Learning to Skate

This is Minnesota, if you can walk, you can skate! I think we have in our heads some picture perfect Currier and Ives moment where the whole family will be joyously skating on a frozen pond surrounded by woods with snow flakes gently falling on our heads. We will mingle with other families, drink hot toddies (um...I mean chocolate), and the children will play games on the ice.

The reality of it is that may never happen. If it does it is still years away. So this is what taking three children 5 and under skating does look like. (video would have captured it better)

I am still holding on to the dream.....

Anyway, for now there is the after skating napping in the sun. I'll take it!

From Japan with Love

I received something special in the mail today! I showed great restraint in not tearing this little envelope open. Instead I opened it slowly so I could share it with you. You know it's going to be good when the package has a tiny blue "Par Avion" sticker on it.










Inside was this little bundle all wrapped up in a pretty Japanese paper with a little gold foil sticker keeping it closed. And inside of that paper was this.............

A very sweet set of nesting doll stamps, four colors of fabric stamp pads and a small roll of very fine linen tape for stamping. All purchased from here It came so quick too. What fun! I can not wait to try it all out. The ink can be heat set and then it is washable. A great way to label the children's clothes for summer camp, make labels for projects you sew, and about a million other ideas all running through my head at once. I will post my results after I have a chance to put a project through the wash.
Outside of the fabulous design and craft aesthetic coming out of Japan right now there is this......the sweet little thank you's. I love the thought that goes into the little something extra that many merchants send with your order. She knew I had children so she sent these. Sweet little packages of tissue. Something no mom can have to many of. My girls will be just delighted to find Hello Kitty tucked into a coat pocket.

Face Book

I had drinks with my dear friend Karen and a group of ladies that she had assembled from the neighborhood at our local wine bar. Great thing to do! I enjoyed meeting some woman whom I might not ordinarily have crossed paths with. All of these gals are dabbling in Face Book. I felt so out of it...dare I say un-hip? In any event the next day I too was on face book and was easily pulled in by the ease of finding people from years past. It's time consuming (I was warned) and sometimes not that fulfilling. For instance very few of my friends are on face book. So I am living vicariously through the 15 or so people who I do know. There is one thing I have learned from this foray.....people are much more free revealing their personalities in this format versus in person. I guess with all the constraints life puts on us (spouses, children, work) it is nice to have a place to just be yourself when you want!

Such A Newbie

I have wanted to start a blog for some time. It's like learning to walk. Taking me time to get the whole darn thing set up. A little here and a little there. Pretty soon I know I will be running around blog land. But right now it's just baby steps. I read so many amazing blogs. So that is what I will work on setting up next...blog role please.