quilting... and the rest of life

Queen Sized Trauma

2011-04-04T12:05:00.001-04:00

Last week, I went to CVS in the morning to get some nylons. First off, I had no idea where they are because I'm pretty sure the last time I bought nylons for myself was when I was in dance classes and I needed them for my recital. So I find the nylons, and realize there are way too many options... control top, control leg, control toe, sheer, nude, blah blah blah... and then I look at the back of the box and realize that I am right on that cusp between size "B" and "Q" (yeah, that stands for Queen, FML). However, based on my height and size, I fall into their "B" category, so that's what I get. Then I stand in line for what feels like hours because they have one cashier and the only people that go to CVS in the mornings are, apparently, me and 80 year old women. So I get to work and put all my stuff down and head into the bathroom to put on the nylons. I get them half way up my calf and I start to struggle. I am thinking, what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is going on here?! I check the box and it says "B", but it also says "sheer control" soemthing or other. I think oh hell, I'm not going to be able to put these things on. so I continue pulling these things up my legs in the opes that there is a little bit of give as I get them up over my thunder thighs. Unfortunately, there's not, so it feels like I'm getting my thigh amputated as I continue to struggle to fit into these demon hose. I finally get everything up over my ass and as I make one final pull, my thumb rips through the nylons and sends a run down to about my knee. Now, not only do I have a run in my brand new hose, but I have a large blob of inner thigh trying to escape through this new hole in the hose. I say fuck it and head back to my desk. I sit down, and the top of the nylons immediately rolls and starts to cut off circulation to my intestines and other vital organs in my lower abdomen. so the long and short of it... apparently I really am a Queen.

and so it begins. or ends?

2010-07-19T12:03:00.006-04:00

on tuesday, july 6, 2010, I was at scrimmage practice for roller derby. we had a bout on saturday (my first real bout!) and it was a mandatory practice. it was running from 7:30p-9:30p. at 9:20p, I fell. and not just your run-of-the-mill-oh-gee-I-have-an-ouchie-on-my-bum type fall. My left foot caught on another skater (who was stationary at the time), my right foot kept moving (it was on wheels, after all), and my knees just buckled inward. in my right knee, I felt a pop. in my head, I heard, "fuck." [editor's note: it's ok. I still cringe when I run through the event in my mind. which I do. a lot. I think, what should I have done differently? I think, if I had worked harder the three weeks prior to that point, could this have been avoided? I think, what does this mean? but I digress.]

at 9:25p, I was laying on my back, knee pulled into my chest, scared to move it. it was a strange sensation. I didn't feel... pain. it was more the knowledge that something was seriously fucked up. I hadn't imagined that pop. it was real. but what happened? I have been playing organized sports for (24) years and have never had an injury. this was foreign to me. several other skaters were assisting me and eventually I had my leg straight, away from my chest, and I was off the track with the knee elevated, courtesy of my helmet. "oh, it's just a tweak, I'm sure. it'll just hurt for the next few weeks when you fall on your knees. just rest it and you'll be fine for saturday, but keep us posted."

at 9:45p, I was making my way home. my knee... I didn't know what to think. I just knew it hurt. and that I needed to get home and R.I.C.E. it.

on wednesday, july 7, I went to the walk-in clinic. when I'd woken up, my worst fears were confirmed. it was only getting worse. the "diagnosis" was "knee trauma with a possible ACL microtear" and I was told to go home and stay there for the next 48-72 hours. "if it still hurts on monday, come back in and we'll do some further testing on it." this was the realization that I would have to miss my first ever roller derby bout. I cried.

on monday, july 12, I went back to the walk-in clinic. I still couldn't fully straighten my leg and it hurt to walk on it (though I was using an ace bandage to help with the compression). I was using a cane to get around. I was told to stay home again for 24-48 hours, and that night, I went for an MRI.

on tuesday, july 13, I got the results from my MRI. I had a partial tear in the ACL and two partial tears of the MCL. I cried.

on thursday, july 15, I went to the orthopedic doctor. I spoke with the nurse practitioner. due to a mix-up with the radiologist's office, the CD with the MRI films weren't forwarded to the ortho's office. based on the written report, and my desire to continue to be active (even if derby isn't in my future), surgery was deemed the best option. however, the films may indicate a smaller tear than anticipated and thusly, no need for surgery. but we'll cross that bridge on friday at my follow-up appointment.

today is monday, july 19. I had my first physical therapy appointment. for the first time in almost two weeks, I was able to straighten out my leg to almost full extension. [editor's note: of course, not without a little bit of coaxing... I had heat on it for five minutes before.] after that, I bent my knee almost up to my chest. you know what that means? I can get better. did it hurt? fuck yes it did. was is worth it? absolutely.

I know that this is a long road. but I am prepared to tackle it. it's not always going to be easy, and I'm sure that das will want to kill me, or at least potentially cut off my leg, many times during this several month rehabilitation period. I'm sure that physical therapy will be harder some days than others. I know that I will be envious that other people can do things that I can't (yet).

and maybe people are right... and this IS life's way of saying to slow the fuck down.

as if you didn't know already...

2009-09-17T12:16:00.004-04:00

I am a huge dork. I love video games; I love geeky science stuff; and yes, I love bowling. my birthday present this past year was going to the live nationally televised bowling championships (and yes, I was on TV with my amazing sign that my hubs made). it was awesome.

I have been in bowling leagues for a few years now, but it was always with das. he was the "bowler" and I relied on his expertise to guide me when things weren't working out well. he's the one who bought me a new ball (for the previous birthday) and really helped me in improving my game. I mean, with that ball, I was able to increase my average almost twenty pins. I was the most improved female bowler in last year's league, and ended up with the third highest average. I owe a lot of that to him.

but now. he has abandoned me. I'm left, alone, to try and figure out for myself, what I need to do to improve, or, at the very least, stay consistent. he's sticking with only one league this year... and of course, he's opting for the mens' league instead of the co-ed league that we were doing together. sure, I'm a little disappointed, but I think that maybe... it's exactly what I needed. I needed to make these decisions for myself. do I slow down my speed? do I move over a board or two? how do I adjust so that my ball rolls straighter?

I answered all of those questions last night. on my own. the first night of bowling... I called him. I said, "I can't do this." but this week... it was as though I was my own bowler. I actually improved over the course of the evening. I posted a 158-161-168 for the night. that's a 485 series. I'm now up to a 153 average after three weeks... and am getting back up to where I should be... where I was when I was bowling with das by my side, instructing me.

I am glad that my husband and I can share in geekdom love such as this. the family that bowls together, stays together, right? sure, I'll miss him on wednesday nights. but what I won't miss... is that dependency on his skill. because, baby, I've got my own. so watch out... here I come!

PS) also excited about the new ball I'm getting tonight. number one choice is the hammer black widow sting; second choice is the storm dimension. so we'll see how that goes... :D

fun things I can do...

2009-04-08T14:50:00.002-04:00

...now that my basement doesn't retain water like pregnant lady. :)

> quilt

> organize my fabric and patterns and whatnot

> run around in circles chasing my dog

> plan how I'm going to decorate the basement

> store things (so that das will stop complaining about stuff being messy)

> play darts

ok, so it's not a ridiculously long list right now. we can't really do too much because we can't really afford to finish it. it'd be probably a grand or more just to put in a floating floor (which das and I could do). and we'd need to put in some different lighting, too, so that it's not just that typical basement lighting. you know... the light bulb with the pull string that's 400 feet long but made of some string that breaks when you look at it wrong so you end up having to lick your fingers and just screw the bulb on and off anyway. yeah, that kind. so overall... it'll probably be a while before anything major happens.

but at least in the meantime, das will be dry when he does the laundry. :)

happy passover!

2009-04-07T14:30:00.000-04:00

since tomorrow night at sundown marks the first night of passover, I thought I would pass along a tasty treat (from my fav website king arthur flour) that I will be making for das's family's passover seder. I was asked to bring dessert. because of the dietary rules and regs of passover, that rules out anything containing flour, which is, for the most part, your cakes, muffins, pies... you know... anything potentially easy. so I bring to you a sweet dessert that you may even be putting together for those non-passover days, too: chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons!

for the macaroons:
> generous (5) c. shredded unsweeted coconut
> 1-1/2 c. coconut cream - (1) 16 oz can
> 1/4 tsp. salt
> optional: 1/2 tsp. coconut flavor (like vanilla, but coconut instead)
> optional: 1/3 c. coconut milk powder

for the coating:
> 1-1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
> 2-1/2 tb. margarine (butter is dairy and thus can't be consumed with meat)
> 2 tb. honey (recipe calls for light corn syrup, but that's not kosher - literally!)

directions:
> preheat oven to 350* - lightly grease a baking sheet or line one with parchment
> in a medium bowl, mix together coconut, coconut cream, and salt (if you are adding the coconut flavor, now's the time!). stir until completely combined.
> if you are adding the coconut milk powder, do it now. while it's not necessary to add this, it really holds the coconut balls together while scooping. it just makes life a touch easier!
> drop the sticky mixture in ping-pong sized balls (that's about 1-1/2") onto the baking sheets (a cookie scoop works well here so you don't have to touch it a lot). you can place them fairly close together on the pan (3/4" - 1" apart); they won't be expanding.
> bake for about (10) minutes. note: they won't brown (or very very very little at most) so don't keep them in there until they do!
> remove from oven and cool completely before coating.
> for coating: heat the chocolate chips, margarine, and honey until the chips are soft. try the microwave, or a saucepan on low heat. dip half of the cooled macaroon into the chocolate. set it back on the baking sheet and allow the chocolate to set.
> to store, place in one layer in a closed container. they should keep for 2-3 days, but that's only if they last that long...

frozen food

2009-04-03T10:12:00.004-04:00

ok. so it's friday... and I'm doing tasty tuesday. get over it. :)

yesterday was my friend's birthday and tomorrow we're going over to her house for some food, beer, and basketball (uconn's in the final four - GO HUSKIES!). so... I decided to make something that would really be a hit with everyone, but wouldn't take me a lot of time. I found the perfect little dessert... that I can't wait to dig into tomorrow: the buster sundae pie.

I found this recipe in my inbox a few weeks ago courtesy of pillsbury.com's celebration of pi day (on 3/14... get it?). as soon as I saw it, I knew it needed to be made. here you go!

crust
> 1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15-oz box), softened as directed on box

filling
> 4 c. (1 qt) vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
> 1/2 c. caramel topping
> 1/2 c. fudge topping
> 3/4 c. Spanish peanuts (4 oz)
> optional: additional peanuts, if desired

directions:

> heat oven to 450°F. bake pie crust as directed on box for one-crust baked shell, using 9-inch glass pie plate. cool on cooling rack 15 minutes. (note: obviously, it's a pillsbury recipe, so they'll reference their own product, but don't feel obligated)
> layer 2 cups of the ice cream in crust. drizzle with 1/4 cup of the caramel topping and 1/4 cup of the fudge topping. sprinkle with peanuts. layer remaining 2 cups ice cream over peanuts.

> freeze 4 hours or overnight.

serving:

> drizzle individual servings with remaining caramel topping and fudge topping. sprinkle with additional peanuts. cover and freeze any remaining pie.

so that's the pillsbury version... let me tell you what *I* did. :)

ingredients: pre-made chocolate pie crust, vanilla ice cream (softened), spanish peanuts, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup

directions: fill the bottom of the pie crust with some softened ice cream. throw a healthy handful or seven of peanuts onto the ice cream. drizzle the chocolate and caramel syrups over the peanuts. put some more of the softened ice cream on top. top again with another healthy handful of peanuts plus more chocolate and caramel syrup. put in the freezer and let set overnight.

the downside to using the pre-made crust is that it's an 8" crust instead of a 9" crust... and so mine maybe sort of kind of overflowed a little bit. BUT... that's just going to make it more tasty later, yes? so if you do use the pre-made crust, I would suggest putting it into a glass pie plate (9") foil and all so that you can catch some drippings.

ENJOY! :D

what's cookin'

2009-03-24T13:00:00.002-04:00

in an attempt to get back into the blogging swing of things, and to kind of liven up the blog (since I lost a follower due to my lack of updating, I assume)... I am going to start the "tasty tuesdays" program. :) I very much enjoy cooking and baking and food in general... so I feel as though I'd like to share this. I can't guarantee that these recipes are any good... I'm sure it'll be a mix and match of ones I've tried and ones I want to try. but I'm going to guarantee I won't be putting up anything that straight up sucks.

oh, and even though this was started as a "quilt blog"... last time I checked... quilters still needed to eat too. unless of course you figured out a way to just sit and quilt and not need sustinence at all... but I don't think jen has shared her secret yet. ;)

so, even though it's a week past... *last* tuesday was st. patrick's day. and this is the inaugural week of tasty tuesdays... so I think I'll do two tasty treats for today. :)

first off, let's start with a rough recipe for guinness crock pot corned beef with colcannon. I was informed by an irishman currently residing in ireland that corned beef dinner... isn't really irish. I mean, ok yeah it is... but it's more irish-american... a creation that came to be once the irish immigrants arrived here in the states. but regardless of where it came from, it is worthy of tasty tuesday.

guinness crock pot corned beef
> 2-4lb flat cut corned beef (flat cut is a bit more expensive, but WAY more worth it)
note: if your corned beef has no seasoning packet included, just add some whole cloves (5-6), some black peppercorns (5-6), and a bay leaf, OR just 1-2T. pickling spices, if you have them
> 1c. brown sugar
> 1-2 bottles of guinness stout ale
note: I think it would be interesting to try out some different brands, or some different flavors, more specifically chocolate stout. stouts are inherently bitter, hence the brown sugar, but I imagine cutting back on the brown sugar yet using a chocolate stout would produce similarly tasty results

in your crock pot, add (1) bottle of guinness (or other stout) and your brown sugar. mix together until the sugar dissolves. add in your corned beef. if you have a larger crock pot (like I do) and your corned beef is not even really touching the liquid, then add another bottle of guinness (or other stout). when I did mine, I went so far as to completely cover the corned beef (using three bottles). it was probably overkill, and next time I make it, I'll probably settle for two. set your crock pot for low for the next (8) hours... and just leave it! don't lift the lid... don't check on it. it will be fine. I promise! after time expires... take the meat out and place on a plate, or cutting board. cover with foil. when your colcannon is finished... and you are prepping to cut your meat... make sure to cut corned beef AGAINST the grain, or else it will just fall to pieces.

colcannon
> 1/4-1/3 head of fresh cabbage
> 4-5 small to medium potatoes
> 2T. unsalted butter (for sautéing)
> 3-4T. unsalted butter, cubed (for flavoring potatoes)
> 1/4-1/3c. milk
> dash of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

peel and cut your potatoes into about 2" cubes (or close to it - it's not an exact science). place them in a pot and add water until the potatoes are just covered. bring to a boil. [I usually add some kosher salt at this point, not to increase the boiling speed, but to season the potatoes while they are cooking] in the meantime, shred your cabbage into strips. this is where my mandolin slicer came in useful, but I have also just used my veggie peeler on an angle with similar results. heat a pan over medium to medium high heat and begin to let your butter melt. once your pan is hot and the butter is melted, but not browning, add the cabbage and a pinch of salt. sauté the cabbage for about 5-6 minutes. at this point, your potatoes should be cooked through. drain them and mash, adding in the cubed butter. add the milk a bit at a time and mix, until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency. add a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill... then dump in your sautéed cabbage. fold the cabbage in until completely mixed.

plate up your corned beef with your colcannon... and enjoy! you may not even need to add any mustard the flavor is so good.

ok, and last, but not least... is a recipe... that I want to TRY! this recipe was emailed to me from GE (I'm on their mailing lists - I like to ogle the beautiful new appliances)

st. patrick's day soup
> 6 large idaho potatoes (or maine potatoes, if you're cool like that), peeled and cubed
> 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
> 1 large onion, chopped
> 4c. chicken broth
> 2tsp. thyme
> 16oz sour cream (that's one full container)
> 1 stick unsalted butter
> 1/2c. flour
> 2c. milk
> dash of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

put the potatoes, onion, broth, and thyme into a pot. bring to a boil, cover, then simmer for about (20) minutes, or until the po-tates are tender. melt the butter in a medium saucepan. stir in flour to create a smooth paste (roux?). add the milk, a small amount at at time, continually stirring to make the mixture smooth. bring this to a boil, again continually stirring, until it thickens. season with salt and pepper and add to the potato mixture. stir in all the sour cream. heat through and serve.

holy cats that sounds rich and delish. I think I would like to consider a cheddar potato soup... perhaps melting some freshly grated cheddar in with the milky roux-y mixture before adding it to the potato pot. also, I'm not sure how this will come out in the end... I may have to bust out with the immersion blender... which is always a good thing. :)

well, I hope you enjoyed the first installment of tasty tuesday... please feel free to comment on the recipes, or let me know how YOU liked them once you tried them.

congrats to random visitor from february 18th!

2009-02-24T10:11:00.004-05:00

I guess I hit 1000. hits, that is. I don't know who it was... but if you were surfing my blog on wednesday, february 18th... it could have been you. congrats! you win... well, nothing. other than the satisfaction of being number 1000. seriously though... I have "three" jobs to pay my basic bills... I don't have the extra cash-cash for even a small gift. and well, I don't know who you are anyway... so I guess it wouldn't even matter. :)

things have been insane lately. things for the bridal shower; things for soccer; things for home; things for work. ugh. hopefully after april... things will start to calm down. the soccer season will have started; the wedding will be over; job #3 will be "off-season"... and maybe I'll be able to get back to some quilting and stamping. :) now, my downtime pretty much consists of lounging on the couch wishing I wasn't so tired. (sigh)

so I'm thinking of putting in a garden in my backyard. not flowers... but some leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green beans. with only four things, the garden doesn't need to be large, but it'll still provide enough tasty produce for the summer. now does anyone know how to grow these things? because I *so* don't have a green thumb. :) but I'd like to try...

anything else that I should add to my plate while I'm feeling ambitious? :)

lastly, in this minor update, I wanted to thank those who volunteered to send some green fabric for my friend's quilt. I will email you with the sizes we need (so you don't need to send twelve yards when all I need is an eighth of a yard)... just let me know if you're still willing to help out!

calling all quilters

2009-02-05T14:36:00.003-05:00

dear quilting friends of the internet,
this past november my friend asked me to create something for her: a quilt. this may be nothing special, but this quilt *was* different. her aunt, after a long-fought battle, succumbed to cancer earlier that week. she wanted me to do a signature quilt, a healing quilt, for the friends and family members. I quickly got together some muslin rectangles and some pigma pens for her as there wasn't enough time to finish up all the blocks fully before the service. now, I have the signature blocks, but not the rest of the fabric to finalize the block. she would have wanted greens. that was her favorite.

sure, I could go out and have my friend buy some fabric, but I thought that maybe I could ask the internet. everyone is so pro-stash-busting... that maybe that random piece of green you still have that doesn't really go with anything... could be donated to a quilt that will help a family remember someone who was taken from their lives too early. even just one 5" square would help. even something from your uglies - this will become a quilt that is loved - the fabric will find a good home.

if you are interested in help me out in creating this, please let me know. there's no obligation. I'm not asking for yards. just a couple of 5" squares would be perfect. :)

thank you from me, my friend, and her family.

warmest regards,
kt

spoonful of sugar

2009-01-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

there's a lot going on in my world.

I am finally trying to make heads or tails of my "hometown" quilt guild website.
I am helping out some friends with some print materials for their respective jobs/events.
I am picking up the slack at work b/c my coworker just opened her own wedding invitation business and is using some of her work time to take care of some details here and there (or just gets easily distracted by searching for new paper stock and invitation ideas on the web).
I have three jobs.
I am trying to cook more complete meals at home rather than throwing something together at the last minute (read: hamburger helper).
I am helping to plan a bachelorette party.
I am preparing for a wedding shower.
I am the newly-elected vice president of my local soccer league... thusly I am in charge of retaining the old (and obtaining new) sponsorship plus plan three weekends worth of preseason clinics.
I need to finish cleaning our office so I can have space for all of the information regarding the above tasks.

then there's the stuff that I just want to do...

finish the flannel pillowcases for my friends' children before it gets too late for flannel pillowcases
spend some time knitting
wear more makeup
upload more photos to shutterfly (of our wedding, for example, and of ireland)
do yoga
take walks (with and without bowser)
spend time with das
read more books (including "unstuck", even though I don't feel stuck anymore)
watch movies I haven't seen, and some that I have seen
take a cooking class

I realize that the first list is, well, really a bunch of stuff that could probably fall under "wants" as well. no one ever said that I had to have three jobs. I could deal without the other two. but I like bartending. no one forced me to do the website for quilt guild. but I wanted to help bring our ladies into the technology age. my friends didn't say I had to help them. but they're my friends, so why wouldn't I offer? I wasn't forced into leadership in soccer. but I wanted to be a part of that which organizes and supports our league.

the short answer is... that there is no short answer. some say that life is too short to go to bed early and sit on the couch. some say that if you want to do it, then your time will come. some say that you have to worry about yourself and make YOU happy.

I say as crazy and hectic as my life is right now... I'm ok with it. because I know... my time won't come... it's already here. really... life's too short to think otherwise.

what do you think?

Ho. Ly. CRAP!

2009-01-22T15:34:00.003-05:00

so this week... whoa.

I don't really like to give specifics about work b/c you never know who is paying attention to random blogs. but holy crapola. it has been so busy. which, I guess, is good... but just b/c MY department is busy does not mean that our actual BUSINESS is doing well.

I quote things. therefore, not everything that I see will become an actual job. so it kind of makes me nervous when I overhear things like the satellite location is low on people because there was no work for them to do so they were all sent home... or how there are quite a few people (who I assume were) on the upper register of payroll who have been downsized. our company has always said that they've never had a major layoff... which may be true... I guess they just do it all stealth-like and only one-by-one so that it doesn't seem like a major layoff. :) I am not scared for my position, though I do know of people for whom I am worried.

so, in light of this... I GOT ANOTHER JOB. well, not to quit this and do something else. I actually like my job. I got another bartending job. so I have one that essentially runs from september to march/april... one that runs from march/april to early winter... and then the full-time job.

no one can again comment upon my lack of quilting, crafting, etc... not even me. :)

I am looking forward to the challenge of this new bartending gig... it should be a lot of fun and I expect to learn a lot. not that I don't in my other job, but really... it's a completely different atmosphere. it'll just be different junk laying claim to my memory. yay!

ok. back to work. the world just needed to know where I was.

or maybe I just needed to tell the world where I was.

reason number 437 why I am awesome

2009-01-13T13:03:00.007-05:00

and humble too. :)

das had bought me a bread machine for my birthday eons ago and while I'd used it, it was mostly for pizza dough and the occasional loaf of french bread. as I'd mentioned (numerous times) before, I didn't have a ton of space at the old house... and I never really thought about the constant need for yeast. however, that all changed at christmas when I got a lot of things from the king arthur flour catalog. well, not a lot, but some. I got things that I *really* wanted. I *really* wanted them because I wanted to explore the world of baking much more than I had in the past. I can remember, before days of my "mother's" bread machine (totally a homer ball gift from my dad), my father would make loaves of bread and let them rise behind the woodstove during the winter. we would end up with a bazillion loaves of fresh baked bread... most of which I didn't partake of because, well, I wasn't a giant bread fan I guess. there are still lots of breads I'm not a fan of... pumpernickel and rye (I can't stand caraway - blech!) jump to mind. I love wheat and white breads, and especially potato bread. there's just something about the texture of a hearty piece of potato bread that makes me just feel good. so anyway, I wanted to do these for myself. I didn't want to have to rely on my grocery bread aisle when I knew that if I worked at it, I could produce something even better (or at least just as good).

so, in an attempt to fuel yet another of my random desires of life... my mom and dad got me some things to help (plus a few other things that were for other baking endeavors):

SAF red instant yeast - fast acting without need to proof or dissolve it

yeast measuring spoon - equivalent to one packet of instant yeast from the store

airtight locking yeast canister - fits perfectly in the door of my fridge

baker's special dry milk - makes your yeast breads rise higher and makes them softer

bakewell cream baking powder

airtight locking baking powder canister

mini pumpkin cheesecake baking pan - ok, so it's not bread, but I *really* wanted this :)

so I made a loaf of bread the other night. nothing major... it turned out OK but seemed a little low. I think part of it was the lack of warm places to put a rising loaf of bread... but I saw a trick on "good eats" that I'll utilize in the future: put a heating pad on low in between one larger bowl and the bowl your dough is in. it was a bit on the dense side, though it made for a hearty sandwich bread for our paninis... not so much for just a sandwich in general... a bit too crumbly. I would probably opt for some different recipes.

and then, because I was feeling so confident about my newly acquired new-and-improved baking skills... I decided to make bagels. the recipe seemed rather easy and I could use my bread machine for the dough, which is way super easy to do (and a feature I never really realized existed and now plan to use A LOT in the future). they came out as you would expect a newbie bagel maker's bagel to come out... not the least bit smooth and not quite as brown as one would desire... but they tasted so good! my first bagel making attempt was several years ago and it was an utter failure. like major epic fail. :) they were so tiny... and I don't think they rose at all. but these new ones were HUGE... and I topped them with onion and garlic for a magnificent taste. I plan to make A LOT of these in the future... they only make really eight at a time, which is overall pretty decent for the week in the morning. too many more than that and I'm sure I'd be handing them out at work so they didn't get stale (not that anyone at work would be disappointed to receive free homemade bagels ha ha).

so anyway... my new love of baking is the new reason I'm awesome. :) we all knew there really *were* 436 reasons before that. :D

go figure

2009-01-09T14:34:00.005-05:00

ok... so of course, shortly after I make these grandiose plans to post and whatnot... I get sick. it was a pretty busy weekend... then tuesday I woke up with a bad sore throat. I slathered on the choraseptic but, alas, I still woke up wednesday feeling like ass personified. then thursday... I stayed home from work. I slept until 12:30ish and then watched food network all day. I hate sick days where you're actually sick. (sigh) so today... here I am at work. the joy. I feel, again, pretty craptastic... but I know I'm "well enough" to be here. however, I already know I have negative desire to do anything else when I get home. I thought I'd be able to finish up the taking down of christmakah... all that's left is to dismantle the hanukah bush (aka christmas tree) but I have no energy. I'm afraid if I take a nap... well, that just won't end well later when I try to sleep and fail miserably. (sigh) we'll see I guess.

I have been avoiding my sewing room lately. I use the term "room" lightly as it really is just our basement. I really just don't want to work down there is really what it comes down to. it's dark - the lighting is really poor. it's cold and damp - the water at the other end of the basement keeps it chilly (though there's no heat down there anyway) and the dehumidifier can only do so much. and it's musty - the damp, musty odor that has wafted down to my end of the basement really just sucks (that and the dog decided that he didn't want to "go" outside because it was too cold, so he opted to use random spots in the basement without our knowledge [none of my fabric though] so it has that "vet office" smell to it, too). I don't want to complain because yes, I'm thankful that I even have a potential space to work... but it's just disheartening to go down there. I know my machine is lonely... I've barely touched her since my retreat back in NOVEMBER. yeah, I said it... november. I stitched up some pillowcases for my friend's son, my mother-in-law, and my mom for the holidays (plus some others that I am almost done with)... but other than that... really nothing (oh, and my hanukah blocks for the kosher pickles block exchange, but really that's it). I know we're going to "fix it" soon... we are having waterproofing specialists come and give us estimates, but it's A LOT of money that we don't really have laying around (even though we could finance it). I know that would help. but until then... I don't know what to do to motivate myself to hang out in the Quilting Dungeon on any sort of regular basis.

thoughts? comments? suggestions? lotto numbers? rich great aunt in need of a beneficiary for her millions of dollars?

I think my only option is this: the great pillsbury bake-off contest. I think that is really the best solution. I mean, aren't baked goods really the answer to all of life's grueling times and tough questions? I don't see why not. and it's just a million dollars. I think I could get a waterproofed basement for at least that, yes? and maybe a new machine... and new janome would be nice. :)

so... anyone got a good recipe that I can tweak for this? I swear... I'll give you credit. and maybe a couple thousand your way for your troubles. :)

back in the saddle again

2009-01-02T12:57:00.005-05:00

hello internet. it's me. kt. you may remember me from november... the last time I posted. and perhaps a few times before that. well, I hope you'll welcome me back into your good graces as I attempt to rekindle the relationship we had oh so long ago. I know we've been through a rather tumultuous time as of late... I, well, have been neglecting you, internet. you've been there for me but I haven't really responded... I've left you in the dark.

please know that I am truly sorry for my behavior and I will certainly do my best to communicate with you... well, more regularly shall we say.

yes, yes... I know. you've heard it before, and yes. I know... you're not trusting. you've lost the ability to believe after being burned before. but give me just one more chance... one more opportunity to show you, internet, that yes... I can stay true to my word.

I may be a changed woman... but internet, I need you. I always have. I just can't quit you.

not yet anyway.

happy 2009 everyone. I hope that 2008 brought you many fond memories, but also handed you lemons so that you could really see how amazing it all was.

oh hush up internet

2008-11-24T10:53:00.004-05:00

what about the posting once a day, kt?

what about nablopomo, kt?

what about that, huh?

if you really want to know... I went overseas for a little vacation. it was supposed to be some sight-seeing... a really great opportunity to experience the quaint eastern european atmosphere. I got a fabulous rate at a local hostel. I remember some friends doing that and they had a wonderful time. so, of course, the plan was to enjoy some nightlife in addition to the exploring and hiking during the day. I went out to some clubs with some of the other guests from the hostel. by the time we got home, it was really late... and the next morning we realized that the guy from the room next to me never made it home. the woman at the front desk said he'd checked out, which was strange, but we didn't think anything of it. we went out again the next night and again, that morning, another guest had "checked out" but this time, some of his stuff was still there! it was all very strange and I was getting a bit freaked out. but, not one to let things get to me, we went out again the following night. I don't remember much after that... except when I had this really weird drink... and I woke up in this strange room... to this guy talking in what sounded like german... and he was wearing this thick leather slash vinyl apron and had a whole bunch of tools that looked eerily similar to those I've seen on the autopsy table from CSI: Miami. then he started yelling at me in german and he picked up one of the tools shaped like a dentist's plaque pick and...

wait. that's not what happened... that's a brief synopsis of the first hour of the movie 'hostel'. I'm sorry. I totally must have gotten my lines crossed. seriously... here's what really happened.

I traveled out to the family farm in iowa. das stayed back here in CT to take care of some work around the house and whatnot. my uncle and cousins were going to be heading out to the big state fair to show their animals, and I was going to hold down the fort since they'd be gone for a couple of weeks. I was having a great time... enjoying all the alone time... but then a wandering photographer stumbled upon the house. he looked like a weather-beaten, more-ragged version of clint eastwood. I fell instantly in love with him, even though I knew I would be seeing my husband soon. he told me he was a photographer for national geographic doing a graphic journey through the county. I followed him on his shoots, mostly of the local bridges, and thus began our torrid five-day love affair. it was an amazing time... and I didn't know if I'd be able to just open the door and allow myself to love him forever... but...

wait. I am SO sorry. I must be misunderstanding the task at hand... I'm intertwining my life with the movie "bridges of madison county" and making it fit for my personal circumstances. wow... I don't know what's wrong.

look... I do have a reason for slacking. I'm just kind of embarrassed by it. in reality... I've been trying to get work done. I've been trying to concentrate. it's just been very difficult. I mean, how am I expected to do *anything* when I know that victoria is coming for me. edward tried his hardest to save me... watch over me like a lioness and her cubs... but he's abandoned me knowing that it's safest to be away from me; from temptation. now I have to rely on jacob and his pack to keep me safe. I don't know if I'm going to even make it. my heart bleeds every day for edward; life without him is so real, so normal... jacob tries so hard to fill the void... but I'm not ready...

wait. what? you don't understand... (sigh) ok. ok. you got me. I'm just spouting out random plotlines from the 'twilight' series. the truest of the true stories... I've got nothing other than... I'm lazy. um, didn't you already know that? don't play like you're shocked. though I appreciate the effort.

life in a nutshell this week: twilight movie - parental visit - bowling - thanksgiving - stamping - tastefully simple - trans-siberian orchestra. perhaps... a blog or two. :)

why I may have lost my faith in a uconn education

2008-11-22T08:37:00.003-05:00

overheard at last night's uconn mens' ncaa opening round soccer match:

boy: jeez. you don't know what jersey barriers are and you're from jersey?
girl: well, I suppose in new jersey... they would only call them barriers.

switching gears

2008-11-06T12:38:00.007-05:00

I'm going to a quilting retreat this weekend at sunday river. I am ridiculously excited... just because I think I need it (mentally). and I have a lot to get done (quiltingly). well, there are two things in particular that need to be completed.

my round robin blocks for the kosher pickles
the wedding quilt for my friends... who'll be celebrating their one-year anniversary on monday.

I have some other projects, too, that I am bringing with me... but those are the major things that I need to finish. I'm also bringing some stamping, too, because I have a few cards that I need to make (namely b-day cards for my mom and dad whose birthdays were nov. 2 and oct. 25, respectively). we'll see how those end up. especially since my mom is going to be there with me. although... she's made cards for me while I've been sitting only five feet from her and just said, "ok... don't look at what I'm making." :) oh mom...

I'm also bringing "eclipse". I haven't had the chance to really start reading it... so I'm greatful for the opportunity. I've been able to escape in these books. it's enough fantasy so you know it's not going to happen... you're not that far out of reality... but enough of a realistic story line, generally speaking, that it leaves you longing for the relationship that bella has with edward. perhaps I'll have to pick up book four, too, while I'm home. :) I hear walmart has the lowest prices.

in other quilt-related news, I got an email from the maine quilts coordinator. she asked if I would be interested in working something out for doing the photography for next year's show... which honestly surprised me. I thought that I was going to be booted from the position given the lack of, well, interest that I showed for finishing anything up on time. but, she seems willing to give me another try. I'm concerned because I don't want to take on too much with my sign chair responsibilities plus the classes I want to take. I don't want her to regret her decision to try it again. however, I enjoyed doing it... I got to really see the show and it was fun. plus, there was a stipend, which helped pay for my room/board for the show. thoughts on what I should do? I have kind of made a decision, but I'm intrigued to hear what anyone else might have to say.

and speaking of maine quilts 2009... the teacher and class listing has been posted to the website. if you are in the area, take a peek at what is available... we've got some great instructors this coming summer. july 24-26 are the dates. come on up to augusta!! :) oh, and check out the photos that I took for maine quilts 2008, too! it took me long enough... I may as well tell people to look at 'em!

and the weekend after... the final weekend of july is the greater hartford quilt guild's quilt show. I haven't decided if I'll volunteer for anything, or just enter somethings... or just go to look for once. :) we'll see...

hello. my name is kt...

2008-11-06T10:53:00.005-05:00

...and I am a sleepoholic.

ok. well... maybe I'm just projecting my larger issues onto my intense desire to sleep in. I guess I'm not really a sleepoholic, but if there was a name for it... I'd feel a little better about myself. it's a lot easier to say that I have am just built that way; I'm hard wired to crave the depths of dreamland. it's so much easier to say that than, "I'm lazy." or "I have no work ethic." or "I can't face another day." or my personal favorite... "I just don't give a shit."

my das, bless his soul, has tried to help me. it must be so hard for him to get through the random mental breakdowns that happen at 1am. the ones where I say that I'm no good... I've wasted the opportunities that were given to me... I could be so much more than I am. he's getting pretty good at it though. I mean, it's the same thing every time. because nothing ever changes. I hit the bottom (though I'm sure I could go lower)... I have a "revelation"... I cry... I say it's going to get better.

lather, rinse and repeat.

I'm far too tempted to give up. not from the grand expanse of life... goodness NO! I mean... that it's so much more comfortable to be... sad and miserable. putting on a happy face for the public, but "knowing" that deep down that I just can't do it for real. not for extended periods of time.

well. yes... I know I have a fantastic husband who supports me in everything that I do and loves me unconditionally and selflessly puts up with all my bullshit. and yeah, I know that even though my family's a little fucked up... they love me and miss me when I'm gone, which is almost always. I am aware that I have a roof over my head... OUR house that we bought and have made our home. my pets? I know they are the greatest ever. well, yeah, I have a job... it's not the greatest, but it occasionally challenges me mentally and I have gained the respect of my coworkers for my skill set. oh and my friends? they are many... and they love me... and as far as I know they'll always be there for me.

so what's your point? don't you realize that deep down I know I am lucky. I have a fabulous life. but it's not the life that I expected. I was supposed to be a scientist. I was supposed to be a medical examiner, even (until my dad talked me out of it because he said that profession had one of the highest suicide rates). I wasn't supposed to be on academic probation. I wasn't supposed to be kicked out of the honors program for low grades. I was supposed to go to graduate school. I am smart, damn it. I shouldn't be losing my edge at age twenty-seven (or earlier). so what the hell happened?

I make fun of das for not being able to accept change. but obviously it is I who cannot move past the past. so how do I do that? therapy? too expensive and I'm a bit jaded in the therapy department. drugs? I guess... but das is anti-drug and I'd like to respect his wishes. besides, I can barely remember to take my regularly scheduled meds as is... and my tum doesnt really like meds. aren't those my only two options? what else am I supposed to do. I need help. and I don't know where to go.

oh, and I think I know the name... it's called depressed. at least I think so. 'cause that's how I feel.

channeling my inner 17 year old

2008-11-04T10:22:00.003-05:00

so. I was supposed to post yesterday. and I did have every intention of doing so. just like I had the intention to finish up my kosher pickles border exchange to mail out for today. and I was going to make my parents' birthday cards. and I was going to pack a little for the retreat this weekend.

but. I didn't. you can see that. this post reads... november 4th.

so let me tell you what I did do. I ran some errands (I heart target). put away the halloween decorations and costumes. packed up the crystal punch bowl with cups. organized the tailgating slash camping stuff and put that away. did three loads of laundry. made dinner (courtesy of a tasty quick recipe from storey).

then sat down to eat dinner... and read. that is the point in time when... I lost all track of time. when I zoned out to the fact that das's tum hurt and refused to eat dinner and fell asleep on the couch watching football. when I finally reached for the tea I'd fixed an hour before that had more than just cooled off. when I realized... holy crap... I am obsessed with this... this... TEEN LIT BOOK!

that's right... last night, I blew through book two of the twilight series. all five hundred pages of it. in four and three quarters hours. but I could not put it down. I couldn't force myself to put the bookmark in and go to bed. I needed to know what would happen to bella and edward and jacob and the whole cullen family. I felt as though I was there... walking through the washington woods with them... standing at the cold, windy beaches. my heart was breaking when theirs was; I was happy when they were. this series is as infectious as harry potter (and please forgive me for saying... but the british guys in both movies are smoking hot - don't deny your inner high schooler, you know I speak the truth). I am looking forward to going home so I can plop down and just start in on the next book. not that I can... I have stuff to do... but still.

I must get things done tonight... things that do not involve "eclipse". (sigh)

oh, and I have edward as my desktop at work. and I also can't wait for the movie. on november 21st. that's, like, sixteen days. but not that I'm counting. I'm not *that* obsessed.

yet.

nablopomo

2008-11-02T12:38:00.004-05:00

say that five times fast. ready... go. :)

I've been slacking on my posting lately. it's been really hectic at work and home and blah blah blah excuses excuses. so... in a total fit of insanity... I decided to sign up for national blog posting month. thirty posts - thirty days. so... here's number one. it's not so glamorous, but I figure that it's just an intro post. (and also, it's a day late... so let's assume that november starts on the second for all intents and purposes).

if you need me, I'll be cursing myself for signing up to post every day. either that or reading my new obsession... "twilight" by stephenie meyer. or raking the forty-seven pounds of leaves that have been deposited on our lawn. or finishing up the border exchange that was due a week or two ago. or making my father's birthday card (for 10/25)... or my mom's birthday card (11/2). or crying over the amount of crap that I have to do... thusly failing to do any of it.

it's going to be an AWESOME november. :)

think about it

2008-10-22T17:00:00.001-04:00

october is breast cancer awareness month... as I am sure you all know. I'm sure you've been inundated with pink this and pink that. support the ta-tas and check your breasts. there are pink ribbons on everything from note pads to teddy bears to clothing. even I have (slash am borrowing) a shawl that was purchased in support of breast cancer.

please know that I have family who has fought and beat this disease. I understand the importance of fund raising and increasing awareness and early detection.

but please...

can't other diseases get a little recognition?

I know that I do fund raising for the american heart association. in fact, because of wonderful, generous people, I was able to raise $850 for the AHA. I'm not saying to choose AHA over cancer; it's not about that. I choose them because it is personal for me; you need to do what's best for you. in the grand scheme of things, I imagine that of other diseases (besides breast cancer)... the AHA does pretty well in regards to public recognition. many are aware of the start! program or go red for women. (if not, there are the links)

but really? what about the others?

pancreatic cancer claimed the life of one of my favorite teachers ever. she was full of spunk and vitality and creativity... she made you want to learn. she was so physically active and a loving mother and wife. she was diagnosed... and I believe within a year, she was gone. the chance of surviving pancreatic cancer is about 4%. you have a better chance of surviving a plane crash. breast cancer survival is up to 90%. only $73.3 million of funding from the national cancer institute went to research for pancreatic cancer. breast cancer received $572.4 million from NCI. that's almost 8 times less research funding from NCI for a cancer that has less than a 5% survival rate?!

lung cancer actually killed more americans than breast cancer in the past year. yet it received $226.9 million in fund from the NCI. that's 2.5 times less research funding for the leading cancer killer.

(to be fair... cardiovascular research received $381 million - we're lucky)

what about those other ones that you kind of hear about but don't really know that much about... like prostate cancer (the guys need love too), leukemia, non-hodgkin's lymphoma, or skin cancer? what about diseases that aren't even cancer... do we just not want to donate because they aren't as glamorous? they don't have their colored ribbon the sides of race cars? because it's easier to think about breasts than it is to think about prostates? because it seems pointless to do a marathon for influenza? because we don't want to see billboards asking for funding for urinary incontinence (but it's ok to see two naked people in bathtubs as they discuss their active over-65 love life)? money that goes pink, can't go anywhere else.

before you all think that I'm this awful human being for being anti-pink (which I'm not... really)... all I'm saying is that I have an issue with the blatant commercialization of all things pink which detracts from the importance of other worthy causes. it's not fair that the public, via corporations that are jumping on the pink bandwagon for marketability purposes, are essentially dictating what disease should receive the most attention and funding. do you really think that your yogurt that donates to the komen foundation with every lid you send in has your best interests in mind? that yogurt you're consuming actually is made from milk from cows that have been treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH which can potentially cycle back and cause cancer to begin with. what's even worse is that if you buy products listed as "pink for breast cancer"... sometimes you don't even know how much is going to them, if anything at all. your $50 purchase might actually only contribute $.10... is that really worth it? you are better off just directly donating to the cause itself.

just "think before you pink" and remember that while the "cure" is still out there... we can work harder to raise awareness and fund prevention for ALL diseases... not just breast cancer.

note: this post spawned from this online article from MSN: "The Politics Behind the Pink Ribbon" by Brian Alexander. All of my statistics came from that article so I'm assuming that HE did all his research to begin with, thus no direct links or references.

the show must go on...

2008-10-15T20:00:00.002-04:00

so after we dined (and racked up quite the bill)... das and I walked back to the bushnell theatre to see the opening performance of 'sweeney todd: the demon barber of fleet street'.

let me preface this by saying that das and I had an idea of what to expect, though neither of us had seen the movie or read the book or really knew the plotline. when I bought the tickets, it was more for the "night out at the theatre for our anniversary" kind of thing than for the show itself. das's sister had given us some input saying she had seen it in chicago and it was... ok... but the set was very "minimalist". dave's sister aside, I think people in chicago may have higher expectations for their theatre than we do here in hartford; she said people were leaving during the show. um, no way dude... I paid hard-earned money for these tickets... hell if I'm leaving!! anyway, we got there early... enjoyed a cocktail and took our seats. I had gotten second row front balcony, which was great... cheaper, but still with a great view. overall, I would have to agree with her. it was very... small. the cast, while highly talented, was an all-in-one cast. they were the orchestra, the actors, and the set-movers. which really led to an increase in "use of imagination". (sigh) I thought the story was great... I can't wait to see the movie (and, well, johnny depp... duh). I don't think that I would leave (we didn't), but I wouldn't see it again. except in movie form. with johnny depp. (drool)

never in my life have I paid so much for one piece of sushi and two blisters

2008-10-15T14:42:00.006-04:00

but trust me... oh was it worth it. :)

das and I went out for our anniversary yesterday evening. it was a beautiful night... and damn! did I look beautiful. ha ha. no really. we both dressed up... I in my black-dress-that-I-wore-to-forty-seven-weddings-last-year dress (complete with large pink I-support-ta-tas shawl) and das in blue with a blue and yellow tie. it's fun to get dressed up... every once in a while. otherwise, it's just plain annoying. we both get to wear jeans to work... so it's not often that we have the opportunity to get gussied up.

anyway, we dined at feng asian bistro (sound) in hartford. it's one of those places where you only go for a) happy hour, or b) when you have an anniversary/birthday/other special event that requires a "special" (read: expensive) dinner. plus I had a coupon. not really a coupon... but a "value opportunity" courtesy of my job. anywho... it was divine. the food was literally melting in my mouth. we started off with an appetizer off the specials menu: thinly sliced yellowtail with jalapeños and pineapple citrus sauce. we were a bit concerned when the waiter asked if we wanted to order two of them. we totally thought we were going to have to split some bay scallop-sized piece of sushi between the two of us since we only ordered one. however, it ended up being six VERY thinly sliced pieces of fish which were to be wrapped around the pepper and dipped in the sauce. it was very light and flavorful; the citrus sauce perfectly balanced the heat of the jalapeño (which wasn't that bad at all anyway). we also got drinks... I opted for a reisling from, I believe, oregon... or somewhere else on the northwestern coast. it was very good, though at $11/glass... I sipped it for the rest of the night! das got a green tea martini which was skyy vodka, green tea liquer, and brewed green tea. I had a taste and it was quite good (he ended up with two on the night). for our meals, we opted for sushi over a real cooked entrée. das, as is par for the course, opted for the sushi dinner, which is usually chef's choice sushi. he got a great selection of quality sushi including salmon, yellowtail, and fatty tuna. I got the "autumn in connecticut" roll. I have never tasted a roll as fabulous as this (though I'm really willing to try and find something - please... keep the sushi coming!). it was spicy alaskan king crab, salmon, avacado, yuzu masago, wasabi pepper, and momiji juices. I told das that he could have a piece, and it pained me (after tasting it) to allow him to take one. see honey - I *do* love you! I also ordered special a la carte sushi off the daily specials menu. this was a special fatty tuna. it was fabulous. it was $12/piece. I ordered two. oy. but dear lord was it so fantastic. das and I inhaled our food... and we were still hungry. so we figured what the hell? we've already spent enough on high quality sushi that we'll need to sell our first born and still get a second mortgage... what's another roll gonna do? so we ordered, again, off the daily specials menu... the surf and turf roll. I don't have the exact ingredients... but all you need to know is that it was mainly lobster on the inside and it had thinly sliced filet mignon on the outside. [drool] it took a lot of willpower to not hoarde that all to myself. seriously. but damn. it was good. the waiter then came over, while I was wiping the drool off my face, and asked if we wanted to join the VIP club. almost in unison, we ask, "is it free?" :) which of course it was... and we got a cool VIP card... not unlike the VIP card I have for hallmark gold crown stores and price chopper. apparently with this card we get deals sent to us for birthdays and/or anniversaries. so I said, "well, what about if today is our anniversary?" so the waiter leaves and comes back with a free dessert! there was no crazy singing or pieces of flair, but this chocolate cake was so rich and delicious... it all but made up for the lack of indifferent waitstaff offering up their version of "it's your birthday, baby". oh, and the wicked cool thing about this VIP program... is if we spend $20,000 on food their (racking up 20,000 points)... we get a FREE carnival cruise vacation for two! rad!

after the dinner... we walked back to the bushnell theatre for our second half of the evening...

... to be continued!

a letter to das

2008-10-14T09:12:00.010-04:00

hi honey,

it's me. your loving wife. I just wanted to write you a little note to say happy anniversary. it's been two years since we said we'd love each other forever. well, now that I think about it, we've probably said it since then... maybe, like, something relatively similar anyway... but it's been two years since it was said officially in front of all our friends and family and a justice of the peace. ANYway. it's been a wicked crazy ride thus far... lots of ups and downs... heartbreak and chaos... love and support. it's so amazingly obvious to me that we were meant for each other because, well, I don't think that anyone else would have put up with me like you have. and well, honestly... that could go both ways, babe. we must have known from the beginning that something was different. we stuck it out through thick and thin... just waiting for that moment when we could start our lives together. I can't imagine my life without you in it; my heart aches to think that someday you may not be there. I can be me with you... and for that I am forever grateful. I am looking forward to the rest of our life together. however much a pain in the butt you are for making me get up early and go to work on time.

Ani L'Dodi, v'Dodi Li

here's to a lifetime of amazing memories. *muah*

love you.

all about kt - 100 things

2008-10-03T17:11:00.000-04:00

ok so I totally didn't do it yesterday. for those of you biting your nails and sitting on the edge of your seat waiting in anticipation for it... I apologize from the bottom of my heart. but the blog is "...and the rest of life"... so you should expect that of me by now. :)

so... in typical 100th-post fashion... here's my 100 things about me. enjoy. :)

my nickname is katy. you can call me kt. select people can call me kate. people assume that because my given name is katharine (that's right... with an "a"), they can call me kathy. they would be really really ridiculously wrong. people also assume that katie is the only way to spell it. they would also be wrong. people are only given one name... extend them the courtesy of spelling it right, or asking if you aren't sure. (note: I'm not mad at you. I just get a little fired up after twenty-seven years of explaining this).
I think that asparagus pee is funny.
I love to eat asparagus.
I am totally one of those people that gets things for an occasion and then remembers to bring it about halfway there. so is my husband. oh well.
I love to sing, but I am very self-conscious about singing in front of people. I don't really like the sound of my voice, I guess.
I was in a chamber choir in high school. it was awesome; I miss it and the experiences I had. we toured the state of maine numerous times, plus sang on the today show and at carnegie hall for easter. I have yet to find a choir that challenges me and makes me feel like I did when I was with them.
I love my husband more than anything. even more so when I think about all the things we've gone through that a weaker love would not have been able to handle.
why do I have the smurfs theme song on my ipod? seriously.
I have three pets: bowser, our pug, gabe and jager, our cats. I am a professed dog person, though I truly love my cats, too. but I cry if I even think of a time when I won't be able to see my bowserface. it's a sad case, but I had so badly wanted my own dog and, honestly, he couldn't be more perfect for me, or for our family. shout out to the black pugs. woot woot!
I love to cook. more often than not, I will search new recipes and use them. once. then try another recipe for the same thing. my husband loves it.
I attempt to bake. it's not my forte. but I try. maybe eventually I'll get it.
one time, when I was ten (note: I don't really know how old I was, but I was young)... my father left me at church and drove home. he forgot that I had gone with him. the priest had to call my house so that he could come back and get me.
speaking of my father, he is bipolar. very bipolar. it makes me sad. and made life difficult. and to an extent, still does. but I love him anyway. (note: this year's bipolar disorder awareness day, part of mental illness awareness week, is thursday, october 9, 2008).
I have been at my current job for about 3-1/4 years. in that timeframe, I have worked in four different departments and had many more responsibilities. I like what I do now, though.
my dream job would be to work at my own quilt store, providing not only quality fabrics and notions, but an amazingly large quantity of classes ranging from beginner to advanced. my mom would work with me (she would teach the advanced classes, duh). das would do all our marketing and design. I would design all the patterns. I would also try to have an immense web presence, incorporating internet knowledge and "old school" techniques. oh and that's my idea... don't go all "italian job" on me and steal it. get your own idea. :)
I love to read. I go through spurts where I will read about four books in a matter of three days or something equally ridiculous. then I won't read for weeks. I am on goodreads if you'd like to friend me. :)
I love to watch tv. fall sweeps is a dangerous time. new shows + lack of sleep + having to get up for work = nothing good.
I love to play video games. I play the mario games and guitar hero and rock band and stuff like that. I also enjoy watching das play video games. mainly because it's an excuse to hang out with him. occasionally I will help with the storyline, too. though every once in a while, it's pretty kick ass to beat up a bad guy with a roundhouse kick, kitana sword combo move.
I have played soccer since I was, I believe, in kindergarten. that would be, um, twenty-two years. I coached a little bit for a travel team in bristol, but found it was difficult to manage a full-time job and needing to be out by 3pm to lead practice. I think I would be slightly disappointed if my child didn't want to play, or at least try to learn because das and I love soccer. side note: my father-in-law was a semi-professional goalie. cool.
at one point I wanted to be girl all the bad guys wanted.
my wedding dance was grow old with you from 'the wedding singer'. it was, and still is, perfect.
I have (a lot of) pictures of other people's kids on my refrigerator... at least four all under the age of four. they are my friends' children and I love them all.
being originally from maine, I was always provided the opportunity to visit the coast and go camping and fishing. those are things that I miss being in central CT.
that being said... I would love to move back to maine, but with das's family here and really everything that we've started (friends, work, etc.), it wouldn't be feasible. still doesn't mean I don't want it. a lot.
I love fair season. my favorites are: woodstock fair, brooklyn fair, durham fair, and the fryeburg fair. I have entered work (quilts and baking items) in woodstock and durham. the first year I ever entered anything into a fair (2005), I did a couple of decorated cakes (they bombed), a strawberry layer cheesecake (blue ribbon), buckeye candies (blue ribbon - perfect score), and a wallhanging (yellow ribbon - third). nothing like starting out with a bang. subsequent entries have scored well, and others have been total failures. I enjoy it and I'm proud of what I enter.
I have still not unpacked all of my clothes from when we moved. in mid-july. it's the beginning of october. hmm.
I am a starter. but not a finisher. (see number 26) I have so many unfinished projects laying around. it makes me mad that I am like this, but I know not how to fix it.
when I was in high school, I was what you would call... a sort of goody two shoes. I played sports in all three seasons (soccer, indoor track, and outdoor track) and was salutatorian of my graduating class. I am still slightly bitter about not being valedictorian. but it's way better than it used to be. there was pure hatred for a while.
when I was in college, it was like I was a different person. I drank a lot (since I never did in high school) and I assumed that I would automatically understand everything, thus not attending class as regularly as I should. I did not do well. I was asked to leave the honors program for low grades; I slipped into a depression; I was on academic probation; I graduated with a BA in psychology... but I couldn't tell you a damn thing about it. my GPA is not horrible, but low enough that if I ever wanted to go back to school... I'd have to take about a year's worth of classes (and get all A's) in order to apply to them. my mom tried to tell me... but I didn't listen. costly lesson...
I was twenty when I had my gallbladder removed. this was not for any reason other than "it didn't work right". I started having jabbing pains in my side when I was eighteen. it wasn't diagnosed until I was a sophomore in college. I spent my spring break at home and had to have several tests. I was out of classes for a week while I was at home resting. I only have three to four small scars (I had laproscopic surgery).
because of said surgery... I have symptoms of acid reflux disease. it sucks. many many many things that I used to be able to eat I can't (though do anyway). I'm starting to realize that chocolate is one of those things I can't have. it hurts to eat chocolate. I shed a tear knowing that I can't more regularly eat reese's pieces... my favorite candy on the planet.
I love going barefoot in the summer, or at least sans socks, as much as possible. however, I love fun, wool or fleece socks in the winter. though I have been known to go sockless in the winter.
my favorite sports teams (that I regularly watch) are anything uconn (especially basketball and soccer), the boston red sox, and the new york giants.
I have a large gap in between my two front teeth. not as large as lauren hutton... but enough that I can slide my tongue in between it. I kind of like it.
I am NOT a morning person. I'm more like a late-morning to mid-afternoon person... sometimes edging into early-evening person. morning people are mildly irritating to those who are not morning people. thankfully I did not marry a morning person.
100 things about a person is hard to do.
I have only been overseas once. to ireland. it was awesome. I'm so glad we went and I wish we could do it again and again. but without the scary driving on the other side of the road. I could SO do without that.
my husband and I, while we were in college, entered a survivor themed radio contest called 'master of the mall'. we pretended we kind of knew each other but that we weren't dating. we played the other teams against each other while keeping the two of us in the competition. we won a trip to the bahamas and $500 spending money. we are a force to be reckoned with.
I like walmart and shop there pretty regularly... but I enjoy target way better. both are about four to five minutes from my house. so either way it works out. while target doesn't have fusible fleece (score one for walmart)... walmart doesn't have as high quality clothes (score one for target). you can see why I am torn in a never-ending power struggle between the two. it is a lover's triangle of retail genius. I am stuck in the middle.
I don't really know how to swim that well. I think the highest course I passed was advanced beginner. I used to be that kid that held on to the side of the pool during the dead man's float (which for a little kid trying to learn about swimming... is not that appropriate a name... we're mimicking, um, dead people? excuse me... where's the ladder?).
I love music. I pretty much enjoy almost all styles of music. there are many moods that I can be in where a particular style of music will satisfy me. I think that my favorites, though, are country music, alternative, and classic rock. I also very much enjoy rocking out to 80s tunes. classical is very meaningful and soothing for me as well.
I am a very sarcastic person. some people find it funny. sometimes it just gets me into trouble. I also use it as a defense mechanism when I am cornered.
I enjoy golfing. I'm not that great at it, though. my gram would teach (and reteach) me every summer when I went to visit her in ohio. she gave me her clubs before she moved out to california. I maybe get out and play a full eighteen about twice a year... sometimes three times.
speaking of golf... das and I got hitched at a golf course. and went to pinehurst for our honeymoon. to play golf. it was awesome.
I like to travel, but not that I want to retire and make it my life's purpose. I want to travel to see specific things. like the grand canyon, the great barrier reef, the louvre (site has sound), or really just anything, I guess. :) I want to go back to north carolina (to see the coast and the mountains we missed) and to ohio (to go back to the ohio state fair). and to chicago, too. wouldn't mind going back to california either. (sigh)
I think it is important to save for the future so I have an IRA and contribute to my company's 401(k). I feel responsible in doing this. yay me!
I've never been a big fan of the scent of vanilla. I'll deal with it... but would much rather have apple or cucumber melon or lilac or lavender.
I love birthday cake flavored ice cream. like whoa.
for the record... they are jimmies. NOT sprinkles.
woo hoo. half way there. I feel like this is a major accomplishment in and of itself. and yes, I'm wasting a number just to write this. it is necessary.
as much as I enjoy quilting... I also enjoy stamping. I like doing the paper crafts. I haven't started scrapbooking yet, though I do have a lot of things to put into scrapbooks. I think the cards are fun and personal. someday I would like to be able to make them and perhaps sell them on etsy. I perfer the stampin' up brand.
I absolutely refuse to buy cans or boxes at the grocery store that have a dents in them. I will rummage through them all in order to find the best specimen if I'm not satisfied with the front one. this annoys das. a lot.
I like beer. blue moon is one of my favorites, but I enjoy other belgian white beers as well (such as hoegaarden). I also like smithwicks. I partook of many pints of that during our trip to ireland.
but I am also a gin and tonic girl. well, tanqueray and tonic girl. with one wedge of lime. and you don't need to add more gin to it "to make it better". that, in fact, makes it worse. it's the perfect balance of gin with tonic that makes the drink so exquisite.
I have very long hair. I sometimes dream of being able to have short pixie cut hair (think mary martin in peter pan), but I don't think that I could pull it off. but it'd be fun. besides, das likes it longer. and I do too, I guess. it's just so flat and blah all the time... I don't know what to do with it... nor do I take the time to try to do anything with it. curls don't take and keeping it down for a long time is annoying to me. so it's always just... up.
if I were running for office, I most likely wouldn't give a shout out to a third grade classroom on national tv... even if it were my brothers' students. sorry.
speaking of that... I am an only child. I wouldn't necessarily say I was spoiled (there were lots of things I wanted that I didn't get)... we weren't rich (and my dad is kind of tight with money anyway) but I got to experience a lot of things that I'm thankful for. I got to play soccer every year; I got to visit my grandmother every summer for almost a month; I had new clothes to wear at the beginning of the school year (even if at the time, I didn't like what my mom had picked out for me).
I occasionally will break out into song as though I am living in a musical. I starting singing about the grocery shopping, tv shows, cleaning products. I find it funny. and if you can't make up funny things about life and yourself and still make it through the day... can I buy the diamond that you're making?
if I were on death row, I would say that my last meal would be... wow... this is hard. um... a tie between david's shepherd's pie and my mom's pork chops (with steamed broccoli and garlic couscous). both of those are quite possibly my favorite, feel good meals.
I have three tattoos. on my back (summer 1999), my stomach (fall 2000?), and down my spine (spring 2003?). I do want to get others... I have to get my sox tattoo (bet that if the sox won the series in '07 that we'd get a tattoo) and I would love to get three paw prints to represent my three furbabies. I also had toyed with a quilting themed tattoo. oh, and if my dad asks... I only have two.
I had my bellybutton pierced for a long time. I only just took it out about a year and a half ago. it was time.
I try to donate blood whenever I can. I think it's very important. I am A+, which is a pretty popular type. I got this from my dad who used to go all the time and donated gallons of blood in his lifetime. he can't donate anymore because of the meds that he takes.
I am about 5'2"-5'3" and weigh (as of today) 142 lbs. I wear, typically, a size 8-10... depending on the style. my wedding dress was a size 14. I'm OK with that.
I support the american heart association, the american cancer society, the humane society, and the ASPCA. that's not to say that other organizations aren't worthy of being supported, but these are meaningful on a personal level.
I can't wait to have a child. I mean, I *can* wait because I have to. but I think that the fact that someday I'll be a mom is awesome. I didn't used to think this. small children and babies used to scare me. I was very uncomfortable holding them. but now, I feel better about it.
I grew up with an artificial christmas tree. I always thought that part of the tradition and fun was putting it together and putting up the lights and ornaments. for the past two years, we haven't put our tree up. it always seemed like something was missing; that it wasn't really the holiday because it wasn't there. now that we have a house, you'd think we'd be able to have one... but who knows where it'll go. perhaps in a few years when we finish our basement, it can go back up again. (sigh)
I heart lolcats. I think that ichc is hilarious and I check it multiple times a day. das just thinks I'm crazy.
I am a licensed bartender. I do work at a bar. occasionally. not all that often, though. I mostly just serve beer, wine, and basic mixers (gin/tonic, vodka/tonic, martinis, etc.). oh, and just because you tip me more does not mean I'll give you more alcohol in your drink. I value the beverage. and besides, I don't want your sloppy drunk ass all over my bar. :)
I consider myself to be a good friend. I will support you and listen to you when you need to talk. I will offer opinions when you want them, but will not force them upon you. I don't take advantage of my friendships with people as that's not what they are for. I have many friends, I think, but only a few who know *a lot* about me. I do not open up to people very well and very rarely ask them for help. my downside... because I need things to be at an even keel at all times, if I have an issue with you, I won't tell you. I despise confrontation and avoid it at all costs... "whoa hey... you just ran over my foot with your car. do I have a problem with that? of course.... NOT. no no no... totally fine. I read an article about how that really helps with foot odor, so I just saved a bunch of money on avon foot powder!"
I enjoy wine. I prefer whites (reislings, white zinfindels, pinot, and some blancs). I think chardonnay is mostly too dry for me, though I wouldn't pass it up if that were my only option. reds are a bit too bitter for me, though I will drink them if that is all that is available. I'm not that snobbish. das and I went to a vineyard on our honeymoon. it was beautiful.
I looooooooove cheese. like, if I could survive on cheese and not become a gastronomical disaster, I so would. my favorite is brie on apples with crackers. or just brie on water crackers. so tasty.
it is about 300 miles from my house to my parents' house. at one time I would have thought that to be too little a distance. now I wish I could visit whenever I wanted to. then it wouldn't have to be such a production when I/they visit.
I would like to be funny on cue, but it doesn't always work out that way.
I am not a diamond girl. sure... they're nice. I have a pair of earrings and my engagement and wedding rings are white gold with diamonds. but, I'm ok with just that. you don't need to prove your love and devotion with a diamond... that's a cop-out. you need to actually think about what I would want and do that instead. :)
I think one of the most obnoxious things on the planet is when people are wearing flip-flops (or even just shoes in general) and refuse to pick their feet up while walking thus dragging their feet across the floor. last time I checked, it wasn't that hard to do. walking, I mean.
I don't really think that I know the difference between envious and jealous. I believe that I use them incorrectly a lot in everyday conversation.
I do not know how to pronounce the word mauve. don't ask me to say it. (storey: I know that'll be the first thing you ask me)
my husband and I got a jagermeister dispenser as a wedding present. score.
I love musicals. I could watch 'the unsinkable molly brown' over and over again. I also love 'seven brides for seven brothers' and 'south pacific'. my mom would rent them from the library and we'd sit and watch them on our "sick days" (you know... those days where you weren't really sick but you stayed home anyway)
popcorn is one of my favorite snacks. I love my popcorn with buttermilk (like a dipping sauce). it's so good. but it's not for everyone. however, I dislike caramel popcorn (aka cracker jack). gross.
damien rice's 'O' is quite possibly my favorite album. I could listen to it over and over again. and have.
I would consider myself organized, but only in small portions. I can be organized but then lose the folder that the organized stuff was in.
I don't mind growing old as long as I never grow up.
I don't go on vacation nearly as much as I should.
I haven't been to the beach (for a day out at the beach) in a long long time. I don't remember the last time I had my bathing suit on to actually go swimming. ok, maybe I do... but it's not as much of an effect if I said that, now is it?
my mom is a educational technician at my hometown school department. I thought about teaching once or twice. especially in CT... some of the highest paid teachers in the nation. but alas, I do not have the patience to teach the youth of america. but most importantly, I'm afraid my sarcasm would be lost on the insubordinate youth of america.
I'm a wicked procrastinator. like whoa.
I have driven past stephen king's house in bangor, maine. it has lots of scary gargoyles, a giant fence, and lots of video security cameras.
I know how to curl. it's actually a lot harder than you think... and a lot more fun. if I lived closer to a club, I would consider joining. I have yet to go to an actual bonspiel, but they seem like fun to me.
I love chapstick. it's almost an obsession. my favorite is avon's dew kiss.
I love dr. pepper. it is hands down my favorite soda. I could easily polish off a case a day on my own. it's addictive. and yes, diet dr. pepper does taste like the real thing.
I think that maine italians are the best sandwiches. I don't eat them with everything... for me it's just a ham, cheese, pickle, green pepper, salt, pepper, and oil. but they are better than anything that subway tries to pawn off as a sandwich. wtf? you get *maybe* two pieces of meat and meager amounts of toppings. and their $5 footlong deal really isn't all that worth it. maybe that's how jarod lost all that weight... there's nothing to the sandwich.
I am really not a shoe person. I do have multiple pairs of shoes, but I don't feel the need to shoe shop when I'm depressed or anything like that. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I have bad feet and can really only wear certain shoes for extended periods of time anyway. I do love crocs (hate me now), birkenstocks, and sauconys.
I have considered becoming a vegetarian solely for the reason that people are cruel to animals, not that eating them is cruel. however, I have decided that a) I like the taste of meat too much to give it up and b) mass animal cruelty are isolated incidents (and myabe that's naive). that's not to say that I won't try to buy local when I can afford it... but I will still eat it.
I love the color blue. it is vibrant yet soothing and serene.
fridays, in my mind, are wasted days. all I'm doing it thinking about the weekend. or what I need to do. or other random things like that.
conversely, tuesdays, are the bane of my existence. at least with monday you can think back on what an awesome weekend you had... wednesday is the middle of the week... thursday is the "beginning of the weekend" or at least almost there. friday - see number 96. tuesday, however, has no redeeming qualities. it should be deleted.
I didn't pay my respects to my grandmother at her funeral. I wanted to go in and say something to her as she lay there. tell her how much I loved her; tell her that it was all going to be ok; tell her that she was going to be with the rest of her family now and we'd see her again someday. but I couldn't. I was too scared to not be stoic; too scared to cry in front of my family for the woman who was my only grandparent in my life. I think about that almost every day and regret that I had that fear. I can never relive that moment.
daffodils and lilacs are my favorite flowers. I don't know why. I just love them.
ultimately, I'm just a work-in-progress.

holy cats!

2008-10-01T16:18:00.004-04:00

so... turns out that TOMORROW is my blogoversary. it was totally random that I stumbled upon it. I only looked because, well, this post is number 99... thus I'm almost at *that* mark. the 100th post. I have been planning (like a huge dork, I realize as I write this) by prepping a 100 things about me post. I now want to post this tomorrow for maximum effect!!!... however, that means I have to think of about 70-75 more things about me. yikes! I better get thinking...

so for those of you following along... my american heart association heartwalk was on sunday afternoon. it was a huge success for me. my goal was $750 and I raised $850! I am so pleased with the outpouring of support from my friends and family. this organization means a lot to me, especially after my mother's heart surgery in may of 2007.

my depressingly small "quilting accomplishments" listing:
1) finished my center for my kosher pickles hanukkah border exchange

for next month... I have to do a border on the two centers that came to me from the online group and I should finish up the baby quilt, too. all I have to do is sew it, turn it, and tie it. now that I have retrieved my embroidery needle... it shouldn't be too bad.

so... I have been seriously considering becoming a stampin' up demonstrator (representative, whatever, they all have such lame-o names... you are selling the stuff regardless!). this isn't a sudden decision... I have been interested in stamping for a while, I just haven't had the... well, get-up-and-go to use them. I enjoy creating with quilts, but also with the stamping. I created my save-the-date cards using stamps, have done various holiday cards and invitations, among other things. I could even use some for scrapbooking... if those magical 25-30th hours appear on my clock soon, I could really get into that. but anyway, there is a current deal going on where you can sign up to be a demonstrator for about half the cost as you normally would. I asked das and he said no. then, when a kind of pouted and whined a tiny bit... he said that he would make a deal with me that if I could be on time for work for a full QUARTER (yeah, 12 weeks), then he would let me become a stampin' up demonstrator. which I suppose is a fair trade-off... in order for me to do the things that I want to do and get into the habit of finishing my projects, I need to learn responsibility in the things that, well, I have to do (but really don't want to). I am horrible about getting to work on time... lateness means nothing to me, really. it's annoying and I hate it, but I just can't seem to break it. but... if I can do it, and then become a demonstrator... maybe I'll be fixed! well, I won't go that far... but at least it'll look better in my work reviews. :)

so here's to day one of being to work on time. only 62 days left... ugh.

the blue ribbon I should have gotten

2008-09-29T15:17:00.003-04:00

so das and I went and picked up the goods last night from the fair. I had the quilt, our photography, and the pickles. sometimes, if you are lucky (and also depending on the category), you'll get comments on your card saying things you did well that the judges particularly liked, or things to improve upon. there are far too many entries in the photo category for comments... besides I think that it's all pretty arbitrary anyway. the quilt had several comments, and even the lady from whom I picked it up had additional things to say. essentially I had a bad label (which was true... it was thrown on there from maine quilts when I just needed an identifer); I had a few stray threads (and I know exactly where they are b/c I totally forgot to snip them); and, I needed to fix my mitred corners in the binding (I'll have to talk to my mom since she did the binding for me). all the other comments were great. the woman even led me to believe that I could have had best of group were it not for those minor details. I was pleased to say the least!

and then there were the pickles. I figured I wouldn't get any comments because there are an awful lot of canning entries. I didn't know if they had judging just for pickled cukes or if they handled all the pickling. anyway, I looked on the back and there were three things: the number three (I got third), soft, cloudy. so on the walk back to the car, das and I were discussing the comments. he said, "you know those pickles weren't that cloudy before, right? they looked much better than that when you submitted them." which is true... they were very cloudy now and weren't when I brought them in a week before. then das innocently says, "do you think it has anything to do with the fact that they weren't refrigerated since last week?"

yes folks. canning usually doesn't involve a fridge to make them. everything is canned and then boiled to blah blah blah blah... I don't know. I didn't do it that way. I never have. ever. I made refrigerator pickles. you know, the kind that need to be refrigerated!!!

so really the blue ribbon I should have gotten was in "attempted murder of the canning judges".

oops. :)

but I still got third place. and we haven't try to eat any of the third-place winning pickles. we know better now.

dang the weather

2008-09-28T01:40:00.003-04:00

(note: this post ended up being really long... just don't say I didn't warn you.)

so here I am sitting at the computer. das is in bed sleeping. he's supposedly getting up to play flag football tomorrow; all my bets are on "yeah right". :) but I'd like to get caught up...

so first let me show off the final product of the "hanukkah lights" project. not too shabby if you ask me... considering I haven't paper pieced in ages.

as you can see... it's rather long. the rules were 6" x 12" centers for a table runner and 12" x 12" for a table topper. mine's about... 6"(ish) by maybe... 18"(ish)? it's an invalid entry. :( but I hope that people will make due. it's my first round robin ever. please be gentle.

and yes, my tablecloth is bright yellow. I'm surprised you can't see all the hair on it from the cats.

so my friend storey called this morning while I was working on my project and we made the executive decision that ultimately it may be considered "bad parenting" to subject her two and a half year old son to the epic rainstorms we were expected to have here in CT. understandable. we were disappointed, but such is life. she got her son's hair cut... and I decided to go anyway. yeah, you heard me. I decided to go... in the weather that was potentially going to require a large boat and sets of two of every species (except mosquitos... I can do without them thanks). so I packed up my stuff... prepped for the elements... and went to the post office, dunkin donuts, and michaels (for some stamping supplies). THEN I went to the fair. up to this point, there had only been slight drizzle so I was expecting to get there and have torrential downpours greet me instead of cows and goats and fried food. I get there... shuttle in from the off-site parking lot... still nothing. I walked around the fair for three hours. NO. RAIN. AT. ALL. which was awesome for me since I was currently at the fair... but disappointing all around because storey totally could have come. was it muddy? yeah sure... but it would've been dirty anyway. it's just wet dirt so who cares? :)

so about the fair. it was great... as expected. I very much enjoyed myself and am glad I went since I wasn't sure if I'd get out there again this weekend to really look around. it was perfect, too, when I first got there as no one had realized that it wasn't going to rain and we were still in that apprehensive "oh well do we risk it or do we stay in and go tomorrow" phase at home. there were hardly any lines or congestion typical of a fair scene. that changed later, as people realized that no, it really wasn't going to rain even though the weather forecasters (AND weather.com) said it was 100% chance of rain today. but I digress. I visited the swine/small animal/poultry/goats section first. I saw THE cutest little black goat. I do so much want a goat, but das for some reason is highly against that. I'm just trying to be green... a natural lawnmower? :) anyway, I went to the llama/sheep section next. most of the sheep were off-limits because, I believe, they were doing some showing still so they wanted to avoid pedestrian traffic as they loaded and unloaded sheep. the llamas were mentally preparing for their obsticle course section. the handlers were still setting up, so I opted to continue walking instead of waiting around. besides, the wet llama is a far more grotesque odor than many things I've smelled. wet wool = oh HELL no (gag). so I moved on to the photography section. I mentioned before about how I forced das to enter some of his work... well, of the two things he entered, one didn't place and one was honorable mention (which might I add is honorable considering there are about 250 photos entered into the competition and not everyone gets a "hey thanks for playing" ribbon). I personally think it's a sham, but it's all in the hands of whoever is judging. who knows what their criteria is... same with quilt judging. one person may count off more for one thing than another and so on and so forth. he tends to get deflated after his work is judged, but I keep trying to get him in again and again. anyway, my submission (at the end of this post) was an honorable mention, too. so I moved on to the needlework section. I had entered my irish chain (which I was SO hoping didn't have as much cat hair on it as I thought it might). and I got a blue ribbon! I am very excited. I just like having my work validated sometimes... I am very (ok... very to the infinite power) picky about my work. I think that is why sometimes I don't want to work... I'm worried I'll mess up. but I was proud of this work. I put love into it because I was making it for my husband to commemorate a great time we had together in ireland. that alone was worth the blue. :) I don't know yet what any commentary may exist so we'll see. maybe there will be something about "ok seriously... shave the cats". maybe. the next stop was the canning area to scope out how my pickles did. this was a huge experiment for me since a) I've never entered canning before and b) I've never canned anything before. I always like a stressful challenge... ok not really but in the end it's usually ok. just not those several weeks leading up to the deadline or the 12 hours just before where I'm frantically scraping everything together. at least with the pickles... I had to have them done at least 10 days before I entered them so that they could, well, pickle. :) though I ultimately made three styles (level three hot, level seven hot, and level ten hot), I submitted the level threes since those were the only ones I had made and tasted prior. I searched up and down... and found them... I got a third! which, for me, is so great. some pickles hadn't even placed, so to win a ribbon on my rookie pickle entry is so cool. I don't know if I'll do more in the future... it depends. I hope that there are some comments so I know what to do... not just for the entering portion, but to make the pickles better in general. so moving on... I checked out the craft areas, which are usually the same as they always are at the local fairs, and got some food, and just walked around some more. I found the farm museum, which was quite interesting. there was documentation on all the local farms from their humble beginnings to where they are now. the sheer number of older and antique farm pieces was just astounding. they even had an antique treadle there, too. after a while, though, my feet were acting up and I decided to head home.

I started to work on some stamping stuff, but das got home from his poker night early so I ultimately just futzed around. such is life. I did find out that our soccer game was moved due to the potential field closings. what really irks me about this is that the coordinators are moving the games and then wondering why we can't field a team. that's because people plan to have the games at a certain time... which is why you give the schedule to us at the beginning of a season. then the games are changed for whatever reason (usually rain) and now it interferes with plans that people have already made. our team is having enough issues fielding a team without the issue of overlapping schedules interfering. it's just frustrating to have to deal with a team of women who should all know better, but complain about it anyway. well, not everyone complains, but all it takes is one. I so don't want to be rep anymore; I'm a player and a rep, not your mother. wow... thanks for that vent, internet. I needed that.

so I leave this dissertation-sized post with this photo: the sham ShamWOW (note: sound auto starts with the page load). hilarious.

yummy yummy

2008-09-27T09:30:00.005-04:00

we had a pot luck luncheon at work yesterday afternoon. it was a fall theme and it was very very tasty. we had beef stew, pumpkin bread, apple butter and bread, tortellini soup... oh it was so good. I brought apple cake and crock pot applesauce. quite possibly the two greatest things I've ever made with apples. I'm by no means an apple pie person. oh I'll *eat* apple pie. but I can't make it to save my life. I just... don't get it. it never works out for me. but these... these apple recipes. it was magic on my tongue. so... try them. while you still have fresh apples. you'll thank me later. trust me.

so last night I worked on my hanukkah center. yes, it was supposed to be turned in on thursday, but stuff happened (namely I was making the above recipes). I will be on my way shortly to finish it up and then mail it out to CA. I couldn't find any of my judaic fabrics (because they are all in the other house) so I used repros instead. I'm ok with that. it's still a menorah regardless of what era of fabrics are used. :)

so the weather reports are saying that it's going to be crazy rain today... but it's the day of the durham fair. ugh! it's not doing anything major right now, so I hope it holds off. I'm waiting for my friend storey to call to give the go-ahead so she and her son can come with... crossing my fingers... it'll be a lot of fun!!

ok... off to finish up!

I enjoy my camera

2008-09-24T17:30:00.002-04:00

really... I do. I think it's awesome. it's just... that once the pictures go on. well, they don't automatically transport themselves onto my computer and upload into shutterfly and blogger. which is totally unfair. so I boycott their complete lack of consideration by leaving as many pictures and videos as possible on my card.

until das gets mad at me for keeping all the photos on the card and then the card gets full and he can't use it when he needs to.

so here's a few photos for your entertainment. goodness knows it'll be a while to train all those new photos we'll take to jump into my hard drive. :)

old couch...

... new couch (contrary to popular belief - the style is kinda dated)

these are our beautiful kitties... they were napping together which was mega super cute.

hmm... let see. what else can I share? ah yes... this is my center block (in progress) for my jewish online quilting group (the kosher pickles). we are doing a hanukkah border exchange. I, as you can see, am paper piecing them... which I haven't done in forever. so there's a lot coming back to me... after it's already too late to do anything about it. such is life.

here are some photos of my quilting "studio". I am set up in our basement. I didn't move anything in until we had our dehumidifier, so at least my fabric is hanging tough. it could use some more light... but hey, it's a basement. what do I want?

and last but not least... a glimpse of the quilt I've been working on my friend's newborn (read: he's three months old now). I did only pick up the kit in july after I decided I wasn't going to design something but wanted something frog-related. it was perfect. and from pincushion boutique.

if you're sick and you know it, clap your hands!

2008-09-22T16:37:00.001-04:00

CLAP CLAP!!

ugh. I feel like total crap today. which is only slightly better than the way I felt yesterday and saturday. it's not even congestion that's killing me now; I can breathe freely through my nose. the aching - OH the aching. my back is screaming at me and all friday night after the uconn football game, I couldn't get warm to save my life. I had about forty-seven blankets on me and I was still curled up into the fetal position trying to create a ball of warmth. AND I didn't get to bed until around 4am.

saturday, I had to get up to drop off my goods to the durham fair. das had gotten up before me and was printing out the pictures he wanted to use for his entries and mine (nothing like waiting until the ultimate last minute)... then I threw some clothes on and went to the drop off. being at the fairgrounds made me so excited for next weekend's fair. I do enjoy the durham fair; it's always a lot of fun. I'll be going with my friend and her son, so that should be enjoyable as well. I, obviously, am hoping that my quilt fares well (though I realize now that I totally forgot to clip a stray thread from the machine quilting), and my photo and my pickles. I hope that das's photos come out well, too. the last time he entered the fair photography, he ended up with honorable mention... which is OK, but he deserved way better than that, especially given the photos that he was up against. he's not a professional photographer, but he takes pride in his work (only because I force him to) and I think the results weren't exactly uplifting and confidence-boosting. but, I convinced him to enter again (or rather I just signed him up and told him to just pick something)... so I am totally hoping for the best. after I got home, we immediately left to go to das's aunt and uncle's house to scope out their couch. they wanted to know if we'd like to have it, and considering this one doesn't smell like cat pee... it's already a gazillion times better than our current couch. so they're going to bring it over tomorrow. yay! at this point, I was starting to get way super cranky from feeling awful and the lack of sleep. but I showered while das mowed the lawn and we made our way over to our friends' apartment for a wine tasting. it was a fantastic night full of laughs, great food, and awesome wines. but we didn't get back until late, and at that point I felt wretched.

sunday I woke up at 7:45a for my 9a soccer game. then I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. I could barely even move... my joints and muscles just ached, and I had a really bad sinus headache. so I missed the game... and then when das tried to wake me up at 11:30a to tell me we needed to get ready for our friend's daughter's birthday party... I channeled regan macneil and told him I wasn't going. so I slept. more. then read. and slept. and got out of bed around 5p-ish. and only because I needed food. so nothing happened on sunday. at all.

today... well, I slept a lot of today, too. the aching joints thing is really getting to me. my back is just throbbing. I'm actually a little light-headed, too. but I eventually made it to work (even though my boss told me to go home b/c he needs me more tomorrow)... and now I think I'm going to go home again. it's just draining...

tonight, and hopefully I'm up to it, I need to finish my center for my kosher pickles round robin block. I have an idea of what I'm going to do... I just need to get it together and finish it. I'm supposed to have guild drop-in tonight, but I'm not feeling up to it. also, heroes is premiering tonight which is awesome... but I won't be watching. das has bowling so we probably will have to wait for a while before we'll have time to watch. I'm hoping to do a rundown of what shows we'll be watching this season... or what we want to watch. we'll see...

hi again!

2008-09-20T01:20:00.004-04:00

it is SO hard to come up with titles for posts. I mean you don't want every post to be "quilting stuff" or "I sewed today!" or something like that. perhaps I should just arbitrarily start naming my posts after things I find on my desk: "golfing calendar", "reid state park photos", "spy phone", or even the intriguing - "stress ball!" ok maybe that plan won't work so well. :) but don't say I didn't warn you.

ok, so all silliness aside... I wanted to show you some pictures! my friend storey's birthday was last weekend so I, with the help of heather (another friend), created a card for her. we collaborated. I stamped; she did the card. she did the embossing with her cuttlebug, which was the most awesome-est thing ever. really cute for paper products... but wouldn't be strong enough to do any fabric for applique I don't believe.

so tomorrow is the drop-off day for the durham fair crafts. I am entering my irish chain, a photo of my cat (gabe), and some hot pickles I made. das is entering two photos. I was going to do, also, another quilt... a baby quilt, but I won't get it done in time. I am essentially done... but I am tying it and need to quilt around the quilt so I can turn it inside out (the kit didn't call for, or include bindings, which is fine) then, of course, tie it. das and I were at the uconn/baylor football game this evening and got back after midnight, so it wasn't going to happen this evening. oh well... such is life. it was a last minute decision to enter it anyway because I had wanted to surprise my friend with it while we were at the fair together... however, I never heard from her to see if she was going to go with me. SO, that plan backfired and now I'm going a different day with a different person with no quilt expectations. :) I do still need to finish the baby quilt though... just not for tomorrow morning. did I ever post the picture for the irish chain?!

so that, too, will be going. we'll see how it does. I meant to wash it before but our washer isn't big enough for a queen-sized quilt. and I forgot to bring it to the laundromat to wash it in their larger capacity machines. so I put two dryer sheets in and put it on the non-heat, fluff option to get some of the cat hair off. I'll probably run an iron over it before submitting, too, just to be on the safe side. that's the thing about entering in the fair... if I finish a quilt (especially one that's for me), I want to use it or give it right away (because usually it's late anyway) but if I want it to go into the fair... well, then I have to wait, or suffer the cat-hairy consequences. (sigh) it's worth it for my two little furballs though (not that bowser doesn't contribute though). :)

well I need to go warm up under the substitute quilt on our bed (since the irish chain is awaiting delivery to the fair) because it is freezing in CT this evening.

something other than quilting?!

2008-09-13T12:06:00.008-04:00

so the past couple of days I have been working on a few things of the "non-quilting" variety. I know, I know... who could possibly think there is craft in this world OTHER than quilting. ;)

I had wanted to get back into knitting after several people had attempted to teach me the craft. my darling friends lisa and melly were very patient with me, but alas, once I came back to connecticut... I would make mistakes and not necessarily have a local outlet to question my methods. it also didn't help that I am a very visual learner and the books I had just didn't cut it in terms of adequate explanation. actually I *did* finish something, The Misshapen Pink Scarf, but then I just didn't know what to do after that.

there were a lot of dropped stitches and the tension was way off. it was like I knew something was wrong... and just didn't know how to fix it. so, as any logical crafter would do: I scrapped the whole mess. until now. I have been wanting to get back into knitting. so I was a little more proactive this time... I signed up for ravelry. this site is so fabulous for organizing your knitting and crocheting projects, finding like-minded individuals... which is what I did. I found someone in town who had a gazillion more projects under her belt than I did... and she taught me. well, we mostly just talked (we do have a lot in common), but it was a fun time and I'm looking forward to having a knitting outlet now. of course, in typical kt-fashion... I have already screwed it up... I switched my stitches (knitting when I should have been purled, and vice versa) and I added a stitch somewhere... I know how it probably happened, but *dont'* know how to fix it. :) I'm really helpless right now. :) but hey, I didn't know how to purl before, and now I do. it's already an improvement. and I'm glad, too, for the knitting because I do like to spend free time with das as much as I can and this is much more portable than my sewing machine. I do like doing embroidery, too, but I worry about all of the threads and whatnot getting lost and keeping thing organized. maybe I just need a better system. :)

also, last night, one of my friends from work came over for dinner and to see the new house. after some socialization and all that jazz, we busted out with her cuttlebug, I brought up the stamps and we worked on a couple things. one is a super secret project that I can't post for a little while lest the person who is receiving it reads the blog by chance. the other things were my "we've moved" notification postcards for our family and friends. yeah yeah, I know. you're thinking, "hey kt. did you move in, oh, july?!" that's a resounding yes. but... well... I'm a procrastinator. ;) I'm a little upset by the sheer volume of them... I think I did fewer cards for our save-the-dates. (sigh) I also realized that I need my colored pencils, which I believe are still at our other house. go figure.

it was definitely a late night though... and I slept in late today. which is why I have to sign off and finish up some cooking before heading out for uconn football. game's at 7:30p... but I'm getting picked up for tailgating at 2:30p! have a great day!

(note: sorry about the card photo - it's landscape on my computer, but it's uploading as portrait. anyone know how to fix that?!)

the photos I promised!

2008-09-08T17:57:00.006-04:00

ok... so here are some photos that I promised yesterday (ok ok, not all of them - I didn't do the quilt yet).

this dude was all about "the hay is tastier on the other side". I love goats! so cute...

these were the uber-cute little baby chicks. of course all the little kids were like, "let me touch them let me pick them up!!" I said, "let the big kids have some fun, too." :) but ultimately, we all got to play and hold the baby chicks. so I didn't have to fight anyone.

there were very few quilts, or anything for that matter, entered in the arts and crafts area. the barn that held all the crafts was probably slightly smaller than my house in square footage. such a shame, really. anyway, this was one of the cakes. I thought it was brilliant... especially since I'm trying to get back into knitting again on a more regular basis! how FABulous is this? no cake wrecks here!

ok, that's all I'm sharing for now. I had a video that was kind of cute, but I don't really know how to do that and I'd rather be quilting (instead of copying cds, ugh). I had quilt guild tonight which was pretty cool... definitely an interesting group of women. I've never actually been to a meeting for a guild even though I've been a member of the guild in maine for a couple of years. show and tell was pretty awesome... very inspiring. I did bring a show and tell... my cow quilt (that still isn't finished) from maine quilts 2007. it got some oohs and aahs... so perhaps that will be the motivation I need to finish it up. only time will tell.

good weekend :)

2008-09-07T22:08:00.003-04:00

so the weekend is coming to a close and I'm just going to toss a few things out into cyberspace. first off, I am exhausted. I haven't gone to bed this early in ages. perhaps I need to start doing that... second, I had a FABulous time whitewater rafting on the deerfield river in MA. it was such a great experience; I should have some pics to post soon as our group organizer bought the CD to share with all of us. hopefully he'll burn the cd soon! next, I did a lot of sewing on saturday night and today. I didn't take pics yet, but the baby quilt is coming along nicely. I have everything cut out and a few of the pieces put together. there will be twenty blocks in total when it's done (which seems like a large baby quilt); perhaps I can get some shots tomorrow before or after quilt guild. I also have to go to lowe's or home depot and see if I can find two dozen bell jars for my pickles. I need to have them in the fridge by wednesday in order to ensure they'll be done by the 20th for the fair drop-off! anyway, lastly, my friend and I went to the hebron fair today... it was nice. neither of us had been before and it was a lovely three-and-a-half hours of walking and enjoying the atmosphere. because of the hurricane and torrential downpours last night, the fair closed at 6pm saturday (rather than staying open much later), so there were A LOT of people who were there today to make up for lost time! it was still worth it though, and I would go again. I would even consider entering some things as there was a very tiny tiny arts and crafts section for judging... I saw, at most, seven quilts. seriously.

ok, time for bed now... I'm tired! I'll try and get some photos up! have a happy monday (ew).

omg!

2008-09-04T15:55:00.008-04:00

so last night we had bowling night. it was ok... das did spectacularly but I was just ok. it was a later night b/c we started late... league meetings and voting. we didn't leave the lanes until 9:30p... and we were the first lanes done!

then we get home and see THIS!!!!

AAAAAGH!! it was a giant praying mantis. now I haven't seen one other than in zoos or whatever so I was very surprised to see it. das and I were big babies and we went in the back door instead. :) when I got in there... I said, "it smells kind of funny." but I brought my stuff into the office and went to check my email. then das turns on the living room light... and says, "um. kt. you might want to come here." one of our cats (we assume it was gabe) had, well, done his business in a variety of forms across all three cushions on our couch. :( AAAAAGH again!! we promptly cleaned everything up and lit some incense. we realized that maybe it was a bit too soon to shut the basement door and allow the kitties to make their way to the cat box via the cat door. but at that point, it was so late from bowling then cleaning up that I didn't want to bring up my quilting to continue cutting (not to mention I couldn't sit on the couch so didn't really have any place to do said cutting anyway)... so we just sat for a little bit watching some tv before bed. when das woke me up this morning on his way out... he said that the cat (again, probably gabe) had again done his business on the couch... even after we left the door open to the basement to ensure that access was unblocked. alas... our poor couch. hopefully it is clean when I get home...

we are off to see spamalot tonight... for the second time. :) SO funny. :)

oh and so that you can see a picture of the bathroom offender...

(sigh) it's so hard to be mad...

I Quilted!

2008-09-03T11:01:00.009-04:00

ok ok... so really I just cut some stuff out. but it is SO a step in the right direction. I've been in such a funk for a lot of reasons... one of which was my lack of direction in terms of my creativity. I have a lot that I want to be working on, but during my "free time" I have been doing nothing. but last night, after dinner with das's grandparents, I decided I needed to go downstairs and do... something... anything... just DO. so I got out a kit I had bought from pincushion boutique (at maine quilts 2008). this is for a friend of mine who gave birth in june to a beautiful baby boy. they are using frogs as their theme. this particular kit uses green minkie dots plus frog/green/blue oh, so soft fat quarters. each of the fat quarters needed to be cut into a variety of strips. it kind of reminds me of a YBR, but perhaps smaller, and a little more complicated block-wise. it will be interesting how this ultimately goes together... I'm excited to see. I think that I will definitely need to figure out a way to put up my design wall in order to work this. I attempted hanging it with electrician's tape, but that worked for about two hours at best. I think I just need some good ol' fashioned duck tape... maybe das can "borrow" some from work for me. I only need a couple of strips!!

so I had the responsibility of doing the photography for maine quilts 2008. which I did. however, I've been having such a hard time getting motivated to do anything that I put off prepping the photos... all gazillion of them (seriously, there had to be, like, 600 or something). I told the coordinator that it would be done by the 15th... I just sent them out yesterday. I feel so awful... such a failure. I don't doubt that she won't ask me to return to the post for 2009, but at least I had the opportunity to do it once. I hate these stupid little "episodes" that I go through... lately there've been a lot more. das and I have talked about it... but maybe this turnaround with my quilting will help. I'm joining a local guild starting monday (yay!) plus doing the guild back home, too. hopefully this is a step in the right direction... I hate the disappointment and knowing I let someone down.

speaking of maine quilts 2009, I figured I'd post the teachers that we'll be having next year.

karen boutte (benicia, CA)
linda cantrell (fletcher, NC)
jo diggs (portland, ME)
brenda henning (anchorage, AK)
kathy kansier (ozark, MO)
dodi poulsen (bremerton, WA)
carole samples (omaha, NE)
michele scott (philadelphia, PA)
ami simms (flint, MI)
karen stone (dallas, TX)
carol taylor (pittsford, NY)

ok, so based on just the initial impression... I think I will be most intrigued by jo diggs (she comes to maine quilts every year as a merchant; her landscapes are exquisite), brenda henning (I love her triangulations), dodi poulsen, and ami simms (anyone who uses a bobbin holder as a margarita salter is aok in my book). I think that they are just too fun for me to pass up... of course, that is four people... and there are three days of classes. so perhaps my mom and I will have to split it up a little bit and take the class the other wants to take so at least we get part of the experience. :) I know that she's probably more along the lines of what I am interested in... given the other quilters available for class. we're just not down with the crazy quilting, or the art quilting. not that there is anything wrong with that... it's just our style. :) landscape quilting is about as crazy as I get with my quilts. :)

ok, well that's all for now. have a great day!

a couple of quilty items

2008-08-29T00:10:00.003-04:00

coffee cup coolers: I just saw this in my connecting threads email. I thought it was a super cute idea. I like the fabrics that are included in the kit, and could see myself using those. I do frequent coffee shops that use the styrofoam (dunkin' donuts), but I still think it's a good idea.

casserole dish holders: I was doing a search for quilted coupon holder (which I think I'm going to have to break down and design myself), and I stumbled upon this. how cute... especially for the holidays with specific fabrics. if you are lugging around dishes from relative to relative... it's key! looks interesting to say the least!

things I want to do...

2008-08-28T09:32:00.006-04:00

as you may or may not have heard... the man who co-authored "100 things to do before you die" passed away at age 47 this past week (and just so you know, he had done about half of the things on the list). I figured I could post a couple things that I haven't done yet, in no particular order, that I want to do (certainly not 100 though). some things are "moment" items, meaning that it takes one occurance and it is done where as some are "gradual" items, meaning that it will take a little while to get to an ultimate goal. I figure having a good mix of both is healthy. :)

[oh, and for those of you following along at home, I'm feeling much better today thank you, but am still not totally back in action yet]

quilt a quilt myself using a longarm machine (whether or not I own said machine, lol)
have a child
enter a recipe in the pillsbury bake-off
enter a recipe in the sutter home build a better burger contest
visit australia
decorate a cake all fancy-like with fondant and gum paste (which I only know about because I love to watch 'ace of cakes' on the food network)
visit hawaii
paint a picture of a shoreline (river, lake, pond... whatever)
live in maine
learn how to knit (like, for real... none of this "kind of" crap I pretend to do now)
learn how to crochet
drive a motorcycle, not just ride on one
grow a successful vegetable garden
grow a successful flower garden
hand piece and hand quilt a wallhanging... because I think that's more realistic (I did already start something... let's see if it gets finished)
be debt free
go to a boston celtics game
complete a family tree (perhaps in quilt form, but I'm not holding myself to that)
weigh 130 pounds (again... I'm sure I weighed that at one point on my way up to my current weight, lol)
create a wedding/honeymoon scrapbook
update and organize all my photos
pass an advanced beginner swimming class
visit every state in the US (and I haven't been to DC yet either, so I'll include that... and you may be saying that, "hey wait, she already said hawaii"... that gets its own entry because I really really want to go there)
go back to school (for what... tbd)
visit eastern europe to learn more about my ancestry as well as visit

I'd really like to hear about what some of your things are too... post a few of your favorites and let me know so I can go check it out. :)

out of commission

2008-08-27T15:17:00.003-04:00

I'm kind of in a funk right now. I haven't quilted in weeks. I'm putting off so many things and I'm just not myself. I want to focus my blog again on the quilting... not so much the rest of life, but it seems that's all that is happening.

so I hope to be back soon... definitely once this headache is gone.

yay! a quilting post! (kind of)

2008-08-19T17:00:00.003-04:00

well, a quilting post and a recap of the past few days. my parents are down visiting so I've been hanging out with them and not doing a whole lot of blogging. also, my co-worker is on vacation, too, so I haven't really blogged at work either. I know all two of you are sitting on the edge of your seat just anxiously awaiting the details of my mundane life... so here you go. ;)

so thursday night, my parents brought all the stuff I have been anxiously posting about. unloading the moving truck wasn't as daunting as I thought it would be, so all worked out well. and by moving truck, I do mean a 14' truck... but only about 1/8 of it was filled. that was just the smallest they could get. still funny though. :) anyway, the greatest accomplishment of the night... was breaking out the treadle. yeah, that's right. my mom brought me my grandmother's treadle sewing machine. it needs some work... namely a tune-up, new leather strap, and a good polishing of the wood (unfortunately, it has a gouge in it from its original move to my parents' house a few years back). I have plans to do some 30s wallhangings with it... for a little authenticity. :) I looked up the serial number on singer's website and discovered that it was in a lot of 5000 (model/class #44) out of elizabeth, new jersey on january 8, 1910. :) how rad is that?! I am very excited. in addition to the great treadle that was brought, we finally have some semblance of a spare room! my parents brought a full size bed (the whole set) plus sheets, a dresser, and a behemoth mirror. they also brought my old student desk so now I have that... and can finally use my computer at home (more easily than I was anyway).

friday das and I went to happy hour at, hm... well, I don't remember where (and NO, it's not because I was drunk!). we had some fabulous wings and other typical bar fare... it was a good, fun night. not much else to report there...

saturday I kind of slept in. not as much as I would've liked... but oh well I guess. we watched some olympics recaps... made breakfast... just generally lazed around. then das found some sales for kitchen/dining furniture so we decided to go check it out. we need a new kitchen table since our other one, well, isn't going to make it up the stairs (it's pretty old, and falling apart). one of the first ones we saw was really awesome... but also $1200. so we opted against that one. then we went to bob's discount furniture and found a great set plus a coffee table with end tables (it's being delivered as I write!). :) then we came home, had an awesome taco meal, and watched more olympics. here are some photos of the furniture. the table is just an example... it's not quite the one we got, but similar. the coffee table is exact... isn't the elevating table top cool?! now we can more satisfactoraly eat dinner in front of the TV! (oh, and we opened the homemade pickles - AWESOME!!)

sunday... I slept in. a little bit anyway. then my mom and I went out to the old house, loaded up the jetta... and I finally brought almost all of my stuff back. there was a lot there... but most of it was in bags and was easily manipulated to fit into the car. :) I will probably go back tonight to get my long table, the iron, the light for my lightbox, and the rest of my scrapbooking stuff (if there's room). after loading that up and then unloading it again back home, das and I got ready for a concert at mohegan sun: cheap trick, heart, and journey. we've seen journey before... and had a really great time. not so much this time around. they played a lot of songs we weren't familiar with... but heart totally rocked the house!! ann wilson is still the amazing songstress she has always been, and nancy plays a mean guitar. it was a wonderful show... I wish THEY were headlining!! now since my parents didn't get to go on their canadian vacation, they decided to hit up the slots at mohegan while we were there. after the concert, we met up with them for a few minutes... I won $20 on the penny slots (for my mom). then I promptly lost my $20 I played. das won $30... and then we were leaving. well, my dad said, "no wait! I see the one that'll be the jackpot!" we all said, "oh ok..." and slowly followed him over to the machine. about $11 into his $20... he hits a BAR-10x BONUS-BAR... which gave him 300 tokens (which is $75)!! apparently that was enough jackpot for him... because we left shortly after. :)

monday... was a dragging, dr a g g i n g day. after a late night sunday and all the olympic fever... it was rough. but after work, mom and I went to joann's fabric. what an event... did you know that they don't put out their irons for general viewing? well, I didn't. and apparently that's the biggest process known to man. 47 associates and 3 hours later... (sigh). I didn't buy an iron. :)

and now we're at today. which, for me, is over! :) time to head home... to my new (though slightly dinged) furniture... to my sewing machine... to my family... and to a tasty hamburger dinner. I hope to do up some photos tonight. maybe I'll show off my dimly-lit-but-more-expansive-sewing area. ;)

awesome...

2008-08-13T23:11:00.003-04:00

... and totally non-quilting related. :D

I got my first ever 600 series in bowling tonight.

my scores were: 184, 224, and 209 for a total of 617. I can't believe how awesome I feel about that. I've been working so hard trying to be cool about my game and I'm always talking with das trying to improve my technique. well it finally all came together. I'm so happy.

my gram is looking down on my now, smiling. so happy that her granddaughter did so well in a sport she loved so much. (tear) love you gram!

self-serving post

2008-08-12T16:01:00.004-04:00

but the cause is anything but...

in september, I will be participating in the hartford AHA heartwalk. heart disease has hit home for me as both my mother and maternal grandmother have suffered because of it. my mom had open heart surgery in may of 2007 and continues to thrive making sure that she lives her life heart healthy. I don't want anyone to have to go through what we all went through as a family... so I walk. I walk to raise money for a tremendous cause.

american heart association

kt's donation page

just think about the men, women, and children in your family that are at risk for heart disease (that would be everyone). heart disease isn't picky... just make sure they all know the symptoms and how to live heart healthy!

I had wanted to do a quilt to auction off... but with the move and whatnot, I didn't get it done. and won't really have time to do it. (shucks)

another monday...

2008-08-11T15:20:00.014-04:00

so... another rainy day here in CT. it's been pretty crazy out the past week or so. ahh... another flash of lightning. actually, last thursday was a freakish storm with hail about the size of nickels (at their maximum). the storm lasted a long time, too... at least an hour if not more. it just kept coming and coming. just down the street, a tree was split from the lightning. and by "just down the street" I mean "it could have potentially hit any number of cars in our parking lot because it was that close". ridiculous!

hopefully the storm subsides soon... I have to pick up my car at 5pm b/c the battery is potentially dying. joy of joys. the place I have do my auto repairs and oil changes is across the street from work so I just have to drop it off and walk to work. not a bad deal. I'm irritated though... I just brought the car in last month to have its 105k mile "inspection" done. I didn't want to pay out the ass for the dealership to do it (considering my warranty was up 25k miles ago)... so I just had them work on it there. I spent (essentially) my whole freakin' bonus check on my timing belt and all the accompanying work. (sigh) so much fabric that could have been purchased.

since blogger was being difficult at the end of last week, I just gave it a chance to breathe a bit. thus I didn't post any photos of the bridesmaid outing. :) we didn't actually take any photos because we were kind of worried we'd get caught and disciplined. rumor has it that david's bridal isn't too keen on unauthorized photos being taken of the dresses. however, I did steal some photos online so that I can at least share which dresses we're interested in! we have two MOH and two bridesmaids (of which I am one). two of the party reside in new jersey... and one of them is about to give birth at the beginning of september. so needless to say, she's not getting her dress yet. the purpose of this outing was to determine, with the bride, what styles would be best. we had eleven styles that we were going to try on... some were ok, some were pretty yuck. :) but we narrowed it down nicely. the plan is to allow the bridal party to select their own style, but we wanted to make the decision a little easier. the dresses we picked all go well together with similar style on the bodice. we're avoiding the taffeta dresses, and sticking with the lighter, more flow-y dresses, too. the one on the right, with the ribbon, is the one that is my personal fav, plus the one the bride likes for me, too. the one on the left is the second choice for me. there is a back-up, too, (center) that looks nice on the other bridesmaid who was with us, but it's long... and david's bridal said that they wouldn't alter it to tea length... not that a seamstress couldn't, of course. from personal experience, I know that david's bridal charges a lot for alterations. grr. but hopefully, there won't need to be too much done to whichever dress I choose.

and speaking of hopefully, I am hopefully going to get my quilting stuff this week. I had wanted to go tonight after work but a) I totally slept a lot later than I should have thus needing to stay later, b) we really need coffee, c) we really need other groceries besides coffee, and d) I have to pick up my car (not that that would take a long time, but I'm just going to be tired and not want to deal with it). tomorrow's my massage that my darling superhusband das got for me. wednesday is bowling. thursday is my parents' arrival. now, they will have the truck, but they're returning it on friday morning/afternoon and I certainly don't want to deal with driving to the other house late on thursday night. most of the stuff I have left is all backseat-able, but there are two tables that need to go, plus some things that may just be easier to handle in a truck rather than the jetta. anyway, we're hoping that our cousin will allow us to borrow her truck to assist. we'll see. otherwise, I'm hoping that my mom can get some things together while she's here to help clean the basement up enough to make it a workable area. we'll see. it needs light... that is FOR sure. :) and the otts are at the old house. GRR!!

lastly, we got our new headboard in on thursday night (after I ordered it on tuesday!). that got put together friday night and it looks ok. it's lower than the bed because we have the bed up on risers to have storage underneath. normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but it's a bookcase/storage style headboard. but it'll be ok I guess. we ordered our baker's rack, too. that will deliver between 8/14 and 8/19, though I'm hoping it's sooner. it'll probably ship out tomorrow. we tried to install our pet door for the cats so we can move the litter into the basement, but the tools das borrowed from work weren't working well with our door... so we have to figure something else out. also, we tried to bring our old kitchen table up... yeah. not so much. we were going to refinish it, but with the ridiculous moisture and humidity in the basement it was starting to mold. so we were going to clean it off and move it upstairs. then, in an attempt to fix a wobbly leg... pieces started to fly off. the wood had broken apart because it was so old. it probably didn't help that it was getting damp, too. so... of course... we now have to look for a new kitchen table. great. :)

delayed... again

2008-08-07T10:45:00.007-04:00

so I spoke with my parents... and yet again, this weekend isn't going to fly for their visit. I'm of course always excited to see my family, especially now because they haven't been in our new house yet. but I'm thoroughly disappointed because not only were they bringing the full bed for the spare room and my desk, we were going to utilize the trailer/moving truck to move the remainder of our stuff from the old home. aka MY QUILTING STUFF!! (sigh) another weekend will go by without my working on things I need to work on... jacob's baby quilt, my friends' wedding quilt (from last november), potentially another wedding quilt for october... and definitely some things that *I* want to finish for myself and the house. plus I have bought some dress/clothing patterns from the amy butler line and I want to be able to practice with them and get used to it. I've never made clothing before and quite frankly, I'd like to know what I'm doing before I cut into my $9.50 yard michael miller fabric!! :D

so anyway, I have my UFOs on the sidebar, but I think I'm going to list them here, too. I need another list like I need a hole in the head, but here goes! :) (oh, and blogger is totally screwing up right now so I can't get my bullet points and I don't know why... so hopefully the formatting isn't all messy).
* amy and ben's wedding quilt
* jacob's baby quilt
* "practice" quilts... a lap quilt and a tree skirt
* landscape quilt (someone at maine quilts show-and-telled hers - so awesome!)
* civil war pumpkin patch (I keep seeing leslie at various events and now I'm feeling a mite bit guilty it's not done!)
* a couple of wool applique pieces... quantity TBD
* children of israel paper pieced quilt (oh the horror)
* handwork stars of david

I'm sure there are a whole bunch more... but since everything's packed up still, I don't know. I'll provide a better inventory (hopefully) next weekend.

lastly, my good friend is getting married in april and I am one of her bridesmaids! at first I was worried because I knew that it would be a huge financial undertaking between the dress, the shower, and the bachelorette party... and with the new house... yikes. also since das is a groomsman, too. but I have since gotten over it. I am still watching the money, though, and hope to be able to pick out some things that are a bit lighter on the wallet... like the dress (we have eleven to choose from - I hope to have some pics later - we're shopping tonight!), and the decorations for the bridal shower. I have confidence in myself that I'll be able to help with the wedding while still keeping track of the finances. this won't be the last you hear of this wedding, though, I'm sure. :) I'm excited!! I just hope that I can tone it down a little bit... I'm just a bridesmaid, not the MOH and I really don't want to step on any toes. I'm just really happy and want to make sure that it's everything that my friend wants. you know?! I am considering doing a signature block for the shower and then putting it together for the wedding as their gift, but I made them a quilt already. not that that precludes them from ever getting another quilt again... but we'll see I guess. I also don't want to take on too much stuff that I can't promise. or maybe I should just get it done instead of procrastinating. :)

ok, well, I hope this posts because I have had trouble all morning with blogger. grr.

what?!

2008-08-06T16:29:00.006-04:00

just when you thought it was safe to rely on cheap fast food. now you can't even have a solid dollar menu to get you by at 2am or later. (sigh) what is this world coming to?

on a food related-note, I made a pretty kick-butt meal last night. part from a recipezaar recipe, part from me. I did cheese stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon with roasted red potatoes with garlic and onions. I thought it turned out pretty good. das thought it was almost the greatest thing since sliced bread! which was really awesome. das is one of those people who will tell me it needs work, how it needs to be fixed, and eat it anyway. which rocks. :) it makes for a good cooking environment. last night when we were eating, I asked what he thought. he responded that it was good. but there were no additional tips he added. cool, I thought. then I get an email at work today that said everyone at work wants the recipe for the greatest recipe ever. what?! I didn't realize the enthusiasm for this chicken deliciousness. anyway, I typed up a quick recipe for the peeps at his work... and now I can't wait until das tells them about the homemade pickles I did last night. :) they have to set for 10 days... so I'll let you know how they turn out on august 16th. don't let me forget.

tidbits

2008-08-05T13:57:00.007-04:00

ok first off... I LOVE this new fabric. well, it may not be new, but I'm so far behind on everything quilty and cool these days, it's new to me. :) I do hope that link works... it'd be a shame to miss out. it'd make such a cute bag using the pattern in my new terry atkinson book. that and some cute placemats, too.

so this weekend's been crazy. friday I stayed home while das was at poker night because we *finally* got our clothes dryer's outlet fixed so we can use it now. and we had quite a bit of laundry piled up! we could have gone to a laundromat, but I did that through college, then for a year when we lived in bristol. I wasn't keen on that. so we waited. :) saturday we did more laundry; das mowed the lawn (luckily just before the skies opened up); we played some video games (what? it was raining!); ran a LOT of errands around town (bought blinds and a dehumidifier!); went to our friends' house for dinner and some rock band (NOTE: there is music at that site that you have to shut off in the corner; only click if totally prepared!). that game is phenomenal. I love it and I need to perfect it. it's just fun, really. I can't wait for rock band 2... which das and I decided we would be getting (NOTE: also music at that link - click with caution). the song list is amazing... and I can't wait to bust out with some alanis, nirvana, beastie boys, the who, and, WHAT... ratt?!?! :D anyway, we rocked until about 1am or later. sunday, I went to a bridal shower (an ALL DAY bridal shower/BBQ) and das stayed home b/c they were installing our a/c. he also attempted to put up blinds, but failed miserably as we'd bought all stock blinds... and we needed custom cut blinds. so he had to take most of them back. ultimately we only have blinds in our bedroom now, but that's ok. I don't have to hide behind my bed anymore to get dressed every day. :)

yesterday I had a computer class for work so I was gone all day... which was nice. it was introduction to vba: excel. I learned a lot, which is always great. after work I stopped at target to pick up a few things and I saw a really neat 6-cube organizer that will be perfect for my fabric and such. now that we have the dehumidifier and an outlet in the basement (one's better than none), I'll be able to move my quilting stuff in downstairs!! :) schweet! I am hoping that maybe if my parents come this weekend with the full bed and my desk... I can use their rented trailer to bring back the quilting stuff from the other house. otherwise... I at least want to use my dad's SUV to bring some things back. that plus our other vehicles should do the trick. :)

so I'd like to introduce a new section to my blog. and I totally stole it from family guy. it's "what really grinds my gears". I figure I need a place to sound off every now and again. and now I can keep my rants organized! :D I know I'll be irritated with lots of things with a new house... and I'd like to rant about work, but I don't want to get fired (like the lovely dooce). it's bad enough that I blog at work. :) and, in general, I have a love-hate relationship with "people". most of them really just annoy the snot out of me... but if it weren't for that, life would seem so incessantly boring. don't you think? :D besides, I do believe that if you didn't have the bad, you wouldn't be able to recognize the good. however, that doesn't prevent me from blogging about your stupidity. at this juncture, I have only one rant (that I will share with you right now). and that is about ATM fees. when I was at maine quilts and both my mother and I had exhausted our cash stash, we realized then that we didn't have MY car with the convenient ez pass. we had HER car... which required cash for the tolls. though I'd be lying if I said I didn't pause to wonder if toll booths took debit cards. anyway, I volunteered to stop at the ATM. I have spank of america. I hate them. but that's another rant altogether. anyway, b/c they feel as though they have enough ATMs in the world, SoA charges you to use a "foreign" atm. I took out $20. I got charged $2 by the bank whose ATM I used plus $2 by SoA. I got charged 20% of my withdrawal to use the freaking ATM. how BS is that?! granted, it wouldn't have been so bad if I had taken out more, but I am not a cash carrier. I use my debit card everywhere. I feel safer using that than cash. anyway, ATMs are certainly a convenience for many people from a variety of banks, but what is inconvenient is having to pay to cover your "transfer costs" between banks. don't you make enough money on inflated interest rates and bank overdraft fees to cover the $.022 it probably costs to "transfer fees" between banks without charging me a million dollaridoos? maybe I just need to switch to banknorth or liberty. and that, grinds my gears. :)

woo hoo!!

2008-07-31T09:22:00.002-04:00

it's national tequila day! so break out your cocktail shakers and do up a margarita right! or check out that link for a bunch of other non-salt-and-lime-cringe-inducing-tequila-shot recipes.

especially those of you who are participating in your last day of the survivor challenge - you need it! :D good luck all!

enjoy! and drink responsibly. :)

maine quilts 2008 - day 5

2008-07-30T14:21:00.003-04:00

let me just say... thank goodness we packed some of the stuff in the car the night before... because not only was I not a big fan of "wake up time", there was a lot more to pack than I thought! :) mom and I are not light travelers. :) anyway, we made it out the door in just enough time for me to grab a continental breakfast banana nut muffin and a vanilla cappuccino (which was awesome btw and I'm so irked that I didn't discover it until check-out day!). we weren't as early to our class this time around so we ended up off in east gish, but it was ok since pat really just gave a demo and let us have at our stuff for the rest of the class (with minimal interruption for demos, some of which we'd seen on friday). I was working on the "dutchman's puzzle" block so all I had to do was flying geese... up the yazoo! I completed one quarter block (two geese) and then just chain pieced twelve blocks worth of flying geese (or about 96). to complete the size quilt I want I need to make twenty blocks worth... so I've a lot more to go. however, it's SO easy to do. it's a fun process and I am very much liking the whole "nickel quilts" phenomenon. for anyone who hasn't gotten the book, or who hasn't heard of them, or hasn't tried them... it's so worth it. 5" squares are easy... you get twelve from a fat quarter or however many from charm packs. really... there's NO excuse not to. :) (and I totally didn't get paid to say that!)

during lunch, I finished up taking some photos as well as pick up a few last minute things at the vendors (sorry no pics). I got the silver hardware set for the backpack/tote pattern I got at alewives. from country creations of farmington, I picked up a new book from terry atkinson, "let's do lunch" which has lunch totes, table runners, and a few other things. very cute... I loved the runners. I also got a cute embroidery pattern for the house. it says, "we'll fill this house with love" or something equally aww-inducing. lastly, from the quilted cardinal, I got a wool wallhanging kit. actually, it's not a quilted cardinal pattern... it's her sister's shop's pattern and she was selling them for her at the show. it's not something she'll carry though. anyway, I'm a little worried... it looks as though some of the scraps I got for the smaller pieces are j u s t b a r e l y going to fit. we'll see. I've traced the pieces onto my liteweight fuseable... time will tell. at least I know who to talk to if I don't have enough. :)

lastly, after the class was over I was assisting with the take-down of the quilts plus pick-up post-show. it was a little bit hectic at first, but we got a maybe-kinda-sorta rhythm down... and ultimately it took *maybe* 30-45 minutes to distribute them all. two days for set-up... and two hours to take it all back down. go figure! :) it was all pretty awesome though and I'm so glad that I am a part of the show... even if it is ridiculous exhausting every year. :) can't wait until maine quilts 2009!

madre and I drove home and got some of our stuff out... I laid on the bed for a moment at 10:30p... and woke up again at 10:30a on monday! my body was just gone. obviously I needed the sleep. :)

well, now I am back to the normalcy of humdrum CT life... I'm hoping to bring some quilting stuff back tonight/this weekend and buy a dehumidifier for the basement so I can work a little bit. at least setting some stuff up... maybe break out the machine. no promises though! :)

intermission

2008-07-29T11:55:00.004-04:00

I'll be updating on the final day of maine quilts soon (perhaps tonight), but I wanted you all (three of you ha ha) to see this article from MSN. since we bought the house, we'll be eating out a lot less (read: not at all ha ha), but it's good information to have.

MSN's Food and Fitness: 16 Things America's Restaurants Don't Want You To Know

be smart when eating out everyone!! :)

maine quilts 2008 - day 4

2008-07-26T22:21:00.009-04:00

today started off... pretty crappy, actually. my mom, who has been staying out and being up and about for far too long the past few days, had a lot of issues with her knee this morning. we were supposed to get up around 5:30a-6a... but she woke me up at 7:30a saying that she wasn't going to be able to go this morning to our volunteer job at the admissions table and that I needed to go online and get the maine quilts number to contact the president to let her know. I roll over to turn my computer on... then I just think, what am I doing... just because she's not going doesn't mean I can stay home! so I jump out of bed (ok, I didn't really jump) and get ready. I ended up being at the civic center around 8:30a which wasn't too bad, though we'd wanted to get there sooner. I was supposed to work the admissions table, but there were about eight others working it. I spoke with the volunteer coordinator and she asked if I could work the maine quilts merchandise table... so that's what I did for about an hour and a half. :) during which time, I bought a sweatshirt. :) it was one of the last couple there... I'd looked at it yesterday and thought they didn't have my size. now, however, I was able to try it on and the next size up, which they had, fit perfectly! sweet!

so then I got called away to do some photo stuff... and I made the decision to head back to the hotel and get my madre. I updated the photo stuff (since it was on my computer, not my flash drive) and then mom and I went to 99 restaurant for lunch. we each had an appetizer and salad... yum! they are the only chain restaurant I know of that has fried raviolis on the menu. I *love* fried ravs. they are heavenly. anyway, then we got back to the civic center and we did some retail therapy. :) I knew I wouldn't be able to spend much (what with this whole new house thing), but I'd budgeted and knew that there wasn't too much I needed... what I wanted was a whole other story. :)

we did go to almost every merchant booth, but I'll just highlight those where I bought goodies. :) the first was pins and needles from farmington, maine. I was first attracted by some lotions they had... the good goat milk kind that is similar to the "udder cream". I didn't really have any non-residue-leaving lotion for quilting, so I test drove some scents. I ended up getting the "maine quilter" scent. and no, I don't really know what maine quilters smell like. :) I also picked up a mini quilt pattern to add to my collection for repro fabrics. not that I've made any yet, but someday I'll just make a whole slew of them. :)

our next stop was at pincushion boutique... home of the sweet treat. I *love* this place. I saw them at the connecticut piecemakers quilt show back in april. they create "sweet treats" of eight coordinating fat quarters and give them clever names relating to the theme of the fabrics. then they design/sell patterns that use eight fat quarters. I bought one in april with sea turtles that I have cut out (and will be one of the next quilts I make)... this time I bought a frog-themed baby quilt kit. my friend deb (for whom I made the diaper cake) has been not-too-subtly dropping hints about the baby quilt I promised her. now she does this completely out of love and I know she's teasing, but to appease her, I got this kit. I had intended to design this cool applique frog type thing, but I am going to do this instead. at least as his "big quilt"... I may still do an applique thing, but on a smaller scale. this kit is perfect though... it is of flannel and has a green minkee backing. I can't wait to get started in on it!

our next stop was alewives fabrics. I was really excited to stop in here because I had such a great experience with them at last year's show. not unlike last year, I spent the most money in this store... but I'm happy. I can count on them to have the latest amy butler fabrics plus her patterns and books. they still create some wonderful tradional quilts, but with a modern flair. I wish I lived closer so I could take some classes there! (sigh) such is life. anyway, I had originally gone in there because I saw amy butler's pattern for a laptop case/ipod case. however, I saw the specs for the ipod case and it was really for the larger ones (the classic or itouch) and not so much for the nano or smaller. I didn't *need* the laptop case, so I put that down and got a new bag pattern... it's a really great conversion bag... it could be a tote or a backback! I bought some new fabric and liner for it and hope to get started sooner rather than later. I also found a great pattern that has stars of david... I really do love stars of david, and not just because das is jewish. I like them for them. (apparently like we're boyfriend/girlfriend, ha ha... sheesh).

I then took a short break to do some more photography (since I still had just about the whole show left to do). I stopped off at my "home store", calico basket quilt shop, in my hometown. pretty much my first experiences with quilting were in this shop... I took a class for my 21st birthday (a gift from my mom) and have done countless hours of shopping there. I had won a gift certificate there during our last getaway last november... and I totally forgot about it, until a couple days ago. so I went to the shop to see what I could find. I know that the owner had some very awesome charm packs that I was interested in... plus a few wool pieces. which is what I ended up getting! I was really surprised to see that she was carrying annelle's originals, which is another owner/designer I met at the connecticut piecemakers show. she is such a nice lady and works really hard to create these great wool candle mats. I can't wait to start working on mine... I opted for the cardinals because das and my mom love cardinals (well, so do I).

oh, and I almost forgot... before we made it to our shopping spree... I got my emilie richards book autographed! I wish I'd had more, but I only have one book. my mom got her book and quilt companion book signed, too.

after the shopping spree and whatnot, my mom and I went to the gaggle of quilters event, which we would have skipped but I had to take pictures (we were both so tired). it ended up being a lot of fun (minus the cranky people who didn't get food fast enough - jeez, it's just veggies and crackers and cheese). we did a "know your quilt vocabulary" quiz which was fun plus a table activity with half square triangles. each table created a pattern with the HST that were there... and then at the end, they were going to be collected and all donated to project linus, which is a fabulous idea. the fabric had been donated and rather than give it to us, it's going to a much worthier cause.

since it's our last night here, we packed up most of our stuff and I brought some down to the car so I wouldn't have to in the morning. and now... it's time for bed! I'm exhausted! it'll be a full day tomorrow... class and then I'm helping with quilt take down. shoot... I think I need a sign for that. (sigh) add it to the list... :)

maine quilts 2008 - day 3

2008-07-25T22:40:00.005-04:00

today was an actually class! finally... not having to do anything "official". :) mom and I were taking the same class, and while we wanted to get in early to get a seat, we needed to get there a bit early anyway so that my mom could go over some admissions stuff (she's chair of admissions). once that was taken care of, I hung some more directional signs (my work is never done) while madre went and saved us some seats (which was good because there were some "I need to sit up front" type people in there). :) I helped out with unloading and bringing her stuff in (which is hard for her to do since her replacement knee is less than a month old)... so by the time class started, I was already ready for a nap! :) so the class we were taking was "small wonders" with pat speth. she uses this terminology not for quilts (you'd think minis or something), but rather the small blocks she creates from a large HST and the new block designs they ultimately create. it's a really fantastic and EASY concept to pick up and finish. it seems intimidating at first but really handy and useful since charm packs are 5" squares... so you just need to collect a few and you can make all her patterns. pat started out with about a 15-20 minute demo, then we were free to go at it! it was easiest that way, I thought, because everyone was choosing a different pattern to work on. she walked around and helped us out but other than that would really just stop the class every hour or so and say, "hey look at the design wall - it's another "small wonders" pieced border option." or something like that. she was a very good teacher who explained things clearly and simply so that you could understand what she was trying to show you. I completed a bit... not a lot... but enough that I could at least provide my adoring public with a sample! :) I did one with the flash and without...

so let me know what you think!! :) I'd love your input.

at lunch I found out that I won a door prize for the volunteers... which was a cute little fat quarter pack. also, with all this volunteering I am being entered to win the janome heart truth sewing machine... which was donated by one of the merchants to be used as a prize. how super cool is that?! not like I'll win it... but it's fun to dream, right? :)

lastly, we had the friday night gala dinner and lecture with emilie richards. my mom and I didn't attend the dinner but came back to volunteer during the dinner and attend the lecture afterward. I thought it was a good lecture... emilie is a very intelligent and articulate author and I thought she spoke well. while I have only read one of her books to date, I enjoyed it a lot (even though I was skeptical at first) and look forward to reading her other novels in the shenandoah series, plus her other mysteries. I liked hearing about her background and how she incorporates her life into her novels and where her inspiration comes from. it was too bad that some people were getting a little antsy toward the end of the lecture... or maybe just that many people had to pee. :) oh, and for the record, I'm not saying nice things just because she'd mentioned that she gets google alerts and already had one maine quilter blog about it... I really did enjoy the lecture. :) and at the end of the Q&A, before emilie did any of her book signings, there was a drawing for a janome 6600P (yeah, you read that right). it was donated by another merchant (how cool are they?!). the sweetest lady, at least 80 years old, was so shocked when she heard that her ticket had been pulled! I was so happy to see the utter surprise on her face. it was so cute.

ok... enough! off to bed. I'm tired!

maine quilts 2008 - day 2

2008-07-25T21:39:00.004-04:00

ok, so it's a day late... but blogger was acting all weird last night and I figured it'd be ok today. and it's not really. so I'll just suck it up and post. :) yesterday was short anyway.

again we got up early... but it was still a late start. I think we were late because the cafe mocha at the continental breakfast is disgusting, but in reality it was because my mom and I are lazy and wanted to sleep in for an extra five to 45 minutes. :) we did get a copy of the kennebec journal to see if my picture was in the paper - and lo and behold - it was! unfortunately there was no associated story, but the picture was a) on the front of the audience/living/home section and b) it was in color! way super cool! :)

my day was pretty much eaten up by signage craziness. all the vendors (sorry, merchants... we have to call them merchants now) were arriving and setting up... which had to be done by that night before the champagne preview. and I'm trying to get signage out. now I'll say that YES, I should have had a lot of this done beforehand but I was moving and didn't have the chance to do it at work or at home. (ok, whining session is over) I had some teacher signage to do plus all the various directional signage and whatnot. so as any sane person would do, I went and started the show photography. :) of course, after about 45 minutes, they had to come find me and request that I come back. :) it all got sorted out... and while there were still signs to be done last minute, I'm ok with it. this is my second year doing the signage and it was almost easier last year... probably that whole lack of knowledge thing. now that I'm supposed to "know stuff"... we'll see. it'll be easier next year... I'm going to reorg the stock signage and try and pump out the teacher information, etc earlier. of course, I recall saying that last year, too... that worked out well. :D

so the champagne preview went well, I think. it's the first glimpse at all the quilts and merchants. judging usually finishes, like, ten nanoseconds before it's supposed to open... and this year was no different. :) I didn't have a judged quilt this year (or, well, any year actually ha ha!) but I did put in my red sox quilt and my birthday quilt for das. what do you think?

maybe some year I'll put in a judged quilt. who knows... I think I can really only handle the biddies at the local fairs (which even then is frustrating and scary).

anyway... I saw a lot of things I want to buy (which is why I promptly went to the hotel and balanced my checkbook so I *know* what I can spend... which isn't much). I saw a lot of quilts I want to make, or are in the process of making... and I'm really glad that I'm a part of maine quilts. it's a great bunch of people and fabulous quilts to boot! that night at the hotel, I uploaded the pics from the show (so far... only rows 9 of 31... we have about 650 quilts in the show)... then did up a few more signs to print out... and again got to bed too late. such is my life.

oh yeah...

2008-07-23T22:59:00.003-04:00

in all of my procrastinating... I found a cute quiz I wanted to share! enjoy.

You Are a Banana

You are mellow, easy going, and a total softie on the inside.
People find it really easy to get along with you. You suit most tastes.

And while you're very sweet, you're not boring or ordinary.
You have an attraction to the exotic, and you could show up anywhere... doing almost anything!

You are spirited, energetic, and a total kick to be around.
You're also quite funny. Your sense of humor is on the goofy side, and it fits you well.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

maine quilts 2008 - day 1

2008-07-23T22:30:00.004-04:00

so here I am... in my hotel room... so desperately needing to finish up my signs for tomorrow... and I'm blogging. :) well, that and reading blogs and noshing on fudge covered graham crackers and diet sunkist and soaking my feet in watermelon fizzy and other general procrastination type things. :) so I'll just do a quickie update and then get on my merry way.

this morning was rough... it was so early after a late night drive (four plus hours with the bad weather through worcester, ma) and then having to do laundry (I had NO underwear!) and then finally getting some sleep in a cool environment (it's a bazillion and a half degrees in newington... and trust me, the half a degree matters)... ugh. but madre and I, armed with dunkin' donuts, made the hour trek up to augusta. first I had to drop off my new signage... there were some new vendors that das had done signs for, plus the "meet the quilter" and emilie richards book signing booth signs. then, he'd also done a new show sponsor sign that went over SO well... I was beaming at my husband's handiwork. AND I totally gave him full credit as I just sent him the file and said, "do what you can." :) then I had to print out the row signage... and I totally brain farted thinking that I'd left it at work on my computer. ACK! I emailed the girls and work... they said I owed them at least dinner for such a last-minute, large favor... but then, I turned on my computer and low and behold in the lower right hand corner was a folder called "quilts" that amazingly had all of my templates from last year. phew... I didn't have to buy them dinner after all. :D but then I realized that I didn't need to bust my butt because those signs weren't going up until tomorrow anyway. oh well. one less thing to do before bed tonight I suppose. then I went out on the floor and was helping to hang quilts. there are a LOT of them this year... and they are all so beautiful. a lot of times at shows there are about half that are "WOW" material and then others that kind of say, "well... ok." this year, there are so many more wow quilts. it's such a comment to our state show and our wealth of quilters! yay maine! :) well, while I was hanging up some quilts, some dude starts taking pictures from above me in the next row over. I come to find out he's from the kennebec journal and they are doing a piece previewing the show! so I may have my face in the local paper... so cool. of course, I'll do what I can to find a copy and post... otherwise, you'll just have to take my word for it. after that... madre and I stuffed our faces for a linner (lunch + dinner) at arby's then checked into the hotel. except for a brief outing to walmart... we've just been chilling at the home base. tomorrow starts up the crazy... lots of sign hanging, quilt hanging, all the photography, and then the champagne preview. hopefully I can get *some* sleep. :)

chuggin' along...

2008-07-21T14:22:00.004-04:00

well, das and I are officially staying in the new house (though I guess I can't call it "the new house" anymore... it's now just..."the house", right?). as I'd posted before, we've got some stuff done... and now the kitchen is just about complete (still looking for some furniture) and the living room is probably done (now that das installed the surround sound speakers). the office is still in shambles, lol, though we kind of have been expecting that. it hasn't been our focus room... and a lot of stuff has just been thrown in there. also, I want to set up the bookcase and my computer desk in there before too much is unpacked. the spare room is also a work in progress. we're waiting for my parents to bring down the bed that we got from my grandmother's house after she passed away. it's a nice full size bed. we'd had two twins in our spare room before... I don't know, I just like the idea of having the full size bed there... and I had said I wanted to take it for my house when my parents were taking stuff out of my gram's house. I really liked the headboard and footboard... and I just wanted something that was my grandmother's (not that I don't have *other* stuff, but... you know... I'm sentimental). anyway... we're waiting for that before anything else really goes in there. we will need to put something in there to fill the space, lol. but we'll cross that bridge...

so I'm kind of stressing out. it's better than it was a few hours ago when I was flipping out over an RFP that needed to go out that still wasn't quite done (and the owner was tweaking up until about an hour before submission)... but now I have to refocus my stress onto maine quilts. my upcoming "vacation". :) and it WILL be a blast. this I know. however... I have kind of waited until a little bit longer than I would have liked to do these signs. like... I haven't done them yet. and I have to leave tomorrow. ok... am I taking advantage of the fact that my darling darling husband works for a sign company and can easily take care of a lot of this for me... perhaps. :) but there is still quite a bit that I have to take care of myself just in word documents. (sigh)

but enough! enough of the dreary depressing stress-out speak! let me show you the upcoming maine quilts schedule! :) which is *totally* the point (besides all the awesome shops and whatnot). here we go:

wednesday, july 23: help with the quilt set-up plus just in general volunteering. oh, I also have to drop my quilt off... which is totally against the rules and I *did* get reamed out for not being a good girl. but they can just suck it for all I care. :)
thursday, july 24: again... general volunteering, but also my newest job... photography! I will be photographing all of the quilts... which will then mean that thursday night I will be fixing them all up... yikes! also, I'll be helping out with the champagne preview.
friday, july 25: my first of two classes - small wonders with pat speth. I am going to work on 'star and hourglass' (I think).
saturday, july 26: more volunteering (in the morning ONLY) then mom and I are going to be making our way around the vendors! there is a new booth hop that is going on that I'm very excited for. I have some money from my photography stipend (that's not going toward lodging or my latest quilt's batting/backing/LAQ) so I may invest in a finishing kit from one of the vendors... but I'll definitely get all the patterns.
sunday, july 27: last day of the show and my second class - flying geese... again with pat speth. for this one, I'll be doing 'dutchman's puzzle'... I'm really excited about that one. it's so unlike anything I've done before. after class, I'll be helping out with quilt take down. then mom and I will be making the trek back home where we'll most likely just crash after unloading the stuff. :)

it'll definitely be a l o n g week, but so much fun. as always.

oh, and before I go... one last thing. this is totally a WTF moment. :) yesterday, das and I were moving things from our storage unit back to the old house. for this we'd rented a uhaul. we had been waited on by a youngish boy... I'd say 19-20ish... though he probably was older. anyway, we confirmed all the details, most importantly the gas gauge. it was right on the half-a-tank tickmark. no problem as their policy is to return with the same amount of gas in it (or else give up your first born plus a $250 fee plus gas at $50/gallon). we do our business... racking up about 50 plus miles between all the places we needed to go. the tank is now a little over a quarter full. I haven't the slightest clue how much gas to put in... but I figure it's got a twenty gallon tank (note: I'm a girl - I don't know these things nor have any basis for my guessing) and that I can do about $20 worth (which in CT is about 4.5 gallons). doing 4.5 gallons would also mean... that the truck was getting around 11 mpg... which I would assume sounds right for a 17' uhaul truck. so I put my $20, thinking how wonderful my logic is, and then start up the truck... and it's *THIS CLOSE* to the half-a-tank tickmark. I figure it's close enough and go with it. so I'm back at the uhaul rental center to bring the truck back (which was earlier than we'd anticipated). the kid gets into the truck to check out the tank so that we can finalize everything... he gets out... cocks his head to the side with a condescending smirk and says, "half a tank?" it really honestly to everything in my power to not slug him square in the jaw. then, not only has he been way super rude to me already, but he requests that I go back out and get another two to three gallons to bring it up to half a tank (which, mind you, isn't *that* far away from where I was). how hard would it have been to say, "I'm sorry but it's not quite up to half a tank... so unless you want to fill it up a little bit more, I'm going to have to charge you for not filling it completely." I could have understood that (I guess). so I get another $10... which a little over two gallons, which totally put it OVER the half-a-tank tickmark... and if I was more like my husband (read: confrontational) then I would have asked for a credit on the extra gas. but instead I couldn't even bear to speak to the little shit. :) so that's my annoying person story for this weekend. :D do you agree?!?!

house update

2008-07-17T14:39:00.003-04:00

just a little info so you know that I'm still alive out there in blogland. :) I've been out of touch for a few days what with moving and all... and there won't be phone, cable, or internet at the new house until the 24th (though it could be sooner) so all my internet action is here at work. :)

moving went well... it is what it is. sucky. :) at this point the living room is mostly set up (aside from a few rogue boxes of wire and electronics) and the kitchen is half set up. I do want to get some additional furniture things so that I can put my cookbooks somewhere appropriate. we shall see... I have a lot more cabinets than I am used to so it's fun (yet frustrating) trying to figure out what they all should hold! not that that's a bad problem to have.

well, the sewing room will hopefully be moved this weekend... though I won't have any time to set anything up. I leave for maine quilts on tuesday night! yay! I can't believe it's already here... which reminds me... I have to upload some files to my flash drive for the signs (I am chairwoman of signs and photography). I should get going... :D

happy! :) and broke...

2008-07-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a few days (ok a lot of few days)... but we've been busy... with our NEW HOUSE! :) das and I are super happy that things have finally closed (on july 1) and we can just move on from all this negativity and chaos that has encompassed our lives for the past three or so weeks. packing, though, is another story completely. and THAT sucks.

of course, the closing couldn't go on without a hitch. (sigh) we went to the pre-closing walkthrough to visually inspect everything... just kind of look at the work that was done based on our requests and see if it met our standards (to the best of our ability, of course). it was all going swimmingly until we get into the basement. we had requested to have the cracks in the basement sealed because there were small puddles... nothing wicked huge, but enough that it would potentially cause standing water without drainage. so we're walking in the basement and we get to the bottom of the stairs... and das, our agent and I just look slackjawed at each other... the one drain that was in the basement was SEALED OVER WITH CEMENT! yeah. I can't make this up anymore. so we're obviously pissed off... now the puddles are much larger than those that we'd originally seen. we call a whole bunch of people... their realtor, their realtor's manager, our lawyer... ugh. it was a mess. and we're supposed to be closing in, like, half an hour. so, like any sane person would do, we then went to mcdonalds and got some lunch. I mean, why not, right? :) we went to the closing... explained our situation to our lawyer and decided what we wanted: some money to cover the cost of un-cementing the damn drain. so we settle on an amount we're interested in and think will cover it... and then we start signing our paperwork before the sellers get there (much less for them to deal with). they arrive and they sign their part of the paperwork... then we start discussing the issue. this guy, in all his infinite wisdom, said it was his professional opinion (as a contractor) that the drain was actually causing the water problems, so he sealed it up. of course, unbeknownst to him, our inspector had tested the drain and found it to be functional, so obviously if he had done the same, he would have had the same results. however, it's pretty obvious that he didn't. we think he just did it to spite us... because we made him do more work to the house. kind of makes me wonder what else he may have done that we couldn't check... but I digress. so, because it was his *professional* opinion as a contractor... he said he shouldn't have to do anything. we asked for money... he said no. we asked for money in escrow so that we could try fixing it and then if it didn't work, we could hire someone on their dime... he said no (and again, that there was nothing wrong with what he did). even with mentioning that there were still puddles... and slightly larger puddles now that the water has no place to drain... he still said no. he kept commenting that it was an "old house" and to expect things like that. BULLSH!! anyway, finally he offered to come over to the house and chip the cement off for us. at which point we said NO, we don't want you in our house. so our first "home improvement project" at the new house is to chip the cement off the drain. (sigh) he so totally took advantage of the fact that we were emotional about the house and that it was our first one... and played us like fiddles. is it frustrating, HELL yes... are we going to let it get to us, not anymore. it's so not worth getting worked up over... besides, who has time considering how much we have to pack still!! the big move is on sunday... yikes!

oh, and I also failed to mention that even with all the chaos over the "shed" in the backyard... and the dumpster that got rented to haul away all the debris... well, WHATEVER - he totally didn't even haul it all away. we have glass shards, rotten wood, and even a rusty saw in a pile on the side of our yard still. wtf? (sigh) we know the name of his contracting company... and as far as we're concerned, no one we know will ever use him.

last thing... since I have to go leave work, unpack the car, then go home and start packing again... we only have ONE outlet in the basement (half of which will be my new sewing studio). but we're waiting until das's uncle comes up from FL to help us with it rather than hire an outsider... so I have to wait until OCTOBER to get my own outlets down there. :( boo hiss!! but, das knew how much I want to start in on stuff... so he said I could run an extension cord down to the basement. we'll have to set up the iron someplace else, too, temporarily since I don't want to have my iron on an extension cord... talk about a power sucker!

ok, that's all for now... I must get a move on! I do hope to have some pics soon. and I have some details from our awesome fourth of july vacation, too! fun times!

and for my last trick...

2008-06-27T16:50:00.004-04:00

ok this will be the last post of the evening. I can't even continue with the insanity that is my life (at least regarding this stupid closing).

so das gets an email from our mortgage broker. he says to please forward on this information to our attorney because after repeated attempts to get in touch, he wasn't able to do so. it's essentially call so and so at such and such an address. whatever. it's probably super important so it only makes sense that we can't get in touch with anyone. awesome. so das calls our attorney on his cell phone - no luck. then he calls the office and speaks with the paralegal. das explains what's going on and... the paralegal goes OFF on him, starting in on some ridiculous tirade about how the mortgage broker hasn't communicated with anyone, that he's trying to place all the blame for mistakes on them... das was just stunned! das then started in about the $400 issue and how our real estate agent had suggested that we all pay $100 (us, the sellers, then sellers' atty, and our atty) so we could get it settled on monday. the paralegal says, "oh well if he offered a discount to all of his clients then we wouldn't be in business." wtf?! seriously... I doubt that... considering how much I'm sure you bleed from all these people. anyway... the paralegal says well I'll talk to the atty but I doubt that will be a viable option. oh really?!?! well then why don't you fight for us so that we don't have to pay it... so that YOU don't have to pay it either.

this is really draining the life from both of us. this &^#$% is @*!&%@# up. UGH!

I'm going to go to the grocery store so that I can get dinner and the fixings for peanut butter cupcakes with fluff frosting. don't hate... you know you love it. :) maybe I'll post the recipe. :)

UPDATE: let me tell you MY story...

2008-06-27T14:26:00.004-04:00

and it gets better. literally moments from the time I hit "publish post", das calls me and says, "so you want some MORE good news?!"... as if I wasn't already completely full up and bloated off of good news today. here's a paraphrased and must less-explitive laced version:

das: "so... [insert lawyer's name here] called me again. he talked to the sellers' attorney. apparently his client isn't budging and refuses to pay the $400 it cost to take the shanty down. he says that it was our bank that was requesting it so it shouldn't be his responsibility to pay. it wasn't in the contract or anything, so he says no dice."
kt: "oh. really? that's a surprise. he's normally so warm and fuzzy and always so accomodating."
das: "yeah. I called [insert real estate agent's name here]. he's pissed. he's going to call up [the lawyer] and rip him a new one. says he'll never use him again... and that HE should pay the $400 if he's not going to fight for us."
kt: "this is a huge sham. everyone sucks."
das: "pretty much. I guess next time we buy a house... we won't use him."

kt: "which could be in thirty years... or two months at this point. I really can't do anything but laugh now at the ridiculousness that is this real estate deal. it's insane that this is continuing on over $400."
das: "yeah. this sucks. anyway, I'll call you with more good news later. because there WILL be more. I guarantee it."
kt: "I wouldn't expect anything less at this point."

let me tell you MY story...

2008-06-27T12:22:00.010-04:00

so that you can feel a little better about your day. :) just when I thought the days of disappointment and sorrow were over. now we're just biting our nails waiting to figure out what the heck is going on. :)

we heard yesterday, not too long after I posted last night, that everything was good to go for monday's closing and that we could contact our lawyer to have him schedule a time. yay! so I did... well, I left a message because he wasn't there. BUT, it felt good to leave the message. then... a mere hour or so later, I get word that the little shanty out back (which we probably would have taken down anyway as it was rather decrepit and small) needs to be taken down BEFORE the closing. that's per the bank. they won't give us the mortgage until it's taken care of because it MAY have lead based paint (since it was constructed prior to 1974 or something). so yeah. back to WTF!! our real estate agent, who was conveniently golfing with das at the time, was able to get on this quickly and make some calls. then we find out that the sellers are just being big babies about it... and not wanting to do it... they don't have time, blah blah blah. so das and I go to our soccer game wondering what the HELL is going to happen. while we were playing, our agent left us a message stating that the sellers were taking care of it and the appraiser would be back out today (friday). that was exciting... then we knew it'd be all set... we could schedule the closing... all was right with the world once again! YAY! then this morning came around. das calls me at work with news that our insurance agent is calling asking for bank information (literally a name and address, which we don't have). our real estate agent (and our mortgage broker) both say that this information was forwarded several days ago via email to our lawyer (and his paralegal)... who both told our insurance broker, today, that they don't have that information and our mortgage broker has been leaving everyone out of the loop and so on and so forth. which is partially true, just not in this case. so then das had to solve THAT problem. THEN, our lawyer calls with a totally separate issue... the sellers are saying that it shouldn't be their responsibility to pay for the demolition of this tiny shack/shed-like building. he, our lawyer, is all for fighting it (b/c it is pretty BS)... but isn't sure how to really address it b/c, a) it is OUR bank that is requesting this to be done, not the inspector or anything and b) he's heard through the grapevine that these people are relatively difficult to work with (um, NO KIDDING!!!!). so das says that they should be paying for it... if they didn't want to sell this house, then they could have said, "no dice" and just cancelled the deal (though it would have made no sense as other banks would probably request the same thing, but I digress). but instead, they took it down because they obviously want this deal to go through just like we do. so they *should* be paying for it. besides, I don't necessarily think we could have gone to their house and done it ourselves anyway since it's not our property yet... it would be totally their responsibility. anyway... das ultimately said I don't care what you have to do or say to get this closed on monday, but we're closing on monday. :) that's why I love him so... I would have folded like a cheap lawn chair under pressure.

so to leave you with a not-so-horrible taste in your mouth... I leave you with a picture of bowser and our cat, gabe. this shot was taken last night... the story is that bowser opted to eat the cat food (both bowls) when we got home from work and leave his alone. das and I decided to not fill up the cats' bowls again as they could stand to shed a few pounds (gabe, 16lbs; jaeger, 19lbs). gabe, however, said that he was still hungry and as a big "screw you" to us and to the dog, he promptly began eating the dog's food that was left in the bowl. even jaeger came over, sniffed it and said, "dude, that's all you." I think, though, that the dog's face says it all...

a happy post...

2008-06-26T14:48:00.012-04:00

and no it's not happy for the reasons you think it may be. :) I'd like to think that I'll have good news to post about our closing date... but alas, it will not be now. instead, I'm going to stop with the mopey posts and write about quilting. :) unfortunately, I haven't done any lately to show... but I figure I can go jen-style and post some oldies-but-goodies (that hopefully I haven't shown you all yet). :) that will have to do for now... but at least it's not dismal house stuff. yuk!

this particular one was a quilt that I did for das for christmas of... um... 2004 when we were in our apartment. I cut out and pieced the whole shebang at a quilt retreat at the beginning of the month. I did it, essentially, in a weekend. then had it sent out for quilting... got it back just before the holidays. I didn't get the binding on before I gave it to him (because you know how hard it is to bind a surprise quilt for someone when there's only three rooms you could possibly work in?)... but it didn't matter. it was awesome anyway. I bound it, I believe, in january while we were watching football. it *still* does not have a label. oops. :) I really should do something about that. oh, and also... this pattern is "peppermint sticks" by terry atkinson. I want to say it's in her 'spring cleaning' book, but I could be mistaken. it's golfers with green and grey peppermint sticks. :)

this is one of m'liss rae hawley's fat quarter quilts that, I believe, is called 'portugese tiles'. I couldn't tell you off hand which book this came from, but it was fun to make. it was definitely interesting working with blocks that were rectangular instead of square. there was no rhyme or reason to the color scheme, though it kind of formed some yellow and blue diagonals. this was for memorial weekend of 2005... das's "honorary aunt" was getting married and this was our gift. I finished the binding in the car on the way to the ceremony (I got a weeeee bit carsick, but after a break, I felt ok). then I sewed on the label while they were taking pictures. :) nothing like waiting for the laaaaast minute. that may have been the last quilt I actually got done before it was due - ha ha. this picture was taken in the apartment before it was quilted, but I have others out on the lawn after I got the label on, LOL. :)

this last one is another terry atkinson... maybe this one is the one that was in 'spring cleaning'. anyway... it's called 'chain of lakes'. it was super easy to put together. this quilt was for my honorary niece, sophia. she was born in january of 2005, so the shower was in october/november of 2004. since we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl at the time, we opted for the gender neutral colors. my mom had all the green 30s fabrics at home, which was fantastic... and bless her heart, she cut it out for me. :) what was funny was that she included the binding, which is that yellow border you see there. :) yeah, there wasn't a planned border but I totally wasn't paying attention. it worked out though, and I think I like it better with the border anyway. sophie's brother ben's quilt will have to be for another post. :)

well, the day is ending (at work) so I'm going to wrap it up here... I have a few other past quilts up my sleeve that may be of interest. and I hope I have some good news to report sooner rather than later!

(sigh)

2008-06-26T01:35:00.000-04:00

so I feel like I haven't posted much because everything that I want to say has to do with our move or our mortgage people. for that... I apologize. I would like to do something other than complain about it. :) trust me. I'm just as sick of it... it's just a ridiculous process. especially because das and I are using the FHA (government) program. anyway, as I write this... I should be sleeping. but I can't. I just end up laying there thinking about stuff I wish I was doing, or stuff that I know I'll need to do. it doesn't help that we have a crazy weekend ahead of us and our potential closing on monday. which is part of the problem... as we probably won't even know until monday whether or not we close on monday. interesting how that works, huh? it's that stupid FHA crap... it's supposed to take around 30 days to close on that sort of loan and I think we're trying to do it in maybe... um, 20ish? I don't even know at this point. it could even be less. and the stress isn't so much that "oh no we will have to push the closing back"... and it's not because I feel badly for the sellers (see previous post)... it's that we have plans for the fourth of july and we want it taken care of damn it. then we have a week and then it's the weekend we planned to move all our furniture... then a weekend and then I'll be gone (and das too) for maine quilts for five days. plus my coworker is going to be gone for a total of five days during july before I go on vaca... and my boss will be out for almost the whole month on HIS vaca. and then there's das... he's not particularly pleased with change of really any kind. so buying a house and thusly moving into it is, like, catastrophic in his mind. and because I love him (and because it somewhat makes my life easier to NOT have him freaking out at every moment of the next month), I try to take on as much stuff as possible so that he doesn't have to think about the mundane things. but then I do... and now, here I am. at 1:30am on a thursday morning, blogging, because I am sick of laying in bed not falling sleep. (sigh) as excited as I am... I can't wait for this to be over...

irritating and stupid people

2008-06-20T12:33:00.002-04:00

ok... so I just need to NOT be nice for a second. let me just describe some of the idiotic things I've encountered this week.

the guy that we are buying our house from faxed us back the listing of stuff he WOULD fix for us based on the list we sent him. now, we're shooting in the dark... but based on some statements we've seen and whatnot das and I assume that this dude is a contractor and did a lot of the work himself on the house. we figure maybe he bought the house as a flip and it didn't flip quite as fast as he would have liked. anyway, there are possibly a few things that he "fixed" that he didn't actually fix (we don't know for sure what the deal is). for example, the grading of our backyard... since everything slopes slightly, water was "draining" into the basement. we said we wanted it fixed (even though he said he'd done it already)... and he said, "NO". we also said, upon recommendation from the inspectors, that we wanted the receipts or copies of said receipts for all the new items (not word for word, of course)... "NOTE: we are not selling a new house here. andersen windows were installed and it's evident based on the sticker on the windows. other products will not have warranties that extend to second owners." ok... seriously?!?! wtf?!?! hello! we KNOW we aren't buying a new house nor did we ever suggest that we were. we want this information for down the line when we have to have something fixed or serviced so that we know when it was last done, or when it was purchased. we just want it on record for our own home-owning purposes. is that so wrong?! why do you have to cop an attitude with us... because we requested stuff to be fixed that you supposedly fixed already (but obviously didn't fix correctly or else the inspectors wouldn't have made note of it)... because we requested receipts that you may have already thrown out and thus can't provide to us as we asked... who knows. all I know is that he irritated the crap out of me. ugh.
this morning das got an email from our mortgage people requested some additional information. as expected, this information was absolutely ridiculous. some crap about termite stuff and flood stuff or other crap I didn't pay attention to but am sure that we signed already. and then what really floored me... there was an inquiry into why I had been issued credit under the last name (maiden name). um, what? I don't know... ask any of the 500 people I had credit with while I was in college. oh wait, you aren't asking why it had been issued... you want to know why the last name (maiden name) was under the particular credit report for last name (married name). oh now I get it... you've caught me! all those aliases I had when I was an international spy... the us government couldn't catch me - but the smarties at the mortgage companay caught right on! so then I had to fill out a "name affadavit" or something like that listing all my "names" and putting my john hancock next to them to ensure that yes, I was all of those people. [sigh] I am slighly worried about the level of common sense going into this process... or rather, lacking, in this process.

that's all I can think of... but those two things alone... ugh! frustration!

long, hard, sad day...

2008-06-15T22:06:00.000-04:00

today we went to a funeral. no way to spend father's day... but we were supporting a family friend who lost her mother a few days ago. it was only a year before that she was burying her father, too. (and let me point out that this is my mother-in-law's college friend, not someone our age... not that that matters, but I wanted to share)

we, well, I, got up late... as usual. we needed to be in colchester (about an forty-five minutes away) for services at 1pm. we made it riiiiiight at 1pm (ok, maybe 1:05p) because we hit some traffic on 91 due to a bridge closure (and I made us late to begin with). anyway, the services started at the synagogue (yes, it was a jewish funeral)... and the rabbi spoke, then our friend spoke. that was hard... she was so close to her mother... called her every day on her way home from work. it just made me think about my mother and how close I am with her... I don't think I will ever be ready for something like that. it was hard, too, because I never really grieved for my grandmother when she passed a little over three years ago. she was all I had left... and I just tried to be stoic and unemotional. [sigh] anyway, it was a hard service... I just wanted to cry with her... tell her how much I understood.

then, the service was over and we went the the burial site. the one thing about jewish funerals... wow. it's intensely emotional. from my understanding (and the brief explanation from das, who is jewish), one of the beliefs is that the greatest mitzvahs you can perform is to show that you can accept the death of a loved one and celebrate their life and love. to show this, you must shovel dirt into the grave. the first shovelful is done with the back of the shovel to show that you are not rushing to bury the dead... then two more shovelfuls follow, the right way. the attendants at the burial also do the same (meaning das and I participated as well). I can understand the deeper meaning of this, and can appreciate how this can help in the healing process... but man. just seeing someone you know and care for experience this utter pain, is hard... just makes you think of your own mortality. just not something I wanted to experience... then again, no one asks for the opportunity either.

after the burial, we went back to the synagogue for the "meal of consolation" (I believe that's what it's called). we gathered together for a small meal of bagels, lox, whitefish salad, and other traditional jewish foods. our friend didn't know that we were in attendance... so when she saw us, she came over and gave us a big hug to thank us for being there for her. it was definitely one of those times when I wish I hadn't worn any makeup. it was a challenge to blink back the tears. so after we ate some food... we headed out. we knew that if we didn't leave, she wouldn't leave... and she needed some alone time to process the day before she went to her mother's house for shiv'ah.

it was definitely a very emotional day... and so I slept for a while when we returned home. I just woke up not too long ago... and I'm still just drained. [sigh]

oh what a day!

2008-06-14T23:12:00.002-04:00

so. last night. well, let me explain last night first. I worked my butt off last night... staying until 8:30p to get stuff done. [sigh] I stop at bed, bath, and beyond to get das his "father's day" gift from the dog, but apparently what I wanted to get him was "online only" and I didn't know that. darn. oh well. :) so then I get home around 9:20p and I'm starving... so I whip up a quick batch of chipped beef on toast and while I'm eating... das says, "so... did you know that hulk is playing at the theatre at 10:15p?!" needless to say... we end up going to see hulk at 10:15p (just fyi: it's WAAAAY better than the crap they put out a few years ago claiming to be "the hulk" - this is good stuff... and right in line with 'iron man' and the s.h.i.e.l.d movie slated to come out, plus the nick fury movie.) thus... we got home relatively late and watched some tv before bed. yikes!

then we have today. my plan was to get up and clean and pack all day... I wanted to get my sewing room packed and possibly the spare room. das had even brought boxes home from work to help. buuuuuut, as one could expect... it didn't go that way. :D I got up late (which was nice for once) and then puttered around a little bit before making brunch (though at that point, it could have just been lunch). I fixed up some potato and onion hash (courtesy of '30 minute meals') and some eggs... I fried das's and poached mine. not too shabby. then... I did, um, nothing really. I thought about cleaning... but I actually did cut out das's irish chain quilt that I was supposed to have *done* for his may 21st birthday. oops. :) I needed the table space b/c my round "cutting table" just isn't doing it for me. I can't wait until I have my new tables and space to work in... [sigh] only a few more weeks! anyway... I went between cutting, watching the euro soccer match (spain vs. sweden and russia vs. greece), and playing darts on our new dart board. that took up the majority of the afternoon... then the thunderstorms rolled in. they were baaaaaaaad. and I was supposed to have a soccer game at 6:30p... so around 5:45p I called our league rep to see what the deal was... and all systems were go. so... das and I drove to west hartford where we *barely* had enough people to play. BUT, we got our first WIN of the season (of course, it was the last game of the season since we didn't make the playoffs). the game was cut a bit short by lightning, but we got about 75% done. then... there was the search. das, thanks to the plethora of p'zone commercials on tv, had it in his head that we *needed* to have calzones that night for dinner! so... we head back to the homestead a little after 8pm... but then we had to stop at walmart for some windshield wipers (b/c mine are shot and das was getting irritated riding in my car with them). then... by the time we get back to our area... several of the pizza places were going to close! I volunteered to make one (though I never have before)... but he didn't want to be disappointed (um, thanks?)... then quickly added we wouldn't have time. so we finally find a pizza place that wasn't closed... and low and behold - we got our calzones. I got pepper and onion; das got pepperoni. it was absolutely heavenly. in our three years plus at this house, we never got pizza from this place. figures we'd find it, oh, three weeks before we are moving out? [sigh]

anyway, time for bed b/c we have to get up early for a funeral tomorrow. what a bummer for father's day...

this and that

2008-06-12T10:44:00.015-04:00

so I was browsing through jill's blog and saw her newest purchase: tshirts from real women quilt. it's so going in my must haves section... as if I don't have enough tshirts. but honestly, I'm going to eventually be doing a tshirt quilt, so I'll need to replace the stock somehow! :)

I feel like I've been talking about my baby bowserface lately... so I'm going to post a few pictures of him. I hope you don't mind... he is my pride and joy (not to diminish the amazingness of my husband or my two cats... but I *really* am a dog person). sorry these are all lame and left-justified... I wish I knew how to center them properly... I really have a lot to learn about making my blog postings cooler. :)

so this weekend is going to be crazy with packing and whatnot (including packing up my sewing room... no working for a few weeks... boo!). however, next weekend is going to be awesome. friday night is my friend leah's album release concert. she's been working diligently in boston writing songs and performing all over the place (including at red sox and bruins games). all the proceeds are going toward the windham performing arts alliance. then, saturday night (I assume, since I haven't heard *any* information about it at all), is the windham chamber singer alumni concert. it will be so good to sing with more experienced people again... I've gotten away from singing in the past couple of seasons. which sucks... but such is life, I guess. also, some of these people I haven't seen since I graduated in 1999 (yeah, I did the math... my ten year reunion is next june). [sigh] it'll be a lot of fun, I think. I'm excited. :)

ok that's enough for now... I have to get some work done!! :)

house pictures

2008-06-11T17:36:00.002-04:00

if you're interested in taking a tour through our new house... here's a link to the shutterfly site where I've posted it all (the house's album is the featured one).

part of the basement will be my sewing quarters... I'm probably going to end up with half of the basement (unfinished as of now). I've already claimed it. now... it's just a matter of maybe investing in some more outlets downstairs... and getting a dehumidifier for to keep the fabric dry. we plan on finishing the basement eventually anyway... so I'm just starting in early with it. :)

UPDATE: mortgages suck.

2008-06-10T22:45:00.005-04:00

we had our second meeting with the mortgage guy... and it definitely isn't as bad as I thought it was. our realtor actually explained everything to us in terms we could understand and it all makes so much sense now. I don't feel so foggy about the process now. :)

doesn't meant that it doesn't suck still though. :)

mortgages suck.

2008-06-10T14:32:00.005-04:00

can I just make mention of how much I hate the mortgage process. seriously. as if it wasn't stressful enough that we are making this huge decision in our lives... essentially paying 2.5 times our current rent payments so that we can move on and build up equity... and then the f'ing mortgage.

well... if we'd gone through all this only a few weeks ago, we could have had an extra quarter percent off our rate but now if we want that rate we have to "buy it" and pay an extra 3/8 points to get it (courtesy of FHA). um, hello... we're going through FHA so that we only have to put 3% down instead of 5%. do you think we have an extra 3/8 point to pay so we can save $30/month on our mortgage?

now I know that rates are really out of our control. we have no way of judging what will happen when... did we miss the boat, yes... but we're still doing ok with our little canoe, paddling along behind it. I can understand why the rates just jumped up a bit... the "real estate season" is open and people are buying now. housing costs are low enough that more are making that plunge and for the first time in a while, the market looked positive. so, in order to buy back some of that lost revenue from the past few years, lenders are taking advantage of the positive upturn and raising their rates a little bit. however... when we are told that we should get $X back for seller's concessions to cover the closing costs and then we still need to bring money above and beyond our allotted 3%, that is irritating. because that *is* in our control. we should know that. we just found out that we need to bring a check for $400 ro our mortgage meeting tonight for the appraisal because it's not included in our closing costs... well, that's news to us. and then just other things that we didn't account for that may now end up going over the amount we requested for sellers' concessions. overall, I guess maybe I just had high expectations as to how the mortgage process would be... maybe because I just didn't know how it was going to be. it's just big and scary... and just proves I'm kind of sort of a grown-up now. and part of me... just doesn't want to be. I want someone to hold my hand and show me where to go, tell me it'll be ok, and they'll fix me up when I get hurt, or help me out when it doesn't work out... but das and I have to hold each other's hands and wade through to muck and mire of homeownership together. and as much as I love das, and know that we're making the right decision... there's still a little bit of me that's hiding under the bed because they don't want to come out when company's over.

(sigh)

quilter's visit

2008-06-08T23:00:00.006-04:00

so after a long night of watching food network and national geographic, it was a bit difficult to get up this morning. I had to be in middletown at 10am, which meant I needed to leave by 9:15a, which meant I needed to get up (or have the alarm start going off) around 8am. suck. anyway, I met jane (after picking up some much needed iced coffee and a cinnamon stick at dunkin' donuts) and we made our way out to new haven. essentially the only background I had on this woman (nini) was that she was in jane's book group and was a quilter who worked exclusively with her hands (no machine quilting). I didn't really know what I was getting into, but jane was really excited for me to meet nini and I actually was too. I could use some inspiration not only with my handwork, but with my quilting in general. :)

so we arrive a little early at her apartment so jane and I sat and chatted in the car a bit (with the a/c on, obviously). then around 11a, we headed up to the door and rang the bell. a smaller woman with mostly black hair around her shoulders walked out to greet us. as we walked into her crowded apartment, she cautioned us to "step over the cats" (meaning her cat door stop). we made our way to the kitchen where a pile of 30 or so quilts rested on her dining room table. after we made our introductions, nini started in with her first quilt. she made a point of mentioning that (until recently) she didn't know how to sew... but having always worked with stained glass, was interested in piecing and creativity (we saw some of her stained glass - beautiful and intricate). a friend of hers had introduced her to sewing and when this friend explained about cutting the fabric, nini said, "well why would I want to cut through all the pretty flowers?" good question. :) so she began fussy cutting two inch squares of flowers and birds (among other things as time progressed) and then putting them together... with a backstitch, since she didn't know how to sew. considering her knowledge level, her work is very consistent and beautiful. you can see how meticulous she was with her stitching. and it's all so amazing, too, since she has chronic lyme disease and has for many many years; her hands and fingers will frequently swell, making sewing difficult I'm sure. so we went through her quilts one by one. there was obvious improvement in the technique and the understanding. she adopted a watercolor style, really using the colors and fussy cut flowers to fade from one to another. I was very impressed; I've never tried anything like that before though I have seen books and liked the style. only until recently she tied all her quilts, but she wishes she could continue to tie them... she only has begun quilting because she wants to enter them into shows. we reviewed quilt after quilt for about an hour and a half, then went off to an intriguing lunch where nini regaled us with her childhood tales and about her son (of whom she is so ridiculously proud). it was a great experience and I was very much pleased and proud that she wants to see my work too! I guess I'll have to finish something, eh? :)

after we got back, I napped for a little while because it was b l a z i n g hot out still... then we went out to eat with some friends at puerto vallerta. yum... margaritas. :)

it was great to see such a prolific quilter who was so blunt about her lack of actual technique. usually people are ashamed to say that they don't know how to do something, but she just decided that she'd do it one way whether it was really right or not. it was a great experience and inspiring. now if it would only cool down so that I can get up into my quilting room!! :)

did someone leave the oven door open?

2008-06-07T20:07:00.004-04:00

seriously? it's literally a bazillion degrees in CT right now... specifically the second floor of our house. I was going to sew a little bit today... do some cutting at least. but golly... I was dripping sweat just breathing. so no sewing today.

I will be going tomorrow to visit a quilter named nini who has been exclusively hand quilting for all her life. I am excited to see her work; perhaps it will inspire me to get some work done!! of course, I am planning on stopping at the store, too, and making, at least, a chocolate sformato for my friend's birthday, which is on tuesday. I am bringing the food in on monday though as a little surprise. I think that she needs it... she's had a rough few days (to say the least). I am considering also making a carrot and pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting... but I digress...

so anyway, das and I took his mom out to see movin' out this afternoon. it was her mother's day/birthday present (the two are only a few days apart). first, I'll say that it was fantastic! I'd been wanting to see it and when we saw it was playing relatively locally, we figured this was a great opportunity. we also invited my MIL's cousin to go, too, because she lives in the area. I don't want to describe too much because I don't want to give it away (not that there's too much to really give away now that I think about it). anyway, I initially thought that it was going to be your run of the mill musical with singing and dancing and all that jazz. I was excited that the whole show was based on billy joel's songs because I love his music... so when I saw the band at the top of stage... and that's really it... I was a bit confused. a minimalist stage presence, but ok... then... the musicians start up... and it's just dancers. they are telling a story, based on joel's songbook, through dance. I was quite taken aback at this... it was totally not what I expected! however, as I got into it, but the third or fourth song, I was sucked in. it was very powerful essentially "watching" joel's music come to life. I absolutely loved it, and while it helped having known joel's music and loving it for a long time, you don't necessarily need to *know* the music to appreciate the power of its lyrics and tune. I would recommend it to everyone - it's great! so after the show, we went out to dinner at nino's italian restaurant. the food was delish, but our waitress was, well, not *that* great. :) such is life.

well, it's wicked hot out and this laptop is adding some unnecessary degrees to my core body temperature. good night all.

oh, and by the way - congratulations to moniek, who is getting married today! good luck and best wishes! :)

cat's out of the bag...

2008-06-06T15:38:00.009-04:00

so that's it!! and that, my internet audience, is my new home. das and I went on sunday morning to view a bunch of homes, and this one... this one was fantastic. it's a three-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch on half an acre of land. and the best part is it's in the town where we both work, which means about a two minute commute for both of us and several hundred dollars a month saved on gas expenses. yeah, you read that right... hundred. cutting our roundtrip commute (each) from an hour to 5 minutes... makes a giant difference. there's also a brand new remodeled kitchen (with corian countertops), new windows, new doors, new vinyl siding, new energy efficient furnace, new hot water heater, new roof... it's a gem, really. :) and also what's great is that there is a lot of room for potential to grow. we can finish the basement in a few years; we could add a set-back garage; we could add on in the back; we could build a deck (something that I hope happens sooner rather than later...). it's just so fantastic... das and I are absolutely excited.

anyway, we put in an offer on monday after viewing the house and making our decision that we wanted to move forward with everything. we went back and forth with the sellers a few times, but they came back with a final; if we can't meet that, then no such luck. of course their final price was a bit beyond what das and I had agreed on as our final price... so after a few days, we decided that with all the amenities the house would bring, plus with it being so close to our work, that it would be worth spending a tad bit more on the house. so... we signed the paperwork this morning! and, in theory, we'll be closing at the end of the month (provided the mortgage paperwork and monday's inspection go as planned)!! this is so totally awesome and das and I are elated! I guess I shouldn't get all my hopes up until it passes inspection and we officially get the keys at closing, but jeez louise... it's awesome!! :)

oh, and for now, I think the office(s) will be upstairs as one of the spare rooms, and that I'll have my sewing area downstairs in the basement (even though it's not finished yet) - the ironing board will already be down there since the washer and dryer hookups are there. I can put down some cheap dorm room carpet pieces (for my footsies) and spread out a bit. then das and I can set up property lines (his "lounge" will be down there eventually, too)... he he. but I'd rather be down there anyway rather than cooped up in a room. I may have to compete for space with the oil tank, but hey, it's all good. :)

milestones!

2008-06-04T21:17:00.002-04:00

for those of you who bowl... I just hit a "first". my first 500 series! I know it doesn't seem like much, but I've never been a consistent bowler, until das really got me into it (and got me a new curving bowling ball for my birthday this year). I've been doing much better the past few weeks (in this new non-sanctioned league) and I'm really excited about it!! :)

on a side note, I got an email today about a woman's rugby league that started up in bristol. sounds promising... I loved rugby when I played back in school. I quit initially because I had to have surgery, but then I never got back into it. I very much enjoyed it... so maybe I'll look into it. hm... rugby playing quilters... I could start a new yahoo group or something. :D

[cough cough] ugh.

2008-06-04T16:18:00.003-04:00

so... my afternoon yesterday (post-post, of course) consisted of a lot of food network (in HD, of course); giada, barefoot contessa, sandra lee, alton brown... [sigh] I wish I could be them! I also did the errands at CVS and got dinner at burger king (yum - the tots did make me feel better). the meds I got - store brand "tussin" liqui-gels - did *not* really do their thing. I was still hacking away... though not as frequently, I guess... but it was still frequent enough to be totally and ridiculously obnoxious. anyway... I felt well enough to give myself a spa mani/pedi. I had purchased during the last AVON go-round at work an inflatable foot tub (in the shape of a watermelon), watermelon fizzy foot tabs, watermelon foot scrub, and watermelon cooling foot lotion. it was absolutely fabulous. just what I needed! I then painted my toenails (first of the season) with a new color I'd gotten, too. THEN, I moved on and used my mary kay satin hands set with all the scrubs and painted my nails (which is always a good idea... at the time). they didn't turn out as good as the toes, but then again, they never do. :) it was a pretty fabulous evening of relaxation. then das got home from hooters and wasn't feeling so hot; the wings didn't agree with him. so he went to bed while I took my "night meds" (read: makes you super drowsy) with some graham crackers so it didn't upset my tum. I ended up watching some more tv and almost dozed on the couch before I went up to bed... and then neither of us could sleep. I kept coughing all night and das just felt like crap and couldn't sleep. I think I drifted off around 3am, probably from sheer exhaustion... don't know if das did or not. needless to say, I was wicked tired this morning!! and I was still coughing! UGH! so... I finally went to the walk-in clinic. the doctor checked me out, asked all the requisite questions, and sent me down the hall for x-rays. all was well there, so the doc gave me some nasal spray samples (to reduce the inflammation in my passages), a script for prescription strength tussin (woo hoo - I can sleep!), a script for a new albuterol inhaler, and a script for some antibiotics if in a few days the cough is still persisting. however, none of those things help me too much in the "right now" department, so I've been at work, coughing, for the rest of the afternoon.

but now I must go fill my scripts and get ready for dinner and bowling. then we'll probably crash watching tv... hopefully the team we're bowling is quick. if not, I'll just cough on them. sounds good, right?

blogging from home?

2008-06-03T14:33:00.002-04:00

this is the first time in a while that I have actually blogged from home! usually I'm at work scrambling in my spare time... but I'm actually home from work today! though not for anything good... I'm sick. I've been relatively miserable lately because of a wretched cough I've had. there weren't any accompanying symptoms really (other than the occasional runny nose in the morning, which I chalked up to sleeping with the window open), so only having this hoarse, hacking cough has NOT been fun. I opted to sleep downstairs on the couch, too, so that my hacking didn't wake up das (though he may have it now anyway... too soon to tell). this morning I woke up from the couch and just couldn't stop with the coughing; I was gagging from coughing so much! then I just went upstairs and lay down while das was getting ready for work, bowserface came up and joined me, and I slept. I slept hard. I finally wasn't coughing, I wasn't tossing... it was great. it's almost like my cough "broke"... it's going away (or at least become much less frequent, and much looser), but I've got some congestion and a headache now. I'll take that over the cough any day, though. I had toyed with going to the walk-in clinic, but with this turn of events, I may just opt to hit up CVS and get some cold and cough meds to help me with the rest of the day. and then, if I feel well enough, I'll go to burger king and get some lunch (because rodeo burgers and cheesy tots make everyone feel better!). I was thinking that I may get some quilting done today (I have a quilt to start and finish before june 20), but it's way too hot upstairs to be up here for too long, and really I should probably go lay down before I keel over. :) hopefully I can lay down for a bit then head out for dinner and errands. das is hitting up hooters for trivia night, so I'll be flying solo tonight (which is totally ok because then I can watch all the HGTV and food network and truTV I want, even though I'm bummed b/c I love hooters trivia night and their wings). hopefully tomorrow will be better for me!

what's the secret?

2008-05-22T12:44:00.003-04:00

so I've just been wondering... what exactly makes a blog successful? you can see from the counter that it's not exactly what I'm doing. :) is it an overabundance of posting? is it pictures? is it consistency to the "topic"? what about useful advice? is it wit, sarcasm, and humor?

I know that I say I have a quilting blog... but I knew that I wouldn't be sticking to that because I don't quilt as much as I want to. I try to be funny and sarcastic, but I guess maybe I've just been dumbed down a bit out here in the Real World and I'm not as sharp as I used to be. I don't have too much useful information (wow, that makes me sound extremely interesting, doesn't it?). and I certainly can go a long time between posts (I generally blog at work which can make the opportunity to do so few and far between - I've been backposting a lot lately).

so I don't know... thoughts on what makes it worth reading? my inquiring mind wants to know.

what to do?

2008-05-22T12:09:00.003-04:00

so as the two of you who read this blog know (or at least assume)... I'm a *wicked* procrastinator. it's a major flaw of mine... and while I try say that I'm going to get better... I usually end up saying, "I'm going to get better... tomorrow." [sigh] well, there's a quilt I need to (start and) finish for a friend's wedding back from november of 2007. that one is *not* all my fault... my mom had fabrics cut out for a quilt and she gave it to me... and I started it. however... I loved it way too much and wanted to keep it. SO, back to the drawing board. [sigh] then I have jacob's baby quilt, which deb knows will most likely be jacob's first birthday quilt. but that's ok... he'll appreciate it more when he can be crawling all over it then anyway. I guess this all stems from the fact that, well, I have been potentially propositioned to do a t-shirt quilt for an old high school friend of mine. to be fair, I haven't even done *my* t-shirt quilt yet and I've been saving for a while. das's, too. I would love to do it for her, but I'm afraid that I'll fall into the rut of "of course I'll do that but I hope you don't mind if I wait until the absolute last minute then rush around to get it done". it's the story of my quilting life!! I guess it'll depend how many t-shirts she has (thought she did varsity sports through college, so I'm sure it'll be a lot) and how big she really wants it. I was thinking of suggesting that we do it double sided with t-shirts as the front and the back, though I'm concerned about how that'll work with quilting and whatnot. if it's small enough, I could pull it off with my own machine and save the cost of outsourcing, but if it's bigger than a breadbox (ok, ok, maybe a lap would be ok)... I'll have to send it out. I shouldn't worry about it yet b/c it's not even set in stone that it'll happen... but I guess I just want to be ready in case it does. [sigh]

so for the two people who are reading... ever done a t-shirt quilt and want to offer suggestions? or what about a double-sided quilt?

happy birthday baby!

2008-05-21T20:00:00.001-04:00

happy 27th birthday, love! I hope you enjoyed the cake your mom made for you, and the presents that you got. I'm sorry I'm a horrible wife and didn't have your presents ready or a cake made and that you had to get that from everyone else... but I hope you eventually enjoy my gifts to you. :)

love you dashi!

I almost forgot!

2008-05-20T23:30:00.002-04:00

I know that jacob is already born and all that jazz... but I completely forgot to post pictures of the card I made for deb! I used the "unfroggetable" set from stampin' up plus some random cardstock from michaels (it was on sale).

you can see the front and inside... then my way uber-geeky stampin' up stamp. :) it's mainly supposed to be used if you are selling your cards using the stampin' up materials and stamps, but both my mom and I have one. I like it... it adds the personal touch. wouldn't it be neat to just have a stamp for personalizing quilts?! well, I'm sure it's out there... I just haven't seen it... yet.

this brings me to... well, jacob (aka "jake and bake", or, my personal favorite, "cubby bear"). I went to visit him for the first time on tonight. I brought deb dinner (yummy baked ziti) plus some extra materials to make another batch later. her fridge has been a bit bare since she just got back from the hospital on saturday after being there for a month! anyway, jacob is just absolutely beautiful. he was born at 6lbs. 14 oz., but has lost a few ounces since then... you wouldn't know it though - he eats like a little piggy wiggy! :) I got to feed him and burp him; he was gracious enough not to spit up on me - though he may be reserving that for visit number two. everything about him is just perfection... his little eye capsules (which were mostly closed when I was there), his tiny ears, his teeny nose and mouth. and there is nothing more serene and calming than having a newborn sleeping curled up on your shoulder. I'm so honored to be able to experience this with deb and matt... congrats you two - he's wonderful!

now about that baby quilt... :/

welcome to the world!

2008-05-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

hi jacob. welcome to the world... glad you could join us! I can't wait to meet you. :)

how creative!

2008-05-04T22:45:00.008-04:00

so my friend deb is pregnant. (yay!) she's due june 6th. unfortunately, she has been in the hospital for the past few weeks with some complications. she's fine and the baby's fine, but it's just precautionary.

however, because of that... her baby shower was held at the hospital yesterday evening. of course, I had to work (which ended up being later than *anyone* expected)... so I didn't make it, nor did I make it to the "actual shower" at her house this afternoon (her DH opened the presents; deb was there via webcam). BUT, I did do presents tonight with her at her hospital room. I did a diaper cake (with some onesies as the top layer), plus gave her a baby timer (which is so way cool), a "coming home set" with scratch mittens and booties, spoons, and snack cups. her theme was frogs (among other things) which, for a boy, is so incredibly cute. I had to force myself to stop buying clothes... it's addictive... a disease. there should probably be support groups or something... BCA (baby clothes anonymous). anyway, here are some pictures of the diaper cake I did (in order of assembly). enjoy! (sorry they are all in a line - blogger wasn't playing nice w/ my layouts)

it was so much fun to make... and deb just loved it. I am glad I was able to give her something homemade (since the quilt hasn't even left the "design stage" yet).

operation chicago: monday

2008-04-29T14:00:00.016-04:00

this morning started off a little bit lazy. after a late night of food and family, we slept in a bit before we got on our way. our plan was to make our way to the lincoln park zoo, one of the handful of free city zoos in the nation, not to mention one of the oldest zoos in the nation. of course the weather didn't necessarily agree with us and it was drizzly and grey. we made our way over to dunkin' donuts for breakfast and as luck would have it, I found a $20 bill on the sidewalk! breakfast... paid. :) the bus stop was right outside the dunkin' donuts so we stood in the rain for about 10 minutes until our chariot arrived. we had a few stops and some bus changes, but we eventually made our way there! there really was NO ONE there... perhaps a few people, and I think we saw one school field trip... the weather wasn't exactly screaming for outdoor activity. we made our way around to a lot of different exhibits. they had the seals right in the front area, followed by the "big cats"... who being cats, of course, wanted *nothing* to do with being outside... so they were inside (they had cages inside for such occasions). we walked around and through the primate building, which was pretty awesome. they had a lot of species there. one really heartwrenching, yet amazing, story was about one of the monkeys (species "I don't remember"). he had been reaching through the cage (outside) when a patron had thrown something up onto their area. the monkey's arm was severely damaged to the point that he needed amputation just above the "elbow". however, we saw this monkey running and jumping as though nothing had happened. he'd adapted so well to the new situation. it was very cool... we tried to get pictures, but it was really dark inside and he was moving so fast! we went through the reptile area; SO not das's favorite, but I love reptiles. turtles are some of my favorite animals! we walked all around outside, too, to some of the other larger, outdoor animals. I felt so badly for all the warm weather animals, like the kangaroos, who had to deal with the crappy rainy chicago weather. ick! we went into the aviary... which was SO awesome. (can you tell I love zoos?!) they didn't have any glass up in the displays. the reason was that the hallways were dark and the birds instinctually wouldn't want to leave their lit area to become a potential snack! I don't blame them. well, in one area, the tropical jungle area, you literally walked through the birds' homes. again, das was not a *huge* fan of this... he was afraid they would attack, like in 'the birds', but I was totally all for it. it was so neat to see them in their "natural" environment. we moved along and saw their african safari exhibit, too. that was a lot of fun, and it was set up similarly to the bird room with the animals having a freer atmosphere. while we were at the zoo, we made a stop off at the lincoln park conservatory where we saw some amazing floral specimens. it just astounded me because I have *no* green thumb at all. it was really cool. so after the zoo, we hopped on another bus and headed over to the field museum, which was more science-oriented (my cup of tea!). the field museum is home to sue, the world's largest, most complete t-rex skeleton. it was really fascinating! of course, I'm a big science geek, so it would have fascinated me. :) unfortunately we didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked. they had a special exhibit on mythical creatures that I was very disappointed that we didn't get to see. this was one of those times that I'm really sad that I don't live closer to a place like chicago (or even closer to NY, even though I really am only 1.5-2 hrs away). hartford's OK... but not too much in the way of really big awesome crazy science museums... and for art, all we really have is the wadsworth atheneum (plus some other lower key type things). anyway, we were able to get into one of the exhibits: evolving planet. this, of course, was fine with me because I love learning about evolution and DNA and all that stuff (note: I started uconn as a molecular biology major - how quickly *that* changed). it was positively wonderful! it was a science geek's dream! the exhibits were so informative and the examples and skeletons that were available for viewing were great. again, I wish I'd had more time to really involve myself in their exhibits, but the museum closed at 5p, and we needed to be on our way to M's play, anyway. of course, we realized that we a) had no idea where we needed to pick up the train and b) hadn't eaten since breakfast! we didn't want to eat too much, knowing we'd be getting something after the show, but we definitely needed something so our tums wouldn't growl during the play. we eventually found our train stop and a little sandwich-y type place (the name escapes me, but it reminded me of panera bread, but with more local flavor). they had THE best cheddar and brocolli soup, which was what we needed after walking through the pouring rain to get to the train station. the train ride was long... we had to essentially go from one end of the line to the other, but it was a welcomed break from walking and standing for the past few hours. when we got to our stop, we realized that we had some time to kill before the play started so rather than get in the way at the theatre, we stopped into the irish pub a few doors down for some refreshments. :) das had guiness; I had hoegaarden. we made our way back down the street for the play. it was a smaller venue with only about 30ish seats. the play was called 18: A Year with Footntoes, which was an autobiographical one-man show about M's life (starting just before his 18th birthday). M wasn't the star of the show, but we were there to support the work in general. we both really enjoyed it, especially since M grew up in CT and we knew of the different areas that he wrote about. after the play, we went to a diner nearby for some quick eats and then to head back to the homestead. we finally made it to bed after a wicked long day... and our flight was leaving chicago around 6:45a... so we needed to be up early. luckily, S was kind enough to drive us to the airport so that we didn't have to take one of the sketchy, all-night-running buses. we made our flight (which wasn't nearly as turbulent as the flight in) and everything was great.

we had a wonderful time and can't wait to head back... there's so much we didn't get to see and do!

operation chicago: sunday

2008-04-27T22:00:00.004-04:00

sunday was a pretty lazy day. we didn't make any plans other than finish the quilt (my job ha ha), have lunch with our friends chris and ashley (whose wedding we missed last june), and come back for dinner (homemade vegan pizza). the quilt came out great, I thought. it definitely was H U G E... 88" x 96"... the largest I've ever made (well, dave's mom's quilt may have been the same size or slightly larger, but who's counting... we'll just say it's the largest I've had to bring as a carryon onto a plane). I had das take pictures while I got ready for lunch... since I obviously finished it last minute. :) if it weren't FOR the last minute, I swear I wouldn't get a damn thing done! :) our friends loved the quilt, though, so I could ask for anything more. we didn't unfold it too much outside as it had rained a bit the night before, but we did enough to be able to see everything. we had a heck of a time trying to find a place to eat, though. they aren't from the city, but rather the outskirts, so they aren't that familiar with the ins and outs of the area. we ended up at a place called cans bar and canteen... aptly named as they primarily serve beer in cans. not my most favorite way of imbibing (I prefer bottles, or a cold pint glass) but I opted for a large can of hard english cider... so it was all ok. :) we got back later than expected so we weren't too hungry... we decided to nap on the couch to pass the time (I know... who goes on vacation to NAP?!). eventually it was time for dinner... M made us some great vegan pizza. I had the spinach and pine nuts topped pizza. fabulous! I was still kind of full from lunch and the large quantity of chips and salsa appetizer I had, so I didn't sample the other options (he made three pizzas). it was a good night of laughs and family. we hit the hay late and got ready for our busy busy last day in chicago!

operation chicago: saturday

2008-04-27T09:00:00.008-04:00

saturday morning started off early (but not too early!). we got some tasty homemade vegan pancakes and were soon on our way off to the magnificent mile (aka michigan avenue) and the hancock observatory. there's not too much to say about the magnificent mile other than there were beautiful flowers planted on the sidewalks, and there were a lot of stores that there's no way das and I could ever afford to shop in. I think I lost some money just looking in the window! :) anyway, since das and I had never been to chicagoland before, the hancock was just a great opportunity to really view the city and all it's beauty. it wasn't the most clear of days, but even with some residual cloudiness, we could still see all four states (indiana, michigan, wisconsin, and, of course, illinois). the picture has, I *think*, the eastern coast in the background. it really is an intimidating height... and you can feel it going up the elevator. apparently their elevators are the fastest in the world?! crazy! :) so after our big trip to hancock, we made our way to the adler planetarium to meet up with S/M. how bizarre - we ended up on the same bus as them! out of all the busses in chicago, we had to get onto theirs [groan]. :) all kidding aside, the planetarium was so much fun. there were a lot of exhibits out, which is nothing that I remember seeing from my planetarium days (aka 4th grade). it was a great experience and was really interesting. we watched a show, too, because who goes to a planetarium without seeing a show?! it was a twenty minute program on black holes. *I* thought it was really great (I'm a science geek) but das dozed for a moment, and some dude behind us was in full-on snore mode! how embarrassing! after the planetarium, we made our way over to the navy pier, which I found out was the most visited attraction in all of chicago. it was pretty neat... not a lot there since it was still pretty chilly and there weren't many attractions out, but the view was great nonetheless. when it got too blustery, we went in to the smith stained glass museum, which was very cool. there was a lot of beautiful work... stuff I wish I could do. so post-planetarium, we went on to dinner. we ate at big bowl, an absolutely scrumptious chinese/thai restaurant. they had "homemade" ginger ale, with real ginger (of course!). I sampled the pomegranite ginger ale... wow. I want to make that at home. it was incredibly flavorful... a million times better than normal ginger ale (sorry schweppes and canada dry). of course, we were discussing over dinner that most are averse to ginger ale mostly due to the fact that a lot of people were served it during the stomach flu (or just nausea)... hense taste aversion. I personally enjoy ginger ale, and to have it au naturale was even better. and the restaurant was fantastic, too... good portions, decent prices, and great flavor. they even have a "self-service stir fry" which consisted of you getting up, filling your bowl with tasty veggie morsels after telling your server if you wanted meat (or tofu, or just the vegs) and what variety of sauce you wanted. I didn't brave the SSSF, but S did and she said it was good. if we ever go back, I'll try it. :) so after dinner, we walked around a little bit. we saw hard rock cafe (which, by the way, is NOT located near the hard rock hotel as das and I originally thought). we then all decided to head back home - well, M was going to head home but das, S, and I were going to head out to wrigleyville to scope out the scene. [sigh] this is where I admit my shortcomings... and tell you all that I lost a fight... with an el turnstile. we were running to get to the brown line... and while M/S were holding the train... both das and I got stuck in the turnstile. I, however, ended up with a bruise (the picture was taken about four days after the incident - the penny is there for size comparison). about 3/4 of my body made it through but then my right leg got slammed by a portion of the tripod turnstile. I wanted to vomit, the pain rushed through me so fast... but we had to get to the train! so I limped along and choked back some tears. we made the train, luckily. (note: as I write this a week and a half after the trip, I still have the bruise and it's only slightly smaller) so we get to wrigleyville (home of wrigley field) and it is quite the atmosphere... the cubby bear was offering up live band karaoke, people were all over the streets, and there was just a lot of energy there. and it was only 10pm! we walked by the io improv theatre thinking that we missed some of their more popular shows, but it turned out that there was another show on the stage at 10:30p! so we lucked out and made the show. it was really funny; das and I were so glad to be able to see it. after the show, we hailed a cab (rather than walk the two miles back home at 12:30am). such a long day... but a lot of fun!

operation chicago: friday

2008-04-25T23:00:00.005-04:00

das and I left bradley international airport (listed as hartford, CT but not actually IN hartford... in fact, it's closer to springfield, MA probably) at 8:45a-ish on a direct flight to o'hare (as opposed to midway). it was such a turbulent flight, not just in chicago either, but the whole trip. ugh. I tried to sleep, but it was fitful at best. it was a shame that it was too cloudy for a great view when we landed; I could see the lake, but unfortunately I missed a good view of the coast. anyway, o'hare was a great airport to get around in; we didn't have any issues finding our luggage or the chicago transit authority (cta) signs. because das's sister (S) and brother-in-law (M) were working, we had to take the blue line (which ends/originates at the airport) to addison then pick up the bus to get to their apartment. their apt is beautiful; it is the top floor of a brownstone-looking home. so, M lets us in (he's an author/researcher of children's history books and works at home), gives us some general information, and we are on our way into the heart of chicago! we start off at millennium park which is totally amazing. they had some spectacular fountains with the lighted faces of chicago residents (see picture), plus other fountains. we even saw a wedding ceremony at one after we left morton's steakhouse for lunch (which was absolutely amazing). so after we ate lunch and walked around the park some more to admire the beautiful artwork, we decided to pop into the art institute of chicago (museum), where S/M were members (so we got in for free - yay!). of course the day we decide to visit is the same day that what seemed like 800 chicago/illinois schools decided that *they* would have field trips. it was a bit distracting in some of the lobby areas, and even some of the exhibits, but for the most part we just dealt with it. we saw a fantastic photography exhibit of the work of ed ruscha plus a graphic design mini-exhibit from a design firm in london. we perused the ancient chinese art exhibit and quickly made it through the ancient egyptian exhibit (there were a lot of loud children there). there were some special exhibits, too, but we didn't get to see them (winslow homer / edward hopper). we thought we had to pay extra (turns out we didn't), and we were running short on time as we needed to meet up with S. I would have liked to have seen the winslow homer exhibit, but such is life. I'm mad because I didn't get this fantastic blue tshirt that I wanted thinking I'd either a) be able to walk by again and pick it up before we left chicago, or b) find something better at another store. BUT, neither happened and now I'm SOL without this awesome blue shirt. :) so we met up with S at a bar in the city (the name had elephant in it, but I can't remember)... had a drink. got on the el, walked around her neighborhood, thought it was going to rain so we ducked into a bar... had a drink. met up with M at a restaurant nearby, had some fantastic nachos... and a drink. :) let me tell you... the beer gardens in chicago are so cool. I wish that CT had more of them... but it's just so different, I couldn't see them really thriving here. something I'm glad that CT doesn't have, but chicago does... ridiculous rainstorms! oh sure, every place has them... but these were flash-flood-rain-coming-in-sideways type rainstorms. we almost got flooded out of our beer garden! but then... it just... stopped. and so ended our first day in chicago.

CHAOS!!

2008-04-24T11:04:00.002-04:00

omg. can I just tell you the ridiculousness that has been my past few days?! work, where I do most of my blogging (shh don't tell), has been crazy. I work for a direct mail facility in the quoting department... a department of two people. and my coworker was out for the past three days. [sigh] usually, it's not too bad because my boss (the CEO) just happened to be out as well... but for whatever reason, I was just absolutely slammed with work. my coworker came back today (which is why I can take a few moments to blog) and all is somewhat right with the world. I still have a ton of work to finish, but at least I can breathe while doing it! :)

meanwhile, das and I are going to chicago tomorrow morning for a few days. we'll be visiting and staying with das's sister and brother-in-law, as well as catching up with some old friends (and give them their long-awaited wedding quilt - pics to follow) and just being general tourists. neither das nor I have been to the windy city, but we're excited for the opportunity! he and I can really make the best of whatever situation we're in... and we enjoy each other's company so we could be broken down in the middle of nowhere and we'd manage. :)

so, I've been busting my butt to finish up this ginormous quilt for this trip. I am still finishing it up, but only about half the binding plus the label remain. nothing I can't handle! I've been doing a LOT better with my bindings... I'm mostly just slow, but I've been cruising through this binding. so yay for that. for some reason, I love doing bindings. perhaps just the mindlessness of it... and I think I do a pretty decent job with it, too, so it gives me a sense of pride that my quilts are finished off so well. the pattern is called 'jacket plaid' from an older thimbleberries book. it was an easy pattern... didn't hurt that my mom had started a lot of it about ten years ago, and then since I needed the quilt for the wedding, let me take and finish it up. I did do about 80-85% myself, but there were quite a few (of 90) blocks already put together. it uses almost all thimbleberries fabrics, too, resulting in a very folky, homey look. the backing is a paisley repro. it's the first time that I've ever used a wideback for the backing - can I tell you how much I LOVE IT that I didn't have to piece the damn backing?! oh it was so fabulous. I really feel like that is all I will do now for backings... screw piecing! also, because I am a wicked procrastinator and I have been spoiled for the past few years with fast fast turnaround for my quilting... I waited until the last minute to get it all quilted. so the many places I contacted around here had no availability... even my usual LAQ was booked until the middle of may. so... I went to maine last weekend (to visit the folks and attend a maine quilts chair meeting)... and was so very fortunate to find a wonderful amazing woman who would quilt it for me while I was there - for the weekend. the quilting she did was absolutely wonderful. I couldn't ask for a more pleasant experience. she also does a lot of stuff out-of-state, so I may send some of my stuff out to her. she did such a great job... if anyone is in her area, or even if you aren't... she's worth it. and the prices are comparable to any other quilters, too. ok, enough plugging. :) anyway, I'll make sure to post some pictures (I always say that!).

so as I mentioned, I was in maine last weekend. a lot of it was travelling... the LAQ was about 45 minutes north of my parents' house... the chairpersons' meeting was an hour north of my parents' house... and then we had to do some random bits of driving to my mom's dr appointment. friday my dad and I drove up to drop off the quilt, then went out to lunch at governor's restaurant in lewiston. I hadn't eaten there in so long. it was a great meal, though they are really known for their desserts, especially the strawberry shortcake. unfortunately, we didn't partake of the sweet treats... we were both full! then we came back and waited until my mom got home from work, then we took her to south portland for some bloodwork. since my dad and I ate so late, we just rummaged around at home for dinner... but then my mom suggested going to amato's for some hot sandwiches. I ended up with stuffers (think cinnamon rolls but instead of cinnamon and icing, it's spinach, broccoli and cheese). then for the rest of the evening, I ironed... I brought four or five projects to cut out and I just got the fabric ready and hanging on hangers. saturday, mom and I were up early and out to be in augusta by 9am for the meeting. it lasted about 3-1/2 hours (ugh) then we were back on our way home. when we got home, I did a lot of cutting. I was sore... there wasn't a height for any of the surfaces that worked well, so I just sucked it up and finished two total projects. I left one for my mom to work on (the michaela bag - a funky take on the messenger bag), and took two home to attempt to work on. oh, and we went back to amato's for dinner... I got a real maine italian. SO fabulous... I miss them so when I am in CT. :) then sunday... it was a family outing to drive up and pick up the quilt, then grab a quick bite, and off I went back to CT since I had a soccer game in west hartford at 4:30p. [sigh] the life I lead.

well, I am tired just remembering my weekend... and I have to get back to work! I'll be off in the windy city for a few days... I hope to grab lots and lots of pictures!

love of my life

2008-04-16T12:41:00.002-04:00

so I'm going to be way totally uncharacteristically sappy for a moment. please bear with me.

I have ALL of my music on my ipod... mostly due to sheer laziness in changing it and making playlists and all that. so for the past week I have had my ipod shuffling through 8gb of music (roughly 1700 songs). the two songs that just came on were:

pachebel - canon in c
sugarland - (just might) make me believe

to the regular person, this may be a normal, albeit random, progression of music. however, 'canon in c' is what I walked out to at our wedding. and 'make me believe' isn't the song we danced to at the wedding, but it is kind of "our song" (though it was the wedding party dance). this just made me think of my wonderful husband and how lucky I am to have such a supportive rock to lean on. I would probably be a mumbling, girl-rocking-in-the-corner if it weren't for him keeping me grounded. well, I'd get by... but I'm pretty sure it'd be damned miserable. :)

anyway, I don't know if he'll read this... but babe... I love you! :)

ps) and he appreciates my quilting, too!

yup. it's that kind of day...

2008-04-15T11:17:00.002-04:00

taken from an email I sent to my coworkers today. I was just lazy and didn't feel like retyping it. [sigh]:

I have a loan for which I make payments via phone. it's just easier. so I have a listing of numbers that I can call in my checkbook... and last month when I made the payment the voice on the other end spewed off another number that I could call to bypass all the "press one, press two, press one again" nonsense. I figured I'd give it a shot this month... but I noticed that I'd had two question marks after the number. so... of course... without checking, I dial the new number (here at work mind you) and the very sensual recorded female voice on the other end says, "hey baby" and before she could describe to me what she was wearing and how she liked it, I hung up. I promptly dialed the old standby number and when the voice on the other end spouted off the number yet again... I realized I'd missed ONE number... I wrote down a 4 instead of a 2. so... the moral of this story is... well, the first is if you write down question marks after a phone number, you'd be better off NOT just up and calling the number... and the second... do your best to NOT call "ladies of the night" from your work number. :)

yeah... I did it.

2008-04-13T13:22:00.002-04:00

yeah. I just woke up. it's shortly after 1pm. don't be jealous. :)

personally, I just think das decided it was in his best interests to let me sleep. he's a smart cookie.

filler post :)

2008-04-01T11:34:00.004-04:00

ok. so I was on jen's blog and she had a test on there to check right brained/left brained... I am certain that this test is 100% scientific and will most likely be the most accurate in examining such traits... :) but here goes:

You Are 55% Left Brained, 45% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

hm. I guess that makes sense. though as mathmatical as I am, there's a lot that I need to have drawn out for me because I am very much a visual learner. and I definitely knew math better before college than after. oops. :) overall, this makes sense... I really am close to 50-50... I'm not dominately creative, but not overly logical either (that sentence didn't seem to make me sound all that great ha ha). I suppose that's why I'm relatively decent at my job (quoting) and being able to understand the math involved and the excel formulas... (though I'm still working on that!).

so mi madre is coming for a visit on thursday night until sunday afternoon. I'm pretty excited... I haven't seen her since january. das is leaving tomorrow morning for houston for 5 days for a business conference. I will miss him tremendously... but come on... who doesn't love to have the queen sized bed all to themselves. :) mom and I plan to do some quilting (obviously) and probably some general hanging out. we're going to go to the ct piecemakers quilt show on saturday afternoon and meet up with some fellow pickles from mark's posse. should be fun! I've not been to a quilt show in CT before... only to maine quilts, chickadee quilters quilt show (bridgton, maine), and the vermont quilt festival. I guess I just don't get around as much as I'd like, ha ha. :)

busy little bee!

2008-03-27T15:35:00.003-04:00

wow. where do I begin?!

well, my last post I mentioned that I was at a loss over green fabric... I made my decision!! I ordered from over the rainbow fabrics and opted to get the full four yards. they were $.25/yd more expensive, but I made up for it in shipping. fabric depot was having an issue with their site, and it wasn't allowing me to process the order. something strange - coming back saying I hadn't filled in parts of my order when I so obviously had. rather than get frustrated (and end up ordered 87 yds of green fabric), I just opted to purchase from the other store. worked out! they were super fast, too... had my order within a few days and it was coming cross-country, too! anyway, I think the full four yards will be good... I can decide later if I want to use that, or the "sub fabric" for the border. I've got time!

the week is a big blur... I don't even remember what I did! things were pretty chaotic at work, though... quoting is really picking up. I guess. :)

so I had a birthday last saturday. yup. the big 27. [sigh] it was awesome though. das and I had looked at MORE houses in the morning (after being out at the sun until 2:30a the night before), then he surprised me by getting the video game I've been begging him for. :) so while he napped all afternoon, I played my game. then we got changed and headed off for fuji japanese steakhouse for some birthday hibachi (my FAVorite). much to my surprise, I walk in and 11 of my friends are seated around the grill; they launched into applause at my arrival, but luckily they did not sing happy birthday. :) what a surprise. it was fantastic - thanks honey! you really are the best! :D oh, and one of my gifts was a quilter's tote. I haven't put anything in it yet, but trust me - it will be used!!

easter was great too... went to MIL's house. awesome food - good company. and it wasn't even that late an evening (considering she lives over an hour away and we didn't start dinner until 4:30p-5p).

overall, I've been working on a few things... no sewing, but mostly getting things together in my sewing room and in my mind. :) I'm excited about my quilting projects... and hope to get working on them soon. as I said... sometimes life gets in the way of creativity. :) oh, I was on jen's blog today and saw that she linked to a raffle quilt, plus is getting ideas for her own raffle quilt. I had been thinking about doing a raffle quilt for the american heart association, but am worried that I am putting too much on my plate given that I have other projects in the works. we'll see... that may happen, it may not. :)

happy st. patty's day!

2008-03-17T12:59:00.006-04:00

well, it's st. patrick's day. and das and I are going to have tacos for dinner. :D I was going to do corned beef and cabbage since his maternal side of the family is irish... but I didn't pick up anything this weekend due to our need to recover from hosting a big st. patrick's day party at our house on saturday night. luckily I had finished all of my necessary cleaning chores on friday night so I was able to head out to a not-so-local quilt shop, gone quilting, in canton, ct. they were having a national quilting day sale of 15% off everything in the store (sans kits and wool). I found some great fabrics... a cream and some greens. I fell in love with one green (2304-4), and I needed at least 2.5 yards and at most, 4 yards. [sigh] go figure they only had 1.875 yards on the bolt. I had to run to another quilt store to see if they had it, but unfortunately, they did not (but they did carry some katmandu, which I saw for the first time in person - totally FAB!). seems as though there aren't that many stores near me that carry clothworks lines. ARGH. of course, there aren't that many quilt stores around me in general so... double ARGH! but I was able to find it at fabricdepot.com for only $6.99/yd. it was least expensive at ZandSFabrics.com, but they only had one yard left in stock. poo. such is my life! I just need to make that final decision as to whether or not I want to go ahead with four yards and use it for both my medium green AND my border, or if I want to just get 2.5 yards for the medium green only. I do have a sub that I'd gotten in light of not being able to get enough... so I could use that. we'll see... we'll see. :)

I don't think I posted about this, but since I won't be attending das's family's passover seder this year (I'll be in maine), I have decided to make a "ten plagues" table runner for the occasion. the website I used to purchase the fabrics had their own pattern, but I created my own. it's very similar, but a few changes. rather than having the larger square (showcasing the fabric representing the particular plague), I decided to make it a separate block of almost the same size. I ordered these fabrics at the beginning of last week, but haven't seen them yet. I have ordered from the site before, just don't remember it taking this long. she was having a spring/passover sale, though, so perhaps that is what is taking longer. BUT, she said I can expect it at the end of this week. yay! I'm excited. :)

random note... last thursday my guild (ok, my mom's guild in maine that I happen to be a part of) approved my proposal to create a website for them. the new site is here. it's definitely a work in progress, but I got it started. any suggestions?

don't know if I'll get much sewing done tonight... with it being taco night and all, I have to stop at the store for fresh veggies. and we have to do some table/floor cleaning from this weekend. we'll see though... I would like to get something done. tomorrow's a potential loss, too, because I have a board meeting for my soccer league until at least 9p... so I won't be home until around 9:30ish. and american idol is on, too. :)

birthday list, etc.

2008-03-14T14:19:00.004-04:00

just about done with my rows for my 'jacket plaid' quilt for our friends from chicago (well, they are *from* connecticut, well, one is... whatever, they live in chicago now!). I just need to finish up doing the blocks in all rows (there are ten rows of nine blocks)... so I am putting a chunk of four with a chunk of four then will need to add that last loner block. it's taking longer (besides the laziness factor) because I have split them in half to make sure that one half is being pressed one way, the other half the opposite way. these blocks aren't particularly 100% even, so that will make a big difference when I am putting the rows together, and in keeping the top flat, too. it will take longer, but I'm trying to be better about my pressing (which reminds me... I need a new iron and ironing board) and I think I'll feel better about the overall result.

so my birthday is coming up. the big 2-7. [sigh] there a few things that I want... I've decided to list them here. you know... in case anyone who might want to get me a present is reading this. :)

the jammies pattern: I absolutely LOVE loungewear. if it was more socially acceptable, I would wear pajamas ALL the time. das has a thing about me wearing "socially appropriate clothing" in public... and he's NOT referring to revealing clothing. :)
barcelona skirt pattern: I don't know why I'm getting into a clothing kick... really. I never made clothes. I tried to make a jumper once in, like, 7th grade. I still haven't finished it. but there's just something about this skirt that says fun. now, if you read the above bullet point... you may be thinking, "um. a skirt? really? why?" I ask myself the same thing. however, it just seems so versatile... maybe it'll be like wearing pajamas all the time. :D
blue sky hats: again with amy butler... I'm a huge fan of the sun hat. not so much the skull hat, but hey - someone might like it.
ultimate arts & crafts tote: and the last one of her patterns... this just looks great for keeping everything handy. I have my share of tote bags, don't get me wrong - but this is just *made* for it. :)
shopping cart cover (click link, go to page 8 or 9): this is from sew baby! pattern lines... and NO I'm not pregnant, but I do have a few friends who are, and this seems like a useful pattern to have for that time when we decide to have kids, too. can't start too early collecting patterns and fabric (although das doesn't agree... ha ha).
my favorite jacket book: I saw this on moneik's site and I think it looks great. funny thing, too, I went to do a google search to find a link for the list, and the first site that popped up was the blog entry from moneik! looking through a list of the 'taylor made designs' patterns, I think my mom has the sew easy pajama pants pattern. I'll have to check and see. maybe she'll just let me borrow that instead of getting the jammies pattern listed above. hm. anyway, back to the jackets... I like the shorter one, but the longer one is nice, too.
disc o' sit: my mom has one of these and it helps with my posture and whatnot while sitting and quilting. it makes it harder to slouch while you're working, which makes for a happy back! :) especially during long marathon sewing sessions!

just as a note regarding all the amy butler patterns... I have the weekender bag pattern and her book, "in stitches". I am excited, but scared, to work on the bag pattern; I bought the book originally for the fashion checkbook clutch, but fell in love with the kitty tunnel and the bedside organizer, too. I have a few other other her patterns, too (including this, which I bought to make as an overnight bag for my honorary niece, sophia). they are just so fun and intriguing, and really bringing a modern flair to a hobby/lifestyle that many feel are "just for grandmothers".

quickie!

2008-03-11T11:50:00.005-04:00

didn't get to sew last night, but I did pin, so when I get home tonight, I anticipate I'll be able to finish the top to the quilt. I'd like to think so anyway. :) perhaps I will miss some american idol, but... I'd rather finish that up. especially if we'll be taking it to chicago with us at the end of april. I need to give my LAQ more than enough time to finish this king size up.

my new obsession is facebook. I can't stop. really. I did find a group, though, of under-30 quilter/knitters... so yay for that. it will probably be a short-lived procrastination tool... we'll see.

wii fit is coming out on may 19th. or, well, coming out on may 20th. maybe I could get it for das for his birthday... and then when he doesn't use is... I can get it... nah... too cruel.

I am going to be putting together a proposal to get my quilt guild online. now, I may have mentioned that I'm not in a quilt guild, but just not one locally. I am in my mother's guild, which is in my hometown in maine. I know some of the people in the guild, but not that many. I would love to be able to get them online and really be involved in centralizing information... we've already made the first step in emailing our newsletter rather than sending it out via snail mail (saves on postage!). so... it's only a matter of time. any suggestions?

I put a counter on the site... it may just end up being more depressing than anything, ha ha.

and for those of you who wanted pictures... I am posting an older shot (last fall) of my baby, bowser, posing in front of a baby quilt (or rather 1-year birthday present by the time I got it done). the pattern is one that was in a magazine... wow, I wish I had more useful information than that. but I did another in blues, golds, and browns (with monkeys) for a little boy. it was really easy to put together and I just did some ditch quilting around the blocks. I do like the pattern, and it was big enough to be crawled upon on the floor, but also small enough to not get lost in as a baby/toddler.

and another picture... that I think you all will appreciate!

temporarily bored :)

2008-03-10T19:05:00.001-04:00

I'm hoping that after dinner I can work on a few things... however, I may just pin while 'canterbury's law' and 'new amsterdam' are on. that guy on NA... is yummy. :)

wha..? I have a blog..?

2008-03-04T16:29:00.003-05:00

no seriously? I have a blog? and it needs to be updated? hm. I'll have to look into that.

it's been a while... and I'm not really too sorry about it. I needed some time away to really think about what I wanted with my quilting. I know it's a big part of my life, or I want it to be a bigger part, and I know that I would have to sacrifice some things in order to do so. I just need to figure out what can and will be put on a back burner... without my feeling badly about it.

that aside, I tried to locate my quilting bug by watching dvr'd episodes of 'simply quilts'. a few of them were really great... very informative. boy they don't give you much time... I'd be stressed out if I were a guest - alex anderson really pushes you along! then I made a trip to joann's fabrics. I had my 50% off coupon... and of course, everything that I wanted was on sale already so I didn't just frivolously spend. I did get a really neat frame, though, that will (eventually) showcase some ireland photos. we gave a few triptychs (sp?) away as gifts for christmas, but didn't keep any for ourselves... so now das has (8) 4" x 6" spaces in which to work. :) overall, it did work a little... I brought out the machine on saturday for some sewing, but then got distracted. I thought I would have all evening to myself as das was working at a home show event, but he got out a LOT earlier than expected so we had the evening to ourselves. sans quilting, however. maybe tonight... I PLAN on it. I NEED to do it. for me.

so that's all I'll include in this post for today. there's other stuff that went on during my 2-ish week hiatus... but... that's for another day. :)

ps) and I'd love to put up a signature... but it looks like crap on my darker background. ick!

wednesday recap

2008-02-20T23:00:00.003-05:00

first off - ALERT!! friday is national margarita day! please quilt with caution. I don't want to hear about sewn fingers and backwards piecing because of my announcement. :D

and on to real news. the search continues. the house offer fell through. however, I am proud of us for sticking to our guns and for realizing what we wanted and that we weren't going to settle for something more than what we wanted because we felt bullied into it. quite honestly, we are disappointed that it didn't work out and mainly because we feel that they sellers and their agent were being pretty damn stupid about the deal. they can't move into their new home until they sell this one... and they were stalling and holding off on the deal for a mere $4500. in the grand scheme of things, *that* is very silly. oh well. sucks for them.

I was thinking about my blog today. and how it's a "quilting" blog. but how often do I really post about quilting?! well, hardly ever. I keep saying, yeah I'm going to quilt, yeah I'm going to design this. I have so many ideas but lack of desire to do it. I'm trying to decide what the reasoning is behind why I'm not jumping into my quilting and DOING it rather than just talking about doing it.

I am lazy.
I want to spend time with my husband, even if it is sitting and doing nothing. my sewing room is upstairs and he spends a lot of time downstairs... I can't be in two places at once.
I am easily distracted by new projects. along the same lines, I am easily frustrated at things I don't understand, or projects that don't work out well the first (or second) time.
I rely too heavily on my mother for help... she is the one who taught me everything about sewing and quilting... but she is about 250 miles away. and as much as she tries to explain things over the phone... I am very much a visual learner so phone instruction usually doesn't work well.
I'm scared that my work won't come out as good as other quilters. solution = don't quilt. I am so anal about points, about "randomness" (which for me is very NOT random), and just perfection. das says, "a man riding by on horseback won't notice the difference" which I do work hard to remember... but I guess just the fact that *I* know there is a "mistake" makes it hard for me.
I'm not as prolific a quilter as a lot of the other people that I see blogging, or that I am friends with through guilds and other quilting encounters. I think that why can't I do that many? there must be something wrong with me if I can't make that many quilts.

I really don't want to be a sideline quilter anymore, but I don't know how to shake all of these issues that I (think I) have. any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to create... but I'm not feeling very creative.

das wants me to audition for american idol this fall. I only have two more years to try out before I am too old. (yikes... I'll be too old for american idol? I've been watching since season one) I don't know. we'll see... I am far too stage shy. even karaoke is, well, hard for me. I *love* it, but am so nervous. I just want to sing though. I am considering joining the band that hpb is in... but I'm scared about singing in public, and I'm not sure about the music. it's a christian rock band, but some of the music is more religiously oriented than I am comfortable with. however, I just want to sing, so maybe I'll just suck it up and do it anyway.

yay!

2008-02-19T13:30:00.003-05:00

well, I'm feeling slightly better than yesterday... and that's probably only because it's really sunny out. still chilly (hpb and I took a walk at work), but nice. some good things about today... we may find out about the house offer (though nothing yet)... it's my last day of putting ointment in my eyes (double yay). I guess that's all for now... but the day isn't over yet.

I hope to get some things accomplished today... at least setting up the machine (hey, small goals people). :) I know I'm making some chicken pot pie with the leftovers from sunday. I was going to go all out and use real carrots and whatnot... but now... I just kind of want to use a bag of frozen veggies and be done with it. :) what a lazy face! it'll still turn out just as good, I'm sure. that's how das had it growing up, too.

I'm finding it hard to be motivated to quilt... mostly because I see so many other people finishing a quilt a week or more. I just... don't. I know that I have other things that I do... but geez louise. I feel so unaccomplished and lame. :( and I need to get a lot of stuff done now, too... if we do get the house... most likely we'll be converting the garage into work space for das and myself, so it will be a while before I have the space to be working on anything. not to mention the move itself! oy. let's cross that bridge when we get there...

lots to do at work... but I'm just thinking about quilting! :)