To be frank, blogging sucks! I find myself going in and out of wanting to do it at all. I don’t know what my inspiration should be and among many others, I’ve struggled with knowing what to write about. No one wants to hear about this stuff. A lot of the time, I end up writing about what I think others want to read about. I know, that’s bad you say. You should write about things that make you happy, you say. blah blah blah. Ya, your right. What if I just started taking pictures of my life, my house, my pets, my habits, my stuff and wrote about that? What if this blog had no other purpose in this world than to show everyone reading who I am?

Seems kinda narcissistic. Ok, I’m over it.

It’s cherry season! If you have a minute, go get some. A cute neighbor girl came to our door last night and sold us a bag for $3. I put them in my vintage strawberry pattern bowl today and have been chomping them off their cute little stems! There’s a bit of my life today whether you wanted to read about it or not.

Ya ya ya! I’m going to soap making boot camp this weekend. Two intense days of nothing but learning how it all works from people who have been doing it for years. It’s a class offered by The Nova Studio in Pt. Richmond. This is extra important to me because it’s what I’ve been needing to get a jump on Little Brown Owl Soap Company.

As some of you know, it’s been in limbo for well over a year now. I have a website designed and am working with my super talented husband to get that up and running (but probably not launched till I have something to sell :)). I may be contacting some of you soon to test out the product. I need to figure out packaging and shipping methods still, but it’s all coming along. I’m especially excited to attempt a new scent that will hit home with most of the fellas I know (Stephen’s idea of course!)… Hop soap. I know ladies, it seems like it would be kinda smelly, and not in the good way. Don’t worry, I’ll add a woman’s touch, so that it will attract instead of turn away.

Some nice things about l.b.o. soap is that it’s purely vegetable, mild and natural, made with essential oils (no animal products, perfumes, or fake stuff of any kind). Some other scents I’m leaning toward are sandlewood, patchouli, douglas fir, lavendar, milk, tea tree, eucalyptus, rosemary mint, oatmeal and my all-time favorite, cocoa butter. We’ll see what really turns out.

Ta ta for now.

So I just had my 27th birthday yesterday. I have to say it was a weird one. Not at all in what we did, but rather how I feel. Every other year of my twenties has been no big deal, just another birthday… but this year I’m definitely feeling older. My cute husband organized an awesome day in the city with a bunch of our good friends. We went to the MOMA, then to 21st Amendment for dinner and beer. It was a great day! Thanks to everyone who came or wanted to come.

This Wednesday, we’re also going to see the Jimmy Eat World – 10 year anniversary Clarity Tour at The Fillmore. I’m so excited. I still say Clarity was their best. Here’s a clip I found of a show recently.

Big things have been happening in my family of late. We welcomed a new addition… Olivia Leigh Bos on December 12, 2008. My sister’s first, and first grandchild on my side. She’s amazing and beautiful and has a sense of humor already. As my mom says, this isn’t surprising considering we’re all a bunch of clowns. I have to agree. I can’t wait to grow up with her.

This Christmas has been the best one yet. It’s interesting to see how one’s priorities change when there’s a new life around. Gifts no longer matter. God already gave us the best gift anyone of us could have hoped for. What more is there?

So, here it is, almost January and I’m just now writing about this. Tis’ the season to pack one’s schedule so full that there’s barely room to breathe, let alone tell the world what you’ve been up to, eh?

I have my art hanging at Panama Bay Coffee, in Downtown Concord for the month of December. I guess you can say this is my first “real” art show. I’ve had a few peices in other places in the past, but never a grouping of this size. It’s a good feeling.

I shared the joint (he he) with my sister-in-law, Shalina, who hung samples of her photography. I love her work. This is all old news to my close friends and family, as most of them were able to be there at the opening. Steve’s band, In Reverent Fear, played their acoustic set. We just hung out; it was a great time. Go to my portfolio page to see the work. Peace.

Little Brown Owl is coming along swimmingly. I can’t wait to get it officially launched. My friends and family, I bet, are a bit tired of hearing about it, but soon there will be visible proof of my hours of invisible work. Stephen has been so supportive and helpful with all the back end crap that goes into starting an online store. I’m so thankful for him. Anyway, I just wanted to give an update to those who were wondering, “what the heck is happening with this?”. Thanks for the wonder. I will be producing the goods soon.

Coffee and good conversation. What more could you ask for? Today was my third day at Peet’s Coffee and Tea in Downtown Concord. I’m sure everyone knows feeling that I have right now… information overload and an overwhelming sense that I missed something?? Ya, I know it will get better, but wow. I forgot how hard it is to start a new job. It’s been a while since my brain had to retain and implement that much in such a short time. Really though, I don’t give it enough credit. I am having tons of fun; I can’t complain about getting free coffee, and my store is full of the most interesting people that I’ve had the pleasure to meet in a long time. It’s refreshing to find that there are real people out there (outside my friend and church bubble). Sometimes it’s easy to forget that.

Thanks to Jenny and Sharon, Jimmy and Danielle, and John for visiting me. It was a good day.

Every once in a while, one needs to go into the woods and simply breathe. This last weekend, I was able to for a few days. Steve and I went to Kirkwood Lake with a couple friends camping. The weekend was dirty and relaxing, a great combo. A bit surreal at points though. There’s a Girl Scout camp across the small lake who, at night, you could hear singing and playing musical instruments.  It was kind of  a creepy feeling to be sitting in the middle of nowhere hearing the sound of a flute coming out of the trees.Rosa had her first swim lesson. She ended up loving the water. Little chipmunks helped themselves to her kibbles and I filmed a guy jumping from the top of a tree into the lake. I was amused.

But my favorite part was when we climbed this huge mountain of rocks to watch the sunset. It felt like you could see the whole world from up there.

So, I know it’s been a while since I’ve written. But I asure you, it’s not because of the lack of content. no. no. I’ve been terribly preoccupied. Which is no excuse. I’m loving life and all it’s strange-ness.  So now that I’m not working full time, I’m now working overtime with all the projects and stuff I love to do. It’s been amazing. To give you a quick peak, I’ve been volunteering a bunch in our library at church; creating posters and advertisments to promote it’s weekly features. I’ve also been working with a couple of friends to create a monthly publication, zine thing, to distribute locally. My hope is that it will promote community and give people a bit of art to look forward to each month. Also, I’ve been preparing to head up a Drawing 101 class starting next month. It’s a bit daunting, going back through past stuff I’ve learned and trying to figure out how to teach it myself. I’ve never taught a class in my life, so it should be an interesting experience. And last, but not least by any means, I’ve been working on Little Brown Owl. It’s going to be a website to sell crafty stuff that I make at home. So, that means, I have to make stuff to sell as well. Awwwwhhh!  Craziness, but I’m having so much fun doing it. On top of all of that, I just got a part time job at Peet’s Coffee here in Concord. So, needless to say, my schedule is now over flowing and it’s exciting.

Happy as a blue bird. Busy as a bee.

Welcome to Portland. Home of good beer, community and, of course, the Steens. I don’t think I realized how much I really missed Eric and Stephanie until we headed for home this morning. Our visit was so much fun! They have a great apartment that’s close to a bunch of great pubs, old theatres and little shops. Stephanie has a great job as a Marketing and Communications Coordinator and Eric has been diving head-first into his art. It was awesome to see Steve and Eric reminisce about old times. They are still so similar in a lot of ways. This road trip has been the highlight of my year. I’ve discovered that I thrive off of seeing new things; I suck at throwing a frisby; I feel extra small standing next to the ocean; I am beginning to appreciate a good IPA; and visiting old friends is what life should be made of. We’re home now, planning our next trip…

Fun at The Red Light (vintage second-hand clothing)… AWESOME STUFF!

Eric’s coaster collection.