Our House in the Middle of Our Street

Lies My Teacher Told Me is like having 8 encyclopedias thrown at your brain at once. Needless to say, I have another 5 weeks with it (and it will probably take me that entire time!), so I will finish it . It's interesting, and if you're a history buff, reserve your copy. It's just...I wanted this whole list to be fun! And now it isn't anymore (read: it's the book no one wants to read in class but get an "A" on the paper because they understand the basic plot). In the meantime, I've been reading a little lighter things to take a breather. This one had awesome advice for temper tantrums (my 9 month old is becoming increasingly whiny...I want to nip that in the bud!) This one I just started because I love her bible studies (am thinking of doing this one next)

This movie was a great watch for both Stefan and I. I have a gift for picking good movies-at least between the two of us. Stefan loves movies he picks out (usually I hate them) but I can pick out movies we both like. I had read the book a few years ago for One Book One Lincoln, and knew it was going to have sad parts. I had a heap of tissues next to me after it was done. It is well worth the time spent (2 hours 7 min). Watch the trailor here .

If you liked March of the Penguins , be sure you watch Arctic Tale . Although the wonderful narrator Morgan Freeman is supplanted by Queen Latifah, it is still a very sweet little story. The polar bear Nanu (think Mork and Mindy) and walrus Seala are the two main 'characters' in this movie. Although MotP goes through one year, this movie is about the animals birth until (around 8 years later) they both give birth. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being wonderful (and where I would rate MotP), I would say this is a strong 3-4...it's National Geographic --you know it's good! Next up for tonight: The Kite Runner . I am so excited to see this movie, ever since I read the novel by Khaled Hosseini a few years ago. See an interview here . PS-Just got my new japanese embroidery book from Etsy! So excited to snuggle up with S. tonight with a good movie, some hot chocolate, and some needlework! PPS--I just got to thinking--if ya'll are late on the bandwagon-- GO SEE March of the Pengui

Except for one (the very last stitch!) bubble, they turned out pretty nice and were fairly easy to do. I hope ___ likes them!

The hard part is done. Four different embroidered seashells on the bottom right hand corner is the subject for these matching napkins. The fabric for the back is in the wash, a white and blue checkered (think picnic table style) print. I hope to have these items done and in the mail tomorrow!

Stefan and I took a year long sabbatical of Blockbuster online to save the $18 a month and put it to some more worthy causes (i.e. paying off medical bills) and just recently have decided that this would be a monthly expense we could live with after recently getting out of our gym membership ($60/month). We chose netflix because Blockbuster's prices have skyrocketed, and we really don't watch more than 4 movies a week--that is stretching it! So we chose the Netflix "2 at a time" option and because they have a center in Omaha, we literally get it 'next day', which is great. Our movie list has gone down tremendously and we've seen some great ones like Across the Universe , Enchanted , Stardust (we both loved this one--very quirky), and now tonight, The December Boys . The entire cast was good, and one of the boys is played by Harry Potter himself (Daniel Radcliffe). Watch the trailor here and read the plot here .

Stefan's taking me and baby bug to the Melting Pot tonight...can't wait (this is the best place to eat in Nebraska)!

Don't get too excited yet! It's a tease! I just meant this as a postscript to my last post. This is the reason I hope our second child is a girl. ((Gushing))

So did I tell you tomorrow is my birthday? And not only that...I love my birthday! I get to buy presents...for myself! (ok, so, like one) It is a Japanese version of Scandinavian embroidery patterns (250 of them!) Aren't they so cute! And don't make fun of it being in Japanese (as I obviously am not able to understand it!)...I never read sewing books anyway, I eyeball everything. How cute are those darn patterns. My friend has a birthday coming up...hopefully she won't mind getting something a little late!

My birthday is on Thursday (feel free to drop me a 'happy birthday', I'm shameless for attention) and this weekend my mom told me she'd like to help us buy something we have wanted for awhile (okay, I've wanted for awhile). Right now our gym membership at the YMCA for a family pass (so L. can be watched while I go to spinning class) is a little over $55/mo. The reason for leaving the Y is simple. It was becomming too much of a hassle, the hassle was causing me to not want to go (therefore not get my workouts in), and I'd rather wake up before Lukka does, exercise, and shower and have it out of the way for the day. Some say that once you leave the gym, your motivation goes down, but that is not true for me. My motivation would go up because I have it at home! I don't have to drive, and hope L falls asleep in the car on the way home so I can jump in the shower for 5 minutes. All through highschool I ran 3-5 miles , and lifted weights (my mom had a home gym)

Here is one beautiful photoblog. In this post, she shares how she gets her photos to have a soft, and older feel to them. My next step in photography is learning to do this. A list of my favorite photoblogs are (in no order): Seedpod Books and Art Nectar and Light Shutter Sisters Superhero Journal (one of the creators of S.S.) go and check them out!

This week it was my turn to pick a craft for my friend Emily and I to do. I haven't embroidered since I was a little girl, but as I was walking through the isles at our local craft store, I realized it would be quite an inexpensive craft to take up! Each set of string is about 90 cents and lasts forever (I split my string into thirds, then embroider with it), and the rings that hold the item in place are about $1.20 each (I sucked it up and bought my friend one, too!) and the tea towels--old time flour sacks were 4 for $10. I'm sure I could have found these cheaper, but my mom gave me a deal I couldn't pass up--make her a towel and she'd buy the package for me! I wish I had taken a picture of Emily's starfish, but I forgot. If she posts it on her blog, I'll link to it (it turned out great--first time she had ever done embroidery). My clam shell turned out great, hope mom likes it! I didn't even have to buy transfers. If you go to google /images and type i

Tonight I was emailed that I was chosen as the proud new owner of a set of vintage cocktail plates. I was a little skeptical, as I had wanted the other two items on the person's list before the plates (dog food, and a coleman thermos) but I said I'd show up. So glad I did! Look at these beauties! A sweet little tea and fancy 'saucer', in the shape of a leaf. They are in mint condition and the year they were made was 1960. They are crystal clear (although they look dingy in the photograph, sorry), and only one plate is missing out of a set of 12! They are lovely! I don't have anything this nice in my house, it's a first and it was FREE !

I've been reading Soulemama's blog for quite some time now--it is definitely in my top 5 favorites. She is always dependable for beautiful photography and charming little paragraphs. Sometimes, she will insert a recipe or two. Her style is what I will always be one step behind copying. Even her living room looks adorable when it's full of toys! Her website (different than her blog) is really nicely done and her new book can be pre-ordered on Amazon for a little over ten dollars. If I don't get it for my birthday...I'm ordering it for myself! I can't wait to read it and do some of the 'creations' she has waiting for us inside, especially once Lukka starts walking and we can collect things outside. I think I'll even suggest it to the library.

Mosey on over to Baby Bug's Blog to find some pictures of our afternoon on the porch!

2 Little birds in between the wreath Lovely pastoral print on cream and grass green ribbon. Friday is my favorite day of the week, for numerous reasons. For starters, its the beginning of the weekend! My friend Emily and I always get together on friday's, switching houses depending on the week, and do a craft (luckily, Lukka sleeps through most of it--the best plan is to do it while it's naptime!). This week's craft was Emily's specialty, floral wreaths. She will sell these later this year in the Cathedral Art Show, but I wanted to know how to do it! Awhile back we went to Hobby Lobby to pick out our 'wreath shells', flowers, greenery, ribbon, and 'additions' (birds). This is how it turned out! What do you think?

Seedpod Books and Art is a new blog I discovered....somewhere. I have no idea how I came across it, but I've been following it for a few weeks and the most recent project the artist was working on was a 30 day photo shoot of naturally found objects of...you guess it...seedpods. Strewn amongst stones, sea-shells (a favorite at our house), and other wispy objects were positioned differently every day and she would snap a photo. The end result is this flikr group . I love every bit of her blog look. It's quiet, simple, and elegant, and it matches my house (and therefore, my house's decorated look). Enjoy! PS. My favorite is #27.

I had written about Beth Moore before , citing that I was in a bible study at my church that was focusing on 10 session DVD messages and then the 'homework' study book. I am getting so much out of it. Her teachings are so meaty, I have been looking on her website to find another book when I am done (in a few short weeks!) with her Tabernacle study. Here's her ministry's website, Living Proof Ministry , and here's her blog . I love listening to podcasts because I can just listen and play with Lukka, do chores, whatever, and get something out of it. Here's her podcast , and here's another I like (John Piper).

This purse took me a long time to get motivated for. I am a neurotic crafter. I will go a week straight on my sewing machine and then months without even looking at my fabric. Although the front turned out cute (sorry for the fuzzy picture), with the hoodie's pockets being in the middle of the purse, along with an appliquee'd "E" for Emily , it was quite a project. This is also the first time I had done a liner inside, and I thought of about 20 different ways to do it better...when I was finished. On the back, there is a appliquee of a tulip (the white fabric has pink and green tulips on it) that is about the same size as the "E". The red stitching around the top is the butchered part, my sewing machine didn't want to pull it through, so it is quite jagged. Maybe the fuzzy picture isn't a bad thing after all...oh well, here it is E, it's free! See "Old Hoodie's" other projects here (I should have remembered how hard that darn f