Gilderoy Lockhart

Of course the real Gilderoy would be hard pressed to have such a bewitching smile.

Harry Potter 7 - Don't worry, no spoilers

So yesterday I got offered $100 to give up the privelege of starting to read my Harry Potter book last night shortly after midnight. The $80 profit was not a temptation enough, and with no thought at all, said no. If I were not so scared of people letting details slip before I finish the book, perhaps I wouldn't have answered so easily, but I do not want to know anything about the book until I have finished it. I had books five and six ruined for me before I had the chance of reading them, which put me off of reading book six until half a year after it came out. That is the beautiful worth of $80. Being able to read a book with no expectations, no knowledge of what will happen. $80 was not worth giving that up. $80 was not worth being able to start reading the book at 12:15 when I got home.

The book is intense. It is one huge adrenaline rush, and the only reason I am not still reading it right now is because I don't want to read in an environment where people are talking and I might not be able to put every ounce of my energy into enjoying the experience of reading this book. J. K. Rowling is amazing.

I am trying to calm down, as I will be at work a bit longer, and it would be nice to have a rest, and feel relaxed, instead of in this heightened sense of awareness, as I will have enough of that when I continue reading.

$80. It was so worth it.

Big Brother is Watching

You know something bad is coming when your boss sends you an email with that as the subject line, especially when your boss's last name is Brothers. Apparently a lot of our contracts are getting sent back from the company we sell for because of errors. What kinds of errors? We aren't told that. But we are told that from now on we aren't allowed to watch movies or listen to headphones during our down time at work, and there is going to be a camera installed so that Bryan (Brothers) can watch us remotely from his home.

The really ironic thing is how he thinks that these two things are going to correlate to each other. Not watching movies will equal there being no errors, or us somehow working harder to abate them. When really it does not address the issue at all. He feels like we are taking advantage of the freedom he gives us, and we repay him by making all these errors, by not being careful or something.

But in reality the reason the accounts are being sent back is because we never see the contracts, and what we have is supposed to match the contract. Taking away all of our liberties is not going to change that fact, and so errors will continue to occur, and he will continue to feel hurt because he thinks it is happening because we don't care. The truth is: if we had something we are supposed to do, we would be doing it. We look at the accounts, put them in, check over them even, but if it isn't checked against the contract, it doesn't matter how much we check it. We get all of our information over the phone from sales reps who just want to hurry and get off the phone with us.

Today he called in, and a girl had been spinning in her chair. He said, "Emily stop spinning in your chair." He can be hurt and take away all the things he wants, but unless he will realize what the actual problem is, all he is going to take away is hard-working and dedicated employees. I've started looking for another job. I'm not set on getting another job. But I want to keep my options open.

The other thing is that he thinks it is obvious what is acceptable behavior and what is not. But he thinks that reading books, studying, playing solitaire are acceptable, but playing online games, watching movies, listening to movies, etc. is not. Of course what that "etc." encompasses? It is a difference between "wasting time" and "having free time". I joked this morning that having free time is anything where you are still bored, whereas wasting time is anything that is fun.

Really what it all comes down to is that none of us think that there is enough work to justify this ban on certain things. Certain times we are busy that phones are ringing one after the other. Other times, there can be a half hour to two hours with no calls. We are not complaining about having to work when we have work. It is just annoying that we are being told to not do certain things when there is nothing else to do.

It is inefficient. Big Brother is watching, but I'm not sure he knows what he should be looking for.

Just so you can share in my glory

Now granted I was playing against bots. But I completely stole the city, not shared. I beat both players by over 150 points. That is sweetness.

New Job Starts Today

So I am already impressing people. Sometimes it is fun to start a new job. Today was my first day, and I was just supposed to learn how to check credit. Only credit. After an hour I realized that if that is all I did today, I would either want to leave very early, or be very bored. So I kept on asking the girls who I will be working with more questions about all the things we are supposed to do, and now I have done all parts of the process. Some girl before she left came by and was like, "She's taking calls on her first day? I think she's like the first person to take calls on her first day." So my moment of pride.

I am hoping to make a good impression here, and hoping it can go places. It seems like a pretty good place to work. I like it. It's pretty simple and straight-forward, but sometimes I am amazed at how impressed people are at you doing a job that should be automatically easy. I'm glad I took this job. I think I'll like it. There was supposed to be extra pay for midnight shifts, but the boss decided not to do that this week because there have been too many errors or something. It seemed really dumb to me, but anyway. He said that would only be until next week, so then I'll start signing up for midnight shifts. And if it doesn't work, oh well. Pay is good as it is.

I think I've realized that what I like is business. Business is very fascinating to me, the different avenues people use to make money. Direct sales, door-to-door, etc. I'm sure this job will get more boring as most jobs that are like this too, but for now it is exciting, and when there is the possibility of advancement, jobs are always more exciting. I am pretty sure that by September, I should have a better position here. Now just to prove that I am worthy of it.

"I think I really need to learn to be more selfless before I get married"

Wisdom from my 16-year old self. I've been thinking a lot lately about why I chose to marry Janardan, not second-guessing it or anything, but just trying to remember everything that makes him different from other people, all those things that convinced me that there was no one else that I would rather marry. The strongest of those is one that I have never forgotten, and it is that I cannot conceive of there being anyone else who Janardan would marry. I am the girl for him. I could have married a variety of different people and ended up happy, but I was the one person who he would marry. That specialness is something I remember every time I ask that question. Today I was reminded of an answer that I had that I have long forgotten.

While I was dating Janardan, most of my family commented on how giving I was toward him, and how that changed me. He is someone who I have seen as so deserving of service that I could not help myself from serving him. I learned to be my own version of selfless. Dating him is what prepared me for marriage. I am still very much selfish, and still have so much more to go, but I was selfless enough to start that journey because I decided that he deserved my service.

He understands me. And while that is still important to me, I realize that what I thought that meant and what it really means are very different. He does understand me. He knows me better than anyone else, and he understands people in general. He loves me more than I can comprehend. But that doesn't always mean that he is understanding. He understands my faults as well as my good aspects, and sometimes it is a brutal slap in the face to be given a reality check instead of comforting words, but he gives me the desire and the belief that I can be better.
The other two are the two things that I was looking for in someone. The first is rather ironic. I knew that he would never leave the church. He is as solid as someone can be, his testimony is sure, and it will be him taking me into eternity, not the other way around. It's ironic because he has gone to church one time since we were married, and that was for about 15-20 minutes. It is not his actions that speak his testimony, it is simply the way he is. The second was I wanted to marry a man who I knew would never leave me. Rooted in me a desire to never get divorced. I need someone who will never leave me, so that any contemplation I have is fleeting. I could never leave him, because then I would leave him truly alone, and nothing that he could do could make me want to consign him to that.

I knew back then that I needed to be more selfless, and I made it enough to be ready to get married. Now I would say to myself: I need to always remember the good my husband brings to me before I can be a better wife. I always always think he should be giving me more, and I resent that he doesn't have more to give, and I always blame him for that. But it is not him, he has much to give in the way of opportunities for service, in great feelings of love, and in examples of strength. He is weak, and yet so strong.

I love my husband, and I am glad I was smart enough to choose him.

Lay offs

So I no longer have a job. Of course if I wrote this tomorrow, that may not be true, but anyway. That is correct, Net Marketing Alliance downsized, and I was ousted! It is the first time I have not dictated the time when my work relationship with a company would end. I really am broadening my horizons. It doesn't really bother me actually, because I was there long enough to figure out what I want to do, and now I can go about trying to make it begin to happen. That's right, I want to be a Productivity Specialist. A productivity specialist, you ask? What is that? I have never heard of it before. Well that is quite right my friend, it is a position I would like to invent, a position that I think will one day prove to be quite invaluable. The gist is that I will keep all the employees happy to be doing work. Sounds like a great job, eh? Anyway, so I decided that to promote myself as this, it would be helpful to have some sort of business background, and so I am contemplating getting an MBA. Plans can always change, but that is the plan for now. So I'll graduate, work for a year or two, and then get an MBA. So now I am looking for a job that will help me on that path.

On another front, kinks are back again. Making exercise a daily venture is proving trickier than I thought. But I am vigilant! By which I mean, not actually doing anything! It is much easier to adjust my schedule when I have one, and when I am working, I don't have one. I realized yesterday when I got laid off that I really like working. I don't like not working.

Work is slow, so I will entertain you

I got to work today at 6am. A little before 6 actually, just to help people coming to our Nashville conference with directions. So I have now been here for three and a half hours. It has been ridiculously slow since other people came in at 8am. Now all the Nashville people are there or not coming, and we don't have many conferences for people to register for. I feel like doing a list, so I will create a list on the first topic I think of.

List of Books I am Reading/Going to Read:
The Sigma Protocal by Robert Ludlum
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket
Thank You for Smoking by I don't remember
Dune

Of course two of the books I am listening to as books on CD/on my Ipod. Dune Janardan was reading to me at night before I would go to bed, but then he started going to bed before me. I guess I could start making him read to me again now that he is sleeping after me again. I actually wanted to read The End today at work instead of Carnivorous Carnival, but I apparently grabbed the wrong book. Carolyn and I had a discussion about an interpretation of a detail in that book, and I wanted to read it again, so I could back it up, but alas I have the wrong book.

I finished The Ambler Warning this week, and it was a very interesting book. I thought the ending was kind of a letdown, though it made a lot of sense. It was just kind of sad. Which really gives away nothing! So go ahead and read it, and when you finish it, we can discuss. Or don't read it.

So I have been contemplating houses. I've had a really good idea if I do say so myself. My idea is that whenever we move to Oregon (I think I am getting settled on that idea, though the exact city not yet), I should buy one of two things 1) a mobil home on a large piece of arable land or 2) a large piece of arable land and a mobile home. The beauty of the plan is that mobil homes and incredible cheap. But then I could get settled on a piece of land, get the land working the way I want it to, and then maybe in some amount of time, I could have a house built on the land, and sell the mobile home, to be moved to a park or wherever. I think it is a grand idea. Of course I haven't talked even to Janardan about this plan, but I am sure he will be won over by my genius idea, unless of course he is opposed to living in a mobil home. But they are like cheap, and like affordable. Anyway. Just an idea I have been tossing around.

Ok perhaps I will now make another list.

List of ways I want to be domesticated:

1. Share a cow that can be milked for fresh milk
2. Make cheese from said fresh milk
3. Be able to subsist mainly on food grown on my land
4. Make homemade food as much as possible
5. Have a greenhouse~
6. Punch you in the face

Ok, minus that last one. It's funny. All of my aspirations mainly have to do with food. Like buying cloth for sewing, or buying clothes isn't something I really have an aim to stop doing. I guess I just see those things as less vital for survival. If something happens, I can survive without being able to go to the fabric store, but through no disaster would I be able to survive without cheese. Ok, just kidding, I meant food, not just cheese. I guess it is the idea of necessity self-sufficiency. Or just being as self-sufficient as possible. It's also that you just get a lot better quality from things that are grown there in person. Things that don't have to be shipped from some other place don't have to be picked unripe so they will ripen, you can get them fresh. And then you get a lot less going bad, well in some cases at least.

I would really like to develop a permaculture. Read about it on wikipedia if you don't know what it is, but it's basically creating an ecosystem of edible food. And Emily's chickens could graze on it for fertilizing and weeding. Ok fine, maybe I will get some of my own chickens too. I'll let her keep the bees, though. Ok, I am leaving work soon. Bye kids. Don't be stupid!

Kinks

It's interesting how little things can throw you. I was sick on Friday. More like half of Friday, the first half, starting at 2am. And it has been such a kink in things. I tried waking up yesterday for water aerobics, but I was just too tired to get up, so slept in later. And then today I wanted to get up and go swimming, so I made sure I got to bed at a decent time, but I didn't want to get up that early again. And so my dishes are undone, as the time when I feel like doing them has been missing from my day. The system that I had worked out and was happy with now has this kink thrown into it. I'm pretty sure it will just take a few more days to get back into it, but it's kind of thrown me that it is taking this long.

The second kink is that I think I could be heading towards higher amounts of socialization in my life, which I highly welcome, but it hard for me not to let go of everything else in favor of socialization. It is generally what is most important to me. But with greater socialization comes more pressure on my sleep schedule, making it harder to exercise, and less time to practice the piano. All of these competing interests. The natural way to take care of it is to turn my hobbies into social activities, which I have figured out how to do in certain areas. Sewing could be done with my sister. I could try and find someone to sing with me for the piano, the only problem being I am not quite ready for that, but that is my end goal. I suppose in that case the sacrifice seems worth it. But then it becomes the question of how often.

In freedom, we are still bound by our choices. I can do anything I want to do, but I can only choose those things that are most important to me. I cannot do everything, not immediately at least. And that is the kink. I have to choose what I want.

The Domestication of the Wife

So now that I have encountered breadmaking, and all of its many fruits (as in making things besides bread), I have a new skill I am going to try and learn: cheesemaking! I don't know what actually made me first thinking about doing it, but I think it had something to do with havarti and parmesan being so expensive, as far as cheeses go. I'll probably buy the things I need (like starters and rennet) next month. So I will have to content myself with bread for now, but I am excited to start on cheese. All the websites recommend making a cottage cheese first, but as I don't really like cottage cheese, I decided to forgo that step. I've made paneer anyway, which is basically the same process. But I am excited. I'll probably start with mozarella s it doesn't have to age at all, so it will be very instantly gratifying, but I am looking forward to going on to the more exciting cheeses as well.

I also planted my garden this past week. I was talking to my friend, and he said I should plant basil around my tomatoes, so I will probably plant some basil sometime soon outside too, and use that natural bug protection. It was looking like rain today so I haven't watered my garden today, but I may have to, and it keeps on not raining. I am excited about my garden though. The things I want most to grow are my multi-colored peppers. They are so tasty, and also expensive, which is why I don't buy them. So it would be nice to have a steady supply. I am also attempting to grow watermelons and cantaloupe. When I had my garden before, I tried to grow cantaloupe and it didn't grow, so hopefully I will be more successful. I think I should be in general, because this piece of land gets a lot more sun. As in, direct sun all day. So that should be nice for my garden.

I started water aerobics this week. I think I am liking deep water better than shallow water. It's really fun, and exercising helps me have energy, and just feel good, so it's nice to have something I like to do.

My experiment for this weekend, well I guess there are two. I am freezing cinnamon and orange rolls to be baked at a later time. I've done it with pizza dough, but not cinnamon rolls, so we will see how it all works out. Hopefully it will work pretty well. I forgot to add extra yeast. That was a suggestion of a website I read, but I think they should be fine anyway. I also made frostings and put them in the fridge, so Janardan will be able to do it on his own, and not have to eat the frostingless, or try and make frosting. My motivation for the cinnamon rolls - TRANS FATS! The ones we have been eating have trans fats, which I found out a few months ago, so once I started my bread kick, I decided after the pizzas, this was the next thing that needed to be eliminated (I made Janardan frozen pizzas, because the cheap ones he gets have 3 grams! EEK!). My second experiment is not going as well. I am trying to make focaccia bread. It just turns out tasting like pizza dough. What I really need is to try focaccia bread, because now I forget what it is like, so it is really hard to try and make something like it.

Janardan got a job! So that is also happy. Hopefully that will help him. I know working has helped me a lot. Since starting working I have a)gotten a lot better at the piano via practicing b)learned to make bread c)planted a garden d)started exercising regularly. There are probably more things as well, oh like the most important one - been happy! Well that started before working, but you know. Anyway, so I hope it will help him get structure and figure things out more.

Anyway, I should go...punch you in the face! Wahahahaha!

Breadmaking and Quilt Displays

So I made my first loaf of home-made, not by machine, bread on Wednesday. It was really quite fulfilling. I am looking forward to baking bread more often, becoming more refined at it, and learning to make many different kinds of bread. I started a sourdough starter yesterday, and today it seems like it is already getting frothy, which is exciting, because I thought it was going to take like a week. I want to try making baguettes, and french bread, because they are some of my favorite types of bread. I do also enjoy a good foccacia, and I'm looking for a good recipe to try out for that. Breadmaking is quite exciting.

Last night was our quarterly enrichment meeting. We were having a Relief Society birthday, the night entitled Ohhh Pioneers. So we gathered a lot of quilts (many came from my home), and had quilts as table cloths, and then also as displays. We also had pioneer pictures. I think the decorations ended up really nice, and put us all in the right mood. My sister commented that I should have taken pictures. I really should have, because some of the quilts were really just stunning, and the displays altogether ended up really nice. It was a really fun night, and very rewarding for me. I am enjoying my calling. Next for me is my desire to start different enrichment groups. I have been contemplating a storytelling group, which I think would be really fun, and might have some interest. I've also contemplated just an informal singing group, just getting together to sing things for fun, kind of like Carolyn and I do. I'd also like to get a sports group together, just to get together and play different sports, though that would require more equipment, and so may be more difficult to plan (more especially a basketball one, but hey).

I've been practicing the piano pretty much everyday, and I usually play for an hour and a half to two hours. I really can't believe how much I didn't want to practice when I was younger, and I think I am beginning to realize why. It was because I really had no purpose in wanting to know the piano. I wanted to take lessons, because in some way I wanted to know how to play the piano, but I really had no reason to know how to play. Now I want to play to accompany myself and others in singing. I want to learn how to sight read so that I can pick up and play things. It is amazing to me, because I can see how much difference just the short bit that I have been playing has made. I feel so much better at sight-reading, particularly different keys. I read on one website that an important aspect of sightreading is learning the scales and chords in each key, but I've found that what really sinks it in for me is just learning a song the normal way with that key signature. Like I am fine with songs with 5 flats, because I am working on a song with 5 flats in it.

Work is fun. I am making friends at work. Calls are slower, which makes the day go by pretty slow, but it gives me time to research things, like substituting honey for sugar, and to talk to my co-workers. The girl who sits closest to me and who I've gotten to know the most has moved up to data entry, and I'm sad that she is gone. There is someone new in her place, and so I'll probably get to know her, but I will miss Megan too.

I want to start exercising, but haven't found people to play basketball with yet. I will still continue my search, but it will probably take some time. In the mean time, and probably then still as well, I want to try water aerobics. Not that I am going to force myself to do it. I just want to try it out, and if I like it, could make it a regular part of my exercise program. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably start walking in the mornings, if I can get myself to bed early enough to be getting up to go on walks in the morning. I just love walking while the sun in rising, being out there in nature; it is so gorgeous.

It's funny how families work. All growing up, it was always about how different I was from my sister, but now that I am not living with her, and we both have our own husbands from their own very different backgrounds, it is amazing how similar we seem. I wonder what other siblings would have been like if we had more. Would they have been as much like us? Like are we just similar as being in the same family, or more similar than is usual in families as well? I guess we'll never know. We are still really different, but just compared to how different we are to our husbands, we are so similar.

I picked up Emily from the airport tonight, and we talked forever into the night. Janardan was going to go to bed shortly after I left for the airport. I came home, and the bedroom light was on, and so I went in there, and he had fallen asleep with the lights on. He always looks so peaceful, and comfortable when he sleeps. So relaxed. I hope one day he'll learn how to carry it into his daytime. He deserves it. It makes such a nice end of the day to come home and see my husband sleeping peacefully.

Life Is Good

There comes a time sometimes when I feel like I can do anything. I like to sing with Carolyn. We are singing now about once a week, but in a year we will probably part ways, and I won't have somebody to play the piano so greatly as she does, so I've decided now is the time to prepare, and learn to play for myself, so that I can still continue to sing when she is gone. Janardan is sleeping during the middle of the day, so I am thinking that I can go and get some piano music from the library, then go up to campus, grab a piano, and start playing. I am really excited about it. I was going to go to bed about an hour ago, but I have just been sitting here thinking about it, looking up music, and just getting excited about it.

And I went to play basketball today, and there was supposed to be a women's group playing, but they weren't there, but there were three men there, so I asked if I could play with them, andwe played and had fun, and I decided I could play with guys still, and so I'm just looking for people to play with, irregardless of their male or femality.

I am working and I am sewing and cooking, singing, and playing the piano. I can do all that stuff and still do the laundry, still clean the dishes, still do the grocery shopping, still take out the trash. And I'm going to garden too. It is amazing how much I am finding I can do now that I have a handle on the things I feel I need to do. And I have full confidence in myself back when I was watching TV all the time. I did what was right. I needed to take care of my emotions and not worry that I wasn't being active. I would when I was ready to, and now I am ready, and going to do it all!

As I was walking home from choir/basketball tonight, I was just having a vision of the kind of mom I could be, and that I probably will be after I adjust to being a mother. The first few years will probably be my worst as a mom. I was just thinking about playing basketball with my sons, and my daughters if they want to. And just playing lots of sports with me, being outside and doing lots of stuff together.

If I got promoted in my job, I think I would take the job and work full-time, if they'd let me work out to still finish up my schooling. I could get benefits and get paid more, and probably have a really fun job that I like even more than the one I have now. I'm really excited about where I am in my life right now.

I really want a son. And not like a baby. I'll be ready for that in a few years when we actually have one, but right now I am excited about having an older son, and one who takes after my dad more than his own dad, lol. I just want a son to play sports with. I'd take a girl who wants to as well. I'd love it if all my kids did. We could have some great 2 on 2 games. So this is kind of my new goal, I suppose. Today when I first started shooting around with these guys, I really sucked. I haven't played for about a year. I want to be good enough that my sons will want to play with me, and not mind having an older lady playing with them, just because their mom is not like the women who could play when they were younger. I want to be able to play always.

I used to get crushes on all the guys that I played basketball with. I think most of all it was the idea that I could play basketball with them forever, because they loved it so much, and so they seemed like good guys to like. I guess I've come to realize that I can love basketball without my husband, that I can brainwash my sons to love it wahahahaha. I guess really more what I realized is that I have to keep on doing what I love to do even if my husband can't do it, because it won't be his fault that I don't, it's mine. He is not trying to give me fibromyalgia too. And sometimes he just needs more time alone, because of the fibro, and so it is doubly good for me to still go out and do the things I love to do. And then one day when he can, I know he will come with me, and we can find the things that we love to do together that involve being active and social.

I will probably have to come to terms with this again when we actually have kids, but I think I've somewhat come to terms with the fact that I will probably be half-single mom and half-married. I will be a completely married wife, but it will be important for me to do a lot of things as a mother, just because Janardan can't do them, like going to the kids games/activities, like working probably, like going outside and exercising together. But at home we'll all be able to play games together. He'll talk to the kids while I make dinner, play with them, take care of them when I need to go off and do stuff. It doesn't make me sad, I guess. Like all the stuff I have to do is the stuff I would want to do anyway, well except working, which I suppose is a big part. Once they're in school, it won't be as bad though. And maybe Janardan will not be so bad that he can work for a while at least while they're young.

I guess what makes me happiest about how I am feeling now is that I think my whole life won't be stress and depression, that I will be able to make a great life for our kids, so that they won't feel deprived at all because their dad is ill, that they get to spend more time with him because of that, and because of that, they get to have a special relationship with me. I think I will probably spike into depression after we have our first child, at least, if not when we have each of our children. But I guess now I just feel like it is something that I know will end. Eventually I will abandon the idea that I need normalcy and will realize that I can do everything that I need to, and I will get to feel like this, and just love being a mom and wife, and a human being, being able to do all that I need to glory the Lord.

I'm having visions of having a baby in a carseat on the stage in a church cultural hall while I play basketball. See I will make it work out. I can still do it all.

I've always been adaptable. It just took me awhile to adapt. But now that I have, and once I do after each life change, life is going to be good, and life is good.

General Conference Projects

This general conference I have been working on my Christmas Tree skirt. I am doing 5 scenes from the Christmas story that will be sewn together to form the skirt. I finally cut out the last two backgrounds today. So now I'm gonna put up the scenes, and tell you what I've done and what is still to be done.

First is the Angel appearing to Mary

The fabric I chose to do the walls on this one is pretty funky, but I hope it will work and give off the impression of a stone-ish type house. The room is probably bigger than is really realistic, but oh well.

I obviously still need to add the angel to this one. I need fabric for the angel robes, so those will not be done as soon as the rest of everything will be. I am considering redrawing my angels as well, because both of them (one in another scene) look a little odd. So we will see how that works out.

Second is Joseph and Mary Traveling to Bethlehem

I have somehow misplaced my donkey, so I am most likely going to have to cut out another one, but I have Mary all ready, and Joseph has all his pieces cut out, except his beard (it's the same story in the next frame as well). I had put Bethlehem on this already, but it was crooked, so I pulled it off (without damage to either piece yay!) and straightened it. It looks much better now. So this one really doesn't have much work to be done, besides Joseph's beard, even though it doesn't look very done. Oh yeah, and I guess the donkey, since I lost it.

Third is the Nativity Scene

Owing to the belief that the stable was more likely a cave-like place than a barn-type place, this scene takes place in a cave. The only players in it are Mary, baby Jesus, and Joseph. I have baby Jesus and Mary all done, just Joseph, once again. There is also a really big star to put right above the manger, outside of the cave, but I can't put it on until I figure out the size I will be cutting these all down to. I am somewhat dreading that part, as my patterns were a little lopsided, and I haven't figured out quite how I am going to get symetrical pieces with such a big circle. I will figure it out one day, and then I will do it. It's just like with Sonic's mask. I worried forever about it, eventually came up with a great idea, and it was a fairly painless process.

Fourth is the Angel appearing the the Shepherds

This is one of my favorite scenes so far, mainly because it is the most finished. All of those pieces are ironed down. The sheep are so cute. I had more of them, but it looked a little overly crowded, so I just didn't use them all. The angel will be up in the sky off to the right (where the shepherds are looking to. This is the piece that will probably determine how big the other pieces can be, as there is a lot of extra room on all the pieces but this one, though I think if I want to make it bigger, I can work something out. I messed up on the cave one, and ended up really short, but fixed that up, and I could rig up something to work here too.


Fifth is the Wise Men Coming to Jesus

Throughout the scenes, I have tried lean on the side of historically accurate, rather than what is traditional. That is why I have the wise men coming when Jesus is around two years old, and while he is in Egypt, because that is commonly believed to be the most likely time that the wise men found Jesus. As you can see, this scene is pretty much done. I just have to iron down everyone except Mary (she is already ironed down). I really like this scene as well.

I've also decided today that I am going to put corresponding scriptures to the scenes that they go with. The one about the shepherds, though, either sounds really odd "There were in that same country shepherds watching over their flocks by night", or dastardly long, and there would have to be two more verses to go with it. I am trying to figure out how I want to do the lettering. I know I do not want to applique it - I don't have the patience to trace the zillions of letters that would be by machine. My mom has an embroidery machine, so I could use that to do the lettering, and that may be what I end up going with, but I have seen one other way of lettering done, that if I can figure out how to do, would probably be my first choice. It looks pretty much like writing but is done with string. I don't really know how it is done. Actually, this isn't going to be a purely sewn piece, so I may paint the lettering as well. That is what I have decided to do with the facial features on the people.

The other thing I am considering is what color to put as the borders in between, and then what color to do the lettering on. I keep on having differing thoughts, but I probably won't decided finally until most of the pieces are done, and I take them to the fabric store and look at them all with various pieces of fabric. Actually, what I just thought of now that would be nice, would be to put them all together with a wood-type border. I've seen some really great wood-like fabrics. The only problem would be the grain on the curve. Ah well.

Oh yeah, I also have a few other promised pictures from before -

Janardan's Christmas present for me :

Actually, I think that's the only one. Oh yeah, there is one of my completed History of Creativity Project, but that is a poor quality picture, so I want to take another one, so I can get a really good one of it up on here.

I'm going to try and finish up the Josephs tonight, so that I can work on my new project idea tomorrow during conference. Making this tree skirt gave me the idea that I could make my own Christ-centered pieces to put up in my home, so I wouldn't just have the standard Mormon fair, but could have some of my own. There are two that I have ideas that I know I want to do. I want to do one of Christ calming the waters, and one just of Christ out in nature, I guess kind of a Gethsemane scene, but when it is light outside. I don't know what kind of sewing I want to do for the calming the waters one, but I know I want to do the just Christ picture as a paper piece, so I am going to try and start drawing a pattern tomorrow. I think the hardest part is going to be the face. It will probably take me a while to figure out how to make it look just right, but it will be a fun adventure, and hopefully will yield a very beautiful piece to hang in my home.

New Job

I have a new job. It is pretty fly. Ok I don't know why I used that word, but you know, sometimes you just feel like saying fly so you do, and I did, so I did. So there.

Working is great. I work 5 hrs a day, so I have structure in my day, but still enough time to cook and sew and garden as I want to, and spend time with Janardan at whatever time he is awake.

Went and saw Mystic India yesterday, an IMAX movies. I like Imaxes. They have a different kind of movie there, more documentaryish, and when you're in the mood, it is a nice change to the usual Hollywood movie. I've wanted to go to India before, but I really want to go now. It is such a beautiful country.

You're going to be happy!

Ok, so today I was finally motivated to put pictures on the computer by making this beautiful Veggie Pot Pie. I was making it, and couldn't find the easy pie crust stuff, so I made my own, and decided that if I was going to go to all that effort, I may as well lattice it too. So I did. The plan was that I was going to make this for tomorrow night's dinner, but after I took a picture of it, I just had to have a piece, and I must say - it is delicious! Some things I think are very lacking when I make a meatless version (Beef stroganoff for one), but this Veggie Pot Pie is just as good as any and better than many Chicken Pot pie's that I have eaten. Leftovers that I will eat! Yay!

Speaking of pies...
Yes it was my niece's pi birthday on January 5th. Janardan's idea, so of course we had to celebrate with pies. It was a lot of fun, and will probably get very carried away with each progressive kid in the family who turns 3.14159....

Ok, so here is a random hodgepodge of Christmas pictures. I probably should have more, like of finished products and stuff, but I don't. I will sometime have to take a picture of the finished product of my Creativity Project, and of Janardan's Christmas Gift to me. Hopefully sooner than the Wii pictures below the Christmas ones, but I make no promises.

This is a gift I wrapped for Emily. I wrapped all my presents this year with recycled paper.

The layout of the quilt I made for Janardan.

Our Christmas Tree!

Stockings: I really really like Janardans, and I wish mine looked a little more like a Pikmin, but it's cute anyway.

The Wii: A Picture Memoir

This is my dad's old tent. We rescued it from Grandma's house, and then found great use for it the night we were camping out for the Wii.

Here's the tent in the morning as we were taking it down.

At 8am we got our blue ticket that was our ticket to a Wii. We were seventh in line, and got to pick it up at 10am.

Here we are outside of Circuit City, holding our brand new Wii in our hands.

This is Janardan opening up the Wii. Yay!

Admiring the Wii, it is grand.

Playing Wii Sports at Emily the same night.

Ben boxing, and Janardan looking happy. :)

Forsake Waiting for Pictures

So I have just been too lazy to find my cord and upload pictures, so I have decided that it is not worth waiting.

Things should be pretty exciting around here, should be, but are not because I have been sick, and I am just now recovering. I am supposed to be preparing my house and my life for teaching English classes in my home. I am really excited about it, and looking forward to it, but my body has been very uncooperative. I was finally getting over my post-stress break, ready to put full steam ahead when I got sick, so I guess I'll just push preparations back a week. Again.

Being sick has given me the added advantage of watching two seasons of the Pretender in three days, maybe four, though. It is a great show. I wish there were more seasons, more intrigue, etc. Now my goal is to lend it out to everybody and get them hooked, so then there will be extended support for the third Pretender movie. (The first two don't come out on DVD for a month! What a saddness).

In other news, I think I am beginning to understand why Janardan has such an odd sleep schedule. Having nothing in particular that I need to do each day at any certain time has skewed my schedule a bit as well. It is odd. There is nothing to keep you from staying up late when you have nothing to get up for in the morning. And it's harder to motivate yourself to get things back on schedule as well. Before I got married, I felt that being sealed would help me understand him in ways that I couldn't, not being sealed. I have seen that happen time and time again. Yet there is still so much more progress to be made.

It is interesting how what you surround yourself influences your view on the world. I've been watching the Pretender, which has had a few episodes with purposeful illness-causing toward death and such things, and then there is Janardan being sick. My first thought when I was sick was that someone had done this to me, but then supposed that no one would really have a reason, so that was unlikely. My second fear is that I will never get better. I have a headache, and I've had it for a few days. What will happen if it never goes away? I suppose I need more exposure to healthy people, so that I can mentally believe in my health, and maintain the strength I need to take care of Janardan.

Being a wife is a full-time job.

Expeditions with the Wii

We have had serious expeditions with trying to get the Wii. I called tons of places last night, and almost none of them were selling last night, so we decided we would get up early this morning and try to get one. We went to K-mart, and we were the first ones there, but decided we would wait in the car until someone else got there that we needed to compete with to be in line. So shortly later another lady showed up, and so we were second in line, but it ended up they only had 1. So we did not get one, because we spent 5 minutes in the car, instead of in front of the door.

Then our journey continued as we went all about the Provo-Orem area, looking for any place that was likely to sell Wiis. Most were already spoken for, some did not even have any, and then there was one that was not supposed to be open today, Circuit City. So after we eliminated all the other options, we decided that we would go to Circuit City and camp out, so that tomorrow when it opens, we will be able to acquire our very own Wii.

So about 3 and 1/2 hours ago, we arrived at circuit city, and set up camp. We set up the tent (which we were fortunate to actually be able to set up because there was a random cart full of cinder blocks), and ate a few snacks, and then Janardan started to take a nap, holding our place in line while I came home to make us some real food. In 18 hours, the store opens, and we will be the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii. I forgot to take my camera earlier, so I will take it with me later, but there will be pictures forthcoming. Today I told Janardan that I have never seen so many tents in the front of stores before. Now I am one of them!

Update on Projects

So I got my sewing machine back from the service shop today, and figured out that I have no idea were th pedal is. I called my sister and asked her if she had it at her house, and searched every nook and cranny of my house, but it was nowhere to be found. I was really excited to make a new winter skirt with fabric that I had bought today, so I cut it out, and just started on it turning the side thingy to do my stitching. It was a long laborious process, but it yielded a nice skirt to wear to church tomorrow. (Also the shirt is purple, even though it looks black in the picture. I don't know why.

I also finally took close-up pictures of my project pieces, since getting them off of my sister's computer seems not likely to happen. I would put them in some kind of order, but I am lazy.
These will be the writing pieces, representing what each of the four civilizations used to write on.
This is the Chinese man.
This is the Mesopotamian man.
This is the Greek woman
This is the Egyptian man.
This is the wall of China
This is the Discus Thrower (Greek).
This is a terracotta chariot (Chinese)
This is a Ziggurat (Mesopotamian)
This is the Parthenon (Greek)
This is an Egyptian statue, which should be more visible once done with thread.
This is the pyramid.

I haven't hemmed my skirt yet, and will probably wait until I have a real sewing machine, but I still plan on wearing it to church tomorrow. I also have fabric to make one more skirt, but I will wait until I have a pedal to do that. Well that is all for now.

Ok, so facebook was being dumb, so I just uploaded them to TSC instead. So if you want to check them out, they are at TSC . They aren't arranged nicely into a very viewable format, so you just have to click through all the pictures to see them, and there aren't any thumbnails. Oh well, it will work for now, but hopefully I will be figuring out a way to get them into a more viewable format. That's them for now though.

PS my dress is so pretty. It looks especially good in the reception pictures.