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A very talented local graphic designer DONATED the design of this logo to me. Isn't it awesome!?

My Girls and Their New Fingerless Mitts

Here they all are in all their glory! I love making things for my girls - especially when they like them!

SONI'S MITTS

Got Sonja's mitts done last week. There has been no crocheting around here since the campaign started. *sigh*

SWITCHING GEARS

My posting came to an abrupt halt last week because I made a very big decision - I'm running for the Montana state legislature, seeking to represent House District 78 in the House of Representatives. It's going to be a huge commitment of time and energy, but after prayerful consideration and seeking some wise council, I've decided to jump in to the race.

The sensation was like being at the top of a huge water slide, knowing the ride would be fun, but terrified to push yourself forward. Well I pushed, and the ride has been awesome so far! The nice thing about this commitment is that it has an end: June 8 is primary day, November 2 is the general election, then the legislative session runs from January - April of 2011. Yes, the hours will be long and my girls are young, but I think there could be no better example for them at this point than their mom working hard toward a lifelong dream that could concretely make their state, and their lives, better.

Of course this all means I'll be able to spend less time in this wonderful space, which makes me kind of sad. But there is a season for everything in life. There are many things I want to do in my hopefully long life. For now, it's this race. Here I go...

MY CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
MY ACT BLUE WEBPAGE

THINGS I'M LOVING TODAY

My sweet kitty and her love of warm, freshly folded laundry. She makes even the most annoying tasks pleasant with her presence.

the granny chic flickr group | I just love this aesthetic and apparently I'm not alone.

the raccoon commercial | This is EXACTLY how I talk to my cat. (My husband thinks I'm such a dork, but he loves her just as much as I do.) We all roared with laughter when we first saw this commercial.

the idea of making a terrarium | Maybe it's the lack of green outside even thought it's March. Maybe it's the small scale of the project that makes it seem so possible. Either way I'm hoping to put one of these together soon. First I have to find the perfect jar at a thrift store. No sense in buying something like that new...

What are YOU loving today?

ANI'S NEW FINGERLESS MITTS

Okay, so Ani's are done now! She loves them. And also, she thinks she may have already lost them. Good thing I got a photo while I still had the chance. I'm sure they're around here somewhere...

YOU MAY HAVE TRIED TO COMMENT...

...but couldn't. It should be fixed now!

LINEN CALENDAR TOWELS

This is another of my finds from my thrifting expedition yesterday: linen calendar towels! I almost freaked out right there at Good Sam's, hoping for a 1973 version ON MY BIRTHDAY! But I only found 1972, 1975, 1976 and 1981. Not bad really.


Don't they look lovely, covering my handwashables?


And hanging on my stove?


Stuff like this makes me unreasonably happy. My husband doesn't understand (even though 1972 is HIS BIRTH YEAR!), but he's glad that $2.00 can bring me so much joy.

THIRTY-SEVEN

Yup, it's my birthday today! Thirty-seven years old. The other night I couldn't sleep. I lay in bed thinking back over my many, many years. I can't remember much from when I was seven but I could remember back to seventeen and twenty-seven with relative clarity. Not bad for an old lady!

When I was seventeen, I was at the top of my high school game. I was one of only two junior girls in the top choir. I won second runner up in the junior miss pageant. And I was about to start dating a guy who was really bad for me. Ah, good times. But enough about that...

On the day I turned twenty-seven, Eric I and rode the Amtrak from Shelby to Whitefish where my mom picked us up. We then borrowed her car to drive to Missoula to pick up a 1989 Honda Accord we bought from our friends Jonna and Neil. The car still runs and is now 21 years old, legal drinking age. (It can't be good for your car to be of drinking age.) Anyway, I remember the train ride vividly and fondly. The month before I had found out I was pregnant for the first time. I was so thrilled. I remember reading the very first edition of the Martha Stewart Baby Magazine and losing myself in fantasies of holding my first baby for the first time. Again, good times! And the baby worked out much better than the bad-boy boyfriend!

Now I'm thirty-seven and life is really good. Sweet husband, healthy kids, cozy home, meaningful work, cuddly kitty, supportive family, lovely friends, time to be creative and time to take care of me.

I took a personal day off work today and spent the morning shopping and thrifting. I'm not a huge shopper per se, but I never seem to get enough time to look at what I want to look at as long as I want to look at it when I'm shopping with the family. I hear a lot of, "Momma look at this!" And, not wanting to damage their fragile pshychies I usually look. So today I went wherever my shopping/thrifting whim took me, and it led me to this:


A vintage bread box! I've been wanting a bread box for a long time and I'm so happy that I held out for just what I wanted. It's cool looking. It's huge. And it opens from the front so I can put stuff on top of it. Bonus!

So, happy thirty-seventh birthday to me! I plan to spend the evening surrounded by my sweet little family, savoring this golden, golden time.

EX-SMELLY-ARMPITS!

Here are my little "Hermiones" casting "Ex-Smelly-Armpits" spells (their version of Harry's "Expelliamus") the other afternoon in the backyard. Oh, spring is starting to arrive friends! I can't wait for more and more green to continue to fill this space. We're even hoping to plant a vegetable garden this year. I know it's something that will take a lot of our time and attention, and I just hope we have enough to devote to it. Few things give me more joy than digging in the dirt and seeing tiny chartreuse shoots make their brave journey out of the earth and into the light.


Here are the girls again, running around in the warmth, just being kids and enjoying their lives.


And here are my tootsies warming themselves in the sun! Ahhhh...

FINGERLESS MITTS FOR BRYNI

I made these last night for Bryni, inspired as I often am by Attic 24.


Ani's and Sonja's are next. Ani's will be orange with red trim and Sonja's will be green with cream trim. Wish I could start now, but this takes precedence:

ANOTHER PEEK AT MY VALENTINE GARLAND

I really enjoyed making this Valentine garland this year. It was inspired my several bloggers who've made it before and it provided a cheerful trimming to our mantle when the grayest of the winter was upon us.
Here's the whole mantle in all its glory:


Projects like this appeal to me on so many levels: I love repetition, I love variations on a theme, I love putting together interesting color combos. And I love that I'll now I have this garland each February when I'll need its lovely cheerfulness the most.

LOVE TO BLOG, HAVE NO TIME

Okay I'm going to try this: changing to a template blog to which I can easily post, hopefully much more often! The down side? I won't have as much control over the look and feel of the site. The upside? I can do this anywhere and it's much, much easier. I've really enjoyed learning a bit of html, and have created some fun sites, but it's a lot more work to truly build and maintain a site yourself. Type, click, click, click, enter = blog entry. I like the idea of that.