{experiment land}

Bethany Turns Two!

2012-02-16T13:48:00.002-05:00

Bethany had a blast turning two. We had a tiny party at home with her grandparents, aunt, and cousin, Alexis. Up above there is a sweet picture of Clara with her grandfather - just so the world can see that they had the same hair for a while. :)

Mommy once again made Pioneer Woman's cupcakes, which were quite yummy. Bethany didn't quite manage to eat both of her cupcakes, so clearly Mommy is going to have to work harder on those life goals. She also struggled with blowing out her candles - complete with trying to touch the flames.

Granny got Bethany an AWESOME slide for the yard. Despite the defective base that took Grandpa and Daddy quite a while to overcome, Bethany and cousin Alexis had a blast putting the slide to good use. It is the perfect size, and Bethany loves to get it out when we play in the yard.

On her actual birthday, we took chocolate muffins to school, and came home to an amazing present from Aunt Paul & Uncle Dave in Indiana. They got Bethany her own set of dishes, and an apron to wear while she cooks! As you may or may not know, her favorite thing to make is pumpkin soup (which she has never eaten), so she got right to work putting soup in the bowls.

At two, these are some of Bethany's favorites. Thanks to my cousin Beth for the inspiration for this, by the way.

Foods: Pasta, Pizza, Strawberries, and Zaxby's chicken

Books: Thanks for Thanksgiving, All the Water in the World, Pete the Cat, and Ladybug magazines

Songs: Nursery Rhymes and Music Class songs, plus Good King Wenceslas and The Friendly Beasts

Things to Play: Cooking in your kitchen, anything outside or at the playground, and painting

Funny things you've said: When asked why your shoes were in the car, "I not 'posed to take them off, but I do!" When asked what present you would give Baby Jesus, "Zaxby's chicken and a card."

You love your sister "Carwa" and try hard to be a good helper to Mommy and Daddy. You also love to go to school and play with your friends there. We are working on listening to adults, but overall you have a very sweet spirit, and we are so glad you are a part of our lives. We love you!

P. S. Bethany's formal two year old shoot is here: http://www.monkeybeanphotos.com/home/2011/12/4/bethany-2-years-atlanta-georgia-childrens-photographer.html. Be sure you watch the video. :)

Fall.

2011-11-08T15:12:00.000-05:00

Clara's first major outing was to the Atlanta History Center, so that she could experience a rare fall day here in Atlanta. We had a hellish summer, and then it got cold quickly, so we didn't want to miss our tiny window of opportunity to be outside without choking on smog, sweating to death, or getting frostbite. Yay, climate change!

Bethany, being our child, loves the History Center. She is now old enough to get a kick out of the little playhouse (see above). It is approximately the size of our actual house, but the ceilings are lower, and we have heat and air conditioning. Otherwise, it feels just like home.

One of Lindsey's friends nicknamed BEB "nature girl," and it continues to be true. She LOVES being outside, regardless of how uncomfortable the temperate or precipitation may be. One of her favorite things this summer was to ask to go outside and catch rain in her hands. Keep in mind that it only rained about five times all summer, so most of this asking was happening when the sun was blazing. Go, imagination!

This was how Clara visited the History Center - snuggled up to Daddy in the Ergo. We LOVE that thing - best money ever spent. Anyway, she did get hungry, and I did have to nurse her on a bench shortly before a whole tour group came by. We could call that lactivism, but really, it was more like poor planning. :) Otherwise, she pretty much missed out on the whole experience. We did learn that she likes to be outside, so I'm thinking we have TWO nature girls at our house.

As part of my ongoing quest to win mother of the year, I bought this child's Halloween costume at Target. Lindsey helped me realize that my homemade bee suit was not a reality for people having intense procrastination issues and a baby due in mid-October. We settled for this, which Bethany loved, and was very easy to deal with when she didn't want to be a bee anymore. She is, though, very good at buzzing. This is all part of my master plan to send her to Georgia Tech. Mwhahaha.

Yup, Clara has a bee suit, too! Love the consignment sale bargains. Mostly, I bought it for the ridiculous hat. She looks a bit more like the Hamburglar than a bee, but whatever. It's not like she went trick or treating. :)

The newest member of the family.

2011-11-08T14:48:00.001-05:00

Clara Lydia Brown was born on October 15, at 3:53 a.m. She weighed 7 pounds and 15 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long. In our family, that is a TINY baby. Fear not, though - at her one week check up, she weighed just shy of 9 pounds. :) We'll see if that continues. We arrived at the hospital at about 2:30 a.m., got into our room just before 3:00, and I pushed for less than ten minutes. Let's all pause for a prayer of thanksgiving that this baby wasn't born on the highway.

Bethany is thrilled to be a big sister. She wants to hold, kiss, and hug Clara all the time. She also likes to decorate her with stickers. Mama is not such a huge fan of that last thing. Unlike Bethany, Clara does not view sleep as a mortal enemy. I think she is within the "normal" range - nothing freaky like sleeping through the night - but a far cry from big sis. Or, rather, just a lot LESS crying than big sis. Life with newborn and toddler is interesting, but we are taking it one day at a time. Some days are just a lot easier than others!

Here are Mom, Dad, & Clara just before leaving the hospital. We'll see if I can remember to get these pictures every month. No promises...

Oh - and if you visit the MonkeyBean Photos website, you can see Miss Clara's amazing newborn portraits. She already doesn't look like that anymore. Crazy.

More Singing.

2011-11-08T14:28:00.001-05:00

When I was tiny, my dad created a new version of a familiar tune. My brother and I both loved this "game," and now Bethany loves it, too. This was about two days before Clara was born - but I was already having contractions. In fact, I'm having one at the end of this. If you look carefully, you can watch me turn bright red. Fun times!

Bethany sings!

2011-09-12T14:55:00.001-05:00

Bethany's Uncle Dr. Pete is living in Singapore, where he is teaching for two years. The 12 hour time difference makes it hard to talk to him, so we recorded this little cinematic masterpiece so he could see one of her newer skills. Ignore the fact that you have to listen to me, too.

School Girl.

2011-09-08T13:55:00.003-05:00

Here we have our sweet girl on her first day of "pre-school." You can see her happening lunchbox, and she's wearing her backpack. (Yay for teachers who are willing to work with our cloth diapers!) The backpack is a duck, but she insists on calling it an owl. The first day was great, and every day since has been, as well. She took to it naturally, and apparently likes to help the other children by feeding them and telling them where to sit for snack and lunch.

Here she is this morning. I am coveting her dress for myself, by the way. It's finally less than 157 degrees outside, so she gets to look like she's actually going to school, not the beach. Those little shoes are actually Keds, and are therefore appropriate for P.E. She visits Coach on Thursday, and loves it. Her throwing arm is improving rapidly, which is a bit scary. I had envisioned her as more of a soccer player than a softball player, but we'll see what pans out.

Why not.

2011-08-25T13:50:00.006-05:00

Rather than apologize for over a year of non-blogging, I figured I'd just jump back in. My darling cousin Beth has inspired me to at least record the big events for our family, so you can have that to look forward to.

Here is our big girl on her first day of "summer camp." She's started a little preschool program two mornings a week, and went to camp to give us an idea of whether or not she'd like it. She loved it, and continues to be very excited about going to "school." We're very fortunate.

Our biggest announcement is that Bethany's little sister Clara is due to arrive on October 12th. In case you're counting, that will make them 22 months apart. We figure that we'll sleep sometime in the 2020s.

In other news, Bethany is off and talking like a pro. I was very proud of her ability to say, "no, thank you," until that became her super polite and hard to ignore method of getting out of doing things like cleaning up after herself. Fortunately for me, she still loves to do laundry.

Bethany is also a serious writer. She doesn't really seem to draw that much, but she loves to write. Her favorite things to write are "Daddy," "Mama," and "cracker."

Bethany's other favorites include singing all the songs from Music Class, reading books about animals, designing clever methods of avoiding sleep, anything involving water - especially baths, and brushing her teeth. One hilarious thing right now is that she uses the word "yours" to refer to things that are hers. "Brush yours?" means she wants her teeth brushed. This is very confusing, and I'm hoping she figures it out before she goes to college.

Our last big bit of news is that my cousin Laura is getting married in February, and sweet Bethany is going to attempt to be a flower girl. At the very least, she will be in the pictures. We'll see if she makes it up the aisle! Big congratulations to Laura & Chris. We love you both very much!

Sewing. I'm doing it.

2010-07-27T15:24:00.003-05:00

True fact:
I took exactly six weeks of "Home Ec" in 8th grade.
True fact:
We did not sew a blessed thing.
True fact:
We "cooked." At home. And brought our dishes to school as homework, because our class met in a kitchenless trailer.
True fact:
I signed up for my first online class ever to motivate me to move beyond the straight stitch on my admittedly fancy machine. Click on that little picture to the right if you'd like to join me.
True fact:
I made that rectangle up there. I used the sewing machine to do it. Go me.

Bethany - Seven Months.

2010-07-23T14:28:00.009-05:00

Bethany being six months old has been, without a doubt, the most amazing period of her life so far. She's learned so many things in a short amount of time. The weekend we went to Florida she learned how to clap and blink. We don't see much blinking any more, but the clapping continues, and is beyond precious. (Of course, I might be biased.) Here she is, immediately post-clapping. You can see the glee. ;)
We've had the opportunity to see lots of friends this month. Kenzie (above) is the daughter of our dear friends Erik & Naomi. Kenzie is a big Bethany fan, and worked hard to help her sit still for this picture. She also tried to help Bethany learn to dance. Let's just say we're still working on that particular skill set.
Uncle Dr. T. was in Atlanta for a wedding, and we got to spend a bit of time with him one evening. Bethany loved to look at him and smile at him, but this is about as close as she wanted to get. Bethany has now met almost all of the Tulane crowd, so the three slackers (ahem, Bear, Wascom, & Raegen) need to get their act together and come visit!!
Our little girl is a stander-upper. She's liked this for a long time, but now she's to a point where she can support most of her weight without collapsing while we hold her. This is fine, except when we need her to sit in our laps and all she wants to do is stand. She does not handle disappointment well, and generally lets everyone in the vicinity know that we are refusing to meet her standing needs.
To celebrate our nation's independence, Bethany decided to become an independent sitter. She's pretty good at it, and still has the occasional head-bonk. Combining clapping and sitting might just be her favorite hobby.
(I just love this picture.) Bethany's favorite part of Goodnight Moon is "the quiet old lady whispering hush." She thinks it's spectacular, and usually gives us a big smile, then goes about her business trying to eat the book.
Baby pool = massive failure. Enough said.
Aunt Julie & Aunt Melissa came up to Atlanta to take some of Bethany's six month portraits. We were SO glad to see them, and the portraits are gorgeous, as per usual. You can see those here and here. We are forever grateful to have friends like the two of them. :)
Since BEB has become a sitter, bathtime has gotten more interesting. This is the day she first realized she could sit up in her whale tub. You can guess how she's feeling. The slobber is just a bonus for you.
More friends! This was a great day. :) Two of my friends from Macon, Laura & Jenn, brought their daughters, Susanna & Allie, to play with Bethany. They are a bit older, but Bethany was entranced by them, and just could not figure out what she was supposed to do. It was probably the calmest I've ever seen her. Here are Susanna & Allie in Bethany's room - the group would not cooperate to get a good picture of all three girls.
And the (terrible) family shot - more fun to look at the camera than at the mirror, I'm afraid.

Phew. I'm exhausted just reliving all this. Maybe next month we'll have a tooth to show you!

Bethany - On Vacation.

2010-07-22T20:29:00.007-05:00

We had our first big adventure in June. We traveled with Nana & Grandpa B. to Florida so that Bethany could meet her great-grandmother (Grandma GG) for the first time.

The ride down went fairly smoothly, and we convinced Grandpa B. to take my favorite route - US 23 - rather than the interstate. This ended up being AWESOME when Bethany decided she was starving at about Hour Four. All we had to do was pull over in the Dairy Queen parking lot in Alma, GA. That's Bacon County for those of you who care about such things - there is not much there except the Dairy Queen.
We thanked the DQ on the way home, when we ate lunch there. I may have scandalized the locals by nursing BEB at the table (don't worry - I used the cover), but we escaped without incident. ;)

While in Florida, Bethany got to meet Aunt Mary Beth, Uncle Bob, and her cousins Laura & Amy, as well as Laura's sweet boyfriend Chris. Aunt Mary Beth let her play with a measuring cup that is now her new favorite toy. It's always nice to see family, and we know Bethany will grow up with that as an important part of her life!
She really enjoyed all the attention, as well as watching the World Cup with Daddy & Grandpa.
Here she is clapping for the United States. We won't discuss the outcome of that game. ;)

Bethany also got to visit the ocean, which was hilarious. She was not too sure about the gritty feeling of the sand, and had NO idea what to make of the wide-open horizon, but had some fun splashing her feet in the waves. The water, being the Atlantic, was pretty chilly, but she didn't seem to mind. It was a pretty short trip to the beach, since we were leaving that morning to return home, but I'm glad she got to have the experience.

We can't wait to see everyone again soon!

PS - If you're wondering why the photos are tiny again, I've had multiple uploading headaches, and the small size just works better. You can click on them to enlarge, if you wish.

Bethany - Six Months.

2010-07-19T18:51:00.010-05:00

Well. I'm late again. Hold the applause. Here's Bethany on her first Memorial Day. She's also celebrated her first Flag Day and her first Fourth of July, but we'll try to keep Ye Olde Blogge in chronological order.

Our little cowgirl had a lot of adventures shortly before she turned six months old. Aside from looking beyond cute in Daddy's hat, she worked hard at starting to eat solid food.
We planned to hold off solids till six months, but she was getting pretty agitated watching us eat, so we went ahead and started letting her have rice cereal. (That's pictured above in the bouncy chair.)
The cereal went pretty well, so she moved on right around the time she turned six months, and we discovered that we have an avocado fiend on our hands. Fortunately, one of those puppies cranks out a LOT of baby food when you freeze it in tiny portions, so she's not eating us out of house and home just yet.
Bethany continues to be a pretty happy baby most of the time. She's sleeping acceptably in her crib, nursing well, and more and more interactive while she plays. Her favorite book right now is a Little Golden Book called Animal Orchestra. It was a very random find at Little Shop of Stories, and we're pretty smitten with how she reacts when we read it to her - she literally lights up. She also lights up after showing off her newest tricks - rolling! We thought she mightnot ever be a roller, since she took so long to do it, but she proved us wrong.
We have survived our first "illness," a very short-lived stomach bug that Bethany basically slept off, and enjoyed lots of visits from friends and family. She heard her first live music at brunch with Aunt Kinsley, and tries to imitate some of our words. Bethany also adopted a new laugh, which involves crinkling her nose. We love it, which makes her do it more. We've started a library habit that goes pretty smoothly, as long as she doesn't have to be silent. Silence is NOT BEB's forte.Personality, on the other hand, we have in spades. :)

Bethany says Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

2010-05-27T14:30:00.001-05:00

Bethany says Happy Birthday, Grandpa!
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

My dad's birthday is today, and since I've continued my 10-year-long streak of not managing to get anything in the mail to anyone in time for his or her actual birthday, we thought we'd send a little video goodness.

She was going to wear a very cute outfit, but Bethany takes after her Grandpa B., and is basically a human oven. Or, maybe a human nuclear reactor. In any case, she's hot all the time, just like Grandpa.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Hope you had a great day in Flor-idia.

We love you!!

Bethany - Five Months.

2010-05-10T20:52:00.006-05:00

Bethany turned five months old last Thursday. You should be very impressed I'm so on top of her monthly post. :) The big news in the last month is that she can now grab her feet AND stuff them in her mouth. Naturally, though, she will not allow this to be captured on film. You can see her abiding love of Sophie above, when really I was trying to get her eating her feet. She can also point her index fingers, but not actually at anything. We think she might be trying to raise her little fingers, too, which is bad news for our many OU fans.
Bethany and I made our first road trip to Macon, where we got to visit with Nana, Grandpa B, and our friend Erin, who made this amazing Smilebox show for us. It is about the neatest thing ever, and we are very grateful that she took the time to do it. As for the road trip, it went fairly smoothly, with the exception of my second-worst Chick Fil A visit ever on the way home. However, I am in no hurry to travel that far again by myself!
Of course, Bethany reads a lot. She loves all of her Eric Carle books, which is no big surprise, since I once befuddled by psychologist uncle by "reading" The Very Hungry Caterpillar before I was "developmentally ready." :)
Bethany has also engaged in her first protest activity. Due to extreme budget shortfalls, the Georgia Legislature threatened to end the summer program where Lindsey and I met. Thanks to Facebook, and the picture above, Bethany was able to voice her opposition to the cut. (In case you care, partial funding was restored, no doubt in part to our cute kid.)
Since the weather has gotten warm[er], we spend a lot of time on the porch swing. Sometimes this helps us get out of a bad mood, and sometimes we just enjoy it. One great thing about where we live is that there are a decent number of animals to watch, and even some exotic ones to hear from the zoo at the park. Bethany may have a future as a botanist, since she tries to grab every plant that is anywhere near her. We're hoping this is not an appetite for destruction.
Granny was able to come down and visit last Saturday, and she and Bethany had a very nice time. Of course, Bethany refused to cooperate so that I could get a picture of both of them smiling. Granny brought her a new crinkly book, which has been a big hit. (I told you, she's a reader.)
And finally, the "five month" portrait, which I should admit was actually taken on Mother's Day.

Sitting.

2010-04-30T14:11:00.001-05:00

Sitting.
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

Since the last post was just a lot of boring writing, I figured I'd share this one of Bethany's new independent supported sitting. Well, that and the faces are about the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Muchas gracias to Aunt Lala for the darling owl shirt. HOOT HOOT!

There is more to my life than that baby.

2010-04-30T12:50:00.004-05:00

But not much. :)

One of our big adventures for this summer involves me learning to eat ~~more~~ some vegetables. In order to do that, we made the rather enormous decision to buy a CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} share. Every week, we'll be picking up a box of fresh-grown veggies from Scharko Farms at our friendly neighborhood farmer's market. Our first box arrives next Thursday, and I'm pretty excited. Of course, when it's entirely full of things I don't eat, the enthusiasm may dim somewhat. Fortunately, we split our share with our friends Mark, Shelly, & Conner, and Shelly is an amazing cook, so hopefully she'll be able to inspire me. (No pressure or anything...)

Eventually, Lindsey would really like us to have a decent garden of our own, but that will involve some massive tree surgery on the giant oak that shades pretty much the entire backyard. This year, he's content with three heirloom tomato plans from a coworker.

I am also sort of determined to start making "stuff" again - I've been missing it, and I have a few crafty ideas up my sleeve. Since they're all supposed to be speedy projects, maybe I'll get them done by September??

Happy weekend!

Bethany - Four Months.

2010-04-23T17:03:00.004-05:00

Figured I should do the four month post before she turns five months. :) At her four month checkup, Bethany weighed 14.4 pounds, and was 26 inches long. Her head also measured in the 98th percentile. We are attributing that to her immense brain, not just an enormous skull, though the truth remains to be seen. As you can see, our first St. Patrick's Day as a family of three was marked by wearing an inappropriate symbol, and enjoying a very rainy day. Wildness and craziness all around. (Ha.)

She continues nursing like a champ, and decided shortly after turning four months old that she no longer wished to be swaddled at night. This was not happy news for mommy and daddy, because she still has a pretty strong startle reflex, so she is up much more at night than she had been. She also wants to sleep on her side (like the grown-ups in this house do, we think), so that adds a layer of excitement to her nighttime flailing.

Ignore the sunglasses that ruin this otherwise sweet picture. Now that the sun occasionally shines in Atlanta, we spend a lot of time walking around the park. We have also enjoyed several outside restaurant meals, which are much better for babies than trying to be quiet and still inside a restaurant, or at least Mommy thinks so.

Bethany celebrated her first Easter with lots of friends in town (more on that in a later post), including her first Tulane Girls' weekend. We really missed Aunt Raegen, but Aunts Feather, Caro, and Lala were here to indoctrinate her. The indoctrination was very successful, and we cannot wait to get EVERYONE together to meet her.

On Easter Monday, she also was able to meet Uncle Ralph very briefly, as he was in Georgia to attend a practice round at The Master's with Grandpa B. & Uncle Andrew. As you can see, he still has the magic touch with babies.

{Notice in the family picture that only one of us is getting cuter.} Bethany continues to amaze us with what she tries to do and what she won't try to do. She has no interest in grabbing her feet, but does grab everything in sight and shove it in her mouth, including very small things that we don't realize she has the dexterity to grab until she does it. She also refuses to roll all the way over, but then sits up in the bathtub.

She really likes sitting on the couch (because she thinks she's just a short grown-up; I can't wait to tell her how wrong that assumption is!), and spending time on the porch swing. Her eyes are still very light, and we can't tell if they're going to be more grey or more blue. (Or mess us up completely by turning brown.) Her hair is getting longer and thicker, but still maintains a buzz cut look overall. She talks A LOT, and recently mastered what I like to call the Vikings-Are-Coming-to-Pillage-Our-Town shriek. Overall, she remains a very sweet and easy-to-care-for baby, and we are VERY grateful.

Happy Tummy Time.

2010-04-22T17:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Tummy Time.
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

This is one of my favorite videos yet, since you get to hear her talk AND watch that pretty smile. Ordinarily she wears her gowns pulled over her diaper, of course, but we make exceptions for tummy time since she really doesn't like it - not that you'd know that from watching this.

Bethany - Three Months

2010-03-12T12:05:00.014-05:00

Last Saturday, this little cutie turned three months old. Or, as my father put it, one quarter of a year. Thanks, Daddy, for that clarification. ;) (As you can see, Croshetta Mouse continues to be a favorite! Thanks, Granny Brown!) If you haven't seen these yet, you REALLY should take a look. Thanks to Melissa & Julie for more gorgeous portraits.

My parents visited on her three month birthday (March 6th). Here she is telling my father what's what. He brought along his shark puppet for what he called "genetic testing." She is not yet into the puppet, but is not afraid of it either, so the testing will have to be repeated. [The short version of this story is that sharks tend to be the subject of a LOT of inside family jokes, and my dad is kind of obsessed with them. If Bethany doesn't dig the shark thing... Well, let's just not go there.]

And here we have Bethany with both of her Blascovich grandparents in an outfit given to her by our family friend Mrs. Escovedo, who used to take care of my brother and me when we lived in Texas. Bet you didn't even KNOW I used to live in Texas, did you? Anyway, we love Mrs. Escovedo, who taught me many important things. I hear she reads the blog, so hopefully she'll see this picture...

Finally, the family portrait. Don't you love my hair?

At three months, Bethany is doing amazing things. She holds her head up all the time now, and desperately wants to sit up on her own. She can reach and grasp things independently, and likes to play with her baby gym by pushing it around. She sees her feet, but doesn't grab for them. Yet. She is still talking up a storm, and has a very adorable laugh - see the post below for evidence. She has definitively refused the bottle, which is only a slight inconvenience, fortunately.

When the weather is nice (stop laughing! sometimes the sun almost shines!), she really enjoys long walks around the park. Sleep-wise, she's doing pretty well. Usually, she's up just long enough to nurse, and then falls directly back to sleep. Our next big adventure might be moving her from her co-sleeper in our room to her own crib. At times, she will help us turn pages in books, and she's a very good listener when we read aloud. Her musical favorites haven't changed too much since last month, and John Denver is probably still at the top of her list. We are trying to remember to let her spend more time on her tummy. Right now, she props herself up really well for a few minutes, then gets bored, and lets us know it.

One final note: my children's literature blog now has its own website. Visit www.readitmakeit.com - soon to be updated much more frequently, now that Mommy has finished a huge contract project. (*cue angels singing*)

Happy Friday & Happy Weekend!

A little hilarity.

2010-03-12T11:58:00.001-05:00

VID00025
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

Just because it's Friday. And because this ridiculously bleak weather is driving me crazy. (Ignore my fake laugh, and focus on the cuteness.)

Since my child has put herself to sleep...

2010-02-19T15:41:00.009-05:00

... thought I'd share some photos of her (finally) (almost) finished bedroom.

We caught a lot of flack from folks when we didn't know what gender our baby would be, and we told them the room was blue. LOTS of people immediately replied with, "well, you'll have to change that if she's a girl." Um, no. It turns out that we like the color, really like it with red accents, and guess what?? Our baby has remained a girl despite the blue room.

We'll start with her crib, which came from IKEA. Notice how pristine it looks? Notice how there are multiple death traps near it? (Soft toys, hanging blanket, pillow...) That's because she's only used it for the occasional nap, and now she's starting to hang out in there a bit while we're in her room so she'll get used to it. This is the secret to having an immaculate crib - don't use it! Print on the wall is by the amazing Black Apple, and the pom poms are a MonkeyBean creation from my first shower. (Awww.) The blanket you can't see was mine, made by a great-aunt, and has the tightest crochet stitches I have ever seen.

Next we have the rocking chair, source of immense angst for my younger brother. Mom had a different chair for each of us, and this is actually his. However, when we moved to Georgia, Mom put my rocking chair in his room, so he's attached to that one. Thus, I have his for Bethany. Confused? Imagine how I felt when we tried to sort all this out when I was 9 months pregnant. Yeah. The gorgeous afghan was made by Lindsey's sisters' step-grandmother. More Black Apple art on the wall, and another print by an artist whose name I've forgotten, so I'll have to look that up and report back.

This is the crazy amount of stuff I have temporarily put on her bookshelf. I know that it will all have to go when she starts pulling up, but for now, I like it. You can see some of her MonkeyBean newborn portraits, as well as a Pete the Cat print - he's riding the St. Charles streetcar, of course. A whole bunch of vintage books, a vintage baby bonnet, a doll I bought in Prague, and a little ceramic box made for me when I was little round this out. You don't want to see the shelves - trust me.

The color on this shot is off, but you can see the canvas piece Kinsley made for Bethany, as well as my very clever (ha) use of a picture display mobile for Bethany's art cards. This is hanging above her changing table, which is really a pad on top of a dresser. Couldn't get the whole thing in a remotely decent shot, so you'll just have to imagine the dresser. Bethany loves to stare up at both of these things, since they're black, white, & red.

Finally - gratuitous cuteness.

Snow Report!

2010-02-13T11:59:00.003-05:00

Let me just apologize now for the formatting nightmare that is this post. It is so much easier to link to the videos on flickr, but flickr insists on this wackadoodle right-hand alignment thing. GRRRR. Here. Look at the pretty baby. It will make you feel better.

Phew. Now you can watch her on video:

Bethany Makes a Snow Angel - February 13, 2010

Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

Bethany loved being outside this morning, in our whopping three inches of snow. It has, of course, sent all of Atlanta to a standstill - again. Two actual snows in one winter? And it's not even March? Unheard of! We are fortunate we don't have to go anywhere today, because apparently the roads are icy disasters - again. One day, the city of Atlanta will have an appropriate number of sand trucks. Until then, we're snowed in every time there is any accumulation. There are worse things, I know.

Bethany - Two Months

2010-02-13T10:59:00.016-05:00

Here is our lovely family at two months-ish. We seem to be doing worse at these self-portraits. By the time she's a year old, none of us will be looking at the camera. As you can see, I have not had a haircut since before Bethany was born - it's sort of a Three's Company look, I think.

At her two month check up, Bethany was 12 pounds 3 ounces, and 22.8 inches long. I am not going to quibble with the four medical professionals who were involved in measuring her, but where I come from, we don't measure inches in tenths. If you want tenths, use centimeters. Moving on. She had to get three shots and an oral vaccine. Fortunately, our friend Belen, whose family owns Mi Barrio (best Mexican restaurant on the planet), was able to give them to her. That made Mommy feel better, but Bethany was still underwhelmed.

Bethany still loves to stare at any ceiling fan she can find, and will actually seek them out in new places. Hopefully this will develop into some sort of engineering skill as she gets older, rather than just a freaky hobby. She is learning to grab, and practices most often on Mommy's hair, but will also hold her Sophie giraffe and her crocheted rattle. Other things - not so much.

She smiles a lot, and is trying to talk. We think she tries to match pitch, as well, which is unfortunate, since neither of her parents has perfect pitch. (That last sentence was what we call an understatement.) We need Uncle Dr. T. to move back to Atlanta, and be a musical role model for her. In the meantime, we encourage her to sing and dance. Mommy does this by playing lots of songs about New Orleans & Louisiana (her favorites are "Twist and Shout," "Jambalaya," and "At the Foot of Canal Street"), and dancing around like a complete fool. Daddy does this by playing soothing classical music while reading Beatrix Potter books aloud. If only I were kidding.

We have braved several outings, and she has done well most of the time. Nana and 'Aunt' Shelly have both had the pleasure of hanging out with "that baby" in restaurants, though. She handles church fairly well, probably because she gets to eat during the sermon. Add that to the list of bad habits we'll have to stop eventually.

Bethany says that's enough blathering about her. In fact, she's giving you a visual clue about just what she thinks regarding this post. Too bad, dearie, because up next - we have a snow report!!

Bethany refusing to talk.

2010-02-02T19:21:00.001-05:00

Bethany refusing to talk.
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

This is our child, not doing the amazing amount of talking she was doing shortly before I went to get the camera. Hmpf.

And finally... The Present.

2010-01-29T19:43:00.011-05:00

Phew. I described the first 6 weeks of Bethany's life as being on a treadmill where someone else is controlling the speed & incline. And let's just say that someone was a lot like Jillian on The Biggest Loser. Nonetheless, we survived, and Bethany seems to be doing quite well. Last Saturday, she met her first author, Deborah Wiles, at Bound to Be Read books, and got her first autographed books, as well.

Nana visited this week, and commented on how much bigger she's gotten since Christmas. I suppose it has to be true, especially considering her insatiable appetite, but I still see a tiny baby. Apparently, this is going to be how I feel for many years to come. It's hard to believe she'll be 8 weeks old on Sunday! Last week she discovered her hands, and I *think* she's found her feet, as well. She's laughing and smiling a lot now (when she's not screaming - she's a woman of extremes).
Thought the cousins might like to see the Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls sent by Grandma G. G. (Grandma B.). Bethany likes them quite a lot, and really enjoys their bright red hair.
I made Lindsey take this picture last Sunday before church so that she'd have some photographic evidence of her mother. Of course, the top of my head was optional. :) I love that overall jumper, but it's about the dumbest piece of clothing EVER for an infant. At least it looks cute.

And finally, I'm putting some effort into my children's literature blog: www.readitmakeit.blogspot.com, if you've got time on your hands, stop by & say hi. :)

Backing Up... One Month.

2010-01-29T19:35:00.006-05:00

At her one month checkup, Bethany weighed 10 pounds 5 ounces, and was 22 inches long. WOW. She is quite the smiley baby, which we love, and loves to stare up at the ceiling fans. Thank goodness we have them. Her favorite hobbies are eating and eating. Sleeping...not so much. She likes to hug Croshetta Mouse and spend time on her sheepskin rug.

This bonnet & sweater were mine. :)
(I know I already posted this, but I'm trying to put the milestones in the monthly posts.) Here is an example of sweetie's freakish head strength. She was able to hold her head up as soon as she arrived, and it's just gotten stronger. Of course, she's NOT as strong as she thinks she is, so she bonks her head a fair bit.
My mother had the extremely good idea that we should take a family portrait in the bathroom mirror every month - this is the one month version. I think we all know who's cutest. :)

Backing Up... Christmas. Again.

2010-01-29T19:32:00.002-05:00

Just because I like it. Bethany and her Daddy in front of the tree. The tree won't look like this again for a while - the vintage glass balls will NOT be used next year, fear not.

Backing Up... The TU Visits

2010-01-29T19:22:00.004-05:00

Two of my dearest friends from Tulane have visited Atlanta since Bethany arrived, so I figured I should post their darling pictures.

The Uncles Jason (Jason F. & Jason B.) came just a week after she was born, and brought her a darling I *heart* NY bear. Jason F. held her for a solid two hours, and I secretly want to know what his magic is. :)

Then, Uncle Petey visited at the beginning of January on a frigid day. We ate some yummy barbecue, and then toured him around the hood. As you can see, Bethany took a liking to him, as well.

Backing Up... Bethany's Announcements

2010-01-11T19:39:00.003-05:00

Once again, created by the incomparable MonkeyBean! And yes, these will actually go in the mail, hopefully sooner rather than later. I just love her little grin so much. Sigh.

Backing Up... Christmas.

2010-01-08T11:27:00.006-05:00

We had a lovely Christmas. Lindsey's mom came for Christmas Eve, and gave Bethany her new friend, Croshetta Mouse. Croshetta is very popular, and Bethany will actually give her a little hug. We made it to the Christmas Eve service at church, and she did well for about 15 minutes, then got hungry. We left to nurse, and then made it back in time for Communion and to visit with everyone afterward. There may also have been cookies involved. Ahem. Moving on.

Christmas Day, my parents & brother came to Atlanta (with barbecue in tow - woot!), and we had a very relaxing afternoon. Uncle Andrew also started Bethany's college fund. She clearly takes after her Grandpa B. - she was more excited about the check than her toys. Next year, we'll buy her a 16-column pad to track all of her expenses. Ha.

Shortly after Christmas, she also demonstrated her rapidly increasing upper body strength with this awesome trick:

Like I've been telling everyone, she's advanced. :)

And finally, because I kept forgetting to link to them, our friends Melissa & Julie came to take Bethany's newborn portraits when she was a week old. Here is the link to the previews - they are FANTASTIC.

From the depths of sleep deprivation...

2009-12-31T20:44:00.004-05:00

Bethany wanted us to say Happy New Year. She's awfully excited to see all of 2010. We're hoping she'll sleep through at least some of it. She'll be a month old in four days - CRAZY.

The Brownie Cometh.

2009-12-15T12:56:00.007-05:00

Bethany Emerson Brown arrived Sunday, December 6, 2009

at 9:29 a.m.

She weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 20 inches long.

She is fabulous, and we adore her.

You probably don't want to read her birth story, but I'm going to work on it this week and post it. Let's just say things did not go according to plan, and leave it at that. Fortunately, everything turned out just fine.

People have been wondering about her name. We just like Bethany, plus it's not super common. My grandmother's (the Motherina's mother's) maiden name was Emerson. (Very tricky - but her first name was Mildred, and I just wasn't going there. No offense to any Mildreds who may be reading this.) Anyway, the Emerson honors her and my great-aunt Martha who filled in as my grandmother after mine passed away when I was a baby.

Isn't she great?

Things that make pregnant girls happy.

2009-11-28T23:34:00.003-05:00

Yeah, so if you haven't had these yet, you're missing out. If you live somewhere without access to them, I'm really sorry. REALLY sorry.

Brownie is cooking away, and showing no indication of vacating the premises. Procrastination is apparently a hardcore genetic trait.

Back in September...

2009-11-18T12:17:00.005-05:00

My good friend Lauren (who is already Auntie Lala to precious little James, and will be Auntie Lala to the Brownie as well) came into Atlanta for a little reunion weekend before, you know, our lives change forever. That's us in the top photo. She was able to arrive in time to attend a fabulous shower thrown at the MonkeyBean Mansion. Having friends who are photographers is very helpful, and Melissa ROCKS for taking these amazing pictures, even though it meant she didn't show up in any of them. BOO! I'll let them speak for themselves, with just a little captioning for fun.

Here you see Kinsley, with her extremely awesome cupcake, and also the tissue pompoms that Melissa & Julie made - three of them are going to be installed today (!) in the baby's room.

And here are Julie & Natalie working hard on making little bibs for the Brownie. You can almost tell that Natalie is pregnant in this picture, but now she's not! (Baby Avery arrived on the 18th - yay!)

A little depressing French music for your morning...

2009-11-16T11:10:00.002-05:00

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Soon and very soon...

2009-11-13T16:42:00.002-05:00

...bunches of things will be checked off the non-baby-related to do list. They all swirled around this week (ugh), so after I present at the National Council for the Social Studies conference tomorrow morning (and you KNOW folks are just lining up to see a 9AM presentation on a Saturday), the work that's left can largely be called "fun."

Until then...

Because Amy asked so nicely...

2009-11-04T10:22:00.003-05:00

Here is the most recent decent picture of the Brownie. We've had one more since this one, but even the midwife who "took" it said that it looked more like a Halloween decoration than a baby. Turns out this 3-D technology isn't perfected, and if some other body part is in front of the face, you get a spooky image. This one is actually from September - sorry.

At this point, the Brownie was head up (boo!), but now s/he has complied with modern medical practice, and is head down, so that's one less reason to end up with a very unwanted c-section (yay!). At the last appointment, I also got to watch him/her doing practice breathing, which is pretty cool to see.

We have had several lovely showers, and people have been very generous, so we feel like we're in good shape for the Brownie's arrival in about a month. I managed to forget the camera at every single one of the showers, so I am at the mercy of others to have the time to download photos and send them to me. I am being patient, since I still have photos from APRIL on my camera. Ugh.

I am aiming for massive progress in the Brownie's room this weekend - we moved a bunch of furniture out and did some rearranging on Halloween (in between giving uncostumed teenagers one piece of candy each - boo again!), so it's almost time for the decorating & organizing, which we all know is my favorite part, vastly preferable to actual cleaning. You might get lucky and get to see the results of that in photographic form, but it also might be March before that happens.

Happy Wednesday!

Assorted news.

2009-08-19T20:01:00.003-05:00

To answer the questions of our adoring fans....

I am feeling fine. Not great, exactly, but fine. Way better than earlier in the summer when sleep was my sole activity. I am VERY fortunate to have work that allows me to sleep a little bit later, and work in bursts rather than sit in a cube and try to function. And, of course, it is MUCH easier than feeling this way with a roomful of seven year olds.

The Brownie will be a surprise, gender-wise. Everyone has varying opinions about what they think, some based on actual evidence (the overabundance of female cousins in our families) and some based on proximity (everyone else is having a girl so I am having a boy). It will be interested to see who is correct!

Name wise, things are up in the air. Because we both teach, a LOT of names are eliminated due to unfortunate connotations. Of course, I never intended to give my child a name with three capital letters and multiple apostrophes, but even those old standbys like Justin and Joshua bring back shudders. (All elementary teachers know that the J-names are never a good sign.) One friend of ours is calling the baby Oswald. I can also guarantee you that is not on the list.

I am so ready for it to be fall that it's not funny. I am saying this even though I do not have one single pair of maternity jeans that fits, so my jeans-and-sweater uniform is potentially going to have to be on sabbatical this year. We'll see what happens.

Happy Wednesday!

Hello, Internet.

2009-08-16T16:18:00.002-05:00

(For the two of you who were worried, the mail lady battle continued, but I persevered. The mail box has now been relocated to the other side of the porch, and the "tree" is no longer Public Enemy #1. I just roll my eyes at the mail lady.)

Questions on Sunday afternoon:
1) Why do I get six or seven bug bites every time I am outside for longer than 10 minutes? Note that this is not pregnancy-related; it has happened for years.

2) Why did a bunch of yellow jackets decide to build their nest inside our bedroom window frame? Operation Yellow Jacket Removal is in progress, which means I have to sleep in the other bedroom. I do not like change.

3) Is the destruction of Yellow Jackets any indication of the result of the UGA/Tech game come Thanksgiving weekend? At that point I will be 9.5 months pregnant, so I doubt I will care.

4) Why is growling suddenly the preferred method of communication for my Sunday School class? I do not like having to say things like, "Speak, don't growl," repeatedly.

5) Why are vanilla malts not considered part of a balanced diet? There has to be a way to put vitamins in them, so that they are like broccoli, only yummy.

That is all for now.

Note to the mail "lady"

2009-06-12T10:31:00.003-05:00

1) Delevry is not a word. It is spelled d-e-l-i-v-e-r-y, which I would think you should know, given your line of work.

2) The "tree" in question is a hibiscus plant. It's not currently blooming, so I'll give you an exemption for not being able to identify it from its leaves alone, but by no means does it look like a "tree."

3) It is not in your way. At all. And yes, I am going to cut it back, as requested by your stupid note, because otherwise you won't deliver my mail, and I'm not in the mood for that. But know that I am VERY underwhelmed with you. Just as I was underwhelmed with you LAST summer for demanding that I trim this very same plant WHILE IT WAS BLOOMING. You claimed the bees were going to "get you." Newsflash - bees will leave you alone if you leave them alone. I swear, I must not have taught your flailing around crazy self in second grade, because if I taught my students anything, it was to LEAVE BEES ALONE. I digress.

4) You should be grateful that I am working on patience, because you almost got attacked by a crazy pregnant lady, had I not taken a deep breath and counted to 1293837423847438748.

The end.

Coming Soon:

2009-05-28T17:29:00.002-05:00

December 1, 2009 (ish)

I am embarrased to admit I like anything that this closely resembles High School Musical.

2009-05-22T15:29:00.001-05:00

Nonetheless, I do.

Watch it, and tell me I'm not crazy.

Then, stay tuned for real news later in the weekend.

So sometimes I don't blog for a month and half.

2009-05-09T20:04:00.002-05:00

And it appears that the world continues to move on without me. WHO KNEW??

Regardless, absolutely none of you wanted to hear the "I hate my job" that has become my everyday for the last couple of months. Now that I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can ignore the idiocy that I deal with every. single. day.

See last we talked, I have torn up our house with the goal of doing some massive rearranging. Then, I lost any desire to actually DO that rearranging, so now we just have a torn-up house. I'm thinking I'll overcome this soon - the question is HOW soon. We are going to give away a bunch of stuff. This has already begun, and I know it will make our lives easier. I'm even being harsh with the classroom stuff. I GAVE AWAY AN ENTIRE BOX OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS, PEOPLE!!! Some of you will have to pick yourselves up off the floor right now, so I'll wait.

******************************whistles to self**************************************

Now that we've all recovered, I will tell you about my new favorite thing: www.pearbudget.com. It is fantastic. We've always been good about living within our means, but aside from tracking things sporadically, I've never been super sure where all the money went. Now, I know, for sure, that we're only really blowing money in a couple of areas. (Namely, food.) This is much easier to use than Microsoft Money (what I used in college, when I really had to know where all the money was going - only back then, the categories were a bit different, but I digress). It also makes you input everything yourself, so you feel the burn. My BFF Dave would be proud. Further news: Lindsey has quoted Dave's radio show to me THREE times in the last week, which is pretty funny.

The farmers' market opened this week, but we weren't there, because we were here seeing a preview of Ken Burns's newest documentary on the National Parks. Oh my heavens - it is spectacularly gorgeous (of course), and tear-jerking! I think I cried three times. He's done an amazing job of making it almost an inclusive history of our country, too. Did you know that a Japanese immigrant was instrumental in getting support for the Great Smoky Mountains national park? I didn't! Very cool stuff - it'll be on PBS in September, and I know that I am the only one dorky enough to dedicate 12 hours of my life to it, so you don't have to lie and tell me you're going to watch it. That's okay. I'll just tell you about it. :)

And I know it's dreadful to post this much text without a picture, but I'm on the work computer (SHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!) and there are no pictures on here. I should give you some pretty waterfall to look at soon, but that might be July. Ha.

Oh yes.

2009-03-26T16:31:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of my brother - a little Macon love for all of you. Though this does prove that Jack McBrayer is more than a bit older than I am, because gym uniforms were happily forgotten before I started high school. Kenneth is on tonight, of course, along with the rest of the 30Rock gang...

Merit pay has been the hot topic for those of the teacher ilk here lately - our state legislature just approved extra pay for people who teach *some* subjects - what a crock. Anyway, I loved what this blogger had to say about merit pay in general (quit rolling your eyes, Petey).

And because y'all know I have some mad Mr. Rogers love, and because I forgot to remind you about his birthday this year, I thought you should know that you too can own your own trolley:

I know. I want one, too.

All is right with the world...

2009-03-07T15:25:00.002-05:00

The windows are open.
Our neighbor is babysitting his granddaughter - she's making mudpies.
The daffodils are blooming.
The snow in our front yard has finally melted.

Hard to believe that cute picture below was just less than a week ago!

Days like today always make me wish I was with my college roommates "studying" in Audubon Park in New Orleans - we'd take our books & a blanket & fall asleep within the hour - it was great.

Happy weekend...

Happy March!

2009-03-01T13:06:00.004-05:00

It never snows in Georgia when it "should," and usually it doesn't even count, but this is fantastic. It started during church, and by the time I drove home, the houses, cars, and the park were covered.

It's like movie snow - you can actually see the great big flakes!!!

(I know I'm entertaining all of you who see this stuff as a nuisance - some of us still think it's pretty cool.)

Unfortunately - x 5.

2009-02-21T17:19:00.003-05:00

Type the words "Unfortunately (your name)" in Google and see what you get.

In my case:
1) Unfortunately, Sarah took these and many other fascinating facts with her to her grave.
2) Unfortunately Sarah and Aldous have chosen the same place to take their vacation.
3) Unfortunately, Sarah's not telling the truth.
4) Unfortunately, Sarah is unprepared for her attraction to John Churchill, a handsome soldier of much merit and little fortune. (What is that - a latter-day Jane Austen novel?)
5) Unfortunately Sarah cannot understand the thick drawls of many Senators from Alabama, resulting in many unintentional misquotes.

Hysterical? I thought so, too.

{Many thanks to Jenny at Allsorts for the idea.}

Merci beaucoup.

2009-02-17T21:11:00.003-05:00

Big, huge, gigantic, slobbery thanks to everyone who answered the poll. I owe each of you some additional individual thanks, but please know already you've been a big help.

In other news, if you have not yet seen last week's 30 Rock, I sincerely recommend that you hightail it over to Hulu and watch it. Then, report back. It is, without a doubt, hilarious.

That is all for now.

Poll.

2009-02-12T20:09:00.000-05:00

If you were a big social studies geek, and you could study whatever you wanted during your six weeks at nerd camp, what would you want to study?

Note: Those of you who never comment, now would be a good time. *coughcoughPetercoughcoughBarrettcoughcough*

Hearts, hearts, hearts.

2009-02-05T17:25:00.004-05:00

Valentine's Day was never my favorite. I had fun making valentines until about fourth grade, and then it was just a drag. It was never very exciting later, either. Now, I like the crafty aspects of it, but could still really care less about the holiday. Yesterday, I looked at a list of restaurants with prix fixe menus for Valentine's, and NOTHING. Nada. Zilch. Absolutely none of it looked good. Seriously - why stuff a perfectly good fillet with OYSTERS? Yucky.

The worst of the worst? Places that advertised a "rose for the lady" at every table. BLECCCCCHHH.
With all of that said, I had a blast making my cards for Sarah's swap, and stupidly forgot to take a picture of them. Things are going swimmingly for Lisa's swap package, as well, and that one should be on its way to her shortly. Here's the mantel, currently, waiting on this year's valentines to arrive and cover it even further in crafty goodness. I decided that the Christmas card holder could continue in service for an extra couple of months. Besides, the cute dress card that Sarah made last year covers up the Christmas star at the top. Aren't I tricky...
Props to Sarah for the bottle brush tree & button tree idea/direction - those used to be Christmas decorations, but I've decided to make them work year round.

Coming up for air...

2009-02-03T18:15:00.003-05:00

I wish I could say that it's been fun, but it hasn't. When the highlights have included debating the finer points of state economics standards, you know it's been crazy.

One swap down, one to go, and I'm super excited to see what everyone has been making. In all fairness, making stuff has been more of a highlight than the econ discussion, so I should stop being an Eeyore.

I owe you a mantel picture, KK, but it will have to wait for a day when the clouds are not screaming "SNOW" like they are tonight.

Trying to devote some energy this week to figuring out where I'll be next school year - I'm entertaining all offers within a reasonable driving distance. Resume available upon request...

Happy Tuesday.

Wow.

2009-01-20T19:32:00.002-05:00

This was the highlight of the day, for me. At first, I thought it was going to be this, but Reverend Lowery just did me in. I've sung that song many times, in many places, with all kinds of folks, but hearing him say those words on the steps of the Capitol - wow. It's just been that kind of day.

Shameless bragging.

2009-01-19T17:32:00.004-05:00

Why does Lindsey look so excited? Because it's snowing, of course! We had some nice big flakes on Saturday evening - not enough to stick, or even to count, really, but it was (very briefly) exciting. It almost justified the arctic temperatures we've been having.

These were my anniversary gift last week. I know, he's great. And I shouldn't show off like this, but I'm going to, anyway. We celebrated with an oh-so-fancy dinner at Mi Barrio, which is (da-da-da-dum!) reopened after the Lopez family's holiday break to Mexico. Not a moment too soon, might I add.

We've been really working at cleaning up and cleaning out around here, which has made me pretty scarce on the blog. I've also been working on my two swaps for Valentine's Day. Once we get the cleaning done, I think I'll be more than ready for some heartish decorating.

Happy week!

Dull.

2009-01-08T20:27:00.003-05:00

We have had a comfortably dull week. Sometimes it's nice when that happens, I think. Lindsey's off watching "the game" with some friends - OU fans for you, Lennye. The TV and I are going to have some quality time, especially because there's a new 30 Rock tonight. It's safe to say I'm obsessed. I used to tease Lindsey about having a huge crush on Tina Fey, but now he says I'm the one with the crush.

Whatever. She's hilarious. You can't fault a girl for that, now can you.

Happy Thursday!

Look who's come to live with me....

2009-01-05T22:30:00.002-05:00

Yep, it's a new yo-yo maker. Only this time, it makes hearts. Tonight, I read the directions (only in English, not in the other three languages, I'm not crazy), and tomorrow I'll attempt one. I know you'll be waiting with bated breath.

It is POURING here, which we desperately need, but it's too warm for January, and now it's humid! We'll have enough of this in July, thank you very much, I don't know that we need it today. Hmpf.

Happy Monday...

January Mantel

2009-01-04T13:45:00.004-05:00

January Mantel
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

For the mantel-loving folks out there, here is what it looks like today. Mid-month, it will probably go ahead & transition to Valentine's Day, just because I love red that much. It also means that I can put out last year's swap goodies, and add this year's to it as they arrive.

Fun things include: our photo by MonkeyBean; an altered bottle made by Dawn, coveted by me, and Christmas presented to me by the Motherina; bottle brush trees Monkey & I dyed last year; and the l-o-v-e-l-y soldered piece from Lennye.

The other side of the mantel is kind of dull, so I didn't even bother to take its picture. For excitement, I signed up for the Decorated Fireplace Mantels group at flickr. Since I'm the only one in the group who's posted a picture so far, we'll see how this goes. I just want to make sure I'm up on the hottest mantel trends (*snicker*). Speaking of flickr - I'm thinking of upgrading to the Pro account. Any thoughts on this? I mostly just want the ability to EASILY organize & label all of my pictures, somewhere other than our skittish hard drive.

Happy Sunday!

Resolution.

2009-01-03T20:55:00.002-05:00

Resolution.
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

I will use more of this yarn this year. I mean it!! I decided to use the felted sweater bowl the Motherina bought me for Easter in the way in which it was intended, too.

In the bowl, you can see an unfinished dishtowel (navy), an unfinished scarf (speckled), unfinished knitting practice (green), & really pretty yarn that I know will be something fun - just nothing very large, since I only have that skein.

To help me make this resolution a reality, I've been trolling YouTube for knitting & crochet videos. The best I've found (so far) are from www.knitwitch.com; she's even a Georgia girl, so it's like supporting the local economy or something. It's interesting how many people attempt to hold the camera between their chin & shoulder while attempting to explain what they're doing - let me just tell you, this doesn't work. At all.

Happy weekend!

Ahem.

2009-01-02T23:11:00.005-05:00

I would like to record for posterity's sake that we accomplished things today. Super fun things, like weeding through our mountains of books to give a bunch away - three boxes worth, in fact, and I haven't even touched the Everest-sized pile of school books.

We also ordered pizza and it was delivered. To our house. This is not something that can happen just anywhere - in fact, it's the first time I've been able to have pizza delivered directly to me since I lived in Macon. In 2004.

There are advantages to city living.

We spent New Year's here - it's a nice enough place, and much calmer than our hood on a major holiday, but as Lindsey pointed out, if you've grown up looking at woods, it's just not that exciting.

And if you aren't already a fan of Richard Peck's YA novels, I highly recommend them. I just read Fair Weather, which is superb, and definitely a whole mess better than all that crud full of fairies, wolves, & mist that the 10-15 set seems to enjoy reading these days. {For more fun, check out A Long Way from Chicago & A Year Down Yonder.}

Happy Friday!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T22:00:00.004-05:00

Vintage Heart Swap, #2!

2008-12-30T15:52:00.002-05:00

vntg heart swap 2
Originally uploaded by from my cherry heart

The lovely Dolly, who writes at From My Cherry Heart, is hosting her second annual Vintage Heart Swap. Sign-ups are open until January 9th, I believe. This is a fun one. To see my treats from last year, just look here.

In other news, I had an email today that the Handmade Toy Saving initiative is currently #1 in its division at change.org, but we don't want anyone else pulling ahead here at the last minute. Voting continues through the 31st, so click on that link on the sidebar. NOW! GO!! Thanks. :)

Observe --------------------------------------------->

2008-12-27T16:19:00.004-05:00

I added this festive little widget to remind all of us to DO SOMETHING about a new law scheduled to take effect early next year. It's getting a lot of press in some places, though none here in Atlanta, as far as I can tell, but then again folks here do love them some plastic. I'm no libertarian, but this really is our sweet government going too far. The intent is WONDERFUL - protect children from toxic toys. The only problem is that it affects everyone, even your grandma who crochets little bears for the church craft fair. To learn more, visit here or here.

And even if you think I'm full of hooey, stop by the site and vote for SOMETHING.

For once, ANYTHING is better than nothing. :)

Merry Christmas, from my loving brother.

2008-12-25T18:32:00.001-05:00

Yes. It's a chimpanzee, riding on a Segway. Bam bababa bam bam.

My friend Lennye makes me cry.

2008-12-21T20:18:00.002-05:00

If you're feeling just a little bit Grinchy or Scrooge-y this Christmas season, I highly recommend you read about what my friend Lennye was able to do for a student. Sometimes, I think we look too far heavenward for miracles, when most of the time they happen a lot closer to Earth.

This one touches me particularly because I taught this little guy, and he is, without a doubt, one of the most precious children on the planet. When I had him in my class three years ago (has it really been that long?) his life was challenging, but not nearly as difficult as it is now. I know I speak for Lennye & everyone else involved when I say that we would covet your prayers for K & his family, particularly his sweet mom, that they might be able to enjoy this Christmas in spite of everything.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

Holiday Traditions Swap Treats

2008-12-18T16:59:00.003-05:00

From the lovely Sarah M.:
Absolutely gorgeous washcloths. As in, so pretty that you're afraid to use them. They are perfectly knitted, and make my crocheted ones look like a preschool craft project! Sarah also included a bar of this soap, which we love. We love it so much that we just finished our bar, so she saved us from having to buy more! That is serendipity in action, friends.
This bag was FULL of killer shortbread. As in, the best I've ever eaten. It was amazing. I took some to work today, and it was a hit there. In the spirit of Christmas, I was even honest, and didn't claim to have made it or anything!
And the grand finale - knitted elves. Their little hats & scarves are knitted around corks, which is just about the cutest thing ever. I have a thing for elves, and these fit in perfectly.

Sarah also sent a tutorial about their family's advent tradition, which was really interesting. Our advent calendar growing up (handmade by the Motherina) was different from this, and much less interactive, so it was cool to read about doing it in a different way.

Thank you SO MUCH, Sarah, for such a great swap!

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-15T18:45:00.001-05:00

Definitely out of the ordinary.

2008-12-11T20:51:00.004-05:00

Photo from www.nola.com.

Bear emailed me this morning to let me know the snow was on its way! This is just the most amazing image - decidedly not something I've ever gotten to see. To celebrate, we had yummy dinner, but we still haven't seen any flurries.

Family Togetherness.

2008-12-10T17:25:00.003-05:00

*Courtesy of Monkeybean Photos.*

Because Monkey LOVES these dark pictures.

2008-12-10T17:00:00.004-05:00

I don't know if she's complained about it in the comments, but Monkey simply adores the way I never take blog pictures until late at night. Therefore, the pictures are always dark, since I am allergic to the flash. When you live in Northern Europe, like it's starting to feel like I do, it gets dark at about 4:00 in the winter. That makes it impossible to work all day and get decent photos. With that in mind, I present Christmas decor 2008 - in all its shadowy glory. It should also be noted that this is only one room. I'll show you more later, if you're good.

The aluminum tree, now with color wheel! We moved it in front of the fireplace this year. We also found that precious tree skirt at an antique store for a steal.
The angelic portion of the mantel.
The not-so angelic portion, with non-flammable icicles!

Girls' Weekend: Recap

2008-12-09T17:29:00.004-05:00

Mom & Aunt Mary Beth - practicing for their matching rocking chairs.

Very Laura.
Very Amy.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, my Auntie MB and cousins Laura & Amy converged on the ATL for a girls' weekend with my mother and me. It was a blast. Of course, I only got the camera out once, so these photos will have to do. Picture it: new Beaujolais, shopping, giggling, art museums, and more! All in less than 72 hours. We even bought matching purses. We even let Lindsey join us for one meal.

My cousin is awesome.

2008-12-08T17:12:00.002-05:00

Really, all of my cousins are awesome. (Hi Brian, Robin, Jenny, Bethie, Laura, Meridith, Amy, Greg, Steph, and Abby!)

However, my cousin Beth, who blogs at Glimpses, has really set the bar pretty high for the rest of us. Her mom passed away last month after a long battle with colon cancer. You can read more about Aunt Susi & her life here. In honor of her mom, Beth has started a fund to help people get the health care that can prevent this kind of suffering for others.

We've heard a lot about how everyone is tightening their belts this holiday season, but I'd like to think that rather than cutting out giving, we're cutting out the unnecessary stuff, instead.

Just something to think about.

Happy Thanksgiving.

2008-12-08T17:11:00.002-05:00

I'm late.

So what?

Things have been a bit crazy here in Experiment Land. If you'd like to know why, I suggest you stop by the 'hood over the weekend.

Click here to learn more.

Old elementary school teachers don't die.

2008-11-19T21:35:00.003-05:00

They just drown in holiday-patterned socks.
Oh, my goodness. I had no idea it had gotten this bad. I knew it was pretty bad, just not this bad. They don't even fit in the drawer. I'm trying to organize the bedroom, what with the motherina, aunt, & cousins invading this weekend, and boy, what a mess. It turns out when you actually do ALL of your laundry on a regular basis (3 weeks in a row, baby!), that you then have to put ALL of the clothes somewhere. I am actually thinking that I learned this before, and that it has something to do with my pathological dread of laundry.

Because our house (c. 1944) has zilch in terms of storage, I've been thinking for awhile that I needed to look at a bigger dresser. Clearly, the time has come. I'm on the prowl, officially.

In the meantime, I will attempt not to freeze into a Sarahsicle. Good night - consistently below-freezing lows before THANKSGIVING? This isn't Cleveland! (And thank goodness for that, since they got what, two feet of snow? Plus the wind from the lake? No, thank you.)

Happy Wednesday....

Crafty update.

2008-11-18T16:50:00.006-05:00

First off - the infamous diaper cake. These are de rigeur at school showers, but apparently something of an oddity at St. Paul UMC. Who knew?
Who knew, too, that the parents-to-be (our pastor and her husband) would register for non-bleached environmentally friendly diapers that are, um, beige? Beige = not good for diaper cake making. I did not know this, of course, until I opened them. Thus, the cake is a little dingy-looking, but I think you can still get the effect.

I also decorated some onesies for them, which were then strung on this clothesline. I had thought we would use some vintage tablecloths of mine for these tables, so the onesies were WAY too heavy for the plastic. Fortunately, thanks to the magic of Mr. Stapler, we got them to stay up for the duration of the shower.
Moving on to fall - for KK, here's the mantle:
I took my leaves and used glue dots to stick them to my IKEA tree. I waited overnight to do this, which wasn't bright, as they would have been much easier to glue fresh. You will notice the lack of acorns this year - no little wormy friends, either...
There are a couple of additional pre-Christmas projects coming down the pike, I think, but there is definitely Christmas crafting to be done. Whoo-hoo!!

While you're surfing around blogland, be sure to check out Julie's fun blog (I've linked to it before) and etsy shop. She's having a fun little contest right now, too. Her shop is chock full of the results of her gifted thrifting - she's got some books that are making me very envious!

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Do. Not. Call. My. House. Again!

2008-11-18T16:41:00.002-05:00

While I am BEYOND excited that the Georgia Senate race is in a runoff, I am NOT excited that the RNC has found enough money to call my house three or four times a day. I have now been home for 22 minutes, and they have called twice. Once was a little girlie named 'Skylar,' who says, "this is Skylar, and I'm calling from the RNC. Did you know, that um, um, the Democrats, are um," at which point I told her she had the wrong number. Then, I just got a robo-call from "Paul" at the RNC, telling me that the Democrats were "dumping" money into Georgia. Geez, Paul, obviously only the Democrats are doing that, because Robo-calls are CLEARLY FREE.

In honor of this torture, I give you some very funny SNL:

Good times.

2008-11-06T17:04:00.001-05:00

I was going to post about the time I had dinner with Bill Ayers, but Lindsey said I shouldn't.

So, instead, I'm going to show off one of my amazing friends.

Go read what Barrett wrote today (and props to him for F-I-N-A-L-L-Y starting to blog). Then, remember that he's a full-time computer geek, and be even MORE impressed that he used the word nascence.

When you're done with that, go outside and pick up a bunch of different-colored leaves and put them somewhere in your house. I'll show you what mine look like tomorrow.

Happy Thursday!

#200!

2008-11-04T07:33:00.000-05:00

GO.
VOTE.

Something we should ALL do.

2008-11-03T18:37:00.002-05:00

Even those non-sewing boys who lurk here but never leave comments...

First, visit SouleMama's post from today. Then, link over to her new craftivism effort, Mama to Mama, and read about a simple way to help new mothers in Haiti.

Convinced? I thought so.

But for those of you who aren't nudged to action, you should read Meg's amazing post about the effort, and Haiti in general.

Now I know you're going to help, aren't you?

When you're done with your project, read anything ever written by Edwidge Danticat, and you'll see why this is so important.

Those, friends, are your cryptic instructions for the evening.

Happy Monday.

Right now....

2008-10-30T18:22:00.003-05:00

Baby shower decorations being made, including my very first diaper cake! Photos to come.
Laundry being done BEFORE it threatens to turn into an avalanche!
Pictures being admired. Monkey & Bean rock!
Cat being laughed at for refusing to move from the floor register in our bedroom. It's not that cold, is it?
Plans being made for a busy Halloween/Day of the Dead/Fall kind of weekend.

Happy Thursday!

Sometimes you just can't think of a good title.

2008-10-25T20:31:00.004-05:00

(I never made my second graders title their pieces of writing unless they wanted to. Sometimes, we talked about how a title could help your audience know what was coming, but sometimes, it was okay to leave it off. I'm hoping that I haven't inspired a rash of {untitled} poetry when they hit adolescence.) I managed to take this picture from the car at a stoplight - I was amazed at the way the sun was going through the tree, practically in a perfect circle. I felt like Monkey.

Last weekend, my husband Lindsey's sister Ashley married Kevin. It was a very pretty wedding. This is Lindsey, Ashley, and Lindsey at the reception. (Why Lindsey has a sister named Lindsey could be an entirely separate post. Or novel.) We had a great time, mostly since Ashley & sister Lindsey's stepfather is a stitch and a half.

This lovely gal (Caroline, for the uninitiated) is on a two-week trip through Vietnam. I am more than slightly jealous (though only of the trip, not of the shots she had to get before she went), and know that she is learning, seeing, & doing amazing things.

Things here are mundane, which is lovely. I'm going to become very well reacquainted with my cube over the next few months, so I promise I'll be a better blogger. :) Heck, maybe I'll even make something.

Happy Saturday.

Soup-er.

2008-10-14T17:54:00.002-05:00

I am not one to wantonly endorse products. Therefore, if I am telling you to go spend your hard-earned dinero on anything other than what's on sale, there must be a reason. I know you're also thinking, "V8? As a soup?" Be not afraid - this soup rocks. It's pricey, but I had a coupon, so I went for it, and it is totally worth every scrumptious penny. It has actual squash in it! And herbs! And flavor! And it's not stocked full of nasty artificial substances. Amazing! I also recommend it because it's a full serving of vegetables, and the one carton is perfect serving-size-wise for two people.

Pumpkin soup entered my life the year I lived in France, and hasn't ever left. It's on my top ten best things about fall for sure, and it allowed me to branch out into other squashes. I don't go near yellow squash, and ratatouille makes me sick to my stomach, but squashy soups are wonderful. It's a weird paradox, I'll grant you.

Try. It. You. Will. Like. It. See? I'm hypnotizing you!!!

Finally.

2008-10-13T18:13:00.004-05:00

It's fall. It feels wonderful outside, though if the temperature were to lose another 10 degrees, I'd probably love it even more. We invested in a few more window screens this year, so my adoration of open windows can continue. I used up a fair number of soup coupons at the grocery store yesterday, so now my customary grilled-cheese-and-soup-for-dinner-three-nights-a-week tradition can continue. We also managed to just about finish putting up the Halloween decorations. I haven't made much (yet) this year, but I did add a few things to the mantle. I'm sure you'll be able to spot them (haha), but if not, I added a detail picture so that you can admire the kitty cat with a candy corn nose.She came from a fabulous little primitives store north of the city - Mother Dearest's favorite. (As did the Owl sign at the top of the page - man, we love that place.)
The pumpkin outside the door actually came from Waycross! I was driving back to the hotel and spotted it, so I had to go back the next day for it. I'm pretty sure it's from some sort of heirloom seed, because it's a much paler orange than anything you'd find in the stores. Mr. Pumpkin is decorative for now, but he will be cooked and eaten later. There is pumpkin soup in my future! In addition, somewhere we found a pumpkin-pepper-cheese souffle recipe that needs to be tested.
Although I missed out on/didn't sign up for any Halloween swaps this year, I did succumb to the pull of ApronThriftGirl's Red & Aqua swap. My newest swappy partner is Shawna, who writes at Farm Girl Living. In related swap news, my partner from last year's Halloween swap, the fabulous Heidi, has a new blog address, so be sure to stop by her new home! Lovely Heather at the Speckled Egg has added some images of the tag book we put together for her store's birthday - oh my goodness, it's amazing.

One last thing - my sweet cousin Bethie has new pictures up of Baby Brooklyn. She is darling, and though I maintain that she still looks like my uncle (Beth's dad), she is definitely starting to resemble her older brother Aiden. If you just need more cute baby in your life, you should stop by.

Happy Monday!

Yow.

2008-10-11T19:38:00.001-05:00

It's October 11th, and I haven't posted at all this month??

Methinks she has been traveling too much!!!

Fortunately, last week was the END of that. Thanks to the state's budget crisis, my work travel has been almost entirely curtailed. I have two nights away week after next, and then I shall be H-O-M-E 99% of the time. Phew. We made a big grocery run today, and it's starting to feel like I actually live here again! Amazing!

:) Happy weekend!

Ye Olde Weekende - thus far

2008-09-27T19:47:00.003-05:00

Spent last night with these lovely people at the Chamblee High School homecoming game (obviously, it's a picture from a different event, as even Chamblee does not have statues). Chamblee skunked the opposition, so much so that it almost wasn't worth watching. The company was great, though, which made it worthwhile.

Today we volunteered for the middle school's Quiz Bowl tournament. (We could also call this event Geekfest 2008.) Since this is how I spent many weekends from, oh, 1992-1998, you could perhaps call me one of them. I will contend, though, that I was much better behaved. It is sort of funny to sit in a room full of kids who get mad at themselves for not remembering that the Sudan is the largest country in Africa.

We also achieved one wedding gift and one baby shower gift. I am clearly getting old and cranky, because my new rule is that even IF something appears on your registry, if I think it's junky or overpriced, I'm not buying it! There was an incident earlier this summer where I really had a hard time buying a gift because I thought the person's china patterns were too hideous for words. I think this means two things:

I am a snob, and I should get over myself.
I am a snob, and I should get over myself.

Noah's Ark tomorrow - there should be some quality Roy G Bivishness for Monkey!

Happy weekend!

32 years ago today....

2008-09-25T20:11:00.003-05:00

These lovely people were married. I could lie and tell you that they were 15 at the time but then lightning would strike. ;) Normally, for an anniversary, one would post a picture of the married people together, but I can't seem to find one of those. Instead, I decided to post hysterically bad pictures of them from two Christmases ago. What's the point of having a daughter with a blog if she doesn't use it to embarrass you?

In any case, congratulations, and here's to 32 more. We love you!

It's getting closer....

2008-09-20T15:44:00.001-05:00

It's getting closer....
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

Hi, it's me. Sarah. The girl who used to blog here. I'm officially at the halfway mark of my training sessions, and next week I get to sit and listen to other people instead of doing all the talking myself. That, friends, is exciting.

Tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday, we'll be up in North Georgia at a very nice meeting facility in the mountains. Monday night's activities include a bonfire - on the first day of fall, no less. It's very exciting.

I am not advanced enough at flickr to remove the big orange square from this mosaic, so instead we'll just call it an ode to Monkey's love of the color orange. That should be sufficient, I think.

My plans for tonight include some basic Halloween decorating. Juno has arrived on Netflix, so I'm going to watch that and, of course, You've Got Mail, while I work.

Just so you know that things don't ever really change, I also have piles of laundry to do tonight. :)

Happy fall!

And so it begins...

2008-09-04T20:10:00.003-05:00

The training, the traveling...

Today was the first day back "on the road," as we like to call it, and things went pretty well - enthusiastic teachers are the best and totally make my job worth the (increasingly many) days spent starting at a computer screen. Here's hoping tomorrow goes well, too, since the show goes onto the road for real starting on Tuesday!

In other news, AARP has sent me a membership card - with my name and membership number on it! - and is harassing Petey. Since he is a month younger than I am, it is even worse that he's getting junk, too. HA!

If you're so inclined, you should visit Jeanetta's super cute blog to see what she's cooking up for Halloween, and enter her giveaway for a neat composition book cover!

This weekend I'll have cards and tags to show you - whoohoo!

Happy Thursday!

Grateful.

2008-09-01T15:30:00.001-05:00

NOLA Reunion July 17-20, 2008 051
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

That most of New Orleans looks like this with a lot more wind.

That all of my Louisianans are wet & windblown but otherwise fine.

That things are much, much better than they might have been.

10 Years Ago.

2008-08-31T18:28:00.002-05:00

I started college in New Orleans the last week of August, 1998.

Only, we started class a day late because of Tropical Storm Earl, that turned at the last minute, so instead we spent a beautiful day in the French Quarter. The skies were blue, it was about 75 degrees (unheard of for NOLA in August), and we decided that forecasters were silly.

A couple of weeks later, we waded to class in water a couple of inches deep thanks to Frances. We waded back from class in water up to our knees. Some courageous/idiotic people went canoing down the streets of our fair city. Okay, so sometimes the forecasters get it right.

A couple of weeks after THAT, we all went home or were sequestered on the upper floors of a concrete dorm because Hurricane Georges was headed to NOLA. The mayor (not the same one as today) was on TV telling us about things like hurricane protection levees and floodgates, and my father begrudgingly booked me a ticket home to Atlanta, because - hey! what do those forecasters know anyway? That hurricane hooked east at the last minute and hit the Alabama/Mississippi line instead, a much-weakened storm.

We had all (because we were good kids who followed the university President's directions) read a book called Rising Tide by John Barry, about the last great Mississippi flood, and we learned that New Orleans was a bowl - the levees on the River and the Lake hold water in, and it takes something called Wood Screw Pumps to take it out. The pumps (designed by the fabulous Mr. Wood, a fellow Tulane alum), can pump out an inch of rain an hour. Thus, the couple feet of water from Frances couldn't be pumped out fast enough to prevent accumulation.

Following the trifecta of Freshman Year Hurricanes, things were quiet. We graduated, and most of us moved away.

Three years ago, we all know what happened with Katrina - which, might I remind you, turned east at the last minute and made landfall in Mississippi. We were as shocked and horrified as any of you, except we knew that it could happen. We were shocked that no one else seemed to know, not just about the water, but about so many things that are, no were, part of New Orleans. Our friends Bear & Emily lost their house - the water was within two inches of their crown molding. For a month.

Their house is gone now, and they had plans to rebuild. I talked to Bear yesterday as he drove, again, away from his house with no idea what will happen next. He's not alone.

Neither is New Orleans alone. So, tonight, as I obsessively stare at weather.com, and selfishly pray that this storm won't turn east, I hope you'll join me in lifting up all the people of the Gulf Coast, because truly only God knows what will happen next.

Farewell, Vice President Nunn, we hardly knew ye...

2008-08-25T16:37:00.002-05:00

Joe Biden.

Seriously? Joe Biden????

Just because I live south of the Mason-Dixon line doesn't mean I don't count, buddy.

And there are signs all over my neighborhood to prove it.

We all know Sam would've been a better choice.

:(

Sorry.

2008-08-20T19:33:00.002-05:00

I meant to take pictures of the other stuff. Really. It just hasn't occurred to me to do it while it's still light outside. There's still hope - probably.

I am also spending all day at work glued to my computer, which makes me not want to use a computer at home - thus, no blogging.

Terribly sorry, to all 4 of my dedicated readers. ;)

Summer Vintage Fun - Part One

2008-08-14T17:35:00.004-05:00

As you have probably read by now, it turns out that AARP is completely inept in sending out mailings. I think Natalie's sister wins, though, having it arrive ON her 25th birthday. Thanks for the non-retirement love, y'all.

I figured it was time to show you the way-late pictures of some of my thrifty fun from this summer. Most of it came from Indiana - surprise, surprise - but some of it did appear here at the Value Village - where else? I decided to spread out the love over several days, so today we'll see tablecloths, books, & china.

The middle tablecloth with strawberries was actually my Great-Aunt Martha's. I stayed with her daughter, my cousin Carole, while we were in Indiana, and when she saw me looking for tablecloths, she brought this one out for me to keep. It's very well-loved, which makes it even more special. I know I can't compete with the Tablecloth Queen, but I am at the point where I have enough vintage cloths to make a choice about which one goes on the table - pretty cool!

The books were in a box at this "antique mall" that Carole told us about. They were quite a steal, and they're really fabulous. The one in the middle about animals is actually from Barnum & Bailey! The illustrations are gorgeous, and one of my goals is to get some scanned in to use for projects.

The china is appearing slowly but surely at the Value Village - I just check every time I'm in there, and usually 20 or 40 cents later, I have something cool. Dawn has been talking about creating art on plates & trays, so I think I'm going to give it a try.

Like my mother, I cannot BEAR to hurt old things, so it has to be one of these 20-cent wonders if I'm going to do it.

Tomorrow: random linens and more books!

Yeah.

2008-08-13T17:50:00.002-05:00

So, yesterday, I received this wonderful envelope in the mail.

It was an application for membership in AARP.

I would LOVE to be retired. Really, I would.

I would LOVE to get the AARP discount on stuff, especially travel.

And I have nothing against people who happen to be the appropriate age for membership.

I, on the other hand, am almost half the required age. HALF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clearly, this was a sign that this week is going to be the week from the pit. I am hoping for improvement, cautiously, since I did successfully empty my dishwasher today without drama. I think that is the only thing that has been drama-free in the last 72 hours.

Lindsey brought me a vanilla malt from the Zesto last night, which was very helpful temporarily. Maybe if we gave vanilla malts to people all over the world who are fighting unnecessarily, and perhaps if we also gave them to people in state government who cannot see the forest for the trees, this planet would be a happier place.

Or maybe I'll just join AARP.

Right up there with 1936, 1968, and 1980.

2008-08-08T16:01:00.002-05:00

A lot of people like to say that the Olympics shouldn't be political.

Obviously, they often have been (see the examples in the tile for proof).

No fan of China, I don't know what I would have done if I had been in a position to compete or not compete this year. There is really no point in my worrying about it, since I lack athletic aptitude, much less ability and skill.

Nonetheless, I was a little self-righteous about the fact that despite continued evidence that the Chinese government is NOT doing what it said it would before the games, and that it IS taking fairly inhumane steps to keep controversy out of the games, not too many people seem to care.

Thus (yes, I just used THUS in a blog post), it was with great pride that I heard what our American team decided to do. I'm sure it's all over the TV tonight; it was all over NPR this morning. But just in case you've missed it, here's a link to a really beautifully written article in the Post.

And for the first time since Tulane University's Green Wave football players were co-national champions in 1998, I am ready to cheer for somebody.

Well done.

Wednesday.

2008-08-06T20:19:00.002-05:00

Feeling slightly better about the world than I did on Monday, which is a step in the right direction.

Marie Antoinette arrived and I watched it. I have to say I was both pleased and disappointed. They shot it at Versailles, which is cool, and the costumes are fabulous+. I knew it was sort of a revisionist "she wasn't that bad" kind of view of her, and I understand the tragic idea that she was too young, too unprepared, etc., etc., etc., but it definitely comes off as an attempt to say that absolute monarchy isn't really that bad of a thing. Um.... Okay..... Sort of hard to sell that idea here in America, where we still celebrate the day that we declared our independence (just like they do in France...). Granted, we didn't guillotine King George III, but still. If you want to watch it because it's pretty, do so. If you want a nuanced portrait, look elsewhere. It's done by Sofia Copolla (Francis Ford's daughter) and her brother Roman helped, and daddy helped, so there are the requisite shots with really pretty soft natural light, and lots of spots without any dialogue, just music.

{Can you see why people don't pay me to write movie reviews?}

In other excitement, the cat is vaccinated, healthy, and seven and a half whole pounds. Yep, that's right, I'm relating the plot of a movie to you AND telling you about my cat. Next we'll discuss the weather, what I ate for dinner, and then I'll start over.

In lieu of that, I'll just hush.

Happy Wednesday.

Maybe I'm just bummed because Solzhenitsyn died.

2008-08-04T17:28:00.002-05:00

I'm not normally one of those people that has huge Monday issues. In fact, when I was teaching, Monday was usually a decent day. The kids were still sort of calm from having a two-day break (although this particular Monday would have been a different story), and I was more relaxed from the weekend.

I finished my cards for Heather's swap last night, and got them in the mail.

Our linen closet is really and truly organized for the first time, oh, you know, EVER.

My work computer came back today, with a new hard drive, and absolutely zero of anything else, but that's okay. We're going to make it.

I am a little sad because I finally got Marie Antoinette (the Kirsten Dunst version - Amber Atkins, anyone? Anyone? Anyone at all?) on Netflix, but it didn't work, so I had to order the allegedly-immediate replacement.

But in general, nothing is wrong, I'm just feeling puny.

Blame it on Solzhenitsyn - my buddy, my pal, the one I could always rely on to make me put my personal tragedy in perspective. He's off to Russian Orthodox Heaven, where the vodka flows freely, and you never, ever lose your basic human rights and civil liberties. Heck, I bet he even gets to hang out with my other Russian buddy, Yevgenia Ginzburg. Lucky duck.

Have a happier Monday than I am having.

Somehow, it's Friday....

2008-08-01T18:17:00.004-05:00

This is an old picture of the cat, but it captures her typical mood: consistently underwhelmed.

I am not, however, consistently underwhelmed. I am consistently OVERWHELMED.

In light of this, I have cleared our schedule for (most) of the weekend to get some final things done around the house.

The computer was kind enough to take away all the possible things that I *should* be doing for work, and my brother was kind enough to decide he wanted to come to Atlanta to hang out with his friends instead of making us drive south to help him move a couch.

Sometimes, these things just align.

In addition, I need to finish my cards for Heather's card swap. I need to make all twelve AND get them in the mail to her on Monday. Can she do it? Yes, she can!! {Read into that last statement any political connotations you desire.}

Happy Weekend!

Yeah, so sometimes you get what you wish for.

2008-07-31T21:11:00.001-05:00

NOLA Reunion July 17-20, 2008 058
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

First of all, if you have not yet fooled around with the Picnik photo editing on flickr, you really really should. Look at what I did to this poor unsuspecting pencil sharpener?

Secondly, if you have any files on any computer that you have access to that you care about AT ALL, shut down your Internet browser and back them up. RIGHT. NOW.

My hard drive at work decided to go meet the big Laptop in the Sky this afternoon, and may or may not be recoverable. Don't be an idiot (like I was) and think that some magic computer guru will save you. Because unless you personally know a computer forensics expert (and I'm fairly sure you don't), there is no hope.

NONE.

No matter how long you worked on anything, it is GONE FOREVER.

But I am not upset. I am taking this as an opportunity to help others.

{Deep exhale.}

:(

I think you should...

2008-07-30T17:24:00.003-05:00

stop by Becky's blog and enter her giveaway! Having been her swap partner, I can assure you that whosoever wins will be mighty thrilled!
look at these amazing books that Natalea is making. I feel like I need to make a little red & blue book tonight. Only the job won't let me. :( Or will it? (mwhahaha)
visit Dawn to find out about the tutorials that she is creating for purchase. Since I can't begin to think like she does, it's great that she's willing to teach me how to do it.
check out Pandora.com if you haven't already. Very nice for situations where you find yourself needing some sort of distraction from the noises surrounding you. Heck, we'll try anything that's free!
absolutely stop what you are doing and watch this video, even if you've already seen it, because it is GUARANTEED, by me, to make you laugh.

Happy Wednesday!

Dignitude

2008-07-29T18:36:00.001-05:00

NOLA Reunion July 17-20, 2008 088
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

Yep, post-Katrina New Orleans is a pretty entertaining place. I think we should go around and put signs like this on random doors.

What would yours say?

I think the one on my cube at work would be:
BUREAUCRACY, INSANITY & CONFUSION

Off into the world...

2008-07-28T19:44:00.003-05:00

This is from my finally-finished summer swap - whoopsie! Some things just take quite a bit longer than anticipated. Anyway, it's yellow & pink yo-yos & Scrabble tiles on a Quizmo! card with a pearlized paint wash. Believe me, it sounds fancier than it is, but it was fun to make. It, along with some other vintage goodies, is on its way to Susan!

The poll results are in, and shockingly, no one picked the most direct route from Paris to Copenhagen, which I must admit was actually my secret preference. I'll leave it up for another day or so for your amusement.

Back to real work at work today, which was unfun for all of the reasons that working in state government can be unfun: a "seminar" on Internet/computer security; gigantic technical meltdown requiring us to pack up our computers and go to the other side of the building for an online meeting; having to make hotel reservations three months in advance...

Tomorrow will be better! Good luck to everyone headed back to real school this week!

Happy Monday.

NOLA Reunion 2008

2008-07-24T14:18:00.003-05:00

Beignets and chocolate milk at Cafe du Monde

Dinner at Cochon, minus Petey, who was playing photographer

Our sophomore year crowd - Bear, Pete, Torrence, Invisible Wascom, Feather, me, Raegen, and Lauren in front of what remains of our dorm. No, we didn't live in trailers. They tore down the dorm (hallelujah!), and this is the temporary solution. It now houses Army ROTC. Go figure.

Ice cream at Brocato's - peach ice for Bear and Zuppa Inglese for me

Newcomb Girls Under the Oaks = deep sigh of regret

Rather than even attempt to describe everything that happened, I'll just give you a bulleted list of the highlights, okay? This is in something closely (but not entirely) resembling chronological order:

Raegen, Petey, Torrence, and I were in the Quarter with frosty cool beverages within two hours of our arrival in the fair city.
Bear fed us gigantic plates of wonderful food within two hours after that.
Raegen and I had a great time catching up - haven't seen her since before my wedding (our last trip to New Orleans, in fact) - she spent two weeks volunteering in Peru before joining us!
Raegen, Lauren, and I got to stay up late and chat - just like sophomore year, minus the Feather.
The three of us got up early for Cafe du Monde and beignets. I, hating coffee, had chocolate milk, because it was already about 15983474 degrees - way too hot to consider my traditional hot chocolate.
Raegen introduced us to some lovely Cajun music and a cool indie band called The Figs!
Lauren put me totally on the spot with a French shoplady in the Quarter, and I had to conduct the rest of my business in her store in French. (No pressure!)
We met Caro when she arrived, and she totally thought we were waiting on her in this dive bar called Ms. Mae's - absolute college flashback.
The girls had lunch at a fun Mexican place called Nacho Mama's, where some dude told me he liked my eyebrows. Only in New Orleans...
We went shopping, and Feather bought something! (This never happens.) Then, she bought matching shoes!
Met the boys, left the boys, met the boys again for dinner at Jacques-Imo's, where I had the best biscuit I have every put in my mouth. Ever.
Went back to the Quarter and heard one of Torrence's friends play piano & sing.
Got up early, took the streetcar to the Trolley Stop Cafe (late-night/late-morning college hangout) where we met the owner (we think)!! His name is Lucien Casio, and he is a doll.
Spent the afternoon on campus, taking pictures, dodging freakish rainstorms, listening to Petey explain one of his dissertation papers, and reminiscing.
Went to two of my very favorite bookstores anywhere.
Bear took me for the best ice cream on the planet. {See above}
Got home in time to change for dinner at Cochon (yes, that's right, French for Pig), where everything was insanely wonderful.
Drinks at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, alleged haunt of the pirate himself
Final brunch at the Camellia Grill, which was closed for SO LONG after Katrina that we all got scared, but it's back, with a vengeance. Feather and I wen there every Mardi Gras Day, just before our Ash Wednesday fasts began, and then back Easter Monday or shortly thereafter. The burgers and chocolate freezes were better than ever, and Marvin was still behind the counter. This is the only thing that almost made me cry - but it was fantastic. {And Heavens to Betsy, it's on Wikipedia!!!}
Torrence made the long drive home with me nodding off every fifty miles.

Phew. That's a lot. It was wonderful, and I wish I could do it over and over again. As stated last year, after the Tennessee Mountain Adventure, these people rock, and I love them dearly. Maybe next year we'll actually be together - missed Andrew this year because of his pesky honeymoon (sheesh).

Back to your regularly scheduled programming... More pictures are on Flickr.

{experiment land}

Bethany Turns Two!

Fall.

The newest member of the family.

More Singing.

Bethany sings!

School Girl.

Why not.

Sewing. I'm doing it.

Bethany - Seven Months.

Bethany - On Vacation.

Bethany - Six Months.

Bethany says Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Bethany - Five Months.

Sitting.

There is more to my life than that baby.

Bethany - Four Months.

Happy Tummy Time.

Bethany - Three Months

A little hilarity.

Since my child has put herself to sleep...

Snow Report!

Bethany - Two Months

Bethany refusing to talk.

And finally... The Present.

Backing Up... One Month.

Backing Up... Christmas. Again.

Backing Up... The TU Visits

Backing Up... Bethany's Announcements

Backing Up... Christmas.

From the depths of sleep deprivation...

The Brownie Cometh.

Things that make pregnant girls happy.

Back in September...

A little depressing French music for your morning...

Soon and very soon...

Because Amy asked so nicely...

Assorted news.

Hello, Internet.

Note to the mail "lady"

Coming Soon:

I am embarrased to admit I like anything that this closely resembles High School Musical.

So sometimes I don't blog for a month and half.

Oh yes.

All is right with the world...

Happy March!

Unfortunately - x 5.

Merci beaucoup.

Poll.

Hearts, hearts, hearts.

Coming up for air...

Wow.

Shameless bragging.

Dull.

Look who's come to live with me....

January Mantel

Resolution.

Ahem.

Happy 2009!

Vintage Heart Swap, #2!

Observe --------------------------------------------->

Merry Christmas, from my loving brother.

My friend Lennye makes me cry.

Holiday Traditions Swap Treats

Advent Conspiracy

Definitely out of the ordinary.

Family Togetherness.

Because Monkey L*O*V*E*S these dark pictures.

Girls' Weekend: Recap

My cousin is awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Old elementary school teachers don't die.

Crafty update.

Do. Not. Call. My. House. Again!

Good times.

#200!

Something we should ALL do.

Right now....

Sometimes you just can't think of a good title.

Soup-er.

Because Monkey LOVES these dark pictures.