It is still summer.

I have been down-and-out with the post-oral-surgery blues since last Friday, but I'm starting to feel more and more like myself. FINALLY. I don't do "recovery" (ie: sitting on the couch in a fog for days on end while trying to keep a watchful eye on my bored toddler) very well, so it's nice to have some motivation back. But my motivation seems to be heading in a different direction...

Despite my internal objections, I've started noticing hints of the desire for Fall returning to my psyche. I find myself longing for crisp air and stop myself immediately to relish the heat a little more. Then my mind starts wandering to thoughts of not shaving my legs very often because I'll be wearing jeans (my husband might scoff a little at this statement, since my leg-shaving is not too frequent as it is) and I stop myself immediately in order to appreciate every last minute of summer and the "upkeep" that goes along with it. I've started to crave chili and the sound of football on tv in the background (husband scoffing some more I'm sure...) and once again I stop and open the refrigerator for some fresh summer berries that I love SO much. I'm even starting to think about what cute costume to whip up for the girl for Halloween (she didn't get one for her first Halloween last year). So there it is, I have started to long for Fall---which is always over too soon, making way for long (too long) Winter.

So my motivation is aiming at Fall-centered things. Fall colors in my sewing. Fall tastes in cooking. Fall clothes. And on and on. Though I'm not embracing it just yet, I'm almost ready.

Time to celebrate. And take some pain killers.

After a good decade of putting it off, I finally got my wisdom teeth removed. There were three. Which I think is strange. I may write more about this experience once I feel a little more like myself and a little less like I had my jaw clamped onto the edge of a cliff hanging on for dear life for 12 hours.

The reason I'm posting is because despite my swollen face and neck, is because I'm so excited to announce I just made my TENTH sale on Etsy this afternoon!!! For some reason 10 feels like a milestone, what with it being double digits and all. Not only that, it was one of my favorite tables that I've had in the shop since I opened it in March. So before long that little table will make the move from Colorado to New York City!

Love her.

My serenity must resemble that of a monk

Yesterday Ellis and I were doing some shopping when a trend began to emerge. It started when Ellis pointed at a four foot tall statue of a monk holding a bird and said, "Mama." It continued when she pointed to a two foot tall statue of a gnome and again called it, "Mama." At the next store she pointed repeatedly to a headless mannequin and said, "Mama."

What is she trying to tell me?

Typically she only points at me when she says Mama. So she either learned to call me in order to get my attention and show me such treasures as monk and gnome statues, and anomalies like headless people...or she was being a wise guy.

I'm not proud of this, but...

I can be juvenile. Shocker.

I purposely took my birthday off my Facebook page about a month ago. I purposely did this as part of an experiment (and perhaps moreso because I was sure that some thief was going to steal my identity if they were privy to my birthday on Facebook---paranoid much?). My birthday is July 30th and I wanted to see how many people remembered to tell me happy birthday without having Facebook tell them so they can then act like happy birthday I totally remembered it was your birthday i've been anticipating it for the last two weeks and i actually got you a card but i couldn't send it because i lost my address book and i didn't have any stamps and i mean i did send it i'm surprised you didn't get it yet...blah...blah...blah...

An aside: once when I was like 13 I was at a wedding reception with my parents and we're all out on the dance floor and suddenly this cute boy starts dancing with me. I'm all, shoot, I must look goo--ood in this ankle-length navy blue dress with cap sleaves that are a little too big for my awkward boyish frame and that zit must not be as noticeable as I thought.

I discovered too late that my mom, with a couple of glasses of wine in her, decided it wasn't embarrasing at all for her to dance near said cute boy while singing, "Dance with Brooke, dance with Brooke..." Cute boy was pressured by tipsy mom to dance with awkward 13 year-old girl.

That took some of the flattery right out of my sail.

Back to my FB experiment ---it was derailed because said mother wished me a happy birthday on my wall at like 8 in the morning. So a whole bunch of people wished me a happy birthday and I have no way of knowing who knew without cheating off my mom. Foiled again.

SOOOO, my cynical experiment will have to wait until 2011. Then I'll see who my REAL friends are.

Home...and free solar systems

Gabe, upon making our first trip inside a certain *container* store in town yesterday: "I have no idea why some people from other countries come here and feel overwhelmed by America's abundance...So what if we have a giant chain of stores devoted entirely to selling stuff to hold all of our other stuff?" Then he and Ellis wandered off to judge some more while I just marveled at all of the previously unknown ways to organize my stuff.

I saw a guy on tv the other day who designs, builds, and lives in homes that are like 100 square feet. He had closet space for his spare wardrobe, bookshelves for his book collection, a bed/loft, seating for multiple people, a sparse kitchen with a tiny refrigerator, a water jug with a spout sitting over a sink drain, a toilet, shower, and a little front porch. Somehow, despite my American upbringing (and constant dissatisfaction with my wardrobe) his home was more appealing to me than a large home.

Gabe and I jokingly/knowingly exchange smirks when people come to our home and remark at how "cozy" it is, because we both know that's the socially acceptable term for small. I guess "cozy" is better than "snug" or "claustrophobic". Our home is cozy. And small. At least by most common standards here. We are three people (one of whom barely tops 20 lbs.) and an 8 lb. cat living in about 1000 square feet. Our bedroom serves as my studio/sewing room, Gabe's office and library, and of course our love nest. Gabe wants to stick some exercise equipment in there too, which I have always opposed. Ellis' nursery is also the guest room.

I remember coming home from building houses for some families in Juarez, Mexico years ago and sitting guilt-filled on my bed crying about how blessed I was to have my home. (I never claimed I wasn't a bit emotional and dramatic at times) How long did it take to return to the mindset of wanting more? A bigger house, a better kitchen, a car with fewer dents...Not long, I'm sure.

Anyway, I saw this guy in the ultimate "cozy" house and it was charming and respectable. How can you not respect someone who chooses to use less---resources, energy, space, self-importance---in a world that almost always focuses on more?

So, at this moment, I like our home. Our home has character and it's where Gabe and I first lived as a married couple, it's the first place Ellis lived (not counting the NICU for the first 6 weeks of her life...). Chances are we will move to another home in our lifetime, so while we're here I want to remember to appreciate what our home IS, and not worry about what it isn't.

On a slightly similar note, Gabe saw a sign near a new housing development offering "Free Solar Systems!" That. Is. Awesome. No one else is offering that. Maybe solar panels, but entire solar systems?!! Sellers are getting really desperate and generous in this housing market.