Awwwwww

Okay, I'm still thinking about Pushing Daisies and all its sweet greatness. This scene just melts my heart. It's cheese on top of cheese with a side o' cheese. Gotta love it. *Le sigh*

Summer TV Blows

As much as I love summer, summer TV sucks the big one. The only thing I am currently enjoying is Last Comic Standing. It's still pretty early in the comics race, but my hopes stand with Heath Hyche. I nearly busted a gut with his audition routine. It's too hard to describe but it involved a football suit and a dummy. Good times were had in my little world of geekdom.

The one show I keep twirling my thumbs for is the lovely, creative, smart, quirky, easy on the eyes, Pushing Daisies. Where, oh where, has my Pushing Daisies gone? Thanks to the friggin' writer's strike it's been too long since I've seen Chuck and Ned.


Gad, how I miss that show. The latest rumor is that they will return and I hope it's true. For now I bide my TV time with Spongebob (always a pleaser), The Mighty B (weird and strange but I'm oddly drawn to it) and Last Comic Standing (go Heath!). Any summer TV suggestions?

A habit of giving

It seems that when you give you always receive something as well.. it can be smile when you give someone a hearty hello, it can be a warm tummy when you give someone a surprise gift or it can be a simple "thank you" after you've given a teary eyed friend a hug. Sometimes you can give to someone who is way out of your reach. And what you receive is still close at heart.

For a little over a year now I've subscribed to a wonderful magazine named KIWI. It is a magazine from which I draw a lot of inspiration. It is a magazine about families and growing those families "the natural and organic way." The magazine continually offers awesome ways to be a part of the world and to help make it a better place to live. KIWI recently asked for support of earthquake victims in China. If you donate $15 or more to Half the Sky, you get much needed supplies to children in China and you get a subscription to KIWI. These are children who have lost family members in the earthquake. If you are interested in donating, check out Global Giving who has teamed up with KIWI to spread the word about China's need for help.

The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give.
-Walt Witman

A Flickr Meme

1. Vanessa cardui..., 2. Haloumi Cheese, Zaatar & Tomato Pizzas, 3. Silver Creek Field, 4. Happy Yellow, 5. Nick Hexum, 6. "Chai" tea, 7. The last sunray - Barcelona, 8. Sweet Cherry Pie, 9. Colors for peace, 10. The Calvo Family - Holidays, 11. seeker, 12. shawnimal

I haven't done a meme in ages, but this one was too cool and fun to pass up. I found the meme via Zazazu. Good times. Here are the details if you wish to play along too:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search
b. Using only the first page, pick an image
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker

Here are Ze Questions
1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One word to describe you.

12. Your Flickr name.

My answers to the above questions and what was searched for in Flickr
1. Vanessa

2. Pizza

3. Silver Creek

4. Happy Yellow

5. Nick Hexum (from 311)

6. Chai tea

7. Europe

8. Cherry pie

9. Peaceful

10. Family

11. Seeker

12. formyspace

Please leave me a comment if you play along. Don't be shy. I just want to check out your results. Have fun!

Made me smile

Image from Yeondoon Jung
The talk of this site has been bouncing around in the blogosphere and if you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do. Korean artist, Yeondoon Jung, has turned pages of children's drawings into the most amazingly happy and colorful photos I've ever seen. I can't pick my favorite. The above pic along with a few others puts a silly smile on my heart. What joy!

Snips and Snails and...

Aaah, the beauty of little boys. My Luke is such a little ball of roughandtumbleness. He'd rather punch you in the arm than hug you when he greets you. He's all about cars and superheroes and comic books. He lives and thrives in the dirt. He delights in taunting his sister when she has a friend over. He can't sit still for a meal and he eats 'round the clock. He hugs me when I spill something and says, "It's okay, Momma." He loves to laugh and will do anything to get you to laugh with him. His "Stan Laurel" smiles are super contagious. His "I Love Yous" melt my heart and today he turns 5. What was once this:



is now this:



I don't know how time slipped by me so fast. I guess time really does fly by when you're having fun. Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Do you care for tea? Why, yes. I'm very fond of tea.

My Birthday Haiku
A lovely tea lunch
Spent with two girls I so love
Happiness fills me

Wouldn't it be nice

Long before the hubby and I were married and long before we starting adding kids to our family mixture I had this very vivid and specific image of myself as "Mom". This image had me riding around in a VW Westfalia(pop top) with the kids in the back and be-bopping to some kid tune blaring on the radio. We'd go camping on the beach and make s'mores by the campfire. When we looked around for a new "family" car last year I immediately wanted a Westfalia, but we came up empty-handed since the hubby wasn't ready to buy used. What would of been so wrong with something like this:



Okay. I guess getting a used European car could have been a bad idea. I know it's expensive to get them repaired. So after much thought and letting go, we decided on a Honda Odyssey which is a very cool family vehicle and, hey, their commercials are pretty funky too.

I do have to admit that every now and then I cruise the internet for Westfalia pics just to get my fill. Plus, as much as I love our Odyssey I'm still always on the lookout for VW's newest version of a beloved oldie. Well, to my absolute surprise and delight I stumbled upon Alexandre Verdier's most awesome concept idea for the Westfalia. I was beyond stoked. Feast your eyes on this bad boy:



And he's a hybrid and hydraulic and has solar panels! How cool is that??! I could do without the wood grain exterior, but what a beauty nonetheless. Now, all I have to do is come up with $60K(asking price). A girl can dream, can't she?

A Fairy Good Day

And as the seasons come and go, here's something you might like to know.
There are fairies everywhere: under bushes, in the air,
Playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day.
So listen, touch, and look around - in the air and on the ground.
And if you watch all nature's things, you might just see a fairy's wing.

Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that fairies are among us even if we don't see them day to day. And as I've gotten older it seems I have to look a little extra harder for them. But, what if you were given the opportunity to have them visit you often? What if you gave them a dwelling where they could feel safe and free enough to roam? Well, we hope to be able to do that with our very own Fairy Houses. I found the cutest little Fairy House Kit at My Paradise Cottage.


The Fairy House (image from My Paradise Cottage)

The houses shipped today and I can't begin to describe my excitement. The kids won't be as excited until the kits are sitting right in front of them. My Paradise Cottage also has some tips on attracting fairies to your garden by giving you examples of favorite fairy flowers like lovely lavender. Take a looksie today. Your inner child will thank you.

Madre

Some days you'll catch me pulling my hair out thinking, "Why me?" But, before that last hair is drawn I remember, "Oh yeah, I planned this." Often in the busy madness of life with two kids I forget the smiles, those little feet, the tiny hands and warm hugs around my legs. I wish those moments would never be overrun with taking care of this or taking care of that. And I have to scratch at that work-is-never-ending surface of myself as Mom to uncover the real reason I became her.

You are the poem I dreamed of writing.
The masterpiece I longed to paint.
You are the shining star I reached for in my ever hopeful quest for life fulfilled.
You are my child.
Now with all things I am blessed. -Author Unknown