2.09.2010
1.23.2010
Class Cook Book
The day I turned in the infamous quilt for Horsegirls class they had a heritage party. Everyone in the class brought in a dish that their family makes or was meaningful to them. The kids all had fun eating all the different types of food.
So before I could stop myself I said I'd be pleased to put all the recipes in a small little cookbook for the class. I just thought how cute it would be for all the kids to have a cookbook that they contributed to. I wanted to make it nice enough that it could be a keepsake or at least not thrown away right away. I was thinking perhaps that they could even make some of the recipes in it for their own families.
So Horsegirls teacher made a copy of everyones hand written recipe and Horsegirl brought it home. Some of the recipes were really easy to read and some where really really hard. But I typed up all of them.
Then I wanted to put them in a spiral bound packet with a cover. I wanted to do a card stock or heavy paper for the cover to make it a little more durable. I also didn't want to take it to Kinkos or something like that. I thought that would be too expensive. Nerdus said that we could buy a cheap machine like the one they have at Kinko's and do it ourselves and it'd be easy. I totally believed him since when we first got married he worked for Kinkos.
We bought the cheapest machine at a local office supply store. I was excited to start my project. Well it didn't go as planned. The machine I bought was a giant piece of CRAP! I ruined several print outs because the machine wouldn't punch the holes straight. It also kept getting jammed very easily. So I decided to pick out my own slightly more expensive machine and it worked wonderfully. When I told Nerdus the price he kind of balked at it. I just said it's a investment because we can use it for the girls school reports or any other project he wants to use it for or anything I do. Since I have it now I was thinking of doing one for my family.
I think the final product turned out nicely.
On the day Horsegirl took it to her class I was so excited. I really hoped the kids would like it. When she got home I asked her how everyone liked it. She made a face. The face that said it wasn't good but I don't want to tell you. Apparently there are 24 kids in her class and there were only 22 recipes in the cookbook. So I went and counted all the recipes that I had received I only had 22. Feeling terrible I offered to either redo the cookbooks, or bring the machine to school after I had typed and printed the 2 kids recipes that weren't included in the book and add them to the book at school on my volunteer day. The teacher declined. She said she was just going to "tape" them in. Even though I had not made the mistake and had included everyones recipe that I had, I felt terrible for the kids who weren't in the book. Oh well you win some and you lose some.
So before I could stop myself I said I'd be pleased to put all the recipes in a small little cookbook for the class. I just thought how cute it would be for all the kids to have a cookbook that they contributed to. I wanted to make it nice enough that it could be a keepsake or at least not thrown away right away. I was thinking perhaps that they could even make some of the recipes in it for their own families.
So Horsegirls teacher made a copy of everyones hand written recipe and Horsegirl brought it home. Some of the recipes were really easy to read and some where really really hard. But I typed up all of them.
Then I wanted to put them in a spiral bound packet with a cover. I wanted to do a card stock or heavy paper for the cover to make it a little more durable. I also didn't want to take it to Kinkos or something like that. I thought that would be too expensive. Nerdus said that we could buy a cheap machine like the one they have at Kinko's and do it ourselves and it'd be easy. I totally believed him since when we first got married he worked for Kinkos.
We bought the cheapest machine at a local office supply store. I was excited to start my project. Well it didn't go as planned. The machine I bought was a giant piece of CRAP! I ruined several print outs because the machine wouldn't punch the holes straight. It also kept getting jammed very easily. So I decided to pick out my own slightly more expensive machine and it worked wonderfully. When I told Nerdus the price he kind of balked at it. I just said it's a investment because we can use it for the girls school reports or any other project he wants to use it for or anything I do. Since I have it now I was thinking of doing one for my family.
I think the final product turned out nicely.
On the day Horsegirl took it to her class I was so excited. I really hoped the kids would like it. When she got home I asked her how everyone liked it. She made a face. The face that said it wasn't good but I don't want to tell you. Apparently there are 24 kids in her class and there were only 22 recipes in the cookbook. So I went and counted all the recipes that I had received I only had 22. Feeling terrible I offered to either redo the cookbooks, or bring the machine to school after I had typed and printed the 2 kids recipes that weren't included in the book and add them to the book at school on my volunteer day. The teacher declined. She said she was just going to "tape" them in. Even though I had not made the mistake and had included everyones recipe that I had, I felt terrible for the kids who weren't in the book. Oh well you win some and you lose some.
1.21.2010
Sweetie
In August I fulfilled a life long dream of owning a horse. After much discussion, or badgering if you asked Nerdus. We bought a 2 year old Quarter horse named Sweetie. She's a dream horse. She's small so she is registered as a pony/horse which is good. She's sorrel in color and has a very sweet temperament.
When we bought her she wasn't completely broken. So I got the opportunity to learn some horse training skills. I did a lot of ground work with her. I learned how to lunge her and how to check her leads and how to get her head down. I've learned how to saddle english and western. How to use several different training tools like a sursingle and draw reins. I also worked with her to help her not startle/spook so easily. I feel I've just gotten to develop a bond with her.
After she was weaned from her mother she was basically put out to pasture. When our trainer got her, about 6 months before we bought her, she was skinny, malnourished, had terrible skin, and was not accustomed to being in a halter or tied up. Our trainer did a lot of work with Sweetie just to get her to the point of being able to be saddled. I think she's done a amazing job.
One (or I) wouldn't think that a horse put out to pasture at such a young age would be a good horse for a child but, Sweetie has proved me wrong. Yes, she's green broke and she tries to get away with more things with Horsegirl than she does with the trainer but, she's a loving, sensitive and smart horse.
We're currently getting her ready to do some simple competitions in the spring with Horsegirl riding her. Our trainer also has 2 of her best students who are interested in learning to be horse trainers riding her to get her all ready for shows. Those girls are doing great things with her and I am so grateful to have them working with her too. I am so pleased with her progress.
Horsegirl is doing good too. She's learned to be a more aggressive rider and to take charge. I think it's been good for her self confidence to know that she has had a part in training a horse.
Supergirl has been a excellent hoof picker too. She doesn't like to ride so I don't make her. She has a special horse friend named Tucker at the barn and she loves all the mousers too. She also helps with the grooming of Sweetie. I also pay her to clean the stall if it needs done while we are there. I really appreciate her company too while Horsegirl is having a lesson.
So with no futher ado and per request from me sista here are some photos of her.
This is Horsegirl riding Sweetie during a lesson. Notice how nicely Sweetie has her head down.
Horsegirl after she just mounted. Vicky is holding Sweetie.
A picture of her face. She has very delicate features and it makes her look very feminine.
A picture of the young lady who is helping her train her. She has her own huge horse but is helping train Sweetie to get her ready for show season. I just love this girl.
Jade working Sweetie during her training lesson. I think she looks great.
A picture of a steamy horse. She got a good work out from Jade so she's all steamy.
When we bought her she wasn't completely broken. So I got the opportunity to learn some horse training skills. I did a lot of ground work with her. I learned how to lunge her and how to check her leads and how to get her head down. I've learned how to saddle english and western. How to use several different training tools like a sursingle and draw reins. I also worked with her to help her not startle/spook so easily. I feel I've just gotten to develop a bond with her.
After she was weaned from her mother she was basically put out to pasture. When our trainer got her, about 6 months before we bought her, she was skinny, malnourished, had terrible skin, and was not accustomed to being in a halter or tied up. Our trainer did a lot of work with Sweetie just to get her to the point of being able to be saddled. I think she's done a amazing job.
One (or I) wouldn't think that a horse put out to pasture at such a young age would be a good horse for a child but, Sweetie has proved me wrong. Yes, she's green broke and she tries to get away with more things with Horsegirl than she does with the trainer but, she's a loving, sensitive and smart horse.
We're currently getting her ready to do some simple competitions in the spring with Horsegirl riding her. Our trainer also has 2 of her best students who are interested in learning to be horse trainers riding her to get her all ready for shows. Those girls are doing great things with her and I am so grateful to have them working with her too. I am so pleased with her progress.
Horsegirl is doing good too. She's learned to be a more aggressive rider and to take charge. I think it's been good for her self confidence to know that she has had a part in training a horse.
Supergirl has been a excellent hoof picker too. She doesn't like to ride so I don't make her. She has a special horse friend named Tucker at the barn and she loves all the mousers too. She also helps with the grooming of Sweetie. I also pay her to clean the stall if it needs done while we are there. I really appreciate her company too while Horsegirl is having a lesson.
So with no futher ado and per request from me sista here are some photos of her.
This is Horsegirl riding Sweetie during a lesson. Notice how nicely Sweetie has her head down.
Horsegirl after she just mounted. Vicky is holding Sweetie.
A picture of her face. She has very delicate features and it makes her look very feminine.
A picture of the young lady who is helping her train her. She has her own huge horse but is helping train Sweetie to get her ready for show season. I just love this girl.
Jade working Sweetie during her training lesson. I think she looks great.
A picture of a steamy horse. She got a good work out from Jade so she's all steamy.
1.09.2010
Nerdus's Dance Moves
The other day I was playing with my phone and I took this hysterical photo of Nerdus. It looks like he's about to break into dance.
He's really just stretching (and yes once again I know it's sideways). He did break out his dance moves tonight playing dance dance revolution with the girls on the Wii.
He's really just stretching (and yes once again I know it's sideways). He did break out his dance moves tonight playing dance dance revolution with the girls on the Wii.
Ella's hat
My friend had a baby a couple of months ago. She had a beautiful baby girl. She was born with a Chromosomal disorder called Trisomy 18.
Little Ella has brought a lot of joy and happiness in my life. I think she is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. She is so sweet and I love to hold her.
One of the things that comes with Trisomy 18 is that the babies are small. So it's hard to find small enough patterns but it's quick to knit things for her. I just knitted a little hat for her. I wanted to have a opportunity to show her that I love her by knitting for her. I knitted the Ruffled Baby hat. It turned out super cute.
Here's little Ella in it.(yes I know the photo is sideways) I think she looks darling.
If you would like to follow Ella's Story here is my friends blog The Endless Piles of Laundry
Little Ella has brought a lot of joy and happiness in my life. I think she is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. She is so sweet and I love to hold her.
One of the things that comes with Trisomy 18 is that the babies are small. So it's hard to find small enough patterns but it's quick to knit things for her. I just knitted a little hat for her. I wanted to have a opportunity to show her that I love her by knitting for her. I knitted the Ruffled Baby hat. It turned out super cute.
Here's little Ella in it.(yes I know the photo is sideways) I think she looks darling.
If you would like to follow Ella's Story here is my friends blog The Endless Piles of Laundry
1.04.2010
Supergirls Hollywood Project
Right before the the holiday weekend Supergirl came home with a school project. Her class is studying National landmarks. She had the Hollywood sign. The instructions said you had to make the Hollywood sign and it had to be in 3-D. Geez! I'm not good at things like that.
I stressed about it the latter part of the vacation wondering and worrying about how I was going to put it all together. Yesterday (sunday) I had a slight panic attack when I realized that I had to finish the project and had only one day to do it. Yikers!
Luckily my Nerdus was there to save the day. He and Supergirl picked a Hollywood sign they both liked and printed it off. Then they and Horsegirl went to the Local Hobby Town and bought one of those Railroad scenery mountains. Nerdus glued the Hollywood sign to the mountain and Voila it was finished.
I am so thankful for Nerdus and that I didn't have to do it. Supergirl loved it but she said she did want trees.
I stressed about it the latter part of the vacation wondering and worrying about how I was going to put it all together. Yesterday (sunday) I had a slight panic attack when I realized that I had to finish the project and had only one day to do it. Yikers!
Luckily my Nerdus was there to save the day. He and Supergirl picked a Hollywood sign they both liked and printed it off. Then they and Horsegirl went to the Local Hobby Town and bought one of those Railroad scenery mountains. Nerdus glued the Hollywood sign to the mountain and Voila it was finished.
I am so thankful for Nerdus and that I didn't have to do it. Supergirl loved it but she said she did want trees.
The New Year
It's the New Year and I've noticed a lot of the blogs I read have been posting their new year resolutions. I however do not believe in New Year resolutions, here's why.
If you really really wanted to change something it shouldn't take "the New Year" to do it. You'd do it when you're ready not just because it's a New Year. Sure i'd like to say I'm going to lose weight, do more knitting projects, be a better wife, better housekeeper, a better mother but honestly when it comes down to it I'm not gonna.
I know it sounds pessimistic but that's how I feel.
Here's my New Years resolution....I'm not going to make any goals I cannot or do not what to achieve. How's that for open ended.
If you really really wanted to change something it shouldn't take "the New Year" to do it. You'd do it when you're ready not just because it's a New Year. Sure i'd like to say I'm going to lose weight, do more knitting projects, be a better wife, better housekeeper, a better mother but honestly when it comes down to it I'm not gonna.
I know it sounds pessimistic but that's how I feel.
Here's my New Years resolution....I'm not going to make any goals I cannot or do not what to achieve. How's that for open ended.
12.29.2009
13
Thirteen....Thirteen years. Nerdus and I will be celebrating our 13th anniversary on the 30th.
Wow! I cannot believe 13 yrs have gone by. I was only 20 when we got married. You can do the math and figure out how old I am.
We've accomplished a lot in those 13 years. Chris graduated from college, we bought our 1st and 2nd homes, I learned how to hold down a job longer than 2 weeks, I learned to knit and we've had 2 amazing daughters. We've had our good times, great times and some honestly rather sucky times.
Through all of this he's remained my best friend. He's the one I go to when I'm sad, frustrated, happy or angry. I rely on him for the most mundane things and he 97% of the time holds up his end of the bargain.
Thirteen years later I like him more, love him more and he's gotten cuter with age.
I'm more glad now that I married him than I was on my wedding day.
So here's to 13 more years or at least to 20yrs when I get my 2 carat wedding band (just kidding).
Love you Nerdus
Yes, that's us being mushy. I'm not big of PDA's and we were forced to kiss for the camera. I love my Nerdus but I don't need to play tonsil hockey on camera to prove to the world I love him. Notice it was very chaste.
This is one of the only ones I could find where I'm not looking annoyed. My MIL kept saying we needed to do this pose and that pose and this pose and it was frustrating me. I just wanted to go to the hotel and relax. Plus we got married in December on the East Coast it was cold! Wow I look like a cream puff. Nerdus looks dashing as usual.
That's right I wore GO-GO boots and I rocked them. They were awesome! I still have them too.
Wow! I cannot believe 13 yrs have gone by. I was only 20 when we got married. You can do the math and figure out how old I am.
We've accomplished a lot in those 13 years. Chris graduated from college, we bought our 1st and 2nd homes, I learned how to hold down a job longer than 2 weeks, I learned to knit and we've had 2 amazing daughters. We've had our good times, great times and some honestly rather sucky times.
Through all of this he's remained my best friend. He's the one I go to when I'm sad, frustrated, happy or angry. I rely on him for the most mundane things and he 97% of the time holds up his end of the bargain.
Thirteen years later I like him more, love him more and he's gotten cuter with age.
I'm more glad now that I married him than I was on my wedding day.
So here's to 13 more years or at least to 20yrs when I get my 2 carat wedding band (just kidding).
Love you Nerdus
Yes, that's us being mushy. I'm not big of PDA's and we were forced to kiss for the camera. I love my Nerdus but I don't need to play tonsil hockey on camera to prove to the world I love him. Notice it was very chaste.
This is one of the only ones I could find where I'm not looking annoyed. My MIL kept saying we needed to do this pose and that pose and this pose and it was frustrating me. I just wanted to go to the hotel and relax. Plus we got married in December on the East Coast it was cold! Wow I look like a cream puff. Nerdus looks dashing as usual.
That's right I wore GO-GO boots and I rocked them. They were awesome! I still have them too.
12.15.2009
Quilt
At the beginning of the school year Horsegirls teacher sent home the usual forms and questionnaires. One question was can you sew? Well, yes, I can if I have to. I believe that is exactly what I said. Somehow this translated into me sewing together a quilt for Horsegirls class.
Now when I first heard that I would be doing this I though sure I can hand sew a few pieces together. No problem, easy enough. I was wrong. I was going to be doing the whole thing. Each child in her class plus the teacher was to provide a 9"x9" square of fabric. It would be a total of 25 blocks. Easy enough right. Oh so not so.
They were all kinds of fabrics. They were just plain cotton fabric, t-shirt fabric, quilt fabric, felt ect. Not only were they all different types but not everyones was evenly cut. I ended up cutting all the squares down to 8 1/4 inches.
The best part of this whole thing is that I finally bought the sewing machine I've been saying I need to buy for years. No way was I going to hand sew this quilt. So I bought a Kenmore sewing machine at Sears. It's the same as my Moms and it has this wonderful feature where you can adjust the speed you go by a sliding button. It even has a picture of a tortoise and hare. Guess what speed I was closest to. I was slow but I finished the race.
I sewed the blocks together in no time. I only had to rip them out 2 times I think. I also found a maroon fabric which is their school color with gold. I bought it and used it as the backing and edging.
I took me a total of a week to sew and finish it. Now I didn't sew that whole time a lot of it was preparing myself mentally. I did A LOT of mental preparing. Oh and calling friends and family to complain and ask tons of questions.
Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of it. It's at Horsegirls school so next time I am there volunteering I will take a photo of it with my cell.
It looked good. I mean, that's to say the border wasn't that even and I may have had to clip a straight pin off once it was all sewn together so it wouldn't poke anyone, and I may not have put the same perfectionism in it that I would have in a knitting project. But the squares were all even (mostly) and the kids in her class were super happy.
Then what did I do next?? Since this quilt was for Horsegirls immigration celebration and not only did I have to do the quilt but make a traditional family recipe (once again thanks Aunt S). I heard myself offering to take all the recipes the kids had written down and type them up and put them into a little cookbook for the kids. Thankfully this should be way easier than making a quilt.
Here is a photo of Horsegirl (the one in a hat) doing a readers theater. You can see previous quilts from other classes.
She was a Ellis Island Commissioner.
Now when I first heard that I would be doing this I though sure I can hand sew a few pieces together. No problem, easy enough. I was wrong. I was going to be doing the whole thing. Each child in her class plus the teacher was to provide a 9"x9" square of fabric. It would be a total of 25 blocks. Easy enough right. Oh so not so.
They were all kinds of fabrics. They were just plain cotton fabric, t-shirt fabric, quilt fabric, felt ect. Not only were they all different types but not everyones was evenly cut. I ended up cutting all the squares down to 8 1/4 inches.
The best part of this whole thing is that I finally bought the sewing machine I've been saying I need to buy for years. No way was I going to hand sew this quilt. So I bought a Kenmore sewing machine at Sears. It's the same as my Moms and it has this wonderful feature where you can adjust the speed you go by a sliding button. It even has a picture of a tortoise and hare. Guess what speed I was closest to. I was slow but I finished the race.
I sewed the blocks together in no time. I only had to rip them out 2 times I think. I also found a maroon fabric which is their school color with gold. I bought it and used it as the backing and edging.
I took me a total of a week to sew and finish it. Now I didn't sew that whole time a lot of it was preparing myself mentally. I did A LOT of mental preparing. Oh and calling friends and family to complain and ask tons of questions.
Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of it. It's at Horsegirls school so next time I am there volunteering I will take a photo of it with my cell.
It looked good. I mean, that's to say the border wasn't that even and I may have had to clip a straight pin off once it was all sewn together so it wouldn't poke anyone, and I may not have put the same perfectionism in it that I would have in a knitting project. But the squares were all even (mostly) and the kids in her class were super happy.
Then what did I do next?? Since this quilt was for Horsegirls immigration celebration and not only did I have to do the quilt but make a traditional family recipe (once again thanks Aunt S). I heard myself offering to take all the recipes the kids had written down and type them up and put them into a little cookbook for the kids. Thankfully this should be way easier than making a quilt.
Here is a photo of Horsegirl (the one in a hat) doing a readers theater. You can see previous quilts from other classes.
She was a Ellis Island Commissioner.
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