thursday things.

-pronoia resources
-punny card!
-the gashlycrumb tinies
-quotes on being vegetarian
-this just might work!
-me, on ravelry
-dreads inspiration, plus! he's a saddhu from nepal!*
-new favorite band



(thursdays make for the best rain days.)

*going for the neglect method, again. twist & rip all the way. i'm a few months in, so hopefully they'll look good in about a year.

thursday things.

-encyclopedia of mythology
-fuzzmail.
-the arrow of time, family photos from 1976-present
-2nd favorite poem
-love, love, love these sculptures.
-the new avett brothers album came out tuesday, i love it. my favorite song: and it spread.

effie and jonnie, december 2002.

today is my brother jonnie's 22 birthday, i'm wishing and hoping this coming year is full of big adventures and excitement for him.

thursday things.

-101 t.v. free activities to do with kids!
-darling little book.
-why mister rogers was the best.
-fish hat!
-radical coffee table idea. i so want to make these!
-the sweater curse.




p.s. contrary to popular belief, mr. rogers didn't serve in the military, nor did he have any tattoos! heavens forbid someone is just plain nice, with nothing to hide. http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/mrrogers.asp

thursday things.

-shaped pears!
-rules for poetry.
-50 things everyone should know how to do.
-banksy is fascinating..


this video, my friends, is the best thing i have ever seen.

labor day weekend...

i'll be off for the weekend, enjoy your labor day folks!

thursday things!

-adorable dress pattern
-s'mores bars!
-"pretty" is oh so relative. (and i ♥ craigslist.)
-harry potter cupcakes!
-i kinda want everything this chick sells.
-always new stuff up on my flickr - i've been playing in photoshop!
-this little guy always cracks me and the girls up
-lovely poetry

thursday things!

-lovely photography
-interesting looking pasta pie
-for the harry potter fan knitters
-tips for rising early i've been attempting waking up when brady leaves for work, but so far i've been failing. these ideas seem to be pretty good.
-in case you're bored...
-homemade checkers!
-we're up to season 5 on lost! this is the only show, besides gilmore girls, that i've liked in a very long time.

this is one of the few pictures i've taken that i'm actually pleased with.

been on a really big 90's kick the past few days, it's good stuff.

thursday things.

-clever and quite useful housekeeping site
-wonderfully wacky words.
-the best blueberry peach pie. so tasty!
-interesting gal
-one of my favorite photos
-free art!
-one word, go!
-redemption song goodness.
-tomorrow is mewithoutyou & the psalters!!!!

working on a road trip mix for the drive, as the show 2 hours away. what's your favorite road trip song? and maybe tell me your favorite road trip story? i'll surely love it :)

theodore wants you to have a beautiful, smiley day!

the folks in this story go to my family's church. it's just so heartbreaking and sad, there really aren't any words. i've been praying my heart our for their family, but it feels so trivial and trite.

i just keep hugging my babies today, and being so thankful they're here with me.

it seems like i've heard a lot of sadness lately, hopefully that will change soon.

(probably not gonna do a "thursday things", seems a bit awkward at the moment.)

thursday things. (on friday?)

-http://www.happynews.com/
-soulemama's book will be released on the 11th!
-i'm INFJ, what are you?
-light breakfast.
-(getting addicted to lost, thanks to netflix. and i watched the first episode "just to make fun".)

favorite song, ever.




what are you plans for the weekend?

thursday things.

-teen decomposes plastic bag in 3 months.
-cantaloupe salsa - must try!!
-fun little book recommendation site.
-gives me hope!
-rain days with lovey are the aces. and we get another one today!! this one is preschooler free, and we're cleaning and doing laundry.
-alice in wonderland trailer - so stoked!!

novel.

(click on austin to read the best novel ever!)

-brady's post about 'fork you bobby frost'.

my husband wrote a book...my husband wrote a book, a novel, a work of fiction. a book. have you written a book? i haven't written a book. i know very few people who have started, and finished, writing a book.

in november 2007, he decided to participate in nanowrimo. he wrote, he drank energy drinks, he worked all day and came home and wrote. he wrote, he ate candy bars, and he wrote. he wrote, he laughed and cried and wondered where the heck are these crazy characters taking us? and he wrote. and i read the pages one by one as they came off the typewriter, falling in love with this book, these characters, and brady all over again. on the sunday after thanksgiving, he finished. and it was celebratory and fabulous. (and we realized just how much work it was going to be to enter an entire novel onto the computer. it wasn't what one would call a fun task, but i'd do it again!)

after almost 2 years, i think that perhaps 3 or 4 people have read this novel. it has been listed on lulu, he has sent it to a few places, no one seems all that interested. and i realize that i'm biased, and i realize brady might not be the perfect marriage of rilke and bukowski, but he's darn close. and everyone, every single person, needs to read this book. not because brady penned it, not because i want everyone to recognize what a fabulous writer he is, but because we all need to stop and listen to the point of this book. it's about being kind, it's about loving each other. it's not just a riot and a hoot, it's important. and if you can't get over all the F-bombs and all the exclamation points, then perhaps you need to read it more than anyone else.

thursday things.

-hilarious news story.
-awesome photo story of solar eclipse
-tasty kitchen! go check out vanessa's FEATURED cupcakes :)
-this guy has no use for money. go him!
-tasty new recipe

sunflower spinach pie
(adapted from mom's guide to meal makeovers)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups spinach
1 tsp dried italian seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
5 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
2/3 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup parmesan, divided
1/4 cup roasted, shelled sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 9 inch pie shell

preheat oven to 375
stir together everything but 1/3 cup of parmesan, pour into pie shell.
top with remaining parmesan and cook 30-35 minutes.

-still a favorite

thursday things.

summer sweater thingy
baby hat!
pretty pictures and people.
a study on physical punishment - don't hit your kids!
in praise of bossy girls - not sure how i feel about this one, but it's interesting nonetheless





i'm getting a bit worn. why is evil and darkness SO cool? why is it bad to have faith and wonder? we went and saw happy potter tuesday nite, and almost every preview shown was about the end of times or some kind of awful tragedy. why? where are the beautiful things? i'm not saying that sadness can't be beautiful, but it shouldn't be all encompassing. i'm going to take note of beauty, goodness and hope today, and maybe even make some of my own.

busy times.

big weekend! saturday we had vi's party, and it was quite a success. though you can't really go wrong with hotdogs, root beer (thanks to the castoes), d.j. lance rock cake, and far too many presents. violette was very happy, thanks to all our awesome friends and family who do what they do. we appreciate it all so very much.

sunday, brady's dad popped over from amarillo and we had a quiet day while he slept and then we went shopping and got pizza, fun times.

tonite is church here and then afterwards... the midnite release of harry potter!!!!!! i can't wait, really. this morning we're headed over to my grandma's to play, and then tomorrow is my 6 week appointment with the midwives. bittersweet, because i know it's my last midwife appt., ever. i'm sure i'll cry :)

saturday was also theodore's 6 week mark, he is the biggest of my babies, by far, which is interested because he was the teeniest at birth. he is just so so chubby and roly poly! though he insists on shedding all newborn trademarks way too early, it's okay. i was concerned about it, and really wanting to enjoy his baby phase, but i had this realization the other day. when we get stuck in a particular stage, be it newborn, baby, toddler... whatever, and we're really sad when they grow out of it, it's awfully unfair to the little one. because we're so concerned about them not being what we want them to be, and also we're missing out on the stuff they're doing NOW. the past is PAST, right? i mean, how often do we get stuck there, meandering through the day, thinking about the good times we had or the bad, or just whatever. but we're totally missing out on RIGHT NOW.

time for my favorite cheese quote:

"the past is history, the future's a mystery, the present is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

today i'm going to be here now.

oh, & i love my husband. & he loves me. squeee!

my problem with "art".

i've always been a wary of* "art" and those who claim to be "artists" of any stripe. and while i've never quite been able to put my finger on just why that is, tonite i received great clarity on the matter.

i've been thinking about this lately and i think it's that most people with a gift, or "skills", as the case may be, seem to enjoy putting down, or simply pointing out the flaws of, those without the same gifts or "skills". i know i'm so guilty of doing this. if i happen across a knitted object where the purl stitch was done backwards and caused the stockinette stitch to be twisted, i giggle and smile a smug smile of knowing. knowing the difference in knit and purl. knowing what stockinette stitch is. knowing that i'm right, and this object is so wrong. the sad thing is, i don't know.

i don't know if this is the first item that this particular person has knitted. and if they saw my smug smile, or heard my careless comments, they could be discouraged and not pick up knitting again. or this person may know full well that their knitting is twisted and they like it that way! there are many things i don't know, but acting this way only shows that i do know critical judgment, cynicism and pride*.

and this is especially important for those of us that claim to follow the ways of Christ. ^{Hebrews 3: 13} says "but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." yes, i'm taking it out of context, but i think is so important that we encourage each other. and it's hard, i get it. it's way easier to make fun of something than it is to say "hey, that is awesome, you GO for making this!" (especially if someone is still in the learning phase, and their stuff sucks.) i mean, it's cheesy and oh so pollyanna to be nice, but it matters.

and guess what, instead of getting butthurt about my crappy n00b photography and giving up(which i really want to do. i admit, my panties are in a bit of a twist right now) i'm going to keep on snapping. and trying to get better. and i'm going to keep posting my pictures, because i'm proud of myself for doing something.

and hey! guess who else did something. my BFF vanessa. she did something i would never, ever do. because i'm scared of criticism and sharing my heart. but she's not! and we all get to experience something sweet and beautiful because of it. go check out nessa singing a lovely song and be blessed by her pretty voice and her sense of daring. i know i am.

so, let's all go make something beautiful and encourage someone attempting something new. and maybe soon we can all become artists and creators and reflections of the great creator we're supposed to be.

*1. and, conflictingly, drawn towards, but that's for another day.
*2. yes, i'm aware that this whole post was spurred on by critical judgment and cynicism... to quote hank hill: "it's called a double standard, bobby, live with it."

lastly, i apologize for the insane amount of run-on sentences that i seem to be so fond of writing.

just some things i like at the moment.

-mint tea
-i find the grunting during women's tennis incredibly distracting/disturbing. apparently i'm not alone.
-lovey's latest post

-theodore is a month old today!

all you need is love. (& a little bollywood?)

we're having some difficulties with clashing personalities over here. as in, emma and i basically have the same personality. and we clash. thanks to an unexpected visit from grammy, we made amends and she is now napping.

note to self: next time remember to breathe in, and breathe out... she is 4... is she hungry? sleepy? angry? lonely? feeling jealous?

and then i feel so.very.guilty for letting her get to me, and then making snappy comments to her. i am an adult, she is a child. who is expected to keep calm?

how do i remember to stay centered and loving? and when i do slip up, how can i be kind to myself and let it go after it's dealt with?

now i know why ariel gore refers to this as "the mother trip".



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the whole 3's thing is pretty weird... ed mcmahon, farrah, and mj.



but come on, folks die every day. i get it, these folks are special. famous. celebrities. but i'm more concerned with all the people who won't make it til dinner time because they don't have food or clean water. let's do something about that. (and did we all forget that MJ went totally kooks? and ya know, that whole little boy thing?) maybe there is a death cab sentiment for everything: "a bastard in life, thus a bastard in death".
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i love my husband. seriously. i've been thinking a lot about this encouragement thing. and while i've always recognized how hard he works and how much he loves me, i'm just really digging it right now. wanna see something cute? sure you do.

visitors, introductions, and weekend fun.

big weekend! (or, it felt big to me)

friday nite my grandparents brought by a pot of stew for our supper (and lunch on saturday!) it was a nice little visit, and the girls were thrilled to show off their bedroom which they'd just cleaned.

saturday afternoon, brady's mom and sister came up from amarillo to meet theodore. we spent the afternoon and evening hanging out with them, and brady's brother, his wife and their kids. we had quite a housefull of little girls!

saturday evening we watched "the green mile", which i'd never seen, and further confirmed the fact that i dislike movies, and i should never watch a movie directly before bedtime.

this photo of teddy is the essence of our sunday.