Criminal Grace

…that my son and my cat do not hate each other. They stood at the window looking outside, less than a foot between them, for several minutes. Tom wasn’t trying to touch Tia, Tia wasn’t trying to swat Tom, and angels sang a triumphant song.

• made no progress on @PaperCraftsMag submissions this weekend, but plenty of headway on A Reliable Wife, the latest book club selection. #
• is getting clobbered by our multimedia files. #
• a windy 60 degrees has me eyeing the fleece peacoats at Lands' End. #
• finally placed my first order with Papertrey Ink. Can't wait to try their well-reviewed cardstock and stamps. #

• I must be a mom: my purse contains more coupons and Happy Meal toys than makeup and cash. #
• worth making again: whole wheat white pizza with garlic, rosemary, mushrooms, chicken, fresh mozzarella, and provalone #
• enjoying a giant edible arrangement with my coworkers, courtesy of my husband of five years. #
• My hometown made it into Today's Top 10 Most Tattooed Cities list (http://bit.ly/9hR7nh), but I don't have one yet. #

1. I had hoped to write this post from my phone, but I have to use an actual computer to change the permissions to allow my WordPress app to access the site.
2. I sent Jon a link to Justin’s Tomato & Vegetable Tart recipe yesterday and came home to find it on the counter. It was a nice alternative to pizza, but I think I would’ve tried mixing up the veggies instead of layering them.
3. I hate to admit it, but I haven’t stamped in over a week. Unless you count the tiny bit I did in my scrapbook on Saturday. I spent a lot of my free time prepping pages for Saturday, which I spent blissfully scrapping away with Amy and Carol in Amy’s mother-in-law’s basement-turned-craft-room.
4. Tom’s baby album was my big project on Saturday. The first eight months are exactly as I imagined them, perhaps even better because they’re all but complete. I plan to use number stamps to add the months and they’ll be totally finished. Sadly, I ran out of paper right about there too, so the rest will have to wait until I can find more.
5. The worst part of running out of something you bought a year ago? The scrapbooking industry rarely leaves any paper or embellishment lines in stores for more than a year. The last time I saw the paper pack I used was early in the spring. I won’t be surprised if I have to resort to begging on a few stamping and scrapping message boards.
6. I love the herringbone flannel sheets I ordered from Lands’ End. I just wish the weather were something less than sweltering so I could justify putting them on the bed.
7. Jon and I celebrate our five year anniversary next Friday. It hardly seems like we’ve been married that long. Then again, it also feels like we’ve always been married.
8. I indulged in a little art last week, ordering this lovely Bear Mountain print from Diana Sudyka. I haven’t found the right frame yet, but I think it will live in the bedroom for now.
9. I didn’t make it to the Newport Folk Fest. Or to see Suzanne Vega in Lowell. One of these days…
10. Tom has been listening to a lot of music and learning new songs at school. I’ve been trying to build our collection starting with songs I know he loves, but I don’t know where to go from there. What are your kids’ favorite albums and artists?

1. I like the new bed, but I’m afraid my knees and shins do not. It’s far too easy to forget about the giant frame in the dark. I misjudged the placement of the footboard last night and nearly took out my kneecap, hitting it hard enough to take my breath away.
2. Something you probably didn’t know about me: despite my propensity to bump into things, I rarely bruise. Unless you looked close enough to see the pale purple cast to the tiny bump on my knee, you wouldn’t know I lost a serious fight with the bed last night. I’m not sure I can count the number of times I’ve caught my hip, thigh, or shin on a piece of furniture hard enough to make my eyes water. Yet I could could the number of bruises I’ve seen from my clumsiness on my hands. I find I can’t wrap my mind around plot points that hinge upon tell-tale bruises when I read, but I’ve never had to worry about hiding a hickey or getting a black eye from my rambunctious toddler.
3. Speaking of terrible toddlers, Tom is in a hair-pulling phase. Whether it’s the cat, his friends at school, or me, he seems to think it’s fun to grab fistfuls of hair and yank.
4. At least it’s not biting. Yet.
5. The local corn we picked up last weekend was more than tasty. The chowder I made with the leftovers wasn’t half bad either. I just need to get comfortable with chowder recipes so I can experiment with success. Alas, my husband does not share my year-round enthusiasm for soups and stews.
6. I would like to ban brazil nuts from mixed nuts.
7. That battery life issue with my Droid X? Turns out the wifi was eating up my battery searching for new signals. Now that I only use it when I need wifi, I can easily go three days between charges instead of 12 hours.
8. N0 new crafting to report. I did a lot of cleaning up in the office last week to swap the folding table come printer-stand for modular book shelves and ended up covering my craft table in debris. It’s too messy to use right now, even for me.
9. I started using overnight pull-ups for Tom instead of just overnight diapers. Since he stays dry most nights, I figured a good first step toward potty training would be to take him to the bathroom as soon as he wakes up.
10. The most daunting part of my plan is being up and ready before Tom.