CreativeExile: May 2006

Miracle on our Street (Drive? Lane? Whatever.)

Miracle
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

I came home from knitting last night to this. How pathetic is it that I had to take a picture of it (then blog it)?! No, seriously. This is a miracle on two levels:

1. He Knows Where The Soap Refills Are!

2. He Knows How To Refill The Soap Dispenser!!

Of course, he had to leave the empty bottles out, to make SURE I got the point, that he does indeed have the Refill Gene. Now, if it only worked for paper towels...and if he only had a Mow The Lawn Once A Week, Especially After 5 Days Of Rain, D'OH! Gene. Perhaps I ask too much.

One reason I had to take a picture is because I took absolutely NONE at our annual Sunday (NOT Monday) Memorial Day BBQ. We had such a great crowd, given our usual last-minute, email-and-word-of-mouth invitation method. It was just too dang hot to take pictures. People would have mutinied, I think, given how sweaty and red-faced we all were in the 90-degree heat. I try to remember that not everyone appreciates being on a scrapbook page.

If only Karen hadn't left behind her entire batch of chocolate chip toffee bars...oh, the calories...! But seriously, yum.

Happy feet

Tye-dye socks
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

No, I did not knit these (although I tried...with Kate attempting to enable me by shopping in Germany for an apparently "retired" Regia sock yarn in a similar colorway). I got them at Arbor Farms Market. I've been eyeing them for a long time; they looked so comfy, and they were!

I walked Tess to school today (figures, last day of school, and we finally managed to walk it!) and wore these with my sandals (alas, not Birkenstocks...that would be a little TOO much).

I won!

Stash mess
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

I couldn't go to my Friday night crop last week because of the flu (I'm sure that's what it was, because I'm perfectly fine now...it definitely wasn't the onset of second-trimester blech), so I went last night instead. My LSS just started staying open late on Wednesdays for cropping; they are also now doing (somewhat) hourly drawings on crop nights and month-end drawings (you get a ticket for that each Friday or Wednesday you crop there) on the last Friday and last Wednesday of the month.

Since they are closed this Friday (I'm being forced to go to Brighton to crop, holy cow!), their month-end for May was last week. Alas, I was in bed then, aching and ill, but I did make an effort to go to their last Wednesday crop, even if it meant dragging my 4 year-old along. I will do anything for a prize. Shameless.

Well, whaddya know, I won! A very nice tote. You can find it somewhere in the middle of my stash (you can probably only see the pink pocket; the rest of the tote is brown, tres chic). I'm trying to slim down the supplies I take to crops; my rolling Crop XL is getting to be a real bear to lift into my car each week. No wonder, take a look at all the crap I had loaded into it, piled in front of my new tote. Time to do some serious purging of my scrapbooking stuff.

Me & Ali

Me & Ali
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

I look amazingly chipper (must be the red shirt) despite feeling like falling over. Something hit me Friday; I had a fever and chills, body aches all day, didn't sleep from 2:30a on...slept off and on all day Friday, just recovering. You know I'm not feeling well when I skip my Friday night crop...especially on Monthly Drawing Night.

I was saving all my energy for Ali Edward's class last night...which was amazing (despite feeling like falling over). I learned some fun new techniques and created an awesome mini-album (see below). One step toward stepping outside my scrapbooking box...

Too bad I missed the fun up at Threadbear that afternoon. That's another danger-zone store for me, although it would have been nice to give Jillian props on her best-selling book!

Mini Album: Ali Edwards class

Cover
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

So...I'll take this down if it's not kosher. Kind of a crappy photo, and no instructions, so it's not really useful anyway. The inside pages can be viewed over at my Flickr account.

Waldorf doll

Waldorf doll
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

Who knew she'd be a Minnesota Vikings fan (thanks, Emily!)?! Sorry, I have a thing for this purpley-magenta color. And I was hoping the yellow would look more like hair. I need to add some length...

Doll love

Doll love
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

Tess just asked if pixie dolls like to play outside. Well, of course they do!

Doll adoration

Doll adoration
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

Well, you can't see the back of the doll (my objective in taking this photo), but Tess's expression is too adorable to pass up.

Knitted thingy...

Knitted thingy...
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

Hang on...a rare knitting entry! Shocker, I know.

We visited the Waldorf/Rudolph Steiner "lower" school yesterday, on Elisha's recommendation (one of our rare Knit In members without a website). VERY cool place. I had picked up a brochure on knitted Waldorf dolls for 25 cents at the A2 District Library Book Sale (so addicted) a couple of weeks ago, and Elisha had noted at our get-together Tuesday night that the store at the Waldorf school had inexpensive yarn & the natural wool batt the Steiner philosophy "recommends." I wanted to be true to the spirit of the project and hey, I supported the Waldorf school to boot.

This looked waaay weirder without its head stuffed (think "flaccid") (that still cracks me up...so mature), but looks more like a doll than when I started. My first knitted toy!

Another baby hat

We had a very busy day today; last day of Kindermusik (missed last week because we had our ultrasound...only those in the know, "know..." ya know?!), a visit to Ingrid and Finlay (or should I say, a visit to Mowgli and Jester, since Tess was way more fascinated with their cats), a Mother's Day Tea at preschool (adorable), and dinner out at a new place, Carlyle's. Fancy place, but lots of families with kids. They brought Tess's dinner out first, and fast, plus amused her with an Etch-A-Sketch and the sugar caddy (see next entry), so we were suitably impressed.

Well, to keep in the spirit of the above entry/knitting entries (yes, you can now pass out with shock as little Alexandria did below):

Another baby hat
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

I should have made Finlay one of these! Perhaps it would have had a similar effect on him. He slept fitfully in my right arm but conked out immediately cradled in Ingrid's left. I forget what a lefty I am; he really wanted to be cradled in my left arm, but as a lefty I always cradled Tess to the right (go figure). I had to laugh at Tess's confused expression whenever I found someone else changing her "backwards."

I asked Tess what she thought of the baby, since we'll be bringing one home (permanently, however) this fall, and she said, "he's cool." Heh. Until she finds out we can't return it to the hospital or leave it at Ingrid's.

May Self-Portrait Challenge

May Self-Portrait Challenge
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

I've been struggling with this, my first self-portrait challenge at the new site...who am I exactly?

One of my favorite quotes is, "The most interesting people I know still don't know what they want to be when they grow up." I have been figuring out that very thing since I left my job two years ago. I never thought I defined myself by my work, but my last job (children's publishing) was my favorite (until the end, when my co-workers and superiors showed their true, ugly colors...also, I hung on to the job way too long, long after it ceased being "fun." It's true, you really should love what you do).

Thus, a fuzzy shot of me seemed to sum up my self "focus" at this time. Also, my daughter seems to be holding me in the palm of her hand -- also very apt.

This reflection was taken in a metallic sugar caddy at the restaurant where we had dinner tonight...its round head opened up and Tess spent a good 20 minutes "talking" to it...it reminded me of the depressed robot in Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy...too funny.

Oh...my current camera obsession(s) (and suggested "push present..." hey, we bought ourselves a computer when Tess was born; electronics are more up my alley than jewelry)! I'm leaning toward the Canon based on its size and scrapper's comments & opinions (since that's what I'll be using it for, too), but my inner photographer's dream has always been Nikon.

Money/Time Pit, Part I

Money/Time Pit, Part I
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

So...this is the hole we disappeared into this past week. With the new baby coming, we decided Tess's room was the best for a nursery (one window, front of house so nice and quiet). That meant redecorating the back bedroom to be more...ahh...GIRLY. Yeah.

This bedroom was decorated for our seller's young son. We've called it "Texas" for the 5 years we've lived here, due to the cowboy-themed decor.

Money/Time Pit, Part II

Money/Time Pit, Part II
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

The Wall, with the border stripped off. We replaced the old fan (on which we were always clunking our heads) with a shiny new white fan that sits closer to the ceiling, and switched the dark closet door for a natural wood one from our bedroom.

Money/Time Pit, Part III

Money/Time Pit, Part III
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

E applied a little TOO much steamer to this section of wallpaper; thank God it was only halfway up the wall.

He plastered edges and holes on Tuesday, I sanded on Wednesday, washed walls on Thursday, primed Thursday and Friday, and Dad came in over the weekend to cover it all with one coat. Whew!

Money/Time Pit, Part IV

Money/Time Pit, Part IV
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

D.O.D. (Dear Old Dad) hard at work, putting the closet back together. He painted the ceiling and inside of the closet first, when my folks got into town on Friday.

Money/Time Pit, Part V

Money/Time Pit, Part V
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

My best bud Kris gave this to me when she moved out to Oregon. Given how many %#*! bookcases we have in our house, it's amazing that it's stayed in our garage all this time.