Going to the Fair (be back soon!)

Sorry for my light posting. I have been a bit ill. Perhaps it was a reaction to Noodlebug's spectacular fall. Anyway, I have the day off tomorrow and we are going to the county fair. I grew up in Texas and still consider myself a Texan. It has been strange for me to live in a town of 54,000 for the last three years. I went from Dallas to San Antonio to Denver to...a little town in Sonoma County. It has been an adjustment. I have to admit I like living in a smaller town. And it is fun to have a neighbor that keeps chickens, a large garden in my backyard and horses and sheep down the road. Growing up, I looked forward to the State Fair of Texas every fall. It is HUGE!!! (as thing in Texas tend to be) The Sonoma County Fair is a bit smaller but you still get the fair experience of handicrafts, livestocks and fair food. I have to admit that I am a sucker for a funnel cake. My mom loves cotton candy and candied apples. Several of my friends have entered handicrafts in the fair this year. It never crossed my mind to do that but I have decided I'm going to do it next year. Just for the fun of it!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!!!

Oh Baby!

I recently won a copy of this book from Bookfool. And guess what? We had our first major baby trauma. It actually wasn't that big of a deal. Noodlebug fell down and split his lip open. At first, I thought he had knocked out one of his teeth. He didn't but there was blood everywhere and I was completely traumatized. He bounced back quickly and his lip doesn't even look that bad. I think I cried more than he did. He is a tough little guy. As he gets more confident with his walking (running) he seems to fall down a lot more. I could wrap the entire house in bubble wrap but that just isn't feasible. So, we babyproof what we can and hope for the best. I have always prided myself in being calm in tense situations but I am learning that when it comes to my baby, all bets are off.

Hope you all had a calm, uneventful weekend!

A Wild Thing for My Wild Thing

A long time ago, the Denver Public Library had a store. When the store was closing for good, everything was deeply discounted. I have a great love of children's books and had my eye on a few plush children's book characters. They had a WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE 24" stuffed animal that was originally $99 and marked down to $20. I decided to buy it in case I had kids one day.

This past weekend, I saw Harry Potter 6 and there was the latest preview for the "Where the Wild Things Are" movie. It reminded me that the stuffed monster was still in the garage and that I finally had a little boy to give it to. I decided to give it to Noodlebug last night. He got so excited. The monster is almost as big as he is. I think they are going to be great friends!!!

P.S. If you'd like a peek at the movie trailer, go here.

Meet Ellen

I would like you to meet my swap partner Ellen from Big Red EP. Ellen is a red-headed photography buff and she is my partner for the Favorite Things Swap. I started working on her package this past weekend and I'm trying to find little things I think she would like. It's really fun. It has been so long since I have participated in a swap!!!

I had a nice weekend with the family. Tried to catch up on housecleaning and I even managed to see Harry Potter 6 which was great! There never seems to be enough time to get it all done. I have to admit I have let housecleaning slip since Noodlebug was born. Along with other things like exercise. However, I have decided not to feel guilty. At the end of my life, will I regret that my house wasn't cleaner or that I wasn't a size 6 or that I didn't spend enough time with Noodlebug. I know which one I'm gonna choose.

My Little Engineer

I had to share this with you. My mom took Noodlebug to Train Town on July 3 while I was off with hubby celebrating our third anniversary. I think he may be the cutest little engineer I have ever seen!

Bicycle Built for...

In my fantasy world, I am a stay-at-home mom and I tool around town on this little gem with Noodlebug in the back. We stop at the local farmer's market and add some sacks of produce to the cargo area and wave at the sheep and horses as we ride by.

(photo borrowed from and owned by Madsen)

Art and Garden Festival

I was lucky enough to have a four-day weekend due to the sorry state of California's budget. (yes, I was furloughed) Still, I made lemons out of lemonade and enjoyed my extra time with my family.

On Sunday, we went to our local Art and Garden festival which was a LOT of fun. The crowd was a bit tough but it made me happy to see so many people out and about. We have been using a plastic table outside for many years now that has been held together with duct tape. We spend a lot of time outside and I really wanted to get a new dining set for outdoors. My waiting paid off. I got a beautiful patio set with a table, six chairs (with cushions) and an umbrella for $500. It was still a bit of a splurge but we are loving it!!!




The problem with getting new patio furniture is that it inspires you to add OTHER new items to your yard. So, going to the Art and Garden Festival was dangerous!!! So many lovely wrought-iron decorative items, potting benches, antique lawn furniture!!! I'm keeping my eyes peeled for an affordable corner fountain. I was good, though. I only bought a little African drum and a handmade coloring book/crayon holder for Noodlebug. After four days off, it is going to be hard to be back at work!

Pick Your Poison

My friends--

I'm not much of a drinker. (I live in Sonoma County, however, so I do love an occasional glass of red wine) I don't smoke. I don't do any drugs. But I do have an addiction.

Yes, it's true.

I am addicted to Canada Dry Sparkling Water in Lemon Lime. Oh, how I crave this refreshing beverage!

I cannot find it in grocery stores in California so I have to order it from Netgrocer. I have been out of Canada Dry for a week now. I'm feeling parched and out of sorts. Oh, I hope the new shipment arrives soon or I may have to resort to drastic measures!!!

What's your "poison?"

Unexpected Surprise!

I had a rough day today. I spent the last four blissful days with my family enjoying time off and I returned to work today facing the ongoing budget crisis. I went to work at 6:30am and didn't come home until 9pm. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

And then I came home and found a package waiting for me. From my wonderful and generous blogging friend Vallen. She made me a market bag!!!



And it is lined with cows!!!




Our little town is known for its cows and chickens. This bag is perfect for taking to the local farmer's market. I adore it. It made my day. And Toulouse approves:



Vallen and I don't live THAT far apart but we never seem to be able to connect in the real world. However, her blog has been one of my favorites for years and her generosity proves what I always say about creative bloggers---they are the greatest people around.

Thank you, Vallen. How did you know that was just what I needed?

The Anniversary that said "Ni!"

It was a lovely four-day weekend but still too short!

For our anniversary, we spent the evening in San Francisco. We stayed here. Lovely hotel in Pacific Heights. I could easily move in.

We ate here. Absolutely decadent. We felt as if we were in Italy again.

We saw "SPAMALOT" which is a terrific musical for Monty Python fans. I made my husband buy Noodlebug a killer rabbit puppet.

We ended up our mini-vacation by seeing the King Tut exhibit at the DeYoung. The objects were absolutely amazing! However, as a (former) museum professional, I was disappointed with the curation. It didn't really matter, though, because how often do you get to see 3500-year-old Egyptian artifacts?

It was a nice anniversary and I only missed Noodlebug about fifty times in 24 hours.

Three Years (almost)

Today is my Friday this week. Hooray!!! I will be offline for a few days as I celebrate my third wedding anniversary on Friday and then the Fourth of July!!! Traditionally, the gift for the third anniversary is supposed to be leather. So, I got my husband tickets to see SPAMALOT. I figured some of the actors will be wearing leather. Right? We'll be spending the night in San Francisco after the show and it will be my first night away from Noodlebug. (gulp!) I'm looking forward to an adventure in the Big City.

I hope you all have a lovely and festive Fourth of July!!!