Friday, October 21, 2011

Going old school with "20" questions

Does anyone remember those old "20 questions" emails? They were pretty popular back when I was in middle and high school. I use to enjoy them. I always loved it when I would get one from my sister because she has this snarky, sarcastic sense of humor that totally cracks me up, and invariably she gave the best responses.

My sis-in-law Amy posted one on her blog a couple weeks ago "tagged" everyone. I promised her I would fill it out. She's had her baby since then, so I'm pretty sure she doesn't care anymore, but a promise is a promise. Here it goes...

Words you always mis-spell typing: None come to mind.

Words you don't know how to spell: Nauseous. I have to google it every time; drives me crazy. I also struggle with necessary and occasionally. Why does necessary have a single c and a double s while occasionally has a double c and a single s? Bah!

Things that really annoy you: Bad drivers!!! Probably because my mom is an exceptionally good driver, and thus the standard to which I hold all other drivers. No one else compares; only grandma even comes close.

What's that meal you can always eat over and over again? It changes. I go through phases where I really love one particular thing and want it all the time, then it gets old. Recent examples include Moroccan chicken, mango chicken, Thai food, and QBC (quinoa, broccoli, chicken). Now that I'm looking at my list, maybe I should just say "chicken dishes". :o)

Do you brush your teeth at night? Yup. Can't sleep unless I've brushed my teeth. I also brush after lunch and sometimes after breakfast.

Dumbest movie ever: Napoleon Dynamite. I hated it after about 15 minutes; I wanted to kill myself after about an hour. I'm not trying to be dramatic -- I loathed that movie.

What's a song that you would be embarrassed to admit you really like? Hmm. Nothing comes to mind.

Are you capable of eating an entire bag of candy in one sitting and not feeling THAT sick? I'm not. I would hurl.

Do you love sea food? I love a few types of sea food. I miss my bro-in-law's cooking for precisely this reason; he prepared salmon and halibut better than any other person or restaurant. Yes, even better than Tony Starlight's salmon.

When you fix meat, are you anal about what you've touched, and sanitize a lot? Yes. I try to make N8 take care of "the meat part" of meals because ugh... I just hate it.

Do you put your leftovers in the fridge after dinner in fear of it spoiling or can you wait? I've become a frequent reader of food-related articles the last couple of years and have consequently learned a lot about food safety. Things go in the fridge within an hour, staying out only that long if they need to cool a bit first. I get uncomfortable if food is out any longer.

Do you use a sponge or rag to wipe your counters? Sponge! They are super easy to sanitize in the microwave and do a better job clearing off surfaces (in my opinion). Plus, after a sponge gets a little old, I can use it to clean the toilet and then throw it away!

What's your favorite Holiday? Flag day.

What's your favorite pie? Apple, but really only if my grandma makes it. (Okay, my mom's is pretty close to gma's; I like it too.)

What's your favorite candy bar? It just depends on my mood -- sometimes I want caramel, sometimes peanut butter. But I always return to Snickers, so I guess you could call it my fav.

When you pick something up at the store and change your mind, do you put it away? Always. I think it's exceptionally rude to put things in the wrong spot, forcing someone else to go around and pick up after you. Sure, it's part of someone's job to put things away in the right place, but it wouldn't be if people weren't so rude and would just put things away themselves.

Do you like raisins in your Cinnamon rolls? Yes. But I prefer them un-raisined.

Do you shower every day? Every single morning. I don't feel awake until I've showered. Plus I shower after I work out, and sometimes in the evenings too.

Are your dreams scary? Sometimes.

Do you like scary movies? Love them. Psychological thrillers are my favorites. But I don't like gory movies.

Do you like roller coasters? Again, love them!

Do you have a fear of needles? Yes. It's pathetic. I get light-headed and have been known to pass out. N8 has to hold my hand.

What's your guilty pleasure TV show? Oh gosh, so embarrassing.... Vampire Diaries.

What is something you're really stuck up about? Keeping a clean house. I don't need other people's homes to be clean, but I need my house to be in order. ESPECIALLY the kitchen. I turn into a really scary crazy person when someone gunks up my kitchen.

When you're at a restaurant, can you ask questions about the food? I suppose I could, but I never feel the need.

Are you a lake or a river person? River. I like water that flows; I like to wade.

Are you a good swimmer? Nope, terrible. I can barely doggie-paddle to save my life. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that I basically hate swimming. We had a swimming pool growing up and my friends always wanted me to throw swim parties but I couldn't have cared less. Swimming does not appeal to me. (I don't even own a swimsuit.)

Do you like to camp? Yes but... again with the cleanliness and showering... I have a hard time with the fact that I get dirty when camping. A couple of years ago I camped on a lake, and was able to bathe in said lake on both days of our trip. It was freezing cold glacial water and there were mosquitoes everywhere, but at least I was clean!

Do you like rodents? Not especially. Some are okay, some are heinously disgusting. (Think: hamster vs. nutria.)

Are you afraid of spiders? I don't know if fear is the right word. They make me quite uncomfortable.... They give me the creeps, let's put it that way. When I see one I imagine it crawling on my skin, especially getting in my hair or on my face. Shudder.

If you could be an amazing singer or dancer, which would you be? Dancer. For the exercise benefits. Oh, and the flexibility, which I sorely lack. (Insert teasing from my mom.)


So now I'd like to TAG all of you! Especially Dianne (because she's always so funny) and mom, I know you're busy, so pick your favorite 5 questions :o)

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Some baby pictures

Amy, these are pretty much for your amusement. So...enjoy!

Dual surprised faces:

Dry tub? Why not!

She takes up more of her crib space than she use to:

Cute!...

Blue dress -- opinions wanted/needed

Once again, I'm working on a project and I just can't seem to make up my mind!

I made a very pretty blue dress for the baby, and I sewed a white ribbon around the middle. Now I'm trying to to decide if I should add a white bow with ribbons hanging down, or leave it as-is. Personally, I think it's cuter with the bow, but I'm just not sure! So here are a couple of pictures. Please let me know what you think.

Without the bow:

With the bow (sorry it's not the best picture):

In case you're curious, here's the back:

A close-up of the back (I couldn't get the white ribbon to line up when I sewed it down -- arg!):





Thursday, September 22, 2011

me as a baby : my baby

During the past couple of weeks, several people have mentioned that our baby is beginning to look more like her dad. I can't really tell. I don't doubt them, but at the same time, my mom says the baby still looks just like me as a baby.

Anyway, these conversations reminded me that I've been wanting to share a pair of photos, for comparison:


(Somehow I managed to clone myself :o)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

More Dress Pictures

Below I posted pictures of some outfits (dress, hat, undies) that my mother-in-law made for the baby. There are four total, but I don't have the fourth one yet.

Now I know it would be nice to see the baby in each outfit, but I didn't particularly feel like playing dress-up with the baby (because really, she's not a toy, and we have better things to do with our time together). Eventually she'll wear each dress of course, and then I will take pictures. But for now, here are some shots of just the outfits:




I also just made her a dress.... sorta by accident. I had a dress pattern that I wanted to modify, so I got out some "scrap" purple fabric so I could test the modifications I wanted to make to the pattern. The dress turned out pretty decently (not perfect, but hey, I'm not much of a seamstress). As I was staring at the plain dress, I thought, this would look nice with a flower or something on it. So then I made a little flower (which detaches for when it's time to wash the dress! I'm proud of my cleverness on that point). Then I thought, this would also look cute with a little ribbon around the middle. So I added a ribbon.

It's kinda simple and it's not perfect, but I love it. I'm happy that I could make something for my daughter -- something unique from me, just for her.


(P.S. She wore this to church a couple of weeks ago. Somehow I neglected to get a picture of her wearing it... probably because we always throw her in her church dress at the last minute and then change her as soon as she gets home. Anyway, I'll have to get a picture next time she wears it!)

Sunday, September 18, 2011

A picture (for Amy)

I promised Amy I would put some pictures on my blog. I got out all of the items I am suppose to photograph, but I haven't yet had a chance to actually take the pictures (or upload them to my computer, or write a blog post). If my baby ever learns to take a nap, or if she goes to bed a little early for once (we tried tonight.... oh how we tried!) then I will get it done.

For now, here's one picture:

(Ames, this dress is the one I was telling you about; it's my favorite. Wouldn't you love to have the same thing but in a pink fabric? Marie did a great job!)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Maybe it was prettier before all the fancy stuff...

I think that somewhere in the process of giving birth I managed to squeeze out several of the important sections of my brain, including the area responsible for decision making. Seriously.

As I'm looking at the "before" and "after" pictures of the baby's blessing dress, I can't help but think maybe it looked better before I added the red flowers and the ribbon. Am I losing it? Should I remove the extra frills? Someone help me...


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Which way with the ribbons?

Option 1:



Option 2:


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Because Amy DEMANDED them :)

Here are a couple of pictures (details on FB, since this blog is public and I don't want to give any stalkers info about this bundle of joy):




She was born with the ugliest little hands you've ever seen and I just love them! They are kinda big, and right now they are really wrinkled and very pale white. They look like the hands of an old man, I'm not even kidding. But the winkles are softening and they are looking more like normal baby hands. :o)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

A quick tour of the nearly-finished nursery

Last night I created a video tour of the nursery. I actually just did it for myself, but N8 said I should share it with "the world". It's a silent video so I hope that's not too weird for folks (I don't like recordings of my voice).


The nursery is pretty much finished. Things left to do (which are not urgent):
(1) Put a dust skirt on the crib; I've got two on the way, in the mail (with thanks to Jennifer and to my aunt Lynda).
(2) On the wall over the crib that there's a bit of empty space. I've been thinking about buying and decorating wooden letters that spell out the baby's name (???) for that space.
(3) The closet is full of my clothes, which I need to pare down and organize (after I fit into them again, of course).
(4) Someday I'm going to reupholster the "kid chair" with the fabrics currently draped over it.

(5) Oh! And we need a baby! That would really complete the whole nursery :o)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Crib skirt?

I can't make up my mind. Your opinions?

Option 1:

Option 2 (look at just the skirt and imagine the stripes are brown instead of blue):


Saturday, March 26, 2011

My week, in pictures

This use to be my bathroom:



This is the bathroom as of last weekend:



Halfway through destroying the shower:


Part of what use to be our plumbing system:


In progress...

Another pile of old pipes:


(By the way, removing old plumbing is a filthy, horrible mess.)

This is a good example of why the plumbing needed to be replaced: A drainage pipe, originally 2 inches in diameter, reduced to about 1/2 an inch of capacity due to build-up and rust...


In the garage:


Some of the new pex pipe (= AMAZING)...


The plumber, hard at work...


And although the house has been ripped apart, I can now confidently enjoy this, straight from the tap:

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Office to Nursery: A remodeling story in pictures

First, a tour around the room as it was when we first moved in. We originally used the nursery as our office. Then we turned the "front room" into our office, leaving the nursery available for its remodel...





Step 1 of the remodel was to replace the windows. This was actually pretty easy:



(From the outside, new window on the left, old window on the right:)


(Nate in the window!)


New windows:


We hired a contractor to do some of the work. He added insulation. We wanted rolls of insulation, not blown-in insulation, so he first cut out the old drywall:



(Nate helped:)




The insulation:


Our contractor, stuffing the insulation in the walls:



Then he patched the drywall:


And started mudding the drywall:



We then resumed control of the project. I used a texture gun to add texture to the walls, then primed them in prep for the new paint color:


Here's a shot of the new paint color. I started prepping the floors to be refinished:



A close-up of the floors, pre-refinish:


I sanded the floors using this awesome tool:


(Unfortunately the big sander doesn't get close to the edge, so I had to spend a few more hours on my knees with a small orbital sander to get the floors sanded all the way.)


Nate put the new coat of stain on the floor (too many chemicals in the fumes for me to safely do this work):

Stain finished, but not yet sealed:


Nate sealed the floor with polyurethane. It is also highly chemical, so again I couldn't help. I couldn't even be in the house. See how shiny they is? :o)


I gave my very talented mother some fabrics and some instructions. She made beautiful curtains for me. She asked if I wanted them lined and I said no... Then I put them up and changed my mind. So I added a lining and ironed in pleats:



And here's an around-the-room now that it is mostly finished and we've got the furniture in place. In the first picture below, the crib will go between the windows, next to the little chair:





And finally, here's video tour of the nursery in it's current state. About 40 seconds into the video I tried to show the space where the crib will go. Toward the end I show the blank wall behind the door; I'm going to put white bookshelves along the wall from floor to ceiling. (I'm very excited about the bookshelves!).


There are still quite a few things to do, but it will be a couple of months before I make enough changes to warrant additional pictures. Stay tuned!