My babies are growing up...

and its bittersweet. :( Shorty is performing tonight with his Chorus class. They are singing the National Anthem at a Carolina Stingrays game. They had to wear black slacks, black shoes and a white long sleeve collared shirt. They were given blue bow ties and cummerbunds by the teacher to wear as well. I thought they were going to get those at the coliseum where they are performing but she sent them home with the kids yesterday so I got to see him all dressed up. Let me tell you, I started to get teary-eyed because I remember the little boy in footie pajamas standing on the kitchen counter, rummaging through the cupboard all too clearly! Here is a picture of him on his way out... My only regret is that we didn't get his hair cut this morning!

and for good measure, one of him with his Dad. If only his eyes had been open it would have been great to send to the Grandmas! Oh well... they might just get them anyway! LOL

WHEN did my baby get so tall? I realized tonight as I was giving him a kiss goodbye that the is almost as tall as I am now. *sigh* They just grow so fast!

On another note, I finished my amigurumi elephant this afternoon. DH quickly claimed it as his own and he tells me he is going to take it to work on Monday to put on his desk. *giggle* Its a little lopsided but here he is:

Off to work on Goblin's ghost! He wants one in black with red eyes to set on top of his computer monitor. He is certainly a weird one! I have made a few more ghosts now and think I have figured him out. The first one was just a little... well... off I guess is the word I'm looking for. I made one for Shorty using a variegated green that I had leftover from something else. It turned out really cute and he seems to like it.

Happy Halloween!

I tried my hand at amigurumi today! I made this cute little guy:

I found the pattern over at http://www.flesheatingbunny.com/?page_id=40 and I think I will make a couple more. :) I also plan to make the ghost that is on the same blog. They are so easy! And fast too! I can see how these could get really addictive!

Here's the little ghostie:

He turned out a little caddywhompous but he's still cute. :) The pattern for him can also be found at http://www.flesheatingbunny.com/?page_id=40

Here they are together:

Boober has already claimed them and is going to give them to her teacher tomorrow. Guess I will just have to make a couple more for me to take to NMCRS! LOL

YAY! Babies!

I have been impatiently waiting all day for baby news. :) Both my sister's girlfriend and one of my bestest friends are in labor right now! They are even next door to each other at the hospital!

YIPEE! I get both a niece and a nephew all in the same day! If only I were home to be there for them... Not that I could do much of anything, but still...

Is it almost over?

I am exhausted! It started Friday with the Khaki ball. It was GREAT! I laughed so hard most of the night because the MC was just hilarious! He started out at the very beginning talking like Dr Evil (I swear he sounded *just* like him too! ) and I should have known then it was going to be an interesting night. At one point I turned to DH and said "Is he always like that or just when he has been drinking?" DH just laughs and says, "he's pretty much always like that and I think he might still be sober anyway." Then DH tells the whole table what I just asked and the guy on my other side leans over and says "I once heard him give an entire 3 hour lecture in perfect Scottish brogue"

Anyway,,, Saturday morning I got up to try to finish a baby layette for a baby shower that afternoon. Did I get it done? I literally finished the sweater as we were pulling up to the house! I felt bad, but I had embroidered a couple pre-fab bibs that morning and snagged one of the dresses I was originally gonna send to my sister for my neice so it wasn't a total gift. The shower started at 3, we got there at 3:30 and didn't get home till after 9 that night! Good news is, she *loved* the sweater and even showed her DH 3 times to make sure he saw it Evidentally the third time was the next morning because she wanted him to see it when he was sober.

Sunday morning we got up and took Boober to IHOP for her birthday breakfast (I can't believe she is 10 already! ). Shorty had spent the previous night at a friend's house and chose to stay home because there were a bunch of Apache helicopters that landed here last week sometime and he and his friend wanted to go see them. We drive by them on our way and yeah, they were cool, but I kinda wish he'd come with us for breakfast. OH well, his choice, right? Boober didn't seem to upset about it either so its all good. We got home and DH left to go watch football at his friend's house and I finished the baby booties and bonnet. I sent them with DH to work on Monday so I feel better about that.

Monday morning I had my Embroidery Club. It was so much fun! It was my first time so wasn't sure what to expect but this time we ended up using a new product to make patches out of the embroidery designs.

Tuesday I worked at NMCRS to cover a shift for someone who had to go home because someone in her family had passed away. Things were soooo busy! I had enough time to sit and take a breath before I had to move headlong into another case! I literally did not leave the office till 5 and we close at 4!

Today I thought I was going to be able to sleep in, but turns out DH made our appointment to get new ID cards at 8:30! So we got up and got that taken care of. I took Goblin to school because it was on my way to WalMart (I had to return the other 2 dresses I didn't choose for the Khaki Ball) and DH took the younger two to school because it was actually on his way back to work. I came home and threw something in the crock pot for dinner tonight because I didn't want to run into the same problem we did last night!

Tomorrow, ahhhh... I get to sleep in! Then Friday its back to NMCRS for my regular shift. Saturday I think will probably be a lazy day too. DH is going golfing on Sunday because both his team and the team of the guy who he invades every week have a bye. Priorities, huh?

Thanks for reading my ramble... Sorry to be so random... I'm just tired!

My first Tropical Storm Warning/Hurricane Watch!

Well this entire week has been a roller coaster of emotions for me! First of all, we survived Tropical Storm Hanna just fine. We ended up just getting lots of rain and some wind. To be honest we were lucky enough to not get hardly anything at all and to me it felt like some of the bigger thunder storms we've gotten since we got here. (can you believe we've been here almost a year already! WOW!)

Anyway, started out the week with a post on MSSN (Military Spouse Support Network, a link is over there in my favorite links for my fellow Military Spouses who might be reading this) asking what I thought about Hanna. Umm... I didn't even REALIZE there was a possibility that we were going to have it come through here at this point. So I googled her. Let's just say, PANIC was my first thought. Needless to say, not being from here I had no idea what to expect.

Poor DH didn't get to bed till after the crickets started to chirp again. I lasted until about midnight or so. At that point we had the thunder and lightening along with the wind and rain.

Thankfully, according to the National Hurricane Center's website Ike is headed towards Cuba and should loose some steam there and Josephine has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression. I certainly have a new appreciation for Mother Nature and her fury though!

I guess one good thing that has come out of all this is the fact that in clearing one of our storage sheds out (we have two closets attached to the house with doors to the outside) to be able to put the grill in there and out of the weather we found my tubs of fabric! YAY! I thought they had been taken to the storage unit we are renting off base but nope! It was here all along! So here's hoping I can get those couple quilts I had started before we left WA going again!

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

got this on another blog I read. Dunno if its me or not.

Your Birthdate: June 1

You are a natural born leader, even if those leadership talents haven't been developed yet. You have the power and self confidence to succeed in life, and your power grows daily. Besides power, you also have a great deal of creativity that enables you to innovate instead of fail. You are a visionary, seeing the big picture instead of all of the trivial little details. Your strength: Your supreme genius Your weakness: Your inappropriate sensitivity Your power color: Gold Your power symbol: Star Your power month: January

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

NOw DH's... THAT is scary! LMAO

Your Birthdate: August 18

You are a cohesive force - able to bring many people together for a common cause. You tend to excel in work situations, but you also facilitate a lot of social gatherings too. Beyond being a good leader, you are good at inspiring others. You also keep your powerful emotions in check - you know when to emote and when to repress. Your strength: Emotional maturity beyond your years Your weakness: Wearing yourself down with too many responsibilities Your power color: Crimson red Your power symbol: Snowflake Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Stitchy, stitchy, stitchy!

It feels so good to be stitching again! :) Here is what I'm working on right now




Its a birth sampler/announcement thingie (I never know what to call them LMAO) for a good friend of mine. She is having a little boy in October. There is supposed to be a basketball next to the #2 Jersey and I am working on the football next to the #1 Jersey. Beside the pennant (which is where his name will go) is a little star that his birth stats will go. Above the pennant will be a little square with a baseball, hat and glove and another with a soccer ball and cleats. Its going to be so adorable!

Other things on the crafty agenda this week will be wallets (those handy little ones I posted before) made out of leftover material from a set of coveralls I made a purse with for a good friend. The coveralls were in really great shape, except for one butt pocket that looked like it had been mended a few times! The inside of the purse was a utility shirt. I kept the name tapes on both of them and all the pockets are still usable! It really came out cute! I just remembered I took pics before I sent it! (I blacked out the name though)



The inside"


Well, I think that's about all outta me this evening... I will get more pics posted once I finish a few more things. Oh, and before I forget, I plan to make a few more bibs this week as well. I also need to get a quilt made and sent to my mom. Unfortunately it won't make it in time for her birthday which is the end of the month, but there's always Christmas to shoot for! hehehe

The Wonder Wallet!

Lazy Girl Designs Wonder Wallet

I got this super easy, super cute pattern not that long ago and this is what it made!

Outside:


Inside:


Coin pouch:


I guess I know what I am making for Christmas gifts this year! LOL

Back to School!

WOW! I didn't think it was EVER going to happen, but the kids start back to school in 2 weeks! YAY! I have (so far) survived the summer with my sanity (mostly) intact! We went school clothes shopping this past weekend and took advantage of the tax free weekend. Spent about $100 each on Boober and Shorty and about $50 on Goblin. Boober and Shorty both got new shoes, whereas Goblin decided he didn't need them yet. He has gotten a few shirts over the summer so he is good on those for now, its the jeans he needed most! He has gotten so tall that we had to get him some 32x34 jeans to replace the 32x30 ones he currently has in his dresser! *giggle* He does have some 32x32 that still look ok on him, but I much prefer the 32x34 on him. Can't see his socks at all with those! In a couple weeks we plan to get their supplies and I tell you, I am NOT looking forward to THAT. *sigh* Its just gotten so expensive to buy the supplies as the years have gone on. The tissues I can see buying, but 3 of them? Then there is the hand sanitizer. I'm not a big fan of the stuff so I hate that its on the list. I don't usually buy it even though it is. There is also a pack of colored copy paper on Shorty's list... Oh well, it could be worse... I know people who have dry erase markers on their kids' lists!

One of my favorite quilt shops has a blog now and I hate to say it but looking through those posts and pictures makes me so homesick. You'd think it was the impending arrival of my sister and her partner's new baby or the arrival of one of my dearest friend's baby would do it, but nope... its the picture of Robert the bird at Aunt Mary's Quilt Shop that does. *sigh* I wanna go home!

Well... off to play some more with my embroidery machine! I'm making bibs today and I think I might try to add something to some hand towels I bought at the dollar store the other day.

Oh, and for good measure, I am gonna throw in a picture of the hubby in his uniform from the other night. The Chief's Mess had a Dining In and he had to wear his choker whites. Lemme just say this uniform is *the* reason I had to marry a man in the Navy! LMAO!

New gamer in the house!

Not sure what he's playing but sure looks like he's having fun!

Short and Sweet!

I finished it! *woohoo*



and for good measure, something I was playing with the other night on my embroidery module! The smaller one is the original and then I enlarged it to see what it would do... it was in a different format than the software I have saves in so sometimes that creates issues with enlarging.

YUP! I've done lost my mind!

Little (ok, a LOT) background first... Back when DH made Chief I cross stitched the Navy Emblem for him (I've also done a Marine Corps one for the guy who we named Shorty after but that's a different story ) on Khaki fabric to celebrate his making Chief. Well, we got it framed and were originally going to give it to the mess so they could hang it up in their room (I've no idea what it looks like, never went on the ship the entire time he was there ) and the frame matched all the wood in there. It was GORGEOUS after it was framed. Mahogony frame, khaki fabric, hours upon HOURS of stitching little tiny x's all over.

Well, we ended up giving it to his sponsor instead of the mess. Which was fine, I was cool with that, he seemed to really like it and both he and his wife seemed pretty impressed with it (it was gorgeous after all )

DH actually seemed kind of bummed about giving it away so I decided to stitch it AGAIN! Just for him to hang on his "I love me wall". Not that we *had* one at the time, but we were planning to set one up. But I digress... I got almost ALL the stitching done on it. Seriously, I just have 2 colors of backstitching left to do on it. Its been sitting in the bookcase (through 2 moves I might add) since roughly 2003.

it currently looks like this:


Now that I am working with Navy Relief I have picked my stitching back up. I haven't done much since I started quilting back in 2004 or 2005 so I bought a small kit that I started last week. I figure if we have many more days like last week I'm gonna need something to stay sane!

FF to this morning... I scanned the emblem to show ya and (this is where the part comes in) have decided I am going to stitch it yet again and have it framed to hang somewhere in the office at Navy Relief. I seriously think I've lost my ever loving mind over here!

Oh well... should be fun, right? Or at least interesting!

I'd knit while there but since I knit layettes I can't "double bill" my hours so its just easier to knit at home and work on my XS while there I'm a little scared! This is a huge undertaking!

To give you an idea of how long it will take, DH was selected for Chief and I decided to work on it in early August I want to say (whenever the CPO Selectees list comes out ). His pinning ceremony was in mid-September (want to say the 15th or16th) and the Khaki Ball was in October (like the 2nd or 3rd I think) It also took about a week to have it framed.

I started the thing when he started going through the initiation process and it was done by the time he was pinned. We took it to get framed a couple days after he was pinned.

I literally stitched for hours at a time EVERY SINGLE DAY for like 3 weeks to get this thing done, people! and now I'm gonna do it again? Yup... I'm certifiable!

OMG! I picked it up again!

WOOHOO! I picked up my cross stitching again for the first time in literally years! I figured since I'm not really "allowed" to knit while at NMCRS since I also get credit for the layettes and can't "double bill" my hours or something like that. Dunno... ANYWAY! I went and got a little kit for this one:

and started it yesterday. SO far just the black outline frame part and a few lines at the bottom and starting up the side is done, but I think it wont take long if/when things are slow. :) YAY for stitchy time!

WOW! They sure have grown!

DH and I were looking through some old pictures of the kids today and I just can't believe how much they have changed! This one was taken in about 2003 I think.





Isn't it crazy? This is them the other day. (I know the boys are blurry and Goblin looks 10 feet tall, but what can you expect when I am laying in bed taking pics with me cell phone? *giggle*)

An interesting day...

OK, so maybe it wont be as interesting to anyone else other than me, but I think its been one helluva day! My driver's license expires this weekend and silly me waited till the last minute to do it. Well, turns out that I need to take in proof social security number, proof of residency, birth certificate AND proof of my name change. I haven't seen my marriage certificate since I lived in NY! Silly me thought it would be romantic to hang it in a frame. We had it hanging on the wall when we first got to WA but I don't remember seeing it and when we moved from the townhouse we were at in Arlington to the house in Marysville it got shoved in a random box. So I had to spend almost $50 which we really don't have extra right now to get it and its still gonna take 2-3 business days. *sigh* So DH will probably have to take a day off next week to take my dumb ass down to the DMV to get it taken care of. Oh well... at least its ordered and I won't be without it for very long. My own damn fault for waiting so long.

Then I am sitting here putzing around online and see this out of the corner of my eye:


A Luna Moth! Isn't it gorgeous? Seeing one to begin with is rare, but during the day is even more so! It sure brightened my day though. :) Sorry the pic is so blurry, it was taken with my cell phone and the windows are in need of a wash pretty badly *giggle*

So that's been my interesting day thus far. I wanna go bad to bed and take a nap!

And the journey begins...

Let me start by saying I am TERRIFIED of the dentist. So much so I think the last time I saw one was in about 2003 or 2004 to remove a cracked tooth and then to get the wisdom teeth on the right removed. They outlined a treatment plan to remove the other two on the left and to get some other things taken care of and it was just so overwhelming I panicked and just didn't go back. Mainly because my insurance allowance for the year was going to get eaten up really fast and then would have to pay the rest out of pocket. That alone was enough to scare me off in itself! We just didn't have the extra money and coupled with my fear of the dentist, I just didn't go. I have, however, taken the kids in for their cleanings every 6 months like they are supposed to. I really don't want them to have the issues I am having.

Which brings me to what has started now. Friday I had my other two wisdom teeth and an adjacent molar yanked from my head removed. (OUCH!) I opted for the goody juice and wasn't terribly lucid through the whole thing. I barely remember the drive home or even really the rest of the day. I remember thinking "Wow! When they told DH that I'd be done in about 15 to 20 minutes they weren't kidding!" and sort of giggling in my head. Seriously, the clock showed something 15 and was done at that same something 35. My appointment was at 0800 so not totally sure if my recollections are accurate, I was "on the only legal high" so for some reason I keep thinking it said 1115, but I know that can't be right because we were home by the time I needed to take my noon dose of antibiotics and the oral surgeon I went to was at least a half hour drive away. Anyway, I'm rambling *giggle*

I guess you never really and truly know how much someone loves you until they care for you while recovering from surgery of any sort. DH was just so wonderful and I know he was just as nervous for me as I was. I remember snippets of the conversation happening around me as they wheeled me out of the office and put me into DH's truck and I distinctly remember the worry in his voice. I remember when we first got home I mimed asked where my headband was (I didn't remember taking it off in the truck) and he got a confused look on his face because he didn't understand right away what I was asking. I still don't really remember how he got me upstairs to my bed, but he made sure that I wasn't laying down flat, but sort of reclined. He then left to go fill my prescription for pain meds and get some soups and things that I could eat if I were to get hungry.

I don't really remember much from that first day, just every so often he would come up to see if I needed anything and to see if I wanted something to eat. I vaguely remember hearing him tell the kids to leave me alone because I had a rough morning.

The rest of the weekend was more of the same. :) Though I did come out of my stupor and only took one of the heavy duty pain meds Saturday. Sunday I didn't take any of them and now its Monday and though my jaw still hurts, its more of a nuisance than anything else. I am able to eat solid foods now, though yesterday crunchy things really hurt. I do have another cavity on the right that needs to be filled soon. Truth be told, I have several cavities that need to be taken care of but this one particular one I want done so that I can eat pain free.

Its a really daunting road ahead because I know things are worse now than they were before, but I have found an amazing dentist who doesn't do the finger wagging, shame on you type lectures that the last dentist did. I guess that's one good thing about being in the south, people are just more gentle and friendly down here in general.

I know that we are probably going to burn through the insurance allowance *very* fast, but they are willing to work with me and figure it out.

SO the moral of the story is, take care of your teeth no matter how scared you are of the dentist! If I had just taken care of a lot of this stuff and remembered to brush my teeth on a regular basis this probably wouldn't have happened. Yes, the wisdom teeth would have had to come out, but I wouldn't have had two other molars lost to decay.

Really deep, in depth cleanings start in a couple weeks and then we go from there. I am going to push for that one cavity in the molar on my right to get filled first. Though I don't think its the worst one of the bunch so my dentist may not want to start with that one. *sigh* I guess things will work out how they work out.

Things are looking up!

WOW! What a weekend! :) Kind of spur of the moment, we bought DH a new truck. Its gorgeous and he loves it. :) Then yesterday he called to try to get a refinance loan for the Camry (which is now *mine* YAY! Though I will have to share with Goblin when he starts driving *shudder*) and I logged on this morning to check the status of the loan (it was under review last night at bedtime) and it was approved! *happydance2* I can't believe it! We are going from the INSANE amount of 29% interest down to like 11.99% or something like that! The 29% because of the repo of the van almost 2 yrs ago. MAN! I can't believe its been that long already!

Anyway, It feels good to be on the right track again! Its been a long couple of years but I think its been for the best that we dug ourselves out this time instead of going to Consumer Credit Counceling again. We did that twice and OBVIOUSLY it didn't teach us a dang thing! this way, we know how to fix it and wont ever get back there again!

YAY!

OOO Here's a pic of it!

IMVU

Some friends of mine and I used to use software called "the Palace" years ago and we had so much fun chatting and building our rooms and things there. Not sure what happened but I think it went web-based and it just wasn't the same and we sort of stopped using it. Anywho... a few weeks ago one of the ladies posted about IMVU which is actually quite similar and I downloaded it yesterday. Its kind of confusing but I think I'm getting the hang of it. *giggle* its quite fun actually. :) Though I haven't really chatted with anyone for any length of time, I can't wait till we can have our group chats again! I really miss those!

Anyway, if you wanna check it out, its:

IMVU - The World's Greatest 3D Chat

Shelfari

Most of the people that know me, know that I just LOVE reading! Books are just the best thing in the world, next to chocolate! LOL Recently a friend of mine on one of the mailing lists I belong to sent me an invite to join this website that's all about books. YAY! Something I adore mixed with this wonderful thing called the internet! WOOHOO! So I signed up. You can see my "book shelf" over there to the left. I have that view set up as the last books I've read. I added a bunch but its by no means a complete listing of what I've read even over the last year or so. So starting with Lisey's Story its pretty much the order in which I've read them, but its not till you get to about The Golden Compass that its really in the exact order in which I've read them. Though to be fair Playing for Pizza was an audio book we listened to in the car the last day we were driving to SC so that might not count as having "read" the book. But I know the story! "I'll buy ya an atlas!" has worked its way into our Spouse Speak somehow.

So there you have it... my Shelfari saga. :) I know, I lead a boring life, but what can you do? Other than getting a new bike and actually RIDING the thing a few times last week, nothing really exciting has happened for me so bugger off if you don't like! :-p