being 30something

creating keepsakes december...

(pg 73) 

currently...

*drowning under a crazy, surprisingly busy Dec workload

*finishing 60 handmade Christmas cards for a friend/client

*needing to finish Christmas cards for another friend, and finalize our cards

*planning for an unexpected 2 day trip to NYC next week

*wondering if I can get my Keen's repaired (the strap broke)

*anxious to get a few scrappy assignments finished

*feeling a little sad that I had to cancel a girl's weekend in Boston 

*needing to get a friend's b-day present in the mail (and warning her that I am always late with such things. hi Barb.)

the giving season*

*post title blatantly lifted from our newspaper's name for the seasonal listing of wants/needs of local charitable organizations

I went to bed last night around 11:30pm, exhausted from a day of cooking & eating, and simultaneously hyped up on coffee & sugar. In an effort to quiet my mind for a bit (and by "a bit," I mean until 4am, when I woke up to go shopping), I picked up an issue of Body + Soul magazine. This particular issue (which is upstairs...and I'm too lazy to go see what month) had an article about Cami Walker, the author & founder of the 29 Gifts Challenge. It was inspiring, and intriguing, and frankly...one of those moments when the universe knocks you upside the head & says "now what are you going to do about it?". 

I love this idea, particularly at this time of year. It's a reminder to be mindful about giving. It's a reminder that giving doesn't always involve wrapping paper & bows. It's a reminder that abundance is about giving and receiving. So. I bought the book. I signed up for the challenge online. I told the family the plan...and they're all on board. I love that by starting my challenge today, the 29th day will be Christmas Day. 

Today, my gifts included...

*a crate of books for the school where my MIL works

*a calendar for my MIL

*a book for Hope that she expected to buy for herself

Be sure to let me know if you decide to join in....happy giving. 

happy thanksgiving...

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

planning is half the battle.

I started my morning with strong black coffee, my laptop, a stack of food magazines, a sheet of paper, and a pen. Yep, Thanksgiving is at my house. And with one or two exceptions...it has been, each & every year. I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't mind the planning or cooking. I don't do the cleanup. I think that Grandma Bea would be rather proud that the pickiest eater in the family can pull together a decent feast. On the menu this year...

turkey (my least favorite part of the meal)

mashed potatoes (yukon gold, made with more butter than I'll admit to)

sweet potatoes (with brown sugar & marshmallows. yum.)

green bean casserole (fresh green beans, but otherwise traditional)

apple & chestnut stuffing

rolls (I'll admit...having a bread truck in the driveway rules out homemade)

cranberry sauce (my MIL brings...I love cranberries, but hate the texture of cranberry sauce)

pumpkin pie

pecan pie

peppermint mocha cupcakes

oh, and breakfast on thanksgiving will be Breakfast Casserole (hash browns, sausage, and eggs)

Note...I'll be fasting until Thursday...

"admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human"...grey's.

It's the middle/end of November. A week before Thanksgiving. And all around the blog-o-sphere, facebook, and twitter, people are posting about things that they're grateful for. These posts will reach a frenzied pace in the next few days, as if people are trying to "prove" that they are truly grateful. Prove that they deserve that extra slice of pumpkin pie. Or that they should be sainted for entertaining and feeding family. 

I, too, have been trying to summon the gratitude in the past few days. Amidst a staggering workload, jet lag, financial pressure, and hair badly in need of highlights...the gratitude has been slow in coming. I went in search of a pithy gratitude quote from the brilliant writers of Grey's (who need a dose of brilliant this season. seriously.) I came up with this one...season 2, episode 9...

"Gratitude, appreciation, giving thanks. No matter what words you use, they all mean the same thing. Happy. We're supposed to be happy. Grateful for friends, family. Happy just to be alive. Whether we like it or not."

Yep. that's about where I'm at. I get points for trying....

*I am grateful for a dear friend who sent me an awesome cd/dvd invite to her 30th birthday party that made me forget (for a moment) that I am almost a decade older than than she is. 

*I am grateful for manufacturers who send me boxes of scrappy goodness that are so intoxicating that I refuse to even really look in the boxes during the workweek. 

*I am grateful for coffee. Lots & lots of coffee. 

*I am grateful for co-workers who make me laugh. Who throw spit-balls (minus the spit) over the cubicle at me. Who help me remember that it's only lip balm.

*I am grateful for amazing kids who have conversations about star wars, french phrasing, colleges, basketball teams, and Owl City...over dinner.

*I am grateful for my mother, who loves me, who forgives me for not calling to tell her about my California trip, and who doesn't really rub it in my face that Karen is, in fact, the better daughter. (Mom, by the way, let's change that blog banner, shall we?)

*I am grateful for the fact that out of the next six weeks, only two are five day work weeks for me. 

be good. be grateful.

california (college) dreaming.

Hope & I have spent the past few days traipsing up the California coast. Exhausting, but fun...

Thurs - flew in to Burbank, then drove up to San Luis Obispo. Stopped at some random mall for lunch, and giggled at the stares that we always get. No, seriously...people stare at us. Is it b/c we are so pale? Is it b/c neither of us wear makeup (unusual for CA?)? Are they laughing at my VT shoes? Whatever it is...it's so obvious. Anyway....got to SLO after dark, so decided to delay our campus visit until Fri. Headed to Pismo instead...awesome clam chowder at The Splash Cafe (so good, in fact, that I'm considering having some overnighted at some point this winter). Went back to our hotel (SeaCrest Resort=great!) and pretty much crashed. 

Fri - headed back down to the beach for breakfast, then went to Cal Poly. We didn't book a tour b/c we weren't sure what time we'd be there. Instead, we just wandered around campus a bit. I would swear that the layout AND furniture of the student union has not changed since the late 80s...so familiar! Hope loved the campus, but we're completely aware that she's unlikely to get in (thank you, budget crisis). After Cal Poly, we headed north. Long, boring drive on 101. Stopped in Petaluma for dinner with some friends, then stayed with another friend in Windsor. Really tiring day for accomplishing so little! 

Sat - toured Sonoma State. Our tour guide gets an A+...he really did a great job. We liked the campus, and love the area...I could go into the detailed pros/cons list that Hope made, but what's the point? She's low on the admissions priority totem pole b/c she's out of state. Drat. After campus, we drove around the town a bit, tried (& failed) to find a cupcake shop, then drove up to Healdsburg for a late lunch. Then it was back in the car, south to San Francisco...a little bit of shopping, a cup of coffee, then airport. Red-eye flight back home. 

You might be wondering why we "bothered" to spend the time/money to do this trip when her chances of being accepted are so low (again, budget-related. academically? she's in great shape.) I guess it falls under the "leave no stone unturned" category. Besides...it was California. Do I really need to justify that?

an ocean view...

Hope & I are in California...checking out some colleges...currently listening to the waves crash onto Pismo Beach. good times...

new loves from October Afternoon...

mini market stickers...

 

flashcard books...

 

makes me want to stay home & scrapbook. 

these three girls...

made me love my camera again. 

A couple of months ago, Hope and I headed downtown with her bff, Sarah, for our first senior photo session. I captured photos like this...

 

and this...

 

and we were all pretty pleased. Then one night, a week or two later, I was at yoga. I looked around the studio and thought that it would be a great place for a photo shoot. My yoga instructor gave me the owners name & number, and suggested that I give her a call. I did...and she was more than happy to let us use the studio. We spent a few hours there, and came away with...

 

and...

 

again...pretty darn pleased! A few days after, I was talking to another mom at a soccer game. She mentioned that her daughter was less than thrilled with the studio photos that they had done. I offered to help, so we connected that weekend...

 

 

I have to admit...having such beautiful subjects makes it easier to get good portraits! 

(if you're on facebook, you can see additional shots of each...)