.::still blinking::.

Aren’t these gorgeous? They look like frozen hearts sitting on glass pedestals.

They are early inhabitants of an area near Antarctica that has been disturbed by an iceberg and are called tunicates. “Australia’s Aurora Australis and collaborating vessels L’Astrolabe (France) and Umitaka Maru (Japan) have returned from the Southern Ocean, their decks overflowing with a vast array of ocean life including a number of previously unknown species collected from the cold waters near the East Antarctic land mass.”

Read the entire article and view all the pictures here.

Isn’t this beautiful. It is the inside of a little crooked house. All angles, beautiful lighting and architectural detail, just a few of my favorite things. View the rest of the home at TNA.

As part of the greening up of my home, I have started switching to green products as I run out of their environmentally unfriendly counterparts. I have made several switches lately and am pretty happy and feeling the good karma of doing good for the Earth.

I think the turning point for me was when I finished watching the Planet Earth Series on DVD, which are gorgeous and amazing. At the end, there is a small documentary about protecting out Earth and the effects of the things we use everyday on the environment. Really, I had no idea what was going on. There was a total disconnect between the chemicals I use everyday and the way they wash out of my house, into rivers and finally into the oceans.

So, here are my latest attempts at saving the world.

I just switched to Wintree Laundry Deteregent, which you can get at Costco. It cleans my clothes spectacularly and smells like Heaven on a sunny day. I like it more than any other laundry detergent I have used, and I cannot keep my face out of the laundry while I am folding it.

I also recently found CleanWell via Ohdeedoh. CleanWell is an all-natural hand sanitizer with Ingenium – a formulation of essential herb plant oils that is renewable. There’s no alcohol in CleanWell but it kills 99.99% of germs naturally. It’s now a staple in our diaper bag – a squirt or two after a round on the playground when no soap and water is in sight. We like that CleanWell doesn’t make your skin feel dry and it has a great citrus herb scent. You can get it at Target. It also appeals to the little designer that lives inside of me, with its visually simple layout and package design.

As I try out other products I will let you know what I think.

For about 10 years I have been having dreams where I have to strategically run out of my house as fast as I can. I am being chased and I don’t want my follower to know where I am going. So I do a lot of running behind things, around houses, not corners.

I am always running from someone, not always the same someone. These dreams progress and end differently, but always are the same in that I am trying to escape, and I will do anything to get away.

I think I finally figured out who I am running from, it is not jj. I mean, obviously. In last nights dream this person came to my house and would not leave. I went to the neighbors after I was completely weirded out by the intruder and called the police.

In my everyday wakeful mind, I have played this out several times. What if the person comes over and wants to have the talk and I will not let them in? What if things get out of hand?

I would protect myself and my family.

I would.

My dreams have always been very repetitive and very true to life. I have dreamed things that have actually happened, I have dreamed things that have been little formulas to be worked on and figured out. But my dreams are always spot on. I trust my subconscious dreams as if they are a dear friend with only my best interest at heart.

I must be trying to work this one out as well, however, I think I have come to my conclusion. If the situation ever arises, I know what I will do.

:: mary poppins :: julie andrews beautiful voice :: her incredible ability to intrigue a toddler for a few hours so I could nap ::

:: the beautiful colors and cute styles of their clothing :: the cute scenery :: kind of like living in a land of cupcakes ::

:: this cute illustration ::

:: reminders of childhood :: also of this blog, this blog, and this one ::

jj loves me.

Happy Valentine’s to you all. Thanks for reading!

starting to look like this outside. sinister and feeling a little like the grinch.

yesterday was warm enough for us to go out and walk around the neighborhood. the boy stood on every miniature snow hill on one of the long stretches of road throwing wet snow into the road. today is blustery and cold.

glimpses of spring. warmth starts to sneak back in.

1. Dino Toes 2. sisters. 3. untitled 4. untitled 5. Balance

I needed to be reminded of the magic. It took all my patience to be kind today.

Pro bono work is some of the best. Because the client does not pay me they give me a lot more freedom to do things the way I like, which is the better way.

I am really starting to think this is the way to do a lot of things. Pay a professional, and give them guide lines, and see what they come up with. You could do this with practically anything. Find a baker and tell them you want a beautiful chocolate cake for your upcoming birthday. Tell a florist you need a bouquet that is red and white, let them choose the flowers and the other beautiful filler. I guess the most critical part would be knowing you have the same taste or that they understand yours.

This morning Gentry wanted to make orange juice. He then wanted to take pictures of his creation. The juice was lovely, the oranges from our box of holiday oranges. They sure lasted a long while out in our cold garage. Gentry took the picture of me.