The Epic Battle

Scooter
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

In my house there is a quiet war being waged between Dan's beloved kitty, Em, and myself. I can't help but believe that we love each other deeply, that the problem is just how deeply that love is burried.
She is a very skittish little kitty and has been ever since she was born. When any one knocks on the front door she bolts for the garage. But she loves Dan. Can't get enough of him. Sits on his leg, chest, lap, whatever is available for hours at a time.
If I pick her up sit with her she will stay in my lap for about 3 seconds, then stretch and walk two feet away to Dan's lap. I am starting to feel rejected. He thinks this is funny.
This is not funny. I think its time to get a dog....

Shoes of Wonder

I thought I was going to melt when I saw these two pairs of shoes today, while shoe shopping with Dan. I fondled them, I imagined myself in them, I cried a little when I saw their price tags, and I walked away filled with despair. One day....one day....

Crocheting the weekend away

So my yarn basket started calling to me a couple of weeks ago, and this:

has turned into this:

Becky's first baby picture!

Well, Ms. Anatomists Baby Bean may only be 10.5 weeks old, but we already have a picture of Baby Bean, and Baby Bean has a heartbeat (not actual Bean's heartbeat, but one gets a clear picture of what it may sound like here)!

Wedding Winnings

When I was at the Bridal Show, I (along with every other bride) did our duty and signed up for every drawing possible. I ended up winning a gift basket from Gottschalks. It had a purse, tons of makeups, body creams, perfumes, tanners, microderm abrasion, etc! AND A CUISINART 12" SAUTE pan! So I was excited. I never win anything! Now the fun begins....figuring out where we want to register! We want to do somewhere local, but also something online. Oooooh the possibilities are endless. Dan says the fun part for him will be shooting things with the little tag gun they give you.

Wedding Bliss?

Mom and I went down to the Fairgrounds to take in the Wedding Show. I was hesitant at first about going, thinking it would be cheesy, but I was pleasantly surprised by many of the vendors and ideas on display. Photographers, Coordinators, Florists, Bakeries, Caterers, Candles, Dresses, Tuxes, Music, Table Settings, Travel Agents, Realtors, Spas, anything you could imagine. The caterer's booths were incredible, lots of tasty bites. Cakes to try, hotel stays to win, flowers, flowers, flowers. It was kind of nice to see everything wedding-like in one location, but extremely overwhelming! Sweet Life is our choice for cake, we are thinking of changing our caterer from Cornucopia to BBQ, either by Cordy's Country BBQ (which makes the best baked beans I've ever tasted) or Hole in the Wall. Places I had always thought were cheesy, had amazingly elegant displays, like the Shamrock. There were paperies galore! Belle paperie was fun, and made me want to open a stationary store on top of all my other lifetime achievement goals I have set for myself!

If I could have, I would have....

If I could have, I would have gone to the Tokyo Quilt show. But I couldn't, so check out pictures here.

You Know It's A Great Day When...

You know it's a great day when you leave the house once. At 7:16pm. To get more beer. Because two six packs and a twenty-two weren't enough for the two of you in one day.

The King of Pop and His Loyal Followers

I have been thinking about digging up some old journals for submitting to the Cringe Series. My Dad beat me to it.

Last night Dan and I headed over to my Dad's house for dinner. We were celebrating Dad's 53rd birthday. Debra cooked a wonderful dinner, we drank wine made by my Grandpa, and looked over some wedding invitation ideas that Debra has been creating. All was going smoothly until my Dad brought Dan some videos to watch. Videos of me. Videos of me dancing alone in my living room to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" like my ten year old life depended on it. I thought in that moment, Thank god we don't have a VHS! As soon as the thought ran through my head and I exhaled a sweet sigh of relief, Dan said, "Glad I didn't throw out my VCR when I had the fire!"

Voraciously Window Online Shopping

1. shoes
2. boots
3. bag
4. coat
5. dream school program

Hyper emotional

yard statement
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I have been having bouts of hyperemotional periods. Days, where everything makes me cry. I passed by war protestors on the way home from work today, and I couldn't restrain myself from honking. Maybe it was the country music on my little car radio, but I found myself heading over Ferry Street Bridge fighting back tears. Why? Protestors? Country? Could it be the snow? Who knows! All I know is that I will get emotional at a commercial if given the chance lately.

A breath of fresh air

Today it snowed in Eugene. Flurries were flying through the sky sideways in between pleasant breaks of blue sky. I have attended my second night class, and have determined that the biggest issue I have with night classes is the long drive on the freeway home in the dark. Its as though the number of big trucks multiplies by 4 when its dark, and their attention to details (like signaling to change lanes) nose-dives at the same time. If I survive this term I will be a superhero of night freeway driving!

Tuesday's List

THINGS I KNOW FOR SURE

1. Ten minutes before the first class of the term, you will decide that your current job isn't really that bad.
2. There is never enough time to take enough time for yourself.
3. Before todays to-do list is done, tommorrows will already have started being compiled.
4. An analogy involving soft-serve ice cream will never adequately explain the increased surface area the folds of the brain create. Sorry, prof.
5. Even the science classrooms at LCC smell like cigarettes.
6. A class will always be too long if you are hungry.
7. I will never look at my fabric collection and think, "There, I have enough."

Lunchtime Walks

sierra's 411
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I used to walk just for fun. Not necessarily to get anywhere, not because I didn't have a car, just because I wanted to. When I lived in Seattle, weekends would usually begin by walking to pick up coffee at one of the gazillion local coffee stops. From there, my roommate and I would walk up the hill, passing our favorite grocery store, and find the best little breakfast spot. Once there, we would order our usual; the Everyday Breakfast with an extra order of ham and two bloody marys made with half mix and half tomato juice to cut the spice...From there we would be happy, full and slightly toasted, just a perfect amount for a long lazy stroll through the neighborhoods back to our house. This whole venture would usually take us about 4-5 hours, and by the time we would get back home it would be the perfect time for a Sunday afternoon nap.

I stopped walking for fun when I left Seattle. I think part of the reason is that Eugene doesn't have much that I haven't already seen. This has the ability to make me sad if I stop to think about it for too long. I miss the city. One way I have found to remedy this has been my lunch time walks. I started walking last week for an hour during my lunch break, most days with my friend, but sometimes I go solo. I often head up through the beautiful neighborhoods of College Hill, a neighborhood full of fantastic older houses. Today I was on my way back down the hill when I realized that I was standing opposite my old backyard. It was strange to be walking and daydreaming and all of a sudden catch yourself strolling down memory lane over ten years ago.

While I was out I couldn't help but notice how great the weather was! Sunny and warm! Hard to believe snow is in the future...

"Where did I come from?"

"Where did I come from?"
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Babies seem to be popping up everywhere, so I figured it was about time to start working on baby quilts. I used up scraps for this one. I am not quite sure who it is for yet, but it was quite the weekend project! I think I muttered four words to Dan all weekend, "Did you make coffee?" I'm lucky he puts up with me. Of course, he did watch football all weekend. I think we're perfect for eachother.

I also managed to make coffee cake, do laundry, keep a Costco trip under $70, and do some light cleaning around the house. All in all I have to say that it was a rather productive weekend.

Lately I have found myself extremely inspired by the other crafty bloggers out there (see list to the right). I can't get enough of people's flickr photos of their houses, projects, favorite furry family members, etc. I don't know how I am possibly going to fit school and work into my self indulgent schedule.... I guess this week we will find out.

School starts on Tuesday for me, and I have yet to figure out how to actually record a class that is filmed and shown on cable. I will either be in way over my head with a lofty four classes, or I will sail along at the much more comfortable pace of two. Unfortunately, the latter will also mean that my hopes of getting into the Nursing Program 2007 will have been drastically reduced. So both scenarios have their ups and downs. I am leaving it up to the Universe to decide how it goes, how hippie of me:)

Headache System

pot holders
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

The moment I put my feet on the cold hardwood floor I felt pain shooting through my skull. I yelped in surprised pain. Dan mumbled, slowly coming out of sleep, "Headache? Take three ibus (ibuprofen), drink some water, and poop." I looked over at him, and said doubtfully, "Huh?"

"Its my system for getting rid of a headache. Works. I swear." With that he rolled over, adjusted his pillow, and went back to sleep. This man has a system for everything.

I hobbled into the kitchen and swallowed down the ibuprofen, drank some water, and proceeded about my day. Two hours later I still had a headache. I worked on the pair of potholders above, and at the midpoint I finally felt The Calling. I have to say, as wierd as it sounds, my headache only dissipated after pooping.

From here on out, I will not heckle at Dan's systems until I actually put them to the test.

Me: "I think I'm gonna go to bed."
Dan: "It's only 8:30!"
Me: "I know, but I'm tired."
Dan: "Ok, I'll be in later."
Me: "Why don't you come to bed?"
Dan: "It's only 8:30!"
Me: "Will you come to bed soon?"
Dan: "No."
Me: "Ok, g'nite, Hun."

This conversation, with only slight variations, happens in our home every single fr*@! night....True love.

Cravings

My closest friends, and all of my coworkers, know that I have a salt habit. I crave salt. Sometimes I crave it so strongly that I will be able to think of little else than ways to get sodium into my body by any means necessary. When my salt monster is screaming, I have been known to, um, taste small amounts of straight soy sauce. It has been suggested, not once, but a few times, that perhaps a mineral deficiency is my problem, resulting in abnormally strong cravings for salt. I have resigned myself to my affliction. I have even settled into my oddity (as if there's only one) with ease. I thought that closet salt hoarding would be forever in my future. Today, I picked up the current issue of Cooking Light Magazine, and in it was an article featuring chunk salt. It is now the object of my desire to an extent that I immediately had to rush to my beloved laptop and research this wonderful new discovery. There it was, chunks of salt mined from Brazil, complete with a hand crafted copper grater, ready to be packaged and shipped directly to my door. I squealed with delight for a fraction of a second too long, and heard Dan mutter, "guess we don't have to have sex tonight." "Salt addict" to "salt connoisseur." Its all in a days work.

Coolest stuff ever for the best cause!!!

I strongly recommend anyone reading this (either of the two of you) check out the Kim Family Auction at Ebay! There are so many wonderful things that people have put time and energy into creating that are for sale, and the best part is that all proceeds go to the Kim family! I nearly keeled over when I saw some of the projects that the artists have donated, and they are already fetching high bids! I am sure everyone who is participating is pleased!

New books!

New Book
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I bought two new books today! The first, pictured above, is Amy Butler's book "In Stitches." It is full of beautiful fabric, fabulous ideas for what to do with previously mentioned beautiful fabric, and step-by-step instructions (aka "patterns") for how to recreate those fabulous ideas! Could anyone ask for more? It was hard, but I found a way to top my purchase off by adding the well titled book, "No One Cares What You Had For Lunch...100 Ideas for Your Blog" by Margaret Mason. Its okay, you can seethe with envy now.

Congratulations to Anatomist!

Click on her link to the left to see why...

Happy New Year!

towels!
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I do have some New Year's Resolutions this year. They are pretty usual, work out more, eat better, be more creatively productive. A couple of them are a bit more specific: lose 7-10 lbs before June, insulate the floor of the house, get married, and apply to the 2007 Nursing Program.

We hiked Mount Pisgah today, it was such a nice experience. A really great way to start the New Year. I floated in a physically-over-exerted mental cloud for the first half of the day, and the second half followed an amazing plate of nachos that sent me straight to naptime for three hours! Now, I am finally showered and rested, watching the old standby "Cape Fear," and getting ready to work on some baby quilts.

Happy New Year!