Cornmeal and quilts

Reason # 52 why I love my Vitamix: in a pinch, making cornmeal out of popcorn. Perfect.

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And after 4 hours at the fabric store I finally picked out my fabrics for my quilt. I never expected it to take me so long but it was really worth it. I'm excited to start cutting out the squares and rectangles and start to see the top come together. Hoping it all looks as good together when it's sewn as it does in my head.

Life list for 2010

(Gluten-free crepes. Delicious.)*

January 25th and I'm just now thinking about what I'd like to do for this year. I think it takes me longer than most to actually get moving on something. I tend to think of an idea, let it roll around in my head for 6 months, and then start to move on it. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions because there's nothing important about the date to make me stick them out. Plus, I'm usually recovering from the holidays and all I want to do is rest my brain for awhile.

But now that January is almost over and I've had time to sit and think about 2010, the ideas are coming. If there is one thing I have learned since becoming a mama, is that life is ours to make. I spent so much of my early adult years, married with no kids, worried about life and the future and getting caught up in what we had and didn't have.

From the first moment Ian was born and the years after, I have realized my thoughts on life, on our life, have changed dramatically. One thing I know for certain is that I'm doing exactly what I've dreamed of. Being a stay-at-home mama to 2 (almost 3!) boys and wanting to spend every moment with them and Jeremy. I don't dream of a daytime job, I don't dream of a ministry in the church or elsewhere, I don't wish my days away wanting to get out of the house or needing something to keep me from getting bored. I realize we have the freedom to make our days exactly what we want. And how my greatest wish for all of us is that we embrace living and enjoy it all, no matter how hard life may seem or how happy the current moment is. This is my life, my family. Every morning is ours to live, ours to be happy, ours to grab hold of and I plan on making it the best I can.

So with that in mind... my inspired list for 2010:

1. Have a baby! (See? Starting out positive with something I know I can do)
2. Get to the library every week
3. Take more weekend trips around Oregon, especially the coast.
4. Read more books
5. Learn to knit with double point needles for hats and socks
6. Sew more
7. Take more walks around our neighborhood
8. Get outside, even in the rainy winter and spring
9. Bake more
10. Visit more sites around town, especially with the boys
11. Take more pictures
12. Try new restaurants
13. Learn the names of wildflowers
14. Learn more about herbs and how to use them
15. Say Yes more often!
16. Laugh more
17. Live knowing that every day, in all we do, is about learning and education
18. Begin a homeschooling/unschooling plan for the fall
19. Make more crepes *

Just to name a few... I seem to come up with new things often so we'll see how the list grows over the year.

January days

Sitting here drinking my hot cup of decaf coffee with plenty of cream and a splash of stevia... just the way I like it. Missing Jeremy and Ian who left very early yesterday morning for a trip across the country to northern NY to visit family. I know they are having fun and being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa, building snowmen in the yard, and seeing the place Ian was born and the apartment where we first brought him home to. This is the longest I've been away from Ian but I realize that it's also the first time I've had such devoted time with Sawyer who will be a big 3 years old this spring.


I'm joining Randi over at her blog on her quilt-along project. I thought it would be such a perfect time to make my first quilt and keep me even busier while we wait for baby to come. In 6 weeks I'll have a new throw quilt for our couch and if I have a love affair with any thing... it's blankets to snuggle up with on the couch. Sawyer amazed me yesterday when he happily spent 3 hours with me at the fabric store. I'm not sure how he'll react when we go back today but I was too tired and brain-fatigued to continue yesterday. I just couldn't figure out how to coordinate 10 different fabrics in the colors I wanted. But I have a good theme going now, adding a few fabrics that I already had at home, so I just need 4 more and I'm done. Ready to being week one on Monday!

Baby is doing really well. He's growing like crazy and likes to keep me up at night. There are moments when I feel glad that I have a couple more months before he's here to plan and organize. But more often than not, I wish he were already here, nestled in my arms and wanting to nurse. I can't wait to kiss his cheek and breathe in his baby smell. I feel like he's a joy to us already.


Belly is big. I'm closer now to 30 weeks than I am to 29 and that amazes me. I'm so thankful for a healthy pregnancy and I'm anticipating a great birth too. I'm working on a bulky blanket for him and I have plans for a few more things as the weeks go on.

In the meantime, Sawyer and I have some fun to plan (other than our 2nd fabric store trip that is). I'll be updating my book list for 2010 soon... seriously rough start to the year in trying to finish some books I started. And maybe, maybe I'll get to writing more on here which is my goal. Social networking sites aren't exactly how I want to spend my online time anymore since it's so few and far between these days. There's just so many things to make and do and read. Plus, thoughts of homeschooling are starting to make their way in to my days since I have a soon-to-be five year old that will officially be starting our version of kindergarten in the fall. So, plenty to keep me busy and it's all making life very, very good.

January stars

I felt like January needed a little pick-me-up. I always think that it must feel a bit of a letdown after all the lights and decorations of December. So I picked up my crochet hooks and started crocheting. Before I knew it I had a good stack of stars sitting next to me (pattern here). I hung them in my kitchen.


Just beneath my jars...


It makes me happy to see a little more color in there. I think little Red agrees.

Looking back... 2009

Some of my favorite moments throughout the last year:

January

February
March

April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Looking forward to 2010 and all the possibilities, new adventures, chaotic moments, and amazing memories that are coming.