Blinking cursor.

I've been staring at a blinking cursor for 5 minutes.

I've got nothing, today.

Unless, you want me to get all philosophical.  Which I'm tempted to do.

I'm reading 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck.

That will make anyone a bit philosophical.  About life in general.  You know, just stuff.

Not in a bad way.  A good way.  Makes you find the bad stuff in you, and want to purge it out.

Good, right?

Also, I took that photo up there.  Nothing exciting.

I like it.

It's like two leaves that belong together in a sea of sameness.

That has nothing to do with 'East of Eden'.

I don't think, anyway.

I'm only half way through.

Bottom line: I just like it.

I like a lot of things.

I think people should think about the things {non-material} that they like, often.

It will make you instantly happy.

Like:

your spouse

your kids

hugs

the smell of coffee

crisp fall air

words

music

belly laughs

prayer

rain

grace

I could go on and on.

Suddenly, I'm smiling on the inside.

Works every time.

See?

Now you....go.

"I love it all"

Okay, so the 'Me & You' print won!  Sweet Monika over at 'i love it all' was a real pleasure to work with.  She responded to my emails in about 2.354803789 seconds, and was quick to show me a proof in my selected colors.  Isn't Etsy grand?

Anywho, Monika was thrilled that you all like her work so much, that she is offering a 20% discount to you.  Pretty sweet.

All you need to do is mention 'oddgirlout' in the notes to seller when checking out, and then, she will promptly refund 20% of your purchase total back.  Yahoooooooo!

Here are some of my favs from her shop:

Shut up...

I don't believe it that kids can be so edibley cute.

I, also, can't believe that I finally learned to use my camera, 

and Photoshop with some kind of efficiency & a small amount of 'know-how'.

Just enough to turn out some pretty special photos for very special people.

Finally, I cannot believe people I know trust me to capture such special moments.

Thank you Julie & Emily for lending me your littles.

It means so much.

I wouldn't want to be pursuing my hobby on any other subjects.

Totally not important...

I wanted a print for the master bedroom that makes

a strong, bold, graphic statement.

My favorite is out of budget...

'For Like Ever' poster by Tracy Jenkins

So, enter Etsy, and the many, many, many {too many}

more affordable options I've found.

Long story short,

I can't make a decision.

Can you help?

Option #1:

'L is for Lover' by Dear Colleen

Option #2

'Fight for It' by Studio Mela

Option #3

'Love Candy' by Made by Girl

Option #4

'Me & You' by I Love It All

Can you help?

Hump day ear candy.

Greg Laswell.

Lovely.

And, no, I don't watch 'Grey's Anatomy'. Blech!  {Sorry, 'Grey's' fans} I hear his music is featured on the show frequently enough.

Beautiful lyrics.  Beautiful voice.  Beautiful songwriting.  Beautiful covers, too.  Very different than the originals.  {Check out Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".  Tres unique!}

Below are some of my favorites of his...enjoy.

Finally, please tell me you all remember Kate Bush from the 80s.  Please?  Anywho, Mr.Laswell does a phenomenal cover of her famous song "This Woman's Work".  Stunning.

My music picks may seem a bit melancholy, lately.  But, for me, I find this kind of music so awakening at this time of year.  Peaceful.  Blissful.  Fallish.  That probably doesn't make much sense.  But, work with me on this one.

I'm thinking about making one monster, wicked awesome mixed playlist that will be available to download.  It will blow any mixed tape you ever received right out of the water!  Maybe, a series of four playlists...Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer.  My tastes vary widely.  Hmmmm....something to think about.

Mad Hatter.

photo by Laura Siebert

I recently read some stuff someone wrote about being a mom.  It struck me in a weird way.  Mostly because it seemed to me that this person was placing their importance in life on being a mother.  That somehow in some cosmic phenomenon their 'being' started the day they became a mom.  They said they remember and savor every moment.

What?  Whaaaaaaaaaat?

This is puzzling to me.  For many reasons.  One of which is the fact that I was just as much a person before I became a mother as I will be the day they all leave.  News flash:  they DO leave.  The day will dawn that they no longer need you, or, heartbreaking still, want you.  And, I don't know about all of you, but I forget all kinds of stuff.  Honestly, if I didn't take as many photos as I do, I would look back on the last 10 years as one big blur.  I've always said that Pete's first 3 years of life, I had amnesia or something.  Poor dude!

I wear many hats in life.  Mothering is just one.  Right now, it's a big one.  Probably the biggest.  At times it consumes me.  I'm not sure if that's bad or good.  Yet.

I am also lots of other things.  Wife, daughter, sister, friend, artist, writer, music lover, traveler, dancer, baker, chef, control freak, photographer, teacher, runner, movie critic, book addict.  Some of those things are on hold for awhile, but will eventually reenter my life.  And in the time until then, they still need to be nurtured, nudged at times. I refuse to let my identity become strictly, 'mom'.

Becuase one day {sooner than later}, even though I'll always be a mom, they won't need me smothering them; cooking & cleaning for them, volunteering at school for them, driving them around, making snacks for baseball games, taking them clothes shopping, tying their shoes, wiping their noses, clipping their nails.  So, then what.

Can you say IDENTITY CRISIS?

Guilt for awakening our other roles in life is a waste of time.  Maintain a balance in things, no over indulgence.  My kids always come first, but I make room for the other stuff from time to time.  I don't love my kids any less than a super mom.  Trust me.

I was made to be a mother, no doubt about it, but I was also made to be LOTS of other things, not quite as important.  God made us dynamic creatures.  For a reason.  All those other things that I am make me an even better mother, too.  I'm able to pass things I know and love onto my children.  More importantly, I can teach them through example that you don't have to pigeon hole yourselves into one role in life.

Amazing, isn't it?

I'm going to be honest: my life is my own.  I don't want it to become 'them'.  I do not want to live through them.  My role is to help them along the way, nurture them, teach them, care for them, love them.  Equally, I don't wish their lives to be dictated by mine.  I want them to make their own mistakes, decisions, have their own triumphs, their own interests.  The line is fine, I know, but I try.

Our best is all we can do, no matter what hat we are wearing.  Then, we have to hope it's good enough.

Yikes!

Life {from an iPhone}

A poof from HomeGoods that I didn't NEED,

but couldn't leave the store without.

You can't tell just how delicious the turquoise and red are

in this photo.

Which is a real shame!

Because it is super tasty.

Our new house is across the street from a fantastic little park.

I'm blessed enough to use my legs to drag my rotund buttocks for a run

on the trails it offers almost daily.

It is breathtaking right now.

Fall is God's gift to us after the insufferable heat of summer.

Beauty.

We love our school.

Even though, we might {MIGHT} have to switch next year.

This is a photo of the littles at the fall fun fair.

Ahhhh, Sappington Elementary...I regret if we have to part ways.

What a special place!

A small painting commissioned by my sister.

Turned out pretty good.

Better than I expected, anyway.

I may have to paint a larger one for the new digs over here.

Let's get real...

McDonald's is just too easy.

Sure the meat has ground up eyeballs, teeth, and bones in it.

Your point?

But, seriously, 

it's so GROSS.

Why do I give in?

Not often, but I do.

Eyeball meat for them, and Diet Dr.Pepper for me.  

Both toxic poison.

Where is my will power?

I suppose I don't have any.

Wah, wah.

Baldy and me.

He had me at 'magic', all those years ago.

New music.

As much as I tried to not listen to sweet Laura,

{after all, she is Marcus's girlfriend, and I thought we may have had a chance}

I can't help but be drawn in by her haunting, wise-beyond-her-years voice, 

and equally brilliant songwriting.

I refuse to believe she is only 20!
Refuse.

Of all of her beautifully written lyrics,
this one from 'Rambling Man' has struck a deep chord with me:
"It's hard to accept yourself as someone you don't desire,
as someone you don't want to be."

I could write 23 posts about that thought alone.
For today, I'll let the music speak for itself.
Enjoy.

The feelings inside...

This picture about sums it up.  I'm just holding on for this wild ride.  Laughing along the way.  Or, at the very least, trying to laugh.  It doesn't help that people who have survived a similar moving situation, say that a bagillion weeks later, it still sucks.

Fabulous.

Alright, enough complaining.  I'm going to brush off my terrible attitude and chug smoothies spiked with positive vibes, and happiness.  I'm going to ride this semi-renovation train, hold on, and smile.

Okay?

Good.

In other news, I was asked to guest blog on a blog that I adore by a blogger that ain't too shabby either.  I will not reveal where yet, but I've been working on the post already and it's completely ridiculous.  Just like I like it.

When it all goes down, I hope that you will agree that it's equal parts entertaining, insane, thoughtful, crazy, and 100% me.

Word to your mutha!

It's been a week.

moving at twilight

And, you probably haven't noticed.  It's okay.

Aside from being surrounded by boxes, 1960s tile, and dark brown paneling, I haven't had much time for the blogosphere.  Only yesterday was I able to catch up on my Google reader.  Sad.

Needless to say, there isn't much to report, unless you want to see that tile or paneling.

I do have one semi-noteworthy story: our dog, Chopper, escaped on Sunday (which, incidentally, was Petey's 8th birthday, post coming soon).

The deal is, he had to go to doggy jail until we could procure his shot records.  Uh, sh'yeah, let me look for those in our gagillion boxes!  And, since it was Sunday, no dice on getting the vet to fax a copy over.  But, the nice lady at doggy jail took our word and the fact that we brought in his insulin prescription as proof that we get our dog veterinarian care.

I guess moving is a tough adjustment on everyone.  We decided that he was trying to run back to the old house.  Sigh.

Hope to 'see' you back here sooner than later, but I have to psyche myself up to deep clean the 1960s tile until the hardwood gets laid.  That might put me out of commission for awhile.

See ya when I see ya.