Nine Years Ago....

I keep having the same reoccurring dream for the past month or so.... I wake up exactly 9 years ago today, but instead of me then Im me now... inside my body then (ok, not so bad). At first its exciting, Hey who wouldnt want to be 21 again?! But then I realise that today is the day I meet Dylan.

Immediately I start panicking....How am I going to make it go EXACTLY the way it went 9 years ago knowing what I know now? I start going over the day from memory. I went to a crawfish boil with my roommate who knew a bunch people in the Geology department. I go say Hi to Dylan's roommate whom Ive known for awhile and meet D. He says I bumped into him on purpose, I say he followed me around until I did. He invites me to their party that night where we sit outside and talk til the sun started to come up and the rest is history. (I knew about 5 mins in that I was going to marry this guy and I was kinda pissed about it, Me? married?! Dang it! soooo not in the plan! I deliberately did not give him my number because I knew what was coming and was SO NOT ready for it)

Problem in this dream is that carefree, independent, 'Im going graduate and go sell hemp necklaces on a beach somewhere' girl is gone....and I have no idea how to act like her....OK, so she is not gone, I can dig up some pretty nonconformist energy, but I really thought I did not want anything that resembled the life I have now. How am I going to pretend I dont want kids when I want to tell him about the beautiful, amazing girls we have?? (as I type this E is signing "Lucy in the sky" and A is piping in with "Lucy in da sky with...Poo Poo... giggle" her favorite punch line these days)   How do I make sure we end up back to where we are?

As the day goes on and I start to get ready (dang?! I wore this?! haha) I start to think, I dont want to be here, I dont want to go back in time...OK, granted there are definitely times I would love to relive....Two years in New Orleans? hell yeah!....and things I would definitely take back....but all in all, we are who we are and where we are because of the path we took to get there.
The dream ends the same way every time...I get to the party I see D's back... and right before he turns around I wake up....
I am in my bed, next to my husband, with my amazing kids down the hall and I have a huge smile on my face....that day went exactly how it was suppose to go....I am exactly where and who I am suppose to be
(Now if I could just learn to congure up this feeling in the middle of changing a diaper, or cleaning up puke, Id really be set)

Happy Anniversary to my Rock....Wouldn't have gotten to today any other way Baby.

Night we met...so not the most flattering picture, but how random that someone was running around with a camera and shot this

Wedding day! 7 years ago.

  

Spring handbag

Im on a mission to sew as much as possible to show D how much I really need to upgrade my sewing machine....sigh...I dont think he notices.....

I love this season and I love changing handbags with them. I have always wanted a yellow purse but never found one I like so I made one :) This printed canvas from JoAnns is great for bags, because you dont have to use interfacing, therefore it only takes about an hour to make a new purse!

The pattern is by Me and My Sister. I usually never follow a pattern all the way but then end up ripping seams to get to where I want to end up. 

This time I thought I would follow one all the way through, then decide what to change on the second :)

I have been on the hunt for vintage button lately and hit the jackpot at a cute antique store on 19th street in the Hieghts.  Now I put them on everything :)

My First (and Last) half-marathon mile by mile...Rated R for adult language and threatening violence

So I have always said there is no way I could run any farther than a 10k....ever. But its been a bit of a bucket list thing, especially since D has run one and I have really enjoyed running since Ainsley started Mothers Day Out in January.

A friend told me that once you get past 6miles it gets a little easier (yeah right) but I was running out of Spring time runs and Seabrooke half marathon seemed to be the last of the year until the fall, so after some decent longer runs I felt like it could at least be done I decided to sign up....

So there I was at 5AM on my way to Seabrooke TX with two friends who are training for the London marathon and today was a "light" run for them...great.

The race is small, like 700 people small, and is mostly a trail run. The course was a double loop, meaning you had to run the course twice and parts of it doubled back on itself, so there were several parts that you ran past four times...never mind the crazy people who ran the full marathon on Sun who have to run some parts 8 times!

This is pretty much how it went....

MILE1: Excitement! I actually ran with  my camera, haha, snap a couple of pictures while running...make 2hours my goal

MILE 2: Ok, so this "trail" run thing might be nice.... Notice  trivia signs along the trail to think about while running, cute idea...Awww, Aggie dude with a cowbell cheering for us, Yay!

MILE 3: trail opens up to Bayou and Bay...beautiful...notice bayou stinks a bit....which reminds me of the 10K I ran 5 yrs ago where it seemed everyone stank so bad and I weaved in between everyone trying to avoid the smell..... turns out I was pregnant with Ella  and didnt know it yet...which is why my smell was so crazy that day

MILE 4: Spend the whole mile counting days and wondering if I could possibly BE pregnant...that would be a really good excuse to stop running

MILE5: lady in front of me at water stop trys to pour water over her head....but instead it lands on my foot....continue with very wet toes..DANG IT!

MILE 6: worst mile of the whole thing...it is now that I realize a half-marathon is in fact 13miles and NOT 12 and I am NOT half way through, SHITE....see Aggie dude with bell, again...decide goal time is 2hours10min

MILE 7: I take that back...THIS is the worst mile of the whole thing...I have to run through the finish line and NOT finish...seriously, whos bright freakin idea was that, couldn't we have run around it at least???!!!...want to stop so bad...give evil eyes to everyone sitting in chairs cheering

MILE 8: see sign that says "GO TRACEY" pretend its for me...then get mad that its not..reward myself with a jolly rancher to suck on....mmmm, watermelon....take a deep breath and it falls out of my mouth and on the dirt path. CACAHUATES!

MILE 9: listen to favorite running song "Galvanized" on repeat..Hate that song now....Aggie Dude, if you freakin ring that cow bell at me one more time I am going to stop running (yay!) and come over there and Kick. Your. Ass.

MILE 10: trivia signs annoying the crap out of me....who freakin cares how many teeth a dolphin has...especially the second time I have read it today, and I keep missing the answer sign...whose great idea was that, Im going to find out and Kick. Their. Ass.

MILE 11: Notice I cant smell the bayou anymore...I bet there is no blood going to my nose and that is why I cant smell...maybe  I should stop running...see crazy marathon friends...they are chatting and smiling while running...want to Kick. Their. Ass.

MILE 12: want to stop. want to stop. want to stop. want to stop......pretty sure my wet foot is covered in blisters, where is that lady who poured water on my foot, Im going to Kick. Her. Ass.......think I'm a absolute idiot for bringing my camera,  want to Kick. My. Ass..... see girl who fell and is being taking away by ambulance....decide new goal is just to finish

MILE 13: see my candy on the trail and laugh to myself....laugh at how small the race is when a cop directs a truck with a goat in the back of it through the middle of the race... think of other humorous events along the way.....start writing this blog in my head just to keep one foot going in front of the other

MILE13.1: Yeah you forget about this measly 0.1mile, but its the best part!......see people in chairs cheering, want to give them all hugs!......see Aggie dude, ring your bell Im almost done!.....see friends already waiting and cheering, I love them!.....finish YAY!

So I think I should never run farther than 8 miles because something evil starts to come out in me!

I think long(er) distance running is very similar to giving birth. In the beginning its exciting. Then the further into it you get you start doubting yourself, and think what in the hell was I thinking ??!!  I will NEVER do this again! But after your body heals and the endorphins and adrenaline erase your memory of the pain, mostly what is left is a great sense of accomplishment, and a desire to do it all again, someday... (granted a baby is much better reward than a medal)...Which one I will actually do again...time will only tell :)

Prayer Table

I have been searching for a long time for the perfect table to uses as a prayer table in our room. And anything I have seen that seems like it will work is just too expensive. Im in love with the new (or more accurately, old) "rustic" painted piece that are coming out of Mexico right now. They remind me of this china cabinet that my parents found when I was little that had 10 layers of paint on it. They stripped that thing for days. I walked out when they were about half way through with all the various colors still stuck in some places and I thought it was perfect, and told them to stop...of course they didn't :(

I bought this very very cheap side table when Ella was born to put next to her rocker so I had a place to put things while I feed her. It was stuck up in the attic and I noticed it was the perfect height.

 sanded and distressed: I beat it with a crow bar (hey whatever works) and put "worm holes" in with a nail.

 Layers and Layers of paint. It is stained, then four alternating layers of two different blue paints.

The I mixed plain ol Elmers glue with water and painted a think layer over the blue, let that dry then painted off white oil based on top of that, but as it was drying I added another layer of glue. All of it left over paint from the house!

 After everything dried overnight, I sanded the edges and corners to expose the blue again, and took my kitchen blow torch to the paint to make it bubble in some places.

 Most important step I think is antique glaze. I love this stuff! I used a bronze I got from Lowes.

Finished product: My little peaceful corner. 

Completed it with this Mexican style glass knob I got at World Market for $1.49!

Closer view of distressing, and paint colors.

 This Sacred Heart spoke to me at a little boutique in Rice Village.

 And my favorite piece my Grandmothers rosary. It means so much to me and it fits so perfectly.

Rodeo, Cowgirl Ella to the rescue!

I took the girls to the Rodeo on friday. It was great, they were so excited to put on their pink cowboy boots, and match Mama's boots.

I was a little lost as to where to park and what gate to go in so I pulled up to a parking lot that said 'private parking' thinking I could ask the guard where to go. He informed me that this lot was for parents meeting school groups today, and was I meeting a school? I said no, just me and my two girls, can you tell me the best place to park....He said, "oh that is a great school, pull on ahead!" woo hoo, free parking :) needless to say it was school day and the place was packed!!!
Ella of course spotted the pink cowboy hats as soon as we walked it. I couldnt resist!

She is such a brut! haha

Ella walked around the whole time saying "E-ha! Cowgirl Ella to save the day!" it was so cute!

We had so much fun looking at the livestock, feeding at the petting zoo, and riding the carousel.
I tried to explain to Ella that Mama use to raise pigs for the rodeo, and she didnt quite get it. It really made me miss the farm and the excitement of the stockshow. Going to school after feeding the pigs sometimes noticing in first period that the poo smell that keeps following you around is indeed on your shoes...again. Im hoping that one day we will live somewhere where we can have animals and the girls can learn some of those great lessons too.
Dylan and I got to rock out with KISS at the rodeo too!!

Doodle

My Christmas gift from a good friend, who obviously knows me well! He was suppose to go out by the pool but I love him so much he as earned a place inside the house, I need to find time to paint a black and white for behind him on the wall.

Seriously how could you not love that face :)

Zoo Day and Mardi Gras!

We have had amazing weather so we took a quick girls outing to our favorite spot the Houston zoo! We have a routine now, Chimpanzees, giraffes, Lions, ride the carousel, pet the goats, eat, go home. (thinking maybe eating should come before petting goats, ill keep that in mind next time.) Both girls LOVE the Chimanzees. Its always our first stop. They crack me up...except the dirty old man one...he is not so funny, and kinda mean.

Monkey see Monkey Do!

Monkey face!

Train ride

We also got to enjoy a quick trip to Lafayette for Mardi Gras weekend. The girls saw their first parade, it was cold and raining and Ella said "OK I think we caught enough stuff, we should go and share the rest with the other kids" after about the 5th float, and A just kept sayin "Mo' Beads!" She loved it.
Because of the weather Endymion, our favorite parade in Nola was moved to Sunday night, so with the help of babysitting Aunt, Uncle and cousins Dylan, Mary and I were able to sneak in a night in our favorite town! No pictures, our camera died :(
But here is one of the girls in their cute Mardi Gras tops I made them. They had matching dresses for Mardi Gras day but poor Ainsley was too sick (and cranky) to wear hers.

Great week, I love this time of year!

A place to start

I have been wanting to start this blog forever. In fact I think I have had this blog without a single post for over a year now, just waiting for a "good place" to start. How silly. What am I waiting for I asked? a move? a new year? a major event? what am I trying to log on here?

Well in general, Life.
But mostly this time right now where I feel like everyday slips by and I forget what happen yesterday much less last Tues, the girls change over night, projects sit around in various stages of completion, I hardly know where I am or where I am suppose to be....and I am loving every single minute.

Here is to a place to start.
My Life as Mama

sister love :) melts me!