I hope falling asleep on the plane is as easy

as making this sleep mask was.

The 22 hours of travel have begun.

Apple Nutrition is now a brand.
And we're selling our very own line of Whey Isolate protein powder. Available in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, mixed berry, and peanut butter flavors.

Check out the cool packaging. *smile*
(Try to envision it wrapped around a bottle of protein...)

front of label

back of label

Lessons Learned:

#1 - It is always good to read the boring chapters at the beginning of travel books. It may be tempting to skip the litany of seemingly useless information and get to the fun parts. BUT. You will learn something useful.
Which brings me to...

#2 - You need a Passport AND a Visa to get into Australia. I will admit I stopped breathing when I read that one. A Visa?!
How long does it take to get a Visa?!!?

#3 - It takes no more than 24 hours to be issued an Australian Visa online. Whew.

#4 - It is hard to prepare a last minute vacation to another country
when you had been planning for weeks to go to a totally different country.
This new country has 25 foot long crocodiles.

#5 - It is not a good idea to watch Poseidon before plane travel.
Yes, this movie was about a ship. But almost everyone on the ship DIES.
And it doesn't take too much imagination to transfer the

dying and screaming from a ship wreck to a plane crash...

#6 - Qantas planes have never crashed. Ever.
We're flying to Australia in a Qantas. Reassured? A little.

#7 - Do not touch the metal prongs on your computer cord
as you unplug it from a wall outlet. This will result in electric shock.Tingling, numbness, and a headache will follow. (Timmy learned this one.)

#9 - It is impossible to go shopping for your house, your trip, and your business, design 24 product labels, pack for a 10 day vacation, eat dinner, pick out tile for your store's bathroom, and do laundry all in one night.
But I tried.

#10 - If you have a dairy allergy, and someone says to you,
"Oh, this soup is dairy free, it just has cheese...", don't trust them.

Change of Plans

Our flight to London was cancelled. Boo-hoo.

Living in Wisconsin, I never really expected my life to be dramatically - or even slightly - impacted by a volcano.

Two new tickets have been purchased.

After hours of deliberation and searching for last minute tickets, we stumbled across jaw-dropping good deals on one destination we both really, really want to visit.

Australia it is.

Talk about an extreme change of plans.

Does anyone have suggestions for how to survive a 15 hour plane ride?

Something new.

Last Thursday morning, we got the keys to our retail space.

That morning, he woke up very happy. He slid right out of bed and danced around me in delighted circles as I got ready for work. He flitted between the bathroom and the bedroom. Ran around the bedroom serenading me with lovey songs.

Which isn't unusual, the singing lovey songs part.

He kissed me in the bedroom and kissed me at the door. Kissed me at the car and ran down the driveway for one last window kiss. Thought the window was down - it wasn't - and smacked his face right into the glass. We both laughed and couldn't remember anything funnier than that moment.

Which isn't unusual, the kissing and laughing part.

He texted me updates throughout the morning. Made no effort to hide his excitement. And then he called me at work. Check your email, he said, I sent you something exciting. And so I opened my email to see him. My darling husband hanging from the ceiling of our retail space.

Which isn't unusual, the hanging from the ceiling part.

But having a retail space to call our own?
Now that's something new.

busy, busy

 

I met Courtney from California on Etsy, and she asked me to design her some graduation cards. And she liked Oswald so much, she decided to have him announce her happy graduation news!

I think he looks pretty dashing in his little cap. Don't you?

Happy Graduation, Courtney!

Dear Icelandic Volcano,

I realize that, being a volcano, erupting is what you do best.

You can stop erupting any time now.

It's not that I don't appreciate your billowing clouds of smoke and ash. It's just that I really, really want to go to Europe next Friday.

And you are making me nervous.

Sincerely,

Becki O'Brien

"Meteorologists from the AccuWeather forecasting service in Pennsylvania said the current ash plume will threaten air travel over Europe through Sunday at the least. Einar Kjartasson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said the problem might persist for weeks..."

I cannot understand everyone's fascination with Chicago.

I could think of a very long list of things I would rather do than visit Chicago. And on that list, there would be things such as "scrub all the floors in my house with a toothbrush" or "go to the dentist".

Chicago is loud. Chicago feels grey. Chicago smells like concrete.

Chicago sounds stressful.

The drivers in Chicago scare me to death. When Timmy and I drive in Chicago I spend half the time screeching at him to pretty please be careful, and the other half with my eyes squeezed tightly shut - praying hard. I go back and forth between squeezing his hand in a death grip and loudly demanding that he put BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL for heaven's sake! And when we finally, finally reach our parking destination, the ridiculous parking fees promptly take away any idea we had of going out for a fancy dinner.

I've been to Chicago twice and, after the last experience, I asked Timmy very nicely to never take me there again.

I don't usually tell people how much I dislike Chicago. Because I feel utterly left out of the "I love Chicago" club everyone seems to be a part of. Dear friends, please promise to love me even though I don't like Chicago.

Today I am feeling a bit anxious. Because my passport - you know, that passport I'll be needing to be let into England in one week - has not come in the mail yet. And if we don't get it by Saturday morning, Timmy and I are going to have to make an emergency trip to downtown Chicago. Because that is the only place to go when you need a passport in a hurry.

And, not even the promise of TWO Chipotle meals from Timmy makes the prospect of that trip seem any more enticing.

Please please passport, come today!

My parents have given me the eager optimism that I am capable of making anything. Everything is made by someone - why not me?

Seriously. I have come to conclude that there is nothing my parents can't make.

There may have been times I did not appreciate this. Probably somewhere between the 2000th batch of homemade jam, the never ending "you could make that!" when I saw something cute at the store, the impossibility of sewing a "hidden zipper", and the sneezing that accompanies holding up long panels of drywall.

But, although sometimes grudgingly, I've learned how. And sometimes I can't quite silence the niggling guilt I feel when I purchase something I could make myself. I tend to long for the uniqueness of my own creations. I love the feeling of a finished project.

And so, when my ipod needed a home, I made it.

All it took was some vintage fabric scraps, an old metal tape measure, and some bits of lace. Oh, and a sweet mom who is still teaching me. Teaching me how.

(This ipod pocket has a magic ingredient that makes it extra special. You cut a measuring tape and insert it into the casing at the top of the pocket. Not only does it stay closed like a magnetic clasp, but it makes the most exhilarating "snap!" sound when you open and close it!)

 Oh, melancholy day, there is a restless flurry in my mind. Thoughts cave inward and ideas rustle like old leaves. Words come out sticky and uneven, and paragraphs form with cracks between the sentences. Words are broken and thoughts dangle in endless fragments.

Nothing comes out right on melancholy days. Coversations are impossible and there is nothing left to do but

sit in the stillness

and 

daydream

of Sundays spent draped in each other's arms,

sweet naps

and sunny skies.

oswald has a girlfriend.

 Meet Lola.

and so it goes…

So it seems that we have a very hard time keeping secrets. When Timmy and I promised not to tell anyone of our secret vacation destination, I didn't really suppose that telling my Mom counted...

And of course we had to tell Rynn, because she lives with us. And Rynn had to tell Caleb.

And since Mom knew, we had to tell Daddy. And Dad didn't realize it was a secret and he told Grandpa...

And Timmy by accident told his employees at Apple Cafe. And the passport photo developer at Walgreens. And the customers standing in line behind us…

And little sister Missy was quite smart and sneaky and somehow managed to figure out our secret destination just by looking at the teensy bit of a picture I put up on my blog. And she had to tell Mom #2...

And so it goes. Our secret destination is not much of a secret anymore…

I love secrets. But I think I love exciting news even more.

We're going to England and Wales in 14 days!

Whee!

Today I am loving:

My pretty homemade headbands. (So easy to make!)

This adorable idea from Ruche. (And loving all of their yummy clothes.)

Making lunch in my orange pot.

Laura Zastrow's new pictures.

Getting ideas from this re-fashion tutorial.

Borrowing cute sandals from the sweet sister I live with.
(Living with Rynn pretty much doubles my wardrobe...)

Finding homemade vegan bath products.

Reading this book on organic housekeeping.
(I may never use a plastic cutting board ever again.)

 My friend, Elizabeth's, recently launched Etsy shop.

(She makes cute and cozy purses from recycled pants.)

 The new version of Blogger Draft. (Like the new layout?)

Spending an afternoon with open windows and sunshine.

Watching my ambitious neighbors jog past my house...

Coming across this video from our wedding as I was cleaning out my computer.

(my uncle made it, and it always, always makes me cry – in the happiest way)

And finding this while I was picking up the house. 

It's nice to be so loved.

telling secrets.

Jamie is telling secrets, so I'm spilling some of mine too...

I am a perfectionist. (That's why I married Timmy.)

Sometimes I get so focused on taking pictures and capturing special moments,
I miss really seeing and experiencing life without my camera.

 Every night I promise Timmy I'll get up at 5:45,
and every morning I make him get up, walk across the room, and hit snooze three times.

 I have never not once drunk any form of alcohol, and I never plan to.

I love water.

I think my engagement ring is the prettiest.

Sometimes I dream about eating cheese. (I'm vegan...)

I was in and out of the Louvre in under two hours. Because even though I felt
like I should wander amidst famous art for days, I didn't.

 I dislike hot beverages of any kind.
If I'm not somewhere at least five minutes early, I feel like I'm late.

Sometimes I make Timmy pretend to be a horse and give me rides up and down the stairs.

Busy social settings make me nervous.

I am a horrible driver.

I was homeschooled.

I'm scared of doctors. (Especially the dentist...)

I'm scared to go in our basement alone.

I can type 90 words per minute.

I visited the Blarney Stone but did not kiss it.

I like to vacuum. 

I don't use microwaves.

I am going on a magical vacation in 22 days. 

(But I can't tell you where – it's a secret...)