Kindergartner

I don't have time to write much today, but I wanted to share pictures from Laura's first day of Kindergarten! Laura goes to a year-round school and today was the big day. It truly is hard to believe she's old enough for Kindergarten. Our picture taking was a bit rushed this morning, and the sun was pretty bright, but we got a few relatively normal looking pictures. By this point she was desperate to get rid of me. Her "smile" says it all!

Along the same lines, I heard this song for the first time a few days ago and it really touched me. When I walked away from Laura's class this morning, I choked up a little bit, but I didn't cry. But when this song came on my iPod as I drove away from the school...yep, I totally cried.

Job #14

So last you heard I was working part-time at a bank, right? Well, try to keep up, because that's out already. I loved working there, but really needed a full-time job, and when my friend Angela recommended I check out an open position at a local health education center, I jumped on it. Since I seem to have the best luck when it comes to finding jobs, I was quickly called in for an interview and got the job!

I started today, and won't go into too much detail since there's problems with confidentiality and the fact that I don't really even understand what I'm doing (yet). The gist of it is that there are several grant-funded health programs being run by this non-profit organization, and I am the assistant to the program heads. I'll work on two very different grant programs, and possibly a third one in the near future. It may sound glamorous, but in actuality it's a very entry-level job, full of making copies and other such enthralling things. The pay is a mere pittance, but I'm excited to think that after 14 years of working, and 13 other different jobs, I may have finally embarked on an actual career.

The Fly, Redux

Pity the poor fly that I killed today, the one that signals the end of winter and the return of my eternal torment. I killed him with such vengeance that his corpse has not been located. A splatter on my door indicates he is dead, but I fear in my desire to send him from this world to the next, I was overly enthusiastic.

A Quilt For Jared

Have I talked about Jared before here? I'm sure I have. He's a great guy; funny, smart, a true friend, and I have so many great memories of him from high school and beyond. He's been there for me in all of the big moments of my life, and the not-so-good and trivial moments too. Laura absolutely adores him. I always think about him when I listen to "The Longest Time" or do a 4 lane sweep while driving. One of my favorite things to do when I visit California is to meet him at Vincenzo's for some pizza.

He's one of my very best friends, and in honor of his 30th birthday (which I'm embarrassed to report was back in March), I made him a quilt. He finally picked it up from the post office today, so now I can post pictures and share it with everyone! As shocking as it may be, I'm fairly certain this is the very first quilt of this size that I've ever completed. I've done a few smaller ones, and I've completed a few quilt tops, but this one has actual quilting and binding and everything. I was inspired by this quilt for the pattern, and it was definitely a challenge trying to pick "manly" fabrics. I fear I may have allowed some of my girly preferences show through, so hopefully he won't be too embarrassed to use it.

For those who are interested, I'll mention that I machine sewed the binding, with help from this tutorial and it turned out wonderfully! It was very easy and so much quicker. I don't know if I'll ever hand-stitch a binding again. Sorry, any future quilt recipients. You're going to be subjected to my laziness.

Note: It's hard to take pictures of a quilt when you have no one to hold it for youTurns out laying it down is much easierI didn't do the quilting, but it turned out nicelyThe label I made-I'm pretty proud of itLabel sewn onto the quiltAll folded up and ready to go to CA!

Pink IS Her Favorite Color

I think everyone who knows Laura knows how much she loves pink-a lot of her clothes are pink, as is the paint color in her bedroom and bathroom. Her car seat, her jacket, her sheets-all pink. If she had her way, our car would be pink too. I just never thought she'd take her love of pink so far and get pink eye!

Her eye actually doesn't look too bad, and she says it doesn't itch too much, but the moment I saw her this morning, I knew. A quick trip to the doctor this morning confirmed it. The moment I saw her eye, all sorts of thoughts raced through my head. I thought about the fact that I'd have to skip work today, which is never good when you're a brand new employee and have a big "final exam" on Friday that you were supposed to prepare for all day today. I wondered if I'd even be able to go to work tomorrow to take the test, and had visions of me bringing her with me to do it. I speculated on when she could go back to school, how she got the pink eye in the first place, and if she had given it to anyone else. I wondered to myself: if I did have to skip work, why did I still wake up at 6:15 and get entirely ready before she woke up and I noticed her eye?

But all of those concerns and worries were a blip on the radar compared to what popped into my head quicker than you can say pink eye: eye drops! It was like a neon sign flashing, all morning: EYE DROPS! EYE DROPS! EYE DROPS! When you have a child like Laura, you're not being dramatic at all when you want to roll around on a bed of nails rather than administer eye drops (to both eyes) three times a day for the next SEVEN days! And just as I expected, despite my nonchalance, when the moment came, the tears and begging and screaming and thrashing was truly a sight to behold. Not to mention that the bottle of drops the doctor prescribed is so tiny that it seems to have exactly 42 drops in it, so the first drop this morning was basically wasted. It may have touched her eyelashes, but I can't be sure. Even if it did get in, her eye being so full of tears just washed it right back out. I'll be surprised if it ever clears up, at this rate.

And just for the record, my favorite color is not pink. So hopefully I'll be spared the same fate!

She Works Hard For The Money

Finally, a legitimate excuse for being so tired: I've gone back to work. Does this mean I need to update the "about me" on my blog to a total of 13 jobs? And does this also mean I can no longer count goofing off as my main pastime? Sadly, I suppose so.

I was lucky enough to get a part-time job at a bank well-known here on the east coast (for now I've decided not to name them, in case they are feeling shy and don't want to be discussed here). I know the economy still really stinks, so it was a pleasant surprise to be hired rather quickly once I finally got up the nerve to start looking for work again. Laura will be starting Kindergarten in July, and the Army Man is frequently busy with all things Army-related, namely being deployed and being gone all the time when he isn't deployed. Moxie doesn't seem to have any interest in me beyond food, the occasional run, and door-opening abilities. My Etsy shop is slowing down (my own doing) and I found myself actually being bored during the day (horrors!) So essentially, the time had come.

My first two weeks are full of training goodness, and I have to work full time both of those weeks. That is a big downside, because I have to tell you: I'm two days in, and I'm exhausted. Getting up early is not my thing, and today, to make things even worse, I ran after work. So yes, I really am tired. For real. The only thing making me stay up past 9pm tonight is the fact that LOST is on. And even LOST, beckoning to me with it's confusing plot, might not be enough to tempt me tonight. (Don't worry LOST, I won't actually go to bed early. I'm just being dramatic to get sympathy for how tired I am!)

I don't have too much to report now, other than to say my co-workers are all very nice and helpful, and the work seems like it will be interesting and challenging. I thought for sure they eased new people in nice and slow, but nope! Next week I have to start helping people. Real people, with real money. So in about 4 more days, I have to learn how to work an entirely new computer system, all of the rules and regulations regarding money and banking, how to quickly and accurately count money, how to work a drive-thru with three lanes and those tube thingees that left the west coast about 20 years ago, and how to deal with customers irate over their money (so far there has been one daily). Easy, right? Come back next week to find out if I'm still employed!

PS. Did you like the pun in my title? I am SO proud of myself for coming up with that!

Bubble Dress

The bubble dress is completed! As I said in my first post about the dress, I have a really hard time using patterns, and this time was no exception. The directions are well-written and the pictures are great, but that still wasn't enough to help poor clueless me. I was so stuck at the end on how to sew the bodice and skirt together in a manner that looked halfway decent, that I ended up having to trek up to our city's quilt store to get some advice. I happened to arrive right when a clothing construction class was finishing, and the instructor took a few minutes to talk with me. That's how nice they are there; she gave me one-on-one attention and some invaluable advice (for free) and seemed happy to do it!

The funny part was that the moment the instructor and I began looking at the pattern together and discussing it, the light bulb went off and I knew exactly what I was supposed to do. The trip wasn't wasted though-I got some great fabric, and an ego boost from everyone who admired the dress. Even better, the instructor told me she has used Oliver + S patterns in the past, and while they make some adorable clothes, the patterns are sometimes lacking in really detailing all the steps to take. So that made me feel better too.

The dress is a lot shorter on Laura than I expected (it is a size 5) so if I make it again, which hopefully I will, I'm going to try to make it longer. It doesn't "bubble" as much as Laura would like, but most people who have made the dress say the same thing. I might try a little bit less elastic next time to make it poof a bit more. As usual, my pictures stink and really don't do justice to the cute fabric (the blue is a tad darker in real life). I think it looks really cute on Laura!

Laura being forced to try it onStarting to enjoy herself more once I allowed her to curtsyThe buttons which also look cuter in real life

The Scream Heard 'Round The World

What's that? You just heard hysterical screaming? Yeah, that was Laura. See, she had a splinter-a tiny little thing-in her palm, and after several days, it still hadn't worked itself out, and I knew I had to get it out. A nice bath first to soften up her skin, and we were ready to roll. Except that Laura wasn't. I have never met such a strong 5 year old in my life. I COULD NOT unclench her hand. She was screaming and crying, begging me to stop. Not fun. Finally I had to send her to her room so that both of us could calm down. She sat in there, crying that she wished she was six so she could be older and brave.

Eventually she reemerged and we tried again. No dice. I simply couldn't pin her and get it out at the same time. I have to say that splinter-removal is definitely a time when I miss the Army Man. I hate having to do the actual removal and he always handles that, plus the two of us combined are usually strong enough to hold her down. Remember, this is the girl who at nine months old had to have the biggest male nurse in the ER hold her down so the doctor could check her ears. She is strong, she is stubborn, and she is huge wimp. Not a good combination.

Finally my motherly instinct kicked in and I figured out the answer, the answer which is usually the answer to everything with Laura: the TV. We set up camp in front of the TV and she was calm enough to let me poke around for a minute and eventually get it out (or so I hope-I honestly can't tell if I got it or not). Afterward she was proud of herself and her extreme bravery and has been reliving her 'victory' ever since. And after all that, I'll now be dying at age 88 instead of 91.

Updates

There's not much new here at our house. Our snow melted almost as quickly as it came, but sadly it didn't take the cold weather with it. Laura and I are desperate for some warmer weather! I'm already planning what clothes I want to make Laura for spring, and I've purchased a few patterns. Unfortunately for me, I'm such a visual person that I have a VERY hard time with patterns-no matter how many diagrams there are, it's still not enough. I bought this pattern from oliver + s (I'll make it without the scalloped sides) and I hope it will be just as cute as the pictures, despite my ineptitude with patterns. Stay tuned to see the finished product soon--I hope! I've also been trying to learn how to use my sewing machine to quilt, with terrible results. It would be so much faster and cheaper if I could figure out how to do it and quilt my own quilts, but I'm quickly accepting that it's just not meant to be.

But enough crafty talk, how about some pictures of Laura? I know that's the main draw here! I have a few from Valentine's Day so you can see just how much she enjoyed the holiday.

Heart shaped toast for breakfast (Mommy's idea)With her new dog that Daddy sent (with a little help from Mommy). She named it Cassie.Heart shaped sandwich for lunch (Laura's idea) We also had to use her heart shaped plate.

Fun In The Snow

It was A LOT of fun.

Oh, THOSE Eyes

Driving home today, Laura was looking at a library book when she came across something so shocking that her poor 5 year old brain just couldn’t take it: someone had written in the book. Being the stickler for the rules that she is, Laura was appalled. APPALLED! She demanded that I turn around and read what had been written (perhaps in an attempt to track down the perp and dole out some justice). I informed her that sadly, I was driving, and could not turn around to look. In her most exasperated tone, she said, “Well, turn on your back eyes then!”

I’m afraid I had to decline.

This Run Takes The Cake

I've never used the same post before for both of my blogs, but what I wrote on my running blog today was worth sharing-or at least I think so. Here it is:

So today will go down in history as my closest call yet while running. It's a beautiful, clear day and after all of our rain it was great to go out. I had Laura in the jogging stroller and Moxie on my right, going against traffic as usual. I was still doing my warm up walk and was walking up a small hill near our house when I heard a loud noise behind me. I looked back to see two cars flying up behind me, driving next to each other! I guess they were racing each other or something. The one coming up behind me was an SUV and the driver slammed on his brakes and was able to stop in time (obviously).

I had a few choice words for him, although being the sweet innocent thing I am, I don't think any of them were curse words. He just sat there laughing at me which was just infuriating! I did my run and wouldn't you know it, ran past the house he was parked at. I memorized his license plate and when I got home called the non-emergency sheriff's number to report it. The bad part is that the operator transferred me to 911 (huh?) and I had to give a full report including all of my info. I requested that my information not be revealed should this person be found, but the operator didn't inspire much confidence that that will happen.

So now, in payment for reporting the fact that I almost got squished today, I get the unsettling feeling of wondering if crazy people are about to find out that I narced on them and get my address. What a great run!

The Tiguan At Age 1

About a week ago I realized that I’ve had my Tiguan for a year now. My higher math skills helped me determine that I’ve put about 17,000 miles on it in that year. I don’t know if that’s a lot or not compared to what other people drive, but I do know how I arrived at that amount:

1 trip to Pennsylvania
1 trip to Disney World
1 drive in the worst rain of my life (Florida, on the way to Disney)
19 million errands (give or take a few thousand)
1 worst parking lot traffic jam ever (after fireworks on the 4th of July)
4 times riding with out of state visitors
1 middle of the night ER trip
6 convoys
2 times being barfed in (both by Moxie)
78 billion food crumbs spilled
1 worst drive ever (dropping off the Army Man for his deployment)
2 trips to Charleston
4 (if that) car washes
15 or so trips to Raleigh for shopping, doctor visits, and wishing I lived there
0 flat tires
0 break downs
0 problems

One year in, and still the best car I've ever had.

Friday Night Sewing

I've been feeling very crafty lately, and just wanted to share two things that I worked on tonight. The first is a baby quilt that I cut out a while back, and finally got all sewn together tonight. I think it looks so much better in person, because photographing quilts at night in a badly lit room just doesn't work out so well. It's made with some of my favorite Amy Butler fabrics, and I hope to get it quilted and listed in my shop soon. Unfortunately for me, I don't know anyone about to have a baby girl, so no one I know can benefit from it. The moral here is that my friends and/or relatives need to get cracking and provide me with a baby girl to sew for. The next thing I made tonight is a little Valentine's themed bag for Laura. I bought her a cute little stuffed dog for Valentine's Day, which had the added appeal of coming in a cute little gift bag. Sadly for me, the cashier at Target was so clueless and kept ringing up the dog and the gift bag separately, and would not be convinced otherwise that there was no way in the world the gift bag cost $5.99 by itself. She was very perplexed as to why the dog cost less ($4.99) but just did not get it that the set was $5.99 or the dog by itself was $4.99. The worker at the customer service desk was equally as confused, and I'm sure they both had a good laugh about the crazy lady ranting about the gift bag. They both were stunned by the high price, and didn't blame me at all for opting not to purchase the gift bag.

So the point of the story is that I came home from Target with probably a year chopped off my life due to aggravation, and with a stuffed dog that was no longer quite as Valentine-y without the festive bag. Not to be deterred, I whipped up a little drawstring bag similar to some I had made as Christmas gifts for the moms and sisters in my life. This version is littler but just as cute, and I know Laura will love it, since she loves anything that is even remotely like a purse, bag, or other carrying item. I have another quilt that's in progress, but it's not ready for it's close up yet. Hopefully I'll be back to share it in a few weeks.

The Caulking Wizard

It's not every day that I can be convinced to buy something "As Seen On TV". But for quite a while I've wanted this nifty little caulking kit I once saw advertised. I'm sure you know the one-it comes with a little blue thingee (the technical term) that allows you to flawlessly finish any edge. They make it look so easy! I asked the Army Man to buy it for me for our 5th wedding anniversary back in 2008, and he never did, so when I saw it today at Walgreen's, I snatched it right up!

I knew exactly what I wanted to use it on, too. The caulk that connects our kitchen counter to our back splash has looked pathetic since we bought the house. It's only gotten worse and worse, and just a few days ago I decided I just couldn't take it anymore. So how fortuitous to see my little kit! It was like a sign that it was time to fix the caulk. I felt a little embarrassed bringing it up to the register, and of course the cashier had to remark skeptically, "I wonder if this actually works".

I started right when I got home from the store, and immediately hit a snag. Trying to remove the existing caulk was like chipping stone. It took forever and made a huge mess. And for whatever reason, chunks of caulk laying around really gross me out. I was so grossed out, in fact, that I dragged our giant shop vac all the way inside to clean up the debris rather than have to touch it myself. Applying the caulk was a disaster too. I practically giving myself carpal tunnel syndrome in the process. Probably not a good idea to use caulk that has been sitting in our freezing garage on the coldest weekend all season! It was so hard to squeeze that stuff out and I now have sore wrists and blisters on both thumbs.

After all that work, the caulking wizard thingee wasn't that impressive. I think I'll lay part of the blame on the weird angle of our kitchen counter-none of the edges on the thingee matched up, so either I would scrape off too much caulk, or too little. The edge I eventually settled on made it look really nice, but also smeared a lot of caulk on the back splash. Once it was all on, I spent close to a half hour and a ton of paper towels trying to make it look good, and I'm not totally sure if I succeeded. I guess I really don't care right now. It looks nice enough, and I sure feel great having accomplished a minor household fix all by myself!