Flourish

Photo Challenge, Day 30: Self-Portrait

2011-11-02T21:58:00.003-05:00

One more, how time has flown! This challenge has been an incredible opportunity for me to increase my skills and really, just to take a few minutes for myself and for a mental challenge each day. I hope to do a few more of these soon! Thanks for all the comments and keep checking back - I may start a November challenge a day or two late to keep the fun going!

No makeup, on my way to bed after a long day. Hence, PhotoBooth was my camera of choice:)

Photo Challenge, Day 29: Black and White

2011-11-02T21:56:00.003-05:00

Pausing before a trip down the slide.

Photo Challenge, Day 28: Flowers

2011-11-02T21:53:00.002-05:00

My first flower from my son!

Photo Challenge, Day 27: From a Distance

2011-11-02T21:48:00.002-05:00

Madison, WI, my past and future home:)

Photo Challenge, Day 26: Close-up

2011-10-26T20:47:00.007-05:00

I love this watch that I got for Mark as a gift when he became a dad for the first time. It's his favorite and I think even more so because of the special meaning behind it. Do I get extra points for some bokeh in the background?

Photo Challenge, Day 25: Something Pink

2011-10-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

Not the earrings that came on this card, but a nice match, nonetheless.

Photo Challenge, Day 24: Animal

2011-10-24T20:46:00.000-05:00

Ari's best friend, Miss Mousie (I know, really creative), a gift from her Aunt B. This little guy is so soft, I had to buy one for friends having babies as well.

Photo Challenge, Day 23: Sunflare

2011-10-23T20:41:00.000-05:00

Had to use an old photo for this one, as I have had no sun+free-time-to-shoot moments for days. I love this photo, completely unretouched.

Photo Challenge, Day 22: Hands

2011-10-22T20:39:00.000-05:00

My favorite little hands these days. Little but capable of so much destruction;)

Photo Challenge, Day 21: Faceless self-portrait

2011-10-21T22:04:00.004-05:00

I took this photo at the dock on a pond near a playground we always head to in the warm months. It was only about 60 degrees, but the sun made the wood warm and great to sit on.

Photo Challenge, Day 20: Bokeh

2011-10-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

So, before this challenge, I had no idea what bokeh meant, much less how to create it. It refers to an intentional blurring or gradation created in a photo. It took me a week to get it to the point where I felt comfortable finding the right subjects and taking the photo. This hydrant is near the train tracks near our house. Our car and the tracks are in the background; I saw the color of the hydrant and had to shoot it!

Photo Challenge, Day 19: Something Orange

2011-10-19T22:04:00.003-05:00

I love that 75% of our decorations are orange. A convenient shot.

Photo Challenge, Day 18: My Shoes

2011-10-19T22:03:00.002-05:00

Loved to death...and now I have to pack them away for the winter. Sigh...

Photo Challenge, Day 17: Technology

2011-10-19T22:00:00.003-05:00

Practicing for day 20, I took this shot of my BF (some people call him my husband) while out running errands after the kids hit the hay. I may have gotten the Redbox DVD back late because of it...rats.

Photo Challenge, Day 16: Long Exposure

2011-10-16T20:59:00.003-05:00

LOVE long exposure photos! I've never shot them before and had so much fun. My favorite kinds of photos of this type are the nighttime shots, with car/city lights, or sparklers, etc. A single bright source of light, motion over many seconds captured in one. Here's my indoor, iPod version, a message to my husband:)

Photo Challenge, Day 15: Silhouette

2011-10-16T20:52:00.003-05:00

My (somewhat) willing model, Mark, helped me create a backlit silhouette against one of the just-laundered, but not taken to their cabinet yet, sheets. I tried a number of different light sources, but liked this one the best.

Photo Challenge, Day 14: Eyes

2011-10-14T14:20:00.003-05:00

Or eye. Mine, tired, but at least with a little mascara...

Photo Challenge, Day 13: Yourself with 13 Things

2011-10-14T13:54:00.002-05:00

I'm a pillow addict. I need more couches, chairs, beds, benches, etc to hold them. This is a swath of my collection. Oh, and did I mention that I love color and wild patterns...?

Photo Challenge, Day 12: Sunset

2011-10-13T20:14:00.003-05:00

I missed sunset the night I was supposed to do this post, and then realized that there's nowhere high in Wheaton that I have access to anyway. So, the upstairs of our house will have to do. Love the pinks on nights like this!

Photo Challenge, Day 11: Something Blue

2011-10-13T20:02:00.002-05:00

If you're a parent, you understand the fury this scenario can spark. In the middle of re-diapering a squirming, screaming, incredibly strong 1-year old, I get to the point of affixing the last flap and...rrrrrrrip! ARGH! This is my something blue.

Photo Challenge, Day 10: Childhood Memory

2011-10-10T22:16:00.003-05:00

This is one of my favorite ones so far. I thought I didn't have anything here that was a memento of my childhood, but realized that my mom just gave Dane a jelly jar of marbles. It was so fun to think about how I used to treasure these, choosing them more like jewels than like game pieces. I kept my in a purple velvet pouch with satin drawstring that never stayed closed. My favorite one was the one right on top, a clear, iridescent shooter, with just a hint of yellow that reminded me of the moon.

Before editing:

After editing:

Photo Challenge, Day 9: Someone I Love

2011-10-09T22:06:00.002-05:00

This is my love, Aria. At a year old, she's one of the happiest babies I've ever seen, so it's really funny to us when she pulls out her serious face. I was working on the f-stop in this one, and haven't gotten it right yet. But I love this photo never-the-less; the light was so pretty that afternoon.

Photo Challenge, Day 8: A Bad Habit

2011-10-08T22:04:00.000-05:00

My main vice...sugar. Lots of it. I'm addicted these days. I loved taking this photo, using outdoor light, and getting the tiny shadow on the individual crystals. While cleaning this up, I may or may not have just licked the remainder off the board.

Photo Challenge, Day 7: Fruit

2011-10-07T22:01:00.001-05:00

Still don't love this picture...couldn't capture how pretty the sprayed-silver pumpkins were with all our yellow leaves and the oddly-summery sunlight the last few days.

Update: Editing is a good thing...

Photo Challenge, Day 6: From A Low Angle

2011-10-06T14:33:00.002-05:00

My husband and I got back from a birthday trip (alone!), to find that our son had gotten Dad this balloon to celebrate. He might not realize that when you get gifts for others, THEY should be the ones that like them:)

Photo Challenge, Day 5:From a High Angle

2011-10-06T14:28:00.002-05:00

If you're from WI, you may recognize the iconic design of this chair. It's a miniature from my parents, to help me remember my alma mater. Many an afternoon/evening were spent in one of these, playing cards, watching bands, drinking a beer. Good memories!

Photo Challenge, Day 4: Something Green

2011-10-04T20:48:00.002-05:00

This is a new toy we just got for...well, possibly Mark and I, but the colors are amazing. I used our newish Elph Power Shot because I wanted the spot focus, which I don't think I have the right lens for on our EOS.

Photo Challenge, Day 3: Clouds

2011-10-03T21:00:00.003-05:00

This is my attempt at making lemonade without lemons...it was the clearest day in the world here today. Not a single cloud all day. Still tonight, nothing. So, my fix: take a photo of the picture over our bed. The photo above is of a photo my sister took, enlarged, edited and gave us as a gift. I've always loved it, and I know I'm stealing a bit, but it's a fun way to pay tribute to her:)

Photo Challenge, Day 2: What I Wore Today

2011-10-02T20:44:00.003-05:00

First things first, my beautiful, 4-ish year old wedding rings, some rockin' studs from White House | Black Market, a scarf from my lovely sis, a Calvin Klein 3/4-sleeve tunic, and black Gap jeggings. Perfect for a 68-degree fall day including church and kids and small group. Then at 4, our way back to church, we realized Mark was wearing a polo the exact color of the scarf. Not cool to be matchy to your spouse in his book;)

To get this photo, I worked on learning how the shutter speed and F value affected the shot. I still don't perfectly understand how they work together, but it was great to feel like I'm starting to get some of the basics down.

Photo Challenge, Day 1: Self-portrait

2011-10-01T20:23:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of the photo challenge, and let me tell you, I've been thinking about it since I signed up. Since I have no experience doing this, I didn't know if I should be literal or if it was about creativity, or skill (of which I have almost none). So, I'll give you a couple of photos. Thanks for looking!

This is me at my most alive...I was doing a chalk drawing as part of the Loop Alliance GoDoGOOD celebration downtown this weekend. We were down for Mark's birthday and it was so refreshing to be in the sun, creating art, watching people, being free!

This is my more serious, straight-up portrait. Our house is pretty dark, so I found a little light by the front door and took this shot. It ended up somewhat underexposed, and hence a little grainy after editing, but I still like it. It's how I feel about life right now. Turning my face toward the light.

Back to Life...again. This time with photography

2011-09-30T09:25:00.006-05:00

Okay, another reup on my personal blogging life. I'm doing a 30 day photo challenge, starting tomorrow, at the advice of a good friend who knows a thing or two about actually becoming a photographer. I have no real skills to speak of, but am excited to try and be a bit better, as I'm exploring if this is something I'd like to do for reals. yo. I'll put up a photo each day and would love to get your take on it! PLEASE!

http://ourwiredlives.com/2011/09/04/october-challenge-30-day-photography/

Easy Beer Bread, so good!

2011-04-21T08:38:00.002-05:00

3 cups flour (sifted)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) can beer
1/2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup will do just fine)

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients, making sure that you either sift the flour, or whisk once combined. Mix with the beer, pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Pour melted butter over the batter. Bake for 1 hour, remove from the pan and let it cool for at least 15 minutes. It has an awesome crispy crust and is a very thick, hearty bread. Perfect for with soup on these ridiculously cold spring days!

Hello again

2011-04-05T08:36:00.002-05:00

So, as you can see, my last post was the day before Ari came. It's been almost 7 months, crazy!, since then, so I figured I'd get back on it. Today is a recipe that I've been trying to make for a few days, only to realize that the shortage of canned pumpkin is kind of a drag. I'm thinking about subbing sweet potatoes, but haven't gotten there yet. Will update once I give it a try. My sister made this super easy soup for us, and I couldn't get enough. Savory and just a tiny bit of sweet, mmm, so good on a cool day, with fresh bread for dipping.

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium to large onion chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups 100% pure pumpkin
1 13.5 oz. can of classic, not light, coconut milk ( I used Native Forest Organic Unsweetened Classic Coconut Milk.)
1 tsp. of salt or more or less to taste

In a large pot saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, until onions are soft. Be sure they do not brown. Once soft, add the pumpkin, coconut milk and chicken broth. Simmer and stir until well blended, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve.

The push before the big push, part 2

2010-09-12T20:31:00.005-05:00

Downstairs Powder Room
From blank white, with a clamshell sink and the cheapest fixtures you can find, to kind of more inviting with a little color. Not a thing to do about the fixtures in a rental, but paint has always been my favorite answer to changing a room anyway:) We put all of our architecture and Chi-town related photos in the bathroom, which actually unified them in a nice, new way. It still needs something along the knee rail, but we're not going to do curtains, as it's already a dark room. I need to keep thinking...any suggestions would be appreciated!

Dane's Room
This room still kind of drives me nuts, as paneling is so dark. It's a basement bedroom, which makes it a little cave-like for my taste. Mark, on the other hand, loves it. I think he's hoping Dane will inherit his mole ways so they can sit in a dark living room and watch TV together:) We added bright bedding, a rug, all white furniture and frames and it's actually not so bad now.

We repainted a Goodwill corkboard and resale shopt photo of a pelican, repurposed some old cork flooring samples as the backdrop for some sailboat drawings and cut up some mock-ups of an author book from when I was at Tyndale to make the "Imagine" poster.
Drawings of the Cobra that Mark hopes to build with him someday, and then some other car I found online.
Freehand letters in orange and yellow scraps from my fabric closet.
These built-in shelves are one great quality of the room. Excellent for storing all the books and toys we're beginning to accumulate.
We went with a bright, yet masculine scheme of yellow, orange and blue, getting all of our bedding/rug/ etc from Crate and Barrel Outlet. Love that place!

Upstairs Hall
For our upstairs hallway, we wanted to cover the scuffed inconsistent "white" so we mixed up a lighter gray from the one we used in the baby room and primer. It's a soothing color that adds life to the hall without darkening it significantly.

Lastly, we finally hung the Bobbsey Twins books using sawtooth hangers nailed into the back covers. Two tiny holes in the back, and we can always pull them out once we're ready to read them together!

3 days

2010-09-09T17:28:00.002-05:00

I'm officially 3 days away from having our little girl, of course, barring any early labor. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone and how different it's been in every way. I've now been pregnant and growing for almost 2 months longer than I was with Dane. I feel huge. I feel tired. And most of all, I feel worried that I won't be able to give two kids what I need to, and was able to up to this point with Dane. I can't imagine what it will be like when I'm not able to give him my full attention when he needs it. I feel a tremendous amount of guilt at cutting his time as my only baby so short, especially when he seems to be entering an age of heightened awareness and neediness. I will miss our quiet mornings and evening book reading together. I tear up when I think about having to share my love with another child, like I'm taking something from him. Everyone I've spoken to says it will turn out great, that being so close in age will make our kiddos best friends, closer than they could be if they were further apart. I realize that they will have to share so many things, and am trying to keep my mind on the positive. It's so hard when my emotions are already experiencing crazy highs and lows.

Dane will always be my first baby, and I have an irrational fear that I'll never be able to love a girl the same way. I do remember having similar thoughts before Dane arrived, thinking that I didn't know how I could love a person I'd never met. All I can say is that I love him more than I knew possible. In a completely different way than I've loved before, but in a way that is almost more powerful and consuming. I have to believe that the same will be true with our new little song. Despite having no plan for how quickly our family grew, both Mark and I think that God let it happen this way for a reason. She's going to be an amazing new blessing and we look forward to meeting our fourth soon.

The push before the big push, part 1

2010-09-05T21:08:00.008-05:00

In the last week before we have our second little one, I (and Mark by default) have gotten into full-on nesting mode, finishing a ton of projects we've been meaning to do for months. Here are some of the projects we've done in the last few days.

Master Bedroom

Our room has always been the last to get attention, but once I finished painting our tiny bathroom (from a dark mauve) light sea blue, I decided it would be great in our room as well. We also have a hand-me-down blue metal bedframe, that while functional, was not beautiful. I decided to sew covers for the head and foot board, creating a fabric wrap that definitely updated the look of the bed. A beautiful sheet set we received for our wedding had gotten a hole in it, so I patched that and used it for the covers. I'm not a pro, but was still happy with how they turned out.

We also finally got around to hanging curtains: lightblockers that make the occasional late morning so much more pleasant. We used tension rods that are pretty ugly, but they were cheap, and that works for now:)

Finally, we found a great deal on a large mirror at home goods, which adds a little light and function to the room. I can fully see how large I'm getting at 38 weeks!
Baby Room

We put all the finishing touches on the baby's room; she'd better come out a girl, or we're going to be finding new homes for a lot of pink and fuschia stuff! We completed all the painting, including a new squirrel and a secret message from Daddy. We found a great rug and pendant light at Crate and Barrel outlet, expertly installed by Mark.

I also covered a cheap lampshade with tissue, topping off a clearance lamp from HomeGoods. Complete cost was less than $20. That's my kind of lamp.

Finally, we found a couple old photos of Mark and I as babies, and blew them up so we can compare our new one and argue about who she looks more like. Our final project will be to mount a set of old Bobbsey Twins books, which we found at an antique store near the hospital Mark works at.

Still to come: Dane's room, upstairs hall, powder room

New house project roundup

2010-07-27T09:53:00.009-05:00

Baby Room

This was the biggest project other than just repainting the living area. We painted the walls a cool gray (notice how the previous almost-fluorescent green is gone. Nothing like fluorescents to calm a baby...), painted a rug, created a mural, hand-sewed a mobile and refinished a couple pieces of furniture, including an old record player cupboard that we ripped the insides out of and repainted. Another nice dumpster pick from Wheaton Center.

The inspiration for the room is a birch forest, but we wanted it to be modern and girly. Hence we added the fuschia curtains and the fuschia, pink, orange and yellow birds.

I also painted one of the walls in our carpeted living room, creating stripes with the two colors that we used for the raindrop wall in our last apartment. You can see that wall here. It definitely brightens the room, but I'm not sold on it yet. Although, I'm at the burned out phase for that project, so it's done for a while either way! Dane did his best to help:)

We also hung a photo grouping of frames that we'd gotten in the old apartment, matching the paint.

Next up on the list is painting the bathroom, our bedroom and finally, the upstairs hall. All this before the baby gets here, right?

Curtains

2010-06-28T17:10:00.003-05:00

Finally, we're mostly moved in. The old lease ends Wednesday and it'll be great to have all those loose ends tied up. The house we moved into came with some pretty yucky curtains in the living room, not to mention a color scheme that made me gag. Picture flesh tone + sage green. Ew. So after days of repainting everything a cool grey and white, I finally got the awesome fabric I ordered on Etsy. It's beautiful! So, over the last couple days, I finished up the curtains (6 panels!) for our living room. Brightens things right up!

Dumpster pick up

2010-06-07T19:04:00.004-05:00

Our latest find at the dumpsters was a dresser for the Dane man. He's getting to the point where the last dresser we found (on the side of the road) is too small for his ever-growing clothing collection. We found this one, looking pretty dumpy, and had to snatch it up for its potential. It had great lines and cool detail, and was FREE, perfect for refinishing! Below are the before and after photos. It only took 4 (ha ha, only...) coats of white gloss and $3 worth of scratch dent handles from Ikea, and it's good as new. Probably better, really:)

Guac...in 10 ten seconds or less

2010-04-14T19:47:00.003-05:00

Mark and I discovered a shared love of homemade guacamole shortly after we met, thanks to my good friend, Sarah Kahler, a guacamole-maker extraordinaire. Not only is it easy to find the ingredients all summer long in grocery stores, cilantro is also a simple thing to grow on the porch, so we like to grow what we can. Recently, while making pureed fruit and veggie cubes for Dane, we thought we might try doing a batch of guac for ourselves. We couldn't eat it all, so we tried freezing it. Amazing! Frozen into ice cube trays, we're able to defrost them for a couple seconds and bam! guac for a taco. So easy. That's my kind of snack:)

Mark and Larissa's Mostly Homemade Guacamole

4 avocados (we've liked the Haas variety)

2 tomatoes (medium, on-the-vine, or home grown)

1/2 bunch cilantro (we like a LOT of cilantro, add based on your taste preference)

2 tbs. lime juice

1/2 cup store bought salsa (it's so much easier than seasoning separately)

salt and pepper to taste

We seed and mash the avocados to a slightly chunky texture, cut the tomatoes to 1/2 inch cubes, or smaller for Dane. Dice the cilantro finely, add the lime juice, s & p, and stir. Voila! Delicious on grilled chicken tacos, with chips, or really even just by the spoonful if you're Mark:)

While it's not quite the same as fresh, when Dane's had a rough day and we haven't had time to get to the store, it makes for a great summer dinner fast.

Mexican getaway

2010-03-17T20:22:00.008-05:00

Just got back from our "babycation" with our good friends the Swees to Cancun. I hadn't yet been out of the country, so decided that Mexico was a perfect place to use my newly minted passport. Here's our photo journal of the trip:)

Phew

2010-03-17T20:15:00.006-05:00

Life, if you couldn't tell by the frequency of posts, has been a little crazy since we found out we were pregnant again! I just wanted to add some of the photos we took on our date downtown, sans the babe, for St. Patrick's Day. We had a great time watching the river turn green, despite the rain. And our dinner at Hub 41 on Friday night was fantastic! Two thumbs up for adult time alone:)

Breakfast

2010-01-22T10:16:00.002-06:00

It's always a good day when I have time (and energy!) to make a real breakfast to enjoy with Mark, and in this case my sis. Blueberry pancakes with apricot maple syrup...mmm:)

Button Bib Necklace

2010-01-06T08:43:00.002-06:00

One of the gifts I made this Christmas was a bib-necklace. Statement necklaces were all the rage this year, big and chunky or in layers and layers. I realized that I had a bunch of really great buttons laying around and they were either no longer associated with clothing I still owned or I'd completely forgotten what they'd belonged to at one point. It was super simple to do and a cute, fun idea for yourself or a gift.

Start by choosing a base fabric. With bib necklaces, more substantial fabric is better, as it will hold it's shape.

Next, lay out the buttons in the shape you'd prefer. It's called a bib necklace because of the half moon shape, so try to generally keep that idea in mind to create a good lay on your neck. Once I found the layout I liked, I snapped a quick photo to help as I moved and replaced the buttons while sewing.

Cut the fabric around your button layout leaving about a 1/4-1/2 inch selvage edge. Sew the buttons on in your desired pattern. At this point, I added a second fabric on the back, a swiss dot lace, with the edges peeking out. Finally, I used sewing tape for the tie, but you can use whatever you have around. The fun of this is that within the basic shape, you can kind of just let your imagination go, and embellish to your heart's content. Feathers, sequins, beading, tassels, buttons, other reused pieces of old jewelry...the bolder the combination, the bolder the statement necklace.

Rainbow food

2010-01-03T21:05:00.005-06:00

Dane's started to work on solids, and hence, I've started to make baby food for him. I was daunted at first, but it turned out to be incredibly simple. We have an amazing restaurant-grade blender, and so it turned out be just a matter of cooking then pureeing the foods. After putting them into ice cube trays and freezing them, I have bags of delicious pure fruits and veggies at my finger tips. Freezing them allows me to keep a wider variety of foods available, as I don't have to worry about timing the ripening correctly or keeping watch for food getting old. Below is a current list of great fruits and veggies to work with.

Veggies - Sweet potato, snow peas, squash, carrots and Dane's personal favorite, avocado

Fruits - Mango, banana, blueberries (although this one stains things so badly that I've stopped making it recently), strawberries

We've also recently added tofu, which was kind of a challenge to make in a form that Dane liked. I ended up making a smoothie out of tofu, mango, passion fruit and strawberries that he loves. This is runny when thawed, so I just add a bit of oatmeal and it becomes the perfect consistency.

If you like the idea of making baby food but don't have time to cook everything, you can also use high-quality frozen fruits, or steam in the bag veggies.

Some of our favorite ornaments

2009-12-11T20:31:00.003-06:00

As Mark and I have slowly built our life together, we've collected a few ornaments along the way. From the tiny airplane with moving propeller that he gave me when I flew to FL with them our first Christmas while engaged, to the glittering silver droplets my mom gave us for our first tree married, to our new ornament commemorating Dane's first year with us, they represent many great moments in our lives. Even on nights that Mark's away, I love sitting in our living room with the tree shining in the corner and just feeling warm knowing how lucky we are. It's been so lovely to be reassured over and over this year that God brought Mark and I together for a reason; we hope to have many more trees together and continue to add ornaments representing all the times we will cherish with each other. What ornaments mean the most to you?

My alma mater makes me proud

2009-12-09T20:26:00.000-06:00

Holiday deals

2009-12-01T09:18:00.005-06:00

Mark and I have always loved a good bargain, and we hit the jackpot again this weekend with a trip to the Crate and Barrel outlet. We had both sides of the family over for Thanksgiving this year and with our first real dining table, it was time to find some things to dress it. When we got there, we made a beeline for the clearance shelves and bins in the back. I had been looking for a great tablecloth, but the ones not on clearance were still over $60 bucks, so we decided to pass that up. While sifting through the bedding bins, I found a beautiful king-size duvet cover. It ended up being the perfect table cloth, and for only 24 dollars, we had a much more elegant table. We used some old drawer pulls we'd rescued from a defunct dresser for placards, a candelabra and candles left over from our wedding. Finally, I bought real napkins from Target and a bracelet from Kohls that we made eight napkin rings from. All in all, we had a great time making our own non-traditional, traditional-looking Thanksgiving table. At C&B, we also found a bin of ornaments for .95 each. Every one was different and beautiful. To unify them, I stuck to a palette of silver. We'll make use of these soon, as Christmas is quickly approaching!

Bedroom Style

2009-11-22T08:55:00.003-06:00

You always hear that when a house is being renovated/redecorated, the bedroom is the last place to go. Whether that's because no one sees it but you, or it's too much of a hassle to tear apart your place of rest, it definitely seems to be true. It certainly has been true in our apartment. We've painted and arranged, searched craigslist for our first real dining table, contemplated colors, etc, until finally, we feel like we're home. During this flurry of activity, however, our bedroom has become more and more decrepit. First, it was just disorganized. Then we actually bought matching side tables. But the old ones are still living in the room. We craigslisted an ikea coffee table for the living room and now the previous one is taking up residence at the foot of the bed. While painting the other rooms and hanging frames, all the extra materials were conveniently set in our room, out of sight of guests, never to leave. I'm so tired of having to sidestep coffee tables, old blankets from college, piles of things for goodwill and other projects, as I'm just trying to get into bed at night. The one time I can truly feel relaxed and like no one needs me. The clutter and junk is like static in my head. I think it's time to clean it away and make our bedroom as comforting as the rest of our house. Accordingly, I've been working on what I want it to end up as, and have decided to do a neutral space for the first time in my life. I'm a huge fan of color and pattern, of bold and big. For our room, though, we really need peace. We see so little of each other now, and sitting in bed at night is our true moment of zen each day, especially on the ones Mark's home. I want our room to reflect that. I also want it to be warm and enveloping, our own little cocoon, that is (at least we can pretend) free of all the usual stressors (ie the moniter...). Hence, I think we're going to go with a darker color on the walls, which I've also stayed away from in the past. I've also been on a Hollywood Regency design kick lately, loving the chinese-inspired details and the general poshness of it all. I'm not sure Mark will go for foo dogs, but we'll see. I found this site this morning, with lots of fun ideas. I'm in love with the wallpaper, which we won't be able to do, but perhaps I can figure out how to do it with tape and paint. I also really love in the bottom photo how they've used a lot of traditional Regency elements, but still allowed it to be eclectic and fun.

Fair Madison

2009-11-17T09:52:00.004-06:00

Our little family recently took a great trip back to Madison (which we still sort of see as our hometown) to visit Mark's parents. It was wonderful to see them and also wonderful to know that they were as eager to hang out with Dane as we were to let them have him! Mark and I spent the whole day together on Saturday, something we get WAY too few chances to do these days. We started the morning by heading to the last Farmer's Market of the year at the Capitol. We enjoyed some of the best pumpkin nut bread I've ever had and a strawberry-rhubarb hand pie while walking around the Square and checking out all the late fall produce and crafts.

Next up on the schedule was Ultimate Frisbee, something Mark and I used to do every Saturday morning. It was so great to get there and see all of our good friends from Blackhawk again. Although the game seemed to go on forever (given our current fitness level, not a surprise), it was too short a time to be with them and catch up. Such a blessing though, to be out playing frisbee on a gorgeous fall day at the zoo! Next, Mark and I took a quick trip back to his parents' house to clean up and check on the little bean. He, of course, was great, because of all the attention being lavished on him by his grandparents! We showered and stopped at Jimmy John's for some lunch, then headed out to the Pheasant Branch conservatory, where we've been checking out some houses online. We're not sure we'll end up in Madison yet, but it's been fun to dream about it anyway! From there, we drove out in the country surrounding Middleton to look at a few more homes and make a quick stop at Appleberry Farm. After dinner with the Andersons, we got dressed up and went out on a real date. After walking up and down State Street to wake up a bit (we haven't been up until 10 in a LONG time), we hit the Ivory Room, a piano bar. We put in our request for some Ben Folds and finagled ourselves a loveseat. While we sipped on cocktails, we sang along, did some people-watching, and just enjoyed being ourselves, alone, together. What a treat, and how it makes us remember why we need to enjoy these moments when we have them!

It's the clothes that make the man

2009-11-17T09:40:00.003-06:00

Well, in this case maybe it's more like the clothes make the mom...happy. I met a couple friends from work for lunch a few weeks ago, from all spectrums of mom-hood. From one with older boys, to a new mom like myself, to a pregnant mom, to a maybe-mom-down-the-road. During our lunch, I was talking to the mom of the older boys, who became a very close friend while I was at Tyndale. She's given me great advice and been there to laugh and cry over all the craziness of the last year with me. I had dressed Dane up for the day, but typically, when I was at home, had been in the habit of just leaving him in his footie jammies. It just didn't seem worth it to get him all dressed up only to have him spit up or wipe snot across the new clothes minutes later. My good friend said something along the lines of, "I bet you're getting fun clothes for him!" To which I replied, "Well, yeah, sort of." It made me think though, about how I sometimes have been so caught up in the basics of taking care of him and keeping him well, that I forget to do the fun little things that make all the harder stuff more bearable. I talked to Mark about it and we decided it was time to buy some clothes for our little guy, clothes that I liked and picked out especially for him. We truly appreciated all the hand-me-down stuff that we've gotten, but it was so much fun to go to Target and BabyGap with Dane, and actually choose a few outfits. From a grey, green and orange striped onesie with little green sweatpants, to a bright red polo with a neat elephant printed on it to the bright orange chenille jacket below (that accentuates the orange hair), we've really enjoyed seeing our little man look so grown-up. Some days, we swear he looks like a toddler to us! All in all, thanks, Babs, for the reminder to enjoy the little things that we can do right now!

AND...relax...

2009-11-17T09:37:00.002-06:00

The perfect snack, with Dane napping and the cold wind whipping the trees outside, for getting caught up on blogs and emails. Natural super chunky peanut butter and a banana.

Eating my feelings

2009-11-13T10:54:00.004-06:00

So, one of the things I've realized since I started staying home with Dane is that when I'm stressed, I eat. When I'm lonely, I eat. When I'm bored, I eat. NOT good combined with more time sitting on the couch while Dane naps. I've always loved sweets, etc, but have really realized how little self-restraint I have when I'm alone and not busy. It's been frustrating to realize what's happening and still feel like I have no ability to control myself. In my past life, when I've been busiest, it's been easiest to keep in shape. When I have a schedule full of other people, I focus on that and eating isn't on my mind. Hence, I've realized that in my current life, one in which my visits with other people are few and far between, I'm filling that void with food. Does a rice krispies bar make me feel better long term? Not at all. But for some reason, it makes me feel decent in that moment. While I haven't been outwardly gaining weight, I have been feeling slower and have had much less energy than normal. Some of that is due to the lack of sleep lately (Dane's sick again, for the fifth week in the last three months), but I know that all the sugar isn't helping either.

I recently visited my sister in Miami, and one of the things she observed, just from talking to me, was that she thought I was alone too much. With Mark working between 60 and 90 hours a week this year, he can't be the support I need in that area. With all the craziness of Dane's birth and development, I've had trouble meeting other moms. I have a few friends from Tyndale, but my days are mostly spent keeping Dane happy. I've made a point to work out 4-5 days a week, and while I've met a few people at the sport center, I haven't actually been going long enough to make friends yet. So basically, I'm realizing how important community is for me to be the happiest I can be. It truly affects all areas of my life. I'm thankful God is making this apparent to me, never more so than this weekend, when I was able to spend some quality time with my best friend in Madison. The real challenge now is to do something about it. Since my good friends are now spread out all over the country, but not nearby, my goal is to make close friends nearby. Everyone needs to share their life with others. I'm going to start praying more about it, and would appreciate your prayers as well!

Food for Dane's imagination!

2009-10-22T15:45:00.003-05:00

Especially in the last couple weeks, as Dane's been teething, I've realized the superiority of wood over plastic. Dane's favorite teether has not been all the bright, fun-shaped plastic freezer toys, but a plain, wooden spoon, carved by one of our parents friends. We made sure it was incredibly smooth, with no chance for splinters, of course. He loves it. We wrap toys around it, put bright socks on the end of it, and he bangs away, or chews the heck out of it depending on the day. Hence, I've been looking for more wooden toys with a little more lasting power than some of the other stuff we've gotten and I found these amazing German toys. Made by a company called Gluckskafer, they're beautiful and simple, things that will spark Dane's imagination rather than creating scenarios for him. Check them out!

Room for Color contest! Please vote!

2009-10-12T15:40:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone - guess what? Mark and I entered our apartment in a Room for Color contest on a blog we follow, ApartmentTherapy. We chose to enter our great room, including the living and dining area. The photos were posted as of noon today and are already getting great feedback. If we get the most thumbs-ups, we'll move on to the finals. Please check it out, and vote for our house if you like it. Thanks:)

Fall Cookies!

2009-10-09T11:05:00.003-05:00

During Dane's naps over the last couple days, I managed to make sugar cookie dough, then roll and bake it the next day, then finally, frost it a couple days later. I used my grandma's excellent, easy sugar cookie recipe. As I baked (and tasted:)) the cookies, it brought back many great memories of working on cookies with my mom growing up. Not too sweet or too bland, I always snuck a few of these when mom wasn't looking and probably liked eating the dough just as much as the finished cookies. Making these will be especially fun once Dane gets old enough to enjoy playing with dough and making his own art while decorating them. I've included the cookie recipe below, and the basic royal icing recipe.

Grandma Moyer's Sugar Cookies

1 C shortening

1/2 C margarine

2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 C sour milk (1T lemon juice, 1 C milk)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

6 C flour

Cream shortening, butter and vanilla, add sugar and eggs. Mix dry remaining dry ingredients together, combine with creamed mixture and sour milk. Mix until a soft dough forms. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Roll out and cut; bake on a non-stick or lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for ~7 minutes.

Royal Icing

1 lb. confectioner's sugar

2 egg whites

1/4 to 1/2 C water

Combine ingredients until well-blended and smooth. Thicken with more sugar, thin with water until desired consistency is reached. Let dry for up to a day.

All the While

2009-10-06T09:00:00.009-05:00

Earlier in the summer, my great friend, Andria, took Dane's first professional photos. He was still young enough that he couldn't hold his head up, so she got a lot of shots of him lounging. We decided instead of doing more traditional baby photos that we would focus on color. Although he only gave her about 20 good minutes of awake time, they turned out beautifully, so I wanted to show them off here. You can check out her blog The Prettiest Teacup to see some more of her amazing work, much of it of her own new bundle, just a few months older than the Dane-bear.

Plotting his evil "no sleep for mom and dad" plan for that night

Practicing his freestyle a bit

Kinderware?

2009-09-29T11:54:00.002-05:00

Mark and I took a morning walk on Saturday to the Farmer's Market in downtown Wheaton. In one of the booths, we saw some adorable dolls that looked like they were handcrafted, but were apparently by a brand called Kinderware. Many of the dolls are made up of colorful felt or fleece balls, and I'm wondering how easy it would be to make them at home. For 24-50 dollars a doll, I feel like there has to be a way to create them for less. Anyway, if I can figure it out, I'll pass along the instructions!

Cool Rubber Totes

2009-09-28T10:54:00.003-05:00

Thought this was pretty neat - I've realized I need bags that are more rugged now, as I'm not able to be as careful with stuff while also toting the munchkin. Check out these recycled tire bags - definitely not a typical "green" bag and I'm SURE they're more rugged than my current canvas purse. It does make me wonder what they smell like though; I could definitely do without that fresh rubber smell.

Craving a change

2009-09-25T19:49:00.005-05:00

What do you think of the brown? On a whim today, I decided it was cold enough to get rid of the bleached out blond from the summer and go dark. Over the last year, I've become much more comfortable changing up my look. After dyeing my hair for the first time last winter, I realized that it's a much less life-altering decision than I had previously felt. And it's a fun change:) What little things do you do to indulge the need for change in your everyday life?

Calzones at home!

2009-09-25T18:57:00.003-05:00

Tonight, Mark's bro, Steven, visited us and we made delicious calzones. Good for a crappy rainy day! They're easy when you use Rhode's bread dough for the crust. The "recipe" is below, if you can call it that, as they're so simple to put together. Nothing like calzones and some Funniest Home Videos on the couch:)

Home Calzones - makes 4 calzones

1 roll of Rhode's frozen bread dough

pizza sauce

any pizza toppings you like

oregano, basil, pepper

Plan on 5-8 hours for thawing and raising the dough

Put a frozen loaf in a pan you've coated with cooking spray. It will end up growing about 4 times it's original size, so use a 9 x 13 pan, especially if you're doing multiple loaves.

Cover with wax paper or saran wrap coated in cooking spray.

Allow to rise for 5-8 hours.

Once the dough is ready, split each loaf into 4 even balls (or fewer if you want larger calzones)

Stretch until about 6-8 inches in diameter.

Fill one half with cheese, sauce, toppings and spices; seal by folding the other side over and pressing the edges together.

You can also add an egg white or milk wash for a nicer golden brown.

Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Excellent (super easy) soup recipe

2009-09-23T17:15:00.002-05:00

For all of you that like the ease of crock pot cooking, I finally tried a great recipe from one of my Tyndale friends. It takes about 10 minutes to put together and then after about 6-8 hours, is awesome. Mark and I make it without the green chiles, as he's spice-averse:) It's an excellent recipe for freezing and reheating, and since it's so simple, great to make a double batch and enjoy for weeks to come. It would also be tasty with a nice batch of corn bread. Which will be especially nice now that the cool, crispness of fall is on it's way.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 chicken breast halves

2 15-oz. cans black beans, undrained

2 15-oz. cans Mexican stewed tomatoes, or Rotel tomatoes (I use regular diced sometimes, too)

1 cup salsa (mild, medium or hot – whatever you prefer)

4-oz. can chopped green chilies

14½-oz. can tomato sauce

Tortilla chips

Grated cheese

1.) Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in large slow cooker.

2.) Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours.

3.) Just before serving, remove chicken breasts and slice into bite sized pieces. Stir into soup.

4.) To serve, put a handful of chips in each individual soup bowl. Ladle soup over chips. Top with cheese and green onions.

MMMM.

Mad for plaid (walls)!

2009-09-22T19:50:00.000-05:00

My project today, and for the last couple weeks has been painting our foyer walls in a wild plaid to brighten up a naturally dark and boring space. Well, it definitely won't be boring after this.

Along the way, we had some problems with the underlayer detaching from the wall. Not much we can do about that, but at least the mirror on the wall covers the entire torn up patch. It's hard to see all your hard work falling apart!

I started with the same blues we've used in the other rooms in our house, and then layered on a black stripe.

Which I hated. Crap. I didn't want to make it look like a jail cell...so after our incredibly busy last couple weeks, we finally went out and decided on a new color. It's called Ashwood, and is gorgeous! We originally wanted to go with grey, like in the rest of our house, but I decided that I wanted something a little warmer, so we went with a warm, almost taupe-y grey. We originally bought it for our bedroom, but I realized that the lighter shade would be a great fix for the jail bars:) We ended up with a much more neutral, monochromatic scheme. Love it, finally!

Our first real vacation!

2009-09-22T19:19:00.001-05:00

Mark and I have been way out of the loop the last couple weeks due, in part, to our first vacation without Dane. It was definitely something we considered for a while before doing, but with Mark's limited schedule, it ended up being now or in a few months. We've both been feeling a little stir crazy with our very repetitive and lonely days lately. My mom and dad were kind enough to take the little man for 6 days, with our Aunt Laura filling in a for a few days. I know it wasn't a huge burden for them to take him, as they loved every minute. I really thought I'd be perfectly fine, but about 5 minutes after we pulled out of the driveway to start the trek to MN, I started crying. I guess when you put what seems like 24 hours a day for 6 months, you get a little attached:) As Dane's personality comes out more and more, we both fall more and more in love with the happy little guy he is. His giggle is the best part of many of our days:)

So after Mark doing a great job of calming me down, we continued on to New Hope, MN to visit some of our great friends, John and Jodie Swee. We met them through fun stuff at Blackhawk Church in Madison, like Frisbee and small groups, and have realized over time that they're like our couple double in many ways. We had some great times, including a delicious meal at Burger Joe's, a wicked game of Settlers of Catan, and even a barfing kitty, thanks to our housewarming gift. Ooops! It was a very good, relaxing time together and with them, something much needed for both of us. Mark was even sweet enough to run out and find a pharmacy for me at 11 at night when my allergies kicked in for the first time in years.

Then we continued back to Madison to see a close friend whose father had passed away after fighting through brain tumors. I've been so inspired by her strength and hope in God, given all the difficulties they've been through this year.

The following day, Mark's dad got us tickets for the Badger game, which was awesome. it went into double overtime, but fortunately the Badgers still prevailed. It was great; excellent seats, only in the sun for the last quarter, so not too much of a bad sunburn:) We had then planned on going to our friend Lucas' law school grad party, but for the first time in our lives, we had to get back to the little one. It was truly a wonderful week, and we made it without any disasters, so that was encouraging.

Bleeding for light?!

2009-09-22T12:29:00.000-05:00

I was just checking out some of the fun stuff on a blog I follow, and what the heck did I find?! Not sure I love this...but I guess if it really would make people be more frugal with their energy use, it's not such a bad thing:) I wonder how many people would actually USE the lamp once purchased. It's an interesting idea.

Step 1!...or, wait, I guess this is step two...

2009-09-03T09:01:00.001-05:00

Finally, I started the process of working on the stuff I want to put on Etsy! Dane gave me a great 2.5 hour nap on Monday and hence, I had time to start the chair project. I was able to find a number of old magazines around the house and started cutting. While this is as good a place to start as any, I still need to find a chair and without the chair, well, it definitely won't be a chair project:) If anyone knows good places to find old wooden chairs for super cheap (my last one was on the side of the road), let me know! I was so excited at how ideas started flowing once I got started...I remember now why I loved this so much!

Yummy Salad

2009-09-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to put up this super easy salad/dressing recipe that I saw on the Rachel Rae show. So simple, but you can vary depending on what fruit you have around the house that day. The great thing is the dressing. We've done strawberry, but are going to try doing an apricot jam with mandarin oranges next.

Salad - fresh spinach, or baby lettuce mix, sliced fruit, pecans, granola, whatever you like (we've done bean sprouts, trail mix, dried cranberries as well)

Dressing - 3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil, 3 tsp. balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp. jam or jelly, in these proportions to whatever size you need. Whisk until well blended, drizzle over salad.

Yay!

2009-08-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

New pair of running shoes, happy little bug babbling on his mat, Mark's not on call this weekend! It's going to be good:)

Ch...ch...ch...changes

2009-08-27T16:09:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of having lunch today with a few of my good friends from Tyndale. During lunch, they all asked how things were going being at home and it made me reflect a little bit on all that's different in the last few weeks. It's been amazing to not be torn between work and work at home; I love that I'm starting to learn more about Dane and how he operates. It's great to know the difference between an "I'm hungry" cry and an "I'm tired" cry. I also get the pleasure of being around during his happy times, when I was previously at work. I now have time to plan our dinners better and do more stuff around the house, creative and just cleaning-type stuff. Overall, I really think this was the best choice we could have made for this time in our lives. However, I was at a complete loss today, as I filled out the box for "occupation" on a passport application. What am I now? I realized how secure I'd been in my ability to have a good job and pay my way. Now that I no longer have the typical "job" I was used to, I don't really know what my occupation is. However, if it consists of what I do all day, my title will NOT fit in the box provided. I'm a comforter-bottledeliverer-burpcloth-decorativepainter-householdchef-masteroflaundry-casualphotographer-juggleroflife who collapses into my intern husband's arms on the nights he's not overnight at the hospital...how life has changed! And let me remind myself here that my value comes not from all that I'm learning to do and love, but from the One who first loved me. If I can just keep this in mind, I'll be able to enjoy this time of our lives for all it's worth.

The colors of our house

2009-08-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

When we just moved, we decided to switch things up a bit. This is something that, as long as I'm not an interior designer with other people's homes to decorate, will continue happening to wherever we're living. We've gone through a change for each home we've lived in since getting married, going from teal and various reds,

to teal, red and various greens,

to teal and various oranges/reds. I love being able to constantly change up our surroundings. It keeps things interesting (at least for me) and gives both Mark and I a creative outlet, which we're sorely lacking in this stage of life.

Our most recent addition to this scheme was a desk we found by the dumpsters, just right for our printer and a few office-y things. We did a quick cleanup and added a new drawer-pull, and voila, free desk! That matches our stuff! Here are some of the colors and textures that we currently have in our living room.

Something I'll never get tired of

2009-08-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

Seeing Mark wake up the babe in the morning. It's when Dane's at his smiliest and it's excellent to see them grinning at each other. Makes me very happy!

Furniture on the cheap

2009-08-06T07:20:00.000-05:00

This week home has been surprisingly busier than I expected (you all told me it would happen!). While I haven't had much time to start working on Etsy stuff, I have managed to do some actual baking and cooking, along with starting to get the house back together after a week away! Yesterday, Mark and I made a great find near the dumpsters outside our apartment complex. Now, I know that you might associate this with saggy, stinky mattresses, half-dead ficus trees and floor lamps missing shades, but we've actually made a few good finds over the last couple years. This item was a black lacquer desk with a drawer and trestle detailing. It has one pull on the drawer, so I'm hoping to find a cool pull to switch with the existing one. After some minor repair and some major cleaning, we have a great desk that we're going to keep our printer and some office-y stuff on. It goes really well with our other decor, so yay for one man's trash being our treasure:) The best part is that it was free! Our other good finds lately are all mid-century modern or Danish items, including an awesome console dresser for $30 bucks at a resale shop, 4 beautiful (well, beautiful after a coat of spray paint and changing out the black vinyl seat covering for Marimekko fabric) dining chairs for 7.50 each, and a Danish wooden dining table from Craigslist. We've become pros at hitting the scratch/dent section of the Crate and Barrel outlet and Ikea, checking craigslist regularly and knowing which resale shops get the best furniture. Someday we may justify spending actual money on furniture...but I doubt it; it's too much fun to find the real deals:)

Etsy

2009-08-03T17:06:00.000-05:00

This is my first week home and my first project is to start working on an Etsy store. I've got a couple of ideas, including some jewelry and some furniture plans. I'm about to start the first project, a decoupage chair, more modern than the other similar things listed on Etsy. I still need to find a chair to get started on, but in the meantime, I'll be here in the living room, surrounded by baby stuff and magazine pieces:)

Procrastination Friday

2009-07-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yay for cool design stuff we've been looking at this week!

Good stuff to do with all the fabric scraps you have laying around - I know this was helpful for me!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/fabric-textiles/10-easy-ways-to-put-your-fabric-stash-to-use-090781

I'm in love with the dark color of this room. Although, for practical use, you really need to have those high ceilings, or it'd feel like you were living in a cave. It's so dramatic, like a darker version of the periwinkle color I loved when I was little. The little island of warm cognac leather looks so inviting against the dark background.

Lately, we've also had a mild obsession with chandeliers. We bought an excellent one on craigslist, like a vintage George Nelson Bubble Lamp, but much cheaper. I don't love that it's not the pure white of the originals (ours is a cream color), but for a difference of 1200 bucks, I can deal. We removed the contractor special in our apartment's dining room and replaced it with our find. We can hardly wait until we have a house of our own with more than one good spot for fun, hanging lighting. We've been eyeing this one (at DWR), but can't quite justify the price tag. $1200...not sure whose Reach that's Within...not ours.

Mark also sent me a link to this sweet car on Wednesday, the new Mercedes electric, gull-wing sports car. Whoa. I might pass out from too much awesome. The original from 1955, and the new version, set to be available in 2010.

Painting Experimentation

2009-07-23T21:29:00.000-05:00

Our new apartment, while being larger, also ended up feeling more desolate because of the large, generic apartment-white painted rooms. So, in an effort to make our big, white space feel like home, we did a little painting. We've done three rooms so far, with plans to eventually do a couple more, including our bedroom. The only problem is that we'll have to prime over all our hard work when we move out. We had thought about wallpaper (too expensive and messy), textured wall tiles (again, expensive), stenciling (not really on a large enough scale) and finally decided to try painting a pattern. The first is one Mark found online that I was able to reproduce using a large, tagboard stencil that I created. This one took about 6 hours to do, using two colors of paint and realizing about 1/4 of the way in that tagboard doesn't hold up well with wet paint.

The guest bedroom, which our moms are using while staying with us for now and will eventually be Dane's room, was done with a couple widths of painter's tape. We based the design on one used by a decorative painter that is a contributor to ApartmentTherapy's ColorTherapy section. It turned out okay, but if I had to do it over, I'd probably use the wider-width tape on all the portions of the pattern.

Patterned Wall Painting

2009-07-17T16:50:00.000-05:00

In our new apartment, Mark and I decided to paint since we knew we'd be here a while. It makes a place feel so much more like home when the walls aren't stark, apartment-building white. In the living room, we duplicated a pattern we saw on a design blog that Mark follows. It was done using a tagboard template I created and took WAY longer than I thought it would at first. The fact that the tagboard started to warp after the first pattern sure didn't help. But with some creative taping and a very cute extra set of hands from Mark, we were able to finish it.

For Dane's room, I want to use the lighter of the blues from the living room, and use painter's tape to create a geometric pattern. But I want to do something more exciting than the typical stripe. I found this on ApartmentTherapyNY, and thought it would be decently easy to reproduce. For the sake of time, I think I'm going to limit the more complicated swath to a smaller stripe around the top 1/3 of the room. The tape I chose is also about 2 inches, versus this thinner tape. I was toying with the idea of doing a 1/8 turn, making the grid square instead of diamond, or maybe trying to use both thinner and wider tape. Not sure yet how it's going to work. I'll put the results up when I'm done. All of this to say that I need projects! My fear of feeling purposeless in this new phase of life is motivating my creativity like you wouldn't believe. I hand-pitted 2 lbs of cherries today while the babe was sleeping. There has to be an easier way...note to self: buy cherry pitter...

Curtains

2009-07-16T22:38:00.000-05:00

For the Daner's room, I need to make a set of curtains so it remains dark in the morning, since we're now facing the sun. His bedding is Zoo by DwellStudio for Target. What do you think? Other ideas? THese are just a couple of fun fabrics I found today - not necessarily all for his room, but good stuff nonetheless.

Starting at the beginning...again

2009-07-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

As you can see from all the previous blog posts, this isn't something I've been very good at. I'm starting a new chapter of life, being at home to be with our babe, and one of my goals is to rediscover some of the things that used to make me tick. I'm going to work on adding some of the stuff I'm working on and inspired by to this blog, more to keep track of it for myself than anything. I just spent about 30 minutes trying to remember how/where I saw an awesome handmade wallpaper lamp online. Never did find it, but it just goes to show that I need to WRITE STUFF DOWN if I want to keep track of it. I hope you add your thoughts and inspirations as well.

The marathon

2008-08-22T07:50:00.000-05:00

So, I've been thinking a lot lately about how to survive tough things when it never seems to end. My parents have given me the perspective of "you should be thankful you have so much; there are people who are REALLY suffering out there". While I know that's the right way to look at it, that attitude is just not one I can manage when I haven't seen my husband for days, am struggling to find meaning in copying or working on Excel sheets for hours at my job,and realizing that my few friends are SO far away geographically. Mark finished his 6 month journey through medicine and surgery, and despite being done with 70 hours/week, overnights, weekends, just general junk schedule, we're now moving on to even more of the same. We've been living like we're just trying to survive for so long that I wonder if the damage we're doing now to finish school is going to be worth the "payoff" in the end. Exactly what that payoff will consist of is still foggy, like so much else in Mark's (our) journey through med school. So, the questions constantly running through my head lately are these: Is this marathon worth it if we end up so battered at the end that we no longer recognize who we were when we started? Is it possible to have a better attitude through this? Of course, we both want to believe that we have years of enjoying the fruit of our struggles ahead. It's so hard sometimes. At work, I have a post-it note on my computer with 2 Timothy 1:7 on it. "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." Huh. I don't know about you, but my spirit feels like nothing BUT fear right now. I'm not feeling God's power, I'm SO not loving sometimes and if I had any self-discipline at all, I wouldn't be uncomfortable in a two-piece swimsuit for the first time in my life...ew. How do I get to this spirit of power?

We were reading a devotion last night (literally the first one in like 6 months), and it was talking about prayer. It made the point that when our communication with God is clogged because of unrepented sin, we can't expect growth. This is not a new concept for me, but in talking to Mark about it and being intentionally, sort of painfully introspective, I realized that my prayer life is so frequently full of "God please give this person safety; please let Mark's exam go well; thank you for this" that I rarely take time to look at my actions throughout the day and repent for those that I know were wrong.

Could it be that my spirit of fear is brought on by my lack of repentence? That I'm not living in a spirit of power because there's a self-imposed dam blocking what God really wants for me? If this is true, I am able to clear my relationship with God simply by taking time to repent for the sins, big and small that I live in each day. Like a stream clogged by debris after a hard rain, all it takes for a clear, even flow is to move that debris. That's the goal.

Marriage is wonderful...but not what I expected.

2007-11-16T12:55:00.000-06:00

I feel like this statement sums up how I feel lately. I would hazard a guess that I'm not the only who came upon that realization shortly after slipping the wedding rings on for good. Before we were married, I had a picture in my head of how things would be. I saw things like spending sunday afternoons playing frisbee in the park, as sunlight dappled our hair through the leaves (of the huge oak trees we were playing under, duh!). I saw us doing devotions every night, together, growing in love for God with each other. I saw our apartment as a happy place to come home to after a day's work, me sewing things and Mark reading on the couch.

In reality, there are no safe parks near our condo for miles and miles. We're exhausted after work most nights, so instead of taking up self-improving hobbies like sewing, or developing our love for God, we end up collapsing on the couch with dinner, making lunches for the next day, and falling into bed with, at best a kiss or two before Mark starts cocooning into sleep. Hello, rude awakening.

Before all this transpired, we both thought we had prepared fully for the partnership we were about to enter. Due to the long distance relationship, we had spent loads of time on the phone each night, scouring the internet for questions to ask each other.

"Did we already talk about our confrontation styles?"

"I think so. Did I ask you what your favorite Christmas tradition was growing up?"

"Uh, yeah, we just talked about that a couple nights ago."

"Oh"

"What do you want to talk about?"

" I don't have anything."

"Me neither."

"......."

It went on like this until we hit pre-marital counseling through our wonderful, Christ-following, very Bible-based church. We were so excited to have more to talk about until we got to our mentor couple's home and realized immediately that we already knew all of these questions. In fact, we knew them so well we could actually answer for the other person...

Seeking more counsel from our parents proved to bring up no questions we hadn't already discussed with each other, and since we both immediately fit in with our respective "in-laws", it didn't provide much fodder for conversation or confrontation.

Then we got married. The honeymoon was wonderful, full of sun, relaxation, and all the picture-perfect moments I'd always imagined. Already, however, cracks were beginning to form in the unmarred surface of our relationship. I remember stalking down the beach back to the house after a stupid disagreement with Mark, one that had begun because I wanted to take a picture of our names drawn in the sand, and felt he wasn't enthusiastic enough about the idea. I quickly learned that I didn't like annoyed Mark,and he quickly learned that one of the ways I deal with confrontation is to run. On the fight or flight scale, I am fully flight.

These things were just the beginning of the realization that although we both believed we were perfect for each other, that didn't mean either of us were perfect. This is a great thing for couples to realize BEFORE they start living together. If you think your guy walks on air and can do no wrong, wait until it's three in the morning, you're still awake, and want to talk and he's snoring like a lumberjack. If you can't imagine your future wife doing something that could possibly be anything other than adorable, wait until she starts to re-organize your stuff on moving in together.

You can try to prepare in a million ways, but if you don't consciously realize before the wedding that both of you are going to let the other down, you'll be in for a shock. The good news is, as I said above, that even if you're both imperfect people, you can still be perfect for each other.

I'm still alive

2007-04-15T18:12:00.000-05:00

This weekend, my parents and I came down to Chicago to visit Mark and usher a BlueMan Group show. My parents don't get a chance to leave work and home super often, so it was really exciting to have them for the whole weekend. We got all dolled up in our matching outfits of white shirts and black pants and headed downtown. We looked like a herd of waiters who escaped from a restaurant, either that or a group of Jehovah's Witnesses. My parents surprised me and did a great job of getting people to their seat, handing out programs and generally entertaining people with their seemingly unrelated questions (oh wait, that was just my dad;)) We watched the show, and then after a quick change, went to Giordano's for a delightful slice of stuffed pizza. Holy cow, it was good! We finished the pizza fest and headed home to bed. What a great day!

So, the last few months have been some of the most stressful in terms of wedding activity so far. I was thinking about it comparatively to the Epic days, and realized how on my most stressed day now, I'm about 1/10 as stressed as I was at Epic. These thoughts came about because of the sermon we listened to today at our possible future church, Calvary Memorial in Forest Park. It was the story of Ruth and how she chose to seize the opportunity provided to her by God. She made a decision and left the results with God. It felt like an analogy for my life this year. God gave me the opportunity to go to Mexico this summer. I was stressed with work and felt like I had too much on my plate. For some reason, I still felt compelled to go. I did, and met Mark. Then, I had a slightly scary opportunity to leave Epic. As frightening as it was, and despite my lack of understanding why I felt I needed to leave and move to CFACT, I did. It turned out to be the best decision I could have made. So, it was really encouraging today to be reminded of the beauty of making a Godly decision and just trusting that He'll use your obedience to further His purpose for you. I don't believe that making a decision you think is Godly will always end up going exactly as you hoped, but at the very least you know that choosing obedience is taking a step toward God. His purpose, while not always matching our limited view for our lives, will be carried out, and is always, despite short term events, the best thing for us and for His glory.

After that thought-provoking sermon, my family (Mom, Dad and Mark!) sat down at Cosi to enjoy lunch and then headed north. We had an amazing weekend, and once again, I'm reminded of how much I have to be thankful for.

Wow

2007-03-06T11:29:00.000-06:00

So, when I made that last post in October 2005, I didn't realize it would be a year and a half before the next one. My life is completely different, and completely wonderful. God has been working on me, giving me back joy in life. The most significant change is that I am now engaged to the perfect man for me. His name is Mark, and in God's grace, he loves me as much as I love him, despite both our sets of imperfections. We'll be married three months and three days from now in Madison, and then move BACK to Chicago, a place I was sure I'd never live in again. I am SO excited for the next few months, finishing up planning for the wedding and enjoying my last bit of time as Larissa Moyer. Last weekend, Mark and I visited Beth in Stevens Point to watch her do her thing at CRU. She was fantastic and our time together, as usual, was filled with laughter. She is a bright spot in my life! We braved a snowstorm to get there, and then another to get back to Madison the next day. In the process, I came down with a cold, and had to be coddled back to health by Mark, who was on spring break. He's back in Chicago for another week of school now. Poor him! So, those are the updates. I'll be better this time around. I think. On a related note, it might seem weird for me to leave my old post up, but it's part of how I got here, and I like to remember those things, so I can be encouraged by how far I've come.