a teacher just LOVES when her students impress her like this. my girls had a pumpkin decorating project. can you tell they just ooze with talent? i love these girls. :)

happy trick or treat night!

it is COLD! i got myself this cute little coat, so i'm not too bummed. :)
have a great day.



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found this at libby's place a few days ago.

wasn't sure what to blog about, so thought i would do it too. you list five things you can do well, then five things you can't. then you have to share a tip.

i'm pretty good at:

1. saying no. we don't do a lot of extra curricular stuff. each child gets one activity at a time, we don't really do playdates and i am not a busy social butterfly. we take it slow around here. we enjoy the little things and i think that is a good thing.
2. horse. i've got a killer three point shot. i beat all the boys :)
3. love. i really love people. they might not like me. but i love them. and i pray for them.
4. shortcuts. i know the cut-throughs all over town. i like to avoid traffic lights and traffic and i like to drive slowly, so i am always cutting through neighborhoods. plus, it is so much more fun to look at the pretty houses.
5. finding stuff. lose your glasses? drop an earring? i love to look for stuff like this. once i found my husband's clear contact in a swimming pool.

things i don't do well.
1. laundry. i really stink at it. actually, i really stink at any systematic activity that has more than two steps.
2. change. summer to fall is a hard adjustment for me. so much change. new teachers, schools, routines. i'm starting to sweat just thinking about it. i like changes, but not so many at once. september totally stresses me out and i act weird. now that it is october i am totally laughing at my weird self.
3. keep a clean closet. mercy. it is bad.
4. wrap gifts. i make the biggest mess. since i have had children, i just have them do it. it looks about the same. now i can just say, "oh, the kids did it."
5. communicate. i don't always answer my phone, i am horrible with mail (too many steps, see 1), i am really bad at rsvp'ing. and i don't like this about myself. i told you, i really love people, but i am lousy at keeping up with them. i have no idea why i so stink at this. thank God for e-mail.

here is my tip. it is related to number 2 above. i would not say i am athletic because i have no endurance, but i am good at random sporty skills like basketball shooting, ping pong playing and playing catch. in every sport i do this weird thing with my pointer finger sticking up. for years when i was young, coaches used to try to change this. i still do it. so i say, go with your weirdness. have your own style, maybe you will be better for it. :)

have a great weekend.
it has been raining here for two days! we are loving it!

this is what my house has looked like for three days while i am trying to make some seat cushion covers. i am in one of those start one thing, then start another modes. so lots of things are started but nothing is finished. we have guests coming this week, so i will have to either finish and then clean up...or just clean up. :)

1. my house stinks. it has had this smell before and i can't ever tell where it is coming from. i burn candles, i scrub the floors, i shake out the rugs, i have method plug-ins in the kitchen (gingerbread scent, so my son keeps thinking i'm baking, such a mean trick), i have poured vinegar down all the pipes....but it still stinks. i had a theory the last time that there must be a dead bird in our chimney. it eventually went away, so i thought i was right, but again? how often do birds die in one's chimney?

2. my husband has been a good sport about the mini van. i mean, it is bad enough being a dorky mom, but isn't a dorky dad even worse? :) we know there will be times when he will have to drive it. we are keeping the suburban, so it won't be that often, but it will happen. so i am thinking i might have to get silver. isn't silver better for a guy? could i be over thinking this whole thing? :) i do appreciate your support and advice. thank you!

3. i don't like halloween decorations. except for pumpkins. (especially the white ones!) so i have been buying lots of pumpkins. i got bumpy ones and lopsided ones and multi-colored ones, all for outside. it looks a bit like a pumpkin farm out there.

4. it is cloudy here today. i hadn't seen a cloudy day in so long. the gray is so beautiful. but come on rain!

5. i am going to sew today. some seat cushion covers.

6. i did a lesson on painting wood and distressing it in my class this past week. i will post what i did, someone had asked me about it.

7. no, i will not post my haircut. too embarrassed. :)

8. i need some flowers for my windowboxes and for on the porches, but i have been waiting it out because of our drought. i don't like mums. they die too fast. i am going straight to pansies. white ones, i think.

9. i just went to the gap and bought a bunch of shirts that are about six sizes bigger than "my size." i know that sounds weird, but they feel so comfortable and i love that!
i think they look good that way too, loose and free. i got a bunch of different plaids and stripes, really a great shirt. check it out. :)

10. my children are both home today and my daughter has been listening to princess christmas music all morning. i am actually enjoying it.

11. eleven is my favorite number, so i have to think of one more thing to say. oh, here's something, i have decided i am going to do a brown themed christmas tree this year. natural fibers (muslin, jute) and rich brown velvet. maybe a touch of blue in there (can't resist) and lots of textures, but nothing sparkly. i am going to give sparkly a rest.

okay, that's all. hope you have a great weekend. :)

we are car shopping. we want something unique, but there aren't a lot of options for people like us. we want something sporty, family-ish, and fun. but a classic of good quality. we like convertibles, but we are too practical for that right now and after driving a suburban for five years, i want something big. we have been surprising ourselves with what we are willing to get this time around. we were even considering a hummer, but i wanted it in teal, and we couldn't find that. so, after much thought, i think we have decided on this:

http://www.chrysler.com/en/

it scares me. it really does. i said i would never get one of these mom cars. but it has a table! they totally sold me on the table. and it comes in teal.

fyi. i also got my haircut (a chin length bob) and i was wearing jeans yesterday that buttoned close to my belly button. you see, the van isn't all i'm worried about.

have been fretting over whether i could count that last post as x and y because it included both letters in the title. as you can see, i decided i would. so, here i am on "z."

YIPPPEEEE!!

biology. male.

when my daughter was nine months old, i found out i was pregnant again. i was so excited thinking she could have a little sister almost her twin! i never had a sister and i imagined it must be a wonderful thing. i was actually shocked at my four month sonogram when a certain boy part was discovered. i was having a what?? how was my daughter going to handle this news? no sister!? but the look on my husband's face when he heard he was going to have a son, well, i guess it made me glad too. and then i found out how truly wonderful little boys are. and now i can't believe how glad i am he ISN'T a girl. i know some of you moms out there know what i mean :)

my daughter and my son have been growing up as best friends. she really didn't need a sister afterall. besides, when she wants one, sometimes he is even game.


**i am going to get in so much trouble for this picture. so it will only be here for a brief time :)

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for about a year now i have been trying to find someone with an industrial sewing machine who can make the prototype of a product i have created in my mind. i have also been looking at other types of manufacturers for some other related products. i am obsessed with this vision i have had, and i can't let it go. but i cannot find someone who can make this idea a reality. it really amazes me how difficult this has been. i have been close to giving up, but i just keep coming back to it. i'm not going to make millions with this idea, i might not even make anything - haha - but i would love to finish what i have started, you know? i really want it to happen! oh, and i also want a farmhouse sink. the above picture is of me staring at one. do i look enamored?

bald head island. july 2007.


i'm almost done the alphabet. thanks for hanging in there with me.
:) bethy

my husband and i went out to lunch yesterday and we ran into cvs afterward to get my son a two pocket folder with brads (a special request from his teacher) and saw that the little minute clinic on site was offering flu shots. there was no line, so we thought it would be a great time to get our shots over with. the nurse was an older lady who looked gentle enough. ha. she gave my husband his shot. he didn't flinch. it was my turn. she unwrapped the sterile packaging from the needle as i rolled up my sleeve. she was aimed to fire when she said all grouchily while inspecting my arm and twisting it back and forth, "you don't have any meat on your bones." i felt i had met hansel and gretel's fate as she repeated it several times and actually shook her finger at me. my husband came to my defense, "she just ate her chinese food and mine, so that should help (isn't he sweet?)." then the nurse said, "well, i should have used the child's size on you, but since this one is already open...get ready, this is going to hurt." i was about to tell her where i do have some "meat" (maybe she didn't notice since i happen to sit on most of it), but as soon as i started to speak, she jabbed me with such force that i had to hold on to my chair not to fall over. what in the world?? now, this is the third year i have had this shot and i don't remember it ever hurting that bad, and i am no smaller than i was last year or the year before that, so i'm just not buying that it is MY fault for having skinny arms. i am kind of thinking the pain has something to do with the delivery? what do you think? good grief.

so to the nurse who must live in a candy house somewhere in a nearby forest...how about not stabbing me with the needle next time? or better yet, why don't i just tell you where you should stick it...i had some ideas. :)

and the image above...also for u. upside down baked brie from dinner a few nights ago. yum.