I've been sitting and therefore I have been crafting.

I have a ton of thank you notes to write.  I have been trying to stay on top of it.  But, I don't just write thank you notes.  I feel compelled to actually make thank you notes.  Draw something,  Pencil in some color.  Add some felt accents.  Each one, individually, for the kind folks who have given so much to us here at the hive.

I love making something from nothing.  I ordered a bunch of felt scraps because that seems like fun.  Why not order scraps and see what you can construct from them.  Here's what I came up with using random shapes.  I loved geometry in high school.  This is how it is useful in the real world.

I also feel very strongly about thank you notes.  It's a dying art.  Handwritten notes are a thing of the past.  I could have just thrown a shout out to all the friends who have showered us with dinners here on the blog.  Hit up their Facebook walls with a quick "what's up and btw thanks."  Twitter a "Thanks for the great eats, you rock our world.  I'm good and Kim Kardashian ain't got nothin' on me."   But that's not okay.  Taking the time to write a heartfelt note, so the recipient knows how much you appreciated their kindness, it's so important.


GO,THANK YOU NOTES!

Mr. Handsome has all the luck.

You know me.  I'm star struck.  Stupid star struck.  Mr. Handsome got lucky today.  He's been Mr. Mom this week, next week too.  He rises to the challenge like no other.  Whilst driving the young bees to swim team (actually to be honest the little bees had been dropped off at this point) Mr. Handsome had a celestial encounter.  An encounter of the coolest kind.  Can you sense my jealousy, my envy?  You gotta be shittin' me kind of encounter.  Driving down the road, minding his own business Mr. Handsome sees a bit of a traffic situation.  Some guy standing by the crosswalk, waving folks (cars through) like bowing graciously and suggesting they just keep driving.  Mr. Handsome is an observer.  He would make a great detective.  Big black bus in the parking lot on the left.  Posse gathering next to said man waving traffic through.  Puffy coat, ear phones, Swagger on said man waving traffic through.

Oh yes it is.  Oh No it isn't.  Snoop F'ing Dogg is waving Mr. Handsome through.  Saying, "go ahead I'll wait.  You drive, I'll cross after you. "

Meanwhile, I'm at home sitting on the couch.  Just sitting, it's what I'm supposed to be doing.  Uuuuggghhh!  I missed Snoop.  Thank God, I would  have made an ass of myself.

Mr. Handsome was so proud, so excited.  He rolled down the window and called out "Peace, Snoop!"  Snoop peaced back.  Mr. Handsome is WAY cooler than me.  Thank God it was him and not me.

Add "Sensual Seduction by Snoop Dogg" to my Life Soundtrack.

You think I'm Crazy? I got your Crazy.

Okay, I have returned.  Open for business, ready to rock, bring on the noise, bring on da' funk.  Actually I just got rid of the funk so let's leave that be.  Keep your funk.  So in the last 3 weeks, I have managed to gain some perspective.  No one wrapped it up for me in a pretty little box with a big silk ribbon.  It was sort of thrown at my face like a snowball.  And then that big bully who threw it at me stood there and pointed and laughed.

So after picking myself up and then sticking my tongue out at the bully, I learned something new.  I have an amazing support system around me.  The kindest friends you could ever imagine.  They call to check in, they listen to me talk about parts of my body they didn't ever want to hear about.  They made my family dinner and cookies and brought wine and cookies.  They have lifted us up.

Now there's my family.  Do you see that up there?  That craziness?  It's the most amazing craziness you could ever asked for.  I took about 10 years off my parent's lives, 3 weeks ago.   I believe I have given those 10 years back with a positive diagnosis, a good attitude and a crap load of humor.  My parents are a force to be reckoned with.  Research the problem, check.  Play Devil's Advocate to be sure you are asking ALL of the questions you should be asking, check.  Supply toothbrushes for the children at their home in case of an emergency sleepover, check.  They are always available.  They don't ask too many questions, they figure it out on their own.  It all runs smoothly when they arrive and scoop.

The birdhouse above was constructed by The Mother of All Mothers.  She transfered much of her creative-craziness to me in utero.  Now that I am 40, I see it more and more everyday.  It's not just the creativity.  It's the way we process things.  It's the way we parent.  There are so many similarities.  I kinda know what I'm going to look like in 29 years.  I kinda know how I will act in 29 years.  I totally know how Ladycakes will feel about me in 29 years (if all goes well.)  29 years from now will be awesome.

Thank you for everything, Everybody.  Here at the Hive, we would have been a sad bunch of bees without you.  When ever any of you are down, please let us bring you a little honey.  We owe you.

Every New Beginning is Another Beginning's End.

So I am going dark for a few days.  Have a few things that have to be taken care of.  Don't miss me too much.  I'll be back.  Perhaps on some pain meds which will either make me totally annoying or even more inspiring.  I might set up a poll on the sidebar just to keep track of that.  We'll see.  Good luck in the days to come.

1.  Create something pretty.  Glue something to something else.
2.  Enjoy your children, even when they are whining about the dinner you just served them.
3.  Scratch your pets, and them put some jerky on your face.  They will love you forever.
4.  Go to McDonald's, their Happy Meal toys are super annoying and worth all of $4.58.
5.  Do something great for the Earth.  I'm thinking just go for a walk and look around.  The Earth is a really pretty place.  Check out the birds.  Someone let me know that Valentine's Day is often when birds pick their mates.  

In fact, I challenge all of you to make all five things mentioned above happen.

Take a child (it doesn't matter if it's your child) to McDonald's and buy them a Happy Meal.  Keep the signature box that Happy Meals come in.  Come home, remove any remaining fries.  Save them for later.  Cut out a door on one side of the Happy Meal box.  Now glue some embellishments onto the box.  Feathers, beads, glitter, birdseed, fabric scraps, paper scraps.  You name it, just glue.  Now take that Happy Meal box and hang it in a tree for all of those horny,Valentine birds.  If they are going to get it on, at least the can have some privacy.  Go back inside and let your pets eat the remaining fries off your face.  You will laugh your ass off.

See you in a few days Ladies and Gentleman.

Add "Closing Time" by SemiSonic to My Life Soundtrack.

One Small Change

So I have a ritual in the morning.  After tending to the needs of the little bees, I make my way to the computer and waste a ton of time reading the blogs in my blog roll and then bouncing around all over cyberspace reading other blogs.  But while doing this, I learn stuff, lots of stuff!

While visiting The Prairie Girl, I became aware of a little challenge called One Small Change.  I read further.  It's a challenge to make one small change a month to make our lives a little greener.  Here at the Hive, we think we are green.  We are so not green.  We buy LOTS of new stuff.  Some of us leave the lights on in our rooms (Ladycakes!)  We do like 50 loads of laundry a week (Me!)  We eat at McDonald's.  We have a Wii and we play it a lot.  We have a ton of work to do.

So with a name like "One Small Change"  I feel less intimidated.  We can do this.  However, I'm making each of us take the challenge.  Not just one challenge for the whole family.  Everyone has to suffer with me.

Here is what we are committing to this month.

Ladycakes will turn off the lights in her room and closet EVERY time she leaves that space.

Mr. Handsome will program the thermostat to hold steady at 68 degrees during the day.  We currently hover at 70 degrees.

Q will walk to school at least one morning a week unless the weather does not permit.

Elvis will try wearing a pair of pants or pajamas more than once before throwing them in the hamper.

I will boss them all around and remind them that they are not green!  Just kidding.  I promise to bring out the cloth napkins, walk with Q on the days he walks to school and remember to take my re-usable bags to the grocery store.

It's a gentle start for us and this challenge.  I think we can do it.  Next month, we will dig a little deeper.

Who wants to join us?



Add "It's Not Easy Being Green" sung by Kermit the Frog to My Life Soundtrack.

They don't get cheaper by the dozen.

 
It's Ladycakes' 12th birthday.  A dozen years since she was born.  It seems like yesterday.  It seems like a lifetime ago.  12 year olds are hilarious and scary.  They are still little kids but there is a glimpse of maturity.  It's a sliver of a glimpse but it's there.

For her birthday, the two of us went and had a pedicure.  I used to tell people I was a foot model.  Seriously, I would say that my feet were the feet they saw in Dr. Scholl's ads and they believed me.  We loved getting our piggies painted together.  I can't believe she's mine.

Ladycakes, you are amazing.

Ladycakes is one of the kindest young ladies I know.  She's careful with her thoughts, her words and her actions.

Ladycakes is driven.  Since the moment she was born she has been driven to be the absolute best she can be.  It may take a lot of effort but she never quits, she slowly and diligently conquers anything.

Ladycakes is creative.   She sees colors like no other and wants to create.  She needs to create.  She can draw and I am so jealous.

Ladycakes is quiet and reserved.  She is not the one who needs to be the center of attention.  She has incredible self-control when it comes to her personality.  Again, I am jealous.

Ladycakes adores her father.  In love with this man who loves her with all of his heart.  She only wants to make him proud.  If she only knew that her mere existence makes him the proudest man alive.

Ladycakes is silly.  Crack herself up and can't stop laughing silly.  And, it's infectious.  It gets us all going.  I totally get that part of her.

Ladycakes is a pig.  P.I.G. pig.  Here room is a sty.  She refuses to close her dresser drawers.  But then, she gets this bee in her bonnet and she cleans that room like an HGTV pro.  Organizes, decorates and makes it all pretty again.

Ladycakes looks like me more and more everyday.  It trips me out.  She has my mouth, she has my eyes, she has my chin (and you know how I feel about my chin)  and she's beautiful.  And that makes me say, "Wait, that means you think you are beautiful."  And then I look in the mirror and I smile, because it means I AM beautiful.

Ladycakes is saving her money to build a house.  Not for a pair of jeans, not for the latest cell phone.  Ladycakes wants to build a house.  One that she designs.  One that she will live in.  Guess what, it will be a beautiful house and it better have an apartment for me when I come to visit.

Ladycakes has the utmost respect of her brothers.  They look up to her.  They look to her for guidance, for ideas, for love.  She gives them all of that.  They will love her forever and they will protect her like brothers do.

Ladycakes is the best first child for which two parents could ask.  She led us to believe this adventure would be easy.  That all babies were sweet and smart.  That all toddlers were funny and cute.  That all kindergarteners were curious and nervous.  That all young ladies were polite and thoughtful.  No doubt she will lead us to believe that all teenagers are responsible and courteous.  And that sometimes they make mistakes but they will learn from them

Mr. Handsome and I are so proud of Ladycakes.  How did we get so lucky?

Happy Birthday, young lady.
We love you.

Zebras Don't Matter

So zebras really don't matter today, unless of course you are a zebra activist and then they matter everyday. But who cares if I SAW a zebra? Not me, I feel really sad for all the people of Haiti. I just watched a video interviewing a woman who runs an orphanage in Haiti. There are 90 children in the orphanage. NINETY! She stated that this earthquake will only increase her occupancy and will make it difficult to keep in contact with the parents of children she already houses. She may never know if those parents are still living.

When Q asks if he can play the Playstation after school, gonna make him read about Haiti. When Ladycakes asks what she can have for a snack after school, gonna make her read about Haiti. When Elvis starts whining about Q not playing with him, gonna make him listen to Q and Ladycakes read about Haiti.

Here at the Hive we are thinking about Haiti today and tomorrow and the next day. If I could grab those 90 babes and bring them here, I would. Make them all new little bees. I wish I could hug each one for just a minute. Rock them a bit. Hum in the ears and just tell them it's going to be alright.

I guess I'll do that with the 3 bees I have. And be glad.

Equine sightings

Mr. Handsome and I got the little bees out of the hive today. It was a blue-bird, absolutely gorgeous, honey of a day. If you've been reading along you will understand that first I alphabetized the pantry and then put all of our DVDs in numerical/alphabetical order before we headed out. But, if you've been reading along, you also know, I'm a pain in the ass.

Look at this, this where we live. This is practically our backyard. Seriously? It's amazing. And look at Mr. Handsome, how cute is he? Totally dealing with Elvis. His patience lasted about 5 minutes, Mr. Handsome's that is, but at least I was able to document it.

Here I am with all the bees. It's fun to be able to do things together, despite the age difference. You know, I'm old and they are young. Just kidding. Elvis wants to keep up with Ladycakes and Q and sometimes it's hard. This is a fun activity.

We saw all sorts of creatures today. Like this one, the four-handed, caped shadow rectangle. Look at the way it displays it's jazz hands. That's totally a defense mechanism that occurs when it feels threatened. We chose not to disturb it further.

Look at this fellow. Quite handsome. Loving the day as much as we were. He laid down and rolled in the snow right after I snapped this.

This was his friend, he watched me for quite some time. I think he felt bad for me. He was like, "Are you those kids Sherpa? Because dude, you are carrying 3 coats, 2 pairs of gloves, poles that clearly aren't yours and you keep handing out Lifesavers. Your life kinda sucks." I winked at him and in my mind was so pleased that even though that horse was judging me....he felt my pain for a moment. We bonded.
So it was a fun day. We got out, got some fresh air. Enjoyed being together. Hopped in the car and headed home. As we got off the highway, here's what we came upon. Mr. Handsome couldn't stop the car fast enough. I did a suicide dive out of the front seat while yelling, "I've got to get a picture of this....STOP. STOP."

Okay so this was actually yesterday. I can't lie. I'm not wearing my ski gear. But I'm not shitting you. This is what we came across. Look at me, I'm giddy. You would think Mr. Handsome just told me he got a million dollar raise. All it takes is some equine excitement to make me smile like a school girl. Seriously, a zebra. A zebra? In Utah? And I'm hugging it like it's my own child. I smelled like zebra for the rest of the night.

I swear that zebra is saying "Save me!"

WARNING: These images are not flattering!

Mr. Handsome and I are always up for some cheap thrills. We aren't, generally, ones to pay for entertainment. We figure we can create our own. This is what we do when the little bees have been tucked in here at the hive.

I lay down on the floor with my camera in hand. This is not sexy despite that sentence, in fact as the title suggests, it's VERY unflattering. And Mr. Handsome busts out the beef jerky. Again, it may sound provocative but in that sentence "beef jerky" really means beef jerky.

He places the beef jerky on my forehead. Wow, this is sounding really bad.

That Naughty Dog and his Accomplice begin to swarm. I am trying to keep the camera at the right angle.

The Accomplice makes the first move. Who would have thought That Naughty Dog is a bit intimidated by the flash.

She goes in, jowls and all. And takes the prize. It's beef jerky for heaven's sake.

Clearly, I have no pride here. But it's hilarious. I laugh, Mr. Handsome laughs. The Accomplice lays down by me hoping that more beef jerky will magically appear on my face. Mr. Handsome is threatening to put some right on my lips....you can see his hand there, moving in.

The dogs are psyched. Turns out they like cheap thrills too.

We need to get a life!

Now he can do this Do you think that you could? And he can do that Which is more than any old cat could

Are you familiar with Kipper? I LOVE Kipper. He makes me so happy. I wish I lived where Kipper lives. I wish I talked like Kipper. If I said, " We are having leftovers for dinner," in Kipper's voice, my whole family would hip, hip, hooray for leftovers. Kipper is calm, methodical and terribly naive. I'm cool with that. He's a dog, a dog with a slipper. He's Kipper, Kipper the dog. And btw, that's a toad not a frog.

Here Kipper is investigating hedgehogs. That in itself is so tantalizing to me. Who wouldn't love to own a hedgehog? That Naughty Dog (not Kipper!) would eat a hedgehog and then blame it on his accomplice (also not Kipper) ...but still, they are little and prickly.

January 6th has been a Kipper kind of day and that's a good thing. We shall see what tomorrow brings!

Live a Simple Life in a Quiet Town

I read a great blog. It's on my blog roll. Creative Little Daisy. It's charming. While reading her last post, I was compelled to follow along. Find one word to work with as your New Year's Resolution. The lists. They're too much. You can't keep up with them. But one word. Can't we all try to make one word work for us daily. I think I can. I'm going to try. Here's my word.

stead·y (std)

adj. stead·i·er, stead·i·est

1. Firm in position or place; fixed.

2. Direct and unfaltering; sure.

3. Free or almost free from change, variation, or fluctuation; uniform: a steady increase in value; a steady breeze.

4. Not easily excited or upset: steady nerves.

5. Unwavering, as in purpose; steadfast.

6. Reliable; dependable.

7. Temperate; sober.

tr. & intr.v. stead·ied, stead·y·ing, stead·ies

To make or become steady.

interj. Nautical

Used to direct a helmsman to keep a ship's head in the same direction: Steady as she goes!

n. pl. stead·ies

The person whom one dates regularly, usually exclusively.

---

steadi·er n.

steadi·ly adv.

steadi·ness n.

There are so many things that need to be steady in this girl's life. I'm going to try out this word for a month or so. See how it works for me. Steady in emotion. Steady in spending. Steady in judgement. Steady in reaction. Just steady. I think it will work. It is definitely attainable. One day at a time.

Tomorrow means back to the real world. 2 of 3 don't feel great. Mr. Handsome is dreading the alarm. I am dreading the lunch boxes. Steady the course. Steady.

Good luck tomorrow. It will be fine.

Add "Steady as she goes" sung by The Rancontuers to My Life Soundtrack.