.another 6 months.

hello lovelies!
it seems that another 6 months has flown by!

i am back down to working one job now, doing some massage and creating on the side.  i handmade, bought locally or re-homed most of the gifts we gave this christmas, my garden did so ridiculously well that i could not even keep up with the tomatoes!  let see . . . i traveled a bit - went to thailand, back east for a visit, down to southern oregon to see family . . . mostly we've had non-stop visitors since moving in to our new place last May.  it's been fun being NE PDX's most hospitable bed and breakfast.  i am also now the proud co-captain of my roller derby team, the Heartless Heathers for the 2013 season.  we are about to have our season opener in a few weeks - and i am so proud of how hard we have all been working this pre-season!

so, this was a big HAPPY NEW YEAR jumble update . . .

i will close by plugging a few facebook pages i've started.  the first is Bird on Wire Handmade (which i may just change to TJLoves).  here you can find my lovelies as i create them until i get that etsy shop.

the second is Hudson TShirts. a place where you can become a fan of our alaskan malamute Hudson and the  tshirts that bear his face.  hudson tees were a creation between myself and my dear collaborator, the fantastic textile designer and superhuman whitney. . . the first printing of shirts were a fundraiser for the man-friend and i to raise gas money to move back to the PNW . . . now tees are being printed so that hudson can leave his "print" on the world for years and years to come.

lastly, i've updated a few of the mixed media bars on the side ...  more on that to come.

for now i leave you with a few photos of my life since i last posted:

 strawberry rhubarb jam with rhubarb from my front yard

 an example of how my tomato plants took over the plot- they actually got much worse than this

 the man-friend and i celebrating our 8 yr wedding anniversary in sun river, oregon

 my 31st birthday float trip down the sandy river.  photo by corinne krogh

 climbing with friends at smith rock in central oregon

 at the top of the angles' rest hike in the columbia river gorge with my sisters in sept

 at the highest elevation a person can hike to without technical climbing gear on mt hood oregon, with my leaguemate Roller Eclipse

 my travel companions at the loi krathong festival in chiang mai, thailand this november

an example of what you can get when you shop from hudson tshirts

 my boy in his christmas sweater

the heartless heathers celebrating their win against seattle's hometeam the sockit wenches last month

i've missed you all!  what have you been up to in my absence?

.happy . . . .

. . . . half-birthday to my alaskan malamute, hudson! you are now 7 1/2 people years old!

. . . . adoptaversary to hudson as well!  celebrating 4 years of being our 90lb baby on the same day as his half birthday (sept 24)

. . . . 30th birthday to the man-friend!!!  we celebrated in style at edgefield -aka adult disneyland- last night with friends.  these past 10 years of knowing you have been full of adventure and joy, heartache and challenge, growth and change.  i am glad you were born and i am glad we are partners together in this crazy life-journey.

{we took this photo on our cross-country road trip in aug at niagara falls}

.birthday circus!.

my birthday was a few weeks ago . . . and as usual, i am just getting around to posting pictures of the event :) we decided on a circus theme!

we set up a grill and blankets in the park and decorated! it looked like a 10 year olds birthday - i loved it!

the man friend even climbed a tree to put up the banner!

here is my pinata . . . i filled him with candy, parachute toys and condoms. ha ha!!

i made homemade kettle corn and put it in these awesome popcorn bags! instead of getting paper plates, we found these awesome colorful plates that we can wash and use again and again!the man-friend cut holes out of some plywood in the basement and painted a bean bag toss game! i think that, wiffle ball and bocce ball were everyone's favorites.

here we are in our circus get-up!
me and my pinata . . . before i killed it.
miss foxie brought her accordian! she also juggled while hoola hooping at the same time!
getting ready to kill the pinata!
group shot! we stayed until well after dark and then hit up the local bar for last call. good times.
hp was the freakiest clown in the universe.
miss g helped us clean up the park! i couldn't ask for a better friend!
even hudson got to have some fun! he really like the balloon animals, but i took them away before he popped them so he wouldn't choke on the rubber.

what are a few of your favorite themed parties?

.it's a birthday CIRCUS!!!!.

{all images via weheartit}

we'll see how it goes . . . i'm spending the day tomorrow getting everything set up! hope the weather is nice and that people show up!

.birthday troubles.

me on my birthday camping at lake champlain, 2009

my birthday is next week (friday the 13th). i WANT to do something awesome. i have no time. not a lot of money. am feeling veerrrry homesick and tired. and have always struggled with this fear that i'll plan a huge party and no one will show up.

when we lived in oregon, we'd celebrate birthdays for a week straight. here . . . it's been different. a struggle.

last year, the man-friend took me away for a camping trip and a brewery tour. it was awesome and SO COOL. a nice family trip (we took the pup too). but it's also nice to be celebrated by your friends. i'm not trying to be miss birthday diva . . . but i'm having a tough time.


maybe i just need some cool (cheap) ideas for my birthday party that will be accessable and fun for all?
i was thinking a circus theme
or maybe a white trash theme?
or just dancing and drinks (but some of my friends have kids and i wanted something they could come to, too) . . .
a picnick? what if the weather sucks?

i just got home from a birthday party for my friend who just turned 30. her husband sent her to beach and to get a pedicure and she came home and the house had been cleaned, sushi and pizza had been made, drinks were ready, an ipod playlist made and friends invited. cirque du soleil was on the tv screen in the background.

THEN PONIES came!!! and people took pony rides! and THEN a barber shop quartet came and sang to the birthday girl!!!

great birthday.


ugh.

.parisian masquerade ball.

{image credit: here}

a friend of mine is having her birthday party this weekend - the theme is a Parisian Masquerade Ball! the man-friend and i LOVE any excuse to get dressed up in costumes so we are headed to the local thrift store to find some awesome outfits and then we'll spend the rest of the afternoon making masks out of plaster strips to paint and decorate later.

what should we go as?
the sun and moon?
cat and mouse?
opposite color schemes?
ravens?
owls?

hmmmmm . . .

i'll definitely post photos of what we decide on!

also, i know i owe y'all pictures from our trip to NYC - i've just been suuuuper busy working lately! i have the day off tomorrow so we'll see what happens. i might drive out to bruised boutique to get some outdoor wheels for my skates since derby is about to begin our outdoor season (we practice at a rink outside during the summer) and i don't want my indoor wheels to be torn up . . .

.happy birthday hudson!.

our big fluffy ball of energy turns 6 today!

how has he celebrated so far? by sleeping, taking a few walks, and barking in his sleep.

good times :)