Another "what character are you?"

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Yup - you guessed it! I love these things!

Personally, Bert and Ernie have gotten a bad rap.

Check out this terror alert button the guys at geekandproud made. Maybe this will creep the terrorists out so much they don't want to mess with us. :-)



Enjoy!

Here is what is on my quilt wall today...

I think it needs another fish - what do you think?

Come see me next week - another quilt in store!

Harry Potter Rocks!

My sistah found this! This is the character I am - go find out yours!

...and which lesser Harry Potter character are you?

Oh really?!?!

According to the NY Times, my eldest sister is the smartest of the bunch of us. Who knows she may be?!?!

Comments, J?

A loooooong time away

So, after my birthday, things went to pot - as things normally do after you hit 35.

Here's the rundown:
- My company is reorganizing for "the good of the company". As I am only a contractor for said company, i can read the writing on the wall - it says " GET OUT, GET OUT NOW!!!!"
- I am still having pains in my back but they are definitely not kidney stones. So now I am really scared.
- Stressed is an understatement.
- Um, I am now 9 months behind on all quilts.
- I did a really stupid thing and volunteered for Baby Bundles with the Guild this year... The first event is the most important in the whole year and I am already afraid of screwing it up!
- Then, it started to pour. A friend wants me to do freelance with her and has more work than she can handle right now as another of our department was spirited away to another department so she was called in to work on a project that this other person would be doing. I am working on a special project for another part of the company and I am not sure it is the big honking special project that they want to pilot.
- In personal news, DH and I finally decided to really start trying to have kids. Am I ready? Not really.
- As a form of therapy I went to the The Quilt Store to pick up a few things and got talking to the owner. I am now updating her website for her for some extra cash.

What the hell is wrong with me? I don't have curtains, a bed or any other comfortable furniture but I get myself roped in to all this stuff. Now I am even thinking of putting off buying a car so I can get a mac to do the freelance stuff. I am insane!!!!

One last little tidbit - a friend had broken her hand just before she was to finish a commissioned quilt. So I offered to help her - after 10+ hours of quilting and putting on the binding strips, I was sooooo glad to hand it off to another person to do the handwork to get the binding tacked down. whew! However, she is paying me for the work. A new Rowenta Professional iron - woohoo! I love it! And, it will make me want to finish some of my quilt projects!

Who knows, I might get those curtains up! :-)

A room of my own

I've made myself a little nest here in the guest room and am hiding out tonight. I asked George to pretend I'm not here, and as long as I don't make any mommy-esque noise, Owen will have no idea I'm here at all. I have my laptop, snacks and a cooler full of diet pepsi. Also I have my knitting, and a stack of Dale of Norway patterns like these: http://www.beaellisknitwear.com/bpatterns.html

Yep, I don't expect to get to half this stuff, but darnit, I'm determined to be in here until bedtime...

I didn't anticipate that I would need Thursday nights so desperately when we decided to start a family... Sometimes I wonder if there's just something wrong with me, that I want to spend time away from them. I do feel more able to deal with the repetitive nature of my days after a good night doing something really selfish, like quarantine myself here with the yarn and fabric and just be. And after the weekend I'll feel even more refreshed, enough to last until next Thursday!

The rain is pattering on the roof, and I can hear the baby snoring in the next room. Tonight is George's night to get up with him, so I truly have the whole night off. Aaaaah! Such luxury!

Cheese, Grommit! Cheeeeessseeee!!!

In honour of my birthday, I found out what kind of cheese I am from the Online Cheese Comparator:

Your name is: Lorraine
Your cheese rating is: Caerphilly

Caerphilly is a hard cheese, first made in the Welsh town of the same name in around 1830. It is aged in a moist cellar, where the white/gray moulds on the rind grow thick and leathery. It has a fresh taste, and the flavour becomes more rounded with age. This cheese is known as "the crumblies".

Of course, with a big birthday coming up - it is always good to know that your "flavour becoming more rounded with age." I thought that was just my bum! ;-)

Here's another Cheese Test Result:



Brie is the best known French cheese and has a nickname "The Queen of Cheeses". Several hundred years ago, Brie was one of the tributes which had to be paid to the French kings. In France, Brie is very different from the cheese exported to the United States. "Real" French Brie is unstabilized and the flavor is complex when the surface turns slightly brown. When the cheese is still pure-white, it is not matured. If the cheese is cut before the maturing process is finished, it will never develop properly. Exported Brie, however, is stabilized and never matures. Stabilized Brie has a much longer shelf life and is not susceptible to bacteriological infections. Brie, one of the great dessert cheeses, comes as either a 1 or 2 kilogram wheel and is packed in a wooden box. In order to enjoy the taste fully, Brie must be served at room temperature. [ Country: France || Milk: cow milk || Texture: soft || Recommended Wine: Bourgogne ]

Ahh, to be complex and superstitious... wait - that IS me! Brie is also my favourite cheese!

Compost, how I loath thee...

I did what "the book" said - I measured all my beds then made the calculation to figure out how many cubic yards of compost I would need for my gardens. I came up with 9 cubic yards. Holy smokes! Can that be right? I do the calculations again. Yes, 9 cubic yards of the dark smelly stuff.

I really could not bring myself to ask DH for $400 worth of compost (plus the $80 delivery fee). We ordered 4 cubic yards instead. Whew! It arrived on Friday and it was a LARGE pile!

Ok, so immediately I get started Friday afternoon in moving it to beds around the yard. I move about 4 wheel barrows full. Then I had to pick up DH from the airport (this takes about 5 hours with the traffic for mardi gras and us stupidly deciding to eat downtown). We get back and I am bushed so I go to bed.

Getting up early the next morning, I look at the pile of compost. It does not seem any smaller after I moved a lot of it yesterday! Huh - so I get started again. I work almost continuously until DH comes out at 1 pm (just getting up!) and asks if I am going to take a break soon. DH then asks if I have moved any of the pile since yesterday. What?!?! It seemed to him that the pile was not going down very fast. Huh (again)! I tell him I worked on most of the beds and after I get most into the beds, we can use some on the lawn and move a few wheelbarrows full to the backyard. The rest can go to our wonderful neighbors who let me borrow their wheelbarrow.

I work for another hour with DH's help. We clean up a bit and proceed to go to a celebratory lunch. As we walk out the door I see the pile. It looks just as big as it did yesterday. *sigh* I'll work on it tomorrow...

PS: I'll post some pictures tomorrow too...

It has its ups and downs...

I had a really great weekend. Really great!

It all started on Friday when I found out that Natural Gardener is having a great sale on berry bushes. DH has said multiple times that he wants to have berry bushes in the yard. Also that we needed to expand our herbs in the yard.

So, I wrote DH an email detailing why I wanted to go and when. I made sure to keep with it all Friday and Saturday morning. I even brought him some breakfast tacos to fortify him through the day. We finally left at 2 (I wanted to leave at 1) and got to the place at about 2:30. Then, someone did a body snatcher on my husband!

All of a sudden, this other person (who looked like my DH but surely could not be) started making suggestions, wanting to help out - even handing over his credit card for the purchases! DH even suggested that we order the compost (a large delivery that will be dumped onto his precious driveway) before we left the place! WOW!

We did take some time to wander around the place and get some more ideas of what we can do in our small space. DH and I marveled at the huge lettuces and cabbages and cauliflower and realized that our *next* house would have a large yard that would have full sun for said veggies.

It was a wonderful afternoon and I hope to find other garden centers in Austin to visit to keep him thinking about this kind of stuff and to get some inspiration for me too!

*sigh* I love him, I really do. What other girl would ask for and get 4 cubic yards of compost for her birthday?!?! He even keeps asking if that is OK?!?!? ;-)

Marriage is hard

OK - so how hard is this supposed to be? I feel like I don't have any say in how my household is run. Any suggestions (read: presumption) that I have for making the house more liveable is greeted with shrugs and "So?" and "And you want me to pay for what?"

I mean, when one gets married, one has a few preconceived notions that a) You will have at least one couch, b) there will be some sort of window covering so people can't see your husband walking around naked in the house and c) if there is a LARGE difference in the pay of the husband and wife - the one with the most money pays for the large purchases (read: said couch).

So, my husband pays for the mortgage, the insurance, the food, his car (2 year old Infiniti) and any technical things he wants to buy (read: computer every 3 years - of which I don't have one). I pay for anything I buy: quilting stuff, any and all gifts for friends and family and to keep my 12 year old car running.

As you can see, his income is much, much more than mine. When I point this out to him, he points out that with an engineering degree I can get a better job. OOOKKKAAAAYY - now that my engineering degree is about hmmmm 9 years out of date, what kind of job does he think I will be able to get? Head Engineer of a department? No. Let's try - Secretary of department under some schmuck (like my LAST job!) I look at what is out there and realize what I have is much easier to deal with than trying to find something else from scratch...

Besides, what does he think I am going to do when I become pregnant? Does he think that a brand new job at which I have not proven myself will want me to come back? My present boss has already asked that I DO come back if I go off to have a kid.

It all comes back to what I want and how to get there. I want to walk into my house and not see how bare it is. I want to have some floor and window coverings that match with colors on the walls. I want to sit on a couch and curl up with a book in my own living room. I want to have patio furniture for 6 so I can have friends over. After 18 months in this house, I want not to be embarrassed when people need to use the bathroom UPSTAIRS because there is a bed stuck in the hallway to the downstairs bathroom. I want to have a housewarming party and my birthday party in my own house.

I want to have a partner that thinks of me and what I want instead of what he wants - ALL the time! When he does think of what I want and insists that we do what I want - it makes me want to think of him and what he wants and there is balance! When he doesn't - I try but all I want to do is scream and tear out my hair and call him selfish! I am tired of being angry all the time - at him, at myself for not having enough courage, at life in general.

So, the question now is how do I get there. I mean, really, what do I do now? Do I really have to do all these things myself? I want to have a partner dammit! I want to have someone who understands how important all this is to me without my telling them over and over and over and over and over again. Is it just courage - do I just lack the courage to tell him that sometimes I just HATE him for being successful and not sharing as much as I ask him to? What is the deal? What is so wrong with us? Help!

Quilting Quiz

I found this on the PBS site - a quilting quiz. It's HARD!!!

Last I heard she was...

Heard about this from my friend over at Flooded Lizard Kingdom. It is a game in which you type in your name in Google and then the phrase "last I heard [he/she] was". Here are some of my results:

Looks like I move around a lot:
Last I heard she was back in Florida.
Last i heard she was moving back to hemel.
Last I heard she was. somewhere in Ottawa.

Here are some dating tidbits:
Last I heard she was rumoured to have gotten married to a farmer.
Last I heard she was involved with Angus Deayton
Last I heard she was living with a guy in Denver.

My favorite:
Last I heard, she was living on some Island somewhere
I wonder if this means I was picked for Survivor at one point?

Another favorite:
Last I heard, she was doing some work in Cambodia.
Last I heard, she was living in Guam.
Yeah me! Now, is this charity work or just hey, let's just pick up and move to Cambodia to work?

Favorite of my Dad's:
Last I heard, she was living up in Napa making wine.
Yeah Dad, you know what you are getting for presents forever...

Last but not least: Oh just Shoot me now!!!
Last I heard, she was attending Oral Roberts University
My major must basketweaving for insane christians.

There was 3 whole pages of cool things I have been doing... who would have thunk it?

Baby News

So, I went to my first OB/GYN appointment with a new Doctor. No, I am not pregnant but was recommended to go talk to this doctor. She gave me the low-down on what I should do and what I shouldn't do. One thing she did NOT mention was that I was Waaay overweight. She wants me to walk more and get out and do more stuff but she did not mention that I need to lose lots of weight before getting pregnant.

I was blown away when she mentioned something else. The Doc was talking about how to figure out when I was ovulating (who knew the high school health classes would come in handy?) and to make sure DH and I had sex at least once a day during the three days of ovulation. Then she said "Your husband cannot have a bath for at least 1 week prior to this time." I busted out hysterically laughing and just could NOT stop. As I caught my breath, I had to explain to my doctor (who thinks I am really crazy now) that my husband LIVES in the bathtub! DH will take conference calls from his beloved bath and uses it every day to destress from work or just works from the tub if it gets too stressful. She laughed as well and mentioned that wives usually say, "my husband would never take a bath!"

Ah, so this is what is to come.... I will put a large calendar up in the bathroom so we can mark the ovulation days and the no bath week. I am going to have one grumpy DH for a week then he gets lots of sex for 3 days! At least he has to make some sacrifices too!

Gardening in Texas

Whenever I think about my garden (or lack thereof), I realize how much work I would need to do to make it look the way I want it to (and to water it in June/ July). My plan to get an irrigation system backfired. Maybe DH will understand better next year and put aside money to do this VERY important addition to the yard.

Do I really need all those tools? I was taking a look through some catalogs and magazines and was wondering... All I have is a small shovel, some pruning shears, a hand-held tiller and some gloves. Does it matter if I don't have a fork to turn the soil, a flat shovel to take out sod, large loppers for shrubs? I mean, really, do I need them? I am afraid to take out some of the flowers to divide them without a fork and I am hoping to get a delivery of soil late this week so I can make better beds.

Ah, the beds. After the icestorm last week, the lantana is really, really dead. I either need to cut it back to get rid of it altogether. It is the only thing that looks good in July however. hmm.
I know I want to change out the flowers near the door and cut back the crape myrtle near the garbage bins. I still have no real idea of what to do with the bed near the cars or on the side of the house. Maybe I should look through some garden centers this weekend - the Lowe's at La Frontera has some really knowledgeable people. BUT - the Red Barn plants I buy, while slightly more expensive, have lasted and lasted.

Point in fact - the Bluebonnets in the ice picture are actually seeds from a plant I bought late last year at Red Barn. The plants went to seed and now they are everywhere! I LOVE self-seeding plants! Maybe I'll get some more so they will creep over to behind the mailboxes... it is just bare dirt right now.

Why is it sooo hard to find good advice about gardening in Texas? I still need to get some sort of soil test to determine what I need to do in terms of fertilizer. AND I need to get some better system in place for watering this summer. I also need to keep some notes about what I am putting where and what is going on with the garden. Ah well - at least I can pull weeds without too much thought this weekend. :-)

Ice Storm 2007 AKA the 3 days of winter in Texas

Howdy! Here are some cool photos to show how awesome it is that we had TWO snow/ice days in Texas! BTW - I was going stir crazy by the end of it!

Bluebonnets on Ice

Cedar Fever Defeated in Texas!!














Look Ma - Snow in Texas!

Ahhh... Resolutions.

This year I turn 35. I know, I know it's not that big of deal but I am looking forward to this year. I have been thinking a lot about resolutions and if I can actually stick to them this year. Over at the Flooded Lizard Kingdom, the Princess has lots of wonderful resolutions I would love to emulate.

However, I am setting my goals a little lower. A couple of things I would like to do is:

1: Get organized. I mean more than just the quilt room, I really need some shelves for books and would love to get some built-ins to really make the house a little more lived in.

2: Finish stuff! I have a list - yes over 10 right now - of baby quilts for people in the office. I have a goal of finishing the first 3 by April 1st. Then the next 3 by June 1st and so on. Right now I have one pieced (ready for quilting), one on the wall (ready for piecing) and another cut and ready to go on the wall. I am interrupting myself right now by making some other presents but I will be back on track next weekend.

3: Move more. I am terribly overweight and all I want to do is to be able to keep up when people want to go walking or just getting through the day and sleeping well. Steph offered to meet me at the JCC to just get me going. THAT is what I need - an appointment with someone that I can't miss - no matter what. I also am checking on a beginners class at Yoga Yoga to get more flexible. I am also hoping to make inroads on my planar facitis (sp?) so I don't have so much pain when walking.

I think that is enough for now. I'll hopefully be working on this more and more this year. We'll see what happens. :-)

Sister Exchange Part 1

So, my sister has helped with a kick in the butt to go out and start a blog in which she and I can exchange information and pictures.

Many times I have started journals and did not get past January in the writing. We'll see if it helps that J-sis will be monitoring and encouraging!

Check out my profile to find out more about me...