Oh Blog It!

Things have been so busy these last few days that I haven’t had a chance to really get to my blog. This makes me sad. Really, I’m pretty sure I could have made the time but since I have a lot to write it’s seemed a little daunting. So…. Let’s get started.

Friday – October 10, 2008
My amazing and beautiful family (I’m not biased) picked me up from work and the kids and I got to enjoy a fabulous fall evening at the park. They ran like crazy and played tag with our friend Gary and his friend Calvin. Nothing better than little kids running after teenage boys to insure a good night of sleep.

Saturday – October 11, 2008
We had a fantastic chill morning at home before taking the kids back to Mommies. There must have been something in the air that screamed dress up! Ruby created a rather fabulous outfit for herself at our house and then as we were getting ready to leave Mommies she came out with a purple mohawk mask. We of course had to take turns getting our pictures with it. What silly fun. After we left Mommy and Mimzy’s we were off to the coast for a fantastic weekend of quilting and tamale making. We took our time and just enjoyed the beautiful fall colors and the company of the four legged wonder Tonks. It’s so fun to have a part-time dog. Sometimes there are moments in life where you really wished you had your camera, any camera for that matter. I just wish for some way of sharing the image so that others can appreciate it for whatever it is. Judy finally got to drive one of the four wheelers over to George and Kelly’s on a mission to pick up a new cutting blade for the rotary cutter. Gracie (Granny’s Basenji) and Tonks went along for the run. On the way back apparently Gracie decided to follow her true Basenji nature and go off on her own. Judy feared the wrath of Granny on returning without said charge. So… the chase was on. Basenji (and child) rule number one (well maybe not rule one but definitely in the top 10)….. do not chase them it turns it into the best game ever. I can just see in my minds eye Judy with Tonks at her side chasing after the fast and naughty Gracie. With much patience and perseverance the little dog was captured and as Andy and I stood in the driveway watching Judy round the corner upon her return and there on her lap looking over the handle bars of the quad was Gracie! I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. She looked like the Queen of Sheba! You have to love other people’s pets! That dog is a hoot.

Sunday – October 12, 2008
TAMALE TIME!!!! We were graced with the presence of some of the women from Leland’s work and their amazing tamale talents. I wasn’t much help seeing as my mind was one track on trying to get the quilt top finished. Even so I got to experience the making of tamale’s using the banana leaf method. I found it really interesting because the masa is so different from the stuff we used for the corn husk tamales we made previously. The masa was made with broth and pureed tomatoes, onions, and peppers. It isn’t a dry consistency but rather left as something similar to Malt-o-Meal. You use foil to keep the banana leaves rolled and holding all their goodies together. Adding to the fun aspect of working together on this was the fact that the group of people assembled was a fun and truly enjoyable group to be with. Listening to Judy speaking Spanish always makes me smile anyway! We managed to make 156 tamales though I’m not sure how many exactly were left after we all took our turns trying them out. Erika and Granny made some extra tasty sour cream cookies to offset the healthy nature of our tamales. I managed to get everything done on my quilt before we left except for the hand sewing of the binding. I have to say I’m so proud of my work. It’s the first quilt where I’ve done everything myself and even took on the binding this time. I can’t believe what a chicken I’ve been about it, after Granny showed me the trick to the corners it was a breeze. We drove ourselves home and enjoyed a quiet evening getting ready for yet another long week of work and school. It was sad to return the fabulous Tonks back to her other Mom but I think she was ready. We managed to wear her out to the point that she slept the entire drive home!

Monday - October 13, 2008
I brought my quilt to work today to share with some friends and to be able to get started on the hand sewing. I forgot a needle! Good thing too! After posting to the BTRS sight that I was almost done with two weeks to the deadline I was thwarted. I called Mom to give her another idea for the great Judtober holiday to be celebrated on the 21st and she brought up a concern. I might need to take my quilt to the quilting shop and make sure they think it’s been quilted close enough together to get the desired effect. AGHHHHH!!!!! What a silly thing to not have considered. There was a part of me that screamed “It’s FINE!” and there was the part of me that knew she was right. I went on-line to the BTRS Flickr group and discovered exactly what I didn’t want to find. The quilts that look the way I want mine to turn out are quilted much closer together than mine. So it's off with the binding. Where is that dam seam ripper anyway!

Tuesday – October 14, 2008
First Swap-bot swap is completed. I sent out my postcards to my Partner. I sure hope she enjoys them. I was really hoping to send them out one at a time but with being out at the coast and Monday a postal holiday they all went in the mail together. It was sure fun though to write just a little something each day and also to know that there will soon be something fun in the mail for me. It's especially nice to know that since Judy has been banned from checking the mail until after her birthday that I will get to enjoy actually retrieving it from the box too!

Mental Health Day

Sometimes you just need one. I'm not talking about the kind of day where you'd rather be out in the sunshine so you call in with a case of food poisoning. I'm talking about those days when it's just too hard to get out of bed, everything seems way too overwhelming, and your just feel like the only cure is a break from the world. Now those of you who read this and know me are looking up the number for my Mother to tell her I haven't been taking my medication! Alas, while this may be a little bit of my seasonal psycho cycle, I'm taking my meds and actually feeling really good. Taking good care of yourself sometimes is just exhausting! While staying home comes with a hefty financial thwack on the toosh these days I still called in mental today. After getting over the guilt of making a wise decision however pricey and frowned upon by the work police I had the most perfect day I. I slept. I started cutting out a new quilt with Judy for her friends new arrival. Everything was so calm, quiet, and down right rejuvenating. I slept for a few more hours this afternoon and didn't wake up with that groggy, why did I take a nap feeling, but rather a renewed energy and need for some kind of accomplishment. I tackled another "Angie Bag" (Angie Bag - any type of container in which I shove all sorts of stuff in order to "clean" up) in Judy's honor. That makes two less junk bags hiding around our house in one week. I need to be careful and pace myself or she'll start to expect them all to disappear. I cleaned up the sewing and started dinner for the kids. This is stupid but I felt totally zen. I feel so centered again after today like everything is back in line the way it should be. Judy brought home the kids from daycare on her way home from school and we had a really nice evening. The kids turned their yucky days from yesterday around and both had great days at school today. They make me so proud. Ruby showed us her "homework" after dinner and evenly divided the weekly announcements between the two of us. We reviewed the newest of her reading words and it's so fun to watch her starting to be able to read. I just took for granted how easy it was with Ephraim. He had Miss. Melissa and his oh so one track mind to thank. With Ruby it's different. I love watching her figure them out and making the sounds. Tonight as we lay in bed and read our stories I realized just how much they are changing right now. Egad! Who are these little people, no longer my babies. They are so independent and smart. Ruby asked if we could snuggle while they fell asleep tonight. It's been so long since we all just cuddled together both of them in my arms and drifted off to sleep. What a fabulous gift. They sleep, I am winding down for the night, and tomorrow is another day. One which I will most definitely be at work.

My Swap Fabric Has Arrived!!!!

I am so very excited. I got my swap fabric in the mail today. It took it a little while to come because it had to come from Erskine in Alberta Canada! Jennifer if you happen to look at my blog I love the fabric and I'm so excited to be able to work on a quilt for you! I feel like a kid! This really is such a fun thing. I'm going to add a picture to this of the great fabrics later. I'm thinking I may start working on it tonight while Judy is at school. Thanks Jennifer!

To Swap or Not To Swap

Is that really a question? Nope... I'm really getting into this. I discovered Swap-Bot and it could be a problem. I'm actually feeling like I've made a smart start though. I've joined 4 swaps. I know it sounds ambitious but relax and read on. The first that starts next week is a diary postcard swap. I'll mail one postcard a day to my partner. The biggest problem here will be picking which postcard and getting my toosh to the post office for some postcard stamps. I don't want to post them with the meter. The next swap is a letter swap. I will be writing two letters with a theme of what happened that day and sending them off to my partners. I'm looking forward to this. It will be fun to share whatever fun things are happening in our life that day. I feel like I'm a fairly decent writer and that I will hopefully be able to bring a smile or at least a break in life. Equally exciting will be to receive my letters and get a look into a day in someone elses life. My third swap isn't till the middle of the month and will require the most thought. It's a no-spending swap and requires the sending of at least three items from your stuff that you think your partner will enjoy or use. I already have some ideas but I'll definitely need to know about my partner for this one. I like this because you get to send a little care package and get one in return but it has to be from things you already have. I would like to limit my swap involvement to the cost of postage. It's so tempting to get involved in other things that require so much more, like the BTRS Quilt swap (don't be fooled... I put my neck out for another one of these too but it's for Ruby and I together, guess that makes 5) . The 4th swap-bot swap is a postcard stash exchange. I have so many of my old vintage postcards to share. I'm not exactly sure that I will use all of them as it might be fun to have a combination of things but it sure will be fun to send some of them. Gives me an excuse to sit and go through all of them again. They are spaced out over the next month or so and I really think I've made a good choice in spacing and giving myself a realistic start. I'm such a jump in over my head person that I actually feel like I've turned a new leaf with this. Oh... and as for another quilt swap, that's still up in the air. I bumped into a lady who wants to put together a possible swap for her 4 year old son. Ruby had such fun with her quilt I bet she loved to sew one for another kid. I'll keep everyone posted on how this goes.

Update: Already found something for my no-spending shop while digging through my desk drawer for a Pepcid Complete, (one of the best things ever created). Just wish I would have found one of those!

A Rainy Weekend At The Coast

This weekend was our first rainy blustery weekend of fall. We spent the weekend out at Granny's and Grandpa Noisey's and had a really fun time.

Things we do when it's raining:

QUILT- Ephraim and Ruby were helping me earlier in the week with a baby quilt I'm working on. So I decided to see what scraps Granny had that would let Ruby start her own quilt. We found what I considered to be the anti-stash. She liked nearly all the pieces and all I could see was ugly chaos. As we sit on the bed and sorted them into color piles however it became apparent that she has the eye. She and Granny could nail some of the fabrics that even after squinting and standing back I was still befuddled as to which color it read. Ruby is really into Rainbows at the moment seeing as her classroom at school is the "Rainbow Room". So I suggested we arrange the quilt like a rainbow. She sat and laid out nearly the entire quilt. She had definite ideas of what should go next to what and could see where you changed something on her. There was even a pile of rejects out to the side, pieces that didn't belong in her quilt. (note to self no dead fish or stupid ferns for Ruby) Upon getting her final artistic approval we started the sewing. Judy, Granny, Ruby and I all took turns sewing. We even had a little help from Gracie in reorganizing the layout. We have managed to pass the quilting bug on to Judy. I was so hoping that would happen. When we left the project laid out on the floor at the end of the weekend it was amazing to see what the mess of squares was turning out to be. I look forward to getting to work on it more and sharing the final piece of art.

CARS, CARS, AND MORE CARS- Well this activity isn't really exclusive to rainy weekends. Where there is an Ephraim there will be at least one HotWheels car. This weekend he and Grandpaw Woody were playing cars together which proves your never too old for HotWheels.

SLEEP- There may not have been naps for the Mama's or the Kids but the Grandparents were all a little sleepy this weekend. The sign Grandpaw is holding says "Dawson Retirement Center".

A BLAZING FIRE- This may have contributed to the napping. It definitely made it a good 90 degrees upstairs where we were sewing. We had to open the windows. It wasn't quite cold enough for the fire but it sure felt cozy and inviting.

BAKE- Granny made a beautiful apple pie. Judy made her marvelous enchiladas. I stayed out of the kitchen which is always the safest most edible bet for all.

BATH- This was a fun place to spend a little bit of the day. Granny has a great tub and bubbles.

Patience

Patience is a virtue. One that I apprently do not posses at the moment. Well, I guess I just don't have patience for certain facets of my life. I have no patience with work. I think I'm totally burnt out and just need a vacation. Funny but I'm pretty sure I won't be having one of those for at least another 4 months. I'm tempted to just take all three weeks off at one time and just wallow in it. Who cares if we have to starve the rest of the year for days off. Everything feels like it's supposed to be "right now". I'm not sure if that's this years October bi-polar swing or if I've just gotten spoiled in my happy life lately and have forgotten what patience is about. One item that's making me nutty is that my swap fabric hasn't arrived. I check everyday and I'm literally freaking out that something has gone wrong. Maybe they didn't send it, maybe it's lost, maybe I didn't get a partner. I swear after writing that thought it's totally got to be that I'm a little nutty right now. On the patience and quilting note though. I'm going to finish up the baby blanket for my co-worker this weekend. I'm over half way and it's just killing me not to be finished with it. That and the little one is ready to come out at any moment. I really hate how jaded I've become on pregnancy and childbirth. I'm always waiting for the worst. It's not even my child or my life and yet I always fear that there will be a loss. I think it's all the time I spend on the MISS boards. I just hope this little one joins us soon and safe. This entry is all over the place. Just like me right now.

Anyone Had One Of These????

I'm Living IT!!!!! AGHHHHHH!!!!!!!