Around here lately

my notebook is filling up with mantras from yoga class and little snippets of Camryn that I want to remember

about 75 % of my friends moved out of Provo last month. Which basically describes every semester change, but by this time–it’s gotten old.

the bathroom smells like chlorine from our swimsuits hanging to dry from our almost daily trips to the rec center pool. Best money we’ve ever spent. We got a big hunk of a discount through Tanner’s employer (IHC) and Tanner is trying to shed a few pounds, I love zumba, Camryn loves the “POOL!!!” and us parents were at a huge loss of what to do with a hyperactive 2 year old from sun up to sun down every blasted day all winter. . . so this is just a good good thing all around.

remember me mentioning the box of paper on it’s way that weighs more than I do? Well it got here when were out of town for a couple days and my sweet neighbor texted me that I had a huge package at my door and would I like her to take it inside for me to make sure it didn’t get stolen? I replied: ha. if you can lift it. She texted me back a few minutes later “ya. . . I think it’s weight will protect it from robbers :)” It took all of Tanner and I’s strength to get it past the door frame and then slide it all the way to our bedroom. The bedroom where it takes up about 25% of the floor space that is left after our bed and my desk make their claims and that has been otherwise completely overrun with paper, bubblewrap, shipping envelopes and piles of book board. So let it be written that my husband has never complained about this not once ever and so he is the best.

we’ve decided Tanner will go to his interview in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s an option people! The game is on, let the best option win. And even though the the flights are about double the cost, I am still confident we would get more than twice the visitors, am I right?

i’ve realized that lately when I am around other adults I. can’t. shut. up. People are fighting to get their words in edge-wise. I have to consciously force myself to not interrupt and just keep talking and talking and talking. Because most of what I say during my days are variations on the themes of “you have to eat something besides pretzels”, “stop climbing on me/get off of me/I am not a jungle gym”, “Camryn what is wrong?? you are being crazy for no reason”, “no more choo choo”(Thomas the train cartoons), and occasionally “well you are just the sweetest girl in the whole world”. And guys, I have other things to say. Lots of other things. So forgive me and know I’m working on it.

tanner’s new work/school schedule is about half as heavy as last semester which means my life is about 2 million percent more awesome. We’re working on smoothing out the kinks in an entirely different work hours/caregiving/housework balance where since he works much less, now I can work much more, and he gets more time with Camryn while I get less. I love the girl with all my soul but I can’t tell you I don’t love this new balance. I’m trying so hard to resist throwing every single thing into Tanner’s lap since I have been 80% in charge of parenting, meals, and housework, and for the next 7 years that will probably lean closer to 95% (or 99.999% depending on which residency wife’s blog you read) and I just need a lot of give in the interim ya know? But I fear I may be going too far the other way and expecting him to take over everything. So much I want to do, so little time.

Namaste, everyone.

Welcome 2014, welcome.

Yesterday was New Year’s Eve and guess what I did?? I ditched a lined notebook that I have been trying to fill for almost two years, picked this pretty and huge blank one off my shelf, and started to fill it. Is there anything more satisfying than beginning to fill a new notebook? I think not. New year, new notebook. I like it. There is something about lines that I just cannot do and it discourages me from writing. Lines do not facilitate pretty journal pages like this one.

Everyone is saying it, but I’m going to say it too: 2014 is going to be the best. There are so many exciting things and big changes coming for me and my little family and I, for one, am STOKED.

Here are my plans:

MOVE across the country!! Out of state, guys. I’ve never lived out of this state.

Bookbind my little heart out and take my Etsy shop far and away further than I dreamed it could go. I have big plans and among many other things–a box of paper on its way that weighs more than I do. Really it does. I have no idea how that UPS guy is going to get it up our stairs.

Travel and ski as much as my circumstances allow–a trip this month, one in the spring, and a couple of flights out to Kansas City for sure, but more than that if I can help it! (read, depending on the size of our tax return and our housing cost situation for the fall)

Buy a house?? We might buy a house. Like grown ups.

Become an organizational guru. Don’t laugh. I’ve already come a long way.

Take that yoga class and love everything about it

Keep learning my family history and get as much information as I can out of my parents and grandpa before I move

Love and use my new KINDLE and read so so many books

Write more. Write things that aren’t this blog and that I edit and produce final drafts of. Also, write more with pens and paper–fill up that notebook, abandon social media once in a while.

Cook my way through my new cook books–Our Best Bites #2 and my first introduction to the Pioneer Woman. I am going to eat so well this year! And probably not in a low calorie kind of way.

Get my hair trimmed more often for heavens sakes.

Be more patient with my toddler

And maybe add a human to our family. maybe.

CAM00183

Happy New Year! May 2014 be your best year yet, and mine.

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!

Our 4th of July

On the 4th of July, we thought we’d be really ambitious with our family fun and wake up bright and early at SIX in the a.m. to see the Hot Air Balloon Festival . It sounded really cool. Apparently it’s a big deal and they inflate and launch 25 hot air balloons. So we hopped out of bed–our chipper, early bird selves I assure you– woke up the baby (and we never wake up our baby) and the first person we saw when we got out of the car informed us that they weren’t doing the festival because of possible lighting. bummer! and all too reminiscent of the city easter egg hunt that was a bust because some kid ran under the partition way before it was supposed to start, started an ambush, and all the eggs we gone 45 minutes before the thing was even supposed to start. But I digress. . .

So, by 7 a.m. we were back home with 2 out of 3 of us ready to crawl back into bed, and 1 (guess who!) wide wide wide awake.

We’re not really into parades (do people really truly enjoy parades? or do they just go because they’ve always gone and it’s a deeply embedded tradition?) so we went on a hike instead. Stuart falls, which is one of those ones that I can’t believe I haven’t done yet. It was fun! and overcast, rainy, so green, and not at all hot. We felt like we were in Oregon and probably spent all of our conversation time loving on Oregon.

pretzel pacification

And since Tanner just uploaded all the pictures off his iphone, here’s some photos of this and that
That one time we went mini golfing (actual date status right there) and decided couple selfies were something we should do Tanner’s brother got married to the lovely Lauren in the Salt Lake Temple

I made their pretty sign in book one day we visited Tanner while he was on campus doing medical school application stuff and. . . I took this adorable picture. Tanner’s little sister Anne left on her mission to Toyko! I don’t have any pictures of her sendoff, but I do have a couple of the journal I gifted her before she left. When I have time I think I’ll start marketing these in my shop as missionary gifts. In the meantime, if you know anyone who might like one, I’ll do custom orders with the map of where they’re going and stamped quotes or scripture We went to the Spanish Fork 24th of July fireworks (which didn’t start til ELEVEN, we’re not having the greatest track record with city events this summer–but they were worth it. )

Lately, Camryn has decided she’s a total daddy’s girl and rarely wants anything to do with me. It’s. . . unfair but also way endearing.

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)

Notebook Giveaway!

Exciting news, I’m doing my first giveaway on my friend Mandy’s blog and giving away this beautiful notebook!

Please go enter to win! (pretty please, do it for me?) I would love one of my lovely blog reading friends to win it! There is also a couple code on her blog to get 15% off anything in my shop until the end of April, so if you’ve had your eye on something, this would be a great time to get it! (mother’s day gift, anyone?)

Go enter: here!

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!

Announcing my Etsy Shop!!

Well, I have been tearing, gluing, binding, sewing and I have finally done enough work on my shop that I feel like I can tell people that it exists. A want to send a big fat thank you to my lovely friend Carolina (of Carolina Lindsay photography) and my sister Alison for doing me the huge favor of taking beautiful pictures, and to Karleigh (of Badger and Chirp: blog and shop) for helping me learn how to bookbind and what the heck I’m doing on etsy. Please go take a look! (and if you happen to feel so inclined to like, favorite, pin, share, comment, and tweet the heck out of my shop, I wouldn’t mind that at all. Not one little bit.)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/scribbleandjot