Gnat and that

The new place

2009-08-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, a LOT has happened, namely our move. To make a long story short, we visited Utah for a couple weeks before embarking on the rest of our journey to Indiana. It was nice to be with family and friends and enjoy some of our favorite tasty treats (Cafe Rio, Nielsen's Frozen Custard, etc.)

Adam and a friend drove our stuff across many states while LG and I stayed behind a few days and then flew out (thanks again to LG's grandparents).

Upon our arrival, we feverishly unpacked for several days and went to Target at least five times during said whirlwind.

Of course, our garage is in bad shape and there are still some lingering boxes in a few rooms, but it is starting to look much better. I think we have gotten more done in the past three weeks than we have in the past year.

Uh-oh #37: An update on the skirt project

2009-05-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I made some progress sewing my skirt (yes, the one I was supposed to complete about three weeks ago for my husband's graduation). I finished the zipper, which proved to be an un-picking fest. Then, I got the waist all stitched up and was so excited to move onto the "flounce" of the skirt. After stitching the sides of the flounce together and taking a look at my handy-work, I was perplexed. Something was definitely wrong. Indeed, I found the cutting instructions and discovered (or was reminded, rather) that I was supposed to cut out TWO pieces of flounce on the fold. That wouldn't have been a problem, except that, since I had to re-cut a piece earlier (see original post), there was not enough material. I will have to go to the fabric store this week.

To be continued...maybe.

(It is becoming very clear to me why it takes me a year or more to re-kindle the desire to sew between each project.)

Our Graduationmoon

2009-05-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

For a graduation present, our great friends gave us "a day, and night, and a day" during which they would tend LG. So, we planned a getaway! Adam booked us a room downtown at the Oxford Suites. Here is a picture of our great parking spot:

First, we went to a matinee of Star Trek. We liked it quite a bit, despite the excessive explosions.

After checking into our hotel, we embarked on a small adventure to find out how to get to the Melting Pot (on the second floor above Red Robin). Thanks to Adam's eagle scout skills and/or intuition, we found it easily.

Here is the pot. We had a lot of great food such as: spinach artichoke dip with bread and vegetables, meats with many dipping sauces, and bananas foster (with fruit, and desserts to dip....yum).

The next day, we slept in, which was so nice! Although we love our 2 year old human alarm clock, it was a treat to wake up on our own time.

One of the best parts of the graduationmoon was our horseback riding that afternoon. I've always wanted to go, and this time I got my chance. My horse's name is Harvey, and Adam's is named Pete.

As you can see, it was beautiful on our trail ride.

Harvey had to scratch his nose a couple of times along the way, including while

taking this next picture.

Adam and I both had sore left knees after getting off our horses. Probably due to our lack of proper horse-riding technique:)

We had a great time over those 28 hours. Any type of "moon" is always savored.

Another hobby...creme brulee

2009-05-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

I want to learn to make creme brulee well. I watched an online video of a french guy giving tips a week or so ago, but wish I had reviewed it when making the creme brulee this afternoon.

Here is the half and half (don't know whether or not I'll use real cream next time).

A candle lighter works pretty well for getting the air bubbles out before putting the ramekins in the oven.

Done, but the middle didn't set well. I may need to invest in a torch!

I'm back! And I'm sewing again!

2009-04-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Well, yes, it has been quite some time. Anyway, on with the post. I have decided to give my annual hobby of sewing another shot. So, yes, this is a sewing post...likely to cause many to exit quickly. That's okay, just don't tell me that you did.

I was able to cut out the material for my skirt during LG's nap, which was pretty fun except for a couple problems: 1) I had to measure myself using ribbon and a manilla envelope since my tape measure was missing and I didn't want to unload a bunch of junk out of a box to retrieve a ruler...hence the manilla envelope 2) Using these very accurate numbers, I then had to try to line up those numbers with the ones on the back of the pattern envelope. Let's just say that I couldn't bring myself to follow their recommendations of size exactly, since that would mean that I would be TWICE the size that other brands/companies say I am.

After cutting out the material, I found myself a cute little sewing spot in the bathroom. You can see from the picture, though, that it is actually pretty cozy. A chair will fit under the countertop. That is the usual spot for our dirty clothes basket. On last year's project I was getting the machine, material, and notions out on the floor and putting it all away before going to bed so that little fingers wouldn't get into it the next day. No more!

I am about half-way through and have already unpicked plenty and had to re-cut one piece. Of course, this was late at night, so I actually re-cut two. I was mad about having the only progress be the un-doing of my mistakes. So, I kept going and I'm happy to say that it is starting to look like an actual skirt (still missing the "flounce"... don't worry, it's not going to end up as a mini-skirt). My goal is to finish before my husband's graduation. More to come...

Christmas

2009-01-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

I'm apparently too tired to think of anything shnazzy to say, but here is a pic from our vacation. It is the only one I can load at the moment.

Here are the babes of the universe after enjoying a traditional Girls Day Out at the Olive Garden.

Where have all the snowplows gone?

2008-12-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

Looks like the first real blanket of snow is here (and is yet building as I type this) and I'm not excited about it. If you recall, last year was pretty bad and I'm a little concerned that the great city in which I live has not really learned their preparedness lesson. I'm waiting for my favorite truck (the snowplow) to come. Oh well, we'll be going out of town soon to where they are masters at taking good care of the roads (and drivers). I will now end this pointless rant:)

LG must have gotten the message

2008-12-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

LG has almost perfectly refrained from screaming since I wrote the last post, which of course may not be the end of it, but I am still grateful for the improvement. Therefore, the timeouts have ceased for now.

LG's 1st (and 2nd and 3rd....) time out

2008-11-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

This afternoon and evening proved to be parentally exhausting. LG, while a sweet boy, showed his persistence in testing one boundary in particular. One of my "things" as a parent is teaching my child not to scream, at least while indoors. So, when LG proceeded to do that very thing about 7 dozen times tonight (only a slight exaggeration), I had to take some action. Mind you, they were not hair-raising screams. But he would look me in the eyes while he did his little performances. I saw this as an important learning moment for LG and myself. Since I've had some experience working with difficult kids as a teacher, I yanked open my mental filing cabinet and found that the file labeled "toddlers" was missing. But, if I have learned anything from teaching special ed, it is that you must be consistent and also point out good behavior. So, with this in mind, I was pretty good at giving him a consequence when he stepped out of the zone and likewise, letting him know when he was "talking nice". The consequence became "time out" even though I am not completely sure about that method. We danced this two-step for QUITE a while tonight. My husband is out of the country, by the way, so this was an exclusive mother/son experience. There isn't much of a point to this post, just that I now feel a certain bond to all the parents of toddlers in the world. It is wonderful, and difficult. By the way, I still haven't found those stupid boots.

One item found

2008-11-11T22:37:00.000-08:00

Naturally, I found the alarm clock about 3 minutes after I wrote the previous post. No sign of the boots.

Has anyone seen my alarm clock or my boots?

2008-11-11T10:11:00.001-08:00

It's been a week or two since I've seen my alarm clock. Likewise, the boots that I was planning on wearing today (and last Sunday) are also missing. I know LG is innocent until proven guilty, but he is my no. 1 suspect at the moment. He is a pretty cute suspect. When my sister's kids were very young, she once found her alarm clock in the crisper area of the fridge. I had better continue my search.

Eight is great

2008-10-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Eight favorite shows:

The Office, Burn Notice, Psych, American Idol, Lost, Rachael Ray, West Wing, Lois and Clark (an oldie but a goodie)

Eight favorite restaurants:

Olive Garden, The Mandarin, El Matador, Ming Wah, The Roof, The Maddox, Utah Noodle, Noodles and Company

Eight things I've done today:

Woke up to a sub-finder call around 6am.

Listened to my son say/cry, "ALL DONE" while simultaneously eating his breakfast.

Substitute taught Special Ed in the morning and 4th grade in the afternoon at different schools.

Wolfed down my lunch in about 5 minutes.

Made sandwiches.

Folded towels.

Loaded the dishwasher.

Ate a healthy snack (apple, cheese, crackers) followed by a yummy snack: a candy bar (yes, from the bag that is for the 3 trick-or-treaters who will visit this Friday).

Eight things I am looking forward to:

Spending a few minutes with my husband after we finish this tag. Thanks Tara.

Going to bed.

Looking at grocery ads online tomorrow (a strange one, I know).

Hanging out with a friend tomorrow.

Going to my sis's house for Thanksgiving.

Making pie and rolls for that very dinner.

Going home for Christmas.

That political campaigning will soon take a break.

Eight things on my wish list:

A haircut/highlight.

A food processor.

Some new clothes for teaching.

A springform pan.

An undershirt for my black dress.

A ton of children's books.

New sheets.

A day at the spa (it's okay to wish upon a star).

Decision 2008? I'm still deciding

2008-10-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

I know some of you are appalled. That's okay. Here is my story: I have watched the presidential debates, talked with my husband and others, written pros and cons for each candidate, etc. to help myself make a good choice. My loyalty to my family's political affiliation is waging war with my desire to make an independent choice (which, automatically takes on the appearance of voting opposite of what I've been taught growing up). Although the clock is ticking I will make my decision. Fortunately for me, our absentee ballots have yet to arrive. Are any of you shocked that I wrote a post on politics? Me too.

running is for the birds

2008-10-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

This morning, my new friend and I bundled up our kid(s) in our strollers and ran about 2.5 miles. It has been about 2 months since I went running, and... wow. Maybe we were going too fast, because, I found that as we talked, I had to gasp- talk slightly faster than normal-and then gasp again. It was a little embarrassing. After a while my ears were plugging up and were hurting. I was so grateful when she suggested that we walk for a few minutes. Well, anyway, we made it, and saw a few horses and ponies during the journey, which the kids liked. When we got home, I made it onto my couch and stayed there for quite a while and tried to play with LG while staying seated/horizontal. He was cheery and energetic, of course. Our next run is on Wednesday. It will be better.(?)

Singing and other creative outlets

2008-09-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the local broadcast of the General R.S. meeting. Elder Uchtdorf spoke about creating things. Today after thinking about that, my desire to be in a choir returned, as it occasionally does.

So, with this in mind, I looked around online and found a few things. I wonder, though, if this may not be the season in my life to be in a community choir. Rehersals, fees, performances... these words don't exactly mesh with my life at the moment. This is not to say I do not enjoy my life- I very much do. I will simply search elsewhere for some way to create and look forward to the time in my life when I can sing:) I guess I still have some brainstorming to do! My apologies to those who love blogging, but my new blog isn't filling this need in me.

Never say never

2008-09-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

This blog is a gift to my husband. He is an avid blogger and I'm trying to discover what the hype is all about. It is a little scary....I am having some stage fright right now, if that is even the right way to put it.

I think my blog is just going to be your typical random mom blog. I will try not to write every detail of my days, instead just some highlights of what is going on:)