Bliss Beyond Naptime

Vlogging ~ Neeples and Nuptials

As a tribute to my beloved hubby, and as an ode to our anniversary a couple of weeks ago that I, er, kind of forgot,  I decided to wear my wedding dress non-stop, all week long until his safe return from the field (yes! He had to go away again. Damn the man!).

I also decided we were due for another vlog entry around these parts. Here I share a Mumsy impersonation (you can see the real deal here where I interview her. And as you can witness for yourself I'm pretty bang on) and the cocktail party icebreaker story behind my wedding ring.

Weird how I'm speaking with a Southern drawl these days. Maybe I've suffered a stress related stroke with Craig being gone and haven't even noticed. So do you have any wedding day tales that creep out of your subconcious whilst you wear your wedding dress while hanging laundry? Try it and share any break throughs here on the comments.

PS You can see a tinch of wedding dress #3 I speak of over on my about page.

 

Want to Get to Nose Me Better?

It's been such a busy time with gardening madness, Backwoods Mama-ing and wrapping up unschooling for the unschool year. And then, of course, there was my mama's way too short visit last week. You know what Grandma always packs in her suitcase? Only the latest Project Runway season for me and Craig to devour once the Project Rugrats have gone to bed. Man, that show just makes me want to sew until Daisy comes home.

This, unforunately, has been cutting into some prime blogging time. Good news though is tonight we're already at the eposide where Tim Gunn visits the finalists' homes so our regular blogging schedule shall return shortly here.

So this leads us to that scary nose photo. It's a self-portrait I took using our mirror windchime to capture the essence that is my nose. Super mysterious, nose? Who am I really? Just a big nose? No! I'm so much more than that. So I thought it might be just about time for a FAQ post. Want to play? Go ahead, ask me a question here and I'll answer it this week sometime. Maybe I'll even vlog the more long winded answers with a giant glass of wine in my hand (soley as a prop of course). Who nose? Must run, Craig is on the couch beckoning me with that adorable foot clap of his that translates to Heidi time!

Puntastic Giveaway

 

 

I'm basking in the glow that is my mom's visit! She is organizing my mason jar lids as I type ~ bliss! I'm also taking advantage of her bonding time with the kids to get a head start on some crafting projects I've had tucked away in the darker recesses of my idea book for ages now. One of them is a wall hanging to darken the kids' rooms from bright as day bedtimes and way too early wake ups. Right now we're using flannel blankets that's a little more shabby than the shabby chic I'm going for.

Now with jar lid sorting has been taken off of my daily to do list my brains have been freed up to come up with many, many more puns. I'm a pun making machine - a pundit. A corres-pun-dent. An entre-pun-eur. Which brings me to peel back and expose my latest nerdy layer. Are you ready for this? Brace yourself:

Have you ever heard of Fiverr? It's the place where people share what they would do for $5. Brilliant! I couldn't resist, I had to play along. I thought to myself while my mom was colour coding my tuperware containers; "hmmmmm... what could I offer for five bucks?" and so I listed my pun making services.

Yes, you too can have a punny blog post title for five bucks! Yes, I realize what an uber nerd I am but I always love a good pun challenge. We'll see who bites.

And here's my window cover about 80% complete. I still need to get at it with a felting needle to make the sun a bit sunnier. Ack, maybe I should just take a felting course... Wait a minute, my friend Nicole is offering a felting ecourse at the end of May!

Here is some more information that Nicole has sent my way:

Nicole used to run a weekly 'mama craft morning' where mamas would all gather with tea and babies and make sweet little things with natural supplies under her guidance. 'Magic Fairy Wool - online class' is an extension of those craft mornings.

In this class you will learn how to work with beautiful plant-dyed wool fibres, gently twisting and knotting them around themselves to create little birds and beasts and gnomes. You will also learn how to make a wool picture. This work does not involve any felting - wet or dry needle-felting - and is suitable for beginners and experienced crafters.
 

Nicole is excited to offer a reader a spot in the class (the hand-dyed by her mom wool may be purchased at her etsy shop: Lebenskuenstler.etsy.com)! Please leave a comment if you would like to be entered and I'll draw for the sweet spot on Monday morning. I hope you really needle a felting class these days. Ha! Get it?

 

True Random Number Generator Result: 21 That's you Cynthia ~ congratulations and have fun! Thank you everyone and your entries were so pun to read :)

100 Things About Me Part 3

This rocky shore's around the bend from the Happy House. I bet your awoke this morning thinking I need to know more about this complex, mysterious character they call Kathy. Ten more things about me:

21. I'm a morning person for sure. Especially since Edie. Especially since it's pretty much the only time I can do whateva I want; namely drink coffee, online time, diddle daddle, create. So quiet, peaceful, full of light and promise.

22. I started life out with brown eyes then thought it was pretty cool how David Brenner's eyes turned green when he got mad and wished I had me some of that (the eyes and David Brenner) and now my eyes are greeny/hazel.

23. People often ask me if that's a Scottish accent I sport.

24. When I as three my older brother's friend had a birthmark on his leg I thought was pretty cool and I wished I had me some of that so I smeared Fudgescle tm   on my leg and threw a bandaid tm on top of that and now I have me some of that. This was all because he said it was his baby when I asked him whaz that?

25.  I've probably been employed by over thirty companies throughout my career. My career starting off at the tender age of fifteen at MacDonalds, then Burger King, Wendy's, A&W, Arby's, BullWinkles, Swiss Chalet, Cheesecake Cafe, Mongolie Grill, Videoholics and a bakery in Ottawa, several Calgary area restuarants, then oil companies, then temp agencies, advertising companies and finally self-employment as yoga teacher/hempress/spiritual home tasker. Can you hear Craig's eyes roll from where you're at?

26. My elbow can rotate my lower arm in a 360 degree rotation. Kind of like how Mr Roper's can (or was it Furly?) in Three's Company.

27. I don't wear jewellry. Can't even spell it. Haven't worn earrings forever except on my wedding day. Though I am getting big gorgeous necklace wantings seeing some around my friends' necks here that are to live for.

28. I say wicked alot but am working on that. My friend brought to my attention that it's mildly evil energy even though I'm saying it with a smile in my voice.

29. I like to say things with a smile in my voice (a Scottish smile apparantly) and hear things with smiles in there. Ask Craig.

30. My ears are sensitive and I like my ear lobes. Perhaps that's why I don't wear earrings.

100 Things About Me Part 2

It's about time to have a part two of my 100 things about me segment. Plus, there is a giant lurk poke that seems to be waving around blogland so, here I go. If you feel compelled, please leave an "amen" or something of that nature in the comments and, well, delurk!

The above picture is nod to number 9 of things about me. Kitty passed away this late summer. She is still greatly missed.

11. I have two brothers, Michael and Eric, really sweet guys by the way, and I seem to suffer fiercely from middle-child syndrome. Look at me, now! Damn it, you missed it.

12. I am a coffee snob. Organic, dark-roasted, fairly-traded shade grown, please!

13. Actually, I guess I'm a general consumption snob. I'm all over everything being organic, local or at least pesticide free/non-gmo going into my mouth (or any other orfice come to think of it) if at all possible.

14. I consider myself a lactivist. I hate how boobies have been so super-dupered sexualized in our culture to the point that breast-feeding in public has to be given a second thought. I was shy at first too but then I was like, damn it, this is what these are for, get use to it! People need more exposure to it, with some respect to the old bitties I guess. Anyways, off my soap box now. I feel the same way about natural childbirth, just like MB.

15. I wear my heart on my sleeve big time.

16. Luckily, I'm a happy person. I have so much to be grateful for including health, my beautful, amazing husband, my little treasure (that's what Edie means by the way) and living our dream out in our own little paradise.

17. Since I've gave birth I've been extremely indesicive.

18. I can't decide what to put here now.

19. I have a pretty loud laugh, I laugh alot, and the funny thing is, HAHAHA! I married the world's most soft spoken guy. HAR! HAR! HAR!

20. I am Aquarian. And, actually today is my birthday. As of today I am 36 years old. Yay, the new late twenties!

100 Things About Me Part 1

For a few reasons (that include Craig took the camera with him to the field, thus there's a picture of me and dinner guest Andy - who's soooooo funny - from earlier this week, dinner guest Andy forwarded this pic from his camera, I forgot to bring fresh batteries for the camera with me to the Lilac Festival, and I should be packing and not reflecting too heavily on my craftiness right now) I will instead start a list of 100 interesting tidbits about little old me so you can later test your friends KQ (Kathy's Questionables).

Lilac fest was great by the way. It started off rainy, my soaps were getting wet, we were both cranky but then the rain let up, coffee kicked in, came up with a new tag line (Do Be Clean! Same price as a hot dog but lasts a lot longer!) and the sales started to roll in! I had my most lucrative year ever! I just found out I got accepted to the Calgary Folk Festival (it's a jury selected honor) which kind of makes me want to cry due to the line up this year (think Ani DiFranco, Feist, Macy Gray) but I'm plum out of soap and no time to make more with the move and not to mention driving all the way back to town just for that weekend. Too much. Next year. Wah.

Okay, part one of the list:

1. My full name is Kathleen.  My parents did not grant me a middle name. Don't ask me why. I blame it on a lack of imagination.
2. I'm allergic to walnuts and pecans - but I won't die. I think I sub-consciously use the retrieval of that little known fact as a measure for how much my friends and family love me (when my mom forgets I cry)
3. Since I gave birth I rarely cry compared to how they use to refer to me as "Water Works"
4. I married my soul mate Craig and took his last name (I'm not going to tell you what it is though - ha! Nice try!)
5. My mom's from Peru and my dad's from Hungary (I like to say I'm half crazy and half crazy)
6. I have three jobs: I teach yoga, run Do Be Clean Handmade Hemp Soap 'n Stuff, full-time mom
7. I have lots of hobbies and the list keeps growing: knitting, sewing, soon to spin, crochet
8. We're moving out to the land in two weeks to live out our dream of our babies growing up close to nature and living in a little straw bale house and be as self-sufficient as possible
9. I have a soul cat named Kitty! and had her since I was 16. She's old now
10. I have the most amazing Crystal Child who has almost a cult-like following cause she's so special; Edie Tangerine. Craig and I keep a close eye on her cuz we're scared the Tibetan Monks are going to come to collect her one day.