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Catching Up

Oct. 5th, 2017 10:23 pm
sakon76: (Default)
A month later, I reappear. Let's see, what's happened in that time?

First, we packed our boys into my mother's borrowed SUV and hied ourselves up to Yosemite for a semi-camping adventure. Semi in that there were no tents involved - we stayed at Housekeeping Camp. There was a massive wildfire nearby which rerouted us in and out of the park and cast a smokey haze most days, but all of us thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Smoke aside, we kind of hit a sweet spot, going mid-week just after school started back up. I very much want to go back again sometime.

Then we had our trio of September birthdays - Squiddle, Jazzy, and Wonderful Husband - happen, followed almost immediately by all three of them getting taken down by Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Wonderful Husband (who has skin problems already) got it bad enough that he was admitted to the hospital for three days. Not fun for anyone! Fortunately for my sanity, my parents were able to have Squiddle stay with them one night. I didn't get it. Don't know why - my mother doesn't remember me having any previous exposure. Maybe it was just the universe being kind and saying "no, the mama can't get sick too."

But now everyone is recovered. Hooray! And this afternoon I took the boys to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. Since we have an annual membership, why not? That, combined with Finding Dory, and the Octonauts and Finding Dory games Squiddle has for his LeapPad, seem to be fostering an interest. As I rocked him this evening, I got told all about how octopuses and jellies have "tentatles" (yes, that is how he pronounces it) and how sea stars have eyes at the ends of their arms. ^_^

Up Late

Aug. 31st, 2017 01:12 am
sakon76: (Default)
Sitting here in the office at a quarter past one in the morning on my birthday because Jazzy just. won't. go. to. sleep. (And Wonderful Husband is sick. Sick enough to be willing to consume Green Death aka NyQuil.)

Let's see. What's happened while I've been away from blogland? I took the boys and flew up to Washington to visit my sister and niecelet. I think/hope a pretty good time was had by all. Squiddle definitely thinks Niecelet is cute, and we got footage of him feeding her carrot puree. And at this stage there's still a world of difference between her and Jazzy. By the time they start school, though, their four-month experience gap will have narrowed quite a bit.

Also! I am so PROUD of Squiddle. On our last day up there (a week ago), he made his first pun/portmanteau! I had dressed Jazzy in a onesie and denim overalls and commented that he looked like a farmer. Squiddle declared him a "pacifarmer," punning on Jazzy's pacifier....

The weather here has turned unfortunately brutally hot. Wonderful Husband is taking a couple weeks off work to recharge before Jazzy's birthday. This week we're just trying to stay cool. Next week, we're going to Yosemite. Which means digging the family's camping gear from when I was a kid out of my parents' garage and testing and cleaning it. Appropriately, my mother thinks it was all probably last used when we went to Yosemite when I was a teenager. So, thirty-five years ago....

Ding!

Sep. 4th, 2016 09:04 am
sakon76: (Sakon)
40 weeks today. The turkey-is-done button (bellybutton) has metaphorically popped. Jazzy can decant anytime now. (Squiddle was four days over, so probably not today? I'm hoping for tomorrow, because then later I'll get to tell the story about going into labor on Labor Day.) Everything is ready - even the double stroller has arrived, been assembled, and is Squiddle-approved. (We ended up going with this one, which is the doubled version of the one we've been using for the last three years. Wider and slightly inconvenient, I know, but NONE of the front-and-back strollers fit our two-year-old!)

Yesterday was our family get-together for the holiday weekend. And even though we arrived 45 minutes late (due to me stupidly miscalculating when the bread I was making would be done), we were the first to arrive at my parents'. I got the very nice compliment, when asked if we would be having any more kids and I explained the sharp increase in genetic problems for post-40 moms, that I didn't look 40. Funny thing is, I don't. (My parents both have long looked younger than their younger siblings. Good genes? A more relaxed lifestyle? Take your pick.) Nor do I feel it. I've always, always, been a "late bloomer." In high school I was still referring to my age group and peers as "kids." I quite literally only started dating because of peer pressure to do so.

My late grandmother kept turning 39 every year for decades. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to claim my age. Like a fine wine or stinky cheese, I keep getting better with age. :) But just because I'm 40 doesn't mean I'm going to be, act, or feel like what everyone "expects" 40 to be. As the song says - "Age is just a number. Don't you stop having fun."

(And bonus points to anyone who KNOWS what song I'm referring to and who sang it. '90s pop!)

Today is going to be a day of getting last-minute work done around the house. Including, hopefully, taming some of the sprawled mass of stuff that has somehow engulfed the living room. Some of it's mine, and the fault of my quilting hobby. Some of it's stuff that's gotten pulled down from the rafters where we stored it until the baby came. But all in all it's just too much mess right now, and I'm sick of it.
sakon76: (Sakon)
I continued plugging away at the quilting yesterday, and got the center of Allietare-by-Moonlight up to 75% done. The second set of wavy diamonds has been easier than the first, mainly because they're composed of lines that run (wavily) from one edge to the other. Maybe I can finish it today, and then work on the borders and binding tomorrow and over the weekend? Quilt guild meets Tuesday night, and it would be nice to have it finished in time to show off this month. Of course, I still need to do the Block of the Month samples and handouts....

I also need to think of what I want to put on my list for birthday presents for the end of the month. I'm kind of drawing a blank this year. One movie on DVD, maybe half a dozen quilting books...? But the movie would probably not get rewatched anytime soon (because it's, well, Deadpool, and small children and R-rated films do not mix), and I already have lots of quilting books that I haven't made quilts from yet. Maybe ask for repairs to the Singer 401 that I can't do myself? (I've TRIED, but I can't budge the screw that would let me fix the upper tension.) Or gift certificates to one of the local long-arm quilters so I could see what it's like having someone else do the quilting for me? Le sigh. Just don't know what to ask for. I've reached the stage where I've got enough stuff to last me a lifetime.

Ah, enough of first world problems. Time to do washing and watering.
sakon76: (Sakon)
Another birthday done and gone. I actually couldn't figure out how old I am now until I opened the card from my parents, which gave me the number. I don't bother acting my age, or feeling it, so why should I bother to remember it? Maybe I should just do what my maternal grandmother did, and be eternally 29. Otherwise I get depressed that I'm a first-time mother at my age. My twentieth high school reunion (which I missed, being on vacation visiting friends and family instead) was this year, and I only now have an almost-toddler. Just saying.

In any case, I received some very nice gifts. The Transformers: Animated DVD set, so I can finally rewatch season 3 (and all its Jazz-and-Prowl moments!), the La Mode Bagatelle Regency Wardrobe pattern (squee!), two Guy Gavriel Kay books I've really wanted to read, the 20 years of Dreamworks animated films artbook, and an ableskiver pan (mwahaha... I shall learn to make not merely circular, but spherical pancakes!). Wonderful Husband also took me to see Maleficent before it left theaters. There were some WTF moments ("Um, why is she suddenly wearing a catsuit?"), but some quite good ones as well ("You're my fairy godmother!" "What.") so we both enjoyed it.

Today we went to Ikea to get the second out of three sets of bookcase doors that we need, given Squiddle has now learned both the joy of tearing paper, and the skill of deshelving books. Fortunately he has not yet combined these, so we're attempting to cut him off at the pass. And the Ikea parking lot was about as crowded as I've ever seen it, and we discovered (partly) why. Buy $100 or over of furniture merchandise, and your meal in the restaurant is free. Well, we were buying $100 worth of doors, and had planned to be having lunch there anyway.... And they're repeating this special a few more times this year, and we need to get two more doors anyway. ^_^ So not quite gaming the system, but if they want to feed us for free, fine by us. Lingonberry saft for everyone!
sakon76: (Sakon)
Last night, my parents took Wonderful Husband and I out to Claim Jumper for a slightly belated dinner. I got my Sheriff John birthday song for the year. (With slightly less burnination going on than in that linked video....)

Today, the temperature was again just slightly on the warm side of tolerable, so Wonderful Husband and I kept plugging away at the kitchen and chores list. Cabinets all reorganized! Wonderful Husband brought out one of my dolls and a blanket and said "swaddling pop quiz!" Which we both kind of failed until we realized that our failure was due to the blanket being too small. So I re-tidied my sewing area, cut three 45" squares of flannel, and hemmed them for proper-sized swaddling blankets.

Tomorrow, unfortunately, the temperature is supposed to spike again, and then even higher through the rest of the week. I knew there was a reason I wasn't going to stop working until I have to. My workplace... well, the aircon works downstairs, and regardless the building is much closer to the ocean and thus the sea breeze than home. I'm planning to give the cats fresh water before I leave. Possibly consisting half of ice cubes. And the portable aircon unit is supposed to arrive on Wednesday, so hopefully that will make the house more tolerable during the days of utter misery.

I'm finally experiencing the pregnancy joy of swollen feet. I think it's one part being so close to my due date (Thursday!), and one part the weather. Because believe you me, I'm staying off my feet as much as possible....
sakon76: (Sakon)
During what is probably the hottest birthday weekend I've experienced in decades, today it hit 93 degrees inside the house. Wonderful Husband and I are drinking lots of liquid (particularly me, as while I am looking forward to Squiddle being an external rather than internal phenomenon, I do not particularly want to share my birthday), sitting under fans, and taking the housework we intended to get done this weekend slowly, bit by bit. And ducking into the shower for a cool rinse-off whenever our sweat tolerances become exceeded.

(Yes, whine whine whine first world problems. This is still the reason we are agreed that we will never move further inland, no matter how cheap housing is in Riverside or Temecula.)

Birthday dinner was at Lucille's. Yummy! Every time we go there, I order a half-plate of fried okra. And every time, I have to remind myself that no, I don't want to grow okra next year. If nothing else, I lack a deep fryer. And I'm not going to get one, either, because that's a slippery slope that leads inevitably to deep-fried Twinkies and other county fair food.

Wednesday

Sep. 20th, 2012 07:36 pm
sakon76: (Default)
Yesterday was Wonderful Husband's birthday. I also had writing class last night. I was accordingly hyper-efficient and did up chicken cacciatore in the morning and put it in the crockpot, and stopped by Wonderful Husband's favorite bakery (Sensitive Sweets, an allergen-free bakery) on my way home and got him his requested birthday brownie and chocolate chip cookie. Had dinner, he opened his presents and cards, blew out the candle on his brownie, and I went off to class. Birthday celebrations shall continue in Las Vegas this weekend.

It says something about how long I've been taking the class that I tend to tune Maralys out when she starts a narrative anecdote. Either that or I'm a bad student, not hanging on my teacher's every word. Possibly a mix of these two.

But, wonder of wonders, she actually admitted in the class that those of us whose submissions are at the end of class tend to get short shrift! That's more self-consciousness than I'd've expected from her. Not sure if it's related, but amusingly, both Bridget (#4 of 5) and myself (#5 of 5) got near-perfects from the class. Well, except from one of the new students - he handed my ten pages back to me and it almost has more red ink than black! I suspect his writing style is very, very different from mine and that I will end up ignoring 95% of what he has to say. Flipping through his remarks, it seems that he wants me to remove all of what Maralys calls the "lyricality" out of my writing and make it read like a Grisham novel or something. I'm sure someone could do a decent fantasy novel written in that style. I am not that person.
sakon76: (Default)
Had a good birthday. Got stuff done at work; my desk is clear for Tuesday. Went to the Lucille's in Orange for dinner; it was closer, smaller, and less crowded than the one in Brea, with well-done 1950s diner decor, but Wonderful Husband and myself both marginally prefer the other.

Spent today vacillating between getting stuff done and trying to figure out what needed to get done. Watered all the house plants and the backyard roses. Transplanted the tangerine tree into the half-whiskey barrel and harvested the new batch of compost. Transplanted the plumerias and aloe plant into 3x bigger pots. Did up pots to try and root the strawberry runners. Massacred the demon bougainvilla again, and cut back some small tree branches that were fouling the skychair's line and/or shading the fruit trees. Weeded a little. Harvested four plants' worth of tomatoes, which filled the big basket; I love the Bloody Butcher variety, as they're so very productive. Need to can those tomorrow. Poked at the 401's tension mechanism, but failed to budge the screw. Smoothed some spackle. Made sun tea, washed dishes. Tacos for dinner.

All weekends should be three-day weekends, because that way I can actually feel like I'm getting stuff accomplished.
sakon76: (Default)
Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] dragondancer515, [livejournal.com profile] femme4jack, [livejournal.com profile] mmouse15 for their birthday wishes, and [livejournal.com profile] hoshikage for a birthday fic chapter! The birthday itself was unexceptional; I tend to get depressed around my birthday concerning varying things including the state of humanity, but my worldview improved after work finished and I could indulge in a strong-tasting snack. I got books from [livejournal.com profile] toothycat (yay!), a few Blu-Rays from my parents-in-law, a G1 Bumblebee pillow from my sister-in-law (yes, I will take and post a pic soon for all of you), and the Singer puzzle box from my Wonderful Husband. I believe my parents and sister have got me something as well, but that gets to wait for the weekend.

Among the sewing bloggers community, there are challenges similar to NaNoWriMo except for stitching. "Me Made May" and "Self Stitched September" are the two that come to mind ATM. The goal is to wear something you made every single day for a month. I look at my wardrobe and kind of laugh; I don't have nearly enough self-made clothing to attain that goal. I have decided to do my own challenge this month, which is "Stitch Some September." My goal is to sew every day and knock some projects off my slate. Tonight, with the assistance of Sushi and Paris, I have worked on the collar for my early medieval gown. A little bit more pinning and then I can do the second topstitching layer (I am not doing 100% handsewing on this and have made the active decision not to care if my decidedly non-period seam finishes show) and be done with it.

While pinning, I watched my next episode of Transformers: Prime, "A Sick Mind." At the point when Ratchet said of the crash ship, "If they were in stasis mode, there may be survivors," I immediately piped up "No there aren't! I've seen this episode of Star Trek." And when they needed someone to go into Megatron's mind, I immediately went all G1, referencing "Evil brainwaves!" (Yes, [livejournal.com profile] hoshikage, giggle all you want.) Really, though, given the episode's title, the cliffhanger to part II seemed rather obvious from the beginning.

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