Am I Dreaming?

Once upon a time I had a CD.  It was a really good CD.  Okay, so it was kind of really depressing, but I remember listening to it in the hallway outside of one of my friend's classes at the U while Iwaited to tell her about the break up I had just had.

This memory is quite vivid, probably because I got a song written about me out of it.  I still have the song.  No, I won't be posting it on here, or anywhere else. 

Anyway, so because this memory is so vivid, it has to be real, right?  I mean, I physically have the song on a CD, so it HAS to be real, right?!

So how come I can't for the life of me find the incredibly depressing CD that I was listening to?  I have been through all of my old mix CD's, and none of them is the one in question.

Why do I need this horribly depressing CD, you ask?  Well, because it is the perfect playlist to go along with what I'm working on right now.  Many of you know that I'm writing a book - well, several - and that CD is the perfect CD to get me in the depressing mood of this part of my book. 

So, you probably won't find it, but if you happen to come across an old mix CD that has both "Alive" by SR-71 and "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne on it, please let me know.  It's probably mine.  And no, I didn't lose it on campus, or in my apartment...although it may have been in the CD player when my car got broken into several years ago.....

A comparison

I found a cute picture while going through my photos on my laptop, and thought I'd show you a comparison.

Below: Marshy, age 3, Halloween 2009 - turtle
Below: Marshy, age 1, Halloween 2007 - dinosaur

Can you believe how BALD that little boy was? And now look how much hair he has! HOLY CRAP! I can't believe how little he was, too. It's hard to remember him that little because he is so HUGE now! haha

A Moment

Tonight has been a rough night.

I just found out that the mother of one of my friends is in the ICU with pneumonia and ARDS. This is not a diagnosis that you often hear, and it brings back a lot of hard memories.

Then I read MIM's and Sussy's blogs. They are Mike's cousins. Mike's uncle has non-hodgekins lymphoma, and things are not going as well as our family would like. We are all praying for a miracle.

To top it all off, I have a jam-packed, appointment filled day tomorrow with appointments in SLC, AF, and Provo....and it's 1:30 and I have to LEAVE in less than 7 hours, and I'm a total mess!!

So, tonight has been a rough night. I think I need a moment. Or several.

Where were you?

Do you remember where you were?

I do.

I was in Mr. Duncan/Mrs. Kuehl's AP Calculus/Physics BC class.

Brian and Nate had been talking about how these planes had flown into a building. We thought they were talking about a movie they saw.

Then they came over the intercom and announced what had happened.

WOAH.

It was kind of surreal. We didn't do much that whole day, just watch the news on TV in each of the classes.

Where were you?

(Also, go here to see a picture of the event from the Space Station)

Missing You

"Families....to infinity and beyond" is written on the back, along with his family member's names.

Still missing you so much!

Lola posted this song a few months back on her blog. It's so good, and happens to be where the quote on the headstone is from.

untitled

This post is untitled because I couldn't think of a title, and because leaving it blank just seemed lazy. So while "untitled" is certainly unoriginal, at least it's a title, right?

That being said, I have a confession to make. I am finding it very difficult to get back into work mode after taking a week off. And also into blogging mode. Maybe it's just because I am in so much pain from physical therapy. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm going. My shoulders don't hurt nearly as bad as they used to. But today my PT decided to work on my neck and when she said work on she really meant "murder." I was in so much pain, it was crazy. And I was tired. I took 4 ibuprofen way later than I should have, and they have helped a little but I am dreading falling asleep because I know I will wake up sore.

Good news has come from going to PT, besides the pain going away, and that is that I may (or may not, I won't count my chickens before they're hatched) get a new client out of the whole thing. My PT seemed very interested in what I do for a living, and I left her my info. We'll see if anything comes of it. *fingers crossed*

Also, now that I have a digital camera that is small, I find I don't have the camcorder with me when I need it. Marshy does some of the cutest things, and I always miss them! He sings songs from Kai-Lan, and it is so adorable. I'll have to video them this week and post them on here for you all to see. SUPER CUTE!

I have been getting some work done. I do want you to know that! I have finished 4 quilts since I have been home from vay-cay (yay for me!) and I started (finally) on one of the BOM's that I unofficially joined back in January. I am doing this one in the redwork. I've never done redwork before, and I think it will turn out so lovely. I have already done May's block, and am halfway done with April's. Yes, I am working backwards. I hope to have all 5 blocks done by the end of the month so I can start on June with everyone else. I will post pictures after they are pressed, because they are a little wrinkly right now.

Wrinkly.....that is a word you don't hear anymore. This is a random thought, but do you remember the book A Wrinkle in Time? One of my faves as a kid. Is it still in print? I would love to read it again .... "It was a dark and stormy night...." I always thought that was awesome.

Anyway, back to reality! Hopefully tomorrow I will get loads done at work, hopefully pain-free. I don't go back to PT until Tuesday. I do, on Monday, meet with an allergist though. I am getting tested for allergies to bees. Anyone done this before? Is it scary? Does it hurt? What do they do? I don't know anything about it really, just that I need it done. My birth-mother was apparently incredibly allergic, so much that she carried what I assume is an epi-pen with her at all times. Kinda makes you wonder if you're allergic...especially if you've never been stung. And especially since you live in a complex where there are more dandelions than grass. And especially since you have a toddler who may/may not be allergic, and you don't want to find out the hard way: a trip in an ambulance to the ER. Because, as we know, those are not fun trips.

Beach Party

Saturday we went to the beach. Okay, it's not an actual beach. It's the shore of the lake, and it is dirty and rocky and windy. But it was fun! Marshy discovered that throwing rocks (which he already loves to do) is even funner (yes, funner) when you throw the rocks into the water!

Mike took some really great pictures on his phone, but forgot to email them to me and now he is in Wyoming for work, so if he gets time I'll have him send them so I can put them up here, because they really are sweet. Marshy had so much fun. He even ventured into the water up to his knees! I tell you, that kid tolerates cold way too well. The water wasn't too chilly, but with the wind I can't imagine being wet clear up to my knees. BRRR!! *shiver*

We had hot dogs, and chips, and s'mores. Mmmm....yummy. I admit, I had 3 hot dogs! It has been so long since I've had one, they were surprisingly delicious. Maybe because they were charbroiled flame-kissed. Mike was nice enough to help me perfect my 'mallow roasting skills, which were in need of a lot of help.

It was really fun, and a great ending to a rough week.

T-shirts full of memories

On March 12, 2008, my sister-in-law, Angel, lost her youngest son Colton (15 at the time, 1 month shy of his 16th birthday) to complications from pneumonia and ARDS. A few weeks ago she had gone through some of his clothes and picked out a stack of t-shirts she wanted to make quilts out of for herself, and her other 3 children. She asked me to apply the fusible interfacing and cut out the t-shirts for her. She had also pieced blocks from this great guitar fabric she bought at Gracie Lou's. She wanted to have the quilts for her kids done by the 1-year anniversary, but was afraid she wouldn't make the deadline. A group of family and close friends banded together and had a sewing night to help her out.


Jenny and Angel deciding which fabrics to border the blocks with.

Carrie and Vicki (my mother-in-law) sewing the blocks and borders.


Lola chatting with the rest of us after using the iron.

Vicki making borders and blocks.

Carrie ironing.

Jase's Quilt:

The initial layout of Jase's quilt. Each quilt had 5 pieced blocks and 4 t-shirt blocks. They hurried and finished this quilt top first so that I could get it loaded onto the machine. Unfortunately, by the time it was done it was 10:30 PM, my little boy was tired and ready for bed, and my DH had just come to pick me up! I found out later that the rest of the gals stayed until around 11:30, but got the rest of the tops and backs pieced.

The finished quilt: (sans binding)

Several summers ago Colton was bit by a black bear while working at a scout camp. The center of this block was made from the shirt he wore from that camp. Above it I quilted "Bear Bait" in the bear paw print, in red thread.

This picture came in a little fuzzy, but it says "Jerry Finn", which is a nickname for Jase.

Underneath the Flogging Molly graphic I quilted "Honkey the Hooligan", which was one of Colton's nicknames.

And under the Playdead Movement graphic I quilted "Dirty Harold", which was how Colton signed all of his text messages.

The back of Jase's quilt is this really great red minkee.

Lynsey's Quilt

This quilt was for Lynsey, Angel's oldest.

Her nickname for Colton was Dody, quilted here in a tan colored thread so it would show up on the black fabric.

Dirty Harold

Honkey the Hooligan.

The back for her quilt was this beautiful black minkee with the paisley pattern in it.

Zack's Quilt

Honkey the Hooligan.

Dirty Harold, again quilted in tan.

Bear Bait, also quilted in tan.

The back of his quilt was this black minkee with the diamond design in it.

I finished quilting all three quilts on March 11th, and was surprised at how difficult it was for me. Angel, Lola, and Gayle bound the quilts. Between all of us helping, Angel was able to get all three quilts done for her kids in time.

Thursday was a rough day, and needless to say I didn't get much done. That night, those of us who were available, went to dinner at Los 4 Amigos, a local Mexican restaurant, in memory of Colton. We are having a bonfire at the lake on Saturday for the whole family.

We love you Colton, and miss you very much! I think Lola's post says it all. The song she posted is so beautiful, and if you get the chance, go to rhapsody.com and listen to it there (you can find it on the Weeds Season 1 Soundtrack).

Dr. Muse and the Ketones

Remember them? Weren't they great? Some people say yes. Some people say no. Some people are undecided.

Lately I've been listening to their "Number Ones" album, and it's okay. Not as good as I remember, but maybe that's just because my music taste has changed.

I was listening to the CD the other day, when "From me to you" came on. Remember that one?
If there's anything that you want

If there's anything I can do

Just call on me and I'll send it along

With love from me, to you.

Well, boy did that bring back memories! Imagine, if you will, that it is the spring of 2002, and there are three senior girls standing on the enormous high school stage (the biggest stage this side of the Mississippi....it was our claim to fame. Well, that and our state winning drama department). Imagine three senior girls standing on this huge stage armed with nothing but three microphones, two guitars, a keyboard, and an orange. The orange was a shaker thingy that looked like an orange. I was really good at it, too!

We were the Ketones. "Charles" played lead guitar. "Cher" played 2nd quitar. I played keyboard and orange. We all sang. WE WERE AWESOME! A few feet behind us was a drum set. A few feet behind that was the curtain. And behind the curtain? Another drum set and some kid from band. I think his name was Jake. He was our drummer.

"But what were the other drums for?" you ask. Well, our principal, Dr. Muse, just happened to sport the mop-top hairstyle! YES! He totally looked like one of the BEATLES! It was AWESOME!

We walked onto the stage, followed by the Principal. When he sat down at the drums the entire auditorium (filled with most of the school) started screaming. We sang "From me to you". It was great. We had practiced for weeks, and it had paid off. We were the hit of the senior talent assembly. And I'm not just saying that because I was in the group.... everyone loved that we got the principal up there pretending to play the drums. It was a whole new side no one had seen of him. It was GREAT!

Good News!

First of all, thanks to everyone who offered to look for that "special" batting for me! I totally appreciate it! :) After a long night, I resolved to take a look at the hole this morning. It is reparable! YAY! I might have to patch in some excess batting from other places, but at least I can fix it. Plus, I realized that she wants it super quilted, so nothing is going to really pop up in big sections, so I don't have to worry about the seam showing as much. I actually started quilting it today (I was so scared because I'm trying some new things) and it is turning out so cute! Remember I said our computer was overheating? Found out why this morning. Mike took the case off, and blew it out with the canned air, and there was so much DUST it was disgusting! Not that our house is dirty or dusty or anything. It is because our condo complex is next to the train tracks that are next to the gravel pit that is next to the freeway (and this is the house that Jack built). The gravel pits seem to be in operation at all ungodly hours of the night.....like 6 AM and 11 PM and then of course the trains I don't need to get into. But, in the 8 months that we have lived here, the gravel pits have gone from having no piles, to having piles almost as tall as our building. SERIOUSLY.

I mentioned crappy internet connections yesterday, too. Well, Mike realized this morning that it was because XBOX Live relaunched in a super cool new form, with Netflix integrated, and so everyone and their dog was trying to get on to watch a movie or play on XBOX Live. Stupid people! Now Harry and the Hendersons is gone, and we'll have to rent it. I hate having to wait for movies to come in the mail....especially since I haven't seen the 3 we currently have because our player went out (it should be here tomorrow! YAY!)

Twilight started tonight at midnight. I didn't get to go. :( But, I don't think that my friends went either, so it's okay. I'm hoping maybe we can all go like early next week or something. That would be fun. But not after Thanksgiving. I do not want to have to go to the mall with the Black Friday crowd.

Now for some happy recollections:

This will be my third Black Friday in a row that I haven't had to work. I'd like to thank my husband for making this possible by having an awesome job that allows me to not have to work at the mall anymore. One of my nieces was saying the other day how much fun she had working at Shopko last year on Black Friday. All I could think about was working at Deb, in the mall, and having to be there at 6 AM to redo all the signage because we weren't allowed to do it on Wednesday night, and having to move things around and get everything set up for the mobs of people. And then having to make sure that no silly girls were trying to steal the panties...or try them on.... And having to deal with all of the cranky people who were standing in line waiting to be rung up because the other people ringing weren't as fast, and I was the only one who was on a register that could do returns.

(Comic found here)

But, I think my favorite was that at some point during the day a lady (who worked at Penneys, and eventually became an AM at Deb...go figure) walked into my store carrying a pair of soaking wet pants, and plopped them down on my counter wanting to return them. She hadn't read the washing instructions, which were plastered all over the pants in stickers and tags, and had thrown the specially dyed jeans in with some other clothes of non-like colors. The pants bled. Go figure! She even had the tags and stickers with her. I told her I couldn't return them in the state they were in. She got really upset and yelled at me. I held my ground. The people behind her were trying not to laugh out loud. It was quite comical. After I left that evening, she came back and tried to return them again, once she had dried them in her dryer, but my assistant (who had been standing next to me trying not to burst into tears from laughing so hard when the incident happened) told her that she couldn't take them back, and then cited reasons I had explained to the girl earlier. Oh the joys of working at the mall during the holidays.

I'm going to leave you with this, while I am still happy, because in a few moments I am seriously going to go kick a trains ..... *&$%. For those of you who need a laugh, I found this gem here. Doesn't it sound like a great game?? :) Oh, and lets take a poll. Who does their holiday shopping online, and who preferes to go to the store? Leave your answers in the comments. This should be fun! :)

Comparisons

I was cleaning out my email inbox tonight and stumbled across some pictures I had totally forgotten about. They were taken last summer. I can't believe how much has changed in a year!!

THEN: Marsh enjoying the swings in Payson
NOW: Marsh enjoying the swings in Sp. Fork. I swear he's grown, maybe it's just the swings, but it doesn't look like he's much taller in them, does he?

THEN: Marsh enjoying some rest time in his crib with Puppy.

NOW: Marsh enjoying some rest time on the couch with puppy, bear, and baba (Dad is in the picture too, but I promised I wouldn't put that one up here)
I can't believe how big he has gotten in a year! It all just seems so gradual to me, I guess. Well, until I try to pick him up and I strain under the 36 lbs of dead weight! :)

After Death Sauce story

We bought this sauce about a year ago at the World Market in Park City. It is awesome!

There are a few funny stories about this sauce. The first time we opened it, Mike and his brother Scott both decided to taste it to see how hot it was. I was the smart one and only tried a little, but they both took the bottle and dumped some onto their fingers. Oh were they hurtin' for certain! haha

Second funny story:

One night all of the adults in the family went to dinner at a local Mexican place, and then to a movie afterwards. Colton and his friend Austin were babysitting Marshy, and Scott's two kids. He decided to make Ramen noodles for everyone for dinner, and because his weren't flavorful enough, he dumped a whole bunch of the After Death sauce on his. He then texted Mike to find out how much he really should have put on! Mike and I started laughing at him, but apparently not nearlly has hard as the kids they were tending were laughing. Then he got some grape juice to try to quelch the burning, but that didn't help at all!

Everytime we get out the hot sauce, or someone new tries it, we remember the Ramen noodles story. It always makes us laugh.

Today at the shop, nephew Jake tried it for the first time. Oh it was funny!! I think he might have taken too much. The look on his face was classic! I totally wish we would've had a camera to take pictures!

Memory

So, as I sit here at my computer reading some blogs and watching Family Guy, I realize what episode this really is. It's the episode that has the Griffin's at Meg's play, and it's so awful that Brian punches Stewie, and then says "Oh, crying baby, I'll take him out!"

While this may not seem funny to you, it is so funny to me. Why, you ask? Well, because one time we were at my parents house, and we'd been there for almost the whole day. Colton had been texting Mike, because he wanted to come over and play some games with Mike online. He was giving Mike ideas to get us to leave, and the one that had us rolling with laughter was:

"Punch her in the face, and then say "Oh! Crying Joanna! I'll take her ou!" and then leave!" Mike and I were rolling the whole drive home. It wasn't until a few weeks later when we saw the episode of Family Guy that I connected the two. I'm sure I should have figured it out, because Colton ALWAYS quoted Family Guy to us in texts. But, now, everytime I see this episode I always remember that day at my parents.

It's been a while....

It's been a while since my last post, but don't worry! I'm still alive! Things have just been really hectic around here. First of all, I have been up to my eyeballs in quilts! Not that that is a bad thing. It is actually a really good thing. I like being busy. However, I don't like being busy and then having machine issues.

My machine has been causing all sorts of issues for me. Lately thread has been knotting up on the backside of my test fabrics. UGH! I called my technician today, and found out it was either the intermittent tension, the bobbin tension, the hopping foot height, the needle bar height, or the check spring. Yeah, real easy to narrow down, huh? AND! If it isn't one of those, then it could just be that the sewing hook assembly needs to be replaced, and that's only $150. But, that is worse case scenario. I'm really hoping it doesn't come down to that. I have figured out that the machine only causes the issue when it is in regulated mode (sniff sniff! That is my favorite mode to sew in). It doesn't have any problems when it is set to a constant motor speed. Fortunately, until August, I have been quiting in motor speed mode for the past 2 years, so I'm used to that mode.

Anyway, I have completed three of the eight quilts I need to finish this week. First, there is the cute circle quilt (more pictures and close ups here).

Then there was the cute witches shoes (more pictures and close ups here).
The last quilt I've finished was this cute panel quilt (more pictures and close ups here).
Also, we've had some fun at the shop with our new "pet". The other day, the dance studio next door asked Angel to come kill a huge spider for them. Turns out it was a Black Widow. Yeah! And it is massive!

There was also a smaller black widow that they caught. I understand there was a third one, but they think it ran outside. Apparently they had to dismantel an entire shelving unit to get the spiders.
The big one freaked out for a really long time. Especially after Mike accidentally knocked the vase onto the floor and it shattered! The little spider got squished, but the big one got recaptured. She has calmed down a lot now, and just kind of chills in the vase, until you move it or tap it or bug her.

Also, Marshy is now officially TWO YEARS OLD! Yay! He is such a big boy. On Tuesday he got one of the floral mache pots and put it on his head. One of the cousins back in the day started the trend. I believe it was on a St. Patrick's Day, and instead of saying leprechaun they said Apricorn. So now whenever someone wears a mache pot on their head we all say "Look! It's an Apricorn!"

He was being tired and shy in these pictures. It seriously took like 5 minutes for us to get Marshy to look at the camera.
( I don't like this picture because it makes my face look fat. Stupid camera!) But isn't he so cute and tired?? I love it!

Well, that's all I have for right now. I'm hoping that I can finish three more quilts by the end of the week. So, if I don't post for a while, it's because I'm busy quilting. But I will try to post my progress throughout the rest of the week.

{insert really sad face here}

It died. I have a lot of really good memories with our friend on it. When I say our friend, I mean Colton. When I say it, I mean our XBOX 360.

It has fallen victim to the dreaded "Red Ring of Death". It's still under warranty, so Microsoft will repair/replace it for us. But I have to send in my harddrive. I'm not sure if we'll get it back. It has a lot of memories on it of late night Halo 3 parties with Colton and the boys, asking Family Guy and Doug trivia to Troz while we played on XBOX Live. Playing Bioshock with Austin, Colton, and Kyle, and Kyle screaming like a little girl. Our New Years Eve "party" where Colton and Austin ditched their lady friends and other acquaintances to come play XBOX with us at our house until late into the night. The boys coming over to play games, and falling asleep on the love sac cuddling each other, but not Colton because he was smart enough to fall asleep upstairs on the couch. So many good memories are documented in that XBOX. I guess as long as I have the memories, I don't need the harddrive.....but it was a nice reminder.

All I wanted to do today was watch School for Scoundrels on HDDVD. All I did was turn the console on! I haven't even used it all week. In fact, the last time I used it was Sunday afternoon with Mike and Marshy watching Toy Story 2. It was working fine then. Now it is dead. It won't turn on. I can't play games or watch movies on it. I'm really glad now that Netflix screwed up and sent us School for Scoundrels on HDDVD and on regular DVD. How did they know? Man they are smart! Well, I guess I can watch it on HDDVD in 6-8 weeks, once I ship mine out and they get it. Stupid Red Ring of Death.



In happier news: Lynsey had her baby Saturday! YAY! Haven't been over to see her yet, but we're thinking we'll go Sunday after church.