hello february!

February 4, 2017 Arlene Giddings

i have not been here on the blog for awhile.
i know i said i was going to be
but january was a mix of finishing up weddings
and tearing my kitchen apart to reorganize
AND getting completely lost in
snuggling on the couch with that guy i love
fuzzy pjs with blankets & diet coke & popcorn
watching true detective and the 100...
soooo good.
and so gawd damn addictive....
(both the shows and the snuggling)
heeheehee

so, to celebrate finishing and delivering the LAST of my weddings
for 2016:) :) :) :)
i decided to completely reorganize my little "corner".
SIDENOTE: one of the things i love about S. is that he does not care
at all
when i take over a quarter of the living room
to house my pencil crayons, markers and smurf collection.

SIDENOTE #2: i know have at least 80 smurfs...almost 99!
but, i have like 5 smurfettes so really, they don't all count.

i had totally forgotten about my ceramic mushroom
until i was cleaning out the kitchen cupboards...
the woman that owned our house had a ceramic studio
in the barn and had a ton of ceramics stored there...
when i saw the smurf mushroom house in the barn,
i took that as a direct sign that S was right,
we had to buy this house...it was meant for us.
she let me keep the mushroom...
but not the kiln...which i would have loved to have kept! :)

and yes...i know the smurf on the mushroom is wearing red
but shouldn't really be wearing red unlesssssss
he is a young papa smurf before the beard...
so...that's the theory we are going with.

i absolutely love how this looks now...
i didn't have enough space on the desk before
& i needed to find a place where i could put my camera
that would be both
accessible to me without too much work
but
NOT accessible to the cats/feline destruction team...
now that the weddings are over,
i want to try to get back to
actually using my cameras again
without being scared
something may happen to them
with a wedding coming up...
and now i can use them without fear!

so now instead of brides and
wedding bouquets, i hope you are ready to be
bombarded with photos of smurfs and pugs,
my feet, the felines,
and a multitude of sunrises/sunsets...
:)

here's a cute pug to start the bombardment off right....

at the end of the day...

September 18, 2016 Arlene Giddings

this has been such a great weekend.

i have already told you all about our
lunch trip to fable tearoom
but when i got home
from there, my girl
texted me to talk
about laptops
and how she needs to get one
for this weekend
so she can do a paper.

now...i know my girl has every
capability and ability to
purchase her own laptop
but under the guise of
"but she may need me"
i quickly offered to "pop" over
and help her.

yes. i know i am pathetic and
will not be able to visit her once a week
for the rest of my life
but whatever...i can admit my issues.
:)

the rest of the weekend has flown by
with naps and editing,
laundry and blog-reading/writing,
emails, doodles and ice cream sandwiches.

we made this...well...stirling made it...
i just dictated what should not be in it
(namely NOT peas...and NOT carrots...and that we should
add potatoes)...
and it was SO good.

and i didn't get this on the weekend
but have not had a chance to share it here.
i got to work on the day after leaving Emma in Moncton
and was admittedly dragging my feet a little
and still feeling a bit sad...
and this
absolutely ADORABLE mushroom house
was waiting for me on my desk.

it literally made me laugh out loud
and i may have even clapped my hands a little.

there was no note attached
but i immediately had a "suspect" in mind...
when i asked her about it later
she started to deny
but the grin gave it away.

people can be so damn kind and awesome and talented...
♥ ♥ ♥
i can't wait to do a photo session with the smurfs!
thank you, Lisa!!

happy weekend! :)

#tbt (remember...you were forewarned)

August 25, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i told you.
i told you all
already
that my little girl
is getting ready to leave
the nest
and
i
am going to be
nothing
if not a blubbering
messy
anxiety-ridden
meltdown of a mess.

so don't look at me now
like you didn't think i would
start already...
like you thought maybe i would
hold it together
at least until
the end of august...

cause the deposit was just paid on the apartment.

and that means
she's really going.

and that...
that is all it takes, my friends.
feel free to avert your eyes
until at least november...
mid november at best.
maybe christmas.
i'll be fine by christmas.

why can't it always be the weekend... {& pinterest plans}

February 21, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i'm so not ready for tomorrow to be monday...

but this weekend was an A+ weekend really with
lots of editing
a trip to the farmers market for crepes and fresh berries
studied lines for the play (which is coming VERY fast)
hit 10 000 steps at least one day
brand new pajamas (with feet! & a hood! & ears!) for 5 dollars

two calendars (1 a coloring calendar) for a total of 85 cents!!!!
a bubble bath with candles, music and face/hair mask
and
we tried a recipe from Pinterest and
it turned out dee-lic-ious!

part of the reason that i love the bullet journal
is because i think it is really going to help me
keep track of the progress i make on
certain goals that i have set...

every day, i pin TONS of stuff
including recipes...
but then,
i get overwhelmed the enormity
of what i have pinned
and i don't do ANY of them....
but now, I will pick out 10-15 a month
and mark them in my bullet journal
and then
i will actually make them that month...
and THEN
i can tick it off in my habit tracker... :)
(i am such a positive reinforcement addict...it's sad).

oh...the salad dressing was from pinterest, too...
and sooooooo yummy....

sundays come too soon.... nablopomo day 15

November 15, 2015 Arlene Giddings

GRATEFULsunday

kittens that lick my cheek early in the morning and sleep on my husband's chest
a good chunk of editing out of the way...went from 19288 to 14483
a decision made late last night that has been weighing on my mind for a long time...and now that i have said it loud, I feel a little lighter.
a husband/best friend that listens and lets me vent and obsess and rant...and gets outraged at all the right places...and then strokes my hair and says "#*$% them...who cares about them".
mighty ceaser salad dressing
coffee dates
catching up onNashville while editing
caramel lattes in the tassimo

and in light of everything that feels like it is going on/wrong with the world, i am grateful for where i am, grateful for my little island...my heart breaks for the uncertainty in the world...