Saturday was my 32nd birthday. I thought about giving you a list of "32 things on my 32nd birthday". But I did that two years ago. So instead, I used a little quiet time that my husband gave me on my birthday to finally finish my About Page and give this blog a little makeover for the final weeks of summer.
There are new books in the sidebar for me and the girls, and a link to take you directly to my Bushel and Peck posts on Momformation. And thank you to Cassi for featuring my "watercolor blobs" on The Crafty Crow last week. I feel honored to see that little badge in my sidebar because goodness knows I really wanted one! I took away the "good things" links, for now. I'll freshen them up a bit and bring them back shortly.
The About Page is inspired by a post where I asked you all to ask me anything. And boy did you ever! Obviously I couldn't (and didn't want to) answer all the questions, but I picked a few of my favorites and answered them as best I could. If my blog traffic takes a downward turn I'll know that I've either completely turned you off with my answers or I've told you everything and there's nothing new you could possibly learn from me at this point. Ha! Ha?
Sweet little Mary drew me this picture on my birthday. We sat together out in the yard, me reading a magazine, her drawing beside me. I'd say things to her like, "You forgot eyeballs!" Or "where are everyone's arms?" and she'd quickly add them in. Apparently this picture is all of us marching through the farmers' market.
It's funny when I look at this picture because I could probably pull an almost exact replica out of my stash of Emma's early work. And I have to confess, poor second child that she is, I haven't been saving much of Mary's work. I feel like I've had this pathetic (internal) "yeah, yeah, I've seen those kind of drawing before. I'll start saving them when they get better, kid!" kind of horrible attitude in my head.
But no more. I'm cherishing these sweet little drawings. Let the collection begin.
I have two things that I want to buy myself for my birthday. The first I got this morning--two sets of Moleskine journals--one set of thin notebook sized, the other a small pack of pocket-sized journals. In my old age, I find that I'm forgetting lots of things. I've always been a list-maker, a genetic trait I inherited from my mother. And I've been kind of ADD with my list notebook this year. I have about three going at the same time, I can usually only find one of them, which is the one I'm NOT looking for at the time. So I decided to consolidate into these moleskines, one-at-a-time.
The small journals are to stash in my back pocket. I've gotten in the habit of jotting down writing ideas or stories on scrap pieces of paper--a receipt, a piece of the girls' (probably Mary's) artwork that been tossed aside. And then, I lose them. Of course.
Or horror of horrors, send them down the library book return shoot. I had written a kind of personal, introspective note on a receipt, which I then tucked in the book I was reading and literally had to dive in after it up to my shoulder, as I saw the little tail of it slipping down the library book return. Phew.
So I think keeping my thoughts in my back pocket is a bit safer.
