third thankful post and i think this is officially a creamery tradition

This year I am thankful for:

My body with it's ability to heal, grow, change, move and hold this new baby in it and speaking of this baby - yes: this Polly baby who has snuck into our lives and consciousness in such a way and hardship and trouble (you heard me right) and my parents who have been such an amazing support and Grammy Dawn and my sister and the little brother and Coach Curtis and all that these siblings have taught me and music that gets me through the hard days and the easy days alike and silly Alice and sweet Alice and spunky Alice and creative Alice and quiet Alice and sleepy Alice and even cranky Alice because it's always just Alice and she was the baby that made me a mother and I love this life with all it's quirks and problems and lovely little bright gifts that have come because of this Alice creature and computers and Fergus and Phoebe with all their nonsense and Chip Chip Chip who is my very best friend in the world - even so much more than I ever thought possible and The Last Homely House and dear Texas Alicia and meeting lovely Kate in that birthing class so long ago and scraped knees and bumped heads and good movies and sewing and fantastic fabric and artists who create that fabric and my lovely computer and Matt and the beautiful time we were able to spend with his family this summer (so very special) and Buddy with all that he had to teach me in such a short time and stretching and naps in the middle of the day and teeny tiny baby onesies waiting for an occupant and Amanda and chocolate and warm sweet milk with a splash of vanilla and good medicine and fresh squeezed orange juice and Chip's hash browns and being in touch with my sweet old friends: Stacie and Chad and Karen and Sharon and Samia and the friends I have here in my life who forgive my mistakes and do their best to understand me and the faith I have in God and my church and the opportunity I have to work with small children and our preschool co-op and chalk and a large driveway and emails from friends that make me smile and Kathleen and Harry Potter (sounds like a personal friend) and while we're at it: JRR Tolkien and let's just say great writers who inspire and dream and ice cold water and modern electronics and Fergus' stripes and central heating and a warm jacket and seeing Alice in her sparkly purple Converse and the opportunity I have to be home with Alice every day and employment and my dear friend and boss John and potty training (so glad it's OVER) and the dearest of dearest Minions who comment here and visit at The Creamery--- you've become my friend-friends even if I've never met most of you (and normally I would then list each of your names because you really ARE friend-friends and one should mention friend-friends by name, but quite frankly this year I'm worried that I might miss a few of you because the pregnancy memory loss has hit hard 'round here and I'd hate to miss any of you because then feelings would be hurt so can I just say that I am grateful for YOU and you'd know that I'm talking directly to YOU?) and caramel Rice Krispie treats and while we're at it chocolate susan cookies and delicious chocolate Texas sheet cake and oh so many delectable pieces of sugary yumminess and peaches (can you tell I'm pregnant?) and seasons that change and rain even when it's falling like there's no tomorrow and the smallest things, I guess that's what this year has come down to: the smallest things that give me faith for tomorrow--- small things that make this world spin.  I'm giving thanks for all these small things, and more.

in no particular order

I am thankful for:

Raindrops and messy kisses and soft bedsheets and a warm house and turkey and mom and dad and Chip and Alice and God and good friends that offer forgiveness before I even ask and technology and my crackberry and a healthy body and eyes that can see and Buddy and Matt and Ana and Emilie and church and Chip's family and people I love and our country and our constitution and people who have come before me and jokes and color and paint and beautiful Seattle and amazing grandparents and furry cat paws under the bathroom door and fuzzy blankets and presents and surprises in the mail and books and Kate and Amanda just down the street and the fact that Alice calls out to me MAMA! and holding a sleeping child and these fingers to type and M! and Eleanor Q and dearest Samwise and her new baby girl (newest of CREAM: THE NEXT GENERATION) and speaking of that: CREAM!, and the incomparable Wandering Nana and my fiery sister Kimmie and the lovable Little Brother Steve and Winston and KAY who has known me since high school and still wants to be my friend and Swistle and funny blogs and my extended birth family and Chelle and big brother Curtis and turkey stuffing and apple pie and food glorious food and art and music and beauty and my funny fantastic laptop and Shelly Huh and swing sets and Sesame Street and my ipod and The Last Homely House and skin and clean drinking water and working with the children at church and Spadoman who calls me his whimsical friend and Spadoman's True Italian Gravy recipe (will be posted here soon) and writing and words and poetry and Stephen Dunn and so very many good books and so very many good writers and school and learning and dedicated teachers and Clueless But Hopeful Mama who still comments at The Creamery even though I STILL haven't sent her package and Angela who teaches me so much and Alicia who writes me emails about stuff and my first Jenny and Nutmeg who hasn't written anything since August (miss her) and feet that work and a garden in the spring and planting tulip bulbs and memory and photos and documentaries and glasses so that I can see and thinking and prayer and and lovely brothers- and sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews and apple pie and CJane and the internet and so many talented bloggers and Stacie and Chip playing his guitar and songs he's written just for me and fabric and sewing and buttons and clean clothes and design and yarn and knitting and doing doing doing STUFF and communicating with my child and have I mentioned Chip and Chip's arm rubs and love from Bean and bathtime and evening prayers and Parking at Home and lotion and trees and wind and dirt and purrrrdles and taking chances and The Rainbow Connection and time alone and running and WORDS and time and work and Jefe and Serenity Now (also her lovely emails) and The Laws of Cream and vaccines and sleep and mobile phones and shoes I like and Heidi W and so many people who are nice to me and Halloween and Christmas and Easter and any other holiday except Valentine's Day because that one bugs me and barbequed blue cheese bacon burgers and funny people and feeling inspired and play and The Triumverate and challenges and airplanes and cookies and weird commercials and Mayfly blog because it is so beautiful and walking and not bothering to link to anything and Amy Nate's mom and Amanda M and Pickles & Dimes and you and you and you and you and YOU, most especially YOU.

What's on your thankful list?

return of thankful thursday

There is no shortage of bad news in the world. Even when I'm not actively seeking it, it finds me: in the grocery store, overheard conversations, the newspaper headlines, news homepages on the web, in everyday conversation. I feel covered in it, and it seriously affects my mood. It's hard to feel good about life when the world itself seems poised for implosion.

These days I try to turn from it - to protect my ears, my heart from the soul-sucking damage of Too Much Bad News. I have a feeling that hiding out isn't the answer. It's probably more along the lines of finding balance. Being aware of the darkness that is lurking outside my door while also giving thanks for some of the most precious and beautiful things that I have in abundance.

A few for today:

- Emily's surprise visit last night. Chocolate shakes & help with the dishes notwithstanding.

- The smell of Bean's head. A strange and wonderful combination of flowers, baby lotion, and milk.

- The way Chip talks to Alice when he's changing her diaper. I've never heard him this way before, and it's wonderful.

- My two hands. I am grateful to have them and all that they help me to do.

umbrella envy

I didn't know it was possible, but I've worn out my umbrella. There are little moth-like holes in most of the places where the joints of the metal umbrella skeleton meet the fabric. These holes, while allowing for some great cross-flow of air (!!!) also give errant raindrops a place to drip drip drip onto my face and clothes, which... sort of goes against an umbrella's raison d'etre, don't you think?

Waiting for a light to change, I cowered under my swiss cheese umbrella and looked longingly at the other umbrellas in my midst: bright chartreuse green; sleek black with a reinforced top; sassy clear plastic with a bold black graphic; larger than life picnic umbrella. None of those had holes in them, I'm sure.

Yes, while other blogs give you hilarious commentary, adorable photos, and thought-provoking tidbits about daily life, you come to The Creamery for a beleaguered and whiny treatise on the sad shape of my umbrella. What can I say - it's all about the QUALITY HERE.

I'm very happy it's Thursday, because it means we're one day closer to the weekend.


Thankful for: cold noses on warm kitties; slices of cheddar cheese with Newman's pretzels; a warm blanket to snuggle into tonight.

thhhhhh... blah

Can I tell you, I'm beat. Beat up. Beat down. Burned out. Tired. Feeling lame. Blobby. Drained. Dried up. Unfunny. Unfocused. Uninspired. Fizzled. Haggard. Spent. Wasted. Weary. Worn out.


I can bring myself to tell you that I'm grateful for the following:

• Tums. Smoothies Tums (assorted fruit flavors), specifically. They save my heart-burned belly on a regular basis. And bonus: CALCIUM!
• My Boss asking me today if I've ever seen someone put one of these on their lip (as he flourished a binder clip in his fingers). I can't tell you enough just how random this dude really is.

I'm now going to go crawl under the bed.

dealing with it

My in-laws might have been a wee bit horrified the other night at dinner, when I was relating Winston’s Current State of Health – and I started to laugh. In my defense, I was telling them about my plan to Photoshop some Groucho Marx eyebrows onto my dad’s photo for Christmas. Chip put his hand on my knee as I giggled uncontrollably, and said, “She’s handling this a little differently.”

I didn't realize that I’d been handling this “a little differently”. But with some reflection, I suppose he’s right. These days, I’m equally drawn to tears and laughter (and ham – I’m drawn to ham sandwiches right now, and I don’t even like ham). As with the ham-fixation, I blame the pregnancy. I know that getting all with child and stuff wreaks merry havoc with your hormones. Those hormones, of course, then wreak merry havoc on the rest of you: your muscles, your joints, your complexion, your appetite, your hair, your skin, your nails, your gums, your eyesight, your GI tract, your memory, and yes: your emotions. Knowing this, of course, and actually dealing with it are two different things. To which my current confused state can attest.

When I talked to Mom & Dad on the phone Tuesday night, I held it together – tried to be funny, tried to be positive, tried to be UP. I succeeded in being more UP than is really, well, normal and I’m sure my mom was a tad confused by her manic daughter. And then Winston talked about radiation therapy and when that was going to start – and Manic Whimsy became Crying Whimsy – just like that. It’s nothing new, I’m sure. Those of you who have dealt with a parent’s illness can tell me a thousand stories of the weird stuff you did in order to Deal. And those of you who have dealt with pregnancy can also tell me a thousand stories of the hilarious hijinks of Pregnant You.

In the end, because this is all new to me, I’m really trying to Deal with Dealing. How to be strong and supportive while also being sensitive enough to feel through the tender moments. It isn’t easy geography – the tightrope, the emotions, the crowd of people, the familial relationships.

For today’s Thank-a-lot-Thursday post I’m officially going on record to be thankful for the dumb things that Chip & I navigate. They might be dumb, but they're our very own.

I'm also grateful for clip art eyebrows (did you know they have PAGES and PAGES of them???).

Tomorrow's post is probably going to be something along the one-word variety, and I can tell you it will either be a word beginning with the letter B or a word beginning with the letter G. Oh, and there might be an actual belly photo of my very own. AREN'T YOU EXCITED?

free floating thanks

Seeing as how I was suspended magically in mid-air last Thursday (whizzing thousands of feet above the face of the earth – on my way to picturesque Familyland) – this is my 2nd Thankful Thursday. For you, gentle readers, I have prepared a double helping of Thanks:

- Planes that stay up

- BLT sandwiches made by mom (how is it that they're ALWAYS better when assembled by mom?)

- The rare chance to sleep in

- Homemade apple pie

- A friend that will text you on your cell phone, just to see how you're doing

- Returning from a trip to a SPARKLING CLEAN HOUSE - including clean bathrooms & vacuumed stairs

- The lemon poppyseed cake (with a tiny bit of vanilla soft-serve) at Chuck-A-Rama (more on this later)

- Even when it isn't the house you grew up in, it can still be your childhood home. Your parents are there, as are those familiar smells that make everything so presient.

- Coming home--- the home of now, the home of always, the home of your heart. Always coming home to the one you love, whose arms are familiar beyond comparison. The ache is gone and you're so happy to be in his presence, you make him follow you upstairs to keep you company while you unpack.

thankful thursday

It’s far from a new idea, but I decided to inaugurate a weekly forum in which to share some of the things that make life zingy, that make life good, the things for which I’m, you know – grateful.

All Hail Thankful Thursday! I’m hoping I can share some of the small things that help to get me through a day, so if you’re wondering where the biggies are (God, Faith, Family), they’re there, at the top of the list in my heart; just not here, because the Biggies are Biggies, made all the more sweet by the tiny things. Kathryn over at Daring Young Mom, calls these things Reasons – and I think she’s lovely, as is her blog.

(Some items on today’s list brought to you by The Horrendous Dress Malfunction that I experienced today – which you’ll hear ALL ABOUT tomorrow.)

• Having an Old Navy within spitting distance of my office; because you never know when you might need to buy an Emergency Pair of Affordable Maternity Jeans. Not that I'd know anything about that.

• Miniature Nestle Butterfingers

• Chip's sleepy smile in the morning

• The availability of fresh water

• Cold slices of cucmber with ranch dressing

• Fergus and Phoebe following me into the bathroom to watch me get dressed & brush my teeth - even though it's 5am and clearly too early to be up.

a little bit of grateful

I’m sure you’re just checking in to see if I’ve posted THE SLUG PHOTO yet. But yesterday was a bit of a rough day around The Creamery, and I’ve decided to hold out on the photo posting for a few more possible votes (read: a few more days). Sad, but true. Actually my observation of the voting has been something of a slug race – IN SLOW MOTION. At last count, we were running 3-2 in favor of slugs.

In place of Slugapalooza 2007, I give you some of the small things for which I am grateful on a tough day (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER). Help yourself to my list – and please, if you’d like, add a few of your own. A little bit of Grateful is never a bad thing.


Of the Good

• Emails from friends - simple, but oh so wonderful, and oh so welcome

• The Magic Salad

• Sunflower seeds

• The Office recaps I read recently on Television Without Pity

• The unexpected bag of maternity wear leant to me by one Helen at Workplace - what a nice gesture

• The Bean

• The offer my boss made to me today, to pelt me with tiny little wrapped Tic Tac mints (called "Silvers" - if you haven't had them, you should - because the orange flavor is fantastic). This offer was truly an act of kindness, as he has been known to show his affection and appreciation in some odd, brotherly ways (I'm throwing these mints at you because I think you're great! Let's put this maraca in Kristy's desk because it will be funny!)

• An impended trip to see my parents. I'm really looking forward to spending time with them, and also laying around. A lot. Because I haven't done enough of that here at home.

• The orange scarf I decided to knit this weekend

• Having the ability to knit an orange scarf (me: Aren't I cool, Chip? Isn't this great, Chip? Doesn't this look fantastic, Chip? Huh? HUH?)

• The Bers - I read this post on Cupcakes for Clara the other day, that excitedly announced the arrival of the BERS (as in, SeptemBER, OctoBER, etc.) I, too, love me some Bers!

• Paintings by Sam Toft

• Fergus nose kisses

• The errant Fergus Whisker that had somehow been imbedded in the soft pudge of my stuffed Ugly Doll, Herp. When I went to lay my head on him two nights ago, I got poked. Discovering that little gem was weird - and also really funny. Like Fergus put it there for safe keeping.

• Watching Phoebe try to sleep as I tickled her feet with the newly discovered Fergus Whisker

• This post by the lovely and luminous The Wife, my dear friend. She's such a beautiful writer, and can put things in such a way... this is a day that I am ill-equipped to encapsulate in words. My friend does it beautifully.

• The knowledge that You're out there - all of you

• Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip - I wouldn't want to spend a moment of my life without him in it