Friday, October 2, 2009

Schmap

So I have 2 photos included in the LA Schmap (had never heard of it before, but I'll be sure to use it in the future) - one for Laugh Factory and Grauman's Chinese Theater. So that's why the widget over there >>. I was contacted through flickr, and I said sure, I also have another picture that might be used for the San Diego Schmap. So we'll see!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Isn't he the best?

He really is, he's the best. :)
I love my husband, he's so sweet. I had emailed him that I was doing the 365 days self portrait project, and he asked me what my new profile is so he could check it out. Usually he's not allowed to go to outside websites on the work computers so I hadn't sent him a link to it or anything figuring I'd show him when he gets home. So tonight he checked it out and told me how creative I am and how good they are, etc. See when I look at other people's pictures I don't feel at all creative. I feel kind of cheesy sometimes. And I know I can not compare myself to others but there are some really amazing pictures out there. So it really made me feel good that he said that.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that many of the people doing projects like this on flickr have Photoshop and do a lot of post processing to add textures and do all kinds of fun stuff to their pictures. I don't have Photoshop, so I can just do the basic B&W, Sepia, antique settings.

One of the other things Jeff asked before he looked at the photos - "You're not doing any risque photos are you?" Hahaha, because he read my last blog post today too where I had said that. I'm definitely keeping it safe. (at least until he gets home and can approve them hehe)

Monday, September 14, 2009

baby steps

I worked out today (yay me) and will continue working 5 days a week (see I have to be positive that I *will* do it, and not just say I *plan* to). It felt good, made me tired in a good way. And then since the sun was shining(!) I walked to meet my friends for lunch, and since the sun was still shining after dinner the kids & I took Roxy on a walk. Fun times! It was a productive day :).

I have been thinking about maybe joining a 365 photo group on flickr. But then I question whether I'd take any good shots. I still use the auto setting on my camera. I try and try to read the manual and many online "schools", but I don't learn by reading. I need someone to show me what is what. I'm trying to figure it out just by doing, but even if a picture turns out good, I don't know what I did to make it that way.
Anyway, since my flickr is all of our family pictures and stuff that our families look at I don't really want to put the 365 photos on there. So I made a new profile specifically for that (not that I plan to take any "risque" pictures, but in case I do I wouldn't want my Grandma to see ;)).

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Back home

We've been home for a few days now from our Super Vacation in California. The kids are happy to be back to school and settling in nicely. And I'm in the process of unpacking (and we all know how fun that can be, right?).

So today the kids wanted to play Wii and I decided before I let them play I wanted to check my weight on the Wii Fit...not such a good idea. When I came back home for a week in August to visit Jeff before he had to get underway I checked it and had lost almost 2 lbs. since June (not so good in 2 months, but we were on vacation!) Fast forward to today - about a month later - and I have gained 5.5 lbs! Shocking! I guess all that Starbucks wasn't so good to me (but it felt so good going down...).

So now I've got to get back to working out, and besides just using the elliptical and Wii Fit, I've got to take Roxy on more walks (rain or shine) because the vet said she needs to lose 4-5 lbs. My mom is doing Weight Watchers and is doing well with her weekly weight loss (and that's without working out) so I was contemplating signing up for that but we'll see. I'm just going to try to keep better track of my portions and not eat so much junk, and if that doesn't work then maybe I'll sign up for WW.

I'll try to keep this blog updated on my progress, but really I'm not very good at blog updates...

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

3 weeks and counting

We have 3 weeks until we leave to go home back to Alaska. We're seriously enjoying the families, the sun, and having some great times, but it will be nice to get back to our own house, our own routines, and definitely our own beds.

Some pictures (click to make them bigger):
1. 2.more cousins 3. 4.The Berlin Wall 5.Warner Bros. Studios VIP Tour 6.She's a shopaholic 7. 1.Brett boogie boarding 2.Disneyland with cousins from Missouri 3.Downtown Riverside with my Dad 4.piece of the Berlin Wall at the Reagan Library 5. Central Perk (from Friends, do I really need tosay that?) at the WB studios tour 6. Girls Day Out at the American Girl Place 7.Brett at Santa Cruz Island with Grandpa for Boys Day Out



We went bowling, roller skating, to the Santa Barbara Zoo, a kids museum. The kids had a karaoke night, "So You Think You Can Dance" night, water wars (squirt guns and water balloons), backwards dinner night (dessert first, not breakfast for dinner). We've visited with friends and family we haven't seen in a while, taken family photos (hopefully I'll post them soon).

So we've had fun and there's still more fun to be had. But I do have to start getting these kids to bed earlier and waking them up earlier, or we're all gonna be in for a rude awakenning when we get home.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Hello from California!

We're enjoying the sun, the warmth & the civilization in California. We've been here almlost a week and we've had tons of fun so far with much more to come. I've taken some pictures with my camera, but all the Disneyland pictures were taken with the kids' cameras. And I haven't found the cords for them yet, so that's sad I can't share those pictures yet.


something I can't do in Alaska - stand in the surf
my feet in the surf... like heaven

Hope you had a nice Independence Day!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

so exhausted

I had planned on blogging about my new little workout regimen that I started today, but it's been a long afternoon/evening.

The day started out great - relaxing in the sun with friends and the dogs (I'm dogsitting 2 dogs - Maddy & Jake), a walk down to get lunch with said friends. Then the clouds started rolling in & the wind picked up, so we all went our seperate ways.

I went to the grocery store and when I came home and brought the bags in, Jake jumped the fence & took off running. How he did it I do not know, he's a corgi with little legs and the tip of his nose barely reaches the top of the fence when he's standing on his hind legs. But he did, and he did not want to come back to me. So I chased him down, finally caught him after 5 minutes of running (and I am so not a runner).

At about 8:45 I said "Come on, guys, we're taking the dogs out." Because the dogs are crazy & I either have to walk them 1 at a time or with the kids help. Ashley's friend wanted to walk Maddy (she's a husky, she does not jog, she runs!), and after telling the girls to stay near me so if the dogs pulled too much I could help them, her friend said "I have to go where the dog tells me to". And I told her that that is not right, she has to be in control of the dog, but still she ran with Maddy - even I can not do that because she will pull you down - so she let go of the leash & away Maddy runs. ETA: I would like to add that Ashley did a good job of holding onto Jake's leash (because he can pull!) while I went running down the street chasing Maddy, and she got him safely home.

*sigh* Needless to say my legs hurt, my lungs hurt & my throat hurts, all from running after & calling the dogs. Seriously I am NOT a runner. Maddy is fast asleep on the porch, and Jake & Roxy are playing (Jake does not believe in sleep I think, he only does it because the other dogs do it), and I just want to go lay down & pass out with some Tylenol PM.

Maybe I'll tell you about my workout tomorrow...

Monday, May 11, 2009

Spring Cleaning?

I have been wanting to really get my house more organized and cleaned (clutter free. we really do have so much clutter). I had hoped to do it last week since we had a garage sale on Sat., but besides getting some old and too small clothes cleaned out I didn't get much done. I made $30 at the garage sale so I call it a success (there was only a couple things I really cared about selling, the rest I was just going to donate to the Salvation Army).

Today Jeff and I got the garage all cleaned & rearranged (that happens twice a year - each time we have to change to/from snow tires on the truck LOL), so that feels nice. And then we cleaned & washed the truck so it sparkles :). Tomorrow we're probably doing the car (have to take advantage of the sunshine-y weather).

A lot of the cleaning I need to do is a few boxes of junk in the mud room/entry (and 1 or 2 from the garage), as well as several boxes in the storage unit. I think once I get that stuff cleaned out I'll be better prepared to organize the rooms. As much as I love moving and living someplace new, it's hard because you have stuff that fits in one house but then not the next, so I don't want to get rid of things because it might work again.

Question: What do you do with your kids artwork from school? the random art, not the Christmas gift stuff...
We have so much! And I know my mom kept my stuff, but when she moved she gave a lot of it to me and I threw it away, so then what was the point? Do I keep it or do I toss it?

Monday, May 4, 2009

whoops

I've been busy making baby stuffs lately - there's so many babies due this summer! I got one gift all done and then Ashley & I delivered it this afternoon (I wanted to get her stuff done first since they're moving this month) and a couple hours later I realized that in my rush to give it to her I hadn't taken any pictures of the stuff! Dangit! Anyway, it was a super soft wool (but machine washable!) hat, washcloth & bib. Maybe she'll take pictures of it & post them on her flickr (I can hope lol).

Anyway, there's more baby stuff I'm working on, but won't post it until it's been gifted (and hopefully remember to take pictures)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Hot legs

I finished the legwarmers, and wore them last Friday with a skirt. I will admit that I felt rather silly, a little overdressed for this town, but had to tell myself that it didn't matter because I felt cute (whether I looked cute or not is a matter of opinion).

The only problem with them is that when I walk they fall down. And I don't know that could be the fault of my calves and not the legwarmers. So maybe they are better for wearing to a hangout party or backyard bbq and not a day walking around.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I'm still here

The sun has been shining, the snow is melting, and mosquitoes are out, so summer is on it's way. I had to put up the black-out curtains in our rooms so we can all sleep at night (it's "daylight bright" until after 9pm now). Only thing now is that they're not already awake when Jeff gets them up at 6:30.

It may only be upper 40s-50s right now, but the weather is nice! I bought some new capri pants & a skirt a couple weeks ago, because I have decided that I need to get out of the jeans and sweatshirts rut. It's so easy here to just put on jeans and a sweatshirt and call it good, because really where are you going? You don't want to wear nicer shoes because you don't want them to get wet or dirty/muddy, or your feet to be cold. But I know that once I get back to the real world it might be hard to break the habit of dressing like a schlub, so I am going to stop with the jeans & tees everyday. I am almost finished knitting some legwarmers, so I can still keep my calves warm when I wear a skirt (at least until it gets warmer) and look cute at the same time. It's a win-win.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

so adorable!

This video is from A Place To Bark's youtube channel, it's some puggle puppies that were rescued from a puppymill. And of course I have to show you because my puppy is a puggle and they are just the darned cutest things.


Anyway, A Place to Bark is having their annual fundraiser, and I really recommend that you read their latest blog post. Obviously everyone knows we are all having a hard time with the economy the way it is, but it's so heartbreaking to read about the hard time they are having because they rely on donations. So if you have anything that you are able to donate, I encourage you to help these rescued animals as much as you can (as little as that may be). Even if it's just $3. They also need items donated, so if you have anything to donate - towels, blankets, collars, leashes, etc.

Please check out their blog & website (you can even follow them on Twitter!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Happy Day

Today is a beautiful day! The sun is shining, there are few clouds in the sky, it doesn't matter that it's 35 degrees. And ask me if I care about the temp.? I do not. I opened my sunroof, blasted the radio (CD player actually, but really it's just a technicality). I was running some errands and then all of a sudden...I see the Open signs, turn the truck around and pull into Baja Taco. 34. my favorite restaurant (this was from the photo scavenger hunt last year)
The sign said they were open daily 10-2 (it'll change in May at least), did I care that it was 5 minutes to 2? Nope. I was getting a milkshake! Hot damn! That was like the cherry on top let me tell you, the day can't get any better.

When you've lived someplace like California most of your life, you don't know how much you'll miss the sun when it's gone and how happy it will make you when you do get some sunshine. It really makes me happy. Love it!
I tried to get a picture of my milkshake, but Roxy really wanted it, she wouldn't get out of the way.


Clearly she loves milkshakes too.

Monday, March 23, 2009

I can't wait for summer!

These first 4 pictures were taken in March 2008.








What a difference a year makes... this is today





Friday, March 6, 2009

Shop 'til she drops

We have been doing a lot of shopping while in Anchorage, and some of that includes stocking up. So we were at Costco and we got 2 big bags of dog food as well as 3 things of canned dog food and a new bed for Roxy. So the checkout people asked how many dogs we had... we said 1 they laughed, but then we explained where we live (and they seemed to understand that we needed to stock up). Then as we were getting everything into the trunk, we took Roxy out of the car and a couple of guys walking past said it looked like we were trying to grow a bigger dog... What do you think - does it look like we're trying to grow a bigger dog?



She's a year old now (her birthday was on Tuesday), so she's not getting any bigger. But I don't think the bed is too big for her. And maybe she'll share with her little dog friends (there's room for all of the ankle biters - Dublin, Bailey & Bullet) ;)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Chairman of the Board

In the back of housing is the best hills and the kids love to go sledding back there. One of the kids' friends has a snowboard and let Ashley ride it. It's a special board I guess for kids, you don't need special boots, it has straps that you just put your feet into. So here she is having fun (she looks so grown up...so scary LOL).



Thank you, Kelli, for taking the pictures!!

Top Chef



Originally uploaded by knittymel
Tonight was the Blue & Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts, and Brett's den's theme was New Orleans, so he said we had to make jambalaya. He loves, loves loves, jambalaya. I told him he had to help, so he cut up the sausage & the chicken, and followed the directions and made it himself.


Edited to add: Here's their decorations


they were going to play "Jambalaya" by Hank Williams, but they hadn't practiced and there weren't enough words to go around, so after getting ready they did nothing...Oh well.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Designing women

I love to knit (and I think pretty much anyone that knows me knows this). I have made patterns up in my head - or sometimes not even in my head, just on the needles as I go, but I wouldn't say I designed anything. I made Ashley some wrist warmers for part of her Halloween costume (she was an 80s pop star - I said pop star, she said 80s, she's so awesome:)), and just made the pattern up. I didn't look for a pattern and really they were only ribbed, nothing special or difficult, but I did write it down with intents to blog the pattern... And here we are 3-4 months later and I still haven't. I've never written a design or anything, so I worry that it's not right or someone will find flaws with it.

I'm sure I'll get the courage to post it at some point...

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The British are coming!

Brett's class did a play about the Boston Tea Party - they're studying the revolution right now. So Brett was a British soldier in the play. He was so cute! We put the costume together with stuff from home, we didn't make anything special. So he wore the top from his Musketeer costume from 2 years ago...yeah it was tight. But he put my red shirt on top since he needed to wear a "redcoat", and he insisted that one of his red sweatshirts would not do. He taped a construction paper buckle to his slippers, and wore Jeff's socks so they'd be knee high. One of his friends asked if I made his hat because it was the most hilarious hat he'd ever seen, and although it has gotten kind of smashed it's the hat from his Jack Sparrow costume I don't see why it's the most hilarious hat...


so cute!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I was knitting up a storm for Christmas gifts, and once I finished the last one (which was actually last week or so) I just don't know what I want to work on next. I see so many patterns and pictures of things that I'd love to make, but just can't get started.
So here's a few of the things I made for Christmas gifts...
Gloria's socks (my mother-in-law)

Mike's USC hat (brother-in-law)

Kari's mini-sweater aka:shrug (sister-in-law)
Kari's sweaterTodd's pumpkin washcloths (my brother - and yes his kitchen is pumpkins, or rather jack-o-lanterns)

my mom's blanket
mom's blanket
Ruth's socks (my step mom)
Ruth's socks

I have also made several hats for my dad to send to injured soldiers, but I'll take photos of those later. My dad doesn't want gifts for himself, all he asks for is that we do things to help other people and so he sends me yarn to make hats for injured soldiers. I have also made wool hats & a helmet liner for soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan and squares for Warm Up America (and Ashley also made a square).

So now that I've finished all of this, I am at a loss as to what I should do next...

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Far & Away

One thing that sucks about living in such a small town - you have to wait for specialist doctors to visit or go to Anchorage. Orthodontist, veterinarian, etc.

The kids had dentist appts. last week & he said that they need to see the orthodontist. So we said it was okay for him to give the ortho our phone number and give us a call. A few days later we get a call and the girl on the phone (receptionist I'm assuming) tells us when he's coming to town and it just happens to be the weekend we were planning on going to Anchorage (we need to get Roxy fixed before she goes into heat again). What can I do? I don't know how often he visits, and although I've said I wasn't going to worry about ortho until we left here I do know that my kids teeth need help. So I scheduled the appointment and we'll just take the kids out of school for a few days and go to Anchorage during the week.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

how bad is it really?

So today I am 30...

I don't think it'll be a huge deal for me, but everyone else makes a big deal of it so I worry a bit about what it means to be 30. Will it be better than my 20s? And let's be real, I had kids at 19 & 21 so I didn't have time to party all the time.

The things I have been thinking about a lot are taking better care of myself - take my vitamins, get enough calcium, eat healthier, workout more (it's only going to get harder to lose this weight now). Should I use eye cream so I don't get as many wrinkles? What do I need to be doing for myself?

Really, what is so different about 30?

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Photo Sharing

My kids each got a digital camera for Christmas, and they are having a great time taking pictures. I would like to have a place for them to share their pictures with family. I have a flickr, but don't want to pay for theirs (and I don't even know if you can have 2 accounts). So my question is what other photo sharing sites are there? Any recommendations of one over another?

Monday, January 5, 2009

all sorts of new things

This vacation was full of stuff we'd never done before. We had a nice holiday and visit with my mom, it was nice to get away from the cold for a while, but good to get back to our own beds and routines. So here's the rundown of our vacation.

We slept on the floor in SeaTac airport

We slept on cots in Chicago O'Hare airport

We flew first class - we got on the flight on stand-by since our flights kept
getting cancelled

Our luggage didn't make it on the flight, it was delivered at 3:30am Dec. 26 (even though we hadn't showered in 3 days as soon as my mom picked us up we had to make a shopping trip to Target for necessities & gifts for the kids)

We went to Pinehurst to see their huge Gingerbread village

We went to the North Carolina Zoo

There are stables at the community where my mom lives and kids were able to get horseback riding lessons and it wasn't just the riding, they had to take care of the horse & tack before and after riding)

Ashley got her ears pierced (I don't have a memory of getting mine done, so I tried to prepare her as much as I could & she did so awesome, she did not cry or anything)

The flight from Raleigh to Chicago was not bad until the pilot said that we were going to be a little later coming in than scheduled because they had to slow down due to maintenance issues (say WHAT?)

We got to Anchorage fine and while waiting for the shuttle from to the hotel it felt like I was going to have icicles hanging out of my nose, because it was -13 degrees! Honestly it was not as cold as I figured below zero temps would be, but not something I care to experience on a regular basis.

We did lots of other regular stuff - tons of shopping & eating!(I had so much Starbucks while we were there, had to get my fill), watching movies, just enjoying the sun & warmth.