in case you were wondering...

thanks

2008-12-01T04:37:00.001-08:00

after a very trying last couple of months, i am reminded that we have much to be thankful for. our family is happy, healthy, beautiful and growing! this is our newest addition nephew luke. handsome and inquisitive.
i am also thankful that we have a home when so many families have lost their homes in this economic crisis.
i am thankful that i have a family of friends who love and support me.
i am thankful for everything i learned from my dad, and for all the things about him that will always live on in me.
i am thankful for my loving husband and brilliant daughters.
i am thankful for strength, encouragement and support i get from my husband. he makes anything possible.
i am thankful for my health and well-being.
i am thankful for wet dog noses, fuzzy blankets and silver linings.

say cheeeeese!

2008-03-07T23:23:00.000-08:00

we took rhiannon to our new local chuck-e-cheese pizza parlor for her birthday. i was pretty excited because i grew up in san jose, where we had the greatest pizza parlor on the planet - chuck-e-cheese. it had a fun house, characters that wandered around, a real stage with performances, a water show, some video games and things, and the best pizza ever. even grown-ups liked to go there because the booths were plush and there was a real stage with real performers. now that we have franchised america, chuck-e's is a disappointment. it is more like a cafeteria that has styrofoam pizza and an arcade! i am sure the kids had a blast, the photos are evidence of that, but they haven't asked to go back yet...

take your daughter to work day

2008-02-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

i know, it isn't officially "take your daughter to work day," but i took baby g with me to work today. we weren't there too long before it was time to take her to school, but i don't think she could have handled much more! i had discussed with her earlier the importance of bringing things to do, as we had an urgent deadline and i would be very busy. inevitably, she was happy for about half an hour. she drew several pictures, ate her snacks and... well that was it. she urgently needed to be entertained at the same moment when the computer decided to crash!

ikea schmia...

2008-02-19T03:41:00.000-08:00

i am sure i must've mentioned that the kids got me a sewing machine for mother's day last year. i was so excited! i really didn't know how to use it, but was anxious to find out. i have since tried my hand at mending clothes (i replaced a zipper in my favorite jeans), crafting - i have been making purses from old pants pockets, and now i have made a slipcover for this (although adorable, still non-coordinating) footstool from ikea.

snow angels

2008-01-28T07:08:00.000-08:00

exhausted after an afternoon of playing in the snow. we measured 7 inches of accumulation at our house. it is amazing. the most snow i have seen in springfield since i was in first grade! we had so much fun playing in the snow yesterday, i can hardly wait to take buckets and shovels out to build a snow castle today!

girls just wanna have fun

2007-10-30T21:49:00.001-07:00

here are some of the girls and i at the costume party we went to last weekend. we have a cowgirl, beth the bounty hunter, a model from deal or no deal, and me. after tomorrow i can post photos of the kids trick-or-treating!

what are you going to be?

2007-10-18T19:38:00.001-07:00

as we approach all hallow's eve, i am again this year trying to convince the kids to be something fantastic. little hands always wants to be pink power ranger, and baby g always wants to be a witch. that is not entirely true, last year little hands wanted to be a geisha, but dad vetoed that- he thought it was entirely inappropriate for a second grader. so i got her a geisha costume for her build-a-bear. i got baby g a witch costume for her bear, in the hopes that she might choose to be something else for a change, to no avail. this year norm and i are going to a costume party (i have always wanted to go to a costume event) we will either be red riding hood and the big bad wolf- or an asian bride and a ww2 soldier. norm got me a great asian dress while we were in vegas and i don't really know when i will have another chance to wear it.

eeeewwwww- gross!

2007-10-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

our local "science factory" put on an event at the library, where they taught kids how to make snot (of all things) then they made boogers too! pictured is baby g and our neighbor constructing mucous grossology. i guess the whole idea of the thing was to show the kids the relevance of saliva. they had a cracker eating contest to see how many crackers you could eat in 30 seconds. baby g the munch mouth barely finished one! and a collection of bottles filled with things you were supposed to smell and rate the level of salivation. it was yucky but intriguing - as if kids aren't gross enough already!

now i've done it.

2007-10-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

i have officially crossed the line from "weirdo who dresses up pets" to "pathetic weirdo who not only dresses up pets, but obsessively knits for them as well". yes, it is true. i made that adorable sweater, and another, and i am working on another. i have been knitting so obsessively, norm mentioned perhaps he should set up an intervention! clearly roxy is enjoying it. a natural for the runway.

... stays in vegas?

2007-10-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

i wish. i always have such a great time- even on a limited budget. it appeals to me that las vegas is warm (compared to oregon!) and the entire city keeps hours much like my own. i wish we had truly great restaurants at home. i have been dreaming about isla mexican restaurant at treasure island since last year. there is a photo of my best friend and i enjoying a meal there. one of the couples we travelled with got married while we were there. at the same little chapel as nikki hilton.

what happens in vegas...

2007-09-27T04:20:00.000-07:00

i am busy getting ready for our annual las vegas trip. this year we are traveling with three other couples. our usual traveling companions, my sister and her husband and another couple whom we have not traveled with before. it should be a blast. we are going for a 3 day weekend, and have booked many exciting events. including dinner at isla mexican restaurant and tequila bar (which i have been dreaming about since last year). now that i have overcome my fear of flying, trips will be so much easier. norm is gonna regret making me fly when he realizes it has created a traveling jones in me.

that 1 guy

2007-09-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

it may be difficult to tell what this is due to poor club lighting (although i prefer to call it "ambiance"). we went to see a performance by "that 1 guy and his magic pipe" the other night. i have seen him play a few times, and i am always mesmerized. he has invented this instrument from some pipes and electronic parts. i think there may be a guitar pick-up, a keyboard type of sampler and some electronic drum parts involved, but i can't really be sure- i am not a musician. he also plays a magic boot and a magic saw. his lyrics are pretty clever too.
this is my brother and i enjoying the show.

ra ra ra

2007-09-20T18:55:00.001-07:00

gimme an "r", gimme an "o", gimme an "x", gimme a "y"! what's that spell? it's "roxy"! i never thought i would fall into the weirdo's who like to dress up their pets category, but here i am. baby g discovered that her build-a-bear clothes fit the dog, and spent two days chasing her around the house to dress her up. i tried hard to protect poor roxy, but to no avail. i finally realized however, that roxy actually enjoyed the costumes so i had to give it a try. she is going to cheerleader tryouts next week.

i didn't see you there

2007-09-18T03:44:00.001-07:00

i am finally getting around to adding a photo of the new addition to our family. zero is taking it well- he really doesn't even seem to notice or care! she has been renamed "roxanne the diva"- we call her roxy for "short" ha. ha. it suits her.

to make a loooong story short

2007-08-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

we have a new addition to our family. gracie the dachshund has come to live with us. she is adorable (i love doxies) and great with the kids. she has cried a lot since her mommy left her here, which is getting on zero's nerves, but i think we will all get along just fine. i will post a photo or two this afternoon.

girls just wanna

2007-08-29T03:26:00.000-07:00

the girls had a slumber party over the weekend. it was a blast. we took the kids to the air show, and everyone (except baby g) had a great time. we played in the pool, bar-be-qued cheeseburgers, made 'smores and stayed up all night playing mario party on the wii. on the left you can see some of the extreme acrobatic stunts the pilots did, and the girls (from left to right: katana, rhiannon, gwynneth, keisha) exploring an army helicopter.

s-town ink

2007-08-23T07:29:00.001-07:00

this is the design i worked up yesterday for my next tattoo. norm and little hands are water signs, aquarius and cancer, while baby g and i are both sagittarius, a fire sign. can you find the astrological symbols?

hot hot hot

2007-08-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

mmmm. i made salsa entirely with ingredients from our garden. at first i thought it was not spicy enough, mom told me to roast the peppers so they would be more mild. after it sat overnight in the refrigerator, it was very spicy! it starts out sweet, then you feel the heat.

by: rhiannon

2007-08-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

an excerpt from little hands' handcrafted book: "poems that save the world and make you laugh."

"i saw an aristocrat
she was at the laundromat
her husband was a democrat
he said his work building went splat
and they both said 'oh drat.' "

i thought it was pretty clever for a seven year-old.

really?!

2007-08-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

i thought the day would never come! oh the joys of motherhood! my baby is doing the dishes now... not only that, but she has made dad very proud too by being obsessive about the efficiency of the placement of the dishes in the dishwasher. i remember being excited about doing the dishes when mom first let me- and we never even had a dishwasher. i just hope rhiannon continues to enjoy it, because i love the idea of the girls taking over some of the chores...

fairly fun

2007-08-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

we had a fairly good time at the county fair this year. it was a little disappointing for all of us, though. "little hands" rhiannon didn't go with us because she had a birthday party to attend. baby g wasn't nearly as excited about going on rides without her. norm (with considerable effort) finally persuaded her to go on this kiddie roller-coaster. that is baby g in the rear car with the very tall boy! it is hard to believe that this is the same girl who two months ago rode the tower of terror at disney world! we heard a band called the darren johnson effort- they were pretty good! norm said they reminded him of death cab for cutie, i think he was right. we didn't see the art exhibits because baby g had an armload of sticky cotton candy. we didn't see the animals because baby g was too tired. but we did see the all-alaskan racing pigs, which was adorable and funny. it was a much better show than i imagined, and the m.c. was great too!

my hero, zero

2007-08-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

zero is on his way to being a superstar! he is featured on ron an joe's art parts silly pet photos. here he is sneaking the use of the warming foot massager when he thinks no one is looking! autographs by request...

welcome!

2007-08-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

welcome to the world, ronin john hunter! congratulations kyle and celeste!

(insert shameless self promotion here... this is the beauty of a card i created to welcome the baby)

happy 13!

2007-08-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

happy 13 miss k. you have grown into a very thoughtful, mature, responsible and beautiful young woman. we are very proud of you!

happy holidays

2007-08-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

these are samples of the st. patrick's day cards i made and never sent out... yes, i have a whole drawer full of greeting cards that are addressed and stamped but never made it to the intended recipient. thankfully, my friends and family forgive me because they know i am the girl who has a whole drawer full of sentiments... this is all beside the point. i also have a couple years worth of holiday cards i have designed and produced myself (so they could sit in a drawer wishing my friends and family happy holidays!) i realize the st. patty's cards are a bit out of season, but i think they are the most recent. i am considering a creating a line of greeting cards, and placing them for sale on my website. what do you think of these?