sew much to do

(you can see why I'd be nervous. Monique Luillier, gasp!)
Some of you may be aware that I am currently making my baby sister's wedding dress. Pardon me while I go hyperventilate for a few minutes.  O.k., I'm back. This is my final "doing it better" post. I have spent the last few years sewing for everyone but me. I started sewing because I wanted to sew for myself, but that's just never quite how it works out. I sew for my shop, my friends, my children, my friends' children, my nieces and nephews, my sisters, baby gifts, custom orders and on and on and on. Sew, sew, sew. For everyone else. Not this year. I am sure that I will still do a lot of those sorts of things but I want to make stuff for me. I deserve fun stuff too. I hereby pledge to attempt to make at least one thing for myself every month. (this starts in March because I will be wedding dress-ing until then) I will post pictures and you may all oooo and ah appropriately. Or not, depending on how my creations turn out.

the little magic box - thankful

I had no idea how much this little box would make me happy. I don't play the games. I'm just not really that interested. But this little box makes t.v.bearable. We got rid of cable and t.v. channels completely because we can download anything we want to watch through Netflix or Zune. On weekend mornings the boys slip downstairs and Tommy downloads something from the kids folder all by himself while the grown-ups keep sleeping. And Ty does play the games, he plays them with his beloved brothers who live all over the country and they talk and laugh and are together, even when they aren't. Who says electronics are driving humanity apart? This one brings us together.

geography as taught by disneyworld

(The Mount Everest ride at Disneyworld and the standard by which all mountains are judged)

"Are we in the Himalayas?" asks Tommy as we drive through yet another mountain pass that is almost completely snowed in. Almost, but not quite. I was supposed to be driving on I-70. The mountains on 70 aren't that exciting but there was a rock slide so instead we went over Pikes' Peak (which Tommy was sure was Mount Everest). It was the first of five, count them five mountain passes in which it was snowing heavily. It could have been six but one was so snowy that they simply closed it. There were two detours taking us a total of about 250 miles out of our way. It took 22 and a half hours. It was really pretty country, even or perhaps especially covered in snow but my car was full of precious people. And my hands got sore from gripping the steering wheel and my eyes are all squinty from glaring into blizzards. We did however, arrive safely and my little monkeys couldn't be more thrilled to be with Grammy and Grandpa and favorite cousins. Already, it was worth it. But I am sort of thinking about just selling my car and flying home.