president of her book club

2009-01-15T13:53:00.002-05:00

So it's winter time and we're hunkering down for an Arctic Blast coming our way. An Arctic Blast here in Atlanta means that temps will be around 14 F when we get up tomorrow morning. Cold enough that I'm considering letting little d stay home from school.But, the upside of winter, for me, means more reading! I finished Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides; I listened to it as I sewed my SIL's

Delurking Day!

2009-01-12T11:47:00.005-05:00

So I hear that today is Delurking Day 2009...come on out of the shadows, y'all!Don't have much to say today...but I DID finish a portion of the massive sewing project I volunteered to do for my SIL. (Curtains for 3 rooms plus a duvet cover...I'm completely insane.)I decided to tackle the kitchen curtains since it's a pattern I've done before, and I thought it would make a big impact - which it

2008 Wrap-up

2009-01-01T15:42:00.005-05:00

Update from the last post: Eric's commander ok'd his extended leave and they'll be in the air on January 8th, after Amy's post-op visit on the 7th. Hurray for sympathetic military dudes! Also, hurray for Northwest Airlines for changing their tickets (they just HAVE to remember to show the dr's note, otherwise they'll have to pay $500 in change fees!)We had a great Christmas, especially since

A Christmas Medical Drama

2008-12-23T21:57:00.002-05:00

My sister and her husband are in the US from Germany for the month of December, and we had planned for them to stay with us this past Saturday & Sunday night. They arrived about 8:00 Saturday evening (after a wedding they went to). We had a fun time...little d was infatuated with "Uncle Eric". Told him he likes the way he smells, said he looks like the lead male in Transformers, and asked if

Heli-bummer

2008-12-17T19:59:00.004-05:00

The last few days have been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster...well, maybe not roller-coaster, maybe just slightly scary mountain road.A couple of weeks ago Big D found a great deal on a heli-skiing trip, and since he's always wanted to try it in Alberta, Canada (kinda sorta near Calgary) we decided that could be his Christmas present. What's heli-skiing, you ask? Oh, it's no big deal...you

A little bummed out

2008-12-15T11:26:00.001-05:00

little d has been super-excited about going home from school today with his little buddy. The buddy came over to play one day last week, and so for a week little d's been talking about going over to buddy's house.But I just got a text from buddy's mom, who has a migraine, and can't entertain today.I'm so sad for little d...I'm trying to think of something a little special to do with him this

For your musical enjoyment

2008-12-05T11:48:00.002-05:00

I was driving around this morning, and popped in the soundtrack from the movie Singles, and listened to Paul Westerberg's "Dyslexic Heart" 3 times! So when I looked up the video on YouTube I found an unexpected gem: Jeremy Piven (aka: Ari on Entourage) dancing like a total dork. Enjoy...and relive the early 90's! : )

A Date! With my husband!

2008-12-03T21:12:00.002-05:00

Tonight Big D and I dropped little d off his first AWANA at a local church. (We should've signed up in September, but I didn't know about it then). We kind of expected we'd at least have to stay for an adult Bible-study of some sort from 6:15-8. But, after introductions and paperwork and hellos to a couple of familiar faces, we were free to go! WOW! An hour and a half of FREE time! Improptu

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T09:32:00.002-05:00

This time last year I was scurrying around my house, almost in a tizzy, trying to roast my very first turkey - it was beautiful, AND delicious, thank you Barefoot Contessa. But the main thing on my mind was that last year's Thanksgiving would be the first holiday without my dear grandmother. That's why we celebrated at my house, we all thought non-traditional surroundings would help ease us

What I've been reading...

2008-11-17T19:37:00.003-05:00

I've had so many projects lately I've sadly neglected you, dear readers! I'm trying to knit a really cute sweater called"Hey Teach", because I'm a new Yarn Harlot fan. It's my first sweater project, I think I'm going to have to do some ripping tonight, I tried switching to continental style knitting, right in the middle, and it really messed up my YOs in the lace pattern. bleh. Nothing

2008-11-06T09:53:00.002-05:00

A few days ago my neighbor, a man who's been fighting brain cancer for almost two years, passed away. The man, Chris, was a young man, not even 50. His wife is also in my bookclub, so another book club member and I took dinner to their house Monday night.Chris' parents and brother have been here from England for about 3 weeks, spending their son's final days with him. When we saw them, I was

I'm a totally inappropriate mom

2008-10-31T14:46:00.001-04:00

I just taught my son:"Trick or treatSmell my feetGive me something good to eatIf you don'tI don't careI'll pull down your underwear."I can hear him laughing about it still, giggling in his bed while he's supposed to be napping.

New technology at the library!

2008-10-27T22:55:00.004-04:00

It's not very often (ie: never) that I'm excited about a new technology the library has to offer (I miss the card catalogs!) But this is really cool! It's called a Playaway, and it's basically a mini ipod-type device to listen to audio books. It actually reminds me of the little gizmos you can get at a museum to listen to fun-facts about the art you're looking at. Much better than fighting

And the winner is...Princess Leia!

2008-10-25T20:43:00.003-04:00

Friday night our athletic club held a Halloween Party for the children, and last-minute...literally about 30 minutes before we were supposed to leave, little d asked me to wear my costume, too.As you can see from the photo, I didn't even bother ironing out the wrinkles! The robe would score a D in craftsmanship...no hems, the thread doesn't match (blue spool/ beige bobbin!) and there's no

ABCs of me

2008-10-21T20:03:00.002-04:00

Just in case you didn't know enough useless facts about me, here are 26 more!A= Age: 33B= Bed size: kingC= Chore(s) you hate- vacuuming, putting clothes awayD= Dessert you love: key lime pieE= Essential start to your day: caffeineF= Favorite actor(s): Cary GrantG= Gold or Silver: SilverH= Height: 5' 8I= Instruments you play: flute (many years ago)J= Job title: Mom, wife, graphic designerK=

2008-10-21T13:56:00.003-04:00

It was a hot August afternoon in 1979. My mom and grandmother were cooking things to take to my great-grandmother's 75th birthday party the next day. Somehow the pressure cooker spewed it's contents all over the kitchen, and I, 4 years old, was shooed out of the kitchen while the floor was mopped.A little while later, having forgotten the admonishment of the slippery floor, I spied a leftover

Book

2008-10-19T19:08:00.002-04:00

This afternoon we had about 30 minutes to waste before a birthday party, so we went to the bookstore and found a great book (maybe not for a 3 year old, may 6+)It's a Halloween parody of "Goodnight Moon", called "Goodnight Goon"!Pretty cute!

A bomb in my home town

2008-10-17T13:27:00.004-04:00

I can always tell by my mother's voice in the way she says "Hey" that something's up.Today she called and said "Don't worry if you hear about a law firm in Carpet Capital that was bombed - it wasn't us." WHAT?!The investigation is still happening, but we do know that people are badly injured, schools are being evacuated (including the school my niece attends).Scary day.UPDATE: http://

2008-10-16T14:46:00.003-04:00

Shame on the person who stole my credit card number and purchased gas at a Shell station in Indiana! I carry 2 credit cards: an American Express which we use for EVERYTHING in order to gain Delta skymiles (and of course pay off each month) and a Visa with which I gain Amazon.com awards - I only use it if a place doesn't take Amex. The Visa number was stolen and used in December. The whole

Costumes

2008-10-14T18:00:00.004-04:00

This year for Halloween, little d is going to dress up as Darth Vader, so I decided to dress as Princess Leia (Big D feels silly dressing up...but I REALLY want him to go as Magnum PI some time!)I've purchased the Darth Vader costume, but I really really always try to make my own costumes each year - I think that's part of the fun of the season! Just now I went to the basement, to my fabric

At the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T09:42:00.002-04:00

This weekend has looked like autumn: golden sun; low, gray clouds; wind stirring up the first leaves that are starting to drop from the branches. But then you step outside and it's almost 80 degrees.I'm super excited today because I'm expecting the window washers! Hurray! The back of our house is up 3 levels because of the basement and therefore, those windows haven't been washed in the 3

I would ask for my admission $ back!

2008-10-09T11:41:00.004-04:00

Yesterday on my drive in to work I was listening to NPR (that's a phrase I think I've said about a million times in my life!) and the story was about a controvesional new art exhibit at Versailles. The artist Jeff Koons, an American, Neo-Pop artist is known for stainless-steel blowups of toys, and other "kitch" art (think Warhol, Dali, etc.) Also, he's known for giant sculptures of balloon

Tonight's Pan-Atlantic dinner

2008-10-06T17:36:00.003-04:00

Mmmmmm...delicious dinner in me tummy! {said in Cookie Monster's voice}I whipped up some concoction tonight that started out as Cuban Red Beans and Rice (Oriente), but tastes quite a bit like a Cooking Light Cassoulet I made about 3 years ago (which I LOVED, but Big D...not so much).It's not a beautiful dish, but it's a wonderful cool weather, autumnal dinner. (Too bad it's 80 degrees outside!)

Jedi mind tricks

2008-10-03T13:38:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning I had to engage in a little psychological warfare with little d, who was being a Poky Little Puppy about about getting his shoes on for school.So. I had to call Santa Claus.me: "Hello? Santa? Hi!, This is Cristan, little d's mommy. Well, we're fine, but we're having a little problem. little d is not being a good listener in the mornings..."little d's expression was

I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little afraid

2008-09-30T10:42:00.002-04:00

When I get off the elevator on to the floor of my office I have two choices, either turn right and use my key to get to my side of the building, or turn left to go the reception area which is always unlocked. (this is my office buidling) Today I chose to turn left since I had a big box in my hand, and I needed to check my mailbox. When I turned the handle, the door was locked and the