Naturally Optimistic

Watching the news today does not make me feel very good. I am hoping & praying (to God AND St. Joseph) that the woman who bought our house - well, that her loan actually goes through. I have no idea if it's in jeopardy or if it's even an issue - but it still makes me worried. I just can't imagine holding on to two mortgages for more than this one month. If we do it'll be a very very tight Christmas, to say the least. I don't know what the solution is. I don't know what's "right" or "wrong" in this situation I just know that it's all pretty scary. It's also all fueled by greed which is very sad. So please keep your fingers crossed that this happens.

Ugh. I hate moving. I mean ultimately I like the outcome but this whole packing, carrying, unpacking thing? It's for the birds. We had an AWESOME turn out for help yesterday - THANK GOD. I think our whole house was denuded of the "big" stuff within an hour which rocked....but then the small stuff, the boxes, the bags of crap, the stuff that's not packed because WTF do you do with it anyway? And the stuff you were going to get later and then some AWESOME PEOPLE (hi Anna!) packed it for you (ie: pantry!!)...but seriously...I'm so over moving right now. I've been working for most the day on trying to get everything (hahahahaha) to fit into the new kitchen. It's not going to happen. We had a ginormous pantry at the old house that fit extra George Foreman grills, cake decorating supplies, thermoses, blenders, waffle iron(s) (including mine, which is the shape of Mickey Mouse!), plus the normal sundry of foods, lunch bags (reusable, duh), woks, cat food, etc. An...

Okay - I've read (most) of the Harry Potter books but haven't seen any of the movies.....that being said... I think Mr. Potter is all grown up....

Today is the last day in our house. The last day I'll wake up and after feeding Miss Dahlia we'll crawl back into bed to snuggle for just a little while longer. The last morning I'll get to putz around the kitchen with it's beautiful picture window while watching LIVE (yeah, I do so there) and wasting precious morning moments on the computer. The last day I'll come home from work to THIS house. The last time I give Dahlia a bath here, the last night I'll sleep here. *sigh* I'm very very excited to be moving but I'm incredibly sad to be moving too. This is the first house I bought. The first place that was MINE. This is where I met Steve - well, I didn't MEET him here but I lived here when I did. We had our first kiss in the doorway. We fixed the house up. The kitchen is where I told Steve about Dahlia's arrival 9 months in advance. It's where we had friends & family visit. It's where we laughed and cried. It's where we first broug...

Beavis brought me a dead bird while I was packing up Dahlia's clothes in her room. Dahlia was happily playing/screeching in her crib and I was reminiscing about when Dahlia was small enough to wear a particular hat, onesie, sleeper, etc. I turned to walk out the door and grab another box when there in the threshold is a dead sparrow! I screeched. Said..."uh, good job, Beavis" and ran down the hall to call Steve. Logical eh? He asked if I was going to put it outside and I said - of course! Then when I tried to flip it into an empty box, it was all wiggly (not alive just soft) and started LEAKING. At that point I put the box over the bird and gave up on that task. I had the baby, Steve can deal with the dead birds - fair trade-off, right? I then also realized that the hallway is FILLED with little gray feathers. Ugh. I'm so grossed out.

It's very annoying to me that when someone asks to borrow something that you & your husband own...well, there are a few annoying things. One is that they continually ask you via Facebook if they can borrow your husbands...whatever. Hmmm, why do I have to be the middleman? Then after weeks of said asking (borrowed items needed for a particular event) you have everything they want, are willing to part with them and then can't get a response about where to leave said items for pick up. And THEN when you FINALLY get a hold of them the only way to get the items to you - is for YOU to drop them off, at their house. Geez louise. Next time we're just saying no. I'm too busy for this crap this week.

Do you ever just feel blechy? Frumpy. Fat. Uncreative. Unproductive. Useless? Not attentive enough where you should be? Overwhelmed. Not with it? Hmmm. Me too.

It's hard to believe that two years ago Steve & I got married. It seems like just days ago and it seems like I've known him forever. We celebrated our anniversary early by going up the North Shore for a night on Sunday. Dahlia stayed with Grandma B and we had about 30 baby-free hours. We had a great time. We hiked for 4 hours on Sunday, 2 hours yesterday, ate some good food, enjoyed some good wine, sat in the jacuzzi and most importantly - SLEPT IN. More pics & details coming soon. Honey - I love you. Thanks for 2 fabulous years - looking forward to many many more to come.

We're looking for a cabin for a shoot coming up this winter (2 weeks in March)...it should look like it's sort of isolated/middle of nowhere (even if it's not) and should be rustic but not Ted Kaczinski either. If anyone has any ideas, leads, relatives who have such a cabin, etc PLEASE let me know! oh we're looking for somewhere in Northern Minnesota or NW Wisconsin. And we'll pay. :)

I haven't been using my laptop very much because the router got screwed up and wouldn't let us on (the desktop) any more (about a year ago) and that caused much frustration with me & my husband and so finally I just gave up and yanked it and said forget it. Then I had Dahlia and thought - wow...wouldn't it be nice to be able to be sitting WHEREVER she is and be able to use the computer? But I was to lazy/annoyed/dumb to figure out how to set-up the router...again. Besides when I set the one up for work it took days and extra tech support people and calls to the Philippines so I was not anxious to do it again. Then I decided it'd be much easier to jump on my neighbors network (Hi Anna!) and that worked pretty great - except when they dumped me off. Ha, just kidding. I think sometimes their router & my computer don't play nice and that's annoying. So with about 2 weeks left in this house, I decided to take the bull by the horns and set up my own network. A...

Did I mention I got a haircut? (better pictures soon)

We had our DVD release party last night - it was a lot of fun. We had a really great turn out, sold many DVDs & CDs and enjoyed tasty martinis. Well, I did anyway! Now hopefully we'll start getting some festival play and get to enjoy the fruits of our labor!

More pics & a short vid here .

I have photos - but no stupid cord handy to upload them so they'll come tomorrow. I can't believe she has been here for 9 months already. The changes in these months blows my mind. From the little serious lump that arrived in December she's changed into this funny, smiley, attention-loving, giggly, obsessed with books & magazines PERSON - chalk full of attitude. She's so much fun these days...she can entertain herself for long stretches if toys are within reach. She can be fascinated by an REI catalog (well, who wouldn't really?) for almost an hour! She squeals at pictures of babies in books - and pictures of kitties too. She loves playing her "piano" and banging things together. She eats like a champ - anything we give her - so far, she likes! She's not too keen on TEXTURE yet, but she'll get there. If I give her a cheerio or a puff she makes a very unpleasant "mom-what-the-hell-did-you-just-put-in-my-mouth" face but somedays they go...

It's getting to be that time of year. The time of year when it gets dark so dang early. Granted - we have 3 more hours of light NOW than we will in 3 months but I don't like it. By 8:30 I'm pooped and want to crawl into bed to hibernate. If it was mid-June I'd have energy til 11!! I think I am solar powered. Hopefully once we get settled into the new place and can turn on the gas fireplace in the evenings and RELAX I won't feel like ending my days at 8.....but I might anyway!

I didn't change her. She usually sleeps 30 minutes max at nap time (lucky me!) so I didn't want to risk it... She doesn't have a problem with diaper rash - hardly ever has had it (knock on wood) so I felt okay there. Of course when she woke up 25 or so minutes later - she had pooped more and her pants were wet. *sigh* So I should've just changed her - her cute outfit would've been saved and she probably would've slept for 25 minutes later anyway. Ah well....I guess each situation is different. Welcome to motherhood. :)

So, when you're feeding your daughter, or son, a bottle and she's clearly falling asleep because it's approaching naptime, and it then becomes apparent that she's got a stinky diaper but by the time she's done eating, she's snoring - do you just lay her down and wait til she wakes up (probably 1/2 hour or less) or do you risk waking her up and changing her immediately? I have my answer, I'm curious to hear yours.

So, we've been busy around here...between the new house, the old house, the baby and our jobs. Ay yi yi....someday we'll go on vacation...I hope. At the new house - all the carpet is gone, the wallpaper is off the kitchen walls. We have a fridge (it is FREAKING AWESOME!), and a dishwasher (yet to be installed)...the washer & dryer, which previously did not fit in the basement, will now, thanks to Steve and are coming on Saturday. In case you're wondering I DID go out and buy some high efficiency laundry soap today - to mark the occasion. The guy came to fix the carpentry after the plumbing was fixed last week; I set up an inspection with the city for next week to show them that the work is done, I canceled our FUEL OIL account (yahooo!), I met with the laminate floor measuring guy and a hardwood floor re-do-er guy. Here's the thing - we don't *have* to re-do the floors now and we *could* do them ourselves - but it sucks. We did it once and it's a tough job a...

That's right folks - we have a very potential SOLD in our future! We have come to terms with a buyer and now have to make sure it happens. I'm very excited! This will take A LOT of pressure off of us - mentally, emotionally & of course financially!! Keep your fingers crossed that everything works out! If so we will only have to carry 2 mortgages...well, maybe never! yahooooooo!

Between ripping up carpet, tack boards & assorted nasty stuck on rubber carpet padding; stripping wallpaper, washing & sanding walls, priming and painting; between buying & having appliances removed & installed; between ordering laminate & carpet; between buying cabinet knobs and not even having time to look at them to figure out which ones we want; between having a to-do list at work which is a mile and a half long; between having a 9 month old who is adorable but requires (and deserves!) more of my undivided attention than I giver her and between trying to sell a house (keep it tidy, finish last minute projects, negotiate with potential buyers etc... I am feeling a wee bit overwhelmed. *sigh*

Well, it finally happened. Someone finally got too far into my daughter's personal space as I stood, deer in headlights, watching. Okay - it's not that bad but it irritated both Steve & I although we're too "nice" to say anything. We're at Sears doing some final appliance shopping (ugh!)and our sales guy wasn't there so we were just re-checking what were our favorites and another guy comes up - starts talking to us, tells us he can write up the order for us since our guy isn't there (write it up FOR our guys since it's all on commission). Anyway - he starts talking to Dahlia, telling us about his 26 kids (!!) and even more grandkids and that babies & kids get along with him really well. He then pats her head and asks how old she is. When we tell him almost 9 months. He asks if she's walking. When we say 'no' he is surprised and assumes then that she must be crawling...when we say 'not yet' he shakes his head and says th...

After Bush's little ditty last night and the nonsense I've heard tonight -I am feeling a little sick to my stomach. I'm so sick of politicians in general! Ugh. I watched (most of) the Ron Paul speech last night from Mpls and actually agreed (well, definitely) more with him than what I've heard tonight (although the schools thing really ticks me off) - ay yi yi..... I just wish that we could live in a time again when EVERYONE got excited about a potential leader of this country which could be great! I'm so over the mud-slinging and the personal attacks on all sides. Fess up. What're you going to do to fix the problems? What're you going to do to keep jobs in this country and to keep our economy growing? What're you going to do to help people who are educated and hard-working yet STILL can't afford health-care? What're you going to do about our situation in Iraq? And now Georgia? and god knows how many other places? What're you going to do abou...

Well, it's been a busy last few days. We were supposed to close on our new house on Friday, only to find out on Thursday that a city-required inspection hadn't been done...this was the fault of the selling agent which made it super frustrating. Thankfully our agent is super-on-the-ball and double-checked to see if this had happened. The inspection happened on Friday and there is work that needed to be done. Closing wasn't looking good - however, things got squared away at the last minute, money was put into escrow by the sellers to finish the work and we closed an hour later than scheduled! Yay! After closing we came home (old house) and loaded up a few bulky items & supplies and headed to the new house! We set up our card table, fed the baby and cracked the champagne - only to realize it tasted more like vinegar. Ugh! What a buzz kill! Ah well. A few friends stopped over and we had our first unofficial gathering in the back. I gotta tell you - love the new house for ha...