new years rez

any chance you rember this post from januray 1, 2008?!! yep, that was ONE scary closet. sadly enough, it now looks...worse. how could more stuff possibly fit in that little cubby, you ask. trust me. it does. but i'm here today to tell you, there is hope.


meet my "saturday cleaning project." this is the closet in my bedroom. ooooooohhhhh. aaaaaahhhhhhh. wow. that feels so much better. only 2 huge boxes to the basement, and i extra hefty trashbag to the ... trash. and i actually have a BARE shelf! better go shopping for some new clothes!

ps. siesta likes it too. she actually now has a teeny little cat bed hidden way in the back, for those days when you just want to stay in the dark :)

total turn on

you know, i was really sad to hear so many friends say that they have had troubles with their front loading washers. i guess it was my next big fantasy purchase, along with that bathroom renovation in the basement.

it's kind of not surprising to hear, tho, because the whole "law of gravity" thing tells me that water might have a tendency to leak sideways out of something easier than out of a container closed from the top?!

anyway, doin' some research. no. actually, i saw this at menards yesterday, came home, and found out it gets pretty good grades: the whirlpool cabrio. still sexy, right?

still expensive, too, unfortunately. around $1000 or so. but at least the dream can still live on :)

next door neighbor

i know i said i shouldn't be doing any more movie reviews, but apparently i lied. i simply MUST talk about gran torino.

oh clint eastwood, who KNEW i would end up loving you so? and after million dollar baby, i just didn't think it would get any better for the old guy. i was SO so wrong, i knew it from the minute i saw the trailer for this film (which, btw, was months and months ago)!

this film has everything i need to love a film. good guys and bad guys. humor. emotional connection. bigger picture statement about the "state of things." a wonderful ending.

this was perhaps one of the best films i have ever seen. if clint were here, i would give him a big ole hug for making it. even for SINGING the soundtrack. he is daring, too! you simply have to go to this movie, i cannot believe anybody would not enjoy it... and no, don't take your children, this is for YOU.

disregard angelina jolie, not sure why she is there. this is the car from the movie tho!

ps. you will also come away from this filming wanting one. a gran torino, i mean.

cupcake anyone?

i am so glad to know cupcakes are still in style, at least according to martha stewart, circa feb 2009.

her latest magazine is SO cool! among other amazingly beautious stories, is about an 8 page spread on cupcakes. lots and lots to choose from.

i chose brown sugar poundcake cupcakes with browned butter frosting. now it's your turn :)

shout out from Isaiah

wanna know what is kinda cool?

it's kinda cool when your day job involves laying out pages of a devotional prayer book, made from the members of a local church.

especially when you proofread. which led me to the THIRD time this scripture has crossed my path in ONE WEEK. it is one of my faves, too.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I, send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8 NRSV)

ta da!

good news on the virtual world front:

kristie lou has moved to wordpress and prettied things up

and the back forty has made an online portfolio!

i'm just getting started, i need to learn to photograph my work. but at least it's something. there was this free html software called pictobrowser which is kind of fun and easy to use (i can't seem to get it to work perfectly, but close enough) that is nice for this kind of thing. i've been wanting to put some promo materials together for. like. ever. but never seem to get around to it. i have some print ideas too, so MAYBE if winter stays winter long enough, progress will occur.

kind of makes me wish i knew how to make websites. good thing you are never to old to learn new tricks :)

22 below...something.

hey, look at my new blog banner, isn't it pretty?! it's my sedum plant that is RIGHT NEXT to the front step. which is as far as i've ventured out lately. it is CHILLY out there. to put it nicely.

i also took this pretty snow pic as i swiveled around, before i ran back in the house. i am a snow bunny, i tell ya!

:)

faves

this is my favorite contestant on American Idol so far. why is it we always have to have a favorite?!

that's how i roll.

okey dokey. midday procrastination is a funny thing. i got to thinking about what kind of "hip" phrases i'll be overusing in 2009! what fun!

here's what i'm thinking my top 5 will be:

1) that's how i roll. very flexible. i have tried it out a few times, and i like it so far.

2) getting my "blank" on. again, flexible and fun ... "i was getting my craft on again this weekend" will probably be the most common usage.

3) very.short.sentences. invented by karen. wildly popular in latter 2008.

4) i'm down with that. will replace "cool beans" which is so 2005.

5) next level. invented by kristie lou, and fully market tested by paulsen marketing. useful whenever you think you are onto something completely brilliant.

and while i'm at it, i suppose i need to relinquish some of my old faves to the trash, lest anyone think i'm old. here's what has to go:

1) bummer. it will cause me pain not to say this anymore. it'll just be a bum....oh nevermind.

2) my bad. i am going to try to just say "i'm sorry" more. that is ALWAYS in.

3) dude. i will miss you.

of course, i had to do some "research" on this topic, and i came across what will surely be a flaming popular phrase for everyone this year:

"i'm fine like kevin kline in 2009"

what are YOU going to be down with saying?


:)

a thank you

i had quite a few things i wanted to blog about today - the new season of 24; the rainbow cupcakes on the cover of martha's feb issue; my new metallic baby blue ipod case...you know, all the important stuff.

instead, i think i'll go WAY out on a limb and blog about ... george bush.

yesterday, i found myself listening to/watching his last press conference. you have to know that i sort of hate politics. to be honest, i CANNOT remember if i voted for george bush either time, but i don't think so! seriously, politics are not my thing.

but, our country seems to be going thru some tough times. i'm not sure if they are tougher than other times it has gone thru, but most acknowledge there is a seriousness in the air. so i decided to see what george had to say.

and here is the thing that may scare some of you away.

i like george bush. i don't know that i can explain it for sure, i guess i like that he really seems to care. i thought his press conference showed him to be respectful, and kind, even though the audience might not have been there for a feel-good session. they seemed to want him to talk about how he screwed up, and he seemed to want to say "you people have no appreciation for how hard this job is." i honestly think he wanted to say he did his best, and he seems at peace with himself.



and i want to say this: i do have appreciation for how hard that job must be. (i think his photos from before/after prove that he must have spent a late night or two up thinking about things).

i hope you enjoy retirement, mr. bush, thank you for your service to me and my country.

acting lessons

so, last night i actually tried to watch the golden globe awards. could. not. do. it. well, i sort of flipped over on commercial breaks, but even that was hard. mostly of course, i wanted to see the clothing.

what the ????

anyway. actors are ridiculous! i think it's so funny that some of them actually attempt to give their opinions on important things, like how our country is doing. or colin ferrell deciding to talk about love? i think he was trying to make up for all the bad press of the last DECADE or something! really, all one needs to do is have a look at mickey rourke to see that we might NOT want to listen to actors. he did thank his dog though, i thought that was sweet.

am i the only one who has not seen many of these winning movies? i did buy "revolutionary road" - the book - this weekend, so i will not be so out of it. otherwise, i felt a bit like i live in a hole.


lucky for me, jack bauer gave me the thrilling evening i needed :)) oh. love that show. love it so much it's on again tonite, and i cannot wait!!

karen's shortbread

okay, so i didn't even come close to making these for christmas. but finally, i got around to trying karen's brown sugar shortbread recipe!

of course, they were super yummy. and easy, which is one major reason i like shortbread. i did customize some, by adding 1 tsp. of instant espresso powder (that is a MUST for my kitchen, it's great in coffee-flavored recipes) and about 3/4 c. chopped "leftover from the holidays" walnuts. then, i dipped them in some melted dark choc chips.

i guess you could say my sugar-deprivation stage is waning, too. thanks, karen!

baby steps

one of the best things about the new year is the desire to get organized. it appears every jan. 1 for me, but by today - the 10th - it is starting to wane a little already. i still have not touched the dreaded closet(s), which is what really needs to happen.

but, one step at a time.

for as long as i've had my cute vintage dresser (about 10 years i guess), i've stashed crap in the 2" high top drawer. various jewelry, tags from clothes, every extra button to every item i've ever purchased, etc. yes, it was a junk drawer. here is the proof:


so this morning i decided to change all that. i took out the drawer contents, and put a false bottom in the drawer covered in fabric...then, i added a series of foam core "dividers" out of some scrap foam core. i kind of just made it willy nilly, but it seems fairly sturdy.


and look at my junk drawer now:


isn't that better? for the record, i threw away 97% of the stuff that used to be in there. like antibiotics for beener who died 2 years ago! sheesh. but what i KEPT can easily be seen now!


especially these lovely handmade crochet wristlets, which came in the mail yesterday. thanks kirsten, I LOVE THEM :)

heart attack

take a look at the new fabric line "good folks" from my heroine anna maria horner. aaaachhhh! cannot stand how beautiful these are! this woman and i MUST share some dna strings, because i love her stuff sssooooooooooooo much.

anyway, she likes yellow, too.

1 penny?!!

so, because of all the "bee" love this week, i decided to order a 2nd book by sue monk kidd. turns out she has written mostly christian genre books, but "bees" was her first venture into fiction. this is her 2nd...

the thing i MUST rave about again is amazon's used bookstore. i consider my subscription as a "prime" member of amazon (about $80/year, but free shipping) a nice little gift to myself that saves me alot of hours at the bookstore. i do have a serious problem, though, with dropping $10-$15 for paperback fiction books that you may or may not even like. this is where the "used" section of amazon is AMAZING! this book is offered for ONE PENNY from several different vendors (they make their money from the $3.99 shipping). so, for $4, you could have this book sent to your house. i decided to go wild, and found a $4.49 brand new version that came with FREE prime shipping. so, i got a new book for $4.50....cannot do much better than that without garage sales!

ps. i know about libraries, but our local one kind of sucks. i think i have read every decent fiction book there. however, they are in the midst of a vast remodel, and i have hopes of good things to come. until then, amazon rules.

need your opinion

so, here's the change i'm thinking of for the bedroom, these posters are everywhere, but a girl in san fran does them hand silkscreened on etsy for $25 in all these great colors....i think the sentiment "works" for my worry wart personality.


?

true, so true

just when i have decided that yellow, only yellow, will do it for me....

here i find out that pantone of all people says it's the "color of the year" or something.

dang.

thought it was just me.

:)

bee movie for grownups :)

i really should quit writing movie reviews. i am finding that tastes vary drastically even among friends :)

however, last night, a bunch of the girls went to see "secret life of bees" at the cheap theatre here in town, and unless somebody was fibbing, we all loved it.

i had high expectations because the book is SO good. i think i'll even get another book or two by sue monk kidd, it was that good. the movie was pretty true to the storyline, except i think T. Ray was scarier in the book.

otherwise, these characters matched the people in my head pretty well. if you haven't seen it, and you - like me - think the south in 1964 is about the best place on earth you could possibly want to be, then i think you would like it.

genius

one of my fave features on itunes (i think it's new, but possibly it has been there for years and i just never noticed..) is called 'genius.'

it's kind of like pandora, in that it makes a custom set of songs for you from your own personal library. this morning, it decided that i should hear "this good day" by fernando ortega ...i have blogged about that song before, it's the BEST song ever ...

i wonder if God has something to do with how genius works?!

:)

i'll have what she's having

last night i had a chance to attend my worship group, which normally meets once a week, but for some reason got caught up in the season and had not met since right before thanksgiving. these are all the women i have "grown up" in Christ with, and i love them dearly.

of course, we started talking about the new year, in the perspective of what the Lord is doing here on earth. one friend read a prophecy from Pat Robertson, and another read her own words that the Lord had spoken to her. what we mostly gathered from these words were that the world may be in peril, but God is in charge, and His plans for people will be amazing, things we have never seen.

my favorite part of the night was when we sort of started talking about our personal dreams for 2009, and my friend dianne said "i just want to be of absolutely no earthly good!" we all laughed, but it has stuck with me into this morning. i found a johnny cash song which explains the sentiment pretty well.

oh Lord, please make today of absolutely no earthly worth, but all for You and Your kingdom. not just today, but every day...!