Saturday Summary

Do You Tweet?

I am giving Twitter a try. Click on my Twitter link on the left to check it out. And to explain my username (Being_Libby), it is a nickname that Markas gave me during one of my "liberal" rants. So now he'll just say, "Okay, Libby...".

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Sometimes it is as if it's meant to be

We recently got Evan a small desk for his room. It was an $8 garage sale find that we have fixed up a little. Since then I have been on a search for a suitable desk chair. Found plenty that were: Too big. Too tall. Too flimsy. Too expensive. Too boring. But today I found a chair that was just right. It is an old school chair that was salvaged and refinished and topped off with a new seat. It was at my favorite downtown store which has a little of everything (antiques, used books, plain ol' junk). And to add to its perfection, I got it at half price. I love finding a great find! : )

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Meet Monkey

Monkey joined our family on Thursday night. We wanted Tiger to have a companion because mice are very social creatures. I'm not sure they are really chums yet. Since they are from different litters it may take longer for them to bond. Yes, I have done some reading about having mice as pets. I try to be a responsible pet owner ; )

Another Season in the Books

The Spring '09 Season (aka the monsoon season) has come to an end.

We have reached the end of soccer season #4. Except for the one before mentioned 'bump in the road', Evan had a fun season. I'm happy that he is still enjoying soccer so much. He is looking forward to soccer camp this summer and starting his next soccer season in August.

a few action shots from 5/26/09 game

Evan with three of his Blue Thunder team mates

Evan had a first during tonight's game. After scoring his first goal of the game, he ran back to midfield and did a cartwheel! I've never seen him do that before. It was a big hit with the other players and parents ; )

Yesterday was a good day...

didn't even have to use my A-K.

(sorry. channelling my inner old school gansta)

Evan was 1 of 250+ kids on his school's field trip to an area water park. Video shows Evan coming down the water slide. He was a little bummed because the younger kids weren't allowed on the big slides. Otherwise he had a blast and swam the entire time. The weather wasn't the greatest for swimming. Kinda cool and windy so there were lots of shivering kids with blue lips huddled around. Parents weren't allowed to swim so I stayed on pool patrol and kid warming duty : )

I enjoyed some crafty girl time last night with home girls Linda & Darla. I took this camera phone picture of Darla looking through a huge jar of buttons. I really wanted to steal this jar of buttons from Linda! Instead I settled for hugging it for awhile and taking a few pictures to remember the moment. LOL There is just something fun and nostalgic about buttons for me. What can I say... I'm a gal of simple pleasures ; )

(My birthday is Monday... hint, hint.)

Saying Goodbye is Hard to Do

One of our little mice passed away early this morning. We didn't have YoYo long, but YoYo was a good mouse and will be missed. I wonder if Tiger is sad now that she is without her buddy. I will give Evan the news when he gets home from school today.

RIP YoYo.

I found myself today...

HERE.

It's kinda weird when you run into yourself when you least expect it ; )

ARt is fOuND

new photo now up on my photography blog

Confessions of a (Sometimes) Angry Housewife ; )

art journal page

used melted crayons and acrylic paints to express a marriage-is-hard moment

I had the best time using the melted crayons! Art therapy is a wonderful thing!

It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.

It is marriage.

Markas & I are quickly approaching our 8th wedding anniversary (Tuesday). If you add 2 years of dating, we are at a decade of coupledom. This seems like a drop in the bucket compared to my parents who will celebrate 40 years of marriage this summer and 44 years of coupledom. I can't wrap my head around that... and couples that have been together 60 or 75 years... that blows my mind!

The best piece of relationship advice I have ever gotten came from my mom. I think I was in my early 20s so of course it didn't hold the value then that it does now. She said "you fall in and out of love, but it is the like that keeps you together". I say my mom is a wise woman.

There is certainly an ebb and flow to this marriage business. It is made up of phases... some good, some not-so-good, some neutral and (if you are lucky) some really great ones. Markas & I managed to have a fight last week triggered by dishwashing soap! Yep, liquid soap. That moment would be filed in the not-so-good bin. But it could also be filed away in the this-is-real-life-relationship-stuff-and-it-ain't-always-pretty bin too. Although at the time I wanted to file it away in the shove-it-up-your-ass bin! LOL And now I can have a good chuckle over the whole thing.

I came across this line dealing with marriage in a book I recently read: "He seems to have made peace, more or less, with whatever faults he imagines that I have."

... Markas likely thinks that my default personality position is stuck on grumpy.

Happy eight years, Dear! ; )

Just for Fun

Facebook Quiz

Danica completed the quiz "Which Female Grease Character Are You?" with the result Rizzo.

A rebel at heart, you are the leader of the Pink Ladies, Rizzo. You are outgoing, sarcastic, tough, and fit right in with the guys. You have unconventional good looks and will always speak your mind. Sometimes you find yourself in a trouble, but always find a way to come out on top..

A Time To Shine

(click on image to enlarge)

Special Announcement

fun news on my photography blog

click here

The Longest Game

Evan's soccer game last night was the longest game in all of his four seasons of soccer. Time wise it wasn't longer than other games. It clocked in at just under an hour. It was the longest game because of the effect and impact it had on me. It was not a fun game to watch. It was not easy to watch my child play that game. It would be hard to try to describe the circumstances in detail. I can sum it up by saying that the other team had a talented and very aggressive player. Essentially (and somewhat unfortunately for the other players) that one player was the other team. And this one player (inadvertently) changed the entire tone both on and off the soccer field.

Instead of focusing on the bad stuff, I will focus on how proud I was of Evan's team. Because they played as a team. I will focus on how proud I was of my child. Because as a mom I was proud of how he handled himself on a personal level... he didn't sacrifice sportsmanship to get ahead. As a person I was proud that he didn't let that talented and aggressive player run him over... Evan stood his ground and didn't ever stop playing the game he knows he can play. I was proud to see a balance in Evan between playing fair and playing tough.

Now if only us 'adult' parents and coaches could find that balance, it would save us from long and stress filled games like the one last night : /

Color Me Happy

"You create your own decoration. You choose your color, you choose your mood. If you are depressed, you put some bright yellow and suddenly you are happy."

-Philippe Starch

a closeup of the day lillies on my front porch

Dear Dress Barn,

I feel the need to apologize for making fun of you or more specifically your choice of names. Why in the world would you pick the word barn to be any part of your business name, if you aren't in the agricultural business? It doesn't make for a flattering image for purchasing clothing. I am a double digit sized gal and I am very comfortable with that. There have been a few brief moments like 15 minutes in high school or a few months in college were I dropped to single digit status. Yet I feel most me in the lower end of double digits. Even with this acceptance of who I am as a woman, I was hesitant to enter an establishment named after a barn.

Yesterday I bit the bit (pun intended) and decided to check out your store that recently opened in my area. I need a few outfits to wear when I go to court for my CASA cases. Sadly I have ventured to a higher end of the double digit realm and needed to 'upgrade' my 'work' wardrobe. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found or maybe more so what I didn't find. No hay. No animal stalls for dressing rooms. Not everything was dresses. No hint of bandana, feed sack or country gingham fabrics in sight. And yes there were larger sizes available, but nothing barn size. I liked a lot of the clothing I saw and got a few great deals (including a lined navy jacket on sale for $18 and a tweed skirt on sale for $17).

Even though I still question your taste in names (seriously who came up with it?), I am a happy Dress Barn customer. I will attempt to refrain from making fun of you from this point on (but really...have you ever thought about changing your name?).

Warmest Regards,
Danica

Color My World

'cuz you're never too old for colored chalk drawings

my latest chalk creation

Evan & neighbor friend Mia

Good picture of Evan's missing teeth. He colored himself in blue chalk. I make a comment about Braveheart for which Evan had no clue what I was talking about ; )

Big Gap!

Evan lost his fourth tooth today. It came out while he was at school. So now he has one mighty big gap on top.

Price Meets Mice

Poor Price didn't know what to think of our new friends. If I had to guess, it had something to do with letting them out to 'play' ; )

our new editions

Tiger & YoYo

I can't believe we now have pet mice. Definitely not planned. But they are really cute and fun! Evan picked out the names. Tiger has orangey "stripes" so that was a no brainer. Then Evan wanted the other one to be called Yo. I suggested YoYo and Evan liked it because it has two syllables like Tiger. Evan insists that they are boy mice even though I'm pretty sure that they are girls (the pet store only carries female mice)... but how does one really tell the difference?

While we were at the pet store, a couple came in and where buying up the little mice for their pet snakes. So I guess we rescued Tiger & YoYo from being snake food.

(pause playlist on the left to hear video sound uninterrupted)

Opossums, Racoons, and Kindergarteners... Oh My!

Evan had a kindergarten fieldtrip to a nearby state park today.

the day in pictures:

slide time

talking about mammals

animal games

more animal games

Neighbor friend Ella with a pickle smile

nothing like a little product placement ; ) ... root beer, anyone?

Evan & Shelby

a not completely successful self-portrait

My Beloved Ones

I just finished my very first court report for CASA. If I didn't feel official before, I certainly do now! I would really like to celebrate with some chocolate chip cookies and milk though. Alas I don't have any of my beloved treats in the house. Oh until the next time we meet my delectable vessels of comfort and goodness. lol

Sing Your Own Song

latest layout

'It's Your Life... Sing Your Own Song!"

Evan July 2008 - rockin' out!

Used one of the 45 records I found at a thrift store and wrote the title on the record with an acrylic paint marker. This layout is for The Creative Type's latest prompt (using your own handwriting).

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. ~Graycie Harmon

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When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

The precursor of the mirror is the mother's face. ~D.W. Winnicott, Playing and Reality, 1971

A 'Killer' Week

"Be pretty if you can,

be witty if you must,

but be gracious if it kills you."

-attributed to Elsie De Wolfe

And this week it may very well kill me! : )

I lost my cool with my neighbors last night. It's a long (on-going) story mostly involving unsupervised children with a little insuffient yard care thrown on top. And today I came unhinged while on yet another phone call to GMAC customer service (apparently today I was routed to the Phillipines). I keep calling GMAC regarding errors they keep making. I really don't know how far one is expected to take this being gracious business. I am really sucking at it these days.

It's a ......... pink flamingo?

Congratulations to my dear friend and fellow 'flamingo' Audra!

Baby Isabella made her entrance into the world today.

She surprised her parents by making that entrance about 5 weeks early. Mom and baby (and Dad) are doing well. And Big Brother is very proud.

I told Audra that she will have to tell "Izzy/Bella" that it rained and rained almost non stop (for weeks) before she was born. But on the day she entered the world, the sun came out and the clouds moved away. What a beautiful evening it turned out to be for this special event : )

Never Too Much

Okay, so I can never get too much snuggle time with my boy. And I can never get enough of his 'quotables' or 'Evanisms'.

I realize that as Evan gets older I have to take my snuggle time with him when I can get it. Luckily he stills wants to snuggle with his mom.

The other morning he climbed in bed and snuggled up to me and said "Mom, you are always the right temperature for me."

I took that moment and packed it away in my heart. I can never have too many of those pure, simple, sweet moments : )

Oh Scrap!

"Oh What a Night" Election Night '08

I finally got around to making this layout. Includes a quote from then Pres-elect Obama and an excerpt from a blog post. The entire blog post (Nov. 5th, 2008) appears on the back of the layout. Used a library card pocket to hold several photos from that night.

Retro Fabulous Multiple Choice ATC Swap
**sneak peek**
I am hosting this Artist Trading Card swap over at SIStv.
my choices:
image - old typewriter
color combo - green & yellow
extra element - texture

My Life in Song - a current playlist ; )

A list of what is going on with me... and song titles to match

I have another doctor appointment today - "Somethings Gotta Give" or "Don't Push Me 'Cause I'm Close to the Edge"

Panic is setting in as Evan's summer break quickly approaches - "The Final Countdown" or "Whiskey in the Jar" or "I Plead Insanity"

Got my scrap on this past weekend - "Life is Messy" or "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"

I'm sick of all of this rain! - "Blame it on the Rain" or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"

to my fellow scrappers...

Happy National Scrapbooking Day

I will be celebrating over at SIStv. Lots of activities going on over there. And it is a perfect day to get my scrap on... it's cool and raining, soccer games were cancelled, my scrap area is relatively clutter free... wish me luck!

Your Best Dream - A Conversation with Evan

art by Cindy Thornton

I have a vivid memory of laying on my belly on the floor watching a TV show about ant colonies. It came to the part of the show where the queen ant died and it led to the death of the colony. I started sobbing uncontrollably. At that very moment, I fully realized that I would die someday. I was four years old.

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Evan has asked about death on a number of occasions including tonight. I'm not sure what prompted tonight's discussion, but he was more visibly upset about the topic than I have seen him before. I tried to explain things the best I could... keeping it real, but appropriate for my little dude. He asked lots of surprisingly wise questions. However one really struck me and made my tummy do a small nervous flip. Evan asked "What is it like right before you die?" I told him no one knows for sure. I knew that answer wouldn't do... so I added "I like to think of it as the same feeling as falling asleep and then having your best dream forever." He seemed satisfied with that answer. As we finished our bedtime ritual, I could all but see the nuts and bolts working in his head as he considered what would be in his best dream.