Sunday, December 30, 2007

Projects

Like every vacation I take, I had a list of projects that I wanted to complete before heading back to work. I was successful at getting most of the projects checked off on my list, like the cleaning, the maintenance stuff, and moving a dresser into my son's room. Still, I have three garb projects that I wanted to take care of, and didn't get to yet.

I decided an hour ago that while I may not be able to finish them before heading back to work, they definitely weren't going to get done if I didn't start. I plan to make a set of sleeves and a forepart out of the beautiful gold embroidered fabric I found months ago at 75% off. I pulled it out and hand washed it. The fabric description said it could be washed, and while I didn't want to send it through the washer, I felt comfortable enough to hand wash it. I am still trying to decide which way to cut it, to make the pattern look the best. I am also going to have to flat line it for the forepart, so as to avoid the terrible problem of the hoops of the farthingale showing (my personal preference is to totally disguise the hoops). The fabric should be dry by tomorrow morning. I am going shopping with my Christmas money, so I should be able to start on the sleeves and forepart tomorrow afternoon.

I also need a new underskirt. I have been using a pale green taffeta underskirt that I made ages ago as a test piece. It works, but it can be seen when I dance. This isn't a huge problem, but it would be nice to have two, in case something happens to one. This summer, during one of my trips to Hobby Lobby, I found a bolt of silver gray shot taffeta, on sale for $2/yard (normally $5.99/yard). I bought all nine yards on the bolt. I should have well more than enough, as I am going to cartridge pleat it to a waistband, rather than making a gored skirt, and gathering it (yuck- my least favorite thing to do).

So, these three projects should occupy my time quite nicely. I am going to cut out the skirt panels tonight yet, and maybe even start sewing. I'm getting excited now!

And this, my friends, highlights everything that is wrong with certain parents these days.

Girl's false essay wins Hannah Montana tickets
GARLAND, Texas (AP) -- An essay that won a 6-year-old girl four tickets to a Hannah Montana concert began with the powerful line: "My daddy died this year in Iraq."


A false essay won a 6-year-old girl four tickets to a sold-out Hannah Montana concert.

While gripping, it wasn't true -- and now the girl may lose her tickets after her mom acknowledged to contest organizers it was all a lie.

The sponsor of the contest was Club Libby Lu, a Chicago-based store that sells clothes, accessories and games intended for young girls.

The saga began Friday with company officials surprising the girl at a Club Libby Lu at a mall in suburban Garland, northeast of Dallas. The girl won a makeover that included a blonde Hannah Montana wig, as well as the grand prize: airfare for four to Albany, New York, and four tickets to the sold-out Hannah Montana concert on January 9.

The mother had told company officials that the girl's father died April 17 in a roadside bombing in Iraq, company spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield said.

"We did the essay and that's what we did to win," Priscilla Ceballos, the mother, said in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW. "We did whatever we could do to win."

Emphasis is mine.

Way to teach your daughter, there. Lying is okay as long as you win in the end. Right. And they are surprised that the tickets might be taken away? What a despicable thing to do, lying to get a six year old tickets to a concert. And the pity of it is, the girl is probably too young to really get the benefit of the very harsh lesson she is about to get on the consequences of lying.

Just shaking my head that the mother thought she'd get away with this...

Why so silent?

I just realized that my last post had been Dec. 24. I have no idea why, whilst on vacation, and having nothing more to do than to decide just how late to sleep in, and what cleaning I want to do each day, that I have not blogged about this cornucopia of free time.

Except, it really wasn't free time, as I found plenty enough to do. Here's a list of high points:

Dec. 25: Woke up, helped start food for lunch, brushed hair, put on makeup, resolutely stayed in pajamas until lunch. Opened presents, took lots of pictures, skipped breakfast, then ate way too much lunch to compensate for eating very little in Sunday and Monday. Was dozing on the couch by 8:30.

Dec. 26: Dad fixed windshield wipers. Lounged around the house until around noon, tidied away our Christmas goodies, and packed up to go home. Left town by around 5, stopped off for McDonald's, was back in Ames by 6:30. At 7, went shopping the Christmas clearance stuff, and to scope out if they had any Nintendo DS Lites, in onyx, for my son to use all of his Christmas gift cards and money on. Both Target and Walmart were out.

Dec. 27: Slept in again. Hit snooze from 8:00 to 9:00, then woke up, took a long bubble bath, made up the menus, and grocery lists. Cleaned the bathroom, and kitchen, then did the grocery shopping and spent $70 for two people for a week. Made frozen pizza for lunch, then cleaned up, and called the maintenance people to fix various problems. All but two were cleared up right away. Made chicken tortilla soup for supper. Used stir fry cut chicken, fried in olive oil, and low sodium chicken broth. I had to add salt to it, for flavor, but it still ended up with much less sodium than it would have had. Nummy!

Dec. 28: Up fairly early, took bubble bath, put on makeup, fixed hair. Sorted laundry, started laundry, emailed Mom to ask what time she was coming for dinner. Had leftover soup for lunch. Took my son to Target to buy his DS Lite. TG they had one in the color he wanted. He spent the rest of the day alternating between playing it, and polishing it. :) He much prefers buying a big item with his gift cards and money, than buying a bunch of little things. He still has $35 left, to spend later. He's a saver. Mom came over for dinner, and I made garlic lime chicken, wild rice with water chestnuts and green onion, and cauliflower (my son's choice for veggies). Every bit was eaten, it was so good.

Today: Got woken up by the appliance store calling to see if it would be a good time to come over and fix the ice maker. This was after I had turned off the alarm at 8, because I thought that they wouldn't be coming on a Saturday (I couldn't sleep last night, for some reason). They were here 40 minutes later, and stayed an hour, but my ice maker works perfectly now, without flooding the kitchen. After they left, I was bored, so started to reorganize my son's room, in preparation for moving a dresser. Then, a friend called and asked if he could come over, so that was a welcome break! And my house was clean, so I didn't even have to hesitate before saying yes, which made my day! Of course, I looked like crap, since I had just scraped my hair into a ponytail that morning, due to having to rush because of the appliance people. Oh well! Later, I took a nap, as we had a LAN party to go to tonight. We got home 30 minutes ago, and it took 30 minutes for my hands and toes to warm up. I ate way too much pizza, and got my a$$ handed to me in Starcraft but it was fairly fun. My back hurts from shivering, though. Way too cold in the scout room.

Anyway, now that I have finished with this boring post, I will promise to bore you more often in little chunks, rather than dumping all of this into one post. Call it a New Year's Resolution, if you want.

And now it's time to get some sleep...

Monday, December 24, 2007

Whirlwind

We ended up leaving for Manson a day earlier than planned, due to a shift in when the forecast snowstorm was expected to arrive.

It was supposed to snow Friday night into Saturday morning, so we had planned to leave Sunday morning, early. Instead, when I woke up on Saturday morning, no fresh snow had fallen, and the winter storm watch had been upgraded to a storm warning, with blizzard conditions, due to start Saturday noon, and end early Sunday morning.

One of my sisters called from my parents' house, and told me that Mom wanted us to leave immediately, for fear we wouldn't be able to get home safely. My windshield wipes had broken, so there was no way I could drive safely except in the lightest of snow.

So, in less than an hour and a half, I somehow managed to get everything packed, got showered and threw on makeup, loaded up the car, got gas in the car, and got out of town. Oh, and I got the teenager to do the same.

After the flurry of getting ready, when we were finally in the car, after loading everything, and having to go into the house once more for something I had forgotten, my son turns to me and asks, "You remembered my ...?" I could see that he was concerned, but didn't really want to be rude enough to ask if I had remembered his S. A. N. T. A. presents...

"Yes. They're in my suitcase." I laughed, and could understand his concern. I would have been very upset if I had forgotten them.

Anyway, everything went well, we got to Manson safely, and were able to spend time with my parents, grandparents, and my sisters and nephews. We had a turkey dinner that night, and had a great time. Movie Star and I had a nice long talk, for about 2 and a half hours, after everyone else was asleep. It was just a great night.

Until I went to bed.

And discovered that something I had eaten did not agree with me.

I missed church, and our Christmas dinner at my Aunt Sharon's house. After the dinner, my sister Kim called and asked if I was feeling well enough to come out for presents. Since I hadn't thrown up again, and had kept down the toast I ate, I said I felt better. My dad came back to town to get me, and I was able to see everyone, and participate in our grab bag game. I ate some leftovers at about 4:30, and then we all sat around and sorted through the pictures my Granny had brought. Boy, did we find some blackmail opportunities...

Anyway, so I almost missed out on the reason I had to leave early on Saturday. I fell a lot better now, and I am looking forward to seeing more family tonight after mass.

And sometime today, I have GOT to get my son's presents wrapped. :)

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Delightful.

Starting Friday night, I began having problems with my asthma again. I used my inhaler, things got better.

Yesterday afternoon, I started having problems again. I didn't think to use my inhaler, though, because I was busy. Things calmed down by the time I went to bed, so I didn't think anything of it.

Today, it's been bad pretty much all day. I went into work late, because I had to mail a package, and ended up using my inhaler around 11:30. Things have been icky all day.

Tonight, just awhile ago, I was watching the news, and they had a pollution warning type thing, and recommended that people with asthma or heart conditions stay indoors, due to higher than recommended levels of pollutants in the atmosphere. It should clear up by tomorrow evening. I really hope that this isn't going to be a regular occurrence.

I think I am just more sensitive to this stuff lately due to the bad cold I am still trying to get over. I may end up going to the doctor tomorrow, but I am not sure what more she could do, especially if things are supposed to get better tomorrow night.

I hate this. I really do.

Just one more step until the holiday relaxation can commence...

The second dress is done, all of the boxes are wrapped, and the shipping box is packed. Postage has been calculated, and the box is just about ready to be shipped out first thing in the morning.

The only "Oh Shit!" moment for today came after the boxes were wrapped and carefully fitted into the shipping box. You see, I took pictures of the dress, so that I could show my mom. It wasn't until after I had downloaded the photos that I realized that I totally, utterly, screwed up the zipper in this one. It works, don't get me wrong, or I would have noticed when I sewed it into place, removed the basting threads, and fixed another small area.

There were just two minor mistakes: 1. I forgot to use white bobbin thread when I sewed the white zipper into the blue dress (they had no blue zippers left), and 2. one side at the top is higher than the other, at the zipper top.

Good one. I spent about 15 hours or more on this dress, and I fraked up the zipper.

I hope my niece isn't too scarred by this...

Anyway, as soon as the box is in the post, I will be able to finally, finally feel like I have accomplished something this holiday season. Yes, my house is a disaster, I am still trying to fight off some respiratory thing, and I am exhausted. But, I feel great right now, because I just know my niece is going to love her new costumes, and as soon as I see a photo of her all dressed up, I am going to want to start all over again with new ones.

:)

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Step away from the sewing machine...

I am soooo close to being finished with my niece's second costume. I am attaching the skirt right now, and because I was not satisfied with the original look of the costume, I added my own parts to it, drafted from scratch, to look more "Cinderella" like. It is a really pretty dress, and I was stuck last night on a problem, was so happy to come up with a solution that added just the right detail...

And I just about ruined it twice in the last 20 minutes.

Costume satin does not like seams to be picked apart. The needle holes are sometimes still visible unless you very, very carefully use your fingernail to close the little holes, without further snagging the fabric. Usually, there isn't too much of a problem, though, because most mistakes happen in the seam line, or near it, which is pretty easy to fix or cover up.

It is a real pain, however, when you are carefully sewing a fairly bulky gathered seam to a tiny bodice, and don't realize until nearly too late, that you have managed to catch in a fairly sizable amount of BODICE into your seam. The first "Oh Shit!" moment of the evening.

And then, after patting myself on the back for fixing the problem, I go over the same seam, just inside the original seam, in order to reinforce it, and the SAME DAMN THING HAPPENS!

And this is only the first half of the skirt. The other half is waiting to be gathered (a trick in itself, because it's so much fabric for such a little waist), pinned to the bodice, then basted, and sewn very carefully (and it's not like I was being careless the first time!).

I really wanted to get this into the mail tomorrow... I know the 20th is the deadline, but I wanted to just wanted to get this done.

I think I am going to take a quick break, and then get to the point where I can just sew the skirt on tomorrow over lunch hour. Then, I can finish the zipper and hem tomorrow night, wrap the package, and get everything ready to go to the post office first thing Thursday morning.

I just have to give myself a little more time, or I am going to ruin this dress. :(

Monday, December 17, 2007

It can't possibly be this close to Christmas!!!!

I am working like crazy to get everything done for Christmas. I have my niece's second dress nearly finished (skirt attached, zipper, and hemmed by Wednesday?), and I have nearly all of the presents for everyone on my list. I have two more presents to buy for my son, and then he's done. And one more present for a friend, who gave me something I really enjoyed last year, and so is even more tough to buy for this year. ;)

Right now, though, I am soooo ready to go to sleep. I worked on sewing while waiting for the spinach to thaw for my spinach dip. Then, finally at around 10:15, I was able to get the beer bread put together (I was also waiting for the beer to get warmer), and into the over. My apartment smells like a frat party, minus the smoke and vomit ambiance. I am having major back and leg pain right now, and I am so sleepy that I am literally having waking dreams of being snuggled in my bed right now.

But, I must stay awake to get the bread out of the oven, cooled, and wrapped up for tomorrow. Another 40 minutes, minimum...

I should have just bought the dinner rolls instead...

Friday, December 14, 2007

Finally, someone says everything I have been thinking since at least 2001

Holier Than They
...There has been a lot of interesting discussion of Mormonism and Evangelical Protestantism, about Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee outdoing themselves to appeal to Christian conservatives, and about John McCain’s belief in a “Christian nation.” There has been dismay about a political moment in which it seems a candidate must pass a religious litmus test to gain national viability. There have been comparisons to John F. Kennedy, talk of the Founding Fathers, of the separation of church and state, and of how the Puritans’ rather intolerant vision of religious freedom continues to trickle down to our day.

But one line of questioning, it seems to me, is missing. One point of view is inexpressible, taboo. I am not referring to atheism – the one belief system that clearly had no place in the vision of America Romney painted in his much-anticipated speech on faith last week. Rather, I’m thinking of the now entirely muted issue of whether the basic ethical foundations of Romney, Huckabee et al’s political views truly are “Christian” – in the good-neighborly sense of the word.

The emphasis is mine.

I will not get into a long, drawn out post right now, but the author of this opinion piece really seems to have hit on everything that has been bothering me about the way this country is headed.

I really recommend reading this article. Please keep an open mind, and really, really think about what she has to say as we head into this holiday season.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

This is starting to get a little ridiculous...

I managed to get to work yesterday, despite the ice problems. I worked all day, then spent a lovely time with my nephews in the evening. I came home, puttered around the house, wrote a blog post, and went to bed.

This morning, I woke up, and while I was getting ready, I started feeling really icky.

Gross stuff ahead!












I ended up throwing up. I had a bit of a temp again, and I obviously stayed home. In fact, I crawled back into bed, wet hair and all, after waking up my son to tell him to get ready for school. I slept nearly all day, trying really hard to not move around a lot. I just threw up the one time, luckily, but I didn't start to feel better until around 6 or so. My stomach still feels pretty funky, and I'm a little achy from being in bed all day.

This just is not like me to be so damn sick for so many damn days, and with different symptoms. Maybe I picked up something else at work yesterday. Anyway, just two more days until the end of the semester.

And less than two weeks until Christmas, and for someone who started out early in the planning and shopping, the last two weeks have set me back time-wise considerably. Not a single present is wrapped, although most of them have been purchased already. I haven't had a chance to get my lab monitors anything yet, as I was sick all weekend, and was busy last night. I may leave early for work tomorrow, and get some candy from the grocery store. I think I already have treat bags. But the worst is that I still have well more than half of the shopping left to do for my son.

I just hope I am completely and utterly well by this weekend, or I don't know when I am going to finish.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Why you should always watch where you are going...

After getting to spend a lovely 45 minutes with my sister, her husband, and their two adorable sons (although the 3 year old is driving her nuts), we finished up an errand, and came home. Honestly was the best time I've had in weeks. :) My youngest nephew is sitting up and smiling and gurgling like crazy, and my other nephew is just a scream. It was great. :)

As I was putting the presents we had bought under the tree, and was taking the shrink wrap off of the new Harry Potter movie, I ran into this little bench thing I have by my arm chair. I hit the right side of the front of my right shin. I have the most incredible bruise imaginable. I am damn lucky it didn't break the skin, as there is a nice and neat mark right where it hit, surrounded by blue, and it's swollen. I'm sure it will look even better tomorrow.

Funny thing is, I felt it when I hit it, and was jumping around in the "oh-crap-that-hurts-like-hell" dance for a few minutes, then I sat down to read and kind of forgot about it until I just got into the tub. Then of course, it started to throb like crazy.

This was an appropriate end to my day.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Not fair.

I still have a fever, which means I'm not going anywhere tomorrow, either. Well, except I have to go to the store to get more soup, and more shampoo. And to the doctor, because this is ridiculous. Seriously. I've had a fever since Friday, and yeah, it's not a very high fever, but since I normally run about 97.6°F, 99°F (to 99.3°F) is high for me.

And I am so stinking restless that I can't even get to sleep. And I am starting with another bout of the chills, so I am going to at least crawl into bed, with four blankets, my stocking cap, and a pair of my son's athletic socks, and hope I can warm up. They've been lasting a couple of hours at a time, so maybe I'll get to sleep around 2.

It's a no-brainer that I am not going to work tomorrow.

You gotta love gmail...

Using the word, "spam" in a message or subject line, gives you recipes for using spam the food.

Considering that I ate entirely too much spam during my elementary to high school days, it is a food I avoid at all costs.

So, sorry google, I will not be clicking through to see delightful news ways to prepare spam.

Still hanging on...

So, I woke up this morning, got a bath, got dressed, put makeup on, all in prep to go out to run errands.

Then, I took my temperature, and realized I still had a fever.

So, I got back into my jammies, and tried to occupy myself.

Things I did today:

1. Spent some time on the couch. Urg.
2. Warmed up soup for lunch.
3. Created a new google group for costumers, due to some differences of opinion about overzealous moderation on a forum I post to. Basically, even though I have seen very few posts that were snarky, apparently, even the chance that anyone could possibly misconstrue anything to be snarky is enough to get the post deleted, or the thread locked, or the thread totally deleted. Which obviously makes people hesitant to comment on a thread with advice. So, if someone asks if something is accurate, be careful in how you reply, because someone will take offense. This also makes it hard if you are really looking for an honest opinion. So I decided to offer a place to be able to freely discuss.
4. I am now baking a chocolate cake, because I am dying for chocolate, and I can't go to the store because I have a slight fever.
5. I am also now dividing my time between checking email, and snuggling under the covers watching Battlestar Galactica, Season 2.5. With my stocking cap on again, of course, because I am still cold.

It's funny, but for technically being still sick, I am restless, and cannot sit still for long. I don't drink caffeine, so that's not the problem, and I did not take any more of the cold meds, so that's not the problem either.

Anyway, time to get back under the covers, and try to get well enough to go to work tomorrow, although technically, I should be fever-free for 24 hours before going back...

Oh, and BTW, the group is Historically Influenced Renaissance Garb if you are interested in joining...

Side effect of this stupid cold/flu/respiratory whatever this is...

Last night, I felt like utter crap. My head hurt so bad that tylenol couldn't take the edge off. I took a chest decongestant to try to loosen the crap that's in my lungs, but that didn't help either. All it did was make me unable to focus on anything at all. I couldn't read, I could barely watch TV, and when I attempted to work on my crochet project, I had to stop, because I was messing up. In a word, I was loopy from fever and the medication. My son thought that was highly amusing.

So, today, when I woke up, I thought I was in for a very rough day. But, when you are a mom, and it's this close to Christmas, certain chores have to be done no matter how crappy you feel. I started out slow, and just finished the hem on a dress I am making my niece. Then, I took a break. I sorted the laundry, and then put the zipper into the dress (first one ever!), and when I still felt okay after that, I started the laundry.

Things went downhill from there. By the time the laundry was half done, I felt woozy, and ready for a nap. But, I had to finish the laundry. So I did that, then had a bowl of soup. After the last load was folded and put away, I ran my bath water, anticipating a nice, long soak, followed by a nice, long nap.

I had just gotten out of the tub when I saw that I had an email message from work, that sounded pretty desperate. So, I dried my hair, got dressed, and I went into work.

I will leave out how dreadful this made me feel. I basically just kept everyone away while I fixed the problem, and leaned up against the counter and computer while waiting for the messages on the printer screen to show up to tell me what to do. My hands were shaking by this time, and I was freezing again, but, sometimes you gotta do whachagottado.

Of course, by the time I got home, I was full-on wiped out, freezing, and was barely able to get into fresh jammies. I huddled on the couch with two blankets, my fuzzy slippers, and my stocking cap, and tried to get warm for two hours.

When I finally did warm up, I couldn't sleep! I still can't! And when I cough, the back of my throat tastes funny. It's hard to describe. So, I've been puttering around the house, and since the fever is very slight now, I have been planning what I want to do tomorrow. Because that fever had better be gone.

So, tomorrow, weather and health permitting, I have to make a run for sewing supplies and bubble bath. But if I don't get to sleep soon, I won't be able to do anything tomorrow...

Time to try again...

Friday, December 07, 2007

I knew skipping that flu shot this year would come back and bite me on the ass...

Yep, got the flu. Not happy. Fever, chills, body aches, and terrible cough. The cough part started last night around 6, and got progressively worse. Today, it's awful.

Time for sleepy...

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Curing what ails me...

I am feeling a lot better tonight. Less stressed out, more relaxed, not freezing. Our camp out was postponed due to weather. We got about 4-5 inches of snow today, and more is expected this weekend. The place we were going to camp is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, on a gravel road, and is difficult to get in and out of in the snow.

So I am doing a little happy dance about that. Huge relief.

After picking my son up from school, which was overly exciting, due to everyone trying to remember how not to be an idiot on snowy roads (saw two accidents), we went back to work for awhile. I got the popcorn and movie stuff ready to go, and decided to let the lab monitors handle that for the evening. We left work around 5:10, and cleared off the car again (fourth time today), and went to the grocery store with the vague idea of getting something warm and comforting to make for supper.

In the store, we were wandering aimlessly down the produce aisle, when my son spied samples. He got a tiny sample of some soup and he told me I had to try it. I got a sample, as his smelled really good. It was turkey torilla soup (rather than chicken), and after about two bites, I was heading back to the sample table to find out what brand it was. I had never actually tasted this kind of soup before, despite having many opportunities. I didn't think I'd like it. Go figure.

Turns out, they were actually handing out recipes for this soup! So, I grabbed a recipe sheet, and started shopping. We substituted chicken for turkey, mainly due to the lack of turkey broth in the soup aisle.

It took me all of 25 minutes to make this soup, because I used Oscar meyer pre-cooked grilled chicken. We loved it! Well, except for the cilantro. Just couldn't like the cilantro (we both ended up scooping it out). It was a little expensive to make, but I am sure I'll be able to come up with a cheaper way to make it (like using leftover chicken). It was so good! It was a very good idea for HyVee to hand out the recipe. I hope they'll do it for other dishes in the future.

So, I am warm, relaxed, and ready for another hectic day tomorrow, followed by a blissful weekend of getting things done.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Is it just me...

or do any of you read Dear Abby with a feeling of trepidation, half-expecting to recognize yourself in the letters of the desperately questioning writers?

I swear, if anyone writes in about a messed up, relationship-challenged, basketcase, overly-direct, loner geek of a tech person, I'll know I really am a messed up, relationship-challenged, overly-direct, loner geek of a tech person.

Then maybe, I can change, because Dear Abby knows all of the answers.

Freezing

I can't get warm, folks. I feel like the world's biggest wimp, and feel like I must give up my "born-in-Iowa" creds, as it isn't even really as cold as it's going to get this winter, yet.

And no, I am not aneorexic. In fact, if anything, I am going the other way lately. Show me a cupcake, and I'm going to eat it. Or maybe six of them. Trust me, I am not lacking for an insulating layer of subcutaneous fat.

Perhaps the reason I am so sensitive to the cold lately is that I am getting another nasty cold. I have been flirting around with several varieties this fall so far, but this one feels like it has the capacity to be The One. The cold to end all colds, the one that turns into a respiratory infection just in time for Finals week. Because you know, it's not the end of the semester unless I get sick, and have to work through a sinus infection or walking pnuemonia (done both, it sucked, and damaged my lungs).

So here I am, with the thermostat turned up to a decadent 75°F (who had it down to 70°!!??? Damn gremlins!), wrapped in my favorite red blanket. You know, the one that leaves lint everywhere, the one I can't sleep without. My wubby. This blanket goes everywhere with my in cold weather. Except work, because I don't want to get work germs on it. But believe me, I am missing it the entire time I'm at work, due to the cool breezes from the lab and atrium. I have no idea why my office would feel cold when the thermostat says 84°F...

And speaking of cold, and stress, let me tell you the three things that are stressing me out the most right now:

1. Snow forcast for tomorrow,
2. Freezing rain for both Saturday and Sunday,
3. I am expected to camp this weekend, and it is supposed to ice rain this weekend.

All of the chocolate caramels in the world can't make me feel any better right now, although suddenly being able to not have to camp this weekend would improve my outlook immensely...

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Dang, I got a lot done today.

No problems with the power today, TG. It rained quite a bit after it finished ice raining around 3 or so. When it refreezes tonight, the roads are going to be a mess.

I spent most of my waking hours working on a play dress for my niece, Grace, and it's looking so cute! Well, the bodice part is mostly done, and one of the drapy sleeves is sewn, and the rest is cut out and waiting. Costume satin is not the most fun to sew, but it will look so cute when it's finished!

I spent over an hour just getting the pattern pieces traced, mainly because I had to locate everything I needed, and then I couldn't find my scotch tape anywhere, despite having just bought one of those four pack things a couple of weeks ago. I ended up finding just one of the rolls, but I'm sure I'll find the others as soon as I buy more.

My back hurts, but it is a good ache. I had so much fun today! Now, I am going to have some ice cream, then park my behind on the couch with a book and enjoy the glow of the Christmas tree.

Yep, it's a mess already...

I slept in this morning, all warm and comfortable, secure in the knowlege that I had done everything on my list to get ready for the snow and ice we were warned about for today. Groceries were bought, all of the laundry is finished, materials for the costumes I want to make this weekend were purchased, and washed. All is ready.

We are supposed to get between .5 and .9 inches of ice.

Which is soooo fun, let me tell you. Parts of Des Moines are already without power, the they were supposed to be on the low end of things.

So, I am ready. I have a bunch of things to do if the power goes out (although I can't remember the last time that happened), and we have plenty of warm clothes and blankets. The car is already covered in ice, and the little bit of snow we have also has a nice coating.

And this is only the beginning...