Ohhh la la! Look what I found ...

Check out that cup ... beautiful huh?
There's more up in the very top of this kitchen cupboard :)

*********
CUP Commentary -

Long story short, my Mother and Father-in law went on a mission for the LDS church (They left the end of October of last year). My husband and I sold our home and they asked us to house sit for them while they would be gone - too fun! So, we sold most of our stuff and put a few things into storage. I am using all of the items already in this house - including the kitchen.

Last night, we made orange julius (yummy) and wanted to sip up the liquid sunshine from something 'out of the usual' ... So I started hunting around and TA-DAH found these very sassy, savvy cups. They were pefect for the orange juice occasion!

Don't you love the green color of the kitchen? This house is so colorful, charming and full of LIFE. I don't think I'll ever be able to live with white walls again.

PS: I'll fill you in later on the details of their mission. It's amazing what they are doing and where they are!

Getting through the 'bumps' ...

Caution: Reading this may cause you to LOVE the 'bumps' in your life!

My Mom and I had another GREAT walk and talk a-thon this morning! This time, it was a bit warmer and the sun was shining – it felt almost like spring! Again, we found ourselves loving the outdoors and the chance to chat and spend time together!

At the half way mark of our adventure, we hit the sign (pictured above) and I couldn’t help but think this thought: “I wonder if anyone stopped right here on the path afraid to go on because the road ahead might be bumpy?”

Then my philosophical mind thought – I wonder how many people are afraid to really LIVE because the road ahead might not be smooth forever? …

For the record - we didn’t stop. We kept on walking and talking and guess what?
There were tons of bumps and it made our walk even better.

Happy Wednesday!
Cheers to the ‘bumps’ in life – And the guts to get through or over them!

{Flashbacks - Records in the Night}

Flashbacks –
{Something from the past that somehow makes its way to the present}


When I was younger, my parents didn’t have a TV in the house they had a radio but I hardly ever remember it on. As kids, we had no idea there was a bigger world out there full of entertainment… we knew about being kind, working hard and couldn’t wait for the taste of Mom’s homemade bread. (Ahhh simple were the days…)

Our world changed the day 2 teenage boys moved in across the street. You see, these guys owned records! In fact, they had quite a collection …

When they heard we didn’t have TV or knowlege of the latest radio hits, they decided to educate us on the cool, hip tunes of the time. And one afternoon (just as the sun was setting), they slipped my older brother Travis something we had seen very little of - a record!! OH this was better than Christmas ... He ran home to show me the 'goods'. We made a plan to listen in the night ...

Our parents did have a record player so when they went to bed, we dug it out! And when we were sure everyone was asleep we played the mysterious record …What was it?
“Another Brick in the Wall” by Pink Floyd.

I’ll never forget the look on my older brother’s face as the song began to play … He suddenly became a rebel without a cause and we had Pink Floyd to thank for it! We played it at least 50 times that night and knew we would NEVER be the same …

Cheers to Flashbacks from the corners of the mind and to records in the night!!

Give it a listen ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHKHQoAb0uU

{Walk and Talk-a-Thon ...}

Object lesson -
The above sign provided an insightful discussion on 'staying on the course' :) ...
My Mom can give this lesson like no other. She's an expert.

The path ... We know it well :)
******
Instructions for setting up a Walk & Talk a-thon:

7:15 am – I call my Mom and leave a message: “Mom, Let’s take a walk … I’ve got my cell give me a call.”

9:00 am – (My cell is ringing): “Hi Wendy! It’s Mom, let’s walk! Do you think it’s too cold to walk outside?” We discuss options like the mall, the river or the path behind her house. The last idea sounded best. We bundle up!! Burrrr…

9:15 – We walk, we talk, we discuss, we debate, we convince, we agree, we’re quiet, we laugh, we forget how cold it is outside and before too long - we find ourselves back home.

11:00 – We rush off to conquer the rest of the day and can’t wait to hit the path again.
Thanks for the walk and Talk-a-Thon Mom.

Oh and thanks for the beautiful reminders of the importance of staying on THE PATH.

I love you!

PS: I'm on my path ...!
It feels good.

{Our Imagination Station}

Artist: Wendy

Project: Chinese Lanterns

Purpose: Centerpieces for a party tomorrow night ...


Artist: Lauren

Project: Paper bag puppies
This one is named Misty...

Purpose: For fun ...
This puppy is a gift for Dad (his name is Rocky!)

***************

Commentary: I picked Lauren up from school today and she said: "We have an imagination station in our classroom!" And then she asked: "Can we have one at home too?"

My reply: "ABSOLUTLEY!"

Thanks for the fun afternoon Miss Lauren ...
I love you.

Skip to my Lou, my darlin'
(The 5th grade music revolt) ...
Do you remember your music teacher from elementary school? I do! My teacher had his PhD in music and we were instructed to call him Dr. Brower. He was a fanatic about the beat, timing and was committed to making sure we could all read the notes inside our song books (that were handed out each session). He had us sit in a circle each week for class and I believe his favorite song was “Skip Skip to My Lou” … I remember singing this song each week and by the time we hit the 5th grade “the Skipping” song was no longer cool! You see, he made us skip around the circle (one person at a time) while the rest of the class sang the song. No one wanted to skip. We had a revolt. No more skipping Dr. Brower.

He was a heavy set man and I remember the skipping revolt didn’t sit well with his musical soul. He was angry and wanted us to return to the tap tap ready go exercises he invented to help us count out he beat. It went something like this – tap tap ready go – toot toot toot. And he had us clasp our hands together and tap our two pointer fingers together as we chanted “tap tap” – this was not cool either. No more tapping or skipping Dr. Brower!

This poor, old Dr. was completely at a loss of what to do with us! So, we made a deal … We would tap and skip if we could have ONE music party day! Our terms: We could bring whatever music we wanted and groove to the beat in our own way.

Agreed.

What followed was a day I’ll never forget. We almost sent Dr. Brower to an early grave… Here’s the scene: Rowdy 5th graders crammed in the music room (no chairs in a circle on this day – NO). All we needed that day was the record player (it was the early 80’s) and just ONE record called: I Love Rock & Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.Yes that same song played for 40 minutes (as loud as the old record player would go). I remember looking over to see how Dr. Brower was handling the ‘modern sound’ – he wasn’t. He was mad and disgruntled for making the deal with 5th graders who had given up skipping and tapping. He had lost control. I think he was even blushing – It finally occurred to him that our music and his were not at all the same. He needed us to skip and tap so that his ‘happy music’ world could continue.
We got that.

By the end of the music party, he was in the corner covering his ears --- tapping out the final moments of the longest day of his life.The next week, he changed the tempo a bit and replaced “Skip Skip to My Lou” with Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree ...

Compromise:
We never skipped again. And he never allowed another musical party.
And I think its safe to assume that he never listened to Joan Jett ever again...

*** The photo at the top of this blog is a kookaburra bird sitting in his old gum tree.
"Laugh kookaburra laugh ...!"

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul.
Dream deep, for every dream proceeds the goal."
~ Pamela Vaull Starr

- Artwork attempt ... by Wendy Christensen 2009. :)
PS: I bumped into this quote on a greeting card today and just fell in love with it.
There is something really wonderful about reaching high and dreaming deep.
Ahhhhhh some of my favorite words!!

{Before and After ...}
One of my favorite hobbies is fixing up stuff. I love to take old furniture or anything and give it a make-over :) I keep thinking that someday I'll write a book called - A Touch of Wendy :)

On Saturday my kids and I took a little day trip to visit my brother and his wife. They live in Yakima, Washington where my brother is attending medical school. My parents bought an old, charming house and have been fixing it up ... My brother and his wife are living in the house during their medical school adventure. I just fell in love with the place and couldn't help adding a few magical touches! :)

{Project 1 - A touch of RED)

(1) the kitchen drawers needed some attention! - This is the before shot -

(2) After shot... Don't you just love how the red added some pizazz to the room? ME TOO!

{Project 2 - A touch of GREEN}
(1) Before shot - This home was built in 1941 and contained some cool, old stuff. I loved this metal paper towel holder but not the color - it just got lost in the wall.

(2) After shot - Kathy and I added a touch of green to the old fixture and then used sand paper to antique it up ... Better huh?!

I love the little things you can do to make a home even more home-ish and authentically yours :)
Cheers to before and after ....

Off to dream and do -!!

Thanks Kathy, Robby and Grant for a very fun day - we love you guys :)!!
We'll be back for more pizazz moments!!

{Happy 2009}

How did you spend the last hours of 2008?! We packed in as much 'last minute' fun as possible...
It all started with a Wiggle Like a Fish Show (watch out kids Wiggles the Fish can bust a move). We then went roller skating ... (it's tradition - we skate EVERY New Year's Eve). Then it was back to home for some munchies and a movie (Batman Begins) ... Then at exactly 12:00 AM in 2009 our entire block knew it was the NEW YEAR... how? We announced it - with pots and pans :)

Cheers to the new year. Get dreaming and doing ... :)