the more you read

One day I hope to have a room in my house dedicated to shelves and shelves of glorious books. I'd love to design out a room with built in books shelves that tower from ceiling to floor. And I want a big ol' fatty-fat chair that swallows you whole - accompanied by an equally as fat ottoman to lounge out in as you read. There will be great lighting and I think that I will live out my days there.




I am slowly gathering my collection of books to fill up this library. Penguin has come out with a series of beautifully bound hardbacks of some classics that I am slowly trying to acquire. The cover artwork and colors are fabulous...check these out next time you are perusing a bookstore or I have even seen them at Anthropology.


I am just starting on Jane Eyre this week and loving it. I have a stack of books next to my bedside lamp, waiting for a read. I think I may have gone a little overboard last time I went to Barnes and Noble, but I could hardly help myself. My sister and I have started this non-official club of book buying/reading. We each go and pick out 2 or 3 books. So as we read, we swap - but never have to wait on the other to finish their selected books. It's been great so far... with only a few that we would never recommend and have placed in a donate box.


An author I've really started to love, is Elizabeth Berg. I have read 3 of her novels now (Open House, Dream When Your Feeling Blue, A Year of Pleasures), and have loved them all. But please continue to give me your recommendations of books as you read them... I have my master list I keep with me in my purse - including all the recommendations from my last blog entry about this, and am constantly looking for more.


> The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. (Dr. Seuss)

why i love cash

This may be a strange attribute to desire in your children, but before I had kids, I always wanted a kid who would dress up as a super hero or in their tutus when out in public. Cssh is making all my dreams come true with his latest fashion statements of wearing his Batman mask to everywhere we go - and I mean everywhere. If Batman cannot be found, he pulls out his backup plan of wearing these old snowboarding goggles we have in the winter gear bucket. I don't know why I love it so much, but I do.

my new favorites

Ever since we ditched cable, I've given up watching mindless TV and have become extremely selective to what I sit down to watch. It has been nice to catch up on a lot of great movies I have been itching to see, as well as several TV series I have had my eye on, but never had the time to search out and watch.

My new favorite is Modern Family. It is laugh-out-loud hilarious, but always ends with a sweet message. I love it.

On the other end of the spectrum, is Mad Men. The characters are so great and yet so tragically sad, and I want all the dresses the women wear.

So if you are looking - those are my 2 top recommendations.

happy happy

For anyone who knows my sister Jennie - they know she is a straight up piece of heaven.
Today is her big day, and I just wanted to wish her happy birthday.
The boys and I love you Jennie... I hope you have a happy happy day!

colds, yoga, and a little of everything in between

The boys have been sick. Just when I set up arrangements with my sister-in-laws to do a babysitting exchange for Saturday nights... the boys come down with nasty colds and coughs and my visions of going out to a movie and dinner with Ryan fly right out the window. We've spent the entire part of last week, the weekend, and now into this week staying cozy in pj's, watching every kid video Blockbuster owns, and taking daily baths just to kill time.

The good in all of it, is being cooped up, I have managed to clean out the fridge, deep clean the oven, start and finish several books, and de-junk and organize half the house. I've even started up my exercise routine and got into my yoga groove again. The boys find the yoga very entertaining, as Jack often encourages me with his praise and Cash tries to tip me over as soon as I am in an unstable stance. A perfect example of their differing personalities.

Not much beyond that has been happening around here. I am eager for better weather to hit us... the boys have discovered the sandbox that has been unearthed from Old Man Winter's blanket of snow, and each day I have to explain why they cannot go and sit in a pile of wet cold sand.

The sister-in-laws and I have been hitting up the community rec center to take the kids swimming each week - and thank the heavens for that place. It seems to be the big ticket item to getting us through the winter. We have our regular visits to the library and the museum of natural history (for free first monday)... but I still feel Spring could not come fast enough. I want to clean out the garage, tidy up the flower beds that I didn't get around to before the snow hit, and just open all the windows up in the house and air it all out.

I have high hopes to start my herb garden this year, and to somehow finally get that double stroller I have been coveting so I can take the boys on our daily walks without having to carry one of them back on my shoulders, or dangerously propped up high on the handle of our single rider - to which I always get a lot of non-approving looks from other moms driving by.

I think I just have a little cabin fever lately. So here's to hoping to healthier boys, and some warm weather for a change. Keep your fingers crossed.

the beehive tea room

Ryan and the guys from The Madison Arm played last night at the Beehive Tea Room down town. That place is so hip, I can't believe I never knew it existed. The mis-matched furniture is super rad, and the rooms are decked out from floor to ceilings with monochromatic colored books and great framed art. The sugar cookies and scones were amazing, and as I left there last night, I decided I want to make a regular appearance there. Maybe Ryan could write some songs and I could read a book, all while sharing a hot pot of herbal tea. It sounds quite nice.

I am in mourning

Conan... I miss you already.