happy hump day!

not only is it hump day, it is prince spaghetti day! I only know that because my seventh grade science teacher, mr. hoerth used to say that every wednesday. [sigh] the things I *do* remember...

anyway... I got new glasses today. had the appointment last friday and I already have them. way to go lenscrafters! they are computer/reading glasses... which I've had for a while, but I'd been getting some headaches lately while at work and even while doing my punchneedle. I got a slightly higher prescription from before, and also got gasp! progressive lenses. this I have *not* had before. definitely taking some getting used to. I'm accustomed to just moving my eyes back and forth from one spot to the next and now I really need to focus on moving my whole head. the central area through which I need to look for optimal, non-headache inducing sight seems relatively small now. however, I am determined to have these work out. besides, I love my frames!

das and I are still on cloud nine over the giants. too bad we couldn't make it to the parade yesterday. although the weather is/was pretty crappy for standing around in new york waiting to catch a glimpse of eli manning, plaxico burress, brandon jacobs, and the rest of the g-men. oh well, we were there in heart!

I think I just heard a whip crack somewhere, so... back to work!

UPDATE: I had wanted to post a picture of my frams because they're so awesome... but it was really messing with my formatting and I'm not *that techno-savvy that I know what I'm doing. if anyone's at all interested, the link is here.

18-1... plus a chocolate box

the most fantastic thing happened yesterday. the giants won the super bowl. they upset the pats in what will go down as one of the biggest in super bowl history (though no one will beat joe namath and the jets... what is it with these NY teams?). das and I were so ecstatic. it would have been so great to be there, but seeing it on tv was pretty great too. my menu worked out perfectly, might I add. :) there were four cancellations, so there were only six of us noshing, but it ended up being the perfect amount. very little leftover. AND I was still able to watch a lot of the game rather than being in the kitchen the whole time (which is what happened last year, but it wasn't as important a game as this one). wow. I'm in awe. they definitely deserved to win that game, too. they played their butts off out there and proved everyone wrong!

ok, on to other things. I so want an electronic reader. there is no rhyme to this reason at all. other than it'd be cool. the options are: amazon kindle vs. sony reader PRS-505 (links take you to the cnet.com reviews). it would eventually be awesome to have downloadable quilt books. patterns accessible at the touch of a button. way cool.

we looked at another house on thursday morning. it was nice... kitchen was fabulous. das and I have been discussing... we'll see. it's getting frustrating b/c the houses that don't require any work (cosmetic or otherwise) are out of our price range, and the houses that do are the only ones we can afford. we just need to either keep looking, or just accept the fact that this "buyers' market" doesn't apply to us in any way, shape, or form. either way... it sucks.

so I'm thinking about a proposition to get the nimble thimbles quilt chapter online. I need to do it now, while my mom's still in office, just to make sure that it gets addressed rather than pushed aside since I'm "that girl who is in a maine quilt guild but lives in connecticut". I still get all the emails and whatnot, but it's hard to participate in anything while you are 200+ miles away. I would like to be able to participate in their functions without having to plan months in advance for it. but, such is life I guess. I made the decision to stay in CT, and now I need to work with it. I most certainly could join a guild here... there are several I could choose from, plus one I have met with already. there is a retreat I am potentially interested in (mostly because there is a commuter option for significantly less money), but I don't know if I need to be a member or not in order to register. we'll see. I would love the planned opportunity to get some work done. :)

ok... my partner in crime is out today so I must get back to that which I get paid for.

football and quilting

so there is a little over a week until The Ultimate In Football Greatness... aka When The Giants Won The Super Bowl. :D confident much? :) I'm really excited for the game. das and I have decided to head over to a friend's house. I'm hoping that I'll be dubbed "official game mom" and be able to provide the food. I've got a good potential list of things I'd like to do.

• bacon wrapped chestnuts (I did these for thanksgiving and they were awesome)
• pizza dip (did this for super bowl last year... worked for the elder manning... here's hoping!)
• betty white's chicken wings (this will be the third time making them... so amazing)
• bacon wrapped pretzels (because you can never have *too* much bacon when watching pigskin!)
• chex mix (I like to put some cheez-its in it... and peanuts only rather than mixed nuts)
• lil' smokies in sauce (the sauce being spicy brown mustard with currant jelly - divine!)

so that's the plan... we'll see if it works out or not. seeing how I'm not the host this year... I don't want to step on toes. but the "lady of the house" at our friend's will be out and about at a super secret bridal shower that afternoon... so I may just do it so she doesn't have to worry about that AND food for hungry boys.

on a quilting note (which hasn't been discussed lately... on my *quilting* blog ha ha)... I will be attending a retreat this weekend at a convent in maine. it's on the coast, which is fabulous (but cold). I have plans to complete (or get pretty darn close) the two wedding quilts in progress... but I'll bring my knitting and some punchneedle just in case I get bored or frustrated. it should be a great time because there won't be too many people there so we'll all have the opportunity to spread out and work. plus, I adore the people that will be there so that makes it much more fun for me. unfortunately, my mom will *not* be in attendance because she's having shoulder replacement surgery tomorrow afternoon that will sideline her for a few weeks. go figure. but I'll be staying at home overnight after the retreat to help her get back on track and to give my dad a break for a night. it was a similar arrangement when she had heart surgery, too. it worked out pretty well. we may do a big of sewing... we'll see. she promised to help me out with my sashing and borders for the 'civil war pumpkin patch' I've been trying to finish for almost two years now. :)

well, that's all for now I think. got to finish up some work things... I'm out tomorrow for an excel level III class... joy of joys! :D

omg!!

I can't believe it. the giants are in the SUPER BOWL. wow. if I had, like, $6000 extra dollars to spend I would so totally bail on work and the uconn basketball game and fly me and the dasman out to AZ for some good ol' fashioned ny partying (with past super bowl winning team members courtesy of big blue travel) and FOOTBALL. wow. and to be honest, the game is really win-win anyway... even if the giants happened to lose the game, it would *still* be historic with the pats going undefeated for the season. and if the giants win... then, wow... a) they would win the freaking SUPER BOWL and b) they'd be the first NFC wild card team to win the super bowl (dallas went many moons ago, but lost to the steelers in the Big Game).

but since spending more than I have left on my car loan to spend four days in total football bliss... seems... irresponsible... yet... so totally... awesome. [sigh] I guess I'll just have to plan the party instead (which may not even be at our house now... oh well... maybe we'll pick it back up again once we get a "real house"... whatever). I've already got some spectacular ideas to share with the potential hostess... is that wrong?

oh, and for those interested... the tickets from big blue travel go on sale in... about 1 hour, 5 minutes. I have that much time to talk das into it... think I can pull it off?! :D

UPDATE: yeah... the 4-day package is only $5,995. while I feel this is something we could *definitely* afford (if we didn't buy a house for another five years and lived on ramen and tuna indefinitely), we will probably have to pass. we are, however, accepting handouts and donations of free airfare and tickets... :D