State of Obvious

From time to time I think about new blogs I'd like to start.  For fun, or money, or just because the idea won't go away.  A few examples: "Momnonamous" - a blog wherein moms can post anonymously about the good and bad things in their life.  Although I disclose a lot of information on this blog, sometimes I just wish I had a place to rant.  While my loving husband absorbs most of my angst, sometimes the angst directly involves him and he doesn't take that quite so well.  Enter "Momnonamous" where I can just get those feelings out, dangit.  There are a few sites like this in existence, usually they post weird stuff that I personally have no interest in sharing and/or reading though. "Spokes" - an Albuquerque day trip blog.  If you've read my blog for more than a day, you know we like to jump in the car and see where it takes us.  We've found a lot of interesting places, some boring places, some places we'll go again, and some plac...

But since I'm not expecting, I am not sure what to call it.  Lately I just want to make things.  Cookies, paintings, clothes, stories - The desire to create something worthwhile is nipping at me like an insistent dog. Perhaps it is because my littlest bird is almost ready to hop over to kindergarten soon.  Perhaps it is my oldest bird getting ready for middle school.  Maybe it is boredom.  Or the winter blahs. Whatever it is, I've got it. At Christmas I asked for a paint set and although Santa didn't bring me one, my mother kitted me out with some old supplies that were my grandmothers.  She also got me some paint to start with.  As a result I have churned out a few really bad paintings and a few that I find not too bad.  Here are the paintings I've kept (although I don't know what to do with most them just yet) : This was the first painting I tried.  It was actually an old canvas that my grandmother had sketched out.  I kind of ...

Where I made this huge mess: And ended up with this: It's so cute we'll pretend there aren't huge 'aftermath of crafting' messes in any other rooms of the house.  I also am pretty sure I spelled deterent wrong, but the cuteness!  Look at the cuteness!

I promised to post the birthday cake , for good or ill: The kids liked it, anyway.

The big back to school feast slash birthday party is tomorrow. TWO MAR OH! Shoot, that was fast. Anyhow, this was the invites. We had a grand time destroying burning the edges and despite a couple casualties, I think they turned out pretty well. I know it seems like a lot of effort for just a little family party, but it made Josh so happy to go the extra mile and make it special. Today I'm baking the cake. I've decided to attempt the coliseum...attempt being the key word...and for good or ill, I'll post the results. I've also got to whip out some place cards for the god and goddesses visiting tomorrow. At some point. I love waiting last minute to do stuff (no really), I always do my best 'work' under pressure. Happy Saturday!

Last year we had our first ever "Back to School Feast." The idea came from this post by Nie over at NieNie Dialogues. Our theme last year, which I did take pictures of but did not come out (that's another story), included a table loaded down with 'treasure' (fake jewels and necklaces from Party City and Josh's treasure box), fancy china bowls and candy dishes filled up with mini fruits and other sweets, fresh baked rolls, a roast (because Josh had to be castle appropriate), drinks from Grandma Annie's red glasses (typically set aside for Christmas but the most gobletish cups I had at the time), plastic crowns, fancy gold place mats, napkins and napkin rings (purchased on clearance) and gold paper plates. This year we are repeating the tradition but with a Roman theme. Why Roman? Josh is currently obsessed with all things Mythology (and he hasn't even read the Percy Jackson books despite my encouragement) and has spent basically the whole summer with h...

So if you're not hip to Picnik yet, you really should jump on the wagon. Case in point, my header. This photo: Made this header: Another cool example, the after was previously posted: Two more 'after's from the same photo session:

I don't often post pictures of Carly's do - mainly because by the time I finish with it I'm finished with it. But this time, I had to share. I found these super cute heart beads at a big craft store I went to. Carly loves them and spends a lot of time shaking her head to hear them rattle. I love their bright, happy colors and the shape is a nice departure from normal, everyday beads. This took almost the whole movie of Bolt to complete. Lucky for me/us, it usually lasts for about a week before it gets frizzy and has to be taken out for washing/re-styling. Twists are actually really easy once everything is parted and tangle free. Braids are harder for my fingers and I still don't know how to do corn rows. But someday, I vow. Someday!

...we got to go spend frivolous hours wandering around the Salvation Army and Target. ...we had time to take a long afternoon nap. ...Cha-Cha made cupcakes with the kids while wearing heirloom aprons from my grandparents' house. ...I didn't have to think about real life worries. And those are wonderful things.

Ok this was such a cool idea that I'm going to share it with my posse. Aka you guys. Haven't you always wanted to be part of a posse? No? Oh. Well just pretend. Anyhow, for those of you that didn't click (You know who you are. Slackers.) , it's called a Jesse Tree and it is basically an advent calendar on a little Christmas tree. But, I'm going to adapt mine to represent the prophecies of Christ from the Old Testament, New Testament and Book of Mormon . Something like you'll find here . Still not clicking? Oh, come on. Just give it a try. You know you want to.