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#1 from yesterday still has not been cleared to announce. Soon hopefully.

In no particular order… except for numero uno.

10…) This shouldn’t even really count, but Mt. Dew, Coffee and Thin Mints is the best way to start the day. So really what I’m saying is my mom made me happy today, as she was gracious enough to provide all three. I don’t think she meant for me to have all three at once though.

9…) Tax Returns. Seriously. It may have cost over $250 to get mine done, but we can finally have some breathing room. I’ve already purchased my coveted Emmeline Apron Pattern. I’m also trying to decide on a new camera, since it’s gonna cost $150 to fix mine. I’m looking for something that takes great indoor photos and is more than a plain point-and-shoot. So far I like the Kodak Z712 (~$200), the Nikon D40(~$500) and the Canon EOS Digital Rebel xTI (~$600). I can’t see myself spending half a grand or more for a camera, but only $200 gives me that “You get what you pay for” nagging feeling. Any thoughts? Please?

8…) Baby smiles. Without fail, one little grin from Rowan can put the hugest smile on my face regardless of the mood I’m in.

7…) The bargain fabric I found at WalFart. I’m chomping at the bit to make my latest project with it, but I have so many other irons in the fire. I’ve been thinking about it so much, I even went back and bought all they had left. Maybe I’m so smitten with it because it was only $1 a yard.

6…) Click this:                                                                         5…) Click this too:

Courtesy of Juicy Living

4…) I’ve always loved to work with wood and someday hope to have an outdoor shop for things like welding and woodworking. There have got to be hundreds of “plans” here, dating as far back as 1925. Lots of oddities, but also lots of cool stuff too.

3…) I just received a package from Pattern Rescue in the mail. In the last couple weeks I’ve picked up 6 vintage patterns from then for all of $10 total. That’s mainly because I was being generous. All I really have to cover was shipping, which was less than $4. Check them out, they have all kinds of cool “programs” to help you with your vintage needs and wants.

2…) If I wasn’t afraid to put huge holes in the walls of a rental house, I’d be installing a Moddi Murphy Bed in a heartbeat! The only problem with having “extra” beds is they always seem to fill up after a party. Not a problem in itself, but having to look presentable just to cook breakfast the next morning is.

1…) I was hoping I could tell you guys the thing that made me happiest today, but I was told I could not. The news has not been officially released. (NO! I’m not pregnant!)

It’s raining again. While it’s so amazing to have this much rain in Arizona, it kinda ruins plans… like my plan to get Declan dressed and let him roam the backyard with Fable all day. Yeah, that didn’t happen. We did all go to the grocery store today. I had the boys in their matching Skullys and we were approached and told that I should sell them. Do you think anyone would buy a “recycled” hat? Maybe they’ll sell better because they are recycled?

Matt and I talked about getting some things posted to my Etsy store, but this is where I must make a heartfelt plea. If any of you are considering purchasing anything for us, please let it be a new digital camera. There’s no way I could sell anything with the low quality pictures that my mom’s camera takes. Well, I could try I guess. You can find our “chosen” cameras in this post or view My Wists in the sidebar (but anything that takes crisp pictures will do), or if you have any artistic ideas to make my current photos work please let me know! I’d greatly appreciate it.
Oh yes!! I must post about my Valentine’s. We’re tight on money, so we decided to make all of our gifts, something we really should strive to do anyway. Matt got his favorite dinner and an IOU for his favorite cookies - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. I got a beautiful card and a program. Yep, a program from my in-house lovable Linux guru/nerd. See?

Isn’t that just the sweetest thing!?

If there are any fellow nerds out there who’d like the source code for the program, lemme know. You should be able to figure it out yourself though.

We’re supposed to get our taxes done soon, and we’re already daydreaming about what to do with the return money. Reality is telling us that we need to keep it and just use it to live off of but we can always dream big right?

In all honesty though I am hoping that both Matt and I can splurge a little on ourselves. I really really really would like to get my hair done again. I was secretly hoping that Matt had some how found a hairstylist and befriended them before Valentines in hopes of finagling a free cut and color out of it. Alas, it did not happen and my mane of bi-color curly locks still hangs sadly from my head. I’m afraid to chop it myself. :S

I also have a running list of projects I’d like to complete, including but not limited to:

• New Ironing Board Cover
• Clothes Pin Bag
• Something for my nephew that his mom wont tear up or throw away. His birthday is soon
• Some more “recycled” items
• Duct-Tape dressing form
• Apron (or two)
• Try out some of the BurdaStyle patterns, as well as some vintage patterns, I’ve acquired. I think I’m on a jumper bender. I’m afraid to find out if Jumpers will work with my body shape or not.
• Don’t tell anyone, but I also am slowly piecing together ideas for a quilt. Get it… piecing? Ha!

Don’t hold your breathe though, things take time in this house.

On my final note, I’d like to leave you with this link. Have fun!

Marie over at Trail Mix did a rewrite of the infamous “Good Wife’s Guide”. She did a great job making it more “home maker” friendly and up to date. Unfortunately, it just shows how far I am from having a perfect house. So I thought I’d rewrite her rewrite, for entertaiment purposes.

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead. Once-a-month cooking, and planning your menus in advance can really help make this easier. He’ll appreciate it, the kids will appreciate it, and you’ll have one less thing to worry about. Try to have his favorites as often as possible and you’ll [have] him bragging you up to all of his friends.
  • Plan out menus ahead of time, making sure to include lots of scrumptious choices. Buy mostly everything you need, forgetting only the important ingredients. Forget to defrost anything. Make excuses and whip together some Hamburger Helper.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. If your husband works in an office and you’re at home, be very aware that women who work with him dress ‘for the office’ with nice shoes, skirts, make-up, and nice hair. Make sure that what he comes home to looks just as good. (I got this advice from a pastor’s wife)
  • Try to shower weekly. Be very aware that women who work with him dress “for the office”. Let this effect your self-esteem and become convinced that you’ll always look like a water-buffalo for the rest of your life.
• Try to talk about something more than Johnny’s potty at supper. Engage in intelligent, interesting conversation with him. Make sure he’s happy to be at home with you. Read interesting blogs and sites so that you have things to talk about.
  • Read blogs that interest you and stop your brain from disintegrating. Try to share your interests with your husband. Realize that he’s not listening and change the subject back to him. Appear to understand when he talks about Distributions, Emulations, and package Updates.
• Clear away clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.
  • Try to make it to the front door when he gets home without tripping and sending the already screaming baby flying.
• Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc and then run a dust cloth over the tables. The last thing anyone wants to see when they walk in the door is clutter, mess and dirt.
  • Shove everything in the closet or garage. He never goes into them anyway.
• Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will give you immense personal satisfaction. (I’m not even touching that. As sexist as that might sound, most people who choose to be at home full-time, as their chosen profession, really do gain personal satisfaction from making loved ones feel cared for.)
  • Find a YouTube of a burning log fire and set it as your screensaver. Maybe he’ll notice.
• Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
  • Get children dressed for the first time that day. Diapers/underpants at least.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Again, the last thing anyone wants is chaos when they enter the house. Extend this principle to times when anyone enters the house. (Gryphon says that he’s happy with hugs and kisses and then “Just let me catch my breath before supper.”)
  • Ask the kids to bring things to a dull roar. Pull ear buds out of your ears, you should be able to hear him speak now.
• Be happy to see him.
  • You really are happy to see another adult in KiddyWorld.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him. The truth is, a happy, content husband, who knows that you’re committed to his happiness, is more likely to do the things you want.
  • A happy, content husband means you’re overstressed and doing the work of two people. This will cause you to be committed.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Trust me, there are women who would gladly let him vent about his day over a nice, quiet glass of wine, and they’ll pat his hand and sympathize about how you just don’t listen. Don’t let that look like an appealing option for him.
  • Don’t bother telling him those important things. He’ll just forget and it’ll end up being your fault.
• Make the evening a pleasant time for family and then for each other. Reconnect after being apart. If you have certain rituals at meal time, your children will remember them and copy someday. My mother always set the table properly no matter what we were eating. Today I still love cloth napkins and tablecloths.
  • I can’t even touch this one. If it was easy to turn a choatic day into a peaceful night I’d do it. Alas, chaos reigns supreme.
• Your goal: try to make your home a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
  • Good Goal. Unattainable, but good.
• Don’t greet him with complaints and problems. There’s a time for that, but not when he first walks in the door.
  • The time for that is in your head. If you actually voice your complaints and problems they’ll get laughed off as jokes.
• Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner once in a while, but you’re a fool not to question if it happens often.
  • You know that if you actually get dinner done and on time he’ll be late. Without fail.
• Be a partner. Not a nag, not a doormat, not his boss. Remember that men view our friendly reminders as criticism, and they don’t usually deal well with that. Boost him up, compliment him, make sure he knows that he’s your personal hero, your knight in shining armor, and the only man you want.
  • A partnership works both ways. Might as well be a doormat or a nag because the only boosting you’ll get is from your bra and compliments come from your mom.
• A good wife knows her role in the marriage and family and how important she is to her husband and children. She knows her strengths and weaknesses and works hard to always improve herself.
  • A good wife knows that she is important because were she to stop working 24/7 the house would catch fire, the kids would starve and the husband would never be to work on time.

I would love to be the “good” wife. First I’d have to get married, then I’d need to hire a maid, nanny and cook. Those are my first two goals.

What do you think?

A quiz about the blogger and their blogging “habiti”. Found at Manic Girl but I know it didn’t start there…

1. Do you try to look hot when you go to the grocery store just in case someone recognizes you from your blog? Uhh, yeah right. I try not to look like a total slob because I don’t want the store employees to think I’m homeless or something.
2. Are the photos you post Photoshopped or otherwise altered? Not typically except for resized and whatnot.
3. Do you like it when creeps or dorks email you? If I liked it I probably wouldn’t consider them creeps or dorks. But I rarely get emails, except from the island.
4. Do you lie in your blog? No, why would I?
5. Are you passive-aggressive in your blog? People say I can be passive-aggressive in general, so maybe.
6. Do you ever threaten to quit writing so people will tell you not to stop? Nope. I’m 25 and not Emo.
7. Are you in therapy? If not, should you be? If so, is it helping? Not in therapy, though my brain is turning to mush from the lack of intellectual conversation. Maybe I should go to therapy just to have someone to chat with.
8. Do you delete mean comments? Do you fake nice ones? Never gotten a mean comment. I hadn’t thought about faking nice ones, but maybe that would inspire more comments in general.
9. If your readers knew you in person, would they like you more or like you less? I dunno. I hope that I portray myself as I am, so neither.
10. Do you have a job? Absolutely! Raising and selling children.
11. If someone offered you a decent salary to blog full-time without restrictions, would you do it? Absolutely! I think it would be fun.
12. Which blogger do you want to meet in real life? Deb from Smitten Kitchen or Juliette from Chickpea Sewing Studio. They both give me great inspiration.
13. Do you usually act like you have more money or less money than you really have? In my blog? Well, I freely admit to being broke…
14. Does your family read your blog? Probably the only people who do.
15. How old is your blog? 1.5 months.
16. Do you get more than 1000 page views per day? Do you care? I think a good day is about 15, and I’ve never broken 100.
17. Do you have another secret blog in which you write about being depressed, slutty, or a liar? Nope.
18. Have you ever given another blogger money for his/her writing? Nope.
19. Do you report the money you earn from your blog on your taxes? I can earn money with this thing?!
20. Is blogging narcissistic? I don’t think so. More cathartic than anything. Sharing is nice, and it gives me an excuse to list the things I like and subtly drop hints for Matt.
21. Do you feel guilty when you don’t post for a long time? YES! Hence why I post random memes sometimes. Like today.
22. Do you like John Mayer? Who? Is he an Independent?
23. Do you have enemies? Probably.
24. Are you lonely? Kinda… lonely for adult company and interaction. My mom gets really tired of me bugging her when she’s home. Matt usually hides from me because he knows I’ll ask him to hang out or help me with something.
25. Why bother? With what? Life? Because it’s the most fulfilling thing I’ll ever do. Blog? Well, I like to share and pretend that people like to see what I do.