Welcome to my headquarters for the week! This desk is where it's at since I announced the $15 custom blog header sale on my birthday. The past two days I've been stationed here, hearing the mail chime and opening up your emails and writing your names on post-its, and sifting through a dozen Photoshop tabs. Thank you! It has been a blast and a blessing to be so busy. In between making lunch, chasing bouncy balls, giving piggy back rides, and switching laundry, I'll be sitting here, with some jazzy beats as my design soundtrack. I'm so grateful to you guys for letting me in on your fun projects! I've even been recruited to make cute icons for a sweet new site, and also did some rush-order invitations yesterday morning. And yesterday afternoon I actually ventured out, away from the desk, to hit the gym, grocery store, and post office (to mail more 50 Promises to you). It was fun, but the whole time I was gone I was thinking of ideas for your new header. :)


In other news,

• I'm roasting a squash and my house smells like Thanksgiving at the moment.
• I need a good recipe for beef short ribs!! Send help. I want to make them for dinner (supper) tonight.. will I still have time? Are they the kind of thing that need to cook all day?
• Just found out that To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co. sells sprouted rolled oats! Totally bought a a 5lb. bag this morning. Granola will be back in my life very soon. As well as oatmeal cookies. 
• We finally found some stainless steel baking sheets (as opposed to aluminum) that got good reviews and aren't too expensive. Hooray! One thing I've learned from my husband is to invest in good quality pots and pans when you can. And I think they'll definitely be worth it, considering that I roast vegetables practically every night. 

are my snack of choice this week. What's yours? Mangoes aren't usually my favorite favorite, but I really love these! They'd be great in a mango salsa.

are my favorite, I think. We thought about making a quick trip to a city somewhere on President's Day, but both of us have declared that we're really glad we stayed here today.





Today has been one of the days where we stay in and enjoy. We focus on good food and getting chores done. We make smoothies. We have "dinner" at the noon meal. We enjoy the giant snowflakes that fell all day long. We eat soup for breakfast (me. I did that.) We turn on the Harry Potter soundtrack. We make venison stir fry. We fold laundry and run the dishwasher. We bake sunflower seed cookies. We call direct tv about our bill, again (Grant). We take two 2-hour naps (Hadley). We put some chili on for tomorrow. We wonder at how the day passes so quickly when we're all home together all day.

Pretty nice for a Monday in February.

can you believe i used to think i didn't like watermelon?

silly.

i just cut this one into cubes for Grant and me. anyone else love cutting watermelon? hearing the crack when your slice separates from the melon.. feeling the knife slide.. making a stop-sign shape when you cut the rind away. love it.

ps. remember this post? today Hadley is wearing that striped onesie :)

last day of preschool.. yaaaaay!! when i come back, i'll be on summer vacation!

i love when the first thing i want to do when i get home is listen to new-to-me songs. 
between this, and tangled, 90% of the thoughts in my head today have been sung. 

you sure went out like a lion. (now is that your job?) snow everywhere. whipped up into fluffy drifts. whipped straight into my freezing face. actually, i'm pretty excited about it. after all, you gave us a 2 hour late start for school this morning. and now it really looks like christmas!


i plan to spend the rest of your 30th day trying to stay on task, eating cheese on crackers, and heading out to the gym. yes, i waited till the last minute to squeeze in my last visit. as usual. 


so long. good times. see you in 2011. 



ps. be sure tune in tomorrow! i'm doing things a little different..

hello all. 
guess what? just now i'm headed over to the gym to watch grant coach basketball, and afterward we are skipping town. yes, i'm going home to nebraska tonight! do any of you full house fans remember aunt becky talking about going home to nebraska? i totally do. i thought it sounded cool. and now i'm just like her!

anyway.

wherever you will be for the holiday, enjoy every part of everything.
i'll be popping in tomorrow with my favorite thing on the thanksgiving table and my list of thankfuls.
so i'll be seeing you soon.

summer

"The fellow who doesn't like dogs or little children must be regarded with suspicion. There is something wrong with the man who cannot make friends with a a dog or a baby, or who will not try, who cannot gain their affection. The chances are that he is not worthy of the respect or affection of men either." 

Peter Marshall

this is exactly the kind of happy (and honest) humor i'm enjoying lately.
am reading A Man Called Peter, the biography of the senate chaplain during the 1930s and 40s. it's written by his wife, and is really wonderful. full of his endearing scottish charm and glowing with sincerity. his ministry was spectacular. and how fun to read about washington back in the day.


what are you reading these days?

good morning, good morning. here's what is up today:

just made the first school lunch of the year!