Day 1 -- Classes Start!

Today was the first day of classes. I took a class on needleturn applique. My teacher was really awesome. She taught us how to do curves, points, straight lines, and circles. I didn't take any progress shots, but below are some shots of the work I did today. PS Curves take forever! Once I got back to straight lines, I was going much faster.

Also my thread was not great. It's good there are some vendors around so I can buy some better supplies. So because of not great thread, my stitch would sometimes be more invisible than others, but that was also because of my learning.

But I am really excited. I have decided I need to start another tree for my North Dakota trip so I won't have to just be hand quilting all the way there, but I can hand applique as well!




So I thought I didn't really take many pictures at the quilt show today, but I guess I still did take pictures. So, yah.

This quilt below had over 20,000 jewels on it. It was gorgeous.

I probably should have put my finger or something in this picture, but this quilt was mini! Those little little pieces were 1/8" pieces. Tiny!

Yep, so that is it! Day 1 was great. Ready for day 2!b

NQA Quilt Show -- Preview Night!!

Today was the preview night for the quilt show. My pictures aren't great. I might double some up if I get pictures off of Mom's camera, which takes much better pictures. But for now, I'll just put up a ton of pictures.

So after going through a small portion of the show, I have decided I really like bright colors, and that color is the aspect of quilts that draws me in the most. Like, use of color has the most impact to me. Regular old quilt patterns done in bright and good colors are much more exciting to me.

Sometimes the Internet Amazes Me

So here I am, trying to get to bed early, and so I put on some music on my ipod. I just brought a bunch of CDs back from Maryland, so it is some old time music. I start listening to the Book of Mormon soundtrack - seems like it should be soothing enough to fall asleep to. And as I am listening to it, I am reminded of the person who introduced me to it - Elder Constantine. Another thing I brought back with me was the beginning of a book about him, not to finish - I think I've passed the 5th grade mode where I was writing it, but just to have to remember. And so I am thinking about him, and wondering what he is up to. And of course, I want to know, and know now! So I abandon sleep and get on the internet. Nothing comes up on facebook - he apparently isn't there. But a simple google search leads me to a random pirate blog he keeps, and as I dig through it I find videos, and there I am seeing a person that I have not seen in over 10+ years.

Which reminds me...while I was in Maryland, I became astounded by the fact that I ever thought I wasn't going to be a writer. Littered throughout my room are notebooks full of pieces of stories, and especially pieces of the story that I'll be writing the book I will hopefully start working on soon. I can't go without writing, and now that I realize this, I wonder that I ever thought I could.

I try to fall asleep and as soon as my sleep timer on my ipod goes off and the music/book stops, my mind starts circling with ideas, thoughts, contemplations, all about these stories, about how to write something, about new places to discover -- today I was thinking about trees that grew naturally to be houses. Well, I don't really feel like working out the description of how to get the real idea across, but that's the basic idea. Like I will go through the day, and think - I am not really working much on writing, because I haven't put the pen to the page. But then I look in the recesses in my mind, and progress has been made in stories, new ideas are being explored. It will all come in time.

I Love Balsamic Vinegar

Last week while I was in Maryland, I mentioned to my dad that I love Balsamic vinegar, and that anything is better with balsamic vinegar on it. And he said, "What about ice cream?" I considered, and confirmed, that yes, I thought it would be good even on ice cream.

So today I was making a balsamic sauce to put on some roasted potatoes and carrots, and had some leftover sauce. I thought I should try it out on ice cream, and see if I really did like it.

And I did. It was very good. It was kind of odd, though. At times it tasted like chocolate sauce rather than balsamic vinegar. I only put a small amount on, like the same amount I do with chocolate syrup. I think to appreciate the true flavor of the vinegar, you would need to have more, but I could still taste it and it was yummy. Odd, but delicious.

Power Outage

I'm in Maryland now, visiting Stefanie, and yesterday the power went out when it was really stormy. There was a tornado warning, so we packed up a little camp in the bathroom with no windows, and prepared should a tornado come our way. The storminess went away pretty soon, but the power stayed out for a while. It was nice. It reminded me of a simpler time. Now I don't have any false romanticism. I know that most of the time people were working really hard just trying to survive, and sometimes they didn't, but it was a moment that is so rare in our lives nowadays that I imagine came, though rarely then, more often. Just to sit in the quiet -- real quiet -- to sit in the dark, and spend time with people you love.

I enjoyed the time while it lasted, though I was also anxious, hoping the electricity would return by morning, because days on end without electricity was not my idea of fun. But those many hours, they were good.

Can't Sleep

It is odd for me, because usually I do not have much trouble sleeping, but for the past few days, I have had trouble falling asleep. I think I am impressionable. As in, Janardan's mom always talks about not being able to sleep, and so I wonder if I have more troubles because I am thinking about not sleeping. It reminds me of when I first got married, and used to feel myself getting sick and worry about it more, because Janardan was sick, and I was worried about getting as sick as he was. So I don't know if that is it or something else.

I am also excited about my trip tomorrow, and planning all of the things I want to get done before I need to leave for the airport, which is not helpful for getting to sleep, as I am trying to plan and crunch and figure so I can get everything done. Plus, I am planning on getting up earlier than I have been the past few days, so I want to get to sleep, so I will be rested, but stressing about it doesn't help. I sometimes wonder if moments like this are given to me so that I can understand on a small scale what Janardan's life is like on a large scale everyday.

Tomorrow night will be the first night that I have spent away from Janardan since we were married. I'm going to miss him. I wasn't planning on being away from him this soon (I know it's been a year and a half), but thought that since we are here with his parents, this is pretty much the best opportunity I am going to get to go and do some stuff on my own, because otherwise I would worry about him too much while I was gone, with no one there to take care of him.

I don't know, I feel like I just rushed into the decision, even though I knew what I was deciding, and I am glad I decided it, because I really want to see Stefanie again, and really just want to jumpstart our relationship. We need that time together, and I need her as a friend. So it will be good, but I can't believe that in 12 hours, I will be saying goodbye to my husband, and he will not be close, and I won't be able to go to him whenever I want. It's only a week right? I can do this.

I never wanted to do this before, because I wasn't ready, and I don't know if I am ready now, but I guess I am taking the plunge.

Out there. Into the world. With no husband waiting back at home for me. Ok, well, he is waiting back at home for me. But home is so very far away...

I miss my family

I suppose in less than a week, I will be seeing my sister and my nieces, and it won't be soon enough. I've just been looking through her blog, and I miss them. I hate the realities of our modern life - that we all move so much, and everyone lives so far away, that even if I settle down into one place, the likelihood that the people around me will stay the same is not very great. We are always moving. It is great and depressing to make new friends. I am excited about making friends here, because I will need them, but also sad, because then there will be another sad goodbye to be had. And you can't have it all. You can't live close to everybody.

I'm just feeling a little melancholy.

Blessings of Service

So I offered this service with an ulterior motive, and boy do I think it will work.

Two weeks ago, I met this lady who I kinda clicked with right away. Her husband has fibromyalgia, so we had a lot to talk about from the beginning. So we talked and talked that night. Then I saw her at church the next Sunday, and we kinda said hi, but not talking like we had that first night. I had kind of envisioned that once we were friends, I would babysit her kids, and she could go out and do stuff. So, as I saw this not really progressing, I decided maybe I would have to start the other way around - babysitting and then becoming friends. So I wanted to offer to babysit for her. But then, I of course, got nervous about asking her, and couldn't decide if I should or not. But the spirit was pushing me to do it, so I waited around after relief society -- and I had to wait for a long time, because she was back in a corner, and there were ladies on all rows around her talking. So I waited and waited, and then I offered.

So I babysat for her tonight. And I had met her boys at this ward dinner, so I knew I already liked them. They are so fun and cute. Anyway, so I was looking forward to that. So I had a ton of fun playing with her boys. We waited til the sun was getting lower so we would not be too hot, and went outside and played on their trampoline. Boy did my legs get sore. I have never had such a workout from a trampoline--at least that I noticed.

So we played around and it was fun. Then they came home, and I was saying goodbye, and I started talking with her husband, and it was just so great. Like, he is excited about me being friends with Cherie, and he really wants to get to know Janardan, just because we'll all be able to understand what the others are going through. And like, as I was walking home, for the first time I saw that I was making friends with people that not just *I* could be friends with, but people that *we* could be friends with. And so that is why I am so happy.

So I went to do service so I could be friends with her, but I think I will be getting a lot more out of the bargain.

Writing

The task of writing is daunting to me. Like I feel like I have so much to write, and yet like...like I don't really know how to do it. I mean I have decided not to start in earnest until I get back from all my many vacations in the next month, because I will need momentum, and starting up and not being able to carry that momentum is dooming my project to failure. But I still should be writing, and at least researching for my politics blog.

Really I am depressed because I just finished reading something by Orson Scott Card, one of my favorite authors, and he has just written so much, and has sooo many projects that he is working on. And I am like - will I always have a project hanging over my head. But it's like, more that I just feel this impending doom, because...there is so much in me - and I will never be done. Which is odd, because I feel the same way about sewing, but it energizes me, excites me. I feel like I have so much in me that I will never be done with it - but that is exciting, and just means I will always have something to work on.

Probably the thing I am worried about is that I wanted to have this book done before I go back to Utah, and I am dragging my feet about starting it. So I am worried that I won't make my goal, but it is a somewhat arbitrary goal anyway. I just worry if I don't finish this book by then, I will never actually finish anything, and will just have all these ideas, all these stories to tell, but never actually get them told.

I just need to go to the temple - it always gets me thinking clearly and believing in myself.

I love the rain

Now the reason Don Lockwood loves the rain is because he is in love and nothing can get him down, but I just love the rain. Besides forests, it is the thing I miss most in Utah. And this morning, I woke up to an overcast sky, and was happy that even thought it was late, it would probably be cool enough to run.

As I set out, it was overcast, a gentle mist, but as I ran, I got rain pounding and pouring. It was glorious. It was warm enough that I got soaked, but was not at all cold. And the longer I ran, the louder the rain, and it got so loud that I could barely hear my ipod, so I just stopped listening to my music, and started listening to the beautiful patter of rain on pavement.

Some people love sunny days, with the sun shining bright and a clear blue sky. I love the pounding rain, the sound of thunder, the earth showing it's power. It put me in a wonderful mood.

Honey Bees

I really don't remember what made me google honey bees. I mean, I know Emily has been talking to me about how they are dying. Actually, I think it was the sticker on my banana that said "I Love Your Heart", which got me thinking about bananas, and then local foods, and then how honeybees are disappearing.

So I came across a Save the Honeybees site. And it has this cute little thing to make your own bee. So I made a little bee and sent it to Emily, because I thought she'd like to see it, but then I wanted everyone else to see my cute little bee. So there it is. The product of 2 minutes selecting options. Enjoy!

My Dad is Awesome

About two weeks ago, I was talking to my dad online, just talking about being in Texas and stuff, telling him about adjusting and whatever, and how I had been watching a lot of Scrubs. And I also mentioned how I couldn't watch Corner Gas here, because they don't have cable, and I looked online, and you can only watch it online if you are in Canada, which I am not.

So then he told me he was ordering Corner Gas, and I told him he'd have to let my borrow them when he was done. He said they were headed for Texas. I was online, but it is one of the only times I can remember feeling speechless. I was so touched that my dad was going to send these to me. So thanks dad.

Anyway, so this week has been a drama of actually getting them. They "tried" to deliver them on Monday. We were all here all day, and did not hear the doorbell or hear the door knocked on, but we got a slip saying they had tried to send them. So that was annoying, and then they didn't try the next day, and we reread the slip, and it said it was the final notice. So on Wednesday, we put the signed slip in the mailbox, so he could deliver them. Thursday...they don't come. Friday...they still didn't come. I have no idea how the USPS broke down. I have never had such problems. Just goes to show, maybe Texas is right when they say they are Texas, not the US. In the US, they know how to deliver packages. So I went and picked it up from the post office. I had decided against this on Tuesday, because I thought - hey, the mail guy is already coming, so if it takes a little more time, I will be saving the gas, and helping the environment.

So now, to calm down, I am going to sit back, and enjoy some Corner Gas.

The Diva Cup

Ok...so I wasn't going to blog about this, because I thought people might think it is weird. So, if you are sensitive to feminine issues, do not read on!

Anyway, so I was looking through some environmental suggestions or whatever, and someone mentioned using reusable pads. I thought this was a good idea, and so I followed the link, and there behold was the Diva Cup, the reusable tampon-like object. I was in the middle of my period last time I read about it, so decided I would order one before my next period.

Well...I have been moving and such since, so of course it was the first thing I did when I got to Texas...NOT. So my period kind of started yesterday, and I had one tampon and one pad. So I made it through to today, because I saw on their website that you can buy them in stores. So this morning, first thing, I went down to Dallas and picked one up.

I don't know if all women have these problems with new objects like this, but I had problems with tampons, and I had problems with this. It just takes time and trial and error to figure out how to get everything to fit in well without causing pain to myself. So most of the morning was spent inserting, then re-inserting. But, when a few hours later I took it out and saw my little cup full of blood, and none at all anywhere else, it was all worth it. So, it is now getting toward the end of the day, and I have things pretty well under wraps. And I think by the time of my next period, I should be a pro.

So...I would recommend it to everyone! (Women menstruating only). I would however recommend not trying it at a very stressful time. It was stressful to me to learn how to use it, and it was worth it, but I don't really have much other stress, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

In conclusion, I am very happy with my DivaCup. Here's to 10 years with no more period costs. Yay!