trade

remember this quilt?
the one i made for riley?
the one that his mama and i
traded our talents for?

well.....
she recently brought over
her side of the trade.
it is perfect!

sabre finally has
his very own portrait.
bailey has one.
sampson (who is no longer with us) has one.
even bella (my parent's dog) has one.

alicia does great work.
if you want a portrait for yourself
or a loved one.
check out her website.
and place an order.

4th wave

i don't have many regrets, which is a good thing. but lately i have been wishing i was back in academia.

when i was in graduate school i studied transitions to democracy. i was fascinated by the way countries became fed up with living under a dictator or military rule and started a revolution to overthrow the existing regime.  the area of the world that i was drawn to was latin america. during the 1980's there was a domino effect of revolutions and revolts, what political scientists refer to as the third wave of democracy. of course during that period, there was no internet, no facebook or twitter. you had to learn about what was going on through news media which was more often than not controlled by the regime. there was no way to have accurate, real time information. no way to know that people were being tortured and killed. of course everyone suspected that was taking place, but it wasn't until democracy was rooted and the old players were no longer players that we had a complete picture of what actually took place.

i watch the news every night and say to myself, "we are witnessing the 4th wave of democracy" in the middle east. and this time it is a warp speed thanks to social media. this is an exciting time to be a student of international politics, old school revolutions are merging with modern technology and the voices of the people are actually being heard. i suspect that there will be a number of countries who will have a regime change in the coming months.

watching all this unfold, makes me long to be in the classroom helping students understand what the world is witnessing. showing them that the people's voice does matter and that they can create change. i long to study how social media is shaping politics in countries where the majority of the population does not have a smart phone, use facebook or tweet their daily activities, yet these countries are using their voices along with social media to put an an end to their oppressive governments. sure all the unrest has some negative effects and we will probably pay more for gas. but to be honest, if i have to pay more for gas so that women are no longer tortured,  children can play without being afraid and people have a better quality of life, that is fine by me.

we are watching history unfold before our eyes. no matter what political party you claim, what the world is witnessing is inspiring, courageous and fascinating. i encourage you to take notice.

a moment

lighter

i did it.
i cut my hair.
and went blond.
so i am feeling lighter today.

when i was younger
a drastic change in my hair
meant that i was not
in a good emotional place.

but that was in my youth.
this change is nothing more
than a need for something
fresh
modern
edgy.

my hair was always
in a ponytail
and i felt frumpy.

besides i spend good money
on my hair.
too much for it to
always be in a ponytail.

lee, my hair guru
asked me a whole host
of questions
before agreeing to cut it.

he doesn't like making
drastic hair changes
on clients if the
change represents
anything more than
an updated look.

i passed the test
and my hair team
went to work.

its funny
how the entire salon
became fixated on my
change in hairstyle.

their was a unanimous
decision
that the change
was good.

what do you think?

tuesday tidbits

** we have officially had 101 inches of snow this year.

** and winter is not even close to over.

** we are STILL sick.

** chace is better.

** i am slowly getting better.

** i am headed to scott miller in about an hour for a haircut.

** i am really tempted to cut my hair short.

** a la emily watson, aka hermione granger.

** i know this probably a bad idea and am talking myself out of it.

** ph and i are coming up with plans to create a craft room for me.

** no more sewing on the dining room table.

** next winter i want to live abroad.

** i have never been more ready for spring.

** i need to clean my sewing machine in the worst way.

** must do this BEFORE i sew another stitch.

**happy tuesday!

wellies for addy

this is the custom quilt
i have been working on
i named it "wellies for addy"
i think that it is by far
my most favorite quilt i have made
ever.

addy's mom  picked out the
donkeys wearing wellies fabric
and let me choose the rest of
the fabric from my stash.

i decided to try my hand
at wonky blocks.
this was outside of my comfort zone.
but i had great fun.
before i knew it,
all the blocks were made.

it is so happy
fun
and full of wonkiness.
i just love it so.

thank you addy
for allowing me to create
this special quilt for you.
i hope it brings you lots
of happiness over the years.

show me your nose..

i asked chace to show me his nose
he stuck out his tongue
i captured it on photo booth
i guess we have some work to do.....

5 big winners

i finally picked the winners, well the random number generator picked the winners.
sorry it took so long
we have been recovering from the party
and first birthday bliss.
and trying to get over
germs and colds.

so here we go
in no particular order
the winners are
michelle
workinthread
theandersons
athena
alicia

please email me your
info and i will
get your winning in the mail.

thanks for being a reader.

birthday party

a moment

tuesday tidbits

** chace had a great birthday.

** he loved all the attention.

** and i am quite sure that he knew that the party was for him.

** unfortunately, he is sick again.

** really sick.

** i am ready for cold and flu season to be over.

** so beyond ready for spring.

** i am loving my kindle.

** ph left for whistler today.

** he is meeting my dad for a few days of skiing.

** yaya is here with me.

** i have been in a bit of a creative funk.

** i am hoping to get out of my funk this week.

** we are viewing the pictures from chace's party on thursday.

** i can not wait to share them with you.

** hoping that c sleeps through the night tonight.

** yaya and i need some sleep.

dear chace

my dear sweet chace.

happy 1st birthday! i can not believe that at 5:51 pm this afternoon you will be one year old. i remember after you were born, people told me to enjoy my time with you, that it would go by fast. they were so right. the last year has flown by. it seems just like yesterday that we were making the drive to the hospital to meet you.

you are your own little person these days. you know what it is that you want and are learning how to express it to us. i long to know what is going on inside your head and what it is that you are telling us. i am sure that it wont be too long until i find out. you took your first steps on thursday. a string of 6 or 7 wobbly steps to your yaya. you were so proud of yourself. each day you get better and better at your balance and putting those steps together.

we had a birthday party for you over the weekend. sheep in the jeep was the theme, as it is your favorite book. you seemed to love every minute of the party. as if you knew that everyone was there for you, to celebrate your birth. you loved putting your hands through your cake. and i think that you even like the taste of the frosting. 

speaking of food. you love pasta, bread and fruit, especially blueberries.  you are definitely your fathers child.

chace, you bring your father and i such joy. you are sweet, funny and intelligent. we look forward to seeing what you discover each and every day. we are so blessed and honored to be your parents. we love you more than you know.

happy birthday my sweet sweet boy.

love you

mama

1st birthday party

tomorrow chace turns 1
but yesterday was his party.

sheep in the jeep was the theme
complete with cotton ball garland
sheep food ( animal crackers and goldfish)
party favors
cupcakes
smash cake
favorite books
2 professional photographers
red balloons
sheep cutout cookies
party favors ( sheep in the jeep shirts and handmade sheep)
family
friends
and
a little boy who soaked it all in.

more to come......

a moment

post 500

can you believe that this is post 500?
yes, i said 500.
5 friggin hundred.

i can not believe
that i have had 500 posts
worth of words.
i can not believe
that you still read.
i can not believe
that you still comment.

when i started this blog
i was in a different space.
i needed a place to put
my words, my grief, my love and my anger.
a place to tell my story.

i did not know if people
would read, would care, or comment.
i did this for me.
but along the way it changed.

it turned into friendships,
connections and a community.
and i like to thing that every once in
a while something i wrote helped someone
in some small way.

i often wondered
how long i would blog.
if i would ever call
myself a blogger.

i am happy to say
that i can not imagine
not writing.
and yes i call myself
a blogger.

thank you for sticking with me.
for supporting me.
for caring enough to read.
and being witness to this crazy journey
called life.

as a thank you.
5 readers will win
one of the following
yarn, fabric, or something handmade.

leave a comment by chace's birthday.
monday february 14th, 2011.
and let me know which giveaway
you would most like to have.

i know there are alot of
"lurkers" out there.
now is a perfect time
to come out of hiding.

xoxoxo

tuesday tidbits

** i got a kindle!!

** i can not tell you how happy this makes me!

**thanks mom and dad.

**today we took more cooper birds to the hospital.

** and donated outgrown baby stuff to the cardiac unit.

** they need stuff like swings, bouncers, car seats.

** i was happy we could help out.

** and it is nice to see the floor of the basement.

** this week is congenital heart defect week.

** did you see the vw/darth vadar ad during the super bowl?

** that little boy has a heart defect.

** he has tetrology of phallot.

** just like cooper.

** there is one more box of cooper birds left.

**it is wicked cold here today.

** ph and i saw the king's speech this weekend.

** excellent film.

**saturday is chace's birthday party.

** i have lots to do before saturday.

** we are 85% well.

** i say that because. i am still on antibiotics.

** and my voice is still horse.

** i am caught up on bee blocks.

** for the moment.

** chace is so close to walking.

** extremely close.

** frighteningly close.

modern baby quilt

i finished this quilt a while ago.

but i just got around to sending it

to christina for the quilting.

she did three others for me too.

i just love it.

this color combo is my favorite 

these days.

the size is perfect for the 

stroller, travel, and just 

good old fashioned cuddling

with your baby.

it is for sale in the shop.

i hope it goes to someone

who loves it as much as i do.

fortune cookie

we had chinese food tonight.
i was craving hot and sour soup.
i thought it might help my cold.
yes, i still have a cold.

this is what my fortune cookie revealed.

"life moves on. whether we act as cowards or heroes."

a moment

tuesday tidbits

** we are slowly starting to feel better around here.

** slowly....

** i am not having a good sewing day.

** this irritates me to no end.

** the weather man says we are going to get alot of snow tonight and tomorrow.

** i wish i was watching the whales in cabo san lucas right about now.

** c and i have been napping alot the last two days.

** he was kind enough to give me his virus.

** thanks, buddy.

** looking  forward to the super bowl.

** but sad football season has come to an end.

** looking for a new book to read.

** suggestions?

** the custom quilt is off to the quilter.

** i love it and can not wait to show you.

** i need to go to joann fabric so i can finish this project that is making me crazy.