Happy 4th!

Today I held my first Roman Candle, threw my first (successful) bottle rocket and wrote my name with a sparkler. By far, my favorite firework of the night, however, was the "growing panda" which looked deceptively cute. The innocent anime creature sits on a stick that's supposed to shoot up after lighting the fuse. We put him on top of the fencepost I reached up high and lit my choice firework. I stepped away just in time as he began to hiss and spin violently, colored flames radiating in a circle and raining down. Next shot out a fire ball just off to my right. I don't think I'm the only one who gasped. I doubt Jon or Walt would admit to it. Maybe Pam will. It was quite a shock! A green fireball shot out and then the panda shot up... all at once. The surprise was worth it all.

Today we grilled out, bought a sprinkler, took Atlas to the farmers market and on a walk at Tom Lee Park (whose monument calls him a "very worthy negro" for heroically saving 32 lives on the Mississippi one night), hung out with friends, watched the Memphis fireworks from Arkansas's flood plain (maybe a 15 minute show with no recognizable finale... but fireworks nonetheless) and enjoyed an overcast day in the midst of summer heat.

It was a great holiday. I think it's finally time for bed. (yay!) :)

Done!

I took my test! Oh what a relief to be done. Although I won't find out officially for 4 - 5 weeks I feel alright about it too. This, for the record, does not mean I'll get credit for the class... with only 1 week of studying my standards may be a little low for this test. I'm just not really sure. Regardless, I am so thankful that my father in law postponed the tree job he'd hired Walter for so that he could drive me to my test. I used the time to study some more and learned (short term, I'm sure) a whole HEAP of info that was directly on the test. Praise God!

After stopping by Costco, Lowes, and Chic-fil-A (for a great salad) we headed home. I vowed not to celebrate with food (the salad doesn't count... even if I didn't make it myself) but instead to go swimming. This was my first real time in the pool (all in) this summer and it was SO wonderful. The last time I peaked my toes in the water was frigid. This time: bath water (as a note, bathwater is cooler than air so it is absolutely perfect). I even did a few decent dives and one or two really bad ones. I have to re-learn every year but gradually it is sticking.

Once we got home and had dinner I had the sneaking suspicion that there was something I definitely should be doing. How irresponsible was it for me to sit around leafing through pattern books, dreaming about which one should be done when. Then it hit me that I didn't HAVE to do anything that night. No responsibilities. How wonderful!

So I fixed a curtain. I got out my sewing machine and made a reinforcement for the area the dogs keep dislodging when they squeeze thru for a better view of the neighbor kids. Walter helped me install my masterpiece and TADA a working window cover yet again. :) I bought three sewing books just before I found out about this test. So once amazon delivered them I only allowed myself a glancing look before hiding them away to study. Now I get to pull them out in earnest and begin tinkering with my new sewing machine. It is a beauty!

I have other good news too. We're getting a camera! It should come in the mail tomorrow or the next day. Soon my posts won't be quite so bland looking. Won't that be the day? ;)

Falafel Friday!

I remember visiting a friend's house one Friday after school and first encountering Pizza Friday. They had pizza delivered, rented a movie, and the whole family gathered round to hang out in the living room for hours. I thought it was great. Movie and pizza? Every week? Heck yah!

Awhile back I talked to Walter about creating our own incarnation of Pizza Friday. We decided it was a great idea but needed a little tweaking. Out went the pizza (at least for most weeks) and in came the falafels. Home made falafels are great fun but quite a bit of work and even more clean up (it's Walter's job to clean out the fryer). This put a damper on the event... on starting up the event, I should say. We talked about Falafel Fridays off and on but never seemed to implement them. Then came Costco. They have some pre-made falafels that are perty good. They're not homemade good and CERTAINLY not fresh from the streetcorner of Bethlehem good... but good nevertheless. Kinda like having pizza delivered when you could go gourmet. Which, looking back, is kind of the point of pizza fridays: fast and easy food traded for time and fun with family. Plus, both delivered pizza and pre-made falafels are slightly guilty pleasures (tho falafel's not too guilty) so I think we've fit the bill.

Today is Falafel Friday (woohoo!) even tho' it is Saturday (shhh). But we weren't home yesterday and I desperately need the break and we sold our Civic today and it seems like cause enough for celebration. :)

and wait

Was it really March last time I checked this? It's hard to believe it's almost July! We've moved on from Spring Break (in Nashville... storms pummeled the gulf coast and what good is beach if you're stuck inside the motel? the hotel in nashville, for the record, was delightful.) to Summer Vacation where, until last week, we'd settled into a nice quiet rhythm.

I've been getting up early to give the dogs the walks they need, making a good breakfast and then eating it back in bed with Wally. After breakfast we'd go our separate ways: Wally grinding out tree stumps or installing cabinets or welding giant pieces of metal or whatever job came his way that day, and I'd either go to the Haps to help out my mother-in-law with whatever needed to be done there or to the Wilsons to babysit the kids. We'd come home, work out, eat dinner, and hang out for a few hours before bed and doing it all over again. It's been really pleasant.

Then last week I got the news that the Psychology class I'd planned on testing out of... in the fall... had to be tested out of by July 1st (oh my.). So scratch me going anywhere and working with anyone. Now I get up, walk the dogs, eat my breakfast, and study... small break to water the flowers... and I study... small break to turn off the soaker hose and empty the dishwasher... and I study... break for lunch... study... sweep the floor... study... prep supper (yay for crockpots!)... and study... work out with Wally, get really stinky, take a shower... and SUPPER... then study some more before calling it quits. I have one week to learn this entire class. It's just a little crazy. Not too bad really. I look forward to our workout and to dinner.

Walter and I have starting doing P90X. It's an intense 3 month workout program and we've just finished week 3. Woo! I'm not sure I've ever looked fwd to a workout before. Doing this, I have so much more energy and my body just feels better. I'm absolutely loving it. I'm embarassed to admit it but it may be the highlight of my day (oh my), and that's not to say I'm miserable the rest of the day either (tho' I know my description sounded riveting... hehe). It really is very satisfying.

So that's life right now, working outside in the heat (yard work and heavy lifting for both of us), spending some time with family before they move (the Wilsons to Chatanooga soon), studying for nursing tests, working out, reading Desiring God with our community group, and filling up the weekend with cookouts (Friday a goodbye/birthday party for the Wilsons/Chris, Saturday a bbq with church celebrating that we have a building to move into in August) and meeting up with ppl (a "playdate" for Phoebe with a prospective new family on Saturday and catching up with an out of town friend Sunday) between bouts of studying (now this does make me a little nervous).

I wish I had pictures to make this post a little bit more engaging but we're camera-less. It was sent thru the washer in Walt's pants pocket. We hoped it would dry out and revive but alas... It was not to be. I want to show you the tile we've chosen for our kitchen backsplash and the kitchen counters now that they're in place and the new chair for the living room and the craftroom that's soon to be... but they will have to wait... until I find, borrow, or purchase a new camera. Until then you'll just have to be patient... and wait.

today

Done!  Test 3 of 3 is complete and 2 out of 3 went fantastically well (can't complain too hard about that, now can I?).  I walked out of Statistics today feeling so free.  Now I feel like I'm on Spring Break (for those of you who don't know... I had SB from my morning classes two weeks ago, one week of both sets of classes- and all tests- and then this week I have SB from my evening classes).  So next weekend (the tail end of break... only missing one, maybe two, classes) Walt & I are heading off somewhere exotic for vacation.  We're not sure where yet.  Maybe Florida, maybe the Gulf Coast, maybe a cruise to the Bahamas... just depends on the amazingness of the deals and our timely decisions (yeah, we're not so good at that last one.  but we'll get there).  Yay!  Spring Break!!

The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL.  It feels like a warm spring at last (at last... hehe).  After my math test Wednesday, however, I wasn't quite appreciating it.  I'd just bombed it (or,  I think...)  and decided to buy some new jeans before heading home (not really to make myself feel better but really to prevent problems in the near future).  I drove to the mall and talked on the phone in the parking lot for awhile.  Finally , I got out and marched right in to JCPenny.  I was on a mission.  I had a purpose.  This was going to be quick.  I would not spend the majority of my day at the mall.  I paused momentarily to glance at the store map as I entered and then zoomed off.  Not three steps in I heard an abrupt (almost challenging), 'Can I help you?' Still in super efficient mode, I swung back around just as abruptly.  I think it caught her off guard.  'Oh... uh...'  I don't know what else came out of her mouth and  I'm not sure what I was thinking because I turned back around and hurried on my way towards the rest of the mall.  It was very slowly that I actually started to take in my surroundings: It was awfully empty and quiet (no music only a few people in sight).  As I walked down the center of the store I realized that to my right the lights were on but to my left it was still pretty dark.  Uh oh.  I started to realize that JCPenny's hadn't opened yet.  I kept going and kept looking purposeful (no one questions someone with purpose).  That's when I saw it: a glass wall between me and the rest of the mall.  Definitely confirmed.  All doors were closed and locked and suddenly I had to turn around and look purposeful the entire way back out of the store towards the parking lot.  When I got back to my entrance it was slightly harder to be nonchalant.  Apparently I walked in through the only unlocked door on my first try.  Heading out, it took four tries to get it right (much to the confusion of an entering employee).  But I made it out without even a reprimand, walked around the outside to a different entrance and then hung out in the food court with the old people (eating breakfast after their morning walks) and the mall cops gliding past on the segues.  I thought it was pretty amusing. 

Anyway, I found pants.  

It was pretty quick.  And, the majority of my day was not spent at the mall.  All in all, a success.

Now it's spring break (kinda) and it feels good.  My kitchen is half clean (that half is really really nice).  The other half is waiting for a clean dishwasher so that new dishes can be loaded in and it too will be spotless (yay!).  I have ingredients for wonderful salads and scrumptious dinners and an odd desire to knit again (since when has knitting been a spring thing?).

This pin cushion really wet my appetite, I think.

And then I remembered all the cute patterns in the free issue of Interweave Crochet I've yet to try out.  The latter are a little bit too wintery for me right now but that just makes me anxious for the next issue to arrive.  :)  I can't wait.

So today I'm celebrating spring (is today the equinox?), taking a long walk with the dogs, cleaning the kitchen, cooking up a storm, cleaning up again (yay, i have a clean kitchen!), going out to see Slumdog Millionaire, and maybe taking up my knitting or reading a book... because today I'm on vacation. :D

    

spacious

It's too late to write again but I was just marveling at how large and clean my living room looks again, now that the Christmas tree is gone. It always amazes me. I do miss the nativity scene tho'. It was absolutely beautiful... the muted colors against the green wall behind it. I hope I took a picture. That scene may not happen again. Today I went apartment shopping. No real news on that front yet. But it may be coming soon. Good night. :)

Re-entry

The past two days have thrown me back into academia... or at least seen the majority of my time in a school. Let's see... from admissions to transcript evaluation and then home. Next was a long line of phone calls to and from COD figuring out how to get a 'transcript' from someone who doesn't do unofficial transcripts _at all_. Back to Southwest... transcript evaluation, advisors office, admissions, meeting room c, waiver forms, cashiers' office, and distance learning. By this point it's 3:30 (I got there sometime in the morning) and I decided to eat lunch before buying text books. That's saved for tomorrow. It's my first day of class.

After dinner I started to realize that I should prepare myself for the day. What do I need for classes? I thought about taking a shower tonight (class is at 7:30am!!), picking out my clothes, having a bag ready for supplies... oh wait. supplies. I asked Walter if he had a notebook or something I could write in. No luck. Neither of us have any type of notebook. We do have tons of pencils tho'. And I made sure to have snacks in case I just couldn't make it home after class without succumbing to temptation and pulling over at a Wendy's. I bought so many yummy snacks at whole foods today. But did I think about basic school supplies? Not a chance.

So if school is about navigating red tape and staying mentally alert I think I'm ready for anything. If I actually have to take notes I may be in a bit of trouble. It all just made me realize how far removed from school I've really become. All soon to change, however. Tomorrow I'll go to Statistics and then next week I add Gen Chem and A&P (I and II). I guess I'll have to buy some notebooks. I think it should be fun. :)

Homemaking 'Meme'

I know that questionnaires get old really fast but when I saw this one I couldn't resist. One that is different from all the rest I've personally seen. I hope you enjoy it too.

(In case you're like me & had never heard the word meme before: This link's for you)

Aprons – Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like?
YES! I love aprons. I have two and they are both favorites. One was given to me at my wedding (from anthropologie!) and the other my grandma bought while visiting us in Austria. Soon I'll sew a third.

Baking – Favorite thing to bake
I think pie. Or anything that's heavy with spices. I love my home to smell like nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. And I love to bake something new. I don't have an old stand-by yet. There are so many fun things I haven't yet baked.

Clothesline – Y/N?
No. But I desperately would love one. I think they can be beautiful tho' all the ones I see around here look a little hick-trashy. I suppose it takes a little work to make it look like art.

Donuts – Have you ever made them?
Once. Wally & I bought a fryer specifically for beignets. They were wonderful.

Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day
Make the bed. tho' Walter sometimes does this for me now (yay!) so I also wipe down the sink to keep it shiny. :)

Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze?
nope. it would be handy. it takes skill to close my freezer currently.

Garbage Disposal – Y/N?
Yes. Prefer to compost when it's not raining.

Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource?
Umm, probably Flylady.net and the little "speed cleaning" booklet that came with a Real Simple magazine once.

Ironing – Love it or hate it? Or hate it but love the results?
I just bought an iron (my first non-travel sized) and it makes ironing much more enjoyable. :D but i only iron when sewing.

Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it?
Yeah, top (half) drawer in chest of drawers and middle drawer of the island. I'm ashamed I have more than one. :/

Kitchen – Color and decorating scheme
My walls are green and my backsplash used to be wall paper covered in some plastic type sheet. Soon it will be subway tile and the floor and counter will be replaced. Wally's building a counter top this week! :)

Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?
Making my home smell good. I love sitting down in a clean room with warm candles and being able to relax. Relaxing just doesn't happen if I'm staring at a mess. The candles are just bonus. But seriously, I seem to be on a mission to figure out the best way to make a home with two 80 lbs dogs smell like a home w/o. As long as they haven't just run in the rain I'm usually pretty good.

Mop – Y/N?
Twice a week. (i live at the end of a dirt road with two dogs who dig, roll, and run back inside before we can clean them off) Walt is so sweet and he vacuums and I follow behind with the mop. We could do it daily but we ignore it 5 of 7 days. :)

Nylons – Wash by hand or in the washing machine?
Are you supposed to hand wash them? I hand wash practically nothing.

Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check?
Door. My door doesn't have a window. Very sad.

Pizza – What do you put on yours?
Mmmm, if it were for me I'd stick basil, chicken, tomatoes, spinach, feta, olive oil oh i don't even know. There are so many great options. If Walter were here half would be sausage. He'd do anything for a sausage pizza. :)

Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Light a candle and drink some tea on the couch.

Recipe card box – Y/N? What does it look like?
I do. The box is ugly rubbermade but the cards themselves are beautiful.

Style of house – What style is your house?
Small ranch style house with a huge deck in the front and a brick patio in the back. It was your typical 1980's closed off and dark home when we moved in but now it is bright and open. We've added a sunroom, window, light bamboo floors. It's not even the same place!

Tablecloths and napkins – Y/N?
For holidays. Lately I've been tempted to buy some fun fabric and make a tablecloth so we may be using one more often soon.

Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland?
Organized, as of last week.

Vacuum – How many times per week?
Twice. But sweeping gets done every day.. except Tuesday.

Wash – How many loads of laundry do you do per week?
Never enough.

X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
I have a list of things I'm supposed to do every day but I never cross them off. I usually do them tho'.

Yard – Y/N? Who does what?
Yep! We have 3 acres of land. I water the flowers and bushes and yell at the dogs when they try to dig them up (the bushes, we don't plant flowers in the back yard anymore). Walter mows and helps me with the heavy labor of gardening. I'm learning to garden... not very accomplished at it yet.

Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
Put the dogs in their beds, give them a treat for going w/o making me shove their 80lbs into their crates, lock the doors, turn out the lights, unplug the Christmas tree & hop into bed!

Sense of Smell

You know those silly surveys you get thru email? Well I had a realization last night:

I love the smell of the laundry vent from outside.

You know when someone is washing clothes and you walk out and can smell the dryer sheets and soap in the warm air escaping out the back? This is one of my favorite smells. I never remember this smell when I'm asked in surveys. It's one that I typically only remember in the moment. That moment was last night as I walked out of Dorothy's home. I had to stop and just breath it in.

They say that the sense of smell is attached most strongly to memory. I'm not sure if there's a specific memory attached to this one but there definitely is something psychological going on here. I can walk outside body tense and mind stressed and immediately it slips away. It's almost an involuntary action that I seem to relax my shoulders and smile. Last night I almost raised my arms to help me breath in more deeply. I don't think I can explain just how much I love (and how surprised I am-each time- by) this smell. But I just wanted to put that out there.

What are some of your favorite smells and do you have a memory attached? Tell me about them. (please) :)

FALL!

i don't have much time to say hi to y'all like i should. today is now grocery day (i set up a weekly schedule courtesy of fly lady) and i need to get a move on. but here are two quick and happy thoughts:

1. My dogs are home!! they've been boarding at the vet for 3 weeks now (oh my!) to get treated for heartworms. it's so nice to have them home. when i first saw them they looked odd to me. out of proportion almost. they have such broad shoulders and muscle-y butts. they are beasts! such sweeties tho'.

2. I'm getting supplies for a cute craft. And by supplies i mean construction paper. But really, this is a cute one. I'm excited to put some together this evening and see how they turn out.

& here's where i found it.

oh and 3 (i said two... but who will really complain?): Wally's building an airplane even as we speak. it's a little remote control one. he's pulled out the parts on a ready to fly version and is making his own "flying wing" version. i'll have to take pictures of the process.

OH! (4:) And today is a wonderfully fall-like day. It's rainy outside and cool. I can look out our living room to our deck (for which walter just built a railing yesterday), aunt janet's hanging impatien plant, and the soy bean and rice fields. while walter and i cleaned we watched dead poet's society. i got to sit down with some hot spiced cider and watch the end in peace in a clean cozy room! you can't ask for much more. :)

r.e.a.d.i.n.g.

It's been a long time.

But long posts aren't really my thing. Emily recently mentioned to me that she'd read an article about how the internet is changing our thought processes and attention span and how she found this to be true with her ability to read long books. And I can relate! Not only do I rarely devour books anymore but I tend to read them bits and pieces and many multiples at once (rarely finishing even one). Also (and more to my point here), I don't even have an attention span enough for parts of the internet anymore... when blogs get long my eyes glaze over and I scroll down hoping for pictures to satisfy my hunger for a quick fix. A sad but true fact.

I've always thought that I just wasn't good at reading on the computer. It wasn't as interesting. I'd rather be holding the written word in my hands. This is why I buy newspapers and haven't bought a kindle (tho' that really is more of the cost... it seems like an absolutely wonderful idea for the airport). But recently my inability to read has spilled over from the computer screen and onto real life. It's a sad sad day.

Walter & I went to Birmingham to help Mike renovate his new condo. I brought 3 books and one magazine in preparation for the times when I believed I might be in the way of some truly skilled labor. And although I had time to at least crack them open... nope, didn't crack a single book. I did manage (and this is a feat!) to read some of my magazine. This is the third issue of Biblical Archaeology Review I've received since renewing and it's the first issue I've begun to read. How sad! And that's something I'm really interested in.

So today we're heading up to Ohio. We're going to visit friends and family and meet little Zechariah Emerson Vest. Walter may get some scouting work done (no details as of yet) and I will bring (yet again) my books. We'll see how it goes this time. The 9 hour car ride can't hurt my chances! :)

MFM Find

I've been wanting to post for a few days but couldn't get my computer to link up and find this picture. Last week I bought some purple beans at the farmers market. They're beautiful and, I was told, sweeter than their green counterparts. I'm not so sure about the sweeter business but they are definitely a lot of fun! Here's the stirfry I made with them. Did you know that they turn green when they're done? I'd heard this but doubted I'd want them cooked long enough to turn (I'm not into mushy veggies). It was so fun to watch them change color. It's as if they have a built in timer to show you when it's time to serve. So Fun! I missed the Farmers Market today but will go to an estate/moving sale and maybe swimming with my nieces and nephews instead. Tomorrow Walter & I are grilling amazing shish kabobs (one of our favorite recipes ever) and (hopefully) hosting a pool party. Gotta get summer in while it's still blazing. :)

a short night, or was it long?

in a strange turn of events... i'm up, and in time to head to the farmers market at an only slightly picked over hour. i'd specifically planned not to be.

you see, yesterday walter & i decided to see The Dark Knight on opening night. At our theater the 7,7:30, & 10:15 were all sold out. We ended up buying tickets for the 10:45 showing at about 7pm and then exploring Memphis in between. We ate Cajun (-ish?) food at the Bayou Bar & Grill walked all around the pretty cute neighborhood our favorite theater is in, explored the city by car, took another walk and then enjoyed the in theater coffee shop before hopping in the (now long) line forming outside. the movie started 20 minutes late (as usual) thanks to the advent of car and tv commercials set within the listed showing time (does this annoy anyone else?) and we got out at 1:30.

i don't really want to say anything much about the movie but i am interested to hear what other people think. maybe it was the late hour , maybe it was just that good, but it was darker than i had hoped it would be (i know, what was i thinking? the Dark knight). when we got home i decided to watch the final episode of Dr. Horrible to lighten the mood a bit. By the time we finally reached our bed it was almost 3 o'clock (it has been a long time since college and a very long time since such late nights).

on that note, i decided not to go to the weekly farmers market (a sad decision) and to sleep in instead. unfortunately the dogs slept while we were in the theater. instead of asking for breakfast or to go outside they simply decided to try to serve themselves. their stealth needs a little work and here i am. alas. at least there's room in the day for a nap. i'm pretty sure i'll be needing it.

so now it's time for a quick shower and off i go. plus, my fabric came in on thursday and i can finally begin my roman shades for the living room! i can't wait to see how it looks.

Here's to fun fabric and privacy! I'll have to show you them when they're done.

my thought

We went to see The Great Debators the other night. Let me rephrase that. It sounds too easy. We drove 35 miles, changed our route three times and drove fairly quickly in order to avoid 3 different trains, accidentally ended up on a different highway than we'd planned, and STILL made it on time to the only movie theater within 25 miles (acc. to movies.com) still showing the film. And I think it was worth it. It's an incredible film. If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, seek it out.

Here's my thought, if there's only one reason for us living in the South it may just be this: to become racially aware, to learn what Christ would have us do with it in our broken world, and then to act.

All of our interactions with friends, family and southern culture push us towards dissatisfaction with racial relations as they are. Places like our church are helping us to think through these issues more constructively, helping me realize that this isn't simply a southern thing, racism didn't disappear when laws finally made it illegal and the playing field wasn't magically made level. This breaks Christ's heart and it ought to break ours as well.

These thoughts are still swirling around within me. Nothing conclusive or doctrinal yet. ;) Tho' I suppose that may not be what's needed.

friday(s) adventures

Friday (11/19/07):
-10:00 AM, went to Chris & Dorothy's to help with the kids where they proceeded to do most everything known to get babies born as fast as possible
-12:30 PM, Chris & Dorothy return from walk (and Starbucks) to get hospital bag and head on over. I drop off kids at Mandie's by 1:00 and begin my search for a yarn store I'd found online
-1:45 PM, finally find the store buy the nicest and most expensive yarn i've ever seen in my life, begin my trek home
-2:30 PM, while talking on the phone with my mom I notice a loud rumbling noise behind me. I check my mirrors thinking it might be a rude truck driver trying to intimidate me but can't find a likely suspect. I quickly get off the phone and pull off to the nearest gas station just in case. the noise changes depending on my speed... not good.

Completely shredded! I called Walter, he came over with a new tire, I turned down multiple offers for help (for which I am so glad! If I'd been just a little bit farther from home they would have been my only sanity), called my mom back and assured her of my safety (after she heard me turn down one of my good Samaritans), learned how to change a tire. :)
-11:59 PM, Tobias Graham Wilson was born (6 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches long). He was followed quickly (tho' not enough to get the same birthday) by Tyler Pierce Wilson at 12:28 AM Saturday (6 lbs 2 oz, 20 inches long). They are beautiful boys and Dorothy is happy to no longer be pregnant! :) She hardly even minds the sleepless nights in comparison.

We were able to visit on Sunday before they headed home from the hospital:






























(Top R: Grandma Wilson, Uncle Josh holding Tobias and Aunt Julia holding Tyler, Top L: Tobias, Bottom R: Tobias (again), Bottom L: Uncle Walter holding Tyler)

This last friday I got to see my old roommate and her now husband! Yay! Melissa and Dave are back in the States (which is great for me bc I get to see her... at least every once in awhile). We ate, laughed, talked, and took even took a commemorative picture :) on dave's camera. It's good to have a change to catch up and tie up loose ends with friends. I'm so glad they could come! (so is walter... but that's not the point)

This coming friday we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving on the Stokes side. Never a dull moment. :) Anyway, it's off to a scrabble date with my husband...

The Month (?) In Pictures

Here's some of what you missed during our internet hiatus:

we got dogs,
(atlas is grey and white and phoebe is the one not facing the camera)










we went to Ohio for Grandpa's 80th birthday and babies galore (it's a double baby shower for Chabree and Ashlee!)











(First is Erica's Baby Dawn with Mystery, Second is Seth with my momma: Mara, and third is Aliya with her mom Courtney. In the background is Dorothy and a glimpse of grandpa)


(and here are the two mother's to be: Chabree, with Aunt Kim in the background, and Ashlee, with helper Logan and hostess Deborah in the background)



also we got to see friends and family and explore the great american corn maize (of which it was too dark to take pictures) Yay for Ohio!


The next weekend we visited Mike (and Kelsey!) in Alabama (congrats to Mike for his acceptance into the doctorate program and job in cancer research!)












(where we saw the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D!!, explored a beautiful botanical garden, got a drive by tour of Birmingham on our way to the Vulcan, listened to Kelsey master a southern accent for her next performance and enjoyed the beginnings of fall in the south).





(we've spent the last two weekends home in Arkansas planting flowers, the mums are courtesy of deborah, pulling up and replanting all of our bushes and hostas to prepare for the deck, birthday parties for saja, in the first bday party pic saja and kora are blowing out her candles with Dot beside, the next is the serving of the cake with boo, chris, dot, saja, kora, and mimi in the picture, david had fun with the balloons, kora is a goof and loves the camera, and our puppies are the cutest things in the world.)

There ya go, the month in pictures. With as much work as that was, I think I'll try to stay more up to date on here for awhile. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of two beautiful nephews before the week is out!

sweeping update

So fall finally has arrived... and it took it's precious time. But oak trees are finally turning and there are beautiful yellows (and even some reds!) all around! We're planting bulbs and going tree shopping (we just planted a maple today and I'm hoping to procure a redbud and buy an ash in the very near future). Walter and I planted probably a hundred bulbs this afternoon. This made my hands rough and feel sticky when I try to knit. The hope of truly cold weather has rekindled my love for knitting and crocheting... so I'm honing my knitting skills this season. I'm so very excited! :)!

Just yesterday or the day before I thought to myself that I really needed to update this blog (you poor people who just have no idea what's going on in my life! hehe). But I nothing would come. It's not that words wouldn't come for what was going on in my life but I couldn't find anything to put words to. And now, even tho' I don't have adequate words life seems fuller and less dry. So I'll write. Thanks for checking back here after such a long silence.

Anyway, it's been warm... 80's even! But two weekends ago the temp shot down into the 50's (which felt almost like winter with it being so abrupt). Immediately I set about to celebrate fall. We rented Dead Poet's, I made spiced cider (alas, I'm the only one who drinks it) and apple crisp (let me tell you, Martha Stewart has nothing on my mom. I used Martha's recipe when I couldn't find my mom's... and my mom's is better. alas, live and learn). We actually watched Meet the Robinsons but DPS came the next night and it still felt like fall so that was alright. :) Of course the weather didn't last and instead I opened up the windows in the evenings to let cool air in and I picked up my knitting in hopes of cooler days. I'm learning all about different stitches and yarns and about understanding patterns... also about re-rolling yarn after my dogs get a hold of it...

Walter finished the fence. It's beautiful. We got dogs! Big wonderful dogs (as Walter called them) :). Alas, they're diggers. Now we need to go around the entire fence and reinforce the ground level so that they don't continuously romp in the sunflowers or play with the neighbor's dogs (both super cute but not the most convenient for calling them home or good neighbor relations). The cats don't love the dogs yet but they're beginning to feel free to walk within eye sight of them and that is a very good step. Walter's on to his next home project: building a deck and pergola top. It is going to be spectacular! Right now we just have a lot of mud and twine set up for the perfect prank... Walter's sick and hasn't been able to work on it for almost a week. Hopefully he'll be better soon... back to classes, his deck building, and ready to be an uncle again. The thought is that Dorothy will have her twins this week! Tomorrow, even (maybe, hopefully)! We can't wait to meet our little nephews (just imagine how dorothy must feel)!

Anyway, it's time to put this entry aside and whip up some chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese, and hot chocolate for my ailing husband. :) Hot chocolate may not be the best sick-remedy but I found some instant Mexican style hot chocolate at Walmart the other day and I can't stop drinking it. Amazing! Finally hot chocolate from a bag that i like. I just can't resist.

third time's the charm

today has been a good day to spend with my nieces and nephew (and their mom and her mom too). i woke up incredibly tired after a late night watching The Lives of Others. Good movie! Recommended by Emily months and months ago (as a side note- I'm jealous that foreign films come to Vancouver before they're anywhere I've seen in the U.S.). Blockbuster finally decided to buy a couple of copies for me to rent. I snatched it right up!

So after a late start I headed to "Mimi" & "Poppi's". Where we ate lunch, played with acorns and balls, and climbed on most everything in sight. When everyone crashed into beds for naps I made my way home to crash in bed with my kittens and look up puppies on petfinder.com. I found quite a few and even filled out an application to foster two adorable little puppies. We're putting up a fence to make that dream more possible.

Soon I will be helping Dorothy out on a regular basis: on Tuesdays, (maybe) Wednesdays, and Fridays. Soon I will have nephewS and nieces and that will be exciting.

Other things we're looking into right now is starting construction on our deck and sunroom and taking Krav Maga (probably here). Krav Maga is the Israeli invented martial arts form that's supposed to be both doable by the vast majority of people and also ridiculously effective. And it's being taught right here in Memphis! Very cool.

Anyway, Walter and I came back to his parents' house and played with the kids and grilled up some hamburgers and now I'm off out see if we're going to take a field trip to our house to see the kitties. Their mom comes back at 9:00 to take them home so I think we better get a move on it.

dodge the bullet

My last full day in Chicago included:

• painting the trim and closet doors of my mom's room (the finishing touch to her brand new room)
• holding, rocking, and sponge bathing Ian (Karla is a beautiful mother. Ian is a beautiful baby.)
• mopping Karla's kitchen after Buster's 5th (I believe) "accident" of the day (I am NOT convinced that the last one was an accident)
• taking Buster for a walk in a very cute little Wheaton neighborhood
• eating too much at El Famous Burrito (aww yah for horchata!)
• laying with my stomach on the floor until I didn't feel like I would explode anymore
• talking with Walter on the phone :)
  
• a rousing 5 rounds of Pass the Pigs (all of which I lost, miserably)
• gathering all of my items from around the house into one ridiculous pile
• promising myself I'll be able to get up in time to pack my suitcase then... tomorrow I'm heading home to Memphis.

thanks to walter

wally was absolutely wonderful to me and took time with mike to take pictures of our house to show my mom (i ran out of time while packing up for the flight). here's what he sent me:


here's the view from our living room into our kitchen and dining rooms. notice the brand new dryer through the open door. it came while i've been in chicago and i can't wait to get a chance to try it out! the other door leads to a small porch, our back yard, and a field of (once) sunflowers (their season is officially over in AR). the small porch is attached to a decently sized storage room that we're going to open our house into, put in grand windows and make a sun room/breakfast nook. hooray for beautiful views and sunny skies! Oh, and there are many plans on how to fix up our kitchen. The only constant one is to remove that wallpaper (and fast).


Here's the view from our dining room into the living room (complete with Sputnik).



Here is our office, so far. I spent a good part of the day clearing out boxes and organizing books so that this room could finally be walkable. We're planning to do some renovating so it's hard to know always how much to unpack and how much to leave for a short ways (we hope) down the road. it's a balancing act. our desk, on the other hand, is super cool. ;) that's something i do hope to fix before too long.

Here's Walter's work out room. He's been super dedicated lately! You really can tell. He's losing weight and gaining muscle and looking super hot. i don't mind one bit. :)

Here's our bedroom (again, with Sputnik... but no Calvin, wonder where he's hiding). We're still working on getting our bed completely put together. A few pieces of hardware got lost in the move and we haven't replaced them yet. I love laying on the bed and looking out in to the hall where the walls are a beautiful green. The yellow of the bedroom walls and the green of the hallway seem peaceful and restful to me. They make me happy. We also have half bath attached to our bedroom.


This is the full bath down the hall. It's a work in progress as well. I found some fabric I'd like to make a shower curtain out of today. I'm pretty excited about it!


This, my friends, is a testimony to my geekiness. I needed a place to store my pictures until I found permanent wall space for them. I shoved them in this basket and then shoved it into the bathroom. I glanced at it later and realized that it was a "basket of flowers" and decided it must be meant to be. Walter (or Mike) rearranged this so more of the flowers are visible. I'm very happy with our house. It's by no means decorated yet but it is visibly lived in and becoming wonderfully cozy. I love seeing things begin to take shape and I'm ecstatic that it's stayed as clean as it has. I'm building in good habits. It's definitely an up hill battle. Not having a car or job to take me away from my house has been a big help, however. It's a good time to in grain some habits. :)

Hope you enjoyed the tour. I'm off to bed so that tomorrow I can finish painting my mom's room, spend lotsa time with Karla, finish making our flower (my rose, her cana) craft together, buy some quick essentials I haven't found in Memphis yet, and repack to head home the day after. Tomorrow will definitely come quickly (and speed by, I'm sure)!