I hate the smell of dirty sponge.

Our dishwasher is still broken. These would come in really handy right about now...

-"Glam Gloves - Orange with Pink and Green Polka Dot Spring Cleaning Dish Gloves", by MaryZoom, $9.00

She bangs.

As if I don't talk about my hair and all of its adventures enough... I think I've decided to get bangs again. I'm going through my mid pregnancy identity crisis, which I think might really exist. It must, because my blogger bff a muted palette recently wrote briefly about her similar situation here. And shes also pregnant. Yesterday before going to the store I threw a well controlled fit when I couldn't find anything to wear. I've had a really hard time this pregnancy finding shirts that will cooperate with my extremely well developed chest. So while I wear an XL in most things, my chest wears a XXXL. See how that doesn't quite work out? Well after deciding on something to wear (a regular band tshirt on top of a plain black maternity tank), I thought about how maybe its not my clothes I'm mad at. Maybe its my face. Or, my hair. Its always my hair. Of course I'm going to blame my hair. Don't let our profile picture fool you, that was taken over a year ago when my hair was red and short. Its now long and black. And in need of a serious bang.

-"Wear It. Love It. - Cassette Pin Badge Blank Card for Any Occasion", by TeaAndCeremony, $5.00.

We don't mean to suck at loving our planet.

So when it comes to being green, we've really slacked off. At one point, we went an entire year without using paper towels. Instead, we used and then washed hand towels. As a result, we don't have a single decent hand towel in the house (in fact, I think we lost most of them along the way), but at least we know we helped the environment for a little bit. I'm not going to lie, I wish I had some of my hand towels back, haha. We used to buy recycled toilet paper, and special cleaning products. We only used recycled printer paper for our computer (which we still do). Little things like that, ya know? But the older Eleanore got, the more we slipped back into old habits. There are some thing that just aren't realistic for a family with small children. In our case at least. We need paper towels. And we can't always afford to buy the recycled ones. Why are they so much more expensive anyways? I need the stronger, grease-cutting dish soaps that are chalked full of god knows what. I don't have a lot of time to spend on dishes, nor will my pregnant stomach allow it. Our dishwasher is currently broken. It bit the dust in the middle of the rinse cycle, so now when we open it up to use it as a drying rack, the dirty water that pooled at the bottom of the machine, grabs me by the gag reflex and won't let go. Dishwasher man get here already!

So anyways. What are some of the little things that you and your family do at your house to be greener? We'd love to hear about realistic ways of helping the environment that maybe we can try and adapt into our lifestyle, rather than suggestions made by a website that doesn't have any children to take into consideration while its trying to haul buckets of bathwater one by one from upstairs, all the way out to the front lawn to water the grass...

-"Pro earth- handmade recycled notecard", by HeyLady, $3.50.

Thursday win-day!

As you might have read in the last suck-day post, I've moved win-day from Friday, to Thursday. Friday is always a holiday all on its own, without the help of added prizes. Thursday however, is Friday's little sister, and she could definitely use some special treatment. I woke up this morning after a series of horrible nightmares, so it probably goes without saying, that I'm glad to be awake.Amanda, where are you lady?! Amanda, etsy user Ulixis, you won you won! Of course I'll email you, but, I thought you might also like to see your name in bold lettering. You said you hoped you won, and you did!! Lucky. You are now the proud owner of a one of a kind petite house, by none other than the charming jessicajane. You said your favorite item was the Mustard Balloon Brooch, so that's what I've decided to feature today. Thanks everyone for participating in this weeks Monday suck-day giveaway!!

I'm off to make another cobbler (mooooooo)...

Cow.

I'm not sure if I'm embarrassed, or if I'm more embarrassed of the fact that I'm not embarrassed at all. But... ...the entire peach cobbler is gone. It lived a good life, the entire day of it right? And I'd like to say that my husband and daughter helped me polish it off, but... um.... did I mention I'm 5 months pregnant? It makes me feel better when I think about it this way though. Its just like eating 2 cans of peaches, and 2 pieces of cake. Really. And since I diiiid spread out the deliciousness throughout an entire 24 hours, then... that's not so bad!!! OK OK, I'm a total cow, haha. I could have eaten 5 more bowls full if given the chance. To balance it out though, I made a huge, veggie filled curry/peanut stir fry for dinner. My husband was pretty excited to eat something other than Mexican for a change. I'm finally to the point where I feel comfortable in the kitchen again. I have to be starving at the time of meal prep though, or its not going to work out. Speaking of my husband, this is his blog too, isn't it? Well, technically, but when he asked if he could post, I politely responded with "Honey... I... I don't think so", haha. Maybe with supervision. Otherwise you'd all be reading about hydraulic fluid and "if you were a cheese, what kind of cheese would you be" conversations that took place over the radio at his work. But anyways, lets talk about Christopher for a minute. You don't mind, right babe? OK great! Christopher has a tendency to take anyone else's stomach ache, and turn it into his own. Its not his fault, and I know he doesn't do it on purpose. I've learned to turn it into a big joke, which I know he hates, but seriously, just because your friend at work said that his wife might have gotten him sick, doesn't mean that you're going to come home and get sick from me the minute you walk into the door, haha. When I eat something that upsets my tummy, usually its soy that somehow slips into my meal (dang food allergies), suddenly he has a stomach ache too. None of the other symptoms, no headache or exhaustion, just the ow belly. Sympathy pains... kinda cute. Until he gets distracted by Best Week Ever on Vh1 at least, and then its "oh, I'm fine" when I ask how hes doing. On Eleanore's birthday, he said he got a stomach ache from the frosting on the cupcakes, and how they had way too much sugar. The one cupcake that he ate, had less sugar than the usual Dr. Pepper than he slams 3 times a day. Get what I'm saying? So last night, he thought he was getting my flu, until I made this delicious meal that filled the house with the smell of curry and lime. Then suddenly, he was all better :) I wonder how hes doing today. Its entirely possible that he could actually catch my flu though (which I think is completely gone finally!!), so I should be a good wifey and send him a text to see how hes doing...

I really can't poke fun though, because who's the cow that ate the entire peach cobbler? ...yeah that'd be me, haha. Dangit.

From top to bottom:

-"Vintage eaten candy apple core pendant necklace", by bunnyboutique, $12.00.

-"Happy Stomach", by GrimCute, $7.50.

-"Letterpress Valentine No. 3". by kseniya, $3.50.

Peach cobbler makes everything better.

I've still got the flu. I said I was OK, but I lied. Will it ever go away? And even though I can hardly eat anything, and I should be sipping soup or something, I've still got my pregnancy cravings to attend to. So first thing this morning, I decided it was time for a delicious Tia-safe peach cobbler. Who needs soup anyways?

This recipe is both vegan, and gluten free. Among other things...

Tia-friendly peach cobbler:
The guts.
-2 cans of organic peaches, drained
-1 heaping spoonful of tapioca flour (sub cornstarch, arrowroot)
-sprinkle cinnamon

The cobbler topping.
-1 1/2 cups cake mix (I used Namaste brand, in vanilla).
-1/2 cup brown sugar.
-1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
-5 tablespoons vegan shortening.

Instructions:
-preheat oven to 350.
-grease dish.
-mix the guts in a bowl.
-mix the cobbler crumble in a seperate bowl.
-sprinkle 1/3 cobbler topping along bottom of dish.
-pour in peach mixture.
-sprinkle remaining cobbler crumbles on top.
-bake about 30 minutes, or until it looks nice and crispy :)

Monday suck-day giveaway, take 2!

Alright folks, lets cut straight to the chase. Its Monday, and we all wish it was Friday. I spent the weekend with the flu, and want a do-over. I wish I could put a do-over up for grabs today, but I'm no Hermione Granger. Did I seriously just make a Harry Potter reference? Gah. Its going to be a loooong week. I'm sure I'm not the only one that could use a do-over though, huh? I'll see what I can do in the future, haha...
Today's suck-day giveaway is a good one. (Run on setance, ready go!) One of my military-wife-gal-pals and etsy extraordinaire, jessicajane, who's got a new shop on the side, that maybe you have or have not seen, (which is practically empty for hush-hush-but-super-exciting reasons!), called PetiteHouse, is giving away one of her petite houses!! Isn't that the most adorable little decorative house you've ever seen? It makes me want to morph into a gnome and move in, haha. Did anyone else used to watch that show on Nickelodeon, David the Gnome? I loved that show.

The rules, friends! Head on over to her etsy shop jessicajane, and pick out your most favorite item. Come back here, and leave us a comment telling us what it is :) Don't forget to leave me a name and an email, or some way to get ahold of you incase you win! Me and my trusty sidekick, the random number generator, will pick a winner this upcoming Thursday morning. Thursdays need more of a celebration than Fridays do, right? Well at least I think so. Ok, good luck suck-day'ers! Go win something!

Ps. This listing is my personal fav...

-"Winter Faux Bois Magnets ( set of 5 ) Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets", by jessicajane, $20.00.


(If you would like to sponsor a Monday suck-day giveaway, please email me, or send me a convo at my etsy shop! Thanks!)

Goodbye flu.

So you know those roasted sweet potatoes I was dreaming about yesterday morning? My wish finally came true last night after my fever broke. I spent hours curled up on the couch with my big fluffy comforter, watching Harry Potter, and eating delightful plates of ketchup covered orange goodness. Maybe my flu is finally gone? I think I'll probably lounge around one more day just to be sure.

-"Grandmas Sweet Potato Pie Whipped Body Creme (TM) - Paraben Free", by Ibrodar, $12.00.

Sicky poo.

Who gets the flu in August anyways? For the past 3 days, I've been unable to eat more than a single bite of anything. And even that one bite, isn't pretty. Christopher is boiling water for me right now, so that I can make a double cup of tea, pour it over ice, and sip it for the next hour while I daydream about eating a plate of roasted sweet potatoes smothered in organic ketchup. Speaking of sweet potatoes... guess who cut his finger on the veggie slicer last night and had to make a run to the ER? His name starts with a Chris and ends with topher. Turns out he didn't need stitches after all, they just super glued it shut, gave him a fancy bandage, and sent him home. This is why Christopher shouldn't be allowed around sharp objects. Any time I see him holding a razor blade or exacto, I have a panic attack and command that he puts it down. To my surprise, he usually listens. Nobody else in thier right mind would actually listen to me, haha. So in conclusion, this Saturday will be a day of starvation for me, and pain killers for him. Oh, and some serious crafting, since our shop is nearly naked in the recipe box department. Iced chai here I come.

Whats everyone else doing this weekend??

-"natural sore throat and cough lollipops", by wingedegg, $12.00.

Sushi mmmmmm.

So, my memories of sushi are all I have left, since I can no longer consume seaweed. ...I know, right? Isn't that the suck? I'm trying to remember the last time I actually went out for sushi, and I think it was back in Portland, with Christopher, his sister (hybridhopes), and her now-fiance. So... probably 3 years ago? How depressing, haha. Christopher and I made it a few times at home after our big move to Texas, and it was absolutely to die for, but, homemade sushi just isn't the same. When you're not paying for it by the plate, you seem to consume way too much. In our case at least. But I've got bigger fish to fry (har har... you know you love me)...

Its Friday! Your crappy Monday is far behind you by now. Ignore the fact that another one lurks around this upcoming Sunday's corner, and cross your fingers that I'm about to plaster your name across the screen.

Kelly Alvarez Mace.

Is that you? If not, its OK. I mean, I know it sucks, but that's just another reason its called the suck-day giveaway, haha. Just come back and try to win something next Monday, when the suck-day giveaway is sponsored by one of my super favorite military wife etsy friends of all time, JessicaJane!

And a big thanks to Krystan for sponsoring this weeks giveaway. Can you guess which address labels Kelly chose as her favorite? I miss seaweed :(

-"I Think Sushi Rocks". by AlmayAldayDesigns, $4.50.

Stubborn baby.

So we went into the doctors office today, for our mid pregnancy ultrasound. Chubby cheeks... check. Spine... check. Arms and legs... double check. Sex of the baby... hey, where are the goods? Gah, I've been telling baby all week that today was the big day! Over and over again, I ask "are you a baby brudder, or a baby seester??". I thought I was pretty clear about everything, but, apparently baby isn't controlled by finger pokes and high pitched voices like I originally thought. Instead, baby was breech, and not spreadin' those legs for anything. At first I was extremely disappointed, almost to the point of flooding hormonal tears. I've been waiting on this day for months. After today, I'd finally be able to decorate the bedroom, something I never got to do with Eleanore. I'd be able to start picking out clothes, making blankets, doing all of those "I'm going to be a mom and I'm excited!!" things that I've been anxiously awaiting. I had 2 bedroom themes all picked out and ready to go. We've got a mountain of baby girl clothes boxed up in the garage that were either going to come out to play, or stay tucked away until the next pregnancy. So now what? We'll have another ultrasound in 10 weeks, but... if we're going to wait that long, I say we just wait it out until baby finally makes his or her big appearance. So that's what we're going to do. We're going to wait!!

Now... how do I tell everyone how much I loath solid yellows and greens?

-"Polka Dot Owl Onesie", by hobocampcrafts, $12.00.

Chai or die.

The other day when I was walking around my local health food aisle (my city isn't alternative enough for an actual store), I found some chai tea mix on sale. I used to love Oregon Chai, before I developed my food allergies, and this looked somewhat similar, so I put it in my hand basket and brought it home to try. Yesterday I mixed it with some vanilla rice milk, and poured it over ice. Expecting Oregon Chai, followed by sipping sour cinnamon, are two very different tastes, unfortunately. No wonder it was on sale. I left it in the fridge for Christopher to drink, because he'll consume anything if given the opportunity. And sure enough, when he stepped into the kitchen, he accepted the challenge.

This morning I'm awake after only 4 (-ish) hours of sleep, which I can only blame my unborn and still undecided gender of a kicker baby. I'd really like a big yummy glass of Oregon Chai, the way my dad and I used to drink it, but sadly, that's not in the cards for this Mama. And right now, boiling water and adding a tea bag just isn't the same.

Whats your favorite kind of chai?

-"Hand Knitted Tea Cozy - Turquoise", by knitwit, $42.00.

-"mug cosy tea coffee cup cozy warmer knitted", by pinkpetaldesigns, $6.00.

Meow.

So, the cloud is my cat, and the pot of gold is on my bedspread. Thanks Kitty Bomber. Meow.

-"Cloud BLAH (Mommy, Where Do Rainbows Come From)", by
VROOOOOM, $20.00.

Monday suck-day giveaway, take 1!

So today really isn't a suck-day for me, like most Mondays are. Usually I wake up groggy and unmotivated, but for the first time in weeks I actually got a decent nights sleep. My muscles aren't sore in the shoulders and back, and I feel relaxed, like I just got out of a massage and took a hot shower. If you've ever been pregnant, you might understand how difficult getting comfortable can be. Especially getting comfortable at night. My husband so kindly reminded me of how I slept during my first pregnancy, with a mountain of pillows under my back, legs, and belly. So he sacrificed his extra pillow, helped me get set up, and as soon as my head hit the fluff, I passed out. Thank you Christopher, for having a better memory of my last pregnancy than I do. He swears that woman are programmed to forget everything from previous pregnancies, in order to survive future ones. Hes probably right.

But for everyone else that is suffering through Monday suck-day, its giveaway time!! I figured that since Monday's are usually the worst, it would be the perfect day for a pick-me-up. Well, since you don't actually win on Monday, maybe I got that backwards? But at least you can have high hopes of winning, and get the chance to look at cool stuff that you maybe wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Today's giveaway is courtesy of Etsy's own Krystan, who is actually the artist behind our well known zombie portrait. I got it for Christopher as a Christmas gift last year, enlarged and set in a big tacky gold frame. How weird are we? I know, haha. But shes not giving away a zombie morph today, shes giving away a set of 60... yes, sixty, return address labels! I wish I could enter, because I've just moved and don't have any left. I used to have some super sexy Bettie Page ones, made by my etsy bff Racheltrouble, but since I rocked those ones for over a year, maybe its time for a change. Anyways, so here are the rules: Go over to Krystans's etsy shop. Browse through all of her goodies, taking an extra minute or two to shop if you please, pick which address labels are your absolute favorite, and then leave me a comment (with your name and a way to get in touch with you, in case you win!) telling us which labels you liked the best, since those are the ones that you'll be seeing in your mailbox if its your name that pops up on my screen from the random number generator on Friday morning. See, Monday isn't so bad right? Now off with you, you've got a contest to enter...

From top to bottom:
-"Tea Time - Print", by Krystan, $10.00.
-"Lonely Girl in Fall - Print", by Krystan, $10.00.
-"Zombie Christopher and Tia", by Krystan, totally not for sale.
-"Sushi Return Address Labels - Set of 60", by Krystan, $10.00.

(If you'd like to sponsor a giveaway, you can email me here, or convo me at my etsy shop!)

Happy Birthday Eleanore Sue!

First thing this morning, I set my blurry eyes aside and reached for the boxes on the top shelf of the closet. Boxes that have been collecting for the past couple of weeks, thanks to various friends and family members. Unable to see, I braved it down the stairs with boxes in arms, just dying to see the look on Eleanore's face when I yelled "Happy Birthday!!". In exchange, she yelled back "Presents!!". So we cozied up on the living room floor, got dolled up in our Aunt-Jessie-made tutu, squeezed our fluffy hair into some adorable yet deadly pigtails, and dove in up to our chins in wrapping paper. And just when we thought it couldn't get any better, Daddy rolled in the big guns...

I think its time.

You might remember my ramblings about the endless changes that have taken place to my not-so-goldilocks, by reading this entry. And if you never read it, go, hurry, catch up, we'll wait...

...I've since left my hair alone. Have you ever left your hair alone for 5 months? Because its just as bad as the opposite. Finally, finally, I got around to recoloring it black. I did have an excuse for waiting so long, also known as pregnancy, but whatever the reason is, excuses aside, having blah hair makes me feel like crap. So now that I've got the color done (which looks a jazillion times better by the way), I've got to get a cut. A real cut. The kind of cut that you get when you go into a place and sit down and they do it for you. Not the kind that I try to manage myself while hovering uncomfortably over my bathroom sink, resulting in tears and uneven "hipster" edges and layers. I'm honestly not trying to be hip (we all say that right), I'm just a super cool lady on a budget trying to do herself a favor by saving a few bucks, but really ruining her hair for the next year of her life. And sometimes I talk about myself like I'm not here, if you haven't noticed. Anyways, my Grammy sent me $20 in the mail (YES!) as a Christmas in July gift (a silly tradition that my California family takes part in year after year), and I'm going to take it down to an actual hair salon, not a beauty school, and get my hair did. I am. I swear. ...I will. *Looks over shoulder at scissors*.

Image: "Lemon Lime Hair Comb", by RedaretheRoses, $10.00.

Drumrole please!

I think my first blog giveaway was pretty successful. I didn't expect so many people to enter, but with a great prize like that, I can see why over 40 of you did!! I completely forgot today was pick-the-winner day, until I came down the dark stairs (can you believe its actually cloudy outside?!), set up my teething daughter with some children's Tylenol and a sippy of milk, and sat down wondering "what should I blog about today?". I didn't get much sleep last night, thanks to Elie's 2 year old molars coming in, and frequent power outages waking me up every time the VCR in our bedroom would power back on (seriously 5 times). Yep, that's right, we still roll with a VCR. Its mostly used to watch "Cinderwewwa" and "Aaaaariooooole". And not to reveal my inability to focus or anything, but, I'm thinking about doing regular giveaways on Mondays. I was going to do them on Fridays, as an end of the week upper, but really, Monday is the sucky day that needs all the help it can get. So this next Monday, make sure and come back for a totally bitchin' giveaway courtesy of the fabulous (come on, we all know her) Krystan.

And now, onto the most important, way too drawn out announcement that you've all been waiting for. The winner of an 8 oz Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee candle, thanks to the oh so gracious AuntieDis, is... random number generated entry #37, bookworm!! Of course I'll be contacting the winner personally, but its always fun to come and see for yourself who won, right?

From top to bottom:

-"Original Mixed Media - Your Curiosity's Gonna Win Us - Benediction Series", by magicjelly, $45.oo.

-"Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee 8 Ounce Hand Poured Soy Wax Candle", by AuntieDis, $8.00.

Hormonal and starving.

I'm completely embarrassed to write about how I'm literally crying over my nagging pregnancy cravings tonight. Can you imagine how many times I've heard "maybe this pregnancy will reverse all of your food allergies"? To be allergic to just about everything, is the most rotten realization ever. All I want is a cheeseburger.

"Faux Fake Cheeseburger, Fries and Vanilla Shake - Diner Blue Plate Special", by renegaderose, $40.00.

Just a quick reminder...

If you haven't already, make sure you find a minute to enter this etsy-tastic (and absolutely free) giveaway to win a yummy smelling 8oz soy candle from AuntieDis! The contest ends with a random number generated drawing on Friday morning.

"Peppermint Mocha 8 Ounce Hand Poured Soy Wax Candle", by AuntieDis, $8.00.

Goonies never say die!

But really, my life wouldn't be the same without the Goonies. I remember being 7 or 8 years old, back when we lived in a single wide vintage trailer with maybe 3 viewable channels, and it would come on TV for the Saturday matinee movie. Oh how excited was I?! I wouldn't move from that couch until the credits finished rolling. And then I'd run outside, still full of excitement, down the stairs in our river front yard, and onto the dock my dad built, to pretend play Goonies by myself for hours. Christopher and I wanted to get married on Cannon Beach, right by the famous Goonies rock, but the stairs down to the actual beach were a little too steep and unstable for some of our older family members. Instead we got married, barefoot in the sand, a few miles north, in Seaside, Oregon. On our so called honeymoon (how much fun can you really have when you're pregnant and too sick to get out of bed?) we went into Astoria, where most of the movie was filmed. We stopped in at the visitors center, and Christopher got a Goonies 20th anniversary hoodie, and we bought some fake replica dubloons. Next stop, was the Goonies house. For those of you who have never been there, its up a gravel road on a hill, you have to park on the streets below and walk up to it. The landscaping has been redone, so you kind of have to tilt your head to the side at first, like a puppy listening to a high pitched sound, just to make absolutely sure you're at the right place. We took pictures of ourselves in front of the house, did the truffle shuffle, and then moved on to the jail and the ice cream shop where Chunk spilt his milkshake, or whatever it was that he was holding during the car chase. Anyways, I woke up this morning, and felt like I was back at the Oregon Coast, which will always remind me of the Goonies. I love it when its cloudy. That's what I miss most about living back home in Oregon. Last night Christopher got my hopes up, saying that they just opened up a bunch of new overseas spots, and he was going to try and get orders. That's great, but... we can't move with a newborn. So it looks like theres lots more Texas in our future. And I'm pretty sure a "Goonies never say die" tattoo.

Top picture: "Goonies Pendant", by cineloh, $4.00.

I feel like the annoying cat lady...

Our just-about-two-year-old daughter (two next Sunday) has dropped our camera on the floor a few too many times. The images gradually got foggier and foggier, until every picture looked like a still shot from an 80's dream sequence. Finally we defrosted the ol' credit card, broke our news years resolution, which was actually broken months ago, and went and picked out our new baby, a Cannon PowerShot SX100 IS.

And the first thing that I wanted to do, was a take a picture of my cat Bomber....

Seriously, if my husband would let me, I'd love to be the annoying cat lady.

I'm a sucker for baby hats.

My daughter Eleanore was born in the summer, in Texas no less, so she only had a couple of baby hats for her tiny newborn head. The one from the hospital, and one that we were given from a Woman's Resource Center when we found out we were pregnant. As winter got closer, we weren't in the habit of wearing hats, or headbands, or any other cute head-bound accessories (so when we'd put them on her, she'd take them off). We had a few, made by friends and family members, but she really didn't like to wear them. I'm not a hat person either really, mostly because they make my face look even more chubby than it already is, but on occasion I'll snuggle my head inside of one for winter survivals sake. Lately I'm under the impression that I'll be having a baby boy this December. A winter baby. A Christmas baby even. I haven't been able to control myself from browsing the pages of Etsy looking for adorable little mister hats for my Charlie to be. I've decided that this style is my absolute favorite...

"Funky Newborn Munchkins Hat CUSTOM ONE HAT YOUR CHOICE 2 colour striped with cord and tassle", by MadAboutColour, $28.

Giveaway number one!

Recently I've picked up a new gal pal from the etsy etc forum. Sometimes I feel like that forum is my home away from home. Is that sad? Don't answer that. Anyways, we've been chattin' it up on yahoo messenger daily (she even knows my daughters Barney schedule), and when I had mentioned that I wanted to start doing giveaways on my blog, she was the first to volunteer. And OK, yes, I was kiiiiind of hoping she would, because I love her things, but also, I'm just generally excited to finally start something new on my hibernating blog, and have a friend, especially a fellow military wife, to be a part of it. So wake up blog, its time to give something away!

(Here come the rules) That right there is an 8oz Coconut Cream Pie Hand Poured Soy Wax Candle by Auntie Dis. Just one of her 60-something candles available over at her shop, Auntie Di's De-lites. So what you need to do, if you'd like to win and be the proud owner one of her yummy smelling soy candles, is head on over to her shop, browse through her selection of many candles, and tell us which one is your favorite (that's the scent you'll get if you win). Next Friday (that's one week from today) I'll pick the winner, probably with the assistance of the random number generator, and post the results on my blog. So please make sure you leave me a way to get back to you. I hear by launch my first blog giveaway...

Caw!

So, I know that when I order something online, the most exciting part about getting it, is actually getting it. Not just having it, but getting it. Lately we've been getting a lot of packages in the mail. Christopher's birthday was last month, and Eleanore's birthday is coming up in about 11 days, so we've been getting knocks on our door by the mail man pretty regularly. Yesterday I got something from a friend back home, full of goodies for all of us. Not only did I feel super special, because I've really lost touch with this person, and because she wrapped everything individually in fluffy little tissue papers and ribbons. Yesterday while Elie Sue took her afternoon nap, I sat down to do some crafting, and packaging was my focus. Sure I get excited when I sell something, in fact yesterday I thought I sold something, and really the item had just expired, so I got excited for nothing. Anyways, I like selling things, but I really like packaging them. I put my creative thinking cap on, and the end result was this set of new mailers that I can't wait to put to use...

Cave Mama Syndrome and the magical ipod.

So now that we're all moved into our fancy new house (which believe me, is totally fancy), I've started feeling the effects of what I like to call Cave Mama Syndrome. Some of you might have overheard a discussion or two about this in the Etsy etc forum, or maybe you'll understand what I'm talking about from first hand experience. I love my daughter, more than anything else in this world. But as much as I love her, I need time away from her. We're a military family, which means we're broke, and live thousands of miles away from our loved ones (friends, family, and a cat named Babies that we had to leave behind). That's not an excuse for letting myself go insane, don't get me wrong, its just one of the many playing factors. I wake up in the mornings to "Daddy Daddy!!", and am instantly disappointed when I have to go in and announce myself like "ta-da! You get *drum roll*, MAMA!", and she replies with little to no excitement. This morning wasn't so bad. I told her as soon as I walked into the room "Daddy's at work, but Mama is here to spend all day with you, is that OK?". She said "OK" in her old man voice, and we sat down for our diaper change and tickle-smooch fest. Its 105 degrees outside, which for a pregnant woman, might as well be the very center of the magma filled earth. We've only got one car, that Christopher takes to work daily. And honestly, even if we had it, could we really afford the gas to take it anywhere? OK lets say we could (even though the answer to that is a big fat no), now what? Where am I supposed to take it? The only action our Tracker really gets, is a little lovin' from the grocery store parking lot. In the fall I'll be able to take it down to Elie's favorite park, or to the zoo. But right now... we're stuck inside all day, until around 6:30 when the sun is in the right position in the sky to avoid those swiss cheese holes that I've previously talked about. By the time Christopher gets home, I'm dying for a break from the whining, and the crying, and the not listening, and the generally being a two year old-ness that I've been dealing with for hours upon hours. So yesterday, my darling husband (who made me brownies a few days ago, and let me eat them all myself, like the big fatty mcmama that I am), assisted me with setting up all of my craft stuff upstairs in our bedroom. And once it was all set up, he brought me my fully loaded ipod, which I had never had the chance to use before, and took Eleanore outside for swimming and riding bikes with the kids across the street. I know hes tired when he comes home from work. Especially when hes just ran 2 miles out in the triple digit heat (I keep reminding him that when he gets deployed, he'll be running in crazy awful heat, so he chooses to run outside rather than inside in the air conditioning for training purposes... just like Rocky. Honey you're a badass). So last night for the first time in... probably ever, I got to sit upstairs in my craft room, listening to something other than Elmo's World, playing with paper for over an hour. There are unfinished craft projects, and oops projects that have been dying to be listed. So last night, I listed this not-so-perfect-but-still-totally-bitchin' recipe box that Christopher made...


The crafting will continue tonight when the sun goes down and I can come out like a vampire. ...that was so lame, haha.

From top to bottom:
-"That's my baby, shes not for sale", by Christopherandtia, $not an option.
-"Swiss Cheese and Cracker Felt Pin", by idollatry, $5.00.
-"Rock It- recipe box and matching city scape recipe cards", by Christopherandtia, $20.00.

Christmas, get here.

I am so, dang, sick of this heat. I will never be a Texan, no matter how long I'm stuck in this awful place. Sand, cactus, scorpions, and spiders the size of my fist. Its all a little over the top, don't you think? It was 105 yesterday. As in, degrees. 105 horrible hot skin burning degrees. And there is something about the Texas sun, that is very similar to a world dominating laser beam. It'll burn holes right through your skin, until you look like a piece of swiss cheese. That's not a joke, that's for real. And whats with this new breed of giant turbo charged Earwigs, that comes out of nowhere, with an ice pick sticking out of its ass? If its not one thing its another. I'm counting down the days until Winter. Until then, I'm staying inside with the AC cranked up, wearing scarves and sweat pants, pretending its mid November.

-"Christmas Muppets", by Vintageracer, $10.00. (Remember these?!)