Being Jolly...

If you don't happen to get a card from us, this is our latest family picture... It took a few tries (20?), but we finally got a few that we could choose from. Kudos to my friend Joslyn who was our photographer... and a very patient one at that!

Being Festive!
What we included in our gift platters to neighbors this year...

The super yummy-melt-in-your-mouth Russian Tea Cookies
-thanks again Ellen!

North Carolina Peanut Brittle
It takes over an hour to make standing stirring
while it gets to hard crack stage, but it's worth it!

Snowflake Card
Even though we delivered this in RAINcoats and Sarah in her cute lil' rain boots...

The final gift!
I included Cindy L.'s "Killer Fudge" and a few of the the "L" Family Cookies (to be explained in a later post), and gingerbread trees with snow icing...

It was super fun to take Sarah around and having her take part in giving/connecting with our neighbors. I don't ever want her to remember a time when we aren't giving/serving our community. Our cul de sac has isn't the most social. Most keep to themselves. Everyone is friendly enough to wave when they drive by, but that's about it. So I find myself constantly thinking of ways to make some sort of contact - even if it doesn't include meaningful conversation. Next year I'm going to have a cookie exchange and try to get a gathering of us all based around food, have cookie decorating for the kiddos and hopefly draw more of us together...

Sarah quote: Mmmmm, smells good! Cookies and
Hot Tock-ket (Chocolate)

Man, she's got her Daddy's sweet tooth already!

I've been neglecting my blog in favor of baking these past days... Pictures will follow, but let's just say that I had to make a market run this morning because I found that I had run out of sugar!

Gingerbread trees covered in snow
Cindy L.'s Killer Fudge
Sugar Santa Cookies (a la Lockwood Family Cookie style)
Russian Tea Cookies (Thanks Ellen!)
and the latest: Peanut Brittle

Whew! I think I'm finished for now... Can't wait to take them around to the neighbors!

Meme of Eight with Google

(Thanks Ellen)

The rules are for each question type your answer into Google Image Search. Pick one image from the 1st page results.

1. Age at your next birthday


2. Place you'd like to travel to.

Any and all of Italy and Sicily

3. Favorite Place

Zion National Park

4. Favorite Objects

Books

5. Favorite Food

Italian of course!

6. Favorite Colors

Red, White, and Silver

7. Nickname

Todd calls me Beautiful

8. Place you were born

Spokane, Washington

I Wonder...

Do Christmas carols from those who celebrate Christmas in the southern hemisphere exist? Have I just not heard them because we live in the Northern Hemisphere? If they DO exist, what do they highlight as the warm Christmas experiences that are the polar opposite (sorry, I couldn't resist) of our sleigh rides, cocoa, snowman, and North Pole imagery? Hmmmm... We northerners can't really hold the world's only song writer's of Christmas carols... There's gotta be a southern version of Bing, Nat, Sinatra etc. right?

:: L I Z Z Y ::

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of silliness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgment that serves you very ill indeed.

I couldn't resist... I love Lizzy probably the most of Austen's characters - wonder if that skewed my answers? Hmmm... It's time for a holiday rereading of one of her novels I think!

Viva Opera!

Andrea Bocelli's Viaggio Italiano is playing on our system in the living room and Sarah is sweetly playing with her Little People barn and singing to herself between statements of: Cow - pen, Horse ride cart... I don't normally have opera on as my first choice of genre for music, but that has changed in the past month. Todd's uncle emailed us the YouTube clip of Paul Potts auditioning and then singing the winning performance of Britain's Got Talent. Ever since she saw it, Sarah's been requesting "Man singing - 'gain..." in her very deliberate 21 month old speech. I have to admit that I really like Bocelli playing when I get tired of replaying Potts' version of Nessun Dorma. And so I usher in the holiday time with an Italian twist to the traditional holiday tunes...

i LOVE this season...

Rich, Chocolaty Cocoa
Frosty Grass that CRUNCHES as You Walk on it
Seeing my Breath Come out in little PUFFS as I laugh
Scarves
Clapping with Mittens on
Snowboarding
Down Comforters
Examining intricate ICE crystals
Fires
Curling up with a cozy blanket to read
Candles
Thanksgiving
Christmas
Hearing the first Carols of the season

More Painting than Posting...

Besides the fact that Sarah is sick and has decided to not nap for the past three days, I've been trying to get our bathroom vanities painted/transformed from this:


To this:

We're trying to go from an 80's/early 90's look in oak cabinetry to a more updated look of, well, darn it all, the Pottery Barn furniture vanity look... I'm not a huge fan of cookie cutter magazine decorating - I like having some quirky individuality/creativity thrown in, but it is a cleaner look. So after many coats of Branchport Brown oil based enamel, we now have what is shaping up to be much better looking bathrooms. Not quite finished (still have the counter top, tile edging, sink, faucet, lighting, and wall color to do), but two big things are checked off (Todd installed the new floor too)!

Todd is the sander and I am the painter - not easy for a person who thrives on the gratification of quick results, but this project (and house renovation in general) is stretching me, growing me into someone who can patiently wait for an eventual outcome. Teaching me that with each thin coat of paint (because more is certainly not always better), I'm approaching the final product. Times of growth are often messy, but I desire to be someone who is able to wait graciously - to have the fruit of God's patience be a defining characteristic in my life. The Lord is so good to not give us everything we want (or even need) immediately. How would I depend on Him if I was swimming in money (or unwisely charged everything)? Where would my faith be if I saw exactly how He would provide in all circumstances? Patience and trust go hand in hand - this is a theme I have found coming up again and again in the growth spurt times in my life - not the easiest of times - but truly rich in so many ways...

Turning two has apparently come early for Sarah. I am seeing evidence of it every day in her new found screeches, tantrums, fake crying, and little girl bossy drama. I find it essential to remind myself moment by moment, that I must be the adult/parent in the situation and not react in kind... I'm so glad that God is a holy Father and never has anything but our good in mind in everything that He does and allows in our lives. He never merely reacts to our yowls for things just out of reach, our whines for comfort, our pouts for our way - He purposes all things for our good, the development of our character (Oh, how I cling to Romans 8:28!).

I am further humbled to hear myself parent Sarah. Here are a few "rules" that have flown out of Todd's and my mouth that have given us pause:

1. We don't kick arks.
2. Don't throw elephants.
3. Don't sit on your cousin.
4. Be careful, you're in reverse again.

Silly, yes, but simple. Yet even the simplest commands that God has set for us to follow for a long, healthy life I can disregard/forget so easily. I pray that God gives me the humility to see how desperate for Him I am in ALL things so that I can also extend that grace to Sarah for the rest of her life - especially during her two's - however long they last...

Oh, it's been too long!

You Are a Powdered Devil's Food Donut

A total sweetheart on the outside, you love to fool people with your innocent image. On the inside you're a little darker, richer, and more complex. You're a hedonist who demands more than one pleasure at a time. Decadent and daring, you test the limits of human indulgence.

What Donut Are You?

I certainly don't eat donuts enough (so say my cholesterol numbers...) This inspires me to go indulge without guilt...although I DON'T think I'm a hedonist! And to dig the deeper thoughts and publish more of what I'm thinking/doing/dreaming these days... Stay tuned.

I don't know why I hesitated in taking Sarah Trick or Treating this year. Maybe it was I thought that she was just too young, it was too cold, she wouldn't eat the candy anyway etc... Au contrer mon frere! She was absolutely beside herself giddy to be

#1: outside after dinner
#2: with both Todd and me
#3 dressed up in her tutu
#4, 5 &6: walking up steps/knocking on doors, talking to people...

Unbelievable how much she was squealing as she ran down the sidewalk... I never imagined how amazing it would be to share in the joy of my child enjoying herself! Bliss! Not to mention the fact she was the most adorable Princess/Ballerina 20-month-old ever!

Amarillo, TX, in the Panhandle on Route 66, home of Cadillac Ranch (pictured above... If you watch CARS again, look for this profile in the mountains behind the dinky town that is the main setting if you didn't already figure that out...), flatter than FLAT, High Plains, dusty, Spanish for "yellow"... Where I'll be for five days visiting family, celebrating our niece's 1st birthday... We'll tour Todd's home town of Pampa for a day (pop. 19k) and drop in on our financial adviser... 1st flight as solo parent with Sarah... Seven hours that I will be praying non-stop for Sarah to be mellow and me to be calm even if she isn't... I thank God for portable DVD players!

My Lil' Sunshine
Even when clouds prevail, it's so nice to have cheery baby toys/food - especially the yellow ones - strewn around the house to bring a little more color to these sometimes very grey days. I think she's living up to her joyful middle name...

You Are an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

On the surface, you're a little plain - but you have many subtle dimensions to your personality. Sometimes you're down to earth and crunchy. Other times, you're sweet and a little gooey.

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Hmm. (or should it be Mmmmmm....?) not totally into the "plain" description even though I am... In my mind I'm about 5'8" or 5'10" head turning beautiful, the life of the party yada, yada and then well an online quiz pops my bubble... Tee Hee.... Glad my self worth is not in a cookie description! I agree with the personality part though... God's the best baker don't you think?

You Are Best Described By...

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

How funny! I'm drinking my morning coffee from a Starbucks mug they put out way back when they had famous pieces of art on them by the major artists... And the one on mine? You guessed it... Thanks Ellen!

A random picture. When I taught middle school Language Arts and had a "free write" I would often give the students a piece of art, a writing prompt, or picture to help them get started. This is me inside a rock. The hole was actually made from a trapped gas bubble "Miiiillllliiiiooonnnnsss of yeeeeeaaaaarrrrrrs agooooo!" (read in a deep baritone voice that kind of does an echo-y thing in your head) when Ranier was active. Todd and I decided that we would do "all things Seattle" for our second anniversary and visiting Paradise National Park by Ranier turned out to be one of those things... I was about three months pregnant and feeling pretty well so we set out to go to Pike Place, the Space Needle, go to a Mariner's game, stay downtown, have coffee (decaf at the time), and well, hike! So now we've celebrated our anniversaries at:

Cannon Beach - 1st Anniversary

Seattle / Mt. Ranier - 2nd Anniversary

at home with Sarah - 3rd Anniversary

Climbing Mt. Pilchuck - 4th Anniversary

(there was fog at the top - not much to show in a summit picture...)

Next we're planning a hot air balloon ride for our 5th - complete with a yummy champagne brunch afterward... Hope my prone-to-motion-sick-head/stomach can handle a balloon ride! Sure, it's still 10 months away until August 2008, but I'm so EXCITED...I just love being married to Todd...

10 years ago...

I had just come off Summer Staff at Lakeside and meeting some of the most amazing people, many of whom became dear friends... I was living with the Leffels in a bedroom across the hall from a certain 16 year old who was a soccer phenom and loved scaring me to death by jumping out of my closet when I wasn't expecting it... I settled in to subbing and then got a long-term sub-position at Harbour Pointe Middle School as a 7th grade Lang. Arts/Social Studies teacher - the first position of my 10 year stint in the district. Sunrise became my home church and I enjoyed meeting at the Golikes for Bible study, fellowship and fun... I was wondering when Mr. Right might wander into my life, but enjoying the richness of old friends and introduction of new ones... I loved how the Lord had given me a "home" to live in, a feeling of home living in an area I was not familiar with. This is a time I look back to and see God's provision and work in my life so clearly.

20 years ago...

I was 14 and a sophomore at Central Valley in Spokane. I met my dear friend Lina in Adv. Soph. English class and we became kindred spirits... I was challenged in my writing/thinking and that was great. This was the year of the Bronte sisters, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Lord of the Flies, etc. The standards that are introduced and become "the beginning" definition of good reading in my mind... That was very good. I also ended up meeting a guy in my driver's ed class in the spring who I dated until mid-senior year. I "thought" this was good, very flattering to have a boyfriend and attend all dances etc. through most of my high school time, but oh how I wish I had spent that time just being friends with everyone. The Lord spared me the worst, but certainly I missed out on a lot because I was wrapped up in being "us". God is so good to direct our paths...

30 years ago...

I was 4 and don't remember a whole lot from that time... I had a dreamy childhood and in that respect it seems just a blur of fun... Running around our back yard getting splinters from pine cones in my feet, making mud pies, pine needle forts, sniffing my mom's roses and popping the petals on my forehead, running across a couple of lawns to go to my best friend's house, playing dress up, etc. I loved the "real" summers reaching the upper 90s and lying in bed moving wet wash cloths from my face to legs to arms etc. trying to get cool enough to sleep in a house without air conditioning. Singing into a box fan. I'm sure I was a Sesame Street, Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact! watcher. Weird how some of the same bits are STILL on Sesame Street today... Gordon and Maria sure have aged well...

Thank you to those who inspired this walk down memory lane...

Fours For You

Fours For You

via Ellen, Becky etc, etc....

Four Jobs I have had in my life…

1. Middle School Teacher
2. University Conference Housing Coordinator
3. Resident Advisor at Western Washington U
4. Secretary (Merry Maids, Lakeside, currently at Grace)

Four Places I have Lived…

1. Spokane, WA
2. Edmonds, WA
3. Bellingham, WA
4. Whidbey Island, WA

Four Places I have been on Vacation…

1. France & Germany
2. Kauai
3. Charlotte, NC
4. Oregon Coast

Four of my Favorite Foods…

1. Mom's Pot Roast and veggies
2. Good Sushi
3. Aunt Margie & Uncle Senator Richard's Guacamole, Chips & Margaritas!
4. Pretty much any good Italian dish and a great glass of red to go with...

Four Places I’d rather be right now…

1. Anywhere sunny
2. Beach in the Caribbean
3. With family just hanging out
4. On a date with Todd

Four Places I’d Rather Not Be…

1. In a dirty public restroom
2. In an awkward conversation
3. In a boat (I'm SO prone to motion sickness - bleh!)
4. Without a Savior

Rosemary
The last of my herbs to last the elements and only lasting evidence to grow my own herbs this summer, but a jump start on next year...
Basil
My love, my delight in Italian dishes grew well, but is no more...
Problem

Getting starters to grow indoors before getting transferred to outdoor containers without overgrowing the starter container that looks like a short square greenhouse... If I take the lid off, when I'm not around, our 13 year old indoor cat thinks they are a snack (as are all other plants not placed up high and out of her reach - she still jumps pretty well for an older cat - and then pukes them back up after an hour or so... I won't be too sad when she goes to kitty heaven...Then I can keep fresh flowers and other plants displayed lower than the top of bookcases and the refrigerator!) If I do keep the lid on, the little tender shoots bump their heads on their plastic protection and then mold. I don't know if Winston Churchill ever tried to start herbs indoors with a cat who thinks she's a vegetarian, but I will "Never, Never, Never Give Up!" I WILL have my herbs and eat them too!

Paddle ~ Jade ~ Snake ~ Spike 2
New additions to my house keeping with the Southwest theme. Hopefully they will survive my barely green thumb.

I spend about 30% of my day outside trying to satisfy Sarah's insatiable desire to be out of doors... I love it!


My Little Adventurer - ready to go rain or shine...

She seems to love smelling weeds...
Me: "Oooo, Sarah that isn't a pretty smelling flower... Bleh."
Sarah: "Mmmm good!"
Apparently I need to recalibrate her sense of smell...
or perhaps extend my own to include the smell of dandelions...

Dirt? I didn't eat any dirt! Why would you think that?

I couldn't resist...

1. MY ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Muffy Legacy

2. MY GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Mocha Macaroon

3. MY “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
A-Loc

4. MY DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Red Leopard

5. MY SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Elizabeth Spokane

6. MY STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first), Locab

7. MY SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Blue Merlot

8. MY NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Anthony James

9. MY WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Ann Franklin

10. MY TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Charlotte Cunningham

11. MY SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Summer Allium

12. MY CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Simply Strawberry

13. MY HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Cherry Oatmeal

14. MY ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Garden Thunder Tour

God, weeds and my OCD

I feel like God talks to me sometimes while I weed. It started at a young age and has continued until now. During these times I contemplate weeds, the process of weeding, the position my body must take while weeding, and how it makes me feel before, during and after the chore. At long last I'm going to write about it so that I can once and for all get these thoughts out of my head and perhaps discover new ones with the added space.

Context: I'm randomly OCD. Light switches, light switch plate screws, removing tags and labels and pulling weeds are a few areas of craziness for me. This is compounded by the fact that we have a yard with three areas of gravel, pea gravel, or sand. The previous owners had an above-ground pool area that we just haven't reinvented into anything else because we're kept busy enough with the inside of the house and already established ares of the yard. I am the primary weeder of our family and when I realized that I really wanted to keep the areas outside chemical-free for Sarah's sake, then weeding became an even greater importance if I didn't want those areas to be jungles of obnoxious weeds. Up until this point, I think that I have succeeded in making sure the play areas (all three are definitely ares where Sarah - my little future geologist/rock-eater LOVES to play) are kept clear of all but some patches of moss.

WEEDS: have always represented evil/sin to me. Yes, Adam and Eve were banished and had to deal with weeds as a result of their rebellion, had to eat by the toil of their own hands and sweat on their brow. Weeds are nature's evidence of rebellion. Weeds choke out the plants we want to grow, the ones we plant for beauty or food. Weeds make me think of the sin in my life that steals the beauty away from what God intended me to be. Sin dampens joy and distracts me from my relationship with my Creator. They clutter up the simple life I desire to lead and block the way to the extraordinary. Weeds start as unseen sprouts that grow into horrendous obnoxious invaders. There is immense advantage in plucking tender sprouts before they get to the stage where they can multiply themselves. I don't know all of the botanical processes, but what's true for resisting/confessing and repenting sin is true for weeds - the earlier in the process you do it, the better.

I got really serious about keeping our areas weed free when I realized how much Sarah likes being outside. My goal was for us to have a nicely maintained yard without any danger to her innocent little body. It had to be a chemical-free zone for her. So I began an all out effort to establish a baseline of no weeds so that I could maintain it easily. Wiping the slate clean did really help, because now, every time I'm out there with Sarah as she plays, I pluck the no good sprouts and by the time she's finished playing, I have a handful or two and the area looks a LOT better. Daily maintenance is really the way to go - both for weeding and letting the Holy Spirit search my heart for the no-good sprouts.... When I skip a day or two, it is all very clear that too much time has gone by - the evidence of bits of green leaves no doubt.



After it rains is my favorite time to weed because they come out of the soil so much easier. Much like after I read my Bible, hear a sermon with my heart wide-open, have a time of worship in song, recognizing and surrendering the sin in my heart - roots and all - so much easier... My heat is watered in the Truth of God's word and is tilled up to reveal what lies just beneath...


Weeds come in all different kinds, sizes, shades, and degrees of stubbornness. The ones that push through the gravel and slip out easily from the soil below are not a problem. They are easily recognized, uprooted and seem to be loners - not tending to multiply en masse. My arch nemeses are the kind that are tiny and multiply by the thousands as if overnight someone spread their seeds over the pebbles... Now, if we really wanted to do it right, we'd order a truck load of pea gravel, of regular gravel, first lining everything with that landscaping material barrier, and do something to cover the sand so that the likelyhood of any sprouts getting the water, soil and sunlight they need would be minimal. Alas, right now we don't feel motivated to do that or to spend money on rocks. How often does my laziness to invest and cover myself in the Truth of God cause weeds to continue to flourish in my life when they wouldn't if I had more Truth covering my heart? Convicting to be sure. Every time I choose to forego my Bible reading time, decide to be undisciplined and choose comfort, I compromise maintaining a healthy covering of His Truth in my heart, and on the forefront of my mind.

And so I continue to weed and read...

Off to Camp...

In just a few minutes, we're off to Lakeside... A place where my feet never tire of walking, my nose never tires of smelling, my eyes never tire of seeing, a place where my heart is renewed, a place where God is somehow closer...
How's that? TWO posts in one day...

Caught Red Handed...

Well, since Kelly "found" my stagnant blog and linked to it, I now feel some accountability to actually keeping it relatively updated. As you can see, this started out as an experiment. I've never been one to journal consistently. Oh, of course when someone would give me a journal, I would get all inspired and start like gang-busters for the first week, then too, the journal would lay forlorn on some surface, not to be picked up again until I wanted to take notes some retreat or camp... Would trying this online be more of a motivation? I LOVE reading others' blogs (Might as well confess to being a undercover blog reader of many you out there who might possibly check Kelly's blog - sorry I haven't "made myself known", but now, perhaps, we might reconnect?), I mean, who wouldn't be enthralled with Bridget's, Deena's, Erin's etc. and now Kelly's joined in giving us "fall down laughs" (thanks Pat and Rich for the term)!

And so I endeavor... once again...to follow the trail of my own wandering thoughts...hoping not to get lost...and possibly find some reasons to hike along.

The pig on the other side of the fence...

How much should a mother bow to her children? After 45minutes in the high chair and hardly eating anything that she has in front of her (including yummy pulled pork) Sarah starts to whine after my sandwich... So I give her some and she eats it. Why is it that we so often look over the proverbial fence and see greener grass? Alas, it must begin very very early in life. So with that revelation, have I progressed past a 16 month old mind set? How often do my eyes tend toward the new, novel, not-needed when what is right in front of me is a fully functional ___________ that I don't have to pay for? I feel myself growing each time I check myself in a "want/need" situation. Living simply, and specifically without all wants really is where I am right now especially when I think of how these times of simple living will hopefully reap depth of character, imagination, and contentment in the long run for all of us...

How can I resist having an outlet for featuring such a face as this?

Ah! the Truth comes to light...

Yipes! I knew that when I started this thing that it'd be amazing if I stuck with it and, well, humble is what I am. One blog and not another one for SIX - count 'em 6 - whole months... I guess it comes down to choices I have between deep cleaning my bedroom of dust or posting. Sarah is even giving me time now to do both - Bless her!

I guess I get most inspired by reading all the fabulouso blogs (some relatively brand new Erin, Deena - you're off to a great start!) Yeti Speak, Bridget Beth, Lucy, Rich etc., but then I realize I've been reading them and not creating my own... Hmmm. balance in everything. The therapeutic nature of capturing/discussing life with myself and perhaps others is a draw, but how does that compete with going to the park, time with God, grocery shopping, spending time with Todd or improving the house? I do have a lot more friends who've chosen My Space rather than a blog on a blog site, so perhaps that's part of it, I'm kind of "out" of the blog culture as far as who I come in contact with on a regular basis... But should that come first or naturally follow starting a blog? Chicken? Egg? Definitely Chicken. I'll just do it.