I (can) HAS CUTE STUFF!!!!!!!!

One of the hardest things I am doing these days, is going through my things to sort out what will get sold, thrown out, given away, and what (FEW) things will come with me... It is something that has to be done, and I am excited to "find" things again... but then having to part with them get's sooo sad and almost heartbreaking. 


YES, I know, you're thinking I'm too attached to STUFF and you're right, I even think so myself... but then I look at my gorgeous blue glass plates, my funky kitchen mat, and my colourful throw pillows, and I cry really hard on the inside... 


I HAS CUTE STUFF!!!!!

and having to part with them is sad... 


BUT the item that will be the absolute hardest to part with, is my sewing machine.
It's not super fancy, or super expensive, but it was mine, and we made so many cute things together... I am going to try and keep as much of my fabrics as I can, and definitely all the patterns, but the sewing machine is too heavy and cumbersome so it will have to go.
*sniffle* 
(Hopefully they have sewing-machines in England!)

Anne'ish musings...

"Isn't a road an interesting thing?" said Anne dreamily. "Not a straight road, but one with ends and kinks around which anything of beauty and surprise may be lurking. I've always loved bends in roads."


Normally I do too, except when I am too afraid to take charge and choose a path. Waiting around for someone who knows better, is stronger, not afraid to take chances, someone maybe a little daring.... 


Then I get fed up with myself and think, girl, - take charge and just GO!!! Sometimes those roads end up fantastically exciting.. but most times, I chicken out and go back, only to find the paths have now changed and I am back where I started, with nothing to show for anything.... 


So here's to gathering courage to take the right steps, and picking a road! Maybe even the one "less traveled by" !!

July Musings....

"The best things in life are free"

or so the saying goes... I'd like to add that the BEST things in life are SHARED. As I learned in Seattle, California and New York, I am pretty content with doing things on my own, but it is soooo many thousands times better when I do things with someone else. Today I watched Eclipse and afterwards I lunched and went "window-shopping" at the Mall (the Gateway here in SLC). It was nice to walk around, looking at people, finding cute clothes, lotion samples and so on, but it would have been so much more fun to have had any of my friends there with me. So, here are some warm thoughts sent out across the communication tapestry to all my dear friends, I miss you and love you all however different and far apart me might be, rest assured, I think of you often and wish you were with me!


Recently I've run out of stuff to read, all my favorite authors seem to be on hiatus' so I've gone back to the REALLY OLD SCHOOL. We're talking the Anne of Green Gable's Series, and it's struck me that I am quite a strange soul, a little like Anne in some ways.... I do not have her lovely red hair, and I might not live in a place as romantic and fit for imagining as the Prince Edward Island (I still dream of visiting there some day).... but I do have a lot of imagination. Reading these books again is like the visit of a dear friend or even a sister... I love my Anne, red hair, freckles and all!
(This is to explain some rather Anne'ish posts I am sure is to come!)


Onwards, the WORLD CUP (Football) has occupied my attention lately, and though I started out rooting for England, my favor has now shifted to the lovely Oranje, the Dutch! It looks like there will be a very exciting finale on Sunday and I will be plastered in front of the TV to watch..... Next World Cup would be fun to share with someone!


Another "past-time" activity (read:work) that has been done lately is garden work..... Heidi has had me work both in our backyard and at her rental property. We have been dirty, sweaty and some days rather sun burned, but there's also the hint of a tiny tan on my body.... I'm VERY excited!!! I don't tan easily, (thank's Norwegian ancestry!) Pictures will follow as soon as I can remember to bring my camera outside with me.... But we have dug out trees, transplanted grass (lawn parts), clipped bushes and trees, planted flowers, spread bark, dreamed of green and leafy bushes, planned redoing of sprinkler systems, watered, clipped, weeded, edged, dreamed of herb gardens (okay, that's been mostly me.....), laid stepping stones, dreamed of raised flowerbeds, shopped for flowers & plants, watered, brought the dead (grass) back to life and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.... (lol) but gardening we have! As I said.... pictures to follow....


Well the night has now fallen, I've worked on this post (off-and-on) for the better part of three hours and need to go to bed...


Goodnight moon, celestial diamonds and peaceful summer breeze...

crazy busy!

This past month has been crazy!!!

I have been all over and everywhere, babysitting, and helping out friends and family. And this last weekend in May finds me in Boise, ID. where I am accompanying Mary to an Anime Convention. (Scary thought, I know!!!)

Twice I've been at Amy and Seth's watching their kids, as they've gone out of town. Their 5 kids are totally adorable and I love them to pieces, but man have they got energy!!! And I can appreciate more now, how hard it is to single parent. Co-parents have many benefits, that's for sure!

Then as I got back from their house, my aunt asked if I would help out her son's family, so I went and spent some days in Spanish Fork, babysitting for my cousin and his wife. They have three kids, all super cute, and it was fun to get to know Heather better. While I was there I got the first sunburn of the year. Always a fun event. This time it was my face, especially my nose!!

So that's what I've been doing lately... wish I had pictures to show for it, but for some reason I couldn't find them on my computer... There WILL be pictures on the blog from the Con in Idaho though!!!

the haircut result

The results of the haircut!!

Haircut

My hair has grown really really long, it has not been cut since last September ('09) so I am thinking of getting it cut... but how, and where, and do I get a style??? What would suit me?? OR should I just not care, just get the normal cut that I get??? I am torn, part of me wants to try something new... but I also know myself well enough to know that if I get it cut in a style that requires ANY fluffing or caring after a shower, it's not going to happen... It's nice to just get out of the shower and brush through the hair and then not care about it again.... I like that! Nice and easy. BUT I've also done the SAME THING for SOOOOO LONG that it's gotten boring... there are so many things to consider and I'm terribly confused... sigh... HELP, anyone??

New Book

The kids I've tended this past week got me started reading another series... *sigh* like I needed something else to read.... lol...

Nah, it's actually been pretty cool, and I'm really enjoying these books. It's the Fablehaven Series, by Brandon Mull. And though it's mainly focused towards children/youth, I've come to appreciate the fantastic mystical world of Fablehaven, and in many ways it reminds me of the fairytales I used to hear as a child!

I would recommend this series to everyone!

still here

It's been quiet on the blogger front from me lately, that is because I was a single "mom" for five kids for a week. A friend and her husband went out on town, and needed someone to look after the kiddles... :) It was awesome, tiring, cold, stressful, humorous, loving, all wrapped up in a ball... and I got a new appreciation for the familyUNIT. 


The kids ranged in ages from 2 to almost 10, four girls and a boy, the youngest a set of twins... CUTE as all get-up, but man, did they have energy!!!!!!!!! 
AND I get to do it all over again for about 4 days in two weeks... It's totally okay though, the kids really are lovely and the house is big and in a very nice area, so I get tons and tons of "fringe" benefits!!!! (can anyone say cable??? :D)


So, just to let anyone out there following know... I'm still here, and I'm still blogging!!!

Knutsen og Ludvigsen

I just found out about the death of a childhood "friend", an entertainer and artist by the name of Gustav Lorentzen. He was one half of the duo Knutsen and Ludvigsen, with hits such as "Juba Juba", "Kanskje kommer Kongen", "Matpakkevise" and many others. This duo entertained, taught and inspired entire generations with their songs and shows. Many of which are still popular today.

Gustav Lorentzen released a total of 17 discs. Both as one half of Knutsen and Ludvigsen, and as a solo performer. He was an avid fighter and advocate for children, working with psychologists to help children of refugees traumatized by war and terror.

According to newsagents, the beloved comedian and entertainer died of cardiac arrest during an orienteering event outside Bergen Wednesday night.

From BergensAvisen: "Lorentzen was a vocalist, guitarist, composer, writer and presenter. He was best known as a musician, but was also an ambassador for UNICEF, the author of twelve books and a persistent proponent of culture to children."

- Gustav Lorentzen was one of the finest songwriters in popsjangeren. He did so much to raise the status of music for children, "said coordinator Audun Molde at the Nordic Institute for Stage and Studio, and author of Wow! Popular Music History, to Aftenposten.no.

music is alive and well.

Jeg velger meg April

I LOVE APRIL!!!!! 

so here's my ode to this lovely month... all of it "stolen" material... well except for the pictures... lolz

Drip, drip, drop
Little April shower
Beating a tune
As you fall all around

Drip, drip, drop
Little April shower
What can compare
To your beautiful sound

Drip, drip, drop
When the sky is cloudy
Your pretty music
Can brighten the day

Drip, drip, drop
When the sun says howdy
You say goodbye right away

Drip, drip drop
Little April shower
Beating a tune
Ev'rywhere that you fall

Drip, drip drop
Little April shower
I'm getting wet
And I don't care at all

Drip, drop, drip, drop
I'll never be afraid
Of a good little
Gay little
April serenade

Jeg velger meg april
I den det gamle faller,
i den det ny får feste;
det volder litt rabalder,-
dog fred er ei det beste,
men at man noe vil.

Jeg velger meg april,
fordi den stormer, feier,
fordi den smiler, smelter,
fordi den evner eier,
fordi den krefter velter,- i den blir somren til!
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson


April er den første måneden i sommerhalvåret! 14. april er selveste sommerdagen. Fra denne dagen starter sommerhalvåret. April er ikke en sommermåned, men markerer starten på sommerhalvåret. Derimot er april synonymt med vår og vårmåneden fremfor noen. Den er lys og full av liv over alt. På Svalbard er det midnattssol fra 20. april. Ikke rent få mennesker synes våren er den beste av alle årstider.

April was the second month in an early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans started using January as the first month. The Romans called the month Aprilis. It may come from a word meanting 'to open', or it may come from Aphrodite, the Greek name for the goddess of love.

Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward or they settle down to have their families. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season.

In some parts of the world, it's planting time. In other parts, it's the harvest season. Professional baseball begins in April. Then the amateur athletes begin to go outside in the warm weather. Spring cleaning starts and people start mowing their yards again.

Special days celebrated in April begin with the first day of April, when children and grown-ups play jokes on one another. 

Arbor Day is a day for planting trees, and it is observed on various April days. The Jewish festival of Pescah (Passover) is celebrated early in April. Easter is almost always in April, and, with it comes other Christian celebrations such as Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday,and Good Friday. 

April Fools' Day, or All Fools' Day, is the first day of April. No one knows where the custom began, but some historians believe it started in France. They had a New Year's festival that was celebrated from March 25 to April 1, and they would then exchange gifts. But, later, King James IV changed the holiday to January 1 for New Years. The people that still celebrated it April 1 were called 'April fish' and sent mock presents.

April Fools' Day may also be related to the ancient Roman spring festival Hilaria, which celebrates the resurrection of the god Attis. AND my favorite literary characters, well, almost, the Weasley Twins have their birthday on this day (at least according to JK Rowling!)



The Anglo-Saxons called April Oster-monath or Eostur-monath. The Venerable Bede says that this month is the root of the word Easter. He further speculates that the month was named after a goddess Eostre whose feast was in that month. St George's day is the twenty-third of the month; and St Mark's Eve, with its superstition that the ghosts of those who are doomed to die within the year will be seen to pass into the church, falls on the twenty-fourth. In China the symbolic ploughing of the earth by the emperor and princes of the blood takes place in their third month, which frequently corresponds to our April. The Finns called (and still call) this month Huhtikuu, or 'Burnwood Month', when the wood for beat and burn clearing of farmland was felled.
The "days of April" (journées d'avril) is a name appropriated in French history to a series of insurrections at Lyons, Paris and elsewhere, against the government of Louis Philippe in 1834, which led to violent repressive measures, and to a famous trial known as the procès d'avril.

The birthstone of April is the diamond, and the birth flower is typically listed as either the Daisy or the Sweet Pea.

April starts on the same day of the week as July in all years, and January in leap years.


And finally there's about a million holidays and events in April: 22nd - EARTH DAY!!!!!8th   - Buddha's birthday23rd - Saint George's Day23rd - World Book Day,one of the UN days30th - KoninginneDag in the Netherlands15th - Tax day (in the US)16de - Magnusmesse – Dagen for Norges eneste offisielle helgen
Magnus Erlendsson (ca. 1076-1115) ble født på Orknøyene nord for Skottland og var av norsk ætt. Han er den eneste av de gamle norske helgenen som har blitt kanonisert av paven.30th - Valborgsaften – heksenatt og vårfest i Sverige
Valborgsaften er dagen før Valborgsmesse og en kveld for feiring av våren med bål og mye bråk for Valborgsaften er også den kvelden heksene flyr til heksesabbat på Blocksberg i Tyskland.

service project

Mary and I have taken a class at the Institute at the U of U this winter, it's been great, and even funner has been to meet new people. We have become friends with the people in the Service Corner, and participating in the projects has been so much fun. Even Heidi got involved in making "Jingle-boxes". These boxes are sent to orphans around the world, who can become blind, living in institutions with stark white walls, white beds, etc.

We took the jingle boxes we've made to the LDS Humanitarian Center, who then sends them on with blankets, toys, clothes etc.

So, I am proud to present our babies, THE JINGLE-BOXES:

(The materials we've used for making these boxes are plastic canvas and yarn, plus a bell for the inside, super easy!!!!)

sooooo ready

Tussilago Farfara

I am waiting for spring. I decided this weekend I was ready to be done with Winter and welcome Spring with open arms. Now I'm wondering if Spring got the message... with snow in the forecast, I'm not sure she did! 


So, to help inspire and mollify me, I thought I'd give us all a little visual reminder. And what better than pictures of spring "signs" from Norway? And I have to admit I "borrowed" one of the pictures with a cute poem. No offence meant!!

Crokus

Påskelilje

Pusekatter :)

Public Enemy #1

We have finally moved towards spring, and with the sun and light comes the surprises in the yard. This year it's a nasty little buggar called onion grass. And from what we can tell, the only way to get rid of it, is to dig them up and pull out the bulbs. Otherwise they will flower and spread until it overtakes the whole lawn. The only problem is that this is the FRONT yard we're talking about, and the "storefront" of Heidi's businesses.... So the digging it up has become my main job, and let me tell you, I am declaring WAR!!!! Onions are nice and may look pretty but they have no business invading our yard! Now, the biggest challenge will be to make sure the lawn survives, so I'm alternating patches of digging and make sure to water the patches that have been dug. But some of the places are already turning yellow... We are hopeful though, that we've started early enough that with the rain and sun alternating every few days, we'll be successful..

Easter

The Saturday before easter I was invited to spend the afternoon with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. It was great, and it reminded me of how great Blogging and all these new social networks are, though I had not seen some of these my friends in 10 years, it felt to me like it had been only a few months. Even though I had not met my friends' kids I could pick them out and tell who they were because I have seen their pictures and read about them and their stories. I don't think the internet and it's social network will EVER take the place of human contact, I think it is a great way of staying connected and building the bonds to last for ever. And for me at least... Love is so strong that it can connect even through the "net". Feelings are just as strong to me reading someone's comment or blog as if we were speaking face to face. And I felt that love on Saturday as well.


Thank you Joyce and Wynn for raising such wonderful children! And thank you Matt and Jared for going on missions and touching peoples lives. I love you all so much and am so happy to be part of your lives even if it is through facebook or blogging or myspace or just plain emailing! ;)

BE AWARE!!!!

I am in a foul mood, and have been all day. Well technically just since Saturday night.... Just really testy, and the smallest things have sent me into rages. I am quite surprised at myself, but there are too many emotions to worry about to figure it out. At times like this, I am thankful for a set of head phones and my computer with internet access.... nothing is quite like music when it comes to therapy... well, walking/hiking is close I suppose, for me at least.


So last night I was in a rage and played a lot of Metallica, Twisted Sisters (yes I am THAT old school) and some Linkin Park. Today was just more hip-hop'y, to get my temper in check, then this evening it calmed down a bit to the pop.... 
I'll tell you one thing though, it's hard to find songs to listen to when angry!! However I managed.


Now the root of it all, I think, is 90% hormones and 10% environment/circumstances. 


Saturday as a whole was GREAT, with time spent with some of my best and dearest friends, some I hadn't seen for many many years. And GREAT FOOD (thanks Hemmerts')!!!!!!!!!!!


The real "event" is, I am embarrassed to admit, over a TV show. And misplaced expectations... sigh.... So anyways, I am keeping myself away from most social situations and the family this week.... hopefully it'll blow over and I will get a grip on myself.... (wishful thinking)

*SIGH*

more Jewelry

I have been busy looking forward to the JEWELRY season (spring and summer) by making cute anklets. Well, I think they're cute! Look for yourself!

Too funny to pass by!!!

MENTAL HOSPITAL PHONE MENU

Hello and thank you for calling The State Mental Hospital.

Please select from the following options menu:

If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.

If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.

If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want,

stay on the line so we can trace your call.

If you are delusional, press 7 and

your call will be forwarded to the Mother Ship.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully

and a little voice will tell You which number to press.

If you are manic-depressive, hang up.

It doesn't matter which number you press,

nothing will make you happy anyway.

If you are dyslexic, press 9-6-9-6.

If you are bipolar, please leave a message after the beep

or before the beep or after the beep.

But Please wait for the beep.

If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

If you have low self-esteem, please hang up.

Our operators are too busy to talk with you.

If you are menopausal, put the gun down,

hang up, turn on the fan, lie down and cry.

You won't be crazy forever.

If you are blonde, don't press any buttons.

You'll just mess it up.

This coming week is

National Mental Health Care week.

You can do your part by remembering

to contact at least

one unstable person to show you care.

(Well, my job is done . Your turn!)

dilemma....

I don't know if it is because I am sick or if it is because I don't have all my wonderful beads and jewelry making things around, but lately I am finding I am wondering what the heck I am doing.... Do people even wear jewelry anymore? Are the things I like something other people like? Can I even make profit on things I make? Is this the hobby that took over my life and I just have to buck up and accept failure and move on? Or am I just moving through a phase that every artist face once or twice and I just have to believe in myself and my abilities and hang in here? (I do like most of the stuff I make, for instance I made a ankle bracelet the other night that I think is REALLY cute, it's in green with silver and white accents.... and my old orange one is a summer favorite...)

I DON'T KNOW!!!

So to remind myself I suppose, some of my works....

Planet Earth

Mary and I have been watching the Planet Earth series lately, and it is affecting both of us. There is so much to learn yet about this wonderful Earth we live on, and there are so many amazing places and creatures!!!!! I also know that global warming is a "heated" subject, but here is some of my two cents... whether or not the warming part is created by us humans (I believe it is..) the fact is that we are ruining the habitats for so many animals with our destructive and selfish ways, and it will end up affecting us ALL in the end. It is such an intricate balance and I truly believe as humans we have responsibility to be the responsible ones who are the preservers of the balance not the destructors....

phew, well that was good to get off my chest.... now it's back on the couch for me (I'm sick again with a nasty throat infection!!!) and my date with David Attenborough! (He is the narrator of the show).

I also found out that Matt Damon (yum!!) is narrating another series about the planet, so I'm going to get that from the library as well.... hi hi hi...

Baby Book

So, part of the reason I came back to Utah was to clean out my storage unit, so I didn't have to pay for it any longer.... Though the process seems to be slow, I've found some things I'd forgotten I had, and some things I knew I had and was happy to see again. One of the latter things is my baby-book. and in honor of my infant year, I present Baby Boken:

Memory Lane