Deep New Year's Thoughts

The other night Scott and I rented Julie and Julia...or is it Julia and Julie?!? Anyhow, after previewing about 17 other movies I settled on it with much less enthusiasm than I would, say, NEW MOON, but I was interested. To back up, I'm not a Food Network fan. Don't get me wrong, I'm a food fan and I like to cook when I don't have toy box deadlines and have to help kids with homework. But I don't watch TV or movies about food, generally speaking.

While watching the movie, I felt some at-one-ness with Julie. Except she was cooking. And me, well, building. She started a blog to document her project. I started a blog to document my woodworking journey. Then sometimes she gets too wrapped up in her project and neglects her husband. And well, that is an understatement for me at times. And how she picks and chooses what she publishes..and gets told by said husband not to write about their fight(s). I, too, pick and choose. Sometimes (often) I just pick the parts that make me laugh or are funny on the page. I don't share everything but then again you knew that. What I probably should share a little bit more of are two things. My gratitude towards my supportive beyond belief husband and family. And the times that are so frustrating and painful that make me want to hang up the drill and go back to a job where I wear heels and do lunches.

I think in the New Year lots of good things will happen. And lots of frustrating (I've just been interrupted by my sweet 7-yr-old SIX times from the start of this entry), tear-inducing moments too. In honor of "letting go" of stuff before the New Year, I'm going to share a few things you haven't read on my blog. Here goes...

1. A handful of times, since starting this career, I've found myself lying on the floor in the garage crying from frustration and exhaustion. While I know it'll happen in 2010, maybe it'll just happen less than a handful.

2. I don't buy into the pink powertool/hand tool crap on the market. Why does a hammer have to be pretty in pink to appeal to women?

3. It's really hard to read negative comments/commentary on my work and sometimes I just want to write F*&$ YOU. But instead, I yell it at my computer screen and then write something back that sounds like I have a publicist. Just once this year, can I write F*&@ YOU? Ok...ok...I won't.

4. People assume since I build kids' furniture that I can build anything. Wrong. I suck at mitering and anything with trim. Don't even ask me how to use a router. Too complicated.

5. I sometimes wish I could take just a three month break from building anything with wood. Don't even want to see it for a quarter of the year. But I don't say that out loud because that would sound incredibly selfish, especially in this economy where I'm beyond thrilled to still have a thriving business. I just said it out loud, didn't I. Selfish bitch I am.

6. I don't thank you enough for being supportive, reading my erratic blog that sometimes isn't updated for weeks, and for just in general, making me feel like what I'm doing is a good thing. I wish only peace, love and prosperity for all of you out there. You keep me going, you really do.


That about does it for 2009. I'm leaving the wood behind tonight and we're making French food. Which OF COURSE, starts with buying a Presto Deep Fryer. Duh! Making Frites and Pets De Nonne (which is fancy for donut). But for a night, I'll feel like Julie who felt like Julia. And there will be butter. Massive amounts of butter.

Happy New Year!!!

The LA Times likes Riley...they REALLY like Riley!!!

Massive big thanks to Lisa Boone who unbeknownst to me has been checking in to see what crazy thing I'm doing in my garage. I woke up this morning to find this article and truly had no idea she was even cooking it up.

THANK YOU LISA!!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2009/12/latest-from-mod-mom-.html

My Cup Runneth Over

My drinking problem. Yes, they are all half full. And yes, they're all days old.

Finally....a NEW piece!! Introducing The Riley Paige Toy/Storage Box

I've had this design in my head for a LONG time. Just didn't have time to work on it. I'm still figuring out pricing and getting permissions for patterns but I'm hoping to have this on my online store within the next few weeks.

A couple things I wanted to mention and get your opinion on....

Current Options:
1. Casters or Mid-century style legs

2. Dimensions are the same as the Owyn: 29.5 inches wide by 14 inches deep x 15/12 inches tall.

3. I am going to offer several different pattern collections. So far I have what you see above (or something similar) and was thinking of a pink/mod blue/brown pattern combo. Can you suggest other color/pattern recommendations?

Strep! Toy Boxes! Christmas!

I'm alive!!! And back in the saddle again. Damn strep throat (with vomiting - who knew?) knocked me on my rear last week. My mind is all over the place today so I thought I'd post some cool stuff going on in bullet form...

• NEW TOY BOX COMING SOON! I posted a preview of a new toy box I'm finishing on Facebook. Look for more info soon. :)
  
  
• Thanks so much to Darryl Masterson for featuring my work on his blog. Darryl is a fellow woodworker that I met through Lumberjocks. www.anetsyfavorite.blogspot.com
  
  
• A new store called Baby Bot in Canada is officially launching this week! They have 15 Mod Mom storage pieces in stock so if you're in Canada and need one pronto, check out Baby Bot. www.babybot.com
  
  
• Happy Holidays! And thanks for reading my silly blog. :)
  

The Bertie is Featured in Chilean Magazine: Revista Vivienda Y Decoracion

A couple of weeks ago I received a very kind email from a woman who works in Chile for Revista Vivienda Y Decoracion magazine. She asked if I would supply her with photos of my work for a feature in an upcoming issue. Two things surprised me: 1.) that the woman somehow found my work in the first place, and 2.) that two weeks later, when I checked out the magazine online, I found my Bertie Box already in the magazine. I'm always so amazed and excited when people in other countries stumble upon my toy boxes.

And then, of course, I get all cocky. But inevitably, someone, like my son, will say something to bring me safely back to Earth. The other day in the car on the way to school he asked Scott, "Dad, what does Mom do all day at home?" Nice.

Here's the magazine link...
http://3w.lun.com/MER/revistas/index.asp?codRev=VI&fecha=&iResolucion=1280

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day! And a big thank you to veterans, soldiers, and all those amazing military families who miss their loved ones on a daily basis.

I've been thinking a lot about my family members who served today and wanted to honor them in some small way . My mom was kind enough to share some of what she knows about my grandparents so I've included it below. Thanks Mom!

(Juanita Pennington, 1945)

My grandmother, Juanita Pennington was member of the WAVES (Women's Navy) and worked in D.C. during WWII. (Photo above was taken in D.C.) One of her jobs was to decode Japanese messages. She was put on a train with other WAVES. Juanita had no idea where she was going or where she ended up due to the black-out curtains hanging in the train windows. She got off the train at a secret location and worked on the messages. The women would be brought back to their bases the next day.

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My grandfather, Lawrence Pennington was a paratrooper during WWII. He was in Africa fighting Rommel (German) as well as parachuting into Europe where he was one of the first paratroopers to drop over the Ziegfreid line when Americans invaded Europe. Most of the men were killed as they parachuted, but he landed safely and hid under a snow-covered tree. He was discovered and held as a prisoner for nine months. The Russian army liberated him and when he came back home to the US he was sent to the Biltmore House Estate in North Carolina to recuperate due to his poor health.

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(Clifford Parsons with my dad, Barry Parsons)

My grandpa, Clifford Parsons, was in the Army Engineers division who was responsible for building the roads and bridges before the rest of the troops advanced. He fought in Europe and was ordered to invade Normandy. A week before the invasion, his units' orders were changed or he would have been one of the first men there.
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(Charles Hathcock)

Scott's grandfather, Charles Hathcock, also served during WWII. Charles came from a family of six siblings; he was the youngest of four brothers. At one point during WWII, all of the Hathcock brothers were serving in the war. Charles was recruited much later in the war and served in Austria Germany in two main roles. His first role was as a Military Police(MP) officer watching over German war prisoners. His second role gave him the opportunity to explore the German countryside as part of the communications reconstruction team. Charles helped hang telephone lines and open back up communications between German villages. He never had to fire a single shot in either role but instead left the war with an appreciation for the German Austrian people and their countryside.

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My grandpa, Calvin Deeter, served in the Navy aboard the The USS Conklin DE439. There's a wonderful website dedicated to those who served on the Conklin: http://www.ussconklin.org/index.htm.

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If you have more info, photos, or different memories to share, please let me know! I'd love to add them to this post.

Happy Fun Day

"Dad, what fun stuff are you guys going to do with us on Wednesday since we don't have school?"

Oh NO!! Grace didn't get the memo that said Dad and Mom have to work on Veteran's Day. How could she have not gotten that memo!?! Of course, my initial reaction is panic since I really do have a lot of work to do this week. And then the panic dissolves into guilt since I'm anticipating some of her friends saying they're going to Disneyland...or the beach....or Europe on that one day they have off this week.

I really do love my job but if I were working in an office somewhere, I'd just take a personal day (or pretend to be sick) and that would be that. (I know this is how it would play out because I lived it from 1998-2003.) Anyhow, my only stress would be wondering how the hell we'd get to and from England in a 24 hour time period. There wouldn't be the tug of war between duty and guilt I feel inside because I know I have to work every day in order to meet my production demands. And I know it's just me doing the work so the slack can't be picked up by someone else. If it doesn't get done, it just doesn't get done. But, of course, in the bigger picture, I have it set up the way I want it even if it means I work til midnight. So what will I do with my kids tomorrow? I HAVE NO FREAKIN' CLUE. Most likely they'll play Wii for hours while I'm working and then for fun, I'll offer to take them out to lunch only to hear them say, "But that's not fun like _______ is having fun. He's in Europe today."

Pregnancy Magazine's Nursery Must Haves Includes The Owyn Toy Box

Being that I'm always on top of Mod Mom Furniture press, it should come as no surprise to you that the Owyn was featured in Pregnancy Magazine"s New Mom's Handbook Edition in September and I'm just now finding out about it. :)

Thanks to Krista Worth (of HGTV fame) for including Owyn in the list of must-have nursery gear for those woodland-minded parents. I just created a new catch phrase with "woodland-minded", didn't I?!?!

Check out this link to the spread on Krista's press page. It's a PDF files so it may take a tiny bit to load.

Halloween is finally over!!

As promised (Ray), here are the photos of the Haunted House Entry we worked on for weeks inside our house and/or in our back yard. It seemed to be a hit so we're pleased as punch!