We went to the WW2 museum this Saturday, neither hubby or I had been. We thought it was free Smithsonian museum day – however we found out that only applied to Smithsonian members. We were already there so we paid and went. The museum itself was good, but very crowded. The best part however was the Beyond All Borders movie. It was well done, and then you add the neat effects (it snows!), it was definitely worth the price. We stopped at the overcrowded soda shop and I got a Melon Mint soda that was very tasty. We just hung out and ran a few errands most of the rest of the weekend. It felt like it went by too fast.
I finished the baby quilt for a Dr. at work. I had to do it quicker than I was planning. I was going to do it this weekend and get it to her before the beginning of Oct (she was due Oct 10) but she said she might go early, so I wanted to get it to her ASAP. She said she liked it and a co-worker asked me if I could do 2 for her to give as gifts. The idea of a commission makes me a little nervous – what if they don’t like it or it doesn’t turn out as they imagine it? I have more projects I want to do than I will ever have time for. I made to cushion covers that I think turned out nicely. I want to make more for the other couch.
Tonight I’m going to go to a skate clinic for the Roller Derby. I dunno that I’ll actually try out, but I’ll at least go to this first clinic (there’s another one next Monday and tryouts the following Saturday). This morning I started having doubts about even going to the clinic - I have cracked my wrist twice as a kid skating, and I’m not very tough.
I’m a tv junkie lately and a DVR doesn’t help, but here’s my rundown
Mondays: Castle – Love IT! Nathan Fillion is so adorable and I ship Castle/Beckett so much. I’ll have to record tonight’s (and maybe future episodes).
The Playboy Club – I gave the first episode a chance. Networks are definitely trying to jump on Mad Men/1960’s bandwagon. I’m not so sure on the whole mob thing – but I’ll give it a second chance.
2 Broke Girls – Funny, and I enjoy Kat Dennings I’ll give it a second episode – but I don’t see it lasting long
New to check out Terra Nova and Hart of Dixie
Tuesdays – Love me some Glee. The New Girl – I adore Zooey Deschanel and it’s funny, I just hope that the quirkiness doesn’t become forced. Caught up on Parenthood, it’s good so far. Watched the first episode of Ringer. Dunno how I feel about it and was a little confused by the ending. I’ll give it a few more episodes. I still have to catch up on Body of Proof.
Wednesday – watched Up All Night – it’s fun. Doesn’t help the baby fever though.
Thursday – Secret Circle – This one could get really cheesy – but it might become a guilty pleasure. Watching Big Bang Theory. Taping Community til we get caught up on season 2. Whitney was ok, I’ll give it a second episode, but I’ dunno that I’ll get into it.
Fridays – SUPERNATURAL!!!! We’re still catching up on season 6 – have about 5 more episodes and then we’ll be current.
Doctor Who is wrapping up – this season has been good. I want to check out Bedlam as well.
I am not just only watching TV, I am reading some. Last week I read “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”. It wasn’t quite what I expected but it was enjoyable. The photographs in it were wonderful – I love old photos especially creepy/Odd ones. I also read “The Summoning”. It was ok – dragged some. I’ll give the second book a try so I can return it to H. I need to work through the Leaning Tower of Piza that is pile of books on the nightstand. I get sort of ADD with book – I have at least 6 with bookmarks in them. I have four coming from Barnes and Noble (I had giftcards from my birthday!).
I wanted to buy the new Girls album and maybe the Naked and Famous album, but couldn’t find them at Best Buy – so I suppose I’ll download from Amazon or itunes.

August meant a lot of changes. E started college. She's definately going to have some adjusting to do. She thought that she was going to have a dorm that had 2 separate bedrooms and one shared bathroom and living space (that's what she was shown when she went to orientation). However, when she got there, she found out it was one big room and a bathroom. She and her roommate are getting along famously so far, so that's good. We reminded her that sharing one bathroom is way better than sharing with a floor full of people. She loves her art class, and it's actually challenging her some, she despises math. She's already worrying about piling on the classes and maybe taking summer classes so she can graduate in four years. She was like "college isn't as hard and all work as everyone made it out to be, so I can take more classes"... she's only 3 weeks in and hasn't had any tests yet.. so we'll see if the attitude changes at the end of the semester. I just don't want her to get overwhelmed or burned out. Both hubby and I think it would be better for her to have a job in the summer than take a summer class, especially this first summer. I don't think she realizes how expensive a single summer class at the community college would be - with registration, fees, tuition and a book... probably 600-800 bucks. We're going to go visit her in October - I hope it will be fun.

G started 6th grade over at her mom's (much to our saddness - the Science and Technology school here would have been such a good thing for her, but it wasn't as 'bright and shiny' as the school at her mom's or the allure of no uniforms. She's getting used to having to be at school for 7:30 and navigating training bras (that's a whole other rant there...). Most of all, we just want her to be happy. I'd love for her mom to step it up and be a better parent, and I'd love for G to maybe have a better appreciation for her dad (and me) and everything he's done for her, and how much he cares and tries and puts in the effort (and the extra mile). But I'm not going to hold my breath. She's a child, and she's going to want to see the best in her mom, and also as a child, grass is greener, blah blah. She and hubby have figured out Skype, so they've been doing that once a week, and I think it's good for them (gee... only took her mom 4+ years to get and set up a webcam like R has been asking her...). I sent her a little care package friday (notebook, folders, sandwich bag, new Poison Apple book). She should have gotten it monday.

It's quieter without the kids, and it's nice, but I miss them too. Feel like we're vegging a lot with TV, but that's ok I suppose. We had what felt like a little blast of fall last week (curtesy of Hurricane Irene), but it's warm again this week. We're sleeping in some, and reading and taking in movies. We went to dinner and a concert (The Weepies) this weekend, and it was really nice. It had been months since I had been to a concert, especially one with Hubby. And, bonus, it was an early show, so we were home by 10:30 :)
I'm trying to get into an exercise routine; bought an elliptical - I'm hoping the pricetag alone is motivation to use it multiple times a week :P I'm using a phone app to keep better track of what I eat. I"m not really worrying - but it does help remind me not to grab mindless snacks, like a handful of chips when I walk in the door from work, before we have dinner. I went to the doctor for a sinus infection last week and they weighed me, and I was heavier than I thought I was, so that was a little depressing.

On the crafting front, I have more projects I want to do than will ever be possible. I finished two hoops for the ongoing hoopla swap on craftster. I'm working on a baby quilt for a doctor at work. I'm helping my friend K turn her receiving blankets and baby clothes from her 2 daughters into blankets for them. So much jersey! I never want to cut that small of squares and interface again! I told my sister I'd make a t-shirt quilt for her (I think that's like... oh 4 or 5 on the list now...). She wants some creative control over it -- that could make things interesting. I'm suppose.
My accuquilt finally came and I played with it some - hoping to spend some quality time with it this weekend. Hubby keeps saying it would work as a printing press :P

Three months... no blog. Bad blogger :P

Thought I'd make a list of things I'm loving right now

Parasol Proctorate Series by Gail Carriger
I picked up the first one "soulless" on a whim. It was was an amazon recommendation, I read the description and thought it sounded fun. It has supernatural and steampunk and the main character, Alexia is delightfully snarky. I'm about 3/4 through the second book. The first one I have passed on to two different friends. Reading it has made me want to wear more steampunk stuff as it's gorgeous, but dont' really know how/when/where to wear it without looking like a goober. I do think I'm going to get some steampunk-esque pants though.

BBC Sherlock-
I didn't know what to expect when we pressed play on Netflix streaming. I don't watch a lot of the Masterpiece theater stuff. I knew this had been getting good buzz and that Steven Moffat was involved, so we gave it a go. I didn't know it was set in modern times (Hubby gave me a "duh" look). I really enjoyed the 3 episodes of season one and hope to catch season 2 when it's on PBS

Planning scrappy quilts
Yea.. haven't even sorted my fabric yet, but I want to make a string quilt, maybe a bottled rainbow and then I found these wonderful books (material obsession 1 & 2)... that I want to make... oh everything from. This says nothing of the list of t-shirt quilts I've now said I'd do, or the quilts i've started and need to finish...

Isitcomicconyet
I find it hilarious to say, on a near daily basis to hubby "is it comic-con yet?". To which he laughs or rolls his eyes. He told me I should make that a website. But it is fun to speculate and try to hunt down info and obsessively check website and see movies that they talked about last year.

Hooping
I've done about 6 classes so far and I love it. Unfortunately there aren't any more classes in my direct vicinity until August (that may be good with the heat however). I'm not really good at it, but I have fun doing it and that's what counts.

We have E's high school graduation this weekend. Kind of strange. I'm hoping all goes well. My high school graduation was sort of a mess because of divorces and remarriages and adults not acting like adults, so I hope that doesn't happen for E's.

Books

G got her nookcolor today... I'm sort of jealous, it's pretty neat. H and I were talking about books and she was like whats that series that you read... after playing twenty questions I realized she was talking about the Jessica Darling series. I showed her Megan McCafferty's site only to see... she has a new book coming out! Yay! I would love to win a copy.

cool interview with her

http://dearwriter.tumblr.com/post/3734129280/want-to-win-a-signed-arc-of-bumped-before-it

A little time out with Dr. Horrible sing along blog songs and squeeze fruit can make a day seem a little better.

It's not really a bad day, per se, just busier than I expected and I have a headache and feel sort of emotionally mixed.

Today is E's 18th birthday!!! I called and left her a message bright and early. I can't believe my hubs has a grown child. I don't ever think of her as being that old, she's technically an "adult'. She doesn't exactly act like it... so I probably treat her younger (not in a mean or purposeful way). I hope she has a good day/weekend. She was suppose to have today off, but they had to make up an "ice day" at school. She does get monday off, so ya for her for three day weekends.
My dad is in town this week, mostly so he can attend an art workshop thing. I wish I could have taken the whole week off to hang out with him. I did get to take tuesday off and hang out, and I got to get my memorial tattoo for my mom.
I love the www.offbeatmama.com site... and this week they had a story about someone loving these hipster mormon mama blogs. I'll admit it, I've spent too much time today already reading some. I'm a little jealous. They're all super cute and trendy, but not in an obnoxious way. They have adorable babies and husbands and are like 6 years younger than me(!!!). They look pulled together and stylish. I feel akward when I dress most of the time. For work, I feel like I'm a child wearing work(ish) wear and that I look sort of sloppy. Their bedhead hair looks cute and purposeful, mine looks like bad bedhead. Some of them have gorgeous short hair I wish I could pull off (without looking like a boy). It's fun to look, live a little vicariously. They do all seem to have massive disposable budgets (I discovered Shabby Apple --- I wish I could shop there), and photographers that follow them around, and sponsors for the blog. THey look like an ad for Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie (minus the UGLY stuff they have in both those stores).

So as not to feel like I'm complaining and don't have little things everyday that make me happy, I'm going to make a little list

~Singing LOUDLY in my car. Showtunes work well for this (Hello Wicked Soundtrack and John Barrowman).
~My celeb crushes. Easy way to cheer up, or spend some time. I can pop on an episode of Firefly or Torchwood and it makes me smile. They're awesome shows, but when the good-looking leading men smile or do something swoon-worthy... *Sigh*
~binging on DVDs of shows
~fun nail polish colors -- I hadn't painted my fingers in forever, but found this perfect grey shade, and then I bought the Glee polish (I really should have just bought the slushied color not the whole pack,it's my favorite).
~Thinking about Comic con. Getting tickets has been a nightmare, but I'm still excited to go.
~Planning a weekend to hang out with K and the cutie baby L

I can't believe it's february already. Time seems to be going fast. I'm staying busy at work. I sort of miss my open afternoons -- but the extra money to pay off bills and such is good. They had a mini comic con thing here this weekend. It was neat. A good 'taste' for G about what San Diego comic con might be like. I got an awesome Bones Jeffersonian patch.
We went to Jimmy Eat World last night, David Bazan (who we really like) opened. I thought Jimmy Eat World was fabulous. Hubby thought they were ok, but they're not really his cup of tea.
Comic Con tickets go on sale (finally!) this weekend. Hopefully that will be a painless experience and we can start booking the rest of the vacation. I reserved a vehicle, and we don't have to pay til we pick it up, so that really helps out. A lot of the hotels really jack up prices for that weekend. I was joking with hubby we'll need to bring a powercord because of all the electronics we'll have between all of us and hotels lack a lot of plugs (at least 1 laptop, 3-4 ipods, 3 cell phones, cameras, nook or 2, nintendo ds --- thats a lot to charge).
E's 18th birthday is coming up. I got her a cute tanktop, the first season of Black Butler and ordered the Art of Tangled (Which is backordered EVERYWHERE). I think I'll get her a manga for valentines and then send everything off this monday. For hubby, I got him some awesome star wars art, and plan on getting a cool metal Big Daddy (bioshock) sculpture) and maybe tickets to Jazz Fest to see Decemberists. For G I have some monster high clothes, a pokemon plush and will get the new pokemon game when it comes out.

I'm doing pretty good at remembering to take my vitamins everyday. Working out, however, is another story. It's 5:15 when I get home, and lately Ron already has something cooking, so once I eat, I really don't feel like working out. I guess I'm going to have to force myself anyways.





We watched the first season of United States of Tara last week. I really enjoyed it. Sure, it requires a certain suspension of disbelief (especially if you have a degree in psych) but it was fun. I have the second season in the Netflix Que already.



I read I am Number Four. It wasn't bad. It wasn't spectacular, but it was a good read. It reminded me of the show Roswell (what I remember of the show anyway). I dunno about the movie. I might see it. Hubby saw the commercial and was like "meh, it looks like twilight". I finished Hunger Games last night. It was good. They could have made that the only book if they wanted and it still would have been satisfying. I started on Catching Fire.

G got all A's on her report card. She also was offerred to apply for the Elementary National Honor Society. She does so well in school, I really don't think she should switch and go to school in TX with her mom. She's decided that she wants a colornook and so she's saving up towards one. If her mom sends her money that she has saved at her house... she's only like $40 short. Her birthday is in March, so if people send her B&N cards, she'll be set.
Speaking of birthdays, darn near everyone I'm related to has birthdays in February and March. I covered my friends K and B. Hubby's sister's bday is on Feb 4th. I got her a cricut cartridge, it just needs to be mailed. I need to get valentines for the girls (probably new books,a manga or something), SIL's anniversary is valentines as well, E's bday is Feb as well, and so is Hubby's friend T. Hubby and my sister are both in march, so is my brother, G and hubby's friend J. I have picked up a few things here and there. I have a cool lego art piece coming for hubby. I think G is getting some Monster High clothes and one of the new Pokemon games. I dont know what to get my older sister. My twin said that older sister mentioned she likes Supernatural, so I may pick up a season of that or something.

I was looking at IKEA last night lusting after the new sofa I want to get. Something to look forward to.

So This Is The New Year...

I survived the holidays. Better than I thought. I really wasn't feeling it. Things went ok with E here. A lot of the time when we have both the kids, and they aren't on a routine, things sort of devolve into chaos and I get really stressed. I did get a little frustrated with the messes and wanted to rant about working on scholarships, but I did minimal. Handed her scholarship sheets, gave her a list with due dates, made some suggestions to streamline, and then went over the list last night to see where she was. I just marked done or not, didn't ask "why not, it wasn't hard", just marked it. She's flying back this afternoon, so last night we ask if she's got all her flight info, ID (which has been a fight with her mom -- just get her a state issued id if she's not getting a driver's liscence), etc. She says that her mom got her the "unaccompanied minor" status (she has never done this in all of the times E has flown). She thinks it must have been by mistake. Me and Hubby are like.... no, it's because she won't get you an ID, and thinks she's proving some point to your dad by not, but security at airports has increased and you're almost 18, you can't mark it by mistake, you pay extra. So I ask if she has her birth certificate, so she can do the 'unaccompanied minor' thing to which I get a blank stare. In retrospect, I should have kept my mouth shut, let them go to the airport, and not be able to fly, so that her mom would have to come get her and then maybe get her a damn ID. I'd like to point out the following, that makes this so laughable and dumb -- the flight itself was less than $100, she had to pay an extra $50 for the unaccompanied minor.... getting a state issued ID is less than $25... and she's going to have to go to the DMV in Feb to renew her permit (and get an ID) anyway because E turns 18.... so why not get the ID in October (and november and WAY back in July when it was first suggested? Because -- crazy ex thinks hubby is controlling saying that E needs an ID, and she'll just get her the driver's liscence (which E is, btw, no closer to getting than she was last year). Logic eh?

Back to the New year. I have some Goals/resolutions/whatever you want to call them. I guess writing them here is as good of place as any (I planned to put them in a notebook - but haven't done that yet).
1. Become Full-time at work (started January 1) --- technically I didn't have any control over this one, but it was a goal none the less.

2. Start savings account(s) - G & E for school, plus some for possible fertility stuff and some for whatever (vacation, emergencies, etc)

3. Get tickets for Comic Con 2011 and pay for half the trip (can't accomplish this one till they let us buy the damn tickets!)

4. Exercise 3 times a week. This is going to be harder working full time, but I'm going to try, even if it's the wii fit or a walk on the levee.

5. Take vitamins everyday. I should be in this habit because it's good for you... but also working in a hospital setting, I'm exposed to a lot of funk, so extra protection is good.

6. Go to the dentist twice a year (signing up for dental insurance this week...)

There were other things... but now I can't remember darn it