Friday Faves on SPC

Thanks Janet for choosing my self portrait this week as one of your favorites on SPC . This was one of those portraits where you say "Do I really look like that? UGH." But as the week has gone on and I have to scroll past it to add new posts I see beyond myself and smile at the love I have for my rustic wood garage that I refuse to let my husband paint for fear he'll take away the "rustic-ness". And the shadow of the leaves from the little trees we planted that are getting so big as the years go on, trees that will be here after we move on someday.....see, I'm such a sucker for nostalgia!

My parents put my childhood house up for sale last week, the home they have lived in for thirty seven years.....can you imagine the sappy things that go through my mind about this event if I can get this sappy about my garage and trees!!!!

My New Boyfriend Geoffrey

Geoffrey I think you are fantastic!!!! This gal makes the greatest little felt pals but Geoffrey here takes the cake!!!

The Playgroup Girls are Growing Up!

I am a nostalgic sucker when it comes to.....well, just about everything! We have clearly established that I have attachment disorder and do not like to say goodbye. I also have some sort of disorder about my girls growing up!! I even have this disorder about other peoples children growing up!! First I hear about sweet Ellie's foray into the land of kindergarten today and then I watch the three little amigos on one of their last official "playgroup dates" before each one heads off to a different Kindergarten next week!!

Where did the time go? These girls have known each other for basically half of their short lives, spending at least three days a week together at school and then Fridays for Friday Playgroup!

For some reason today they seemed older and much wiser, and I wondered how they would each feel walking into their kindergarten classes next week without the familiar site of each other there to greet them!

Audrey our little nut has grown so much, once dubbed "teeny tiny little Audrey" by G she is definitely her own person now. Always stylish and always well versed on the directions to whatever the girls are doing, she keeps everything level between the friends and is the peacemaker!


Kate, our resident diva. She gets everybody spruced up, can work a pair of princess heels like a pro and knows exactly how many brush strokes it takes to get your hair shining for your prince. When told that she would be wearing a uniform at her new school this year her ever so Kate reply was "I don't want to look like everybody else!" She is our drama and has a wonderfully passionate heart!



And my G....a little bit drama a little bit peacemaker...she rides the roller coaster of emotions and gladly brings her friends along with her. Her friends are more than just friends they are her sisters and I hope they will have each other for many many years to come!


And of course we can't forget Little One and Cece (who has already started her new preschool and upon arriving back from school to see a play date commencing without her shouted "Mama why are they playing without me?!?!?!") the two little sisters who have been accepted so wonderfully by these girls! One big family!!

I adore you all my little chickens and thank you for all of the fun and laughter and good luck as you go forth into the world of Kindergarten!

Self Portrait Challenge PATTERNS

The final week of patterns at SPC and I thought I would end it with myself merged with what I hope is the beginning of fall! The shadow patterns of the aspen leaves against my garage....leaves that will soon begin to change colors before twisting to the ground below. Right now I feel safe with nature all around, it is comforting before the exposure of winter and the cold months ahead.

SPC Self Portrait Challenge "PATTERNS"

The SPC "Patterns" challenge has been really inspiring for me. I didn't realize how many ways patterns in your everyday life could be interpreted by so many people!
My portrait this week is all about "The Patterns of Routine". For as long as I can remember I have despised the task of doing my hair! Despite this irritation I have always dutifully done my hair, following the routine that suits the particular hairstyle I have at any given time, thinking of all of the other things I could be doing with this chunk of time. I grow tired of the same brush, the way I grasp the hairdryer, the long tedious pulls of the flat iron, the icky feeling of damp hair as it falls across my face.....eyes peeking through the mish mash pattern of hair as it lays across my skin I am reminded how truly obnoxious this routine truly is!

"New Moon" Book Review

Oooooooooooooh just finished "New Moon" today and I can't wait to start "Eclipse". And before anybody thinks I lost my mind and went and got a tattoo to commenmerate the wrap up of book two, fear not! I decided to have a little fun with the kewl tattoo pack that came inside of my "Special Edition New Moon". It wasn't hard to decide which tattoo I would use for this post....JACOB ROCKS!!!

I absolutely LOVE the way his character came on so full force in this book, what an amazing character. Honestly if I were Bella I would be heading in Jacobs direction so fast it would make Edwards head spin. HA HA HA HA HA. I have to admit when Edward came back into the picture and all of the drama of the Volturri started I got slightly confused. And I missed Jacob. And does anybody else think something is up with Charlie? Maybe I'm way off base but either that guy is totally totally in the dark or something is up. I mean c'mon, who fishes that much??

For a great story on meeting Stephenie Meyer at a book signing you have to read Creative Musings post. I love that there are boys who love her books and I also love that people show up for signings dressed as the characters!! Hmmmmmm who would I dress as.....*snicker*

High School Musical...the Camp!

This summer G has been doing a little "Musical Theatre Camp" that is taught in her friends neighborhood. I can't tell you how absolutely ADORABLE this camp has been. A cute teenage girl has put together these camps where she teaches the girls the songs and choreography as well as has them decorate folders with the theme for each week and has printed off sheets with the music and their parts highlighted as well as pictures that they color!
The first week was "Annie". The girls did "It's a Hardknock Life" and "Tomorrow". I cannot tell you how much it warmed my heart to see G walking around the house rehearsing her parts and her little solo. For one week they worked on these and then on Friday we would go to the performance. For "Annie" she asked that the girls come dressed as orphans which was hilarious! My friend Jen go the excellent idea to smudge G and Aud's face with black makeup to make them look like disheveled orphans which added to the whole thing!
The second week the theme was "Wizard of Oz"/"Wicked" where they sang the song "Popular" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Okay now I have to say that I wanted to bawl watching my little one up there belting out "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"....just tore at my heartstrings! And the choreopgraphy to "Popular" was amazing! The thought that Sara put into each number was amazing.
The final week last week was.....drumroll please....."HIGHSCHOOL MUSICAL" the sensation that is sweeping the nation!!
The girls sang "What I've Been Looking For" and "Breaking Free". All week long I was bopping out to "What I've Been Looking For", I even was doing a pretty mean imitation of Sharpay and Ryans dance moves from the movie that would make Grace burst out in giggles!
They were all supposed to dress in red, white and gold...the Highschool colors from the movie and when I saw G in red I wondered why I didn't buy it for her more often!
Tonight I took G on a little mommy daughter date night and we talked about the musical theatre camp. I would have NEVER done something like that as a kid, I remember always being nervous of having to stand up in front of a crowd. I asked her how she felt about it and she shrugged and said "It's great! I just get up there and do it." Yes she does. I'm so proud of her and a big shout out to Jen for hooking us up with such a great summer activity!!

WOW!!

Okay how fun is it to go onto the Self Portrait Challenge website and see my own picture as a favorite pic of the week! I really appreciate it Rachel! Currently there are three pics posted of me which I'm pretty sure is an error *snicker*. Looking forward to next weeks challenge!

Twilight Book Review!

Georgia, who commented on my last self portrait challenge reminded me that I haven't given my book review for "Twilight" yet! I can't believe I neglected this seeing as how I am about 80 pages away from finishing the sequel "New Moon"!
I adored this book! I was instantly sucked in when it started talking about the location. We have visited Port Ludlow quite a few times and the scenery and weather reminded me so much of the descriptions of Forks Washington that I immediately could picture what the author was describing!
I loved the simple and believeable dialogue that the characters had with one another, it was written well and flowed so smoothly that I didn't really care how often Bella went to school and came home! And I'm not so far out of highschool that I couldn't relate to those parts.
When my friend dropped off the book for me to read Bri brought it downstairs and said "Does Diane know you at all? It's a book about Vampires!" And now here I am rapidly sailing through the second book wondering what will happen next!

My FAVORITE part about these books that I just discovered yesterday is that one of the musical inspirations for Stephenie Meyer the author is.....yes that's right...... MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE!!!! The whole time I've been reading I think of Gerard as the Edward character......

When I read the acknowledgments in the back of "New Moon" and saw my bands name I said "I knew it!" out loud. Clearly Mrs. Meyer has EXCELLENT taste in music!

So now I will shortly be moving onto a review of "New Moon"! Today I stopped by the local Barnes and Noble to pick up "Eclipse" the third book, only to find they had sold out of every single copy! That was quite disappointing. I may have to do some online ordering!

SPC Self Portrait Challenge "Patterns"

We continue with this months challenge of patterns on SPC.
As I thought about this week I remembered what my delightful five year old daughter told me a month or so ago....
G: "Great, nobody will ever think I'm beautiful."
Me: "Why would you say that! People think you're beautiful."
G: "Because, everybody says I look like you and you look tired and rusty!"

Ahhhhh, such a loving sweet soul. The reason for her statement mainly focuses around my freckles.....the same freckles that she now has sprinkled lightly over the bridge of her little nose. I wondered if my freckle pattern did somehow resemble the "rustiness" that she spoke of.
And lo and behold there is a continuing pattern between myself as I age away.... and the crackle and speckles of rust as it ages objects slowly away!!

Perhaps I'll have this one blown up to frame in her room as a reminder of what she'll look like someday when she gets tired and rusty!!

Key Ingredients For A Successful Day In The Canyon

Good friends.....

A good sturdy log to get across a stream.....

Some cute mom's who will bring lunch along.....



Some stones to skip in the water.....

Some twins......

Sticks and a fire for roasting marshmellows....


And your scuba gear!

Very important for keeping the smoke out of your eyes and lungs while making smores...



What a blast, the perfect place to take the kids to explore. I'm pretty sure that G's shorts will never get clean! All the mom's brought yummy food. I'm not really a chip person but for some reason the Lays chips and ranch dip were extra extra good. I love outings like this, it's so fun to socialize and get fresh air and watch the kids enjoy one anothers company. Looking forward to the next canyon outing.

I snapped a quick shot of Little One for the second that she sat quietly on the little bridge that made me smile :)

My Chemical Romance Wednesday

Frankie! The screensaver on my laptop.
This picture was taken by Andrew Kendall.....he is an amazing photographer, especially concert caputres and conversions. He would be amazing to shadow on a photoshoot!

Feeling creative

Last night I entered this cute contest from Decor8. You had to pick a card from Fabulous Stationery. Then with that card and colors you had to design your own card taking three favorite bedrooms from anywhere on the web and coordinate them with the color theme card!
I designed the card above with various rooms that I adore and wish were in my home!! I thought it would be fun to pick vibrant colors to go with that particular card. Especially since ones first though might be to do black and white to mesh with the maroon/red. I just thought it was a fun challenge to take it all and mesh it into one coherent card!

Season of Change

So I've decided that I definitely have attachment disorder. One of my very favorite families has moved, they left last Friday moving about three minutes away....four if I hit the single stop light between us. I don't know how many times I have had to remind myself that they are still so close. It feels weird to know they are not in the cute little house that they have lived in for so long! They had each one of their four wonderful children while living in that house and affected so many people with their presence in this neighborhood. G adores Miss Emma, the two of them are thick as theives and constantly make me laugh with their goofy-ness. Such as last week when they only had one stick horse between them so they rode it together, running through the house giggling loudly as they shouted giddy-up and then came to roaring halts slamming into each other. Josie is an amazing girl, such poise for someone so young. And little Liza, a true peanut with a spit fire personality! And Hebie J....I just want to squeeze him. I can't wait to see how deals with all of these sisters!!!! J has given me more wonderful advice and food for thought in the last few years than anyone I know. I hope he doesn't think he is getting off so easily from our amazing verbal spars over the ins and outs of religion and what lies beyond!! He will always be my spiritual guide whether he wants to be or not! And L I marvel at the person you are. A wonderful heart, so kind and caring. I have learned so much from you that I will continue to learn! I'm thankful to be the one who helped capture this time of your life on film forever as you start your new chapter!!!!
I always told you that there was a reason we chose this house.....we were led here to have people like you in our lives!

Sunday Story Patterns

I love that my self portrait from last week made it into the "Sunday Story" section of Self Portrait Challenge.
The story was very noir-ish so I was honored to be part of the pictures that inspired it!

Self Portrait Challenge/ PATTERNS II

Week two of the Self Portrait Challenge .
While last week seemed to be about beating myself up over things not accomplished....this week is going to be about accomplishing those things! As I set out to fold the mountainous pile of laundry with its' lovely mish mash of patterns I suddenly felt like I was becoming one with the stripes and polka dots, the criss crossing weave of the fluffy towels and the itty bitty buds from the florals my girls love to wear.

Best Saturday!

I had the best Saturday EVER!!! Bri took the kids and G's little pal Emma to the KidsFest. A giant festival just for children.....tons of expensive sugary foods, rides and games with potential for harm and kids making rockets that were launched with hydraulics.
So while all this was going on I got over my idea to clean the house and instead rang up AnneMarie to see if she wanted to shop and get a little lunch! Much to my delight I just discovered that she has a blog and laughed out loud at the excellent post on Sammy. Nothing is better than seeing wee small snails having piggyback rides on their larger friends!
Lucky for me she returned my call and I zipped up to the land of Bountiful to pick her up. Her family is one of my favorite families! In my quest to build the perfect Stepford Family for sure I would make AnneMarie one of my sisters. She would be the sister I would stay up late with, giggling like a mad scientist at her clever mind. She would also be the one to give the best most sound advice that I would put to good use.
Here are a few things that I learned whilst hanging out on Saturday....

1) Wasps swarming a family home doesn't always mean everyone gets stung
2) The Making Memories people SUCK for pulling their outlet store out of Bountiful
3) Heartland Paper Company smells really really good
4) Fry Sauce with its' creamcicle hues, so lovely in the squat plastic container, ROCKS!
5) The only thing to do when visiting Minnesota is THE MALL OF AMERICA
6) Not everybody goes for random car rides with large pieces of furniture stashed in the back of their cars
7) My Chemical Romance might have a song on Radio Disney
8) Dicks grocery store can also be spelled Diks

Some very important things to make me smile :)

After my land-o-Bountiful fun I had to get back to the city for a massage appointment at Breathe Day Spa. So sad more me...I know *snicker*.
I love Breathe Day Spa, if you haven't been I highly recommend going. Whenever I go I feel like a movie star. The perfect setting, and they treat you like you are royalty. I make sure to take advantage of all aspects. Warm neck wrap....YES. Glass of something to drink in the tea room.....YES. Falling into a deep state of relaxation until you snore.....YES.

Hard to feel bad for me after a great day like this! It was much needed and much appreciated by me!

Stuck in a rut?

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in a rut?
I feel like I'm stuck in a creative rut....am I using my creativity gene to its' full potential? So many things left unfinished or just plain unstarted and it's starting to get me down.
If I had more time would I get to these things....or would they still fall by the wayside? Who knows!

I need a list or some sort of system......a really great system that will make me feel like I'm accomplishing things and smack a smile back on my face!

Opportunities not taken are opportunities lost. Sounds like something I found in a fortune cookie, does that even make sense? Popped into my head as I sit here pondering. An opportunity doesn't always have to be something big that gives a big return, it can be the smallest thing that nets you the gain of a smile on your face when you fall asleep at night.

It's time to make some changes!!

SPC August challenge #1 PATTERNS

"In the early evening gloom impaled on my wall my eyes can dimly see the pattern of my life and the puzzle which is me."
~Patterns by Simon and Garfunkel

This months current challenge is "Self portrait with pattern - i really think that you can have some fun with theme idea. While on the surface it might seem quite simple - Pattern has a lot of meaning to a persons life. Family history, personal history and cultural history all can be mined to work within this theme.

I want people to really try to be personal with this - use patterns to accentuate your self, to bring added meaning to the image, to tell a story or point to your history."

My Chemical Romance Wednesday

My Chemical Romance Wednesday....or "Pictures I wish I would have taken"

Love the composition of this picture as well as the conversion. I'm not usually a fan of the pics of the group, they aren't very expressive and tend to lean towards common. But this picture is one of the better pictures I've seen......perhaps they should hire me as their photographer! ;)