Morning's Light

Glimpses of beauty and simplicity around the world.

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  • monday already?!

    Ab_car_bags_2

    Here’s Amy Butler + her car + bags.  beautiful.

    The weekend is over. already. cannot believe it!

    I saw "27 Dresses" on Friday night. It is a cute movie.  Lots of things to sigh over: the amazing office, the cute apartment, the beautiful leading man…. and one thing to be thankful for: I’ve not had to wear any bridesmaid dresses that looked like the 27 shown in the movie.  I will rent "27 Dresses" (when it’s released on DVD) and pause it to get closer glimpses of the office and apartment.

    Saturday had a productive visit to IKEA.  I was inspired by the Anne Black apartment that was bright and simple and organized. So I picked up some white boxes in which to thrown the papers I keep meaning to sort through.  At least it will all look organized and uniform in matching boxes.  Then I can select a box at my leisure and sort through the contents. 

    Saturday night a few of us braved the cold and went to see "Mad Money".  I liked it. Laughed a lot!

    Sunday afternoon was a nap + football game + thorough cleaning of the kitchen.

    One more day off would be nice. 

    I will not be jealous of those who have a three-day weekend.  I will not be jealous of those who have a three-day weekend. I will not be jealous of those who have a three-day weekend. I will not be jealous of those who have a three-day weekend. I will not be jealous of those who have a three-day weekend. I will not be jealous of those who have a three-day weekend.

  • luncheon for the playoff game….er, rachel

    Rachel_jh

    Matching_jersies

  • signed, clueless in wisconsin

    I live in the land of This Guy:

    Favre2

    Favre1

    and work and live surrounded by green & gold today.

    I’ll have to do covert research about when the game is on Sunday because I dare not ask a living human being what time the game is because if I live here, it should be in my blood…

    if people caught wind of my ignorance of Our Team, they’d probably pile on top of me for not being a #1 fan.  I now admit to the world that I can’t watch the game on Sunday.  I am meeting a friend at Starbucks.  The Packers will have to carry on without me.   *dramatic sigh*

  • rachel + ring + red

    Rachel

    Meet…Rachel!  She works in the office when she’s on break from school. She does a little of this and a little of that…and dates a certain college student named Matthew.

    I spotted her "ring" and zoomed in for a closer look…

    Big_bucks_ring

    Coworker A came along and whistled at the size of the "ring", saying "Someone is dating a guy with BIG BUCKS!!"

    I said with all the seriousness I could muster, "He WORKS at DENNYS!"

    Apparently that one line won a comedy award in the office today.  thankyouverymuch

    Coworker B  mentioned a friend who is out driving in the snowstorm and called in to say with alarm, "My little red thingy is blinking!!!" to which Coworker A replies, "Sounds like a medical problem to me! Have you checked with your doctor?" while Coworker B thought it sounded kinky. I think it sounded silly. But that’s just me.

  • open shelving = too open?

    442_2

    I like the red cabinets near the white sink and white dishes.  I don’t have open shelving in my kitchen, but am drawn to these contents on the open shelves.

    Cafe

    I’m thankful it’s Thursday.  It’s been too busy of a week with car repairs and then a full night at church last night where I ran powerpoint during the band’s rehearsal but also had to figure out who could lead the junior high girls group because none of my leaders showed up.  Am thankful today for Anne, Jenny and Katie who stepped in to lead a discussion with the girls.   

    So tonight will be a happy night at home.  I can’t wait to pick up some library books, start some laundry, cook dinner and finish watching Project Runway and last night’s American Idol.

    Tomorrow night will be a happy night too. I am meeting friends to see 27 Dresses but might stay and see a second film, the Queen Latifah one.

  • in need of some chic inspiration

    French_black_and_white_and_red

    I need some wardrobe inspiration.  most of these are photos of frenchwomen. 

    i WILL visit France someday!  (yes, I keep saying that..but one day it will be true!)

    French_casual_chic

    French_details

    French_orange

    now that’s a way to add color!

    here are some fun blogs I’ve been reading:

    lena corwin

    smitten kitchen

    Sideshow Gosh Co

    simply photo

  • keep the car? get a new car?

    Driving_1_4

    what a week and it’s only tuesday.  I was without a car for three days last week as a friend’s husband did some preventative maintenance on my car..replacing some belts, a water pump, the timing belt and a motor mount something-or-other.  I pick up the car Saturday and drive it for 48 hours.  As I’m getting on the freeway Monday night, the car loses power.

    I call the office and someone was there to come by, pick me up, call a towing company for me (head hanging low, I’d answer with "I will be soon!" when people would ask if I’m a member of AAA), call the guy who fixed my car, then when he can’t fix it, we pull it behind the work SUV I’m driving – to the mechanic.  I wait all morning to hear from him, and the moment I leave for lunch, the mechanic calls to let me know my car needed a new "ignition coil".  I return the call in the afternoon and authorize the repair.  I pick up the car after work and then evaluate money spent in the last 72 hours (and none of it for fun things like manicures or girl movies like "27 Dresses" or "Mad Money").

    preventative maintenance + replacing a broken part = $400

    towing = $100

    new ignition coil = $250

    December repairs/oil change = $200

    Total Car Repair Costs for December and January = $950

    I’m thinkin’ it’s time to put money aside for a new-to-me car – a Toyota RAV4 perhaps. Curious what Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will bring!?!

    Driving_2

    {had to get this photo of nephew C "driving"! nice city!}

    Meanwhile, I’m in the middle of watching American Idol.  What an amusing start to the season!  Guy wearing a cape, singers shrieking songs, girl sells horse to finance trip to audition….. And they’re being nice this year.  Walking out with a young, distraught girl with Simon talking about kittens and dogs with the girl;  being kind to the guy from Egypt who loves America, American girls and the BeeGees.

  • makes ya smile

    Bathroom_hat

    found via [BB-Blog]

  • the story of saturday

    An invitation arrived this week to celebrate a boy’s birthday at "World o’ Fun".  Tables were reserved, party packages were chosen, and the afternoon cleared in calendars.

    On Saturday, picked up Niece (3) and Nephew (just turned 10) to go to World o’ Fun for The Boy’s birthday. Did I mention The boy is in his mid-thirties? I didn’t.  Oops.  Now you know.

    Niece, Nephew and I leave a quiet, wintry afternoon and enter into a world of screaming (in fun and out of frustration) kids, shouting parents ("hey! get back here…right now!!! no, don’t stick that up your nose!" sigh), employees ("do you have a wristband for that and a ticket for this?"), friends greeting one another (got to really meet The Boy’s Girlfriend for the first time and some of our friends whom I haven’t seen in months), and the machines doing all their bells + whistles to attract attention to the kids ("pick me! play ME!!").

    Did I mention I had a headache before entering this World o’ Fun?

    Here’s the Birthday Boy as he collected the tickets he won in the 30-second-booth where you grab as many tickets as you can. 

    Birthday_boy_gets_tickets

    Took a turn to watch the empty table – which held purses and bags – and to wait for the delivery of the pizza to the table. [felt a bit like my mom must have when the family would go to an amusement park.  three kids and dad take off for the best roller coaster and leave mom with the bags on a bench.  her "job" was to watch us while we were in line for two hours and wave whenever we’d randomly turn around and go "hi mom!"]

    Empty_table

    Then I followed around Niece as she made a friend, Lori’s nephew Blonde Boy (BB), also age three.  The two of them were best friends forever (at least, for the afternoon) and followed each other around the play land and the game area.  (BB told Niece you have to be "vewwy, vewwy cayhrfuwl" (as he nodded and held a play gun that looked kinda real – black and silver and heavy-looking)).   

    Be_very_careful

    We played a few games, collected a few tickets, and then they gazed in wonder at the Prize Case. Both walked away with their prizes – a purple, inflatable fist on a handle for him, and a pink, inflatable fist on a handle for her .

    Prize_case_2

    After a full four hours in this screaming room, uh, world of fun, it was time to go.  Dropped off the kids at home and made a beeline for a cafe where I could sip a hot beverage, read a good magazine and enjoy the silence. (hhmm…silence seemed to be a goal this week).

    Ahhhh_silence

  • books o’ style

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    books o’ style, originally uploaded by sunnygirlwi.

    Here’s a stack of books that I keep on hand. Love them!

    Just got home from seeing National Treasure, and I loved it! It was the perfect ending to a hectic week. Yesterday was a long day – beginning with a work event at 6:30 AM and ending with a farewell at 10 PM to my co-retreat-planner, Anne.

    Am loving evite. I lived in San Francisco for years and would receive two or three evites (email invitatons) a week for events ranging from a casual game night to a formal event…and then I moved to Wisconsin where people don’t make much use of evite.

    I’m here to change that. I just used evite to invite 50 student and adult leaders for our youth ministry to the second annual leadership retreat and am using the website to track the responses for the secret pal gift exchange as well as a list of food and beverages people sign up to bring. The day before the retreat, I’ll simply print out the list of what’s still needed and *boom* shopping will be easy peasy.

    Nope. I don’t work for evite but I’m bringing it to my little corner of Wisconsin. *high five*