The Quiet Life of Violet

Baby's First Book

For some reason, it didn't occur to me to read to Squid until last week. I figured, he can't comprehend the story, so why read? Well, I was sure wrong!

One quiet afternoon, we sat on the couch after his big nap of the day with Hop On Pop, by Dr. Seuss. He stared and coo-ed and kicked and did fist pumps that would have made Snookie proud. He liked the pages with red and orange the best. He told me so.

And so, his reading career begins!

 

    

A vote for our little reader?

26 While 26 - Books

 

Number 12 on my list of 26 things I'd like to do while 26, is:

"Read one new book per month."

 

Well, here's what I've read so far:

 


I've also read these, too...
(plus half of the last book)

...but since this is my third time reading the series, I figured I wouldn't count them.

 I'm also not counting any non-novel type book I've read. There would be a whole lot of baby books on that list, as well as "crafting as a business" type books, sewing for less-than-stellar-seamstress type books and magazines. Don't even get me started on magazines. I think I have 8 or 9 subscriptions with different magazines at the moment. Parents is my newest addition. :D

Back to books, I'm also halfway through Choke by Chuck Palahniuk and The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. I've already seen Choke (the movie version), so I'm in no rush to finish it and The Mermaid Chair is so-so. I much prefer spending my time with a little "wingardium leviosa", even if I HAVE read it already.

Next, after reading the latest Sookie Stackhouse book of course, I'm thinking that I want to read a "serious" book. A grown-up book. Something classic?

Bubby and I have a date this Saturday and we're going to the used book store in Berkeley.
Can't wait to pick something up!

 Do you have any recommendations of what I should read? What's YOUR favorite book? 

(Oh! Also, I'm 5 people away from checking number 26 off of my list. Care to help? Follow my blog through the Google Friend Connect widget on the left side-bar!)

Thanks, loves!

(Don't forget to vote if you like what you've read!) -->

Flashback Fridays -- Summer is For Kids

Summer:

• Stick Stickley
• Doughboy pools
• Watching Nickeloden all day long.
• Donkey Kong on Super Nintendo.
• Pink Flamingo flavored Kool-Aid (anyone else remember this flavor?)
• Spending the night at my best friend's house THREE nights in a row (we got sick of each other by day 2.5.) 
• Playing with Hope, my next door neighbor. We played house, made mud pies, spent hours with her KILLER Barbie collection, tormented her brother, played Super Nintendo (She had Mario Paint, I was jealous), played board games...
• Chasing down the ice cream man. Sorry we begged for money almost EVERYDAY, Mom. I'm sure it wasn't cheap, with three kids and all. :)
• My birthday and how I never got to celebrate with my class (June 21st).
• Theme songs (I STILL know the words and notes. )
• Discovering the joy of riding my bike around the block by myself.
• Late night Summer walks with Mom.
• Getting terrible sunburns.
• Berenstain Bear books, over and over again.
• Pretending that my hand was a boy's mouth and imagining what kissing was like.
• Drawing a town with roads and shops and parking spots and bossing my siblings around. "You CAN'T walk on the store!" ... "You have to park THERE!" .. "Don't smear the lines!"
• Sticking to that big, brown Naugahyde chair my parents had on really hot days. Getting up was painful!
• Making mixed tapes off of the radio.
• Puppies! My parents bred Spring Spaniels and we almost always had a pudgy little littler of pups around.
• Spending hours and hours in my backyard.
• Dreading the first day of the new school year...

What do YOU remember from your childhood summers?

26 While 26

Today is my Birthday -- I'm a Summer Solstice baby! To commemorate my 26th year of life, I've made a list, "26 While 26" and will be sharing with you as I complete things I hope to experience and/or achieve.

26 While 26

1. Buy or plant Peonies and enjoy their frilly beauty .

2. Buy a kite and figure out how to fly it.

3. Have a baby, get pregnant or at least be actively trying.

4. Make and sell at least ONE bath and body product. (I can do one, right? That's doable.)

5. Continue to keep this blog, the Quiet Life of Violet up and running.

6. Get a drawing tablet!

7. Go to three concerts.

8. Sew an article of clothing.

9. Visit Leigh-Ann in Missouri (if possible)!

10. Go camping with Bubby.

11. Celebrate our 6 year anniversary with something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue.

12. Read one new book per month.

13. Ride a real train, preferably in the mountains or across the starry plains.

14.  Grow real vegetables this summer and eat them.

15. Watch one "classic" movie per month. I need to acquaint myself with some of the best movies ever made!

16. Create my logo, design my business cards, order my supplies and GET MY BUSINESS GOING!

17.  Try really hard to make Dustin's lunch (to go to work with him) everyday.

18. Visit (gulp) 10 new beaches this year.

19.  Get at least one of the phrase tattoos that I've been dreaming of.

20. Crochet something that doesn't end up looking like a Christmas tree.

21.  Build more muscle in my arms and torso (a bubble butt would be nice, too).

22. Do something selfless at least twice a month.

23.  Buy a (cute?) record player and play a real record.

24. Keep my car clean. And, by "clean" I mean REALLY clean. Someone get me a hand held dust buster and some window cleaner STAT!

25. Be honest with people. Really honest. Not A-hole blunt honest, but I want to be a good friend and not hold things back.

26. Get 100 followers on this blog. Oh boy, that's a lot. Wish me luck!

Enjoy the longest day of the year!

I'm Scared.

I have visions of this business that I want to build.  I'll make hand made  bard of soap, using as many organic ingredients as possible and without any crappy additives or chemicals. I'll make silky smooth lip balms and hand salves and lotion bars  and sugar scrubs -- all with out the crap. Without the parabens and preservatives and the stuff that frightens people. I'll blend my own fragrances using essential oils and have cute little packages and business cards and a pretty logo. I want to have an etsy store and sell stuff at the Red Velvet storefront and locally here around Northern California.

I have most of the recipes I want to use all bookmarked and ready for experimentation. I have a wonderful friend, Lori Nova, who is the owner of  The Nova Studio, a place that teaches the art of bath and body products. She resides about 10 minutes from my home. She's always just a phone call away. I've met countless other bath and body product enthusiasts through her studio. I have a butt-load of books, brimming with recipes and tips.I have Leigh-Ann and Lacy and Effie (my Sis) and Natalie and especially Bubby, who are the very threads that make the fabric of my support system. I have websites saved and bookmarked. I dream of scent combination while in the shower. I see packaging inspiration in everyday items. I know what I DON'T want my products to be and contain. I know what I stand for. What my company means (I said "my company"... eeep!) to me and what I hope it will become.

So, why, you might ask, have I not started? Not made one thing?

Well, mainly because I'm scared. I'm scared to fail. Scared to make products that suck. Scared that people will hate my stuff. Scared that I don't have it in me. Scared that I'm going to be successful and happy and then get sick again and have to say goodbye to my dream and the life that I want so badly.... 

Jillian Micheal's summed it up for me on a recent episode of Losing It With Jillian:

            "You refuse to succeed because you’re so afraid to get attached to the possibility of what  you’re life can be."

It's true... I'm scared.

1,300 Things to be Thankful For (week 2)

26.  A fresh pad of Post-It Notes.

27. The soggy gumball at the bottom of the sno-cones from the Ice Cream Man.

28. Freshly cut sunflowers in the house.

29. Peeling off the bandaid,  even though it hurts.

30. The smell of a brand new book (Yep, I sniff books).

31. Games of Ladder Golf  in the backyard.

32.  The sheer size of Drive-In movie screens.

33. The crisp smell of my Mother-In-Law's sun dried towels.

34. Bananas with a bit of green still on them.

35. Rainy days that were made for watching movies.

36. Finding money in a random pocket.

37. Tape-style lint rollers that really work well.

38. Boys who hug trees.

39. Venus Fly Trap plants.

40.  Cellphone/camera/electronic batteries that don't die after an hour.

41. Ice water on hot days.

42.  Water weeds in aquariums.

43. Having 10 fingers.

44. Backyard patios with tastefully draped Christmas lights.

45. Really good sneezes.

46.  Only sneezing once in a while.

47.  Plops of cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.

48. Taking the time to make a really good salad.

49. Fireflies flitting here and there at dusk.

50.  How the dishes magically get taken care of when I throw a dinner party. (<3 Mom)