spring break

Posted in familyness, let me let me update ya by ElaineMarie

do you hear that? no. you don’t. i don’t either. it’s completely quiet around here. darla done gone on spring break to indiana!!! really it will just be for an extended weekend but i’ve plans for getting stuff done. see:

wanna place bets on how much i actually get done?

and here’s just a few more moments from the week that made me happy:

1. donut date with my girl

2. mike and darla painted balloons

3. treated to an excellent show by my best friends for my {upcoming} birthday

4. sunshine in a house of organized mess

that’s all. wishing you a happy friday, a great weekend and a peaceful spring break!

25Jan2013

senses

Posted in let me let me update ya, Run Da House, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

playing along again with Mary Catherine’s photo exercise. my senses were very pleased this week. i have doubles of a couple categories:

^^^touch^^^

1} that weird way plastic gloves feel really good and really gross at the same time. and the correlating feeling of accomplishment when the dishes are done and the stink sink has been scrubbed. 2} the feeling of laying down in bed for the night and just staring up at the ceiling. ahhhh.

^^^taste^^^

1} thursday was darla’s turn to bring snack at school. we made something especially scrumptious since it was her birthday treat. my trick is: if you like your cookies to be a little moist and soft in the center always bake them in a muffin pan. they turn out thick and moist. ughhh, just typed the word moist twice. a third time! dislike! dislike! 2} my daughter has a more refined taste palette than i. this is her portobello, spinach and goat cheese omelette – on a plate that i made in 1988 as the plate specifically states. i have to admit, the leftovers she didn’t finish were delicious.

^^^sight^^^

the sight of darla reading poetry books on a sunny afternoon. so she told me they were spell books but whatever. in a way, she’s right. bewitch her with your words, mr. whitman.

^^^sound^^^

1} hubster’s music collection. if you’re a regular reader you know we’ve been having lots of dance parties lately thanks to a mirror ball addition to our living room. it’s hard for me to determine if i like the daytime, sunlit parties or the nighttime, disco shine parties better. eff it. they’re both my favorite. 2} our new organ. darla has been happily playing away daily on the newest furniture addition to our already crowded house. i have to admit that i wasn’t too happy when this showed up – since i wasn’t consulted – but i had to let it go and accept that everything can’t be my way. darla loves it and that’s all that matters. besides, i wouldn’t want to deny the world it’s next papa garth because of my silly ideas of room flow.

^^^smell^^^

the smell of the cookies baking was a savior. see, i’ve been making a lot of meals with various beans and legumes lately and this house has been in need of some aromatherapy, if you catch my drift. pun! flatulence pun!

that’s all i got. thanks for checking in to see how my senses did this week. and now for a special announcement: i’m sending you lots of positive energy for a fulfilling and restful weekend. be excellent. all of you.

19Jan2013

senses

Posted in i dig music, let me let me update ya, Run Da House, yum yum eat good, zero waste home by ElaineMarie

i am playing along with the weekly senses photo feature from Mary Catherine’s blog this week.

i am a dreamer. i think big and dream bigger. the problem with this is that i find myself not being satisfied in whatever moment i’m in. i’m living in the future or the past too much. i feel that focusing on this photo exercise put some perspective in my day: if i’m experiencing something nice pertaining to all 5 of my senses in one day then i’m doing alright. i have it pretty good no matter what my ambitions are telling me. I was able to find all these little gratitudes in a span of about 60 minutes:

^^^smell^^^

i’ve been making more of an effort to thoroughly use our fruits and veggies before tossing in the compost. the smell of grapefruit after scrubbing the sink with the leftover peel and the smell of fresh veggie stock helped me connect to our blessings in the nourishment department. (yeah, the pot boiled over. so much for the morning stove wipedown.)

^^^taste^^^

darla and i have a little ritual of scooping out the cream from the top of our freshly opened milk jugs. we get them every other week so it’s a treat to each have a spoonful once in a while. the taste of this week’s spoonful helped me connect to this small part of our life that i hope darla will remember when she is older. just she and her mama sharing fresh cream and feeling it’s a treat every single time.

^^^touch^^^

a touch of warmth is back in the sunshine. so that means it is real sunshine now. the kind that you can feel warm your skin. you can see my pasty white skin drinking in the vitamin d. the feeling of warmth connected me to the promise of springtime and brighter days to come.

^^^sight^^^

the fiendish look of accomplishment my girl makes when she’s sneaked a treat. it’s impossible for me to be irked by her cookiesnatching ways. the sight of this smile makes me grateful time and again.

^^^sounds^^^

this one was a given. mike won tickets to Father John Misty & The Walkmen this week. it has been quite a drought since my last concert so i was feeling very thankful to get back to some live music. also, i am grateful to have a husband that has calling in to radio stations to win tickets down to a science. i missed most of father john misty due to a birthworkers meeting but made it just in time for 2 of my favorite songs so it was ok. have a listen to my fave above.

that’s all friends. hope you continue to have a grand weekend!!!! xoxoxoxo

11Jan2013

weeksie

Posted in advantageous adventures, familyness, let me let me update ya, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

i felt kinda like getting back to posting some weekly familyness shots. i really miss so many of you friends and i’m sorry i don’t get my correspondence on as often as i’d like. just view our lives broadcasted on the interwebs instead of getting a call form me like normal. right? sarcasm but sadly true. sorry. here’s a bit of our week:

1. mountain instrument concert 2. someone can’t take a bath unless it has food coloring in it. blue bath. 3. two-headed dimple monster 4. mike made some really rad puppets. #hidden talents 5 & 6. a gifted Grumpy Doodle Book saved us at lunchtime. 7. I figure that since the placement of this sign was in an alley { an alley that transports you to a whole different city, beeteedubs } it’s actually referring to heroin instead of refuse. tax dollars well spent.

wishing you a splendid weekend. go get a little funky.

28Dec2012

grandparents’ weekend

Posted in familyness, kiddie-do by ElaineMarie

we had a few nice, quiet days in indiana complete with some snow romping and fort building. darla is staying with my parents for a few extra days. i’ve already 4 boxes lined up at our door of things i’ve separated out to go to donation. I know she’ll enjoy a few extra days with her adoring grandparents and I’m thankful for the extra post-christmas organizing time.

i’m so very thankful to have loving, supportive parents that are a positive presence in my daughters’ life. i’m very grateful for the times they support us by giving us a weekend here and there to recover from the everyday stresses of life.

mostly, i’m just thankful that they treat her with such kindness and true generosity. i’m not talking about simply buying her stuff, but generosity of their spirit. they are wonderful examples of kindness, love and support. i aspire to be more like them.

20Dec2012

christmas cousins

Posted in familyness by ElaineMarie

ahhhh, it never gets old, does it? sticking kids heads in wooden cutouts. it is funny. yes, yes it is. celebrating christmas with these girls gets better every year. I’m really glad they have each other. they love each other immensely. I hope it will last a lifetime for them, as it has for me. i’m sure we’ll go through some awkwardness in high school when cousins start to distance because you don’t know if your cousin is cool because, shit, you don’t even know if you’re cool. but then cousins reconvene in adulthood and are all like “hells yeah, you’re cool and i’m cool. our family is the coolest!” just speaking from slight experience…

but i’m getting ahead of myself. these days are filled with cousin love and happiness at the simple things in life, like imitating charlie brown kids outside of restaurants. i really just love them right now. smiley…hearts…smiles…flowers…love…emotions…love.

ps. that little guy knows that he is in for it with these two already. just look at him. sorry little man.

10Dec2012

weekending

Posted in familyness, Momma Needs a minute... by ElaineMarie

i have no pictures of my little lassie running around this weekend because…

she wasn’t here. darla spent the weekend with my parents and hubster and i enjoyed a lovely weekend.

so here’s how i spent my ample amounts of time: dinner date with husband. put some finishing touches on the holiday decorating. cleaning. rearranging darla’s room into a “big girl” room. accepted a spur of the moment movie lady date to see anna karenina. costumes and cinematography were exquisite. consumed my first white russian in about 7 years. dinner with friends. i rocked the mic at karaoke with husband and friends. more cleaning. reading. extra long gym time. extra long shower time. extra long everything! weeeeee!

but i’m ready to have her back.

6Dec2012

birthday

Posted in familyness, love and happiness, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

we had a birthday celebration yesterday. can you tell which one of us was excited about it? jump

i really wish that pic had turned out clearer bc it was pretty great. darla was leaping over mike’s legs when we told her we’d do a backwards dinner: dessert first, dinner second. somehow, this worked. she ate more dinner than normal. but, i don’t think we’ll make it a regular thing.

we had brownie rocky road a la mode.

darla and i gifted mike a custom, handmade leather belt fashioned by our friend, lance. it’s super sweet. so if anyone needs any leather work done…well, i know a guy.

happy birthday to all the december babies young and old :)

23Nov2012

family in a field

Posted in familyness by ElaineMarie

it’s officially holiday season sooooo sending you our best. Happy Holidays from the Wruckers!

19Nov2012

weekending

Posted in familyness, let me let me update ya, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

we had a pretty solid weekend around here: boot camp, successful prospective client meeting, our friend joe stayed with us, darla’s first school buddy birthday party, and family photos. and somehow i managed to get a lot done around the house. i love weekends like that.

soooo, working out makes it ok to eat whatever you want, right? burgers, pizza, biscuits and sausage gravy, ice cream and brown betty were all on my menu. i have a feeling it’s not going to get much better for the rest of the year. whatevs. we had some veggie curry and salad and stuff. i think it evens out. yeah.