Unpacking

September 7th we took possession of our apartment. I haven't lived in an apartment in a lot of years... it sure is different than living with others (in a house) or owning your own home!



We've been very busy fixing the place up (it was in quite a state when we got it) and moving in and unpacking. Tomorrow morning I'll be clearing the rest of the boxes out of the living areas (to storage / trash / donations). Then, I'll just have my room and the closets to go through / organize; at least the main living areas will be box free (and ready for some pictures on the walls). I wish I could find the portraits of my boys!



I wanted to show you a picture of Jack. Both boys have been having SO MUCH fun with their freshly discovered toys, but I'm constantly battling not being able to see their floor for the mess they create. They use to be quite good at putting away one thing before getting out the next... I've been thinking of putting a lock on their closet door to keep them out without my help, but I'm sure they'd start getting into other things. Anyway, tonight I said "why's your floor such a mess?!" and Jack said "'Cause I like it that way." He's been a little tart lately! I don't think he was being definant, just honest like only a two-and-a-half year old can be! Here's a picture of him in the said messy room.



Enjoy!

Suzy :D

Some Interesting Things

I just read this interesting article on The 10 Best Foods You're Not Eating. I thought I'd share it with you.

I've also been meaning to share (and Becky's post jogged my memory) that while I also have some great bags from Reusable Bags, they were very pricey (and are well built). I love how Becky recycled her old sheets into something new AND cute AND personal. Anyway, what I wanted to share was that I've recently found Home Depot to be carrying some nicely made reusable bags for just $1.99 each! The interesting thing about them is that they have plastic clips that: 1) keep the bag closed; 2) hang the bag on your shopping cart; and 3) hang the bag on the checkout stand bag racks. Pretty nice for such a low price! I just tried to find the bags online and it seems they are so new, they aren't online yet. You can try your local store though, ask for "Carryalls" with SKU 988941.

Let's see, they're are all sorts of special anti-spill "snack cups" on the market for toddlers, but I've found that just using a plastic drink cup from a restaurant (about 3-4" diameter and 6" tall) works best for my boys (2 and 4 yo). They can slip them between they're legs in the car seats or in cup holders. They are small enough around for them to hold, and they don't have to tip them to the side where (inevitably) crumbs fall out. They also stack neatly and store in the car easily.

On a road trip this weekend, with Jack potty training, he needed to poop out in the middle of nowhere. I had his potty seat (here's a similar potty seat to ours) with me and thought of bending over behind him and holding it up (a back-aching proposition), then I had a better idea. I looped the handles from a plastic bag on the potty seat handles, then stretched the edge of the bag around the seat frame. Then I set the potty seat between two matching height suitcases that I'd taken out of the van. It worked PERFECTLY! I know they sell "travel" potty seats, but this worked out VERY well and we will use it again I know. Oh. Obviously, I wrapped up the items in the bag and disposed of it at the very next stop (I actually held it upside down before tying it to let the pee drain out on the dirt instead of it leaking in my van. :D

Those are all the tips I can think to share presently.

Suzy :D
PS: One other article I just found interesting... on Aroma and Arousal: Scents that Turn Men On.

Feeling More Productive

The past few days (since I got my packet from "The Feel Good Group") I've been feeling more productive. Actually, it's also since I started working on a simple quilt (last Saturday). I realized I needed something to motivate me. Something more than feeding, clothing, and cleaning up after me and the boys. I needed a project (hmm... I seem to remember thinking of "that Project Thing" a few months ago, guess I forgot for a bit). Anyway, I started working on the quilt so I would have something to think about and do. I find if I have a fun project going, then I think about it when I fall asleep and also it gets me out of bed in the morning, even if I don't work on it in the morning, I get my "work" done quicker so I can reward myself with play time. I've got to have something fun to do in order to motivate me to do the not-so-fun things.

I've been making progress with reducing the price of our home and with arranging for our things to be moved. I'm even feeling excited about a few leads on selling the house. I've also been making more time to work on the computer regurally, which means I'll soon be caught up enough to do some stuff with pictures. This is good, because I've got some pre-paid prints expiring on Shutterfly next month.

Suzy :D

PS: Yesterday, while out exploring the countryside, I stopped to take pictures of the fields, and flowers, mountains, and sky. Then, while taking them, I realized my adorable boys, waiting in the van, would look great with this charming background. I've included one of the pictures I took of Frank and Jack. :D

Writing A Letter

Yesterday I received a packet of letters from a group of my Aunt's friends. I read them as I went to bed. I was so excited that I sat down and responded to them, by flashlight right away. It's been years since I've written a letter... you know, with a pen and paper, by hand! It was so nice to receive their hand-written notes of encouragment, I hope they too enjoy receiving a letter from me.


Just last week I'd been thinking of starting to write letters again... with the computer and internet far away (for me anyway, once a week is "far away") I guess I'll go back to communicating "the old fashioned way!"


Suzy :D

A Few Days Away

We are headed to Salt Lake City, Utah tomorrow. Tom flys out on Sunday morning for three more weeks of training in Ohio. We are going to leave early tomorrow and spend the afternoon in SLC. We intend to go to a train shop and a water park tomorrow. On Sunday, I'll do some shopping (tennis shoes and who-knows-what-else) and then head back to Wyoming around lunch time. It's a five hour drive each way. I'm sad about Tom leaving again, but looking forward to a fun day with him and the boys tomorrow.

Suzy
PS: Nothing's happening on the quilt project except a lot of guilty feelings. :P

Was I CRAZY?

There was a time (when I was about twenty) when I wanted six children. Presently we live with my cousins family of five. In the past week and a half eight of the nine of us have been sick. The past few days the other mother has been SERIOUSLY bedridden, so, I've been trying to run the show AND keep five kids quiet as mice. I must have been INSANE to ever think six children was a good idea!


On a related note, in this large household there is a Extra-Super-Large-Capacity washing machine that basically washes two loads at once. Yesterday, I processed TEN of these loads, which was about equal to TWENTY normal loads! Yeah me!!!


Today my Grandma, my second cousin (age seven), and I spent two hours working on zuchinni... LOTS of zuchinni. Zuchinni that's eight inches around and eighteen inches long! We peeled, scraped seeds, and shredded 26 cups of zuchinni! Wow! I wish I'd weighed it first.


I'm feeling small successes these days with VERY domestic things... cleaning, laundry, and cooking!


ttfn,
Suzy

Living without Internet

I've been away from the Internet for two full weeks now! Wow! Here's the last journal entry I typed intending to post:

Monday 16 July 2007, 1500
Many of you will be happy to know that I’ve just created my first draft of the pattern based on Tom’s Blue Carbuncle Quilt. Here’s a picture of me when I finished the quilting (the day after Christmas last year) on a friend’s long-arm machine.

My goal is to have the pattern complete and to my testers by the end of the month. Yesterday I discovered that my notes from when I sewed the quilt are in storage in Arizona. So, today, I pulled out a sheet of graph paper, a #2 pencil, a ruler, and the quilt. I did all the measurements and calculations (except for the specialty setting triangles). That took about an hour and a half. Then I typed up the preliminary instructions (about 45 minutes). Next I need to redraft the setting triangles and integrate that information into the instructions. The biggest time drain will no doubt be in illustrating the instructions. I’ll talk with Tom about this… I think it would be fastest for me to sketch the illustrations, and for him to create them on the computer. From there, assembling the written instructions and illustrations in Publisher should be a fun cake-walk.

Anyway, this part of it went quicker than I’d expected, and I felt refreshed as I worked on it. Now for a snack and a break.

Suzy :D
1507

PS: My working title for the quilt, which I’d like to come from “Heaven Sent Designs” (I have to see if this company name is available) is “Window to Heaven”, or maybe “Window from Heaven”? Anyway, the Carbuncle thing is generally frowned upon (we named Tom’s quilt for the Sherlock Holmes Mystery of the same title, which is about a rare blue diamond). The window idea plays off of the fact that the design looks like a stained glass window… what do you think?
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PPS: for those of you testers wanting to get a head start, hear are the yardage requirements for a 65”x103” finished quilt… other sizes will follow.
Fabric Requirements:
Diamonds* - 25 – 5” WOF Strips OR 21 Fat Quarters
Sashing (Should Contrast Diamonds) - 2 yards
Setting Triangles - 1 yard
Border - 1½ yards
Double Fold Binding (3” cut yields 5/8” finished) - 1 yard
Backing - 6 yards
Batting - 103” x 65” (minimum)
*Solid or all-over random type fabric designs are best suited to this pattern, as one-way or directional-prints will wind up at a 45° angle in the finished quilt.
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Life is really slowing down these days. I've gone into Sweetwater County with Tom twice these past two weeks. I take the boys with us, and the day goes really fast! We've found an apartment we're applying for tomorrow. We'd be moving into it in September. It's in Rock Springs. We'll probably have to sign a six month lease (which should get us through the worst of the winter). We keep hoping the house in Mesa will sell. This week we lowered the price from $283,007 to $269,900. At the Open House this week there was a couple that was very interested... they even liked the way the garage is set up... said it was "perfect" for them. Keep your fingers crossed!

I haven't drawn those illustrations yet, guess I'd better get on it; huh?

Like I said, life is slower here, and quite beautiful. Very calm and relaxing. We look forward to having our own place, but are enjoying our time with family too.

More later (and hopefully sooner),

Suzy :D