Oh my children...

My sister Alicia sent me this column from the Atlantic Monthly yesterday... It is the story of a father trying to lay down the commandments at the dinner table. Now, before you click over there.. I don't mean to be indelicate.. but empty your bladder so you won't pee your pants and finish your coke so it doesn't come out your nose.. This story is funny stuff if you have or know any children.

See this story HERE!

Lily of the Valley...

In the language of flowers...

Lily of the Valley means..

Return of Happiness
*****

Are not they lovely?

Mother's Day...

**Note: Before I start this post.. don't forget that there is a giveaway several posts down. Everyone is welcome.

Secondly, this is a photo of the box I painted for my mom for Mother's Day.. there is also one in the shop if anyone is interested.

I hope you had a wonderful mother's day... guilt free. For some reason, in the places I've lived Mother's Day can become a day of comparison. Do you do that? I do. I look around at all the talented women that I live by and wish that I could have some of the best gifts of every one of them. My neighbor gave a talk at our church the other day. She is a person whose done a lot of research on parenting and she made an interesting point. She said that she had looked at a study that had tried to discover the ideal way to raise successful children and the study found that there was no ideal way, but that many successful (successful here is defined as happy) adults had one thing common... they were loved. What a relief, if we love our children and they really know it, that fact will make up for a lot.

Several years ago I was asked to speak about mothers. Here is a small portion of what I wrote about some of the mother's in my life.

Mothers are different.
In my own family my two Grandmothers could not have been more different.
One graduated with a degree in nursing, had ten children, seven of them boys, was an avid sports fan and a great cook of large portions of good Mormon cooking all the while working outside the home as a labor and delivery nurse by necessity to help support her large family. I never saw her with makeup or any other form of feminine adornments but she always knew the scores of all the games.
My other Grandmother graduated from Utah State with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is the mother of six children 3 girls and 3 boys. I have seen many pictures of her looking glamorous in fancy dresses she made with high heels and red lipstick... think 1940's Christian Dior! She was a homemaker by trade, artistic in every way and a Relief Society president many times over. She is also a great cook of small portions of gourmet food.

Both of my Grandmothers were good mothers. Both of them were faithful Latter Day Saints who served tirelessly in the church and were wonderful examples to their children and Grandchildren. Both of them were missionaries. Both of them shared their love, talents and testimonies with as many people as they could, but especially with their families.

I am so grateful this day for my own dear mother whose gifts and talents are many; who taught me to awe and reverence the creation that our Heavenly Father has made for our happiness. She loves everything that is good and beautiful. I enjoy going on drives with her so that she can point out and name every special tree and flower and bush and so she can remind me not to forget how beautiful our mountains are today with either green grass, autumn leaves or snow. She loves the beauty of every season and celebrates every holiday and occasion with exuberance and real joy. I am so grateful for her quiet faith and her extraordinary acts of service and for her great loyalty and love for her family.

***********************************************************************

I think it's a good idea to try to celebrate the differences that make each mother the right mother for the child they have been given by God... even if that mother is you!

Someday...

I ran into this book at the bookstore yesterday. I had to sit there and pretend I had really bad allergies instead of the fact that I was crying in the store... so embarrassing. It's about a mother who has this cute daughter. The daughter has the audacity to grow up and ride two wheel bikes and it's like in the next page that she leaves for college. And it's about how precious this daughter is to her mother. I'm going to try and give this to c for her birthday this year. I hope I remember.. and write her a lovely letter and tell her she is the most fabulous thing that ever happened to me.

Surprise Love Box Giveaway...

I finished a new design this week. Sadly, the first one is never exactly right. And, because a new design is always sort of an experiment.. they are often not up to standard enough to put in the shop. So, I'm giving this first attempt away. Only the winner gets to see it since it's imperfect. If your interested.. comment just once on the post below and I will draw a name Monday Midnight EST.

Congratulations to Motherboard!

Speed Racer...

I was thinking about taking c to view the new Speed Racer movie this weekend or next (it takes a lot of gumption to face movie crowds on the weekends around here). I'm not so sure anymore... some idiot must have already seen it because at 2AM said doofus came racing around the neighborhood. Sleep never comes easily for me and it is quickly frightened away by thunderstorms, dogs and crazy people doing reckless automobile stunts in the middle of the night. So, I've been up since 2 and feel like I was run over. I may have to catch up with you all tomorrow. Sorry to be so whiny.

Why dieters eat celery.. 5 a day and other news..

This is why dieters eat celery. (That's a great website I think.) I've just helped myself to 3 stalks.. 30 calories. I have discovered that the whole 5 a day thing is kind of a conspiracy... the idea being that if you stuff yourself full of veggies.. there will be no room for dessert. For instance, did you know that if you buy a normal 6oz. bag of salad at the grocery store you have to eat at least half of it to count as a serving of veggies and say you just wanted to pig out on spinach.. Well, just go right on ahead.. You've pigged out, you've eaten the whole bag.. no worries it's only 40 calories. At some level I knew this, but not like I know it now. I've never tried to really stick to this 5 a day thing before.. it works you know. Running six miles a day works faster, but this works too and I'm not so sore and injury prone. At some point I hope the running will be part of it again too, but for right now I'm trying to eat my veggies.

A little friend came to visit...

A little while ago, this little friend came to visit. Three is an interesting age and she reminded me that a lot of the things my nephew, (who I see far more frequently) does are all about being 3. Three is big. People who are three can do big things and they don't need any help. People who are three can be afraid of the garden peas on their plate, but not afraid to jump down an entire flight of stairs if you're not watching them close. They can be afraid of the swing set, but not afraid of running in the road.
You have to watch a 3... carefully.. but, they sure are a delight.

Utah Spring Cards...

The "Utah Spring" collection of photographic cards is available today in

ThE LoVE BoXeS SHoP

Owl Postcards Have Flown In!

The paper is really heavy, lovely paper with an amazing finish. They work best if you use a nice sharpie pen to write on them.
These will be in..

THe LOVe BoXes SHoP

today!

Hedgehogs and Elephants...

New Boxes in..

ThE LOvE BOXeS SHoP

Tiny Heart Box...

The LOvE BoXeS SHoP...

Jeeves and the Fuedal Spirit...

If life has made a turn for the worse and things have been a real downer lately then.. you need Jeeves to cheer you up. I love a good P.G. Wodehouse and this one is hilarious. Bertie gets himself tied up in a love triangle, some trouble with his favorite aged ancestor and a fake pearl necklace and all kinds of comic relief. The benefit of these books is that by the end you'll be better able to talk like an Englishman.. a trip to the car wash is "ghastly, horrendous, the worst possible disaster in an otherwise pleasant life." A major car wreck where you've barely escaped with your life is, "a small spot of trouble, a minor inconvenience, a bit of a bump in the road." Wodehouse is always a smart, witty, quick read and tons of fun.

** If you haven't.. don't forget to sign up on the Giveaway post below.. everyone welcome!

Band of Brothers...

For the past few weeks, c and I have been watching Band of Brothers.. just an episode a night.. it's about all a person can take.

Probably most of you have seen this already. If not, you should. I think it should be part of a basic American History education. It took me a while to see it. I knew it was going to be rough viewing. FYI this film is not rated. I don't know if it gets documentary status or why.. maybe one of you can enlighten me, but anyway if it were rated it would have a big fat R because of language and violence. This is not a film I would want c watching. She is far too young. Until a person is old enough to see the characters as actual people, which they were, and to feel that loss deeply they are too young/immature to view this film.

As I was talking with my brother about the film Saturday, he made the comment that all films about war are romanticized to some extent. It can't be helped in the sense that, it isn't your friend dying, you are not feeling the cold for months and months, you are not living in a fox hole.. that kind of thing. While there is no way to really pay the proper respect to the Veterans of WW2 through film or books or any art form for that matter, this is one of the best efforts ever made. Like my dad said to me once, if you don't see it, you won't really know the extent of the sacrifice these brave men made. I have read a lot of books about war since I was about 12, but I am a visual person and this film taught me in a way that none of the books I've read could have. If you haven't.. see it.

The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn...

I'm sorry this is the best image I could come up with for this little made for television film. This movie has a few problems with the script and in some of the minor rolls the acting is a bit off.. but if you want to watch a couple of masters at work.. Sidney Poitier and Dianne Wiest are simply amazing in this film that is just a very sweet and simple story about a man who is genius at his craft, but has a very difficult time with personal relationships. Put it on your Netflix list.

Giveaway Day!

Congratulations SWS!

These are some of my favorite yellow things.

Alexandra's decorating book is my favorite of all the decorating books I've ever read, which are many. If you haven't had a chance to read it, you must it's simply brilliant. She talks about how the use of bright, clear colors, gloss white and tons of light can create rooms that mimic the feeling of a gorgeous sunny day outdoors alleviating the SAD blues. I have visited her in her apartment in New York, she's since moved, but those rooms were like a garden oasis in the city. Her book is filled with the principles of Feng Shui that teach balance and proportion. It's difficult to explain, you'll just have to read it.

Of course there is a yellow love box. I love to make them and I love to put things in them. I hope whoever wins this one will love it. Find many, many love boxes to see here in the

LOvE BoxeS SHoP

There are some of my spring photograph cards. Since it snowed YESTERDAY! I think these will still be appropriate. I have named them Utah Spring...

And, there is the cute little fabric floral pin, a yellow sharpie and a sparkly Bert's Bees.

Sorry about posting this so late.. our internet has been down all morning. Anyway, good luck!

Enter your name just once one the comments below and I will draw a name Monday Midnight EST. Spread the word. :)

Fabric Flowers...

I love these fabric flowers that I got at The Gap last Saturday. They are little jacket pins, but I think they would be lovely in a hairdo as well. One of the yellow ones will be part of the giveaway on Friday. It has been a crazy morning. I was up early to get c registered for some of her summer activities. She got in! whew!

5 boxes need finishing.

1 order needs shipping

The house is a complete wreck.

One nephew is coming over.

Piles of laundry and ironing.

It's going to be a flying by kind of day.. they all are that way lately. Life is short. It's about time for me to start painting Christmas boxes again! Things are starting to look up.. in The Glass Castle.. I'm almost finished. I don't think I could read this book a second time.. it's pretty rough reading. I would say that it's a book about 2 very intelligent but seriously damaged/mentally ill parents trying to raise 4 children. Atleast the children have each other. I going to finish reading/listening while I clean today.

I hope all of you are having grand adventures today! What are you going to do today? Anything interesting?

Owls.. The Diet... Sego Lily Cafe & Giveaway & all the News...

First of all.. if you haven't tried the Sego Lily Cafe in Bountiful.. you should.. it's divine. The menu says something like, "Fine Dining North of the City" and that's true. They have this creamy chicken soup that is some of the best soup I've ever tried! It's crazy there on the weekends and Monday nights, but if you go on Tuesday or Wednesday you can practically have the place to yourself. (I like to know that kind of info.. Are you in a see and be seen mood.. or just in the mood for a quiet dinner.. quiet dinner is more my scene).
The Diet... is finally doing better. The rule I have the most trouble with is the 5 servings per day of fruits and veggies. I usually get to 4 and miss the mark. My new secret weapon is frozen mixed veggies with lima beans. I love lima beans and I know that all of you do not.. so you may have to find your own secret weapon. But, a serving of mixed veggies equals 1/2 cup and I can microwave that and eat 1 whole cup with my lunch and that equals 2 servings. I really think eating healthier is helping me feel better which is good.. anything that will help curb the general anxiety. How are you doing with it.. those of you who are on the wagon?
Now.. Owl news! I got a proof from the printer yesterday and the new owl postcard looks to be really fun! I can't wait to show you! It should be here next week.
More Owl news is... that I finished just a few owl boxes this week and one is in:
ThE LOvE BoXes SHoP
today.
Then, heads up! There will be a yellow giveaway on Friday so don't forget to stop by then and say hello. I have not replaced my favorite color.. it's still pink, but I have a real fondness for the fun lemony yellows that have been around during the past year. It's going to be fun!

Union Pacific Rail Depot...

It's tragic that we didn't have the will or the cash to make
the Union Pacific Rail depot .. the SLC hub.
It's so sad.. I can just see this building filled with leather arm chairs and news stands.

Carmina Burana & The Utah Symphony...

Did I mention and C & I took c to her first Symphony on Friday. I wanted to pick one that would keep her awake and when I heard the Utah symphony would be performing Carmina Burana I thought. Perfect!

Camina Burana is about wickedness. Dang it. Although critics may argue with me, I choose to believe that it has the wholesome message of "wickedness never was happiness" because it ends with O Fortuna (or maybe Orff just thought is sounded so amazing he'd put it in twice). I love, LOVE Stravinky's Rite of Spring.. same thing, so apparently I like music about springtime wickedness. However, I have always been able to make up my own stories about music.. which is fun and I usually make them a bit more G rated OK.. PG/PG13 a girl need a little romance in there. Rite of Spring just sounds like things growing and the violent parts could be like when it snows and has dark clouds in April that bug. Or, it could be like an East wind. I even like to make up my own lyrics to Broadway musicals.. but I have to kind of keep them to myself.. because it's a big pet peeve of C's (he always remembers the right lyrics and is never forced to make up his own).

My imagination has a tougher time when they flash super titles over the stage. When they got to the point of "untying the chains of virginity" or something like that.. there was actual sniggering in the audience. I did not snigger! But the soloist was so funny and fun to watch.. I did have to smile!

I like to watch the orchestra and what a sight it is when they perform Carmina Burana. I think there are like 300 people on the stage. Am I exaggerating? I counted and the choir had more than 150 members. Wow! They could really sing too! The soloists were amazing. There were two concert grand pianos and they seemed to have all the instruments.. even a celesta (is that what you call the tiny piano?) One thing about the symphony.. they don't always have all the instruments. Some pieces just don't call for a trumpet (almost always sad I think:) But Carmina Burana has all or almost all the instruments. Can you tell I'm not an expert on music? Little c likes the clarinets best.

Anyway, there must have been some musical experts in the audience.. and there was a standing ovation with 3 call backs... (However, if you don't get a standing ovation with at least one call back.. you're not in Utah!) But still! It was really, really great. C loved it and so did c.. so the evening was a success and now a great memory. .. I like that part too.