Priorities. Organization. And woot.

So I know I said I would post twice a week...that is "ideally." Turns out, life is pretty busy. I am reassessing some of my priorities to make time for some things that are important to me as well. This blog isn't especially high on the list, but I do like to write so I'm keeping it in the runnings. And hopefully my writing will improve if I write on a semi regular basis. Hooray for improved writing skillz.

I have a lot of things that I want to do, so I am probably going to cut back on some things that aren't as necessary or important. I spend more time on facebook than is really necessary, lots of time adding music to itunes and my ipod, time watching tv cause all I want to do after working a long day and taking care of my little guy is just to veg. It's good to have downtime but as a mother and someone who works full-time, time is very precious.

Some things I want to do more of : guitar, paint, draw, write, go on photo shoots, exercise or get outside. I am hoping that Oliver might enjoy doing some of these things with me!

Some things I want to do less of: laundry, vacuuming, dishes. Time to donate some clothes and use less dishes!

Anyway, in the process of finding the right balance, getting organized and making room for the things I used to love doing.

Hello Again

It's been a long time since I've blogged, and I'm not even sure anyone reads this anymore. But now that I've adapted to working full time and become slightly more organized, I'd like to pick it up again! And hopefully I will do more than one post per month this time...my goal is a couple every week. I don't know if anyone actually reads these but I like to write so why not.

I'll start off with

Things I love February Edition (breaking myself in gently, so I'm not being too creative or original here :))

1) Sasquatch Lineup Announcement, Feb 6th...can't wait to find out who will be there this year!
2) Packers in the Super Bowl...usually I could care less whose in the superbowl, but this year I'm rooting for my bro in law's fav team
3) Josh is going to school FULL TIME...I am so happy for him :)
4) Ollie says I am Spiderwoman, and he is the Green Globlin
5) Two empty canvases and new paintbrushes in my possession...thank you Aaron Bros sale!
6) January and February are probably my least favorite months of the year...so I've been spending my days off cleaning, organizing and donating things we don't need...might not sound fun but it's nice to feel like I have some control over my life again
7) 50mm 1.8 lens :)
8) Parks and Rec
9) Dresden Files books
10) Little Big Planet...want to get the second one soon.
11) Taking my vitamins and taking better care of myself
12) Running on my parent's treadmill
13) The dollar theater
14) Playing in the backyard with Ollie
15) Making my own coffee in the morning and attempting to kick the Starbucks habit
16) The pedometer app on my phone
17) Watching people power walk in the mall...hilarious because some of them get very into it...more power to em
18) Robot Unicorn Attack...free pc game...it is ridiculous but strangely hypnotic
19) Sleep. Sleep is ALWAYS good.
20) Borders
21) Shooting hoops with Ollie in what was the dining room...right now it's the basketball and car track room
22) When Ollie asks me "How's your day, Mommy?" Five minutes after we woke up.
23) Chicken Gyros from Gyro Shack
24) Empanadas from Tangos
25) Angus and Julia Stone:



26) Awesome new people
27) People who've stuck with me through everything
28) Newly received iPhone
29) Wallet my sister made me for Christmas. It has pretty birdies on it.
30) Small little sketchbooks that were on sale at borders and fit nicely in my purse

30 Things I Love -- September Edition

1) Kings of Convenience, and Angus and Julia Stone--perfect soundtrack for fall
2) Halloween candy
3) Library books
4) Digital Photography information sources...so much to learn for my new job
5) Oh yeah, the fact that I work at a camera store!!!
6) My fantasy football team...oh wait, scratch that...they are 0-4-1. But I still love the league that I'm in because everybody gets really into it. I don't even like football that much and it's fun.
7) Cleaning, must be getting old because I actually enjoy it sometimes
8) Thursday date nights with Josh...sometimes they are family nights with Oliver, but we set aside that night for just our little family
9) reading Ollie halloween books
10) Nightmare Before Christmas
11) Boo at the Zoo
12) taking Ollie trick or treating for the first time this year
13) spiced apple cider
14) Pumpkin pie
15) Maple bars
16) We got a PS3 for 50 bucks! Which means blu-ray and even more video games!
17) Maybe someday sitting down to watch Gangs of New York, which we got from Netflix about 2 months ago...seriously it's like a four hour time commitment...but Scorcese is usually worth it right?
18) Planning some fun trips for way in the future
19) Imagining who might play at the Sasquatch music fest next year
20) Two straight days of Ollie time every week
21) Some good shows coming to Boise...Ghostland Observatory and Guster
22) Warm socks
23) Getting excited for Thanksgiving, Oliver's birthday, and Christmas
24) Actually being able to buy people presents this year
25) Pumpkin patches and corn mazes
26) ebay
27) photo frames
28) zucchini bread
29) music that makes me want to dance/spaz out (Matt and Kim, Passion Pit, old school hip hop)
30) Last but certainly not least, God's love

30 Things I Like - August Edition

1) Having a job!
2) Sugar cookies
3) Fair food
4) Ollie's new robot shirt
5) Redecorating
6) Taking Ollie on play dates
7) Only 3 months until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, Woo hoo!
8) Redfish Lake and the Sawtooths
9) Floating the Boise River...must do at least once this year
10) Canoes...hopefully will have one some day
11) Top Gear...that show is hilarious
12) The red flowers that are still alive in our yard
13) Bob Dylan
14) Tin Man miniseries on instant netflix
15) Despicable Me
16) Shooting Stars--saw some during the Bob Dylan concert
17) Workin'
18) Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" album
19) Green Tea
20) Giving coral catnip and watching her freak out
21) Playing tennis with my dad
22) Hikes and walks
23) Naps anytime
24) Air conditioning
25) Mountain streams
26) Painting again
27) Learning new things
28) Ollie's using his potty chair
29) Pizza Pizza Pizza
30) Playgrounds and parks

Dudley Reunion

So, every three years or so the Dudley families get together for a week of outdoor activities. This has been going on for a very long time, and I'm proud that our family has this tradition. They've been held in various places over the years, primarily California, Idaho, and Oregon. I've been to a couple in Lake Tahoe, one somewhere else in California, one in McCall, one in Flagstaff, and the last couple times have been in Bend (Sunriver). This should also illustrate to you, that I'm getting old :) The basic criteria of the place is that it has to have tennis courts as many of the Dudleys are quite fond of it, as well as other outdoor amenities like horseshoes and softball fields and such.

Sunriver is a good place to hold them. The housing is located in a very wood-sy area with bike paths weaving through it. Families can rent their own house for the week and we're all just a bike ride away from eachother. There are tons of mountains nearby to hike to keep the mountain lovers happy :) Some of the planned activities were mountain biking, floating the Deschutes River, basketball games, tennis every morning, softball games, golf, etc.

There is a village that is kind of the center of the resort. It's a little cheesy but it had a bouncy house village that Oliver absolutely loved playing in. We rode our bikes a lot while we were there and Oliver loves his new bike trailer and wearing his helmet. My mom, Oliver, and I rode our bikes down to the Sunriver Airport for an airplane show on the day that the guys were hiking the Sisters. Ollie got to see a lot of planes and classic cars and even got to see a jet fly by which he found pretty amazing.

We also had banquets at the park shelter 3 times that week and it was nice to see all the families get together. It's great to know that even if we can't afford to go see our relatives we have an opportunity to see them at least every three years.

30 Things I Like - July Edition Pt II

16- Cereal
17- Mandarin Oranges
18- Cashews
19- In short, lots of food
20- Benjamin Gibbard's voice
21- Charcoal
22- Martin and Epiphone guitars...it would be nice to have one of these some day
23- Old cameras
24- Children's books
25- Actual cd's, cassette tapes, records...tangible music. Though digital music is nice because it can't get scratched
26- Oliver is starting to have favorite songs...He likes Passion Pit, The Killers, and Tegan and Sara the best.
27- Men Who Stare At Goats
28- Inception
29- Actual photo albums...most of the photos I have aren't printed anymore
30- It was extremely hard to think of 30 things this month...my brain feels mushy