Hello :: my name is Amy

20 little known, scintillating facts about moi. I may be confusing "scintillating" with "totally couldn't care less". It's easy to do. I did have a couple of glasses of boxed white zin before starting this thing. Please to enjoy.

My name is Amy. And I....

1. Am eternally optimistic.
2. Dislike spontaneity and find extreme comfort in routine -- and in people following through with doing things exactly like they said they would.
3. Try to be kind but don't always succeed.
4. Love tapioca pudding.
5. Am terrible about returning phone calls and never listen to my voicemails unless I HAVE to... but wish you could be a fly on the wall when I get your message because it made me so happy you called.



6. Am an only child with an only child.
7. Have dyed my hair green, blue, pink, black, purple and platinum blonde.
8. Love traveling pretty much anywhere and, a couple of years ago, drove around Mexico and Guatemala in a rented car. My husband locked the keys inside at a dicey border crossing -- I panicked but the locals took the window out in three minutes flat. Ingenuity.
9. Love reality shows.
10. Have a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and have always loved creative writing. I remember once, in college, a professor giving his students the choice between a take-home, open book test and writing a 10 page paper... I chose the paper without batting an eye.



11. Am a bit of a hermit, really. I might not ever leave my house if I didn't have to buy food, go to work and get my child out in the sunshine from time to time.
12. Love the movie 'Return of the Living Dead.' It's my hands-down favorite. As far as I'm concerned, Suicide is the most inspired character in modern cinema. The Dude could maybe steal that title, but I'm a sucker for the sentimentality of my youth.
13. Love to ride my pink bike all over town.
14. Did I mention I love tapioca pudding? I have a major sweet tooth and I could probably eat the entire box of Creamsicles before they hit the freezer. Especially the orange ones.
15. Am thankful for what I have. Even when what I have sucks a little.



16. Got a spider tattoo on my back when I was 17. No one asked me for ID. Maybe they should have.
17. Have a secret crush on Justin Timberlake. Oops.
18. Went to my first concert in 1988. Depeche Mode -- Music for the Masses at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It's true. Now you know.
19. Used to be concerned about what others thought about me... but that was years ago when I was still contemplating becoming someone else.
20. Live in Orange with my my loving husband of many years, David, our not-so-red-headed-anymore son, Liam, and our senile 14-year-old dog, Mia. That's pretty much it.

Now would you stop trying to peep in my windows? Sheesh. It's creeping me out. Well, only a little.

What's on the {bookshelf}?

I started thumbing through this book last night -- even though there is something off-putting about the little girl's attitude on the cover, let's be honest. Besides the obvious 'don't hit to reinforce to your child not to hit,' I have always felt that my highly energetic, spirited little man needed a different sort of guidance in learning to do right. He's very sensitive and eager to make me happy... even as he's tearing around the living room or grinding his Play-doh into the rug. I need to use these things to my advantage.

I figured I would give the information in this book a whirl. It discusses alternative ways to handle frustrating situations with your toddler, the connection between using physical force and your child's decisions about using it later themselves, the need to instill a sense of right and wrong because they are intrinsically RIGHT and WRONG -- as opposed to only doing right to avoid punishment. So far so good. I'll let you know how it turns out... check back here in 20 years.

I {made} this :: Vol. 2

Well, here's the part where I get to show off my handsome little guy, Liam!







As he gets older, I'm sure I'm going to force him to be my model more and more... right now, he thinks it's play {or another joy of being an only child}, oh there's mama again with that camera, say cheese! I'll take what I can get because one day, he probably won't want to hang out with me at all! **sniff**








www.littlestinkerbaby.etsy.com

I {made} this :: Vol. 1

I'm turning a corner at Little Stinker and starting to make some new stuff. Repurposed felted hats, diaper and burp cloth sets and these new personalized custom felt banners - as well as the tees you've come to know and love. What saying would you like to see? Play? Grow? Shine? Dream? Smile? This one says "loved" {and I made it especially for my little boy Liam} but I can do almost any design in a myriad of colors and patterns. Perfect for a shower gift, for new parents, for a child's room... and this banner can really grow with a child as they get older without seeming too 'baby-ish.' More photos in my Etsy shop. Please to enjoy.
www.littlestinkerbaby.etsy.com

Show someone how much you really do {or don't} care!

I'm definitely getting one of these for my mom this Mother's Day. I need a drawerful of greeting cards so I'm ready for any occasion with no notice - I have, shall we say, not the best memory for events. And these are AWESOME. So me.
http://www.alternategreetings.com/cards.html

And the word for Monday is... :: Vol. 1

Last Christmas, a friend wrapped up and gave me a really old copy of Crabb's English Synonyms. I'm talking really old. Like practically falling apart and the binding's coming off old. Despite the condition of the book, it was one of the sweetest gifts I've ever gotten. This friend has indulged in numerous conversations with me about our mutual love of language and the history of words in general: where they come from, their roots, the languages that share similar sounding words. When I opened the package, I was really touched. It was a simple gesture, but heartfelt: she knew I would know why she gave it to me. Today I let fall open my copy of Crabb's English Synonyms and this is the word I found: GLORY.



Hmmm, how interesting. In this world of manufactured personas and social networking, blogs, non-stop advertising, everything web-enabled, tweets and self-promoting facebook fan pages {all of which I indulge in just like everyone else}, it's somehow telling that 'glory' would be the first word I would stumble upon. We all just want recognition, I guess, to be seen and heard, appreciated for our efforts. Maybe allowed to make others happy. Patted on the back for doing something well. But at some point do personal creative endeavors, accomplishments, thoughts, feelings, musing become less special because they are so easily shared - with a few thousand of our closest friends, rather than those that care the most about who we are personally? Like a friend who would give you an old, dog-eared copy of Crabb's English Synonyms for Christmas? Well. I digress. You can draw your own conclusions. I'm just the messenger.

They would put me in the zoo.. if they could see what I can do!

Aaw, a children's story by Robert Lopshire I loved especially well and remember reading over and over growing up... and now Liam and I read it together! We didn't see any bears with red, orange, green or violet spots but our day at the San Diego Zoo was still awesome.


My two boys. They're the reason I even bother, it's true. Liam was thrilled to see a real live elephant and even more thrilled that he got to see him eat. It's the little things when you're two.

Me and the little guy. Man, I love that kid.



Thanks, Liam, for reminding me to find joy in the small things, to slow down and enjoy my day, to giggle uncontrollably when something makes me happy. You have no idea how much I need that sometimes.