I did it. It's done.

He no longer looks like a girl. I cut his hair. I have forever lost the last of the baby. It looks okay, I did it myself. Yes, this is all about me. Now I am off to cry.

The Garage is Clean!

Can you believe it? I sure can't. However, the layer of pollen and dust that I managed to inhale is not allowing me to forget it. *ick* John and I are looking into a new chest freezer to replace the old inefficient upright one we currently have and realized the one we want would fit into the pantry, but not in the direction we need... so into the garage it goes. That means, we had to clean. Well, it's done, looks great and now John can not complain he can't use/get to his table saw either. No more excuses. ;) Oh, the head clogging misery... I hope I clear out soon.

Fresh Salad

I so wish that I had managed to take a picture before we had dinner. John proclaimed it was the best salad he had ever had. It was topped with ground mild sausage from Grateful Growers and parmesan cheese, but the vast majority of it was something unexpected. Flowers, lots of flowers... nasturtium, chive, rose, and dianthus, along with their leaves, a small amount of sweet mixed baby salad leaves, sugar snap peas, fresh red beets, baby turnips, garlic chives, non-local broccoli tops and 2 small tomatoes, and some sweet clover from our yard.
It was so good that there was absolutely NO need for any type of dressing at all. And while I thought I was making enough for John to take to work tomorrow... we ate it all.
Small City Farms *just* started to sell this year, but they have helped transform our dinner table. I almost hate to blog it for fear that they will be found out and we will loose our little food supply! We buy them out of peas every time we see them, it feels like. I get to the market super early in hopes that I'll get to them first. They have been selling their salad greens mixed and washed already, with flower petals mixed in. So often the wonderful fresh veggies I get at the market sit around and end up with the worms. SCF has jump started me to really utilize what I am getting rather than thinking, "oh, this looks good!" and then later not knowing what to do with it.
(Pictured as sold!)
It has me thinking outside of the box and is propelling me forward to move beyond the standard American salad vegetables and adding all sorts of local fresh seasonal foods to our table. All I can really say is YUM. We are all loving this new diet. This is week 2 of a mainly seasonal table, and it's a good thing. I sure hope we can keep it up. It feels good in more than one way!
On a side note, we finally got our Earth Box set up and have added carrots and lettuce to it. I hope it grows for us, I think we might be *way* to late in the season already... but we will give it a go. I so wish we had more than the one. In the small bed, my kale has bolted and I need to figure out soon which herbs I have still, but John has his garden in place and growing strong. We have 4 tomato plants, 2 of them are Purple Cherokee. I bought one from Dean Mullis of Laughing Owl Farm thinking John had not planted one of those, but he had. We should be sick of them by the end of the year at his rate! We also have lima beans, various peppers, puff ball sunflowers, dragon's tongue bush beans, red kidney beans, watermelon, and marigolds. :) Yea summer!

Workspace coming along

I posted a few weeks ago about cleaning out the guest room for Tricia... who decided to move back towards Anderson. In the process of all of that I was setting up shelving and cubbies for my yarn, fabric and other crafty things so that they had a place of their own out of little hand's reach and off of the kitchen table. So far, so good... it's coming right along, and I thought you might like to see! It's still not finished, but great progress is being made.

Just something as simple as thread organization is huge to me. Can you imagine digging through all of this thread in a bin in order to find one spool? I can, and it's a nightmare. This just thrills me. :)
Soon, we hope to move the bed out and pt up even more cubes so I can spread out a bit more and I would love to get a cozy chair and move my floor lamp in too. A quiet knitting corner, as well as a great place for a daily devotional. *sigh* :D

Backpack, Backpack!

Jack has started to sing. Unlike his sister who had not watched too much TV at this age... Jack is enthralled with TV music. Jack's Big Music Show, Dora the Explorer... just about anything on Noggin that has music. Two days ago we were about to leave to get John from work and he was sitting in my lap zoned out... whispering along, "bapa, bapa, bapa, bapa, bapa..." It was SO cute. And he'll be happy to sing for you if you get him started. :) I hope to get a video of it.

Remiss to mention More Yarny Gifts!

Last Tuesday night, at my normal scheduled outing with Doreen.... I was lured to her house to see her new spinning wheel. I got to 'ohh' and 'ahhh' over such prettiness, but you do not get to see me spin yet, because well, I don't... yet. One new ting to conquer at a time, please. :)

Well, I say 'lured' because she and her sister, Janet, had surprises for me! They got together over Mother's Day weekend and went to the beach. Doreen brought me back some pretty pretty yarny goodness... while Janet had ordered me a b e a u t i f u l teal blue yarn mug! See how pretty my Arches and Columns scarf is in it? Oh, I'm in heaven. Thank you ladies!

Mary Jo's Trip

I should know a trip to the fabric store costs me a ton. I never get out of there for under 50$. I have no idea why. I will say, however, that the kids were so very well behaved in there today. I was so impressed with Dory especially! So often, it is a massive chore to go and to take them both, which I do every time. This time, Dory was so well behaved, considering the environment. She wanted lots of buttons, all of which we put back, but for the first time I did not have to confine her to the stroller. Thank goodness, because I did not have it with me. I had promised her that if she was well behaved that we would go to a 'nature museum' afterwards. However, she decided that she was hungry, so we went came home first for some food. From there... she got whiney, crabby and then hit full out meltdown mode. So, off to bed she went. After a nice nap, it was too late to go... we had to pick up John from work. Lesson learned for her! (I hope.)



Now, about fabric... I found some really pretty ones. My thought is to take some of her little cheap tank tops and add a sewn on fabric skirt to them so she has some play dresses. We'll see how they go. I think if I do it right, they could be potentially really cute. I still need to add a skirt and buttons to her crocheted dress top. It's pretty much snoozing until I figure out what I am doing with it, besides I have a ton of knitting going right now anyway.

It's HERE!!! WOOT! My Malabrigo Swap Package!

(Sorry, link will only work for those on Ravelry)
Here is my son trying to run away with it…

Silly boy. Malabrigo’s for Mom.

Ok, here she is:

4(!) Knit Picks Options nickel needle tips in sizes US6, US8, US9 and US10 -– THANK YOU!!!! I’ve been buying them piecemeal.
Knitting Little Luxuries – It’s okay for you to drool on your keyboards… ;)
Etsy Gnome knitting kit – SOOO cute! Not malabrigo soft, but the kids are gonna love these!
Travel coffee/tea mug with “Surprise!” some of my fave tea hidden inside for when I am finished nursing. (It has peppermint in it, bad for making milk.)
Earth Therapeutics ‘mani-care set’ – Ohhhhh, some MUCH needed pampering!

The loveliness that is the malabrigo:

Silky in Lettuce, Wisteria and Pollen -- so happy I *shivered*!

Thank you thank you thank you thank you brunettemama (Allison)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!

Guilty Pleasures/Good Karma

(Ravelry Link, again)
I got it! I got it! Thank you Linda! :D

This fab package contained:
Fleece Artist Curlylocks 450m of boucle kid mohair in Lupin - a striking blue,
2! Avery Allison Yarns Premium Hand-Dyed Yarn - Fingering sock yarn in Autumn (an awesome teal running through it),
TeaRen Hibiscus Spice teabags,
Olive soap and lotions,
a tin of Mary Englebright cards (I love her illustrations),
The Yarn Harlot’s At Kit’s End (Love her!),
2 Regila lace samples (? I think) in red and a dark, dark green,
KP sock dpns in size 1 (woot! I had been wanting to try these!),
another set of larger green dpn (measure to be size US10),
a blue H8 crochet hook (I’m just learning!),
a sweater pattern (not on Ravelry or I would link),
yummy divine smelling specialty roaster coffee beans, and… the chocolate is already gone. It was my favorite too… Endangered Species Dark with Cocoa Nibs… I <3 nibs.
:D WOOHOO!!!
Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!!
I sure hope your partner spoils you silly!
_____________________
For the rest of you non-knitting non-Ravelry people... the sweet lady who mailed this to me is a CPM (long live the CPMs!), has her own dairy cow, garden, 13 kids - the youngest has Down's, lots of grandkids, and is super, super sweet.

Chocolate Happy

So John and I went out to the movies last night. We had a grand time. We took some yummy Endangered Species organic dark chocolate bars with us. They were in my purse... when Jack pulled it off the counter this morning as I was sleeping in for Mother's Day.



I'd say Jack had a great Mother's Day morning. LOL

New Shoes!

John and Dory got their first Birks. I got a new pair I found on sale. Jack got a pair of Jack and Lily 'My Shoes' soft sole Sandals. WooHoo! New shoes all around!

On Marriage

An open love letter to my Groom:

About 10 years ago I made a decision after God had smacked me (a second time) in the head to get me to listen. It wasn't easy. He wanted me to choose what He had for me, rather than what *I* wanted. I left hopes and dreams and my rose colored glasses behind with many tears as I mourned every step with resistance to His will. I tried to backtrack several times (about 2 years worth) before I went to "One Day" and encountered His will.
That was... Him.
Only Him.
No more men, boys, guys... Only HIM.
Wow. Um, I didn't know how to be single. To NOT date at least. I only knew how to be a part of something. To give of myself, in ways good AND bad. To be dependent.... but not on whom I should have been. Him. How would I survive without help? Seriously, self esteem, money and partnership came from those relationships. They were important.
That summer, 2000, was life changing. Starting with 'One Day', and continuing into the fall, once I bowed to His will and made Him 'the One', that's when my life that I was hunting for started. He provided me with the best paying, most lenient job I have ever held. He provided my head with a pillow, even on the day when I didn't know where it was going to be that afternoon! He spoke to me in ways I have not heard His voice since. I sought after His heart, every day, but especially on Saturday nights, on my "Date Night" with God at the college group prayer meeting.
That said, it wasn't an easy thing to do. It was hard. REAL hard. I worried about ever getting married or having children. I worried about the timeline I had set out for myself. How would I find someone if I was not busy looking and establishing? Everyone knows that takes work and time.
That summer I lived with different friends, my pastor, at camp, in Amman, Jordan, at Gail's house... you see, I had no house. All of my things were in storage. My life was on hold. Or, so I thought. Turns out, not so much.
By the end of the summer I was working in a fly by night job, interviewing for the position of my life. And I didn't even know it.
John offered me a job position in his store. I accepted. From there we grew to know one another rather well. Becky approved of him, and we TRIED not to start a relationship. We failed. It was something that we fell into, that we had no control over. I pleaded with God for it not to be right. To tell me 'no'. It wasn't what I wanted. I searched, one night at prayer meeting, for any 'NO'... even went to the Old Testament... it would be there at least, right? No. I looked for other signs, every time getting a positive.
What I kept finding was what has sustained me.
1 Corinthians 14:1a
"Pursue Love"
It takes work. You pursue it. It is not effortless. I have to work at it. I have to make it a priority. And most importantly, I have to remember the next part: "yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts..."
That means, to me, keep God in perspective. HIS majesty, His control, His POSITION as number one. Not number 2. Not something to honor occasionally. He is what makes it possible to pursue.
This, for the last 6 years, has held true. 1 Corinthians 13 is true, beautiful, necessary and profound, but the key to it's perfection is usually skipped- 14:1... Pursue Love. Work at it and remember God's place in it.
In the years since we have hit some massive bumps. We will never be the couple 50 years down the road who says, 'We never fought'. Yet- we are also so blessed. I think, more so. We know God's plans for us and His will for our relationship. Granted, we might not understand it, but we know it is such, and it gets us through when we want to quit. I love that about us. I love that when I asked you on the dock at University Lake rather or not you could be a Godly husband and you said you could try. Neither of us makes the perfection mark. We both have tons of growth to go.... but it's the act of Pursuing.
Thanks for Pursuing it with me.


Happy 6th Anniversary, John. I love you.

Tea Party anyone?

Happy Mother's Day Patty! A Malabrigo (merino wool) Tea Pot Cozy custom sized for your Portmeirion Botanic pot!

I have also learned from Sitemeter...

That my gluten free post that also talked about poor Jack's poo is an international beacon for google searches for "Dirty Mommy". LMAO. Wow. Seriously.

And someone has me subscribed to via Bloglines, I think.

Fascinating, absolutely fascinating.

ADD 5/6 3:15:
And someone just made a google image search for 'first blood' and looked at Jack's bloody nose.... anything can be dirty I guess. Good grief guys!

This is what I reap.

Okay... So I signed up for another swap a few weeks back. This one for lovely, amazingly soft, coveted Malabrigo yarn. I sent my package out today to my partner. So, until she receives it, I'm done. What do I decide to do in the interim? LOL - snoop on my upline to figure out who they are.

So, I look at my site's stats. I see Andy, Ba, Steph, the Dr's plural (congrats Heather!!!), and a few other places... and I see Oklahoma. Repeated several times. I cross reference it with locations of people in my group that could potentially be my partner.

Smart, huh?

I find one. I get excited. I stalk her for an hour, browsing her flickr and ravelry things... then I look up, for kicks, the rest of the group.

*GULP* there are two of them. Friends. Both in my group. ACK! So, who is she? Well, I can't figure out how to see who was first to my site. Not that it would matter anyway, I can't tell their ISPs or anything and neither has talked about their type of computer or browser. One marked my purse as a favorite. Would a real stalker be so bold? Or would her friend who went to check out the 1st lady's downline? See, I'd mark one of Doreen's stalkees... but not my own. But, would someone else think like me? IDK!

THIS is what I get for snooping. Oh, the karma. Good thing I don't believe in karma.

Besides, I should be knitting... I have a Mother's Day gift to get finished. *sigh*


So, anyway... I see you Mrs. Oklahoma... kinda'.

Jack is speaking!

The last few weeks, starting with the Please, has been a boon of words. He has added 'Up', 'Cheese' and 'Ball' as well. I think there are more... but at the moment I forget them.

ETA: 'Fish'

Professional Photos

Went, in the end, really well today. They had a very auspicious start though. Dory only smiled after the warning of an impending spanking. Made me so sad, she would not respond to any of the other offers. Oh well. I don't do this often anymore and we were already getting pretty late on the scheduled one for Jack.

The Raymonds on Vacation

What did we do? Lots of beach time. Jack loves the sand but is less than thrilled with the water. We took a ferry ride, which Jack adored and John acquired a sunburn from. We went to tea with Grandma Patty. We went to an Aquarium. We went to the Wilmington Children's Museum. We had a WONDERFUL time.

Earth Day Yarn Swap 08

This was my very first yarn swap on Ravelry (well, ever). The idea is you buy a gift, within guidelines for someone, and someone else buys for you - much like those crazy Christmas gift games... only fun since there is yarn involved. lol

Sachi, my partner, got me some great things!



Jack got a book, Dory got stickers, and Mommy got some yarn goodness! Beautiful organic color grown cotton in chocolate and a fun matching novelty yarn that is also beautiful. Thank you ever so much Sachi!