for my dad

dear dad,

just because i know you'll be asking me soon why i haven't posted for a while...

here you go.

these are my to-do lists from the past three days. 

i don't know where saturday's list is, but it was crazy too.

i'll be back when i can catch my breath.

thanks for being my most loyal reader.

i love you.

-wende

falling off the face of the earth - or maybe just my blog

i'm not dead - thanks for checking on me though. here are ten reasons why i haven't blogged in forever.

10. it's december people! i'm pretty ready but still finding myself running around trying to do those last minute little projects and things. exhilarating AND exhausting all at once. - that could be the title of my autobiography.

9. winter sometimes equals depression. i'm fine. but sometimes things fall off the list of priorities when you're trying to just stay afloat.

8. i feel like i already blogged everything christmas tradition related two years ago. i sort of feel like i'm being repetative. i ran into the same issue last year.

7. i'm working on a new photography website. it's going to be months of work and won't be unveiled for a while, infact, i'm only as far as working on my portfolio, because these things take a ton of time.

6. i just finished my seventh custom-designed christmas card in about three weeks. i love doing this for people, it just makes me happy!  need a card? email me, i'll hook you up!

5. sewing! i've been sewing. a lot. i finished making christmas pajamas for every person in my family, started a new quilt and cranked out a dozen or so of my favorite burp cloths with the ribbon sewn on. nothing super fancy, but time consuming instead. i also sewed several long tubes that i filled with beans to act as door draft blockers. my own invention.

4. we're having heat issues again. sometimes it's too cold to type. for reals.

3. rich is in the middle of a toy story 3 death march and is working haneous hours. poor guy. but it means i'm holding down the fort by myself a lot, and at night, i just want to veg and surf other people's blogs.

2. laundry - ok lame excuse, but i just can't seem to get on top of it lately. i guess the kids are dressing in twice the layers - ok maybe three times the layers lately because it's been so dang COLD, inside and out.

1. the BIGGEST reason. my camera is dead. and i can't afford a new one. in fact, almost all of the photos i've posted for several months now have been taken by other people and emailed to me. bless their hearts. i have a crappy point and shoot, but i just have no desire to pick it up and shoot with it when i know how lame the photo will turn out when it's done. and, i think i'm going to switch sides this time. meaning, i have my eye on a canon - gasp!  i've been a nikon girl for a while now, but i thought i would just like to TRY the canon and see the difference. but. i have a couple of cute little videos to post, but i can't figure out how to post them with the new blogger?

however. there are lots of fun things coming up really soon that are all blog worthy. so i will be posting soon. even if it is with a crappy camera.

i heart ree

for years now, i have been following pioneer woman on her hillarious journey of "high heels to tractor wheels" on her very well done blog. this woman completely amazes me, i am always in awe of how much she can do, and that she does it all so well.

her photos are stunning and she knows exactly the right kind of tweaking with photoshop to make them that much better. she lives on a cattle ranch, she home-schools her beautiful children, she is in love with her handsome cowboy husband, oh AND she can cook. like nobody's business. but all of this goodness isn't what i love the most about her. it's her ability to tell a story and make me feel like i'm a part of her little life out there in the country, like we've been friends for as long as i've been reading. her stories usually send me laughing, sometimes crying, sometimes a little bit of both. she's just so REAL, such a down home cookin', kind of a woman, and i love her! i love ree drummond!

ok, so we've established that i'm a fan, maybe a little too much, but seriously, everyone i know who reads her feels the same way i do. so imagine how excited i was to hear that she was publishing a cook book! yay!

of course i pre-ordered it on amazon, several actually, and i couldn't wait to see it, i knew she would have written and photographed everything in it herself and it would be amazing. and it is by the way.

so imagine how over the top excited i was to find out that salt lake city was on her book tour!!!!

of course we planned a big girl's night out, got there way early because we knew there would be a million people there (even if the tiny little book store had NO IDEA - which they didn't). and it was worth all the waiting and standing in line, and evening buying another expensive copy from the tiny little book store because mine hadn't arrived in the mail from amazon yet. (guess what arrived the very  next day?) all of it, totally worth it, she was wonderful! 

it was great to hear her speak, the question and answer session was a lot of fun - i could tell right away that everyone else in the room loved her as much as me.(we are in the fourth row back on the leftish - you can see patsy waving).

she also brought her sister in law missy who i was thrilled to meet, she's beautiful!

after the Q&A, we waited in another long line that wound through the tiny but delightful bookstore - though not as long for us since we were there super early and got tickets to the signing - woohoo!

but that line was worth it too, because she signed my book for me and chatted for a minute, and chuckled when i told her that she "saved thanksgiving gravy at my house".

i really wanted her to know this. i explained about having my SIL hold the laptop for me by the stove top while i scrolled down to each photo with one hand, whisk in the other, following along to make sure i was doing it just right. then she had a good laugh,  she said, "oh the gravy is so important, i'm so glad i could help!"

i wish i could have come up with something memorable to tell her, like how amazing i think she is.  i just didn't know what to say without sounding like a psycho - kind of like i am now i'm sure. i heart ree.

c'mon, make my day

i seem to be sort of lacking the comments lately, so when i saw this little tag game on laura's blog, i thought it would be fun...

1. read this post.
2. post on your blog the same game.
3. post a comment.
4. the first 3 receive a surprise lovely thing from me sometime in the near future. except, i guess it won't really be a surprise because you'll know right away whether or not you were one of the first three. so it's really an expected lovely something in the mail. but still, it will be cute i promise.

i LOVE comments! thanks laura. comments make my day. no pressure.

staying focused

it's only 6:39 in the morning and i've already been sucked into the blogosphere. today i'm staying focused on the tasks at hand, so many tasks at hand, by staying away from the computer. no blogging (after this) and no email. not even a quick phone number search from dex. at least until my "to-do" list is under control, then i guess it would fine. FOCUS wende, FOCUS!

inspiration everywhere!

i am adoring the new creative blog of my cute friend kristi (pink) and her girlfriend 2cleverblog.com and decided i really needed to share all this goodness! i don't know her girlfriend (think) who does the blog with her, but i'm excited to get to know her through the blog. i am a big fan of kristi's, i really think that she is really is amazing. i have no idea how she accomplishes everything, but i'm glad that she is generous enough to share her ideas! i have been a lame photo taker of the many projects of mine that i have come from her great ideas, but so far, from being a regular reader of 2 clever, and her personal blog, i have: 1. given conference weekend kits to the ladies i visit teach with much raving and compliments. 2. i brought allie's fabulous sixth grade teacher to tears with one of kristi's wonderful 100 books last year. 3. and most recently, i sent some good mail to presidents bush and obama to thank them for their public service. i told you! inspiration everywhere! the most important thing that i've learned isn't really about cute cellophane wrapping or brightly colored ribbon. she has taught me that every day is worth celebrating, whether it be silly or sentimental, find what is good about it and celebrate it! i love this girl! the bottom line, if you haven't visited 2cleverblog - do it now! who knows how she will inspire you!

blah-ging

lately, when it comes to blogging, i feel like the old lady in the lifecall commercial who calls out - i've fallen and i can't get up. for real. i have a million things to write about, at least a dozen posts floating around in my head, but when i sit down to actually write about anything, nothing sounds good. it all feels overwhelming, irritating and just plain not fun. so i'm taking a break to just lay on the proverbial bathroom floor.

avoidance is pretty much my number one coping mechanism

this is the time of year when the photos start accumulating, i can't help it, it's just so beautiful and so i just keep shooting. and we have so many traditions associated with autumn, trips to the pumpkin patch, gardner village, and always a photo shoot or two in the beautiful leaves to name a few. i have oodles of good stuff to post, lots of fun happenings. but this week is a little too insane to try and spend a bunch of time editing photos and telling all their stories. and some weeks i just don't feel the blogger spirit, i'm sure it's just feeling overwhelmed and so i'm avoiding it all completely. that's pretty much my number one coping mechanism. so for now, i'm posting one of one hundred fall photos i have in my ever growing "latest from camera" folder. and i'm posting it straight out of the camera - meaning no photoshop touching at all (gasp!). oh man, what a cutie.

SPT - because of a blogger - personal growth edition

this was the easiest of the five SPT posts for september's theme: because of a blogger - personal growth edition. i guess because i can think of many ways i have achieved personal growth in the past 15 months since i began posting. in the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, i made a list of things i've learned about me and ways i've grown because of blogging...

1. it's ok to post snap shots of my life. not every photograph has to be perfect - as a photographer worried about how every photo is a reflection of me and my work, this was hard to let go of, still is sometimes.

2. my blog is sort of like physical evidence for me, that i really am here on this planet, making a difference, and that i'm important, what i do is important. AND that we have FUN and life is wonderful. this was huge for me.

3. i have a connection, far more than just electronic, to so many women and their amazing life stories. i am not the only woman out there who feels lonely and worried and psychotic sometimes. and recognizing other's needs, and doing what i can to help, makes me forget about my own worries.4. i have good ideas and it's fun to share them.

5. everyone else has great ideas and i love to copy them!

6. it's ok to have a mix of "random" posts and "this is what i did today" posts (or blogumentary style - as jenny calls it!). for a while i was completely caught up in the guilt i was having over not documenting every minute of every day. i know now that it's ok to just have my own style which is a little bit of both.

7. i learned how to take self portaits and now I'M in the photographs too.8. i see how important it is to me to keep in touch with family and friends. near and far. this might be one of my favorite things about blogging. i really wish everyone had a blog!

9. i feel like i was always a pretty good sender of thank you notes and random notes of kindness, but i am always thinking about it now. and, now i'm also the recipient of it and that's always a good thing.

10. i have four new girlfriends that i hold dear to my heart, who used to be more like aquaintences. we all live in the same small city, our kids even go to the same small schools. but the way we got to know each other was through our blogs and now, birthdays, thursdays and girl's day out will never be the same! (in a good way) i had no idea how much i would need their love and friendship in the last year and how much they would help me to grow as a mom and a woman and a friend.i am a blogger - and i love it! this may be one of my cheesiest posts ever...

**how has blogging my your life better?**

**will you check out lelly's blog and do an spt too?**

four, well seven, but really four

on josh's version of these answers, he listed me as one of the four people he thought would respond, and since i would have major guilt if i blew this off...here i go.

instructions:
copy the questions and then answer with your lists of "four"...either in the comment secion or on your own blog.

1. four family members: taylor, allie, spencer and ethan (sorry rich, it said four)
2. four people who email me regularly: janae, patsy, kristy and karrie (usually group emails)
3. four of my favorite places to eat: bajio, wingers, red robin and jason's deli
4. four places i would rather be right now: hawaii, on a cruise, in bed, in bed on a cruise in hawaii?
5. four people i think will respond: janae, patsy, kristy and karrie (no pressure now!)
6. four tv shows i watch over and over: frasier, the cosby show (our family's summer favorite), everybody loves raymond, king of queens (wow, these are all shows that aren't on any more, but i watch them all the time thanks to the tivo and cable that runs old shows all the time).

ok, and i'm adding this one to the list:
7. four of your favorite pass times: photography, photoshop, reading and napping.

happy posting!

blogging goodness

i had been looking forward to last saturday's date, may 3rd, for a long time for several reasons. it would mean the first day after the gift basket bidding was officially closed and so that is obviously huge, but it was really the blog party that i couldn't wait for. for almost a year now i've been reading jill's and kristi's and michelle's blogs and feeling sort of guilty - sort of a voyeur kind of guilt i guess, like maybe because i hadn't met them i didn't really have a right getting to know them on such a personal level. make sense? i was super excited to meet them in person, along with several other women i've grown to admire, the anticipation leading up to the party felt sort of like a class reunion! these girls put on a great party, there was tons of great food - just look at these cupcakes with ribbons! and kristi thought of the ribbon-adorned keyboards as centerpieces - so clever! when we first walked in, jill was right there to greet us and i said, "hi jill, i'm wende" and she laughed and said, "i know who you are!" and gave me a big hug. that was such a great moment for me, it was a little surreal to be taking photographs and having a conversation but at the same time felt totally natural because i know her already! it was great meeting kristi too, i have really loved reading about her cute girls, especially her washington d.c. posts because they take me back to when we lived there. i've also copied several of her ideas already so it seemed only appropriate to be able to thank her in person for sharing her brain with the rest of us - i'm so glad she does! michelle was darling and her lipstick was perfect - of course i was sort of expecting that, and chatting with her was just so delightful, i'm such a fan of her beautiful blog and it was nice to have the opportunitity to tell her so. i met lots of fabulous women and especially loved how much we laughed and laughed trying to get a good group photo. kristi requested the "jazz hands" pose which of course made us laugh harder! good times. i needed those laughs after the stressful couple of months with the fundraiser, it felt so good to stay out until 1:30am! it's been a long time since i've done that just for fun. i loved sharing the experience with my fellow blogger moms, i mean the local ones. of course we all went together and it made it a whole lot less scary to mingle and meet other people knowing we were all there supporting each other. what i really want to say in this post that's getting longer by the minute, is what a blessing blogging has been to me. i draw strength from all these women somehow and it buoys me up to share in their triumphs and struggles because i realize we are all the same this way, we all have good days and bad. and i'm grateful for friends, because seriously, who doesn't need a friend? i love these girls! thanks so much to jill, kristi and michelle for putting on such a great event!

blogger friends

i am one of those lucky ladies who gets to volunteer with such fantastic women! i'm lucky to have met them through school but we all also happen to be blogging and that one thing has brought us all closer as a group. it's funny to me that something as large as the "world wide web" could be responsible for bringing five women from the same city closer together. i'm grateful for friendships built on every day looks into our lives, looks that seem more real that the average relationship. probably because blogging is like a journal entry and you get to sort of peek into that person's personality and get to know them a little better. i'm so glad that i have blogging friends that live near by, especially ones that i see all the time at school! we decided after today's lunch that we need to have a blogger lunch once a month for no other reason but FUN! i'm in! i also have to say that eileen kept ethan for me which was so fabulous. the best part was not having to share my coke or wondering if ethan was running behind the bajio counter - his favorite place to go when let loose in that place! unfortunately, ethan slept the whole time he was at eileen's so they never got to play. she said i need to bring him back for an actual play date. hmmm, i think she can twist my arm! ps where's kristy in this picture? :)

**how has the world wide web improved your life?**

**do you love bajio salads?**

**do you have a great mother in law?**

First Timer

I decided that this was a good as a scrapbook ans since I am not scrapbooking lately or keeping a current journal of our family, maybe this would make up for all of that. Summer is a glorious time isn't it? Somehow the sun makes me feel completely rejuvenated and fabulous like I have time for crap like blogging. This is not really the case, there is ALWAYS something more pressing on my time like for instance, the laundry that is sitting in the dryer getting wrinkled as I type and don't forget the washed load that needs to go into the dryer, but what can you do? Prioritize I guess and right now, this is it baby.
I am one of those abnormal moms who loves to have the children home from school during the summer. I'm not sure why this is, we have our hairy moments, but generally the kids are a ton of fun to hang out with and I'm sure part of it is because I'm such a mother hen that I like having them under my wings more. Especially with regards to jr. high, I mean seiously, who wants their kid to go to jr. high and have to experience all the craziness of that stage of their life. I am happy to report that we did survive Taylor's first year there and he did quite well with all of the social aspects and grades too for that matter, but if it's all the same to you, I am glad he's home for the summer. This way I can re-brain wash him before I send him back in the fall. I am a believer in parent brain-washing, if we don't do it, the world will do it for them. Infact, isn't that what parenting really is? Ok, that's enough for today, the baby is fussing, but I do love summer!