4-H Values

Our family joined 4-H this past year. It is a great organization and my kids are having a wonderful time.

One of the requirements for showing at Fair is attendance at Community Club meetings. At these meetings the business of the particular 4-H club is conducted. Reports are made on things like how much money has gone out of the club and how much money has come in, events that are coming up, service opportunities available, and so on.

Recently, they have started reporting our members' results at various animal shows. Attending these shows has been quite the eye-opener for me.  "How so?" you might ask.  Well, let me tell you...

When showing swine, beef, or lamb, you strut that animal all around a ring, showing off the animals to the judges and audience. The judges look at the size of the body. They watch how the animal carries itself, how it walks, how it stands. They judge their personality and demeanor.

The animals are then taken back out of the ring by their handlers. The judges then "call-back" the animals that they liked. Those animals walk the ring again while the judges scrutinize their every move. This process goes on and on until finally the judges declare a winner. A winning animal is worth a lot of money. That animal is quite a prize!

What's so astounding about this process...

It is just like the try-outs/auditions for actors, models, Miss America, and more! In particular, it reminded me of the musical "A Chorus Line".

Now, I feel that I must make a disclaimer. I am not trying to belittle anyone. I'm not bringing this up to bag on anyone or any organization. Frankly, I love watching the Miss America pageant every year. Mostly, I love see the gorgeous gowns and imagine how I could make them for myself but modest. Haha!

The reason I'm posting this is that I am amazed a the similarities between the two processes. Anyone who really knows me knows that I love to see how things are connected. To see how things have evolved over time. It seems to me that the one process evolved from the other. Can't you just picture the original casting directors--people who had maybe grown up attending Fair and seeing how the animals were judged--adjusting that type of judging to fit their own purposes? Because that's what I see!

I wonder if that's how it actually happened. So interesting!

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Another great thing from 4-H: it is teaching my kids wonderful values and skills.

For example, one girl proudly reporting how she did in a show said:

"Well, I showed my goat at XYZ Show. I didn't place. But I didn't get last place like last year either."

We all clapped and cheered for her. It was great! She might not have won, but she was getting better and that's what counted.

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Also, our family is getting ready for Fair. It is crazy! We aren't doing animals this year. Thank goodness! I don't think I could have handled all the time and effort required for an animal. I'm too busy with my dear children. :)

We do have projects that have to be finished though. Anne and Rose are sewing their hearts out to have their quilts ready. Joe and the girls are all testing recipes to see which will be best to enter. They have a pre-Fair contest coming up next week for cooking. Anne and Rose are in the same category, but they're being good sports about it. They are just hoping that one of them places and they don't care which one. Hooray for being good sports! And sweet Joe is in the non-judging category. 4-H doesn't let the little kids be judged. They feel that the little ones can't handle it. I completely agree. My little Joe would be quite discouraged if judges told him his entry was too dry or a bit under-cooked. The bigger kids, while not liking the criticisms, don't get discouraged...they take the criticism as advice and use the information to make their cooking/baking better the next time.

I'll post pictures and results after we finish the contest next week.

We are loving 4-H!!!

Halloween 2010!

Halloween is one our favorite times of the year. We thoroughly enjoy dressing up, playing pretend, attending parties, hanging out with friends, and eating yummy treats.

Without further ado, our costumes & party log:

Our Friend's/Neighbor's Adult Party

Hubby & I attended. I dressed Goth and he dressed as a Biker. This was such a fun party. The couple who hosted it are some of the funnest people around. We ate a delicious dinner and played games along the line of Minute to Win It. We played Boys versus Girls. It was hilarious! At least, until is was my turn. And then I was a sore loser because not only did I lose, but I looked absolutely ridiculous while doing it. My task was to shake six ping-pong balls out of an empty box of Kleenex...except the box was tied around my waist and I had to shake my booty to get the stupid balls out. Ugh! I think it was unfair, because with my big booty, the Kleenex box was aimed straight up. Oh well. Hubby says that he very much enjoyed watching me shake my toush.

Party at Preschool

Cakes preschool teacher had everyone wear their costumes to class. Cakes was so excited to wear his "Hi-Yah!" to preschool. "Hi-Yah" is what he called his costume. They played Halloween games and learned more about the color black and orange. Fun! His teacher is such a fun and creative lady.

**The bigger kids had parties at their school too, but I didn't go so I don't have any pictures of those events. And I don't even care! Hahaha! I have plenty of other pictures of those darling kids. :)

Foster Family Halloween Bash

Everyone attended this activity. It was hosted by the agency who we are licensed through. They are a very nice agency with wonderful, compassionate, and competent workers. They had a hot dog dinner, games, contests, coloring activities, and a dance ring. Anne really got into the dancing. One of the workers showed her a bunch of dance moves. Cakes is a Ninja, Rose is a Devil Girl, Anne is an Egyptian Princess or Greek Goddess...depending on her mood, Joe is a Shadow Ninja, and Baby Jim is a Spider. I dressed Goth again and Hubby was lame and just came in regular clothes. The kids came home LOADED with candy. I came home with a new quilt! The agency regularly gets donations for children coming into care. One quilting group wanted to donate quilts for the Families who fostered. Isn't that kind! So we got a lovely baby-size quilt. 

Trick or Treating at Dad's Workplace

Every year Hubby's work has a trick or treat activity at the office. All the employees' kids are invited. It is mostly a way to show off how much your kids have grown over the past year and to see how your co-workers kids have grown. It is hilarious to see grown-up men ooo and aaah over the little kids. I expect it from the ladies of the office, but not from some of these tougher guys.

6 year old Friend's Halloween Bash

Joe's friend, son of Cakes preschool teacher, invited Joe, Anne, and Rose to a Halloween bash at his house. They had a blast! They were fed a dinner of hot dogs and spooky sides and played spooky games. I have no pictures from this event either.

Elementary School's Fall Festival

Hubby and I had to divide and conquer to attend this event because it was the same night at Hubby's trick-or-treat at work and Joe's friend's party. Hubby and Rose went to the Festival first since they had volunteered to work some booths. It was important to Rose to be there and help. Her grade is raising money for a trip to Sea World. It was also important to Anne that her Dad attend, since her class was raising money for a trip to a local historical site. It's funny how the fifth graders are expected to do their own volunteer work, but third graders need their parents to do it.

I came later with Joe, Anne, Cakes, and Jim. Hence the picture with just those four kids. I tried to get a shot of Rose, but she was always moving!

Ward Trunk or Treat

This was a fun event. I have to make special mention of the Dinner. Most ward's just serve hot dogs (if anything). When we lived in Kansas, we always had a pot-luck first...since several people were driving an hour into town just to attend. Our new ward had hot dogs and they also had SLOPPY JOES!!!  And not just any sloppy joes, probably the bast sloppy joe I ever did eat in my entire life (no offense Dad). It was so delicious! Many-layered flavor, not-to-sweet, and very savory. I asked the gal who organized the event for the recipe. She says she'll have to make some modifications before she gives it to me because it is a recipe to serve 100! Hahaha! I told her to just give me the recipe as is.  I love recipes like that!

We invited two girls to attend the party with us. They are our neighbors and good friends to Anne and Rose. The best part about inviting them was when the older girl came back from getting her dinner.  She had Two hot dogs, One sloppy joe, a Huge slice of chocolate cake, several cookies, a couple of cupcakes, and a bit of salad. Hubby and I just stared at her! She looked at us and said, "What? I'm hungry. They said we could have as much as we want. And I haven't eaten since this morning." Then she proceed to eat EVERY BIT OF FOOD ON HER PLATE!!!  Well, not every bit. She did have a bit of cake left over. Hahaha!

Hubby decided not to dress like a biker for this event. I'm so glad he didn't! There was a woman who wore his exact costume. Hahaha! She had the biker hat, gloves, and even the fake tattoo sleeve. Hahaha!

Hubby came as a nasty ghoul of a thing. It was awful to look at it. Just plain old awful!

 The Actual Day of Halloween

Halloween fell on Sunday this year, so we spent the morning at church. That evening Hubby made us a fantastic hamburger dinner. I had gotten a pineapple at Bountiful Baskets the day before. Hubby sliced it up and grilled it. Plus we had crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, sweet teriyaki sauce, and some tangy cheese. Hubby put it all on the table so we could each make up our own "perfect hamburger". SO GOOD!!!  Hubby asked me to take a picture to document the goodness that he created, so he could always remember. Haha!

We spent the evening eating yummy hamburgers and handing out candy. My kids got such a kick out of handing out candy to our neighbors and friends. I truly believe that every kid ought to have the experience of handing out the candy. It is a wonderful feeling to be the one giving out the treats and making the little kids smile. We had great fun admiring the costumes of our neighbors, picking out candy to give out, and wishing them Happy Halloween. I had this experience many times as a kid due to my asthma. October is a bad month for me, even now. My Mom said that if I couldn't breathe right just sitting around, there was No Way she was allowing me to walk. Haha!

Counting Down

Today marks eight days until my due date. Phew! There is not a lot of time left. I have been working hard during the last few weeks, trying to get a some projects completed before the baby arrives.

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Which projects? Well, I'll tell you...

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1) Write thank you notes to Hubby's coworkers. Those crazy people threw a baby shower for me. ME! A woman who is on her fifth pregnancy. I couldn't believe it. I told Hubby to let them know I already had everything I needed. But they insisted! And they really went all out. Their generosity and thoughtfulness were quite overwhelming. I guess Hubby must be doing something right at work to endear so many of his coworkers to him and his little family.

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2) Make a baby quilt for Baby Kate. Hubby's best buddy and his wife had their first baby. It was quite the big event for their family to finally be blessed with a dear baby. Hubby was able to drive out for the blessing on Sunday. Of course he couldn't go empty-handed...
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This quilt was one of the JoAnn projects I made up. I chose the colors specifically for baby Kate. However, the JoAnn layout was completely different. I didn't care for it at all. So I just saved the blocks I had made, then sliced them and put them together how I wanted. Isn't it cute?
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Please note the machine quilting. I did it my very own self. I was nervous after my goof up with Cakes' quilt. But it turns out that I'm pretty good at free-motion quilting. It's just straight lines I have problems with. Hahaha!!

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This is the back of the quilt. Isn't the material gorgeous! I've had this in my stash for thirteen years. I think Baby Kate is a worthy recipient of such a highly treasured print. ;)

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3) Get the dogs licensed. Ey-yah! I totally spaced it. I was supposed to license them in January. But I'm used to dogs getting licensed once and staying licensed for life. This whole license your dog every year thing is not sticking in my brain. So off I went to a rabies clinic where I sat with Dash and Astro for an hour and a half waiting for our turn. Then I whisked those dogs down to the Humane Society to get their licenses. I of course had to pay a late fee, but whatever. They are now officially licensed.

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4) Paint Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom. Hubby painted the bathroom for me. It took him three weeks. Why? Because the man is super-busy! The first weekend he had time to prep the walls, remove all the fixtures, and tape the areas he didn't want painted. The next weekend he painted the ceiling and cut in the walls. The third weekend he filled in with a roller. It was quite the production.

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Hubby agreed to let me hire someone to paint our room. They painted it a gorgeous gray! They were in and out in a day...including prep, taping, cutting in, and filling in. They did a great job. The only problem is that Hubby has now decided that our bathroom should be the same gray color. He is planning on repainting it...eventually. ;)

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5) Finish my Pay It Forward gifts. I have gone back and forth all year on what exactly to make. I finally decided to make Sudoko quilts for each lady. I finished each quilt by just tying them. I really wasn't in the mood to try quilting straight lines again. The ties turned out great though. They are approximately 49 inches by 49 inches. The color themes are Autumn, Summer, and Spring.

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6) Celebrating!! Today's project is the best. Today my project is this guy. Three years ago, on Friday the Thirteenth, Cakes joined our family. I'm so happy that the new babe has waited until after his brother's birthday to be born, enabling me to spend this special day with my special guy.

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Our activities thus far: cards and presents at breakfast, shopping for some cool new shirts, playing at Chuck E. Cheese's, hamburgers from McDonald's, lots of well wishes from family, the Happy Birthday song sung at least once every half hour, and many, many hugs and kisses. Still to come, a special birthday dinner and cake, cake, cake!

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Which reminds me...who is the idiot who coined the phrase "You can't have your cake and eat it too"? What in the world were they talking about? The whole reason to bake a cake in the first place is to eat it! To enjoy it. I mean really. Who in their right mind bakes a cake and then lets it just sit there? Getting moldy! Yuck! What a waste. But not us. We are going to have a cake AND eat it too. Because that is the way it is supposed to be. ;)

Projects Completed and LOST Theories

Before I get to the LOST stuff, I have a few updates on projects I've been working on.

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First up, Cakes' quilt.

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I finally got that sucker done. Hoorah!! My original plan was to hand quilt it, but that just seemed too overwhelming. I opted to machine quilt it instead. I put it on a frame and pin basted the layers together. I have been assured by many quilters that this technique works marvelously for them. I think they lied. Even with the pin basting and following all their tips, I had bunches and overlaps. Aaargh! It's very frustrating to have made a beautiful quilt top only to have it marred by bad quilting. Next time I'll just tie it or have someone long-arm stitch it.

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I put about 600 curved pins into the quilt. Aren't the colors of this quilt beautiful!!! I was so happy when I picked them out. Keep in mind that I started this quilt in March 2008. I took at class at my favorite shop in Topeka. I finished the top in class then packed it, the backing, and all the scraps away since we were getting ready to move. It's been packed since.

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Even with the overlaps, the quilt turned out nicely. I am just relieved to have it done and on Cakes' bed. That goofy kid was so excited while I was making the quilt. He kept declaring that it was his. As soon as it was done though, he told me that it wasn't his blanket and promptly showed me which blanket was his. It is the yellow baby blanket my dear Aunt K made for him before he was born. He loves that thing! He lets my quilt lay on his bed, but refuses to sleep with it touching him. Haha! Maybe I should just give the quilt to the new baby. ;)

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The other project I have finally completed is making my "Pay It Forward" gifts. I took pictures of all three items. I put them in the mail this morning. They will be arriving in Nevada and Utah sometime Friday and in Kansas sometime on Tuesday. Since I don't want to ruin the surprise for the three ladies receiving the gifts, I'm saving the pictures until next week. For now, here is a picture of the boxes on their way out.

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Let me know when your gift gets to you!
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And now, for LOST...
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**Lost Spoilers Ahead...Proceed With Caution***

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Have I mentioned how much I love Desmond? Because I do. I think he is an excellent character. I enjoy the Scottish accent, how he calls everyone "Brother", and his determination. At one point in the name game, I was reading through my Celtic Names book and I came across the name Desmond. I seriously considered naming this babe Desmond for a couple of weeks. Then I told my Mom and she started laughing so hard that she had to hang up and get a drink. She called back later to apologize and let me know that she would be fine if I named the baby boy Desmond, she would just be giggling everytime she said his name for the first few years. Sheesh! That knocked that name out. ;)

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Anyhoo, it was wonderful seeing Desmond. I was wondering when he would come into play again. He was an integral character through the past few seasons.

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1) Hubby and I loved when Whidmore was telling Desmond that he was back on the Island how Desmond's skin right between his lip and nose started twitching like crazy! And his eye went a little berserk too. That was some good acting!

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2) Poor guy. He'd already been through so much because of the Island. Then he was shot and removed from his wife and son. But I never thought he would go after Whidmore physically like he did. With all the times that Desmond hit him, I was surprised that Charles only ended up with a gash to the forehead. Did you just love how in Sideways Charles and Desmond are FRIENDS!! Eloise was correct when she said that what Desmond craved most was Whidmore's approval, however she forgot that the only reason he wanted that approval was because he was Penny's Dad. I loved when Charles said, "Nothing's too good for you." That was so ironic!

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3) How funny was it when Charlie was describing the love that he saw in his near-death experience...he used the word "Voluptuous" to describe Claire. Haha! I think the drugs must have messed with his vision. Claire is a beautiful gal, but I would never use the word voluptuous to describe her.

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4) Love was a major theme of this episode. Charlie flashed and saw Claire. Desmond flashed and saw Penny. Daniel flashed and saw Charlotte. All three men recognized these women and were overwhelmed by the feelings of love they had towards the stranger women. And all three men wanted to regain that love in the Sideways world. When Daniel said that he believed he had already set off the bomb, he seemed wistful to return to the world that brought him Charlotte. Too bad that in that world both he and Charlotte are dead! As for Charlie and Claire, one is dead and the other completely bonkers. Only Desmond and Penny have a good life in the first timeline.

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5) Eloise knows! She knows they are in a parallel timeline! And she seems to know the rules and bounds. Wow!

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One of my Lost friends thinks Eloise made a deal with the Smoke Monster to get her son back (remember...she shot Daniel while on the Island?). My friend thinks Eloise might be behind the whole Sideways timeline. If that proves true, then Whoa! I don't know if my mind will be able to handle it. Personally, I'm still stuck on Jacob having manipulated everything. There are lots of other theories floating around on the Internet. Most of those blow my mind too. There are just so many ways the Lost writers could go with this story. And with only five episodes left until the season finale...well, I guess I will just have to wait and see. Again, I hope the Lost writers give us a satisfactory ending. Cross your fingers!

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6) I loved, loved, loved the end. I was so worried that the limo driver was going to shoot Desmond. Seriously! That kind of stuff happens on Lost. There aren't too many happy or calm endings to shows. How great is it that Desmond is going to find the other passengers. He has "something to show them." So cool!! It will be fun to watch him track down the other passengers and try to show them what he saw.

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7) The next episode is titled "Everybody Loves Hurley". So we should finally get the back story of Hurley's new life. They have teased it this entire season. It will be nice to see what actually happened with the man.

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8) And my final thought...it was hilarious to me that Daniel Faraday, the great Physicist, was a musician in Sideways. Hahaha! It would be fun to hear him play or sing or whatever it is he does.

Being Productive

I feel so productive and happy right now. My nails are black and my back is a bit sore, but I am completely HAPPY!! I had such a great day.

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First, I have to apologize to anyone who logged on to the "Transplanting Trees" post. My computer is having serious issues. I had downloaded my pictures using Hubby's laptop and thought I could add the words using my computer. I spent an hour and a half typing up what basically amounted to a as a tutorial for transplanting trees. It was a really great post. And then my computer went funky, closed one page, opened another, and reverted to the picture only post, which it then posted...even though I hadn't pushed the post button. Ey-yah! I was so mad I wanted to throw something or punch a wall. Isn't it great how pregnancy amplifies whatever emotion you are feeling? Haha! Luckily, Hubby knows how to deal with my amplified feelings now and was able to help me calm down. Sheesh! I'm such a mess sometimes. :)

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Anyhoo, the full Transplanting Trees post is forthcoming. I just have to re-type it all using Hubby's laptop (the computer I am using currently). Don't expect it for a few days though.

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So, back to my great day.

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I had an OB appointment this morning. The baby boy is doing great. He is currently head down. Cross your fingers he stays that way. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I noticed a magazine advertising an inside scoop into the current season of LOST. Of course, I immediately grabbed it and started reading. It was a great article. Except it made me feel kind of stupid. Remember all the numbers that I mentioned in the last post...I did NOT make the connection to the numbers Jacob had written and THE numbers. I am going to blame the pregnancy for dulling my mind. Haha!

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After that Mr. J had a visit from his CASA worker. She wanted to observe him in our home...see how he interacted with me and Cakes. I was nervous about having my parenting skills observed and analyzed, but the visit was more like a visit than an observation. Hooray! I had a lovely conversation with the CASA worker while Mr. J, Cakes, and I played. She is a nice and compassionate lady who is honestly looking out for Mr. J's best interest. That makes me happy. The little foster kids need all the people they can to look out for them. I'm thrilled to have such a great advocate for Mr. J.

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This afternoon the weather was idyllic. Big white fluffy clouds. Cool temperatures with a slight breeze. Hubby had brought me home a wonderful surprise last week...a new set of pruners. I am the proud owner of Bypass Pruners for pruning live growth and Anvil Pruners for pruning dry branches. With such a perfect afternoon, I decided to break out the pruners. My hibiscus plants have been in desperate need of some pruning. They grew so quickly the roots couldn't support the weight of the top. It took quite a lot of pruning before they could stand up straight on their own. My kids think they look pitiful and scraggly now. I told them to just wait. Hibiscus grow like crazy and their flowers will bloom again.

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I also pruned my five citrus trees and the plum and peach trees in my backyard. Again, my kids think they look a bit scraggly now. I told them to just wait and watch. I used it as a teaching experience to talk about making choices in life. There are so many ways we can grow and we have to make choices. My kids thought we would only cut off bad or dead branches. They were surprised to see me cutting off healthy branches and new growth. I explained that life works the same way for us. Sometimes there are several good branches, several good opportunities, but we have to make a choice if we want our tree to grow up healthy and balanced. It was great seeing the understanding in my kids' eyes.

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The only bad thing that happened with the pruning is that I forgot to put on latex gloves before I started applying the pruning paint. I ended up with that sticky paint all over my hands. It wouldn't have been that big a deal, except tonight I was attending my first Quilt Group Meeting! Aaack!

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I scrubbed and scrubbed my hands, but the paint would not come off and the stickiness did not lessen. Luckily, I had a stroke of genius. I smeared Bag Balm all over my hands then put latex gloves over them. And off I went to the meeting. My hands were clean and usable and by the end of the meeting the bag balm had worked off most of the pruning paint. Now only the edges of my fingernails are black and all stickiness is gone.

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The quilt meeting was a blast. Four other ladies showed up. Three had sewing machines, one brought all her cutting gear, and I manned the iron. We managed to put together a super cute and super scrappy lap-sized quilt top. One of the ladies took a picture and said she would e-mail it to me. When I get it, I'll post a copy here. The quilt top turned out very well and I felt so happy that I could contribute. Plus it was fun to just get together with a bunch of ladies and just listen to them talk. I grew up with a bunch of ladies around me...mom, aunts, grandma, sisters. I miss just being with a bunch of ladies. It was very, very nice. My heart is satisfied, which is a great feeling. :)

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The final good thing that happened was when I came home Miss Q had finally gotten an Algebraic concept that she has struggled with for the past year. Her new Algebra teacher is amazing. She has so many tricks up her sleeve, so many different ways to teach the math concepts to the kids. When Miss Q doesn't understand, her teacher shows her a different way. The trick that finally helped things click for Miss Q...using different colors to separate the different numbers.

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Instead of writing 4y-5x+9z-10+2x-y+2

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Miss Q now writes 4y-5x+9z-10+2x-y+2

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Isn't that great!!! Just a little color-coding and the girl UNDERSTANDS!!! Hooray!!!

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And that is the end of my day. Except...Hubby has promised to rub my neck for five minutes if I have this typed up and the computer off before he finishes his project. And guess what...I'm done and he's not! Hooray. The pregnant lady is going to get her neck rubbed. :)

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I hope you had a great day too! :)

LOST in Two Directions

Warning: Lost Season Premiere Spoilers Ahead!

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First off, I just have to say...
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WOW!!!

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The LOST season premiere was last night. Two hours of pure fabulous craziness! After watching just the first ten minutes, I could completely understand why no previews or teasers have been given of this season. There was so much going on. The most measly sliver would have given away too much. Oh Wow! It was just phenomenal. I am really looking forward to the rest of this season. Hmm... I wonder how many episodes there are scheduled. I sure hope I don't go into labor during any of the final episodes. Watching LOST requires a person's full attention, and if I'm having severe contractions I will probably end up missing some pertinent Lost information. Thank goodness the episodes are available online. :)

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And now on to my run down:
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1) The final few minutes of last season's finale when Juliet, with her dying breath, hit the bomb and "died", was heart-wrenching for me. As mentioned before, Juliet is one of my favorite characters. I know she is on "V" now and so would only be available for a few episodes, but COME ON!! When I heard her voice, crying out from under the rubble, I thought she might live. And then having her die another tragic death....It was just cruel! If I wasn't so addicted to the show, I might boycott just because they killed off Juliet twice. Aargh!

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2) I love that Sawyer was loyal to Juliet throughout the episode. Many people, me included, thought he would run back to Kate's arms the second he got the chance. I thought, mostly, he would seek comfort from Kate. But he didn't! His heart was broken about Juliet, which kind of broke my heart for him. When Sawyer heard Juliet crying out, he went nuts trying to dig her out, just like a true love would. I was so proud of him! Good job being a loyal companion!

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Did anyone else notice Miles freaked out face after he listened for Juliet's last words? For those who don't remember, Juliet's final words to Sawyer were cut off by her dying. Miles tuned in to discover that her final words would have been, "It worked." Miles freaked out twice here. First time, because he could actually hear Juliet. He seemed very surprised by this. Am I not remembering something? Did Miles lose his abilities at some point last season? I don't remember this happening, but the man looked so surprised that he could actually hear Juliet that I'm left wondering what that was about. Did Juliet say anything else? Are other spirits whispering to Miles? What is going on?!?!

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The second freak out occurred after hearing Juliet's words. Miles' face just seemed off for the rest of the episode. It was so weird. There is something there. I just don't know what yet.

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3) SHUT UP KATE! Man! She was getting on my nerves. First, she tries to get Sawyer to take a break from his frantic search for Juliet. Lay off Kate! The man just lost his love, of course he's frantic. Then later she butts in to tell Jack to quit trying to save Sayid (another of my favorite characters). Excuse me Kate, but Jack only gave Sayid one round of CPR. It wouldn't hurt for him to continue for a few more minutes. I mean really! I know she was supposed to be the voice of reason here, but it seriously got on my nerves that it occurred when Jack and Sawyer were trying to save someone.

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4) The Lost Temple was gorgeous. The structure was reminiscent of the temple ruins found in South America. It was surrounded by a small pond/river thing with stepping stones leading to the entrance. Gorgeous!

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5.) The Black Smoke Monster (BSM) is freaking EVIL! Seeing him played by John Locke is twisted. Terry O'Quinn is doing a great job playing this character. We have known all along that the BSM is a deliverer of his own brand of justice, but seeing it in action in Jacob's home was crazy. Then having John stroll out and apologize to Ben for having to see him like that...Oooh! I got chills down my spine.

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6) Ben chose the BSM even after seeing the destruction he wrought. What is that about? I know Ben has done bad stuff in the past, but wow. His decision to follow the BSM's instructions shocked me. I can't wait to see where that relationship heads.

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7) I loved the flashes back and forth from the Island to the Airplane. If Desmond hadn't been on the plane I would have thought that the Lost writers couldn't make up their mind which way they wanted to end the show, so decided (Choose-your-own-adventure-style) to play it out both ways. I also loved the flash of the Island sunk under the ocean. That was CRAZY! And so Great to see! What an amazing visual!

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It will be great to see how the different story lines play out. The writers really do an amazing job with this story.

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I have to include a side-note. I was listening to an NPR interview of two executives on the show. They talked about how sometimes they will be sitting in the writing room, planning out their stories, when they are overcome with the pure ridiculousness of this show and amazement that anyone is even watching it. Hahaha! They credited the actors for taking the ridiculous stories and playing them with a sincere honesty as the reason why people love the show so much. :)

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8) Again, I don't know if I'm remembering incorrectly, but I thought that Rose and Bernard were not seated together on the plane. It seemed like their seats had been broken up, one up front and one in back. Although I like this version with him having been in the bathroom during the "severe turbulence". I liked seeing Rose and Bernard sitting together, leaning in close and talking. They are such a lovely couple. Their relationship was a definite highlight amidst all the Lost chaos. And BSM was wrong when he said that only John Locke didn't want to leave the Island. Remember the whole Incurable Disease thing that was miraculously cured on the Island? Rose and Bernard wanted to stay too.

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9) What is the black ash that protects people from the BSM? And where can I get some?

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10) And the big question...What did the BSM mean when he stated "I want to go home"? Where is home? Why did he have to leave? Some people have theorized that Jacob and BSM are angels of some type. Is BSM a fallen angel? I don't know that the Lost writers would go in that direction, but they do have a Temple, so it is possible that this will all have a religious twist. Although with all the evidence thus far, and with the BSM losing what looked like a talon when shot, I would vote that the religion would be of an Egyptian sort. It will be so, so interesting to see how that plays out.

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11) And before I end, I have to ask why was Richard in chains the last time the BSM saw him? And why did he knock Richard about then haul him off? There was some major animosity there. That is another storyline that will be interesting to watch.

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On a quilter's note, I did manage to pin-baste half of Cake's quilt while watching the premiere last night. I would have got it all done, but I ran out of curved safety pins. :(

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And this morning when I checked my e-mail, I found this note from my Mom sent at 11:25 pm:

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"hi. the tv show lost was over at 10 pm. you do not have a new blog post up. are you okay?"

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Hahaha!! Yes, Mom! I am okay.

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I went to bed as soon as Lost was over. I needed to get some sleep and digest everything I had just seen. Also, I have several meetings for the Foster kids today, so I wanted to make sure I was well-rested. :)

Mexican Star Wall Hanging

Early December brought this year's Homemade Gift Exchange party. I've known about the party all year long and have thought and thought about what I wanted to make. Towards the beginning of the year I seriously contemplated making a twin-sized quilt. Haha! That would have been too, too much.

I decided to make what I thought was called a Mexican Wedding Star. I made one when I was first married from materials that I thought were beautiful. The material was beautiful, but too many dark colors all together. I pieced the star on my own and it shows! Haha! I was quite the novice. The seams are all off. Squares that should be the same size are 1/4 to 3/4 inches off from one another. My borders are not straight at all. But hey! My points all lined up. :)

"Mexican Wedding Star"

I've wanted to redo this wall hanging for twelve years now. However, I was just too nervous to give it a try. So I kept putting it off. The reason? I wasn't sure what colors I wanted to use and this is a very special quilt pattern to me with a lot of history. I wanted the next one I made to be perfect and look gorgeous hanging in my home.

The Gift Exchange provided the answer. I could make a wall hanging, experiment with colors, and then give it away to someone who would love it. Kind of a practice round. :)

I made a master drawing of the block, then began figuring out what size the pieces were supposed to be, as opposed to the sizes they actually were. Thank goodness Geometry is one of my strong points. However, consistency was not a strong point of mine when first quilting. My pieces were so wonky! Haha! After slaving away on my master drawing, figuring out most of the pieces, but still wondering if I was on target, a light bulb went off in my head. And I felt really dumb.

My Mom has the actual pattern!!! With the exact sizes!!!

After kicking myself for a few minutes, I called my Mom. Turns out the quilt is called "Mexican Star". My Mom called it the Mexican Wedding Star because she made them for all of her nephews when they got married. The pattern was designed by Georgia Bonesteel. (It doesn't look like any of the Mexican Star patterns I've seen online. I like Georgia's pattern best.) It's made using templates. I don't like templates unless I'm doing applique'. Oh well. My Mom, bless her heart, measured each piece for me. Most of the measurements she gave me matched up with the measurements I had figured out. That was a relief. And here it is:

The pieces all laid out, ready to be sewn.

(That's Mr. J's arm trying to grab my pieces.)

The Finished Top with Borders

The Finished Back

I tried to machine quilt it, but just made a mess. After unpicking and trying again four times, I opted to hand quilt it. I could have added more quilting to the borders. Maybe next time. Overall, I think it turned out very good.

Since we're back in Arizona, I made Carrot Cookies with Orange Icing as my treat to share at the Gift Exchange. They were delicious! I love Carrot Cookies.

At the end of the Gift Exchange, I came home with this cute item. I plan on hanging it in my girls room. They are thrilled with that decision! :)

Grateful

Last year many of my friends participated in a Thanksgiving challenge on their blogs. Each day in November they were to write about one thing for which they were grateful. It made my heart glad to read their entries. I haven't seen this challenge circulating this year and only thought of it when I was trying to cheer myself up this weekend. The old "Count Your Blessings" trick is pretty consistent with its results. In that spirit, I wanted to list a few of the things I am grateful for this year.

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1) My dear Hubby. He is such a great friend and companion.

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2) My four kind and interesting kids. I'm so grateful that my kids are interesting! They like to explore, go on adventures, and learn new things. Hooray!

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3) My house. I'm still getting used to it, but having four good-sized bedrooms is fabulous.

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4) Quilts! How else are you going to keep warm in the winter? And nothing beats a quilt to snuggle up in while watching a movie or hanging on your wall to beautify your home.

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5) Books. I love reading and learning. I am especially grateful that I am no longer in school and can read for pleasure again. So far I've read Beowulf, a couple of books on the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, and Yoni's Last Battle: The Rescue at Entebbe 1976. It is wonderful to read a book, learn from it, think about and digest the content, and NOT write a five to ten page essay dissecting it!

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6) How National Adoption Day was celebrated in my little town. Our two family judges worked hard all last Friday. They conducted 30 adoptions! Isn't that wonderful? Reading the stories of a few of the families that participated made my heart happy.

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7) Trees. I adore trees. Particularly fruit trees. In my backyard alone I have a lime, lemon, grapefruit, Arizona sweet orange, tangerine, Anna apple, Dorset apple, plum, and peach tree. I had an apricot tree, but it didn't survive the Arizona summer. In the spring one of my apple trees produced three little apples. This winter, my lime tree produced one lime-which was picked prematurely-and my orange tree has about twenty oranges on it. They are currently a light orange. We have to wait a few more weeks for the orange color to deepen then they'll be ready to eat. Yum!

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8) Being outdoors. I am fascinated with the world around me. It drives my kids and Hubby nuts, but I am content sitting outside all day just observing nature. Watching the clouds drift and change, the leaves move with the wind, the birds flying overhead, insects moving in the grass, a spider building a web...I love it all!

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9) The Sonoran Desert. What a beautiful place to live. I feel so lucky to be here.

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10) Variety. Wasn't our Father in Heaven wise when he designed such a diverse earth and population. Deserts and Rain Forests. Tropical Islands and Mountain Ranges. Horses and Tigers. Elephants and Ants. And of course the variety of personalities in the peoples of this planet. It's just so interesting! I am grateful for interesting things. :)

Teaching

The November/December Class Schedules are now available at JoAnn's. Can I just say, it is so exciting to me to see my classes listed. I have had many jobs in my life. They have all been jobs of convenience and necessity. And many of those jobs, I did not like at all. Despite that, I plugged through and performed each job well.

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This is my first official job that I will not only love from the get go, but will also get to grow and expand my skills in. I am just so excited! And I have such a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. They are such nice feelings to have. :)

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These are the samples I made for a few of the classes I will teach. It's kind of funny, but a few of the items I will be teaching I would never have thought of making. They were such fun to complete though. And my kids absolutely love each item. I let them each pick out the fabric for one sample. After the sample comes down off the JoAnn wall, the child that picked the fabric will get to keep the sample item.

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Sewing 101

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Sewing 202: Fleece Robe

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Teen Sewing 101: Wristlet

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Quilting 201: Mini Quilt Coasters

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Other items I will be teaching, but don't have pictures of, include: Reusable Gift Bags, Fleece Vest, "Hole in the Barn Door" Quilt Block, "Steps Through My Garden" Quilt Top.

Ramblings and News

One of the bad things about moving is leaving all your good friends behind.

I left my friends a year ago. Then I spent several months in transition and most recently have been trying to get my own home decorated and in order. Basically, I haven't had much time for socializing. I've met many wonderful women, but I haven't made that "great" friend yet. Hold on. Let me rephrase that. I probably have met the great friend, I just haven't had time to develop a "great" friendship yet.

Alright, so what does this have to do with my blog? Well, since I don't yet have that great friend to share all my good news, funny stories, weird experiences, etc. with, I've decided to share them here. I've been brimming over with a few good news items and if I don't let them out soon, I am likely to explode and spill my guts to some random stranger in the grocery store who casually asks How I Am. So, to avoid the embarrassment and awkwardness that would surely follow such an explosion, I will instead spill my guts here, where I know a few of the friends I left behind still visit me.

Good News!

1. I earned my Teaching Certificate this summer! Yahoo! I am now certified to teach K - 12 Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS). For those who don't know, FACS covers eight areas:

a. Human Development

b. Family and Human Relations

c. Clothing, Textiles, and Fashion Merchandising

d. Nutrition and Food Preparation

e. Facility Management, Housing, and Interior Design

f. Consumer Economics, Family Resources, Personal Finance, and Family Financial Management

g. Food Production and Culinary Arts

h. Child Development

I could teach any of these subjects. It's very exciting. I was sorely tempted to apply for two open positions in our High School District. One was Culinary Arts and the other was Fashion Design. Fortunately, my good sense (Hubby) kicked in and reminded me that I had already committed to other projects that would interfere with a full-time teaching position. Whatever. I'm just super-excited that I finally have the certificate in my hands!

2. What commitments do I have? Children? A house to run? Psh. Those are easy! No, my commitment is to JoAnn's. I was hired on as an Independent Contractor to teach Sewing and Quilting Classes. Aaaaah!!! Can you believe it?!?! I'm going to be teaching sewing and quilting. And I'll get paid for it! I'm on their calendar starting November 1. In the meantime, I am working on sewing up samples for display in the store. I'm also trying to time myself-how long each step takes to complete, figure out the order I'll teach the sewing steps in, what items should be sent home as homework, and all that fun stuff.

Sewing Classes I will be teaching in November & December:

a. Kid's Sewing 101 - Pillow Case

b. Teen Sewing 101 - Wristlet (a little handbag)

c. Sewing 101 - Pillow Case

d. Sewing 102 - Reusable Gifts Bags

e. Sewing 201- Fleece Vest

f. Sewing 201 - Fleece Robe



Quilting Classes I will be teaching in November & December:

a. Quilting 101 - Hole in the Barn Door Block

b. Quilting 201 - Mini-Quilt Coaster Set

c. Quilting 202 - Steps Through My Garden Quilt

The January/February Calendar will include different items, sent down by the JoAnn bigwigs. In addition to whatever classes they want taught, I will be adding a Trend class of my own...A Stack-and-Slash Baby Quilt. Again, it's very exciting because I LOVE sewing and quilting.

If you live in my town and want to sign up for one of the classes I'll be teaching, call me up and I'll let you know which classes on the schedule are mine. :) OH! And once a month, at JoAnn's Open House, classes are Half-Price! Next open house is September 12.

3. Hubby and I are officially Licensed as Foster Parents. We finished all the paperwork and home inspections in June, by late July we were Licensed, and on Saturday, August 8 we welcomed a 16-year old girl into our home. That's Right! I am now the Mother of a Teenage Girl! Hahaha! Can you believe it?

Last week I went to her High School to meet with a few of her teachers. Funniest thing happened. As Miss Q (our new girl's pseudonym) introduced me as her Mom, one of the female teacher's eyes opened big as saucers and her jaw fell open. Awkward! Female teacher, trying to cover for herself, then said "It's just that you look so young to have a teenage daughter." Haha! I didn't tell her that Miss Q was our Foster Daughter because 1. It's none of her business (I'm not being rude, it's a matter of confidentiality) and 2. If Miss Q wants to introduce me as Mom, then that's who I am. I told Hubby about it later and we figured for us to biological parents to a 16-year old, he would have been 18 and I would have been 15 when that child was born. Yowser!

4. All the rooms in my home are painted, except the Master Bedroom, Master Bath, Hallway, and Laundry Room. The good news is that Hubby, now free from "Into the Woods", has agreed to paint them himself.

5. After much searching and long debates with myself, I have finally decided which quilt pattern to use for my Sister-In-Law's quilt. It's called "Making History". I found it in the Fall/Winter 2008 Quilt Sampler magazine. It uses a Martha Washington star block and a sawtooth star block. Of course, I have to finish my JoAnn samples before I can start on SIL's quilt. Oh, and I need to make Miss Q a quilt and finish BabyCakes quilt. But at least I have the pattern for SIL's quilt figured out. ;)

6. My Sister V came to visit me and she brought her fancy hair cutting scissors. V was nice enough to give myself and all five kids a nice haircut. Hooray!

Bad News

1. The summer heat has killed my apricot tree and white hibiscus plant. I tried to save them, but they just couldn't stand the heat. :( The other fruit trees, hibiscus, and citrus seem to be coping alright. They just have to last another month then the weather will start to cool off.

2. I have been fighting a seriously debilitating ear infection. It has made my whole face, head, and neck ache and pound. It has made me dizzy and nauseous. And it has thrown off my already-shaky balance. As a result, I have many bumps and bruises all over my body from running into walls, posts, doors, or just plain falling down. I see my ENT for an eval tomorrow. Hopefully, he can get everything figured out. :(

3. Can tops hate me. I have a heavy-duty can opener for my year supply. It is fantastic opening #10 cans. It is stinky at opening regular grocery sized cans. It always skips and leaves two spots unopened. In my attempt to open one such can, I sliced my right thumb top clean open. It was awful. It sliced down into my nail. The length of the cut was about 1 1/2 inches, the depth about 1/4 inch...thankfully. Any deeper and I would have needed some heavy stitching. Yuck! As it was, I just lost a lot of blood as the wound spurted all over my kitchen. Later I had a lovely gaping hole on the top of my thumb that stung like the dickens whenever air touched it. I procured this wound just in time to fill out all the registration papers for my kids to attend school. Yay!

The next can-hating incident occurred only a few days later. I was being extra careful, trying to avoid injuring myself again. Psh. Totally didn't work! This time I sliced my right palm directly under my index finger. The can lid sliced clear through the skin...in part. It was nasty and did cause me great pain. Hubby has volunteered to open all my cans from now on. That would be a nice offer, if he wasn't gone so much working. I can't wait for him to open cans for me. Joe said he would open them, but there is no way! I'm too paranoid now to let my sweet innocent five-year old son battle cans for me. I need to buy a different can opener, but that would involve driving and what with my dizziness from the ear infection, I am avoiding driving at all costs. :(

4. I did injure my tailbone...AGAIN!!! It's not the same bone I broke in December 2007. That bone was at the very end of the spine. No, this one is a few bones higher. I injured it while trying to distract BabyCakes during his haircut. Cakes was swinging his arms about and accidentally got my chin. Well, that was pretty funny, so he swung for me again. Ouch. My face must have been hilarious, because he decided to use both fists to get my chin again. I was sitting on a little stool at the time. I shoved the stool back and planned on plopping my buns onto it, out of Cakes' reach, but I slid the stool too far back. Instead of sitting, I slammed the top part of my bum down HARD onto the tile bathroom floor. It was awful!! The pain shot all the way down to my ankles and up to my neck. And not just pain. There were also weird tinglings and then a kind of numbness settled over my body, so that I was still in a ton of pain but completely unable to move any part of my body. That lasted for several minutes. Finally I was able to move, so I crawled out of the bathroom and tried to lay down. That hurt even worse.

I thought it would quit hurting after a day, but no. So I went to the ER to have it checked out. The ER wasn't super busy, but was still a long wait. I had to be at the bus stop by Noon to meet Joe and the treatment for a broken tailbone is the same for a bruised one...ice it and take some Tylenol. (There's really not much they can do when you're stupid enough to hurt your bum. :-( ) Anyhoo, since the treatment would be the same and I needed to get out of the ER pronto, I opted not to have the x-rays done. So I don't know the exact extent of the damage I caused nor the exact bone I injured. But after living with the pain and discomfort for the last week and a half, I'm pretty sure I broke it. Hmm. Maybe I can go to the local imaging place and have them take an x-ray. They're pretty quick...

Funny thing about the injured bum: We have a young gal called in our ward to play piano each Sunday. A couple hours before Church started the Sunday after my accident, she called to say she was sick and could I please fill in. I explained my predicament, she said "Ah" in understanding, then asked if I could still play. I guess I didn't explain well enough. Haha! I did play for her, but it was a killer getting up and down off that hard wooden bench.

Luckily for me, it was healed enough by this past Sunday that I could still do nursery all right. Although, there were a few times I thought about walking out and begging someone to take over for me. But I stuck to it and we all had fun.

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And that is the end of my news. Well, at least what I can remember. I was going to write about something weird that happened to me, but cannot remember what it was. Probably because I've been sitting down to long and can't concentrate when my bum is aching.

FYI I'm going to start posting my Good and Bad News occasionally. I need to get this stuff out so I don't explode to some random stranger and bore them with my life story. ;)

Bad Dream

Oh. My. Goodness!

I had the worst dream last night. It was a total nightmare. If you are easily frightened, do not read any further.

Okay. So here's what happened. I had gone away somewhere with the kids. I don't know where we went. The point is, we were gone. When we got home, Hubby was having a Yard Sale. No big deal. I wasn't concerned until I saw the particular item he was currently trying to sale...my thirty-year old Husqvarna Viking sewing machine!!!

He was in the process of saling it to some crazy lady who offered him two dollars for it. And he took the money and handed her the machine! Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ran to them, but I was too late. My sewing machine was gone. I could feel the tears coming. Hubby looked at me, all proud and happy with himself. As I stared at him, so sad, he started telling me about selling my machine. When he saw that I was sad he told me (with lots of pride and happiness in his voice), "Don't worry Sarah. You don't need that old machine. I just bought you a brand new sewing machine. It's a Singer from Wal-Mart. And I only paid one hundred dollars for it."

And then I started to really bawl in my dream. I was so overcome by his stupidity and the horrible feeling of loss for my fabulous sewing machine. It was really horrible. Seriously! While I'm sitting here typing this, and thinking about that dream, real tears are starting to come to my eyes! I really love that machine. I'm usually pretty good about not getting attached to material possessions. But that machine can do marvelous things. The horror that my husband, someone who's supposed to love me, would sell the darling machine! Oh! My heart can't take horrible thoughts like that. Like some cheap Singer could ever replace a Viking! That old Viking is a gem!

So, Hubby dear, If you're reading this....Do not ever sell my sewing machine. If you do, I will consider it grounds for divorce...or murder. Sorry. I still love you though. But I will hurt you if you touch my sewing machine. Just thought you'd like a warning.

Sudoko!

I finally finished the Sudoko Quilt. Just two hours before the Homemade White Elephant party. Aaah! Talk about cutting it close. I had a few problems putting this one together. I wanted to machine quilt it, but the back kept gathering and bunching. The stitching looked great on the front, not so great on the back. So I unpicked it all and started over. After three failed attempts, I decided to just tie it instead. Much easier and faster. Next problem, I ended up not having enough material to bind it using my favorite technique. So I had to figure out a different way. And with time slipping away, it needed to be a quick way.

Here are the pictures of the finished product. Notice that the Sudoko is perfect! No doubles in any column or row. Thank goodness that it was already printed out for me in the pattern. ;)

The Top Block

The Binding...I just flipped over the edge
and machine stitched it. Turned out Very Good!

Me and the Finished Quilt

The back material and binding.

We are also supposed to bring a treat to share. My kids have been begging
to make cookies. So we used a "Fat Lady" recipe for Spritz Cookies. YUM!!!

Wish me luck! Hopefully I'll come home with a good White Elephant
gift. At the very least, I'm sure to have a great time at the party! :)