When I grow up...

In no particular order, here are the things I want to do - at this time - when I grow up:

• Design and sell expandable/retractable, multi-purpose furniture for small spaces.

Lord knows, I've lived in several small spaces over the last 9 years. And, each time I move into one, I search and shop for furniture pieces that'll work in the space I have, yet will accommodate the functionality(ies) I want. Case in point, I'd like to have six to eight people over for a sit-down dinner. But, I've tended to live in spaces that haven't had dining rooms.

Yes, this has posed a problem.

But, I've usually had other space I could use (by moving furniture around, or into another room) to accommodate a larger table for a dinner, just for a day or an evening, say. And, I've wished I could find a table that would do for my everyday needs, yet would expand sufficiently for a larger group. I know I'm not even addressing the need/space considerations of additional seating here, and I know there are folding tables one can buy from office supply stores (though, I haven't had storage space to keep one around), but let's just stick with the table idea for the moment. Why can't someone design and sell a table that can seat two, yet unfolds/expands to accommodate six or eight people? It could have a pedestal base that would expand, and leaves that unfold or unstack to assemble into a larger dining surface...

For that matter, Ken and I both have had ideas for modular furniture: cushioned cubes/ottomans with storage that could be interlocked together to make a daybed for a guest, for instance. Add in my infatuation with power tools and woodworking, and there could be a heady potential here!

• Become a Personal Organizer.

I hanged out today with my friend Jeanne, who told me there is an organization called the National Association of Organizers. One can actually become certified to go in and organize other people's stuff. Cool.

• Be a professional artist/photographer.

I keep hunting for art/artists that "speak to me." Both in canvas and in photography. It's not been a systematic, exhaustive search, but it's been over many years. I like this painter's work very much, which makes me happy. And, I like reading her blog. But, the last time I remember seeing a painting in a gallery that made me go, "whoa, I wish I could take that home" was in Paris almost 7 years ago. Of course, it cost something like $9,500, too. Yikes. But, I still think about it. I still roll my eyes all over it, savoring its details from memory.

I do the same thing with a painting I saw in a gallery in Sedona, AZ. even longer ago. It was $6,000. And, it was acrylic instead of oil, which I usually don't cotton to; but, it spoke to me. I didn't think I'd get tired of looking at it, finding new things in it. To boot, it depicted ocean waves crashing on a cliff outcropping -- and, I don't vibe to ocean scenes usually at all. But, this one depicted a spot on the Normandy coast of France, and I've visited there - that spot. It was a magical experience; I liked being reminded of it.

So, I think, maybe I need to make my own art...?

• Be a published author. Go on a book tour.

I like travel. I love bookstores. I admire writers. What's not to like?

• Do all of the above, and still bake cookies, pies and cakes with Audrey. Revel in Play-doh when the time comes. Do somersaults and eventually, cartwheels together. Visit our friends and family in CA, NV, AZ, TX, CO, MD, and IL at least once every year!

Whew, I'm worn out! Ha ha.

I can't believe it's pushing midnight. Gotta sign off, go to bed. XO

I was born 35, okay 37, okay really 39+ years ago today

Today was my biirrthhday! My birrthdaayyy! My biiirrrtthhday!

I had chocolate cake. And pizza. And Chinese food for dinner. And, some cafe mocha, with a little bit of whipped cream. Just a little, you know, because that stuff's fattening. Ha!

Ari and Terri and kids came over today to take me for a pizza lunch. They were the makers and bringers of the tasty "Deepak Chopra" chocolate cake, made with bananas and applesauce and cocoa and whatnot. Who knew ol' Deepak had a cookbook? Their daughter, Marie, made sure it was covered in fresh whipping cream with sprinkles. Quite delectable.

Ken presented me with an Aspiring Writer's Journal from the Creative Kidstuff toy store, and two Wallace & Gromit movies on DVD. Awesome.

Oh! And, a beautiful cyclamen plant from my in-laws (with balloon!), and a superb acapella rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" on my voice-mail and then on the phone from my mom.

Good times.

It's a white Christmas here

A snowy Christmas day walk along the mighty Mississip...

Abundant gratitude

Been so distracted for the last million weeks, and when I do check in here, I've tended to list my struggles. So, with this post, I'd like to wax poetic about all the great things in my life:

My family kicks ass. The whole kaboodle -- on my side, and on Ken's side.

My husband kicks ass. I love watching him with Audrey; it makes me all warm and gooey inside to see her eyes light up when he picks her up.

I'm besotted with my kid. And, with being a mom. This is a beautiful surprise to me, for which I am tremendously grateful.

Our good friends, Ari and Terri, and their two children have moved to St. Paul. Ari just arrived this past Friday. It's SO good to see them, play with their kids, hang out at Terri's mom's house (Darlene, who's lovely... In addition to the blessing of their friendship(s), Ari has been an artistic soulmate of mine. It's just so damn fun to see him in person again!

I've made some new friends here in St. Paul, including Dana, who has a fab sense of humor and often reminds me of my Dallas-based friend, Vicki, through whom I met her. They both have hearty laughs. I love women who laugh heartily. Guffaws are cool, too. Plus, Dana likes talking about restaurants and food like I do; and, she's hard-pressed to resist dessert, chocolate, and/or coffee. Woman of my heart, no? Other great new friends include another fellow foodie, Jeanne, Lisa, Sarah and Elizabeth (former neighbors at our temp apartment), and fellow writer/class attendee Carey.

Life is good.

I love getting holiday cards and emails from friends, especially the ones with photos and/or recap-the-year letters. They're narratives, little stories to savor. Fun, fun.

Ken's starting a month-long temp job on my birthday, next Thursday. He's psyched, and I'm psyched for him. He'll get into a rhythm, meet new people, and be in a position to help students, which I think he'll like. He really likes helping people, and he's good at it.

I'm grateful for our good fortunes and good health. Our new house has lots of light and a good vibe. Our upstairs neighbor is quiet. Thank you, Universe.

We're in a great place this Christmas, and I'm looking forward to the new year.

I wish you all joy, abundant joy. And, love. Always love.

Audrey's latest accomplishment

We can't deny it any longer: at 8 months, Audrey has learned to crawl.

Lord help us.

Not quite Bah, humbug!

Hello, hello.

Feeling pretty out of it, generally. I don't really mind the cold; although, I do want to stay in bed longer and more often, just because it feels SO GOOD to feel so toasty under the covers.

Still don't have my Mac hooked up. Hope Ken works on computer-moving tasks tomorrow. Hint, hint.

Christmas is only ten days away, and I'm feeling some stress about it. Feels like there's a looming deadline ahead of us, but we're still not settled enough to face it well. Ken wanted a Christmas tree, but I just don't see how we can pull that off in the next ten days. We still have boxes in the living room -- where would we put a tree? Plus, it would mean MORE STUFF to acquire. Tree stand. Ornaments. Lights. Blah blah blah. I'm not up for it. It just seems like more boxes to sort and unpack and repack and find a home for down in our "Silence of the Lambs" cluttered basement.

I bought us a shower curtain at a thrift store Friday night. It's still hanging by only three rings on the shower rod in the bathroom. Isn't that pathetic? On the flipside, Ken hung some more shelves yesterday, so I was able to put up some framed photos. Which made me realize that I don't have any physical photos of The Shmoo. Which made me feel a little poopy! I've got a photo album I bought a couple months ago to put in all Shmoo photos, but I haven't been settled enough to get the photos developed. In fact, I think I may be missing her final, official birth certificate...? Gotta find that box... And, then there's the refund monies from the hospital and doctors that I still need to check up on, AGAIN. Gotta make those phone calls.

Plus, Ken keeps giving me crap about changing my cell phone number to something local. And, I haven't changed license plates or my license, yet.

All these things have been necessarily back-burnered during this move. I have an amended tax return and accountant's bill to figure out and mail off. We still haven't gotten anywhere, yet, with drawing up a will, or figuring out life insurance either...

Agh! I'm feeling stressed! I'm really tired of feeling displaced. I'm not wanting to feel zen about stuff right now. I just want all our shit to be in all its places! Jesus Pete.

And, my hair looks funny. I need a haircut. And, I feel fat.

And, the radio station keeps playing Howard Jones every day. I like Howard Jones fine, but really, "whoa, whoa, whoooa, whoa, whoa, whooaooh" is not something I need to hear every day. They don't even play one of his other, like, two pop hits; just that one.

That's what I'm going to do on this blog. I'm going to note the pernicious playing of Top Hit 80s tunes that plague the airwaves here.

On a final, whimsier note. Watched "Scrooge" last night, the 1951 and best filmed version, in my opinion, with Alistair Sim as Scrooge. I just love how giddy Scrooge acts Christmas morning when he realizes he's still alive. And, Sim is just fabulous. Love him, love him.

new pics

Added some pics to the last post and here are some more:

Current state of the front yard.












Exploring food.

Still discombobulated, but getting there...

We're drowning in moving boxes.
Every time I unpack a box, either a new one magically appears (okay, not magically, b/c for instance, we've just purchased a coffee table for the living room and a dinette table and two chairs for our kitchen, which were delivered today), or my feat is unremarkable against the drifts of boxes still stacked up in corners, under tables, behind the sofa, etc.

What's that saying about the last 20% of any job takes more than 80% of the total effort...? But, I can look to my right and see the glorious shelving that Ken put up today - yay! Our tv is sitting on it, and we were then able to move the lateral file to its more permanent spot on a far wall. Sigh. Progress.

Appropos of nothing -- I'm amazed, bemused, and sometimes appalled by the fact that the main pop radio stations here STILL PLAY SONGS FROM WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. Seriously, I've heard more Loverboy and Pat Benatar here in the last couple months than I have in the past 15 years since I left the Midwest. And, it's not just the chart topping singles from them either; I'm hearing stuff on the radio from Def Leppard, The Romantics, and John Mellencamp that I haven't heard on the radio since 1984. And, I'm not feeling that this is a good thing.

Thank God, I've found the local NPR/College radio station. A little Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, a little 60s and 70s soul music, and music selections from this century blast out the auditory crud that threatens to clog my brain day after day while driving around on errands.

And, iced or hot mocha from Dunn Brothers Coffee helps a lot, too.

My mom came to visit last week. Had a lovely, lovely time. She and I had big fun at a local, famous-in-foodie-circles spice store called Penzey's Spices. When Ken and I left LA, we gave away all our condiments, oils, vinegars, spices, etc. to our neighbors. We weren't going to move those two pounds of salt AGAIN. So, I stocked up on the basics at this store: basil, minced shallots, thyme, garlic, paprika, cayenne, cumin, cinnamon (Vietnamese -- have you ever smelled different cinnamons next to each other? Vietnamese smells different than Mexican, which smells different than Chinese. It was like wine tasting, only with spice), pumpkin spice (ever had tofu pumpkin pie? It's VERY tasty.), fines herbes, etc., etc.

That's the report at the moment. Lorie, out.

We're back online at the new house

yup. Comcast finished about an hour ago. We're going to continue to use Skype as our home number for cost savings. We bought a Skype - enabled handset, so we can send and receive calls without having to keep our computer on. Call us sometime: sixfiveonethreeonefoursevenzeronineseven

Snow's Here!

Things have been a little chaotic lately with trying to move our stuff across town (still not done), settle into our new home, locate and buy furniture/appliance things we need (like a little microwave), and deal with two snow storms. Call me "The Shoveler." Oh, and Lorie's mom Sue just flew in yesterday during the second storm. She'll be visiting for a few days.

'Fraid we haven't been very good at taking snow pictures (we now have at least a foot on the ground), but here are two shots out our front window (left is Fri. 11/30, right is Sat.12/1 at the beginning of the first storm right after the containers were removed.):












Our upstairs neighbor feeds and waters the wild animals daily, so there's always a show in our front yard day or night. Daytime: gigantic grey squirrels, ducks, pigeons, little brown birds, crows, bluejays, rabbits. Nighttime: fast little skittish flying squirrels, mice, and probably rabbits again.

Friday 11/30, the day before the snow started, we got the last of our heaviest items out of those red shipping containers with the help of Jason, a nice 20-something who lives next door. Gladly paid him $40 for the short work as we were out of options trying to get friends to help, and ready or not, the shipping company was scheduled to retrieve the containers the next day (12/1) as early as 8am.