It's Twins!

{Thought that headline may garner your attention!}

That headline is in reference to describe the delivery on our doorstep last night, which leads me to a funny moment I need to capture and remember for posterity's sake.

Simple Backstory: Barbara wants a real baby. As in brother or sister. She asks for one almost every other day. It is explained to the child that she can certainly have one of her own in another, oh, 23 years or so. But mommy won't be honoring such a request as one of her upcoming 3rd birthday wishes.

So back to the story... I spied a brown UPS box on the doorstep as I pulled up the driveway tonight. It completely escaped me as to what it was- I, for the life of me, could not remember making any recent online purchases. I chalked it up to a random snowmobile accessory or dirt bike part that had arrived for Greg. Curious, I told Barbie that there was a mystery delivery on the doorstep and we went to retrieve it together to see what had arrived.

Picking up the box, I saw that it was addressed to me. SWEET! (I'm officially giddy now)

In my out loud narrative half to myself, half to Barbara, I explained it was something for mommy and I didn't recognize the return address. "I wonder what is inside- let's open it together!" As we walked into the kitchen to retrieve a box opener, she had an idea of what it could be and sweetly inquired:

Is it a real baby?!?

A good chuckle ensued. Then a snort. Then another little giggle. In her little mind she has effectively eliminated the UPS man as an option of where babies come from.

What was inside the box? Twin girls, namely Stella & Dot (which I had indeed ordered after attending BFF's S+D party last weekend)! Check my new little arrivals out below:

Heavy Mental

What is it about this time of year that makes everything seem so heavy?

Is it the ten pounds of clothes we must wear in order to step outside without freezing our hineys off?

Is it the ten pounds we gained during the 6-week bender we go on during the Holidays?

Is it the lack of sunlight?

I don't know about you, but I feel, well... heavy. And I'm in the mood to lighten up. I'm burnt out on the heavy comfort food of winter and crave a good salad. Or anything charbroiled for that matter. I'm jonesing to wear short sleeves in the office again. I'd like a good frozen margarita—Poolside. I'm dreaming of leisurely strolls on the boardwalk after dinner, making fun of the tourists.

I'm ready for green, folks. Bunnies in the yard, the smell of fresh-cut grass clippings, and the peals of thunder that vibrate the dishes in my kitchen. I miss the fresh contrast of the sensations of warm sun and sand under my toes and cool breezes off the still chilly lake.

Whatever it is that makes the time between the months of April to early September seem like life is so much easier, I'm for it. Now.

So how does one "act as if" it's Spring. That, my friends, is my assignment this week. I will let you know.

Faking like we LIKE winter

So evidently you can't pre-type posts on satellite programs and simply cut and paste them into blogger for posting later. I've lost two nice posts this week that way, and there's just something anti-climactic (sp?) about retyping after the moment of expression has passed. It just seems like old news, you know?

Anyways, onward with fresh material. Here are a few snaps of some outside winter frivolity last weekend:



Chilled to the bone doesn't even begin to cover it. Our noses were on continual drip for hours after spending about 45 minutes outside. But it was fun. And now I have Frosty to scare the crap out of me every night I turn on the porchlight and let Scout outside.

I found this little beauty this week in my travels and can't wait to dig in! I am enjoying the challenge of learning something new. I am not enjoying taking apart my machine to unbind it after renegade threads come loose and wreak havoc. Grrr....

My New Year's Revolution

I have an aversion to that 'r' word. I believe that word is used too loosely. Resolution has a flaky, waffly quality about it. It's a soft word, it even sounds wimpy.... like serendipity or redundancy. To acknowledge my goals as resolutions I may as well be saying 'things that sound nice ideally, but I'm not putting much stock in the idea of them actually happening'.

I gave a lot of thought to them last week. In light of my recent epiphany in regards to planning and goal-oriented forward thinking-ness, I came to the conclusion that less is more. I'm committing to doing more with less this year, in so many more ways than one.

Below is my edited list posted not so much as to impress my meager blog following, but more as an effort to hold myself accountable. They say writing down your goals is the first step in bringing them to fruition. Well if that's the first step, then proclaiming them for all your family, friends and otherwise to read and hold you to them should bring me a few strides closer than that. Without further ado, I present my list for 2010:

1. Make some really great art with my little Rebel.


2. Learn how to sew; specifically window treatments for the house and matching sundresses for Barbie and I to rock this summer.
   
3. Finally have loosened hamstrings. All my life I have never been able to do this (this is the stuff that keeps me up at night, folks):
   



4. Try to do something physical every day. (I hear those snickers... Oh that he would be THAT lucky!)


5. Practice my interior re-design skills on a semi-professional level for friends and acquaintances with the intention of figuring out what to do with this God-given talent of mine.


6. Pay off my credit card (note singular) EVERY. DAMN. MONTH. This implies spending less... but everyone says that on their resolutions, don't they?


7. This one is omitted to protect the identities of the innocent.


8. Ditto for this one.
   
   There you have it friends--my 2010 New Years Revolution. Happy new decade.

Christmas: Acts I & II

A few shots from Christmas weekends at both of our families' homes. It was a whirlwind tour from December 18th until December 26th... So whirlwind that I am now just getting around to blogging about it.

And with that draws close 2009 year in pictures on this blog. I look forward to keeping better tabs on Composed Fresh- if only just a small post every other day or so.