing all our water bottles... a grocery shop... normal nap times. ahhhhhhhhhhh.

i insisted on making dinner - so tired of take out. our dear children even blessed us with eating it without toooo much fuss. which was nice, considering they basically spent the last 2 weeks eating pizza & scrambled eggs. i wasn't sure they'd remember how to eat proper food :)

the magic recipe? sure, i'll share it with you.

Lasagna Soup (via the fabulous Jen Haney)

1lb ground italian sausage (I like hot, but sweet is good for kiddies)
1.5 lg yellow onion, chopped
1 c carrot, diced
2 c button mushrooms , sliced (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 c chicken broth
1 28 oz can italian style, fire roasted diced tomatoes (stewed works, too)
1.5 c whole wheat pasta (penne, bow tie...)
2 c (+) chopped spinach
1 c parmesan, finely shredded
4 t fresh basil, thinly sliced

brown sausage in large saucepan. add onion & carrot & sauté for 3-5 mins. add mushrooms & garlic & sauté for another few mins until all are soft.
add broth & tomatoes. bring to a boil & add pasta. boil according to pig directions (usually 8-10 mins). add spinach & cook about 1 min longer.

to serve: place a few mozzarella cubes @ bottom of bowl. ladle hot soup over cheese to melt. garnish with parm & basil.

disclaimer: i did bribe hudson with a ratio of 3 bites soup to 1 bite of butter rolled. A mom has to do what a mom has to do.

dear uk...

2011-11-30T23:48:00.000-06:00

dear uk,

i have a bone to pick with you. your internet access stunk. & no, don't blame it on my phone. it couldn't possibly be because i never update my phone. no. that's not it at all.

fortunately for you, there wasn't much else i didn't like about you. you're pretty great.
#1 on my list might be your pot pies.

when i think about your pot pies, i wonder if you're not a country after my own heart. from my sis's homemade veggie pies to the 14 odd beef pot pies clint & i ordered @ your various establishments, i feel i have experienced pot pie heaven.

and now i shall thank you for your food in general. @ first i was concerned that i would find your meals lacking, but i was oh so very wrong. starting with the fabulousness of broadway market.

OHDEARGOODNESS.
this is the stuff clint & i dream of.
really.
greenwich market is equally cool. more crafty. less foody. the best part of this market being my sister's boyfriend's stall...

hampson woods

(note to the english language: please come up with a term between boyfriend & fiance. 4 years of calling jonty "my sister's boyfriend" is a little ridiculous, don't you think? and she always rolls her eyes when we say our "brother-in-common-law", so i need some help.)

next, dear uk, i shall thank you for your sheep.

they're wooly. they're puffy. they dot the countryside with nursery rhyme kinds of sweetness.
but they do poop.
a lot.
& it's sort of everywhere.
& that's a bit problematic for your dreamy, wow-i'm-in-the-english-countryside kind of walk.
but it makes for a great excuse to wear pink polka dotted wellies.

that's me looking on the bright side of things :)

and here i conclude my letter.
many thanks for a nice holiday!

kelly harp

cold toes, warm heart

2011-11-22T17:42:00.001-06:00

i've died & gone to "sense & sensibility" heaven...

it's just as you'd think it'd be in the english countryside: cold & damp & cold. my {freezing cold} toes miss texas, but the rest of me is happy to be here. hud, clint, & i went on a wonderful countryside walk where i swore @ any point robin hood, peter rabbit, or mr. darcy might pop out. no classic brits to be seen, though there were lots of sheep.
and mud. serious mud.
more pics tomorrow. for now I think i'll let this guy read me a bit of jane austen...

(silliness abounds no matter the continent)
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the travel...

2011-11-21T08:57:00.001-06:00

just SOME of the luggage...

thank goodness hud can roll a suitcase now!

as is natural with traveling, we R U S H E D to the airport in San Antonio only to wait for several extra hours!!

thankfully mimi had a few gum tricks up her sleeves (pretty cool)...

holls finally sacked out...

a delay & the beginning of the trip wasn't the best way to begin such a long trip, but oh well! could have been worse (see our trip to NYC!). the 9 hr trip from houston to london was loooong & I didn't sleep much, but once they fiiiinally turned the lights out, hud & holls did go to sleep for almost 5 hrs - pretty darn good! & thanks to a bit of Tylenol :)

we're having quite the jolly good time here. now that I finally have decent Internet connection, i'll keep sharing phone pics. See you soon - I do believe it's tea time now :)

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airplane socks for the airplane ride {naturally}

2011-11-15T11:18:00.001-06:00

off to see our aunt nonna in London town...

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2011-11-14T09:08:00.001-06:00

we're taking our snotty, allergy selves to san antonio today. we need a few things for the trip (tomorrow!!!!) & just couldn't spend another day stuck in the house.
please don't think a stuffy nose & plugged up ear kept me from belting Adele on this little road trip.
"we could have had it aallllllllllll"
hud played the base drum from his carseat & someone had to sing.
ooo - gotta go blow my nose so I can sing with mat kearney "hey mama"...

favorite morning passtime: "i cuddeee"

2011-11-11T09:26:00.001-06:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

happy fall

2011-11-09T10:01:00.000-06:00

this was our last weekend in houston @ the pumpkin patch (WITH the underwoods!). it was a great way to say goodbye to houston. fall, pumpkins, friends, heat, & humidity :)
anyway, when i saw these pics, i immediately thought we could do a "happy fall card" for the holidays - perfect! i love the pictures, i'd be early... then the gypsy journey began & i forgot about everything other than
a. how it's possible that every pair of hudson's socks could have gotten lost between houston & kerrville.
b. whether or not it's wrong to drug your children just to get them to sleep.
c. how many times a week it's okay to eat blueberry donuts.

so here you go. happy fall :)
i realize hudson has a bat on his shirt in the pics & that's so october, but i hope you can overlook that & accept the pumpkins as holiday-appropriate for november.

(thank you.)

*christmas card photo session from last year

happenings...

2011-11-08T10:44:00.000-06:00

thank goodness I've taken a few phone pics of the last few weeks, or else I'd seriously not be able to recall. leg one of our gypsy journey is coming to a close next week. we've had fun in kerrville, amidst the chaos of all of this life change, living out of suitcases, clint & I swapping roles... I think our kids aren't too scarred :). yet. ha!
a few pics to remember what we did this month...
the h's watching charlie brown thanksgiving...

trying to get hud to smile for a pic @ our new weekend tradition: Rita's Famous Tacos (downtown kerrville)...

some people feel grumpy about Rita's...

but NOT ME!

good mothers get their children donut holes before walmart trips.

oh, & there was Halloween... fireman + undocumented strawberry (sorry, holls)...

these weeks have included quite a lot of trying to get holland NOT to fall asleep on the 12 mile trip from town to home...

a few family walks...

more donuts (& sassy clint faces)...

one freakish episode of me trying on jeggings @ the waco target (are fake pockets really okay???)...

several sessions of fish feeding...

& a good sprinkling of fudgecicles...

gypsy journeying is not for the faint of heart... but neither is LIFE in general! & fall in the hill country? how lucky are we?!

open email

2011-11-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

*i was just about to push "send" on this email to jen when i thought to just post it here. you know, just so you know i'm still alive & everything. i am. mostly. :) also, so you can keep up with the fascinating details of my fascinating life.

saturday night & i'm on a hot date with the computer.

it's awesome.
ha.

poor clint - he's tried to talk to me about 5 times, but i just keep mumbling something inaudible back. poor guy. anyway, do you still read kendi's blog? i was RIGHT! she did live in kerrville! did you see that she moved to mckinney & opened a clothes shop??! i'm thinking it should be a definite stop on the jen & kelly hangout weekend.
breadwinners will be also.
& you know we'll end up @ target. probably for m&ms.

oh, also i got a hat @ JCPenney's today, which i really wanted to just call "Penney's" because then i'd really sound like a local. I THINK it's cute. it's either cute & fun, or just all wrong. we can always hope can't we? you can let me know when I post pics of our trip.

kelly

falling off the face of the earth...

2011-10-28T11:55:00.001-05:00

i sort of feel like i have.
whew.
my days are spent either
A. working @ my mom's store
B. running after little tykes
C. packing for our big trip (did i not tell you about that??!)

today is option A...

working on my mom's facebook page.
i WILL be back here @ some point. promise!
PS: it's finally cooler around here - yipppeeeee!!! i love scarf weather (AND pumpkin lattes!)

working is hard work.

2011-10-25T07:35:00.000-05:00

oh yes it is.

i've been working @ my mom's shop (yep, she just bought it!) The Funky Frog here in kerrville. she's working like a crazy woman & i'm trying to keep up: organizing, cleaning out, freshening... whew! it's been so, so fun, but serious work, peeps!

so here are bits of wisdom i've learned in my 2 wks in the hill country...

1. working is hard work.
2. small town people really are nicer.
3. donut shops are the new starbucks (cheap!).
4. living 15 miles out of town really cuts down on last minute ice cream runs.
5. living without a target really is possible. (actually it's the joann's i miss most!)

happy day from the hill country. we'll actually be making a run to wacky waco for a few days. checking on some grad student housing options. gotta be close to pizza & beer. bah hahahahhaa! i don't even like beer.

**this post was for yesterday, but i couldn't get my phone to cooperate. we're back in kville now with more about our waco trip to come...

know what goes well together?

2011-10-19T08:45:00.000-05:00

pigtails & donut holes.

BACK with a monday list...

2011-10-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

(kerrville edition)
READING: iggy peck, architect & elmer's splash x 27. i forgot all the toys & books & we were 5 days without them until daddy came.
MAKING: myself remember this 2 months of being nomads is going to be FUN (right??!)
COOKING: pw's lasagna (some things do not change.)
SEEING: the HUGE catfish that comes right up to us when we feed the fish in the creek.
THINKING: i can't believe we're officially NOT houstonians anymore.
SORTING: through all of the emotions of such a BIG life change. & missing my sweet houston friends.
ADMIRING: the way hudson & holland naturally find fun & adventure in every situation.

monday list...

2011-10-03T09:28:00.000-05:00

READING: 1491 (charles c. mann)
MAKING: my second crochet cowl - no pattern, just a circle - couldn't be that hard, right??!
COOKING: pw's lasagna (oh yes.)
SEEING: the HUMONGOUS mess that is our house. we've given up. it's all boxes, piles, & toys EVERYWHERE.
THINKING: i can't believe we're leaving in less than a week.
SORTING: my craft stash. gah, i have a LOT of stuff!!!
ADMIRING: the NFL players wearing pink for breast cancer awareness :)

LISTENING TO: holland yell "DADDY! DADDY! DADDYY!" over the monitor. our baby turned into an almost 2 yr old this afternoon. spaghetti throwing & everything.
NEEDING: a shower. and a haircut.
WONDERING: if i'm going to have time to blog this week.

first piggies

2011-09-30T08:17:00.000-05:00

love.

old GRE study pages

2011-09-29T08:41:00.000-05:00

make great snowflakes...

back...& GRE free

2011-09-28T09:08:00.000-05:00

back from my marathon road trip to wichita falls.
the trip included:

-a forced session of barbara mandrell (okay, it was just one song) & wishing my sister was there so we could give my mom an eye roll in unison
-playing "plus & minus" with my aunt - the hotel was a best western "PLUS!" & we appointed ourselves the judges of whether it was truly a "PLUS!" (was probably just a "plus.", but you know, we didn't complain)
-talking politics, religion, & books with my uncle & suddenly realizing his (completely legal!) handgun was sitting on the table the whole time. i feel like i should add it was NOT loaded & i'm not even sure there was ammo in the room. i feel i should also add this is a totally normal phenomenon in my west texas family (right, uncle rick?). i will also say he recommends you read same kind of different as me
-seeing lots of family members i barely remember & also getting to meet the flower girl from my parents' wedding. i always loved looking @ the picture of her, thinking she was so lucky to get to wear that pretty white dress :) the funny thing was, i thought she looked just the same! like i would have picked her out in a crowd.
-crying lots of tears. why is it so easy to forget what a miracle life is? also, why is it that life can be so d*mn hard sometimes?
-a chance stopping with my mom in hamilton, tx @ the farm of her grandparents, the place i've heard about all of my life. i half expected her "mo-mo" to come out the front door & tell us to come inside for iced tea {sweetened with a shot of dr. pepper!}, maybe even see little dark haired "debbie" poke her head out of the root cellar. the whole experience left me thinking about how tiny our story is, how quickly it's all going. how things that seems so real now, will soon feel like apparitions, like something someone made up.
-eatting one of my top 10 best meals ever. we stopped @ literally the first little restaurant we saw, knowing in austin it's hard to have a bad meal. oh, we were so right - from the shared filet minon to the gourmet mac & cheese, we couldn't stop talking about how good was every-single-bite?!! one of the meals to go down in the books. i'd recommend the place to you, but didn't ever really catch the name & i'm not even sure where it was! i half wondered if it was an apparition, too.
i was glad to finally get home, to get back to my little family, to my little corner of the world. the little corner where we have about 2 wks left to pack & start a new journey of our life. so crazy. and in case you're wondering, i made it through the GRE! i did well enough not to have to take it again & actually much better than i thought i would. i am so thankful to be over with that one! THANKS to all of the sweet msgs, texts, & calls i got - i felt so loved on friday :) sorry i'm quite behind in getting back to you!

happy wednesday to everyone...

today's the day

2011-09-23T09:01:00.000-05:00

to take the GRE.
after a last minute change, i'm taking the test today @ 12.
& boy, am i ready :)

then i'm off to be with family. we've had a death in our extended family leaving a cousin barely pregnant & without her mom.
my heart is broken for her & i'm holding onto the truth that life really IS so very short. just being alive truly is a miraculous gift so easily taken for granted.

so here's to another weekend, another breath, more time to live this glorious gift of life.

in other news: as a quick, study food binge, i made this peach mango salsa. it'd be a great way to celebrate life this weekend :)

brain food

2011-09-21T09:03:00.000-05:00

study food

*dried cranberries mixed with almonds are my fav snack of late. sweet + crunch

could someone help me with...

2011-09-20T08:52:00.000-05:00

the latin root of "thisissofreakinghard"?

(ahem)

a large part of me wakes up everyday very unhappy with my current predicament. WHY is my brain so rusty? WHY was it 6 years ago that i took this test, when they're only good for 5? WHY am i having to take the new "revised" (aka CRAZY HARD) gre???

i'm spending 4-6 hrs a day studying for this craziness. most of the day i battle feeling super hopeless & trying not to cry @ various coffee establishments over the fact that I HAVE NO IDEA which quantity is greater:

32(15x +y) - 6b + 24c

or

your mama.

sorry. it's the crabbiness talking.
i pretty much hate this.

while most of the day is spent in dire straits, every once in awhile i get a glimpse of what's really real - the fact that i'm just where i'm supposed to be. exactly. facing something that seems totally impossible. not being able to "play the game". (because let's face it - standardized tests are a total game) knowing my only choice (trusting) is actually the best choice.

like 99% of teachers, i HATED state standardized tests when i taught in public school. osama bin laden, the stomach flu, & TAKS. those tests ruin education. my poor little guys would be so freaked out & i would say - just do your best & don't worry about it! why can't i give myself the same grace?

breathing. breathing.
i am not my gre score. i am not my gre score. i am not my gre score.

what will be, will be.
i'm going to have to learn to be "zen kelly"
(or face a coronary over this thing.)

and just as i thought i was finished with this post, i ran across the quote below (from THIS darling blog). finding it was like a wink from god...

"A goal more lofty (and sometimes more difficult to achieve) than any other I can think of. Practicing humility and serving others, doing small, unimportant things for big and important reasons. That's what makes me feel successful. That's what makes me feel like I've done my best, like I'm really becoming something "great"."

never too early...

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

to start thinking about christmas gifts...
(or procrastinate studying for the gre)

homemade nutella...

{oh, yes.}

found here.

baby legwarmer pattern...

{legwarmers to match holl's hat?}

buy the pattern or the legwarmers here

cute little clutch tutorial...

{little homemade cuteness for christmas? just takes a few scraps of fabric!}

tutorial here

***this concludes my little session of christmas shopping***

things that stink...

2011-09-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

the GRE.
stressing out about the GRE.
& trying not to cry @ starbucks when you realize you bombed your practice GRE.
(boooo!)
things that don't stink...

this was a public service announcement from holland harp.

did you know....

2011-09-15T08:35:00.000-05:00

aspersion

calumny

castigate

deride/devisive

diatribe

disparage

excoriate

gainsay

harangue

impugn

inveign

objergate

obloquy

opprobrium

pillory

remonstrate

reprehend

& vituperate

...are all words relating to the words "to criticize or criticism"?

no?
me, either.
that's why i have to study.
i'm taking the GRE soon.
yikes.
double yikes.
yikes to the 6th power.

(haven't started studying for math yet.)

i applied to go back to school for a master's - something i've always wanted to do, but never quite gotten around to doing it. i started a few classes @ smu several years ago when we lived in dallas, but the program wasn't really exactly what i wanted. the problem was that i didn't know what i wanted! and i when i don't know exactly what i want, or can't see how it will all work out, i get overwhelmed & tend to just do nothing. which doesn't gain you a master's degree.
weird.

so on this crazy journey of figuring out what the heck we're doing with our lives, i re-remembered - "hey! i'd really like to get a master's degree. & now that we're not really tied down to a job in a certain location, maybe it's time to go for it!"

that was quickly followed by panic & all the questions of where & how & finances & recommendations & oh-my-gosh-the-GRE! it was so overwhelming, that i almost quit before even starting! hello overwhelm!

something inside me pushed through the fear.
i pushed send on the embarrassing "hey do you remember me? i was your student 10 (gulp) years ago... can you write me a recomendation?" emails to old professors. i asked about financial aid (as in "do you have 100% funding??!"), which was double embarrassing (so dumb! why should not being able to afford $20K a year be embarrassing??!). i didn't quit when i got the triple embarrassing "no, i don't remember you" email back. i cringed, ate a brownie, & went on down the list of professors-that-might-possibly-have-a-clue-as-to-who-i-am. when i couldn't find the "i went to college a decade ago, have had 2 kids, & lost lots brain cells" edition of the GRE study book, i just ordered 2 regular books instead.
this takes guts, people.

& now i'm blogging about it all with the fear in the back of my head that i might have to come back here & tell you i didn't get in.
yikes to the 9th power x 22.3

(really got to get to that math part.)

but i said i wasn't going to let fear motivate me anymore, so...

my name is kelly harp, i'm applying to baylor university for a master's in american studies & i'm kinda scared it won't all work out, but i'm trusting that Great Mystery that he knows what he's doing.

{i'm also trusting god doesn't get offended that i keep calling her a him, or him a her, or it a she. might start mixing up my pronouns...}

so we might be moving to wacky waco, tx. crazy town! i'll keep you updated, my friends.

until then i shall try to foment fervid feelings towards taking the GRE, possibly becoming quite garrulous as i seek to engender a more erudite vocabulary.

take THAT, GRE!
(okay, i totally looked @ my notes for that sentence, but still...)

guess what?

2011-09-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

we {finally} sold our house.
whoa!!
we're celebrating by leaving large piles of clothes everywhere!!!

(funny how instagram cool.i.fies even piles of laundry)

i felt melancholy about the whole thing. it's totally like i wrote in THIS post (where i said i didn't know what we'd do if we DIDN'T sell our house & i didn't know what we'd do if we DID sell our house) & reminded me of a quote my wise friend jim shared...

"the tradgedy of attachment is that, if its object is not attained, it causes unhappiness. but, even if it is attained, it does not cause happiness - it merely causes a flash of shallow pleasure followed by weariness, & it is always accompanied, of course, by the anxiety that you may subsequently loose that new object of your attachment."

--anthony de mello

then i started thinking about a conversation my dear friend melissa & i had about this very concept - that we think we want this ONE thing, but "things" always have a flipside & it's never as great as you think it'll be. the grass truly always seems so much greener, but it's a total illusion!

ultimately, i'm glad the house is sold. i think it's the right thing (it happened didn't it??!), but i see so clearly in this moment how our happiness just can't rest in events & things - it has to be a contentness deep within.

leaving you (& me!) with this last quote for our wednesday (from my same wise friend jim - you should get yourself a wise friend named jim!)...

"the philosopher Diogenes was eating bread & lentils for supper. he was seen by the philosopher aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king. said aristippus, 'if you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.' said diogenes, 'if you would learn to live on lentils you would not have to be subservient to the king.' "

(boom.)

--anthony de mello

happy wednesday, friends :)

no fear

2011-09-12T09:22:00.000-05:00

remember when i blogged about graphic design help?
i said i had learned a lot about graphic design doing our website {HarpDesignCo} & realized i really liked it & that i'd love to help if someone was in the market for logo design, etc???

want to know how i felt about it?
DUMB.
as in i-hate-putting-myself-out-there-like-this-DUMB.
as in no-one's-going-to-contact-you-DUMB.
as in you're-not-that-good-DUMB.
DUMB.

but i made myself do it anyway because i'm trying to practice "putting myself out there", trying things, not being afraid. i decided the other day that fear is no longer going to be a motivator for me to do, or not do anything. there's always something to be afraid of anyway, so might as well just forget it!

so i went for it.
i put my little graphic out there & thought i'd just ignore those voices that said i looked DUMB.
& you know what happened?

this...

& this...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i got to do these graphics for brooke & ice this cakes in nashville! it was SO MUCH creative fun to do this for brooke. the top was my favorite logo & the bottom was hers. THANKS, brooke for letting me do your logo & giving me a chance to do something so very important - believe in myself :)

if you find yourself needing some graphic design or simple web design for a good price, i know a gal {wink, wink}. email me - kghmaddie(at)yahool(dot)com. i'm a newbie & charge newbie prices.

have a...

2011-09-10T09:32:00.002-05:00

lucky #7

2011-09-09T08:55:00.000-05:00

life as me is brought to you today by the

NUMBER SEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that means YOU, christy ogden are the winner of our

Harp Design Co

giveaway!

happy weekend to everyone :)

halloween thoughts

2011-09-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

today is september 8th!
really.
i'm so excited about fall. the high is 94 today & i can hardly believe it. i think i can call that a "cool snap" since it's 10 degrees cooler than it has been around here lately. how can that even be?
anyway, with the coooooler weather & all, i've been thinking about halloween. i'm not sure what we'll do this year for hudson's costume. i think we all remember last year, don't we?
oh, you forgot?
well here's a small reminder...

yeah. awesome. i'm sure i don't have to tell you that i haven't made hudson a halloween costume this year. i'm not really looking to add to the list of costumes he mysteriously hates.

the other day he said he wanted to be a duck this year.

a few days later he said maybe a super hero.

i think we'll be throwing something together the week of.

& that's fine by me.

really it is.

yep, mmhmm.

i'm fine.

really.

i'm learning to be laid back (ha!).

but i did have to laugh the other day when hudson & sis put their cowboy hats & ran around the house with the stick horse.

oh reallllly???? so you DO like cowboys???!!! hmmmmmm :)

stinker.

play kitchen!

2011-09-07T08:47:00.003-05:00

last christmas clint made hudson & holland a play kitchen for christmas.

this is the 2011 edition for Harp Design Co!

100% recycled wood & oh so fun.

my kids have love-love-loved playing with their kitchen. our friends' kids love playing with the kitchen. it gets a lot of love :)

top 5 things i like about this play kitchen...

1. i love that it's real wood & will be around one day for our grandkids.

2. i love that it looks like a cute piece of furniture in our living room (instead of ANOTHER freakin' toy).

3. i love that kids of all ages love playing with it, which makes it a super christmas gift for multiple kiddos (OR a grandparent gift to stay for play @ the grandparents' house).

4. all of the knobs & handles actually turn, which is super important when you're 4.

5. the kitchen has tons of storage space. from experience i can tell you it takes about 3.5 seconds to chuck all of the food toys behind that curtain: insta-clean.

***kitchens on our site here.

a tuesday list...

2011-09-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

HEARING: the sound of glorious fall wind
EATING: (ate) smashburger rosemary fries. ohmygoshseriouslygood.
MAKING: a new crocheted hat for holland. learning as i go...
SMELLING: oatmeal cranberry cookies baked earlier for friends
FEELING: happy to get just the ittiest feelings of fall in the air
READING: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks & yes, i recommend (for schizzel)
ON THE DOCKET: this recipe for chuy's green dip, finishing my cv, & maybe trying this recipe for homemade pumpkin spice latte...

***last day for the giveaway.

weekending

2011-09-05T09:46:00.001-05:00

on our last summer {well, sort of} weekend, we...

1. made fruit rollups using these 2 posts. very fun! thanks, kate.
2. learned how to swing together :)
3. made more tortillas. getting better...
4. had a few obstinate moments {ahem.}
5. played with the letter magnets - i really think these are how hudson learned his letter sounds so quickly.
6. made our sweet potato quesadillas WITH fresh pico. didn't think this recipe could be better. i was wrong. YUM & thanks devi! pico recipe here.
7. had some end-of-summer sprinkler play.

doing anything fun for labor day weekend?

***giveaway here

muffies

2011-09-03T10:17:00.002-05:00

after puke fest 2010, all that sounded good were blueberry muffins.
here's the recipe i used.
it's pretty sweet - more like blueberry cake. good with coffee.
wishing you a sweet, blueberry weekend :)

***giveaway HERE.

what we've been up to {besides the puke}...

2011-09-02T09:33:00.002-05:00

pictures. lots & lots of pictures.
(this before the puking, of course.)
we've done a few photo shoots lately. clint takes most of the pics & i guess that makes me the "assistant", but i'd rather call myself the stylist :) frequently we have little guests who join in the ~~craziness~~ fun.
working @ home with little ones is quite the challenge. that's something i'll have to post about soon.
so these are 2 of our new products coming soon... both 100% recycled wood! woohooooo!!!
i'll post more pics next week...
*they're both on the site if you can't wait.

ps: don't forget about the giveaway!

i spilled the beans.

2011-09-01T09:58:00.000-05:00

***we're still recovering from the great stomach bug of 2011, but much better THANK YOU! i wrote this post a few days ago in the spirit of being honest & vulnerable. now i'm not sure i want to post such honesty! but i'm doing it anyway - i don't want to portray that my life is all roses & rainbows!

black beans.
& this makes 2 major spills in the pantry this week if you're counting.
this one came in the middle of a mad dash to get our house in order for a showing. have i mentioned lately that our house is on the market? & has been for months & months &...? clint & i are pros @ getting our house presentable by now. PROS!
it'll still be a mess if you come over, though. we only clean like that for perfect strangers, apparently.

so about that house being on the market for months & about that new adventure we started (the one without the steady paycheck). i was recently challenged my good, wise friend to be vulnerable with my life, with my story. this is not easy. i like pretending that i have it all together & wrapped up with a lovely robin's egg blue bow.
but that's just not true.
the truth is that following what's in your heart will often lead you down dark paths, past high cliffs where you feel like you're sure you'll slip... right... off...
really.
it's hard.
i don't know where all the money will come from.
i don't know what we'll do if our house doesn't sell.
i don't know what we'll do if our house DOES sell.
i don't know if we should focus more on retail sales, or wholesale.
i don't know if i should order more size 4T or more size 6T grey shirts & i'm afraid to order both...

i think you see my point, right?
so why even try?
YES! why even try? i ask myself this very question. often. it's a place i come back to & back to.
& here is my answer. the only answer i have. you must be the change you seek.
i must be the change i seek.
you must be the change you seek.
if something in my life is not in line with my heart, with my spirit, with my faith, i must change it. not changing means denying the spirit that lives within me. sometimes these are little changes & sometimes they are big. for me, for us, for now, it was a big change.

do you know the one thing that i feel like would make me feel better about this whole thing?
financial security.
a trust fund. a huge windfall. something!
& that's no surprise in our culture. none @ all. we think money can buy us anything we'll need & we don't ever want to be in a place of need. but the truth is money will grow up like a vine, slowly winding itself, even gently around your neck until it chokes you to death.
we can only be true to ONE thing in our lives. if the Spirit inside of you speaks something, you cannot worry about the money. you just have to do it.

& i'm trying. we're trying. we'll accept the consequenses of whatever this means & its scares me to type that, but it's true. there's either something to believe in in this world, or their isn't.

sick

2011-08-31T09:23:00.001-05:00

the stomach bug came, saw, & conquoered our house last night.
how do you spell "conqueor"?
nevermind. just pass the saltines.

ps: thankfully clint was spared this lovely bug & has been dispensing juice & sesame street episodes all hours of the night & day. bless him.

change

2011-08-30T08:40:00.000-05:00

hey everyone. happy tuesday morning...

i average around 80-110 views a day here @ life as me, but the few times i've done giveaways, i haven't had many people. hmmm. curious! i'd like for this giveaway to be a THANK YOU to you guys for reading, so i'm changing the "prize" to any shirt OR pillow from our site {www.HarpDesignCo.com}. i thought there might be some of you out there that would rather a pillow. & even if you don't enter, please know i appreciate you stopping by every day :)

i've thought about doing a few more giveaways as we go into the fall. maybe some ideas for christmas gifts??? does that sound appealing? i might start a poll (it will appear in the left column). will let you know...

oh, & fyi: "following" this blog makes it easier for me to get the prize to you without everyone having to leave their email addresses in the comments section.

giveaway day

2011-08-29T08:27:00.001-05:00

c'est simple*

our shirts can be found here.

winner will be chosen randomly & announced on monday...

thanks for participating in our giveaway ;)

*please excuse my french (hahahahaaaa!).

friday in pictures...

2011-08-27T10:35:00.001-05:00

i spilled sugar.

{the WHOLE jar}

clint {bless him} cleaned it up.

hud spelled his favorite words with letter stickers.

sis felt quite cheery about her afternoon bottle.

i found the perfect model....

...for my new crochet habit.

***i've had several requests for adult hats & scarves {thanks!}. i need a little practice, so i can do a few more (first come, first serve!), the yarn (all ORGANIC cotton) is $7 per item & you can pay whatever you'd like beyond that.
kghmaddie(at)yahoo(dot)com

*shirt GIVEAWAY next week!

more cotton + GIVEAWAY

2011-08-26T09:48:00.000-05:00

need to get back to your country roots?

show off our green side with our farmer green tee!

our super soft tees are $28 & are guarranteed to make you smile :)

purchase HERE.

***every tee & pillow purchase helps our family to be able to make 2 tables for the price of one (one table for the customer, one table for a family in need). see our site for more info!

***GIVEAWAY of one of our tees NEXT WEEK! :)***

date night

2011-08-25T08:53:00.000-05:00

i'm still recovering from a late date night...

{yippidiy-do-dah! that we had a date!!}

we went to see the help & yes, i recommend it. really, really loved the book & though the movie was different than i pictured it in my head, i still really enjoyed it.

"you is kind.

you is smart.

you is important."

"treelore always said there'd be a writer in the family.

i guess that's me."

-abileen

*tears*

yep, i recommend it.

*giveaway coming soooooon. check in tomorrow for details...

graphic design

2011-08-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

in the journey of creating our website {http://www.harpdesignco.com/} & in playing around with this blog, i found a new venture in graphic design.

originally, clint & i thought we'd just pay for webdesign for the HDC site, but after looking around, i was FLOORED @ the costs.
webdesign is A LOT of work, so i get why it's so $$$, but we just didn't have the $, so we sort of dove in the deep in & learned to swim.
i'm a total newbies, of course. but the good news about newbies is they don't charge much because they're learning!

if you're in need, but a little shell shocked @ prices, too - we might just be a great match!

i'm happy to work with whatever budget you have (seriously).

services include...

1. business cards

2. simple website design (or blog)

3. logo creation

4.stationery/letterhead creation

5. advertising blog button

clint & i took all of the pictures on our site {http://www.harpdesignco.com/}, & edited them ourselves. if you need product pictures, we're experienced in that as well.

email me @ kghmaddie(at)yahoo(dot)com to start the conversation...

***for examples of my "style" visit our site as well as pictures in this blog - last week especially i went a little crazy with pictures ;)

inspiration

2011-08-23T11:15:00.000-05:00

you'll have to excuse me if i get a little emotional today.
a little teary here & there.
the good kind, of course.
yesterday i found out a friend is having twins {TWINS!}, which only magnifies a truth i've been experiencing on a deeper level ever since we started this whole crazy adventure.
this is who god is to me.
a grandmother who sends a dollar to each of her plethora of grandchildren, children of her 12 children, knowing so very little can be bought for a dollar, but so very much is purchased with the tiniest gift of love.
the widow's mite.

god's gifts often seem to me too small. or way too big. not the way i'd like them to fit. not exactly what i wanted.
i'd rather have the latte cups from anthropologie, thank you.
but those cups won't ever teach be about the widow's mite, won't give me the eyes to see, the ears to hear.
god is so unbelieveably, inconceivably good. the universe is @ work all around us in the most amazing of ways & always, always for good.

good & sometimes totally overwhelming.
like twins.
TWO carseats
TWO cribs
5 million diapers x TWO
(breath, breath)
TWO babies to feed
TWO babies to get back to sleep
OMG.
but yet how incredible to be given new life... and TWO! double the insanity & double the beautiful, beautiful blessing. more love to share, more funny stories, more life to live, more gifts to give, more kisses, more squeezes, more giggles, more faces to see light up @ the wonder of a ladybug...

the universe is always @ work. always bringing me exactly what i need.
*sigh*
so beautiful.
i know my work is to remember this tomorrow when i get a little over(or under)whelmed with my "gifts".
:)

new cotton

2011-08-22T08:52:00.000-05:00

your little guy need to let the world know

he's a working man?

perfect!

our super soft tees are $28 & are guarranteed to make you smile :)

purchase HERE.

***every tee & pillow purchase helps our family to be able to make 2 tables for the price of one (one table for the customer, one table for a family in need). see our site for more info!

new header!

2011-08-20T15:07:00.000-05:00

and i {finally} like it!!

(((applause)))

the "story" of how i got it right...

too plain for me.

hmmm. liking the font better...

love the orange, but too LOUD right next to the blue.

always love white - so classic. but still a little too simple for me...

ooo! love the pink/blk/white combo! but just still not doing it for me...

liking the colors, but the square edges with the rounded bug me.

ah, yes! simple, softer & love the colors!

yes! this is it. the blue with a touch of hot orange is much more me! yipppeee!

i call this one...

2011-08-19T08:37:00.003-05:00

i call this picture "italian vacation"
because it looks like the h's are in a tiny sports car, zooming around rome, eating pasta & basking in the sun.

like in old movies.

i've never been into old movies. like "roman holiday". have you seen it?

maybe i've been missing out???

i think the last old movie i saw was in 5th grade when meredith mason williams came over to spend the night & convinced me to rent "pillow talk" with doris day.

seriously.

if you know meredith, you won't @ all be surprised that she watched movies like pillow talk @ age 12.

haha!

do you have a favorite old movie?

ps: clint & i caught a few scenes of "overboard" the other day!!! i'm not sure that's quite an old movie yet, but OHMYGOSH! we laughed so hard & couldn't believe we ever sat through the whole movie (500x).

dress up day

2011-08-18T08:55:00.001-05:00

on monday we got a shipment of clothes from our favorite store - seba handmedowns! our sweet friends, the sebas (hi ruth!) have a son & a daughter, each about 1 yr older than hudson & holland. for several years now we've bought all of their handmedowns & sometimes i think it might be the best idea i ever had.
ruth & i agreed on a price that was a great bargain for me* & also meant ruth didn't have to deal with resale shops (so frustrating to iron & hang everything, then get it all in the shop & only get to sell whatever they'll take, oh & also only seasonal stuff!). i don't care if the clothes are ironed & even if a few have small stains, i know my kids will add to that stain collection :) & i love mixing & matching the clothes with other stuff we have - it's a challenge to the creative brain!
usually i wait until the littles are sleeping to delve into organizing all of the clothes, but this time they were curious to see what was in the boxes, so i just went for it - setting the boxes on the floor & organizing while they went through pulling out what appealed to their creative eye & having an impromptu dress-up session. @ some point in the chaos & mess, i set up a mirror for them, which doubled the fun - especially for miss holland. the whole thing was crazy, but so fun. my favorite times with hudson & holland are when we make whatever everyday task we're doing into a fun adventure. it's a challenge, especially when the adult in me just wants to avoid mess :)

*thanks to the sebas for making our dress up morning possible! ha! & also for just giving us this last shipment of clothes - so sweet of you guys :)

cooking with holland

2011-08-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

saturday adventure

2011-08-16T09:08:00.000-05:00

*it turns out that tortillas are a challenging art - they are edible, but i'm still working on my technique :)
**used this recipe (1 1/2c whole wheat flour + 1/2c white flour)

we eat tortillas like nobody's business.
like 3-4 for lunch (quesadillas), 2 for snacks, & sometimes even for dinner. so $2.29 isn't bad for 10 freshly made HEB whole wheat tortillas, but when you find yourself buying 4 packs in one week, you start thinking seriously about learning to make your own. i find it interesting how lack of having a "regular income" actually stimulates my creative juices. endeavors i normally wouldn't get around to end up becoming priorities with the added bonus of saving $. hmmm.
remind me that i said that next time i'm freaking out about this crazy adventure we're on, okay?!

happy week, people.

maybe

2011-08-14T21:25:00.001-05:00

maybe because i'm crazy, or maybe because i'm just an overachiever in the getting-ready-for-the-2-days-it'll-be-under-40-degrees-this-winter department, but i made a hat & scarf set this weekend.

i've learned how to knit about 15x, but it never seems to stick with me. if i take a few days off, i go back to staring @ those needles thinking, "so the yarn goes where? & i do what with it?"

somehow crochet seems to make sense to me.
a few youtube videos & i'm hooked (get it??! hooked!! haha!).
i can only do a few B A S I C stitches, but i guess that's enough to make this gal happy...

serious cuteness.
if we're still here this winter, we'll @ least have fun playing dress up :)

ps: i still need to add a little length to the hat (i believe i've mentioned my children have head sizes off the percentile charts) & add the little circle flower & we'll be ready for ~~winter~~ playtime.

our fav sesame street moment

2011-08-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

{& trust me, we've seen many.}

i love this short little song. i dare you to listen to it without at least tapping your toe :)

pop recipe

2011-08-09T09:32:00.004-05:00

you can seriously use any fruit &/or juice combination here - it's a great way to use up extras. i've even used watermelon. it was yum! & if your fruit isn't sweet enough for you, try adding a ripe banana. {whenever our bananas are getting a little too ripe, i stick them in the freezer for popsicle & smoothie use.}

also, a thought on greek yogurt: we've recently discovered this goodness. it's quite $$, but has NO sugar & is a great source of calcium & protein. hudson {bizarrely} loves it mixed with applesauce for "dessert", & also "dip" for carrots. we use it for hummus, popsicles & smoothies. apparently you can use it for muffins & bread, too. i love that if hudson & holland want a popsicle right before dinner it's no big deal - they're actually getting stuff i'd give them to eat anyway (yogurt, fruit, juice), yet they feel like they're getting away with something :)

*popsicle molds can be purchased on amazon for pretty cheap. this is the one we have. (i don't love that it's plastic, but i've yet to come up with a way to make pops with glass!!)

crazy amount of popsicle pictures

2011-08-08T08:26:00.000-05:00

hudson loves popsicles.
i {clearly} love taking pictures of him eating popsicles.
we also love making our own popsicles.
it's really easy.
i'll give you a recipe tomorrow.

happy monday.
over&out.

laundress

2011-08-04T11:09:00.002-05:00

holland pushing clothes into the dryer...

& ready for more...

she takes her job as head "push the clothes into the dryer" woman very seriously. so seriously that sometimes she gets mad @ me when the clothes are dry & I'm taking them OUT of the dryer.

NO! All clothes must be pushed INTO the dryer, always!

you have to love a woman who takes her laundry seriously.

a day

2011-08-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

*sweet picture hudson took of me through instagram

so i woke up yesterday thinking it would be a nice, slow kind of day. we'd spent the weekend+ working like mad dogs on the website & i thought monday we would slow down a bit, revel in the fact that we'd finished the website (!!!) & at the least do a little cleaning.

it's weird how my kids didn't support that notion. cleaning? no, that's boring. slow down? why? that's boring. they begged for a backyard swimming session & finally i agreed, ignoring the dust bunnies & past dinner crumbs stuck to the floor. so okay, we'll play outside for awhile & THEN i'll clean. that's when we discovered that the washer was broken. BUM. *note to self: quit complaining EVER about laundry because girl, at least you have a washing machine!!! so all of that dirty laundry from the weekend just stayed right where it was piled (lovely!). we did lunch as usual & the typical hudson "you're crazy for even mentioning nap time" routine ensued. thankfully holls still naps really easily. i was determined to clean something, so decided to give the sparkle treatment to the kitchen (inspired by c.jane). i cleaned that kitchen floor on my hands & knees & took NO prisoners! take that, crazy day!

the day had a few more ebs & flows & then ended in me finding holland asleep in throw up @ 10pm last night. (i believe i've mentioned before (ahem!) how my kids partake in the weirdest of activities involving puking & going right back to sleep.) (i believe i've also metioned how i feel about this - AHHHHHHHHHHHH! SO grosssssss. & also AHHHHHHHHHH, so freaky dangerous for my kids.)

so the night ended with what's become a real routine for c & i. i mean we know how to clean up middle of the night throw up messes like nobody's business!!! seriously, i'm thankful holls is okay & as usual, it's just one of those weirdo throw ups my kids love to do. btw: she's not sick, just threw up the milk she drank right before going to bed. *note to self: NO MORE MILK BEFORE BED. & i also have to add that this little "ish" is so much easier to deal with now that holland is older & will eat something other than just another bottle of milk because EW! who wants a bottle of milk when they've just thrown up!

i appreciate you listening to my semi-coherent rant. i'd like to add that we launched our website & you can see it here.

thank you very much, i'll be here all week.

so...

2011-08-01T09:42:00.001-05:00

**UPDATE! we're live!!! www.HarpDesignCo.com

remember that whole website thing?
yeah, that website we've been working on for months.
that website i kept thinking was ALMOST done & then spent 8 hours on thursday & friday & ALL WEEKEND working on!!!
yeah, that one.
it IS done!
we're just waiting on the host site make it go live.
i'll let you know when it's up.
until then i'll be making more coffee & trying to stay awake. my eyes are burning from computer overload...

bebeee!

2011-07-29T09:45:00.001-05:00

holland looooves babies.
LOVES. THEM.
loves them in books, loves them on tv, loves them in real life. "bebeee!!!", she squeals when she spots any young looking babyish little one. this can be problematic. once she squealed "bebeee!!" to an older boy. he, not realizing she meant this as a tremendous compliment, gave us all a disapproving once over & announced, "I'M THREE.".
hollands' baby obsession all but got us kicked out of the library the other day. she wouldn't leave the babies alone, even dive bombing them from my arms. in my retelling of the baby theatrics to clint, we realized there was a need to reintroduce little miss mommy holland to the lone baby doll in this house. the one she got from her cousin last year (THANKS, KAEGEN!)

i found it & called the little mama, saying "hollland!!! look what this is!!!". "beeebeeeeeee!!" she announced, pleased as punch. a teeny "beebee"!! she took that baby & with a grin kissed it over & over. at least i'm pretty sure they were kisses. they weren't bites, were they? no, let's think of them as kisses...
:)

**announcement: our Harp Design Co site is going LIVE on monday!! yipppeeee!!! i'll post a link here on monday...

$2.50 treat

2011-07-28T09:37:00.003-05:00

last week i craved some-kind-of-yummy-food like crazy. i've fought off going to panera for lunch about 17x {feels like}. their food isn't even that outstanding, but the frontega chicken sandwich is the best thing i can get for not too much $ & relatively quick.
& it has basil & mozzarella, & i love basil & mozzarella.
& hudson will eat it if i pick off the onion (red!) & basil & that means i don't have to make lunch for him.
(oh & the bread is crusty & i love crusty bread.)
but i haven't gone (yet).

i wasn't thrilled about going back into penny-watching mode with this new life. i'm a generally frugal-ish type of person anyway, but it's one thing to choose to be frugal & another to not have much income coming in (yet)! so there i was, h u n g r y for something yummy & knowing i didn't need to spend the $ {bum} when i saw soulemama's post about feta dip.
i'm sorry. did you say, FETA + DIP?
because i am IN.

so for a $2.50 feta splurge, i made this yumminess that totally hit the spot...

you can find the feta dip recipe here.
i wrote about making pita chips here.
& here's info on making carrots. (haha. just kidding!)

leaning

2011-07-26T16:26:00.001-05:00

lately it seems like most people i know are going through one kind of struggle or another (if not several all @ once). it seems like we're all in a real bind. i wanted to share {with others & again with myself!} a few things that i'm leaning on these days...

*fair warning: this is likely to be lengthy!

"getting what you thought you really wanted rarely, if ever, transforms how you think & feel about life; in fact, it often darkens & deepens & magnifies the power that 'wanting' has over you. therefore, rather than 'working hard toward what you think you want' (which is like taking a very slow & treacherous boat to china), you can practice 'dying to how you think' & 'awakening to spirit', thereby saving yourself lots of time & energy. but most times, given our terrible fear of the unknown, we just tend to stay on the boat, @ least until life totally capsizes it."

-anonymous (from a friend's email)

"you get your confidence & intuition back by trusting yourself, by being militantly on your own side."

-anne lamott "bird by bird"

"unless the lord builds the house,

it's builders labor in vain.

unless the lord watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.

in vain you rise early,

& stay up late,

toiling for food to eat -

for he grants sleep to

those he loves (& he loves you)."

-psalms 127

"my true religion is kindness."

-dalai lama (14)

(speaking of the above statement) "that is a great moral position - practicing kindess, keeping one's heart open in the presence of suffering."

-anne lamott "bird by bird"

"get over yourself! you're going to f' up! it'll be OK."

-claire dederer "poser"

"and so we know & rely on the love god has for us. god is love. whoever lives in love lives in god, & god in him... there is no fear in love. but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. the one who fears is not made perfect in love."

-book of I John 4:16, 18

and finishing with an "oldie, but a goodie"...

"he has shown you, o man,

what is good.

and what does the lord

require of you?

to act justly,

& to love mercy,

& to walk humbly with your god."

-book of micah 6:8

this weekend we...

2011-07-24T23:26:00.000-05:00

*not pictured: laundry, naps, & grocery store 3x (seriously).

10 years.

2011-07-22T07:56:00.000-05:00

yesterday was our 10 year anniversary.
10 years.
wow.
we celebrated by getting into a pretty intense argument. cool :) though i've {finally} realized conflict actually isn't something to avoid. arguments are real in-your-face chances to change & morph into who you (both singularly & together) want to become.
not that i think about that much in the middle of an argument.
but we did fight our way through & as always {when we hang in there & try not to control OR run away} ended up having a good talk.
i guess it's a bit ironic that i'm writing about this now because when we were engaged, i told clint i knew i wanted to marry him because he was someone i cared enough to fight through things with.
romantic, no? ha!
anyway, we DID make it to the sunnier side & that made dinner fun. dinner WITH our two punky kids.
we are blessed.

when we got home, hudson took our picture from the playhouse.

here's how it turned out.

10 pictures for 10 years...

here's to life & love.
neither which are the least bit easy. both of which are worth it all.

copy cat

2011-07-21T12:48:00.000-05:00

okay, so i don't know that Design*Sponge saw my post yesterday & quickly got a photo shoot together to totally copy me, BUT
i have a sneaking suspicion.
i mean, just look @ this pic...

okay, obvs i'm totally kidding, but it's funny how i keep seeing the combo of these industrial chairs with wood tables. this table's more vintage-y, but i prefer our craftsmen tables. i know i'm the teeeeeniest bit biased, but i prefer the contrast of styles - provides more interest & drama i think. should i email design*sponge & let them know?? :) heehee.

happy thursday, peeps.

urban dinner party

2011-07-20T09:28:00.004-05:00

dental care

2011-07-19T09:11:00.001-05:00

oh hello.
i'd like to brush my teeth just like my big brother.

if you could just hand me that toothbrush right there...

yes, that one RIGHT THERE.

I WANT THAT TOOTHBRUSH.

if only headers counted as penalty kicks.

2011-07-18T09:52:00.000-05:00

we could have totally won that {women's world cup final} game with abby wombach's head!!!!!

BUMMER!

keeping up with the US women's team has been really fun. they were so good & ALMOST won the whole thing. those darn japanese.
(kidding.)
we were so sad about the game yesterday, we had to go get ice cream just to cheer up.

HAD to.

i'm happy to report that we all feel much better.
i'm also happy to report that cake batter frozen yogurt with fruity pebbles is a winning combination.

do you ever worry...

2011-07-15T09:51:00.001-05:00

...that you're the only one who's house is a complete wreck?

...that it's only your house that's totally exploded into toyville?

...that someone might find out you sometimes turn off the light & leave the mess for tomorrow?

now you know you're not alone :)

pillows galore

2011-07-13T08:25:00.000-05:00

something about linen.

* soft * casual * neutral * relaxed * natural *

i kept finding myself on the linen aisle this winter. hoping for warmer weather, maybe? {i guess i'm regretting that about now} finally i bought some, played around for awhile & here i found myself.

these pillows are envelope style. they're sort of like slipcovers for your pillows. easy as pie to pop off & totally washable. it's the little things, no?

1. hello pink stripe. a girl's gotta have some pink, no? ps: stripe can be horizontal, too

2. lovey, lovey butterflies. sweet & modern.

3. ticking lacey. strong & reliable pioneer woman gets a lacey corset.

4. invisible 2. did you see the 2, or did you think it was a swirly?

did you ever worry...

2011-07-12T23:44:00.001-05:00

...that no one could possibly have a messier house than you?

...that you are the only one that sometimes, okay more than "sometimes", steps right over the whole freakin mess & just goes to bed?

now you know, you're not alone, my friend.

*pics taken one saturday night, just before i turned out the lights, leaving the whole mess for the fairies to clean up {they didn't show}.

we interrupt the regularly scheduled program...

2011-07-12T09:08:00.000-05:00

to bring you...

holland amelia

& her crazy nap hair.

*carry on*

what we've all been waiting for...

2011-07-11T09:06:00.000-05:00

...finished pictures!

et voila...

100% recycled wood.

hand-rubbed staining technique

tongue & groove finishes

this is our first official table & i must say, i feel truly proud. i couldn't have imagined the work it would take for us to get to this place; i'm glad i had no idea. sometimes you'd never begin something if you knew how hard it would be, yet you're so happy that you did it. funny how life works that way, heh?

we're off this week {hopefully!} to austin for a sales trip.

*wish us luck*

* up tomorrow, an introduction to my pillow world

2011-07-08T13:58:00.001-05:00

just dropping in to say 2 things...

1. i edited my "about me page" to include some random facts.

2. i have a post up @ brooklyn homesteader if you'd like to stop by & say hi.

coffee

2011-07-08T12:39:00.001-05:00

i saw this last week & am in love with it.

it describes my feelings about coffee & life exactly.
sometimes i get really overwhelmed @ this whole life thing.
you know, living in general?
it can make a girl a little crazy, no? however, i've found something quite interesting about life here on planet earth. i'll share the big secret with you: there will always be something to stress about.
yep, that's my big secret, my big life revelation as of late.
there will always be something to stress out about, so might as well just not stress.
revolutionary, huh?

pic found @ luvinthemommyhood.

***on monday i'll post some pics of finished tables! finished tables that i don't have to stress about anymore :)***

there's something i need to tell you...

2011-07-06T20:08:00.001-05:00

if there's one thing i know to be true today, it's this.

bake your hubs (wife, child, significant other...) these {butterscotch} brownies:

& that humango pile of laundry you just washed & dried will be folded & put away in minutes.

minutes, i tell you.

lollipop love

2011-07-06T09:18:00.000-05:00

but don't worry...

this way you can share!

the 5th

2011-07-05T12:33:00.001-05:00

***did i forget to mention i'd be taking a few days off for the 4th? oops.
here's why...

we're on the road back from partying like rock stars in kerrville.

just kidding about the rock star part.
& the partying.
it was more like river swimming, bbq munching, & child chasing.

these are the days.

plastic

2011-07-01T10:03:00.001-05:00

plastic freaks me out.
sometimes i wonder if i'm going overboard, trying to avoid it in any way possible.
we don't have plastic sippy cups, try not to use plastic plates, rarely use ziplocks, avoid food packaged in plastic when possible...
then i read an article like THIS (on yahoo news, mind you. not some "crazy, leftist" publication) & i feel totally justified in my judgements.

reading such articles bolsters me towards going as plastic-free as possible. it's not a hippie-thing anymore (though what's wrong with the hippies??! ha!), it's a SERIOUS matter of health.

getting rid of all plastic can be totally overwhelming, if not virtually impossible, but there are a few things you can do to get the ball rolling. & yes, this is going to cost us $. i choose to think of it as saving us future money in doctor & hospital bills from getting god-knows-what kind of disease from this BPA crap.

1. get rid of plastic "tupperware" stuff. i know some of it says "bpa free" & that's got to be better than the other stuff, but it's my personal belief that BPA is just one of the chemicals in plastic that are dangerous to our health, so it's probably better to just get rid of it all together. alternatives include glass containers (you can buy bulk sets @ targ for not too much $). also you can do a "two for!" & buy food in glass containers (spaghetti sauce, jelly...), then use these as substitues for your tupperware.

2. get rid of plastic cups & plates. this is a special "OUCH" for those of us with kiddos. & yes, it stinks like nobody's business when they drop a glass cup & it shatters all over the floor. it's a real pain to clean up, but since we use jelly jars, i never really care about the loss of the cup. & i have to say it happens WAY less than i thought it would. we use all kinds of spaghetti & applesauce jars for cups. you can also use mason jars. lots of condiments come in little glass jars, perfect for kiddos.

3. get a stainless water bottle. the plastic in disposable water bottles is thought to be one of the worst for your health. it's seriously bad. filling up your stainless water bottle & taking it with you is one of the best investments you can make in your health as well as your pocket book actually! those $2 water bottles add up like crazy (trust me. i just bought a few on my trip last weekend. unfortunately, i don't always practice what i preach :) ) another bonus to this "hydration approach" is the health of the planet - think about all the plastic bottles you'll be saving from the landfills.

okay, those are my top 3 ideas to inspire all of us. i'm still mulling over things like the best way to get rid of ziplocks for good & the easiest substitute for the plastic veggie & fruit grocery store bags. so i'll get back to you, okay? :)

oh look!

2011-06-29T09:06:00.002-05:00

HERE.
(excuse their french)
heh heh heh.
i do believe my ticking bird tank is the cutiest of the bunch, if i do say so myself. though if you think a panda tooting is funny, you might disagree.
i really do love parts&labour & austin in general. gotta love the funk.
c & i are planning a sales trip up there in the next few weeks & since the sales make me kinda nervous (sales ALWAYS make me nervous!), i'm dreaming instead of strolling {hotter'n'hades} south congress, getting an iced coffee @ jo's, some ice cream @ amy's, & probably lunch @ guero's or magnolia cafe (oh i LOVE that place). yip, yip!
so until then, we're hitting it hard around here. so many little {& big} things to finish before the trip. still working on the site, need to do more biz cards, working on hang tags, good pictures of our merch, oh & there are those 2 kids who have to eat & stuff (!). this whole thing is quite the adventure.

here's to another day of this crazy life!

tuesday morning

2011-06-28T09:47:00.001-05:00

having a particularly tough morning wrestling with fear vs what i know to really be true.
i'm posting this entry from my journal the other day as a sort of "place marker" for what i know is truth {even (especially!)when i don't particularly feel it}.

sitting here crafting. loving it. learning how to make crochet-ed circles. can't get enough of white, cotton fabric crocheted circles!
i'm sitting in gratitude for time to do this. for energy to do this. for chocolate to munch as i write & clean water to gulp in this crazy heat.
am thankful for good friends, for gas to go see them (in tyler last week), for a car to ride (oh so comfortably) there.
even for the monitor that lets me know miss priss just woke up :)
i'm grateful for miss holland's fine little strawberry blonde curls & the way her baby head smells, even when sweaty. i'm thankful for those hot little red cheeks, the gooshiness of them, & her little pouty red lips. AND the back molars that allow her to eat more table food HALLELUJAH!
thankful for her soft baby belly, full of warm milk, & the sight of her half-chomping/half-gumming pita bread & scrambled eggs "like a big girl".
she is truly a gift.
looking @ the h's, i better understand how incredibly special each one of us is.
looking @ my punkies, just thinking of their little red cheeks, their sweaty little hands, i grasp a teensy shred of the truth: that each of us is so infinitely special, so truly fabulously incredible just exactly as we are. it's of mind boggling proportions, our value, our worth. so difficult to grasp, so hard to hold onto, so crucial to understanding.

who won the world?

2011-06-27T09:50:00.001-05:00

girls (thanks, beyonce)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

treat

2011-06-22T22:59:00.001-05:00

when you're having a junky morning...

{as in you heard giggle-giggle-splash-splash coming from the bathroom & YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.}

& that "whole situation" meant an extra bath & total children scrub down...

& you're going to be late to library time now due to the sanitation process (gag)...

you should just scrap all plans & go for a big, fat, icing hog of a cookie.

yep, that's all that will help.

other than coffee.

3 places i'd like to move...

2011-06-22T09:22:00.000-05:00

{today, anyway}

1. austin

2. asheville, nc

3. brooklyn

why austin? jo's coffee, the vibe maaaan, proximity to family, parts&labour, close to UT - maybe go back for a master's?, south congress, community

why asheville? the mountains!, c lived there as a child, big artist community, early girl, 4 (real)seasons
why brooklyn? no car needed, prospect park, pizza out the ying yang, inspiration in the air, proximity to so many creative people, cultural epicenter

what the heck we're doing.

2011-06-21T08:01:00.000-05:00

i kept waiting for this brilliant post to surface, explaining exactly what the heck we're doing.
all day i waited.
no brilliant post magically appeared from heaven.
weird.
so i took a pic of clint in the shop.

he works hard for the money.

so hard for the money.

so hard for the money, & i better treat him right.

(please tell me you knew i was quoting a song.)

here's a picture of one of c's tables in progress...

this is pre-sanded & pre oiled. & pre-coveted! i'm not sure i'll be able to let this one go. i'm thinking it might be my favorite piece of furniture he's ever made. if this were mine, i'd put it with those super coolio galvanized chairs floating around these days. i believe the look is called "industrial farmhouse".

source

& we're still working on our website. we finally buckled down & got a babysitter, as it doesn't appear that without one, we can get the website finished.
those darn kids (kidding.).
it will be money well spent, i'm sure.

okay, well that's a little peek into what we're up to... i'll keep trickling the details in (you know, as we figure it out).

clint

2011-06-20T08:58:00.000-05:00

***i interrupt my scheduled post entitled "what the heck we're doing", for a little father's day love post. tomorrow i'll post about what the heck we're doing (just as soon as i find out...).

it's true. i crashed their weekly pancake breakfast.
usually they make me stay in bed & sleep in (the horror!), but this weekend i woke up just in time to catch them in their weekly ritual.
(also it was father's day & i thought i should probably be up.)
in honor of our daddy, i documented his favorite weekly ritual.

& yes, he makes the pancakes from scratch.
i'd share the recipe with you, but then i'd have to kill you.
clint says if this whole furniture making thing doesn't work out, our future may be in his pancakes.
i laugh (i mean, his pancakes are really good), but really i'm thinking "please god, let this furniture thing work out!". haha. that's mostly a joke :)

upon first sight of his daddy after our trip to tyler, hudson spilled the beans about our father's day gift (racquet & jog tee's), hence no pics gifts. i would like to document that we made clint a PW lasagna (shocker!) & our annual father's day brownies. we also laid around in our pjs almost all day & ended the night with a second serving of the brownies.

we're really good @ celebrating.

to mr. harp: we LOVE you. couldn't do it without you (pancake breakfast, or life.)

so, so, so...

2011-06-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

TIRED.

the littles & i went to tyler this week. mon-thurs

i am beat.

tyler, tx is NOT hometown to...

the gap (it closed. what town does NOT have a gap, i ask you??)

normal turn signal lights (they're yellow & blink at you. so weird.)

tyler, tx IS hometown to...

earl campbell

mercados mexican restaurant (where butter comes in a squirt bottle, truly perfecting tortilla eating)

roadside rose stands

my sweet friends (whom i dearly, dearly love & who make up for the lack of gap & weird lights)

we swam, ate crap, chatted incessantly, made rope bracelets, & painted toes.

it could have been summer 15 years ago {+ 7 kids}.

lovely.

doing the deed

2011-06-16T20:22:00.001-05:00

yes, thank you for that round of applause :)
i'm usually a total sucker for the prepackaged stuff - SO EASY. but, here are 3 great things about buying a head of spinach:

1. cheaper,
2. little packaging,
3. NOT "washed" in chlorine.

so i took the plunge & it wasn't that bad. it does create a few more dirty towels, but really what is a few more dirty towels??! ever since we quit (mostly) using paper towels & napkins, i've gotten quite used to an abundance of dirty towels.
& while we're on the subject, i'll share that dirty (damp) towels & houston don't mix well. just in case you were wondering.
i'm pretty sure we live in the mold capital of the world. consider this a public service announcement.

& in case you buy your own head of lettuce {we can be crazy, hippie, rebels together!!!},here {again} is my current fav spinach salad dressing.

oh, & articles with good info on prepackaged veggies here, here & here.

messy hud

2011-06-14T08:05:00.001-05:00

this is what hudson looks like when he eats...

& that's why

he still wears these {horrendously ugly} elmo bibs.

they're the only ones that work.

he thinks they're cool.

i adore messy hud. even in his elmo bib. especially in that ridiculous elmo bib.

doing the deed.

2011-06-12T15:04:00.001-05:00

a list

2011-06-10T15:33:00.001-05:00

LISTENING: to hearing voices "homeless" webcast
EATING: brisket tacos for dinner
MAKING: rag rug (no idea what i'm doing!)
SMELING: chlorine from our pool outing
FEELING: the cool a/c, & boy & i thankful for it
READING: poser by claire dederer & feeling like i've fallen into my own life
ENJOYING: the idle happiness of summer (most days, anyway)

when you're 4...

2011-06-10T08:49:00.000-05:00

big trucks are rreallllly awesome.

& rreallly loud.
hudson (capital H)HATES loud noises. the vacuum cleaner, blender, coffee grinder, bathtub spigot. he's kind of a loud noise primadonna. if we dare touch that vacuum or run the bath water, hands slam over his ears & he glares. oh that glare!

this makes his love for trucks & lawn equipment problematic. you can see the anguish in his eyes when encountering heavy machinery in action -
oh! It's a big truck(happy, happy)! oh! it's SO LOUD (NOT happy, happy).

i remember being 4 & being pretty fascinated with our big, red tractor (yes, i had a brief stint as a quasi-farm girl, did i ever tell you?). also i was so totally terrified.

it was so big & awesome (wow)!
BUT
it was so big & awesome (gasp).

i was proud of him for watching the big truck so closely today, despite the noise (& okay, there was that fence keeping the scary thing @ bay, but still!). he's getting a little better about the vacuum cleaner.

it's an experience to see the little guy conquering a fear.
even if it's in baby steps, i'm proud :)
& really inspired.

(here, i must also mention holland, who runs after the vacuum cleaner, begging to "help". no fear? what is fear? lord, help me.)

journaling

2011-06-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

i bought a journal last weekend.
a wide ruled, "one subject", green notebook.
the one subject is me :)

do you journal?

i've journaled off&on for years. probably close to 20. i cleaned out my room the summer i was going away to college, & distinctly remember throwing several of my journals away. i didn't think my thoughts were worth much.
how can i put it? i had some issues.

thankfully @ 32, i'm a little better.
also i know how to mask my issues better & that's god's honest truth. speaking of, i've been trying to tell god's honest truth more these days & i tell you what, it can get a little dicey.
the journal is a guide to help me mask less & tell {live!} that god's honest truth a little more.

my first inclination is to get this right. you know, to journal the RIGHT way. if that sounds dumb, it is. instead, i'm ignoring myself (sometimes a very excellent practice) & writing whatever i darn well please. there is no "getting the journal right". there is only the journal. if that sounds dumb, it may be. but i'm taking a chance that it isn't :)

remix

2011-06-07T14:05:00.001-05:00

one of my favorite tips from living in europe was the idea that you can wear the same clothes two days (or more!) in a row & not think a thing of it. of course the whole eurpean-not-showering-daily thing, was a nice touch, but i had long since caught that wave. having never been able to conqueor my thick, crazy hair, doing daily blow drier battle has always seemed like a colossal waist of time.
the clothes thing is so genius though. especially when you have something you like to wear everyday. i know "capris" are probably totally out, but i SO love these denim ones that i have & i can't stop wearing them. do feel embarrassed for me??! i know.
here's where i get all drama: they have the style of a jean, while providing the coolness of shorts (well, sort of), & also giving me a some coverage when i'm feeling a little varicose vein/cellulite/white leg conscious. how could i not love them?
here they are (of course, i'm wearing them today.)...

& yes, i

know if you see me IRL, you have likely noticed i wear these a lot. i'm just being so european, okay? nevermind that euros don't really wear capris. just ignore that small fact, okay?

open letter to my friend

2011-06-06T22:38:00.001-05:00

hey jaclyn -
i was thinking about our conversation yesterday.

about how freaking hard it is to be a mom,

how we constantly seem to wonder "am i doing the right thing?",

how we'd like to know how to get {fill in the blank with child's name} to do (or NOT do!) {fill in the blank with behavior} NOW!

how we realize 90% of the whole deal {if not more!} is really about us anyway. & also letting go.

how we SO need time away to remember who WE are {not just mommy}, but how it's so hard to ask for what we need... you know the g-word {guilt}.

so last night i found THIS post & had to share. the latter part of the post had me in tears. you, too?
i'm sharing this with a few more gals, too. hope you don't mind :)

kelly

word.

2011-06-06T09:11:00.000-05:00

to ya mutha.
so usually i write a post {or at least edit some pics for posts} on the weekend so i don't have to do much thinking on monday morning. this weekend i forgot.
so i don't have anything today except to say...

& i really mean it.

sunny side up

2011-06-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

okay, this blog is getting entirely too sunny. i mean seriously. i've said it a few times & i'll say it now - i don't want people to read this blog & think i have it all together & wrapped up in a neat bow with a bag of potato chips. do you feel me?

i think about my posts from last week & i'm pretty sure by reading my blog, no one could tell i was having a thoroughly miserable week. i mean, there were bright spots for sure, but it was overall pretty rough. & while i don't think i have to delve into every issue of my life here on the ol' blog (would we really have time for that?), i do want to maintain some authenticity here & not make it all about rainbows & lollipops.

have i ever even blogged about rainbows & lollipops?
okay, nevermind. you understand what i'm saying
{hopefully}

so issue #1. clint totally quit his job. yep. you've probably been wondering about that. i've meant to post about it & then just haven't. i realized it's a lot easier to include pics of your baby daughter in a swim cap than it is to figure out how to write about things like "calling". i still don't really know what to write to describe what we're doing right now, so i'm going to make a list of "facts"...

FACT: clint quit his job (i believe that's been sufficiently covered)
FACT: we felt like a change like this was coming & have been wrestling with, praying about, living with, wondering about, breathing through this for over a year & finally just had to take the next step.
FACT: clint spends his days making {amazing} furniture.
FACT: i've made enough pillows to rival target.
FACT: we're working on a website & will be selling to retailers (& probably directly from our site, too)
FACT: huge, crazy giving will be a part of our company. as in when a table is purchased, a table will be given to a family in need.
FACT: i don't know how in the heck all of this is going to work out.
FACT: i know that "still, small voice" does.
FACT: i can trust the "still, small voice" even though it's crazy.

okay, that about sums it up for now. i'll keep you update, okay? for now, thanks for going on this crazy journey with us...