Friday Inspiration - Pumpkins

I just love Halloween. It's such a fun time of year. The weather is turning cold and bundling up with scarves and hats makes me feel cozy and warm. I love to decorate the front of our house and am always amazed at what a few bags of spider webs can do.

Usually we spend a weekend afternoon carving our pumpkins so that on Halloween night we can light them and pass out candy. Last year I made a Lightning McQueen pumpkin for Mason although I'm sure he doesn't remember. I always like to see what other people are doing and how creative they're getting with pumpkins. This year, Matt and realized that we didn't carve our pumpkins. Maybe we'll take some time tomorrow to do it but this might be the first year that we skip it altogether. Scooping out gooey pumpkin guts could be something to skip every now and again. I could be o.k. with that.

But, I couldn't help taking a look around the web for some interesting ideas. I stumbled across a site, pumpkingutter.com that has some AMAZING pumpkin carving.

I thought in the spirit of Halloween, I would share a few of my favorites as inspiration. Just in case you're like us and haven't tackled the gruesome mess of stringy, yucky, pumpkin insides all over your hands, arms and body, maybe this will inspire you a bit! We'll see if we pull out our carving tools tomorrow. If we do, I'll be sure to share.

Happy carving everyone and have a spooky Halloween!

p.s. As huge Star Wars fans over here I had to include some of the cast of characters. It's unbelievable what people are doing with a pumpkin as a canvas!

Green Is SO The New Black

It seems that every time I turn around I'm discovering a new website or company that is "Green". I absolutely love this because it shows that we're not just a bunch of unconcerned humans running around on our planet not thinking or caring about the effect we're having on this earth.

I recently, via Twitter, found another site that is all about "green" in relationship to weddings. This industry is filled with so much disposable "stuff" that it can be difficult to stomach at times. Being conscious of what you're using and trying to use recycled or eco-friendly material can make a huge difference.

Emerald Weddings is such a new business that they haven't started taking clients. They're opening their doors in January of 2010. They offer green wedding consultation and are based out of Seattle, Washington. If you're planning your wedding for 2010, you may want to contact them to get in line for when they open to the public.

Being lovers of things green, they posted about my Earth album today on their blog. Check them out for posts on "green" tips and offerings. It's great to have a list of these types of sites to check on how to make your footprint on the earth lighter and I'm happy to add Emerald Weddings to that growing list.

Thanks EW for featuring the Earth book today! and FMN Design wishes you much success in 2010!

Artistic Exploration Through Collage

A few months ago Matt came home from a scouting job and had a flyer and a 4x6 card to give to me. It was information on a collage class that the owner of the home he scouted offered. Her name is Delisa Sage and she is a local artist here in Marin County. She owns a store in San Francisco named Collage which is a home decor store and art gallery.

I looked everything over and had the call to attend a class. It took a couple of months to schedule the time, noon to 5 on a Sunday but this past Sunday was the day. I showed up in the company of 9 other women, Delisa and her husband. Her home is wonderful. Full of art and wonderful decor. She had transformed their great room into a studio. A large table with surrounding chairs over a blue tarp to catch our mess. Drawers filled with supplies and buckets and a table with tons of things.

We started the process by painting on a canvas that was covered in paint to get us to experiment with texture and to just warm us up. Then, we were each given an 11x14 canvas to work with. She had all of the supplies we would need, paper, ribbon, beads, books, scissors, glue, paint etc. I didn't bring a ton of things from home but I did have the idea to bring a few things that called to me. A couple of things I brought were my fingerprints from when I was a teacher many years ago and a fortune from a fortune cookie.

I can't remember the last time that I spent time creating. Time just sitting and making art. Not feeling rushed or like I should be doing something else, be somewhere else or that I was neglecting my kids. Actually, if you take a look at Matt's post of the day, you'll see that they were completely taken care of and had their own artistic afternoon.

I love what I created that day. I send a HUGE thank you out to Delisa for sharing her time and her talent. To all of the women who were there participating. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with artistic inspiration. One thing I find interesting is that when I look at it, it feels like me, like my art. I think now, after creating art for so many years, I'm finally seeing who I am through my art. Elements that I like to incorporate in my work, mirror, and a limited color pallet. Bold design that is minimal in content. There I am, finding myself more and more through art.

If you're local to the area, I HIGHLY recommend taking her class. It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Artist or non-artist, she pulls the creativity from you and helps transfer that creativity to a canvas. Truly remarkable. Each piece from each woman was wonderful.

On a side note, I had gone to church earlier that day and what came to me as I sat listening was that I wanted to step out of the way and let the talent that God gave me shine through. To quite the self critic and just create. I love the result...

Let The Music Play - In B Flat

The other day Matt's music partner Brian sent a link to this awesomely cool site. Being that he's everything music it seemed appropriate to come from him, and being that today is his birthday, it seems fitting to share this with everyone.

Happy Birthday Brain! (No, that's not a typo, that's what we call him)
Thanks for sharing this with me so that I can share it with others.

Happy inspiration Friday (on Thursday) everybody. Go and make some beautiful music.

http://www.inbflat.net/

Punctuality & Kids

A bunch of years back, before I had kids I was late. Late to friends parties, late to appointments, late to things that weren't on the top of my priority list. I wasn't late to important things like work or a movie that I really wanted to see. Funny how that works isn't it?

Then, I attended some Landmark Education courses and started to take a look at what being late represented to me as well as to the people or events I was meeting and attending. It pretty much was a big slap in the face of, "You're not that important. I have better things to be doing with my time." When I stopped to look at that, really look at that and feel what it felt to be on the receiving end, I took a big step back and adjusted my internal clock and made sure that I was on time for everything that I could be. It was a lifestyle change but one that I knew was for the better. Everyone likes someone who's on time. That's just a fact.

Then, as life shifted and changed and I had children, that clock has slipped here and there and being late has crept it's way back into my life. Not by a mile but far enough that as I was drifting off to sleep last night this topic was lingering there for me to look at.

I realized that I run around gathering up snacks and sweaters and anything else I may need in my bag while yelling at the boys to "hurry it up" and "get your shoes on" and let's go, let's go" too often. Then, I realized something else. They have NO idea what time it is. NONE. They can't tell time, they don't know when we have to be somewhere, they have no concept of what any of that is all about. I think this whole reflection on time was sparked by something Mason said last night. He wanted to stay up for a bit before going to bed. He asked if he could have 5 more minutes. Then he said, "You could let me stay up for 5 more minutes or maybe more or maybe less. Like 4 or 3 or 2 or 1 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10." There it was, his concept of time. Numbers that didn't really equate to too much, especially when I tell him, "o.k. 5 more minutes" and sometimes it takes 10 or 15 for me get to him. How can I even expect him to understand what 5 minutes really feels like?!

So, then it hit me, like it has a million times since having these boys, I'm responsible. Completely responsible. I'm responsible for all of us getting to where we need to be, and on time. I realized that I don't like getting into the car and telling them that we're going to be late. I don't want to raise them as people who are late to things. I don't want them to constantly feel rushed. I don't want them to form a habit that is anything but beneficial throughout their lives.

What does this mean for me? It means that I need to adjust my clock once again. I need to allocate more time to get ready, get the boys ready, pack the bag and get to wherever it is we need to go. I want the people we see to feel important. I want to raise boys who understand that being on time, or even a bit early, is not only respectful and kind but that it can be done without running around like a chicken with your head cut off. (This is how I think I appear most of the time and THAT has to change!)

I guess I share this with you readers, thank you by the way for reading, to help hold myself accountable. To speak this new way of being out loud, {the keyboard keys are making quite a racket as I type), for people to hear.

I can't promise that I'll always be on time but I can promise that I'm trying.

Tae Kwon Do

As Mason gets bigger and grows older his needs are changing. Of course. Right? I mean he isn't going to want me to snuggle up with him and kiss the crook of his neck forever. O.k. you have to wait a minute while I go get a tissue because I know that's all coming to an end way too soon!

O.K. I'm back. Well, with his needs changing all the time, we've started taking him to Tae Kwon Do two days a week. He seems to really enjoy it. Learning discipline and order, how to fall, to kick and punch. Everything a boy seems to love to do anyway, and now he can learn how to do those things properly and with control. Self control!!

His teacher is the uncle of one of his school mates and I can't tell you how much we LOVE Master Park. He doesn't hold back telling the boys to quite down, get back in line or stop goofing around and yet he does that while being funny at times and has the boys in fits of laughter. Love him!

Here are a few shots of Mason in his outfit practicing his moves. I know Nana, Papa and Grandma have been waiting to see these. Sorry for the delay! I wish you could hear the "Ay yah" that he says with each move. Would you believe we're working on his being able to say it louder?!

I ♥ Olive-Route

If you know me at all, you know that I'm all about packaging. Good packaging can make me pick up just about anything. I would check out a hammer if it was packaged in a unique way, or a set of paperclips or even a spatula for that matter. I LOVE packaging.

A couple of days ago a box was delivered to my door and when I opened it my heat skipped a beat. It wasn't because the packages inside were wrapped in some super cool way or that there was a box that was ornate and beautiful, it was because there were three brown paper wrapped bundles. This is where figuring me out can get a wee bit complicated. I think I get just as excited about plain brown wrapping as I do over crazy, beautiful packages.

I think it's because anything could be inside. Anything! I remember a Christmas one year that my mom decided to wrap all of the presents in plain paper. All of them were decorated with gold, silver or green ribbons and bows. It was quite the graphic effect. It made Christmas more artful that year and I've never forgotten how it all looked under our tree.

So, when I opened the box and pulled out the packages I could hardly wait to open them. I knew right away what they were, my envelopes from Via at Olive-Route Press. I was in need of some new envelopes recently and because I love everything letter pressed, I called Via. Her work is absolutely exquisite and her attention to detail is unmatched. She printed my business cards and thank you cards and now my matching envelopes. I think that if I could letterpress EVERYTHING I would. Can you have a tattoo letter pressed? I would get I ♥ Olive-Route.

Take a look at her craftsmanship. I wish you could just reach in and pick one up!

Summer Vacation at the Lake

Summer is officially over around here. The weather has shifted, school is in full force and the lazy days of summer have come to an end.

Now that the routine of school is becoming easier to grasp, waking up before the sun, fixing a lunch and getting Mason dressed and out the door, I thought it would be a good time to remember our summer vacation at the lake. Water skiing, fishing, jumping on the trampoline and more. Time with Nana and Papa and all of the cousins, aunts and uncles.

I wish we had been able to spend a few weeks there this year. The time goes by so fast and always leaves me wanting more. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to spend a few weeks there next summer. But for now, I can remember what it was like to sit in the warmth of the sun at the edge of the dock, to watch Mason water ski and Miles catch his first fish. Although I would love to post a bunch of photo's from the trip, I'm only going to post one. My favorite shot of the boys. Sitting on the dock, brothers, happy.

Just Float

Fall is here, the weather is changing and the warm clothes are starting to filter from the back of my drawer to the front. I love scarves and hats and have started wearing them almost every morning that I walk Mason to school. It's a short lived adornment since by 3pm the temperature is back up in the 70's. But I do love Fall and all that it brings.

One of my favorite movies that should start playing on television soon is "Home For The Holidays". It's family disfunction at it's finest. I'll never forget watching it on an airplane one trip back east and the faces of the people that kept turning to look at me. I'm sure I was a sight. There I was, tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard, trying to be quiet but not being terribly successful. It's just too funny, but I think you have to live some of it to find it quite as humorous as I do. Diana, I know you know what I'm talking about here! But, one of my favorite lines from the movie isn't one that makes me laugh, it's the daughters advice to her mother (Holly Hunter) to remember the fish at the aquarium. To just float. Breath and float.

When I'm sitting here, at my desk, in the office, I feel calm, like I'm floating, as well as crazed. I think the calm has something to do with the beautiful blue walls. I just love the color. It's a muted blue that calms me down. Then there's the sound. If I don't have the external hard drive on that buzzes at this almost annoying pitch, then all I hear is the sound of the water filtering through the fish tank. It's a peaceful sound, reminding me to just breath and float.

Then there's the crazy feeling. I think that stems from the long list of things that need to be done. Both in the office and out. But in the office the list just stays at a constant. Something gets checked off and something gets added on but that's a good thing when you're running a business. Right??!! That means things are happening which is definitely a good thing!

But, I have to talk about this fish tank for a minute. For those of you that remember this was a gift. For me. From Matt and the boys. For Mother's Day. I had mentioned to Matt that I wanted to get the boys a fish bowl. Just a fish bowl that we could buy one of those cute gold fish with the really big eyes that look like they're about to pop off of their heads. Those really cute ones! You know the ones I mean. I even had found a bowl that was a 1/2 of a fish bowl that you could mount to the wall. I thought it would be cool to have in their room. Start teaching them about feeding something, taking care of it, changing the water every now and again without dumping the fish in the sink and having to learn about death to abruptly. That sounded good to me. I could handle that.

But, I forgot who I was talking to. I was talking to a man that when I met him had a 130 gallon tank of freshwater fish. Yes, that's right. It was as long as his couch and yes, very cool. I enjoyed that tank while we were dating until one day the tank sprung a leak about half way down the glass. It was catastrophe. We had to take all of the fish to the fish store and that was that. The end of the tank, the end of Matt owning fish, until I had the bright idea to buy a fish bowl.

I came home from Mother's Day weekend with my mom and sister to two very excited little boys and a very excited husband leading me in to see my gift. I could barely hold back the smile that was masked with a look of shock when I saw the 26 gallon saltwater tank that they had picked out, just for me. Now, don't get me wrong, I love fish and a beautiful fish tank. I love that they went together and picked it out. I love that we have this beautiful water feature to nurture and build over the years and it is only 26 gallons in comparison to the 130 gallon tank Matt had previously. But, and this is turning out to be a big but, he had no idea how much work a saltwater tank is. I've heard that, he's heard that, but until you dive in head first, you have no idea.

Over the last few months we've accumulated some incredibly beautiful fish, some live rock and corral and a couple of anemone. We have also traded a few fish in and netted a couple out. We have three different test kits and a salinity checker that we use regularly to make sure the water is o.k. (it frequently needs chemicals to balance it out) and let me count them, 9 bottles of foods and chemicals to use either every three days, once a week or when needed. If you think this is a lot to keep track of, it is. We've had to make a calendar just for the fish tank. It tells us which days to use which bottles and when to do a water change. The water change happens once a month and is Matt's job.

If this sounds crazy, I think it is, but, all kidding and complaining aside, it's beautiful and mesmerizing. I could sit for hours if I had the time and just watch the fish swim around. Watch the corral, the starfish and the anemone move. Watch the shrimp sway back and forth or the crabs clickety clack around the sand. It truly is an amazing habitat and such a trip that you can have a piece of the ocean in your home.

For all of it's difficulty I do love it, the boys love it and Matt loves it. I will warn those of you considering to purchase a saltwater tank that it's a job. Don't let there be any confusion about that, it's a job of figuring out balance. I think, funny enough, that's something I'm always trying to figure out in my own life. Balance. So, it's a nice reminder about that for me. A reminder to make sure all of the pieces of the puzzle are being looked at and that I'm taking care of all of me, not just part of me. To remember to float. When everything feels like it's zooming out of control. Breath and float.

He Warned Me

When Matt and I were engaged, he warned me. Actually, I think his whole family warned me. I can even remember his dad telling me the best way to tell people so that they got it more quickly was to refer to the athletic brand, "Reebok". "Just tell them your last name is pronounced like the brand "Reebok" without the "b". That's the easiest way for them to get it."

Well, after seven years of marriage Matt and his family have been proven right again and again. The last name is a challenge, in spelling and in pronunciation. The small feature of FMN Design in Inside Weddings only proved this to be true. Yes, for all of you who emailed, the name was just about as wrong as you could get it. I figured the web address, which is the important thing was correct, so it's not a huge deal. I did google Laura Roesch though and there are a few of them out there. Hopefully they won't have people emailing them for album design. My apologies to them if that happens!

You know, things happen, we're not perfect, peoples names get misspelled. It's not the end of the world. I knew when I got married that I signed up for that. Matt's nick name has always been "Roach". In fact, for Matt's bachelor party his friend Stexe had t-shirts made with a big cock roach on them for everyone, me included. He even sent a t-shirt for Mason and a onsie for Miles as a gift after Miles was born. I think I'll need to pull that out and wear it for a laugh this week.

So, just for the record the name is pronounced Ree-ock and the spelling, well.....

Roesch
Roach
Rebok
Roech
Reok
Reock

REOCH

I'm sure this won't solve the problem but maybe it will help just a bit. Maybe.

FMN Design - Inside Weddings - FEATURED!

I know that I committed to "Inspiration Fridays" but today I have to deviate from the path. Today, on the inside, I'm jumping for joy. I'm running around excited like I haven't been since the birth of my second born son. I'm beaming and glowing and getting in everyone's face asking if they've seen it yet?!

What you may ask? What am I wondering if they've seen? Today, FMN Design was published in a national magazine. O.K. I'm still trying to swallow that one. Today, a national magazine published a small feature about FMN Design. Ahhhhhh!!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT???!!!!

For those of you wanting the details, it's Inside Weddings. Yes, THE Inside Weddings. I can hardly stand it! I went out last night to try to buy a copy since it was supposed to hit stands today, only to find out that they hadn't stocked their shelves yet. They said they would do that in the am. So, I promptly drove back after my "mommy and me" class with Miles to pick up my copy only to find that they STILL hadn't stocked their shelves and the guy who's job that happened to be was on his "lunch' break at 10am. UGH!!

I took a deep breath and went on with the rest of my day. I think I convinced myself that it really wasn't that big of a deal. That I would get a copy at some point. It's the Fall issue no doubt and it wasn't leaving the stands anytime soon. But, upon arriving home, I made sure to call another book store and asked if they had the magazine, which they did, so right after picking Mason up from school, we were off.

I had told the boys that we needed to pick up a magazine for me and a Star Wars magazine for them. I had to figure some way to make them excited to go magazine shopping! When we arrived at Barnes & Nobel, it took Mason all of five seconds to find the Star Wars magazine and everything I had to convince them to come with me to find mine. Of course, it was no where to be found and I started doubting that this was even really happening. And then, hidden behind another wedding magazine, no I'm not making this up it's what really happened, there it was. The cover that I recognized, and opening it up to page 22, I was not disappointed. There it was, featured in the upper right corner, titled "Beautiful Memories", the eco album that FMN is offering.

It's kind of a surreal feeling. Seeing that short blurb about FMN. It somehow makes it more real and more of a dream all at the same time. It feels good, great, I'll be honest, to be recognized for the work that I'm doing. To know that a national publications sees value in something that I'm offering. I have to take a moment here to thank Leila Khalil of Be Inspired PR and all of her team for their hard work and dedication to my business. They are how this is possible and I truly do appreciate their support.

I had a nice glass of wine tonight to celebrate. Celebrating the strides I've made in these almost two years that Forget Me Not has been in business. Celebrating doing something that I love that brings joy to other people. Celebrating life and what Forget Me Not stands for. True love, remembrance and the gift of memories that are cherished across generations.

So go and run out and pick up a copy of Inside Weddings and give it to anyone you know that's getting married! Then tell them to read page 22 and if they're in the market for a wedding album, I'm here to help!