twelve. ten. twelve.

And another month rolls around with barely a word from these parts. I've been consumed with other things. Like not Christmas shopping. Not exercising. Not eating right. Oh, and not blogging. Good thing I'm committed to these Ten on Ten posts. Or there'd be nothing but crickets around here.

We all managed to survive Nutcracker season. The ballerinas much more so than me, I must say. I am down with some type of sickness. That just doesn't want to give up. I thought I was at the tail end of it, but I guess spending two weeks in a theater holding countless germy little hands just before they puke into the trash can is not the best ounce of prevention. But it's all good.

I also started an online film photography class last week. It is fantastic! And I can't wait for my film to arrive so I can dive in and try out my dad's old cameras. I hope to post more about that soon. I think I'm onto something. Something that I knew was missing. But am just starting to figure out what it was. I know that sounds totally vague. But it's exciting.

OK...onto my day. Ten photos. Over Ten hours. On the tenth day. A boring sick day. I barely left the house. And I can't wait to crawl into bed as soon as I hit "Submit."

sleepy heads...

BB, don't go...

living room chaos...

watching over us...

chocolate eggs...finally!

and they taste goooooood....

afternoon siesta...

after school snack...

dance pickup...

night, night...

To see what others were up to today, take a peek over here.

Gifted and Talented: The Video

If this ballet gig doesn't pan out, I think the Big Ballerina has a future in the dog training world. Cesar Millan....watch your back.

Buster = 13 weeks old
Big Ballerina = 12 years old

eleven. ten. twelve.

These Ten on Ten post titles crack me up.

"umm....no, officer. I haven't been drinking."
"of course I can count to twelve."
"nine. ten. twelve."
"er...ten. ten. twelve."
"no wait...eleven. ten. twelve. Yes. That's it... eleven. ten. twelve."

And it looked like this....

8am - Saturday Morning Cartoons

9am - Gifted and Talented

10am - The view from up here

11am - The ride

high noon - play date

1pm - cheating on my Big Gulp    (hot cocoa with a shot of peppermint mocha. yum!)

2pm - little fishie

3pm - friendship time out

4pm - indian squaw (one of our hens is molting big time)

6pm - pizza on the porch

Yes. It was a gorgeous, lazy day with just Buster, my Little Ballerina and her buddy today. Such a nice break from the cold, damp weather we've been having.

Check out what everyone else was up to today here. If you participated too, leave me a comment. I'd love to peek into your day.

Ten on Ten: Ten. Ten. Twelve.

This Ten on Ten introduces a new member of our family. We got a new puppy over the weekend. Not sure how that happened. My family must have slipped something into my Diet Coke. Because we've been there. Done that. Before. And it didn't end well.

I think I was lulled into it by a gorgeous four hour drive into the country. And the prospect of a new model. Luckily, he's quite photogenic. And at 8 weeks, he already sits and poses for the camera. Who needs the ballerinas? When I've got Buster Brown now.

He's also quite the little helper too. This morning he helped me...

make the ballerinas' lunches.

clean up the cobwebs around here...

do the laundry...

dead head the mums in the garden ...

make some lunch...

and do the dishes.

When the ballerinas got home, there was homework to do...

followed by a little training session with his big sister...

Then it was off to see one of his relatives....

find some jeans to fit a skinny tween...

and finally... a little late night toy shopping.

Yes. It was a busy day. For a little pup. And an old mom.

Check out what everyone else was up to today here.

in an octopus' garden...under a new shade

Remember the art work BSD made for the Big Ballerina out of the old fence pickets? Well...we promised the Little Ballerina that she would get one too. We didn't want the same design so we asked her what she wanted. Her reply...

"a lavender octopus on a green background"

Alrighty then. 

A lavender octopus on a green background you shall get.

BSD is the bomb!

And you'll also get a new hanging lamp for some shade. 

A lamp that I originally bought on a whim for the Big Ballerina's bedroom from one of those online flash sales. I think it was Joss and Main. But BB vetoed it. Luckily, LB is not as picky. And she is happy with the cozy space it creates.

What I couldn't stomach was that nightstand. Splattered with Barbie stickers that don't simply peel off. And Daddy's cell phone number written on the side. 

While I would have loved to replace the nightstand with something a little bigger to fit the space better. I decided to just grab a can of paint I recently used on another piece in the house. That just so happened to be a shade farther down the paint strip from her wall color. (oh...which for the record. I still don't like. But it's staying. For now.) And went ahead and gave it a fresh coat of paint and some new glass knobs.

So we ever so slowwwwllllyy continue to work on the ballerinas' bedrooms. And every other room inside and outside our house. It's a process. Our motivation ebbs and flows. As do the funds to make it happen. But half the excitement is discovering what we can create for next to nothing. As in the case of the octopus art. It cost us nothing.

PS - The octopus is painted with all paints we had already. The green background is the minty green paint (mixed with a darker green) that I had Larry first paint the kitchen with. That made me want to cry. hehe...I like that it now has a happy ending.

in the park. after dark.

Today is Day 263 of my Project 365. Which is really a Project 366. Because it's Leap Year. Freakin' overachiever that I am. I chose a leap year to attempt this project. 

Some days the photos come easily. I'm done by 9am. 

Other days. It's not so easy.

 

SETTING: Tonight. 9pm. Our kitchen.

BSD: What's your photo today?
Me: I don't have one.
BSD: What are you going to do?
Me: I don't know. Take a picture tomorrow.
BSD: Isn't that cheating?
Me: Well...unless you'll let me take your picture now....

And so he did.
Such a good sport.
Until.
Just as I'm figuring out the camera settings.
He tells me he has to go home.
To poop. 

nine ten twelve

Holy smokes! The summer flew by. Lazy days drifted away one by one. And here we are. In September. Back to school. Back to reality. Back to blogging.

I'm not going to bore you with a recap of what we did all summer. Nope. I'm going to look ahead. Move forward. And dip my blogging foot back into the pond with a Ten on Ten post today. With a few sneak peeks into some projects we've got going on over here.

My day today. In pictures. Ten pictures. Over ten hours. On the tenth day. Did you join in today too? If so, let me know. I'd love to catch up with you.

almost a dozen

sweet little birdie

dead lifts

grabbing groceries

loving lacquer

side tracked

endless summer

summer nights #777

day is done

Take a peek at what other Ten on Ten'ers were up to today here.

The Dinner Table Gets a Make Over

Like everyone else out there, we've been pummeled by some oppressive heat this summer. So bad that we actually didn't even want to go outdoors a few days. And since I've been a little lacking on the creative home front. And my word this year IS create. I picked up some fun fabrics and made some summery place mats and napkins to cheer up the place.

It's been so nice to actually sit down as a family and eat a meal together. I swear this rarely happens during the school year. So we've been working on making the occasion a little more special.

With fresh cut flowers. From my neighbor's yard. shhh....

The new place mats and napkins.

And some food. That we actually cooked. On the stove.

Oh...and I know there's not a clear photo of the glasses. But these little glasses with the stars on them? Probably my all-time favorite Good Will score ever! They came in a set of 16. YES....SIXTEEN! When does Good Will have a set of SIXTEEN super cool glasses?!?! All for $4.25?! I had just returned some little vino glasses to Pottery Barn that cost more than that for one. And they weren't anywhere near as cool!

There's room at the table. Come on over and have dinner with us.

Paper or Cloth?

If you know me at all. You know that I am cheap thrifty. Sale signs make my heart beat faster. And I get a high when I bag a bargain. It's in my genes. Definitely passed down from my mom.

I also hate to spend money on things like deodorant and paper towels. Consumables are the anti-bargain. Total buzz kills.

So about a year ago, while BSD was away on one of his trips, I decided to switch to cloth napkins. I found some clearance (wheee!) fabric at Joann's and whipped up a set. I bought a vintage-looking wire basket from TJ Maxx (where else?). Put the napkins inside. Set it on the windowsill next to the table. And gave them a test drive.

The ballerinas were hesitant at first. Not wanting to get them dirty. But about two weeks later their default to the paper napkin drawer dissipated. And they were taking the few extra steps to the basket when they needed to wipe their mouths. Victory!

There were also no complaints when I packed cloth napkins in their lunch boxes. Even if the pattern I made them out of was a bit juvenile. It was the only way I was going to get away with using that adorable fabric.

I decided to take it one step further. And picked up some cute cloth dish cloths at Walmart.

These came in a pack of eight. Two each of green, red, blue, and yellow stripes. Only about $5 for the pack. And into the trash went the old, stinky consumable sponges.

Phase three was replacing the paper towels. This was the hardest hurdle. Paper towels and me. We go way back. Smear a dab of jelly on the counter? Grab a paper towel. Time to give the counter tops the once over? Grab 10 paper towels. Spill a glass of water on the floor? Throw down the whole roll.

Every time I reached for a paper towel, I had to wrestle my hand back off the roll. I was an addict. The withdrawal process was long and painful. But almost a year later. And I am still using the same 12 roll pack I had before the switch. And if weren't for BSD. Who uses two paper towels to dry an apple. I would probably still be using the same single roll.

It feels good to be using less. Helps with my crunchy-granola, chicken farmer image too. I'm trying to get BSD to hook me up with clothesline next. But I draw the line at reusable toilet paper. And the whole GladRags and Lunapanties idea. That's a whole other league.

So...what about you? Paper or cloth in your household?