Monday, April 30, 2007

Betsy to tea

I've been inspired by this blog, and I have no idea what it even says. About two weeks ago I was searching internet photos for a doll that I love, eight inch Betsy McCall and I stumbled into this fun blog. I don't even know why I like it so much, but I do. I love the photo of little Betsy on the luggage, it is so sweet.

My Betsy is a reproduction of the little doll that was so popular in the 1950s. I love everything about her, from her 1950s party dresses, to her soft hair pulled back into clips, to her bendy knees.

So I felt inspired to take my own Betsy on a field trip. There was a doll show in Salt Lake City on Saturday, and what better place than a doll show to show off my little girl? We went to the show and had amazing luck on some beautiful things I've been wanting, then we headed to the Beehive Tearoom for lunch and afternoon tea (oh what a wonderful way to spend a Saturday!).

Well Betsy enjoyed the entire day. I took some photos of her at the doll show and at the tea room, and I'm glad a couple of the photos turned out, so you can see just how sweet Betsy really is.

Friday, April 27, 2007

My husband Chukanucka

Have you heard about Ugly Dolls? They are these funny fleece dolls that are just that, ugly. Well my sister-in-law has started to collect them, and there is one that reminds me of my husband. His name is Chuckanucka. His tag reads the following:

Ok, you know what? Chuckanucka. That's what. Chuckanucka worries about pretty much everything under the sun: What if the phone rings when I go out? What if the mail man tries to deliver my Deluxe Ugly Earmuffs when I'm in the bathroom? Hey, I don't remember leaving the closet door open just a crack like that! What if I can't ever stop thinking about my name over and over? Chuckanucka has a pretty strange way of looking at life. Sometimes he wonders if this is all just a hologram, and on other days he wonders what's going to happen if they stop making CD players... How will I play my favorite CDs??? I have over nine of them!!!


Poor Chuckanucka. Lucky Chuckanucka...

This is my husband to a T. Now that he's all excited to go on the Queen Mary, he doesn't want to do anything else this summer because "he might die, and miss out on the trip." This is actually what he says to me. I know he's half joking, but he is quite a worry wart. He worries about terrorists, diseases, my travel doll, and anything else that seems to fit that moment.

Last night while watching TV I was coughing, and my chest hurt. I mentioned it to him, and he said he was sorry. About ten minutes later he said his chest hurt too (whenever I have a pain, he miraculously gets the same pain too). I told him not to be silly. Then I asked him where the pain was, and he pointed at his chest, near the base of his neck. I mentioned that my pain was farther down in my chest, and he said "oh yea, that's were mine is too!" I got laughing so hard because I couldn't believe that his pain suddenly jumped from near his neck down 6 inches.

My husband, such a worrier. He's my little Chukanucka.


Thursday, April 26, 2007

I am the luckiest woman in the world!

I am the luckiest woman in the world, I truly am. I have a wonderful husband that loves and adores me, I have a great job, and a beautiful condo. I've traveled the world, and love life. What more could I ask for? Nothing really. I have more than anybody could ask for.

Yet, there is something new on the horizon, our summer trip for 2007! E and I have been planning it for about a year, and in the last week or two things have started to come together. So what are we doing you ask? Only the most wonderful things in the world!


We depart Salt Lake City and head on New York in early August. There we get picked up at the airport and delivered to the Cunard pier. Once there we will board the most beautiful ship in the world, the Queen Mary 2. E has always loved ocean liners, and I have always adored classic travel, so a transatlantic crossing is something we have always wanted to do. Last year we started looking into the costs just to daydream, we weren't actually going to book anything. Famous last words, I know. Well, we fell in love with the ship (even more than we already loved it) and made it happen. We booked a crossing from NYC to South Hampton England. Well as the day approaches, the excitement level builds and builds. I can't help grinning as I write this, and I know once we get on board we'll have the most wonderful time of our lives.

On the ship we will eat and drink, we'll read in the largest floating library in the world (8000 books). We will take cooking classes and dancing classes. We will go to jazz bars and pretty much live the good life!

Once we get to England, the fantastic trip doesn't stop. My Aunt and Uncle that live in London have offered the most wonderful thoughtful gift in the world, a small trip around the UK. This was our wedding gift because they were unable to make it to the states for our wedding. Well this week we booked our cottage in the Cottswalds. I have never been more excited for something my entire life! (Well, Africa and Italy are an exception!) We will spend a couple nights at this cottage, and enjoy the English countryside.

We will also spend some time in London visiting some of our favorite sites and seeing things we missed the first time. Plus, we'll go to our favorite pubs for fish and chips!

Like I said, I am the luckiest woman in the world. I can hardly wait.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Some of my favorite photos:

As some of you can tell, I've been in a photography mood lately, so the other day I went through our hundreds of photos and found a few of my favorite spring and summer pictures. I took some of these, but of the photos, most are E's. He's talented, huh?


Also, notice on the right, I updated some of my favorite links, the two blogs I linked to were never updated, therefore they were cut. I added a link to my favorite online site, American Girl Fans Message Board. To read the board you have to be a member, and you have to be insane enough to want to talk about American Girl dolls morning, noon and night! I also added three blogs I have recently found. Molly Chicken and Beetle Grass are fun crafty blogs, and both inspire me to take better photos, cherish things I make, and enjoy junk!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Carrots

Just a springy picture I thought you'd enjoy. I snapped this photo at a fresh fruit market in Italy (the same one I wrote the fig blog entry about):

Monday, April 23, 2007

A sunny spring Saturday to remember

On Saturday at the farmhouse E and I finally had a chance to enjoy some warm spring weather. The forecast threatened rain, wind, and a lot of cold weather, however the morning was clear and warm. After working out a pluming problem inside, we headed outdoors to chop wood and break up coal for Old Betsy, the old stove at the farmhouse that is really an antique in of itself. I wanted to enjoy the sunshine so I followed E outside with a couple of dolls, books, and a blanket. I spread the blanket on the lawn, laid down and let the sunshine do the rest.

As soon as E was done with chopping wood and breaking up coal he joined me on the blanket. We both closed our eyes and listened to the birds. There was a beautiful songbird I could hear somewhere off west. The breeze was light and cool and the sun was just right, warm, but not hot. We laid there for awhile, and I mentioned to E that these are the days you live for, enjoying the sunshine, listening to the birds, closing your eyes under the deep blue sky without a care in the world. We also heard the distinct call of a red tailed hawk.

All too soon the sky was getting cloudy and the wind was picking up, and the storm that was promised was on its way. E and I headed inside, thankful to have had such a pleasant hour in the sunshine.

Here is a photo I took while laying on the blanket at the farmhouse:



On another note, I dreamt of my Grandpa last night. My family was gathered for a family party and my Grandpa showed up, looking happy and healthy in a turquoise blue polo. We all hugged and kissed him, and told him how much we miss him, and how much we all love him. Then he was gone. What we said in the dream was true; we do love him and miss him, and always will.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Sweet bunny picture

When I was a kid I knew there were such things as gnomes and fairies and bunnies that wore clothes. I believed in toys having feelings, plants being happy, and the whisper of a morning. I still hold these memories close, and when I find something online that reminds me of these wonderful innocent days of childhood I smile. On day I hope to raise my own children with that same feeling of amazement in the world around them.

Here is something I found today that is just so classic and beautiful I had to share:

Thursday, April 19, 2007

My friend the Robin

E and I are so lucky, we have a sweet lady robin nesting outside our window. I've mentioned our reading nook before, and how it overlooks a beautiful silver maple. Well the last couple of days E and I have noticed grasses and twigs being left in the crook of one of the branches. Well last night we were relaxing in our reading nook and a lady robin came to the nesting site again and again and began to work on her nest. It was so fun to watch our own little nature show right outside our window, only a few feet away. Needless to say, our cats are quite interested too.

So, at this point we have a robin building a nest. Last night she slept there too. I hope in the near future she lays eggs, because I look forward to watching baby birds and the mama robin for weeks to come!

I even snapped a photo, sorry for the poor quality, I was trying to be stealthy, and not scare the sweet girl:

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

What's so wrong with dating for a few years and getting to know somebody?

I used to think I had a really normal family, you know? I guess everyone grows up thinking their family is normal, but I truly believed for a long time, my family was 'normal'. However, somewhere in the last three years all my assumptions have been tossed aside.

My parents got divorced about a year ago (the final divorce didn't happen until mid summer, but my Mom had moved out, and was trying to find true love). Well in the last year a lot has changed.

My
Dad went from really fake happy right after the divorce to horribly depressed (which is totally understandable). After that, he got his depression under control he found somebody that he really liked. They started dating, and less than two months later my Dad announced his engagement. All my siblings were flabbergasted that something so huge could happen so quickly, less than six months after the divorce was final. Ch (my youngest brother) said "are you and Mom even divorced yet?" Which was really funny when you think about it.

Well my Dad and his finance have yet to set a date, I guess they are happy to be engaged, or they are planning something I'm not aware of. I worry though, I worry about my Dad's health. Last summer when he was severely depressed he stopped eating, and taking care of himself. He stopped taking care of things he loved, and he thought all was hopeless. Now he's happy, really happy, but I worry (quite a bit) that if things don't work out between him and his finance he will be worse than before, way worse.

My Mom is a different story, she got divorced because she felt my Dad was never her "one true love" (I can't imagine how it felt to my Dad to be married to someone for almost 30 years, and to hear that, it must have been heartbreaking). So, my Mom split because she was in search of her soul mate. After a lot of online dating, and meeting a ton of really really weird guys, and a couple guys she actually liked, she met someone that she really liked. This man was smart and funny, but didn't really like her in return. They were great friends, and did everything together, except anything romantic. They were just friends. Well my Mom fell in love. The feeling was not mutual, which I'm sure hurt horribly after looking for love so long.

So my Mom broke up with this man that couldn't love her (very good idea on her part, I must say) and found someone new, someone she says "swept her off her feet." This new man came in less than a week after she broke up with the other man. Now any high school student knows, that is would usually be called a 'rebound relationship' because you are rebounding from the other love that you've lost. Well my Mom either found the catch of a lifetime, or she is really rebounding.

This new guy is great, he really is. He treats my Mom with kindness and love, and shows great respect and interest in my brother's and sister's lives. He is well educated, nice and funny.

Well my Mom feels he is 'the one' that she's been searching for. And her thinking is "why wait if I've found the one?" So she's not waiting. She and this man have know each other for less than a month and are now planning their wedding and their life together. Scary? yes. Stupid? yes. Lustful? absolutely. If a 20 year old was getting married to someone she'd only known for a month everyone would think she's immature and crazy. But when a 50 year old does it? I don't know, I am just surprised that someone can make such a decision when they've had so much life experience to tell them otherwise.

I hope both the people my Dad and Mom have met are 'the one'. I hope they live a happy long life together, and never feel like they need to search for love again. However, with so little time to actually heal from the mess of a divorce, and find themselves, and be happy with themselves, I think rushing into another marriage is dumb.

Friday, April 06, 2007

A little Easter laugh

I thought this was pretty funny:



I hoped that brought a smile to you day. Have a Happy Easter.

Also, another one, that is kind of like an optical illusion. Can you read what it says below:



If so, you better get busy (if you know what I mean)! If you can't read it, try to blur your eyes as much as possible, and sit away from the screen, can you read it now?

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Birthday day

Yep, I had a birthday weekend, a birthday week, a birthday month, etc, but today is the birthday day. Today I'm officially 26, which is really old!

I wish I could have spent time outside hiking or biking, but instead it is another busy day at work.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Birthday weekend

Because it is my birthday on Tuesday, and I have a full time job that gives me little to no time during the work week, I've done some fun birthday related activities over the weekend.

Last night E took me out to dinner, a restaurant of my choice, and I chose Fresco, and favorite E and I have had for awhile. Well, Fresco did not disappoint, and we had a fantastic meal, and we both left the restaurant fat and happy!

Today (Sunday) I begged E and his family to give me my gifts early, luckily they said yes! E gave me his presents this morning, and his family gave them to me over brunch. I got some fantastic doll things I've been wanting, and so this afternoon I pulled out all my doll junk and made an online album (for my doll message board, which I've very addicted to). If you are board, or like to see what dorks like me do in their spare time, here is a link to the album: Spring Party

All in all, I can't imagine a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon then playing dolls!



Kit (my newest doll) brings some eggs to the Spring Party brunch.
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