Missing Enough to Feel Alright

Love in a Lunch Bucket

2011-09-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have picky kids. No really, I know it seems shocking, but my kids don't want to eat anything "different". I know I'm probably the only one out there with this problem, but just in case I'm not, I thought I would share some of my ideas for fun lunches that have kept my kids happy this first week of school. Please allow me to present to you, "Love in a Lunch Bucket".

Step one: go to the bread outlet store and buy 4 loaves of bread for $5. I love the bread outlet store.

Step two: use your favourite cookie cutter to cut out the bread for mini sandwiches.

Don't waste those crusts, they are perfect for bread crumbs. The yield of one loaf:

Put your sandwiches together. My kids like plain jam but you could cut up deli meats or cheeses in the same way and put that in the sandwich, or cream cheese and ham. I have images of some sort of mashed banana and peanut butter concoction, but I haven't tried it out yet. Place assembled sandwiches on a tray lined with freezer paper (you could use parchement paper, but freezer paper is so cheap, and you get to make custom stencils with it, so why not) and flash freeze.

After a few hours put them into a plastic storage bag, now when you are making lunch just grab a few out and you're good to go! I have a section of my freezer dedicated to grab-and-go items to build the boys' lunches; sandwiches, home made cookies, quesadillas, pizza buns, etc.

Another idea I love is the use of a Japanese egg mold for different treats. We had some pre-made Fruity Pebbles treats that my husband had bought for a road trip, and the boys didn't show any interest in them. I heated one in the microwave for 10 seconds, popped it into these molds, and sent them along for lunch. I've since made Cocoa Krispies treats this way, and next I plan to see if it works with granola bars. I wouldn't think the intricate molds, such as the ones with faces, would work as well for this purpose, but the shaped ones work great.

So, what are some of your best ideas for school lunches?

Let's give this another go, shall we?

2011-09-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

Well after ... I don't quite know, I'm afraid to look at the last time I posted, I am going to give this blogging thing a go. My kids are back in school and I suddenly find myself with all this free time, so I think I should find something to do with it other than cleaning or cooking, don't you?

First of all I need to admit that I have become one hundred and twenty percent hooked on Pinterest. If you have not, make sure you have a few extra hours a day before you sign up. If you are signed up, feel free to add me!.

One of the things I have actually made, instead of just pinning, from that site is the spiral bead ring. I am very proud of mine, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately I don't have a great photo, but here is what I do have.

Then I gave it to a dirty gnome for good luck. At least, he TOLD me it would be good luck!

Another great discovery from Pinterest are these stuffed taco shells, definitely one of my new go-to recipes for dinner.

If all else fails, browsing Pinterest makes you FEEL more crafty.

(image from here)

Tour de Fleece

2010-07-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

What? It has only been 9 months since my last post. Perhaps I was gestating a baby.

Okay, I wasn't. I was just lazy.

My latest obsession has been spinning yarn on a drop spindle for the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry. Since I'm lazy I'll just post the pictures.

And still on the spindle:

Book Binding

2009-11-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have a fun new little hobby, book binding! I have a Twilight-obsessed friend and we are going to see New Moon tonight so I made her a blank notebook using a copy of the New Moon cover. It was fairly amatuer (there was glue on the pages!) but it was fun, and I learned a new skill. Then when I was away at a retreat a couple of weeks ago I learned a new way of book binding, with no adhesive, it's more of a Japanese form of book binding. While there I made this:

For a ravelry group I'm on we are having a November challenge - my challenge was 50k words for nanowrimo (which I finished, by the way, go me), others are knitting sweaters, finishing projects, etc. As a prize incentive I am throwing in some books, I've made three so far, I hope people like them!

What do you think, too amateur?

The spoils

2009-11-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

I finally got my camera battery charged and got a photo of my final secret pal package - though I ate most of the goodies before I got it charged! Sorry Penny!

I am still in shock over those books. I can't get over it!

I also realized I never posted the photos of what I got from the gift certificate, the second package. I got this beautiful Dream in Colour Smooshy yarn, and then some roving to attempt to spin - yikes good luck to me!

This is going to be another hat for me :)

Sprint to the finish line

2009-11-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

Thirteen thousand words to go. I have found this year to be extremely easy, even though I didn't think I had anything to say. I hope to actually complete this novel, I still haven't finshed last year's though!

Now that I've put this out there, you KNOW I'm going to have a difficult time with this last bit!

Secret pal

2009-11-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

I am in shock as I am typing this. I have not taken photos because I just put windows 7 on my computer and don't have all my software installed, but I just recieved my final gift from my secret pal and I actually got tears in my eyes as I opened it. First off there were some wonderful smelling avon products, including a really nice hand lotion which I NEED, because my hands are always so dry! Then there were some yummy Canadian treats, which I always miss living here in the US. And then there was not one, but two books - the first and second Barbara Walker Treasuries. The books I have been wanting for so long, that I have been hunting through used book stores for, that I was going to use as my incentive for finishing nanowrimo (maybe). I can't even believe it, I am in such shock! I swear she must have had a telescope poking into my room to know me so well.

Thank you PENNY!! This was the most amazing package I've ever recieved and I'm so glad you were my secret pal!

nanowrimo 2009

2009-11-02T12:20:00.001-08:00

I'm working on my 2009 nanowrimo book, but to procrastinate I made this cover instead.

Where's Dexter?

2009-10-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

I love Dexter. You couldn't ask for a better serial killer. Try your hand at this game, I can't find him on level 4!

Time to shop!

2009-10-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my secret pal I have a gift certificate to the Loopy Ewe, and now I need to decide what I just can't live without! I'm thinking of a nice skein of yarn for another reverie beret, I made one last year and I was sensitive to the yarn so I have passed it on.

I finished my Joelle's Favourite Yoke Sweater but haven't worn it yet as we got a sudden cold snap and it's short sleeved! Unfortunately the pictures of it lieing on the bed do it no justice, so instead I will show you my Knotty Gloves, which we are doing for a knit-a-long and I am making from the remains of my yoke sweater. I have another 3 balls after these are done so I'll probably have a matching hat and scarf too!

Glove one is complete:

Balancing act

2009-09-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

As any parent can tell you, life with kids is a balancing act in many ways. I was talking to a friend last night that has a new baby and I was marvelling at the fact that she does so much - knit night once a week, training with us for a 5k (oh yes did I mention that? more later!). After I had my first son I did nothing without him for at least the first nine months. In fact I feel like just now I'm starting to balance out my life again, get out there and do things on my own. It's a valuable skill to have.

Learn from my mistakes

2009-09-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

1. If you are trying to dye some cheap wool you found at the thrift store, make sure you soak it before hand so that it will take up the dye evenly.

2. While dying said wool, do not stir it or agitate it as you will felt it together.

That is all for today!

2009-09-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

So, I've joined the 21st century and upgraded my 6 year old cell phone and got a Blackberry. I knew I didn't neeeeed one, and I resisted getting one, but now I can't stop playing with it - yes I'm blogging from it right now! So if you have a Crackberry and have any applications you just love, help a noob out and let me know!

P.S. I love you

2009-09-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

A young woman loses her husband and then discovers her husband has left her letters to read after he dies. What could ever be sad about that? This movie should come with a VERY LARGE warning to make sure you're hydrated before starting it!

A "favourite"

2009-09-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping in feet first to another sweater, Joelle's favourite yoke sweater from Joelle over at the Purl Bee. It's from the Knitknit book (pictured above), which I snagged from the library for a totally different pattern; this yoke sweater really caught my eye, so I changed directions.

A Final Scream

2009-08-28T12:03:00.001-07:00

It's done!

More details on ravelry.

Squeal! Lost in Austen replaying!

2009-08-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

I missed this last time PBS ran it, so I was very excited to see this on the guide tonight. I'm an unabashed Austen fan and I'm just starting to watch the "spin off" shows that have been done, having reread her complete works in the past few months. I'm also working on the works of Fanny Burney, almost at the end of (the extremely long) Cecilia, which I'm finding most interesting in giving a historical context for the works of Austen.

Scream to a whisper

2009-08-14T11:13:00.001-07:00

Here is my first adult sized sweater, the Whisper Cardigan, close to completion! I can't wait to get this on, it is wonderfully soft and flowy. The cashmere is from a beautiful sweater I took apart, it was oddly sized as it fit me fine but was quite short, though anobviously not intended for a cropped sweater. The yarn was quite thick so I ended up unplying one skein and I think I should get the entire cardigan made from this one skein, leaving me lots of leftover cashmere for another project. I've been called crazy for going through this for one sweater, but people spin their own yarn and this hardly took that much time and the results are amazing :)

Secret pal!

2009-08-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

I got my first package from my secret pal and it's perfect! I just took this book out from the library and hadn't had a chance to read it through yet (I'm working on an Elizibeth Zimmerman one) but posted last week on ravelry asking for book suggestions to build up my library, and this was on the list. I also got two skeins of beautiful squishie merino (Shadow from Knit Picks). The package came at a great time, as I was extremely frusterated and tired from the kids, so to see this package on our front porch picked me up immediately. Thanks so much secret pal!

Close up of the merino, showing the beautiful colour!

Calling Dr. MM

2009-07-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

Have you heard that Blue M&Ms may contain the cure for paralysis? Well "Brilliant Blue G", the dye used in these and many other unnaturally coloured foods, in any case. Better than red dye, that stuff does some crazy things to my kids.

Oh to be a 1950's housewife

2009-07-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I lose at being a housewife. My house is so overtaken with clutter I don't even know where to start, I'm paralyzed even thinking about it. And every time I do get a good start, the boys follow behind and undo it all. How do you other stay at home moms with kids do it?

Knit wit

2009-07-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you not on Ravelry, I've finished my first attempt at a lace shawl (the one I mentioned here). I'm not sure why, as I never wear anything like this, but it IS unbelievably soft cashmere, so I might have to start!

I'm starting on a Whisper cardigan from the Spring 2009 Interweave Knits, though I'm using the schematic more than the actual pattern. I'm using a heavier yarn (recycled cashmere as well, think I have an addiction problem maybe?) so it might not turn out like it is in my head, but at least it will be soft!

This is only my second sweater (unless you count the half cardigan I made for Xander, which I don't), but there is no seaming. A couple years ago I made Gabriel a sweater though.

Demarle products

2009-07-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I tested out my new Demarle products. A friend had a Demarle party a couple of weeks ago and I went, fairly skeptical, but wanting a silpat. After the party I like what I saw enough to get a few items: the silpat, the roulpat (for non-stick rolling), a perforated tray (for the silpat to sit on for more even baking), and a mini muffin tray.

I tried to "wing it" and make some fruit tartlet type things, which turned out yummy but didn't stay together. All I did was press an oatmeal crust (1 cup oatmeal, half a cup of sugar, a quarter cup of melted margarine) into the bottoms of the tray, and covered with fruit. Xander likes the blueberry ones best.

The Demarle products are great for this, because NOTHING sticks to this tray! Everything slid right out, and you don't need to use any oil or spray; cleanup is a breeze too, so it's a lot easier to try recipes you think might fail, knowing it will only take 3 minutes to get rid of the evidence!

After my failure I had to try something that worked so I did some tried and true banana muffins from Grand Slam: More Recipes from the Best of Bridge.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
3 cups mashed bananas
4 well beaten eggs
2.5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Add bananas and eggs, beat until well mixed. Sift together dry ingredients, blend with banana mixture, careful not to overmix. Bake at 350 degrees 20-25 minutes.

You can just call me ...

2009-07-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

Get Your Cyborg Name

Get it, get it quick, before our metal overlords discover your true identity!

Secret Pal 14 Questionnaire

2009-07-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

I've signed up for Secret Pal 14, so for those of you not involved please disregard this post! For those involved, here by my info:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I find that yarn that has "bits" that come off tend to get stuck in my throat and be very uncomfortable to knit with. I am becoming a little bit of a yarn snob (ie. I don't prefer yarn from the big box stores) but I'm cheap, so I've actually gotten a lot of nice yarn from recycling thrift store sweaters.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
For the most part I use my Addi Turbo Clicks and store them in their case. I do have a needle case for my strays but don't have a good solution for my stray circulars yet.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
My friend Amy taught me to knit several years ago. I attended a knitting group with her but then I had my first child and stopped going, had a second child and stopped knitting. The past six months or so I've taken it back up with a vengence. I would say I'm between beginner and intermediate, I may not have made a lot of things but I'm not scared to try something new (well except for socks!).

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No, that would simply make this too easy!

5. What's your favorite scent?
I'm iffy with scents. I like berry scents but nothing too strong.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Heck yes. I love gummy candies, sour patch kids, and Smarties from Canada.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do not spin. I have a drop spindle I use to ply recycled yarns that come apart and I've thought of learning to spin, but I think I have enough going on to occupy my time right now. I like to sew a bit, though for now I've lost the foot peddle to my sewing machine (long story!). I can crochet but don't like it as much. I like to cross stitch but generally the kits are not to my taste; the favourite I have ever done is this one:

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I have very eclectic musical tastes. I don't like country. I tend to like more independant-type music, as well as a lot of experimental music. When all else fails there is classical :) My computer can play MP3s, and I have an iPod I can connect to my car so MP3s are all good :) I tend to like music such as found at the KEXP blog.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I really like blues/purples/greens, and I like pinks. I think it's because I live in a house full of boys, my self defense mechanism is pink - if it's pink, it's mine!! I don't love orange, though I have a tonne of it in my stash, so I guess I don't hate it!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Me and hubby, two small boys (3 and 4), two outdoor cats.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes to all but ponchos. Though I am knitting a shawl right now and I would say no to that, but I plan to try to incorperate it into my wardrobe!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I am really enjoying this shawl! I plan on trying my hand at a sweater next. Possibly. Though I have a lot of possibilities - darn that huge queue!

13. What are you knitting right now?
Entomology from the Summer knitty. I'm using a heavy lace-weight cashmere that I reclaimed from a thrift store sweater :)

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
yes! I wouldn't require handmade gifts but I do think they are nice.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I've been using my Addi clicks (aluminum circulars) mostly. I have decided I really dislike long straights and would prefer to us a circ. I don't mind bamboo but I think I knit too tightly so it is more difficult on bamboos for me.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I do own a ball winder and I am putting together a PVC swift - I've been using coat hangers in a box up until now :)

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
2.5 years, it's an accordian sweater from the fall 2003 knitty for my son (that will no long fit), but I think a cat peed on (or near) it so I'm thinking it's going to get trashed.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
Christmas, and Christmas :)

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really. I am an entomologist so I love insects. My favourite is scarab beetles, my second favourite would be dragonflies (I worked on those for my masters degree).

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
No not really. I don't have any subscriptions though I think I need to subscribe to Interweave Knits, as I end up buying it everytime anyhow! I like Knit.1 as well, though I think it's going down to 2 a year or something.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'm still in the process of learning most things. There is nothing in particular I'd like to learn, I just want to keep learning it all!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
No, I haven't done socks. Yet. One day I will but for now I have enough in my queue to add socks to that. Size 10 (US) women's feet if that matters.

23. When is your birthday?
December 1rst.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes, Umai.

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T16:44:00.001-07:00

For those of you not "in the know", July 1rst is Canada Day. Happy birthday Canada!

Bonus "sorry for not updating" for you!

2009-06-29T16:17:00.001-07:00

Well another two weeks, another update. I'll get better at this I swear.

In the past two weeks I've finished up my Argosy scarf, which is blocking right now;

I used the Noro Silk Garden sock yarn for this, and did 31 repeats (instead of 35) - it's plenty long. I love love love the way the colours blend, who would have though pink and orange and green and purple would look so nice?!

I've also gotten through three repeats of the Entomology shawl from the new Summer issue of knitty. I'm using the softest cashmere recycled from an extra large men's Eddie Bauer sweater, I'm not a huge fan of the stranded look but I might overdye it when it's done. I'll try on a small swatch and see how it looks, but I'm thinking a darker blue or even a red to make a purplish hue.

A close up of the "dragonflies"

We're heading up to my parents cabin at the end of July, so I want something easy and mindless to bring along. I'm planning on making a Satchel in pink (for my pink laptop, fitting), with a brown border. That seems a little plain to me so I charted out a dragonfly to add to the front flap, my attempt was to get the celtic-inspired infinity wings. I'm not sure how it will look but it's my first chart, and as an apology for never updating it's my gift to you. If you use the chart I'd love to see what you make!

Full size (8.5x11) available here.

12 days

2009-06-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

I realize I haven't updated this blog in 12 days. What can I say, I'm a slacker. I got myself a pink Dell Inspiron 15 so I can hang out outside with the boys and still get stuff done. I finished another Everlasting Bagstopper, this one for Amy and made out of a recycled cotton Eddie Bauer sweater. She is moving to Hawaii in July so I knew I couldn't knit her something from wool, and I think this will be perfect. She is the one that originally taught me how to knit so I think it's particularly fitting. I used a linen stitch to get a good firm strap, and that thing took longer than the rest of the bag! I don't have a photo with the strap done but here it is:

And "in use":

I've also started on Entomology from the summer knitty that was released last week. I am so excited about this pattern, as soon as I saw it I knew I had a pattern for my first lace attempt. So far it's going pretty well, I did the first chart a few times to get the hang of it, and now I'm half way through my second repeat of the second chart. The further I go the better it's getting, and I'm learning a lot. At least I'm at the point where I can fix my mistakes and make it look like part of the pattern! I'm using the softest cashmere from another recycled Eddie Bauer sweater:

The only problem with this pattern is it's kind of difficult for me to do with 2 little kids climbing all over me and screaming for my attention, which obviously makes most things harder, but counting to 15 is sometimes just too much for me!

The great outdoors

2009-06-03T15:11:00.001-07:00

We've had an amazing week weather-wise here, and have been outside every spare moment since Memorial Day, leaving me little time to be inside and update the blog. Not to leave you empty handed, here are a few photos.

This weed has been nagging me for weeks to pick it but, being the procrastinator I am, I kept putting it off.

Two days ago I head outside to discover it's actually a gorgeous Oriental Poppy:

I think that right there is proof that laziness is a virtue. The massive rhododendron trees are also in bloom:

and the boys are pretending to get along!

And now, of course, they are yelling at me to go and play.

A beautiful tote giveaway

2009-05-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Check out this giveaway from Hip Mountain Mama, and while you're there check out the store for some beautiful natural products. I'm seriously eyeing one of those necklaces, I love them!

It's been a busy week

2009-05-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned last week, I've been trying to finish my nanowrimo novel, and you know what that means - lots of procrastination.

I finished Julia's scarf - hopefully she doesn't see this before I get it to her, but considering she hasn't updated her blog in over a month, I doubt it. Here are photos of it washing and blocking, hopefully I will get some photos of her modelling it soon!

Gabriel wasn't too happy about modelling it for me.

This was done with Cascade Quattro wool and is softer than I thought it would be.

This weekend I did up a quick Everlasting Bagstopper for my friend Joanne, I was shocked at what a quick knit it turned out to be. Right now it's drying and I still need to attach a handle, but I wanted it to untwist a bit first.

This was done with Lily Sugar'n Cream Solid in Sage Green.

I just finished my first "official" refasion project. It was a small one, but considering I haven't sewn in years and halfway through I was reminded why, when Kid1 yelled at me to come wipe his bum, I am proud of myself. All I did was hand sew a lace bit into a pretty little thrift store top, but yes I am proud of it. I can now wear it without breasts falling out everywhere, and the people rejoiced!

While looking through old clothes in storage I came across a very small (read: high-school size) floor length linen skirt I think I can salvage, I cut off the top and am planning to put an elastic in the waist where it actually fits me now for a cute knee-length white skirt that I will probably then dye, I'm not certain a white skirt looks very good on me.

I have a pair of "well worn" jeans I am planning to dye for a darker, more vintage, and hopefully better look.

Once I am done these projects I am going to start figuring out what to do with this load of fabrics that have been sittin gin storage for years. I think the shiny pink in the upper left will make a gorgeous circle skirt. The shiny purple fabric in teh front is actually a floor length skirt I sewed many years ago that I hope to salvage into something. The rest I'm not quite sure what they will become, but it's time to get to work on them!

I don't know how moms do this all and blog about it. My first thought was a meth habit but seeing photos of them with all their teeth makes me think that's not it.

The final stretch

2009-05-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to finishing my novel, I completed all but the last chapter for nanowrimo last November, but I'm working on the hardest (for me) part right now. I'm so close I can see the finish line,in fact I've written the epilogue, I just need to get there now.

On top of that I've been trying to finish the handmade gifts I promised in my facebook note - one down, four to go.

Thank goodness for Pandora, it keeps me going!

Confidence

2009-05-08T10:50:00.001-07:00

I have to confess that since I first became pregnant over 5 years ago, my confidence in myself has been at an all-time low. Sure I'm confident (or at least can fake it) in certain areas of my life, but for the most part I've been a fairly insecure shrinking violet, particularly in social situations. My weight has been a big factor, as I'm the biggest I've ever been, and although it is something I am working on, it isn't changing as quickly as I'd like.

Since deciding to "refashion" my wardrobe and thrift store finds, I have spent a lot more time looking through rack and racks of potential clothes. I haven't really willingly shopped for clothes for myself in a long time, as I find it discouraging to see lumps and bumps where there used to be none. Now that I'm back into it, as I used to be a thrifting queen, I'm discovering I'm not nearly as bad off as I feared I was. In particular, I have found fasionable sweaters from stores I never thought made clothes in my size, items I had planned to tear apart and reknit into something that fits me, only to get home and discover they fit me just fine. This is really actually helping me to accept who I am as I try to better myself, and isn't that really the goal?

And the good news is ...

2009-05-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Proposed budget came through from the school district and they saved the preschool program. They cut things out like sending out a school calendar to every single parent in the school district. Guess what, I can buy my own calendar and write my very own things on it! I'm so relieved my relief squeezed out of my eyes.

To wrap up Autism Awareness week

2009-04-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Sam included me as a guest author for today. Now I have to go sob in a corner after re-reading that.

Kids in the Hall

2009-04-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a friend and her facebook, I've rediscovered a brilliant piece of cinematography from Kids in the Hall. For your enjoyment I submit to you "Sausages"

Reminds me of the movie Kafka, one of my all time favourites. The trailer doesn't do it justice but you can watch it below.

Taking the plunge

2009-04-27T16:39:00.001-07:00

Starting May 1rst a new Wardrobe refashion period starts, so I'm pledging to buy no new clothes between May 1rst and July 1rst. This probably won't be too hard for me since I have a tonne of clothes and don't buy a lot these days anyhow, but I've already been doing this kind of thing for awhile, particularly recovering yarn from un-loved and languishing thrift store sweaters. Feel free to join in with me!

Undead on reading, more like

2009-04-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm too picky. Maybe I'm a book snob. I grabbed a book from the library last week from the "what's hot" section called Undead on Arrival. I thought it looked pretty crappy but kind of trashy, perfect for a girls' weekend at the beach. I didn't get around to looking at it again until last night. I barely made it through the dedication and I was already biased against it. I forced myself to read the first chapter but had to put it down in favour of crappy Friday night T.V. after that. I was cringing at her writing style, her limited vocabulary, and the fact that she apparently used a thesuarus without knowing how to, in order to beef up said limited vocabulary. I chose this book from the rack of "what's hot" because it says on the front it's a New York Times best seller author, so it couldn't be that bad, right? Unfortunately it can. Turns out she had one book on the "extended" best seller list.

I don't know if there is really something wrong with me, or with society. I suffered through the bad writing of the Twilight series, in fact I loved it, because she really had a story to tell, a way with words, something. Yes I'm a book snob but I can put that aside for a good story. I think this was written on a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom stall of a dive bar when the author thought up one good idea after a night of drinking.

If this crap can get published, I really need to finish my novel.

Budget cuts

2009-04-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Our school district is facing some pretty massive budget cuts (as I'm sure most around the country are). Unfortunately for us one of the programs on the chopping block is preschool, and our son will be entering his last year of preschool in the fall. He's in a special blended classroom (with one day a week in a class with all kids on the autism spectrum for special instruction), and I've been told multiple times that he would not do well in a typical community preschool. I'm really not sure what we'll do if there is no preschool program next year, I'm really concerned that all he's learned in the past 2 years will be undone in a large part.

Beyond my own selfish reasons for wanting the preschool program to remain intact, I want it to be there for my younger son. He will not need the program himself, but when it comes time for him to enter kindergarten I want his peers to have had the chance to be in the preschool program. If cutting funds for classroom size keeps the preschool program, I believe that the tradeoff would be worth it. If there are one or two special education students in his classroom that have not had the opportunity to learn the skills that come with the special ed preschool, that will more than negate the lower student to teacher ratio.

The cost for a year of preschool is slightly lower than the cost for two days of teacher training (professional development days). This boggles my mind.

The Bye Blackbirds

2009-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

For a limited time American Dust is offering The Bye Bye Blackbirds new EP, Apology Accepted, here.

Les Blanks and Peter Broderick

2009-01-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

Today Aquarium Drunkard leaves us with two tracks from Les Blanks new LP, Shoot the Horse. The entire album is available for free download at their website, please donate if you enjoy the music!

And now for something completely different, KEXP's song of the day is track off of Peter Broderick's latest album Home entitled And It's Alright.

Wine Red

2009-01-03T16:41:00.001-08:00

For Christmas I got a new iPod Nano, so of course since then I've been loading it up with all the music from my old third generation iPod, which hasn't worked in years. In doing this I came across an mp3 I found a sample mp3 I found years ago from an unsigned band/person/raccoon named Wine Red, a track I can't get enough of called The Edge Of Your Smile from the album Paper Cup Half Full Of Thunder. The only reference I can find to this anywhere on the internet is a Japanese site called Goo which has a dead link to peoplesound.com, and another to rollingstone.com. Searching for Wine Red on rollingstone.com only brings up the track from the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack, which is by the band The Hush Sound. Unfortunately I can't read Japanese so I have no idea what the site actually says, and I can't find any information anywhere on this track, so I can only assume they were never signed and have given up, a prospect that makes me horribly sad. With no further ado, the track:

Almost Christmas

2008-12-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

It's almost Christmas, and beyond the inordinate amount of snow outside, it doesn't feel anything like it. Booger was upset with me today because I wouldn't let him play with my Nintendo DS, but instead redirected him to his Leapster 2. He's four. Whatever happened to being happy to play with an Etch-A-Sketch or Lite-Brite and marvelling over how they worked? When I got my DS a few years ago I was amazed at the hand held touch screen. Now my four year old has one. I wonder what will amaze them when they are thirty.