Life as a Scrappin' Engineer Mom

How long can a blog be dead?

2009-11-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

I post most of my daily observations to Facebook. I think some daily writing might do me some good. Of course, except for my one "follower", I doubt anyone will look here ever again.

Perhaps I should go for a walk on this sunny, warm November day, and think about something to write about.

Mittens. We have mittens!

2009-05-15T17:35:00.001-07:00

Fast forward to the summer when the girls were young. Maybe 2 and 5? I took a mitten knitting class. It was taught again by Betty Crocker (Rosemary) and it was AWESOME. I love everything about knitting mittens except... that when you finish you have to knit the 2nd. :-)

Here's a montage of mittens I've knit that I can find... Most of them have partners, except the really fancy one. The grey one is from the first pair I knit. You can see the thumb needs mending. If I can find the yarn, I can always re-knit the thumb.

Then I knit the striped ones. It's actually two pair, I made opposite stripes for the girls. I think Margaret had the green cuffs, and Amelia the pink.

The red ones were from some yarn I found at the outlet store. I've had to mend them a few times.

The green/orange ones are with large gauge needles and yarn. I think it took one hour to knit one.

Compare to the fancy one. I still need to start the 2nd one of that. It is a Latvian "Cathedral Window" design. It took many hours, but I will do the partner. The cast on and cuff are very cool.. I guess you can't see very well since I haven't blocked it yet.

I'm a bit worried about wearing them out of the house, though. I tend to lose mittens...

Knitting in COLOR!!!

2009-05-14T11:30:00.001-07:00

So the class that transformed my knitting was a class on color knitting. The teacher was named Rosemary and in addition to teaching knitting, she worked at General Mills as a Home Economist on the help lines. I like to think I was taught by Betty Crocker!

Above are pictures of swatches we made during the class. We did Fair Isle style knitting and Intarsia (solid color blocks). What transformed my knitting? Well, in doing the "Fair Isle" style, the teacher recommended that we knit "continental" style, where you reach through the stitch with your needle, grab the yarn, and pull it back through. When using two colors at once, you can hold both colors in that hand and "pick" the one you want. I didn't use color knitting in any projects until years later.

But I did totally switch to the continental style of knitting. Knitting is so much faster.

Rosemary also gave great color knitting points (like when changing color in rib stitch, knit the first round so the color change is more smooth). After taking that class with Rosemary, I though I could knit anything! Then I had kids. I think that was the timing. I didn't make time to knit for several years... And I didn't knit a thing until I took my Mitten Class (also from Rosemary). That will be the next story.

Sweater #2... and the beginning of new things...

2009-05-06T08:12:00.001-07:00

After finishing sweater #1, I decided it was time to do another sweater. Here it is... in its state as of last week.

Yep. Never finished it. I suspect I started it in '95 or '96. I finished the front and back way back then. Then it got tucked away in a box. I found it last year when I started making socks. So I started the sleeves last year. Got as far as you see and realized that I did not have enough yarn to finish the sleeves. So it sat for a year as I pondered what to do. I couldn't bear to throw it out, because I love the color and it is a nice cotton yarn and I have done a pretty nice job on it.

Last week I tore the sleeves totally out and redesigned them to be a short sleeve variety. I am almost half done with them. With any luck, I'll have a finished sweater in about 3 weeks time. Amazing how quickly you can finish things when you make them high priority.

One of my odd quirks (is that redundant? Are all quirks odd?) is that I don't like to buy yarn for projects until I am ready to start them. Which is odd because I don't do that in other areas of my crafty life. Anyway, I want to make some felted items, but am not going to buy any new projects until I finish this sweater. I am going to finish this sweater. I am. Because I really want to start felting.

So the beginning of new things was when I bought the pattern for this sweater. I went to my local shop (Needlework Unlimited) and bought the pattern and all the yarn for it. (I swear I bought enough yarn. I think I lost one skein... it's not like me to not buy an extra amount of yarn for a project. )

And while I was there I signed up for a "Color Knitting" class. That class started the transformation of my knitting skills.... which is a story for another day.

My knitting history... the newer early years.

2009-04-29T09:35:00.001-07:00

In the early 90s I got the bug to knit again. A friend at church, Myra, really taught me to knit. I decided I wanted to do a sweater. Myra picked the "Circumnavigate a Cardigan" by Meredith Glover as the pattern because she said it was an awesome teaching pattern. It was.

This cool pattern starts at the the bottom of the body. You knit on and make it real wide, then you fold over for pockets and knit down for the bottom band. Then starting at the top of the pockets, you knit up to the neckline, then pick up stitches and knit the raglan sleeves out. Then you pick up the band around the front and knit in the button holes. Only 3 or 4 ends to work in. Sew on buttons and you are done. No joining of pieces required. It used a chunky yarn so it went pretty quickly.

It was also my first time knitting on circular needles (which you have to do even if not knitting in the round, since the work weighs so much and you would have trouble supporting the weight on straight needles.... now I know why grandma always knit afghans in strips).
Here is the finished sweater. It's a bit out of style to wear out of the house, but it is the warmest sweater I own (wool, of course) and I wear it to keep warm in the winter!

The most important thing I learned from Myra was how to tear back and fix mistakes. By recognizing the patterns of bumps and smooth sides, you could tell what you had done. Counting stitches, recognizing twisted or wrong stitches, all that stuff. By the time I finished that sweater, I felt ready for anything!

Story continued tomorrow...

My knitting history.. the earliest years

2009-04-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

OK. Yawn. Boring. But this is the history of where I began with knitting.

My Gram Shaler taught me to knit. (this would be the Grandma in pictures last month) I think she taught all the grandkids to knit...even the boys (but I would need a grandson to confirm that). We had to do the "slippers" I haven't found a pattern like the slippers we made, but they were not too dissimilar from this one:

I think mine were blue, for some reason.

Grandma also made every grandchild an afghan. Marcel pattern (like this Afghan that I believe Gram made for Dad and Jan).

You got to pick your own colors. For some reason, I picked purple (curse the 70s), so I have a lovely purple afghan and it is in a different pattern than she usually did. It's well done, but doesn't really match the decor in any of my rooms. Here it is:

One more afgahn from Gram. In the late 80s/early 90s, I wanted an afghan I could use in my home that matched. She was willing to do it if I bought the supplies. This is the pattern she chose... she didn't want to do a marcel pattern again. I guess Crocheting was easier for her. So this is a lovely "Rose Ripple" afghan. I have the pattern for this one. Great late 80s colors, eh?

I treasure each one of these afghans that my Gram made. Each is special to me, even if the colors are not ones I would chose today.

One last bit of info from my early knitting. At some point I got this pattern book. 35 cents and published in 1968. Thought I'd share since it is a lovely piece of nostalgia. I have notes in the book, but I never made anything from it.

Gram taught me the "American" style of knitting... hold the loose yarn in your right hand and loop it over the needle with a swish of your hand. This is how I'm trying to teach my girls now, too. I now knit "continental" style where the loose yarn is in your left hand and you kind of grab it with the needle and pull it through. But that is a story for another day. I never saw gram knit anything other than afghans, slippers and washcloths. I wish I had gotten a pair of her needles (did she have anything other than a size 8? Either pink or blue metal.) when she died, but that didn't happen. I also have the pattern for knit washcloths written out from her on a scrap of an envelope. That's a pretty cool thing to still have.

Once in high school I got this bright idea I was going to knit a sweater coat. I got a pattern and all the yarn (It was expensive, I recall). It was bright colors with wide stripes. Not sure what happened to that, but I never finished it and no longer have the pattern. And then the itch to knit lay dormant for many years...

In spring a young girl's fancy turns to...

2009-04-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

knitting.

Yep. It's happened the past two springs. The weather gets warmer, and I get the itch to knit. I'm not sure I understand it. Is it a Norwegian instinct to start new woolens for the next winter before it arrives? I don't know. Seems odd. But it is happening again.

I have joined www.ravelry.com so I can have an on-line knitting community. I am nancyscraps there because... well... nancyknits was taken. Plus I am nancyscraps on several of my other on-line presences.

I have pulled out all my projects to take stock and re-prioritize. I am actually proud of myself that I don't hoard yarn (I do have that problem with scrapping supplies, but not with yarn). I hoard knitting patterns, however, and have several patterns and books sitting in queue waiting for other projects to finish up so I can buy yarn for them.

I have 4 projects on needles right now. A hat, two different socks, and a sweater. I have two project "mid needle".. that is... I have finished the first mitten of each project and need to start the second mitten. So six projects. I should wish for that few unfinished scrap projects.

For some reason, I decided to blog over the next few days about knitting... Guess the scrapper in me wants to write it all down. It's on my mind.

OK. Yeah. And I need topics for my blog. I was looking at my blog entries from two years ago and I was very impressed with my writing and topic selection back then. Lately I obviously haven't thought of any blog-worthy topics. My apologies to those who may have been keeping up with me by blog...that obviously hasn't been working. Try facebook, ok?

Girl Scout Camp!

2009-03-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

I went to Girl Scout camp with both girls. Amelia would have been by herself, so I went with her. Then, since Charlie was out of town, I ended up bringing Margaret along. We had a marvelous time. It wasn't too cold, but still a lot of snow, so the paths were really muddy and got icy in the evenings/mornings. I fell once, but no damage done. Some of the girls got super muddy.

We did finger knitting and "bowl" knitting. I made this "scarf", Amelia made this "dress" for Pat (I only helped a bit).

Margaret tried everything there was to offer, but resisted having her picture taken. I did get her to pose for this one at the end.

Dismal

2009-03-10T11:32:00.001-07:00

Here's what all the slop outside looks like while it rains.

And the poor snowmen from last Friday....losing it...

Sloppy Day

2009-03-06T15:10:00.001-08:00

What do you do on a warmish (45 degree) sloppy day with no school? Well...

Put on boots, mittens and a hat, and ride your bike.

Ride through puddles.

Make a snowman...

Kids make me laugh

2009-02-17T16:33:00.001-08:00

Conversation tonight:

Mom: Do you know who wrote "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe"?

Margaret: No. But I know who wrote "Lyle the Crocodile".

Another Classic

2009-02-08T15:59:00.001-08:00

Love this one. Big Bro Steve with Mom.

Big Brother Steve... ca.1960

2009-02-07T18:41:00.001-08:00

I'm starting up on scanning the family slides again. I don't arrive for two more years, so I have to endure many more pictures of my cute big brother. Ain't he a doll? This picture is precious.. he is with Grandpa and Grandma Shaler. I think Grandpa died within a year or two of this picture, because he was gone before I was born.

Steve's first born? Named Ross, after Grandpa here. My first born? Named Amelia, after Grandma here. Obviously they were two very, very special people to us.

Lists of lists of lists

2009-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

Yeah, there has been a break in my blog writing. Since anyone that follows my blog probably follows my Facebook, you should all know that I was laid off from Seagate that day after I wrote that last entry.

I have been working on the resume and contact list, but mostly I have been in denial and am finding other things to distract my mind.

I think the biggest thing on my to-do list (this would be the "master" to-do list) is to declutter my memorabilia stashes. I went through one box today and threw over half of it. I hate to mess up the layers too much, because like an archeological dig, I can date items by what I find around them. But to share what a mess I am (and mess is a compliment), in this same box I found...

A list of "10 things I want my Children to Know" (A nice list that I will share with you all someday.)

All my performance appraisals from a period of about 6 to 10 years ago.

Vegetarian recipes (Yeah. I went through that phase. Too hard for me to really commit to. Plus I like ham too much.)

A sheet on "Why do Yoga?"

A packet of bible studies on the Healing stories of Jesus

A note from our ex-next door neighbor that she wrote us shortly after she moved. Um...8 or 9 years ago?

A random airline ticket.

A copy of a magazine with a cover article about laughter at work.

Father's Day cards from kids to Charlie from about 4 or 5 years ago.

And the funniest thing ever... It is a list of scrapbook projects. I made the list on August 18th, 2003. I know because I dated the list. And I dated the date I made a revision..., January 27th, 2004. On it I have 16 albums listed that I wanted to complete. For each album there is an entry for each of these items:

% done, Album type, complete goal, and then an empty column where I hand wrote status. I even crossed out due dates and put in new due dates. You know...so I could see the due dates "slip". Just like a project at work. It is freakin' hilarious funny.

I remember when I ran my entire life like that. Things went smoother. I think I felt less overwhelmed. But I don't think I can go back. It just made me giggle. Giggle. Giggle.

Of the 16 albums on this list, I have completed 4. (not so bad) Four that I still haven't completed are the "missing years" of my life right after Margaret was born and I did not handle life with 2 kids so well. Two incomplete are the kid's baby books. I only have ever done a cover page for each. I may as well punt on those. Two are heritage type albums that I will still do someday. I have punted on the rest of the projects...mostly vacation albums. Those don't make much sense if you do them 6 years after the vacation is over.

OK. Back to serious job hunting, but I am vowing to get through at least one pile of this stuff every day. Hopefully I'll be starting a new job before I get all the way through them, but it would also be nice to be done with them. I just won't wish for being out of work that long, ok?

A leprechaun story

2009-01-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a repeat story from my blog. Amelia is now in 5th grade, so this is almost 4 years old! (I know, I'm so popular I get to repeat greatest hits. Well...this is one of my favorites. I am cleaning out some files and found it again, so I thought I'd share...enjoy!)

I was getting Amelia (my 1st grader) ready for school this morning and she
asked me to help her get dressed. I picked out jeans, a white shirt
and a green cardigan (for St. Pat's day).

She proceded to tell me that she needed green EVERYTHING. So I picked
out Green pants.

"No mommy, I need a green shirt, too!"

After much searching for a green shirt...

"But mommy, I need green underwear and green socks and shoes, too"

"But honey, we don't have any green socks or shoes. (I had found the
green "days of the week" underwear by this time, that she refuses to
wear any other day because she doesn't like the way they look)"

"But mommy, if I'm not wearing all green my Leprechaun will PINCH me!"

"Pinch you? I don't think your Leprechaun will pinch you if you don't
have green socks. He won't even see them!"

"No mommy. He'll pinch my toes! I don't want Max to pinch my toes"

"Who's Max?"

(looking at me, quite exasperated by this time) "MY LEPRECHAUN!"

"Oh. I didn't know you had your own leprechaun."

By this time I am darn glad I am a resourcful mom with lots of craft items at
my fingertips. I drew shamrocks on her socks with a pigment marker
and tied green ribbons around her shoes.

So she looks at me with her big smile and asks, "There mommy, how do
I look?"

I replied "Good enough to pinch"

She sure gave me a look for that comment! (lol)

Then she started on her 4 year old sister, who was very happy that I had
let her wear a pretty dress, tights, and the shoes with the hearts on
them. "Margaret, you're not wearing green! Your leprechaun is going
to pinch you!"

I was quite distressed at this comment as we were already running
late and I had no idea how I would produce another set of green
clothes.

Margaret saved the day. Her reply? "I'm too pretty to pinch. My
leprechaun is going to DANCE with me!"

Have a Happy St. Pat's Day...no matter your background! And if your
leprechaun asks you to dance, make sure you say yes!

American Girl Journey

2009-01-08T17:04:00.001-08:00

Well, I had said I wan't going to, but I did. Since we were staying right on Michigan Avenue, we trekked on down to the American Girl Doll store. I told each girl they could have ONE doll. That we are not collecting them. That we are not buying any additional accessories. We really did have a lot of fun. Here we are on our walk back.

Amelia has Kirsten.

Margaret has Felicity.

Why did I have these?

2009-01-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

They must have been gifts. I can't believe I ever allowed them to be played in my house.

I am now listening to John Rutter direct the Clare College choir. So wonderfully beautiful. I have tears in my eyes at several junctures because it is just so rich and lovely.

One of my other resolutions is to listen to more good music this year. I had forgotten how much I loved Choral music. I guess the demise of WCAL (St. Olaf's classical radio station that they sold to MPR) contributed somewhat, but I just haven't pulled the albums out much lately. This one is rich enough to listen to all by itself for many, many days, weeks, or months.

The above pictured CDs are now safely placed in the donation bag. I supposed I shouldn't ever expose anyone's ears to that music again, but maybe someone wants it? The future of pop music depends on it.

(Oh...and yes, I did call them albums. Sorry. Habit. I'll put them (the Rutter that is) on the MP3 player, but it's just not the same as listening to them in a room with unfettered ears!)

Oh... and for the record... Margaret came into my room as I was listening to the Rutter and the first words out of her mouth were "Ooooh. Pretty."

Christmas Concert at IDS Crystal Court

2009-01-05T19:25:00.001-08:00

The fifth grade at Amelia's school does a Christmas/holiday concert every year at the IDS center in Downtown Minneapolis. They have a large court and with the skyway system there is tons of foot traffic through there at lunchtime. Amelia was sooo excited about it and is still talking about how cool it was.

Here's a shot of the whole class from the 2nd floor balcony.

Here's Amelia giving it her all. I think this was while they were singing "Amazing Grace".

Bye now!!

Field Museum Chicago

2009-01-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

On Monday this week (December 29) we went to the Field Museum in Chicago. I remember going when I was in grade school (I grew up about 1.5 hours away from it, so it was a usual field trip in grades school). All I remembered from the Field Museum were the stuffed animals. Glad to see they were still there. They have a T-Rex skeleton, and a super lovely building.

I'd like to know when exhibits started all being in the dark, however. One of my daughters had really quite an entirely horrible day because she was a bit spooked by all the exhibits. Every one is now dark, with spotlights on posters and artifacts. I am not happy to have spent all that money and had one of the girls basically clinging and whining all day. However...the other one LOVED it. Amelia wanted to read every poster, see every video, view every artifact. Wow. She just soaked in the Indian exhibits. They have a very nice selection of artifacts of native groups from the Americas...Mayas, Incas, Eskimos, Aztecs, all the "US" groups that Amelia is studying right now in school. So that part of the day made me very happy and made the whole money thing worth it.

Most of the pictures are crappy, I'm not happy with my camera at all. Really. I just cannot figure out the lighting/exposure stuff with it. The flash just is not working for me. I am not a camera idiot. I have taken some very nice pictures in my day and I knew how to handle f-stops and aperatures to get what I wanted. I was much happier with my film SLR. Maybe I just need a point and shoot digital and continue to use the film for pictures I care about. And I know I can post-process a lot of these pictures to improve them. But the point is that I don't have the time to do that (I barely have time to get pictures ordered), and with film I always loved the way they came out. sigh.

New Year's Resolution = More Blogging

2009-01-01T15:54:00.001-08:00

I have done a pathetic job of writing anything lately. I usually don't do resolutions, but this year I resolve to blog more. I have to remind myself that it's ok to write even when one feels one does not have something profound to say. Because often what we think is not profound really is, and vice versa...

Little girls waiting for the ball to drop to the bottom!!

Haircuts

2008-11-18T12:53:00.001-08:00

Here's my "after"... you can see my "before" in my previous post.

Here is Amelia "after". We cut about 3 inches, just even-ing it up. That 3 inches makes a huge difference in keeping it neat!

And the always shaggy Margaret?

Of course she wanted it short!
Here's the end result!

I voted!

2008-11-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

Wow. I need a haircut. It's a fuzzy mess...

If you give a kid a paintbrush....

2008-10-20T13:41:00.001-07:00

In a follow-on to my popular "If you give a kid a trophy...". They helped us put the sealant on the deck this past weekend.

Also occuring.. "If you give a kid a screwdriver". We got help putting together an 8 drawer IKEA dresser. I think the younger kid actually figured out how to put one all together by the time we got to #8. No pictures on that one, but I can tell you... after IKEA and deck staining, my arm and shoulder are sore, sore, sore...

Tally Scrapper!!!

2008-10-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed the button on my sidebar to a site called "TallyScrapper". It is a great on-line community where I have shared so many of my layouts, as well as made many cyber friends.

Well.... I made the design team for October - December!!! I am so excited, but a bit overwhelmed! The DT at Tally does more than layouts...we are "cheerleaders" for the site and are asked to get involved in all aspects of the site...not just posting layouts. I was already involved quite a bit at the site, so I didn't think it would be tough, but it still has been a bit overwhelming to me. And fun!!!

On October 15, the new monthly kit goes on sale. It is designed by a favorite at Tally (and at many other sites, I'm sure) named Staci Compher. You should check it out if you are a scrapper. They often sell out within hours...so don't delay! Start checking at about 1pm central time..

This was the kit that I received for Design Team. The layouts/projects in this post were done wtih product from the kit. It really is a great kit and I love how the Tally kits always mix new products with some older stuff in a great way!!

If you give a kid a trophy...

2008-10-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

Could her smile be any bigger?

This is her coach giving her some personal praise as he was handing out the trophy. He did it for each kid and each one just beamed with pride!

My little girls didn't think this was funny...

2008-10-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

but I did.

I was getting kind of tired of finding my tape and scissors and stapler all over the house. It seems to be working...

Risk!

2008-09-12T18:06:00.001-07:00

Look what my 7 year old (almost 8 years) did to me.

Yep. She's red. I'll admit to being a bit distracted, but she basically kicked my butt with very little coaching from me. I think I'd rather play Sorry!. Or Scrabble. I think I can still beat her at Scrabble...

First Day of School

2008-09-02T07:45:00.001-07:00

Here is Amelia. She is starting 5th grade!! Wow. She is excited to have sponge curler curls in her hair. She is wearing a skirt we made together. She is not looking forward to math homework or doing response journals for reading.

Here is Margaret. She is starting 2nd grade. She is excited to be wearing her "Hannah Montana" outfit. She is also excited to have a calculator, highligher, and red pen in her supplies.

Here they are together.

Emergency Room Visit... all is well...

2008-09-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

About 4 am Margaret climbed in bed and was laboring in her breathing. I asked her what was up and she said "it hurts". After a bit of waking up and deciding that she really was in pain (the pain was in her lower chest, right side, when she inhaled)... I took temperature (102) and decided it was probably pneumonia (maybe an asthma attack...but I have no experience with that so I was just being worried). And headed off to the Emergency Room at our Children's Hospital.

This was Margaret's 3rd trip to Children's ER. She had RSV at 7 weeks and was hospitalized for a week. She had pneumonia from Influenza type A when she was one, and was hospitalized for 4 days. Other than that she has been TOTALLY healthy. Praise God for that. (And praise God that I didn't know how serious RSV could be when she had that...)

I LOVE having a children's hospital. Having nurses that deal with kids all the time (and having the environment set up for kids) makes it so much easier.

As I suspected, they quickly checked her Oxygen Sat levels, listened to her chest, and decided we could just chill and wait for the doctor. The Triage nurse was guessing pneumonia. After the doc and X-ray images confirmed pneumonia in the right lung, we decided on a good dose of IV antibiotics right then and there... followed by more antibiotics, of course. Stupid mom was not totally awake and did not question the possibility of a viral pneumonia...but they didn't test for either. So I guess the antibiotics could be in vain.

Still...the nurses were angels (we were there over shift change) and all-in-all it was not a bad experience.

My baby is sleeping on the couch. It will be a day of TV and fudgecicles. If the antibiotics do the trick, she will be able to go to the first day of school tomorrow. I don't want to be the one to tell her she has to stay home. The doctor realized that it was first day of school and said to use our judgment on how she was feeling...since she will have been on drugs for 24 hours she is no risk to other kids.

Wow. Kind of started the day out a bit weird. But I'm very thankful that the experience turned out ok in the end. Margaret was a real trooper with the IV. She was a bit nervous when we told her what was going to happen. Almost tears, but she fought them back. She had to watch the nurse put it in. Wanted to keep the little sample they gave her. And just said "Ouch Ouch Ouch" as it went in. I'm so used to Amelia's drama whenever we have a procedure it was nice to have a child react a bit more calmly.

State Fair Animals!!

2008-08-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't take many animal pictures this year...here are most of them.

Amelia with a young calf in the cattle barn.

The big pig.

Margaret and Amelia with a horse.

Amelia with the horses who led the parade.

Baby piggies. These are in a litter that was being born as we arrived in the "Miracle of Birth" barn.

The Mighty Midway

2008-08-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

From the Minnesota State Fair. I didn't have blue sky, but still got a few cool pictures.

On getting old...

2008-08-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

I stopped at Walgreen's in Edina on the way home from work today. I needed some Sudafed to try to clear up this crazy cold or allergy before it decides to settle in my chest.

Those of you who know Edina know that it does have an aging population. It's a little slice of Florida (in fact, many residents are likely starting to think about heading there soon). My trip to Walgreen's was a sobering look into what growing old must be like.

As I walked in, an elderly gentleman was waiting with his walker at the edge of the handicapped parking area as his wife was coming around the car to help him in.

Inside the store, the first gentleman I saw was carrying a large bag of "disposable undergarments".

When I got back to the prescription counter (you have to surrender ID and sign in for Sudafed) three ladies there were talking about diabetes supplies...which ones were the best for checking blood and which were covered by Medicare.

The gentleman next to me, when asked for his address, started with one and then stopped himself. "Ooops." he said "I had lived there since I was 6 years old. Here's my new address" It included an apartment #. I suspect he had recently moved out of his home of 70+ years.

My intent is not in any way to make fun of this situation (although a wry smile is on my face as I re-read this), but the sobering thought that I could be there some day. Unable to walk, incontinent, with diabetes, moving to a new home... away from where I raised kids. Whenever I am reminded of this I get a little "health kick urge" going. Walking and a little weight training to keep my body able to handle life after 70. Or 80. Or 90. I may have some genes on my side. One Grandma lived to 103. She lived on her own (in an apartment the last 7 or 8 years of that) until she was 98 or 99.

That's all today. Just a thought.

California...

2008-08-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

I've been in California twice since my last blog entry. Both were business trips. Luckily, I got to see my Sister-in-law and niece on the 2nd trip

Can you believe Karin took this picture? She seems to have mastered the self-portrait pose (i.e. not looking like she is reaching out with her arm to take a shot looking back at us...).

We have wet faces!!!

2008-07-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

My little girlies are finally comfortable enough in the water to get those faces wet. Amelia loves to snorkle and can keep her face in the water (and swim around without touching) for over a minute.

Margaret has discovered the joys of jumping in the water. She still needs a life vest for deep water, but is starting to be able to swim "above the water" (as she calls it).

Yay for my girls!!! I'm so proud of them!

Barns

2008-07-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

I'm from Wisconsin. My mom grew up on a farm, but I did not. Still, I have a soft spot in my heart for barns. Red barns. With a silo nearby. While driving home from Michigan last week, we drove all the way across Wisconsin (northern...not southern where I am from) on Hwy 29. We passed many wonderful barns. I didn't make Charlie stop the car...I took all of these from the car traveling at 65 miles per hour down the road.
I really love barns; I really do.

Big Boy Hodag

2008-07-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

I was reminded by a friend that the Hodag's name is Happy. Just seems wrong.

Two of my favorite pictures from our recent vacation...enjoy!

Kid update

2008-07-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Margaret is chattering about anything and everything. She is very observant of the world around her and is constantly sharing her thoughts and observations with us. She is counting down the days until we get to go to ValleyFair. She keeps talking about all the rides and which ones she wants to go on. I don't think she's ready for "Wild Thing" yet, but will ride most of the other rides there.

Amelia is on an astronomy kick right now. We got a small telescope that we will be taking to our trip out to the less inhabited areas of the UP. We should have some good star gazing. She is intrigued by the stories of the constellations. Most of them are greek mythology stories. I remember going through the Greek mythology stage. Very cool. When it comes to Valleyfair, Amelia..she has her thrill ride genes from me. I hope we can get her on the Mad Mouse and High Roller, but not sure she will go on much more than that, (Nor will I)

I haven't been good about sharing quotes from the kids. As they get older I guess they aren't as cute, but they say funny things nonetheless.

Last week Margaret was gone a good part of the day on a play date. Amelia's comment? "I had a great day. No little sister around to bug me."

It's Twins!!!

2008-06-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

Some good friends had twins about 7 weeks ago. Amelia was the flower girl at their wedding, so had to get pictures of her with the kids. We finally got to visit today. The girls were excited to hold such tiny babies. They were actually both over 6 pounds at birth, and they both have been very healthy.

Presenting Anna and Benjamin...and our girls...

Soccer Pages

2008-06-28T15:23:00.001-07:00

One thing I love about my local scrapbook store (Scrapbooks, Too!) is the great selection of theme stuff. Soccer, Disney, Music, etc... I don't always scrap with the theme (i.e. see my Disney pages), but on these Soccer pages I went by the book. Standard soccer product..paper and stickers. These all went together in under 20 minutes each...some closer to 10 minutes. They are not works of art, but they do capture the memories and pictures from the spring soccer season.
So I bring you...Fuller Park Soccer Club Rhinos, 7-8 year old league. Spring 2008!

Even more Disney

2008-06-23T18:17:00.001-07:00

The first one deserves an explanation. I was calling this Cinderella's castle all morning. Then I found out it is Sleeping Beauty's castle. oops. I'm sure I had a few people around me snickering...

Zoo pages

2008-06-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some pages from the SD Zoo. The animal pages are simple. I had some fun shots of us, too...

Disney Pages

2008-06-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

I know I have a few Disney fans in my readership...so just for you... Here are the Disney pages I've finished so far. Many more to go, but this will give you a feel for them.

I am really enjoying scrapping Disney photos because the colors are so bright and there are such good stories with every page.

It's just a funny picture...

2008-06-11T19:22:00.001-07:00

Last Day of Soccer

2008-06-07T11:41:00.001-07:00

Monkeys

2008-06-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

Elephants

2008-05-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

150 pages!

2008-05-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

Well, I hit 150 scrapbook pages done for the year. My work is posted over at TallyScrapper...you can see them all there.

This is number 150. It is a cover page for my summer album. I already made 3 calendar pages (for June, July, and August) and plan to takes notes on those.

Bearded Warthog

2008-05-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

Definitely a face only a mother could love.

Mama Llama Red Pajama

2008-05-26T05:05:00.001-07:00

I think it's actually a guanaco. Great picture, eh? I actually have to credit hubby on this one.

Koalas

2008-05-25T16:53:00.001-07:00

Man, they have a lot of Koalas at the SD Zoo.

Gorilla

2008-05-23T14:19:00.001-07:00

Lunchtime Adventure...

2008-05-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

I went to Michael's at lunch today because I wanted to get scalloped scissors (Yes, my vast extension of decorative scissors did not include a basic round scallop) and some small number stamps (about 1/2" tall).

I was crabby about buying number stamps because I know I used to have some. I must have sold them during my extensive purging. But I have several calendar projects to do and really wanted stamped numbers. Well... I was able to use my 40% off coupon so they only cost me $3.50, and the scissors were only $1.99.

What else did I get for my $6 Michaels trip? Well... a check out lady named JoAnn (I loved that! Made me smile) and when I got back to work I got to park next to....get this...a Hummer.

I thought Hummers were conspicuous consumption and pretty stupid at $2/gallon. Now at $4? Wow. I think they get 2 miles to the gallon. In fact, I read once (3 or more years ago) that in a customer satisfaction survey, the #1 complaint of Hummer owners was gas mileage. Hello?!? Were you paying attention when you bought it? Anyway, I always smile when I see the Hummer in the parking lot. It just seems silly.

Orangutans

2008-05-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! Has it been Sunday since a picture?

2008-05-16T17:57:00.001-07:00

Hippo

2008-05-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year....

2008-05-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

Polar Bears

2008-05-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

Zebra

2008-05-09T20:17:00.001-07:00

I guess I had better keep up with this, since someone is actually looking!!!

Today's picture

2008-05-07T15:34:00.001-07:00

I never know what to do with Zoo animal pictures. They seem a bit odd to scrap. Well, we have a lot from our trip to the San Diego Zoo. So I think I'll post some over the next few days.

Cheers!

Silly Miscellanea

2008-04-23T09:03:00.001-07:00

I took this typing test. I get razzed a lot at work for typing so fast. I guess this confirms it.
78 words

Speedtest

Oh... and here are a few pictures from this week. We were taking pictures at our Girl Scout meeting (working on our photography badge). These are my favorite (of my family. I guess I won't post other peoples' kid's pictures.)

Signs of spring

2008-04-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hopscotch drawn on the sidewalks and driveway.
Street sweepers out cleaning up the sand and winter debris.
The orange cone out in the alley. (To warn drivers that kids are playing nearby)
Bike helmets by the back door.
Walking outside at lunch.
Motorcycles.
Going to the park after supper.

Ahhhhh.

When I grow up...

2008-04-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

I need to interrupt (what was going to be) continuing ramblings on vacation to record a great coversation I had with Amelia last night. She is in 4th grade.

A: "Mom. Did you take one of those tests to tell you want you wanted to be when you grow up?"
M: "Yes. But not until 10th grade."
A: "So that's high school, right"
M: "Yes. High School"
(By the way, smary pants Margaret interjects at this point "Aptitude test".)

A: "I can't decide if I want to be a musician, a veterinarian, a weather forecaster, an on-screen meteorologist, or a storm chaser when I grow up"
M: "Well, you have a lot of time to decide. Some people even change their minds after college."
A: "Well, I don't want to be a hurricane expert. That's scary."
M: "Maybe you can be a veterinarian in Kansas and be a storm chaser."
A: "Yeah. Maybe I can combine all of them. That would be a perfect job. I wonder what I would need to study in college."

and so on...

You know what I love about this conversation? The realization that just maybe I am giving my kids the gift my parents gave me. The expectation that going to college is just "how it's done." My Gram Shaler was a smart cookie.. she wished she had been able to go to college. So was Grandpa Anderson. He had a scholarship to go to college and had to turn it down because his father died and he needed to run the family farm. But all of Grandpa's children who wanted to go to college, did. That included my mom for 2 years (Luther College in Decorah!), My dad went two years to Rochester Junior College. Growing up, there was no talk other than.. "when I go to college". I didn't think much of it then, but now I realize what a gift that was. Not that you have to go to college to lead a great life, I realize that. But I'm glad that the seeds are growing in their little brains that college is the normal thing you do after high school. Makes me happy.

Magic

2008-04-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

"Mom, Mickey kissed me. Twice!!!"

I was frankly surprised at how much Margaret loved the "magic and fantasy" of Disneyland. I knew Amelia would get into it, but Margaret? I wasn't sure. Well, Margaret ended up being the one who loved the parade and the characters and all that.

I love this picture I took on the teacups. We were riding it during the parade and it came right by. This is a picture of Margaret waving (either to Ariel or to Mickey an Minnie). Look at her face. Glowing. So into it.

She did not, however, like the fantasy of the rides. Turns out that any ride that the line was in darkness, she would not go on. Nemo's submarine ride scared her. Even Alice in Wonderland (right next to the teacups) was not for her. She deemed it "Kind of freaky". (Well, I agree it's kind of freaky too, but in a good way) So she wouldn't go on anything except the roller coaster in ToonTown, Dumbo, the Teacups, and the Carousel. This is a kid who has been on Excalibur and High Roller at ValleyFair. This just totally amazed me.

Amelia, on the other hand, actually went on The Pirates of the Caribbean with her dad (I ended up going alone so we could do the kid swap thing). This girl won't even go on the kiddie roller coaster at ValleyFair. So I was REAL proud of her. She loved the rides like Nemo's Submarine and Alice in Wonderland. So this girl EARNED her pirate ears (which I totally love. Totally).

OK... and here's Shamu...

2008-04-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

In the interest of equal exposure... we had one Mickey picture, some zoo pictures... here's some SeaWorld pictures. Much more to come on all of these topics...but I'm just going through the pictures for the first time myself...

The coolest experience of my vacation...

2008-04-04T18:53:00.001-07:00

...was not Shamu or Mickey, as wonderful as both of those experiences were.

This was...

and look for the baby up in the tree in this one...

Look close. She's real small. But I can't believe how high in the tree the little one climbed!!!

We got to the San Diego Zoo right when it opened. It was a chilly morning (for SoCal) and threatening rain. So... we walked right up to the Pandas and got to stand and watch them for as long as we wanted. No one prodding us along.

And one more cool photo. We went back several times throughout the day. Just totally cool. Really...

Home...

2008-04-04T16:03:00.001-07:00

Lots to tell. Will fill you in over the next few days. Glad we missed the snow earlier this week...

What I found today...

2008-03-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was digging clothes boxes out of my closet today, getting out all the summer clothes so we can try on and pack for San Diego.

I found a box of shorts from before the girls were born. Early to mid 90s. High waisted, pleats, about 4 inches above the knee, cuffs, large diameter legs. I tried every single one of them on and they all fit. And then I put them in the donate box, because they are hopelessly out of style.

I did keep 2 pairs of blue jeans. They are a bit high waisted and narrow, narrow legs, but they are cozy and they make my butt look great.

I had cleaned out boxes of clothes several years ago and had given away all the 14s in despair that they would ever fit. I guess finding this box was a nice little gift to myself... I didn't want to keep them, but if I wanted to, I could have... and WORN them.. :-)

I took this picture a month or so ago to celebrate my purchase of size 12 pants. I can't remember if it was ever posted here on my blog, but it goes great with this subject.

San Francisco!!!

2008-03-16T11:43:00.001-07:00

I just got back from a business trip to San Francisco. Of course we did have a bit of fun... that included a dinner cruise on the bay. Here's me with the Bay Bridge in the background.

Now we're getting ready for Easter and the family spring break vacation to San Diego and Carlsbad where my Aunt lives...

So don't expect blogging anytime soon. It just isn't the season for it...

I want to see what punishment you are going to give Margaret...

2008-02-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

My kids were bickering really badly today. To the point where we had to sit down with each and coach them through trying to discuss the conflict with the other. They didn't quite get it, I don't think. Amelia was particularly upset with the whole situation. So she had to go leave the room for a while. When I went to check on her she asked me, "I want to see what punishment you are going to give Margaret." Yeah. She definitely didn't get it.

My Cat

2008-02-15T18:29:00.001-08:00

I had a cat once. I don't really remember her... or do I remember some scratches on my arms? I guess we had her for one week. I was 3 and a half years old. Her name was Kris.

The story Steve told me is that my mom ended up deciding "no cat". She grew up on a farm. Cats were supposed to live in the barn and protect the hay and feed from mice. They were not supposed to be in the house. I don't know who talked her into trying, but it didn't last. This picture is the only memory I have of Kris the cat.

Wrinkles

2008-02-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

OK. I have never characterized myself as an incredibly vain person. Not high maintenance. Don't even bother with make-up most days. But wow, the wrinkles around my eyes are quite prominent. I think the glasses are magnifying them. Yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

No more close up shots of the face for me. and I think I'm going to go moisturize..

Back from Boston

2008-02-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

I had a little bit of a whirlwind trip this weekend to Boston. Left on Friday am and came back this am. My big brother Steve got married. I got to see my niece and nephew. Had lots of fun!!!

Here's few pictures...I'm not into much writing right now.

Layout a Day summary layout.

2008-02-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

I did this calendar page layout to showcase the 31 layouts I did for the Layout a Day Challenge. This whole calendar layout with thumbnails was a common layout I saw on day 31 for many. (I did have the idea before I saw it... along with a million other people. So I guess it was te obvious extension here.)

This is not digital. I printed out the thumbnails and then cut them out, found some number stickers and cut them apart/combined them for the dates. Not much else here. Just putzy work, to good effect.

Layout a Day. The end.

2008-01-31T18:34:00.001-08:00

Page 50 for the month...right here...

OK, I have officially uploaded #31 in the Big Picture Gallery (and here). I did a total of 50 pages this month. I am almost embarrassed to say that the page I uploaded each day was actually done on that day. A few may have been started the day before, but the bulk of the page and the completion of each page was done on the day it was uploaded. I have indeed scrapped every day for 31 days straight.

What did I learn?

I am a little OCD about things like goals. Once I got in my head that I was doing this, I couldn't stop.

"You are Perfect Just the way you Create!" Well...you know how I create? Chronologically. Acid-Free. Mostly Non-lumpy. Non-whimsically. And that's the way I am. I don't think that is going to change. And I don't have to be artsy or eccentric or wild to be "perfect". I can be old-fashioned and boring and still be great at scrapbooking!

I use a lot of brown and distressed papers. Brown layouts don't look as nice online as bright ones. 'Tis the truth. And brown layouts got me very, very down. You will notice I ended the month with several bright, non-distressed, real white on them, pages. I needed that. I will go back to brown eventually.

I have a lot of great stuff in my stash. I was guilty about having so much. Well, you know what? I reach into all corners of it. I may never use it all, but I will use all types of it. Nothing is sitting idle, lonely in a corner collecting spiderwebs. If it does, I will get rid of it. If I love it and even might use it? I will keep it. Heck. I already own it and have room for it.

To scrapbook every day you need to ignore your family some. My kids watched too much TV this month. That is why I won't do this again. I am not happy with the amount of time I spent scrapping instead of with my kids. There was some coolness in saying right after dinner, "OK. I have to go make my page now." They expect it now. Even more than ever now, I want to carve out 6:30- 8:00 each evening as family time. No TV. No computer. No scrapping (unless we are all doing it together). Read together, play together.

And one should ever underestimate the power of a community with support, prayers, cyberhugs, ideas to scraplift, and praise. (Oh... and a store) I have really enjoyed being a part of TallyScrapper for the past 7 months and I love it there. Come join us if you haven't already!!!

26 miles in January

2008-01-31T12:42:00.001-08:00

I have been tracking my miles walked to help a friend walk to Iraq and back. Her husband is going to be re-deployed to Iraq in July, and wanted to do this to ready herself until then, and occupy herself after.

I have set a goal of 600 miles this year, which is roughly 50 miles/month. However, I know I will walk more in the summer, so I'm not too worried about being a bit behind right now.

So... 26 miles for January. 26 miles for the year.

574 miles to go!

Mark the Baptist

2008-01-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

That was the subject in Margaret's Sunday School. I hate to correct her when she is so animated and excited about something.

However, her older sister was quick to correct her.

"That's JOHN the Baptist"

Forty Three pages since January 1

2008-01-26T20:36:00.001-08:00

I decided to set a goal around number of scrapbook pages this year, and then keep track. I put a tracker at the bottom of my blog... you would need to scroll down to see it.

My goal is 300. I am so getting pages done quickly right now. Having photos organized is a big help, for sure.

Now the negatives? That's another mess.

Oh... and I wanted to share that I have used the end of my Hermafix Tabs!!! Why did I keep this puppy for so long? The Tombo monoadhesive I am using now is so much better. Really.

RIP

Broomball?

2008-01-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

The other day the girls were swatting around balls in the kitchen with brooms. I asked if they were playing broomball.

I was informed that they were playing Quidditch.

Charlie just finished book 1 (that would be Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.. I purchased the book in Singapore and it is the British version... crisps, trainers, windscreens, and jumpers!), and the girls have enjoyed it very much.

I think they will be watching that movie today (girls have the day off of school) and we just started book 2. I'm not sure how far we will read, Margaret is in 1st grade and the books get pretty intense in a few books. No nightmares so far, so we'll see how it goes.

Orchestra

2008-01-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

Here is Amelia with her violin. She had her first orchestra concert last Thursday. It was great to see her play with the group. Violin is a really tough instrument. You have to coordinate a lot of things to get a decent sound. Amelia is doing fine, but could do with a bit more practice, which I am discovering is as much about the parents as it is about her. Also the fact that homework can take her quite a bit of time also cuts into practice time. But I hope she sticks with it. It is bringing back so many great memories of when I started violin. In 4th grade. Just like Amelia.

I am Mia Hamm...

2008-01-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

Today my daughter's class had a "Wax Museum" at school. These are first graders.

Each child chose a person and read an easy biography (or had one read to them). They picked out the born and died years (if dead), and three facts about that person. They had simple costumes and a prop or poster if that made sense. They stood still in a pose until you came up and "pushed their button". Then they recited their list of facts and went back into their still pose at the end.

Margaret picked Mia Hamm. Here she is...

Here she is painting her poster last night...

There were a lot of atheletes. Current (Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett) and retired (Babe Ruth, MaryLou Retton, Mia, Jackie Robinson, Michael Jordan) It really is quite amazing how much impact atheletes have on culture today.

Also artists. (Georgia O'Keefe, Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassat) There was one ballerina (Maria Tallchief). I also saw Houdini, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Sheryl Crow, Christopher Columbus, King Tut, Florence Nightingale. It was pretty cool.

An Ordinary Life

2008-01-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever posted this before. This is the text of a speech I delivered at my Toastmaster's club back in July of 2007. I won "best speech of the quarter" for this speech. I have edited it a bit to make sense for this blog.

I am sharing it now because I have been thinking about a word to choose for this year... for an Art Journal and just for meditation in general. I have chosen the word "Today", and the text below explains the reason for this word.

____________________________

I remember visiting my Grandma once when she was about, oh I would guess, 98 years old. She invited me to join her in Butter Brickle Ice Cream and Dad’s Root Beer. We sat around and watched the MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour, eating our ice cream. I remember her commenting on how she was sad that other people in the apartment gave up on current events, and how they made her “so mad” because she was sure they were “liberals”. And I remember thinking it odd that a 98 year old woman would keep Ice Cream and Root Beer in her kitchen. But looking back, I remember that my Grandma was an extraordinary person.

Sure, living to 103 is pretty extraordinary, as is living in your own place until you’re 99. But what was so extraordinary about my gram was how ordinary she was. She wasn’t the first woman to fly a plane or find a cure for cancer. She didn’t lobby against societal wrongs or volunteer to teach kids to read. What Gram did was teach me (and all her Grandchildren) to knit and fry eggs. She taught me how to do laundry and play Canasta. I remember her telling me that she would not play Canasta with me any longer if I kept getting upset when I lost. Gram was a pretty normal down to earth person, just what you would expect for someone born in 1895. Yet she was extra ordinary.

I have an extraordinary friend struggling with Cancer. Yet she strives to live every day as normally as possible. Her cancer is part of her life right now. Last Hallowe’en when she had no hair, she dressed up like Uncle Fester. Complete with the light bulb. When she was re-diagnosed for the second time recently, she said “Some people say to live every day like it is your last. I say, Live every day like it is the first one in the rest of your life.” I thought many months about what she meant, other than the obvious thought that she didn’t want today to be her last.

I now realize that what she was saying was that it’s not the extraordinary things we do that make our lives what they are, it is the ordinary things.

Some of you may have noticed I have lost some weight over the last year. I get a lot of questions about how I did it. I have trouble answering that question. Yeah, I go to WeightWatchers, but anything extraordinary? Nope. It wasn’t Thanksgiving dinner that did me in; I had put the weight on through ordinary, day to day eating. So the best way to take it off? Day-in day-out eating better and moving more. The actual means to weight loss was nothing extraordinary in itself, but overall I’d say the results are extraordinary.

Dag Hammarskjold wrote the following in his book “Markers”. "The great commitment is so much easier than the ordinary, every day one”. Mr. Hammarskjold was the secretary general of the UN from 1953 to 1961. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961. One could dare say he lead an extraordinary life. Yet he knew the importance of the ordinary.

And I’m glad that ordinary can be extra ordinary. I strive for ordinary experiences for my family. This past week I have been to the wading pool 3 or 4 times. I have played Monopoly with my kids. I had to tell my daughter I wouldn’t play with her anymore if she pouted when she lost. I read them books and told them stories. I have eaten Ice Cream and drank Root Beer. I have charged my girls to clean off the table and make their beds. My charge to you? Infuse your life with a sense of extraordinary in the ordinary.

And maybe even teach your kids to play Canasta tonight.

Wildcats in the House!

2008-01-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I have allowed something I have always been dead set against. I let Amelia buy High School Musical sheets and comforter for her bed. In all the years of requests for Pooh, or Cinderella, or whoever, I was always able to say no. The whole idea of supporting that Disney machine by buying sheets or whatever was just an icky idea to me.

Someone must have pleaded just right, or I could tell it was something she would really appreciate, but I said "yes" this time. (Yep. Supporting that Disney Machine in a new and different way.)

I've been painting the girls bedroom and it took awhile to get them to decide on colors (they were going for gold with black dots for ahile.) As I was finishing up painting dots Amelia asked me, "Mom. How are we going to get the Wildcat Logo painted on the wall?" Um, "I wasn't planning on it, honey". Crying ensued. Mom held firm. I am not going to paint the High School Musical Wildcat logo on the wall. Having Troy and Gabriella peer at me from the comforter and pillow every day is discomforting enough. (Although, maybe a wildcat logo wouldn't be as bad as that)

Yep. Wildcats in the house!

Four Bedrooms needed

2008-01-12T19:09:00.000-08:00

Since I've been painting the girls' bedroom, there has been much discussion about bedrooms. And the fact that they have to share.

Well.. Today Amelia came up with this one.

"Mom, I wish we had a house with FOUR bedrooms"

"Why honey?"

"Because then we could each have our own room!"

My dreams are bigger...

2008-01-11T17:31:00.001-08:00

Daughter 1: "I had a dream last night where all the flakes came off my head" (she is being treated for seborrheic dermatitis right now)

Daughter 2: "Well, my dreams are bigger than that."

Anyone else have a kid where EVERYTHING is a competition? sigh.

Do you think we should tell him?

2008-01-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

Our neighbor of about 7 years had his girlfriend move in about 2 years ago. Last evening as we were sitting at the dinner table, we saw her car pull into the alley. Charlie mused out loud, "I wonder if she and Chris are going to get married?"

Our 7 year old, the outgoing one, decided she needed to ask her. Margaret ran outside with no coat and just crocs on her feet. We could hear some discussion, but not any actual words. Margaret came in and proudly announced, very loudly, "YES!". "What?", I said? "She said she would marry Chris."

About 10 minutes later Chris' car drove into his garage. Margaret said, "Do you think we should tell him?"

Charlie and I had a super big laugh on that one.

Yes! Sometimes they get it!

2007-12-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I worry about some of the things my kids are picking up from me.

Tonight Amelia said something that let me know we are on the right track in some areas. After finishing Math homework she asked, "Well, I have reading, but it's not due until Thursday. Should I do it tonight?" I said, "Well, let's look at it and see how long you think it will take".

With no further prompting from me she looked at it and said, "I think I should do these two pages tonight, and then I can do the last page tomorrow."

Yay! I think she's getting it!

How time flies!

2007-12-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

How did this happen? Count the candles. And this is my baby! The older will be 10 in February. Wow.

Please don't say five minutes...

2007-12-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my daughter asked me, "Mom, how long until supper is ready? And please DON'T say 5 minutes." (She was really hungry).

Methinks I use the term "5 minutes" a bit too liberally around her, and she has figured out that 5 minutes is not 5 minutes.

Reminds me of the discussion between her and Margaret about the answer "maybe".

"When mom says "maybe" that means yes. When dad says "maybe" that means no."

Our kids know us better than we know ourselves sometimes.

Now where did Linda put that?

2007-12-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed to be able to afford and to find a house cleaner. We do try to pick up before she comes so she can focus on cleaning and not neatening. But she obviously does need to move some stuff around.

As a result of this, we have a new tagline in the house. That line is "Now where did Linda put that?" Instead of blaming our own laziness, memory, or messiness when we can't find something, we just "blame" the housecleaner.

Of course none of this is actually due to her (and I remind the kids of that), but it's kind of funny to say so. (We did have one thing the first week we couldn't find that I had to call her up to find it. That was the ONLY time, but I guess they remember that time.) And that item was part of my daughter's Halloween costume. That she LOST when she went trick or treating. How ironic.

Parenting Chicken

2007-12-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have coined what I think is a new term... "Parenting Chicken". I discovered it because my husband has been out of town a few times this fall. I have discovered I seem to have evenings that are in more control when he is gone. I think I have discovered the reason.

I think we play parenting chicken sometimes. You know, you have done it I'm sure. You hear the kids do something they shouldn't. Or you see toys that have been left out. When home alone, you know YOU have to deal with it. So you do.

When the spouse is home? Hmmm. Maybe he'll deal with it. I'll just ignore that for now. Of course, he is dong the same thing. And things spiral out of control.

Yep. Chicken. I usually lose.

(Oh, and if you don't have kids, you can do the same with household chores. I always lose the bathroom battle on that one.)

My computer knows more about me than I do

2007-12-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

Sunday I had a bit of a mishap with my computer. I'm not sure who pushed which buttons when or in what order, but my computer decided to "restore" itself to the factory shipped state. Which is thankfully different than having the hard drive re-formatted. But a pain nonetheless.

I am having to re-install most of the programs I installed since getting my computer. And I have had to un-install most of the crap and trial programs that came with the computer.

For many software packages, this means checking your account on their website, or checking your e-mail for some key, since there are very few install CDs sent out anymore.

Do you know how many different passwords you have? I don't. I have had to request so many new passwords, and change so many passwords, and rifle through papers for information to restore everything to its previous state (which wasn't perfect, but at least I knew where everything was).

When I think about that too much, I worry. How many websites know how many things about me that I don't even remember anymore? It's mind boggling.

I'm lucky that at work we have single-use sign-on (or whatever it's called). I sign into my account and every program that is web-based uses that same password. It works nicely at work because of firewalls and security and all that. I hope the outside world never comes to that, because then surely my computer would know more about me than I do.

Which I fear may already be the case.

Thanksgiving Plans

2007-11-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

I always take something to my mom's to work on over Thanksgiving. I won't be shopping on the day after!!!

This year I am going to take a run at my negatives again. These pictures are of my boxes with negatives and the two binders I already have filled with negatives in sheets. We'll see how far I get this year!!

Fall Chores

2007-11-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

The weather here has been beautiful!!! Sunday we cleaned the yard for winter.(mostly... we did leave this one small pile of leaves for the girlies to play in)

You do enough of these and eventually one of them pegs you straight on.

2007-11-08T19:45:00.001-08:00

Here's my "color" profile. Thanks to Nicole for the link. If you don't know me, I can tell you I think this describes me pretty well. As for the color? Love it.

you are seagreen
#2E8B57

Your dominant hues are cyan and green. Although you definately strive to be logical you care about people and know there's a time and place for thinking emotionally. Your head rules most things but your heart rules others, and getting them to meet in the middle takes a lot of your energy some days.

Your saturation level is higher than average - You know what you want, but sometimes know not to tell everyone. You value accomplishments and know you can get the job done, so don't be afraid to run out and make things happen.

Your outlook on life can be bright or dark, depending on the situation. You are flexible and see things objectively.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Tagged again

2007-11-05T08:23:00.001-08:00

Leah from TallyScrapper tagged me. I had done this earlier, but no harm in doing again...
and yes, I know #1 is a repeat, but Leah probably doesn't know this about me...

1. I do these tag things when they come my way, but I never pass them on. I also break every chain letter sent to me. I never do those chain swaps..recipes, socks or anything else like that.

2. I grew up in Wisconsin, went to college in Georgia, went to Graduate school in California, got my first full time job in Colorado, and now live in Minnesota. I think a move to the Northeast or Texas would complete this. But no thank you...I'm happy here!

3. I'm an obssessive organizer. I love having everything labled and in order in category. Books, music, scrap supplies, photo, albums, everthing. I don't always have time to do this, however.

4. Reading is not very high on my list of things I enjoy doing.

5. I dread the short daylight hours in winter. The whole going back to standard time has gotten me sort of down.

6. During a 6 month period about 7 years ago the following happened:
We celebrated 15 years of marriage
My husband turned 40
I had a baby.
I turned 39.

I don't know what the craziest part of that is...probably having a baby at age 39. Really...I do recommend getting that taken care of sooner in life if you have the chance. :-)

7. I can knit. I like making mittens because they go fairly quickly. Sweaters take way too LONG. I want to learn to knit socks.

This makes me happy...

2007-11-05T07:15:00.001-08:00

Here are my new ribbon jars and pink clock from IKEA. I do have more ribbons than shown in these jars, but I hope having them on the shelf above my desk will encourage me to use them!!

Also, I missed out on posting Halloween pictures. Here are a few...
Margaret is (obviously) a witch. I called her my princess witch, because she had PLANNED to be a princess for the FOURTH year in a row. Until she saw this costume. It's kind of pretty like a princess costume...but black. Hence, princess witch.

Amelia is Betsy Ross. She really loves to pretend to be characters from books she has read and is all over non-fiction (i.e. real people) so she was drawn to this costume right away.

And here's one from Margaret's Brownie Halloween party. She is doing the eat the donut off the string thing.

Speaking of fourth grade..

2007-11-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Amelia's Monday night homework had problems like this:

4 + x = 7

12 - 5 = u

18 - r = 9

Um... I was confused because I thought this was algebra!! I was all concerned that she would be confused.

So I said: this is the same as 4 + BOX = 7. (You know...they have been filling in the box for ages). Turns out she really wasn't confused by the letter variable. She just doesn't know her facts very well.

I guess the difference is that they are not writing the answer as x = 3, but they just rewrite the entire problem replacing the letter with the right number. Plus all the problems were based on facts that they should know.

Now are you confused? I probably didn't explain that well. Anyway...that assignment just threw me for a loop.

Gonna' have to keep an eye on this...

2007-10-27T06:25:00.001-07:00

My older daughter is in fourth grade. In fourth grade they have planners and a parent is supposed to sign them every night.

Earlier this week when I went to sign, I saw this suspicious activity in the previous day.

The top signature? Mine. Below it? I think someone is trying to copy it!!!

Egads! Isn't it a bit early for that? I think I'm going to need to make my signature harder to copy!!!! I think she did a pretty good job!

Joke from a 6 year old

2007-10-21T19:35:00.001-07:00

"Why are you hiding under there?"

"Under where?"

Total laughter. "You said underwear."

Somehow I missed that one when I was growing up.

Busted

2007-10-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

I caught myself yelling at my daughter in the other room after she had yelled at me. I said "Don't yell from the other room! Come in here and talk to me face-to-face."

Ummm. Major league busted. I guess now that I know where she gets it from I can start retraining. Her or me? I'm not sure.