discovering Gene Kelly

Did I mention that a couple of weeks ago I watched Singin' in the Rain for the first time?  I LOVED it!  Adored it.  I realized that I had mixed up Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in my mind so really I had never seen Gene Kelly dance or sing before.  I kept waiting for a guy looking like Fred Astaire to come on the screen and when he didn't I checked the cover of the DVD and realized my mistake.  I could watch him sing and dance forever.  What a joy!  And, almost every day the Good Morning song gets stuck in my head.  If I could really belt out songs I would and at home by myself I tried it out but, um, I'm not a belter :)  I had borrowed the DVD from the library and it was a  2 disc set that had a bunch of bonus features so it was cool to watch interviews and choreographers discuss the greatness of the musical.  And the easy-breeziness of it, love.  It's so true that shows are just not made like that anymore. 

back from the beach

Yikes!  I have neglected my blog!  Sorry about that.  What have I been up to?  A little pickling: enjoying farmer's market: And some much needed down time with my Mom at the beach! So much fun! We went to Ft. Bragg, CA last weekend and it was v. nice. Here was our view from the hotel room. Beautiful. We found a really nice beach with the help of a local and it was just perfect. My Mom may or may not kill me for this picture, but I think it's cute!
 We did some bird watching. They were hilarious! Mom did some reading while I did some knitting. We also trolled around Mendocino which was nice. There were some really cool shops. We also went to see Finding Nemo in 3D, which was awesome! Mom hadn't been to a 3D movie and this was only the 2nd one I had been to and we really enjoyed it. I loved sitting next to Mom listening to her laugh, she hadn't seen it before so it was fun to see her reactions :) All around it was a great trip!


ps: if you ever go to Ft Bragg you have to check out Egghead's for breakfast, it's sooooo good.  The smallest seating areas you've ever been in but worth it.  And now I must learn how to make garlic swirled crepes and it's their fault :)

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Okay then, are you ready for a completely random silly post? Sorry if you're not because that's what's going down right now. Too much time to think I suppose.
I have been busy working on the quilt, of course, since time is winding down on when it needs to be done. What I ended up doing is hand stitching the borders with transparent thread -tricky stuff! It's like really fine fishing line and gets easily tangled. But, I really like the overall look of it, so that's the important part. I am in the process of seam ripping the larger squares, taking out the multicolored thread there. Maybe, maybe I'll start the binding today. We'll see.

I realized that I never said anything about how I liked the movie Eclipse! I really liked it. The ladies and I all went to see it on July 3rd. We were expecting a sold out theater like it was last time for New Moon, but oh yeah! Holiday weekend - duh. I really liked the flashbacks which stayed in line pretty much with the book. Only thing I didn't appreciate was the ring. Sorry but I thought it was awful. I was picturing something really antique-y looking and what it was didn't look older to me, more mod. I could be wrong but that was my impression. And, I liked that Jasper had more of a southern accent this time!

So, one way that you can tell that God is "talking" to you is not so much that you hear an audible voice, although there might be people that do experience that, but more of a recurring theme. Mine is memorizing scripture. For me, I'd say in the last couple years at least that has been my recurring theme. First, on the Living Proof blog of Beth Moore's she had the year of memorizing scripture. I didn't quite finish. Then, it popped up in a bible study. Then, popped up again at book club. I have always started and memorized a couple of then and then sort of petered out. So, last week I went to church after about a month long oversleeping hiatus. Guess what the pastor has started??? Memory verses! lol, seriously. A long time ago when I first became a Christian I told God he would need to be really obvious with me when he wanted me to do something because I'm not very good at picking up hidden messages......do you think he's being clear enough?

Oh! I found the cutest pattern for my dolls this past week - best part is that it was on sale at Joann's for $1.99! Ya-hoo. So, ya I know I don't have a Blythe but I do have my big head dolls to dress and they are in need of some new clothes! Mmmmm, right - if you've just recently started reading my blog you might want to know that I have a couple of dolls that I like to make clothes for. They hang out in the craft house with me. Their names are Marisol and Vanessa. And I would really love to buy a Blythe doll but still have not justified the expenditure to myself. Nuff said, I have dolls.

Speaking of Joann's and sales: check it! They had some fabric on sale for 90% off dude! So, I had to buy some even though really I have no real idea what I'm going to do with it yet. I bought two different stripy fabrics for .59 a yard, a green solid for .99 cents a yard and some black kind of eyelet for $1.29 a yard!

holy catching up batman!

I feel like I have been "radio silent" for a little while, guess I didn't really feel like I had anything to say? Not that I've thought of anything profound, trust me - but thought maybe I'd stop neglecting my little blog. So, what's new?

Last week Thursday my "sister" Jeannette, her husband Nate, and kids came to visit just over night. It was great. Jeannette and I have been friends since I was in 3rd grade, so by now in our 30-somethings it feels more like we're sisters. I was seriously cracking up at her kids, they are pretty much hilarious! I don't have kids so the things that might be mundane kid stuff to parents are frickin hilarious to me! Like their fascination with monkey bars, my couch, the penguin game, pop tarts and pretty much everything.

This weekend is the baby shower I'm giving for Kristin. I just hope that it's not a flop. I will post pictures as long as it actually looks cute and not cuckoo! I'll just say that it's going to be very colorful! I am baking cookies for it that I seriously can't wait to try! Friday is baking day this week, cupcakes and cookies. mmmmm, delish.

So who else is going to see Eclipse opening weekend??? Jan bought tickets today for a group of us, I can't wait! There is a midnight showing her the night it opens, but not only is it already sold out but I have to work the next day so we're going that Saturday after it opens.

Okay, so confession time: I gained 4lbs!!!!! Gasp. Shocking, I know. I didn't make it to spin or the gym at all last week and dang have I been diggin on the sodium! I'm back on track now, though (the shower is exempt I've decided) so it's all good. I've realized that where I am now weight-wise is where I was like ummm 5 years ago and realized I had a problem and started going to Weight Watchers. Then, my Grandpa passed away and I'm a comfort eater.....life got stressful, yada, yada, yada gained 35 lbs....oops! So, what I lost was just really the extra, extra junk in the trunk. Now, the real challenge begins I think. I'm up for it though, because one of the things on my bucket list is to be comfortable in my own skin! I just did a very interesting swap bot swap that was an email swap of 15 things from our bucket lists. A little early to think of it, I know. But, really having to think of the things that I want to do that could be tangible was kind of a renewal of my resolve. In honor of that I went to spin last night and tonight even though pretty much I would have rathered to go home and watch Lost.

Okay, confession #2: I am a little bit addicted to the show Lost. Perfect timing since it just ended, right? Hee, hee. My friend Savannah has the first 4 seasons on DVD so I've been watching them all consecutively. I've decided that's really the only way to watch a series. Who wants commercials and a whole week in between shows?? Oh, yeah and since I don't have cable it's kind of the only way I watch shows :)

ixnay on the oviemay

Okay, just a quick little update on the quilt, I think it's coming along nicely. If I had really pushed myself I probably could have been done with the top by this weekend, but - frankly I just didn't. It was an extra long weekend so I did a fair amount of lounging :)

Okay, so I ixnayed the strawberry squares for the corner squares and instead did appliqued flowers. Um, the inspiration quilt had flowers on every middle square, but was just a table topper so I thought that would be just too much but I still wanted to try my hand at applique. Here's the thing: sometimes maybe following directions would be a good thing. My mom was laughing at me because she was like, you're just jumping right in without even thinking about it, not taking a class, or getting a book. Technically I do have one book, it's not very in depth, but still. The thing is, it doesn't really occur to me until much later that maybe it would have been best to consult a book or some directions. What does this have to do with applique? I sort of winged my squares and whilst I don't think they are terrible I do think that if I had consulted a book and did the whole iron on adhesive thing maybe mine wouldn't have turned out quite so puckery. eh, oh well :)

I'm getting a little nervous about quilting it once I've made the quilt sandwich. Is it normal to get knots in my stomach and a little sweaty??? That's what happened with the first quilt and also even with the tiny kindle cover I made for Jan.

In other news, I rented the lamest movie I've seen in quite awhile "Leap Year" - I knew it might be lame and still rented it anyway. I did laugh at a few parts, mostly the Irish dudes and the way they would say things. I also rented "Valentine's Day" - um, what I have to ask is did anyone ever see "Love, Actually"? If you did then you've basically already seen "Valentine's Day" and you should save your money. Unless of course you really just want to watch Ashton Kutcher - then by all means, rent away. Sorry to be so snarky, but I really think that writers in movie world are running out of ideas. Actually, I think they ran out of ideas probably like 10 years ago. But, they still want to make movies so they change it up a tad and call it good.

Tomorrow it's back to work after, let's see, 5 days off. I don't know if I even remember how to do my job - lol, jk!

Vintage sheet giveaway

There are some fabulous giveaways happening over at the All Things Vintage Sheet blog for its Grand Opening, you must check it out! There is a new giveaway every day. Today's featured blogger is Mandy of Whimsiedots, she has a fabulous collection of vintage sheets and her etsy shop is overflowing with great prints! I'm definitely checking the VS blog to see who's on there and all the great chances to win!

In other news, I went to see "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3D today. It was the first movie that I've seen in 3D and I really liked it! I thought the story was good and the characters well developed. The dragons were super cute!

17 Again

This will just be super quick. I went to see 17 Again last night and I have to say I was cracking up!!! The friend in the movie, Ned, was absolutely hilarious!! I would have been laughing out loud a little bit more, except that I had gone by myself and there were not many people in the theater and I didn't want to be the weirdo laughing by herself!

Last weekend while I was driving down to Redding I was listening to Bob and Tom (which is rare ) and they were talking about the difference between nerds and geeks and had referenced the friend in the movie. Ned is definitely a geek - and that is what made him so stinkin funny! What they were talking about on the Bob and Tom was how you can be a geek or a nerd about anything, not just like Trekkie kind of stuff. So, I would say I am definitely a craft geek :) LOL

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I have had a whirlwind last few days, so I apologize ahead of time if this is a very scattered post. First, I did finally get my swap package mailed off and she got it in time for Valentine's Day, Yahoo! I had received mine the week prior and felt so guilty because although I already had everything bought, I just didn't get it to the post office in time! I also did receive my swap from Heidi at Spiritual Knitter, it was from the Christmas swap. A little overdue but I understand since she had just been so busy with her new baby. I do have pictures to post, but alas my batteries died as I was loading them! Bah!
Next, I will be starting a new job again in a couple of weeks. It literally came out of nowhere, and I wasn't looking so it took me by surprise and I'm still a little shell-shocked. Looking forward to it, but also a little nervous.
I have also been crocheting some more. Luckily for me there is a lady at work who crochets and she showed me what the stitches should look like. That was always where I would start to get confused. I would read the pattern and think I got it, but then start and it just would look NOTHING like the picture so I'd know I didn't really get it! The first heart I made turned out so cute, I'm going to make more :)
I went to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" last night and I LOVED it! I was laughing out loud in that really embarrassing way - no one else was laughing and I couldn't stop! Hee, hee - who cares? It was one of those that you leave and wish it was already out on video so you could just go buy it!
Yesterday was a crop (scrapbooking) with a group of regular ladies. It was soooo nice to see everyone! And really, I haven't seen them for like 3 months! Crazy. I very literally did not even get anything accomplished. I have an idea for my page though!
Oh, yeah, here's also my memory verse for today:
1 Samuel 7:12 (New International Version)
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
It is really, really relevant for me right now! I am ever trying to rely on Him, so "thus far has the LORD helped me".

Mish-mash of thoughts

So, just so you all know, it snowed ALL day yesterday........all day. But, that didn't stop me from going to the bead store at lunch or Joann's after work. Oh no. I LOVE my charm bracelet that I fanagled on Sunday...and must make more! I showed it to Jan and she was like "when are you making me one?" So, really I have to make another one, and she wanted a red one. I know, I know - no pics! I left my camera in the truck and even though I walk by it twice a day I never remember to stop and open it up and grab my camera. Maybe tonight will be the night?

I'm not going to get into my views or beliefs about the election results. I know that some people are excited and some people are upset and what I think doesn't really matter now. I voted and did my part so now what I'm doing is praying. I've been praying for safety for the president-elect and his family. I'm praying for unity for our country. I think it's important to intercede for others, and this prayer from the LPM blog says it perfectly!
In other news, I miss my friends that I talked to everyday, emailed everyday, looked at their sweet faces everyday! I feel like I have been sent to Siberia. Literally. I'm thankful to have a job to go to, but it's rough not knowing these people. And knowing that they don't know me, and don't really fully appreciate my quirks yet. And honestly I don't know if they ever will.
So, also I rented "Kitt Kittredge" the other night, it's the movie that takes one of the American Doll characters and tells their story. I thought it was very cute, although a little downtrodden for a children's story. Of course, her character lives in the Depression, so of course it's downtrodden. But, I have to say that when I was a kid I didn't really want to be worrying about whether my parents had jobs and that type of thing. And I'll just say that I didn't live a charmed life, I was raised by a single mom and we didn't have a car until I was in high school. But, somehow my mom sheltered me from a lot of stuff, or I was oblivious. I also have to say that I loved her hair and the color of it. I think it would definitely be too light for me, but I loved it.

Nothing special

Peppermint coffee is finally here! Oh man, I wait all year for this! And there is was in the Wallyworld coffee bean section....I think I may stock up this year!!!!!
Tomorrow is my first day at my new job. I will be working at a medical clinic here in town. I feel like I've lost a friend leaving the hospital. I really liked working with the hospital, and proud. I think that I am following what God wants me to do, so we'll see what's in store! Hopefully it will be awesome. One thing that might be cool is that some days are a later start than what I had before so I can get some housework done before work when I have more energy.
I re-started by steering wheel cover that I had started to knit. And the reason is that I was trying a pattern stitch out of a book and I think I just didn't get it. There were a certain number of stitches and so I figured it would work, but once I started it it seemed like maybe I needed to be doing something really wide -which I'm not. Like one row would end with 10 stitches and then the pattern row would have like 13. I'm thinking I just didn't do it right. So, I'm just going to stick with what I know which is just stockinette. It will look nice because the yarn is a variegated cotton, and it will work up faster!
Oh man! I almost totally forgot! I went to see High School Musical 3 last night with Jan and Mya (her 7 year old daughter we let tag along with us LOL) and I loved it! I am a ginormous dork when it comes to juvenile films - I think I'm still stuck in junior high in that regard! There were a couple of teeny little spots that I think were a little annoying just due to editing. One was a dance scene in a junk yard - the guys got there in the afternoon but suddenly once they started dancing it was black night out. What is that? But, loved, loved the dancing and singing! I think Sharpay is my favorite just because of her shameless craving the spotlight! And frankly I think she's one of the best dancers and singers. Her brother cracks me up too, but I'm wondering if he might be the ambiguous token gay character? I mean he wears hot pink pants and dances in a chorus line with chicks....that's all I'm saying. I thought the dancing scene with the prom theme was hilarious with the guys like dreading prom and the girls saying they've been waiting forever for it!