1. Started your own blog 
 2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
 5. Watched a meteor shower
 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 
 7. Been to Disneyland 

Disneyland, April 2009. Wow my kiddos are tiny! And since this picture, I’ve lost about 35 pounds.

 8. Climbed a mountain 
 9. Held a praying mantis 
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightening storm 
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight 
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort 
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse 
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise 

Porthole on cruise. My friend Holly and I went on the Kenny Chesney cruise in 2006.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

Backyard view at my Uncle’s house. I’m lucky to have been raised in the place of my ancestors. January 2008.

35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language 
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 
52. Kissed in the rain 
53. Played in the mud 
54. Gone to a drive-in theater 
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business 
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching 
63. Got flowers for no reason 
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt

Hhmm, I don’t have any quilt pictures on my phone. Here is half of a paper pieced star. I haven’t had any lessons in paper piecing, just jumped in and am trying to figure it out. And man, it is tough! There are two mistakes in this half, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it feels like it is.

73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle 
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car 
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper 
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox 
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous 
92. Joined a book club 
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby 

My three babies, on Ash Wednesday, 2010.

95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone 
99. Been stung by a bee

Well Holly has me beat! I’ve only done 43 of those things. How about I add a few more:

100. Been to the Black Hills
101. Went to the top of the Space Needle
102. Saw Clark’s signature

Clark’s signature, at Pompey’s Pillar, Billings, MT

There, that is 46 and I beat Holly.

99 Things is a post from: me being crafty

Yay! I’m going to the Sewing Summit!

I, like many others, was ready at 8 AM (my time) earlier this week when the tickets went on sale. I didn’t realize that last year tickets were being sold up until the conference started, I just wanted to buy my ticket and get a small discount (I lucked out and was one of the first fifty to register!). I have a room reserved and will probably get a roommate.

I promise I’ve been sewing up a storm lately! I haven’t had time to blog about any of it, but I finally uploaded pictures to flickr so here they are.

The first hexies I made. I just went for it one day and whipped up a bunch of them in a couple of days. I am making a window covering for a friend of my Mom’s, I’m almost done with that so pictures soon!

Here is one of the first mug rugs I ever made! I made a Turning Twenty quilt with these fabrics and had enough left over to make a mug rug. It is a little busy, but I still love it.

Back of mug rug. Straight line sewing!

And the other of the first mug rugs I’ve ever made – I’ve made two so far. I love this strips of color one.

And certainly not least, the mug rug I received from Sister Diane in the Craft Social mug rug swap! I love this and use it when I am sewing.

Sewing Summit 2012 is a post from: me being crafty

With the recent MegaMillions hoopla, there’s been a lot of dreaming about what we’d do with all that money. What are three things on your “if I won the lottery” list?

1. First thing, I’d pay off all our debt, pay off our houses (though let’s all cross our fingers that the house in SC sells quickly!), pay off the debt for my brothers and parents and make sure everyone has a house. Let’s face it, even if someone had extravagant taste, that is WAY less then a couple million dollars.

2. Set up college funds for all my nieces/nephews (the newest nephew was just born ten days ago! Baby Buzz, or maybe I’ll call him Buzzer? Not his name though LOL makes grandchild number fourteen for our parents), and set aside enough for future generations. And really, that wouldn’t be that much – in the grand scheme of the mega millions.

3. Set up a foundation and give money away. After my family is all taken care of, there are a lot of people who need help. I’d give away scholarships and give money to tribal colleges. I’d give money to artists and crafters. I’d set aside money for the elderly so they are taken care of. I’d try to fix a lot. Most of all, I’d try to not waste so much money.

The mega millions is such a HUGE amount, I can’t even imagine spending it. I can imaging paying off debt and buying houses, but what was the final number, $640 million? That’s crazy!

First 3 on Thursday is a post from: me being crafty

Deb said:

What a wonderful idea – I’m an educator, too, and have seen first hand the ripple effect of helping one student learn and grow.

I’ve taken Diane’s “Tune-up” class for blogs, and have become so much more confident and competent in my blog writing. I’m looking to take my crafty enterprises to the next level, and think that this class will really help propel me into the future. I have some great ideas, and need to get a little more education and support to make them a reality.

Busting the Blog Myth starts in just a few days so head on over to sign up now.

Contest Winner – Busting the Blog Myth is a post from: me being crafty

I’ve been thinking about the impact that supporting people has on others. The American Indian College Fund recently started a new campaign titled Help a Student, Help a Tribe:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The impact that one student can have is tremendous. The student from NWIC who is profiled as part of the AICF campaign can help stop 1,800 kids from being dropouts. That is a huge number! The difference one person can make can be measured and success can be the outcome.

This has definitely spilled over from my job into my online craft community support. I have also been supporting free (here is my inspiration for doing so – Sister Diane’s January update) and I’ve been thinking about how to take it a step farther. I love being able to buy an awesome Craft Sanity magazine (link is to the print copy) and know that doing this helps Jennifer continue to be able to put these magazines together. She isn’t a huge business, with financial backing, she is someone who has knowledge to share (in the form of writing and collecting stories, as well as photography, tutorial writing, layout, etc.). Supporting Jennifer allows her to reach more people

One thing I would like to do for February is to gift Sister Diane and Tara Swiger’s “Busting the Blog Myth” class to someone. Leave a comment on this post to be considered – tell me how taking this class would impact your business and online work. 

photo credit: nhburdick

From Sister Diane’s post: “Busting the Blog Myth: How to make a blog that actually markets your business (without being gross). It’s a four-day intensive, starting on February 20, that aims to help each participant dig deep into how blogging can best work for their businesses.”

The contest will run from today, Monday February 13, through Thursday, February 16. The winner will be picked using random.org and I will notify them (and post here) Friday morning.

Contest – Busting the Blog Myth is a post from: me being crafty

7 Things I Don’t Do

1. Knit – regardless of how many times I want to or I am interested or I look at classes in town, I’ve never just done it. Completely lack of motivation to take another step tells me it just isn’t happening. Then I see beautiful pictures of yarn and I want to use it!

photo credit: orchidgalore

2. Deep cleaning – When the kids and I lived with Mom not too long ago, she remembered that I’m not the tidiest person around so we split the cost of a housekeeper. When the kids and I moved out, I kept using the service. I’ve never loved cleaning, I mean I do it because it has to be done, but that’s it. I am happy to turn this over to another person!

3. Drink coffee regularly – I was lucky enough to grow up living next door to my Grandma. For kids in my family, that meant meeting there before school and having breakfast (or just a snack) and coffee. This only lasted until we had to ride the bus, so from kindergarten until 6th grade, I had a cup of coffee just about every day. That coffee’d me out and now I just enjoy how good it smells.

photo credit: subsetsum

4. Iron clothes – While I like ironing fabric and even don’t mind ironing while I am quilting, ironing clothes is not appealing to me at all. I try to fold clothes as soon as they are out of the dryer.

5. Escape the clutter – I don’t know how I can be organized and know where everything is and still have a messy table! I know it is a matter of not having a place for everything, and this is an issue as long as we continue to move and move since every house is different and the storage opportunities at each house are different as well. This house is the smallest we’ve been in lately and the mess can drive me crazy. I’ve been getting rid of a lot of stuff as a result.

6. Scrapbook – this, like knitting, is something that I want to be able to do. I tried in the past – I have an album with probably eight pages finished – but it just doesn’t stick. I keep memories in a box which is so much less pressure then cutting them up to fit on a page! I have seen this cool page system over at Wendolonia and wonder if that will work for me? I got a Smash Journal and can’t wait to do something with it! I feel like if I find something that works, I’ll be more inclined to do it. Maybe this isn’t true though. Maybe I have to be satisfied with my photo boxes and other boxes of memorabilia.

7. Meal Planning – I have a calendar that has a space for meals, I have a notepad on the fridge for keeping track of a list for when we run out of food, but nothing works to help me meal plan. I have even tried cooking food and freezing it – that actually works really well – and having my kids help. I can plan for a few weeks and then lose the motivation or will or whatever it is. For example, last week – we did great with meal planning! Over the weekend I cooked a few things and froze them too. This is something I need to improve because once my classes start again, I am going to appreciate the planning. And I can plan and organize every other area of my life, why not this! Maybe it’s my changing mind during the day of what I am interested in eating. I wonder what can overcome that.

To put a spin on things, here are 4 Things I Do

1. Let my kids help – sometimes it is hard to let your kids do things because they won’t do it right (meaning your way). Of course this gets easier as they get older but I start early. I’ve let JW help quilt, he loves to sew. He asks “help sew?” and sits on my lap. I go slower and he is thrilled. He is fascinated to sit on my lap and touch the quilt, to help move it.

2. Make birthday cakes – so far I’ve made Dora, Elmo, a drum, a gumball machine (two or three times!), a strawberry and I’m not sure what else. I like having birthday parties at home, a throwback to how things have always been done in my family. I try to keep this tradition alive even though we move all the time.

3. Have a library – books are expensive and we use the library all the time. But I have a lot of books and love having them. I love that JW “reads” and that Alice and Jake read at any chance they get. Jake almost reads more then Alice does, which kind of surprises me. We have enough books for at least three, maybe four, bookcases. Most of the books are packed up as the house we are in is too small and there isn’t room for our bookcases. The important thing is to love the books that we have, so I do go through them and make sure we are getting rid of text books or pass along books to friends that we are done with.

4. Cook – I love to bake and cook. I don’t mind making a big dinner, even if it takes 20 minutes to eat after I cooked for two hours. I will try new things and cross my fingers it is delicious. And even better, if you see number two I don’t like cleaning (okay that says deep cleaning) so I have trained myself to clean up as I go when I cook. I put dishes in to soak or in the dishwasher and put ingredients/food away while I’m making it. The kitchen is rarely a huge mess after I am done. I may not be able to plan a meal, but I can cook.

Feel free to play along, and also enjoy Carrie’s 9 Things I Don’t Do.

Seven Things I Don’t Do is a post from: me being crafty

photo credit: coɴᴅoᴙmaᴎ™

I mentioned how crazy busy I am, how I am taking a total of five classes this semester and then I will be done with my undergrad studies. Well I got a phone call yesterday that said the two classes I was going to take from NWIC will not be accepted because they are not exactly the equivalent to the classes at UMUC. I was also told that I was wrong in thinking I only needed five classes to graduate, I actually need ten more total classes. That is partially my fault because I read my degree progress report wrong, but I also blame my advisor because I have been speaking with a couple of different people regularly and I kept telling them I could finish this semester. Why didn’t either of them say anything?

I decided to fight to get the Native American Art Appreciation class to transfer as Art Appreciation. The woman I spoke with from UMUC said it was too specific since it was Native art, and not art in general. Well, it is from a tribal college so I guess you can say there is a focus, but isn’t that the same as art from a mainstream university focusing on western art for their art appreciation class? What if I took that class to begin with and then transferred to UMUC, would they deny the class at that point? Who knows, but I am going to try to go higher and get the class accepted. I do not see why it wouldn’t be but we’ll see the response I get.

I am going to take a DANTES test to take the place of one of the classes I would have transferred from NWIC. So that takes care of the two NWIC courses. I am still registered for three classes online.

photo credit: elxedder

That still leaves me with six classes to take. Ugh. I am so not interested anymore. I was practically bouncing off the wall excited that I could finish this semester. Now I feel like it is a never ending thing, that I just keep taking classes and am not getting closer. I am trying not to feel discouraged, I am still very close. It may just take me a few days to feel completely motivated and excited again.

I guess I could look at it as though I will still be done this year, but that feels so far off compared to this summer. I need to play with a cute baby and sew, maybe after that I’ll be motivated again.

Wind Out Of My Sails is a post from: me being crafty

I am currently working on quilting a small quilt that I volunteered to make. I plan on having it completed tomorrow so it can be mailed on Tuesday. I also have a couple of pot holders that I made that need the binding put on them.

I also registered for two classes today. I have five to go until I complete my undergraduate degree. This is HUGE. So huge I almost can’t process it just yet. I am hoping I can get all five classes done this semester, I know that sacrifices have to be made in order to get what you want and I am willing to sacrifice things so I can graduate sooner then later. Of course later would be this summer, which isn’t too much longer I know.

I look forward to another busy semester! I am going to rewrite my priority list and get to work.

Happy Holidays and here is to a great 2012!

Starting Out Right is a post from: me being crafty

I almost forgot about this week’s 2 on Tuesday, which is surprising because I’ve actually been able to keep up! I promise I’ll share some crafty and this is what I’ve been doing posts. I’ve been crazy busy! I’m heading to Portland on Thursday for the NIKE N7 Conference and other then being excited for that, I am beyond excited to see one of my BFF’s Holly! It’s been way too long since we’ve seen each other, almost six years! That’s the military for you. She is flying to Portland to watch JW for me so I can attend the N7 Summit. Yay!

On to my pictures…

I like this picture so much it is my icon on several websites. Twitter for one, despite the picture being about three and a half years old. Yes I have a camera and even a phone with a decent camera – you would think I could take a new pic for my profile! But no. I like to have makeup and my hair look decent and I never feel like I have time to take those few minutes to take a new one. Showing this just proves it is so time to do so! Anyway, this picture was taken when Chris was in OCS.

Sure my hair is a hot mess and the craft room behind me is messy, but what a great shot of Jake and I. He was holding the camera and I remember he and Alice had been playing with it, taking pictures of whatever. He came in the office/craft room and wanted to take a picture with me, so I grabbed him and this is what he got. I love it because we are both so happy.

Two on Tuesday Favorite Pictures of Me is a post from: me being crafty

I’ve become picky about my restaurants. I really try not to have fast food anymore and I don’t like going to the typical chain restaurants – though I do love Outback! As far as I’m concerned, Outback is awesome. Maybe that is one of my favorites. Another is Phad Thai, which is a local restaurant that changed the name to Asian 1 this summer. I don’t understand why, maybe they have new owners, but the food is the same so that makes me happy. The restaurant is has a relaxing atmosphere and the wait staff doesn’t try to rush us out when we are done eating. I found my favorites there so I don’t stray too far outside of that, but they have a huge selection you can choose from.

photo credit: Mark Faviell Photos

The other local favorite I have is CJ’s Beach House (I just found out they don’t have a website!). It is a bit pricier then what I like to spend on a meal out so we don’t go very often. They have a great outside seating area, and since it’s on the beach it can be the perfect evening out. The food is good and most of the time the wait staff is great. If they are really busy, the wait staff seem to be flustered, but that’s only happened once or twice when we’ve been there. That isn’t a picture of Birch Bay from CJ’s, but the entire area looks that way so it could be.

Two On Tuesday Favorite Restaurants is a post from: me being crafty

photo credit: Triplejohnny

Ah fashion. It never looks bad when we are in the midst of it! Hands down – spandex shorts. I’ve never been skinny enough to wear them alone, so mine were always worn under gym shorts. What was the point of that! Who needed to wear two pairs of shorts! Looking back on things, my 7th and 8th grade years were probably the worst, fashion wise. That whole rolling of the jean legs (anyone else!), bangs curled up and hair sprayed so the strongest wind wouldn’t move them, little bootie boots. Ugh those boots. I am pretty sure there is a picture of me in band wearing a sweatshirt, stone washed jeans and probably the worst pair of shoes ever. Who knows what I was thinking!

HHmmm, that is more then two. How about any time I wear black jeans and shoes and white socks. That’s not nearly as bad as seventh and eighth grade, but it’s bad enough to warrant me wishing I had black socks!

Two On Tuesday Biggest Fashion Mistakes is a post from: me being crafty

Hands down – Barbies and Strawberry Shortcake.

I loved Strawberry Shortcake. I even had a canopy bed with Strawberry Shortcake bedding on it! And yes, it smelled like strawberries. I loved her so much that one year my Mom threw her a birthday party – complete with my friends and a strawberry shaped cake! She was fantastic. I always did love dolls and babies. My Grandma, Mom, and one of my Aunt’s made my babies clothes, which of course adds to how awesome the dolls were. I still have the babies and clothes, though sadly I don’t have Strawberry Shortcake. The new version of her looks okay but look at that picture! That is vintage Strawberry! I might have to buy that for myself, just to have.

And Barbie. How can you not love Barbie! I don’t fall into the whole she’s a bad role model for girls and she doesn’t look like a real person. She’s a doll. Of course she doesn’t look like a real person! If you parent your children, then they won’t think that dolls should be their role models. They will think dolls are dolls. My Mom parented me and thus, barbies were barbies. They were fun to play with and dress up. Even if my brothers did steal Barbie so she could marry a GI Joe. Ken was never good enough I suppose. I didn’t have everything Barbie offered, I can’t even remember if I had the car, which I suppose means maybe I didn’t. I did have a Barbie trunk with clothes in it.

I still have a lot of my Barbies and my daughter plays with them once in a while. I even have a Michael Jackson doll, complete with the red and black jacket and one sparkly glove.

Two On Tuesday Childhood Toys is a post from: me being crafty

Alice has been taking her lunches to school most of the time and I knew it was time to invest in something other then wrapping sandwiches and the rest of her food in plastic bags and paper towels. I bought some reusable snack bags for lunches from my friend Angela over on etsy at Sea Sow USA. I love them! They are the perfect size for snacks or for a pb&j. She has a lot of designs and recently added more. She also has a facebook page that you should join! When I bought my bags, I snagged a free shipping code from the fb page.

My snack bag, then Jake’s robots, and Alice’s flowers.

Healthy Lunches is a post from: me being crafty

Many fall shows are starting up again this week. What two shows are you most looking forward to?

I love when the tv shows are back. Of course, I’m so busy this semester (the reading! Why is there so much reading!) who knows if I’ll actually get to watch the shows I’m most looking forward to. I did watch Two and a Half Men last night – which was funny! I also watched How I Met Your Mother – a full hour of that show and it was really good! I did watch one HIMYM this morning, so maybe that doesn’t count? I don’t get up early regularly so it was a fluke to watch this morning.

But what I am looking forward to the most is Sons of Anarchy (okay it started two weeks ago) – have you seen this? I didn’t start watching until last season or so but I caught up through netflix. The other show I am looking forward to is New Girl with Zooey Deschanel! She was great in the handful of episodes of Weeds that I saw and I love her in Failure to Launch. She’s just a funny actress.

In all honesty, my DVR is going to be packed. But I have so much reading to do, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to watch anything! Probably at 6AM like I did today.

Jump in with Two on Tuesday is a post from: me being crafty

Simply beautiful. This months selection is purples and oranges – I already have a project in mind! This year I am making the kids Halloween treat bags to take trick or treating with them. These solids will go perfectly with the other fabric I have.

I highly recommend joining the monthly solids club as soon as you can.

Pink Chalk Studio Solids Club is a post from: me being crafty

I would love to win this. The past couple of years I have really slacked on being active online. I had JW, went back to school to finish up my degree (in person and online), my older kids played sports, and this year I started working outside our home. All while my husband was deployed or simply not able to live with us. So my activity on twitter really died down, as did the posting on my blog. I sew and quilt and work on different projects with my kids, I just don’t seem to find the time to document it and post for my online friends to see. I would love to attend The Creative Connection and BlogHer Handmade. I would love to be surrounded by those who get what being online in a creative way means and see how their are thriving. I would also love to meet some of my online friends!

The Creative Connection September Conference is a post from: me being crafty

It is quiet and calm, the only noise is chirping birds (and one bee but I can’t see her so its okay). We are packing for yet another move, living among boxes for way too long, and this quiet is needed. Soon enough the kids will all be awake and wanting to play outside.

Summer has been good to us, Chris is on leave in between duty stations and has been a big help with the kids. He added chauffeur to his long list of titles around here, which I was more then happy to hand over.

I only wish there was a breeze. We are no where hear “hot” like the rest of the country, but if we don’t open windows at the right times the house is stuffy and unbearable.

Mornings Outside is a post from: me being crafty

Scrabble is a post from: me being crafty

Me, JW, Ree, Alice

I got to meet Ree Drummond, AKA the Pioneer Woman! I was reading what others experiences were on facebook, under PW’s fan page, about how they wanted to say something but when they finally got through the line all intelligent thought left their head. Well, the same thing happened to me.

All of us went, the three kids, Chris and myself, and the wait was LONG. We got to Third Place Books for her cookbook signing at about 3:30PM and didn’t get to Ree until 9pm! I knew it was going to be a popular signing, but honestly didn’t think it would be nearly as crowded. I got a ticket for the “F” line – and they started with A. Luckily for us (I mean Chris and the kids) there were five restaurants to pick from and a lot of tables for space. The bookstore was great, the kids area had a large chair that JW and I sat in while the kids read or played.

Jake on the maze mat showing me the route he would take, if he had thought to bring cars inside with him.

We read books, ate dinner and visited with others who were also there for the signing. I was sort of surprised at how many people were talking about their favorite recipes or how the cookbook stayed out all the time. I mean sure I’m a fan, I think Ree’s hilarious, but I don’t keep my cookbooks out on the counter (I don’t have much space) and I generally don’t use a cookbook unless I’m baking, otherwise I’ve memorized my favorites. Okay, I suppose these recipes are basically new to many, many people so of course they would be out. Maybe its that I was caught off guard by people asking what my favorite recipe was, they all knew what theirs was and what their kids liked, what others said was good, etc.

The long wait – totally worth it. I love author signings. Ree was nice, Alice and JW were the only ones with me because Chris went to buy our books so we could leave right after I was done (we did have a two hour drive to come home) and Jake went with him. Alice was eating an ice cream and asked what she should do with the very bottom part because we were next. I said just eat it – I didn’t mean immediately, I just meant don’t throw it away. But what does Alice do, she shoves the entire thing in her mouth. So she’s standing on the other side of Ree not talking because her mouth is full. Ree talked to JW, who just stared at her, admired Alice’s soccer jersey and asked how to say my name.

I wanted to take a few minutes and tell her how much I enjoy her writing, how funny she is, how I know so many people living her life but not writing about it. I grew up on the plains, surrounded by cowboys, heck I thought I’d marry a cowboy someday. I wanted to say more then how to say my name and where it comes from. But I didn’t.

I can’t imagine having conversations like that with everyone either. I was in “F”, 50 people were in each letter, and the last letter I knew someone was in was J. That’s 500 people! The signing was supposed to go til 9 and I’m not sure how long she stayed, but wow, that was a very long night for her. Oh and I saw her daughter walk by – I’m not sure how old she is but she was a good five or six inches taller then me! It’s not hard to be taller then me, but I was still surprised.

I loved seeing her daughter too, tall, hair in  ponytail, and she looked like a country girl. It’s something easy to describe but even easier if you just saw. She looks like some of the girls I grew up with.

The cookbook is great – its full of stories and pictures – and I made the cinnamon rolls. SO good! They were great. I made half a batch and ended up doing it a little wrong – I put them in a cake pan, spread apart like cookies, so they spread like cookies – but they still tasted delicious! I’m going to make another batch this weekend. I highly recommend her cookbook! I also grabbed a copy for my friend Holly, now if I can find my way to the post office sooner then later…

Pioneer Woman Book Signing is a post from: me being crafty

Sweet, sleeping baby

I should check twitter on tweetdeck – instead of my blackberry. I should play on facebook – instead of playing on my blackberry with limited access to everything on fb. I should check my email in a place I’m way more comfortable checking it (ie other then my blackberry). Don’t get me wrong, without my BB, I’d be LOST. I’d have nothing.

I’d have a phone sure, but the amount of time I’d have to stay in contact with the outside world would drop drastically. When JW is nursing, I’m on fb or texting or on twitter. And sure maybe I’m only there for five minutes of however long the nursing lasts, but at least I was there. I have way too many favorites saved on twitter – I’ve taken to saving them so I can look again later. Isn’t twitter supposed to be a now and in the moment thing? Not exactly for me.

Or I should do laundry or dishes or put clothes away from the laundry I already did.

So I rush around the house doing seventeen things at once. Luckily starting the laundry and dishes is super easy, so getting to my email is do-able. Blogging, fallen to the sidelines, revamping a few websites, not even close to having time for that.

I have no idea what I was thinking! My older kids are older – 8 and 6 years right now – and they basically take care of themselves. They are in school now so gone most of the day. They help clean up, have chores, have things to do, etc. But a newborn – they require you 24/7 – unless they are sleeping. And even when they are sleeping you are (more then likely) checking them every 15-20 minutes, unless they are right next to you, so you know they are still breathing. Even with my third baby, I’m still checking him when he naps.

He likes to visit with his friends, the butterfly, ladybug, and snail.

Oh and I haven’t mentioned that he’s a napper. So he usually sleeps for 15-20 minutes, while I run around doing whatever. Lately he’s a napper because he’s teething – not a surprise since Alice and Jake both got teeth early, a surprise because neither of them had teething issues. I just looked and all of a sudden they had teeth!

I should be lucky he likes the bouncy chair, and talking to his friends – as well as the sling I have for him and a bumbo chair a friend recently sent. I do get more time then, but it seems I enjoy just sitting on the couch. Yes, I’m also amazed at how tired I can be at the end of the day. I know, I know, quit being amazed with all of this right! Not like it should be new.

But I have a lot planned, I have been able to do a bit of sewing, and even made a rosary for my step-dad’s mom. Soccer season started and the weather is getting nicer every day. But blog posting, well I started this post yesterday at lunch time…so we can see how quick I’m able to be! Maybe I need to get back to just blurting things out.

Stealing Moments is a post from: me being crafty

I did good in my classes for the quarter – I did end up with a C in Algebra, which I was disappointed in. My teacher said if I got a C on the final, I’d end up with a B for a final grade – so after seeing the C, I figure I bombed the final. I knew I didn’t do that great, but I didn’t think I did that bad! But a C is passing and I got two A’s, so my GPA is good (not like that matters too much since I’m transferring the classes out anyway!). The next quarter starts in a couple of weeks and since the baby is going to be here shortly after that, I am taking two classes but they are art classes and will be easy to keep up with, or catch up with anyway. I’m taking the second beadwork class, with the same teacher from the first one, and then a drum making class. I’m excited about both! I am not sure what projects I want to work on for the beadwork class, but she said she lets us pick whatever we want since we know how to bead from the first class (or in my case, I’ve known since I was like 11 years old).

Chris is still gone – which is annoying but that’s how it goes I suppose – but he did get to come back for a few weeks at Christmas. He’ll actually be back in a few weeks because he gets baby leave. I just found a great ticket for him last night actually! He is going to fly into Vancouver vs Seattle – we are about 45 minutes from the Vancouver Int’l Airport, vs being two and a half hours away from Seattle. So I can just leave a little before his flight will be there to pick him up vs driving hours or having him ride the shuttle (so a small amount of savings) and then when he leaves we don’t have to stay overnight, we can just drive up, which saves on a hotel room. Oh and he doesn’t have to pay for a hotel over in Japan because of when his flight leaves. Even better, the price difference between the ticket to Seattle and to Vancouver is $130. Figuring in all the savings, it’s cheaper for him to fly there. How awesome is that!

Today we are not doing much, we all stayed up very late of course. I’ve been very crafty for the past few months and will start posting some pictures as an update. I hope your new years eve celebration was fun and all that you wanted it to be! Here’s to a fantastic 2010!

End of 2009 is a post from: me being crafty

We Can’t Afford To Wait is a post from: me being crafty

I signed up for a few college classes for the fall. I’ve been taking college classes since I was a junior in high school due to an agreement the local tribal college and the school district had that allowed hs students to take college classes for dual credit. My senior year of high school I only took a few classes at the school and worked every afternoon, taking college classes in the afternoon or evening. I remember I took my (required) health class independent study since my schedule didn’t allow for me to be at school when the class was. Understanding teachers are the best!

I’m taking three classes – Algebra (after all these years, I still need this class!), Beadwork (which will just be too fun) and History of Federal Indian Policy. I am slightly nervous about going back to school, but it’ll be fine I know.

When I was a kid, ie fourth/fifth grade, I wanted to be a lawyer. Goals change and move over the years and now I’m at the point of just wanting to be done. I’ve been in college for too long to not be done.

My new goal is to be done with my undergrad degree by the time Chris is ready to go to shore duty (shore is basically in an office vs sea duty being on a ship/sub/boat) because it’s possible for him to get stationed with an ROTC unit at a university – thus we could be stationed somewhere long enough for me to get my Masters. But, no grad school without undergrad already finished.

This is step one, part of it anyway.

I’m also thinking about how I work online, about what I need to do to get back to being fully active in the websites I have. I also need to be better about staying connected with the couple of military wife forums I am a part of and maintaining friendships I have. It’s easy to settle into being so happy to be around my Mom again, that other things end up slipping.

Changing Goals is a post from: me being crafty

What brand and model do you have? Brother Innovis NX-450

How long have you had it? since December 2008

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? Mine cost approximately $700 from a Singer Sewing Center, I didn’t look anywhere else to compare prices. The price included a year warranty through the store as well as a free cleaning within a year of purchase.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? So far I have sewn quilt tops as well at machine quilted a few quilts and I’ve made a couple of purses. I’m working on mainly blankets and quilts for a family event so that’ll be what I make for the next few months.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? I sew at least every other day. There will be times when I sew every day and then times when I don’t sew at all (during our vacation). I did use it just about every day for three months getting the secret quilt projects ready. Since we were moving I wanted to take advantage of the free cleaning from the store I purchased it from, who said since I only had it for a few months it wasn’t necessary. However, the needle threader quit working so I had them look at that and do the cleaning. It was an easy fix (which I didn’t pay for) and they also did the cleaning. I do notice when something happens with the thread you need to take the bobbin out and put it back in, and since I do so much sewing I do change the needle fairly often. 

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I really like my machine! I’m sure I will love it once I use more of the functions. I have used some of the decorative stitches when I do the edge of the quilt (just decorative on the binding) but I really haven’t done a lot of them. I really want to use more of the stitches just because they are so cute! I also have a couple of styles of the alphabet available and want to use them for something. Maybe the signing of a quilt! Definitely passionate about it! And no, no name yet.

What features does your machine have that work well for you? I do love the needle threader as well as the cutting function – okay the cutting function is awesome! The machine just in general works really well. I also love how quiet it is.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? It can be annoying when I am starting sewing something and the beginning edge of that fabric is pulled down into the – whatever that area is called that the needle goes into. But it doesn’t happen too often.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! When I got this machine I walked into the store and looked at three models before picking this one. It was our anniversary and we were heading off to dinner! I needed a new machine desperately because I had so many projects I was working on. I didn’t take too long to buy this and despite not having done any research beforehand, I am very happy with it. It took me maybe 15 minutes to pick it out and purchase, we got to the store right before it was closing that evening.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? I would! I think this is a great machine because it is about mid-level as far as pricing. I think you do need to spend a little more so you will get a machine that will last. I had my previous two machines for a very short amount of time before they broke.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? Functions – if you use a certain thing over and over or are used to having it, your new machine would need this function as well. The price of course. How heavy it is can be a deciding factor for some people.

Do you have a dream machine? At this point, I don’t. I am happy with my machine!

Sew Mama Sew – Sewing Machine Meme is a post from: me being crafty

Living in a hotel room makes me realize how much trash tv there is! Oh how I miss my DVR.

• Rock of Love Bus – Seriously? I didn’t realize this was time number 3 as I don’t watch the show. I like that they are showing the preview of him saying he’s tired of this and that’s why he has a ring. I’ve only seen two (maybe three) episodes of this but I hope he picks Mindy. I felt bad for the girl who ended up being the third girl, I can’t remember her name. She was sort of crying and saying she loved him and he dumped her on tv but she hoped they could be friends and hang out. Weird.

• For the Love of Ray J – Um, okay. Well I’m not sure who I hope he picks. The girls seem nice enough but damn catty to each other. Why would you want a woman who is that rude! That’s crazy to me. You can’t say oh it’s a game when the outcome is supposed to be a relationship. Sure it’s tv and whatever relationship comes out of it probably isn’t going to last, but at least try to be real, just a little. And if they are that catty and rude even off the show, dang. Actually I hope he picks Cocktail, real name Joanna.

• I Love Money 2 – Okay this show is hilarious. I never watched the Flavor of Love shows or whatever else the rest of the cast came from, but putting them all together to fight for money does get good laughs. The lady who only ever wears a bikini and loves the pretty boy – funny! It’s funny watching it because you know what is being said and you know what is going to happen, but in the moment the people don’t. There are a lot of people left so I can’t say who I want to win.

I think the Rock of Love Bus finale is tonight, but the others have a bit to go. I’m sure I’ll catch who won on a rerun!

Trashy TV is a post from: me being crafty

I’m reading Indian Killer right now. I’ve had the book for years and had to have read it before, but in reading it I’m not recognizing, so it’s new to me. Which is just sad, Sherman Alexie is such a fantastic author. I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian recently too.

I’m trying to save my books for when we are on the road but it’s not working. I devoured the Sookie Stackhouse series (True Blood is based on these books) in a matter of days, while we were still in base housing even! If you are interested in … *thinking what Chris’ BFF called them*… erotic vampire writing (haha, but it’s true) then they are good books. I like her writing actually – I appreciate an author who doesn’t repeat a bunch from the previous book to remind me the characters or setting or whatever like so many others do *cough* P.C. Cast *cough*. I’ve had my fill of books meant for teenager – though in the PC Cast ones it is a girl/young woman as the main character and I do like her.

Sidenote: I wonder why so many of the vampire stories also have Native American ties? In the Twilight books Natives are prominant, in the PC Cast books the girl’s Grandma is Native (thus she is too), in the Sookie books I don’t remember anything like it but her characters are a whole mess of craziness. Maybe I should write a book about Native Americans and see what I could tie in that you wouldn’t think of. Haha

Chris and I get along so great now I am worried about what being apart for who knows how long will be. Sure it isn’t like when we were on submarines and had zero communication for two months, or one month, or however long it went til we could get a piece of mail (no email or phone calls). Now they’ll have the internet and email and the phone and more then likely even will have video chat capabilities. And I’ll be able to maybe visit during a port call. But I’m still worried.

I wonder how the kids will react this time. He hasn’t been on deployment in so long. Jake was going through a thing when we were still in South Carolina where he would be upset about Chris being on the night shift, and when we got here he was upset when Chris had duty. I’m hoping being with my Mom will help. I’m looking into schools for them now and like what I’m finding, we just need to decide if private school now is the way to go. We are going to end up moving so often…

Jon Stewart can make just about anything better, so enjoy!

Books, Thinking & Jon Stewart is a post from: me being crafty

• Speaking of vacation – I think we are going to have an awesome time! I’d like to stop in Albuqurque and Las Vegas before going to San Diego. I think a day in each area would be so fun. I love the southwest and haven’t been to New Mexico in about seven years. And we have the chance to meet an online friend there and an old friend in Vegas. It’s always fun when you can hang out with someone you know along the way.

• We’ll probably have a really busy schedule in San Diego. I’ve never been to SD before so I’d like to do a few things and we have family there who we’d like to (and need to!) visit.

• We hung out at Barnes & Noble for a few hours the other day and it was fantastic. I browsed and found some great books, found an instant wedding planner for my niece, grabbed a new magazine and had a snack at the Starbucks they have smack in the middle of it. I actually thought “hhmm, I wouldn’t mind working at Barnes & Noble” – course, my second thought was “I wonder what the discount would be?”

• No Easter plans for us! I’m sure restaurants are open but we don’t have that many around here. It’s sad not to have an easter egg hunt or a big meal with family or friends. I don’t even have the kids Easter baskets as those are now in storage!

• Speaking of storage – phase one of moving is finished! Our stuff is now in a storage unit and waiting. I’m both nervous and excited about moving in with my Mom.

• I really want the kids to go to a Montessori school. Which is basically a private school. Which means cha-ching. Or more like CHA-ching. Yeah, it’s that rough. Getting a good education is really important to Chris so I know he will find a way for it to work, but I don’t know. I actually don’t feel bad about it and am sure it’ll work out. I need to do more research.

• I also need to finish planning our vacation so I better end here or my random thoughts may seriously never end.

Random Tuesday Thoughts is a post from: me being crafty

I have a lot of magazines to go through. I want to take the time to read them so I’m debating taking them with me or packing them to be dropped off at the house (vs being in storage). Actually, dropping them at the house sounds like a fantastic idea.

The rental truck is reserved, we have movers hired to help us load it up, still need to find a hotel to stay at but that won’t take but a few minutes. I have plenty of boxes to pack the house and if I need more, they are but a short car ride away at Barnes and Noble.

I’m so ready to be out of housing. Our experience here has not been the best by far. What started off good quickly went downhill with just a few choice words. After not letting one person ruin my time here, things have been better, but I’m still ready to be gone.

I managed to talk housing into letting me leave early! Okay it’s only a day, but that makes a difference when you are making plans.

Out of Housing Soon is a post from: me being crafty

Here’s how our plans went – the most recent ones anyway. We were to move in month A to place A. But no, we’d move in month B to place A. Then it was moving to place B but we don’t know when. Then it went back to place A and we weren’t sure when. That one lasted for a bit longer then the rest. Next it was moving to place A in month D, for sure. For sure!

Then within the past few weeks it’s been place A, for real this time, in month E. Last minute changes due to noones fault – well someones fault but noone immediately close to us – changed it to month F, which is before month E. Confusing? Just a little.

But our plans in the bigger pictures – unchanged. Our move dates were not affected, it actually worked out a little better. Oh and wives and families are all moving to places somewhere else on the alphabet. Kids and I, back to living with Mom – which I seriously love. I’m very close with my Mom, we have a wonderful relationship and I don’t have any issues of living with her. We lived with my Dad last spring and it went really well too.

Maybe in month K or L we’ll be able to move to place A, hopefully we can! I’m interested in moving there and I always say I didn’t sign up to raise my kids alone.

So as of today, we leave in about a month – with the last week or even two spent in one of those hotels where you can stay for a week and it has a kitchenette, what are those called? – and Chris gets to take leave which means we get a family vacation! I’m so excited about that! We’ve never done a family vacation – and growing up we went somewhere for two weeks every summer so you can imagine how hard it’s been to think of moving as your vacation. Nevermind fighting to get to take leave. This time, we do it right. We are going to plan where we want to go and luckily for us, we’ll have family at almost every stop of the way to stay with!

Today though, we have a soccer game to get to. Jake’s was called off cause the littlest kids don’t like to play outside when it’s cold and rainy. I’m not sure if Alice’s will get canceled and if it does we’ll just be able to get that much more done around the house. Oh, while not touching DH and washing clothes because he got a vaccine. Fun.

What are your weekend plans?

Latest on The Move is a post from: me being crafty

The week started off fairly slow with friends coming over and soccer practice – then each day got more and more busy. I got a haircut (love it, mostly), did a preinspection with housing so we can move out in a month, had dinner out with friends, went to a family readiness group (FRG) meeting, more soccer practice, quilt class (so fun!), hail/farewell (when an officer leaves or comes to the ship this is done), then more friends visiting.

It’s not like when friends come over we are sitting around doing nothing – we’ve all been working on secret projects! One friend just started hers today and got everything done to move on to the next step, another  friend is almost done with the entire thing, I am on the final lap for mine. We are movng right along! The project was supposed to be bigger but it didn’t end up that way so it’s okay.

Soccer practice is still fun – Alice’s coach has been challenging them more each week and I love when he does that. The kids seem scared to kick the ball really hard during a game, and actually during practice too. Alice isn’t afraid to get in there and get the ball moving, which I love about her. Jake’s team is all so tiny – I think he’s the only five year old on the team, the rest are four and tiny four year olds at that! Their games are really cute to watch. Once Jake kicked the ball at the start – he kicked it from the center of the field all the way into the goal.

We have the second to last soccer games in the morning – it’s fairly cold here right now, in the 40s/50s and raining so I’m not sure if we’ll actually have the games. Next week is spring break for the local schools and though we homeschool I have a free week too. It’s definitely welcome – I plan on working on the quilt I started in class yesterday and packing more!

How was your week?

An Overwhelming Week is a post from: me being crafty