J’s picture of me at the dentist…Notice the smile he put on my face. It was NOT there that morning.
March 25, 2008
Nothing much “blogworthy” for nearly two weeks. Sorry, but sometimes life in Iowa is just life in Iowa.
What has happened….
I listened to the audio version of Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in the Life of Yesterday this winter. Ever since, I’ve been trying to make better choices at the grocery store. Unlike the Kingsolver family, I am not willing to live the winter without fruit or lettuce. However, I am purposefully purchasing foods grown in the United States and fruits that are in season. I’ve been refusing to buy tomatoes because they taste horrible right now. And if I do buy a tomato, I make sure it is a good one (this means expensive right now). The last tomato I purchased was an Ugly Heirloom tomato that cost me almost $4 but it tasted really good. This is the context of the latest conversation with J at the grocery store .
J: Can we get some apples?
Mom: No, they aren’t in season.
J: So? I want some apples. And, look at this giant watermelon!
Mom: They won’t taste good because they aren’t in season. You have to buy the fruit when it is in season so it tastes good. Right now, it is winter, so the oranges taste best. When the oranges stop tasting so good, then the apples taste really good.
J: Hmmm
Later in the car as we are driving home….
J: That is really interesting about the fruit. It is the opposite of what it seems like it should be.
Mom: What do you mean?
J: Well, oranges are orange like the sun, so it seems like they should be best in the summer when there is lots of sun.
Mom: That is an excellent point. I never thought of it like that, but you are right. Maybe you should take this up with God.
J: The apples should be best in the winter except for the yellow ones. I won’t even go into all the reasons that is right with you.
What else has happened…
We got a Wii which according to the bargain I struck with A had to be accompanied by a flat screen tv. Talk about exhausting (choosing a tv, not the Wii). Here is what we learned -
- The most informative and professional people were at our small locally owned appliance and electronic store. They also had very competitive prices. I had done weeks of research online prior to shopping, but we still learned a great deal that we never thought to consider when talking with them.
- BEWARE when shopping at Walmart and stores like this. You think you are comparing the same models, but Walmart only carries the low end models of the popular brands. They likely look nearly identical, so it appears as if you are getting the same tv for hundreds less but you are getting a lower quality television.
- Buying an online subscription to Consumer Reports is worth the $25/year. We checked this several times as we moved through our shopping mainly because as we learned more, our preferred size seemed to keep shifting.
- We would have saved a lot of time had we brought our computer with us on the shopping trips and accessed the internet to check consumer reports and other sites for reviews of the tv we most recently saw. This constant confusion was the most draining of all. At one point, A could have said “we’ll take the $3945 one” and I would have said ok. Fortunately, A would NEVER say that! Wireless internet can be accessed nearly everywhere so there was a possibility of avoiding this.
- We do not get cable and only use an antenna which is placed in our attic. You do NOT need anything more than that to get great HDTV with a great tv. Look online for the main network local HD channels. We get more channels now than we did before. PBS has three HD channels in our area (one is all day, all kid shows), CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and others are all in HD. We do not get the ABC affiliate’s HD channel for some reason. We also get some channel that is always on fishing shows…A is in heaven!
We ended up purchasing the Samsung LN-T4061FX, and we are really happy with it. We were going to purchase it from our local shop, but found it online for what amounted to $500 less when you included tax. (This was even after paying for shipping.) We would have spent $100 or $150 more to purchase it locally, but $500 was just too much particularly when we had already increased our base price of the tv that were were getting.
Now, back to the Wii. The Easter Bunny brought Mario Party 8 which the boys liked, but I am really disappointed in it. The games are board game simulations and the games take FOREVER!!!! Set aside at least 1 hour for only 2 real players and 2 computer players. Unfortunately, you have to always play with 4. I am thinking now that the Easter Bunny should have went with her gut and got Super Mario Galaxy.
Since this purchase I have learned that you can rent Wii games from the video store and test them before you smack down $50 to buy them! (You can tell we have never owned a game console before!) We had Gramma Babs here playing Wii bowling as well as Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Rex. Fun for all!!!
What else has happened…
I had my first cavity in more than 25 years. SERIOUSLY!!! I so rarely require any kind of dental work, that when I do, I get all worked up and am tense and stressed out. Lucky, YES, but still. So, yesterday morning, I had a small cavity filled. (Technically, it wasn’t a full blown cavity yet, but instead an area of decay that was going to be a cavity soon.) Because J was out of school for Spring Break, he watched the whole thing including the huge shot they gave me. I wanted to grab the sides of the chair but didn’t because he was watching. He drew a terrific picture of me on the chair which I’ll scan and post in the next few days. He was AWESOME!
Fabric & Tote Bag Frenzy March 11, 2008
I promised to show pictures of my tote bags and here they are! I am hoping to finish a lining tomorrow for one and sew the outside of another as well. I am CRAZY for these tote bags because I love the denim matched with two coordinating fabrics. I put a third funky fabric (usually) in the inside for the lining. I think J’s teachers are really going to love them!
To make the pattern I just measured a tote bag I had at home for the total dimensions. I then subtracted the 7 inch fabric block I wanted, figured a top denim piece and a bottom denim piece, and added 1/2 inch seam allowances all around. I decided I wanted about four inches for the bottom so cut out a two inch corner from each bottom side, then sewed an inch in from the matched edges. I used 7 x7 inch fabric blocks in either two coordinating or three coordinating fabrics. Two coordinating fabrics meant three squares of each; three fabrics meant two squares of each. Regardless I had to think it through well when I sewed the squares into 2 rows of three blocks. I had to make sure I had the fabric in the right direction on each side. (These are the things that usually mess me up.)
The lining is simply a 18×18 square with bottom corners cut out. I added a pocket and straps measuring 29 inches in length. I’ve actually used leftover fabric for most of the lining and blocks. I did buy some, and then I found MORE awesome fabric at Jo-Ann’s the other day for an INSANELY low price. Of course, I had to buy it.
The flower tote here is for Mrs. J whose personality truly fits this fabric.
This romantic tote is for Mrs. H. who shows her funky personality with a romantic twist. Not sure who I’m going to give the sock monkey tote to.
I’m also making my own labels to sew inside. I hand sewed these one day while the boys were sledding, and I was listening to This American Life in the car watching.
Who you work with… March 11, 2008
I am so happy to say that I have had opportunities to work with people who have become the most incredible friends. When I worked in Fairbanks, Carrie, my boss, became an incredible friend. Carrie gave me the confidence to believe that I could survive a six week backpacking trip in Europe. I really don’t think I would have gone had it not been for her and her husband Bob who were so supportive during an incredibly difficult time in my life. Carrie is my son’s godmother as a matter of fact. Carrie helped me train for my first 5K despite the fact that I ran SLOW and she was had completed about 7 marathons. When I meet Carrie after any number of years of not seeing her, it always feels like no time has gone by.
When I worked in Rochester, Jakki and I became two peas in a pod…well, not exactly two peas that were perfectly round….it was more like she had a bump that jutted out in just the place that fit where my pea was dented. In this way we were a perfect match and complimented one another. We commiserate over trying to raise well adjusted children, we are both fascinated by the fact that there was actually a large container (you know the big coffee can size) peanut butter shortage because pepole bought Peter Pan and got sick and we both ONLY eat Born brand jelly beans and while one of us has been known to cross state lines in attempts to get them, the other thought it completely reasonable. She understood why I bought the Kate Spade wallet and completely agreed that the reason justified the purchase. Because of the nature of the work we did together, we have been known to debate the merits of which pronoun or verb is appropriate for more than 15 minutes.
Jakki was the person that knew EXACTLY what to do when my cap fell off my tooth in my office, and I bawled like a baby. She did NOT laugh at me. Instead she immediately called my dentist and asked if I needed a ride.
Now, I have these GREAT women who work with me and truly believe in the work we do. Only Stephanie, my assistant, is missing from this picture. Without her, I would not get nearly as much done as I do! I am so lucky to have these women near me! I believe they will tell me when my sweater is awful, and I trust them to tell me when I have something stuck in my teeth.
Grocery Samples March 9, 2008
There has been practically nothing interesting going on lately. I’ve been working a lot. Saturday, J and I went to the grocery store. Sometimes he sits in the car and watches a movie instead of going in if I don’t have much too pick up. On this day he hemmed and hawed about staying or going. He decided to go in because he was thirsty, and he was hoping for some beverage samples. He also thought I might be longer than I said and then he would be wondering what was keeping me which would mean that he couldn’t break the rule and leave the vehicle to look for me.
So, he joined me, and he scoped out the sample situation. Right after the carts, he spotted a sample table, but no samples. He repeated that he was quite thirsty. We rounded the corner into the fruit section and picked out our pears and plums. On our way out of fruit, he spotted an orange sample. I kept going knowing he would find me. After some time, J found me and informed me that the oranges were “Blow your head off GOOD…Seriously!” Too bad he’d already chosen the pears and plums I guess.
We went through the store grabbing what we needed. The milk is in the far back of the store, so it took a while to hit the jackpot – orange juice or chocolate milk samples! He asked if he could have both, but there was no chance of that. The woman who was handing out the samples said that he could chose one, but she would fill it to the top. He chose the chocolate milk, and had any other customers been nearby, he would have sold a couple quarts for them!
Of course, I had to zig zag through the store because I forgot some stuff. During the zig zag, J said that this was EXACTLY the reason why he chose to come in…I was taking longer than I thought AND he did in fact get his thirst quenched.
This is how boring life has been here lately.
I have, however, got a slight tote bag obsession going on. I’ve been making tote bags left and right from a pattern I designed myself. (It isn’t as if sewing a tote bag is difficult but…) I’ll get some pictures up next time. It started by me wanting to make something for all 5 of J’s teachers instead of spending a fortune on end of the year gifts. I thought a tote bag would make a great gift, but wanted something a bit different than the two fabric tote. Now, I want to make them for mother’s day gifts and birthday gifts.
Other good news – A has agreed on a Wii if it is accompanied by a LCD 32″ tv. I’m thinking it is a good deal, so we’ve been negotiating rather successfully. The Easter Bunny may be having to rent a truck to drop off the goodies…I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
