check this out.

a friend just launched his website.

he takes amazing photos. and his site is pretty cool, too.

check him out. andycecilphotography.com

every night.

just pulling myself together today. and probably tomorrow and the next day, too. i'm exhausted after last week. the craziness. but the fun. so here you go. just a quote today. certainly how i felt last week, many times. it's all i can manage!

Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.

william demment, in Newsweek, 1959

surived.

i survived. the first show of the season.

despite a rain storm the night before. a partially collapsed tent and wet tables, i had a lovely day. met some new cute people, saw lots of darling things, got asked to participate in more sales, and just had a good day on the sales front.

thanks to everyone for coming out and the support. couldn't have done it with out you all!

i even got two thumbs up from little one.

what more could i ask for?

my to-do list.

just survive. the weekend.

big art fair extravaganza this weekend. stop by if you're around!

thrift thursday.

some new treasures were found today. i know. i know. i have a big show this weekend. i shouldn't be thrifting. but. you know. sometimes. a girl has to take a break...a quick one.

and look what i came across. just a few little treasures today.

a new letter p for the collection.
off of an old letter sweater i think.


some more state plates for the collection...utah..kentucky.great falls at yellowstone.


and some really old child's decals. aren't they adorable? i love the first one.

looky list. updated.

i haven't updated my looky list lately. so it's monday. the mind is a bit blank. it seems to be a good day to look around.

how about some bottled moon? i think this could be a cool addition to the little's bedrooms.

and what to do with all those plastic bags? these little bag ladys could be handy.

i could enjoy having some of these cute retro-ish city dish towels hanging around my kitchen.

saw this. again. in willie s. the other day. still love it. have for a couple of years now. still don't have it...

and i love the red mushroom on this plate. i'm sure i've seen a real vintage one. once.

yep. back at it. this is it.

go buffs.

i guess. maybe? we brought some good luck with us today.

because they won. their first game of the year. . .although maybe. it was the retro silver and gold uniforms.

let's put those back away...

good times. good times.

buff stampede.

in boulder. on friday nights before games. there is the buffalo stampede. on pearl street. a big parade. the football team. the marching bands. fans. fun. singing. chanting. an old-fashioned pep rally. i suppose.

the littles ate it up. couldn't get enough. little one. ended up marching and dancing with the marching band. little two's eyes were enormous with wonder. it was fun. and now. if only they can pull off a win tomorrow. it will be perfect.

you never know.

what you'll come across in the park.

today we saw this big guy

chasing his little harem of female elk around. he was none too happy when two of them jilted him for another elk. such is the life of a elk, i suppose. off he went bugling in despair.

rocky mountain.

high. literally.

we headed out west yesterday. to experience some fresh mountain air, beautiful scenery relaxation and well, of course, football.

it was, let's say a bit of a tumultuous drive out. lots of stops. lots of sick littles. not lots of fun. but today. was good.

the sky was a bright bright blue.

the littles were feeling much. much. better.

the aspens were starting to turn golden.

the hiking was fun.

the views were gorgeous.

and the animals were in abundance.

hope for more of this tomorrow.

choices.

little one: mom...well. i'm not sure i should tell you this.

me: what? (concerned over what this could be.)

little one: well. i can't decide who i'm going to marry. i think it's going to c. instead of j. now. but i'm not sure. and i don't know how to decide.

me: you have a long long time to decide that.

little one: but how do you decide? i have too many choices. who did you decide to marry?

me: daddy.

little one: oh. yeah. that's right.

me: it's nice to have choices.

what will it be when we're not in kindergarten? already deciding who to marry.

time out.

tonight. the deen brothers. as in bobby and jamie. of paula deen folks. were in town. to talk about their new book and other stuff.

the other yulie and i love author events. we've seen paula twice. knew we had to see the sons. and disappoint. they did not. just as funny as paula. just as adorable as they are on tv. just as gracious and sweet and southern and normal as could be.

ok. how cute are they?

we we're entertained. and impressed. wish they were still on food tv regularly. but we'll be able to catch them on some upcoming paula shows. and did you know? she's building a new house. they lovingly refer to it as "the inheritance". they adore her. as every good son should. adore their mother.

rip.

patrick swayze. rip. i remember in college. a friend. obsessed. obsessed with dirty dancing. saw it dozens of times. and dragged us to it, too. and then doing the moves. good memories you gave us. rip.

pedal. faster.

it's not too often that you get to see world-class cyclists. take to the streets in the midwest. we were luck enough to have the tour of missouri come right through our town today.

we copped a spot on the route. right down from the finish. saw the leaders and the peloton zoom by 5 times at 35+ mph...

the littles loved it. rang their cowboys excitedly. jumped up and down. threw a cup on the course, that one of the riders came about an inch from hitting (seriously). i would have turned and run had that happened. can't you see the headlines? biker's dream dashed by small child. small child ruins race. etc. etc. it would be just my luck. luckily. we avoided hitting it and someone got a bit of a lecture.

that's floyd landis (with the water bottles) winner (well, stripped winner) of the 2006 tour de france. riding for team ouch.

little one loved the team jelly belly car.

little two loved ringing the cow bells.

and dh got a new bracelet.

i just thought the bikers were pretty cool.

shhh.

a day of silence. i'll remember forever what i was doing on this day at this time. it's really all so surreal still. after 8 years.

charlotte's web.

busy day. but busier night for some 8-legged creature in the garden. if only there was a pig named wilbur standing underneath.

Wilbur: Are you writers?
Charlotte's daughters: No, but we will be when we grow up.
Wilbur: Then write this in your webs, when you learn: This hallowed doorway was once the home of Charlotte. She was brilliant, beautiful, and loyal to the end. Her memory will be treasured forever.

Charlotte's daughters: Ooh, that would take us a lifetime.
Wilbur: A lifetime. That's what we have.

real.

i was at a meeting today. and a friend (who, by the way just has this amazing zen quality about her. so energetic but at the same time just so peaceful, so in tune. must be nice!) mentioned that she was teaching a class on banned books. (how cool is that? i wish i could go sit in on that class.) anyway, one of her banned books was blubber by judy blume. (blubber? for real? blubber is banned?) who didn't read blubber or all the other judy blume books growing up? weren't they standard fare for all of us gen xer's? didn't we pass them around? grab them first from the library? talk about them? enjoy them for their honesty and truth and fun?

i was curious. about all these banned books. so i searched around. and found this. check out this list. of the top 100 most frequently challenged books of the decade (1990 -1999)...how many did you read? do you remember? that made an impact on your life? quite a few for me. it just seems pretty unreal to me that some of these classics, the adventures of huckleberry finn, the catcher in the rye, blubber, of mice and men are banned or frequently challenged. for me. finding a judy blume book when i'm thrifting is always a treat. i guess not so for all of us. so i started to think. about the difference between reality and this lala land that some must live in and i remembered this passage from the velveteen rabbit. thank goodness it's not on the list.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

so. in anticipation of banned books week, september 26 - october 3. go read some judy blume or other banned authors. i know i'm going to.

first day.

preschool. finally decided to start today. so off little two headed. backpack and lunch box in tow. two days a week. i can't believe he's graduated to the "upper" division. where has the time gone?

two years ago.

last year. (new glasses and sporting an eye patch.)

this year. (don't mind the white glove. looks like some kind of homage to michael jackson.) (no eye patch. no glasses. they are lost.)

eat more.

don't forget to stop by chick-fil-a today to get your free chicken sandwich! just wear your favorite team's logo in and it's yours...

what's better than free?

hope.

i woke up this am. full of energy. a good night's sleep. tons. tons. of ideas running through my head. plans. ideas. thoughts. of stuff to do and accomplish. sometimes that can be overwhelming. but today. it just energized me. gave me hope.

we headed out to church. and the sermon. (get this.) was about hope. how ironic is that? and how wonderful is this quote that it was all tied to? (it might just become one of my top 10 quotes. yes i have a quote list that i love).

hope is the thing with feathers. that perches in the soul. and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all. - emily dickinson

and the hope stayed all day (well most of the day, let's say).

lots of work done on the upcoming resale. yes it's that time of year again...resale time. if you need clothes for your littles you should stop by. 6 moms. insane amounts of things.

lots of work and thoughts and headway on some other upcoming (stay tuned for more details!) exciting things with the polkadotcrab.

lots of crossing off on the to-do list. cleaning and organizing and just getting put-off things done. i know. i know. doesn't sound fun. but isn't it a good feeling to cross things off? know they are done? finished. over with?

but then. the hope. faded. well. just a wee bit. football season had to go and start today. the littles were dooded-out. in their gold and black. cheerleading outfit. pom poms. and then. the hope which had been so good. puttered a little. just like a pass sent soaring right into the other team's hands. oh well. there's always next year. and tomorrow!

keep hoping everyone. just keep hoping.

wishing.

i was here. today. we often head back to the beach for labor day. it's a great time there. after sunday, the beach is quiet. empty. the restaurants don't have waits. the boardwalk is easy to play on. all the summer people are gone. it's amazing how peaceful it becomes. you have the whole place to yourself. the littles can run up and down the beach - an empty beach. swim in the pool all by themselves. the weather is still great. summer is still here.

i always feel like i'm cheating a bit on fall when we are at the beach this week. stringing summer along for a few more days. but cheat it must be. but not this year. we are at home. big time school started this year. too many commitments, too. so no two beach trips this fall.

so all i can do is look. and wish. and feel the sand between my toes.

wiggly.

well. we almost. almost. made it through two weeks of school. without a bad report. not that we get or expect a lot of them. well. maybe once in awhile. you know how free spirits are...

so today. the first not so happy report for little one. we were way too wiggly and chatty. really? wiggly and chatty. how (un) not-expected. i have a feeling. an inkling. that there will be more of these reports. many. many more of these reports in the years to come...

thrift thursday.

kind of a slow day on the adventuring venture today. but i did manage to snap up these two goodies. don't know why. but i think they're a good thing to have around. i especially love the yellow dress. and the big puffy sleeves. oh. and the double pearl necklace.

so go ahead. get busy.

happy national fight procrastination day.  guess that means i need to get some stuff done.

splish splash.

so what if it was only 73 degrees?  (in april we would say that it's so hot.)  it's only september 1st.  and the pool is still open.  and the sun was trying to come out.  fighting through those clouds.

the littles and i headed to the pool.  had the whole.  entire.  pool to ourselves.  the water was a bit on the chilly side.  but it didn't deter them.  they spent two hours.  jumping in the water.  running out.  jumping in again.  the simple fun.  of jumping in the pool.