Birds, birthdays, mushrooms, and mothers

I went to a 1-year old's birthday party yesterday.  I wanted to skip it, but at the same time, I knew I would get fed really well.  My desire for good food I don't have to make or pay for far outweighed the knowledge that I would spend 2 hours at a place where I only know the person who invited me.

After I got home I was ready to write a 10 page missive about how ridiculous children's birthday parties are, especially when you are one-year-old.  There were 20-ish adults at the party (yup, I counted), which makes about 10 presents.  I wouldn't doubt that every single package for this kid cost at least $30-$50.  Every single person (except me!) bought multi-step presents, and all of them (except mine!) included at least 2 outfits.  Seriously, this child had over 30 new outfits (15 were from her grandmother) by the time she was done "opening" presents (in reality her 3 year old brother opened them while she sat and ate tissue paper).  It was a good example of excess and ridiculousness.  I mean the food was good, but not that good.

I, on the other hand, firmly  believe in making presents.  When the 3 year old opened the present I brought, he was super excited about it and immediately threw it at his 1 year old sister.  AWESOME.

An owl pillow.  Made with materials I had on hand.  Turned out cute, I think.  Cute enough for a 1 year old at least.

And somehow it has turned into my Monday again.  How?  My weekends go by entirely too fast when there's less than 48 hours worth of them.  And again, two 12-hour days to start off my week.

*deep breath*

I made some fancy stuff so far today.  An ice-cream cake (my coworker requested it for her birthday on Thursday) is sitting in the freezer.

Veggie cornbread.  It kind of looks like a fail, but it is actually very very good.  The mushrooms make it, I think.  If you want to see what it's supposed to look like, see this recipe.  

Teriyaki tempeh with mushrooms.  Hard to tell what's going on because I used purple rice, so there's no variety of colors, but it is AMAZING.  If you don't want to use tempeh, just use the recipe for teriyaki sauce.  

I'm trying a blueberry banana smoothie today.  It is made and in the fridge, waiting for me to head off to work.

Earlier today I had to rescue a tiny bird from my sunroom.  Somehow it got in, but couldn't get out as it was confused by all the windows.  It kept flying head-first into them.  Yikes.  It only took 20 minutes to coax it into a box so I could release it outside.  With Atticus whining on the other side of the door the entire time.  Oi.

Happy mothers day to all the mothers out there!

Especially mine!!!

Love you, Mom!

Sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children.  
~ Marilyn Penland

USPS

Finally made it to the post office.  Happy (belated) birthday, Eliana!!!!

The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.
~ Helen Keller

Super duper vacation

I'm getting the hang of this vacation thing.  I'd love to NEVER go back to work at this point.

I leave in 7 hours for the airport.  Haven't packed yet, but I'm pretty much on target for my plans for the day. 

Just got waylaid by a bunch of female Jehovah's witnesses.  They're sneaky...didn't even see it coming. 

Finished baking a batch of biscuits for Atticus to take to the kennel.  Getting sad I need to drop him off soon...we've been like peas and carrots this past week.  Its been nice to just chill at home with him.  I can't pack my suitcase with him here though, he gets really anxious and clingy.  He already started to whine a little when I packed up his food for the kennel.  He knows what dog food in sandwich bags means by now.

My birthday was actually pretty awesome.  I shouldn't have doubted it.  Finished the Birthday Project - 33 random acts of kindness.  They included making cards for the Selflessness Project, bringing ice cream to my coworkers, giving the mailman a giftcard, taking clothes to Goodwill, volunteering at the foodbank (Jayme and I bagged 100 bags of food in an hour!), and handing out flowers to people outside of Target, to name a few things.  It was actually pretty neat, and Jayme was excited about it as well.  She wants to do the Birthday Project for her birthday in September.  I already volunteered to help. :)

Man, I'm still annoyed by the Jehovah's witnesses.  Well, not them, they were fine.  Just by the fact that I didn't realize who they were right away and got sucked into a conversation. 

Here's some new and old pictures....

My contribution to the Selflessness Project.

Friends treated me to dinner and dessert last night.  MMM...Snakebites. 

Jayme got Atticus a new toy.  He loves it. 

Investigating a brand new bag of dog food. 

An exciting goodwill find.

Got stuck at a drawbridge opening the other day.  I still find it odd to get out of your car in the middle of the highway, even though traffic is stopped and can't get through. 

You can't see it, but there's a bear in there.  Sometimes the wildlife agents will bring by animals for us to see or hold.  No, this was not a bear to hold. 

The fallen officers memorial at the Academy.  Tony's name is on the right, left column, very bottom. 

I volunteered at the Trooper Tony memorial run at the Academy.  Kinda fun. 

Not something you see every day at work.  They were fixing and replacing satellites on the radio tower. 

This guy makes me laugh every time I see him.  A goodwill find, I think the succulent I planted makes it look like he has hair. 

If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.
~ Seth Godin

My purse is almost 33

What a day.  Full of good and bad, disappointments and surprises, sun, and craft fails and successes. 

I'm putting off going to bed, even though I'm tired.  For some reason I have been dreading this birthday. 



How could I possibly have ever lived without a dining room table? 


Sometimes I lay
Under the moon
And thank God I'm breathing
Then I pray
Don't take me soon
Cause I'm here for a reason
Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around. ~ Matisyahu

The rest of the weekend

The rest of my weekend...

Went to a birthday party for a 2 year old.  Answered the age old question...what do you get for a 2 year old boy? 

Answer:  make him a monster pillow!!

Made of left-over fleece, a pillow I had on hand for another project I haven't gotten to yet, and my first foray into Heat n Bond (which I also had on hand).  So, technically, this cost me nothing.

Neither did the wrap job....I took 2 brand new pieces of moving wrapping paper, double folded the ends, sewed them, then painted a happy birthday message.

Yes...the boy's name is Echo.  Don't ask.

The backside - double folded and double sewed ends.

Somehow I always end up food shopping right before a big day...Thanksgiving, New Years, etc.  Today was no different.  I forgot tomorrow was the Superbowl.  Oh well...I stocked up on some veggies and other standard things I've been needing.

Kitchen genius was in full swing tonight (thanks to online recipes!)

Zucchini fritters.   Seriously heavenly.  They're so simple to make too...and no weird ingredients.  I don't know why they're so delicious.

Ground turkey and cheese meatballs.  The recipe calls for ground chicken, but I had ground turkey.  Still pretty good.

Oh yeah, and I thought I'd whip up some quick veggies while I was frying the fritters. No, mom, your eyes do not deceive you.  I bought brussel sprouts. 

Brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and garlic.....

Oh, and I signed up to be a zombie volunteer. 

Getting a late start to my bedtime...I should have been dreaming already!!!

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.
~ Arnold H. Glasow

Checklist

So far today, I've...

Woken up early and cut my coffee time short
Gave my monthly dose of blood to the vampires at group health
Scored a bunch of free packing boxes from the husband of a coworker
Had a friend over to sort through all my future Goodwill donations (she took most of my blouses...awesome!)
Talked to my future landlord twice (he assures me he sent my paperwork Friday.  Its Wednesday and I still haven't seen it).
Got in my hours worth of sweat at the gym
Walked Atticus in the pouring down rain
Shopped for food for tonight's work meeting (yes, another one....)
Have played enough Word Feud amongst all the above to raise my IQ 3 points
Now I'm all showered and squeaky clean and ready to leave for work in about 30 minutes. 

Although I still haven't technically applied for the house etc I feel pretty good about it.  Its still a big source of stress in my life though.  I hate not knowing something.  I also wonder how soon in advance I need to schedule movers?  I have a company in mind, but hesitate to book them yet. 

Oh wait, how could I forget...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA!!!!!

Skipping is oxygen for the soul. ~ Jessi Lane Adams

Another round of birthdays and an update

My coffee finally kicked in about 5 minutes ago, so I can write without totally coming across like Eeoyre.  I worked a 12 hour shift yesterday while being up for 24 hours so I was in actual physical pain when I went to bed this morning.  And woke up this evening.  I could probably also tribute that to Pilates, but while I have a scapegoat, we'll just use work as my excuse. 

I did have an evening at the gym scheduled with a friend tonight but I had to cancel due to the overtime.  I'm bummed about not getting in my endorphin rush and spending time catching up with her, but I'm enjoying my time at home with Atticus.  I think he misses me when I'm gone all the time.  Maybe. 

Anyways, a quick life update:  I'm looking for a rental house to move into.  Although yes, this is the time to BUY a house, just thinking about doing that by myself in this area and this day gives me an anxiety attack, so for the time being at least I'm sticking with rentals. 

I thought I had very few demands.  I'm not picky about space or number of bathrooms.  I want to live in a certain area, with a certain rent, and a yard (it doesn't even have to be fenced!) for Atticus.  Apparently the combo of those 3 things is either rare, or a hot commodity.  If I hear "that was rented just yesterday" from one more property manager I might knock my head against the wall.  I keep getting my hopes up about really cool sounding places only to be knocked down a couple pegs when I hear they're no longer available.  Case in point:  I saw a for rent sign by the side of the road on Sunday.  Called yesterday (Tuesday.  No, I have no excuse why I waited so long).  Received a callback while at the gym so I didn't hear my phone.  I was busy all night so I didn't get a chance to call back.  Overtime this morning so by the time I got home I was too tired to call.  Called the guy back this evening, and as he told me all about it I got super excited how perfect it sounded.  Then he said..."I have one interested person who is handing their application in tomorrow".  *sigh*   Is it wrong to hope they have horrible credit or bad rental history?  Or will Karma get me for that one?  I should hear by Friday whether their application was accepted or not. 

So, thats whats going on with me.  Its a frustrating and anxiety ridden process.  Do I start to pack things just hoping I get a house before December?  Do I spend the $40 application fee at all the local property management places and take the hit to my credit (apparently having your credit run multiple times in a short amount of time is negative) and to my bank account?  Sometimes being an adult has its drawbacks. 

Anyways, now that I updated you, here's some photos!

My sister Michelle's birthday was 2 1/2 months ago.  Yup, just now sending that out.  Anyways, she suggested wine glass markers, which was a fun suggestion and a fun thing to experiment with.  They weren't perfect (the wire I used was too pliable), but I think they turned out kinda cool!

I used a mixture of glass beads and homemade clay beads...

Here they are all together.  I think they look neat. 

My niece Sarah's birthday was 2 months ago.  She requested a banner like I made her brother in January. 

I used a reverse applique process for the letters, and through a creative mistake, I had to stick them in the dryer, where they fuzzed up a little.  I think it gave them a cute look.

Because I sent their presents together, I also whipped up a couple of rings in various sizes (although to be honest I really guessed at the smaller sizes - I have no idea how big kids fingers are)...

An up-close and personal look at a couple (I think they look cooler up-close)...

Happy Birthday Michelle and Sarah!!!!!  (Sorry I forgot to put cards in the box!)

While I was uploading pictures, I thought I'd upload a picture of my latest creation (I should say "creation") - me, the non vegetable eater, was drawn in by farm fresh vegetables so I ended up making a vegetable mix (and had to call my mom on vacation to ask her how to season it and bake it)....

A mix of acorn squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, gold potatoes, some weird kind of purple potato, and red potatoes. 

Looks good enough to eat!!!

Well, if you'd a'took to me like

a gull takes to the wind

well I'd a'jumped from my tree

and I'd a'danced like the king of the eyesores

and the rest of our lives would a'fared well.

~ The Shins

Yup...yet another bag...

For my friend Katie's birthday.  Conveniently, we were born the same year...

The front...

The back...

The inside....the pocket has felt at the top so it can be easily seen amongst all those bees...

In keeping with the "old" fabric and the burlap straps...an authentic antique leather button!

I also whipped up a ring...just for fun....

And a card...

Happy birthday my friend!

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is Patience."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy birthday Jason!

Today has been one of those recharge days.  Originally it was meant to be a change-from-graveyard-to-dayshift-sleep-pattern-so-I-can-wake-up-early-tomorrow type of days, but after I immediately fell asleep after sitting down in my comfy chair this morning (I HAD meant to stay up for several more hours), the original plan kinda fell apart.

So instead, I actually got some sleep, and after waking have been lazing around in my PJs, drinking coffee and catching up on internet world instead.  Also have been having long texting conversations and am currently up to 5 concurrent WordFeud games.  My phone beeps about once every minute.  Until about a minute ago, Atticus was snoring beside me, making best use of his time as well.

I should probably be doing something more constructive, like washing the mound of dishes in the sink, making dinner, or trying to find the waiver for Hell Run tomorrow, but lately I've found I just need to chill out more often:  stop thinking, stop doing, and just relax and enjoy the moment. 

*deep sigh*

Moment is just about over...I'm out of coffee and I'm hungry.

But back to the original title of this post.  What I didn't put was "extremely belated' in there, but you've come to expect that from me this year, so I figure it would be redundant to put that in there.

I was inspired by this tutorial, but I tried to make it a little bit more manly.  Tried.  Oh, and I lined it...



A fun winter hat!!!



Made of old tshirts and exposed seamery....

See?   :)

Lined with blue fleece that reminds me of cookie monster's fur....



Modeled by someone with a decidedly smaller head...



How could I forget the card?

Just in case you were wondering, my brother in law did ask for a winter hat.  He just didn't give any specifications other than his head size. 

Happy super belated birthday, Jason!

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~ Author Unknown

Birthday Love

I had the most excellent birthday.  Its nice to realize how much people do think about you, even if its only truly expressed one day a year.  Between phone calls and facebook messages and text messages and facebook posts and emails and birthday cards, I came to two conclusions....

Birthdays are fabulous!

and

I am loved! 

I started my evening off with Frozen Yogurt and then dinner at Red Robin.

Yes, we ate dessert first. 

Then it was off to work. 

But, I was wearing my new birthday bracelet!...Ordered off of Etsy by my awesome friend Katie...

View from up top...its made with Scrabble tiles!!!

Side view...

Katie had the bracelet personalized to include.... Atticus...

"A" for Alicia!!!....

Pickles!!!!

Katie and myself....  one of our infamous unflattering photobooth photos....

What a wonderful birthday!

Be happy. It's one way of being wise. ~ Colette