There's No Business Like Snow Business....

To quote Billy Joel, "I'm in a New York state of mind..." and hence the title of my post. Trying to merge all these random topics and subjects into one... because, snow has indeed come to blanket the NW in an icy traffic nightmare. You have to love Seattle drivers in the snow!

The girls are loving it though... Riley was rolling down our back lawn earlier... she never does anything half-way. Taryn is busy collecting ice from anywhere they can find it - I think they may be building a skating rink next door? Better check on that!

The Cowgirl and The Butterfly

Surely some kind of urban legend in the making... or an ancient Chinese proverb. Never squash a butterfly when you're on the open range. hmmm... better work on my ancient Chinese translations.

I never got around to posting these from Halloween... so here they are.

A Very Blustery Day

There are many things I love about where we live. One of the few things that I do NOT love is how windy it can get sometimes. Today is one of those house-rattling, gate-banging, door-slamming days... last year during one of our windstorms, our barbecue was actually picked up by the wind and unceremoniously dumped on its side on the lawn - 10 feet away.

Toto-we're-not-in-Kansas-anymore-kind-of-windy.

On the plus side... Riley now has a favorite Beatle. Ringo. I'm sure it's more to do with the name being funny than any astute percussive evaluation. But, I'll take it. They actually ASK to listen to the Beatles in the car now. I'm SO proud. If they inherit nothing else of my exceptional qualities... at the very least they seem to have inherited some old fashioned common sense when it comes to admiring the greatest musical talents of our time.

Next week, we'll work on ix-naying Barney and The Wiggles from their vocabulary. :-)

Happy Winds-Day...

Paper Moon Press is in *da house*!

Rachel successfully made it through her first 2 trade shows last week. I would have been with her, of course, if it hadn't been the same dates as the Creating Keepsakes convention... with Karen, one of my favorite people on the planet.

It was a roaring success... well, roaring like when MGM substitutes a kitten for the lion on a movie intro... we didn't strike it rich, but we did succeed in:

• purchasing a few really cute accessories for our booth and/or office
• making contacts with several important and influential people
• getting at least 4 different invitation orders
• putting ourselves on the map due to Rachel's uber-cute purse and iPod cards

The next show we will be at is the Seattle Tennis Club Bazaar... should be a hot one! *tzzzzz*

Contact Paper Moon Press for more information on our custom cards and invitations! info@papermoonpress.com

Reach the Beach...

while that is an old 80's album title by The Fixx... that has absolutely nothing to do with my blog post today.

Recently, we rented a beach house in the sleepy little town of Manzanita on the Oregon Coast. It was completely furnished with wall-to-wall kids, legos, and marble tower components. Well, okay... the kids we furnished ourselves. Did I mention that there were 4 families sharing the beach house? Hence, the wall-to-wall kiddedness. Certainly our 2 small angels wouldn't provide a wall-to-wall capacital feeling. Unless they were hopped up on fruit snacks.

This was the 9th Annual Beach Trip. We have been to other choice NW locations... notably La Push... with the musty, saggy old beach motel rooms that certainly did NOT sleep 8 adults comfortably. And the other noteworthy memory of the trip to La Push was our field trip to The Hoh Rainforest... which was "just down the road"... yeah, 4 hours later on a switchback logging road we finally reached the Hoh... Mike's memory for distances is not always trustworthy. But if you long to see moss oozing from trees... the Hoh is the place for you. Lots of moss. The capital of moss.

But I'm getting off track... this was a lovely town, lovely house, totally moss-free. The sun shone, the waves crashed, the sand stuck in all those hard-to-reach places, it was the beach experience that poets extoll and hearken. Hence, my current need to extoll and hearken.

Our favorite side trip destination has been The Death Cliffs at Hug Point. Well, at least Mike likes to describe them to newbies as the place where his nephew almost died last year. A strong selling point to mothers of small children... but back to my story. Last year, when we visited, the tide was coming in and there was the occasional "sneaker" wave that came in a lot farther than any of the others before. One minute, you're exploring a cave and the water seems miles away, the next minute you're scrambling up the rocks escaping the onslaught of frothy water that sends your discarded shoes and towels out to sea. The thrill-seekers were all about the near death experience and clinging to the rock walls as the undertoe beckoned... I had my moments as I watched Mike scoop little Riley up just before she was knocked down and hopelessly lost to the deep. Well... it seemed that dramatic at the time. But Hug Point really is a cool place to explore. I'd go back.

It was all lovely... until the vomitting started. Those stories are not worthy of extolling or hearkening... I'll just leave it at that.

PERFECT Fall weekend in the NW....

The foliage is brilliant... the sun is shining... the air is crisp... I shall feel comfortable declaring this to be the PERFECT FALL WEEKEND.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday with the fam... the girls loved going through the corn maze with Daddy and Grandpa... we picked out some GI-NORMOUS pumpkins to carve... and we had a lovely time with Grandma back at the house enjoying my first home-made soup of the season. Yum!

Karly is a wonderful photographer...

and friend :-)

Since she's one of the few faithful readers of my blog... I thought I would dedicate a post to her. And she took this photo of me at the beach... thanks, Karly!

I LOVE October!!

For some reason, October seems to be MY month...

1. I got my copy of Paper Trends with my Altered Take-Out box project in it... plus a huge box of goodies!
2. I met May - a Fiskateer, and Pea, and friend - and she gave me a ton of scrap goodies!
3. I will be featured as the Guest Designer at Creating With Paper
4. We're going on our annual beach trip with the *gang* next weekend
5. I love Fall photo shoots... like this little trip to the Pumpkin Patch with Riley & her friends

No worries...

Said with fingers-crossed, Riley is adjusting well to preschool. She has not cried once... unlike her sister... who cried almost every time I dropped her off when she was 3 AND 4 AND even 6...

I was enjoying a high-stakes game of Go, Fish! this morning with this charming preschooler... if you haven't spent time with a 3-year old lately, I highly encourage it.

The stakes were set with these parameters:

You win: I get to pay a horribly overpriced tuition and room/board package to the 4-year University of your choice.

I win: You agree to house me in a clean and well-respected Assisted Living Facility of my choice.

It's only fair... I tell her, her little doe-eyes drinking in all that I'm saying to her with trust and affection. And then she says: "Best 2 out of 3?"

What ARE they teaching them at preschool these days?

Circa 1987...

So - in about 10 days - we've been able to whittle the MIA list down to 130. We're already half-way home. Remarkable...

So thankful for help - Kelly, Karol, Christie, Susan, Dan, Kyle, Peter, Brian, Pat, Jamie, Stephanie & Jeanne... every little bit helps! Even if I'm still a stress-case. Baby steps.

We have our reunion date: July 14, 2007. Canterwood. Excellent!

Listening to I Am Sam soundtrack... Beatles covers... of course a favorite.

Tomorrow will be first attempt leaving Riley at preschool... fingers crossed for painless separation. Update to follow.

The Great American Pastime

A friend gave us 5 tickets to the Mariners game today... we gleefully partook in the Great American Pastime: Eating junk food.

Blech! I hate having a sugar hangover...

The game was fun - the boys rallied a couple of times - but the Rangers still outscored us 4 to 2. Taryn has an interest in baseball, which is cool. She can follow the game, even though she wouldn't want to play the game at this point in her life. Her little friend, Noelle, was entertained with the kettle corn, licorice, peanuts, Skittles, and lemonade... and all the vendors walking the stairs bringing enticing them with their forbidden delicacies like cotton candy and fondue skewers.

Yes, you read correctly. Fondue skewers. Strawberries and banana slices on a stick, covered in chocolate. The concessions are strictly upscale in Seattle.

Thomas, of course, had to get a heart attack special: Chili cheese fries. Ugh! I am very weary of what the evening will bring forth after those chili cheese fries...

Noelle scanned the crowd, did some quick calculations, and proclaimed "There are a trillion people here - or maybe even a billion." Seems about right... Riley wanted to know how many points the black team scored - the black team was the umpires. And Taryn's highlight was the 7th Inning Stretch. She just loves that song. And she was quick to tell Riley not to plan a potty break when Ichiro might be batting - because "he's actually good". How quickly they learn!
I kept myself amused by watching people with copious amounts of junk food scale the stairways in varying conditions of sobriety and motor function. A good time was had by all!

First Day Jitters

Taryn woke up this morning and said "Mommy - it feels like there are butterflies and frogs jumping in my tummy" I could have told her honestly... me, too.

The first day of school for me was always filled with anxiety, anticipation, excitement, and fear. I was trying to minimize those feelings for Taryn. We had the outfit picked out - for 2 weeks - so that was a no-brainer. She got her sassy new haircut last Friday. We've had her backpack and school supplies for nearly a month. We were prepared!

But our best-laid plans went quickly awry when I discovered that I had underestimated the chaos of the school parking lot on the First Day. Add to that the fact that the exact starting time of school was never clearly obtained... they apparently assumed that all of us former Afternoon Kindergarten parents would automatically know that school started promptly at 9:00 AM - and not 9:08 like we had thought. Oops.

Talk about a train wreck. Instead of gleefully skipping to the playground like she had planned, she opened the door and 24 seemingly strange faces were staring at her. She knew a lot of the kids - but at that moment, she wouldn't have recognized her own sister. She did what I would have done (and still long to do at times) she bolted across the schoolyard, screaming "I want to be homeschooled."

What can a mother do at that point? I reasoned with her. I pleaded with her. I tried the COUNTDOWN (you know... "You will comply with my request in 5-4-3-2..." you get the picture) But my best parenting tricks were falling as flat as feathered hair in a Mississippi rainstorm. Suddenly my brain kicked in and I went to the classroom to get her best friend. Emily was able to talk her off the ledge and in they marched - Taryn subtly pushing Em in front as they entered the classroom to minimize the peering eyes. Crisis averted. Phew.

I wasn't expecting the freak out. But it wasn't too bad. And I take total responsibility for arriving late. Tomorrow morning - we're walking - 35 minutes before school starts. It's destined to be a better day.

First things first...

We visited First Grade today! Taryn put her supplies in her desk and got the 411 on the first day... where to put her backpack... how to order milk... etc. I cannot even believe that she's going to be a big First Grader on Tuesday! That seems very old.

Had some great chats with old friends today gathering info for my 20 Year Reunion! This is the fun part, being able to reconnect. 32 people updated... only 198 to go. *sigh*

But I was able to enlist a little moral support - if not exactly a whole crew of eager beaver party planners - moral support is good.

Another recent layout to share, too...

Thank you, Sir, may I have another?

Our team is RED HOT... your team is SO NOT!

I'm in a high school frame of mind today... been contacting alumni for the past 2 days. But still managed to scrap the above **HOT** layout featuring KI Color Theory papers in my dd's fave color GREEN...

Can you say MOJO?

My mojo has returned from it's summer vacation. And let me tell you, I got no postcards, souvenirs, NADA... but I'm just grateful that it returned safely.

If you're not a scrapbooker and you're reading this, you probably think I'm crazy... but all the scrapbookers know what I'm talking about.

Things I'm looking forward to the most right now:

1. School starting
2. School starting
3. School starting

Do you see a pattern here? It's not that we haven't had a great summer... but I just LOVE fall and the feeling of going back to school. Even if it's not ME going to school. This will be a great year - Taryn got the teacher we wanted and her favorite new friend is in her class - so things are looking VERY good so far.

Other upcoming things I'm looking forward to:


- Reunion planning... LOVE hearing from my long lost friends from high school!
- Gilmore Girls Season premiere
- Creating Keepsakes Convention in Bellevue in November... working with KB at the Dollar Scrapbooking booth will be an amazing good time!

Wheeeeeeee.....

The Air Up There...

From our recent adventures in Central Oregon... the girls loved exploring the summit at Mt. Bachelor, especially the ride on the chair lift (I, however, was white-knuckled on the descent). Our trip was filled with new experiences for them - river "rafting" (well, okay it was technically a CREEK - and there was mostly floating happening) - the chair lift ride - hiking at the top of a mountain - playing in the snow in summertime - golfing on real turf - swimming every day - and Riley learning how to swim *underwater* (with her face fully submerged).

Reunions...

I have 11 months until my 20 Year High School reunion. Or possibly 12... I haven't set the date yet. My mind is reeling with the possibility that I will be in charge of this event. Gotta check with Kristen and see what her availability is like first... maybe she would like to plan it??? Fingers crossed.

Reunions are excellent ways to get re-connected, make new connections, and to force you to work out harder than you have in a few years. I'll have to cut out a carrot from Taryn's orange construction paper and write REUNION on it with my black Sharpie and post it in front of the treadmill.

At least you're not required to wear a cap and gown to your reunion... is this a flattering look for anyone? Donna Karan - HELP!!

But it is good to think about those high school days. Old friends. Lots of laughter. Swim team. Late night phone calls. My dream car was a Spree scooter. Eating Oreo's one layer at a time. Stuff that you can only do when you're a teenager...

Independence Day!

We had an awesome 4th of July celebration... kicked off by some HUGE fireworks at Emerald Downs Racetrack - which were able to view from the comfort of my Grandma's deck - score!

On Independence Day proper, we spent a leisurely morning around the homestead... girls played with the neighbors... Thomas finished working on his sermon for his guest appearance tonight... and then headed to the Allan's for a barbecue with all of our favorite people!

The girls ran wild and only popped up when it was time for food or drink... love those kind of low-maintenance parties! Tori made her famous *Baked Beans with Cheese* - if you LOVE baked beans, you'll have to try her recipe!

We scooted home to catch the pyromaniacs in our own neighborhood... there were 3 different sets of so-huge-you'd-think-they-could-never-be-legal fireworks competing for best in show. I have to admit that my general attitude with on-street fireworks is "Bah, Boom"... they scare the bezeebers out of me. I stand close by, hose in hand ready to extinguish the inevitable fire in my hydrangeas. We escaped another Fourth unsinged... thank goodness!




The girls loved playing with fire and things that went *POP!* and *SIZZLE*... and I didn't have to turn the hose on them. The fun and games ended when Riley, with her sweatshirt covering her face, decided to take on the water bucket and ended up covered in muddy slightly sulfuric water and damp firework guts. But the neighbors got a nice chuckle out of it... poor girl, she's still little enough to provide entertainment at her own expense. *sigh*

Tori's Famous Baked Beans With Cheese

1 can pork and beans
1 can lima beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
4 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. ketchup
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1/4 lb cheddar cheese, cubed
Parmesan cheese (grated)

Cook bacon until very crisp; saute onion with bacon. Drain fat from bacon and onion mixture. Crumble bacon into small pieces. Mix all ingredients (except Parmesan). Pour into casserole dish; sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top. Cook for 3 hours at 300.

For smaller family: use above proportions and cook in a smaller baking dish so beans will stay moist.

For party size: double or triple recipe above and use 9x13 baking dish. You may want to make extra sauce (ketchup, brown sugar, and Worchestershire sauce) to add halfway through baking if beans look a little dry.

The cheddar cheese cubes are what make this dish unbelievably good and will always suprise people at first... one guy asked yesterday if there were *peaches* in the beans! LOL!!

Philosophy 101

Have you ever noticed that much of life's enjoyment consists in how you interpret the trivial events and details of your day?

For example: I took the girls to a Strawberry Farm this morning to pick berries. I had to use the coughcough*facilities*coughcough during our visit. I must say that the technology of HoneyBuckets (porta-potties - or outhouses depending on where you live) has vastly improved. Upon entering said HoneyBucket, I steeled myself for the aroma that would certainly greet me upon first inhaled breath... but no need. It smelled faintly of Wild Raspberry Rain - or some other Glade scent. It was downright pleasant. Well, I'm choosing to view it as pleasant. (refer to opening statement)

Another example: I received an e-mail notifying me that I won $100 as a Runner-Up in the Creative Imaginations contest. Now - I could easily choose to be an ungrateful wench about the $10,000 Grand Prize that I didn't win. But, I'm a civilized person. I don't need to throw a tantrum. I will gratefully clutch my $100 prize and spend it gleefully.

Also - we have an 8-foot pool in our backyard. The girls are enjoying it immensely. Almost as much as they would enjoy a full-sized pool. It really doesn't take much to create a lot of joy for kids. That, my friends, is something to learn from. A huge life lesson to gird your loins - or something like that.

No topical photos to post... just a couple from our photoshoot at Emages yesterday!