second batch of postcards

second batch of postcards
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

I finally got around to posting the second batch of postcards I received in the postcard swap (you can see & read about the first batch here and learn more about the postcard swap here). The top two were actually the first two postcards I received, but I couldn't find them when I took the picture of the first bunch. The cards are from (clockwise from top left) are a fabulous collage from Hanna (love the thread in the bird's beak), Marieke, Sandra (this one is all fabric...I was surprised the post actually mailed it -- very fun!) and Melissa. There were about 40 other people who participated in the swap. If you're interested in viewing all the postcards I didn't receive :(, you can find them here. Thanks again Myra for hosting this swap!

birds flying at light speed

I found out about a new artist, Amy Ruppel, about a month ago on a blog (I can't remember exactly which one it was right now, but Kelly over at buzzville posted about two of Amy's pieces she recently acquired). I am infatuated with her stuff. I signed up right away to receive updates about her next art sale. Well, I received an e-mail a few days ago alerting me to a sale she was having today at 11am pacific time (1pm my time). Bad news for me...the sale sort of slipped my mind because my husband was leaving today for a 4-day trip to Colorado. After he left (~3:30pm) I checked my e-mail and was reminded of the sale. I went straight to her website only to find out that 40 of the 41 paintings were already sold! -- in less than 3 hours! Isn't that crazy! It looks like her work is a hot commodity. I may have missed out this time, but I will definitely be making Amy's next sale an appointment on my calendar. Go check out her work here.

middle of the night musings

It's now 5:48am, and I've been awake now since 1:30am...when my daughter woke up screaming. She didn't fall back asleep quickly, so I went in to check on her. I thought I'd just give her pacifier back to her and she would fall right back to sleep; she didn't want her pacifier, she wanted to nurse (she hasn't done that in the middle of the night for a long time). Thirty minutes later, Margot was asleep...and I was wide awake. I knew lying back down was pretty much pointless at this point, but I thought I'd at least try to go back to sleep. That lasted about five minutes before I got up and decided to write down some of the ideas I had for tag lines for the shoe store (my husband and I are getting ready to open up a shoe boutique in Kansas City in a few months...i'll be sharing much more about that in the future). After I recorded all those ideas, I remembered that I wanted to figure out how to put a sidebar on my blog for all the blogs I read regularly. Well, if you're reading this, you can see that I haven't figured it out yet. I don't know anything about html and even though there are directions on blogspot, I have yet to figure out how to do it. So after giving up on the blogroll (for now), I decided to catch up on my blog reading and (of course) I found several new ones that I'll now want to read regularly: lisa in san francisco, her sister stephanie in portland (they have quite the crafty family...their mom also has a blog) and kath in australia. Check them out when you get a chance.

the ol' Survivor switcharoo

Can someone give me the number to a CBS executive? I want to ask them why they chose to air the 2-hour season finale of Survivor on a Sunday night, when the show usually airs on Thursday nights. How many other uninformed Survivor fans turned on the television at 7pm (central time) tonight, anxious to view the crowning of the winner of Survivor Palau, only to see the beginning of the 2-hour season finale of CSI? Yes, I admit it, I'm a fan of Survivor. No, I'm not addicted to Survivor. I've only watched two seasons all the way through (Australia and the current season), but if you're a Survivor fan, then you understand how frustrated I was to find out that I had missed the outcome. I realize there may not be many others like myself who missed the finale because most fans probably saw the commercials announcing that the finale would air on Sunday, but I didn't see those commercials because I don't watch television (I have a strong dislike for TV because I think it's a waste of time, but Survivor is the one hour of TV in which I indulge). One would think that I would've found out during last week's episode that the finale was on a different night, but I don't remember hearing anything about that (and I think I would've caught that).

I've already found out who was voted the sole survivor (thanks to the internet), but I don't think I'll have resolution until I see the finale. So, if anyone has a copy of the show, I'll pay big money for it (OK, maybe not big money, but you will be my new best friend).

my latest pet peeve

In the last week I've realized that I have a new pet peeve. When people hear that we are moving the first week of June, their first question is always, "Have you started packing yet?" I'm so tired of being asked that question now I don't even try to come up with some proper excuse as to why we haven't started packing (as if I should need one), I just say, "No." Really people, do you care if I've started packing? Wouldn't you rather hear about our new house? Or why we're moving? This packing question bothers me on two levels: 1) it means I'm constantly reminded of something I need to do, but have not. It compares with around the time of college graduation when everyone is asking you, "So, do you have a job?" and you are constantly reminded that you don't have a job, which of course means you must be a loser and that there's no hope for your future even with this official piece of paper that says you're now educated, and 2) it makes me feel like I've missed out on some moving etiquette...as if it's so obvious that we should be completely packed by now or that we must have been sick the day they went over the timeline of packing a house in 6th grade.

The truth is, I'm not lazy or behind in my packing, I just don't feel like looking at packed boxes for the next three weeks. So, I figure I'll start packing a week before we move and then I'll only have to think about it for a week (and of course all the weeks that the stuff remains in boxes on the new premises). I'm probably naive to think we can pack our entire house in one week (with my husband going away for four days for a bachelor party weekend getaway in Estes Park three days prior to our moving day), but I've decided I would much rather be stressed for one week of crazy-mad packing versus three weeks of lolly-gagging packing.

P.S. Another one of those questions that gets really old, really fast is the "How are you feeling?" while you are pregnant. The pure frequency of that question cancels out the good intentions that are behind it. It's nice to feel loved, but honestly, this pregnant woman grew extremely weary of that question. For the sake of pregnant women, and people that will soon be moving, please come up with a more creative question.

why i get to celebrate mom's day

IMG_1180
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers who are reading this (probably not many seeing as how only my husband and a few other people even know I have a blog)! This little cutie is why I got to celebrate Mother's Day for the first time this year. I got a relaxing 1 hour massage and then we ate at our favorite Lawrence restaurant -- Free State Brewery. Then mommy and Margot hung out for the evening while daddy went to the Shins concert (wait, I thought we were celebrating Mother's Day?). It doesn't matter, that face makes it all worth it! Margot turned 10 months old this past week. She's ready to start walking, but mommy is just getting used to the idea of her crawling (and the constant chasing her around the has commenced).

first batch of postcards

postcard swap first batch
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

Here are 6 of the 8 postcards I've received so far from the postcard swap -- they put my postcards to shame. I cannot find the first two postcards I received, but I am determined, so I'll post a photo of them later. I've been skipping to the mailbox all week in anticipation of receiving fun mail (rather than all those credit card offers). It's been so fun to see what other people made. It just confirms what all my blog reading lately has revealed -- there are a lot of creative people out there. These postcards are from (left to right, top row then bottom row): Super K, Myra, Snowbear, Amanda, Christy and Holly. Check them out.

my first swap

postcard swap photo
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

I'm finally getting around to posting a photo of one of the postcards I made for the postcard swap (hosted by Myra). The postcards had to be postmarked by last Saturday, April 30th, so I spent most of last Friday evening and Saturday morning working furiously to finish mine in time. I dyed paper towels (a new endeavor) and then collaged them over a word collage (all the places that I was sending my postcards to) -- an idea I got from this magazine. They didn't turn out exactly like I had hoped, but that's mostly because I ran out of time. For my first attempt of doing something crafty in a long time, I was pleased.