Frecklewonder

keep it simple

i am a bit late in pulling myself out of holiday mode, ours officially came to a close yesterday morning when the alarm clock we'd unplugged somewhere around dec 22nd fired off shortly before 7 am. ouch. i must say, though, i am looking forward to getting back to work, in a bright + shiny new year. we had a really nice winter holiday, it seemed like it lasted forever. lots of games of checkers, lots of movies all snuggled up in our room, lots of great foods, friends + family, everything we had hoped for.

as far as new year's resolutions go, i only made one. i like the idea of making a bunch, which is what i've always done in the past. a whole list of changes, big ideas, things to get excited about. but, it often seems like the big list is just a big, awful thing that ends up mocking me at some point later on in the year when most of those big ideas i got so excited about never really managed to make their way off the paper. is this just me?

so, this year i kept it to just one. which is just to simplify.

i think i've grown pretty tired of being tired, pretty tired of that feeling of running around like a chicken with my head cut off, of spinning my wheels, of making things way more complicated than they ever need be.
2008 was a really tough year in some ways.

in 2009, i'm opting for the path of least resistance. and i'm thinking, everything else should follow.

life be cray-zay

whoo. whirlwind.

the last two or so weeks have been kooky as all get out. henry got the stomach flu (holymoly, poor little guy, so much vomiting, so much laundry for mama) and within the same day, matt got knocked out with something else (body aches, fever) and i got a head cold. the bright, shining, lucky light in it all was that dorothy managed to escape the icky, sicky, funks. hallelujah. but then, that same week, she had her 6 month appointment and we walked outta there with a sad baby who'd just had her legs poked 4 times. so she had her own funk to deal with for the next 48 hours. we were a sad bunch, i'm tellin ya.

then, my computer did a weird thing. some fuses blew in our house and i fired up the ol' mac to find that i was locked out of every imaginable online account possible. online bill pay, typepad, flickr, bloglines, you name it. i spent an infuriating weekend trying to regroup, cause i'm one of those people who (apparently) has too many (bad, according to matt) passwords. and i don't remember any of them. i have relied on that trusty password remember feature that firefox has going on. so. i guess i have learned me a lesson.

in other news- i want to thank all of you for all your input + suggestions re: the skunks. i have spoken to our wildlife center and have been given some no kill tips, one of which we are in the process of trying out right now. cross your fingers and i will keep you updated on how this whole thing progresses. the bottom line is, we really do not want to kill them, we are just hoping that they will get our gentle message that we'd like them to set up camp somewhere else, far away from our front door.

now, onto more happy things. here's some peeks from the next shop update: COATS.
enjoy.

 

seven random bits, plus a bonus one

i got tagged by the lovely peachy peach. so here's seven random facts about yours truly. plus a bonus fact that i realized i should include, as i was getting ready to upload this.

1. i'm a strict toilet paper over the roll kinda person. you know what i mean, right? when you pull the tp, it should unravel over the top, rather than coming from underneath. never underneath.
on the rare occasion that someone else changes the tp in my house (grin), i will reset it if it's not unrolling from the top. this probably sounds crazy, and that is perfectly ok.

2. i've had around 20 cats as pets throughout my life. in no particular order, some of their names were: rosie, nesca, seymour, tabasco, chloe, kitty grey, jake, ruby, simon, chica, pokey, blue, and lucy + lola, our current furballs. i've only had three dogs: ginger, a red pomeranian who i just adored and whose hair was the exact same color as mine, juniper, who is still with us today but has gone for her retirement at my mom's house, which is a bit more of a country setting with another dog companion. she's happy there, but we miss having her around on the daily. and oliver, a wild and crazy little guy who had too much energy for his own good. rip, ollie. we miss you, bud.

3. i'm a serious late bloomer with stuff. movies, music, stuff. like, matt's boss loaned us the freaks + geeks box set and it hung around our house for months- i didn't know anything about it, and in not knowing how amazingly cute/funny it is, it just sat there with the rest of the dvds. had i known, i would have watched it about 20 times over my now. another example? i only just created a facebook page (let's be friends!). i confess, i knew about facebook, i just didn't really think i needed another place on the web to waste my time hang out and stuff. i've had a myspace page a couple times, but i'm notorious for deleting it. let's get real: myspace is creepers. it never really felt right. and now, between running the shop +blog, and having a love affair with flickr, and reading a daily blogroll (that honestly, could use some serious tidying), my internet dance card is pretty full. but WOW. after some coaxing from my bff from hs, i jumped in the waters. and it's kinda funny how many blasts from the past i've already encountered. actually, now that i think about it- being on facebook is making me feel old. oh no!

4. i enjoy doing laundry. i really do. my favorite to wash is the whites. i love to fold everything all perfect, like they do at the drop off laundry mat. i LOVE the smell of clean white tshirts and sheets.

5. and while i'm on the subject of laundry, i've been married 8 years this week and i still have not managed to successfully train my husband to not turn his socks inside out when he takes them off. and to not leave them on the floor on his side of the bed. at this point, it's a random fact about him that i've grown to love. i expect to be 60 and still picking up his little balled up socks from the floor. what'cha gonna do. smile and love, that's what.

6. i'm pretty impatient when it comes to making things. like, when measuring and preparing is involved, i don't really take to that too well. i'm all about jumping in. which usually means that i kind of screw up the project. this same thing happens with cooking, but fortunately, i'm a much better cook. i prefer to just go with the flow, rather than keep my nose in the book, you know? a little pinch here, a taste there, more of this less of that kinda thing.

7. i can't stand cords. some of you might already know this about me, strangely enough- i've probably written about it before. i dream of the day when toaster ovens and tvs and lamps are wireless.
i just cringe at the look of a mess of cords behind and entertainment center. makes. me. crazy.

bonus!
i kind of refuse to learn basic html. i know that i should just go ahead and learn it already, but why should i when i always have matt around to ask and when he's not here, i've figured out how to quickly grab some old tags from some other post and just cut and paste the crazy stuff. nuts, right?

happy friday

for all you dancing with the stars fans.

***

it's cool + grey out - feels like a real fall day. going to start a pot of chili and peruse my netflix instant play options for tonight. it's not a great day for taking photos (too dark inside right now) but i have made great progress in taking measurements of all the vintage pieces that will be included in this next shop update. so that is good news.

thanks again to you guys for your super kind comments + emails.
i super love you.

happy friday!

...

i couldn't resist sharing this one with you all. from the final moments of last night's debate, in case you didn't watch. there was this slightly awkward moment where both candidates were heading in for a handshake with bob schieffer. obama went around his side of the table without a hitch, while mccain found himself oddly trapped in the middle, doing a wacky "dance" not knowing which side to take.

no matter which side you're on, you've got to find a little humor in this image, right?

i can't help but look at this and picture john mccain chasing his wife around the kitchen.

and then, i feel just a little bit sick.

happy thursday!

i present to you:

a great way to kill a few minutes.

i pretty much cackled at the sight of some of these.

get yours at: www.yearbookyourself.com/

mixed bag

it's very windy here today, and i keep imagining the roof blowing off as i sit here at the desk printing shipping labels. paypal is acting like a bad child, giving error messages, causing me to log out and log back in, and generally just crawling through my simple tasks. if only i could give paypal a little time on the naughty chair or something.

in other news, i fell last week. being 30 weeks pregnant with that clumsy-ness that seems to occur around this time doesn't really mix well first thing in the morning with icy outdoor steps and trying to walk and talk on the phone simultaneously. not a good combo, i tell you. my maternal wits were with me, however, as it seems my body did everything possible to *not* fall flat on my mid-section, but rather, i landed on both knees, an elbow and my palm, with my butt up in the air. kind of looking a bit like bambi when he is just learning how to walk and all fours are sort of sprawled out all funny. that was me, sort of. but probably not as cute. i got a nice, black bruise on my knee and managed to freak my boys out big time. it was a fairly rattling experience, but i am happy to report that no significant damage was done. my little lady girl in there is a-ok, just had a check up yesterday, in fact. heartbeat is great, movements are great, we're healthy all around.

had a parent-teacher conference last night and wow, she had such nice things to say about my little henry. nothing that i didn't already know, i suppose, but it sure is nice to hear, and i am so proud of him, i could pop. afterwards, we came home and had noodles + ice cream cause, you know, that's how we roll sometimes.

so despite today's arctic winds, i can feel the season changing. we spent a few hours in our back yard on saturday (as it was 60 degrees and impossible to resist), clearing out the beds and getting them all ready for the spring blooms. i noticed buds on trees and little new sprouts coming up from the ground. daffodils and tulips, and lots of other things are on the way. i can't wait.

5 quick things!

1. my feet are way too ticklish to ever be able to indulge in a pedicure.
2. swedish fish are one of my favorite candies ever.
3. i hate uggs, but i secretly wear them as slippers around the house.
4. we are settled on a name for the baby. (i think. at least, i am.)
5. i had cereal for lunch today

fyi- these are peanut butter bumpers, the healthier, organic version of captain crunch. *wink*

blog break

hey folks. some unexpected personal bits have come up and as a result, i am taking a few days to myself. i will resume with the shop update asap, i am sorry to have paused it mid-way through. all current orders have been shipped and should be arriving by the end of this week, so if you are currently waiting on something, keep your eyes on the look-out on friday. lots of love! jenny

tidbits

my lunch today. edamame and a coke. is that unhealthy? i have already had a bunch of water today after my cup of coffee this morning (okay, i had two) and a nice, crispy cold coke sounded pretty good to me. fyi, i am highly addicted to edamame.

so, i played bingo the other night with my mom, my aunt and my grandma. it was seriously one of the best times. i love bingo! what a rush! my grandma won a hundred bucks 10 minutes after we walked into the door. i am SO going to bingo again. who cares if i was about 50 years younger than everyone else in the room (mom and aunt excluded). bingo is my kind of fun. something so great about those round bingo stampers in all the fun colors... and did you know that real-deal bingo players bring all their bingo stampers in specially crafted totes? well, now you do!

today i am working furiously to edit images for the next BIG shop update, coming at'cha on monday. i'm so excited about this one! some super cute stuff for fall-- fun, fun dresses, blazers, little cardigans and a whole buncha vintage totes (plus some handmade ones too).

ten quick things! (1) my favorite cartoon as a kid was TOM & JERRY. (2) my favorite kind of laundry to do is WHITES. (3) i am frightened by EXTREME WEATHER. (4) i prefer my coffee thick and dark from the FRENCH PRESS with just a little bit of brown sugar and creme. (5) i have best friends that i might not talk to very often, but we can always pick right back up LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. (6) i am both a NIGHT OWL and an EARLY BIRD. i have a hard time choosing between the two. (7) i could watch DIRTY DANCING any time and love it like it was the first time i ever saw it. (8) i had my first kiss in 7th grade while on a date at the movies. i think we both had gum in our mouths. it was very sweet, and totally scary all at once. (9) THREES COMPANY is one of my all-time favorite shows EVER. (10) in an hour, i am going to walk down the street to henry's school to pick him up and i think that is really cool.

have mercy

i wasn't kidding. the weather, it just ain't pretty. what's it like in your neck of the world today?