N*rsing Bl*nkets

My super talented friend Sarah Graham makes beautiful nursing blankets and is selling them online. I'm, thankfully, not nursing anymore but I would have loved one of these when I was. Sarah is one of these people who can buy a rundown house in Vallejo, CA and then make it into the cutest thing you've ever seen with nothing but paint, elbow grease and a sewing machine. I'd call her and she'd be in the process of ripping her kitchen floor out by herself while nursing a baby. She's insane but I love her. So if you're nursing a baby, buy one of Sarah's blankets. They'll keep strangers from seeing your goodies.

Lovely!

Adorable!

Frugal? That's me!

I found a new website that I'm liking a lot. Frugal Fashionista shows you outfits celebrities wear and then tells you where to get the clothes for "regular people" prices. This might even get me to enter Fovever 21 but there is no way I'm going into Wet Seal. I'd be afraid some over 30 alarm would go off when I enter and honestly there should be something like that to keep people over 30 out of Wet Seal.

New glasses, new couch

New glasses and a new couch all in the same day! I must be living right. I was in need of the new glasses because my other pair were over six years old and were so badly scratched that I had trouble seeing out of them. I only wear them when my contacts aren't in which isn't very often but still, it was getting hard to see the TV in bed at night. Since I hadn't bought glasses in such a long time, I'd forgotten how expensive they are. I told Ryan that these are my last pair of glasses I will buy because I'm getting laser eye surgery within the next three years. I decided, even though I was nervous, to debut the new glasses at church today. Ryan said I looked like Lisa Loeb but I was going more for Tina Fey.

We purchased the couch because Nancy was in need of a couch and I'm always looking for a way to get new furniture. It was an ordeal and Karen was a trooper but the perfect couch was finally found. It's a chocolate brown leather couch that we got for a (seriously) fabulous price. Ryan misses "Old Greenie" but at least he can go next door and visit it whenever he likes. I think I'm going to have to make a trip Salt Lake so I can visit IKEA and Tai Pan Trading to find some pillows for my couch. I told Ryan I'd find him the perfect pillows and throw to go with it. He was super excited about the prospect of that.

Super dorky picture that Ryan took of me today. Glasses and couch all in one. BTW I bought my dress when I went shopping at The Rack with Kristin at Christmas. I got it for $30 and I saw it last week at Nordstrom for $178. That's right! Tyra wouldn't like this picture. I have neck rolls. Don't I listen when watching ANTM?

Playing around with Photo Booth because Kristin said she wanted a picture of the glasses.

Hanna insisted on buying these at the dollar store. Or as I like to call it,
"Hell on Earth"

Presents

My friend Michelle just told me about Anne Taintor website and I'm already thinking of which one each of my friends is going to get. Michelle must know me well enough to know I'd love her products.

Me?

Karen?

Kristin?

Tracey?

Amanda?

Everyone?

Miserable Degrees

We have been having quite the cold and snow pounding in Utah for the last couple of weeks. It has seemed more like the last couple of months because every day seems like an eternity. Can it really be this gloomy and cold for this many days without one wanting to off themselves? The joy of joys is that I get to be on recess duty because our principal must have grown up in Siberia and thinks that staying inside when it's 10 degrees out is for pantywaists. I was reading Dooce today and noticed that her Daily Photo was of my fine area of the Wasatch Front. I live on the same mountains just a few minutes north of where this photo was taken. She is right on the mark when she described it as "MISERABLE DEGREES FAHRENHEIT."

I forgot

I logged into Share today and it just hit me that Evie's due date was yesterday. I actually thought about her at church because of all the pregnant women around but it didn't even occur to me what day it was. I don't know if I feel good or bad about it. I don't want to be defined by "anniversaries" but I don't want to forget either. She would have been a year old if she'd have been born on the 20th. I've been doing ok, at least a lot better than I was a year ago, but I do have times where I miss her so much. The girls were showering the other day, having a lot of fun and I thought about Evie being a year old and in there with them. They would have adored her. I still don't get it but I doubt I ever will. Kristin brought baby Audrey to our house at Christmas and Hanna was in love with her. She said "I wish Evie didn't die." Me too.

Me? Negative? That sucks!

At dinner with a friend last night, she told me that her first impression of me was that I seemed "negative". I still don't really know what that means and would rather had she said "bitchy" or "mean" because those words I understand. It's not the first time in my life I've had people tell me that their first impression of me was not stellar. I had one woman in our church tell me she thought I looked "stuck-up". This is the curse of the shy person and I've dealt with it my entire life. The thing that makes it worse is that my natural resting face has a look of contempt. I can't even count how many times someone has told me to "smile" or "look happy". I've even practiced my resting face and have tried to make it look more friendly but I just feel like a freak, plus it takes a lot of effort to contort my face that way. I like smiling and Ryan tells me I have a beautiful smile so it's not like it's not possible for me to look naturally happy. Karen told me that she's going to start hugging people more and while I think that is insane because hugging is just not right with all that touching and all, I do think it would be good to have a happier look about me. So my new goal is to whip out the "happy face" more. Watch out world!

Crazy Happy Shea!
Hmmm...Stoned Wheat Thins

Not so happy but not quite the "contempt face" yet.
I think we know who is unhappy in this picture.
BTW I made my skirt.

Getting there. Yes that is my Grandma who gave me none of her tall genes.

There it is! The face that has made complete strangers think I'm negative or stuck-up.

Illinois Nazis. I hate Illinois Nazis.

I'm going to Chicago! Actually Ryan and I are going to Chicago! I booked our flights today for April and I can't wait to get there. My "weird internet friends" (as Karen calls them) are meeting in Chicago for the second time and it's going to be hard-core partying for 48 hours. Well maybe more like hanging out at the apartment while eating good take-out food but it's going to be fun! Ryan is not going to be hanging out with my internet friends but he will be happy to explore Chicago again. Our friends Mike and Christine have been kind enough to let us stay with them for a second time which means Ryan has a place to stay while I'm doing my hard-core partying. I'm not going to get too sappy here but I love my "internet friends" who I met when we were all pregnant with February 2001 babies. I wish we all lived in the same town but at least we get together every few years. One thing I'd love to do when I'm in Chicago is stalk/I mean meet Mimi Smartypants and have lunch with her. I'm going to put Kim in charge of said stalking/meeting. Here are some pictures of my first February board meeting back in 2005.

My first look at Chicago. I basically pushed everyone aside so I could get a shot. Surprised?

Andrea, Kim and Christine. They can't wait to get their party on.

I made Andrea take illegal shots of me by Van Goghs at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Bonus points if you can tell me what movie the title for this post is from.

She's no Larry Bird

I signed both girls up for the town basketball program this year. Grace is just in a clinic but Hanna actually has practices and games. I don't know what I was thinking because except for them messing around with the half deflated basketball in our possession, they haven't had much exposure to the game. Both Ryan and I can play basketball and I actually played until grade 11 but my high school had less than 200 people so it wasn't like I had a lot of competition to make the team. I wasn't horrible though and think I did a decent job as a point guard. I'm also quite competitive and can get aggressive when playing contact sports. I remember doing my fair share of pushing back or first. Hanna has inherited the passive Van Fleet gene and I've yet to see a competitive side.

Today was her first game and while it's hard to say this about my own offspring, she is HORRIBLE. Not only is she unskilled but she seems to be terrified of the ball itself. She visibly cringes when the ball comes near her and when a rebound came near her she covered her head with her hands and crouched down on the floor. After the first two minutes of play Ryan and I were scouting the gym for exits. I thought I could maybe make a very long trip to the bathroom so that I didn't have to watch. It was, in a word, painful. Not all the girls were good but Hanna was by far the worst. She has no concept of the game or what she should be doing. I don't know what they've been doing at practice but it obviously isn't sinking in. Her couch is a volunteer woman from the neighborhood and I have no idea if she even knows much about basketball. But she volunteered to coach which I wasn't willing to do so I'm not going to bad-mouth her here. Plus she seems to genuinely like the girls. Anyway, I turned to Ryan halfway through and said, "I'm blaming this on you." He is now motivated to work with her and help her improve her game. This is going to be a long season if she continues to be this bad, so that is great incentive to get working. They did win the game and Hanna was sure to tell everyone that. She's happy to play on the team and likes to run up and down the court which is what I have to remember when I'm watching her turn away and cringe when a teammate passes her the ball. I told Ryan, "Maybe we should have invested in drama classes instead." Ryan said, "At least she's cute and smart."

New Year, New Guilt

I know a lot of people make resolutions at the beginning of a New Year but I'm not one of those people. I'm constantly trying to lose ten pounds and spend less money so why even bother? I work out because if I don't, I start to get depressed and that makes every one's life miserable. I've had about a month away from the gym and I'm feeling like calling up my doctor and begging him for some Wellbutrin. I've avoided antidepressants thus far but if something doesn't change soon I might join that club. Whaa poor me. I think I'm going to steal a resolution from a friend, only because I thought it was something I might be able to accomplish. I'm going to learn to curse better. I've got the damn, hell, shit trio down and they come out rather too effortlessly but I think it's time to move on to bigger curse words. You can use your imagination here but by the end of next year I will hopefully be whipping out the big boys with ease. No one will be able to tell I was raised to fear the curse word and hadn't uttered one until I was well into my teens. I challenge you all to join me in this resolution.

I'm getting my eyes checked today and I'm thinking it's time to get some new frames. I wear contacts during the day but at night and in the morning I often wear my glasses. The frames are getting old and I want new ones. I have yet to be happy with the frames I pick out. I've been wearing glasses since I was 12 (some of you might remember my awesome blue glasses) and I haven't really liked any of them. My goal is to find some I love and will wear more often. I was looking on Ebay and found some I like. Tell me what you think?

Van Fleet family pictures

My parents wanted a family picture for Christmas and while I'd rather have hot pokers stuck in my eyes, I decided it was time we had one taken. I'm pleased with how they turned out. I'm not loving my collared shirt choice but that's just me being crazy and you've got to love the crazy.