mixing business with pleasure

I thought I'd share a few of my little creations with you... to see more, check out my etsy listings at http://www.etsy.com/shop/loopdelou82?ref=pr_shop_more. there's not a ton, but these are just a couple of halloween things that I've come up with for myself and thought maybe there's someone else out there who would like one or some as well.

trash talk

so i was going to play the sympathy card and tell you that this last move to georgia was our 7th move in 7 years of marriage. i was also going to tell you that we moved 75% of our belongings into a storage unit and 20% of our belongings into a hotel and the trunks of our cars (like you, i would like to know where the remaining 5% of my things are). i was also going to tell you that annie has been sleeping in a bathroom for the past week. i was also going to tell you that we finally found a place that would allow us to sign a short-term lease for 3-months and last friday, spur of the moment, we decided to move from the hotel into an apartment (i guess we can put another tally on the moving count). then, in 99* temps, 99% humidity, and with annie in a hiking pack, kevin and i (ok, mostly kevin) moved 60% of our stuff from the storage unit down flights of stairs into our apartment. So...we now have 15% still in storage, 75% in our apartment, and we are up to 10% now missing. i was also going to tell you that my all-time favorite possession--an awesome platter from crate and barrel--was shattered to pieces and our nice bedroom furniture was scratched and dented in the moving process. i was also going to tell you that we don't have a microwave because we got rid of ours 2 years ago and now this apartment doesn't have one. i was also going to tell you that my iron is somewhere in storage (or perhaps missing) and that today at church i was one big ball of wrinkles (and i didn't pull it off).

i was going to tell you all of these things to draw some sort of sympathy from you...but i won't.

during our 2nd round of unpacking kevin thought we should just keep everything wrapped up and protected--mainly the kitchen table and chairs (towels, blankets, bubble wrap and all, tightly held together by layers of saran wrap). i told kevin that we were officially white-trash. kevin hurried to my side, looked deeply into my eyes and comforted me with "baby, we're just transitional-trash, and our day will come" (kevin is the lemonade maker in our family). then our moment was over and we went back to reinforcing our plastic-wrapped furniture.

So! for those still reading...i say

"who cares that we squeak when we eat, and sweat when we sit?"

"who cares that i've smelled and sweated like a man for the past week because my deodorant is part of the 10% of missing items?"

"who cares that we eat our applesauce and yogurt with our fingers, and we strip annie down to her diaper every time she eats because we can't find a bib?"

"who cares that we had to bring home and wash one cheap plastic knife and spork from our church bbq just so we had something to eat with (and pass the spork back and forth during dinner because we only thought to get 1)?"

and "who cares that we conveniently go to costco right around lunch time just to get the free samples and call it lunch?"

why? because our trash status is temporary and we get to do this all over again in a few months.

despite the non-complaining that i am doing and the sizzling temps here in hot-lanta, we are cool as ice (see pic. below), happy, and loving this beautiful part of the country.

i'm happy because today i have returned to my femine smelling ways.

kevin is happy because he no longer has to pee in a bottle.

annie is happy because her sleeping arrangements have upgraded from the bathroom to a closet.

peace and love from atl.

nothing says bernhisel reunion like...

sleep deprivation and a round robin of vomiting.

fortunately for us, however, the sleep deprivation part came as a result of small-town parades, birthday bashes, hikes, alpine slides, late night funny videos, a zoo trip, failed fireworks, sprints down the driveway, and much much more.

thanks for coming to see us uncle benj!

grandma and grandpa great with all the kiddos

pizza always tastes better shirtless.

unfortunately for us...nothing good came out of the vomiting part.

here's that optimism you've been waiting for

top 10:

10) this girl eats about anything...

including olives previously dipped in her ears

9) grandma and grandpa ballard came to visit!

8) grandma and grandpa ballard came to visit!

7) grandma and grandpa ballard came to visit!

6) grandma and grandpa ballard came to visit!

5) grandpa ballard bought little miss a turtle from the aquarium and she has not stopped saying "turtle" since. you just have to hear this girl say "turtle" and it would be on your top ten as well.

4) kevin graduated!

3) kevin graduated!

2) annie survived the ceremonies! and got a little crazy...

1) kevin got a job and we're going to.....

ATLANTA, GA!!!!!!!

that's right ya'll.

not top 10

10. little miss can now unscrew lids. i guess no more clorox and toilet cleaners for toys.

9. kevin has wanted a pair of "chill" athletic shoes for quite sometime now, so

with a pocketful of graduation money, we hit the mall. we went to dick's and immediately he fell in love with this one pair of nike shoes. he was ooing and ahhing and asked one employee if he could get him a size 10. the guy looks at kevin and says

"dude, those are lady shoes". i laughed. a lot.

8. the only pictures i seem to capture of little miss these days are extreme close ups seconds before she mauls the camera or of her running away so i can't take one of her. and her thinking she is so funny.

7. at church last week, kevin got up to take annie out (who was being quite loud)

and his whole bum was wet. and he didn't know it. i was laughing too hard

to say anything to him before he was out of whispering reach and then he was gone.

i'm sure fellow congregants were wondering about his incontinence status.

annie had been playing with wipes and left them on the bench,

only to be sat upon by kevin unknowingly.

6. linus, i mean, annie refuses to separate from her blanket, or her "nee-nee" as she calls it. this picture doesn't do the filth and blackness justice. i either have to secretly wash her blanket while she is distracted or have her watch her blanket in the washer until she gets bored.

5. i wanted to make little miss a dress for kev's graduation this saturday, so i did. the only problem was the pattern only went to a 12 mo. size so i improvised and did my own measurements for an 18 mo. size. it is gigantic on her and won't work. it took a lot of time and now she'll just have to wear something already in her closet. terrible, i know.

4. annie prefers dog and cat food to human food. at least it's filled with fiber.

3. speaking of incontinence...annie did a little naked escape after her bath and came and plopped her little cheeks right in my lap. not 2 seconds later i felt wet and warm. thanks, girl.

2. annie just discovered walter the farting dog. enough said.

1. kevin ran over lucy with the car and she's still alive. i'll let you determine which part of that statement qualifies this for a "NOT top 10".

stay tuned for a little optimism. next week: "top 10"

we're number one!

or maybe that's just how old one of us is...

RoboCop anyone?

only a grandma would use up her pretty packaging tape

to appease the naggings of a 16 month old.

go ahead. try not to smile at that cute face...

and smile at annie's while you're at it. just kidding.

i made this dress for little miss a while ago and

finally got somewhat of a decent picture of it.