But I Digress...

Bumpy Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:36:00 +0000

Wearing Wellies

Not wearing Wellies

Everyday is a roller coaster with a toddler. There are many times of awesome fun, funny, cute and horribly frustrating moments.

We are coming upon 28 months (or about 2 and a half) and lately the fun moments have been out-shined by the horribly frustrating moments.

The Sprout, like any toddler, is a handful and I fear it is bringing out the stressed and frustrated side of me that I really don't like. We have been struggling for power for awhile and my little Sprout is a worthy adversary. He is one of the most head strong people I know and would rather not go outside than put on his jacket or boots. All of these battles make me furious and frustrated because I know they are upstaging my enjoyment of this period or the enjoyment of 5 minutes ago.

It finally snowed, meaning it is cold and wet outside. The Sprout usually sports his skull Wellies proudly however, for some reason, he wants to wear his canvas space shoes (also beloved as we have them in 5 sizes now). Wearing these shoes would mean cold, wet feet. After 20 minutes of me trying to sound like a calm social worker who is stupidly trying to reason with a 2 year old, admittedly, I gave in. Richard had his Nan on the phone, who now thinks we are degenerate parents who lets their child do whatever he wants. I just wanted to go outside and play in the snow. I figured, when his feet get cold, he will know what I meant.

I guess his feet don't get cold, because later that night, he still wanted to wear his canvas shoes for moon gazing and a snowball fight. We fought and I held firm and he took off his hat and shoes and sat in the living room. About 5 minutes after the stand-off, he brought in his boots. We could now enjoy the moon and a late night snowball fight (he didn't have a coat on, but I didn't feel like making it a big deal).

Here is the question I pose, do I have to stand firm when every fibre of my being doesn't care or even doesn't believe in the fight at hand? If no one is going to die and I don't really care, why do I have to pretend to care. If I know his arms won't fall off from frostbite, why do I care that he doesn't wear a jacket? I can get one for him when he realizes I was right. More than that, why should I fight when it makes me a worse person? Why should I ruin the moment if no one is going to get hurt? Why should I end up the mother everyone stares at in the Supermarket because I have just called my child a horrible brat and the on lookers aren't sure if I'm going to give the toddler a smack (this has never happened as we don't go to the Supermarket. However, I have seen these parents many times and now I know why they have acted this way in public. People without kids...shut up, you don't know).

To me it isn't exactly about letting him do what he wants. He is still sent to his room when he hits, his pens are taken away if he uses them inappropriately. If he decides he wants to be carried on a walk, we don't get to stop at the park (we actually did this, it was the most horrible thing to stay strong on). This is about the little things. If I know he will wear his coat when he gets cold, why should I care he doesn't want to keep from getting cold by wearing it?

Should I be allowed to parent the way I want? Most of the people who have had kids say no, and I hear you. But I am tired and I am especially tired of these toddler years (which everyone says I should cherish because they don't last long) being ruined by small things.

Redundant writing

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:32:00 +0000

I love this. The Daily Post prompt was about redundant writing errors, and I love this because my blog is full of them before I edit, and even then, redundant writing errors slip in. It made me realize how wordy our everyday speech. Richard always says "basically" before he describes something in less than basic terms and it always drives me crazy.

The Daily Post wrote:

An added bonus of blogging on WordPress.com at the present time is that occasionally your blog will come under close scrutiny by an Automattic staff member, who may choose to reblog one of your posts at a time when he’s in a rush and short on ideas of his own. He might not even collaborate together with you, choosing instead just to provide an example of the point you make in the blog post in question. Of course, one of the basic fundamentals he would need to keep in mind is that when using another blog’s content as a source, it’s polite to refer back to the originating blog.
How many redundancies did you find in that paragraph? Count them and then compare the ones you found to the neat lists Lisa J. Jackson, who writes for the scrutinized blog in question, has written about here and here. Did you find them all? Can you come up with others?

I went to Ms. Jackson's site and read about common redundancies and it amazed me how common those mistakes were made and how, at first glance, they seem perfectly acceptable. That is until you think about it.

Why would you say "added bonus," or "close scrutiny"? They mean the same thing.

Anyway, this was just something to think about and another thing to worry about as I write.

Imbolic 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:29:00 +0000

How are your New Year's Resolutions going? Mine are going; getting there. I have decided that resolutions are to be eased into and hopefully by the end of the year they have integrated into your daily life. Almost every customer at my work who began ordering Skinny Lattes, which have 115 calories (no one thought to move to a skinny cappuccino with 58 calories), are back to their daily Latte, which have 128 calories. I can rant on and on about dieting, but I won't (right now at least).

I love taking the Pagan out of Imbolic and just thinking of it as a Resolution check point (I thought I had wrote a blog on this last year but as it happens I only did in 2010). Only part one of my resolutions are important at the moment. The rest of my list were things that would be good to do, but weren't really resolutions per se.

I am going to try to change my laziness. In order to do this I have a couple of resolutions that are directly related.
Stop walking over crap on the floor. If I come upon something on the floor that shouldn't be there, I will pick it up, throw it in the bin, or put it away. At least get it off the floor.

Stop throwing clothes on the floor. This includes my jacket when I walk in the door.

At night, do a basic pick up and get the Sprout to help.

I am doing a much better job of not walking over things that need to be picked up. I am still not perfect, but I have always been a believer in my Auntie Lish's advice,: "If you pass something more than three times, the item becomes invisible". At the moment I may pass something two times but will pick it up on the third. I am hoping to pick up the "never leave a room empty handed" habit, but first I need to get organized.

I am finally on my vacation, which I was forced to take as the tax year ends soon and "if you don't use it, you loose it". So I closed my eyes and picked a date, and then my boss said "no, you can't have that date" so I gave another date, and so on, until we worked it out. Anyway, I am hoping to get some low budget organizing done.

I was doing really well not throwing my clothes on the floor, but I recently hit a little bump. I will start again tomorrow when I do my weekly upstairs deep clean.

The basic pick up thing has yet to start. I usually put the Sprout's toys in a box at night, but not always. And he usually isn't around to help. He will help if asked though, it is very cute. During my break, I am going to go through all of his toys and clothes and sort it all out.

I know that to most people, these resolutions look easy, but they aren't to me and my personality. As my mom always said, I leave a "slug trail," and boy is this true. Before the Sprout was about, I had turned into quite the good house-wife, but I easily turned into a cluttered mess and now I can't find anything and I get horribly frustrated. These three resolutions are based on bad habits that I easily default to if not checked (kinda like looking at the keys when you type), so if I ace these things, I know I will be much happier.

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:40:00 +0000

I finally made it, Barista Maestro. I am a coffee master for Costa Coffee. It only took 3 years and the change from a corporate Costa to a private Costa chain.

My Barista Maestro course was awesome and completely nerve racking. After a little introduction to the day and a bit of review of the Costa brand and standards we dove into the practical test. 20 min to set up our space, grind and dose. 10 min to make a perfect latte, espresso, cappuccino, and flat white. 20 min to clean our space. It was horrible. Every day I make any combination of those drinks in well less than 10 min, but I almost didn’t complete it. In the end I went for the understanding that “any drink was better than no drink”. Our course director was watching everything we did and we got points for everything, as long as the drink got to the table, we got some points.

I was sure that I had not passed, but we still had 6 hours of the class and a written assessment to go. During the rest of the class we learned what our new post would entail and how we will be successful teachers to the new recruits. We learned a little about espresso tasting and a bit about taking care of our machines. The written assessment ended up being a breeze.

So now I get to wear a double bean and will have my diploma on the wall at the store. I will also get a name tag that will read Jessika, Barista Maestro. Aw, it all sounds so exciting. My co worker and I are very excited to get started on the training. But then you get back to work and remember all the other crap. The owners who only critisize, that 1% of customers who are rude and mean, and the annoyance of not being able to redo a crap coffee that you just made because the line is out the door and everyone in line is impatient because they are jonesing for their caffine, sugar and fat fix.

What I love about my home town

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:31:00 +0000

Gig Harbor and Mt Rainier

There are a couple of things I love about my home town, Gig Harbor, Washington (State, as I always have to add). I love the water, the trees and the fact that you can live on a 5 acer plot of land but still get to town in less than 10 minutes and the thing I love the most, is the awesome view of the great MT. RAINIER.

I have been away from my home town for 6 and a half years now and SO MUCH has changed. There are things that I used to love that don't exist anymore like the "quaintness" of the Harbor itself(downtown Gig Harbor doesn't seem to exist anymore and has been moved up town where a mass conglomeration of grocery stores, banks and shops are. (They have new terminlogy like "uptown", I don't even know if I used the right place). The population has EXPLODED. Gig Harbor was always a growing, shall we just say it, suburb of SeaTac, but I never expected it to grow the way it has.

When I was young, I always cursed the new houses being built, especially housing developments. I hated all the mini vans, which led to SUV's (wow I have been gone that long that I had to google the term "HUV" because it didn't look right and it wasn't, I was looking for "SUV") that carry soccer mom's and their 2.3 children. I still gurgle under my breath and I probably let out a huge agonizing sigh of depression at the sight of these things, but I try not to let them get to me, mostly because my parent's retain their 5+ acres that are in the trees, near a beach access where there is a great view of Mt Rainier, and is about a 10 min drive to town (and Target and Costco if you wish). We don't even have a view of our neighbours.

A difficult choice I am glad I made

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:37:00 +0000

Here is today's prompt from Plinky

Share a story about a difficult choice you're glad you made.

Moving to the UK was incredibly hard, however I was able to do it in baby steps, to a point a guess.

I originally made the move to attend a Master's Course at the University of Bradford. About a month in, I met my future husband. As the year went on, many decisions had to be made revolving around our relationship in order to keep it going.

Unluckily (but a crucial cog in my decision making) my grandmother died. Before I left for Uni, I had been living with my grandmother, so not only would I be returning to no grandmother, but also to no real home. I suppose it made for the perfect excuse not to return. However, I was lucky that my future husband liked me enough to want to marry me. So we got married and we have remained in the UK. I have been here for 6 and a half years now.

I can't say that I love living here, but I guess I have gotten used to it. My preference is to return to the States, but most of that is because I miss my family and hate that they are missing seeing my son and missing seeing me be a parent. I also miss my brother and seeing his kids grow and being there for support. Something I miss allot though, is seeing my grandparents because, let's face it, we all don't appreciate grandparents until they are gone and that's a real shame.

So the choice to stay in the UK isn't exactly perfect, but it isn't necessarily set in stone and I got a loving husband, a kid, a cat, and a job out of it. Not too bad.

Pottery gardening

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:42:00 +0000

If you had to make a living by creating art, what would you do?

There are so many things I like to do that could be considered art. I love to knit and sew. I LOVE cross stitch (black stitch is my favourite) but I haven't done much lately. My new thing is patchwork and small crafts. The only problem is that all of these things need hands to do tiny movements and recently my hands haven't been working so well.

I love making a mess. I love puddle jumping with my son. I love throwing mud about and being muddy. I think I could do mud art. Mud...Jackson Pollock style. Mud...living art style.

Oh how fun. I guess I could throw in some gardening and do some kind of landscape/mud art. Gardening and mud art.

Why am I not a pottery artist, that would be perfect.

Oh, there we go...pottery (for the mud) gardening. Make the pots and fill it with a landscape garden. Perfect!

Weekly photo challenge: peaceful

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:58:00 +0000

This weeks Weekly Photo Challenge over at The Daily Post is about something peaceful. Although I can think of many things, at the moment this represents peacefulness; an empty Costa Coffee. We have been absolutely smashed at work and the sight of no line at the shop makes me happy.

Leaving the house and scissors

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:07:00 +0000

Ok, I am posting this again because I forget that thoes who just look at the email can't see the video.
Go here

You really should watch the whole thing

New years quiz 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:57:00 +0000

Right. So I started writing this at thanksgiving and still haven't finished it. I am having a horrible time being on the internet and not researching something to death or buying something, so I have been trying to stay away for awhile. Plus, it is amazing how 15 min turns into 3 hours and all of the Sprout's nap time is gone.

I will start off by stating my resolutions for 2012.

I am going to try to change my laziness. In order to do this I have a couple of resolutions that are directly related.

Stop walking over crap on the floor. If I come upon something on the floor that shouldn't be there, I will pick it up, throw it in the bin, or put it away. At least get it off the floor.
Stop throwing clothes on the floor. This includes my jacket when I walk in the door.
At night, do a basic pick up and get the Sprout to help.

Now for the things I think would be good.

Bake a loaf of bread 2 x a month. I would eventually like to only eat home-made bread. I got Richard some bread making items, so I hope he can help me with this.
Cook something from one of my cookbooks or online blogs once a week.
Start doing some kind of relaxation for at least 1/2 hr a day.
Find a way to get more intensive exercise into my schedule.
Spend less time on the internet.

And lastly..

FINISH MY QUILT.

And now the quiz. I did not finish it, and I deleted allot of things because I think they are stupid.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

I won a random drawing for £400. And I spent it all in a week on stupid stuff.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Yes, I got my UK driver's license and I got my UK Indefinite Leave to Remain Visa.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not this year, but 2 for the next.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What countries did you visit?

Visited my parents in the US in June.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

I am going to work on self discipline. Also I would like to have a real vacation. We are going to try to save up to rent a car.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Getting my driver's license, for sure!

9. What was your biggest failure?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope...just stupid back problems.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

12. Where did most of your money go?

Besides bills I spend allot of money on the Sprout. I LOVE buying him things.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Getting my driver's license. And wining £400.

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

15. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder) thinner or fatter) richer or poorer?

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Camping

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Stressing out over stupid things...and spending money.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

With the Osborne family at my house. Breakfast, presents and dinner.

19. What was your favorite TV program?

Breaking Bad still remains my favourite.

20. What was the best book you read?
I really enjoyed Michael McIntyre's auto biography. Nothing fancy, but horribly funny.

21. What did you want and get?

22. What did you want and not get?

23. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hannah, I think.

24. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 33 and my husband and I went to the Washington coat for the day while the Sprout stayed at home with his Grandpa and Aunties.

25. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Seeing more of my family.

26. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Sloppy as always.

27. What kept you sane?

What does that mean?

28. What political issue stirred you the most?

Budget crisis and the stupid American Republican stuff. In the UK the education fee hikes and the London Riots.

29. Who did you miss?

My family.

31. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

The most important human trait, that we all have but tend to not utilize is kindness.

Christmas Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:49:00 +0000

You can tell people are skint when you only get 5 Christmas cards in the post. I admit I am a bit of a Christmas card hypocrite. I love getting them, and display them proudly, but in the past years, I haven't been on the ball to get any out. I will give the international postage rate excuse, but I get Christmas cards from abroad every once and a while. We tried to get a Christmas family photo, but at 2, the Sprout is tired of posing for pictures. I hope to get my act together next year.

My christmas decor

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:10:00 +0000

This is the first year I have really decorated the house, this is mainly because we are holding Christmas at our house this year.

The Sprout has his own tree with little ornaments on it and his own Nativity set. It is the Fisher Price Nativity set, cutest thing ever.

This year I have been fighting a pinched nerve in my neck and so I wasn't able to make the advent calendar I wanted to, so I bought one. It is really cool. There are 24 drawers that come apart and have a little wooden ornament in it. I figured I can put candy and what not in it next year. I did have to put it on the shelf though because the Sprout loves taking it apart and we end up with 88 drawers and 24 little ornaments all over the floor.

I jumped on the bauble bandwagon and hung baubles everywhere in the living room. I have decided to get more baubles in different colours so I can have them up year round. I really love how they turned out.

I even framed Christmas cards I really like.

Flat white

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:36:00 +0000

and

(Look at the shine on that baby!! Smooth, no bubbles.)

It's taken me over a year, but I can finally do the rosetta pattern for the Flat White each and every time!!!! Trust me, this is a huge accomplishment. I finally have what the motion of the milk flowing from the jug at the time the foam starts feels like. I have had the texture down for ages, it was just the wiggle that was getting me.

Here is the goal:

From: http://www.ratemyrosetta.com

What this means.

Because I have always been good at making the milk and not the execution tells us that I have always felt rushed and not confident in my coffee making. Now, because I can consistently make the rosetta, even when it is busy, tells us that I am finally confident and controlled in my coffee making. This is huge. It might even mean I like my job.

Since I started at the new store, I have been expected to be one of the expert coffee maker, meaning I am constantly on the machine. Most of the time I am on the coffee machine my whole shift. At the Bradford shop I didn't get on the machine much, or they let me get away with not wanting to be on the machine. Now, I would rather be on the machine than the till.

There are tons of cool pictures on the internet (and youtube has some amazing tutorials), however, at Costa, we are not allowed to use instruments like chocolate, toothpicks or spoons, therefore, I wouldn't be able to do many of the patterns at work. Now if I had a machine at home...

If you want a complicated explanation of how to make a rosetta go here.

Here is a video

Read a book

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:46:00 +0000

The last thing I do before turning out the lights is read. I love reading in bed, however, I don't usually get very far. I tend to either start nodding off or my vision blurs the words in and out (I have increased the font size on my Kindle). It's too bad that my falling asleep whilst reading doesn't transfer to falling asleep when I am not reading. Kind of like when I fall asleep on the couch; if I get up to go to bed, I won't fall asleep.

Tiny steps

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:28:00 +0000

I didn't realize it, but as of the 23rd of November, the Sprout has been walking independently for a year!! Here is a video to remind us of his very first independant steps.

And now:

It is amazing all of the little milestones that were involved in the development of his movement this year.

Stomping
Shuffling
Running
Leaping
Hopping with two feet
Jumping

He has just developed galloping and chasse(ing). The fun never ends.

That's so funny!

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:29:00 +0000

Revisiting Britmom's prompts of the week

One thing I do that makes my child laugh is…
One thing that my child does that makes ME laugh is…

The Sprout is sooooo funny (as I am sure most little ones are, but mine is funnier...). We are going through a rough patch, not only because we babied him whilst he was sick, but also because he is 2. So we need to do things that make us laugh.

He loves tickles! Richard and the Sprout can tickle each other till the cows come home. He also enjoys jumping from the table to the couch and anything dangerous. But his favourite thing is to be chased. He will run in circles for ages and laughs and laughs and laughs. A commercial that ALWAYS makes him laugh is the IAMS cat on the IAMS cat food commercial.

He also likes the Pedigree Dentastix Doggie Denture commercial

There are a million things he does that makes me laugh. But what gets me every time (and he knows this) is when he gives me this little mischievous look. I wish I could describe it. He squints his eyes and gives a little mischievous smile...it is so cute. He knows it makes me laugh because he does it when I am mad at him, or thinking about something seriously or when I look concerned in general I think. He tilts his head into my view and gives a little "Puck Smile".

Another thing that makes me laugh is his little dance. He seems to dance to everything, from my ringtone to a commercial jingle. We have recently incorporated Nick Jr. into our TV watching (moving up from Baby TV). They have allot of energetic songs on the shows they play. Besides Dorra the Explorer, they also have a program called Bubble Guppies (link to one of the songs, Outside song) and Umizoomi. They are full of annoying songs that kids love.

Although we seem to be playing allot of tug-o-war of wills, there is allot of laughter to help balance it all out.

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

I love being alone. Especially when it comes to doing stuff. I can only shop alone. Being with other people when shopping drives me crazy, I feel like I am taking too long or in the way.

I love road tripping alone or travelling alone in general. My favourite road trip ever was in October 2004 when I drove around the 4 corners on my own. I decided that I needed to take a huge detour in celebration of me leaving the Forest Service. It was over 1,500 miles of driving on my own and I took a week to do it. I was super sick with the flu so I had to stay in hotels instead of camp sites, but it was the best thing ever. I didn't care when I got lost. I got to choose what I wanted to do and stay, or not for that matter. It only got a bit lonely at night at the hotel, but I suppose if you are a drinking kinda person, you could always hit the bar. My car was a champ! The only thing that broke was the cassett radio I had. I immediately got the CD player I always wanted.

I went to Arches National Park, Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon and the Grand Canyon. I drove through the Painted Desert and did a little driving on Route 66, 666 and the Extra Terrestrial Highway (didn't see any UFOs).

I met up with my Brother in Las Vegas and we drove together back to my place in Bishop, CA, grabbed my things and drove another 1000 miles because we took 101 after Corvallis, OR to Quilcene, WA and then to Gig Harbor, WA.

The whole trip was just over 3,000 miles. Good thing that was back when gas was "cheap".

View Larger Map

That same year, I took a weekend trip to Las Vegas alone, and it was the best thing ever!

I miss being alone. You don't get much time to yourself with kids. I always loved that Cosby Show episode where it is the first day of school and all the kids are gone and Mr. and Mrs Huxtable do a dance and are so excited that the house is empty. I assume I will feel the same when the Sprout starts school.

Our foster Ladybird

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 23:19:00 +0000

This is a random post, not just because I am in bed and reading. It is about a ladybird who has been living on our bathroom ceiling for a good two months.

For the past two or so months, our bathroom has been home to an orange ladybird (I wanted to get a picture but they wouldn't be any good).

At first he was contently sitting above our shower. He was there forever, not moving and I figured he was dead. Then I noticed that he would "drink". His little legs would caress his little face. So we figured he was living on the water.

He then moved to the light in the middle of the room and stayed there another couple of weeks.

What has made me write this is that he finally came down and as I was brushing my teeth I finally got to meet the little guy.

Richard and I looked him up on the internet and supposedly they are not rare. I have actually seen quite a few this summer, and dark ones with white spots. We found that they eat mildew, and that is why, we assume, he has been living in our bathroom.

I will be sad if he has decided to move on, and I will miss looking up at him while I take a shower and wonder "What the heck is that little guy doing up there?"

The plague, again.

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:11:00 +0000

I haven't been keeping up with the daily prompts, but I have an excuse, I swear.

The Sprout has been sick for the past week. Richard got his first "please come pick up your child" from the nursery last Friday. He has had a horrible cough that has sparked two incidences of projectile vomiting (luckily in the kitchen). He had a high fever for a couple of days and he has reverted to infant status. He only naps if he is lying on me, wakes immediately if I put him down. He won't eat, always whines and wants to be carried everywhere. He wakes up every hour at night with a horrible cough. Needless to say, I can't get anything done. I have many crafts I want to start!

So there you go.

Advent calenders

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:46:00 +0000

I am a little obsessed with Advent calendars. It is not because of the chocolate that many hold as I was never allowed a chocolate one (American Advent chocolate is crap anyway).

I don't know why, but I have always loved Advent calendars (and the Nativity in general). My Mom always got us gorgeous Advent calendars which usually had scripture or the story of the Nativity inside. It was so hard to keep the flaps closed (which is weird because I knew there wasn't any candy inside).

I have been obsessing over an Advent calendar for the Sprout. I want to make it, and I want it to be something we can use every year. I had originally looked at fabric panels.

I really like this one.

Then I started seeing wooden boxes with little compartments and fabric Christmas Trees with little pouches, and on and on.

Gisela Graham Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Today my RSS feed came up with a blog called Make it and Love it. I love this site, it has everything your sewing and crafting heart could want (it is especially good for coming up with clothing repurposing ideas). She put up a how to for a Christmas Advent Calendar Shadow Box.

The idea is each little box holds trinkets that the kids can put on the little Christmas Tree. Isn't that the best thing ever??!!

The problem is finding a shadow box with 25 compartments and then making all of the little boxes. I think I may take on this project, or at least the idea of putting Christmas Tree trinkets in the Advent compartments (as the Christmas Tree usually goes up the last weekend in November).

Traumatized

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:51:00 +0000

Oh man, I could go on and on, but I will write about something that has dissapointed me.

I have always liked learning. I have never been that great at school, but I got by. I completed High School because I wanted to go to college. I went to college for a total of 10 years, starting in 1995 as a junior in High School. I attended Tacoma Community College, got an AA degree in 1997 (the same year I graduated High School) and also almost completed a Criminal Justice AA as extra between 1998-1999 and 2002-2003. I attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1999, but moved to Central Washington University in 2000. I graduated CWU in 2002 with a BA in Anthropology. I actually took some time off, but took some classes as personal enrichment during 2003-2004. I finally went to the University of Bradford in the UK in 2005 and got a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Osteology and Paleopathology in 2007. That's where it all ended, and now I am $40,000 in debt and working at a coffee shop.

Getting my PGD ruined my want to attend any more schooling. I never want to go to University again. It was the hardest, most stressful and most depressing thing I have ever done. I loved what I learned, and it was nice to be pushed hard and I felt I was doing something important, not to mention I was getting to do something I loved. The time I had after school hours was amazing. I met my husband and my best friend at Bradford and I even still live there. But the experience was enough for a life time and completely traumatized and ruined further education for me. (I guess it didn't help that my grandmother died during that time).

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:10:00 +0000

I have had a little one for 2 years and we are still trying to figure out how we are supposed to balance husband/wife time with parent time. Luckily, we both have the kind of jobs where there isn't much to bring home except all the stress that has formed through out the day, and the physical exhaustion that comes with it.

The Sprout is a huge job. At 2 he wants 100% of my attention 200% of the time, and when he goes to bed, I want to go to bed. I think Richard and I spend about 2 hours alone together each day and then I go to bed. Those 2 hours are usually filled with watching TV or browsing the internet or maybe I actually do some sewing. The last time Richard and I spent REAL time together was in June when we drove to the Washington Coast for the day while my dad looked after the Sprout.

I am stuck in marathon mode. As soon as the Sprout hits the pillow, I am off doing all the house work I can before he wakes up. At night it is the same, only I feel that if I don't get to sleep then I won't be sleeping. Not only am I not paying attention to Richard, but I give no time to myself.

However, yesterday we went into Bradford to go to the book store (Waterstone's) to get the Sprout some books with his birthday money. The Sprout has little experience in stores because I get everything on-line. He was everywhere, which I knew he would be. It was such a good idea to have Richard and me go together. Richard went after the Sprout whist I looked for books (we ended up with Fox's Socks, Rabbit's Nap, and The Odd Egg). Then we went up to my old work (Kirkgate Costa). We got to see Santa's reindeer! Then we went back to Shipley to have Sunday Dinner. The Sprout was really good (although all over the place). No real tantrums. It was so nice to do something as a family.

Pen or computer

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:47:00 +0000

What do I prefer when I write, a pen or a computer?

It all depends really. I used to like to write with a pen, and I do keep a journal with blank pages in my bag that I jot down silly ideas for my blog and paste pictures in.

I use the computer to write my blog. The ideas that I outline in my journal rarely make it to the computer. I don't like transcribing my ideas. I like it all to be organic. I did enough note taking in school for research papers, I never want to do that again. Transcribing ideas ends in censorship anyway.

I am almost reluctant and fearful of the pen. I kept a diary from the time I was 10 years old until I was about 20, and they hold scary things. If I feel I need to write real thoughts out on paper, I nearly always throw it away (I used to burn it). I don't really know why. I guess I see the pen as more personal (more permanent) than the computer. When I write with the pen, there is no editing or thought process. I just let it flow out, most of the time it is unreadable; a total free write.

When I use the computer, I use more thought, worry about sentence structure and spelling. There is allot of editing and rewording. Blogging is quite difficult because you have to put your tone of voice in the writing, and let's face it, it doesn't always go over well. It also takes one click of the mouse and your words are deleted forever, and I always assume someone else is going to look at whatever I have on the computer.

So my answer is that I use both, but they are for totally different reasons.

Music and Lyrics

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:02:00 +0000

Can I listen to music and write? What song did I hear today?

Here is the kind of question I don't like to blog about because it is silly and doesn't require a long answer. Yes I can listen to music and write. Most of the time I am watching TV and writing.

The only songs I hear now a days are songs from Babytv, CBBies and commercials (the Halifax ones are driving me crazy and I always get the Timmy Time song in my head). The only time I listen to real music is when I am walking to work, and while I am at work.

I want to listen to more music at home because the Sprout has taken an interest in dancing and he dances to everything. One reason I haven't been listening to music at home is because UK radio stations drive me mad (mostly because I hate this new pop and dance music). They don't have stations dedicated to one kind of music (except classical), so you have to listen to ALL music over and over again. The other reason is because I don't really consider my music to be appropriate for a little one. I have a couple of things I don't mind trying out such as Jamiroquai, The Beatles and disco type music (I suppose some Scissor Sisters would be ok, as long as he doesn't listen to the lyrics) You know things that are light hearted and fun to dance to (totally opposite to the majority of music I listen to).

What kind of music do you think is appropriate for a toddler (please don't say nursery music because that is a given)?

Last meal

noreply@blogger.com (Bullajabbar) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:09:00 +0000

What would my last meal be?

I don't know. There are many things I like to eat, most of which I don't get to have here and so things like Taco Del Mar and Pho from the 36 Ave Pho place come to mind.

I think what I would want as my last meal though is a nice thick cut, juicy steak with a baked potato and salad with blue cheese dressing. For dessert I would have to have my mom's F**king chocolate cake in a bowl with milk.

Yummmmmmmmmmmm