2008 Firsts

I'm always up for trying new things and at the end of each year I like to make of list of my firsts. I like to make lists in case you hadn't noticed. But this is my first time making a list on my blog, since 2008 is the first year in which I became a blogger.


We played Guitar Hero for the first time in 2008! I've always wanted to have a band named Yardsale Lingerie, but lacking musical talent and vocal abilities I was thwarted until this game!


We went to our first gay wedding in California, and just in time.


The next day we went to Disney's California Adventure for the first time. I highly recommend The Tower of Terror!


We went to our first protest! After the election and the subsequent ban on gay marriage, Corey and I went downtown with our gay friends to shout: What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want them? NOW!


For the first time I used my scrapbooking powers for good. The day before the protest who should stop by our house but the Mormons? You know, the ones who pumped millions of dollars into the campaign against gay marriage? They left a little card behind and immediately Corey and I began thinking about how we could use it against them. I think we make a good creative team, no? Corey wore that on his hat, and I carried a sign that said SEPARATE CHURCH AND STATE.


I went to my first Jason Mraz concert. I went with my friend Stephanie, who kindly prepared an Essential Mraz compilation for me ahead of time. He totally rocked!


I tried absinthe for the first time. It didn't make me feel like I had tulips on my legs, as Oscar Wilde once described, but I did feel pretty happy. Could be because I was surrounded by friends and Corey. I did not care for the taste though.

Wishing you much happiness and many new experiences in 2009!

P.S. I found the absinthe picture on the internet.

Santa's Coming!

I just heard on NPR that NORAD is tracking Santa's flight progress. If you would like to see where Santa is via satellite go to http://www.noradsanta.org. Currently he's in Vik, Iceland.
I hope he brings you everything on your list!

My family is crafty.

I come from a family of quilters. I think quilts are cool. Sometimes I pretend like I'm going to make a quilt too, but sewing kind of makes me feel crazy with impatience so if it ever does happen it will probably not be for a long time.

In October my mom's quilting group held a quilt show. The quilt above is one my great grandmother made a long, long time ago. It's so old that the material is disintegrating. That is my dad with his grandmothers quilt, and he is wearing a shirt my mom made. He is also wearing a leather belt that he made and hand stamped.


When we first arrived at the show I wanted to take off and start looking around. My mom kept stopping me and making up nonsense and I started to get annoyed. The reason was that her friend Robin helped her make this class quilt for me as a surprise, and she was trying to find her so they could show me together. My bad.


Even my oldest sister is a quilter. She made this quilt for my mom.


My mom also made this quilt for the grandchildren Corey and I are never having. This is as close as she's going to get:

Strega Nona says she loves it!

6. I suck at Christmas.

Each year I say I'm going to get everything done early, and each year I don't. This year I at least got both of my packages out on time. Last night after a friend's party Corey and I got the tree up. Wednesday I got our cards made. Now all I have to do is address them all and mail them out. At least there are still 4 days until Christmas. One year I had to make Happy New Years cards since I took so long.

The only thing I'm good at is the shopping, and that's only because I do it throughout the year. I'd just like to add at this point that I'm tired of when I tell people my shopping method and they respond, "Oh, I try to do that but I just can't wait and I give them the present as soon as I buy it!" Well aren't you special? Some of us are teachers, and some of us loathe shopping in December. And you don't love your family more than I love mine just because you don't have restraint or foresight.

Also now I have to do report cards in December, adding to the madness. But it's not an excuse. I sucked at Christmas even before I was a teacher.

P.S. Thank you Victoria Usova for depicting me and Corey decorating our tree at 11:30 last night while watching Elf.

*I should be wrapping presents*

I came across another reading challenge this morning, the What's In a Name Challenge! So instead of doing the things I should be doing, I (once again) found myself making a list.

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title.
The Short History of a Prince by Jane Hamilton
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Blessed Are the Cheesemakers by Sarah Kate-Lynch
The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (reread)
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Morrow

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title.
Bright Angel Time by Martha McPhee
The Servants of Twilight by Dean R. Koontz

3. A book with a "relative" in its title.
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

4. A book with a "body part" in its title.
The Body Project by Joan Jacobs Brumberg (I started it a few years ago & never finished)
Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut

5. A book with a "building" in its title.
Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
Joy School by Elizabeth Berg
Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes
The Mineral Palace by Heidi Julavits

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title.
(This one's a stretch, and I've already read Love in the Time of Cholera)
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding

I wonder which books will make the cut in 2009...

Here is the website in case you want to do it too: http://whatsinaname-2.blogspot.com/

P.S. Thank you Comes Mart for letting me borrow your cute library pic.

5. I'm reading a really good book right now.

It's called, "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier." William Dampier is responsible for every discovery ever. Ok, I'm exaggerating, but it feels that way while reading the book. I told Corey, "Name something and William Dampier discovered it!" And Corey said, "Rubber!" And then I was like, "Oh. I don't think so, but I'm not done with the book yet either."

The coolest thing is that Dampier went to the Galapagos about 150 years before Charles Darwin and wrote about what he saw in his journal. Then Charles Darwin used Dampier's books when he went there and it helped him with his theory of evolution!

Here are other neato things Dampier did:
He was the first person to document a hurricane
He was the first person to publish a description of the Aboriginees
He named a sea lion a sea lion
He has over 1,000 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary
Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels were inspired by his journals
He made maps people still use today

And you know how you always see pirates with parrots on their shoulders? It's because of Dampier and friends. They raided a town which was deserted. The villagers heard they were on their way, took all of their valuables, and ran up into the hills. All that was left of any interest when the pirates got there were lots of caged parrots. So the pirates stole them and kept them on their ship.

And I'm only halfway done. Imagine what the coming chapters behold? And why have we never heard of this guy?

P.S. Vladimir Kush made the perfect painting for this post, don't you think?

4. I love Whale Wars.

Corey and I have just started watching this show on Animal Planet called Whale Wars. What we learned is that despite a moratorium on all commercial whaling enacted in 1986, the Japanese continue to hunt whales. The law says you can kill a whale for science, but you can't let any part of it go to waste either. They take tissue samples or weigh their stomachs (in the name of science, of course) and then are left with a giant carcass worth anywhere between $250,000-$1,000,000. Then people can eat it.

After learning this and watching them hunt whales, I got really pissed. The Japanese Rednecks give real scientists, like my fabulous sister-in-law, a bad name. And they are killing mammals with brains bigger than Volkswagens.

That is where the Sea Shepherds come in. They get on their ship, Steve Irwin, and fuck with the Japanese trying to kill, I mean research, whales. They throw Butyric acid on their ships, ram them, and cause general mayhem in a non-violentish way. They are eco-pirates. In our latest fantasy, Corey and I sell the house and go save whales with them.

You should watch Whale Wars too. Let's save the whales! Again!



P.S. Iceland and Norway do the same thing, but the show isn't about foiling them. But don't think you're off the hook, Iceland and Norway!

P.P.S. The Hope painting is by James Jean & Kenichi Hoshine.

3. I am living in denial.

A few days ago as I was doing my nightly beauty routine, I looked in the mirror and realized, wow, I am getting more gray hairs. And then that made me laugh because the fact that I was shocked by the increase in gray hair means that I thought somehow I would become less gray.

I think it's kind of fun how we physically change throughout our lives. Isn't it strange that in one lifetime you have so many looks? Or that you can change on the outside but feel the same on the inside? Or vice versa.

I am trying not to let advertisers convince me that wrinkles and gray hair are a bad thing.

Thank you Lovely Package for your pic.

2. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

I love Thanksgiving. I love the food. I love the football. And usually I love the family.

Since Corey works on Thanksgiving my little vision of pilgrim homage has changed. The 2 of us have the Reader's Digest condensed version of Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, and stuffing. I watch Home for the Holidays, one of the greatest movies of all time. This year when Corey goes to work I'm going to my friend's house to scrapbook. I feel thankful for my friend. Thanksgiving is not meant to be spent alone.

I am thankful for Corey, books, guinea pigs, the loving people of my inner circle, the moon, sleeping in, my class, Jersey, paper, pens, Barack Obama, Bookmans, doughnuts, and my shoes. And I am thankful for Carolyn Gavin at Designer Jots for making the above cute Orange Picnic.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have many things to count and be thankful for today.

1. I am a list maker.

I am a list maker and love the many list makers in my life. You know someone you love is a list maker if they have several pads of paper and post-its on hand, and they have amassed an amazing pen collection. Some list makers I know will put things on a list just so they can check them off. We are a special breed.

SO when I came across the Well Seasoned Reader Challenge through a blogger of a blogger, what I saw was the perfect reason to put two of my passions together: reading and list making.

The books you are challenged to read have to fall within categories. I spent an embarrasing amount of time compiling a list of books I own and would like to read or reread that fall within three of those categories. Behold, the list:

1. Must Have a Food Name in the Title

~ Blessed are the Cheesemakers/ Sarah-Kate Lynch
~ Animal, Vegetable, Miracle/ Barbara Kingsolver
~ Chocolat/ Joanne Harris (I've been wanting to reread it since it's a favorite and now there's a sequel!)

2. Must Have a Place Name in the Title

~ Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas/ Hunter S. Thompson (Corey's recommendation)
~ The Road from Coorain/ Jill Ker Conway
~ The Bridges of Madison County/ Robert James Waller
~ Blackbird House/ Alice Hoffman
~ Here on Earth/ Alice Hoffman
~ A Year in Provence/ Peter Mayle (borrowed from a friend)
~ Pilgrim at Tinker Creek/ Annie Dillad
~ A Map of the World/ Jane Hamilton
~ Brave New World/ Aldous Huxley
~ In the Deep Woods/ Nicholas Conde
~ Alice in Wonderland/ Lewis Carroll (reread)

3. Must Be About One (or more) Person's Travel Experience

~ Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral/ Kris Radish
~ Liner Notes/ Emily Franklin
~ Zarafa/ Michael Walker
~ Three Cups of Tea/ Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
~ Lost Highways/ Curtiss Ann Matlock
~ The Poisonwood Bible/ Barbara Kingsolver
~ Mister Christian/ William Kinsolving
~ The Alchemist/ Paulo Coelho
~ The Dharma Bums/ Jack Kerouac
~ A Wrinkle in Time/ Madeleine L'Engle
~ The Last Witchfinder/ James Morrow
~ Water for Elephants/ Sara Gruen

Thank god I'm a fast typer.
It would take me an entire year to read all of those books, and I only need to pick three. That is the life of a list maker.

I was tagged by Martha at http://marthamillerart.blogspot.com/, which means I have to, "Tell 6 quirky but boring, unspectacular details about yourself." Consider this the first installment.

Oh! and here is the website in case you want to sign up for the reading challenge with me:
http://melissasbookreviews.blogspot.com/2008/11/interesting-people-amazing-places-and.html

P.S. I borrowed that cool-o picture from google reader 1000.

Captain Nick Sparrow is an alias

My pirate name is:

Mad Ethel Vane

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You tend to blend into the background occasionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

Little Kids Love Obama!

I spent most of Tuesday doing election things with my kids - comparing and contrasting Obama and McCain (did you know Obama's favorite color is purple and McCain's is lime green? These are the pressing issues we cover in first grade), coloring Obama or McCain pictures, having mock voter registration and mock voting. Obama won in my class by a landslide, and that was before I told them who I was voting for.
This morning when I got to school I was stopping all the kids I know in the hall. I asked, "Who did you want to win?" "Do you know who won last night?" EVERY kid I asked said Obama, and EVERY kid knew he won. A group of girls told me that their families let them stay up to watch who won. One girl told me, "When they said Obama won, my sister and I started jumping on the bed!"
The population of my school consists mostly of Somalian refugees and "Mexican refugees." I was inspired by not only how excited they were about Obama, but about the election process. Considering that most of their families aren't even able to vote, I was really proud of how they got their kids involved.
It makes me excited for the next four years all over again!

Oh my god! Oh my god you guys!!!

Happy Halloween!

Be careful while trick or treating!

"Goblin Fruit" by Oliver Hunter

one 7 year old boy's opinion on Halloween costumes

Overheard today in class -
Boy: What are you going to be for Halloween?
Girl: A princess.
Boy: (in a "you're so silly" voice) A princess not scary! How about a princess dragon?

That's not a typo. He said, "A princess not scary!"
I love teaching first grade.

Thank you simmy0085 for letting me borrow your watercolor from Flickr.

If I were a real pirate, this would be my ship

by Vladimir Kush

Getting into the Halloween Spirit

This October I have been trying to celebrate Halloween in my own little way all month. My merrymaking has included reading books and watching movies with a scary, thrilling, or fantasy theme. I've watched Misery, Stir of Echoes, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and fell asleep during Shaun of the Dead. I've read Twilight by Stephenie Myer (vampires!), The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield ("gothic strangeness"), and this morning I finished Night Chills by Dean Koontz ("The nightmare is real. And death is the only cure...").

I've been eyeing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales by Washington Irving on my bookshelf for the past few weeks, so after I put down Night Chills this morning I found myself pulling out that old hardcover I've had probably since high school. What I discovered inside were illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Spooky! There are over 10 pen and ink drawings with watercolor that instantly made me happy I picked up the book.

I've spent the morning looking at Mr. Rackham's art on the internet instead of grading papers and doing the things I should be doing on a Sunday. If you want to put aside your responsibilities and read about him also, this is a good website: clarke.cmich.edu/rackhamarthur/biography.htm. I hope Arthur Rackham helps put you in the Halloween Spirit too.

Only the top picture is from my book.

Still on my Halloween to do list:

Corpse Bride

The Shining

Brothers Grimm

E.T.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

finish Shaun of the Dead

put up decorations

To Covet - 1 : to wish for earnestly

Corey and I went to the mall a few weekends ago to have dinner with friends. At the time we were on a spending freeze - the perfect excuse not to buy crap I don't need. I'm beginning to feel unpatriotic - I missed the playoffs, and planned to walk the sainted halls without spending. The earnest wishing began when we went into Anthropologie. I have a love-hate relationship with Anthropologie. It's like vintage stuff but it's new, it's like a thrift store but it's expensive, it's like handmade but it's made in China. I don't think I had ever even bought anything there, although there was a moment with a dishtowel that had rickrack on it. $18. I still remember the price. That was for ONE dishtowel. I decided just to sew rickrack on a Target dishtowel, but as with most of my craft projects, it never came to fruition.

Anyway, I went back to this antiquey cupboard like they have, which was filled with shelves of stationary and journals, and that was when I saw "THE journal that I had to possess" (as it was already somehow a part of me). I currently have a super Wonder Woman journal that I got in Flagstaff over 6 years ago. The fun of it is that it has illustrations and captions on almost every page. In the last 2 years journaling has suddenly become something I love doing again, only instead of writing who is my crush on any given day (as I did in high school), I now write about things like how many times they say "ya'll" on America's Best Dance Crew. So there, as I held the Junzo Terada journal in my hands, the bargaining began to take place in my mind. "My Wonder Woman journal is almost full. I actually NEED this." "It's only $10." "It has illustrations on every page!" "It's so cute!" "We are on a spending freeze." I put the journal down, walked out of Anthropologie, and the coveting began.

I couldn't stop thinking about the journal. I counted the days until money would filter back into our bank account. I tried to find it on the Anthropologie website. I called my friend and talked to her about the journal, laughing at the stupidity of it all. I planned which route I would take back to the mall. I could see myself going down the escalator by Paradise Bakery; picking up a sugar cookie to eat on the way to the journal. I also began to covet the cookie. Whenever I thought about the cookie, I thought about the journal, and vice-versa.

At last. I walked into the devil's lair with American Flags in my wallet, back to the place I had visited so often in my mind, and the corner was bare...the cupboard was gone. Before panic crept in I spied the cupboard at the back of the store. I was suddenly in front of it, reaching inside, discovering the journal was not there any more. Why? Why did I wait?! I frantically began looking underneath the lesser journals. Is it mixed in with the stationary? But at last! There was a pile of 10 of the very thing I desired on the bottom shelf, behind the paper rubble it was so superior to. I took the second one down and brought it to the cashier. She said, "This is really cute!" I KNOW.

Once I got home I discovered their website on the inside of the back cover. It's for a place in Japan, and luckily for me they don't ship internationally. But I did save pictures of some of the illustrations in my 2nd-most-awesome-journal to share with you.

Their website is comes-graphic.jp.

The Final Debate

While watching the debate on Wednesday, I decided to get out my Wonder Woman journal and "score" each candidate in my area of expertise: education. I wrote down catch phrases the presidential hopefuls mentioned and gave them pluses or minuses. Here is what I wrote down when it was Senator Obama's turn -

+ making parents accountable
- more professional development for teachers (we have plenty already!)
+ Head Start
+ math and science
+ early childhood education
+ "recruit an army of new teachers"
+ make college affordable by giving tuition credit in exchange for community service
+ mentioned that No Child Left Behind was put into law but never funded by Bush (Thank you!)
- charter schools (if education was funded we wouldn't need charter schools)
+ "Vouchers don't solve the problem." (again, if education had proper funding, we wouldn't need vouchers)

He left me feeling hopeful about what my job may be like after he becomes president.

Now for the Maverick or "Mavrick" as some of his supporters like to call him -

- charter schools
-Teach for America (I hate to diss it, but it's like a 5 week crash course for teaching, and once completing the program, teachers are committed to teaching 2 years in the highest poverty communities. Not the most ideal situation, on the other hand, we have had some great Teach for America teachers at our elementary school.)
- "Troops to Teachers" (??? He wants people from the military to come home and begin teaching without having to go through the certification process!!!! How about "Teachers to Troops"? You can send us to Iraq without ever going to boot camp. Big NO!)
- making student loans more available (i.e. more debt)
- vouchers (ugh, JUST GIVE US THE MONEY)
- Head Start reform (I was unaware it needed reforming. I smell privatization, i.e. more money for his "cronies")
+ mentioned autism (not sure what it has to do with education, but I'm all for that cause)
------ Regarding education he actually said, "I'm not going to continue to throw money at a problem." (Scary! That is exactly what this problem needs. More money for more teachers and smaller class sizes!)

He left me feeling scared about what hits may still come to our public school system if he becomes president.

What about their little back and forth they had about the Superintendent of Schools of Maryland and D.C.? That was awkward.
Obama's talking about Nancy S. Grasmick (he didn't mention her by name, but I looked it up on the internet) and McCain cuts in with, "Who supports vouchers."
Obama: Actually supports charters.
McCain: (feebly) She supports vouchers also.

I had to do a little research, but quickly found two websites that cleared it up for me. One states plainly that she does NOT support vouchers, another talks about how she is on the Task Force on Public Charter Schools. McCain lied.

My final note...
Obama says, "If we're going to be serious about this issue..."
McCain interrupts and just begins spouting phrases, "Cause there's not enough vouchers, therefore we shouldn't do it, even though it's working. I got it!" [insert scary cancer laugh]

By the way, he has cancer. Don't know if you've ever known anyone with cancer before but they usually die. So we're looking at Sara Fucking Palin here. I hope my observations help clear up any questions you may have had about who is the most awesome.

Thank you to these blogs for sharing their pictures with me:

Barack Obama: http://sableverity.wordpress.com/

John Mccain: http://kiwiyogi.wordpress.com/

Sara Palin: http://www.theinternationalrules.com/

What I would look like if I was a superhero, apparently

Thanks Brent!

Dream Job

Although I love teaching, I'd have to say my dream job would be Grand Prix show jumping. Riding horses for a living would pretty much rule.

This is a picture of my favorite rider, Beezie Madden, and her horse, Authentic. What a cool name for a horse, right? She has another horse named Judgement. She won a bronze in the Olympics this summer, and a gold with her team. And that's her job. {Jealous} Not only is she an amazing rider, but she picks out fabulous horse names too.

I took some jumping lessons when I was in high school. Even though I had been riding my whole life, it was hard. Also I didn't have a Dutch Warmblood. I had a fat Quarter Horse, and a short Morgan. I had another horse that loved jumping. If you let her loose in the arena she would run around and jump over jumps by herself. But then she died and that was the end of that. Her name was Shoshone. I miss that horse. I miss all my horses.

I borrowed this picture from chevalmag.com.

{Happy October}

If you know me, you know it's time to pick out a quality pumpkin that will last on my porch for the next 9 months.

Suck it GOP

Last weekend Corey and I went to California so we could attend our gay friends' wedding. As they were saying their vows it was plain to see that they love each other as much as Corey and I love each other. I couldn't help thinking how strange it is that people would be against two people getting married because of gender alone, casting aside the happiness that comes from sharing your life with someone who gets you better than anyone else, and who is there for you when you're at your worst. And strange that five hours away in Arizona their marriage is not recognized. Apparently we don't have freedom of relgion in our great nation.

Congratulations Jon and Joe!

Thank you Phoenix Biker Dykes for letting me borrow your jolly roger.

Breakthrough?

I have a student this year that pretty much refuses to speak. She comprehends well and is very intelligent; she would just prefer to be seen and not heard. I know she actually can speak though because when I gave her a reading test she spoke barely above a whisper. So maybe she would prefer to be seen and not heard unless it means doing poorly on a test.

Anyway, the other day she came into class and presented me with this collage. She had a big smile on her face and when I said, Is this for me?! she nodded.

She obviously put a lot of time and thought into this. I can't help but think she is trying to communicate with me somehow, but what is her message? I see a diamond, a buffet, a salmon, some dude, maybe me, a cup, a guy choking a girl(?), and an orange koala.

I used my Illustrated Book of Signs & Symbols to maybe make some sense of it all.

Diamond: incorruptibility and invincibility

Salmon: perseverance and courage

Cups: receptive, feminine realm

Orange: love and happiness

Um, she wants me to use my perseverance to get her to speak, which she is receptive to? And when she does speak we will both feel love, happiness, and invincibility?

Any ideas?

If I had 3 Wishes

If I had 3 wishes, they would be wasted. I find myself inadvertently wishing things out loud several times a week. Sometimes they're for important things, and sometimes they're just flaydidalay. The other day I wished out loud that I was a mermaid. I googled mermaids to see if there was an image on the internet that matched what I had pictured in my mind: what it would be like to swim with ease from the darkness of the ocean up toward the surface.
I found a lot of sexy mermaid and much little-girl-dressed-like mermaid.
The one above was my favorite.
Anyway, I don't really wish I was a mermaid. I love walking, riding bikes, and riding horses too much. I would miss my legs. So when I found a hippocampus on The Black Apple, I though this would be a nice compromise wish:

Here's to wasting wishes.

Only 69 shopping days until my birthday

I Y this girl's coocoocachoo style: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=991

Craftiness and Cattiness

I did this layout for a challenge on the New Zealand Dare Blog. Their dare? To scrapbook the "weird + strange." Just so happens these pictures of my kooky cats were next in my pile to scrap. The journaling says: So this moth landed on our ceiling and the cats started freaking out -- meowing as if possessed by Satan, and Oedipus tried to climb up the wall! My old dresser was in the living room since we were giving it to Stacy, so I put the cats on top to see what they'd do. Jersey stared, but Oedipus tried & failed the vertical attack!

Did you hear Diddy's video blog by the way? "John McCain is bugging the fuck out! Sara Palin?!" I heard that on the radio the day after I finished the title and I thought Diddy and I must be connected somehow with our Buggin Out-themed-works.

Anyway I started to clean up and put away these Insect stickers, and I've been reading Somerset a lot so...I've been dying to put wings on something!!!

I liked it more because it covers up those hot pink semi-distracting family pictures in the back. I really wanted to leave those portraits in though because I can see old pictures we used to have hanging up of our nieces and nephews.

Also my New Year's Resolution was to use up my stash as well as I could, so I've been trying to incorporate some of my "unstylish" things and "make it work!" I like finally putting the old stuff to use! I took great pleasure in using my newish polka-dot stamp though. I searched for it forever.

Then today I was thinking about it. I think that picture of Oedipus is too cool to cover up, so I took his wings off, leaving Jersey's on. I like to pretend Jersey is dreaming of flying.

I got an email today from my sister-in-law. Corey's gramma knitted this sweater for their hairless cat Buffy:
I am surrounded by craftiness.