Naturally Optimistic

Doh! I forgot to include this fabulous link - All Sorts - by children's illustrator and crafty crafterson extraordinare Jen! I love the ideas, the pictures, the templates and my mentee loves being able to dress up Zoe (on her illustrator site) and rearrange her furniture. A great & inspiring site.

Last Sunday (1/21) Steve, my cousin Kevin & I took a hike on Park Point (incidently Park Point is the world's largest freshwater sand bar - put that in your trivia brain folder. :)). It is a beautiful hike filled with 200 year old red pines, huge sand dunes, ruins of shipyards past and on this day fantastic ice formations. Lake Superior was eerily calm. Usually there is a lot of wave action, but not so today! The sky was dark grey and it was dead quiet. We felt like we were on another planet and felt very lucky to take in this beautiful and unusual sight. It wasn't that cold either - perfect for hiking.

I've added a few more links to blogs I've been frequenting lately. These are amazing, inspiring, creative women and I love reading about their lives, seeing their creations and feeling a litte bit a part of their community. Check 'em out! Hello, My Name is Heather - amazing photography, sewing, fabric design, crafty goodess and adorable children Tree Fall Design - More crafty/sewy (?!) goodness and another adorable child to boot. Very inspiring. Little Shika - A fabulous quilter & she really really makes me want to learn that art. Great stories too. Pixiegenne - found via Little Shika - very creative & another inspiration to add to my list. Great ideas & photos. Piddleloop - Knitting, softies, crafty goodness. So much fun! Fricknits - More knitting and great writing. When I'm feeling low I can visit any one of these websites and gather inspiration and spirit to pick me up and get doing something again. A lot of these talented women have Etsy shops and ...

I'm not sure if there is a record for the most times being rejected from film festivals. But I am starting to feel like we're getting close. OFFICIALLY rejected from SXSW (again). At least they were pithy in their no-doubt-created-by-MS-Word's-Mail-Merge-Function and just said "we won't waste your time, unfortunately your film Newton's Disease was not selected for this year's festival. Eh, whatever. I wish I cared more but I don't. The only thing I care about is constantly shelling out $ to get into these stupid things. I'm pretty sure there is some guy out there that has made a MILLION short films and submitted them thousands of times to festivals all over the world. That guy has me beat. Hands down. This does still suck.

Okay, Maybe I am. Kidding! I'm not. I have been dead-ass bored at work this week so have gotten sucked into reading this blog and it is consuming my life! Okay, not really, just my boring "work" hours. I am totally hooked on her story and have enjoyed reading the all of it - well, it's hard to "enjoy" heartbreak but you get my drift. I'm only up to Autumn of '05 (and I know where it's at currently) but if you ever have...oh, I don't know, 40 hours to kill while handcuffed to a computer and you are at all interested in parenting/pregnancy/infertility/etc check it out. Laurie - thanks for pointing it out (ages ago!) I've checked in periodically but this was the first time I've devoted (hours) time to reading everything!

Time flies when you're having fun.

We got out of the house this weekend and saw a couple of flicks. The first was Night at the Museum . We had wanted to see this since the trailer came out last month. Both Steve & I are big Ben Stiller fans and this movie just looked silly enough without being too obnoxious for us to enjoy! And it was! It was a good family-friendly flick which kept us entertained, got us to laugh outloud and forget about the troubles of the world for a while. I particularly enjoyed the mini Owen Wilson and got a kick out of the fact that "Lewis" & "Clark" were constantly arguing about which direction to go (while behind glass the whole time.). I also loved seeing Dick Van Dyke in action, but Mickey Rooney just sort of scared me. All in all this was a very enjoyable, silly, fun movie. I liked it. The second movie-going experience of the weekend was to see Hurricane on the Bayou . This is currently playing at the OmniMax theater in town. I always love checking out the latest Om...

My bathrooms are clean and I actually completed an entire sewing project. Amazing. Start throwing the ticker tape and uncorking the champagne. haha Seriously - a simple tote which I LOVE the fabrics on. Heh. Fabric shopping is dangerous & addictive to me!!

Oh this momentous occassion (post #700!!!!) I am feeling very light as we took a truck load of our junk (hopefully someone else's treasures) to Good Will this morning. This has been piling up since our last garage sale (Oct '04!!) and it was high time to get it out of here. I'm spening today cleaning and taking breaks to chat with friends online and do some sewing. It's so nice to have a Saturday to myself with nothing on my plate (officially). I am going to try to get to that banana bread later today too!

I went to a new knitting group at my neighbor's house last night (hi anna!) and really just need to work on how much I talk. I mean to keep myself in check and I mean to just sit back and take everything in but by the end of the night I am just hating myself for the constant chatter I think that I am responsible for providing. Sheesh. I think it's because I get nervous in new situations and I want to appear "cool" or whatever and I just end up coming off as the biggest dork ever, which I am. And then the next day I feel yucky about it. Having wine DOES NOT help these situations and I did pretty good on that front (only 2 1/2 glasses in 3 hours) but I need to improve. I don't need to send potential new friends SCREAMING from me because I am so annoying. *sigh*

Okay - yes, back to Triplet Talk. I'm trying to come up with nursery rhymes/stories/fairy tales, songs, etc that may have 3's referenced in them for a game that I'm creating.... Here are some of what I have so far: 3 Blind Mice Goldilocks and the 3 Bears 3 Pigs 3 Little Kittens 3 Billy Goats Gruff 3 bags of wool (from Baa Baa Black Sheep) I feel as though I'm missing some very obvious references to 3's (and other not-so-obvious ones too). Please help me! Drop me a comment about 3's! I'd greatly appreciate it.

For Christmas, my Mother-in-Law gave me this book that had been on my wishlist: I was so excited! And had the perfect occassion to try it out. My Dad's 60th birthday is only a few days after Christmas and we were having a party for him the following weekend. I decided to make the Ginger Chocolate cakes because 1) it seemed like a "special" cake (as one should have for celebrating 60 years!) and 2) it was ginger bread and we were still in between the holidays so I figured people would not think I was out of season by baking this. Oh and 3) I LOVE gingerbread. It took me all morning to create the cakes & the ganache (and pack for the weekend). I also had to run to a candy store to buy crystallized ginger (who knew they sell it at candy stores? Well, they do!) I was quite pleased with how they turned out. The ganache frosting was easy to make (putzy but easy) but the recipe was WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too big for these 12 cakes and sadly a lot of it ended up getting tossed (af...

After reading my past few posts I realized I really need to step it up around here. Who really wants to know about my cell phone battery or the fact that there is no snow or contstant baby babble about the triplets? So, I promise to try to be better. I've finally downloaded my completely full camera and will have more pics to post and more room to take more pics. For now I leave you with Key Lime Pie from the Banana Cabana on Anna Maria Island on our honeymoon. Yum....

After quite literally weeks (or really months?) of only being able to sustain a 2 minute charge on my cell phone, I FINALLY got online and ordered a replacement battery. Isn't my life exciting??

Seasonal Affective Disorder .... Usually this is a condition that makes people depressed because there's not enough sunlight and it's just DARK AND COLD all the time. In my household though it's because there is no snow! Steve is more affected by this than me but it's starting to be ridiculous. Every winter storm that comes in our general vicinity is deflected and seems to magically go around us. It's mid-January and the ski trails haven't been groomed once. The snowshoes are in the trunk just waiting for an opportunity to be used but nothing. We were watching some thing about avalanches last night on The Weather Channel (in between In the Womb: Multiples which was FRICKIN' AMAZING, btw) and every time they showed a bunch of snow (which is frequently in a show about avalanches), Steve would let out the most mournful and longing sigh. It was very sad. Or S.A.D. rather. It's starting to actually make him mad so hopefully we'll get some snow in the nea...

After several months of post-wedding-eating/non-dieting I think it's time to get back on that horse and be a little more thoughtful about what I eat and how much of it I eat. *sigh* And that's hard. Because I like to eat...but I also like to fit into my pants and not have a fat face so...I will try. I went back to calorie-counter.com after a long absence and have started tracking my calories & calorie burning activities again as of today. Oh and weight too. Doh. That hurt this morning but I know at least where I stand and where I'd like to be. Holiday eating is so much more fun.

My sister & her hubby and 3 very adorable baby outfits. hee hee! Let the shopping begin!

I admit it. I really love being able to sit on the couch watching 48 Hours Mystery on CBS while surfing the internet/reading blogs (and posting!) on my laptop in my new Vikings flannel pants & new hooded sweatshirt from Grand Superior Lodge (where we got married) and having the laptop battery keep me warm so I don't have to get up and turn up the furnace. Ah technology....

I tend to make a big list of goals instead of "resolutions" each new year. They sort of give me a direction, a "to-do" list, some guidelines. Last year I did okay in some areas and horrifically in others. This year I'm including less but trying to make them more do-able and more meaningful. Health/Body 1. Ski/Hike a couple times a week, or at least go for a walk outside. 2. Sit ups/arm weights 3. Stop eating so much. 4. More water!! 5. More salads, less chips. 6. Ride my new bike more. Travel/Adventure 1. Lots of camping! 2. Visit a trail you’ve never been on before at least once every other month. 3. Keep writing in hiking journal/add digital pictures 4. Go to Sweden Arts/Crafts 1. Knit lots of baby blankets 2. Make more gifts instead of buying. 3. Finish a project in a timely fashion once you’ve started. 4. Make lots and lots of greeting cards Money 1. Save More 2. Stick to budget. 3. Keep putting money into savings every week. Social/Activities 1. Be more tim...

See? I told you that wee folks are on my brain.... Anyone know of a good pattern or two (or three, really...?) for baby booties? I'm sort of a square or rectangular knitter right now but would like to move into other shapes like....socks, sweaters, bags and BOOTIES! So I just thought I'd ask. My knitting group starts this month - yay! :)

I have not been posting much because of several reasons. One of which is because I have BABIES on the brain! Most notably my future nieces/nephews/combo platter but also because of my cousin who's due in less than a month (wait, my cousin's wife...my cousin-in-law?), my cousin (actual) due in April, my cousin (actual) due in June, my cousin-in-law due in July, my friends due between May and August!!!! Holy Schnickeys! It's a veritable baby explosion around here!! In other busy-ness....it's the end of the period/year end at work so I'm busy with lame stuff there; I have lawyers to meet with next week regarding my future (sounds ominous doesn't it?) and I have ideas bubbling out of my head for what I want to do with the house, crafting, knitting, baby showers (!), cooking, baking, resolutions, book lists, movie lists and babies of my own. Whew! There's a lot to think about! I'm trying to come up with some good "goals" (not "resolutions"...

We had a very fun New Years weekend.... We had Christmas with my family on Friday, we attended a baby shower on Saturday afternoon. We celebrated my Dad's 60th b-day on Saturday night by having dinner, presents, games and moonlight bowling. It was a blast. Sunday night Steve & I ate pizza at our favorite NYE dinner place (Sammy's) followed by the Renegade Comedy Theater's Annual Holiday Revue. IT was very fun and enjoyable. Afterwards we just came home and rang in the New Year just the two of us with some trivia and champagne and it was wonderful! BUT the exciting news is.... I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT! And not just "an aunt" but an AUNT to TRIPLETS!!!!!! My sister & brother-in-law are expecting triplets in July (most likely be delivered in early June). EEEEK! Triplets I cannot even imagine. That knitting list I have to do just got a heck of a lot longer! I couldn't be more thrilled and excited for them. And of course ready to help out in whatever way...