An experiment in gratitude.

For the past few days I've been trying to be more cognizant of my blessings, so I decided to write down a few each day. Here are the first two pages of things I am grateful for.

Not everyone understands the predictable nature of humanity like me.

I was at the park the other day with three of my favorite kids and Yasu, the Japanese exchange student that is staying with them. We were all playing when a group of middle aged power walkers came to sit at a picnic table near by. A few of them struck up a conversation with me, telling me how adorable the children are. People frequently think that these half Guatemalan children are mine, and some times it is easier just to go along. But this day, they assumed that Yasu was the father. Just like Stephen Colbert, these women couldn't see race. I thought it was kind of funny. The problem came when I started clearing up the misunderstanding.

Molly: He's not their father.
Judging-Power-Walker: Oh. I thought... [insert judgment expression here]Do the kids get to see their fathers often?
Molly: Yes. They've just got one, and he lives at home with them.
JPW: But two of them are so dark, and one is blonde.
Molly: You just thought a Japanese kid was their father.
JPW: Oh, I thought he was Mexican.

OH SNAP!

Write to your congressmen!

Sometimes I forget to be the carefree-hapless-party-girl I was clearly born to be, this happens mostly when I think about the state of the world. I'm not going to get on a soapbox, because that's not why anyone reads this frou-frou blog of mine, (and by anyone I mean Brittney, Whitney, Deanna & Becky the only people who read this - KISSES, LOVERS!)

Anyway, today I emailed Senator Gordon Smith, Senator Ron Wyden and "The honorable" David Wu, who obviously represents my congressional district, about this whole economy bail out thing. Again, feel however you want to about the quagmire our deregulatory greed has gotten us into, but I feel like there is a part of this situation that we are over-looking en masse because of the 700 billion dollar price tag, and that is the elimination of checks and balances. "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are nonreviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." Wow. Isn't that terrifying? And we didn't even vote for Hank Paulson. He was appointed. And now, he will be king. Awesome.

I'm not going to lie, emailing these guys made me feel like a liberal tool, but at the same time, I feel like they are representing me, so I should share how I feel. While we still have this semblance of democracy, I'm going to take advantage of it.

some day i want to be a 17 year old apple picker from croatia.

whilst perusing lookbook today i came across this adorable girl, and completely have a life-crush on her and her fabulous chanel specs. not to mention the hair. and the scarf. and her face.

Because my inner monologue either sounds like Mitch Hedberg or an Infomercial.

Do you ever pass out at parties and come to only to find an inappropriate image or word written on your face in permanent marker? Sure, we all do.*

Are you tired of having your skin be embarrassingly red and irritated after the hours of scrubbing it takes to get marker off with plain soap?

Now, for a limited time only,** you too can enjoy the gentle depigmentation of the ink on your arm with Keihl's Supremely Gentle Eye Make-up Remover! With just one application your inappropriate inking can go from this:

To this:


WOW! What a difference! As a bonus, it also works at taking off eye make-up!


*I was not passed out, or even under the influence of any substance. My friend*** decided that since I wrote "Ryan + Molly" inside of a heart on his arm, I needed some marking as well.

**Just kidding. It's been around for ever, and will continue to be around because it is so awesome.

***Don't trust Ryan with a sharpie.

What does a sesame seed grow into? I don't know, we never give it a chance. What the F@%# is a sesame? It's a street. It's a way to open s*%#.****

**** That is because I mentioned Mitch Hedberg in the title. Really, when I'm not selling things to myself, I pretend I'm a hilarious stoner. RIP, Mitch.

101 Reasons I love Reem.

1. She's funny.
2. She was cool in Jr. High - and that is a feat. (She is still cool.)
3. She is nice.
4. She has beautiful eyes and perfect brows.
5. She's very funny.
6. She has put up with being my friend since 1996.
7. She's a very good long distance friend.
8. Did I mention she is funny?
9. She's got game.
10. She's fabulous.
11. She RARELY rehashes the past, and when she does, it is not with spite.
12. She is not passive-aggressive.
13. She has lots of talents.
14. She is incredibly endearing.
15. She has "nice vowels".
16. She is practical and realistic, the yin to my yang.
17. Her current facebook status is a shout-out to me--and I like that.
18. She told me to write this blog.
19. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends, and will forgive me for not knowing exactly how to articulate why.

So, not exactly 101, but stay tuned. I may post some more.

A few non sequiturs I've written in my journal this week:

- Sarah Palin reminds me of Joe from Project Runway, in that clearly they both lack talent and experience, but they have egos that would suggest otherwise. (what's so great about being a gun-totin' hockey mom? I don't get it. oh, and Joe totally dresses in drag.)

- Ethan Embry is underrated, or at least he was in the late 90's when he had a career.

- Donald Rumsfeld = Pure, unadulterated evil. Note to self: never ingest aspartame again.

- I get a lot of bruises playing with Hudson, Sydney & Austin. Maybe I'm anemic. Or maybe they are just freakishly strong with instances of rage. I think I'll go with that one.

- Trampolines and bicycles are awesome.

- I need to remember that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia starts next Thursday!

Photographic Evidence for Ali

Ali -
Here's the dresser I bought off of Craigslist and then refinished. I took the mirror and made a frame for it out of reclaimed molding. Who doesn't love recycling? And who doesn't love mid-century modern?

BEFORE:


AFTER:



And here's the table that Molly built. I purchased a glass cabinet door from the ReBuilding Center on Mississippi, then added some mdf which I routed out a design in, nailed on a couple pieces of pine on the bottom, and threw on some recycled legs I found at a garage sale.



I'll show you the chair I reupholstered soon. Kisses & misses!

molly.

Jaywalking.

This morning my brother and I were traveling through the streets of Portland at a time when most people are contributing to society and the economy by working. My brother was telling me about a time he saw a woman start to jaywalk, making a young woman in her car screech to a halt. As the jaywalking woman got to the stopped car, she put her purse on the hood of the stopped car and started rifling through it. My brother said that the woman in the car was confused and frustrated and probably fearing for her life, while all of the cars behind her were honking with road rage. The jaywalker then screamed, "Hold on a minute!" and continued searching through her bag. As my brother revealed that the woman finally pulled out a lipstick or something equally anti-climactic, I almost choked on my apple, because right in front of us was a man jaywalking against traffic. He looked dazed and completely out of it as he crossed in front of the car next to me, while we were all very anxious to take advantage of the green light. All of a sudden, a delivery van zoomed by me in the other lane, coming fast in dazed guy's direction. As the van passed within inches of the jaywalker, he jumped back, startled, and then returned to his snail-like, drug-induced state crossing the street not knowing he was inconveniencing dozens of people in the intersection.

Genius is inspiring, even in a 1 minute commercial. (or 3)

These have been around for years, but I just can't get enough of them. Kind of like that Angry Chicken commercial by Nike.

An Open Letter To TV:

Dear TV,

I am writing because I am concerned I will be spending too much time with you this fall season.

Monday: Gossip Girl
Wednesday: Pushing Daisies, Project Runway (and potentially Top Design)
Thursday: My Name is Earl, The Office & 30 Rock (and so I'll probably watch Kath & Kim too, because why watch 90 minutes of TV when you can watch a 2 hour block?)
Friday: Bill Moyer's Journal

I am looking at seven hours of TV a week, and that's not even counting the occasional viewing of Coupling, You Are What you Eat, Cash Cab, or How Clean is Your House.

I think I need to cut some out. Sadly, and thankfully, Project Runway will end soon after Fashion Week. Maybe I'll stop Gossip Girl since I hate the story lines and most of the characters? But what about the delightful times watching with Becky, Shara & Lindsey. Oh TV, I need to get a life - but can I give up 30 Rock or Pushing Daisies? TV, remember when I hated you? Those were better times for me, I think. You've done me wrong before, but also brought me a lot of enjoyment.

I guess I need to work this out for myself, and definitely work on doing something whilst watching the copious amounts of you, but thanks for listening.

Also, can do me a favor and get rid of a few of the CSI's and Law & Orders...they are pretty much lame. Thanks.

Your old friend,
Molly

My first baby themed craft project.

My adorable (and token republican) friend Natalie is about to give birth to what is destined to be a fabulous little person named Olive. So, to celebrate this momentous happening, I made a baby blanket. My first ever blanket, and I thought it turned out pretty much adorable.




(Natalie actually told me that she had no plans to let Olive poop on this blanket, which I'm not going to lie, validated my crafty venture completely.)