First Row: Vixens Empire card that has a fantastic checklist your mom can look at breathe a sigh with each check-mark you made. The Hot Mama card is part of Real Simple’s wonderful collection of slideshows for Mother’s Day Gift Guides.

Second Row: Able and Game has a great selection of Mother’s (and Father’s, remember that one for later!) Day cards, some of them perfect for all my friends who are now “mums.” I LOVE this New Yorker comic so much that I might make it into a card for my sister.

Third Row: Jordan Ferney had an excellent envelope surprise idea that you could use not only for Mother’s Day, but birthdays as well. 16 Things Mom’s Really Want for Mother’s Day post on Babble

You can also check out:

• frolic-blog’s guide to making a french, hand tied, papered bouquet. Turn a store-bought bouquet into something personal and a work of art!
• it doesn’t have to be served in bed, but crepes are a mom favorite! We will be making some for my mom, complete with bacon, fruit and tons of Grand Marnier!
• One of my old Mother’s Day guides, complete with a list of awesome moms. I had to go back and check to see, and yes, I still agree with all of them, especially Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor.

What are your plans for Mother’s Day?

Books I Read:

Flight to the Mushroom Planet, French Ways and Their Meaning, Mistresses of the Dark, re-reading one of my faves. Ugh, just look at that sad little list. I need to get back on the reading train. The Beau and I are really overzealous about our library lists and get a whole bunch of books at once. Not just cookbooks, but several novels all at once. What book fiends! Also, on another book note, my friend Jess has begun an epic journey of reading a book a week. Cheer her on and peek what she’s reading here.

Movies:

I am still trying to get The Beau to watch Zodiac with me. I should have asked for my birthday! But really, haven’t watched a lot of movies: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Beast with a Billion Backs. The Beau and I had a system a couple years ago that I really enjoyed and think we should get back into: We each make a list of five movies, then the other picks one from the list and those are the two flicks we watch that week.

Charity:

I was really stumped about where I should send my charity donation this month. I get overwhelmed trying to think about all the things I really love (like bats and space), there are just so many things that need so much help. But then I read the diary Dan Herbertson wrote and photographed on his trip through the desecrated cities in Japan.

Budget Analysis:

Blerg. I am trying to be good and only spend my birthday money on frivolous things. I have learned it is SO MUCH HARDER to spend actual cash. I need to stop bringing my debit card out when I shop and only have cash so I have to make do with whatever cash I have on hand. My friend Melissa has decided to start a little section of her blog showcasing her thrift store finds, and I LOVE this idea. Not only would it give me a fantastic excuse to go thrifting, but it would also give me a reason to get rid of/sell a lot of stuff and only keep what I love.

Also, when we went on our two-day vacation to L.A. for grilled cheese, I used paper money only (from my vacation fund) and still had tons leftover! So, all in all, a budget balance, riiiight?!

Well, I didn’t get everything done I wanted to. But I did get a few things done just by having fun. The best part about my unaccomplished things? I am just going to turn them into a summer fun list!

LIST:

1. Another tattoo, or a beautiful touch-up of my existing ones

2. Get down to ideal weight (including some killer muscles!) I lost 18 pounds, felt good, and gained 5 back. Whoops. Gotta step up the healthy choices for bathing suit weather!

3. Make a vlog

4. Start a photo-folio

5. Begin writing my screenplay

6. Help out at a women’s shelter

7. Successfully grow a garden I managed to keep some annuals alive despite the ridiculous amount of spring heat we have had. I think I have gained enough confidence back that I might actually try some bulbs this fall!

8. Sew my own dress I made skirts, and I like to think that counts.

9. Babysit How could I not cross this one off with this adorable face?!

Photobooth Memories at work (not pictured: 2 more photobooth friends!)

10. Take pictures in photobooths with all my closest friends (though maybe not all at once) I didn’t get all of them, but I got a lot of memorable ones!

11. Do something for my mom she has been putting off doing herself

12. Having a significant amount of clutter released from my house and into the wild

13. Stay in a historic hotel

14. Have a girls night out

15. Road trip! Flagstaff, a couple of trips to Prescott, Disneyland! Definitely feel good about crossing this one off!

16. Have written a short story everyday for at least 3 months

17. Get all my craft hurricanes sorted and organized

18. Bake at least 3 new desserts and 3 new dinners Margarita Bundt cakes, Jerk Chicken, a totally different chocolate chip cookie recipe, cinnamon muffins that could be breakfast or dessert, whoopee pies, Chipotle-style lime rice and chicken (i helped make that with The Beau!)…I need to work on my dinner-making skills a bit still.

19. Photograph lightning

20. Watch a meteor shower

21. Bike to a destination (work, gym, store) Have biked to the library, grocery store (in winter!), to downtown holiday stuff, to buy flowers, to the post office, even to dinner the other day!

22. Not get into debt over Christmas I think the best way to do this is buy presents during the year. I in no way have that forethought, but it always seems like a great idea.

23. Visit friends in another city

That apple was straight Snow White evil. Photo by my cousin Ari.

24. Visit and help my grandma with yardwork and cleaning My cousin and I cleaned her fridge. I believe the oldest thing we found was 2005. I commented that some of our cousins weren’t even born when someone shoved that into my nana’s fridge. So odd.

25. Get my car running in tip-top shape (mostly) by myself

26. Shoot a short movie

photo via

27. Read a classic I have never read before I have re-read several of my favorites this year (Flight to the Mushroom Planet, The Outsiders) but a classic I had never read before was Red Harvest. Holy Cow I felt like my whole life had been a sham because I hadn’t read this!

Books I Read:

Rather than try to put succinctly enough so you’ll read it, I decided to just put links to the reviews I wrote on goodreads. Right here on the blog I can just put a yay, nay, or may.

Margaret Bourke-White. Super Yay.

St. Lucy’s School for Girls Raised by Wolves. May.

Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Yay.

Starting Lye in Wait. First couple pages?

Cloudspotter’s Book. Yay.

So I didn’t read as many books this month. I’m not sure how I feel about this. But I do feel that I need to step up my game here.

Donations to Charity:

I made a donation to PBS. You should too. Big Bird can’t live off handout birdseed.

Technically I didn’t donate anything but time for this one, but I wrote letters to my representatives asking them to support the National Endowment for the Arts. Because why the eff not? I sat down and printed off some letters, and for the cost of 3 stamps I sent off some good karma and hey, maybe some aid will read them and think about it for a while.

I renewed my rec center pass, went to an awesome diner, celebrated the World Cup and Bastille Day, all within a week of each other. Last July rocked.

Budget Analysis:

Well, I did my taxes last month, and so I received a big ol’ check from Uncle Sam. Well, not too big. Big enough that I am breathing a sigh of relief because without it, a swell vacation this year would have been non-existent.

I also am in the process of switching my auto insurance. I did a little shopping around online and found out that I am paying more or less double what I should be. Which floored me. I was so enraged with my insurance I contemplated marching to my agent’s office and spitting on him. But instead, I’m going to save my money with another company, and save my spit for, well, the ground, that doesn’t press charges.

“Yor hart is beeyooteeful lik a preshus stone.” via Tralalere

I am feeling overwhelmed and completely frustrated with more and more of my online…lollygagging. I don’t know what direction I want to steer my blog, I want to help The Beau launch a food blog, I want to help my sister and her blog, I want to step off the internet and do crafty things around the house… all of which require me to stop overloading my brain with other people’s notions, articles and just TMI in general.

So, long story short (too late), I will be taking a bit of a break from writing regularly. Of course I will still do Tortilla Tuesdays, since everyone seems to love them. But the rest of the content will take a breather.

If you miss me, let me know. If not, well, I can direct you to some blogging ladies I love:

angela hardison

i go by katie

a cup of jo

click on the photo to go comment and RSVP!

Is anyone interested in going to the Arizona blogger meetup?

I am soooo excited to meet these ladies I have been reading non-stop for a couple months!

I have so many friends and family members who blog,

I wanted to put this up for them to see if they’re interested too.

Any of my buddies wanna dress up purdy and go with me?

Ally, Neesy, HoneyScrap?

• This interesting interview with Peggy Orenstein about her book “Cinderella Ate My Daughter,” and how gender roles have (sadly) become more sexily pronounced and how the expectations have become even higher for girls within the last 20 years.

I love asking moms I know parenting questions from things I read like this. Particularly The Beau’s sister, who has an almost 2-year-old and a 6-month-old, both girls. Last week it was about the Tiger Mom. This week it might be about girlification.

• Rainbow Cupcakes from Amanda at hello pretty eyes. She graduated from culinary school, is the head baker at a cupcake shop, and if that isn’t the most awesome thing, she shares her how-to for the most amazing rainbow cupcakes ever! I think some ridiculous cupcake colors are in my future…Phoenix Suns colors! Mardi Gras! Cinco de Mayo!

• This picture for today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is breathtaking. Most of them are truly amazing, but when I opened this one up to really big, it got me all choked up.

• Amanda F. Palmer has released a new album of Australian-centered songs and I was on the fence about it for a while, thinking they wouldn’t be anything to write home about. But jeez lady, let someone else have a little talent here! She makes a song about how much she hates Vegemite (even though her beloved continues to eat it) and surprisingly turns it into much more than a funny song. Good stuff here. And yes, you could pay for $.69 for the whole album, but wouldn’t you rather AFP not have to be a beggar? Wouldn’t you like to get more than $.69 for hours upon hours of work you did out of love?

• Abbey of Aesthetic Outburst has made a goal of 20 valentines before Valentines’ Day (above is day 8) and I while I would be tearing my hair out, she is creating the most thoughtful, marvelous treasures.

• While I know that most people who read this blog aren’t MMA-focused, I had to add this because I was enraptured by it and had to watch it a half dozen times, think about how crazy it was, then watch it again.

Something I did in 2010 quite a bit more than I ever have, in any other year, was donate to causes/charity. I still don’t know why I didn’t start doing this earlier.

Usually when I buy something, I think about the money I used and the work I did to earn it and give it away so freely. But every time I donated, I kept thinking, I wish it was more.

I never had “buyer’s remorse” when it came to donations, so I think I will be doing much more donating to causes I believe in this 2011.

Here’s a couple of things I donated to this past year: 

- Alzheimer runners. Well, people who ran in races for Alzheimer’s research. My cousin runs for fun, bikes for pleasure and is a all-around outdoorsy fun guy. When he decided to run to help Alzheimer’s, how could I not encourage him?! Although it probably would have felt better to actually raise money myself and run with him, I still feel pretty darn good about helping out.

- Kickstarted some people. This year I found out about Kickstarter, and I am hooked. I love the idea of having a place where many independent spirits share their visions and what you can do to help. Motorcycle boats, beer crafters and Vivian Maier. Am I allowed to say I am a “film backer” now?

- I finally got sick of Jimmy staring at me with his crazy eyes. I donated to wikipedia. Now when he looks at me, it’s more of a “can you believe everyone else hasn’t donated yet? I know right?!”

So, I decided to hit the ‘RESET’ button.

I have decided to just keep writing and picturing, guilt-free. I am mainly using this as a place to sort of unload ideas, inspiration and helpful info. I would like to write more about myself and my daily life, but daily life isn’t really something to write home about. I might put together posts each week-end about the highlights of the week. Which might make for funny reading. Or not. Whatever, it’s my blog. I’m not paying you to read it, you three people who actually read it.

So, highlight of this last week was:

whoopee pies! For The Beau’s birthday I made super-healthy whoopee pies, then several days later he mad reverse (with white outsides). They were both tasty, but I wished his frosting was in my pies.

I made mine with Neuchâtel and confectioners sugar. While it was very tasty, his was made with marshmallow fluff. If you know my predilection toward marshmallows, you know how I melted when I tasted this.

So anyway, back to the reset button. If you see something on the blog that you like, make a comment. Email me. Or my favorite: @message me on twitter with a “hey @pepperjess, nice post today.”

This is a picture my cousin took of my sister and me a whiiiile ago. She looks about 4 here, and she’s 21 now. Whoa.

Anyway, we loved staying up late (like every other kid) on Christmas Eve, and my favorite thing was watching a regular boring program like CNN News transform into something worth my time when they gave their NORAD Santa Tracking updates. THIS IS LEGIT PEOPLE! SANTA IS NEWS!

Anyway, Happy Holidays and hopefully you will feel at peace instead of anxious and stressed.

Love, Peppered Thought