Best Friend

I woke up at 5:30 this morning. The sky was just beginning to lighten I could see through our curtains. I heard the sound of mechanical crickets---Eric's cell phone alarm went off. He had to go to work a bit early today. I missed our morning routine. I miss him this morning...

I am one of those fortunate enough to be married to their best friend. Eric and I have been a couple since I was 16 and he was 17. We have been a couple for nearly 14 years, married for more than 10. I am not sure how that time has passed so quickly, but I can say with certainty that things have only gotten better. Don't believe that nonsense about love fading or the seven year itch, all wrong if you are married to your best friend.

Since I am on the subject I thought I might share some of the things that make Eric so amazing...

1) He does the right thing. He has a strong sense of what is right and wrong and I can always rely on him to act on that sense.

2) You may have already noticed, but he is super dreamy.


3) He's been on the NEWS! If you are new to this blog then I should prepare you that we are obsessed with newscasters.


4) He is a a great listener. I am not a huge talker (funny that I never seem to run out of things to write about). I tend to work through things internally, but when I need to talk I need to talk. Eric is always there to listen, to really just lend an ear and only offer insight when called upon. Yes, he is also a great talker.

5)He makes me laugh...a lot!

For the record this is a picture from last Halloween, you may recall we went as Star Trek Vampires.

6) He inspires me. He will inspire you too if you let him. Seriously the guy can inspire anyone!

7) He is always doing something interesting. Yesterday he was a judge for an art exhibition, went to Tae Kwon Do, then worked as a curator before coming home to go thrifting with me (we were hunting for bad art to enter into the bad art show, more on that to come), then he worked on an art film project, before relaxing with his girls.

8) He is smart. He has the degrees to prove it, if you're into that kind of thing.

9) He is crazy talented. He is a musician. Photographer. Painter. Film maker. Writer. I could go on and on and on....


10) He is a great father! Cordelia adores him.


Thanks for indulging me this morning.

That Guy

The other day a package arrived in the mail for Eric while he was at work. I assumed it had something to do with his volunteer work and just sent him a text message letting him know that it was at our house. He asked me where the package had come from. I checked the return address and told him that it had come from California.

A moment later he sent me a text (yes, we text now, we're so modern) directing me to look under a box on his bedside table and then to open the package. I did as I was instructed. Under the box on his table I found the sweetest letter thanking me for being a mom. It was a really wonderful letter, the kind that makes me misty eyed.

Necklace from Creative Manifestations on Etsy

Then I opened the package and found that Eric had been a bit sneaky. I had recently found this necklace and mentioned to him that I thought it was really cool. The necklace was sold out and I didn't give it another thought. Eric went on a little mission and was able to find one more from the same seller and he slyly bought it for me. What a guy! I love my husband so much.

If you are in love with the necklace I think she has a new one in stock.

Quiet Late at Night

Last night I was awake late. I guess that's bound to happen when you are feeding a little girl every couple of hours. I was listening to the rain falling outside. I was wrapped up with a warm blanket, holding Cordelia, it was kind of perfect. I was sure that the rain would soon turn into snow and I wanted to hear the moment that the rain turned soft and quietly fell as snow to the ground. The snow never came.

I awoke to a cool overcast morning, my favorite type of day. I like it all the more since we're in that phase where we've holed up in our house and are just busy learning how to be parents and busying ourselves with a new routine. I feel like a bear in hibernation and I am really enjoying it. I was afraid that I'd go a bit stir crazy, but I am instead finding this time to be so rewarding and absolutely priceless.

Now, I am going to have a cup of coffee prepared by my hubby.

Winter Morning Bumblebee

Yesterday was a cold morning and Bumblebee was a bit shivery. So, I tucked her in with a little blanket as I left our morning snuggle. I headed out to work and left my husband and the girls.

When I got to work I had this little photo waiting in my email. You can click on the photo for a closer look. I just thought I would share because it is cuter than cute.

In other news, I won! Carmen from About a Girl notified me that I won her Pay if Forward Award. I am so excited. She wrote the kindest words in her blog and I was so happy I danced around the living room. I was so happy and so touched. What did I win? A pair of Carmen made mittens. I can't wait to get them! I will be sure and post a photo when they arrive. The award inspired me, so look for the next Kindness Bandit on Tuesday morning...

Have a lovely Saturday.

Ten Reasons: I love this man

The other day Eric mentioned that I blog about him a lot. It's true, I do, but he is such an amazing person I feel as though I must. Here are 10 of the little things (out of an infinite number) that make me love my husband.

10. He opens the door for everyone. Sometimes the poor guy gets stuck holding the door as people just keep walking through, but he always does it.

9. He writes me beautiful letters. I have saved them all because they are so important to me.

8. He has taken the creation of pizza dough to a new level. It is an art form. When we moved to Denver he frantically worked to perfect the recipe at the higher elevation.

7. He never asks me to hurry or complains if I am taking a long time to get ready, even though he is VERY punctual.

6.He eats the ends off of pickles for me. I don't know why, but pickles tips are really creepy to me and he accepts that.

5. He is always willing to follow through on his crazy ideas. He has big dreams and doesn't see them as impossible.

4. He is so funny. I swear this man makes me laugh every single day.

3. He can go from fort building to a serious discussion on 16th century art in the blink of an eye.

2. He always smells good.

1. He knows how to be a friend and a husband.

Trip to Estes Park: Part 1

I came up to Estes Park for a business trip. I have been planning a very large event for close to 8 months! I have to admit that I have had some anxiety about it. Thankfully I got to bring my husband and Bumblebee and they have been helping me to keep the stress level pretty low. I must send a little thank you to Marcia from Hobert, Ltd here in Estes Park. She helped me out with a printing nightmare (12,000 pages!). I can't tell you how amazing they were. She even stayed late to complete my order.



Anyway, back to the story of Estes Park. Eric, Bumblebee and I arrived in this beautiful town and wondered why don't we live here, it is breathtakingly beautiful.







We stopped by the Stanley Hotel, see below. If you are familiar with The Shining by Stephen King, this is the hotel that inspired the novel.

A short while later I realized what a city girl I have become in just a short period of time. I found myself taking a photo of deer. Deer! I am from Montana, why on Earth did I think I needed photos of deer? Estes Park natives drove by as I took this photo. I could almost hear them whisper "city slicker" under their breath. Oh well, deer are cute.

When we settled into our hotel room (no we aren't staying at the Stanley this time around) Bumblebee instantly made herself at home on the king size bed. She is not allowed on the bed at our house, but we don't really mind at hotels. She indulges.

In case you were wondering if Eric and I were done with our Alias obsession I offer you an answer. Below you will see that we brought our laptop and a copy of season four (checked out from the library) so we could watch from our hotel room.

We went to Kind Coffee this morning and had coffee and some breakfast. I also had the best jam ever made. Seriously, I could have eaten it with a spoon; don't worry I didn't eat it with a spoon that would have been bizarre.

Thanks to my husband for taking most of the gorgeous photos for this blog post.

Little Things are Big Make-Over

Don't be alarmed you are still at Little Things Are Big! I know everything looks different, but I think it looks so much better. I feel quite at home in my new blog skin. I hope you like it too.

So, my wonderful husband did all of this work for me! I told you he was awesome. Let me tell you all about the changes you might be overlooking. First, up top, my banner has changed. Eric worked to incorporate regular elements in my blog (only he left himself out).

Next, to the right you will see that there is a little picture of Bumblebee's head. If you click on the button you will be directed to a site which can equip you with a code so you can ad L.T.A.B. to your own blog (for quick access) or to your myspace site. If you don't have a site look just above the button and you can subscribe to the blog from your Yahoo, Google or whatever.

With all the change in format I want to assure you that the content will remain exactly the same. Thanks to all!

Tea, husband and two letters

Last night we decided to spend the evening with the TV off. We don't have cable, but we have been known to get pulled into TV via Jeopardy. So, we spent the first part of the evening inventing a board game (more on that when we complete it).

Later we decided to have some tea, listen to music and chat with each other.

We drank our tea out of these beautiful vintage cups that my Grandma Carol gave me a few summers ago at a family reunion. Aren't they lovely? I asked Eric if he felt dainty drinking from them, because I did, he (sarcastically) said that he did indeed feel dainty.


The tea we were drinking is my all time favorite tea. I am making it official, Evening in Missoula is the best tea ever and it is decaf so I can have it in the evening!

Here is a photo of my handsome hubby. He sat on the opposite end of the couch and we talked.

Here are two letters he gave me when I returned home from work today. One was a sweet letter and the other was funny. Thanks to the hubby!

Tuesday After Work

Yesterday after I came home from work it was beautiful outside. The temperature was perfect the sun was shining. I had some time with my husband, did I mention that I love him so much?

Such a beautiful day must be celebrated with pink lemonade.

Bumblebee got comfortable in my lap.

Look how beautiful it was.

My poor tomato plant has not really come into it's own. I am still watering it because it is so cute and wimpy.

With dinner we had fresh melon that was almost too sweet, almost.

After dinner we took Bumblebee over to the dog park. Did I mention how wonderful my husband is?

Bumblebee was on the alert for other pooches to play with.

I took a moment to look up at the beautiful sky. The bench was really uncomfortable on the back of my head so I wadded up my hair and used it as a pillow. Just another reason to have long hair.

All in all Tuesday was pretty wonderful!