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An Open Letter To:

July 22, 2008

Benjamin Moore Co.,

You don’t know me but I have a proposition for you. You see, I am a stay-at-home mom of four kids. Although most of my time is devoted to homeschooling them, being a wife to my husband, blogging, and taking care of the household, I actually have my own interests and hobbies. One of which is home decor. We’ve owned six homes in our 15 years of marriage and have painted the interiors of all of them. Always using Benjamin Moore colors. I love Benjamin Moore paint. It covers completely and wears well. That said, I believe you are in need of my services. I am proposing that you hire me to name any new colors you have coming down the line. Why me? For these reasons:

  • I can work from home. Just Fed Ex me the colors and I will name them and send/email them back straight away. No need for an office or computer. I’ve got that covered. I’m willing to work part-time, on an on-demand type basis. Just think of the money you’d save.
  • I’ve always received good grades in English class. I own both a dictionary and thesaurus. I’m a great speller. Just in case, I’ve also got spell check. No worries.
  • I’m in love with everything New England and from the sea. I know many of your colors are beach inspired and I’m all about that.
  • Since I now live in the ruralness-that-is-Idaho, I am becoming familiar with the varied shades of tan, taupe, brown and the dappled gray of the prairie in case BM is inspired to create a collection of sagebrushy colors in the future. I’m your go-to woman.
  • Being a parent, I also have the experience to name a collection of colors to connect with the family crowd looking for just the right shade for the nursery or the playroom/family room/office. Imagine Slumbering Love or Inner Chi.
  • And, to be honest without sounding rude, you’ve got some names in your collection that perplex me a little. Take for instance Snugglepuss BM 1405. Really? Snugglepuss? Not sure that’s one I would want to pass along to a friend. And what about Groundhog Day BM 1166? I’m imagining the deadline for naming this shade was looming and someone quick jotted down the movie they were watching on late night cable that weekend. Sound about right? Oh, and if you do hire me, can I name the colors a question? Like BM 752 How Blue Am I? Just in case I’m feeling a little depressed and can’t think of anything else, a question might work. Just let me know.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I’m the ideal candidate for the job. Feel free to contact me so we can discuss the details. I look forward to hearing from you. Right now I’m off to water my verdant lawn while the crystalline sun is mid horizon in the cerulean sky.

Sincerely,

Wendy

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paige - You are totally hired. I am cracking up and amazed at your talent.

Elaine - I actually like to paint myself, but something tells me that your talent with decorating far exceeds my own.

If we stay much longer in this here house of mine, I will go nuts with some of the colors. I keep saying that my next home will be “really mine”.

Next week we are painting a black bathroom orange. NO, those are not the specific names, but I’m going by what my husband would call them.

Painting with another friend would be fun!

Diane - My carpet is cardboard box brown or you could call it lunch sack or dry dirt. I would hire you.
Thanks for keeping an eye out for my boy. I hope it makes it to your hood.

Sherine - Oh if you get this job I’m totally going to write OPI and apply… I love their nailpolish names…

Pamela - I LOVE it! Very clever. I’m a SAHM too and I could really use a job like that…allthough I do believe you would be better at it! ;)

Megryansmom - Good Friday Morning from a SITSta. I often wonder who is in charge of making up color names, you’re far better at it than some I have heard.

Heather Abounader - You should come decorate my house!

Angela - Hi! Just stopping by from SITS –

I also love Benjamin Moore Paints, and I have often wondered what in the world they were thinking when they named some of their colors. I’m sorry, but Dragonfly is an insect…not a color.

Lizzy - Cute letter!! I think they shouldhire you asap

Tiffany - This would be a dream job… when I worked for the gap, I wanted to do this for them… they name the colors for each collection…

Heather - Oooh, you do such a better job than my Oatmeal colored paint……….. :) I hope that BM came to their senses and hired you after reading this post!

Cheers SITSta!

black betty - they need to take out the BM part of the name… LOL!!!!

funnah…

Veggie Mom - My house needs painting badly…are ya interested? :) Hey there, SITSta! I’ve got a Great Giveaway Goin’ On over at my place. Please drop by when you get a chance!

Happy 4th Birthday Little Will!

July 22, 2008

It makes me so sad. I’m in mourning. My baby is no longer three. He’s our last one and he’s growing up far too fast. Anyone know a cure for this? I’ve asked him to stop, and he’s assured me he’s tried but he just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I’ve told him that I understand and that it’s OK as long as he still crawls in bed with me in the morning and snuggles. He thought that sounded like a good plan. So we celebrated.

His birthday wouldn’t be complete without:

A pirate ship cake

Lots of pirate booty

Like an eye patch, telescope, and hook… anyone sensing a theme here?

Arggh! Swords…

A hook for a hand…

and candle blowing.

Happy happy birthday Little Will!

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Shally - Sooo… I take it he likes pirates!! :)

NICE cake.

Sally - How can he already be 4? Amazing. It is so sad when the baby gets older, I know. Will is so darling and sweet, he is an adorable little pirate.

paige - So cute! He’s adorable. I remember when he was born and he’s come such a long way-

andrea - fantastic cake! i’m impressed. my birthday is in march… and while i like pirates, perhaps you could throw a hunky, shirtless masculine guy on my ship instead of the playskool guys.
thanks.

Elaine - Wow, that cake is awesome and seems perfect for a little man of “4″. Happy Birthday to him!

I understand the bittersweet thoughts with that last child. My youngest just was 3, but over this summer she just seems so much bigger. The baby is almost gone (sniff, sniff).

Aunt Jennifer - Arr, me hearty Will! Happy Birthday to ye. We be thinkin’ of ye on yar big day. Aye, and a fine party we hope you had with plenty of grog, swashbucklin’ good times and booty!

Love,
The Hadfields, Aye!

Sherine - Nice cake!!!!! I’m betting that didn’t come from you neighborhood albertsons.

Senora Salsa (Kimberly) - Happy Birthday Cap’n!

Oh, by the way, may I put in a request for two pirate cakes to be delivered next april? Super cute, oops I mean Wicked cool!

Kristy Willhite - That cake Wendy! Holy cannoli! Well done. Wish could have seen you and your kids on your recent trip back to Utah…maybe next time?

A First

July 21, 2008

It’s always exciting when a blogger gets an award, but especially her first award. It happened to me today. Take a look-see:

Thanks to Sherine whose blog is a daily read for me. She is an excellent mommy to her four Littles and her two big kids too. Although it’s hard to keep track of just where she is from week to week, she always manages to capture the important moments of mommy hood to share with all of her readers. I love her patience, enthusiasm, sense of humor, and literary picks. Be sure to visit her blog and check out how gorgeous her family is.

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Please put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. You must nominate 7 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. Add links to the recipients.
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

Since my favorite time-waster is blog surfing, it was not hard to find bloggers to nominate for this award. Here are my picks:

Elaine – whose blog I found as a new blogger. I’ve never met her, we don’t share the same zip code, religion, or hometown, nevertheless, we have lots in common. I think we are relatively the same age. She loves her family, hits the gym regularly, spent some time home schooling, lost her dad not long ago, loves to take great pictures, and reads Pioneer Woman regularly. I give her all the credit in the world because she is raising FIVE (beautiful) girls! Tell me that’s not a herculean feat.

Celia – Many of you may already read her. But even though her following is enormous, she remains down-to-earth. I love reading her blog because; she’s a daily blogger, her writing is hilarious and honest, she doesn’t hesitate posting pictures of herself (which I just can’t seem to do) on a regular basis, her kids are about the same age as mine and I’m always looking for good teen, tween, and kid raising tips. She is open and honest and does not hold back. I hope to meet her at one of her fabulous Blogapalooza parties!

Gab – Found her blog from a friend and love to read it. She has the best ideas, one of which is her weekly interview. She chooses someone that she admires and interviews them for the blog. She’s interviewed a hairstylist, her dad, a very tall girlfriend, and a military wife, among others. And I sensed a connection with her when I read that she too was facing her 20 year high school reunion, and she shared the delusion that she could lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks. I hope she did better than me.

January – is one of my good friends who I miss all the time. Although she doesn’t post often, when she does, it’s fast and furious. She’ll update 3 months worth of news in one shot. January is so down-to-earth and honest and funny that I wish we still lived close by. She’s a great mom with beautiful kids.

Paige – If you read Celia, you know Paige by default since they are sisters. I met Paige when we were in a music class with our kids a handful of years ago, before I even knew what blogging was. Little did I know how funny she was at the time. Another must read. She’s got the best and most up-to-date celebrity gossip and subsequent opinions of any blogger I read. I also depend on her for quick and practical fashion tips. She always looks put together, as do her highly photographed kids.

Tara – was the first great friend I made after I got married 15 years ago. Although she was only a few years older than I she seemed so experienced and mature. She already had two kids and was expecting her third after all! We both moved away many years ago but manage to keep in touch regularly. I still look up to her. She is very spiritual, funny, easy-going, beautiful, has a wonderful singing voice, is great with teenagers, and is a devoted wife. What more could you strive to be?

Maddy – Is my one and only daughter. She began blogging this past year as part of her writing program for homeschool. Needless to say, since it isn’t updated often, it isn’t her only writing program. I nominated her for two reasons. She’s a great writer when she wants to be but she needs more comments to motivate her to do more writing. She’s thirteen and anything I can do to get on her good side makes life just a little bit easier for me. Selfish, I know.

Thanks again Sherine!

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paige - Thanks wenderful! I’m laughing that you like my occasional fashion advice because you’ve got a lot of that in your family- with way better clothes.

Elaine - Awww …. very sweet. I feel so honored ;)

I will have to check out the other blogs you have listed.

I’ve also been saying that I will get my oldest two to blog because it is wonderful practice. Maybe your daughter will get some more hits to her blog.

Are you liking WORDPRESS more than BLOGGER?

Tara - wow…an award! I feel so honored. You don’t get many of those at my stage in life. I should check out some of the other blogs you listed, only I am afraid I would become addicted if I really started reading all the great ones out there.

gab - Thank you so much! (I am very late in responding…but claim vacation as my excuse.) Didn’t lose the 20 pounds, but still glad I went to the reunion. I will be back to visit you soon…

Elaine - OOPS … I realized I never responded to this.

Someone else just passed this award to me. I will have to do double thanks ;)

High School Reunion Trip

July 19, 2008

Ralf and I just got back from a trip to Connecticut for our 20 year high school reunion. We were in the same class and dated our last year of high school. Not having been back in 18 years, we were excited for the trip. The kids stayed home with my in-laws and had a great, carefree, parent-less week.

Madison is a small town along Long Island Sound, full of families who have populated it for generations. It takes time and effort to establish yourself in a town like this where most kids have grown up together their entire lives. Ralf and I both moved here mid growing-up years. He at the end of middle school and I my junior year of high school. The extrovert that he is, he was able to get situated quicker and easier than me, being an introvert. But we both have lots of memories of our years in Madison and were eager to reminisce.

Some realizations we took away from our trip:

  • Madison is a beautiful and unique community in which to be a kid.

  • The cashiers at Win-Co here in Idaho are much more interested in small talk than the cashiers at the Stop-and-Shop in Madison
  • Everything grows better in humidity

  • Instead of soccer lessons in the summer, the kids take sailing lessons.

  • Lenny and Joe’s Fishtale still has the best fried shrimp!
  • Twenty years is enough time to figure out who you are and what you want in life. Unfortunately there were some people at the reunion who hadn’t come to that realization yet.
  • I miss the forests and the green and the beach. I didn’t even mind the humidity.

  • My love affair with beach cottages is alive and well

  • As an observer, clumsy drunkedness in a middle-age parent is not as palatable as it was back in high school.
  • Just because you went to high school with someone does not mean that’s all you have to talk about with them. How refreshing.
  • A country club tennis court full of old men dressed all in white is not as impressive as it once was.

It was full of little guys the day I took this.

  • Madison is not where we’d choose to raise kids, but it may make a great summer family vacation.

  • We are so happy to be where we are and to have what we have.

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Elaine - That first and last photo are just gorgeous. Have you ever tried doing a stretch canvas with any of your photos? We have in our bedroom a photo from Italy and France that my husband took. Winkflash does a really nice job.

Glad to hear that you had a nice trip. My 20 year is next year … yikes! I really hope that my braces are off because that will really make me feel like I am in HS again.

Paul - Great photos and nice story. Good luck.

…and the home of the Brave!

July 10, 2008


This Fourth of July weekend we chose to embrace the rurality of our surroundings. What kind of parade does a town of less than 3,000 put on?

One that looks like this:

And this:

What does a town do for its citizens that are wilting in the heat?

Turn on one of these:

And drench Main Street.

Much to the relief of kids like this:

Who’s the lone girl among this cache of boys? Well, our 13-year-old daughter of course.

These gentlemen followed her home after fireworks to roast marshmallows in our fire pit. We were happy to see that she found a fellow girl to help balance out the numbers.

To continue our “rurality embrace”, we spent the following day where else…but at the feed lot!

Where the kids went riding

On real horses

With real cowboys

And drove real farm gators

And made new furry friends

Some rode shotgun

While others shot guns.

(For the first time might I add. And I was not aiming at the ground. I was just trying to figure out how the flippin’ thing worked. The safety was still on, OK?)

Hope your 4th was a little more civilized, a lot cooler, but just as memorable!

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Elaine - I love how you tell your adventures with PICTURES!!!!! This really is like your own scrapbook.

Lisa C. - It looks like you guys are settling right in to country living! Looks like a great celebration for the 4th. I thought you were going to post that you bought a cow :)

Shally - I think that looks like a GREAT 4th!

My kids would have loved it.

Senora Salsa (Kimberly) - What is a parade without the Clampers in their red suspenders shooting off shotguns? Com’on you know you miss it here. Although I have to say it looks like the Clampers would fit right in over there!

Also wanted to say that your pictures are faboo! You are quite the photog ;)

Sherine - Maddy stop growing!! She is going to leave a trail of broken hearts in that little town….

N E W S