doodle doodle

i'm attempting to clean my office space. it's my last day in the office for the remainder of 2009, and i thought coming in to a (slightly more) clean office would be a great way to start 2010.

anywho, i found these sketches for waterbuggy critters. i like how my final bugs ended up, but i think these are kinda cute too. a bit powerpuff, but still kinda cute.

deck the halls and all that jazz

contrary to what my posting might indicate, we have been rather busy partaking in many holiday related activities.
friday afternoon we bundled up the boy and went out into the wild, windy, winter weather to pick out a tree with grandma and grandpa h. due to the boy's boogery-ness and the general frigidity, i only managed a couple photos, but we quickly found the best tree ever and cut it down to take home with us.
we then proceeded to the grandparents' house to use their fabulous machine in the making of our christmas card. i'm not post a photo of said card because i got admonished last year for showing a spoiler before christmas. in any case, the card turned out pretty much as i had hoped, and i was mightily pleased at not having to cut them by hand. woot!

saturday morning we were out and about with our sniffly boy. we had groceries to get, a bank appointment to keep, and lots of christmas shopping left to do. it was a marathon of a day, but we managed to hit nearly all our stops and get all our gifting done. just a few more things to pick up, and then we'll be able to sit back and happily watch the shoppers from afar.
that evening we put up the tree and our other decorations. the house is now suitably festive to suit our (harried and) festive mood.

sunday was a day of church and wrapping. i wrapped until my wrapper was sore. and i still have more to do, but at least i'm well on my way to having everything complete by next week. we want to free up as much time as possible so we can play with the mississippi crew while they're here - we want to enjoy them as much as possible, because it will be a long time until we'll get another chance.
today we're hoping to make some goodies for my co-workers (if i can manage to keep the boy happy long enough to get anything done) and assemble christmas cards. tomorrow is my last day of work for the year (hoorah!) after that, it's holidays or bust!

who has the most fabulous 10 month old?

we do! aren't we lucky?

i really believe i NEEEEEEEEEEEEED this

perhaps it's been kicked into high gear from watching one too many seasons of project runway (is that possible? maybe), but i've always had a hankering to design my own clothes. i remember designing a whole mix-and-match summer wardrobe, which my mother (in her infinite wonderfulness) actually sewed for me (thanks mom!) and recently, when i was going through a bin of clothes to hand down to my niece, i noticed a real tendency to sew, cut, resew, tie-dye, iron-on and reconfigure my clothing. most of the items had been, at the very least, re-hemmed to fit me. there was at least one skirt that had gone through several incarnations in length.

also, i'm not exactly a cookie-cutter-i-can-wear-things-right-off-the-hanger-type person, and when i shop for clothes i have very (very, very) specific ideas about what i want (and can rarely find it with a pricetag i'm willing to pay). it would be nice to have the confidence to be able to build those non-existent garments myself - or when i see things that i like, but want to change this about it. or that. or have it taken in here - i could just whip up my very own perfect version.

so, i'm adding this book to my wishlist. even if i don't have the time right now to actually sew. maybe if i could design and sew, i'd spend less time looking around the internet for the perfect little denim jacket. maybe.

homework

i brought the cards home from work yesterday in order to get them stuffed into their envelopes. with any luck, we'll get them out by the end of the week.
177 cards printed, cut, folded, and stuffed in one day isn't too shabby. now if only i could get half as much done today, it would be a christmas miracle!

early christmas presents

they're here! they're here!

yesterday when i got to work i found two advance copies of the book looking all official-like and shiny and new -- one of my dreams come true!

how to entertain mom

we're trying to catch up on a few things around the house today, but that doesn't mean there isn't fun to be had. and sam knows how to keep mom giggling -- with a rousing game of peek!

many thanks

there are so many things i am thankful for: my fabulous family (including all the ones that i acquired when i married mike), a house that i'm so happy to come home to, a job where i work with some of the nicest people i know, and the chance to spend a holiday eating delicious food with some of that wonderful family, are just a few of the leaves on my "thankfulness tree."
thanks to missy for the gift of the tree. i hope to make it a tradition to fill it up with leaves each year. what a great reminder to think about all the blessings i/we have received.
tomorrow we're off to columbus to visit mike's family, and extending this first thanksgiving for the boy (the biggest blessing of all).
incidentally, i was hoping to get everyone on my christmas list this boy-in-a-box. it's the coolest thing ever. but unfortunately, i haven't found another one quite like this one, and i'm just not ready to part with mine.

ps - sammy is thankful for puffs and pie and a box to play in.

sorting and stacks

i'm trying to do a bit of clearing the decks around here. sorting through old papers, clothes, and whatnot, i stumbled on my stack of anthropologie catalogs. i always find them so inspiring, it's hard to let go of them, even though i know i should. maybe i could just cut out the parts that i like most and put them in a binder or something. now if only i could get sam to do this more often...

...i might actually complete some of these grand plans.

i've got that joy, joy, joy, joy...

i know it's a bit early (yes, i'm aware that we are still days away from thanksgiving), but production has chosen our christmas card design and i was just too excited to keep it to myself.

it's a bit simpler than last year, the wreath is made from boughs that are photographed books (good for a publishing house). now if only we could get the word people kick-started, i could start the assembly line...

O-H-oh no!

they let michigan score a touchdown??!!

baby -> big kid

i know you've all been waiting on the edge of your seats for those 9 month stats. well, wait no longer. here they are, the all-important numbers:

weight: 19.2lbs -- 26th percentile

height: 29 inches -- 71st percentile (it should be said that this is essentially half my height. scary.)

this boy is already long and lean, which means it's hard to find pants that cover those long legs and still fit his little middle.
i know they don't measure cuteness or awesomeness, but i bet he'd be in the 100th percentile for both. (yeah. i know. i'm biased.)

dear santa,

i know you're busy working on getting that rose bowl win for mike (go buckeyes!), but i'd super enjoy getting one of these in my stocking. and some film. please.

in reality, i most likely couldn't afford to keep restocking the film (because we all know i'd go broke snapping shots of sammy like he was about to disappear tomorrow). but it's fun to think about.

9 months old

sam has officially made it to the 9-month mark with only minor bumps and bruises. this is a very good thing, because i believe his warranty has already expired. 

things i love about this 9 month old:

• he likes to dance, and i like watching him shake his boo-tay
  
• given the opportunity, he will sit and look through books, and is generally pretty careful with them (i only let him handle his own books though)
  
• when he needs something (food, picking up), he says "muh muh muh" - i like to pretend he's saying mama
  
• he looks angelic when he's sleeping, even though i know he probably had a hissy getting to sleep
  
• he lets me shower kisses down on him (especially his fuzzy, little head) and is usually content to give me a hug or two (if he's not too busy)
  
• raspberries on his neck crack him up
  
• so does my singing
  
• he just gets more fun and awesome every day

new things he can do:

• signal for more finger foods by gesturing
  
• cruise around the furniture
  
• climb stairs (not encouraged)
  
• understand "no" (but sometimes laughs and does it anyway)
  
• drop things and look to see where they fall (and get confused when i catch whatever it is before it hits the floor)
  
• and probably a ton of other stuff i'm forgetting
  

his well visit is on the 20th, so stay tuned for the stats!

i'm not a spinner, but...

...when i saw this book at the local library, i just had to pick it up. there's something so very intriguing about the yarn in these photos. i'm not sure that all the outcomes are quite my style, or something that i'd wear, but looking at the photos and reading the various ideas was rather inspiring. i also kind of keen on this post, and am wondering if i could make something like that.

feeding the chewing impaired

armed with this recipe, this book, and a fridge full of leftover veggies, i set out tonight to make my own butternut soup experiment (fun!) i think it turned out pretty well. about as good as the vegetarian version of the soup we had at missy's while we were in mississippi (maybe). i'm not sure i'm quite as good a chef as my sister, but one can always hope.

here's what i did, if you're feeling so inclined:

• in a pan lined with foil and squirted with a bit of with cooking spray (i love olive oil pam), roast one butternut squash (cubed), one small zucchini (cubed), about 6-8 oz mushrooms (cut in chunks), one small green pepper (cut in small pieces), at 475 degrees until soft
  
• while that's roasting, heat your soup pot of choice, spray with pam, and cook up your onion (one medium) and garlic (about one clove)
  
• add your roasted squash (be sure to test a few yummy pieces, but not too many)
  
• add one can of vegetable stock (or homemade if you have it - i do not)
  
• use your blender to give it whirl so it's thick and delicious looking
  
• add a little water if you want it thinner (i added about a cup or so)
  
• toss in the rest of your roasted veggies
  
• add salt and pepper to taste
  
• enjoy!

this soup might have benefitted from some herbs or whatnot, but it was really just what i was hungry for as it was. plus, it was the perfect fall dinner for my currently less-than-stellar dental situation.

feel free to experiment and let me know how it turns out.

ps - sammy had some of the butternut part with his dinner and thought it was quite yummy. he did, however, request that he get some saltines to eat with it.

taking it slow

i had some dental surgery done yesterday, so haven't quite been feeling 100% (even when i pop one of those "happy pills"). as a result, we're taking it a bit slow around here today. which means the boy and i are still running around in pjs -- even post-lunchtime.

q:

q: how cool is this? a: very much so

maybe in my next life i'll be witty and think up great halloween costumes. and have time to execute them. and go to parties where people can admire my cleverness.

found via.

the festivities

grouchy pumpkin -- the 2009 version

as i sit here with my mug of cider and my toasted pumpkin seeds, i think i can say we had a very successful halloween.
we started off the morning by purchasing our cider and pumpkin at the farmers' market, followed by an afternoon of watching the buckeyes stomp their opponents something fierce. next we carved the pumpkin, sorted the guts, and made our pizza.
our candy at the ready, we greeted kids at the door. between bites, we enjoyed seeing many cute little ones for trick-or-treat. after dinner, we dressed our little sweetie in his costume, and daddy took him around to the neighbors' houses for a quick-or-treat (it was a little chilly, and sam's got a bit of a cough). sam was highly interested in all the kids coming to our door, so we sat by the front door so he could see what was going on. we ran out of candy shortly before 8, but things had pretty much quieted down by then. all and all, i think it was pretty good.

getting prepped and ready.

what you REALLY wanted to see. sammy as a candy-corn! i think he gave me cavities just by being in the same room with him. too sweet!

needless to say, i was very happy with how the costume turned out. even if it wasn't what i had originally planned, i think it turned out well. maybe we'll ninja-up next year (when putting something over sammy's mouth hopefully won't be so trauma inducing -- wearing a candy-corn costume for 45 minutes was trauma enough for one night!)

apropos of nothing...

autumn eats

after eating all kinds of super yummy fall foodaliciousness at missy's place last week (still waiting on the recipe for those pumpkin cookies and creamcheese/maple/cinnamon icing *hint hint*), i decided i really needed to cook up some of my own. not to mention that sammy ate the pumkin like such a champ, i wanted to see if my luck would hold out.
it was so nice, i could've eaten it twice. sammy, on the other hand, thought once was enough.
joke's on him. i've got leftovers for tomorrow.

missing mississippi

our trip to mississippi was definitely one to remember. seeing oscar, introducing sammy, talking and visiting until the wee hours...what a blast we had! not to mention the corn maze, the pig races, the hay ride, the pumpkin patch, the pecan walk...so much fun! it was hard to arrive home sunday night and be "just the two of us" again.

sammy and i are both looking forward to this christmas when we'll get to see the southern gang again. maybe next time sammy will be able to join in the running around, not just watching and smiling and squealing with delight as his cousin speeds by.

we miss you guys. thanks for having us, and we can't wait to return the favor!

road trippin'

and we're off today to visit this cuteness (well, this cuteness about 10 months later). i can't wait to see how oscar has changed since we last saw him. and so excited to introduce sammy to the fam down in mississippi. sam in his carseat for two days is a little scary though. wish us luck. i think we'll need it!

8 months old

it's almost been a full week since sammy turned 8 months old, and i've finally gotten around to taking his photo. he may not look all that different in pictures, but he's definitely growing (and the box of clothes that he's grown out of is also growing). he's been trying lots of new foods and putting his teeth to good use, and is now getting around quite easily by crawling. he likes to stand whenever he gets the chance, and is on the move before i can get a clean diaper or a pair of socks on him. he's definitely keeping me on my toes.

as much as i hate to leave behind his little baby phase, i'm definitely enjoying "big kid sammy" and all that he can do, and games he can play, and things that he laughs about, and i'm looking forward to what's next on this boy's agenda.

wednesday morning, train stop

in general, i would say that i very much dislike getting up while it's still dark. but when there's a sky like this waiting with me at the train stop, it's not so bad.

here come the holidays

a few of the samples that i sent out to the nature center folks last night. i haven't heard back yet. *fingers crossed* i hope i get the thumbs up on at least one of my layouts.

happy friday!

it's another grey day here, but there's no way it's going to get me down today. there are just too many nice things today to let the rain make my smiles soggy:

• it's friday, which means mike will be home this afternoon. yay!
• we get to go to columbus tonight for football and visiting tomorrow.
• yesterday i was able to find both a new pair of black flats and a pair of convertible mittens to replace those that are showing signs of extreme wear (i.e. filled with holes). if you know me and my tiny feet, you'll understand how happy i am to find shoes in a store that are the right size (and are from the grown-up section! woot!)
• today mom and dad (or grandma and grandpa h) are celebrating their 38th anniversary! congrats you two! we're so glad you survived four kids to make it this far!
• tomorrow sammy celebrates his 8-month-iversary
• a week from today we (i, sammy, and g&g h) will be on our way down to mississippi to visit my favorite sister and her family! we're so excited, we can hardly stand it!

confessions of a soup-lover

hello, my name is robyn, and i am a soup-aholic.

i have soup for dinner at least three nights a week. i just love, love, love soup. sometimes i do store-bought, but i really prefer to mix up my own when i have the time, or can't justify stopping at panera (they have super-yummy vegetarian options almost daily and you can get them in a bread bowl - pinky fingers up!)

anywho...yesterday i decided i was in the mood for black bean soup (we just bought a bulk carton of black beans and yummy produce at the farmers' market - woot!), so i mixed up what i thought was a pretty good estimation of what you can get at panera (which is where i first had black bean soup, and it was awesome and life-changing). this is approximately what i did (give or take. i'm lousy at measuring and keeping track, as previously stated):

super-easy, quick-n-yummy, black bean soup

• 2 cans black beans
• one large tomato, diced
• one medium green bell pepper, diced
• one medium onion (yellow or red - i had yellow on hand), diced
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin (or more. i think i used more. i love me some cumin)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• dash of black pepper
• several blops (that's a technical term) of green tobasco
• some cilantro (because i can never use an entire dealy of cilantro, i've resigned myself to using this paste-stuff that they have in our produce section. it's not as good as fresh, but better than nothing), to taste
• one veggie boullion (sp?) cube + about 2 cups water (you could probably use one can veggie broth and some water, but i was cutting corners)

the how to:

saute the onion and pepper with a little olive oil cooking spray until they're soft. add the tomato. stir. talk to the boy. tell him to stop grabbing your legs. start fixing husband's dinner. add the black beans and stir. add your seasonings and stir. put the boy in the jumpster. tell him it won't be long until dinner. give him some cheerios. hope the husband comes soon to rescue the boy who is feeling dejected. add the water and boullion cube. stir. let simmer. finish making husband's dinner. heat up the boy's dinner. using your blender (i have one of those wand dealies that i used), blend up all or part of the soup so it thickens up as desired (i like mine a bit chunky still.) call the boys to dinner. serve the boy his dinner. let the husband get his own dinner. serve yourself. enjoy.

note: this makes about three good-size servings, or two dinners for me :)

image via here. i wished mine was so photogenic, but it's not. it's probably just as tasty though.

friday pieday

this past week has been so fall-like (grey, chilly, rainy) that i decided i really needed to make an apple pie. not that i really wanted to eat an apple pie (though i do enjoy pie, that's for certain), it was more that i just wanted to bake, and we had a very large bag of grannysmith apples in the fridge, and i also wanted to take the opportunity to use these (which were still in their packaging). so i did. and i hear it was good.

anywho, i feel better now.

mmm...therapy pie.

sleepy boy + jumpster =

what sammy did while the electricity was out this morning.
luckily, the power came back shortly after i took this, so i was able to put in some laundry and do a few other things while he was napping.

cheerio downpour

this past saturday we were ushered into a new stage of life with sammy -- the self-feeding, finger-food stage.

in my mind this meant a lovely goodbye to the days of a frantic, starving, little boy clutching at and mouthing certain body parts (most of which i prefer not to have looking damp in public) while i am trying to shop for socks, cook a meal, or attend a meeting with a client (yes, i have been crazy enough to take him to meetings.) huzzah! sammy could be pacified with a small handful of cheerios! i couldn't think of anything cherrier or oh-ier!

of course, now we have the related consequence of cheerio consumption...the random-cheerio-rain-effect. i guess it's sort of like lake-effect snow. the cheerios blow across the boy, which results in a downpour of cheerios that blanket the surrounding area. or something. at least they're also moist and disgusting. now there's an upside. and can anyone explain to me how a whole cheerio got into his diaper? while he was still wearing his onesie?!?

oh the joys of parenthood...

just a few

just a few spreads from the book. we're trying to get it out to the printer next week (would be this week, but i'm not sure how to set up the color management yet-blaarrgghh!)

there are things i would've changed or done differently if i were going to do this project again, but i think, on the whole, it looks just fine. i hope buyers think so too.

fundraisers for fall

i've been working for the past month (when not playing bejeweled blitz on facebook) on a couple of projects for some local non-profits. the first is the 2009 readathon for DDR. they've been having me produce a multitude of print materials for this event. i really hope it's a great success.

the second is a collaboration between the nature center at shaker lakes and the local motophoto. this is basically a non-profit project for me as well, but i hope it will be another chance to market my work to the community. so far i've designed this photo border that will be available to nature center members who have portraits taken by motophoto staff this fall.
they have also requested some 4" x 8" christmas card designs, which i'm still working on. i'll post some images for those soon (i hope).

on the move

alas, i had hoped to regale you with tales and lists of all the things that sammy's been up to this week, but as i'm trying to cross off the last vestiges of my to-do list before we hop in the car, there just isn't time for another list within a list.

we are off to see more grandparents this weekend. far be it for me to deprive anyone the company of my little monkey for too long, and more than a month is way too long (in my opinion).

speaking of monkeys...get a load of the boy using his bouncy chair as a jungle gym. go monkey go!