Something I Have Always Wanted

Growing up until I was in the 7th grade we lived in basically a gated condominium community. It was fun and it had a club house. My dad was on the board so I spent many evenings in that club house while they had meetings playing with the bingo ball tumbler thing under the bar. But the best thing was the community had a pool, kidney shaped, in ground, going from 3-5 ft. It was awesome and there were picnic tables just outside the fence and we would walk up there with our lunches and then eat and go swimming. (Mom had no worries about the waiting a half hour). When i got a little older I was able to go up there without my parents. I felt so grown up. Then we moved and I had to go to a new school and live in a much bigger house that did not have a pool. I was sad.

Last weekend, I came home from work the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to this in the back yard. My sister is awesome. My birthday is in two weeks and I'll be 43. I know that this is not my birthday present but it is quite possibly the coolest gift ever. She was even awesome enough to let me go in first.

Thanks Sis.




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Baking Cookies

Yesterday was cold, nasty and drizzly. So the kids could not play outside and were feeling cooped up. What is the worlds greatest aunt to do with them while their mother takes a nap? Hmmmmm I decided that just watching tv or playing video games was not an option so we made cookies. I had just enough brown sugar, vanilla and chocolate chips that one batch would finish all three of them off so we all put on our aprons and went to work.





It was so odd I bought the boy his apron two years ago and when I was looking for one for the girl yesterday at Williams-Sonoma they only had ones for boys. Now I am not sure how many people out there try to buy cooking stuff for kids but normally it is all, and I do mean all, geared for girls. Easy bake ovens are pink, the little kids stoves are pink. The boy does not really care about this sort of thing but he is very secure. So I found it really strange that they had a hulk, spiderman, and star wars aprons but nothing geared to little girls. Now don't get me wrong I have no problem putting her in one of those aprons, but she doesn't like spiderman, and the hulk scares her. The star wars one was too plain. So here she is, in one of my old ones from culinary school rolled up and customized with hockey tape. We started the whole process with strict rules, clean hands, and no fighting. She did the dry ingredients and he helped me with the wet and the kitchen aid. Once the batter was mixed they had no desire to help scoop them onto the trays and bake them but the definitely wanted to lick the utensils.





All in all it was a positive experience for all of us and giving them a love of cooking now can only help later. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ten on Tuesday - 10 Things I Want to Do in 2012

Carole has been sending me the topics to write about for Ten on Tuesday for months and I keep forgetting to write them.  So today I figured I am going to start.  This way I can look back at the end of the year and see if I managed to do any of them.


1. I want to read 50 books this year.  Last year I managed 52 so I should be able to squeeze these in.


2. I am going to attempt to eat mostly unprocessed foods 5 days a week.  There are small kids that live at my house so I know that going for everyday is practically impossible.


3. I am not going to start any new knitting project until one of the works in progress has been completed or frogged.  I have over ten WIPs and most have been on the needles for a long time.  This will force me to reevaluate their existence.  This does not apply to the following.  I am going to attempt to keep up with the Shakespeare in Lace club kits from Wooly Wonka Fibers. They are beautiful and I love knitting them so they are the exception to the above rule.  Hopefully this will keep me from getting too bored with the projects I have on the needles.


4. I am going to write more.  My goal is to work on my writing 7 hours a week.  I also want to get over my fear of editing and begin to edit my works in progress.


5. I am going to practice my spinning and get up the courage to try to spin the beautiful Merino/Silk I just bought at The Fold's New Year's Day Sale. I would like to get to the point where what I spin is actually useful for a project.


6. I am not going to buy any more yarn until Midwest Fiber and Folk.  I have 142 MILES of yarn currently in my house.  I think that is plenty to tide me over until then.


7. I would like to have a warp on both looms at all times during the year.  That being said neither one has a warp on it right now, but i do have two warps wound and ready to go.


8. I am going to finish one fiber art project a month.  I don't care if it is woven, knit, crocheted, or spun I just want to accomplish somethign every month.


9. I want to take my lunch to work more often than going out. I am aiming for taking lunch 3 out of the 4 days I work.  (We have a screwy 4 days on 2 days off schedule.)  It would be healthier and save money.


10. This one is probably the most important.  I vow to be kinder to myself and to the people that live in my house.  Lately I find myself being stressed and not treating myself and other the way I truly want to be treated.  In this I am going to go to yoga 3-5 times a week.


Rereading this it sounds like a lot but they are goals and I like a challenge.

Bikram 30 Day Challenge - Day One

So I think I might have lost my mind. I have decided to take the October Yoga Challenge. I have set myself on the path to take 30 classes in 30 days. I am excited and scared by this. I have been going 3 times a week for about a month, but every day will be a challenge. Add to this the fact that I will be out of town 28-30 October, which means that I will have to double up on three days, and I am in for a huge challenge.

There will be lots of sweat, heat, and hours invested. I am hoping that by the end of the 30 classes I will have some variety of inner peace, or at least be a little closer to attaining some.


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Location:S Christiana Ave,Chicago,United States

Blueberry Festival

My mother retired last year and moved to northern Michigan my Aunt Mary roped her into helping with the Harrietta Blueberry Festival. So mom helps out with the quilt show. Of course this year I did not get any pictures of mom's quilts but I did get one of my sisters





Abby pieced the top and mom did the hand quilting.

And here is my favorite of the day. My niece pieced the top and ripped all the fabric strips herself. She is going to use it as her nap mat for 4 year old preschool this year. I really do have a talented family.




During this trip I bought the cutesy little hand carved tree.



And we went to the beach.







A good time was had by all and the kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and I enjoyed seeing mine.

On the writing front I am currently 27000 words into my summer time Campnanowrimo novel and I am enjoying the process. I am well on the way to finishing before the end of the month. For September I am actually planning on beginning revisions to one of the past nano novels. Draft two scares me.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Spinning into Camp

In July I attempted Tour de Fleece I did manage to finish up some of my old projects.

This is Rosaline from Cloudlover I love her fibers. They are always well prepared and spin up like a dream.








The next one is Forest Fantasy from The Painted Tiger I am not sure how I like working with the Wensleydale. It seems to scratchy and sticky for me. I do love her colors.








I have begun to spin up another Cloudlover roving that is rambouilett in the color way of Black Sea. I love it.

Knit wise I am currently working on Kitman's Mystery Shawl. In Madeline Tosh Merino Light. I do not have a picture of that right now. Next post. I do however have before and after pictures of my latest project. I am beginning Campnanowrimo which for everyone who does not not is a writing endeavor that last the whole month of August and encourages you to write 50,000 words in that time. It is an awesome person challenge. I love doing it in November and wanted to try the inaugural camp challenge. Unfortunately Writing is hard when you can not find your desk.







It seems that my busy summer at work has made me come home and just dump stuff. I am embarrassed to say that when I finally cleared this mountain of madness I found numerous bills I had missed. Oops. Well all of that is taken care of now and I have space.








So now I can write without feeling like I could get trapped in an avalanche of knitting needles and papers. So my goal for tonight is to get caught up on my word count. I am about a day behind. I have written about 1,675 words so far. It averages out to about 1665 words a day. Wish me luck.

Finally I leave you with a gratuitous summer wet kid photo. She really is a cutie.







In the next couple of days I am planning a post on my new found love of Bikram Yoga

Amy

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Location:W Walnut St,Chicago,United States