10 Again!

1. Went to NCHS's Talent Show. I was originally invited by my Emma 3 years ago to attend this with her and her friends. I've been going ever since. It is MC'd by students, who are extremely obnoxious, sometimes cruel, but also hysterical! This year was a year of talent. Other years are not. The competition was tough. This was Emma's first year performing (even though I nagged the past couple). Unfortunately for her, she had a fever, was first to perform, and the sound system was not working. It was a frustrating experience for her. Also, the talent show was not that fun for her. I still had a great time!

2. Manchester Play, or at least that's what we have always called it. Somehow it is connected with either the Volunteer Fire Dept. or the Auxillary, not sure which. We have been going to this for about 15 years, only missing a couple. The cast has grown, but still has the "regulars". This is definitely something only appreciated by locals, or those with knowledge of Manchester and it's people. Always silly, always fun! We saw an old neighbor from about 15 years ago, we lived next door to her for 5 years. She whispered, "I wish you were still my neighbor". So sweet to be missed.

3. Wine Sale - I went to a wine sale, nowhere near me, and bought over a case of wine. It was dollar days where every bottle was only $1 over wholesale. Lil' Sister along with Sammajamma met me there. Wine shopping with a grabby baby was a new experience that I still loved! He is so cute!

4. NCHS Choral Boosters Fashion Show - My Handsome Prince and daughter were part of this. The chorus was showing prom fashions from Boscovs. They were escorted by people in service, so of course, Em was escorted by her father. They looked so wonderful!

5. Won two silent auctions. One for $200 worth of hair products. All of us girls are in heaven with choices, choices, choices! Another for a trivet made by Sandra Magsamen. I like her stuff but have never bought any.

6. Watched 24. I knew Audrey Raines was not guilty of selling information!

7. Played Euchre with my family last night. The girls were a team and beat us. They were having a ball and had a secret handshake with every trump they won! They were in rare form!

8. Missed the Brandi Carlile/Jamie Cullum concert at the 9:30 Club in DC. It was the night of the Fashion show (which I thoroughly enjoyed!). I sold my tickets to Thelma and boyfriend, who I called on the cell just as Jamie was coming on stage. They absolutely loved it! My job was done - turning someone on to excellent live music.

9. Went to Michael's with Mom. Mistake. Good thing it was not April yet - use what you have month. Actually, I did not buy that much and did replace a glue gun. It was nice. We used to spend a lot of time together crafting and shopping and don't get to anymore. When we do, it's a step back and quite enjoyable.

10. Nitty Gritty Church Band performed in Church. I love to hear my Handsome Prince sing!

SPT - time - Random photos from this month

Random photos from the month. Enjoying spring, reading, washing my face, with a friend after a workout, with my handsom Prince, on the floor with the dogs. I found this a bit difficult. To sort of stop what I am doing and take a picture. I didn't always have time to take a photo. I also felt like I had to have something in mind with what I was going to do with the photos. I may continue this one more week just for the sake of it. It's interesting to see how I change based on what I am doing.

Old bunny, new bunny and Sam's bunny

I could not resist making one of the bunnies from Wee Wonderful's freebie pattern. You will find other bunnys here. My first thought was to make my precious nephew an Easter bunny. It is made out of a suit jacket of my father's and cotton scraps from my stash. But I also determined that it MUST have satin/silky ears. Everybody knows that bunnies have the softest ears! Which in turn, made me pull out Pinky (male) my childhood bunny, whose satin ears are in shreds from the nighttime rubbing. Pinky needed a companion, so another bunny needed to be made, this one of course, pink. 

The Pony Princess In the Peppermint Palace

That was the name of this production. The title and production really had nothing to do with one another. It was a play of nonsense and fun, of Shakespeare and Jerry Springer, Alice in Wonderland and Monty Python, Star Wars and Maxwell Smart, The Trix Rabbit and Lucky Charms Leprachaun. They didn't miss much. This was a group of middle school kids who met for an hour and a half, one day a week for six weeks. In that period of time, they brainstormed, scripted, blocked, got props, music and whatever they needed to put on the production. It was quite a fun evening! I think Audrey enjoyed it. She was the main character that all the other scenes revolved around. I love these things! It's such a wonderful experience for kids to break out of those molds that peers, parents, teachers, society, and they put themselves in. This was such a unscripted out of the box type thing. I hope there are more to come.

Medallion kind of mood

Here are my four blocks I made today. I must be in a center medallion mood so I'm stopping. I want to do something different and a little more scrappy for the next few. Enjoy! This is so much fun!

The gang

Every morning, Shelby needs a pill for separation anxiety. Of course, the other two need to get something too, or at least they feel that way. This is the three of them every morning! I expect it from the dogs, but the cat too?! She hears that pill bottle and knows the dogs are getting something so she gets her cat treat too.

I'm killing two birds with one stone today. I'm working on blocks for the block swap. It's challenging working only with fabrics on hand. I had to buy the solids but am working only from my stash. So, also using what I have (hence the two birds). It's also challenging in the fact that I am not working from any patterns at all. The designs are just taking shape from whatever is in my head at the moment. I'll admit, sometimes they don't quite make it to what I had in mind, but still they have their own style. I'll post some photos at the end of the week. BTW, if there is anyone out there from this swap reading this, how do I get my photos on the block swap flickr page? Can't quite seem to figure that one out.

SPT - Time - Laundry

Time after time










over and over


ad infinitum










again and again



a thousand times









day ater day


endlessly











repeatedly


time and again











year after year.

10 things I've done since my last post

1. Father/daughter evening - My Dad took me out to dinner to The Chameleon Cafe where we had grilled quail salad, escargot appetizer, and venison for our entree. Mmmmm. It was outstanding as usual. We split everything and still leave satisfied. From there we went to The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, where we heard an absolutely wonderful Mozart piano concerto. My Dad takes me out once or twice a year for this kind of evening and it is something I always look forward to. We don't get to spend much time together.

2. Took a hip hop class. I am definitely not coordinated! I found humor in that fact, although one of my daughters is just like me and did not find humor in it. I enjoyed the fact that both girls accompanied me to something that I want to involve myself in. I'm always with them and I just enjoyed that they would do that for me, too.

3. My Handsome Prince and I went to the Military Ball. One of the reasons for the dance lessons, although there was not much opportunity to use them. We still had fun.






5. Finished my fuzzy dice. Cute and silly. Gotta love them sitting on the dash of my truck.























4. Made two blocks for the block swap. Love, love, love it!




6. Went to my niece's gymnastics meet. Quite fun! She is good - and so graceful. There were 7 of us from the family that went to this (excluding her parents and one brother). I'm not sure but we might have made her a bit nervous, although I know she was quite excited for everyone to be there.

7. Got to play and hold my precious nephew. He is the sweetest thing! He was exhausted and still quite happy.

8. Somewhere in there, I watched Flight Plan - thumbs down, and Gladiator - thumbs up, although nauseating in its violence and its intent. Plus, seeing Jaquine Phoenix so evil!

9. Started really clearing out my sewing area. What a mess! I decided I am definitely taking part in use what you have month. I pretty much try to do that anyway, but somehow always accumulate more stuff.






10. Watched 24 - Audrey Raines?!!! Is it true? You can vote on the site.

Beautified!

Today I got beautified. I love getting beautified! In getting beautified, I mean getting a trim, eyebrows waxed and the lip waxed, oh and let's not forget those stray eyebrows that for some reason grow on the chin. Ugh! My hairdresser used to work in this chic salon that served espresso and what not. All the stylists were young, pretty women, hair styles and colors always different. I was never comfortable there. Never felt hip, young, or welcome (other than my hairdresser). Now, my hairdresser works in an older establishment. Bad country station coming through a cheap radio, the smell of perm solution in the air, women under the old dryers. I love this place! The older women are chatty, sweet, friendly. There are always perms and sets going on and they just ogle my curls and want them. What a difference! So, I'm good to go for another 6-8 weeks.

I used to pay my kids 25 cents to brush my hair. It just does not work now. I wonder why.

SPT - Time - Guest appearance - Audrey

obviously, im super cool, haha, only kidding. but anyway, these are a bunch of pictures of me at different times. i love making goofy faces as you can see. but, i also like to be serious. haha, and i enjoy tricking my mother into thinking we are taking a smiley picture while i make yet again another funky face. i definately take my digital camera everywhere. ever since my mother gave it to me, i take it almost everywhere i go. when i went over to my friend kellys house, greg visited, and we took tons of pictures there. when i hung out with my friends ashley and bridget, we took pictures there too. wherever i am i am taking pictures just for fun. its kind of like my hobby, expressing my feelings through the faces i make, whatever they may be =] 

My days

Typical morning today, which consisted of making breakfast for the girls, packing their lunches, phone calls from Mom, Dad, and Lil' sister, and neighbor, then frantically eating, dressing, brushing teeth and heading out to class. Today was kickbox class and then lifting with Tasha. We worked back and biceps and I have increased my weights and reps. I'm feeling good, although I have determined I need a massage. I might schedule one this week.

The first floor will get a once over with the vacuum and I will sit down to quilt. Little by little I'll get that quilt done. I have to go over to Lil' Sister's house to babysit today. I have two more classes tonight - Cycle and Bodysculpting. Afterwards I will help Audrey paint a T-shirt for her drama production tomorrow. Sounds like a full day. Here is the book bag Audrey and I sewed last night. She is quite pleased with it and has friends that want me to make her one. Smart child recommended they come over and make it themselves. I like the way she thinks! She was giving me a hard time about my work area. I need to get her in there more often, maybe more will get done.

I'm anxious to start on the blocks for the block swap. I've been checking out all the blogs of those participating to see if they have started and what they have done. It's so exciting!

Spring is in the air

However, brief, spring is in the air. The weekend was absolutely glorious! Today we actually had time to enjoy it. After class this morning, MHP and I took the kayaks out to Codorus State Park. We paddled about for about an hour. It was great! What a great purchase those kayaks were! Once home, we left all the doors open so dogs and cat could come and go (we may be finding a few mice, too, but we'll deal with it). MHP stacked firewood, I pulled a few weeds (not many) and once Audrey was home, she fished leaves out of the pond. The frogs were out today. I think we counted 4. I love it when we lay in bed at night and hear the frogs croaking.

I had to teach again in the evening. It was a great kickbox class! I worked them hard (along with myself)! Afterwards Audrey and I constructed a book bag for her. She was tired of using her backpack and wanted something different.

Yes, my daughters rock!

One received a score of I at an all county music festival in a flute trio! On to the states!

One got her acceptance letter to Shenandoah University. Let's hope the money comes in too.

Bock swap, woo hoo!

I just received my copy of Denyse Schmidt Quilts. I'm just waiting for my fabric to arrive now before I can start Seedpods block swap.
Over the past couple days, I've worked out hard (nothing new) and completely cleaned my first floor, laundry done (well....), fires kept burning (literally), worked, ran kids around, cooked, and basically completed all my domestic duties. I've wasted a few hours on absolutely wonderful blogs, with such creativity. Wow! I'll post their links soon. Anyway, now I have time to dream of wonderful blocks, finish the borders of my primitive pinwheel (no, I did not finish) and continue working on my sock. I'll call them socks after the first is done.

Happy crafting, creating, and whatnot everyone!

Corners of My House

This is a new sofa in our family room in the basement. I think we made a good choice, what do you think?

Self Portrait Tuesday - Time - My Day

I decided to document my day with photos to record the passage of time. A typical day for me is filled with many roles and duties, and not necessarily the same every day: Blogger, surfer, kickboxer, chaperone, announcer, professional waiter (as in waiting all the time), driver, Mom, cycle instructor, Me.

Saturday Night's All Right

Saturday night's all right! for more than one reason. The day is over, the worries and concerns over my children can be put to rest for another day. I'm going out with My Handsome Prince and we are going to bust a groove.


Recap - last night we went to dinner at Amer's to celebrate Emma's birthday. My Mom, sister, Abi, and Sam came. We ate, Emma had her cards read (which she said was weird), and watched belly dancing. I've decided that's my next career :-) It was a lot of fun. We did get up and move a little (our own version of belly dancing). Sam charmed the whole restaurant as usual. The next morning my clothes reeked of onions, spices, herbs, and whatnot! Whew!

I will reflect and rejoice on being a mother and wife. Not because it was a good day doing it, quite the opposite. Because I was harping on Audrey about various things, getting into Emma's business, and accusing my husband of not getting involved. Somedays are just like that.

Lent

A season of reflection, repentance, soul searching, taking stock. I've never been one to give up something for Lent. Truthfully, my days become so full, I forget to be thankful, take stock, pray, and appreciate the people, places and things that make my life full. Isn't that pitiful? I also know that it is typical. So, everyday, during this season, I will take stock and appreciate the gifts bestowed upon me.

Wednesday 3/1/06
Emma, who was born on this day 18 years ago, whose voice is like an angel, who has taught me to be a Mother to her, who strives to do what is right, whose faith is strong, whose heart is breaking right now.

Thursday 3/2/06
An afternoon with my sister and her baby boy, just playing. Watching the amazing progress of an 8 month old and the happiness he brings to those he sees. The opportunity for the most important woman in my life to meet the new woman in my life. Sisterhood, blood and not.

Friday 3/3/06
Family, silliness, fun, kids, taking advantage of these things and enjoying them with no pressure. With family near, we can take an evening and celebrate something or nothing, being together, laughing at others and ourselves.

The Courtship

I have a new friend. She's a younger woman, to be exact 19 years younger. It's interesting how a new friendship forms. It's like a romance. We work together at the Y, so that's the start. Then the conversations about music. With that, I invited her to join us at the 8x10 club. After that, it was another party. We inadvertently met at the pool one day, discovering that we have that in common, too. Needing a boost in the gym, I asked her if I could lift with her. It's turned into a routine, lifting together a few times a week, cycling, swimming, going out. In addition to that, little gifts of ourselves, glimpses of our inner workings, history, music CD's, clothes, making plans. It's quite fun! Sometimes I can't wait until we talk again. Today we lifted, then out of the blue she called, offering to bring a dress for me to try on, and we will see each other tonight again, as I have to work and she will be going to class. It's like having a crush but yet different. Different expectations, I guess, or maybe no expectations, just enjoying each other. Anyway, thanks Tasha, I'm having a good time. See ya at the pool tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Dear Emma

Yesterday was Emma's 18th birthday. It's hard to believe that 18 years ago she started our little family. Four years later, Audrey completed it. We are truly blessed to have 2 such wonderful, beautiful, caring daughters.

All Emma wanted for her birthday was to have her car decorated. She almost blew the surprise. She moaned all morning about how nobody decorated her car. I finally snapped and reminded her she had all day! I went to the school, unbeknownst (or so I think) to her, took her car to the car wash, filled it with gas, and 18 balloons. I wrote on the back window with car chalk. I also took 18 cupcakes to the school, left them with the office with instructions to call her down to the office before lunch. The women in the office thought it was cute that I was bringing cupcakes to school. I guess you don't see that much past elementary school. Later in the day, I picked Audrey up from school early so she could add her decorations to the car. That was pretty much it for the birthday celebrations. We had a very late dinner of steamed shrimp, bread, and salad.

Emma has been in the forefront these days with all the college planning. Audrey needs some time, attention, nurturing. Although, lately she's been spending weekends with friends and truly enjoys it. We had a nice talk about people yesterday on our weekly trip to Catonsville, usually she falls asleep in the car. We'll get there. It's difficult to know what is important to her.