Highly Entertaining....

introducing...

The *newest* members of the East Side!!

Mr. Connor John Oliver

5 lbs 12 oz

18 inches

May 30, 2008

ten perfect fingers

ten perfect toes

one perfect twin sister

one furry doggy "brother"

two amazing parents

Miss Avery Maria Oliver

5 lbs 2 oz

18 inches

May 30, 2008

one tiny nose

one little red tongue

one handsome twin brother

one furry kitty "brother"

a mama and poppa who love her

I am so completely blown away by their absolute perfect tiny-ness. They came into the world a little bit sooner than expected, but completely beautiful and amazing and healthy in every way.

I am in love with these two, and they've only been in the world for 15 hours. {smitten}

Congratulations to Tania and Josh (and Brady!)... your family has just become more incredible, more full of life and love. I love youall, and can't wait to spoil your babies rotten. Yes, there will be *Dora* corn ;)

a homage to the summer season

Yes, Memorial Day Weekend is over, which signals the unofficial begining of *summer* on Cape Cod.

WOOT. (that "t" was for you, jayne!)

Anyway, as the summer makes its way into my little universe, I must celebrate. How does a person celebrate summer?

With beer.

Most of you know that I work at the British Beer Company. This will be my EIGHTH summer at the BBC. We have a pretty good selection of beer on draught and in the bottle. I've tried many of them... just a *sip* here and there. I can recommend a beer for a person based on their particular tastes fairly well.

There are a few favorites I've had over the years, but only ONE that I continually turn to time and time again.

BUD LIGHT.

Sad, but true. When I have so many interesting and tasty malt concoctions at my fingertips, why would I drink Bud light?

Well, partially because you're pretty much handed one when you graduate from Falmouth High School. Not really, but it seems like it. Since I was 57 months pregnant (or eight... eight is definately more accurate...) when I graduated high school, I think i was probably handed a glass of orange juice and went to bed early while my other friends keg partied in the woods... but I digress ;)

So, as a tribute to the summer season (and inprayer that I rake in the dolla-dolla-bills from all the lovely summertime visitors....), I present you with what I consider to be the best Bud Light commercial of all time ;)

victory is an illusive whore

Let me explain.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love music. Many, many kinds. I love happy music and lovey music and sad music and depressed music and everything in between. There really seems, though, to be a certain "type" of music that really shakes something inside me.

When I was in high school, KP called it "music to slit your wrists by". Let me state that I was not, nor have ever been, suicidal in any way. There is just something about intense music that crawls under my skin and lives inside me for a while. It doesn't make me get depressed or want to lash out at the world or anything, it just kind of lets me get lost for a while. Musica s therapy, I guess. Sometimes I just need to be rocked by someone else's words and emotions.

Maybe you understand and maybe you don't. I thought I'd share some of the songs that make me want to turn the volume up as loud as I can stand it and slip away into someone else's world for a while...

Tori Amos / Code Red

"what you've taken/ i would have given freely"

Dave Matthews / #41

"i will go in this way/ and i will find my own way out/ i won't tell you what to be"

Alice in Chains / Nutshell

"we chase misprinted lies/ we chase the path of time/ and yet i fight this battle all alone/ no one to cry to/ and no place to call home"

Enigma / Sadness

Dave Matthews / The Stone

"i was just wondering if you'd come along/ hold up my head when my head won't hold on"

Tori Amos / Northern Lad

"girls you've got to know when it's time to turn the page/ when you're only wet because of the rain"

U2 / Love is Blindness

"love is blindness/ i don't want to see/ won't you wrap the night/ around me"

Red Hot Chili Peppers / Soul To Squeeze

"take me to the river/ let me on your shore/ i'll be coming back baby/ i'll be coming back for more"

Dave Matthews / Stay or Leave

"remember we used to dance/ everyone wanted to be/ you and me"

{{rock out}}

... with my ATCs out?

;)

For all you SISters out there, I decided to organize a little ATC swap on the SIStv site. I know a few of my girls totally want to sign up, and I'm hoping lots more will join in the fun. If you're NOT a SIS member... it only takes a minute to set up an account... go for it!!

Happy Tuesday, all!

nifty ways for erin and i to earn mad dollas, part 1

Attention: Erin Horgan

We are going to become street performers like this guy:

I totally think this would pull in some mad dolla dolla bills, yo. We should just set up shop outside of the store, or maybe in front of the post office. We would sooooooooooo attract the bus tour people and the JFK Museum visitors. I bet we could make $15 bucks, at least. AT LEAST.

You wear your green bandana and I'll wear my red bandana and we'll be all gangsta about it.

First we have to figure out how to become double-jointed. And how to *pop*. We already have the bandanas, so at least it's a start. You figure the rest out.

as promised....

... my *official* wallpaper removal tutorial ;)

step 1. You must begin with horrid wallpaper. Here you see I have the "grapes of wrath" cascading from my kitchen all the way down the hall. {{shudder}} Decide it is time to remove the crap-tastic wallpaper from the walls of your home. Go to the nearest store where you believe there might be wallpaper-removal supplies (wal*mart, obvs). Find the remover gunk, notice that the bottle has a rather ginormous warning onthe front that lists (among other things) that the product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause CANCER, and that the product may also cause BIRTH DEFECTS. Decide that you don't really feel like getting Cancer OR developing birth defects... especially when you are already 29 years old. That would probably be ugly...

step 2: Decide instead that you will try using the generic household cleaner you have under your kitchen cabinet. Promptly drop the brand new bottle of cleaner and break the whole nozzle part off. Swear. Find an unused spray bottle and pour remaining cleaner into said bottle. Spray the offending wallpaper.

steps 3 & 4: Peel back the wallpaper with your bare hands as much as possible. Swear because you should be wearing gloves to protect your already dry hands from the harsh cleaner.

step 5: Realize you have nothing to actually scrape the wallpaper with. Rummage through your silverware drawed until you find an old spoon that you probably swiped from your old job. Congratulate yourself on being resourceful. Scrape remaining wallpaper with pilfered utensil.

step 6: Check it out! You have successfully scraped off a hideous wallpaper border. Don't look too closely because you will realize that the stolen spoon wasn't the greatest tool to use to scrape the wallpaper with, mainly due to the fact that the spoon is curved and the wall is flat. Remind yourself to pick up a proper scraping device the next time you are out... and figure out what you're going to do about a half-sponge-painted-kitchen-and-hallway....

please note: Tis tutorial was developed and composed by me, so if you steal my idea and wind up making millions, i totally get at least half the dolla-dolla-bills, yo. Conversely, if you pass this little gem of wisdom onto someone else and they injure/mame themselves or others, or cause major damage to their home/office/tree house (etc.), you may hold yourself entirely responsible. I'm not payin' for anybody else's stupidity. :P

it's sew easy

 So.

I thought today would be a wonderful day to move my sewing operations outside to enjoy some fan-freaking-tastic May weather. Good idea.

...if you don't stay outside for four hours in a tank top when you have not yet "primed" thyself for basking in the glorious rays of the sun.

Sewing outside for 4 hours = burned shoulders :(

BUT.... I did sew two more bags and a little quilted case for my baby camera. The baby camera sincerely needed a safe carrying case due to the fact that it is tossed carelessly into my purse and is constantly doing battle with my keys, ipod, and burts bees lip balm.

Aren't they purty? I really should have a real "plan" for all the bags, but I guess I'll just keep throwing them up on the ETSY shop and wait until somebody else feels the call to call one their own. Until then I guess I'll just keep buying more fabric, and making more bags and satchels and totes and other cottony-goodness.

Besides the fabulously warm and energizing sunshine on my shoulders, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to smell the Lilacs in the breeze while I was getting my stitch on today. There are several mature lilac bushes on one side of our house, and about a dozen younger bushes lining the other side of the front yard. This picture is a glimpse of what you can see looking over the stockade fence in the back yard. The bushes  are so big and beautiful this year and completely covered with blossoms. Even the *baby* bushes seem to be blooming and growing better than ever right now. I love it :)

p.s. I really think I am in love with this lilac picture. If I were to have a "daily photo" sort of thing, this picture would certainly be today's.

Rambling....

Right now I'm really in the mind frame of "what will be will be" lately. There are certain things I have no control over, and I have to believe that things will happen when it is the right time. For now I will keep chugging away at this little life I call mine, and I'll keep making things and sharing stories along the way. Thanks for joining me today.

*bzzy* fingers

  So.

Lately I've been making things. Pretty much for other people, but also because something inside me compells me to use my hands. It's a win-win situation, I guess, what with other people getting super-cool crafty stuff, and me getting to make things. It's what I do. Love it or leave it.

The first picture is of a whole mess of purses I've been making. Erin has received a few, Shurkus got one for her birthday, and er's daughter Julia got one just because (p.s. dear er, i did NOT forget about you. we just need to have a pow-wow about what kind of a satchel you want. love, m'a). I thought today would be a good day to hand them on the fence and take a picture of them, all lined up pretty in a row. Want one? Then go check out my ETSY shop... I just added a few more today, along with an apron.

The next picture is of the one, the only, Janice *f*bomb* Stickles.... and by "f*bomb" I mean "freaking fabulous" ;) She commossioned me and my sewing machine to make her a crafty apron, full of nautical niceness. I think it turned out pretty well, with lots of pockets and dangly things, and even a freaking rope border. Seriously, people. It's a work of art.

Numero tres. A canvas / memorobilia board I made for a swap at SIStv. I hope Lynette likes it, because if she doesn't she can send it right back to me and I'll keep it. Guess what? I totally think this little beauty is going to morph itself into a fab.u.lous. class at {colorful creations}... whaddayathink???

I'll be back soon to post a very technical "how to scrape wallpaper with a spray bottle and spoon" tutorial. I'm not even kidding.

so what 'cha want?

Random things are spinning in my head today, so I thought I'd make a list...

TO DO:

grocery store, bank, finish 60 ATC cards for a SIS swap and get them postal, laundry up the wazoo, make a summertime satchel for a friend at the BBC who has been buggin' me about it for a while (BAD PAULA!!), figure out how to get the friggin' ETSY link to show up on my side bar DONE!

THINKING ABOUT:

How cool this idea is and how i should get my ass in gear and finally rip the "grapes of wrath" wallpaper border in the hallway and put this project into action.

I mean, really. I've lived in this house for 6 (?) years and I'm still looking at the same crappy wallpaper border/sponge painted atrocity that the *lovely* lady who used to live here thought would look super-cool throughout the kitchen and hallway. Ugh. Someone needs to light a fire under my butt and get me rollin' on this project.

Bulldog clips. Nails. Paper. Pictures.

It's a bit like Shurkus' black and white photo wall, but more office-y. And I could totally change up the pictures every day if I wanted to.

Alright. So I think I just talked myself into a "hey, guys, come on over and help me rip the wallpaper border off the wall" party. You're actually ALL invited. That way, I figure maybe one or two people might show up. No need to RSVP or anything. There's no scheduled date and/or time for this "party". You can feel free to show up with your wallpaper-removal-tools and a margarita or something. We'll get all crazy and tear paper off the wall. Really, it'll be a TON of fun. REALLY! Don't you wanna join in the excitement?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Hmph.

Maybe I'll wind up at Walmart peeping the paint samples and get myself motivated. Maybe. You're all gonna be sooooooooo upset when I finish this project all by myself and YOU missed out on the fun. Fo' sho'.

you sure got a lot of explainin' to do

So.

SOMEBODY thinks she has nothing to blog about. That same somebody also thinks it's *funny* to rat me out to the whole interweb and say that I *beat* her at work ;)

Well, I can't let that happen, now can I?

In the interest of being a good friend and assuring that all of blogland has something interesting to read about, I will share with you some pictures. Maybe you can bounce over to her blog and leave her a comment asking for some clarification about said pictures???? THAT would SURELY give her something to blog about ;)