now you're a button...

good morning blog loves

::

in case you're wondering

i moved all of you to your own page

well

actually

to your own blog

::

i had an extra blog that I wasn't using

and

i wanted a big back yard

where all of you could play and jump and skip and throw snow balls

so i moved you

::

i had a number of options in the "moving" category

but

i really like seeing the titles of your newest blog posts

{so i don't miss anything}

and

this seemed the best way to go

::

i'm still doing a bit of organizing and cleaning

and

there's still a few blogs that haven't been added

~as many of you got lost in the shuffle~

but

i'm really really close

::

so

there you have it

you're all now a button

::

but

not just any button

~like an old one with strings and just barely hanging on~

nope

you

all are a fabulous button

on my side bar

where i visit you with a cup of tea in my hand and a smile on my face

everyday

*

sometimes....

sometimes

it's my heart that feels all crumpled up like this

and

sometimes

it's just my thoughts

::

every now and then

it's my dreams about the future that feel all bent out of shape

so i wait patiently for a sign

to help straighten them out

::

some days

my words

that sound so wonderful in my head

come out crumpled up and in the wrong place and don't make any sense

and

while spilling all over the place

get walked on and really messed up

yet

they still belong to me

so it's my mess to clean up

::

and

sometimes

it's my ideas that keep me awake all night

that make me feel all mangled up in the morning

so

i try to write them all down

but

ideas

that are bright and beautiful and wonderful

while laying in the safety of my bed

never

seem to be the same

when morning is staring at me

with questioning eyes

and

my empty notebook is resting in my hands

::

here's to a weekend without any crumpled anything

*

I was one of these children...

oh, winter winter winter...

it's still winter

::

the snow was falling again last night

and

it's cold

but

i don't fight it anymore

::

is there any chance i have actually gotten used to winter

and

the cold

and

the snow

?

well now that's just crazy talk

~~

can you see the bird house in this photo

?

can you tell that unless i go on vacation or spring comes early

that my writing here is getting a bit stagnant

?

can you tell that being cooped all winter starts to make you a bit crazy

?

oh sugar...you are a little shit !

it was the middle of the night and I was all alone. the pain was excruciating. worse than a migraine or maybe the same, but just different. i got up and walked around, went to the bathroom, let the dog out and climbed back into bed.

~~

i know it was the sugar

or lack of.

~~

today i will have a little bit of sugar

because going cold turkey

sucks

~~

thank you

all of you

for your support while i change my way of eating and for the book suggestions and the reminder to take it slow and everything in moderation and while many of you said you couldn't change

what you eat or drink

i thought that too

but sometimes you have to show yourself who's boss

~

last night proved to me that sugar has been my boss

and

i'm ready to work for someone else

~

and

the photo above

well that's my coffee table or what i refer to as my evening desk while i sit and watch the

olympics

and

those mentos

have been the hardest thing to give up

and

if i smell them on your breath

be forewarned

i will knock you to the ground and lick your tongue

*

warning...I could be a bit cranky this week

are you a vegan

or

a vegetarian

?

~~

i'm not

not even close

but

i might be someday

~~

have you seen the movie

food, inc.

~where you will never look at a cow or a chicken the way do now~

?

or

have you picked up the book

~the kind diet~

by

alicia silverstone

?

well together

those two things are going to change my life

well

maybe not my life

but

they're at least going to change what i put in my body

~~

i'm on day two of no processed sugar

~all that stuff that ends in "ose"

which will possibly make me cranky and jittery and forgetful and headachey

and

so far

I am not the raging lunatic i thought i might be

~~

new groceries in my pantry are foreign to me

brown rice syrup

~surprisingly good in my hot tea~

brown rice vinegar

brown rice

~a great substitute for the pasta in my dinner last night~

lots of organic

everything

including peanut butter which was pretty tasty this morning on my whole grain bread

~~

i have

vanilla flavored rice milk

~who knew there was even such a thing~

in my fridge

which was delicious on my organic cinnamon cereal

and

now i can't wait to try the pure almond milk calling my name

~~

and

lunch today

will be miso soup

~whatever that is~

with some edamame and rice crackers

~~

so in a few days from now i might be pulling my hair out and stomping my feet

while my body screams for a kit kat bar

and

a handful of m&m's and a golden oreo cookie

~part of my old diet~

or

i might just be feeling so great

that

i'll be dancing around the house wondering what took me so long

to be good to myself

~~

i'll be sure to let you know

*

I'll admit it...

when

the winter blues

start attacking my soul

and

vitamin D

isn't enough

it's animal therapy

at the zoo

that makes me feel whole again

the mating calls and smiles from the harbor seals

the blinding colors and humidity in the rain forest

the silence surrounding the chimpanzees and orangutans while they sit and watch me

the pacing of the tiger

the rhythmic horn rubbing from the rhinoceros

even

the unfamiliar smells

all of it

fills me up

and

makes me feel like a little girl

who was just told she can have dessert without eating her broccoli first

~~

seriously

the feeling is that good

::

yes, you can...

i believe we have the ability to

be everything

and

do anything

~~

and

if there is any doubt in your mind

watch this

and

you just might be swayed

::

thanks mom for sending this to me

blame it on the sun...

i went to the zoo yesterday

and

smiled

a lot

~~

really spring....you can show up early and you don't even have to rsvp

things are looking up

~~

if you haven't been to tj maxx lately

go

~~

they've gotten in a new selection for spring that has that

"anthropologie"

look

for a fraction of the price

and

it's really quite yummy

~~

with my closet cleaned out and new clothes waving at me

i think i'm going to survive these next four weeks

of winter

without any complaining

~~

well

maybe

just not as much complaining

*

even with dancing limitations, she loved him madly...

page 102 in the dictionary...

somedays

I have so many words

that if I shared all of them with you

you'd run out of the room

far away from your computer screen

holding your head

pulling your hair

screaming

"what is that lady trying to do to me"

~~

other days

I have none

~

no words

~

nada

~

nothing

~

and

today is one of those days

~~

okay

wait

I do have one word

~

a really long word

but

if it's not in the dictionary

is it really a word

~~

oh that's right

it is in the dictionary published

in the antarctic and alaska

and

wisconsin

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

*

but wait~I'm not done...

I know

we can celebrate hearts and love

anytime of the year

and

most of us do

but

I wanted to squeeze in one last valentine photo

before

everything turns pastel

and

bunnies take over the world

::

when I was out shoveling a few weeks ago

the snow had turned hard and wicked

and

my muscles ached just looking at it

but

see what kept me motivated

?

little heart chunks

were everywhere

and

even though I was cold and my shoulders hurt

my spirit

was jumping around like a three year old

::

so to all of you

my blog loves

who inspire me more than you'll ever know

and

fill my heart everyday with love

I give to you

a

sun filled

dancing in a field of wild flowers

walking hand in hand while talking about life

sleeping under the stars

chunk

of

my

heart

*

oh...and she loved glittery nail polish, too...

it was her little secret...

he knew she wore her heart on her sleeve

::

but

what he didn't know

was that she had a tiny garden out back

filled with extra hearts

for those days when one just wasn't enough

::

she was silly that way...

it was at this time of year

that she decided professing her love for him from the rooftops

just wasn't enough anymore

::

so when he wasn't looking

she climbed to the top of the windmill

and

lodged

a piece of her heart

there

::

wearing sunglasses indoors...

this past week

in my little world

mother nature has been unenthusiastic

~~

i know her box of crayons is large enough to sink a cruise ship

but

she's been favoring just the grey and white shades lately

~~

the funny thing is

i hadn't really been paying that much attention to it

until

i took photos of my tulips

~~

now granted

these are

the tulips

that waved at me while i was shopping at whole foods

the tulips

that danced like children in a splash pool

once i got them home and settled in a vase

the tulips

that made me smile just by sitting at the edge of my kitchen sink

but

they are also the tulips

that made me want to put my sunglasses on

when i looked at them

on my computer screen

maybe it's just because

i love old and vintage and faded

~

maybe it's because

my world has been so grey and colorless

but

seriously

my eyes actually hurt when i looked at their photos

~~

so in order not to blind any of you

i played with the photos

and

ended up loving them even more than I did

when they were all dancing around in their bright pink tutus

~

now granted

if you live somewhere

where all the crayons that mother nature uses

have been scattered out all over the floor

making you step over them on a regular basis

i'm sure

the tulip brightness

won't bother you

but

if you're like me

i'm guessing the toned down versions might be a bit more soothing to your

winter soul

today

and

as if mother nature somehow knew i was talking about her

she just started coloring outside the lines

a tiny bit

adding a few shades of

blue and yellow

to the world i see

outside my office window

*

today, I'm a mommy blogger...

I didn't go to college

~gasp~

~~

even while I was in high school

all I ever wanted to do was be a mom

~

so when my counselor mentioned dental assisting

I heard

"only a year of schooling"

and

I was hooked

~~

I went

I conquered

I specialized in orthodontics

I worked

and

then I became a mom

~at 23 and again at 27~

who stayed home

~

granted

throughout the years

I worked a little bit

a day or two

here and there

as

a pediatric receptionist for my daughter's doctor

~having an on call doctor who is your boss is a huge perk~

a freelance interior designer

~did you know black is a neutral~

a dental receptionist

~because the office was right down the road and of course I was trained~

a cashier at old navy

~for the discount of course~

and

then fell in love

with children in foster care

for three whole years

while

volunteering as a casa

which

left my heart forever unbalanced

since I left little bits of it behind

with all of the children I worked with

~

but

my real title all these years

has been

a

a stay at home mom

a

SAHM

~~

on another blog

this topic was brought up as she felt herself cringing when someone asked

"do you work"

and

she reluctantly replied

"no"

~~

there isn't one mom I know that doesn't work

~~

chances are

she worked hard to get pregnant in the first place

and

I know she worked hard for 9 months carrying what felt like a moving bowling ball

and

then even harder

delivering that bowling ball

or

bowling balls

and

when those kids

learned to walk

into everything head first

~

vomited on every clean blanket in the house in the middle of the night

~

ran at lightening speed toward traffic glowing like a neon sign saying "see me"

~

screamed loud enough to crack small windows

~

used a toilet {almost}

~

hid under a clothing rack in a department store

which caused your heart to stop more than once

~

went through puberty

testing how tightly your hair actually is attached to your head

~

drove

~

rode in cars with kids who looked suspiciously like members from kiss

~

dated

and

god only knows what else

SHE WAS WORKING

~~

full on

24 hours a day

~~

so to moms everywhere

if anyone asks

"do you work"

hope instead

they ask

"so, umm, and what do you do"

so

you can reply

"anything I want to"

because

really

you can do anything you want to

~~

if that surprise afternoon vomit

from your

"but she looked totally healthy"

child

doesn't get cleaned up until

after you've watched

the one episode of ellen you've been waiting for all week

who's going to know

or

if you want to walk right by

your toddler

~that has become one with the grocery store floor~

acting as if you don't know him

because

you said "no" to a box of hot tamales

and

now everyone within a mile radius has heard about it

and

those close by

are wide eyed while watching the gymnastic like temper tantrum

you can

and

if you hide the car keys from your 16 year old

and

pull off a full fledged

"I have no idea where you left them, I guess you'll have to stay home with us tonight"

straight faced

you get extra points

~~

so

moms everywhere

go now

and

do whatever you want to do

because

really

you can

::

and

for moms who work outside the house

especially full time

I bow to you

*

yes, laughter has a color...

~~~~~

inspired by the

truffle girls

who I found through relyn

who

always seems to love what I love

~thanks relyn~

he's home...

which means

::

my sky is bluer

my laughter is louder

my hand holding is tighter

my bed is warmer

my smile is wider

my eyes are brighter

and

most of all

it means

I have somebody to watch

the super bowl

with

::

but

he wants the colts to win

and

I think the saints are going to win

~actually I think ass kicking was how I phrased it maybe~

oh

and

I hate losing

::

happy weekend

everybody

do you know what today is.....

there's only one person missing here

and

she's busy turning 22

so

this is what we decided to do to make her laugh

and

show her how much we love her

because

we're a wild and crazy bunch

~not really but it sounds good and we can put on a fun show when we need to~

~

anyhow

~

obviously

someone else came up with the

human calendar idea

and

many of us have one somewhere on our blogs

{mine is on the very bottom}

so

in needing something different this year to celebrate

I thought I'd give it a try

~

I think the dog is a nice touch

don't you

*

happy happy birthday to you sweet child

who we adore more than you'll ever know

I hope

this year is overflowing with everything wonderful

*

and

for any of you wanting to try this

it works across the miles

~

since john is in colorado

he had to send his photo to me and then I did the rest here at home

but

you could do it with lots of family members and get really silly for pretty much any occasion

appearing a bit more serious than I really am....

{and like an idiot I forgot to mention that it's my dear friend kim who made the focus and kurva charms for me}

would you....

would you

build me a tree house

with funny crooked windows

to play in

~~

would you

help me look for fairy footprints

under the fallen leaves

~~

would you

come looking for me

if I wanted to play hide and seek

~~

would you

hold my secrets gently in your heart

if I whispered them in your ear

~~

would you

push me on the park swing

until my feet touch the sky

~~

would you

paddle the canoe

so I could just sit and watch the clouds go by

~~

would you

carry my sled to the top of the snowy hill

so

I could slide back down again

~~

you would

?

I would

too

*

I didn't know....

how much I love

pink

~~

not the color pink

but

the artist~the amazing performer~the singer

pink

~~

did you see her on the grammy's

sunday night

~~

did her performance make your breathing stop

or

even bring a tear to your eye

~~

it did me

~~

it was

stunning and brilliant and mesmerizing

~~

it really was

~~

I decided I wanted to share the words with you

first

because

they are beautiful and get lost a bit during the performance

~the video is below~

and

then please

go here

to see her become an angel

and

promise me

~

please promise me

you'll watch the entire thing

?

seriously

it will blow you away

~~

I'll let you in...

maybe it's because you're new

and

fresh

and

that much closer to my beloved spring

~~

maybe it's because we celebrate my daughter's birthday

with you

~~

maybe it's because you're spelled funny

~~

maybe it's because

when you say

30 days has september

april june and november

all the rest have 31

except

february

which has 28

I love that you are brave enough to stand all alone

~~

well

whatever the case

~short brave spelled funny~

february

I'm opening the door to my heart

and

letting you in

~~

and

even though january didn't do much for me

as far as starting my new year off in a way that I'll remember

or

even the way I had pictured in my head

~a full out sprint with wind in my hair where my side hurts and I bend over to catch my breath and then pick up speed again because it feels so good~

I'm hoping you will

~~

but

no pressure

february

~~

really

~~

no pressure

~~

well

at least until I get a new pair of running shoes

~~

deal

?