crazy november coming up..... and: hair cuts are dandy things. :)

So I got my hair cut today, after the church service, after pulling shots of espresso for about 10 or more drinks...
I bit my lip when I heard and felt the faint snip-snip of her sharp, sharp scissors doing away with about 4 inches or so of length.
Miss Joann was a bit put out that I wanted more than a trim. She loves long hair. But I showed her what I wanted. And since she's not one to stick to one hair style or color for longer than need --or want-- be, she didn't judge me for doing away with the super-long locks, and going for some change. Some people are very attached to hair. hahah
After the last layer was cut, she brushed her fingers through the ends, checking the evenness. "Fact is, honey, you've got gorgeous hair."
(the top right is the "before" picture, obviously. all the others, Rachel took:)

I wish I could do NaNoWriMo.

But, as I told Cristina: (her writing blog) & (her mommy blog)  .........
I don't "have the guts, the inspiration, the motivation, the time, the..... yeah. I'm SO full of excuses."
Wait!!!
Just wait a second there.
I have other excuses reasons why I can' do NaNoWriMo. Especially not in November. Starting...tomorrow.
#1: Any day now, Anna's going up north to visit for a week or so and help a friend who's going to have her 4th child any day now... That's 1 whole week I'm the eldest sister. Um....that's going to be interesting.
#2: November, I'm shooting for starting to reupholster my wingback chair. Yes, that chair.... I tore it apart, yanked all the staples out with an awl and needle nose pliers, haven't even blogged that yet, and now I need to use that $20-bucks-a-yard beautiful Christopher Lowell, driftwood-something-or-other re-upholstery fabric I bought at Joann's...... I don't think I've told y'all about that one yet. ;) Can't wait to type out that adventure. Hah.

This is where I love how C.S. Lewis tells it...it comforts me, what with my little creative obsessions of painting and writing (coffee doesn't apply to this quote. lol):
Even in literature and art, 
no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: 
whereas if you simply try to tell the truth 
(without caring twopence how often it has been told before) 
you will, nine times out of ten, 
become original without ever having noticed it.
[C.S. Lewis] 

p.s. I am so in love with this song [Silver Coin] by Angus & Julia Stone. Which is why, presently, I haven't changed my blog music playlist:) At least I know another person who loves it too:)  

elements combined...

 

 

 

 

  [bad/lazy hair day warrants a kerchief on the head. for me, anyhow.]

 

coffee.
candles.
chaos.
quiet.
that, my dears, is what my fridays and saturdays are mostly made of.

i really wish "war in my blood" and "elements combined" by fiction family were able to be found on playlist.com.
darnit.
:(
if they were, you'd open my blog and hear them playing.
[their song "not sure" is a good one, also.]

they're acoustic songs, simply put.
with jon foreman's voice.
mhmmm. 'tis a good thing.
i don't listen to them all the time, so i don't get tired or irritated at it.
anna prefers anyone's but jon's voice. :P
oh well.
they're mellow. and once in a while, that's just a very nice thing.

still reading this book. it's lovely. really, i've written down a few quotes--random parts, really-- in my journal. the woman is a poet, after all. and what's lovely is that this sweet lady who referred to this book in the first place, tells me there's a sequel! i'm really wondering how on earth and what on earth, especially where i'm at in this book...something drastic just happened and i'm not sure how there would be a sequel...but i'm excited to find out. :)
[barnes & noble interview with marisa]
[borders interview with marisa]
did i mention that her book covers (especially love walked in and belong to me) are beautiful. there are covers that make you want to buy the book. they're so creative, to put it bluntly, and so lovely. :) ah, lovely.

p.s. talking about lovely, i promise i'll change my blog music soon.... i love that song by angus & julia stone, though!

i...love this song:) jars of clay. vintage.

so it goes without saying that you should scroll down, push that pause button on my blog music, and listen to this. maybe. if you want to. it's just, i like this song. a lot. and that album--If I Left The Zoo-- happens to be something i've danced to in the kitchen.
along with this one-- unforgetful you. which, they actually have a music video for. gosh, the guys are so young in that one! and this one. good dancing. not the traditional dancy music you think of... but good nonetheless. and how about this one? collide.
i can't wait to catch up on posting paintings, but the more i say it, the longer it'll be.
so...goodnight!

beautiful, windy tuesday. with tea.

Boy, have we got one moody day on our hands. Windy, blue sky, overcast, sunny, cloudy, rainy. Oh, so windy. It's one of those Fall days. Once again, coffee and painting and music . . . Fail Us Not. [click here to listen]

Some of the trees are getting naked. :(

That there above...is a sneak peek of what I did yesterday and today.... one of them:)
It's an "inspired".

Talk about moody:)

I really have quite a few to catch up on posting here. :)

Me and Ben started practicing this song by 1000 Generations today... it's beautiful. One of my favorite songs.

It's raining right now.
And nearly all the way dark. At only 6:11pm.
Dang.
Well, I finally got around to taking a lovely picture of the book I started reading last Friday:

Ohmaword, can I just say I love this picture. 
The contrasts...the shading...the angle. I could print and frame it. I totally could.
I totally would. 
Should.
Um...nevermind. Onto another shot. hahah. 
I made some green tea after singing that song maybe 8 times. :) My voice was going, so we took a break.  
....Don't think I haven't had my share of coffee today. ;) And painting. And....well, it's been a pretty good day.

Have a wonderful Tuesday night:) 


If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.
[C. S. Lewis]

first "gallery" experience... toffee bars & painting fail:)

Um yeah...we totally had this weird fire thingy in our neighborhood the other night...
It's called Slow Shutter. Dang. The moon in the sky on Wednesday night (white spot near the top) was awesome, but what can I say? I guess I don't know how to handle a camera.... much less Mom's Canon Rebel Xt-somethin'. Oh well. It was gorgeous. And I tried.

Thursday, we went up to that cute restaurant to hang a few of my paintings, complete with the prices on the side, ready and waiting for someone to buy:) Heh.
Pounding nails into the wall...
I chose the spot, Ben does the work.
LOL. That wall was crap.....thinnest drywall ever, but cute place!!

Um...hmm...... yep, just where I want it......

Ben's awesome at pounding nails --me doing such a thing only works about 25% of the time.

  

 

So there we go. :)

And back at home, Lyd and I made toffee bars:)

My hilarious and wonderful helper, Lyddie. :)
Toffee bars, oh yes.  (laughs)
....Excuse the mess. :)

 

Butter, sugar, vanilla.
It's so vain...
Lyd made a song out of it--vain-illa....

Darn. I really need me a good camera.
This is Mom's Canon.......
Sigh:)
**saving...saving....**

Da recipe.

Above: a wee bit too crumbly, methinks.

 Okay, so I added a bit of water.
It's what we do to pie crusts, so I thought....

That, my dear, is my version of a double boiler. ^^
Don't judge.
:D
It gets the job done.
And....I never said I was a professional. Or a chef.

Before they got the spatula.

After:)

For some reason unknown to me, Ben was putting together an airsoft machine gun of some sort.

When it's all together, I guess it'll look something like that gun he's holding.

I told him "I admire you from the tips of my toes."

And really, I do. Because anyone who can figure that out --heck, anyone who wants to-- has earned respect in my mind. Heh heh. :)

Oh, here. Go check out this lovely family at the blog called Gregarious Peach. Her photography and the stories and birth stuff is a-ma-zing. Truly. So darn creative. And she's Australian. Unbelievably cute:)
Here's a painting fail.

[Yes, there's black paint on my nose. No, I didn't know it until Mom laughed and snapped this picture.]
It was way too busy, but man I had fun with that diamond background. Too bad I didn't just leave it....or do only one word....or just hung it as is. :P It's crazy how unsatisfying (not to mention too busy) it turned out. :(
Ah, well.
Ben made a few huge ones, so I'm really looking forward to working with those. Should be good.
Have a lovely Sunday night:)

p.s. I'm reading this really sweet, poetic book (Flower Patch Farmgirl recommended it) called Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. Seriously, her writing style is prettymuch lovely:)

wordless friday: book stack.

Oh....that brunette hair dye? = going in my hair sometime before Christmas. :) Don't know if it want a ton of hi-lights, or a few...or....something I've never done before. Heh heh. What would I look like as a brunette? Well...at least it would match my eyebrows...

curry talk... oh, and other stuff.

Okay, so we're into curries and stuff like that.
Mostly, it's Anna torturing us, her beloved family, with new and cultured recipes.
She sees them randomly, searches for them, etcetera.
Well, mostly it's the guys that are tortured. Because mostly, the curries are vegetarian.
A-he-he-he-hem.
I'm not against veggie people, but ya know, I just really like that turkey dog, chicken-pepper-hummus wrap, and stuff like that a bit too much to give it up.
Whoa.
I can't believe it. I'm actually sitting down to write a concentrated, talk-to-whomever blog post.
Ha!
Who knew?
It's been so long. Too long. Oh well.

So, on the way home from church tonight, a discussion was started.
Well, okay, mostly it was whining of who didn't like what in curries, since Anna said I should make that lovely slop tomorrow.

(Why on earth do I make slop on Thursdays?? Um... 'cause it's easy, and Anna's out of the house nannying the two chilluns. *gulp* Well, of course I'm talented in the kitchen. I kind of am. I just need to know if we have all the stuff in the house for whatever should be made, and I just happen to not be one of those people who have the grocery list of have-and-need-to-get in my mind at all times. Sigh.)

I'm against the golden raisins in the Moroccan stew Anna discovered last week. It's like, you're chewing these different, sweet and savory flavors and stuff, and suddenly you run into a small, squishy, sweet thing. Ew.
Caleb's against the garbanzo beans/chickpeas.
And....I forget the rest of the vendettas the siblings have.

Don't get me wrong, I like different food from other cultures, tasting new recipes, etc.
What about you?

"There are some curries that are good. There are some that are gag-me. But as long as they don't have garbanzo beans in 'em, I just might be okay eating 'em."
Um, okay, Caleb. But really? The garbanzo beans are like the...the main thing in Slop. Well, besides the rice.
Oh well.
I told him he could make himself an egg and toast for lunch.
That's how the non-tolerants deal around here. Heh heh.

~~~~~~

Something random #0--I got to hold this sweetie pie tonight at church. She's just a few weeks old:)
Though, it's Anna holding her here... Serenity:)
. . . . . . . .
Something random #1--It's been so long since I've been on his site, but last night on the spur of the moment I passed it on to a friend while chatting... This is the site I'm talking about. Pioneer Woman Cooks sometimes has his cooking on her site. I revel in the [fill in the beautiful blank] of their pictures.
Oh, and one of my favorites by him --a writing, not a recipe-- is Religion. We all need a reminder sometimes, especially those of us who claim we believe and follow.

Something random #2--I'm really liking this one song by Brian Head Welch. Um...yeah. That guy.
Adonai is one awesome song. The lyrics are what made me start liking it. [Man, he's got some raw lyrics.] He's coming for a concert near us in December, along with one of my favorite bands: Red. So...I thought, since the brothers showed me a song or two they recently got by Brian, I'd better get just a wee bit familiar with the music I'll be experiencing. Heh.
But thank God, turns out I love this song.
So.....it might not be too crazy for me to enjoy some of it, at least.
This song if like... from Jesus.

I will tie my heart to yours put my head on your shoulders.

adorable kids, wonderfee afternoon, and a photoshoot:)

I sincerely can’t believe it’s Tuesday.
The 19th of October. Time just amazes me…
Sunday afternoon, around 3:30-4:30ish-pm, we did a photoshoot of a very sweet family. It was a gift, but since I posted pictures elsewhere online, there have been comments that such a thing could be profitable. Heh heh.
[Anna posed everyone, I snapped, and Mom and Rach were standby's --Rach got some really cute shots, as well.]
Before I launch into a few pictures from that, let me just say that Blogger has turned from its evil vendetta against me. And I’m oh so tempted to go back. I love that dashboard, but I love how this place does its posts, and how they look, and how the template is for the blog…. but I hate how WordPress makes all my flippin’ smileys the round, yellow kind. Too animated. Too bright and crazy for me.
Anyhow…. those are a few of the pros and cons that I like and dislike of either…  so I’m trying to decide how I’m going to do this. If I go back to Blogger, I might even change up the appearance a bit to be more like this one… I love the light, airy, clean-lines feel of this.

So. Onto some cute kids:) Hahah, just love the bromance.
Ya know, there’s rare moments.
I mean, we’re talking about children here. Fighting is a common occurrence, for both bonding and war. :)

Here’s a good one: [Just gotta love James' face...the far left, on the lower part.. ha:)] And then this one: superman poses! Yeah!!

……..Little Ben cracks me up in this “flower” one… the only time he wasn’t bursting with energy. Naptime, I guess! [the blond one on the left with his thumb in his mouth:) ] It was an absolutely gorgeous day to take pictures.…..Gosh, they’re such cuties.

I’m gonna stop before I take all the words out of your mouth for their adorableness:)
Hope you have a lovely Tuesday!!

(and yes, I’ve already had like 2 nice big cups of coffee…..that’s the reason for the extra exclamation mark. ;)