my mother in law brought me a new sewing machine last weekend- i am so freaking pumped! i can't wait to whip this bad boy out and use it on my layouts. look at ALL those cool stitches i can do!

now to figure out how to thread the darn thing....

made this today...

started with just a plain wooden letter from michael's, painted it brown, added the patterned paper, mod podged it, then added the ribbon hanger, tag, and antique key. it's hanging on my front porch now!

this will definitely be a gift idea for me to make. :)

why do i ever think it's a good idea to go out in the late afternoon with em? shouldn't i have learned by now that that's her fussy time?

you'd think.

but no.

emerson is all smiles and grins at home, looking up at me enticelingly with her big blue eyes.

i think, "what the heck? i'll just run up for a "quick trip" to sam's, get the membership card thing going, pick up some diapers, scope the place out."

emerson thinks, "screw you, mommy." (diabolical laughter)

i get there, a mere 1/2 mile (if that) up the road, unload the monstrous car seat into a cart, and proceed my way into the store.

do the whole membership card thing (i look like crap in the picture and it's taken from such a distance back, i'm just a gray blob) and then think, "oooh yeah, i've got those 4 rolls of film in my purse i've been waiting to develop! i'll drop them off while i'm here!" because one of the main reasons i wanted a sam's membership was because of the cheapola film developing prices.

enter: the guy in the top hat and pointy mustache who ties the lady to the train tracks, aka emerson, my darling daughter

"oh, NOW's a good time to get cranky!" says the blue eyed beauty with an oh so innocent look on her face.

"ack! ack!" i panic, quickly trying to fill out the other three film developing envelopes.

why do they have to ask all that freaking information anyways?! do they REALLY need to know my maiden name, the place of my birth, names i'd like to name future children, and my favorite color of nail polish? (french manicure or "powerhouse" by rimmel, if anyone wants to know)

the nice lady at the photo place finally sees my distress and comes to help me. "oh honey, we just need your name and your film. "

thank God! i hurry and rush to the back to pick up diapers, of course of which they don't have emerson's size in. i go ahead and grab the next size up (surely this chub can fit into the 16 lbs. ones, right?), quickly glance through the formula (nope, none of the lactose free kind. sheesh.), and grab the humongous box of wipes (700 and something. surely this will last through august, right?).

meanwhile, my nemesis is getting quite cranked up.

on the way out the door, nice little old "free sample" lady says, "energy bar, sweetie?"

why? do i look like i need one?

;)

sometimes this is how i feel.

like i'm blissfully unaware of how far i have to go,

what is going on around me,


how lost i truly am.

i love what karin of "over the rhine" says...

"it took me twenty-some-odd years to see i'd been born blind."

and to imagine, to know

that i have a God of grace and mercy who is guiding me.

even though i'm struggling to go along by myself.

Do you ever just wake up exhausted?

I have been so tired lately (and no, I'm not pregnant! Wouldn't that be a nightmare right now!).

I know part of the reason is because I haven't been eating great, or taking vitamins.

I just took my vitamin... so check that off of the list for today.

The eating thing; that's just something I need to make a priority. I know that sounds dumb, but Emerson keeps me so busy, that when she takes a nap, I am running around the house trying to get stuff done (i.e. take a shower) and don't take the time to eat. Dumb, huh? It also doesn't help that I have these little demons in my head saying, "If you don't eat as much, you'll lose weight" which I know is SOOO not true. I keep informing Shaun of stuff, so he'll make sure I get adequate nutrition.

Last night I had a killer headache, mainly because I was tired, but also because of waiting forever to eat. Not cool. Today I'm making sure I'm eating 3 meals, plus some healthy snacks.

Listening...

I've been listening to the Garden State soundtrack notstop for about 2 weeks now. Seriously, every morning I turn it on, hit repeat, and then turn off the cd player when I go to bed. I got tired of it, finally, and switched back to my old standard, Over the Rhine's "Drunkard's Prayer." They are both excellent to create to.

Clothing...

I have been slowly losing the baby weight, and have been frustrated with the whole "summer shorts" situation. Nothing looks satisfactory on me. I decided to make my own shorts; I cut off a pair of khakis that I had to make those super cute Bermuda shorts that are popular now. I must say, they're not too bad looking! It's got that kind of artsy/bohemian feel to it.

Creating...

I accomplished my goal of creating something before the weekend was out. Of course, they are layouts of my little one. Check 'em out!

i haven't had much time to create lately, although i feel like i've been doing a lot of "collecting" to compensate for that.

collecting scrap goods...

*one of the local scrapbook stores went out of business :( and i made several trips there to collect some goodies.
*grams came up this week and treated my mom, me, and herself ;) to some fun stuff from michael's (i got those somewhat new anna griffin 8x8 papers- they are so cute and i cannot wait to do some creating with them!!)
*ordered the designing with 2005 calendar (i know i know i'm about 6 months late, but i'd heard so much good stuff about this i figured i'd go ahead and get it for the ideas...)

collecting ideas...

*spending lots of time on two peas in a bucket getting new ideas and adding to my book of scraps
*checking out scrapping magazines from my library (woohoo! we have an awesome library here!)
*browsing lots of inspiring blogs

my goal: to create SOMETHING before the weekend is out! i'll burst if i don't!

also, i want to create a banner for this blog, especially since i found some great instructions on lindsay teague's blog

I love Heidi Swapp.

I know, it's so cliche of me as a scrapbooker to love her, everybody does.

But honestly, she's so cool. I mean, just check out her website: www.heidiswapp.com

She's like the cool girl at school that doesn't know it, and is nice to everyone.

{not snotty}

Besides my vapid drooling over her coolness, I'm also pretty inspired by her.

I started using my own handwriting on my pages (again) because of her, and I got my MIL to bring me a sewing machine this weekend so I can... SEW on my pages- because of her. :)

Yeah

I'm pathetic.

;)

Magical Mystery Read

Oh yes, I have finished "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince."

Actually, I finished it Saturday night at 11pm, that's what a nerd I am.

It's SOOOOOO good. The story had me riveted, and I was flying through the pages because I couldn't wait to find out all the juicy bits of the story. Now I need to re-read it, take my time with it, so I can really soak up the essence of the book.

I won't post anything spoilerish here for a while, and if I do, I will definitely give you warning.

Just wanted to share the HP love.

I can't WAIT until book 7 comes out. What a freak, right? I should be satisfied with this one for at least a week... but now I have lots of burning questions that just can't wait. JKR better get her butt in gear on the next one! ;)

Jergen's Natural Glow Lotion/Self-Tanner

I just have to say, I LOVE this product. I started using it a couple of weeks ago and it's fab on my white, glow in the dark skin. No streaking, no orangey fake tan. Looks like I've actually been out in the sun for once. And less like a vampire. Or Snape.

EDIT: WATCH OUT FOR SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS!

I'm starting Emerson on a new schedule this week.

I'm moving her from a 3 hour feeding schedule to a 4 hour feeding schedule,

as per the Baby Whisperer's advice.

She'll be 16 weeks next week (i.e. 4 months), and is showing signs that she is growing up:

• Rolling over numerous times a day (especially in her sleep, which wakes her up and makes her cry)
• Scooching around in her crib
  
• Putting her butt in the air and getting on her knees a little bit
• Reaching for objects
  
• Squealing and cooing
• Taking shorter naps

It should be interesting to see hour the 4 hour schedule affects me and my little routine. I've gotten nice and settled in this 3 hour thing, knowing that I have lots of free time each nap period. The 4 hour schedule will change things drastically (eventually); she'll be going from 3 naps/1 catnap to 2 longer naps/1 catnap. Hopefully this means I'll be able to take her out more, because she'll be up for longer stretches of time. Yay!

I found out today that the calls have been made to all the people on the design team that I was trying out for.

:( No call for me.

Oh well... that's just a start, right?

I shall try again soon.

I read this in anothers' post today. Really resonated with me....

I think there's a certain noble quality to giving up on your pipe dreams, in order to fully engage in the life you've been given. It's more about being fully present for the people who are counting on you- coworkers, your boss, your family. It's recognizing that while life isn't exactly what you planned, it's still pretty darned good and you are thankful for what you do have. You know what i mean...the school teacher who wanted to be a ballerina...the insurance agent who barely remembers that she wanted to be an opera singer...the stay at home Mommy who really feels like an artist. :) They don't go through live feeling angry that they aren't living out their pipe dream. Well, maybe some do, but most either put those dreams aside, or pursue them on the side.

From http://arikacloud.typepad.com/theartbar/

I'm going out tonight all by myself (i.e. sans the bebe and husband),
and I couldn't be more excited! Doing a girls' night out thing for a friend who's having a baby and planning on having some yummy cheesecake. Also planning on stopping by B&N to reserve my copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (can't believe I haven't done that yet!).

Tomorrow may end up being a visit to my Grams'... that should be interesting.

Re-covered a couple of basic photo albums today for a gift. They turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. ;) Also am working on decorating a wooden letter to display in our house. I'll post it soon, once I'm done. Just finished decoupaging on the paper, so have a few little embellishments I'd like to add.

I really need to set a daily schedule/routine for myself. I feel like I'm constantly running behind or trying to catch up, which really shouldn't be happening since I'm a stay at home mom now. (Although, I must say that the whole "stay at home" part of that is quite deceiving. I hardly feel like I stay at home at all!)

Off to {glam up} for my night out!

Hmmm... the Dark Mark
is over the Hogwarts castle?
That can't be good. :(
And Is that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny?
Who's the person behind Ron?

I can't wait!!

Thought that this was an interesting quote... I read it today in an article about manners in a parenting magazine. It pretty much applies to everyone... I can think of a lot of times that I've been "rude" because of my own selfishness.

Testing out my ability to post pics in my entries...

(This is a layout of Shaun that I submitted to a couple of magazines recently. I made the chipboard letters that spell out his name... pretty darn fun!)

Ahhhh... the first post on a fresh journal. It always excites me and makes me feel like I have endless possibilities.

Check my blog to:

See new art that I've created
Read about what books I've been reading
Watch little Emerson grow up via photos
Hear how I'm dealing with the insanity of my family and motherhood

Maybe read:

Encouragement in the faith
Inspiration in art
Something to make you laugh