Etsy-ness!

From Blogger Pictures

We'll see what happens, buuut...



I'm on Etsy now! Check it out and let me know what you think. Too pricey? Not good enough? Just right?

What else can I sell? I want to go to France this year!

Christmastime is heeere...

From December 2008

The beautiful tree belongs to Eric's parents. Ours is not up yet. We're rebelling against those who put their tree up on All Saint's Day.

Stacks of cards are sailing across the nation, with a few more still to go. I love making Christmas cards. Even though I've had all the pieces for a month now, they still are late.

From December 2008

Good thing I use the words "holiday season" instead of "Christmas." Am I trying to be PC? Oh, no. I'm buying time. :)

Merry Christmas to all! May your holiday be empty of stress and greed, and full of love and hope.

Happy Birthday, Christopher!

From December 2008

Christopher turned 9 when we weren't looking. He's so sneaky!

Love ya, Fer-Fer!

Margaret Turns Five

So, you're turning five. You know how to "hip it," you have lots of friends, and your big sister's flower girl dress fits you. What do you do? Well, have a princess tea party, of course!

From Margaret is 5

Margaret had five of her friends over Sunday to celebrate her fifth birthday. There was pass the teapot, pin the eyes on Mrs. Potts and Chip (from Beauty and the Beast), wand-designing, bracelet-making, menu-choosing, cake-eating, tea-sipping fun. What a wonderful party!

Mark taunts Margaret with a present, as all good uncles should:

From Margaret is 5

From Margaret is 5

Happy Birthday, Margaret! Hope your wish comes true.

More Canines

From Kate and Mark and Meeb

Kate and Mark and I went to an art show at the 930 building on Friday, after Kate's singing lesson and pizza at Impellizeri's. It was called "Animal Nature/Human Nature" and featured drawings by Matt Loeser and Douglas Miller. Doug is Kate's neighbor, so it was great to see his fantastic art. We REALLY had a good time. Can you tell by these pictures?

From Kate and Mark and Meeb

From Kate and Mark and Meeb

From Kate and Mark and Meeb

Music was by Brooks Ritter. Excellent!

And I love this picture of a girl and her puppy:

From Kate and Mark and Meeb

We now have many inside jokes, including:
> Chuckles is late
> Kate is a drone of the Apple Corps
> Alma Mater
> and maybe one other thing I can't recall. Mark?

Puppy Progression

I've been meaning to post these images of the painting I did of Xavier's best friend, Arthur. Here they are!

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

I decided against painting the letter "A" on it - it looked fine without.

I was happy at how this turned out, and thrilled that Xavier liked it too. Maybe I should do pet portraits instead of people.

Thanksgiving and Bon Bowl 2008 Photos...

...are posted to my Picasa album, here.

Victory!

All I have to say is...

From Thanksgiving 2008

Black is the new black. And I'm officially "black and blue."

The "Youngers" won. Underdogs always, we put up a noble fight against the big, brutish "Elders." Despite the smack talk, despite the Saturday-morning talking heads who put us a 10-point disadvantage, despite the many, many minutes holding our opponents' noses to their own goal line...inches away, and yet, so far, so inaccessible.

Once again, we can wear our black and gold with pride. Once again, we can walk with our heads held high amidst the sneering sea of white and purple. Once again, we can call ourselves "returning champions."

Thanks to everyone for playing, for Chip for organizing it, for Terri and Company hosting us, and for all of our fans and cheerleaders. We couldn't have done it without you!

Pre-season for Bon Bowl 18 begins now.

From Thanksgiving 2008

Gratitude

From Thanksgiving 2008

Mmmm...bread. A staple of life. And a member of our family.

Bread was planned. Bread was given life in the form of yeast. Bread baked. Bread sat around. Bread rode with us in the car. Bread gave of itself. Traces of bread are still being found in the kitchen, leaving its mark long after it has been consumed.

Who is responsible? This guy!

From Thanksgiving 2008

I am so thankful for our home, our families, our friends, our jobs, our cats, our opportunities and chances to make a difference in this world. I hope we can make the most of all the blessings we are given, and not take them for granted.

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.” –Alphonse Karr