Moving on

I apparently just do not have the time/energy/creativity necessary to maintain this mess of a blog, and yet, I cannot delete it for sentimental reasons. Rather than put forth the effort required to massively overhaul it to better fit my energy levels, I'm just going to set it aside and move on. Happy Birthday to me! :) To celebrate, here is a lovely photo of moi in all my pregnant glory, munching on shower cake at work. Ta-ta for now, y'all.

Nesting… just a bit…

Here I am, over another month between posts. Sigh… This semester (and trimester) have been busy, to say the least. But fortunately, things have been winding down a bit. My Jr. League engagements for this “year” (through May) are done, and one of my three classes wrapped up this weekend. I dropped out of my public library volunteer shifts for the time being – not because of being tired, but because my summer practicum starts this week and I figured 8-9 hours a week at the library would be enough.

In the past two weeks, I’ve had enough free time to read my own books AND do a bit of crafty-sewing. I just finished reading “It Sucked and I Cried” by Heather B. Armstrong. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s pregnant or just needs a good laugh. This poor woman’s pregnancy was horrific enough to make mine seem like a dream… which it has been, really… so far.

One weekend afternoon even left me with enough time to refashion a Goodwill t-shirt and a onesie outgrown by a friend's baby into these:



I’ve also starting… dun, dun, da... nesting. Or whatever you called frantically tossing all my clothing into a donation box so I can make room for the invader that intends to take over my crafting space. So far, I’ve set aside 3 tubs of clothes for the Jr. League My Closet resale boutique, 1 large box for the Goodwill, and several tubs for storage… I probably don’t need to store them. I should probably let them go too, but it’s really really hard for me to part with clothing. Also put a bunch of stuff on Freecycle, and ended up scoring some free maternity clothing. Exactly what I need right now because none of my shorts fit, and apparently another symptom of pregnancy is the urge to shop a lot. Totally not like me!

Today's highlights have so far included a trip to the farmer's market with my mommy (the first market of the season - yea!), and some shopping. I bought jewelry; she bought me maternity clothes. Then home for the first tomato sandwich of the year...and the second. Sure, it's not a "real summer tomato" but it'll do. Now I'm searching for salsa or salad recipes to rid myself of all the radishes and green onions I just bought. Maybe this salsa, or this salad dressing...

I love spring...

books galore

It occurred to me that I'm just not posting enough. I really can't believe how busy I am this year. Growing a baby aside, I am swamped. Mostly reading. One of my 3 classes this semester is a Reader Advisory Service course, which involves reading usually 2 books a week in a specific genre. Sounds like not a big deal, but it's been unbelievably time-consuming. And I read fast! So far this semester I've read (title, author, and genre):

• The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver, Bestseller (not really a genre, I know)
  
• Seven Deadly Wonder, a Novel, by Matthew Reilly, Adventure
• Morrigan's Cross (the Circle Trilogy), by Nora Roberts, Romantic Suspense
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larrson, Thriller
• The Quilter's Kitchen, by Jennifer Chiaverini, Gentle Read
• The Missing, bu Sara Langan, Horror
• Natural Born Charmer, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Romance
• Flamenco Academy, by Sarah Bird, Women's Lives & Relationship
• On Beauty, by Zadie Smith, Literary Fiction (Multicultural or International)
• Talk Talk, by T.C. Boyle, Literary Fiction (American)
• Motor Mouth, by Janet Evanovich, Mystery
• Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, Psychological Suspense
• In War Times, by Kathleen Ann Googan, Science Fiction
• Push, by Sapphire, Movie Tie-In

So maybe I have an excuse for not blogging, or crafting, or sleeping!

Our "project" for 2010

ML asked me why I hadn't posted this yet... The DH and I have a new project in the works:



Projected "completion date": September 29, 2010.

So far, so good - my main symptom is that I'm so tired that I can barely function. Not exactly helpful for someone who works full time, is taking 3 graduate classes, and 3+ dance practices a week, plus volunteering and homework. Ugh. So sleepy! Crafting has been on hold due to all the homework - one of my classes, Readers Advisory, requires reading 2 books per week. I've come to my senses and turned to audio books so that I can do housework and "read" on during my commute; hopefully this will lend itself to creative endeavors as well...

I'm keeping a separate blog on The Bump - http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/blogs/aimeerie/default.aspx.

off the crafty path...for now

The DH and I have had a busy two weeks and far too much excitement.  With school starting back up full swing (I’m starting to regret signing up for 3 classes!), and a big belly dance show coming up, my crafting time has been reduced to almost nil.  Regardless, I have been doing some projects – mostly dance related.  I’m working on a cute bra, pants, and vest outfit, and a vest and skirt/belt outfit for my tribal group.  Hopefully I will be finished soon and post photos.  This post is mainly serving to remind myself to kick things into high gear! 

 

Soon I’ll be able to post info on another “big project” that’s going to take up most of my year – need to wait a little longer though… J

 

Crafting in 2010! - Project #2 (and a final project from '09)

Since part of my Crafty Resolution for 2010 involves a bit of destashing, I started digging in "the Pile of Crafty Goodness" on Thursday. Thursday was a lovely day - black ice covered roads and a windchill in the negative double-digits. Lovely enough to stay home and off the roads. Instead, I worked from home for a while, then started digging. I came up with this hot pink quilted skirt, purchased for a few dollars from a street vendor one summer day who knows how long ago...



It doesn't fit, and never did; it was purchased specifically to become something else! But what, I wasn't sure. I was thinking bag, or skirt. So...why not both? Ripping the seams open, removing the zipper and tearing out the darts along the top yielded a pretty decent size piece of fabric.
A new skirt is still in the works; I need to cut a facing for the waistband...maybe on Tuesday! But as for a new bag...I thought this was the perfect fabric for a "belly dancer gym bag". I measured out both the skirt (bottom half of the fabric, to leave the lace trim intact) and then cut the remainder into an even-sided rectangle. Lucky me, there was a nice and long turquoise zipper in the stash as well. :) for the straps and ends of the bag, I used a pair of jeans the DH kept trying to throw away. (I say "try" because he would toss them on top of his trash can, only to have me "rescue" them for projects like this, wash them, fold them, forget that they were no longer wanted, and put them back in his drawer. And repeat.) Since my stash did not contain any kind of webbing for straps, I used one pant leg to cut strips of denim. These were sown into a long circular strip, folded over and sewn again, leaving the sewn edge raw. I'm sure the raw edge will start to annoy me eventually, but really it was a matter of patience (or lack thereof). Two nice large circles were cut from the other pant leg, and voila! The belly dancer gym bag, perfect for rehearsals and workshops!

This next lovely item is the final project of 2009. I started it sometime in the early part of 2009, put it in a bag for safe keeping, and then lost it. It turned up around Thanksgiving, and I found it to be the perfect addition to nights in front of the TV with the DH. The pattern is the Reverse-Applique Swing Skirt from the Alabama Stitch Book, a gift from Christmas '08. I didn't put as many appliques on as the original pattern called for, as I wanted a simpler design...and I'm lazy. However, I did sew the entire thing by hand. I used some FOE for the waistband...my attempts to create a folded over waistband with interior elastic were thwarted by the fact that I either didn't measure correctly when I cut the pieces out...or I've just gained that much weight. I couldn't pull the skirt in with a folded over waistband. So FOE it was. And it works. I wore this skirt for Christmas at Grandma's with some gray tights and a purple and silver T-shirt combo, plus the Peacock scarf for good measure.

Crafting in 2010! - Project #1

I'm still working on determining my new year's resolutions. I don't believe in starting them right off anyway...best to wait until the 3rd or 4th of January, right?
One that I do know is that I want to do more crafting. I've gotten rather busy, and that's the first hobby to be set aside. Another resolution is to make use of my stuff...or get rid of it. This is going to include my monster craft stash as well as my shelf full of crafting books. I figure it's best to combine these intentions into one larger resolution - to use my craft books to inspire more crafty-goodness and de-saturate my stash. With that, I'm going to attempt to do (at least) one new craft project each week, from at least one of my many many books.



I just wrapped up Project #1: a quilted bag for my netbook. I've had this on my to-do list for a while, as I need a bag that lets me carry the battery separately - leaving the battery attached to the computer drains it, even when not powered on. I used the Ladylike Laptop Tote pattern from Jenny Ryan's Sew Darn Cute, but left out the ladylike part. This project helped me de-stash a bit too, using a red t-shirt and gray sweatpants from my refashioning box (ok, boxes).


The photo is of the Nebraska Cornhusker mascot Lil' Red, taken at a pre-game party in Lincoln this fall. I was messing around with GIMPshop - took the color out, "posterized" the photo, and printed it on fabric paper (also an in-stash find). I embroidered the outlines of the major photo elements to add back some color. The photo fabric was reverse appliqued onto the red t-shirt fabric prior to assembling the bag.

Snowed in...again!

Ah, the Great Blizzard of '09. Or Snowpocalypse... whatever you call it, it certainly ruined Christmas. I've yet to leave our house since I got home from work 5 days ago...

That's a lot of free time, so I've been trying to be productive. I finished the Alabama Stitch Book reverse applique skirt that I started last Christmas (pics later)... and I baked. A lot. I've been handing out cookies to everyone who happens to cross my path... but that hasn't been too many people so I have tons of cookies left!

We are heading to the DH's family's house today (finally) for dinner and gifts. While looking up the recipe yet again for low-carb pumpkin mousse (a favorite in our house), it occurred to me to save it somewhere...like on the back of a Christmas card, with a bit of ribbon so I can hang it from a cabinet knob while I'm cooking. Damn, I'm smart sometimes. ;-)



Now...off to FINALLY open some gifts and have a cup of cheer...and get rid of some of these cookies!!!

Snow Day!

Aside from the fact that I'm going to have to make up the hours I'm missing at work today, I'm still totally stoked about staying home, and very glad to not be "Mission-Essential" (those poor souls that have to report to work anyway). I swear I'm going to make it a productive day. Really. Just need to get started. :)

Cuteness & Tears

First, the cuteness:


This is going on our Christmas cards this year. I did not get ONE decent photo the whole year of the DH and I. Mostly because of my braces, but also because I'm usually the one wielding the camera, so it just doesn't happen.

As for the tears... I've got a blocked tear duct or some sort of eye issue going on - I've been crying nonstop from my left eye for going on 6 months. Wow. It is the vary definition of annoying. I've been giving steroid drops, allergy drops, and underwent a tear duct irrigation last week, all to no avail. It has to be surgery related. I haven't mentioned it to my surgeon up until now because I figured it was temporary and would go away...but it hasn't, so I'll ask him next week when I got in for a checkup. I really wish it would stop! It's ruining my makeup! :)

November is almost over, and so far, I have actually managed to not acquire any new craft projects. I made two crocheted scarves for my lil sis, but since I didn't keep them, they don't count! As for wrapping up some UFOs...that's not really happening. I'm almost finished a animal-print (zebra and leopard, yeow!) ruffled hip scarf, but not quite. Maybe tonight?

Today I danced at the Bedouin Star Winter Bazaar. Vended too! I offloaded 4 hand-dyed silk veils and another item I can't recall (obviously, it was very special to me...). And I "only" bought two necklaces and two knitted capes (one of which is a gift). So I actually came out ahead, monetarily! Yea me! Here's ML and I performing our Karakas duet (blurriness the result of my phone's camera, not our lightening-speed dancing skills):



And now, to procrastinate further on the two Major Assignments that are due next Friday, I'm heading to pick up the above-mentioned Christmas cards. I've already received one card in the mail, so obviously I'm falling behind!

ufos and sweet potatoes

Ufo
Originally uploaded by AnandaDevika

Aw, Monday - how I loathe thee.

Yesterday was one of those fabulous lazy Sundays - not lazy as in I
didn't do anything, but lazy as in I wasn't beholden to anyone else's
whims or schedule. I got my extra hour of sleep in (whoever decided to align the start of DST with Halloween was a genius), took the puppy for a jog around the neighborhood, then settled in the drink coffee and finish Colin Beavan's long anticipated No Impact Man book. My afternoon was filled with the smells of brisket and sweet potatoes braising in the Crockpot and the feel of silk bamboo yarn between my fingers as I worked on a UFO that I found lurking in the corner of my craft room. It was nice to finally finish this particular scarf, which I started last winter but lost in the mess of things and constant activity that is my normal daily life. With that, I've decided to make November a UFO month - I'm going to hunt down and finish all those Unfinished Objects, and make a little space in my guest room for something else - maybe guests? :)

The scarf is from a pattern I found online (here), designed by Amy O'Neill Houck. I did these two particular
colors of yarn because I couldn't find enough of either of them to just
use one color. J I need to remember, next time I start a time-intensive
but lovely pattern like this, that I should pick colors that actually
match my everyday clothing. Fortunately I have ONE shirt that this
scarf matches, and I'm wearing it today!

The rewards of being a volunteer

I’ve been volunteering at my local public library branch for a good ten months now and I find it very rewarding.  Particularly the times when, as a non-paid volunteer, I can find a paid employee of the library to do the icky stuff (e.g. killing large spiders.)  Yesterday I was stopped by a father in the children’s section.  He informed me that his little girl had just vomited in front of the juvenile picture books. I smiled and took this information to the reference desk.  Ah, the joyous things that are not my job. J

 

time is not on my side

Am feeling very crunched for personal time lately. Mostly due to cramming in hours at work (for the sake of building up extra hours, not for any particularly urgent tasks). I used up all my sick time for surgery/recovery time back in May and have been struggling every since with time-off hours. Even after work, between school and other people's crap I am just not doing enough stuff for me! Mainly, I'm being whiny and selfish, but every one should once in a while, right? (Just agree with me - it'll be better for all of us.) IF I had free time (this theoretical day when the Jr. League yearbook is behind me, all of my homework is caught up, and I'm not working on 6 costumes - yes, really, SIX - here are some things I want to try!

• This awesome jeweled tee via Still Dottie (as seen on Craft this morning).
• These reusable makeup remover pads via The Sproutz Store. That one's been in the craft queue for a long time!
• Fusing plastic bags via this tutorial on Etsy Labs. I have several ideas for what to do with the fused fabric, such as this shopping bag via Threadbanger, just need to haul out the iron.
• This ruffled sweater scarf via Craft.
  
• And so on and so on.

But first, the Husker game calls. Then dress rehearsal for the Little Hafla of Horrors. Then a paper on an Integrated Library System vendor (oh joy!). Someday, time will be on my side. Just not this weekend! :)

That takes guts!

From NPR’s Morning Edition, a Chinese male belly dancer.

i hate spiders

I can’t be the only person that would rather NOT see one of these creatures on her towel as she steps out of the shower. Ugh. And yet, it’s happened several times already this fall… The DH is more than familiar with my “spider scream”, the shrill noise I make when startled. This very morning, he pointed one out as it scrambled across our bedroom floor. Great. That will make going to sleep fun tonight.

The worst was two weeks ago at the library. I was at my volunteer shift, shelving Y.A. fiction when I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye. I kid you not, this thing was the diameter of a pop can. I didn’t scream, fortunately. I avoided it as best I could, but it decided to camp out in front of the “N” shelf…and naturally, I had a stack of Nicholson and Olsen hardbacks to shelve… I was hoping that another patron would walk by and scare it into running away, but no such luck. No one else seemed to even notice the spider’s presence. I managed to finish shelving and moved on to graphic novels… carefully monitoring the beast as I travel back and forth from the back room to the teen area. It didn’t move once. Finally, I stopped by the reference desk and asked the volunteer coordinator about his feelings on killing things and pointed out the spider. I’m sure he thought I was just being a huge baby. He promised to step on the spider and sent me on my way. Several minutes later, I heard a series of loud thuds. Then he walked over to me, panting, and dropped two large books at my feet. “Yep, that was a big one. My shoe didn’t work.” Eek. It was all I could do to go back the next week. Thank goodness fo government holidays – no shift today.

Photo obtained from Wikimedia Commons…

one of those weekends

Yep, another busy one.  As usual. J  The puppy, the DH, and I drove home to visit all my grandparents this weekend.  We left out Friday night, and met my parents at my paternal grandmother’s ranch.  Many years back, my grandfather got a contract with the Bureau of Land Management to hold wild horses brought in from out West so that people could adopt them.  The wild populations get too big and this was the solution to keeping the numbers in check.  Works for me. 

 

Anyways, the 5 of us drove to Sumner, NE – the tiny town where a big portion of my dad’s family was raised – and had dinner at Tub’s Pub, a rather decent steakhouse that also boasts a crazy rendition of “Happy Birthday” if you are unfortunate to visit on your special day. 

 

Saturday we went to see my mother’s family.  My grandfather has recently retired to take care of my grandmother, who is slipping away from us a little more each day.  I’m honestly not sure if she knew who I was.  It is very sad. 

 

We continued on from there back to Lincoln for the football game.  Our dog has never been tailgating before, so we brought him along – my parents spread out the tickets amongst my siblings, so my nephew and the dog got to spend the night at our place with “Mimi & Papa” and the game on PPV.  Good times.  The game was great, of course – nothing like watching a high-scoring shut-out during the 300^th consecutive sell-out.  Only like 45 years in the making…

 

Sunday was spend doing more domesticated things around the house.  Fun stuff like laundry, and dishes, and canning.  I baked pancake-muffins (the best invention EVER), and then canned 3 jars of pears and 10 jars of tomato sauce.   Before all of that got started, I took my mom, my nephew, and the dog to the Nebraska Humane Society “Walk for the Animals”.  The dog promptly stepped in a patch of burrs, screaming, kicking, and biting when we tried to pull them out of his paw, and my nephew almost immediately saw a playground and fell into a tantrum until Mom took him to the slide.  The dog and I did the walk alone, and then browsed the vendor tables until the nephew was sufficiently worn out. 

 

This week won’t be nearly as bad schedule-wise.  No meetings, a few practices, a date with the DH, and plenty of homework to get done… Here we go!

 

on the eve

Here I am, at the end of my twenties. D-e-p-r-e-s-s-i-n-g, no? We are just home from celebrating my "big day", a day early, as the actual birthday will be spent:

a) at the farmer's market
ii) at a bellydance workshop
3) in a grad school computer lab
D) at the DH's band's comeback show
V) all of the above.

Let's go with that last one. It's going to be a busy day.

Off to sleep...but first a pic. Here's Ryker, in heaven...

hoop it up

It's World Hoop Day, didn't you know? Yeah, me neither. Nonetheless, I'm loading some canned good and my hoop (yes, I own one) into the car this morning so I can hit the "Hula Hoop and a Can of Soup" event at Elmwood after work. As long as it doesn't rain, I'll be meeting a couple of belly dancers there to check out the event and then move on to our own rehearsal. A chance to dance outside just sounded too good. :)

Today's breakfast: ice cream and Grandma's chocolate sauce. I made the sauce on Monday, and decided that I just need to get it used up. Really. I do. Wouldn't want to waste it, right? Plus it'll be soothing on my torn-up mouth. I'll do better for lunch, when I have my "real" breakfast: a veggie-Swiss quiche that the DH has already given a big thumbs-up. Followed by an afternoon snack of mashed up raspberries in vanilla yogurt. The yogurt will hopefully keep my digestive track from going haywire what with all the antibiotics I've been taking for this stupid infection. Bleh. Tomorrow I return to my surgeon for xrays of my jaw - hopefully I'm not derailing my progress by taking a week off my rubber bands to recover!

comfort food

Instead of attending a very tempting "Labor Eve" party tonight, I am in PJs, reading and carefully noshing on comfort food - mashed potatoes (with sour cream and fresh-from-the-garden chives) and tuna noodle casserole.  I can't chew.  I can barely get food into my mouth, and not at all without a pre-dinner rinsing with some "magic mouthwash" to kill the pain.  I've had canker sores before, but nothing like this.  I hate braces. 

At least this gave me the excuse of a lazy day; no homework, no housework, no work-work, just "fun" reading and a little work on a patchwork t-shirt dress. 

This book, Lost Crafts, came in the mail yesterday.  While less detailed that I expected (I guess I was imagining more "how-to's"), it is a really extensive guide to "things we just don't do anymore", at least not the typical "we".  Shearing sheep?  Not in Omaha!  For many of the crafts, there is a nice description and some history and photos, as well as pointers to additional resources.  It will be nice on the coffee table for a while, although it might become a gift for the in-laws...

Fall Planting and Planning

Once again, it’s been a relatively cool summer, and my tomatoes have not been what they should.  But since lettuce did so well earlier, and the summer is definitely winding down, I’m going to shoot for a fall crop of salad greens and see what I can come up with.  I need to get out there this afternoon and see how my edamame is doing – I planted some soybeans earlier, and after eating a bag of locally-grown from the Nebraska Food Coop, I’m craving more.

 

Tonight’s other adventure in Produce Land will be peeling, chopping, and freezing peaches.  The DH’s parents had us over for dinner and peach-picking Tuesday night.  I was lazy afterward and didn’t process them right away and I’m thinking tonight is my best chances before they get too ripe in our kitchen.  I’ve eaten a couple fresh – they are divine, and our kitchen smells fantastic!  His folks love peach jam, so the frozen ones will be saved for jam, cobblers and thawed peach goodness this winter.  Also need to freeze some haricot vert that are still lounging in our fridge – hopefully they are OK still.  

 

Last night, simmered up some corn-potato-bacon chowder to try to clean out my veggie drawer.  It was decent and will make a nice lunch (and dinner, and lunch…and dinner) but I’d like to find a recipe for a creamier base.  It was more soup than chowder, definitely.  Still pretty tasty.  Can’t go wrong with corn.  Fried up the chopped veggies that wouldn’t fit in the pot and tossed then in an cheesy egg scramble this morning.  Too much salt, but it was a good start to the day with a thawed chocolate-chip zucchini muffin (or two…).

 

Busy weekend ahead.  Need to wrap up the editing on the Jr. League yearbook, clean up the house, then the DH wants to go to Blue for happy hour before heading to the cinema for Inglorious Basterds.  Not my first choice in films, but I won’t say no to Brad Pitt…  Saturday is the first day of fall library school classes.  I’m enrolled in 2 3-hour Saturday courses and a 1-hour self-paced course.  Bracing myself for hours and hours and hours of reading this semester!  Eek!  After class, Raqs Awn is having their first official us-only show at the PS.  Come out and join us – it’s a collection drive for the Nebraska Humane Society so bring a few cans of dog food and get a discount on admission… J