Holding the World in a Paper Cup

Archive for February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Hideout

There was one other space in Charley's room that I failed

to mention when showing you Charley's bedroom makeover.

Beyond this closet door is a little girl's dream space....

This is one of the rooms that sold the house!

I envisioned all of her stuffed animals in here, out of the way.

To give them a resting place, I used a curtain, a small blanket, and a pashmina.

This is the space where Charley gets to hang her special mementos.

This is the space where she gets to draw on the walls!!

Hang her school projects...

And pictures she's taken...

Her dress up clothes are usually carpeting the floor

with a layer of stuffed animals on top, but it's ok.

It's her space.

8 Comments

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

It's the Little Things

I remember my Mama leaving me notes in my lunch.

It's not something she did all the time, but when she did, it meant something.

It made me feel special.

But, Charley isn't reading completely on her own just yet, so I have to keep it simple...

or else she gets her teacher all involved....and that's just embarrassing.

I cut and packed her apple "Aussie" style. Check out how by clicking here.

Aussie apples are easier to eat for little ones and they don't yellow as fast.

Charley wasn't that impressed really.

Also she has recently annouced that she doesn't care for SANDWICHES anymore.

Sandwiches ya'll.

How do you a pack a lunch without a sandwich?

4 Comments

Our First Virginia Snow

Back in Alaska I told Charley there would

come a day when she longed to see the snow again.

She didn't believe me.

But when the light dusting we got last week
melted away by noon, she mourned its loss.

We're hoping before the winter's over,
we'll get enough so that we can build a good, clean snowman.

2 Comments

Monday, February 20, 2012

Projects with the Kid

Getting sucked into Pinterest for lengthy periods makes me feel bad about myself.

But if I use Pinterest as inspiration for actual projects, then that makes me feel good and productive.

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This little illustration was the spark Charley needed to rekindle her love of drawing.

After she finished this little bird she asked me to google other animals. She sat with her paper and pencil and did her best to draw what she saw on the screen.

We learned that she really likes to draw realistic animals (WOLVES, WOLVES, WOLVES) and she doesn't believe she needs the steps numbered out for her. She's drawing very well!

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We also tried this simple but interesting optical illusion I found on Pinterest.

THEIRS OURS

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And for Valentine's Day we shaped our own hearts from wire and wrapped them with yarn. It was QUITE time consuming and had little payoff. Charley quickly tired of the project but insisted we finish...which meant I ended up doing the work myself. And...as it turns out, I am really not that into wrapping wire with yarn.
Not in the least.

THEIRS OURS

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This hearts on a string project was fun though.

THEIRS OURS

We took an old book and cut hearts from the pages.

Charley cut almost as many as I did.

Then I sewed them together.

I love sewing paper.

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For extra incentive for project-follow-through,
I sometimes leave the idea tabs open on my computer.
I won't allow myself to close them until I attempt the project.
Of course I am very selective about what I tackle.
How do you follow through?

3 Comments

Saturday, February 18, 2012

A School Party

This year I was inspired by an etsy seller...

HOMEMADE

The faces she makes crack me up.

TO THE PARTY

I absolutely love to be able to join Charley for her little class parties.

And she loves having me there....makes me feel so special.

Oh musical chairs! Almost as anxiety inducing as dodge ball. For me.

And then there's that happy, happy

moment when a girl gets to dig into her valentine's.

What IS it about Valentine's?

They sure do make a girl feel special.

5 Comments

Friday, February 17, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 5

I've got one more small gesture of Valentine's love to share.

Instead of carving our names into the tree

(something that gave me awful visions of jabbing a knife into my face),

I was able to tap them into the soft truck with a hammer and chisel.

I have to say, as sweet as it looks, it was a pretty anti-climatic kind of gift.

I had grand plans to lead Chuck down a candlelit pathway,

but earlier in the day he stumbled during a jog and sprained his ankle.

I knew he wouldn't be into hanging out in the cold, on a blanket, on the ground.

Maybe this spring we'll have a romantic picnic out there.

2 Comments

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 4

Happy Valentine's Day Ya'll!!

I'm going to wrap up this "Show Your Valentine Some Love" expo with something a little cheesy.

I've got a winning husband ya'll.

As a child, trophies always meant SO much to me.

'Course I only received ONE in my WHOLE life.

Kids today, kids today....They get participation trophies.

Kids don't deserve trophies for participating.

I'm sorry.

Trophies are for WINNERS!

Chuck is a winner.

So I went to a trophy shop and asked if the

clerk had anything resembling a heart lying around.

I picked out the base and the plaque and she put it all together for me.

I can see doing this again but this time I'd use mementoes from our relationship.

That'd be special.

Now, go do something sweet!

As for me and my valentine....we are officially out of ideas.

XOXOXO

3 Comments

Monday, February 13, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 3

Secret Message in a Jar

It seems a lot of my ideas come in jars.

Maybe it's because jars are virtually free (after you eat all the pickles)?

I don't know.

So, what I am proposing is this.....

Think about what you'd like to say to your Valentine.

Maybe you simply want to tell him you love him...

Or ADORE him.

Adore is a sweet word.

Maybe you want him to meet you at a special place.

You could spell it out puzzle form.

OOooo that'd be fun.

If you'll be waiting, just don't make your puzzle too

wordy or else it could be one lonely Valentine's for you.

I elected to go with.....

You know, 'cause I have this affliction

where I gotta mix sweetness with a touch of meanness.

It's not my fault. I inherited it.

Once you know what you want to say, get out the play-doh.

Roll up some letters.

No need for special sculpting clay.

'Cause you know what play-doh does when you leave it out?

Hardens.

It does.

I was able to get the rose petals for free at a local flower shop.

I just went in and asked for whatever they had lying around.

I think these days they sell rose petals instead of just giving them away...

Just stop in and ask.

Drop the letters and rose petals into the jar.

Then paint the lid!

Fingernail polish works great for this.

Ours is all yellowed 'cause it's OLD.

We're in the watch-each-other's-young-faces-morph-for-the-first-time phase now.

Good times, good times.

1 Comment;

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 2

Send him on a scavenger hunt all over town!

Chuck and I have always enjoyed a challenge,

so once I took the idea of the scavenger hunt and went big.

I remember....

-I led him to Moragne Park because it was

one of the places we visited during our first date.

-I led him to his parent’s boathouse because it was a safe place to leave a gift.

The clue read, “Where spiders roam.”

-I made him go into a gas station and ask the attendant for a clue.

-I led him to a place called “Looking Glass Salon” because it was on the way.

It was a lot of fun.
I think he appreciated the effort it took to make it happen.

I ain't gonna lie. This is a very time intensive gift.
There were more hidey spots but I cannot even remember where.

Also, I put this together before there was a money spending ban.

You know...when you are a teenager, and having no money somehow equates to laying down at least $150.00 on a boyfriend.

Unfortunately, I don’t have photos of our

scavenger hunt but here are a few tips to get you going.

#1 If you choose locations that are connected to your history as a couple,

it will make writing the clues easier.

#2 Out of those locations, think about where you could safely leave a small gift or token of love. OR just leave clues. No need to leave gifts unless you want to.

#3 Let the locations dictate the order in which he’ll find the clues.

DON’T

Zig zag him all over town.

That’ll just make ‘em mad.

DON’T

Worry about making the clues rhyme.

Unless you are a lyricist, it’ll just make you wanna give up.

Go along with him.

The gift is the scavenger hunt and the time spent together as a couple!
Maybe the last clue will lead you to a restaurant where you had your first date.

Maybe you’ll end up where you first met.
Or....maybe you'll end up in the middle of a meadow of flowers in Alaska!

No? Oh.
The big finale will have to be up to you.

The biggest tip I can give you is to have fun with it and laugh a lot.

3 Comments

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 1

Yesterday my Mom said something really nice.

She said my blog has love in it.
She's right....my blog does have a lot of love in it.
And it's about to get a whole lot mushier up in here.....
in the spirit of Valentine's Day.

A decade or so ago, I made a rule.

"There shall be no monies spent on Valentine's Day."

This rule originated after once Chuck ignored the holiday completely, thus hurting my feelings, and in an attempt to make his wrong right, pulled over in the Food World parking lot. Said he needed some Pepto. He came out with 45 dollars worth of roses and a golf themed candy basket.

(I don't golf.) (And we were broke.) (As convicts.)

Sweet, sweet man. Yes I know.
Poor thing. He can't win.

So in an effort to help him out a little, I put my expectations out there.
Just put them right out there.

Because I have learned, you can't fault a guy for not reading your mind.

It's just not right.

So now Chuck knows that a massage....a gesture...a love note
means far more to me than any flower he can buy.

And I try, to return the favor. Some years I fall short.

I mean there are just so many years of

birthdays and Valentine's Days before the thoughtful gift idea tank runs dry.

So to help anyone out there who may be running low on gift ideas, I want to share a few with you.

There are reasons why we love them.

Write those reasons down.

Some Don'ts....

Don't over think it.

Don't let it overwhelm you.

Don't try for 365.

Don't take it too seriously.

Some DO's...

Just take a white sheet of paper and start writing.

Cut them out, fold them up, and shove them into a jar.

Here's a few I came up with....

People love you.

You gave me the best proposal story ever.

You can skip a rock further than me.

You love being a good daddy.

You took me mudding and we spun in circles in the Toyota.

You think the word face is funny.

You appreciate me making the house homey.

You told me to quit a job when it was making me unhappy even though it meant not having enough money or any insurance.

You have a nicely weathered face.

You buried Jimmi.

You are an archaeologist.

You don't like Oreo's or coconut either.

You remember what I wore on certain special events.

You are a little bit jealous of my feelings for a fictional vampire.

You pray with me.

You tell me to get out of your kitchen.

You are the only person who told me I could sing and you really mean it.

You can yo yo.

You are an archer.

You feel more alive when you've been active all day and have a little sun on your face.

You write.

You canoe.

You used to notice me at the YMCA. (back in high school)

You encouraged me to sing karaoke and sat up front so I could see you and only you if I needed to.

You believe in my ideas even if they are crazy.

You can ride a bike much better than me.

You loved our Mill Village life.

You make me laugh.

You speak in public - and do it well.

You fish.

You think I am funny.

You brought me 2 frogs home from Georgia.

You dance with me

You go to the 450 mile yard sale with me.

You are a good swimmer.

Your hands are rough.

You give me a lot of credit for Charley's wonderful personality.

You appreciate my warped and disturbing sense of humor.

You think I am beautiful always.

Now I don't want to brag, but this is not even half of what I came up with.

I promise, if you just start, you'll come up with just as many.

Later I put the jar into a bowl.
That way, once he'd read one, he could add it to the bowl.

Each day, before he left for work, he picked one out and read it.

Isn't that a nice way to begin a day?

When you're all finished put the notes back inside the jar.

Keep it forever.

2 Comments

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Archive for February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Hideout

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

It's the Little Things

Our First Virginia Snow

Monday, February 20, 2012

Projects with the Kid

Saturday, February 18, 2012

A School Party

Friday, February 17, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 5

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 4

Monday, February 13, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 3

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 2

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Show Your Valentine Some Love: Idea 1

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