$31!

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

I love thrift store shopping. 

I usually am thrifting so that I can resell and make some money on ebay (I find all sorts of good things at Goodwill worth WAY more than what they're being sold for; I can't believe the stuff that people just give away!). 

But today, Jeff let me go out and I got $31 to spend on myself! (Though I'm seriously considering selling the pencil skirt and sweater on ebay, just because I know I could get at least 3x's what I paid for both on ebay.)

Here's my birthday swag! $31 is a lot of money at the Goodwill...

YAY!

thankful thirty.

Today is my last day being 30.

What?!

Crazy.

Feels like just yesterday I going to the mall and loitering with Yoonjin, sitting in super boring SAT classes on Saturday mornings, going thrift store shopping with my sister (wait, I still do that!), feeling so cool that I had a hot-pink Nokia phone in 1999, going to NY for TFA Institute and experiencing humidity for the first time, coming home at 9:30pm after teaching first-graders all day and then having to go to credential classes at night....

Where did all that time go??????

Instead of trying to stop time, I want to share 30 things that I'm thankful for today, on my last day being 30.

1. Penny saying "UMMA!" with so much enthusiasm and excitement, she HAS to think I'm the coolest mommy the world.
2. Living in a place where we can walk to the beach in the mornings.
3. The way that Jonas HAS TO DANCE when he hears a song he likes.
4. That Jonas told me in the car today, "I really don't like Tom Petty. Can we listen to the Beatles please?"
5. Jeff knows just the right balance of doing things that bug me (a little) and are still playful in a good way.
6. Cell phones are awesome. It's so great that we can drive and talk on the phone at the same time.
7. My first cup of coffee in the morning.
8. The way that Penny says "ELMO!" with so much enthusiasm, maybe she thinks ELMO is the coolest person in the world.
9. Striped shirts. Lots of them.
10. Being able to eat hot food and share it with friends...
11. ...friends, who listen, REALLY listen, and help us to figure out life in the way that God wants us to, with faith in his goodness and love.
12. When other people's kids (like Kaitlyn!) think I'm fun and give me smiles.
13. Getting to go see my nieces(!) and sister this weekend...
14. ...and seeing my friends from days when I was sillier, stupider, and skinnier and are STILL friends with me!
15. Gmail chatting with Clara and bugging her at work. Like EVERY DAY. (Sorry Clara.)
16. The feeling that I want to read the Bible. What?! I never felt that way until quite recently.
17. Craigslist.
18. A new, perfectly classic trench coat from my wonderful friends.
19. Fresh daffodils, in a mason jar, all abloom, on our dining table.
20. A candle that makes our living smell like Anthropologie. (Thanks Nick and Katie!)
21. Seeing Jonas in his onesie pajamas, the ones with feet attached, that are obviously too small, but make him still resemble kind of- sort of- a toddler.
22. The way that Jonas and Penny laugh and giggle when they make each other do things that they shouldn't do (like spitting.)
23. That Jeff asked me for a glue stick today... Evidence that he was doing something crafty/scheming for my birthday in his office... :)
24. Hugs. (Today, I am thankful for them. Usually, I'm awkward about them. Must be because I'm turning 31 tomorrow.)
25. Pepperocinis and jalapeños. On sandwiches.
26. Watching Penny "read" books by herself.
27. Old friends who eat burritos with us for a last-minute dinner (Thanks Ted!!!)
28. Being able to work through tough things with Jeff, and always ending up at the place where we can say, it's all good. God is in control and has a plan for us. No matter how much we seem to screw things up or get things wrong.
29. Penny kisses on the lips. Very slowly and gently. With great intention.
30. 30 really is the new 20, which means 31 is the new 21, right?

Did you really read all of those???

Me and my silly boy...

tuesday tots: what are they thinking?

a birthday crafternoon

Does anyone else think it's fun to plan your own birthday party?

On Saturday, we had a crafternoon party. I had a crazy list of 8 crafts that I wanted the ladies to do, but toned down the crazy and decided to set up just 4...

Yarn-wrapped bottles, tutorial found here.

Button magnets, tutorial/idea found here.

Cupcake/jewelry stands, tutorial found here. 

(SERIOUSLY easy. Used E6000 adhesive.)

Felt bow hair clips from here, and covered button hair ties from here.

A lot of the ladies came in saying "I hate/suck at/dislike crafting!" but I think by the end of the afternoon, there was a change of heart.... :) (Someone even said it was therapeutic!)

Hooray for crafts! 

i can be a little crazy sometimes.

When I plan things (especially birthday parties!), I can get a little crazy.

See this mess on our dining room buffet table?

It's all stuff for a little crafternoon/birthday get-together I'm having on Saturday. 

I've whittled my insane list of possible projects down to 4, maybe 5, projects. That's me trying not to be too crazy and being realistic about what we can get done in one or two hours of crafting time. 

But seriously. The internet is an abyss of craft/diy ideas in which I am regularly drowning. That's part of the reason I don't do the pinterest thing. It'd make me crazier fo'sho.

Anyway, all week I've been gathering materials...

And here's a little peek at one of the projects, modeled by Penny who will only sit still for pictures when I put Elmo on tv...

I love crafts! :)

a snuggle break.

Sometimes, when Jeff's been working hard like he has been all week, it's nice to take a quick break to snuggle.

The Locke men are snugglers.

:)

easy-peasy recipe: homemade doritos!

Sometimes, I buy those HUGE packs of corn tortillas, because they're so much cheaper. You know what I'm talking about? It's like 60 corn tortillas. No one could ever eat that many, but for the sake of saving money, I am duped into buying the mega package.

So what to do with too many corn tortillas?

Homemade tortilla chips!

Surprisingly simple. I found a recipe in this cookbook that I got at the library on Monday:

The recipe is pretty easy and straight forward. 

In a big bowl or ziploc bag, combine 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon each of ground coriander, ground cumin, garlic powder and salt (and add a pinch of cayenne if you like spice.) 

Cut up 12 corn tortillas each into 6 wedges.

Add the tortilla wedges to the oil mixture and toss to coat evenly.

Spread on a baking sheets and bake until crisp, about 20-25 minutes.

YUM! 

(I don't think these would stay crispy for more than a day so eat them up quick!)

tuesday tots: writing!

Does anyone else think this is so adorable it makes you want to cry?

(Jeff and I did NOT teach him any of this. Preschool seems to be worth the money.)

happy birthday nora!

(I stole this picture from Connie-- thanks Connie!)

Happy birthday sweet Nora! High-5!!!

I can't believe that she's a big sister now. 

Nora's second birthday gave me an excuse to get out of my sewing rut and make her a little present...

A super-simple pillowcase style dress is oh so special when there are gold polka-dots and bows involved, no?

my little-now-all-grown-up sister

:: She's going to hate me for putting a picture up on my blog. ::

We're only 11 months apart (yes, my mom is crazy). So Karen's never been a real little sister, more like a younger twin who's not really a twin at all...

Everyone says that although we're really different (we don't look that much alike, I'm much nicer and sweeter than she is...), everyone also says that once you've met both of us, you can totally tell that we're sisters.

We laugh at the same (mean) things.

We both like reality television (way too much.)

We love to go thrift store shopping.

We're both teachers. (She copied me.)

We have similar mannerisms. People say it's the way we talk and laugh, but I don't hear it or see it.

And people always ask if we're close, and I tell them, we're not close in the let's-snuggle-together-in-bed-and-spill-secrets kind of way, but we're close in the always-comfortable-honest-can-make-roll-on-the-floor-laugh kind of way. We don't have to talk to each other everyday (and when we do, our conversations are less than 5 minutes, much unlike how our husbands are on the phone) but when we're together, it's definitely easy and definitely fun.

And now, somehow time has lurched forward and we both have two kids.

Happy 30th birthday Karen!

You're a wonderful wife, an excellent mommy, a pretty good sister, an incredible sister-in-law/eemo, a great thrift store shopper, a gracious host, and I will organize and clean your kitchen pantry ANYTIME.

sibling tea time

now we're dead even.

4 kids (Jonas, Nora, Penny, and Alice!) to 4 adults (Dave, Kathy, Jeff and Karen).

Vacationing in Hawaii will be a whole new ballgame...

cool kids