Love.

This picture was taken about a year ago, in April 2011. J and C watch as their new deck is being built.

When I first started working as a nanny, the twins were only two months old. They took several naps every day, were still being fed from bottles, loved being held all the time and were very, very tiny.

I have been working with them for 1 1/2 years now. They have grown so much and we have a unique friendship- I sometimes (ok, most of the time) feel like they are my own.

Every season of life comes to an end. I have plans to move out of state and go to college and my employers have plans to put the children in daycare. I put in my notice last week and have cried every day since then. I am very excited about this new season of life, yet part of me wishes that things could stay the same for forever- that I would still be able to go to work every day and be greeted with bear hugs and slobbery kisses... that I would be able to continue watching J and C (and B, too!) grow up every day.

Even though I'll be moving on to new and exciting things, a large piece of my heart will stay here- with my family, and also with the children that I have had the pleasure of watching.

I'm treasuring the last few weeks I have with the kiddos, and trying not to cry *too* much.

You're a Fox.

A while back, on Pinterest, I saw this adorable card with an adorable fox on it.

Wait. I suppose that I should let you know that I am an obsessive person. I spent a good year being obsessed with owls, and have various other things that I love- garden gnomes, cartoony mushrooms, Sufjan Stevens, and books. While I still love owls, they have been replaced. Yes. Foxes currently hold the number 1 spot in my artsy/whimsical/silly heart.

You're A Fox Card

Anyways...back to the card. It is from Rifle Paper Co., and is $4. I decided to order it and frame it, and while I was at it, I ordered the following prints as well. They arrived in the mail yesterday, and I am very excited about framing and hanging them.

I Love You Card

Bon Voyage Card

Just thinking about hanging them on my wall makes me smile.

ETA: I am awful at arranging pictures on my blog, and am too lazy to fix the above photos. I am going to pretend that they add a nice touch of wonkyness. (I will also pretend that everyone knows what my made up words mean.)

booksbooksbooks.

After quilt club this morning, Abigail and I made a trip to the library. HELLO, NEW BOOKS. What I'm working through:

• Fahrenheit 451
• Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me?
• Sarah's Key
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Have any of you heard of Goodreads? I just heard of it this past week, and started an account. It might be my current favorite website.

In other news, I spent the second half of my day with a good friend of Sam's family. She lives fairly close to me, and drove over to meet/get to know me. We were talking about NaNoWriMo, and I mentioned that when I updated to the new version of Scrivener I lost all work on my novel. We pulled my computer out, and she managed to find it and backed it up for me multiple times.

I FEEL LIKE WRITING AGAIN.

P.S. Script Frenzy is coming up. Who wants to join me?

My Denim Jumper

I'm not a huge fan of denim skirts unless they are knee length. Some people can pull them off amazingly well- I don't think that I'm one of those people. In fact, except for jeans, I generally try to avoid denim clothing all together.

Denim jumpers are something that I thought I would NEVER wear.

Until I watched this.

I never knew that denim jumpers could look so fabulous. How does Florence pull it off? As soon as I saw it, I decided that I had to have a denim jumper. When visiting friends in Ohio this summer, we went to the thrift store, and I announced that I was going to buy a denim jumper. Sarah and Hannah pretty much begged me to *not* do so. I'm stubborn. They let me buy this one, and I brought it home and had it shortened.

So it's not as cool as Florence's. I wore it with my grey Converse and teal nail polish so I would look slightly less like a 90's schoolteacher.

11.

I was thinking to myself, "I have nothing to blog about," when I checked my email and Kyleigh had tagged me to do this post. Thanks for giving me something to say!

The Rules Are:
1. You must post the rules.
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
4. Tag eleven bloggers, however, you can break the rules and tag fewer people if you want. Make sure you hyperlink their names/blogs.
5. Let them know you’ve tagged them!
6. Have fun!

Okie dokie, then. 11 facts about myself?

1. I have had about 7 years of piano lessons, and I cannot play nearly as well as my sister, who has only had lessons for 3 years.

2. I have never had an energy drink.

3. I love smells- some of my favorites being fresh bread, men's cologne, wood/sawdust, my mom, spring/fall, and laundry that has been dried outside.

4. I have number/gender Synesthesia.

5. Sometimes, I wash my hair with eggs.

6. I hate ham, but I love sausage, bacon and pork chops. Pigs are the tastiest animal.

7. I never pumped gas until after I had my driver's license.

8. My love language is giving gifts.

9. I am afraid of sock monkeys.

10. Kevin Henkes was my favorite author when I was little.

11. I like getting sunburned and then peeling dead skin off of my body. Gross, right?

The questions Kyleigh asked:

1. What are you reading right now? I am currently reading Running Scared, and I just finished reading Matched (I hated it.)

2. What’s one thing that’s impacted your life more than anything else? I'm breaking the rules and going with two: Becoming a Christian, and being married/divorced.

3. What’s your favorite noise? I love noises of all sorts. My favorites probably being the sound that ratchets make, laughter, and listening to a slice of cherry pie being cut.

4. What’s the weirdest food you’ve eaten? A ritz cracker with peanut butter and mustard. (It's good, trust me.)

5. What’s your favorite game? Anything that I can win at. Dutch Blitz and Phase 10 would be at the top of my list.

6. What would you do if the world was going to end tomorrow? I would hope that the weather was nice- 66 degrees and sunny. I would spread a blanket in the grass, and just lay there, smelling the air. I would also eat chocolate cake, and say "I love you" to just about everyone I happened to see.

7. If you could be a movie/book/TV character, who would you be and why? Ramona Quimby. Why? I'm not really sure. She's spunky. (I'm referring to the books- the movie wasn't as good.)

8. Which would you rather do – scuba dive or rock climb? I'd love to try my hand at both- but...scuba diving wins.

9. Where’s your favorite place in all the world? Wherever I can get a good hug.

10. What’s your favorite weather? About 66 degrees and sunny. Fall is perfect.

11. What’s your favorite conversation starter? "What kind of books do you like to read?" Works like a charm.

Ok. I am not going to tag anyone. If you think that this sounds like fun, then follow all of the rules on your own blog, and let me know that you did it! OR, you could play the game and leave me a super long comment, here.

If you decide to play along, these are the questions you'll be answering:

1. Introvert or extrovert?

2. Do you prefer truths or dares?

3. What color are your eyes?

4. Best advice you have ever been given?

5. Number 1 on your bucket list?

6. Dogs or cats?

7. Your biggest pet peeve?

8. Favorite author?

9. Your biggest fear?

10. What is your favorite thing about rainy days?

11. Have you ever taken the Meyers Briggs test? If yes, what are your results?

For starters, you should watch this video. It is magical for your eyes and your ears. Many thanks to Everly for sharing it on Facebook!

Second, Sam has been gone for several days now. We're all missing him! (Me especially.) Looking forward to his next visit, and filling up days with Skyping and phone calls.

I almost got another pixie cut today. However, I ended up with just a trim.

My fingernails are painted teal.

My toenails are painted neon orange.

I'm listening to the Decemberists.

When I get my own apartment, I'm pretty sure that my refrigerator will be empty, except for a jar of jam and a crisper drawer full of baby carrots. My cupboards will have only bread and peanut butter.

photo credit.

That tattoo is tempting me. I'm trying to talk myself out of any tattoos on the time being, *but*...that one is just...perfect.

One time, I ordered a Sufjan Stevens album, and I was so excited when I got an email verification from him (yes, I know, it's not *really* him) that I took a screenshot of it. Yes, I am a dork.

I will leave you with the video of Sam, Collin, Abigail and I.

Goodbyes.

I drove Sam to the airport this morning, and we said goodbye. We're looking forward to seeing each other again! While he was here, we recorded 7 videos. I'll be sharing them in the weeks to come!

On my way back home from the airport, I stopped at T.J. Maxx, to scope out their housewares section for Polish Pottery. I was able to add several nice pieces to my collection. =)