7 quick takes

Linking up for 7 quick takes!

1.  I feel like I’ve discovered a major secret of life:  You can put whole chicken breasts in the Kitchen Aid with the regular attachment, and in less than 2 minutes you will have perfectly shredded chicken to put in that casserole, taquitos, soup, whatever.  Isn’t that awesome??  Pin that, people.  And think of me and be grateful every time you do it for the rest of your life.

side note–almost everyone who comes to our house comments on how cute our ice blue kitchen aid is.  Well, my dad came over for dinner a while ago and one of the first things he said is–“Wow!  that kitchen aid is really ugly”.  Thanks dad.

2.  Tanner got an interview offer in Florida.  So forget what I said about Kansas City being a pretty much done deal–this might be a game changer.  You know I love the snow, but I wouldn’t hate warm temperatures all year long and being 10 minutes from the beach.  Wouldn’t hate that at all.  We’ve scheduled an interview (not til February)  and have more research to do before we decide if he’ll go, but it’s a possibility!

3.  The internet is harassing me with “Last-minute” gift ideas, and I’m like what?  Last minute is still 4 days away.  Calm down.  I haven’t purchased or wrapped a single present, but I am committing to reform because I decided I am way too lame when it comes to holidays and it wouldn’t kill me to put forth a little effort.  That’s all.

4.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my etsy shop!   I was going to do a whole post on how much has happened with it this year, but I don’t think that’s going to happen, so the quick version is that I’m so excited for what I think this could turn into.  It was so fun having the shop busy busy busy through the holidays, and I have big plans for 2014!  Thank you so much to all of you that have supported my shop either through purchasing items or just liking, sharing, and encouraging my work.  It means a lot!

5.  The Daybook isn’t on my list of must-reads, but I do read her from time to time, and just about died when I read this post about their lovely treehouse cabin for two getaway, and just go read that and tell me you are not dying inside to go do that??  And then, just in case you are overcome with blogger jealousy–go read this post because I think it’s always good to have these kind of reminders that people’s lives aren’t the perfect edited version you see on the internet.

6.  I feel like a lot of people I know try to blog, but every time they post they are saying how they wish they were better about doing it more often.  Might I suggest joining the 7 quick takes link up?  It’s a really good method I think for those who having a hard time just getting something down.  You might even try journaling that way.  Every Friday just get 7 things down, no matter how short or fast.

7.  I was trying to post a video, but it’s not working, so here’s some picture from Tanner’s phone of me and my people

Have a good Friday!

7 quick takes

If I feel like I haven’t blogged in forever, but it’s only been 5 days, does that mean I have a problem?

Either way, here I am to punch out 7 quick takes (link up hosted by Jen)

1.  It’s awesome to have a weekend that actually feels like a weekend.  That’s a rarity for me as a mother (why aren’t there days off built into this career??) and wife of a man who works at a hospital and a restaurant (nights, weekends, holidays). I pretty much do the exact same thing on Friday, Saturday, Sunday as I do on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, except for church I guess.  But Tanner had last night off and I sneaked (snuck?) off to the Bijou market with my girlfriend Carolina, and tonight I’m going to see my niece in the Nutcracker.  Two outings on one weekend, just call me a party animal.  I know, a craft fair and a ballet, not exactly living the wild life, but I will take it after 4 consecutive sick days with the kiddo and hardly seeing the light of day.

Here’s what I picked up at Bijou, some vintage salt and pepper shakers and handmade lemongrass soap (i am a sucker for all things lemon scented):

2.   To help make it feel even more like a weekend, we got takeout from Outback and I decided we have been way under-utilizing our 50% off employee discount.  Steak dinners for the price of fast food?  yes, please.

3.  My phone just went CHA-CHING! because I got an Etsy sale (make that 2!) and holy cow I love that my new phone does that.  My shop is really picking up and it’s exciting!  I stuck 2 notebooks in the mail today, I’m delivering 4 more to an old neighbor in Kaysville, and just sold 2 more right now.  Up until this point (almost a year after opening my shop) just about all of the money I’ve earned, I’ve just poured back into materials and supplies, but I’m getting to the point where I can contribute to our income and help pay our bills which feels so good.

4.  Instagram!  I have it now.  Follow me @scribbleandjot (is that even how I say it?) I figured out that a bunch of my friends who I thought were too cool for social media have just been hiding out over there.  who knew? I’m hoping to use it a lot to market my shop, so just holler if that gets annoying.

5. Tanner is awesome and kind of an extreme environmentalist and last week he had to give a presentation in a class on whatever he wanted and he chose the tarsands in Canada.  He told me all about it and it made me really depressed.  Basically, they’re taking hundreds of miles of the most gorgeous forested land in the whole world (google image Boreal forest) in Canada and converting it into toxic wasteland  (google image Canada tarsands) in the name of extracting oil.

Have you heard of the Keystone Pipeline?  It’s essentially a proposed pipeline that would expand and continue this oil extraction and destruction of Canadian forests.  It makes me so sad that we treat our beautiful earth this way and that there is anything that could make us decide to turn that “before” picture into the “after”.

6.  I’m getting way to0 emotionally involved with Parenthood.  Love that show.  Except one thing that I hate:  have you noticed that every single adult on that show has been involved in some sort, be it mild or serious, in infidelity?  The only exception Tanner and I could come up with was Kristina.  They’re all cheating on their spouses, texting other men, flirting with coworkers, having dinner and long conversations with people they shouldn’t.  The show makes it seem like all of that is normal and justified, and to a large extent okay until you’ve slept with someone else and only then have you crossed a line.  It’s messed up.

7.   November has treated us really really nice as far a mother earth goes.  The first half of it anyway.  Almost as beautiful as October I’d say, and not the typical gloom and doom I typically associate with November.  Here’s some pictures of a short little Rock Canyon hiking we did

Camryn totally walked off this side path waving and saying “BYE!”

off on a solo adventure I guess.   I’ve heard that some toddlers are clingy and scared to leave their parents sight.  What’s that like??

p.s. bonus take #8  I’m reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior and she is such a genius of words.  She talks about giving up “the soft middle part of her sandwhich”  and I’d say that just about sums up motherhood sacrifice better than I’ve ever heard it done.

7 quick takes

I’m linking up with Jen for 7 quick takes

1.  TANNER HAS THE ENTIRE WEEKEND OFF.  As in, when his chemistry lab ends at 3:00 today, he doesn’t have one single class or hour of work until 9:30 Monday morning!!  That probably hasn’t happened since the weekend we went on our honeymoon and probably won’t happen again until we celebrate, oh, our 10th anniversary?  So we better have us one heck of a good weekend is all I can say!

2.  We’re going rock climbing this afternoon 🙂  Like, real outdoor rock climbing with friends who have equipment and know what they’re doing.  We picked today because obviously, freezing and rainy is ideal outdoor rock climbing weather.  And the ironic part is that this is a raincheck from last Friday when it was also freezing and rainy.  So all of those glorious sunny fall days in between and after last Friday and this Friday can just go jump in a lake because this is the only day we can go, ok?

3.  Does anyone else’s husband have a shameless crush on Katie Perry?

4.  I went to yoga last night for the first time in way too long and it was awwwwweeesome.  So far in my life experience, there is nothing a little yoga can’t fix.  It was a free class (free yoga?  yes please.  Provoites, just ask and I’ll tell you where to find free yoga twice a week this month)  and at the end she did this awesome thing during shavasana where she had some strongly scented something on her hands, gave me a slight massage and and moved all my limbs and oh.  oh my.  practically put me into a coma.  I will be going back to that yoga class.

5.  After yoga, I picked up Camryn at Ryan and Kelsey’s place.  Two things to say about that.  1) Camryn had all of her fingernails and toenails painted for the first time in her life because Aunt Kelsey is way more fun than mom.  2)  Their apartment complex has BATS.  As I walked up to their 3rd floor apartment I was trying to figure out what the weird sound was and told them “uh, I think there are birds nesting in the roof over there.”  They informed me that no,  they weren’t birds, they were bats.  And after living in oh so many 100 year old apartments in Provo, I thought I’d seen everything in the book, but this was new.  They laughed as they told me about another tenant who had knocked on their door petitioning them to please send in a maintenance request about the bats because she’s already sent 7, they’d been ignored, and she was trying to gain strength in numbers.  She had a list of all the reasons why this was really important and why bats are dangerous, their toxic poop, etc.  And all I can say is that if I was living in that complex too, I would be that girl.

6.  I’m having a fall sale in my etsy shop! 20% off all notebooks this week.  You should probably go check it out because I’m pretty certain you need a notebook.

 

7.  My toddler is on a tantrum rampage.  It’s the worst.  Instances for tantrum include but are not (even close to) limited to:

• When it’s time to leave the park
• When it’s time to leave the library
• When I dress her
• When I undress her
• Everytime I open the fridge and wont let her inside
• when I won’t let her drink the toothpaste
• When I won’t let her knock on strangers doors or go into their backyards
• When I change her diaper
• When I put anything on her high chair try that isn’t one of her 8 foods that she’ll eat
• When dad leaves for class/work
• When any other baby or toddler touches any of her toys
• When any other baby or toddler sits in her high chair
• When mom shows any kind of love and affection towards any other baby or toddler (we’re looking forward to her first sibling, let me tell you!)
• The grocery store
• Church
• when I cook

I’ll stop now.  but I could keep going.

Here are a couple cute pictures of her mostly to remind myself that sometimes she isn’t screaming.

 

This is her and her friend Lily helping me clean the floor

 

And her and her friend Mac chatting on the phone.

 

happy Friday!

7 quick takes

well hi!  I’m back.  And linking up with Jen for 7 quick takes.  It’s been 16 whole days with nothing but the sound of crickets around this blog.  I’m kind of proud of myself actually, but please tell me you missed me terribly.  Anybody, anybody?

1.  I’m back from 10 days in the sunny land of southern California.  There was a wedding and beach days and pool days and Disneyland galore and it was over and gone in the blink of an eye.  Pictures are coming later but not right now because catch up writing is just not something I believe in.

2.  But I will right now tell you about the drive home because it was epically terrible and blog post worthy and it’s fresh on my mind since I just now got around to cleaning out our car and it was like a graveyard of bad memories from the worst road trip experience of my adult life.  About 2 (or 3?) hours after setting off from Anaheim, we hit traffic.  Traffic that quickly turned into complete standstill gridlock.  We didn’t know it until a little while later but we were less than a mile behind a huge accident.  A car had run off the freeway into oncoming traffic, hit a tour bus, and exploded into flames. (yikes!)  We were just shy of Baker, right near Zzyzx road, so. . . in the middle of the Mojave dessert, just south of Death Valley, and it was literally 110 degrees.  There we sat for 2 whole hours.  They were cleaning up/investigating and not letting any cars through.  Not to be dramatic or anything, but TWO WHOLE HOURS!  That’s a long time for 2 adults, but it’s an eternity for a toddler.  We had her out of her car seat, sitting up front with us, wetting her hair with water bottles to keep her cool.  We had to keep turning the car off and on–we needed the air conditioning, but we also didn’t want to overheat the engine.  I kept thinking, “if only we left the house even 10 minutes earlier, we’d be in front of the accident and on our way!”  but then I’d think that if we left a few minutes earlier, we might have been in the accident, so at least we were all safe and alive.   And since we were so close behind it, once they opened a lane again, we were out of there pretty quick, but the people miles and miles behind us? must have been there all day.  Some of my in-laws were a couple hours behind us (with a 3 year old and a 10 month old who hates the car!) waited for 3 hours and then couldn’t even get through after that because they closed I-15.  They had the turn around and spend the night and it was all sorts of awful.

So after that lovely delay we had a toddler who was done with the car and was, I assure you, a complete delight for the next 10 hours.   Some highlights from that stretch of the trip included a stop in 115 degree Mesquite (so hot!  I’ve never once in my life been somewhere that hot.  As Tanner put it: “Dana, I think we are literally in hell”)  and then an after-dark freak monsoon-like rainstorm from Beaver until home that had us driving 30 mph and cursing our headlights that work about as well as dollar store flashlights.

the end.

3.  More bad.  If you want happy blogging, skip #3 and proceed to take #4 (actually, #5) make that #6 .  Yesterday was the worst bike ride ever.  I’m barely recovered enough to type about it with few enough curse words to feel comfortable posting it but it oh. my. hell.  It was long.  And it was hot.  And every single 1/100th of the last 40 miles was miserable and loathsome in it’s own unique way.  The dialogue going on in my head wasn’t pretty and went something like this:  “this is stupid and pointless and I hate it and I don’t want to be doing this.  Why am I doing this?  This is stupid and pointless and I hate it.  Did I really pay money to do this?  Lots of money.  That should have gone to something involving comfort, luxury and gluttony. etc, etc.”  Hopefully that was rock bottom because any lower than that and I will not be participating in LoToJa, and also my bike will be at the bottom of a lake.  Or maybe it would be more satisfying to throw it off a cliff?  or into oncoming traffic?  That’s where I’m at people.  DONE with this whole thing.  Ambitions and goals are stupid and you’d better believe that after this nonsense I will have no more of those.

4.   Related to #3 but aren’t these supposed to be quick takes?  I got to see my friend and old roommate Lyndi while we were spending a day on Huntington Beach.  She recently quit a very good but very demanding, time consuming job so that she can have a life again (go lyndi!) and she was so happy about it while she was telling me.  She was like, “Quitting things is my new favorite thing!  It’s so awesome, you go home and you don’t have to do anything!  It feels so good.”  She went out for tacos and threw herself a party, and I’m so so happy for her and proud of her.  But oh man, her words were ringing in my head all the way from American Fork to Nephi and back yesterday and all I wanted in the whole world was to QUIT and go throw myself a party and meet her for tacos and talk about how fun it is to quit things.

5.   I’m cutting Camryn off the binky.  I HATE the binky.  I’ve always been terrible at losing those things, but now I swear she is hiding them or throwing them away. . . or swallowing them?  They are literally DISAPPEARING and she can’t live or sleep without them.  The last 2 nights in a row I’ve spent 30 minutes in the middle of the night holding up my phone light like a fool, looking in and all around her crib for the one she went to sleep with and they were nowhere.   Add the time afterwards that I spent seething with anger and not being able to go back to sleep and there go a couple hours of my life that I’ll never get back.  No more!  The binky is going.   And if you have a baby–google it–you’re supposed to get rid of it way before age 19 months, because the older they get, the stronger their emotional attachment gets and the harder it is to get them off it.  I missed that memo.  I snipped the tip off this morning and please pray that this goes well.  thanks.

6.   I friend of mine from high school just opened an awesome etsy shop and I just got a package in the mail yesterday with these earrings and this necklace and I love them!  You should go check out her stuff–there are about 30 more items I would order if I had the $!

7.   Tonight I enjoyed the most amazing thunderstorm.  I don’t think I’ve heard thunder like that since Guatemala (in Guatemala there was earth shattering thunder every single night and I was in heaven).  It’s my favorite sound in the whole entire world.  I went out on my front step with an ice cream cone and just watched the lighting and felt and heard the thunder and just breathed in deeply that amazing fresh rain smell.  And just like that, all is good and right in the world and I’m thinking about how awesome and happy every part of my life is.  There should be more thunderstorms.

7 quick takes

linking up with Jen for 7 quick takes

1.  Riding up Provo canyon is one of my most frequent rides.  Sometimes I’ll ride past Vivian park as far as South Fork park, which I tell you only to tell you that my uncle (Scott) was riding there the other day and saw a BEAR. (!!!)  A bear.  Like, he’s speeding down the road at 25+ mph, rounds a bend, and there, in the middle of the road, right in his path there was a brown bear.  And I can’t even begin to tell you how much that freaks me out.  He saw it too late to brake, and when the bear saw he wasn’t slowing down, it ran off into forest, BUT STILL.  I’ve realized lately that I’m really scared of animals.  Any kind, really, but especially that  kind of animal.  I’m not sure if I could enjoy myself on a ride up there again knowing that a bear is in the realm of possibility.

2.  The other day I was stopped at a stop sign and there was a guy walking across the street in front of me who I recognized.  Where do I know him from?  I wondered for about 5 seconds before I realized . . . he works at Little Ceasars.  Which was not my finest moment and kind of reminded me of the time the BYU Lost & Found employee said hi to me by name on campus.  Both indicate a life change is in order.

3.  Speaking of life changes, I ran into a girl I know from church at Smith’s–3 times in about 2 weeks.  Which is weird.  But probably might have something to do with the fact that I have to go to Smith’s roughly 5 times a week because I forgot an ingredient for a recipe, or we ran out of toilet paper or cheddar cheese (which is the same level of emergency around here) or I forgot I’m supposed to bring a dessert to the party, or we need swim diapers, or I just didn’t by enough food because I gave up halfway through my actual shopping trip and just bought whatever was already in my cart at the point that Camryn started freaking out that she saw strawberries and couldn’t eat them right then.  I’ve considered shopping with her blindfolded?  but I don’t think that would go over well. . .  At least I’m making progress remembering to bring my reusable bags.  Use reusable bags, people.  It just makes SO.  MUCH.  SENSE.

4.  Yesterday, I drove to Springville to bike Hobblecreek canyon.  I usually avoid driving to ride somewhere, but a construction crew recently turned State Street into a hot sticky gravelly orange barrel hell where roadbikes go to die. And the alternate route takes a lot of time that I didn’t have, so I drove.  Which I tell you only to tell you that about a block before I got back to my car–hot, tired, and sweaty, I passed some little kids at a table waving a sign that they’re selling something and also eating some sort of creamsicle/ citrusy popsicle and I WANTED ONE!  so I got to my car, backtracked a block and it turned out that they were not in fact selling frozen creamsicle/citrusy goodness.  They were, in fact,  selling lukewarm lemonade while eating delicious popsicles, which was sorely disappointing and someone should teach those girls a little something about false advertising and human decency.

5.  I need to start learning to say no and that I can’t do everything I want to do because there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

6.  Why does winter seem to always last an eternity, but then summer just flies right on by?

7. Kiddie pool with the neighbors today.  It’s hot!

and that tan line is just getting worse by the day. . .

happy friday everyone

7 quick takes

Linking up with Jen at conversion diary for 7 quick takes

1.  I can’t stop eating.  Biking this much has proven to leave me more ferociously hungry than either gestation or lactation (I almost said combined, but let’s not get carried away–I was one starving pregnant lady)  We may need to double the grocery budget for the next few months.

2.  We had a positively lovely family picnic in the park today, which proved to be the boost I needed between Nap Avoidance Battle Royale #1 (morning nap) and Nap Avoidance Battle Royale #2 (afternoon nap) It took quite a concerted effort to convince Tanner that our picnic would be more fun outside than just eating in Subway because in his words “it’s a trillion degrees out here”  (the high today was 75) but I guess that’s just part of being Mrs. Staples.  We always set up our blanket half in the shade, half in the sun so that I can enjoy it, and so he doesn’t die of heatstroke/complain the whole time that he’s dying of heat stroke.  It’s a nice compromise.

3.  pictures of the picnic  

that’s ice in her lap

I’m not in any of the pictures because I’ve fallen into the role of mom who is always the one taking the pictures so is never in any of the pictures unless she hands dad the camera and says “here, take my picture”  meaning even when she IS in the pictures, it’s always awkward and overly posed. That role.  

4.  The mountains in Provo are really green and out of control beautiful these days and there is a long sappy romantic love letter in the works from me to Mount Timpanogos, so you can look forward to that.   Here’s a photo that doesn’t do those green mountains any kind of justice:

5.  Tanner got a job as an orderly in the hospital!  Which is awesome and really hard to get since there are (it feels like) fleets and verifiable armies of ambitious medical student wannabies (wannabe’s?  wannabe plural?) in this city vying for such positions so they can brag about them on their med school applications.  It’s part time 24 hrs/wk, so he’ll still work at Outback a couple nights a week, but this is good news!

6.  When he got home from work late last night, Tanner heard a too-long perfectly fascinating story from me about how we went to the park and ran into Stephanie who was watching Mandy’s kid and we had to hurry and leave when Kara called me, and in our hurry we lost a little sandle and couldn’t find the sandle anywhere, but it’s because Stephanie found it and left it at Mandy’s house for us. . . .blah blah blah and then I got hear an equally long and just as fascinating explanation from Tanner about server hierarchy and section rotations in a restaurant.  And the point of this whole take is me wondering have we really gotten this boring this young?

7.  Tomorrow (which is almost today)  I’m part of a giveaway on Camppatton and I’m pretty excited about it. Please go enter!  and thanks for supporting my shop! (even if you never purchase anything, just telling me hey dana, your books are cool is greatly appreciated support, so thanks for those of you that do :))

happy happy friday.  May your Saturday include sleeping in and more leisure than mine probably will! (read: toddler+LOTOJA training=exhaustion)

7 quick takes

Linking up with Jen for 7 quick takes:

1.  I GOT INTO LOTOJA!!!  This little email was in my inbox this morning:  “CONGRATULATIONS!  Your application was successful in our lottery and you have a spot in this year’s LoToJa.  We hope this is exciting news for you!”  I AM SO STOKED.  Oh, and Tanner got in too, which means I will have my riding buddy! 🙂 On my ride a couple days ago I was thinking–I will be thrilled either way.  I’ve been putting in a lot of miles lately and completely loving it.  Utah is beautiful, the canyons are beautiful, I feel awesome, I love being outside so much, I would love to accomplish this thing.  But at the same time I’ve realized what a time commitment it is and how hard it will be on my body (I am sooo tired all day when I do a long ride) There are a lot of things I won’t be able to do because that time will be committed to riding.   So, it was nice to know my fate was in the hands of a randomized lottery.  BUT–holy cow, I GET TO DO LOTOJA!! so pumped right now.

2.  The little lady is walking!  And oh, how my heart swells with pride and joy to watch her zombie toddling (arms outstretched) down the sidewalk.

3.  What’s with all of internetland hating on mother’s day?

4.  I had an epiphany last week while writing my grocery list:  If the daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables is at least 5 servings a day, and I go grocery shopping once a week (who are we kidding, I aim for that and then end up going 2-5 times a week for forgotten items/we-must-have-sugar-now-and- there’s-no-more-sugar-in-the-house runs) for 2 adults, that means that without even taking my toddler into account, I should be purchasing SEVENTY servings of fruits and veggies per grocery trip.  Do the math on a family of 4, or 6 and have I blown your mind yet?  Do with that information what you will.

5.  I am so excited for the new Murdock Canal Trail.  I had never even heard of it until yesterday (even though apparently my dad has been consumed by doing the legal work on it for the past 6 years so good thing I’m a good daughter and take an interest in my fathers work).  I accidentally happened upon it during my bike ride yesterday and it is amazing!!  17 miles of pure, unadulterated, new, smooth, wide and beautiful biking trail.  I’m get bored of my routes to the lake and up provo canyon, and since my rides need to start getting longer this is very very good news.

6.  I promised this blog post would be short, right?

7.  The more I think about quick take #1, the more I realize how disappointed I would have been if we didn’t get in.  Onward!

7 quick takes

Linking up with Jennifer here for 7 quick takes.

1.  I made a facebook page for my blog/etsy shop and you should go “like” it Here.  Please and thank you.

2.  I’m shopping for a swimsuit online.  what? too early?  never.  and oooh man does this activity inspire a rant and rave.  I’ll spare you an entire post and confine myself to a few sentences.  Why does online swimsuit shopping have to equal itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny porn browse?  All other reasons for not wearing those aside, I’m pretty sure about 4% of the female population looks good in them.  And that’s being generous.  Where’s the representation? And why oh why does “modest swimwear” only generate scores and scores of a) hibiscus flower covered garbage, b) nun-appropriate swimsuits reaching to elbows and knees, or c) uber boring “athletic wear” swimsuits.  Alissa, if your reading this, tell your sister that I think she should go back into business with the k line swimwear and that the suit I bought from her was my favorite that I’ve ever owned!  for style, fit, comfort, everything, I loved it!  I think if she utilized pinterest, facebook, and stuck with it longer, she’d totally do well!

exhibit A:

 

3.  ya, so, it snowed today and everyone was grumpy about it, but I’m going skiing tomorrow and if it had to snow again, at least the timing was perfect.  After Saturday, winter, you have my permission to be gone.

4.  Camryn took her first steps!  cutest. thing. ever.

5.  What wasn’t the cutest thing ever is how she was up most of the night major teething, and how when I tried to nurse her for comfort she straight up bit me.  HARD.  twice.  Just exactly as if this breastfeeding thing wasn’t something we’ve been doing for the last, oh, entirety of her life, and she didn’t know what else to do with the foreign object I’d brought to her lips.  I didn’t feel quite so bad for her after that.

6.  Does anyone else have a problem with sometimes spending the entirety of their grocery budget by the 18th of the month and then trying to figure out what to eat until the 1st rolls around again?

7.  Shout out to my little sister-in-law Anne who gets her mission call next week!  We love you Anne and we can’t wait to find out where you’re going!

7 quick takes

I’m joining Jen with 7 quick takes friday

1.  I think the whole point of challenging yourself to write daily is to strrrretch yourself.  It’s easy to write when you have something to say, but when you just don’t is when you have to really think hard, make something out of nothing, dig deeper.  And today is definitely one of those days for me, so these are going to be 7 quick quick takes.

2.  Yesterday we added a 3rd toothbrush to the cup and for some reason I got super sentimental about it. Cute, right?

3.  We got 3 new fish.  Camryn loved seeing the birds at the pet store and I’m thinking it would be so fun to take her to the zoo!  I don’t think I’ve been to the zoo since my kindergarten class field trip, I think I’m due.

4.  I made my first sale in my shop to someone I don’t know!  i.e. my first sale that wasn’t to a friend or sibling.  Which is suuuuper crazy validating.  The other validating thing is going to really successful shops and looking back at their very first sales and seeing that their first sale was 4 months after they opened their shop and the 2nd one was 3 months later.  It’s probably not a good idea to build yourself up off of other peoples failures/lack of successes, but you know, sometimes it helps.

5.  I’m just started this book, and also just talked to an 8-month pregnant friend who I found out is doing a home-birth, and the more I learn, the more I’m thinking that the home birth/birthing center/no epidural/hypno-birthing path is the way to go and that the rest of us are the crazies.

6.  Tanner and I are planning a trip to Great Basin National Park.  We kind of just want to go be in the absolute middle of nowhere.  In the dessert.  With just the sky and a mountain to climb.  It’s supposed to be one of the best places in America for star-gazing.  Doesn’t that sound nice?

7.  Ok, one more.  do I have one more in me?  Here’s one:  Tanner and I just found out that a new season of the Amazing Race started 3 weeks ago and so we’re 3 weeks behind and get to watch 3 episodes at once.  Happy Friday night for us!

7 quick takes

I’m linking up with this blogger Jen (who to be honest I don’t read so much as I read Grace) who does these 7 quick take linkups.

1– We’ll start off with my most important item of business–glory hallelujah–Camryn didn’t poop in the tub last night.  Which in case you want to be really grossed out and also feel really sorry for me, is the first time in 2 solid months.  so.  big fat bleach-and-rubber-gloves-free victory for me.

2–do people with children just get used to paying library fines for damaged books, or is that just me?  First there was the whole leaving a stroller full of picture books outside in the sprinklers incident, and then yesterday the little lady ripped the cover clean off of my current paperback read The Book Thief.

3– I made these

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My friend Mandy is teaching me embroidery.  She had this cute etsy shop where she sells her hoops and I’m learning to make some too.  Mostly I want to use it to embroider pieces that I’ll then turning into notebook covers but I’m doing a few hoops as well.

4–Camryn finally figured out that she doesn’t have to stay on her back and just fall asleep when I put her down for a nap.  Instead she can sit up, or even stand up, which of course is not conducive to sleeping and is turning out to be a very undesirable development.  very undesirable.

5–I have a headache.  I think because I keep staying up too late since, as mentioned in my last post, post bedtime is my only time to do anything no involving camryn and also because i want to see tanner after work.  But holy cow, I am feeling the sleep deprivation.  I can already hear my 8-months-ago and 8-years-in-the-future self laughing at me saying “you don’t know anything about sleep deprivation”  but still. . . even though it’s self inflicted at this point, I’m feeling it.

6–I am now an official reviewer for BYU’s Children’s Book and Play Review (thanks Lauren!).  It’s an online journal where they publish, obviously, children’s book reviews.  I suspect it’s not something that scores of peoples read, but I’m excited.  It will keep me in the practice of writing something semi-professional, will be great for resumes and/or applications when the time comes or need arises and will give me an excuse to shamelessly read Children’s literature, which I love.  If you have any recommendations, please throw them my way!  They can be anything from picture books to young adult.  Oh, and I’ve been told that I will occasionally receive free books, online access to advance copies of books (i.e. not yet available to the general public) and access to a super secret special room in the library that contains similar materials.  Which makes me geek out just a tiny little bit.

7.  So so so excited for this weekend!!  It took its sweet time getting here, but let me tell you around here we are READY for it.