Melodies

Last weekend we got a great gift. A friend loaned us their cabin outside Sisters, Oregon. It was lovely and peaceful, probably the most relaxing vacation we've been on since Riley was born. So refreshing.
There was a piano in the corner of the main room, and Riley was soon pointing us over there regularly. Many of you know that we have a piano, but a combination of business and laziness has caused it to be buried underneath books, papers, computer disks, and many other less important things. Plus it's in our study, which Riley rarely visits. And thus, she has only played our piano a handful of times. So this was a treat.
She loved touching the keys lightly, then pounding them and squealing. She'd catch our eyes with a twinkle in her own as she made her own little melodies. For a musical mama and papa, it was pretty heart-warming to watch out little Bean make her own little music. We chimed in with some on-the-spot lyrics, which, as you can probably guess, Ryan is pretty good at (good=entertaining). Soon I was both singing and laughing. Fun moments.

Waiting for Dad

Our windows are perfect height for Riley. She loves standing there to watch cars, birds, walkers, dogs, trees sway in the breeze, and her dad come home from work.

Jewelry Board

In this month's Real Simple, there's a section on organizing according to your personality. By personality, they mean "right brained" vs. "left brained" people. On almost every right brain/left brain test I've taken, I come down pretty much right in the middle. That would explain why I'm in almost constant conflict between wanting to check things off on my list and wanting to just sit down and relax make something. Last weekend the right side won and I made something. (The idea, let's connect this back to the beginning, was from Real Simple. An idea for a right-brainer, in fact.)
I started with a frame, $2.75 from Goodwill.

And some sale fabric from Joann's, $1.50.

And some Glazier's Points from TrueValue Hardware, $1something I think.

And some leftover cork board from another project.

And a messy dresser.

With an especially messy jewelry section.

And I ended with this!

And a much nicer dresser space :)

First, I removed the picture and fixed the cork board to the glass using mounting tape. Then, I covered the cork board with the fabric, taping it to the back of the glass using packing tape (there's probably a better way to do this step, but this way worked for me. Last, because the back of the picture had been nailed into the frame, I used the Glazier's Points to secure the glass back into the frame. And voila! Not so bad for about $5 and an hour of my Saturday.

Menu Plan Monday

Or rather, Menu Plan (Late) Monday ... but it's better than not at all. That was last week.

Monday
B: eggs, toast
L: chicken curry salad
D: pizza, salad

Tuesday
B: baked oatmeal w/yogurt & apple sauce
L: chicken curry salad
D: quiche, toast
Prep: make granola

Wednesday
B: baked oatmeal
L: quiche, toast
D: burgers, salad, fries
Prep: make bread

Thursday
B: baked oatmeal
L: quiche, toast
D: date night, picnic?
Prep: shopping list for trip to Sisters, start prep

Friday
B: scramble, toast
L: sandwich, salad
D: bbq @ friends
Prep: prep food for trip

Trip food will be planned ... later :-)

Redonkulous

If you've read Freakonomics: The Hidden Side of Everything (and liked it, I guess), then you'll enjoy his blog to. Being a logophiliac (is that a real word or did I just make it up by combining a couple roots?), I enjoyed this post and thought I'd pass it along.
Redonkulous huh?