Blog a la Cart

Bye bye California.

It’s all too appropriate that the Bug has learned how to wave hello and goodbye. We’ve got lots of hellos and goodbyes in our near future, and it’s a damn good party trick. Today at the doctor’s office, as we had our last appointment with our pediatrician, Addison waved to every person who would give her the time of day. It was adorable. And made me even more misty, if that were possible See below for a glimpse of the wave (and her new cozy snow hat, a necessity for where we’re headed. James and I made an important trip to the mall and bought up lots of sweatery, warm, winter clothes for a babe that has never needed such a thing. And since such ensembles CLEARLY do not sell so well out in these parts, the world was our oyster, our oyster of apparel for the fools headed east.)

 

 

ANYWAY!

This weekend we were down in San Diego, my favorite city on planet earth, for a final So’Cal weekend (and ya know, for me to start my job creating online surveys for kids, as it turns out there was a meeting of the minds outside of the icy tundra of Billsville and it just so happened to be in the Whale’s Vagina). I got my first taste of my new gig, and let me just say, I am filled with ooey gooey inspiration and those warm, fuzzy feelings you get from engaging with people that are incredibly thoughtful, articulate, and kind. I could not be more jazzed. And in addition to getting acclimated, James, Addison, Ursa and I got a lovely long weekend together (read lots of restless, sleepless nights sharing a hotel room while Ursa barked at every passing noise (how uncommon in a HOTEL!) and Addison rolled fitfully around teething in two new chompers while James sawed wood.) Let me remind you that there is no such thing as fun for the whole family. And, yes, we brought the dog. And yes we rolled into our hotel at 1am with the whole Cart clan while Timbaland and his entourage simultaneously checked it. Then we wore animal print bathrobes all weekend. I kid you not. Best. Hotel. E-V-E-R. I ate myself silly with burritos, an unrealistic attempt to savor this yummy (read: we live in Northern Mexico) Mexican food. And I soaked up as much of the Pacific and the California sun as I possibly could.

And I ugly-cried the whole drive home.

People kept mentioning that it was 5 degrees in Williamstown. It’s like they don’t want me to take this job or something.

Now back to packing. And by packing, I mean weeping into a pile of clothes and filling my belly full of glorious, cheap, fresh avocado. I am the epitome of productivity.

Upcycled Paper Notebooks

Drowning in a sea of computer paper waste? Piles of old cereal boxes crowding your recycling bin? Got some pesky paper bags stashed under the sink from that time you forgot to BYOB (that’s Bring Your Own Bag, although booze might certainly lead to such forgetfulness)? Well then, you have the fixings to make your own recycled paper notebook, and put all that paper to work. Again.

Materials:
1 brown paper bag
1 cereal box
25-30 pages of paper with printing on 1-side only
Some colorful scrap paper (old magazines, calendars, wrapping paper)
Glue
2 book rings
3-hole punch

Directions:
1. Fold all pieces of paper waste in half width-wise (text facing inward, obviously).
2. Hole punch all paper with just two holes at top and bottom (must adjust the 3-hole punch accordingly).
3. Cut cereal box into two rectangles sized 6″ wide x 9″ tall.
4. Using glue, cover cereal box rectangles in brown paper bag. Watch out for air bubbles- use a ruler (or comparable object) to smooth out the surfaces and allow to dry flat under the weight of some heavy books.
5. Once completely dry, apply a rectangle of colorful scrap paper on the side of each of the cereal box rectangles where you can see the folds of brown paper bag. Again, dry flat under heavy weight.
6. Once dry, hole punch both rectangles, fill with the stack of folded paper, and bind together with 2 metal book rings.

Best of all, once you’ve packed those pages with your brilliant musings, just dig back into your recycling bin, and refill, for free!

Photo: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart