House To Do List 2007

 
I'm a farm girl and... sometimes I need more open space to spread out. I have definitely become citified these past 10 years but every once in awhile I dream of my family and friend commune with rolling hills as far as the eye can see. (However, it would still have to be within a 40 minute drive of Portland.) So... for now we'll keep working on our wonderful old home on our 5,000sq.ft. lot with the super cozy backyard and good Thai food down the street.

House to do list 2007:
Outside and inside paint touch-ups
Roof replaced
New front door and screen
Outside electric outlets and lights
Replace outside spigots
Upstrs. Bath:
Fix shower curtain rod
New spout on tub
Make tub legs longer in back for drainage
Fix electrical hole
Replace bathroom sink
Add a transition piece between hunter’s room and landing
Finish electrical plates in bedrooms
Put on remaining door knobs
Office light reattach
Office cork board and trim
Basement:
Trim and molding
Laundry room door knob
Ceiling and wall holes fixed
Ventilation in bathroom
Sealant basement shower
Finish walls in laundry room
Bath cabinet finish
Toilet wobbles
Stair flooring and trim
Back door knobs
Kitchen ceiling
Tile kitchen backsplash
Paint touch up on dining room ceiling
Mudroom trim
Mudroom cabinets
Tile fireplace
Fix door hinge in hallway

Summer is almost here!

I feel like Memorial Weekend is a time for me to emerge from hibernation. I know everyone else emerged over 8 weeks ago but for some reason I really do need the days to be longer and warmer. I can't think of a better way to celebrate this transformation then a really warm almost summer evening, friends and fireworks! Above are the kids with friends and sparklers Saturday night.

deux grands amis et deux sacs magnifiques

Here is my birthday Frenchy bag from dear Meegan. I absolutely love it.

Oh but wait.. there is more bag love... here is a Spring 2007 one-of-a-kind bag designed and made by my good friend Colleen.

I've been carrying this bag for a few months now and I'm still in love with it. She included all the mommy essentials. My favorites are the hook for my keys and two external flat pockets. No digging for my keys, cellphone, or sunglasses when I walk out of the house with this bag.

Cards... Cosmos.... Star Wars

pink sun
 
cosmos and rockets
 
I'm sure that all friends and family have figured out that I'm not only a crafty mother of 3 but a true Science Fiction enthusiast. So from time to time I must share a little. Check these Star Wars ads out. (Only a few can go from pretty pink sun to Star Wars in two sentences.)

She really does inspire me!

So.. if I wasn't clear enough earlier today about how much Aunty Lulu truly does inspire me here is another picture of her right before she went hang gliding for the first time at age 74.

 

Another Year Older

 
So, I'm another year older. I don't mind getting older. I never have. One the main reasons why I feel comfortable with getting older is that I have so many wonderful women in my life that continually inspire me. The woman below is Aunt Lu and she is turning 80 in less than one month and I don't have enough words to explain how truly inspiring she is.
 
 

Thank you everyone for an absolutely wonderful day that started with a Mio Sushi lunch with Meegan and Holly and then Meegan watched the little ones while I walked through JoAnns all by myself in the middle of the day. Luxury! Sean came home early from work for a great takeout Chaba Thai dinner and relaxing family evening. It was a perfect day. I loved all the phone calls and emails! (Have to admit I did see foot wrinkles for the first time yesterday. What's up with that?)

Spring Beauty

 

Needed a little spring beauty in the midst of all the rain today.

ROBOTS

One of my favorite topics is Robots. They truly can be any size, shape, removable arms, square vs. round dials, glamorous, silly, functional... skies the limit. Here's my first robot creation young RoboDirk. His partner RoboBetty is coming soon.

Viva Las Vegas!

My wonderful sister-in-law Cathryn (a.k.a."Stephanie") invited me along on a business trip to Las Vegas. She works for an airport and it was the inaugural flight of Allegiant airlines to Las Vegas from her airport. It's been about 10 years since I have laid eyes on Sin City and while the Strip skyline continually changes with all the construction going on it remains relatively the same.

Here's Showgirl "Porscha" and Elvis who accompanied us on our flight to Las Vegas.
 

Modern Day Elvis
 

The Only Things I Like About Las Vegas!
1. People Watching
2. People Watching
3. People Watching
4. Analyzing People
5. Cirque de Soleil Shows

Observations about Las Vegas
(not all are personal experience).
1. Eating at Buffets more than once a day may make you sick.
2. Drinking alcohol and walking the strip in 100 degrees weather may make you sick.
3. Staying out all night after eating at buffets and drinking alcohol while in 100 degrees will make you very very sick.
4. There appears to be no environmental conservation on the Strip at all.
5. Customer service is non-existent. So.. if in Vegas and you find good customer service tell them and tip them very well.

I had a wonderful time with Cathryn a.k.a. "Stephanie". Not since the days of Dinner Voila have we had so much time to just hang out and gab. It was a great weekend!

Run for Fun!

I have to say that my running partner Meegan is one of the best running partners ever! How lucky am I to find someone that runs my pace and we never run out of things to talk about. After our morning runs Hunter is often awake and asked me if he could go running one morning. So, today he leaped out of bed at 6:30am threw on his clothes and we were off on a run. He was so excited the whole way and can't wait to do it again.
 
 
 
 

I signed us up to run this in June. Let the training begin.

Bon Appetit!

Check out what Sean, Bryn and our good friend Zoe made to eat the other night....


Bryn and her many culinary interests...


In case you're dying to know... yes, they are marinated grasshoppers from Japan. The grasshoppers have been in my fridge since Sean and Hunter returned from Japan. Since the beginning of Sarah/Sean time we have a family tradition of finding and creating interesting culinary fare for our families. Usually, it's a big surprise like the time Sean put dried squid under the pepperoni for my little brother Mark. Aunt Lu is really the instigator for over 35 years she has been bringing back unique culinary surprises from her world travels. The tradition continues and I can't even begin to describe what Sean brought back for his parents from Japan in March. It's all about the shock value. We are very good now about checking our food thoroughly.

Bryn Creates!

A special card Bryn made today for a special friend at school.

 

Happy May Day!

 

Look what we found on our front door today! Thank you Meegan and Zoe.