what if?

Max and I were playing with the Scrabble tiles yesterday. He'd ask me to spell a word and I'd lay out the tiles. When he was done playing and had moved on to another toy, I started spelling words to a song (What If by Nichole Nordeman - a favorite of mine) that I'd heard on the radio earlier in the day. 

But what if you're wrong?
What if there's more?
What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?

I need to take the leap a little more often. Trust that there are arms to catch me. I can't put it into words, but these lyrics speak to me. And maybe for now that's enough.

maggie monday (a day late).

The sun came out for a bit (between showers) last Wednesday. And Maggie took full advantage of the sun-bathing opportunity.

(Yes, those are her ears. Yes, they are huge.)

i heart faces: slice of life

I've never entered any photos into a photography contest until today. 
Apparently I was too late for this week's contest. Oops. Maybe next time.
Here is a little slice of my guy's life. Deep in concentration playing a game on his Leapster.

i heart faces

monday randomness.

This is about how I feel.
Like sticking out my tongue.
The weekend seemed long. The above child was out of sorts. Whiny, stubborn, crying. I don't know what's gotten into him the past few weeks. Ever since day light savings time started he's been a different kid. Hmmm.... Needless to say, I was very glad he had school today and goes back tomorrow.

• I made some yumm-a-licious potato soup! It was a hit. Thanks to Stacey over at s, d & double e for the recipe. As my husband said, "Kudos to Stacey." And after you write down the recipe (cuz I know you'll want to try it) take a peek at all of Stacey's amazing photos. She knows how to capture natural light like no other! I aspire to being able to capture natural light that well some day. Of course you gotta have good light outside in order to capture it inside - and our skies have been far too gray.
• The weather forecasters are predicting our first 60 degree day for later this week. I can't wait! It's been far too long since I've felt warm in the sun. And, it will be the latest we have hit 60 degrees (in Portland) since...well, for a very long time. It'll break a record.
• I got a nap in on Sunday. It was ever-so-lovely. (It's the little things.)
• I am SO very much looking forward to the new Alison Krauss and Union Station CD, which comes out April 12th. In the meantime I've been playing their first track off the CD, Paper Airplane, over and over. And Max and I have watched the video for the single just a few times today. It's hauntingly beautiful.
• I've been working on making my blog a bit more my own and less like one of the templates. It's a work in progress folks, so don't be alarmed if it looks totally different every couple of days. I have to "wear" it for a few days and see if I still like it or not. Thank you to Tracey for explaining how to post a picture to my header. So simple...I had no idea! And go check out Tracey's blog Pen and View. Some gorgeous pictures and inspiring words.
• While the wee one was in school I took advantage of my 40% off coupon at Borders, and purchased The Pioneer Woman Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond. It was so tempting to buy her cookbook as well, but I held back (this time.) If you haven't heard of or seen her blog, The Pioneer Woman, well it's about time you checked it out! Take a peek...you'll be online browsing her blog for hours.
• And last but not least, I'm making one of my favorite comfort foods for dinner - my mom's chicken roast with mashed potatoes. YUM.
• (P.S. I really do need to pick-up my camera more often. I haven't taken any photos since last weekend when I was at my brother's. Still haven't felt all that inspired lately. Blah...)

Thanks for listening to me ramble.
Happy Monday!

P.S.S. - Two of my favorite shows start-up again tonight. United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie. Oh how I love thee Showtime...sigh... (I watch far too much TV late at night.)

music man.

He tickled pounded the ivories for us while visiting with my brother last weekend.

He loves music.

It's in his little four-year-old soul.

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
~ Aldous Huxley

4:52

Picture Inspiration Week 4 - Stacked.

Can you eat just one?

I can't.

(I know, I know. I skipped Week 3 - Motif. Still working on that one.)

frustration.

I've been a bit frustrated with this whole blogging thing lately.
I can't figure out how to do a lot of the things I'd like to be able to do, like:

• Put a cute picture in the header. I can't figure out how to size it correctly.
• Link my Picture Inspiration posts to my Picture Inspiration page.
• Design a cuter header...

Sigh...
I've been working on it just about every night when I get a chance to sit down with my laptop.
But alas...I haven't figured it out.
Sigh...

far-away.

I love this globe at my brother's house.

I've been dreaming of far-away places lately.
Palm trees.
Warm sun.
An ocean to listen to.
Warm sand to walk in.
A warm breeze.
It's nice to day-dream.

balance.

Max got a new (used) bike this past weekend. It does not yet have training wheels, but he wanted to go for a ride anyway. I know it will be awhile before he can ride his bike without training wheels. He will need to learn to balance and to keep-up his momentum to assist with that balance.

I've been struggling with balance lately.

Balancing being a mom, being a wife, being just me.

I spend most of my time being mom and balancing the tasks of everyday life.

I have momentum. Doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, washing dishes, playing with Max, driving around here and there. And all the while I'm doing these things, the "me" (the selfish) part of myself keeps whispering in my ear about all the things that I want to do - read, catch-up on blogs, take photos, edit photos, blog, watch TV shows, try to exercise, lounge around on the couch, go out with friend. I could go on and on...

When my husband comes home, and I am wife again. Trying to have some moments with my husband in the midst of being mom and me. Conversations are short and interrupted by a little person who needs me to switch into mom mode. (I have yet to get used to not being able to have regular, uninterrupted conversations with the other adults in my life while my son is around. But that's another post, for another time.)

Mom, wife, me...it's quite the mix. A constant, internal struggle for balance.

Sometimes I need someone to hold on to me.

And I need to remember that there are people in my life who will help me with that balance, if I just ask.

Someone is always there watching over me.

I may stumble in my attempt to maintain balance in my life.

But I will always get-up and keep going.

Max will start-off with training wheels. But eventually, when he's had enough practice, the training wheels will come off and he will ride.

I'm sending you my compassion for the times you fall down, and my admiration for the times you get up, and my excitement for the times you run. It has probably become clear to you by now that the falling down isn't a shameful thing to be cursed, but rather is an instrumental part of the learning process that is teaching you marvelous secrets about getting back up and running.

~ Robert Hass

spring.

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~ Proverb

 I found this little crocus near a rock, among some old dead plants from last summer. A glimmer of spring among winter's debris. A glimmer of hope among the dark, dreary days of winter. A reminder that even when it feels like things will never change, they eventually do. Nothing stay the same forever. About the only thing you can count on in life is that it is ever-changing. 

nikon love.

 If Max ever gets into photography, I'm quite certain he'll be a Nikon guy.

2:52

Rhythm - a harmonious sequence or pattern of masses alternating with voids, of light alternating with shade, of alternating colors, etc.

I see these blinds all over the house during my day. The pattern of light changes depending on if the day is bright and sunny, or dark and dreary.
I'm awaiting the days when the sun begs to seep in through these blinds and brighten my days. Drenching rooms in light, pushing out the dark.
When I will shut them ever-so-tight to keep the sun out of my son's room, which ends up being the warmest room in the house in the summer.
When the sun makes her appearance I will open these blinds and welcome the warmth.
Until then, I keep watch on the rhythm of the changing light.

seeing green.

Hope your St. Patty's Day was perfectly green.

(and that you didn't get pinched!)

(a little fun with Picnik.com)

singing in the rain.

When the rain just won't quit around here, I like to watch this number from Glee.
It makes me smile.

dots.

Yesterday we had some fun with Dots and toothpicks.
We attempted to build a mini bridge of sorts.
My husband, my father and my brother are all engineers. I am not - at all.
Maybe Max got the engineer gene.
Time will tell.

maggie monday.

Maggie in one of her usual hang-outs...under Max's chair at the kitchen table.
She's a smart girl.

Monday has come and gone.

Where does the time go?

the fam.

Thought I'd share a little slide show of the fam.
We had photos taken last November and Brian created a video/slide show for us.
Just click HERE...
A little glimpse into our life.
Thanks to the amazing Brian Beazely Photography!
Happy Weekend!

tgif!

The week is over.
(How is it Friday already?)
Here's a little (ok, probably long and rambling...) review of my week.

Last Friday we went to an auction to support a local Catholic school. One item up for auction - a birthday party for 8 kids at the local fire station. We bid and won. Max's 5th birthday party - planned! I haven't had a party for him the past two years. I figure I would NOT have a party while I still can. ;-) The poor guy has a January 10th birthday, so it's hard to think of planning and more gifts so soon after Christmas.

Remember how I said I was going to run last weekend? Didn't happen. Didn't want to.
I haven't put on my running shoes since last Thursday. And Sunday is the Shamrock in downtown Portland.
5k here I come...ready or not. (not...)

I was in a funk all week. And now I've had a headache for a day and a half or so. Nothing awful, but just low-grade enough to be annoying. Tylenol, Aleve and Ibuprofen have been my companions the past couple of days. Thank God for pharmaceuticals.

Because of above-mentioned funk, I haven't picked up my camera much at all. So, I don't have any picture to share today.
I'm feeling very uninspired...
SO, I took the leap and signed-up for Tracey Clark's Picture Inspiration!
I'm committed now. (Remember my One Word for the year is cultivate...haven't done very well so far.)
I am behind two weeks so I have my work cut-out for me this weekend.

And if money grew on trees I'd sign-up for Camp Shutter Sisters.
It looks like an amazing good time!...a girl can dream, right?

And last but not least - I got a package in the mail that I'd been waiting for today. YAY!
And I had a good little chuckle when the dog "goosed" the mailman while I was signing for the package.
(That's my girl. It's the little things...tee hee...)

Happy Friday friends!
xo,
a

just around the corner.

Spring is just around the corner.
Trees are about to bloom.
And I know that the sun is out there...somewhere. It's not here right now, but it will be soon.
It always comes back and pulls me out of winter's grip just in time.
When I just can't stand another gray, rainy day.

ten minutes.

I awoke to a little hand tapping me on the arm. This is how he wakes me in the middle of the night.
I know the drill - get up, grab my pillow, and follow him back to his room.
I crawled into bed, got settled and looked at the clock.
3:18 am.
And then a little voice said, "Would you like to snuggle with me?"
I couldn't help but smile as Max hugged me and wrapped an arm around my neck, snuggling close.
We laid there for awhile. I turned over to see his cute face and I wrapped my arm around him, and he wrapped his arm around me.
And as quickly as it had happened, he said, "I think I'm done snuggling."
I gave him a kiss, rolled over to the side I like to sleep on and glanced at the clock.
3:28 am.

Ten minutes.

The best ten minutes I've ever experienced at 3 in the morning. And it totally, utterly, completely makes-up for all the nights spent sleeping on the floor of his room before he had his big boy bed.
Perhaps the best ten minutes I've experienced in the past year.
Yes, it was that heart-melting. It was just what I needed.
I wish I had a great photo of this moment to go with this post, but better than a picture - I have that experience in my heart and soul now.

Sometimes ten minutes is all you need.

maggie monday.

It's Monday. And for me that means it's Maggie Monday.
I'm not fond of Mondays, but I love my Maggie.
And Maggie makes my Mondays a little less Monday-like.
(If that makes ANY sense...)

This is my Maggie Monday photo. I took it while my mom was in town and we were tag-teaming a HUGE pile of ironing. I despise ironing. I put it off and then when I finally get to it the pile is HUGE, and my dread of conquering the pile is just as HUGE. So, we tag-teamed it.
Maggie sat there watching my mom.
Max was playing and would run over to Gma and tell her something and then run back to continue his play.
I think I was on my laptop downloading photos from my trip to Seattle. (And yes, I did do some ironing.)
I grabbed my camera and took a few shots.
I like this one the most.
Max in action - constant motion of a four year old.
Maggie lazing around - constant relaxation of an eleven year old dog.
My husband's shirts, ironed and hanging on a chair.
And even though you can't see her, I know that my mom is in the picture.
It makes me happy on this Monday.

I thought I'd include the original photo, straight out of the camera SOOC:

(It's a little dark. I can't seem to get the settings right for the usually dark light in my house. I need to work on this. I lightened it and applied cross process in Picnik.com. I'm sure you've figured out that cross process is my favorite action. Rounded the corners and added my blog name.)

That's it for now.
Happy Monday!

thank you.

Thank you all for the sweet comments on my little blog here.

You are all too kind. 

I enjoy sharing my photos and getting feedback. And I've really enjoyed finding YOUR blogs, which lead to more blogs. 

So many blogs, so little time.

But I love reading your words and viewing your photos. It's a little piece of happy in my day. (Not that my days aren't happy - you know what I mean...)

TGIF!

The hubs and I are headed out to an auction/gala tonight. I love getting the chance to go out with my guy, but dread the dressing-up...sigh... It will be a fun evening with friends though!

Other than that, I plan to get a run or two in. The Shamrock Race is a little over a week away.

First race of 2011.

What are your weekend plans?

my girl.

Today I took Maggie to the vet.
She has lymphoma of the mouth. Poor old lady girl.
She has had three rounds of chemo, and has her platelets and white blood cell levels checked before proceeding with the next round of chemo.
(Again, poor girl...)

Most vet visits I end up taking Max with me, but today my mom was in town to watch Max.
SO - Mags and I had a ride in my little red Honda.
Just us girls.
Kinda like the good old days.
{Except we both have a little bit more gray hair.}

(I took this one with my Droid and processed with Vignette.)

snoopy. rediscovered.

The Snoopy-in-the-box is still alive and kickin' at my parents' house.
Minus ears. Poor Snoopy.
I remember playing with this as a child. And it was fun to watch Max try to wind it while simultaneously holding one hand over one ear and shrugging his shoulder up to cover the other ear. (Can you picture this? Cuz I didn't get a picture of it...)
I did get a few pictures of Snoopy though.