Almost All Packed

...and almost all ready to go home. 4 weeks away from home is a LONG time.

LONG.

And, while I'm ready to be home, I'm not ready for the journey. In general, just to let you in on a little secret about me, I don't like journeys, so much. Literal and figurative. If only I could get that teleporter to work and we could just appear at home tomorrow.

With all our crapola. Can't-see-out-the-back-window crapola. Do-we-really-need-all-this crapola.

We spent the day with my mom's family today. My grandfather's memorial service will be Saturday, but Dave and I aren't going to stay for it. We discussed this with Grandma, and she's okay with it. Dave HAS to be back at work on Monday, and getting home separately would be nightmarish. So we spent quality time with the family today. And Mookie just wandered around charming the pants off of everyone. :o) Of course.

So, with that, I will sign off and finish getting the car packed. Hope you have a great weekend!

Perfect Blue

The Rockies through the branches of a Blue Spruce.

This is the blue sky of my childhood. The color all blue skies should be.

Last week, we had a wee bit of a snowstorm and a humdinger of a windstorm.

Typical for Colorado, of course, is the brilliant blue sky to contrast the pristine white snow. Here are a few of the pictures I took after the sun came out -- but before it had a chance to melt the beauty and turn it into slush. :o)

Remembering Grandpa (Wordless Wednesday)

Melvin F. Green

9.8.1924 - 2.24.2009

A man worthy of great honor.

What We Were

Way back in January, I asked for some guidance. Some help. Some ideas. We had been invited to a costume party for Mardi Gras, and I was absolutely stumped as to who (or what) we could be. Stumped.

The theme was "icons" and I just could NOT wrap my little brain around that concept. It took me weeks, weeks to come up with a definition of "icons" that I liked. And then? To come up with a costume to represent that definition? Ugh. More weeks.

While I love JB and Delvo to the HILT, I am notsomuch a fan of the costume party. I'm notsomuch a fan of costuming. Period. For instance, when I was a kid, my favorite Halloween costume was Harpo Marx because I didn't have to say anything. All I had to do was honk my horn. I don't know where my costume-aversion comes from, I just know it is real.

So, back to this year's Mardi Gras party. Icons. I should have gone as a tree stump!  :o)  I tried and tried. Bantered around ideas and celebrities and people and things...but none of them (a) fit my definition of "icon" (a symbol or representative of something else), and (b) met my criteria for the costume (free or cheap).  But then one day last week, I GOT IT!!

HAZZAH!!!!

The idea. The icon. A symbol or representative of something else that could be made cheaply. $11 cheaply, thankyouverymuch.

What were we?

We were:

Yin and Yang

And, while I didn't get a photo of it because she removed it too quickly, wee Mookie had a yin yang symbol on her shirt and wore black and white to complete our set.

We had to stand together, though, for people to understand. Otherwise, people thought we were apostrophes. :o)

Oh, Mojo, Where Are You??

Happy Valentine's Day

I've had a blank "create blog post" screen up for a few days now, and can't really seem to think of anything to fill it with. Sorry.

I'll tell you, though, since I know you are hanging on pins and needles, that I have decided to KEEP the bag. I really appreciate everyone's comments, and I did take each one to heart. Thank you, seasoned moms, that told me that, as Mookie gets older, I will be carrying less stuff in a bag. Thank you, seasoned moms, that told me that I should take it back because if I'm not 100% satisfied with it now, I won't be in a week, a month, or a year.  All too true, I know.  But in the end, I decided to keep it because, well, at the end of the month when I look at the pennies in the bank account and then look around the house to see what it is that I traded Dave's hard-earned money for, what will I see? Usually I see nothing. Nothing that makes my heart happy, at least. Yes, I've bought food, and laundry detergent, and put gas in the car, and new clothes on Mookie...all of these things make me happy...but there's just something about having something SO pretty be so functional for me, too. Why, just yesterday, I was in a small (bridal) boutique, and the owner said "Wow! What a pretty purse!" And I said, "Oh my gosh. It's not a purse, it's a DIAPER BAG!!!!"  And she said "No way! Seriously?" And I took it off my shoulder to let her feel it, and hold it, and love it. She was stunned. And she knows pretty stuff, too, what with all the wedding and bridesmaids dresses she dances through each day. So, yes. I cut the tags off. Lest anyone confuse me with Minnie Pearl.

And I was in a bridal boutique because my best friend, Angela, is engaged, and we're shopping for the MoH dress. The wedding is in May, and I'm the only attendant, so that should make it easier, but I'm having a hard time with it. I love love LOVE a pretty dress (or three). And, yes, I'm back to my original size, so I can pull off quite a few styles. But do you think they would make the style I want in the color we want?? For less than $200?? No. Of course not. I'm cheap, I admit it. Some people are more loosey-goosey with their money. But remember my quandary about the PPB bag? And that was only $50 for something I will use every single day for who knows how long!  But $200 for a dress that I will wear two, maybe three times? I KNOW it's a one-time, very special occasion, and I am very glad that Ang is getting married, and has asked me to be her Matron of Honor, so it's totally worth the cost. I know that. And maybe it's not as much about the cost as it is about the "market" of bridesmaids dresses.  I left the store today very frustrated because I know the color we want, but don't think that a 2x5" swatch of fabric really represents what the entire dress will look like on me.

Yes, that apple tissue taffeta is a lovely color, but do you have a dress made in it that I could try on to see if it would look as lovely on me as it does on that little sample card?  No??  Okay, well, then howsabout I try on a dress or three to see if one of these styles is flattering. What? They're all size 12, and you're going to use binder clips to cinch up the back? And that's supposed to be an accurate indication of how a properly fitting dress will look on me?? And you want me to order this randomly-fitting dress in this as-yet-unknown color from you, 1200 miiles away so that when it comes in, you can ship it to me?  Um. No. Thank you for your time. You have a lovely day, now.

Sigh. It's discouraging. I just want a pretty dress...is that too much to ask? :o)
Maybe I spent all my shopping mojo on the PPB bag.

Should It Stay or Should It Go?

Interesting.

Very interesting.

So far the debate is 50-50 to keep the bag. (read the previous post)

Kelly and Julie say "take it back," while Megan and Jen say "keep it."

We've driven up to Denver for the day, and I brought it along (tags and all!) to, you know, test drive it. So far, so good. Except, still, it doesn't fit the Moby. And when we went to the mall, I accidentally left the Moby on the table. And I don't have a stroller here, so I was kinda stuck! In the mall with a baby in her carseat. What to do?? I had to pay $5 to use one of the icky, manky, germ-infested mall carts. Ew. So, in that regard, it's not worth keeping.

But my inner-jury is still out.

Anyone else want to weigh in?

Petunia Pickle What?

I need help.

I need some validation.

I need some encouragement.

From someone other than Dave, who, bless him, doesn't seem to understand that a diaper bag can do more for a new mom than just carry diapers... :o)

See, Saturday, I had to go to TJ Maxx for an undergarment, and as I walked in the door, there was a small rack with a handful of Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags. Did you hear angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus at about 2:15 MST?

Because, have you seen these bags? The fabric, it is dreamy. It is yummy. It requires and demands that you touch it. The accents are perfect. Bold, yet understated. Contemporary, yet classic. The bag, no matter the style, somehow leaps onto your shoulder and begins to bond with you.

And, above said rack was a sign that said $59.99. I've only ever seen PPB bags for $100 or more on sale. So, $60? For a PPB bag? Hello! Come on over here and bond with me, baby.
And, also? I've been kinda thinking that I needed a larger diaper bag now that Mookie is getting larger, and requires more, and larger, things. So, not only are they GORGEOUS, but one of these heavenly, discounted delights might also fill an need? That, my friends, sounds like justification. Pure, unadulterated, justification.

So, The Bag and I bonded as Mookie and I wandered throughout the store. Periodically, I would take it off my arm and just, you know, gaze at it. Muse over how the fluorescent store lighting brought out the delicate undertones of the brocade. And, yes, convince myself that everything in my current diaper bag will, in fact, fit into this beauty.

Feast your eyes upon this piece of creative genius.

Whadya think? Lovely, no?

Needless to say, I decided that (a) I could afford it, and (b) I need it. I've been coveting the PPB bags for quite a few months, but never felt like (a) I could afford a $100 bag, or (b) I really need it. :o)  But for $60, I thought I'd at least bring it back to the hotel room and move my current diaper bag contents into it to see, once and for all, that it meets all of my requirements and deserves my love and admiration.

BUT...guess what happened when I got it out of the TJ Maxx bag? I looked at the tag, and noticed that, instead of a 5, there was a 4...so I got that bag, that little slice of heaven up there, for $49.99. FIFTY dollars!! The angels were definitely singing then!

And I began the daunting task of trying to extract encouragement and justification from Dave (who really doesn't care). And at about the same time I began the equally daunting task of trying to coerce the contents from my old diaper bag to fit into the new diaper bag.

And they acquiesced. Mostly. I don't think I need a burp cloth. Nor do I need 5 diapers. 3 diapers is plenty, right? (I've got more stashed in the car)  Sadly, the Moby doesn't fit into the new bag. No amount of coersion will make that happen. Unless I don't put other stuff in there. And don't zip it shut. :o) 

Also, full? The bag does not leap quite as easily onto my shoulder as it did when it was empty.

Dang.

See my dilemma? $50 for a bag that, while stunningly beautiful and unique, is not large enough to hold everything I want it to hold. Also, as Mookie gets bigger and requires more, and bigger, things...this bag will be less and less practical. (However, it will easily transition from being a diaper-carryer to a regular handbag one day)

What do you think? I've left the tags on it. Should I keep The Bag, or should I return it so that it can go make someone else's heart happy?

Phun Photo Phriday

I've had a few emails about the photo in the February Desktop (from Tuesday's post) so I thought I would put the entire, uncropped original here, along with some other phun photos I've taken this week.

First, the story. In our hotel, the closet doors are mirrors from floor-to-ceiling, and Mookie thinks those doors are just about the best things to play with since she discovered shoe bottoms and lamp cords. So, needless to say, she spends quite a bit of time talking and playing with the baby-in-the-mirror. :o)

I found this hat in the suitcase from our trip to Michigan, and this time, she didn't rip it right off! She gave me about 4.5 precious minutes of photo time...and I took advantage of it. :o)

So, here it is. Enjoy! :o)

Here are two others from that same time period, although the second one is after she'd shed the white hat and donned the fruity hat.

She's a Cutie PaFruitey, no?

Teach 'em early, is what I say. Ten and two, Mookie. Ten and two.

And, just in case you think she's always smiling, here's proof to the contrary...

And...

Who, me??

Hope you have a great weekend!

Did We Fall Off?

Lots and lots going on lately.

We're in Colorado for a few weeks. The drive was fine, until the last hour, or so, when Mookie decided she'd rather scream bloody murder than just about anything else. Yay.

Today we just hung out, crawling around the hotel room, playing with the baby in the mirrored closet doors. :o) Oh, and Mookie now has EIGHT teeth. Eight. Ugh. She's gotten six in the last month alone! Sheesh.

And I had the chance to make our February Desktop, courtesy of Shabby Princess. :o)

These are disgustingly simple, and I score SO many points with the Grands...you should really try it out. :o)

I'm working on a proper post, telling a bit of a story. With pictures and everything. Soon. Really soon.

Bye.