oh, the poor customer service people...

now, let me say that I realize that I am the exception and not the rule, but hear me out...

I just got an email from a custom-tshirt printing place that said "Don't Forget Mom Richardson this Mother's Day."

and guess what? I haven't had a Mom Richardson since I was 5.

I previously got an email from them encouraging me to make a tshirt for the Richardson Thanksgiving. Folks, I've been the only Richardson since 1999.

Are they going to encourage me to buy Dad Richardson a shirt at father's day? um, yeah, deceased.

I have a friend who has two moms. There are people out there with two dads. Or no mom. And though lots of families can safely be referred to by their last name, there are also many, many families who cannot be grouped as, say, "The Smiths." Half siblings, step-siblings, grandparents or siblings serving as parents, adoptions, etc. you get the idea.

I get that they are betting on the fact that if my last name is Richardson--whether I am male or female, married or not--that my mom or my spouse's mom probably has the last name Richardson. Statistically that used to be a safe bet. But now? Mmmmm...not so much.

um, so, yeah. since this was the 5th email I'd gotten from them in the past year that said something about "Richardson" that didn't exist, I called and talked to a nice customer service person. who, after I very kindly told him why I was calling, was actually quite distressed that none of the marketing people were available, because he just kept saying "you are VERY right" and "those are valid points--I can't believe we haven't gotten called about this before--or sued." I told him I wasn't angry or anything, but that I wanted to point it out because eventually they were likely to run into someone who WOULD get angry.

and because it was exclusionary. which is kiiiiiind of something I loathe.

I am so becoming my mother.

Also? Fun fact. I have placed three orders from this company. Two for a team called Toxic Waste and one for a team called Toxic Threat. And I've heard nada about either of THOSE teams. Nope. Just about my last name and the family members they assume I have. Ha!

you should probably go wash your hands before you read this.

because otherwise you will probably want to do so when you're done.

so, you guys know about BPA, right? also known as bisphenol A? not stuff you want to ingest, for sure. I mean, it's around, you kind of can't eliminate all exposure unless you're extremely careful, but overall...definitely something you want to avoid. particularly if you have little kiddos. we adults don't need to be so worried about it, but it can be pretty awful for the wee ones.

go read more about it here if you don't know about it...

and then? then check out this article. BPA on receipt paper? You have GOT to me kidding me. I mean, seriously? We've been making such a fuss about heating our rubbermaid containers, and it's on receipts? Which we get ALL the TIME? In quantities that are measured in MILLIGRAMS per receipt?? Grody.

and as a double whammy--we are cutting down trees, processing them, bleaching the hell out of that paper pulp, creating a lot of waste in the way we cut them, coating them with all sorts of chemicals (including the BPA) and then putting them all over our hands?

I am going to have to think about this and read more, but I had to share. I thought I was done, but then read about this on my blog reader, and shudder...

eco friendly earth day tip #3--use less receipts. the trees of the world AND the developing brains of children will thank you.

"all the riches, baby, don't bring what your love can bring..."

~gwen stefani

man, I haven't listened to that in for.ev.er. but today? today it's on my playlist. courtesy of renee. :)

so, another thing I wanted to talk to you about today was the reusable bag. I use them. constantly. Christmas 2007 Renee gave me a baggu. I had no idea those things existed, but I would try to either use as few bags as possible, bring a tote bag or go without a bag entirely.

Doing that was a help.
Using a reusable bag all the time was fantastic!

I have tried a bunch of brands--baggu, envirosax, skeeda, the lowes foods insulated one, the kroger wine bottle bag, and various ones that clip, fold and the like. string bags, produce bags, the gamut.

the important thing is that they all WORK.

I like my baggus when I have a smaller purse or we're putting them in Matt's pocket. Or when I'm carrying a lot of things because I think they are easiest when you have to carry multiple bags at a time.

(photo from baggu's website)

I like my envirosax because they are PRETTY! and I like to have them in my purse if I'm carrying a bigger one because they seem to be less confusing to cashiers (with my baggu they seem confused by the little pouch when I throw it in the bottom of the bag.

(photo from envirosax website)

I like my skeeda when I'm carrying something heavy, or that I'm going to need to be able to access. They make great car bags, too! and though I have not yet done so, you can have them monogrammed!

(photo from skeeda website)

and, in honor of earth day, you can get some pretty awesome deals...

like at baggu, if you enter the code "earth10" you get free shipping!

and if you go to reusablebags.com you can get a free bag by entering the code EDAYFREE.

and at skeeda, by making a purchase you get a free one of their olive bags--no coupon required! so though I own the "eggshell" and "peony," today I ordered the "tangerine" too--and I will be giving away my free one! yay for GIVEAWAYS!

to have a chance to win, comment on this blog with something you are doing (or did) for earth day/month. you have until April 30th to comment! you can comment as many times as you like, but each comment must be about something different you did! :)

ps: now slim shady is playing. seriously, gwen stefani, the hand jive song from grease, now slim shady. I love this playlist!

happy earth day!

you might see a slew of posts from me today--we shall see. I am entering Maria's contest (you should too!) but I also have been saving up a lot of posts, too!

so, not to sound all high and mighty (I'm not, pinkie swear!) but I feel like I'm pretty well informed about all things environmental. I read, I learn, I'm an environmental engineer for a living. It's not often that someone can tell me about an idea or concept that's totally new to me unless it's, well, totally new to everyone.

that said: for our wedding we registered for this book. In the PREFACE--yes, within the first like 3 pages of the book--it made me aware of something I had never considered. you ready for it?

well, you might've heard me (or someone else) tell you the importance of eating local. carbon emissions, local economy and whatnot.

and then that is always quickly followed with the suggestion of eating organic. local first, then organic. there's like a 90% chance your local food is essentially organic anyway (and by that I mean they only use pesticides if their crops are actually threatened--and even then it's generally one that is natural or less scary for people. but I digress.)

so, new factoid I had never considered:

cook your food as quickly as possible.

huh?

okay, let's say you have two recipes--both call for identical ingredients. chicken, some veggies, some seasoning, a little bit of oil. something like that. one requires 10 minutes to cook. one requires 45 minutes to cook. perhaps it's the difference between a sauteed dish and a baked dish.

well, guess what? that extra 35 minutes of energy required to cook meal #2? yep--not as eco friendly.

now, take this with a grain of salt. obviously if it's winter and you're using the oven and you leave it open afterward to release the heat into your house and warm it up, you're re-purposing that energy and then it's not the same thing. but it's just something to keep in mind!

that's earth day tip #1. I'm hoping to get to share more with you today, we'll see how it goes :D

such a tease...

I know, I know...

but...Matt and I are MARRIED!

it rained pretty much all day on our wedding BUT it SO perfect, and we even got to take a few outside pictures in the spitting o' the sky, and the pastor was awesome, and Matt laughed in the way that is my very very favorite, and everything came together, and I looked quite dashing if I do say so myself, and we did not run out of beer, and per usual (ask any of our friends) Matt and I closed down the party. :)

Nicole and Becki did INCREDIBLE jobs and I can't wait to see all the rest of their images. Someone said it looked like a magazine it was so well put together. My cousin Kim, who is a well-seasoned event planner, was hugely impressed by all of the detail for our weddings, everyone pitched in and I have never felt so loved in my entire life.

and my being stressed only manifested itself in needing quiet and a lack of compliments, so considering bridal tales I've heard, I feel like I did a pretty good job.

there will be a bajillion pictures to share soon, but here is our favorite one we've seen thus far, taken by nicole :)


and one of the barn during our ceremony--also by nicole.

and now, it is nap time. saturday night we slept ~7 hours. sunday we cleaned and returned borrowed items all day, and only got ~5.5 hours of sleep, plus naps on the plane. and last night I slept for TWELVE hours. and I'm about to take a nap. and then I plan on going to bed early :) I am definitely playing catch-up, and I am pleased as punch about having the opportunity!

more wedding deets to follow...

"getting so much [closer] all the time--it's getting [closer] all the time..."

~the beatles

which is appropriate because a) I love them
b) we are playing some beatles during our ceremony
c) my friend ariel had her baby and they named their son jude!

so. I am in the "home stretch" as they say. And if I have one more male make a joke about how girls get so caught up in such and such I will probably grab my craft scissors and GIVE them that bad haircut I always wish on jerky people. Yeesh!

we had a really awesome Easter--we spent it at Christy's house again! Yummy food and splendid company--win-win. And no tattoo this year BUT I'm pretty sure I'll be holding Jen to it next year and we'll both go get one on good friday!

and ranunculus are in SEASON! I bought them at the farmer's market for the first time this year on saturday. I cannot WAIT to see how fantastic they look at my wedding. Jan is going to do amazing things!

oh and I have decided something--I have had like eight people ask me "so, who is your wedding designer" or "who planned your wedding" or "who is responsible for the whole look of your wedding--who did you hire?" And I have decided the answer to that question is as follows:

ME.

I am my own wedding designer. And my own wedding planner. And I am responsible for the look of my wedding! My florist absolutely gets 110% of the credit for all of the floral elements, of course, but I selected the ranunuculus, and I found the tablecloths, and I made the little touches that I'm not supposed to tell you about yet but just you wait--they're gonna rock your socks! :) I cannot freaking wait to show you pictures!

anyhoo. I apologize for the rant. But it's kind of the same kind of thing where, say, a person thinks that it's the camera that takes the nice photograph, not the user. It's like giving Photoshop or Lightroom full credit for the designer's work. Or saying that Picasso only painted so well due to his medium and supplies. Hogwash!

following up on my rant-y-ness are these beauties. something about this picture makes me want to print it huge on canvas and hang it up in my house. I'll put more up on my photography blog and site because I'm just LOVING the ranunculus this year. I am going to enjoy them for as long as I possibly can :)

oh yeah, and speaking of weddings--I booked two more this week! I am kind of loving how they are all spread out for hte most part, too!

I now have
one in april, the week after my wedding
two in june
none in july--but it's honeymoon time, so that works out perfectly!
one in august
two in september
and a billion in october. okay, no, three in october. and my 30th bday. and I'm second-shooting for Nicole.

yikeies. but overall, quite pleased! I am now at nine for the year plus second-shooting, so I'll take it!

and, one final question about that dang guest book: would it be so horrible if I just didn't have one? I haven't asked Matt this question, so I don't know if he has strong feelings about not having one at all...but I'm kind of thinking about just not doing it. We will see. Ladies who have been married--will I totally regret this some day? let me know, okay?

more soon (hopefully!)

and I thought I loved you then

~brad paisley

Matt and I are feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. Our wedding is in THREE weeks. in twenty two days and less than an hour, our ceremony will commence. and I absolutely can't wait for it to get here.

our house is littered with boxes and scraps of paper and fabric. I have been sewing and cutting and rolling and who knows what else! though the process is a bit crazy, I really think it'll be worth it. :)

I need a suggestion of what to do for our guest book. I have some ideas, but I know that I want to do something that we can put on a shelf and display and SEE. I have no interest in doing an actual book of any sort--I think they are super cute, but I know that Matt and I will rarely take the time to look through it.

Maybe I will just play around with it this weekend. I was considering painting a flower on a canvas and asking people to sign the petals. (and having my bridesfolk sign beforehand so people would get the idea).

but I don't know....

suggestions?

I am sure I will figure something else.

Our plans for this evening got canceled--which makes me kind of happy, honestly! Though I was looking forward to the double date, I'm also pleased for the down time! AND this weekend is Earth Hour--I haven't gotten to tell you about it like I normally would, but all you have to do to participate in it is this:

tomorrow night, at 830pm, turn off all unnecessary lights. if you're feeling really dedicated, turn off ALL your lights. maybe sit outside. or inside with some candles. maybe just keep watching your movie, but make sure your lights are all off. including the one in the bathroom or on your front porch.

why?

because together we can make a difference.
together we can use less energy and stop using up all of our natural resources.
and together we can make a change for the better.

from their site:

On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations. Learn more about how Earth Hour began, what we’ve accomplished, and what is in store for 2010.

check it out.
then tomorrow, turn off your lights.
and make a statement about wanting our world to still be in good shape when our grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great^8-grandchildren are living on it.

we've decided we're going to have to eighty-six the thirty-six once we get to thirty-seven.

chew on that for a minute.

chewing?

okay.

so, yesterday was Matt and my 3 year anniversary. here's one. and two. and this? this is three. :)

Matt likes to give things that represent something. This time, he chose 36. 3x12=36. :) He gave me practical things, like kleenex packets and supercute cocktail napkins. He gave me some gorgeous flowers, a card that says silly things when you open it and some junior mints. And some pajama pants. And 20 double A rechargeable batteries--which I am super excited about! But most importantly, he gave me love. and time with him. and that is all I could have asked for in the world. :)

We went out to dinner at Brixx because, sadly, that Uno's we visited on our first date is now closed for business. As a matter of fact, it closed last sunday. And as of yesterday at 4pm, it is now open as a Mason's Chophouse. I have no idea if they're any good, but I am sure we will find out. We did our usual at Brixx--splitting a salad and a pizza--and also signed up for their newest MBA (Master of Beer Appreciation) program. AND I got to have the seasonal New Belgium beer--Mighty Arrow. Pretty yummy pale ale!

We came home and opened gifts and watched Smallville together (SO appropriate--we watched it after he proposed, too!) and then went to sleep.

Oh, but not before we had this super delicious amazing cupcake. My dearest friend and gal o' honor (just kidding, maid of honor) Jennifer gave it to us to celebrate. It was this chocolate guinness deliciousness that I didn't even remember to take a picture of--but BOY was it GOOD! She said it was also a test run for a month from now! EEKS! A.MONTH.FROM.NOW. !

ahem, anyway! It was SO scrumptious that even Gobi and Hazel were vying for a piece of it. I shared the teeeeensiest bit of icing with them, and they ate it right up and wanted more! So good! A wonderful way to cap off a great anniversary celebration. :)

oh, and about eighty-sixing the thirty-six once we get to thirty-seven...we talked about it, and though we will always recognize St Patty's day, for the sake of our future kiddos we will be re-starting the clock on our 37th monthiversary, which is the day we'll get married. We can always add 37 and remember. But we'll start over then to avoid confusion. :D which if you're saying "duh!" well--that's how you do things. it's not what we had intended, but it's what we're gonna do :)

and ps: a heartfelt thanks to matt's parents for being his inspiration for our monthiversary celebrating! they're at somewhere in the 480s for their monthiversaries! (sorry, too rushed to count it all out!) but anyway--cute, huh?

perhaps I am barking up the wrong tree?

um, maybe I should be an architecture photographer. like, in life.

because three of the four times I've gotten a ribbon? yep, you guessed it--for my architecture photos! including today!


this photo got honorable mention in architecture!!


fun facts:
this was in new york city.
I took this from a moving vehicle.
with a point and shoot.
while we drove down west street.
right after we drove through the holland tunnel.
on the day we got engaged.

:)

"alllllll the pretty girls on a saturday night!"

~fun.

right, so...hi there. long time no post. I know. I know. I have been sick. 1

um, so, yeah. the last weekend of february I went to LA. I need to post about that.

and then the next weekend I had a LOT of awesome ladies and one awesome guy hang out with me to celebrate my bachelorette!

there are many, many pictures. most of which are not for public consumption :) but fortunately, some are.

here's all the girls



and some of the pics that were captured on my camera...



fun facts of the night:

I got
-enough lingerie that I could probably wear a new pair of underwear every day for a MONTH!
-a free Triangle Belgian beer
-a candom (which is a koozie that rolls on like a condom) for She's Out of My League
-a tshirt for Matt, for the movie She's Out of My League
-four plastic cups for She's Out of My League
-buttons to give to my friends for She's Out of My League
-a shot called choke a b*tch that nearly made me vomit on the spot
-a pair of socks

and assorted other craziness.

It was awesome!!! I was kiiiiiinda nervous because someone accidentally told me something I wasn't supposed to know--and though I stopped them right away, the part I did hear made me think I was going to get roasted that night. Which, though there aren't that many ridiculous stories of me, might've been highly embarrassing. I have been roasted once, in college, and I gotta tell ya, it isn't fun, even if your stories aren't all that crazy. In any case, stressed Carrie=anxious Carrie=not rational Carrie.

However!!!!

Of course my friends are way too cool to roast me! Silly Carrie! Instead they got my girlfriends to share funny or cute or silly stories about us. Stories about adjectives at softball games and one-legged men and guinness and baby boys and when matt and I met and pirouettes and the answer to the question: "ice cream or beer?" It was awesome! I had to guess who wrote the story, and then was given a card of something I had to do at a bar. Those cards are responsible for some shenanigans, for sure, including that free Triangle Belgium beer!

they also asked matt a bunch of questions and taped the question and answer to gifts around my house. my girlfriends had to ask me questions and if I got it right I got the gift! the funniest one was about what animal I would be, according to matt.

his answer: a fraggle, lives out of the sun and is constantly bursting into song or an owl, symbol of intelligence and more known for being out when there is no sun or a cat, always wants to take a short nap and picky about what they eat or a polar bear, white in appearance, always cold, and not something you want to piss off or a butterfly, beautiful and attracted to flowers

ha!

there was also a sweet question about where he saw us in 20 years. in a house, probably with two cats (unfortunately) and with me a little sad and matt consoling me because our first child had gone off to college. it still makes me a little teary to think about that one!

after visiting the two bars we came back to my house, hung out for a little bit, and then went to sleep. and in the morning I woke up ridiculously early but was NOT hung over, which I consider an accomplishment. I even made people breakfast burritos in the morning. And we had coffee from my scary coffee pot, which will be gone from my home ASAP.

I'm not at liberty to divulge the little I know about Matt's bachelor party, BUT, I do get to show you a picture of us both on Sunday! are we cute or what?



all in all=AMAZING SUCCESS! I have such incredible friends! And they are so creative!! Can you tell I had a great time? :)

signs I should probably sleep more:

-in the past two hours I have said winter when I meant summer. I said Tuesday instead of Saturday. I was unable to effectively communicate that I feel like I have a sinus infection.

-yesterday I sent an email to my future brother in law and sister in law. er, um, intended to. instead I sent it to my future father in law and sister in law. oopsie. granted, they have the same names, but this is like the third time I made that mistake.

-this morning I picked up the same gray shirt three times. each time thinking "oh, maybe this is it!" yep, the same WRONG shirt each time. hence me wearing light blue today.

-I came thiiiis close to setting my alarm for PM. I also stepped on both Gobi and Hazel last night.

and, unrelated to sleep: I find myself wishing very, very often that I had a cute, lightweight, medium-to-charcoal gray scarf. I thought etsy would help me with this. I've yet to find one. maybe ruffled/ruched/bunched? suggestions welcome and appreciated. :)

I don't have a wedding inspiration board...

but I do have some ideas that have been floating around in my head. :)

I want our wedding to be fun. And eco-friendly. And be like a party and not like a stuffy, formal to-do. I want it to be colorful and vintage, old-fashioned and modern, country and fancy at the same time. And I think we're gonna hit the mark spot-on. And I can't wait!

I took these three of these pictures intending to put together an "inspiration board." That never really happened. The 4th picture, the one of the flower, I took at Renee's house almost exactly a year ago. (actually, like a year and two days ago!) I decided that I wanted to share them with you, because they make me happy.


and check out that glass! I loooooove pretty glass. and some of those pieces have special places in my heart--like the compote we got in alabama, or the center one that came from renee's wedding, or the little brighter green dish that belonged to my granny. Everything in that picture except, of course, the beer bottles, reside in my china cabinet, which is probably my favorite piece of furniture in my whole house. :)

anyhoo, pretty pictures for your wednesday.

"I'm so excited, I'm so scared!"

~saved by the bell.

It's okay, no diet pills, heavy caffeine intake, over-exercising or the like here. but that IS how I feel about my wedding.

I am not anxious about the part involving marrying Matt. I'm pretty dang excited about that :) But I am worried that, say, my granny will be having a bad day during that week and take it out on me. Or that at the last moment I'll realize we forgot something very important. Or that my Oklahoma allergies will flare up.

you'll notice that these are all things entirely out of my control. and it's not like I'm sitting over here biting off my nails and freaking out--but I'm just kind of worried. I'm not even worried about the weather--if it rains, it rains. If it does, we get married in the barn. If it doesn't, we get married by the lake. Our tent has sidewalls, it's all good. But I can't prepare myself for emotional onslaughts or broken favors or allergy attacks. So in 54 days, please send good vibes my way. :)

Also, I need a suggestion--I need to find someone to serve as a kind of coordinator that day. I had someone, but now they are unable to make it. And I have a backup, but she's not totally comfortable with that role. Really, I just need someone to tell the food people where to put the food, and the boyscouts where to put the chairs. And, um, yeah, that's probably it. I'm working on a detailed "list" of where everything should be, but really I just need someone else to be in the know so I don't have to think about it that day. I also don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on a day-of coordinator (and wouldn't know who to go to, anyway). Ideas? Suggestions? I just don't want to spend the whole day answering questions.

anyhoodle. now that I've gotten the scared part out...here are my exciting things:

1. Tomorrow my KD gals are throwing me a shower. I am SO excited! I love them so much!! And it is always refreshing and uplifting to spend time with my sisters. :)

2. I go to California on FRIDAY! It's SJG's birthday, and his one birthday request was for me to be there. yeeehaw!

3. the following weekend is my bachelorette! I am kind of nervous about getting my house in order, but all in all, I am EXCITED! There are going to be 20-some-odd of us, and people are coming in from Oklahoma, Virginia, Georgia and California! Woohoo! It should be a TON of fun! And I will get to see George and Tonya AND we are going to see Alice in Wonderland on Sunday. Win, win, win!

4. Matt and I finally booked our tickets for Tulsa. I'm there Tuesday night-Monday morning! (Anyone want to meet for dinner on Tuesday?) And Matt gets there Wednesday and also leaves Monday. Double bonus--when I went to book the tickets were $25 less than they had been when I reserved them!

5. Two weekends after that is our St. Patty's Day themed shower, and I am really excited about that too! and how cute is it that it's going to be St. Patty's Day themed because that's when we met? Speaking of which, earlier that week we will celebrate 3 years of awesomeness. :)

6. A week and a half after that we'll have our engagement pictures. The ones that we won. SO cool! SO looking forward to it. I'm getting my hair styled that day (the lady who did it for me this weekend ROCKS), and we are going to be CUTE! And our photographer is totally amazing. Truth be told, I'm also really excited that she's from California because it means she and I aren't "competing" for the same clients. I mean, not that I'd poach clients or anything, but it's kind of nice that she isn't having to worry that I'll steal her location or whatever.

7. and then? then it will be APRIL! And Easter! And then we leave for Tulsa, get our license and get hitched! I am excited about all of the little details we'll have, and how much fun out wedding will be. That's our number one priority. I cannot believe it's only 54 days away! :)

why I don't like february. aka ten years ago today

sorry in advance for the melancholy, folks.

so, if you haven't caught on, or haven't been reading for a while, you might not know that I don't like february. I never really thought about the month as anything other than cold and the month o' valentine's day until ten years ago. And now, particularly on this day, I remember my father. and his passing.

I could write an entire novel full of unfortunate errors and well meaning actions and just plain old horrible recollections, but that's not the point. Dwelling on the past won't make it go away. Those wounds have scarred over and since scar tissue is even stronger than skin, I won't be breaking into them. I remember my dad as someone well-meaning and who wanted to do his best for his children, but didn't have the capacity to do it. And I'm certain the beginning early-onset Alzheimer's wasn't helpful. But I remember, and I KNOW that his heart was in the right place.

When he passed away he had already been kind of living on "borrowed time." During my senior year he got really really sick and was ultimately put on life support. I was his "next of kin" and therefore supposed to sign the papers to take him off. (he had a DNR and was put on a ventilator and I don't even know what else before they could ID him). Eighteen-year-olds should not have to make decisions like that. I waived my rights and transferred power to my Aunt Candi, who left him on despite his wishes. He got worse and was actually declared dead, but when they put him on the gurney his heart started beating again. He had a toe tag and everything. But he lived for a year and two months after that!

In January and February of 2000 my father had moved close to campus to "be near me." Except to me that really felt like "annoy the heck out of me." He would call. He would show up at the entrance to my dorm. He would get upset when I couldn't or wouldn't call him back. I met him for dinner a couple of times, always at a public place and always somewhere cheap because I would inevitably end up paying. We went to Wendy's a lot. When he passed away I'd seen him about three and a half weeks before, and we'd eaten at Wendy's. I made my boyfriend at the time come with me. He had called me four days earlier and I hadn't returned his call yet.

All this makes it sound like maybe I shouldn't miss him, and most of the time I just remember the good things and don't actually find myself wishing he was still here--I just wish I could've told him a few things. But sometimes I really, really do. The first time I ever genuinely wished he were still here with all my heart was when I got married before. It wasn't that I wanted him to walk me down the aisle or give a toast. I wanted him to dance. Because MAN could he cut a rug! When I was younger we used to hang out while he practiced. I will never hear "Old Time Rock and Roll" without thinking of him. Which perhaps as a little tribute, we'll have to play at our wedding reception. :) But anyway, when it came time for the father-daughter dance, I realized how much I wished my Daddy could've been there dancing with me. It still makes me tear up thinking of it.

Now, ten years later, I'm "officially" educated and a mortgage-payer and I've really come into my own, so to speak, and I feel like I see him all the time. I see him in my stubbornness, I see him in my loud nature, I see him in the way I can chat up a complete stranger.

and it makes me smile.

So I guess today I just wanted to remember my father, and be grateful for some of the traits he gave me (and remind myself that even the less desirable ones come in handy sometimes). And be thankful. Thankful that I knew him, thankful that I know he loved me the very best he could, and thankful for his influences in my life and the lessons he taught me. Like how it's my choice to be angry, I can't blame that one someone else. And how if you call yourself the same thing enough times you will become it (which is why he refused to allow Anna to call herself stupid). And how it's okay to be a little mean when you play the game, because though the "it's how you play the game" is totally the most important part, winning is pretty awesome. :)

I think I'll end on the positive note. and be thankful that february is almost over. :)

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

or in this case, Hazel. :) she freaking loves this little torn up slightly furry magenta thing formerly known as a mouse-shaped cat toy. I was cleaning things out recently and found this in the container with some of my warmer-weather shoes, and hazel has been going nuts over this toy ever since. I mean, clearly she loved it before (it already looked like this) but she has been playing fetch and playing fetch and playing fetch and entertaining herself with it. it is pretty cute.

and speaking of pretty cute: for valentine's matt cooked me dinner, we drank strawberry champagne and we watched Love Actually. And after the movie, while we watched smallville, I edited photos. Matt also got me THREE things of Chocolate. One of them is making a cameo in the picture of Hazel's toy! But anyway, while we watched smallville, things looked kind of like this:

Check out the Gobes--he came down off his usual perch on the back of the couch and sat ON my arm. It was pretty adorable until my arm started falling asleep. But he was SO comfy. And snuggly. And warm. And I liked it. :)

and then I when I got up Matt captured something else pretty adorable. see hazel and Gobi, standing guard outside of the restroom door? Yep, they were waiting on me, and they just stood there, waiting until I came out to cuddle some more. It's like I've got two little shadows, and it makes me smile :)

oh yeah, and speaking of things that make me smile:

1. new business cards and marketing material!! sorry if you're seeing these for the second time--they were on my photography blog too. I have really enjoyed using the ones that bak made me a few years ago, but I finally got through all 500 of them, and it was time for ones with accurate info :) I am also quite pleased because I designed them all by myself. :)

2. matt.

oh, wait, you want more elaboration, huh? well, Matt and I took a trip to Ikea on our way back from Atlanta to see Mike and Renee Superbowl Weekend, (and we got this awesome shelf in walnut, and it now resides in our living room!), and Matt was suuuuuper patient. Like, super-dee-duper amazingly patient. Even when it took half an hour to get some fabric cut. And even when I wanted to look at frames after that. He totally wins a gold medal. Anyway, so we're waiting in the check-out line, looking at all the "buy me! buy me!" items, and we see these.

we look at them. we look at each other. we realize we are both thinking the same thing. we buy them immediately and declare that it might be four of the best dollars we've ever spent.

and later that night at lara and kevin's superbowl party, we had the pleasure of putting them to use. :)

seeking your opinion...

It's time for my company's annual photo contest! I have always found your feedback so very helpful--would you mind helping me out again? I get to enter 5 images. This year I seem to be tending towards the "misc" category. There are actually 5 possible categories--well, 6 really, but 5 I qualify to enter. People, Nature, Landscape, Architecture and Misc.

Would you please tell me which one(s) you like best? Feel free to say 1 or 7 or any number you like! I really appreciate your help!

1 2 3


4 5 6


7 8


9 10


11 12


13 14


15 16

17 18

19 20

21 22

Oh yeah, and in case you are curious--I felt that if I was actually hired and paid to do the work, it wasn't appropriate for me to enter it in the contest. It's just not in the spirit of the event!

I will be placing my order on Thursday, so if you have a moment before then I'd appreciate it! thanks, friends!

"don't, don't you worry, about the atmosphere , or any sudden pressure change, cause i know that it's starting to get warm in here and things..."

are starting to get strange.

~andrew bird

my friend sjg put up this link on his twitter. it's full of cartoons mocking al gore and the "theory" or global warming. and it frustrates the heck out of me.

dear people of the world who, I am assuming, don't ever bother to read the fine print:

(or for that matter, anything but headlines). Or, assuming you did read it, or didn't care to read it, or just don't know...well...Global warming does NOT mean that we are going to have 365 days of hot hot summer every year. It does not mean we won't have seasons. It does not mean it will not get cold.

As a matter of fact? The reason it's so important that we do what we can to stop global warming is actually quite simple--we have gotten our eco-balance all out of whack. Record highs and record snows all in a year, hmm? It's like if you're playing jenga and you slowly take away all but one of the blocks from the bottom 5 rows. yeah, yeah, it's gonna balance for a while. and then it's going to sway some. maybe everything will rotate one way or the other, away from the original orientation.

and then the tiniest nudge is going to be what brings down the house.

With this in mind, the cartoons are actually pretty funny :)

love,

Carrie

ps: this one is one of my favorites. (And the source is listed on the bottom of the comic)

"whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul."

~horatio spafford

I have been feeling pretty freakin' emotionally overwhelmed recently. Not oh-my-gosh-there-aren't-enough-hours-in-the-day overwhelmed, but like there just keeps on being thing after thing that is upsetting or frustrating or hurtful.

and it is totally getting the best of me.

and yeah, yeah, blah blah my problems are small in the grand scheme yada blah. I know that. but as I explained to someone else (on a very different topic) it's like when your arm is bruised and someone touches it and hurts. farrrr more than it would normally. because you are already bruised. yep, that.

so instead of trying to talk myself into thinking about the grand scheme of things, or whatever, I will just remember "it is well, with my soul."

on an unrelated-ish note (except that it's all the lenten music that got me thinking...)--I am seriously considering giving up the word "like" for Lent. As in "I was like, blah blah blah." we'll see. I've just noticed myself saying that more and I don't like it!

oh, and last fun story. guess who has two thumbs and got a prescription for an epi pen today? yep, this kid!

I got my first vial of allergy drops (for under-the-tongue use!) and with them came a prescription for an epi pen! woohoo!

oh wait and one more. guess who FINALLY refunded my money. yep, the lady who sold me this. two months after I bought it, one month after it arrived and three weeks after I returned it to her, I FINALLY have my money back. minus shipping charges, which I think is pretty crappy considering that she mis-listed the dress and I'm out on shipping twice, but fine, whatever. I am just relieved to have a dress to wear that fits (I bought one, I think I mentioned that!) and glad to be done with the other lady. whew!

tomorrow's post will have pictures. :)

today I have consumed

1 granola bar.
1 to-go cup of coffee.
3.5 glasses of orange juice. (I couldn't get enough!)
1 bowl of wayne's.
1 container o' yogurt.
1 can of original coca-cola.
3 gaiam bottles of water
and a 100 calorie pack of sour patch kids.

I do not usually eat like this. I'm kind of grossed out by today's menu. But at the same time, I feel like I might just scream at the next person who asks me to do something for this proposal. sooooooo I will just be thankful that I have eaten, because otherwise I do think I would've become a really scary monster. just fyi.

oh yeah, my pantry

on new year's day I went on a little cleaning kick. also known as "I attacked my pantry." this is what it looked like. things falling over, digging though to get what we needed and basically a wreck. we'd just shut the door when people came over and pretend like it didn't exist.

but I had had ENOUGH! soI took out everything, I checked all the expiration dates, I sorted by type (baking, dinner, canned fruits, extra staples, etc) and then put it all back in.



It is WAY more functional now! And I can SEE things and FIND them.

Carrie=happy.

:)