Why Is It?

Why is it when you are trying to get organized, you find yourself in an even bigger mess than you were before? We are in Operation: Attic Office right now. We are clearing everything out so that Curly and his brother Tall can insulate, dry wall, and beautify the space. It will be great when it's done. For now, tis a mess. I now have a lovely Elfa system in my work space in the basement. It will hopefully get and keep me organized down here. I have been in production mode for so long, that I haven't had a chance to really get things where they need to be. Those of you who know me well will not be surprised about that.

I have shirked my duties long enough. Heigh ho, heigh ho, up to the attic I go.

Photo Friday

Remember this feature? It's been awhile...Here is the winning photo this week. It represents the start of me and Patch, all alone, for nearly 3 hours a day.

First Day

Here she is, on the front porch.

Here she is in front of the school. She couldn't stand still because she was too excited to go in and learn. It was also raining and we didn't have the umbrellas. Oh well.

Here she is at a desk. See that smile? It was still on when I picked her up, two and a half hours later.

Football

It's almost time for football season. In the meantime, Curly and Patch have been enjoying the preseason. Go Redskins!

First Day of School

Here is Flower in all her first day glory. Note the lovely yellow Mary Kate and Ashley top with bling paired with black leggin's purchased specifically for the auspicious first day of 4th grade.

All ready to leave the safety of Fredneck and travel west to the wide open spaces of Hagersburg.

But first, Curly needs to get in the shot. Flower is quite patient and indulgent.

Same pose as the first, but now in front of BCA.

Flower has a very full desk. I hope all that stuff will fit inside.

"Okay, you guys can go now!"

While Flower got settled at school, Mini-me's teacher and aide came over. They were wonderful. They let Mini-me be a goofball and make silly faces and strange noises. Curly was able to stop by to meet them briefly. I have a folder full of procedures to read before Thursday. I hope there's no pop quiz.

School Days

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Flower. She'll be in 4th grade. She is nervous and has a tummy ache. I'm not surprised.

Mini-me begins school on Thursday. Her teacher is coming over tomorrow for a little meeting. Mini-me really likes her teacher (we met her last Thursday), so I have pie in the sky hopes for this year for her.

We had a surprise visit from Aunt Becky and her BFF Lindsay tonight. Patch was very enthusiastic in his goodbye's: Bye Gecky! Bye Lind-say! Bye Gecky! etc etc. He is quite the chatterbox now. I love every moment of it.

Typical Friday Night

Curly is home from Pittsburg and Gracie has gas. What a great Friday night!

Congratulations!

Good news for the O'Kigins! Grandma and Grandpa got their mission call and will be headed to the New York, New York North mission on September 29. They will be serving as welfare missionaries, working as the employment specialists (am I getting this right, Gma and Gpa?) We are thrilled for them and look forward to spending time with them for Christmas. I've always wanted to see the Rockettes Christmas show...

Phone Calls

What a night! Curly called at about 1 am that his hotel was on fire. Yikes! I haven't heard from him this morning, but I figure he's probably sleeping in. I'm sure the folks at the Giant Eagle headquarters will give them a little leeway this morning.

Swap

I just got word that Barbie Jo got her package. This is what I sent:

• My favorite cupcake cookbook, called, appropriately, Cupcakes.


• A cupcake stand, just like the one I have to make the cupcakes (from the book Cupcakes) look fancy.


• A bath bomb shaped like a cupcake.


• A "Be Positive" pillow with an ant carrying, what else, a cupcake.

Thanks, Sharon, for organizing this! It was pretty fun.

Last Peak

Here is the last shot of the cowboy quilt. It is missing its outer borders, but I want to leave a little something for the dramatic unveiling. Or, rather, the dramatic opening of the box from the mailman. I am almost done piecing #2, but as it is after 11 and therefore the hour where I start sewing things together backwards, I am calling it a night. I am off to watch more Olympics, until I fall asleep way later than I should.

Project

Here are the girls with their hair-clip-holder. They are so proud of it!

She's 40!!

Happy Birthday, Cherie!!!

Cupcake Fairy

I participated in a swap through The Red Geranium Cottage blog, the theme being cupcakes. I was paired with Barbie Jo, whose patterns I have seen at my local quilt shop. She put together a cute package. She sent me a cupcake decorating set, some birthday candles, some cupcake liners (including Lightning McQueen!), a needle pouch, and a very cute cookie jar, that unfortunately arrived broken.

Orange rickrack? Be still me heart!I am in love with the needle pouch. Could it be cuter?




Thanks Barbie Jo! And, thanks for being patient with my package. Nothing like leaving things to the deadline...

Sneak Peak #2

Here are the Sawtooth Star blocks. They took for-e-ver. But they are done now and ready for the yellow sashing.

Current Projects

I have several projects going right now, but my favorite is for my parents place in Sun Valley. I have designed the quilts myself, and so far they are really cute (if I say it myself). It's a western theme. Hopefully the quilts will be ready to load on the MEGA QUILTER this weekend!

Didja See That??

Curly and I have been hooked on the Olympics this year. Well, I am hooked on them every year, this year is the first that Curly has joined the insanity. We have loved watching Michael Phelps win gold after gold. We've cheered on May and Walsh as they dominated on the sand. The synchronized diving has been awesome, and we were sad both times as the American teams were left off the podium. One of the most exciting times by far was last night watching the men's gymnastics. They lost their two major stars, the Hamm brothers, to injury before the games and had to play two alternate gymnasts. They weren't expected to medal. After some amazing routines (mainly by Jonathan Horton), they clinched the bronze. It was thrilling to watch. You can read more about it here.

I can't wait to see what action awaits tonight. I just hope it doesn't go as late as 1 am again...

School

My aunt posted about her youngest going off to college in just a couple of weeks. I am having the opposite experience, with my first (well, second sort of, but you know what I mean) going to the Big School for the first time. Mini-me has been in preschool for 2 years, but preschool is different. Preschool was in a one-room building a block away from our house. Preschool was only a few days a week. In two weeks, she will start Pre-K at the elementary school. Pre-K is every day of the week. It's not all day, but that's next year, and I already feel a little anxious about her eating lunch in the cafeteria. What if she gets lost on the way to the bathroom? What if she needs chapstick? What if she falls down and rips a hole in her pants? I know she'll only be gone for a few hours a day, but in two weeks she starts on 14 years of schooling before college. That's a long time and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. I don't even know what kind of glue to get for her. Stick or Elmers? And what about pencils? Mechanical or sharpened? Does she need a pencil box? Or a trapper keeper? Do they even make trapper keepers anymore? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS STUFF!!

Mini-me is screeching at Patch right now, so maybe it won't be so bad that she goes, even if she does need chapstick.

Weather Report

Tomorrow the weather forecast calls for a high of 80. Where am I? Sun Valley?

Oh, I so wish I was.

Happy Birthday...

to ME!!!

This is Patch and me on the Double Splash Flume at Dutch Wonderland. I hate the feeling of free fall, but Curly couldn't take all the kids on it alone, so I sucked it up and went. I put my foot down on a second trip. I am a wuss.

Now that laundry load #3 has been placed in the washing machine, I am going to reconnect with my fabric that was not allowed to go on vacation with us.

Happy Birthday, Curly!

Suuuuuuuure Love Ya!

Wonderland

Today, we went to the greatest amusement park for kids: Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster. It was great. There were very few rides Patch couldn't go on, and very few rides that Flower considered beneath her lofty age of 9. Mini-me felt a little free, and we would have a moment of panic while we looked for her. She was always close by, just a little out of range for us. The best part was their show about the frog prince. Normally, amusement park shows are pretty cheesy and full of bad singing and dancing. This show was cheesy, and even the speaking parts were pre-recorded. But, the frogs were divers. They did twists and turns in the air that even had me gasping. Mini-me and Flower wanted to sit in the splash zone, and by the end they were soaked.

The strangest ride was the Dutch Wonder House. You went in this tiny house, sat on one of two facing wooden benches, and tried not to get sick as the house turned around you. The quarters were close, the other "riders" a little creepy, and the sensation just weird. Patch whimpered through the whole experience. I wanted to do the same.

Pictures will follow soon. We have worn out the camera battery with all our exploits.

I Love Lucy

My mom loves I Love Lucy and used to watch it regularly while we were growing up. Who doesn't love that show? What classic comic timing! It is a useful show to know, especially when referencing your looks to Teensie and Weensie, or singing songs like "Friendship" at the top of your lungs. Today, we visited the Wolfgang Candy factory right here in York. Images from the episode where Lucy and Ethel go out and get jobs while their husbands stayed home kept flashing through my brain. I had to fight the urge to ask the woman if I could man the conveyor belt for awhile. I also had to fight the urge to ask where the Umpa Loompas were.

It's the Queen

It was fun to be the Queen. I'm glad I got rid of Debbie I'm sorry Debbie's dad got sick, because she was a good queen. I had a great time, and I hope I did the part justice. If not, the costumes were still pretty awesome. Never mind that mine weighed at least 10 pounds and was made of draperies, it was still pretty sweet.

This is me and Garrett Smith, who played Prince Dauntless, the Drab. I had a long "mamalogue" in which I lamented that fact that I wasn't 20 years younger. Then I looked at him and he looked at the audience and people laughed. And clapped.

Part of my job as Queen was to order people around. It was fun, especially when it came to Flower and Curly. I never order them around at home. This is called "acting."

And finally, we have the royal family. I'm on the left. Then there's Prince Dauntless, the Drab (Garrett Smith), Princess Winnifred, the Woebegone (Apple Reese), and King Sextimus (Michael Pellegrino). King Sextimus couldn't talk until the mouse devoured the hawk. I don't want to give away the show, but I was pretty speechless at the end.

Back in Time

Let's go back in time, shall we? All the way to last weekend. It was Patch's 2nd birthday. He was a great birthday boy. Well, can I be honest? He didn't start out a great birthday boy. He actually started out being a toad. Curly put him in time out too many times to keep track. I do know that from start to finish, the temper tantrum lasted 30 minutes. The reason? His Lightning McQueen candle was not a real car. That chaps my hide as well.

He got over it, and then we had breakfast of pancakes with powdered sugar. Yum. Please note the lovely Lightning McQueen tablecloth with matching plates and cups. Can I throw a party, or what?

After breakfast was presents. He got some lovely things, including a bag full of cars. From the movie Cars. As soon as he realized what treasures lay in the unassuming red bag, he was thrilled. We had to bring all the cars on vacation. He loves Leak Less and Vinyl Toupe. Who wouldn't?

His cake came from Giant Eagle and went with the theme of the day. We ate it for lunch. No, not with lunch. FOR lunch. It's fun to have cake for lunch. Try it sometime. Maybe on Saturday, in honor of my birthday.

Where AM I?

We are in York, PA for the week. Curly surprised me with a vacation for my anniversary/birthday week. He knows I hate big surprises, but he did it anyway. I am glad he did. Yesterday we went to Amish country. I am torn with which I prefer more: shoofly pie or discount fabric. I had both. Today are going to visit some factories, because, after all, York is the factory tour capital of the world.