The other day my honey and I went to Trader Joe's (we're trying to eat a little better, you know.) and they had these cute little herb gardens out front. We couldn't resist.
Now I just hope I'll actually be able to keep them alive.

did a little writing today.

It was nice.

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've found my theme song at long last.

American Honey - Lady Antebell...

Click the link above to have a little listen.


She grew up on a side of the road
Where the church bells ring and strong love grows
She grew up good
She grew up slow
Like American honey

Steady as a preacher
Free as a weed
Couldn't wait to get goin'
But wasn't quite ready to leave
So innocent, pure and sweet
American honey

There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name like a long lost friend
Oh I miss those days as the years go by
Oh nothing's sweeter than summertime
And American honey

Get caught in the race
Of this crazy life
Tryin' to be everything can make you lose your mind
I just wanna go back in time
To American honey, yea

There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name like a long lost friend
Oh I miss those days as the years go by
Oh nothing's sweeter than summertime
And American honey

Gone for so long now
I gotta get back to her somehow
To American honey

Ooh There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name like a long lost friend
Oh I miss those days as the years go by
Oh nothin's sweeter than summertime
And American honey
And American honey

dead flowers (not the song)

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

what a fantastic weekend.

via Jo's Flickr Photostream

Hmm, so that last post was a little depressing, eh? what an off day that was. Luckily, my outlook is much better today.

Things that are making me happy today:

• new haircut, LOVE IT.
• got my nails done, my hands feel so pretty.
• dutch apple pie in the oven (marie callender's, not homemade. I'm over it.)
• fabulous date day with my honey yesterday (ending with a little super nintendo playing)
• taking pictures of the trains below my house. there's something so romantic about trains, I love everything about them
• trip to Seattle Library on monday with (work friend) Amber, woo-hoo! (for those of you who don't know, I have to differentiate because I have about 2,317 friends named amber. Alright, not that many, but I have considered only making new friends if their name is Amber.)
• I don't have to go to work tonight
• Just ordered the latest issue of Craft Leftovers Monthly. I've been wanting one for awhile, and February's was too tempting to resist.
• did I mention I got my haircut? and that I LOVE IT?
• there are no dishes in the sink right now.
• I have so many good books from the library right now I don't know which one to start next.
• that apple pie smells de-lish.

Tomorrow will probably be a cleaning day, bleh. then work tomorrow night, double bleh. here's hoping the rest of my weekend goes v e r y s l o w l y...

Hope your weekend turns out just as lovely!!

I really want to blog today, but I just don't know about what. I haven't done a whole lot lately, well, at least not as much as I'd like. Went for a drive with my honey on Thursday, got some pics from that. We went and sat at the airport, a couple of small planes and then a 737 came in. We were hoping to see one of the new 787's or the dreamlifter, but no dice. It was fun sitting there though, Greg was taking pictures of the 737 we saw. We used to sit at the airport a lot when we were dating, and although I'm not quite the airplane buff that Greg is, I do love watching them come in and take off. Having to travel on them is a completely different matter... bleh.
After the airport we went to the Mukilteo waterfront. It was cold and grey, but really beautiful. There were so many birds. At one point I sort of felt like I was in Bodega Bay. Check out the photos here.

I've had sort of a crafty dry spell lately. My craft room is pretty much in chaos, overflowing with half or not even started projects. Before I can even think of starting anything new I need to simplify, go through and get rid of the things I'm never going to use. I'm hoping to make that my project this week. There are a few projects that I've been itching to try:


1. 200 Crochet Blocks, 2. Recycled Garland, 3. remains of the day journal backgrounds, 4. cathedral window quilt - 4th set

I love to crochet and have tried my hand at granny squares once or twice, but I'd really like to make a granny square blanket. Some granny squares can be kind of hokey, but they can turn out really gorgeous, too, like the ones above. I love the monochromatic look, but I'd also like to try one with jewel tones.

I am in love with garlands, can you tell? I love this one because it's all recycled paper. I have stacks of magazines and random paper that I saved just cause they're pretty, and this would be a great project for them. Maybe to decorate my soon to be clean and organized craft room?

Another great project for old scraps is this remains of the day journal. I haven't looked into this too much, but I think the point is to use the journal to display all of the interesting scraps that are collected day to day. I would love to do something like this and then use it as a journal to write in.

I've heard the cathedral window quilt blocks are very time-consuming, which usually would turn me off, but they're so pretty I have to try. I'm thinking I'll start out easy, maybe just do four blocks and the rest on a solid color, instead of a whole quilt top full of them.

Well, for not knowing what to say I sure said a lot. Now I have to go get ready, off to see Lovely Bones with Ashley, yay!

today's daily photo

008/365
Originally uploaded by small town <3

A writer needs loneliness, and he gets his share of it. He needs love, and he gets shared and also unshared love. He needs friendship. In fact, he needs the universe. To be a writer is, in a sense, to be a day-dreamer - to be living a kind of double life.
-Jorge Luis Borges

To me the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the music the words make.
-Truman Capote

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
-Cyril Connolly

What's so exciting and terrifying about the writing process is that it really is an act of exploration and discovery. With all of us, not just writers, there is a sort of knowledge of the other. We have a lot more in common than we realize, and I think writing is really a sustained act of empathy.
-Andre Dubus, III

So, I'm watching 'The View'. How is this show still on TV? All they do is talk over each other and compete to be the loudest voice. It gives me a headache, I'll say it. I'm no longer watching it.
I'm thinking about trying a photo a day project next year. My inspiration comes from one of my favorite blogs, Gabrielle Kai Photography. Her pictures are sooo beautiful. the post for today that really got me thinking about it is 15 tips for a daily photo project. Tip #8 is: Don't set yourself up to fail. She says "Why not consider a photo a week project?" I just may have to, a photo a day kind of seems like a lot, and let's face it, I'm not the most motivated person I know. This would be great though, because I really want to work at getting better at photography. I was getting pretty frustrated the other day when some film I got back didn't wow me. Greg kept reminding me that these things take time and practice. I know that's true, but I was hoping I could pick up camera and beauty would just flow from it. Uh, not quite. I'm afraid that if I'm not any good now, I'll never be and it can't be learned. Not only do I need to learn more about the cameras I'm using, but my pictures were just uninspired. I was literally taking pictures and hoping they would magically be great. After I got over some of my frustration I started playing with my digital camera and the white balance settings. Basic, I know, but I had never thought to even use it before. I decided I would try to get some shots of Lucy inside. She's hard to get because, number one, she never sits still, but also, her coloring is weird and is not easily photographed, I'm not sure why. She was lounging on the ottoman so I decided to give it a shot. Although the pictures aren't award winning, it's amazing the difference that some patience and playing with the settings made! That gave me a little hope that this is something I may be able to learn.

I'm afraid to fail. Can I just say that? I feel a little lost lately. All I do is work, sleep, work, sleep. I'm such a boring person, I hate when people ask me what I've been up to, because I'm at a loss for an interesting answer. There are things I want to do, that I've made steps to delve into deeper, but I always get nervous and things grind to a halt. Photography is one example. The other? I'm trying to write a book. I feel so stupid saying that, to be quite honest. Probably the reason I've only told a few people. Like, 2 I think. It's scary to say out loud because then people expect things out of you. What if I never finish? What if I finish and I think it's great but really it just sucks? I get so excited some days, then others it's all I can do not to delete what I've started. I keep wondering why all of this hobby stuff is so scary to me, then I realized, I've never really had one before. Sounds weird, but it's true! I was always so busy with jobs, school, church stuff, and when I wasn't at those places I was with friends. When I lived near friends, I didn't need or want a hobby. The reason it's becoming so urgent now that I be good at something is in part, I'm thinking, because I don't know that many people around here, and with only one job, I am home a lot. Watching NCIS re-runs I've seen 4 times already. Eating junk food. So many reasons why a hobby may be healthier, right?

One of the pictures I talked about earlier. Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

It sort of feels good to get that all out there, I'm not gonna lie.

monkey monkey underpants

Because my brain is a wild jungle full of scary gibberish. 'I'm writing a letter. I can't write a letter. Why can't I write a letter? I'm wearing a green dress. I wish I was wearing my blue dress. My blue dress is at the cleaners. The Germans wore grey, you wore blue. Casablanca. Casablanca is such a good movie. Casablanca. the White House. Bush. Why don't I drive a hybrid car? I should really drive a hybrid car. I should really take my bicycle to work. Bicycle, unicycle, unitard, hockey puck, rattle snake, monkey monkey underpants.'

-Gilmore Girls

Yeah, that's how I feel lately. I want to write, be creative, DO stuff, but then my mind races, overheats, explodes. You know? You know. hmm, maybe I'll start off with some 'what has been happening' randomness.

-It's pretty windy right now, and the tall plant in my front yard has gotten so big that it's scraping against the window. Good thing I don't sleep here at night, I'd probably get freaked out. hopefully my honey will cut it down soon. (Let me clarify, I don't sleep here at night because I work at night. That's how rumors get started, you know? Believe me, I'm from Forks, so I know ALL about how rumors get started. ha. I still love small towns though.)

-It's pretty windy right now, which means work is probably gonna suck. It's nights like these that I'm kind of glad I work graveyard, and especially not swing shift. It just means it's that many less calls I have to take from people telling me their power is out. 911 is not the number for PUD, thanks though. You not being able to watch Grey's Anatomy does not constitute and emergency in my book, but thanks for tying up the lines. Hopefully that person waiting in the queue for me to get done with this ridiculous call isn't dead, because they were probably having what we around here like to call 'a REAL emergency.' Okay, I've put the soap box away, let's continue.

-Some people at work have decided to get together a 'Biggest Loser' contest, It starts tomorrow. I found about it yesterday which is perfect timing because yesterday was the first day I've been back to the gym in about 1,000 years. Everyone Puts $10 in the pot and whoever loses the biggest percentage of body weight by February 14 wins. I don't care about the money really, but I'm thinking being in competition with people (even though it's a totally friendly competition) might help me stick to this longer than a week.*

-My dogs are being so good right now, they are both sleeping near me in the living room. I should go to sleep while they're not being crazy and running around the house. Oh, wait, just kidding. Lucy is now deciding whether or not to bark at the bush in the front yard. Oh, Lucy, thank you for protecting me from the bush in the front yard. You're the best guard dog ever. Ever. Or not really.

-The blond girl on the pink team on this season's Biggest Loser look like Leann Rimes. But prettier because she probably didn't cheat on her husband and wreck another woman's home. How did that soapbox get back out here?

-I went to the store yesterday and bought some pink tulips, they are so pretty!! I thought is was a perfect opportunity to use my film camera. Well, Greg's camera, but what's his is mine and what's mine is ours, right? It's a Konica, and it used to be his dad's, but he gave it to Greg when he moved into the digital age. I think he bought it in Vietnam when he was in the service. When Greg's parents moved from Texas to Florida they seriously downsized and some of the things they sent Greg were some other really old cameras. One is and Agfa Shur-Shot and the other is a Brownie Special Six-20. I'm going to order some film for the Agfa, I'm really excited about it because it takes medium format (120) film, which I've never used. I think the Brownie might take a film that is no longer made, so I'd have to re-spool the 120 onto 620 spools. I'll see if I'm any good at this whole photography thing before I get that involved. :) Here's a picture I took of the Konica yesterday. See my cute pink Romeos in the reflection? LOVE IT. I can't wait to get the pictures off of that developed. I think a lot of the roll is the tulips, but also some of the doggies and a few miscellaneous pictures.

Anyway, here's some of the pictures I took with my digital camera. I feel like I'm starting to learn how to set-up and/or frame pictures better, which is exciting. Especially if I'm going to start using film more often, because it can get expensive!

These pictures were taken from outside, through the kitchen window. I think they're my favorite, especially the last one. I just love them.

Look at these little heart shaped leaves from my front yard, so cute!!

I really need to get some rest so I'm alive for my (hopefully not) crazy night at work tonight.

*Disclaimer: I'm not as amazing as that may sound, considering I didn't go to the gym today. But I have good reasons. I forgot socks and I wore flip flops to work today, (I have to hold onto flip-flop season for as long as possible.) who wants blisters? On the second day back to the gym? I do not need that kind of distraction. Also, when I went yesterday I went right after work and then couldn't fall asleep until after noon. It totally screwed up my sleep schedule. Others have excuses, I have my reasons why. (that's actually a line from my most favorite Nickel Creek song, Reasons Why.)(Actually probably one of my top ten favorite songs ever. Ever.)(I would also have to say that song is the story of my life.)