take it nice and .Slow

i'm wishing i could use something like this in the next few months. 

but i will have to wait a bit until there is a real yard in my possession. 

                                                

                                                         from HamacArt

Loving. 

this new bag i snagged from Podolls. 

my body ..  . brain. wasn't made to go fast. 

i like it that way. 

nice and Slow. 

.these Three

can never remember how i stumble upon these songs

but now they continue to repeat 

and repeat

who can resist Ingrid?

and this new to me. Miia 

.Repeat

five little monkeys and My Mom

i keep hitting repeat.
over.
and over
And Over.

i can't help but smile.

YouTubing my Big Sister

needed to upload this video to You.Tube so 

with new phones and computer crashes, i could be assured i would never lose track of it.

this makes my heart so happy. even if she is stuck in a box.

Side by Side: All of Us

i feel like

this 

.has been my life the last couple of days.

And Tess, Henry, Jayden and I have a bit more to go.. . 

gotta say i'm loving it. 

three happies

.i have more. But here are three from today.

  

.one

the art of backing into my garage has officially been mastered. 

now that i typed that, i will probably rip off one of my side mirrors

.two

Henry is visiting while his daddy surfs in warm waters.

Tess is utterly happy. 

This photo captures her momentary craze.

.three

First off, I thought Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez were one in the same. 

Now that I have that figured out. 

this song got me all up and excited. 

It was on my XM Preview while I was flipping back and forth in the car. 
.those youngins
they make some good "music"
sometimes

saturday snow days

1. today's country channel 881
2. dishwasher .. . washing machine running
3. food made for the next few days
4. puppy sleeping, fat cat in a ball
4. on the high from last night's . ..


 

thank you, NPR

not going to say anything to ruin this for you. 

Missing? Found? .. . either way - boy, do i wish i had been on that boat. 

 

via NPR

can't sleep

might as well stay up at this point

11:29 pm

a sleeping .puppy girl
a snoring cat

and this newly discovered band.
quite lovely.

four years later

i wasn't even looking
but you were there.
.peering out at me
two wheels hanging over the edge of the matchcar stand in the middle of the CVS check.out line.

the pink cadillac.
Could you have been more obvious today?
you talked about that car so much.

your face isn't clear in my mind four years later.
that makes me sad.
my heart. hurts.

but it wasn't your face that made me feel so loved.
it was all the other parts.

the ones unseen.

when i try real hard and even in moments when i don't, you sneak up on me
.your presence right beside me.

even four years later.

white lights in the .young oceans

i'm in bed next to a snoring dog.

i'll admit i kinda don't mind it. 

i kind of like it.

.her breath is warming my arm

she keeps me cozy 

this girl o' mine. 

but.. . i am stuck awake. 

stupid headache. 

stupid 11:30. 

stupid excedrin. 

______________________

so here's what's happening 

______________________

with each passing day 

it's nearing Christmas. 

I'm not such a fan. 

all the stores seem to forget that Thanksgiving is next
.. . not the December holiday. 

so this [pictured to the left] 

is how i'm adjusting 

.tossing up some white lights in my bedroom. 

total ghetto style.

when December does finally roll around, I won't be so shell shocked. 

we'll see how well this works. 

colored lights in a week or so, if needed. 
but i'm thinking that's just crazy talk. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Two reasons this hit my heart. 

1.  Love the way he describes the class. 

     .the discussion. 

     .the thoughtful back and forth. 

     .the questioning 

     .it is a snapshot into my daily life. 

2. the first This ______________ .. .watch it. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Young Oceans
give them a .Listen

The .Power of Red

i've fallen in love with this lipstick. 
it's the real deal, no normal everyday nude. 

wore it to work this morning.. . reapplied it when my kids were in computers.. 

When I picked them up a student asked, "Do you have lipstick on, Miss Anastasio?"

. . followed by an echo of little girls complimenting me.

who would have thought kids would recognize the power of a little red lipstick? 

towels in the background = super classy

i was scrolling though my playlists and discovered this song.

if you see some crazy thirty-something wearing bright red lipstick, going mad crazy 
singing on the top of her lungs
 .. that .Would. Be .Me. 

these lyrics. the chorus.

but you're not gonna break my soul.
this is the part of me, that your never gonna ever take away from me. 

that was then and this is .Now. 

yes. yes and Yes.

RECENT .PINS

via: GPS

i'm thinking this should just say - A Person's Behavior is an Iceberg. 

Does it really only apply to kids? 

via: Socially Speaking

hot water happiness

i may not have hot water for the fifth time this month  .. but i'm still a happy girl. 


here are five simple reasons. 

1. today a sizeable box waited for me patiently on my doorstep. 
Full of BOOKS. Read.Alouds.. . writing books and of course, books about food -  glorious food. 


2. this month, i got a lot of sister.. . family. time. 
Surprise 70th for my dad and then a family wedding this past weekend in Ohio. 




in the city @Eataly..  pure food heaven
.all senses come alive when you step through the doors

Could Aidan, my nephew be any cuter? 

Writing his well wishes to the bride and groom.

i love him to bits, pieces.. . little dustlets.

3.   my hair hitting my collarbone. 
      year after year.
      cut it, grow it, cut it, dark, light, dark.. . back and forth.  
      my hairdresser won't be seeing me any time soon. 
      i'm enjoying this growing season.

4.  this sound 

     these words. 

You were waiting at the door. 

I let you in. 

the ninth month, the eighth day

Here's a snapshot. 
life as of 9.8.14


Eating: 

One of the many times I feel blessed to live in new jersey. 
Yes..  blessed by the Sloppy Joe.


Reading:

Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions

on my Kindle. 

I've started carrying it in my purse.. .Now that I've started using more than just a wallet. 

It easily slips right in and i'm out the door. 

Listening to:




Wearing:: : and REwearing.

Old brown Target cargos. 
The fabric is so thin and cozy I wish I could wear them to work. 
and like every other piece of clothing i own.. . they have a small hole in them. 
Makes me feel vintage chic. 



Wishing: 
I could paint my nails with this color : Opi - A Man in Every Port-ugal

without THIS happening. The right hand is always a beast.

Thankful for:
The 15th pay day that is appearing JUST around the corner. 
My bank account will soon be back in business. 

Sade in aisle two

When you're in CVS and stopped in your tracks by a cheesy.. but wonderfully wonderful song from a decade ago. 

good stuff. 

nothing like some serious Sade.

she grit her teeth and loved me

My favorite holiday since my mother's passing is Easter. 

The words to the hymns make me cry big fat happy tears. 

Can't stop them. Don't want to. 

This year I was on a Delta plane  - gosh knows how high up in the sky -  as my family was at church. .. and I missed out on the celebration of Jesus's resurrection and my mom's everlasting life. She now sings in tune in the most angelic voice and not off key into her daughters' ears during church services where we would quietly giggle. 

We couldn't help it. 

No matter what age we were. 

Little girls or up until when this last photo was shot. 

This picture is from my mom's last Easter and man alive, does it make me so beyond happy. 

Smiling ear to ear. 

I can hear her when i look at it and she almost jumps off of the computer, hugging on me. 

the type of hug where she would always grit her teeth, almost to the point of breaking. 

I could hear her as she was loving me.

She couldn't contain it.

I'm basking in this photograph this spring.time. 

If I shut my eyes, I'm there. 

She's still here. in so many places. 

Four years later. 

 

the .Wonderful unknown

lyrics .. . perfection

chris tomlin makes me cry

the next two weeks are going to eat me alive.. .

.i can feel it coming already

going to need some hard.core prayer. 
certainly not going to be able to do it alone.


i've posted this before
and listened to it twenty .. thirty.. . maybe forty times counting the views on my phone.
every single time, it makes me cry. 
something in chris tomlin's account of the writing of the song and the 2 Kings passage. 
it all just turns me to a weepy, can't catch my breath. mess. 

maybe this week is not the best to listen to this one. 

are you listening?

seems like i've been writing about commercials lately. 
i'm not going to delve into why. .. nor do i particularly know why..  ? 
other than saying _

.. . those swiffer people, they got me good.
i'll surely buy the duster now. 

i hate being bamboozled by cute old people.