i did something yesterday besides play on the computer. believe it.
well, just barely. anyways, emily picked a nice amy butler fabric for her nursing cover. it even seemed to have a “fallish” feel to it. and it is perfect for an “either or” (even though it is a boy. she can still have more than one you know, maybe six).
and here it is all ready to go. now i will have to find something else to do with my life.
like clean.
*the winner is sarah from homeschoolblogger. thanks*
i just ran into the fall bloggy giveaway, and i must warn you, it is addictive. people are putting up such neat stuff to give away. i thought i would try it. so here is a scarf for small people.
it’s made out of a super soft, silky yarn. perfect for little pasty necks. just leave a comment with some way to track you down and i will draw a winner on november 4th.
i’m sorry it’s not spectabulous, i will try harder next time. meanwhile check out the apronista. i about died. give it to me.
what can i say?
we had a decent weekend. nice weather. boy spray painted my hamper pink and i made bread and put a blog up for my dad. i was going to try and remember the sermons notes from this week and i kept hitting myself because i forgot to bring my journal. but since you weren’t there, you won’t know the difference.
still in jeremiah, this week chapter 44 where jeremiah warns the remnant of judah not to return to egypt after the destruction of jerusalem. the people responded, “as for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the lord, we are not going to listen to you!”. while god promised to bless them if they remained in the land of promise they chose to return to the land of bondage where they hoped to no longer suffer war or famine. they were going to take their ‘peace’ into there own hands, and consequently they all died.
pastor joel pointed out that it is a love of comfort and a lack of courage that are the main enemies of faith, to living in the land of promise. it is always easier to return to the land of bondage, or so it seems at the time. but don’t be deceived, jeremiah’s last words, “escape”. have no confidence in the ability or desires of the flesh. they are never cured or reformed and maintain an uncanny liking for the sins of the past. the life in the land of promise is dependent upon a life of faith and the indwelling of the spirit. anytime we look away from christ and to our own arm, the arm tends to take on a life of it’s own. it is only by living in faithful obedience to christ’s revealed will in our lives, that we also live under his protection. when we say, “we are not going to listen to you this time!” we don’t automatically take a holiday in neutral, but our body takes us running back into old, familiar bondage. christ is the only one that keeps our flesh in line. if we ever do shape up and seem to be getting on quite nicely, it’s only because christ is in us laying the smack down. if we become a little too satisfied and begin to depend on our own goodness, we become like the man in matthew chapter 12:43-5.
“when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. then he says, ‘i will return to my house from which i came.’ and when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
an empty house doesn’t stay empty for long. cling to christ or all kinds of nasty will start to cling to you. in joel’s more sermon-suitable words, “what do you need to run from? i don’t know, but i know who you need to run to.” and run indeed.
i have been scouring the area for a maternity coat for this winter. one that wasn’t as ugly as sin, that is. but they were all at least $60. it finally dawned on me that i already had a somewhat baggy, button-less, dress coat in the attic. ahha.
it was positively made for my little, protuberant self. i found the buttons at joanne’s, retailing at a whopping $3 a piece. consequently, i came up with four different coupons and made three different trips to the store (“one coupon per customer”). because no button is worth three dollars. even cute pink ones.
if you like adventures in “new buttons, new outfit” check this post by the little black apple. then have a looksee at your nearest button rack. you could be inspired.
say yes.
my husband almost refuses to eat things termed ‘loaf’. i think i am winning him over though. you might have figured by now that i am a vegetarian, in fact, i grew up one. consequently, i’ve always considered ‘loaf’ the envy of all food groups. mmm, melt in your mouth, loaf. imagine my surprise when i find that real people recoil in horror when faced with one. i am here to say, “try it, you’ll like it.” and brussel sprouts too, while you’re at it.
only fresh ones though. just cut off the stems and peel the outer leaves, then chuck them in an inch of boiling, salted water. simmer, covered, for ten minutes and then toss with butter and salt. it’s hard to say if they’re still good for you after this point, but still good nonetheless.
am i convincing anyone yet? comeon. loaf typically consists of eggs, cottage cheese, walnuts, special k (cereal, imagine that) and seasoning. nothing that will kill you. the trick is coming up with the right combination of ingredients. this recipe did a good job, and if you’re interested, i’ll try to scare up my other favorite recipe and tack it on later.
this is gideon modeling his new scarf in his dead-rabbit hat.
and this where i told jehu i wouldn’t give him his nukkers back, unless he held gideon’s hand. can you sense his willing, cheerful, compliance? what a good son.
it was a fun project, and fast too. i used this tutorial and fabric from paula’s giveaway. if you go here, you can see all the other scarves mothers have made up using the same pattern.
and if you were wondering, they stay attached at the back with a little button. next time i will make them shorter and use thicker batting. but i think they work well enough, if you want to try it.
(see mom, i used some of that nice corduroy you sent me a while back. i also put buttons on that cool sweater you got gideon. keep finding me handy, dandy stuff.)
“see, this is the green button.”
of the cutest fetus in the world.
look at that sweet, albeit, slightly creepy face.
i get another ultrasound in a month. i guess the baby was lying face down, on her tummy, so that the spine was blocking a good view of the heart. so more grainy pictures to come. and someday, even a baby.
i love how she has finally gotten big enough that i can feel her knocking around down there. it’s like having my own, special, imaginary friend. you need someone to hang out with while you do the dishes.
how do you rate?
gayla, boy and i (accompanied by scroms) went on the heritage homes tour saturday. gayla and i had fun deliberating over who got what house. boy proved entirely useless when consulted on the matter. “how should i know, why should i care?” this is the reassuring response one should expect from one’s husband when pressed about general feminine madness. we did manage to survive without his advice and saddled grandma sandy with the shaw house.
i am afraid something drastic needs done to the front porch and all the knick knacks need to be drug out and burned. the place made marc queezy.
this is the dining room with the ugliest wall paper on the planet. it’s amazing how they were able to find the same ugly upholstery, and cover all their chairs with it. very industrious. and sorry natalie and reuben, you’re still living with mom and dad. although you could bunk with sarah, her house is a monster and entirely free of chintz.
it’s actually the catholic parish house. sad to say, there weren’t any decent pictures of the inside. the place was inhabited by 12 strange celibates with indifferent taste (at best). it might be a good idea if there were some circulating, fashion, nuns in the business. but no one asked me.
this is the house gayla picked out. it’s actually much larger than it looks so there is plenty of room for grandkids.
with a secret cupboard under the stairs, too.
but gayla mostly wanted it for the bathroom (which there were four of, by the way).
and this is my, all my (sorry, first come, first serve). i have been watching this house for a couple years now. some people had bought it and moved it from the methodist’s parking lot (where it had been abandoned, in very sad shape, for quite some time). it was neat to see it finally restored.
the dining room was painted the neatest shade of gray. it really didn’t feel too dark at all. the only thing that didn’t work was the tablecloth (it kind of fudged with the curtains and the chairs). but it still succeeded in being a nice, warm, cozy room. of course, it will be even warmer when mavis paints it coral.
this is the lovely landing with all the original woodwork. i especially liked what they did with the kitchen. such nice colors and hardly a knick knack in sight. some people could learn from this, i believe.
this is the girl’s bathroom upstairs (just overlook the fact that the vases aren’t evenly spaced on the back of the toilet, and if you can’t, know that you are not alone).
and here is the cool chandelier in one of the kiddo’s rooms.
this is megan’s house.
and her cool le corbusier chair.
with the dead cow on it. everybody needs one of those. and this is the dining room ceiling.
with little gold stars all over it. i guess it was some kind of vintage, reproduction wall paper. if you want some you have to go to san fransisco. and i do.
this is becca’s house. it’s for sale too. $669,000, a real steal. i just don’t know what to do with those beastly dormers. maybe you could turn them into juliet balconies? and it needs painted. very ugly color.
it was amazing how original this house has remained (you should see the bathrooms). usually these cool old homes get mutilated into apartment complexes. i thought becca would like it. and doug would never suffer a dull moment. imagine the state of the plumbing.
you can tell they tried to modify the kitchen in order to sell it for the aforementioned, outlandish amount of money. but they forgot upper cabinets. i don’t know where you will stash food. they tried to create more space by busting out onto the screened porch. which was neat because it brought one of the cool, sandstone walls inside. but still, a rather questionable tactic.
and someone has to paint over the cherubs on the landing. i think they are awful. heinous, is another word.
and last but not least, auntie piolet gets the libary. i’m sure she could turn it into some kind of charitable facility. what are your plans, dear?
this was boy’s choice, but i vetoed him. it would be too hard to live in a style that was on par with the building. although i am sure this thought never pricked marc’s conscience. he would use up the extra space with an indoor skate park. concrete floors and exposed ventilation systems, anyone? it’s hard being married to an architect. in any case, we’ll trade you if your not up to it, hon.
after cleaning up all the matchbox cars (daily ritual), the boys and i picked out cars for all the relatives and took their pictures. i got the impression that they would love it if i would photograph all their toys. maybe, if they had more “ugly dolls“, i would.
first off, jehu gets the e-type, sorry. gideon picked out the yellow beater there on the right, it’s the one he has had the longest. mommy scored the hearse and daddy, the scion. my mother had to use a hearse for a minivan when she was a little girl. she recalls it being absolutely mortifying. grandpa, on the other hand, thought it was great. especially when all the traffic yielded for you.
we gave uncle reuben the range rover and natalie the mini-cooper. we don’t know what kind of sibling rivalry this situation will produce. grandma sandy got the little midget-mobile and tree papa gets the cool truck.
we gave sister sarah the ferrari, just to see what kind of damage she could cause with it. miss, “i rear-ended someone because the light turned green and they didn’t go.” just so you know, there are those kind of people in the world so you’d better watch it. her hubby william gets the land rover. and below, uncle doug gets the ugly, orange, nasty thing and aunt becca gets that swell vw.
auntie piolet gets the pimp ride and auntie meggie gets the bug. and what do you know, grandma gayla gets the purple low-rider while tractor papa gets the jacked up dodge ram. if any of you are dissatisfied with your lot in life, feel free to let us know. we had fun deciding your fates.
which one’s your favorite?
lately, i’ve been trying a new recipe every day. i think it has something to do with the fact that i’m pregnant and find food somewhat irresistible. my husband says it’s because i’m spoiled and can’t eat the same thing twice, which is also true. that being the case, when i do find the things i could eat over and over, i am particularly pleased.
and i could eat this all day long (which also turns out to be problematic). oh well, i plan on indulging this (hopefully) short period of excess, to see if in the end, i can turn out a reliable cookbook. i’m tired of hit and miss recipes and would like some favorites to put on mindless rotation, for when i’m not food obsessed.
i would also like to announce that my contentions with the cereal aisle are over. goody.
i am an anti-breakfaster, but only in the sense that if no one is going to wake up and make me waffles and fried baby chickies, i’d rather not suffer. cereal kind of makes me sick. if i do eat it, i will mostly likely need to chase it with a handful of doritos or a nice, cold, fake hot dog. mmm. something to do with blood sugar, i think. anyways, this seems to hit the spot if any of you appear to have the same trouble. now i can dine in breakfast harmony with my grapenuts loving (fake bacon hating) husband.
