Simple and Well

(Sugar Mill Lake) "Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores."                         Henry David Thoreau (Walden) I saw this quote on my friend Val's Facebook page.  Isn't it wonderful?  If everyone took this quote into account wouldn't life be so much more beautiful? This whole quote totally identifies all of the things that I have been seeking in my life.  Simplicity.  Joy over "clouds".  Living Life to the Fullest.  Love It.   I hope that you are "taking up a little life into [your] pores" this week.  :)

Amazing Grandma

Meet Mary Ann.  Also known as my Grandmother.  Also known as The World's Best Cook.  Also known as cool and hip.  Also known as AMAZING.

She will probably kill me when she sees this picture...

It is pretty safe to say that my grandmother is the coolest person ever.  For example, who else makes Cream Puffs anytime I want when I come to visit?

These, my friends, are what I like to call little pieces of heaven on Earth.  I kid you not, I could eat ten of these things in one sitting.  I usually limit myself to two at a time.  By two at a time I mean two at breakfast, two a lunch, and two at dinner.  It is not uncommon to gain 5 pounds in a weekend at Mary Ann's house.

Not only does my grandmother make amazing treats Cream Puffs are not the only delicacy, but she know all the right things to say, collects the coolest antiques, gives the best hugs, and always makes me laugh (plus we love the same t.v. shows... Desperate Housewives anyone?).  I wanted to take a minute tonight, in the midst of a stressful and ridiculously complicated day, to share one of my simple joys.  And my grandmother is one of the things in my life that brings me the most joy.  

Love you Grandma!

Stay tuned for an equally amazing post (soon to come) titled Amazing Grandpa! 

What A Mess!!

My name is Jodi and I have a problem.

Disorganization.

My husband and I live in a very small space.  If you haven't already figured out from my last post, I need for things to be tidy.  When they aren't I lose my mind.  I finally got everything straightened up from my little experiment with the hubby last week, but I will have to tell you that there is one exception to my rule of tidiness....  our bedroom.

If any of you are die-hard Friends fans you have probably seen the episode with Monica's closet... If not, let me attempt to explain.  Do any of you have that one space that tends to be the catch all for all things junk?  That is what I am talking about.  Upon first entering the door of our modest loft apartment, all appears to be organized and clean.  The problem is that my upstairs (which only consists of a space big enough for our bed, a dresser, and a desk) tends to serve as my own personal "Monica's Closet."

The desk is the biggest problem.  I am trying to learn how to sew and I love any kind of crafting.  It is pretty close to impossible without a space to work.  Why am I telling you this you may wonder?  I AM SICK OF THE MESS!  I read all these blogs written by crafty ladies who have these super organized amazing spaces in which they can sew and create all they want and I am JEALOUS!!!

Look at this!  I have crap everywhere!!  All these wonderful, lovely, amazing craft supplies with no real home or place!  I need heeelllllppppp!!!!

This is my first attempt at a clean-up, but it still doesn't feel as organized or practical as I would like.  I think that I need some shelves, and the old schoolbooks on the bookcase have got to go.... sorry hubby....  Don't even ask where all the craft supplies went because I don't know.  They are probably all stuffed in the drawer.

And if you haven't already noticed... I don't have a stinkin' chair!!  I've been using a lawn chair... how sad is that?  How will I ever be a real blogger without a real craft space and a chair to sit in???  I better get my act together.  

P.S.  I am open to suggestions about how to organize this mess!

My Amazing Husband

I started out this week with what I thought was an awesome idea for a blog entry.  First I guess that I should explain that I am a bit or maybe more than a bit obsessive about keeping our apartment clean.  According to Caleb I am always on his case about cleaning up.  He claims that if I give him more time to clean he will get it done on his own time.  "On his own time" is his favorite quote when it comes to housework.

So anyway, I started out on Sunday by taking pictures of our clean apartment and planned to not lift a finger for a whole week and track the progress of the mess that I was sure would accumulate with my absence of housekeeping.  Really I wanted to see what "on my own time" really meant.

I will admit that things started out pretty rocky... the dishes accumulated, his schoolbooks piled up, and the shoes started their own little pile on the floor beneath the ledge of the kitchen counter.  At first I found that it really put my nerves on edge.  I was obsessing about the number of plates that were in the sink, the coffee grounds that were left on the counter top, and the lone sock that had found a home underneath the trunk that serves as our coffee table.

BUT to my great surprise, Caleb came home on Monday evening and loaded the dishwasher!  Even more he picked up the clutter off of the coffee table/trunk.  And then today I came home and the kitchen was dish free again!  I totally underestimated my husband and even started feeling a little bit guilty about underestimating his powers!

So here is a formal apology to my husband:  Caleb I am sorry that I doubted your housekeeping skills and I appreciate everything that you do to help our lives run smoothly.  I love you!

Even more... I have to also admit that I have enjoyed my little two day vacation from housework... but tomorrow I am definitely breaking out the vacuum...

Chat

No, the title of this entry is not "chat".... like "I had a chat with my friends."  It's chat! Cat!  My very first French word that I learned from my very first French friend, Annabelle!

You know what is even better than French words?  French Crepes!  I have had crepes before, but only at  like... Bob Evans (that is so embarrassing to admit...) and lets face it... I hardly think that they compare to the delicious masterpieces that Annabelle prepared for dessert in my very own kitchen using Nutella and flaming liquor.  I mean who doesn't like Nutella and flaming liquor?

Annabelle in action

If you look closely at the right side of the
pan you can see the flames...

I think I'm in love.

I have decided that I love crepes!  You know what I love even more??  That Annabelle promised to teach me how to make them... Mmmmm...  It was a perfect start to a perfect weekend, but more on that later!

10 Reasons Why My Sister, Micah, is Amazing.

I grew up in Podunk Indiana as an only child.  Yes my parents played with me and let me have friends over and loved me and game me everything I could have ever wanted, but I always wished for a sibling.  Someone to play dolls with and whisper to at night when I was supposed to be going to sleep.

So when I got married to my wonderful and handsome husband Caleb, the fact that I was gaining an amazing sister only sweetened the deal.  Although I doubt Micah would have played dolls with me as a child hehe :) she is everything that I could possible hope for in a sister, and even more... in a friend.

So in honor of my sister's most recent accomplishments and awesomeness... this post is about her... and I call it "10 Reasons Why My Sister, Micah, is Amazing!"

Number 1: She has her picture mass printed on brochures!

Number 2:  She is a hero!

Number 3: She has her picture printed on a life size banner for all to see!

Number 4: A whole band comes to play music for her!

Number 5: She has her own cheering section and some of them dress really funny!

Number 6: She gets her own half time show.

Number 7: She is talented and people hand her plaques.

Number 8: She gets special escorts onto the court.

Number 9: She can dribble a basketball.

Number 10: People throw beautiful flowers at her!

Okay so I don't want everyone to think that she is only amazing at basketball so here are some bonus reasons why she is really cool...

She is the best BINGO player that I know. The truth...

She even won some Sham Wows....

She loves animals.

And she is an all around beautiful person.

I love you Micah!!!  P.S. Please don't be mad about the cat picture... the devil made me do it!

Rose Petals and Valerian

Do you ever have one of those days?  You know... the one where you walk in the door after work only to find the cat has puked on the floor and you realize you forgot to get the meat out to thaw so it looks like its going to be frozen pizza or leftovers?  It's one of those days that even though you can't put your finger on what quite went wrong you know that there were one too many things that didn't quite go right...  And then you burn the frozen pizza that you didn't want to make in the first place, but you had to because the chicken was frozen and by the time you cleaned up the cat puke you didn't want to look at food anyway....  Yeah... it was one of those days... 

So what to do on such a joyous evening?  You start by having a hot cup of this and remind yourself that its not so bad and that most of the time you really do love your cat.  After a few sips  of this heavenly, warm, golden liquid you'll forget all about the cat puke and burnt pizza.