OK, let’s change the subject now. One good thing that has happened this week is that I got a new laptop! Since Drew is travelling a bit more for work, he needs his laptop (the one I’ve basically taken over for the last year or so). We have an older desktop in the basement (where Drew’s office/studio is), but it’s hard for me to zip down there to use it during the day, plus I know he wants to use it more for his music stuff. Well, unbeknownst to me he’d been looking around for laptop deals and found me the perfect machine! It’s small, it’s nothing fancy (because seriously — I do not need all the bells and whistles when all I do is e-mail, blog, and use the word processor for my newspaper articles). Plus, it was very affordable (that was the key!). So now I’m in the process of transferring my files from that computer to this one. It’s a good chance to reorganize everything at the same time, too.
Month: March 2009
Sometimes There Are No Words
I readily admit that I love Facebook. Thanks to this site, I’ve been able to get back in touch with friends going all the way back to Kindergarden and nursery school! With very few exceptions, it’s been great. A little over a week ago I heard from a girl who grew up down the street from me. I was excited to hear how she was doing, and I asked about her sister as well. Her sister was a couple years older than us, but she and I were such good friends! We spent tons of time together playing Barbies, watching “You Can’t Do That On Television” (and crushing on Allistair Gillis, LOL!), trading stickers, sleeping over each other’s houses… In fact we were having a sleepover the night Geraldo Rivera was opening Al Capone’s vault (remember that?).
I got back in touch with her, briefly, several years ago. I guess I was still in college. She had a young daughter and I remember seeing photos of her, but soon after we lost each other again. I couldn’t wait to hear what she was doing after all these years. So you can only imagine my shock and disbelief when her sister told me that my dear friend passed away 10 years ago at age 26. Apparently she was very sick and no one knew. She had a blood clot to her brain and her heart. I didn’t even know what to say. I found a couple old photos of us and as I look at them, I still can’t believe she’s gone, and has been gone so long now. She was such a fun girl, with a good heart, and I have so many wonderful memories of our childhood. I know there’s a reason, but it still doesn’t seem fair. However, I’m thankful to know that her spirit has moved on. At least I won’t wonder for years and years whatever happened to her. I still just can’t believe it.
I’ll post later on with something happier, I promise. But I just felt like I needed to write about this. It’s amazing how technology has allowed us to reconnect with out past, isn’t it?
Bits & Pieces
- I am so tired today. Unfortunately, my brain isn’t tired, just my body, so my head is swirling with projects I need to/want to work on, but I have no energy to get anything done.
- Tomorrow I plan on tackling my first sewing project. I played with my sewing machine this weekend, just getting used to it, and I think I’m ready to go!
- We got a new game for the Wii this weekend – Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. It’s just fun to say, isn’t it? Since we’ve never had a PS3 or any other video game system, we’re kind of amazed how many games are out there. Hopefully one of the “Super Monkey” mini-games will be easier for Noah to play. Poor kid can’t really do too much on the Wii just yet.
- I love the early spring weather we’ve had over the last couple days. The screen door is open right now and the fresh air smells so good! Too bad it’s going to get cold again by Friday. Well, maybe (hopefully) it’ll be our last opportunity to fire up the wood stove for the season. (Though I know better — I fully expect the April snow shower we are bound to get.)
- I’m in such a cooking rut. The fact that everyone has been sick off and on, or travelling, does not help. I got the new Kraft Food & Family magazine in today’s mail. Hopefully that will provide some inspiration!
One Lucky Lady
That would be me. Seriously, I have some pretty great friends and family, and hands-down the best husband ever! Yesterday after picking Jake up from CCD we were supposed to meet my brother-in-law and his girlfriend for brunch at Double-O Grille. They came to visit for the weekend and we thought it would be a nice way to spend late Sunday morning. So you can imagine my surprise when we walked in and headed to the side room where both of our familes were, as well as my very good friends Kelly and Lisanne!
Drew knew I didn’t want a baby shower, but he said that he wanted to do something to show his appreciation for me and all that I do. Seriously, my eyes welled up with tears! Sweetest. Guy. Ever. And I can’t believe no one gave away the surprise (though I was suspicious something was going on yesterday morning — still, I totally did not expect it). We all stuffed ourselves silly on the yummy brunch buffet — eggs, french toast, bacon, sausage, chicken marsala, black bean salad, potato salad, shrimp, bagels, smoked salmon… pretty much anything you could want to eat. (One might consider diet pills after enjoying all the delicious food there!)
I was also spoiled with sweet gifts for the baby (and the mama!) even though Drew told everyone they did NOT have to bring anything except themselves. My cousin Angie made a diaper cake, and after making them for many people, I was really excited to get one myself! Lisanne set me up with a great kit for my new sewing machine, including fabric, patterns, and lots of doo-dads, in addition to some teas to enjoy while I craft. My parents, in addition to a ton of baby clothes, gave me a set of bath goodies from Bath & Body works in the Japanese Cherry Blossom fragrance. One very special gift was from Drew’s aunt. When she was born, her aunt made her a Sunbonnet Sue quilt, and there was one extra quilt square. She had it framed for the baby! The quilt square is probably close to 70 years old, so it really is a special heirloom. I got so many nice baby outfits from everyone else. (Good thing I didn’t have a chance to do much shopping, LOL! We’re all set for a while!).
I was just so happy that everyone did this for me. Seriously — I am one very lucky girl and I know it! Afterwards almost everyone came back to the house for a while and we all just hung out. What a great day!
In Like a Lion
When they say that March comes in like a lion, I always thought they were referring to the weather, but things around here have been non-stop since the beginning of the month! Hopefully life, too, will slow down and the month will wind down “like a lamb.” We started the week with Noah getting sick on Sunday night. Jake had some kind of stomach bug on Friday and poor Noah caught it. Monday Drew was off to Virginia for a couple days for work. Tuesday I ran what seemed like a million errands. I got the results of my glucose screen (which were normal) and was told I’m slightly anemic and I should pick up some iron supplements. Then Wednesday… ugh. I woke up not feeling well but wondered if my stomach pain was somehow due to the iron pills. I thought maybe it was just too much all at once. As the day wore on, however, it was clear that I was getting what the boys had. Meanwhile, Drew was trying to get home from Norfolk and there were massive delays in Philadelphia (where he had a layover), so I was trying to track flight information at the same time. Not so fun.
At any rate, thankfully Drew was able to get home on Wednesday night and just slightly later than his original flight! I was camped out on the couch feeling pretty awful, but I was so glad he was home. Yesterday I woke up feeling better, though still achy and weak so I took it easy most of the day. I had an OB check-up in the morning and that was fine. I was told that I’m actually just borderline anemic, and it will probably correct itself within a few weeks. She gave me the full medical explanation, but I won’t bore you with it! I only have to take the iron pill twice a week for an extra boost, so that’s good.
Last night we went to the Scholastic Book Fair and ice cream social at Jake’s school. He picked out a Goosebumps book which might be slightly above his reading level, but I’m sure if he just takes his time he’ll have no problem. He’s an excellent reader and zips through the chapter books he gets for homework. This one will take him a little longer, but it’s good to learn patience 🙂 Drew also suggested a Phineas and Ferb book that he’ll read to both Jake and Noah at night. Have you ever watched that cartoon? It is so cute! I love Perry the Platypus. Then we all had sundaes and headed home.
Today I’ve been cleaning the house since it’s been neglected all week. Drew’s brother and his girlfriend are visiting us this weekend so I want to make sure there aren’t many dust bunnies hiding out in the corners of our wood flooring, LOL! I’ve hardly done any cooking this week and today is no exception. I made scrambled eggs for lunch and we’ll have tuna melts (my go-to meatless Lenten meal) for dinner. (The boys will probably have mac & cheese since neither like tuna!). Not very exciting, I know.
I’ve been crocheting up a storm! I finished a hat for Drew, some slippers for myself, and a few flowers (photos to come, I promise!). I’m learning, though, that some things (like hats) might be better left for knitting. The hat I made for him is pretty big and not very snug/stretchy. But it’ll be OK. I will be knitting him a snugger watchcap at some point, though.
I’m also very excited to play with my new toy — I finally broke down and ordered a sewing machine last week! Drew and I had a tax refund deal. He purchased some new equipment for his home studio and encouraged me to finally get myself a sewing machine. As a beginning sewer, I didn’t want to shell out a whole lot of money, and I wanted something fairly simple to operate. Thanks to some friends’ suggestions as well as my own research, I decided on the Brother XL-2610. I am really excited about it!
And that’s the haps here. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
Because baby girls look cute in blue
Who says baby girls have to wear just pink or purple? When I saw this cornflower blue yarn at Webs last month, I thought it was so pretty. I also thought the cotton/viscose blend of the Queensland Hyacinth yarn would be good for a light summer baby sweater. I used the pattern for the sweater in this sweater set and extended the sleeves a bit. I absolutely love the shell design on the cuffs and the bottom of the sweater! The pattern was really simple and worked up fast. For my first crochet sweater, I’m really happy with how it came out.
So Much For Spring
The taste of spring this weekend was so nice! It was wonderful to crack open the windows and let some fresh air in the house. Not to mention, it was great not having to wear eight million layers of clothes. But today it’s gray and rainy and much cooler. At least it’s typical March weather, right? As long as it’s not snowing. Anyway, the warmer weather over the weekend (combined with what I think is a bit of a nesting instinct starting to happen), has got me thinking about spring cleaning. I think that at the start of next month I’ll begin in earnest. I downloaded Spring Cleaning For Normal People and the checklists are great! I haven’t read through it completely yet, but at first glance I think it will be a huge help.
In the meantime I’m taking care of some smaller cleaning projects. Namely, cleaning some of my jewelry. My rings get so cruddy because I wear them all the time. My favorite way to clean my diamond ring is simply to add a bit of ammonia to warm water, let my ring soak for a bit, and then gently scrub it with a soft toothbrush. It comes out sparkling! The last time I had it professionally cleaned was when I went shopping for engagement rings with my brother a few years ago. They offered to clean my rings while we were looking. And honestly, I think my cheap home solution does as good of a job!
Anyway, the weather certainly inspired me and the boys had fun mucking around in the muddy yard. Spring can come back whenever it feels like! 🙂
What a Day…
What a week, really. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow’s going to be in the mid-50s (Sunday might reach the 60s!) and it was just Monday when it seemed the whole east coast was bracing for awful winter weather. Drew’s been sick. I’ve been sick. And while thankfully I’m generally feeling better, save for sinus pressure and a runny/stuffy nose, now poor Jake is sick.
Yes, it’s been a long day already. I woke up around 3:30 and couldn’t fall back to sleep. Shortly after 4 we heard some strange coughing coming from Jake’s room and sure enough, he’d thrown up. Drew and I both got up. He brought Jake downstairs and I stripped the bed and got everything into the washer. Jake seemed to be OK, though he was still sick every so often.
Around 7 I headed over to the hospital to have my one-hour glucose screen done. I won’t lie — it was kind of nice to enjoy the quiet waiting room and work on my afghan. It’s been a while since I picked it up. Last night was the first time in a couple weeks. Here’s how it’s looking so far (I’m not all that much further along since I first wrote about it):
So after my blood draw I got myself a bagel and a decaf. Even though this wasn’t the fasting glucose test, I was still really hungry and I knew it was going to be a long day, LOL! While at the store I rented “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” from the Redbox machine. Both boys wanted to see it and I thought it would be a nice treat for the afternoon. Once I got home, Drew took off for the office and I worked on laundry and caring for my sickie. He doesn’t feel like eating lunch, but at least we’ve been puke-free for probably an hour and a half now, so hopefully that’s a good sign.
I’m exhausted after not only getting up so early, but also going to bed late last night. (I knew it would come back to bite me!). Here’s a snapshot of what my afternoon looks like:
I was lucky to get a free subscription to Martha Stewart Living and over the last couple days I’ve gotten the current issue and a couple back issues as well. So I plan on looking through those, as well as working on the baby sweater I am crocheting, all while watching the chihuahua movie, of course! While being sick is, of course, no fun, sometimes I think it’s a way to remember that we all have to slow it down once in a while. And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing! Happy Friday!
The $3 Kitchen Makeover
Well, perhaps “kitchen makeover” is a little misleading since it’s really just a kitchen corner makeover. But still, I’m pretty happy with how frugal we were! I’m slowly picking out new curtains for our house. For the nearly five years we’ve been here, we’ve had some lovely cream curtains on loan from my mom and they’ve worked out well. But now I’m craving more color and patterns. Unfortunately curtains are really, really expensive. I’d considered finding fabric I like and making some window mistreatments a la Nesting Place, but again, most of the fabric I liked was still a little pricey. So you can just imagine how thrilled I was when Drew came home from an impromtu stop at Christmas Tree Shops after his dentist appointment on Saturday, with gingham valances he thought I might like. And they were perfect! Exactly the colors I wanted and best of all — just $3 for the two of them! He hung them for me on Sunday. I love it, look!
I still need to cutify (and yes, “cutify” is the technical term) my windowsills, but I’ll get there. You might remember that last fall we did a quick makeover of our upstairs bathroom, simply by getting a new shower curtain (I think it was $7 on clearance), hanging the medicine chest we had in our old house, and replacing the ugly builder lighting with an attractive new discount lighting fixture. It doesn’t take much to freshen up a room. (Though sometimes it does take a little searching, LOL!)
The Monster Blizzard
Over the weekend they said we’d be getting upwards of 16 inches of snow with this storm. Yesterday when I checked, I got the impression that we could expect to wake up to about 8 inches of snow. So when I saw this at about 6:30, well, let’s just say it was rather anticlimactic.
We’ll see what this second wave of snow brings.