A Quilty Kind Of Day!

Being that this is Monday, I am usually found with a rag in one hand and a bottle of Pine Sol in the other...welllllll I cleaned house on Saturday so that I could quilt all day long today. It was just the best day!!! First I put some Fons and Porter on the laptop so I could pretend I had me some quilting buddies.....
then I started to work on this baby. My brother and his wife had a baby a while ago and I am making a quilt for him. This is my design wall. :) I took all my quilt stuff out of the computer/music/quilt room after the hubby bought my new machine. We have this nice size nook area that I made mine, all mine.
Here is my pride and joy all ready to make some squares...

This is the finished quilt. It is made from flannels and cotton. The cotton fabric is the white and the rest is flannel. It turned out really good and it's so soft for my new nephew to snuggle with. The day after tomorrow I am going to the fabric market to buy a bunch of batting so I can get this thing quilted and out the door.

Happy quilting everyone!!!!

Meet the newest member of the family...

Well...here she is...my Juki. Isn't she shiney!!!! I've been playing around on this thing for days. I only had one mishap...I thought I knew what I was doing and started turning dials. heehee Messed up the tension a wee bit and had to have a friend come over and help me fix it.
This thing is fast!!!!!!!!!! I am working on getting to know the foot pedal so that my fabric doesn't get away from me. I can't tell you how much I love this thing!!! I'm going to the fabric market on Weds so I can buy some batting and start quilting these quilt tops I have here. :)

This morning when I went into Boo-Bears room look what I found....

I'm thinking he feels like a mountain lion under all these covers. He does this all the time. We have to be careful to never step on any blankets if the kiddos have a sleepover, he could be under some of them. Cute huh!

It's Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is here!!! In my house!!! My very own beautiful wonderful amazing gorgeous fast!! Juki!!! The Adashi met me at the front gate so I could sign him in..he came on a motorcycle with it strapped on the back. He spoke only two words in English...no and okay. Works for me! It took three men to get that thing upstairs!! The Adashi put it all together and then we proceeded to have a little tutorial. Much hand waving and okaying between us. I think he was amused at me. I kept patting him on the arm and then grinning at him, plus all the hopping around I was doing and singing at the top of my lungs that I was soooooooooooooooooooo happy, makes for a whopping good time if you ask me!
One thing that tickled me to no end was the group of people who came to watch the "goings on" by the gate when I was trying to sign the Adashi in. Seems that only certain delivery men can come on base and there was much discussion going on between the Adashi and the three gate guards. Loud discussion. With hands waving. No one was angry, these are just a passionate people and at times a talk can get lively. I loved the whole thing!!! I felt like a puppy jumping around and telling everyone that my machine came. The crowd had no idea what I was saying but they were sure happy for me! heehee Every once in awhile I noticed that the crowd was paying more attention to the "loud conversation" then to my new Juke. This led to more jumping around and much pointing by me for them to "look back over here!!! Look what I got!!!"
After my instruction session with the Adashi I had to take him back to the gate. As he was leaving the van I grabbed him by the arm and told him that this was the happiest day of my life. He grinnned at me and said, "okay!" I am sure he had a wonderful story to tell when he got home about the crazy American running around in circles in her living room and giggling.
I am now off to sew!!!!
bye everyone!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! ONE OF THESE BABIES MAY BE ON THE WAY TO MY HOUSE....TONIGHT!!!!!! I know a woman who knows a guy here who gets these for a song.....he fixes them up til they are all shiney and new looking and sells them for HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!! I have been lusting after one since we got here. It needs me!!! I need it!!!! What am I going to do with 101 new yards of fabric if I don't have one???? Did I mention my anniversary is on Valentines day and I informed the Capt that my life would not be complete unless I had me one of these?? And that 19 years is a loooooooooonnnnnnggg time to be married someone!!! And that my soul would be berift without it. That if he would buy one for me I would never ask for anything again as long as we both shall live, amen. I just called him and told him about the woman and the man and the knowing of each other. He gave me the go ahead, cause he is Superman...Batman....Capt America...and Denzel Washington all rolled into one!!!!! It may be here tonight at 7. I will keep the world informed!!!!

Wahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Upate numero uno: The Capt just called and wants to know where am I going to put the God-Forsaken thing......heehee silly man. I am going to put it in the middle of the living room with lights all around it to illuminate it's wonder. Question answered.

I am the fabric master...

In my grand plans I have decided to do two major shopping trips to the fabric market before we leave lovely Korea. Yes, I will do some little shopping trips, wouldn't want the economy to suffer...but two really nice ones to help me get as much fabric as I can. Today was shopping trip number one. Look at what I got!!!! Isn't this one lovely!!! I totally see a girls quilt with this.

As I was perusing the bolts I suddenly felt a little "purplish" and look what I saw!! PERFECTION!

Okay, this is just to cute to pass up! Kitty lovers, wipe your mouths, drool is most unbecoming.
Next up we have some wonderfully smokey fabrics. These three grabbed me by my arms and cried "take us home!!! Don't leave us behind!!" What could I do?? So, I took them. :)
Here we have some lovely tone on tone blacks. The one to the left is a gorgeous japanese fabric with cranes on it. I don't know what I'm going to use if for but my stash was very happy to meet it.

Here is a wonky picture of some reds. Mmmmmmmm reds!

This my dear friends is a bunch more tone on tones. I couldn't leave them behind...tone on tones are very tender hearted you know. They get their feelings hurt when you by-pass them. I couldn't have that. Nope. Nu-uh!
Look at these luscious beauties. They are so rich! So devine! They took me aside and told me they would appreciate their own bin as they are much to pretty to be put in with the others. Sigh, what snobs.
Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, don't these just make you happy!!!
Do you know what these are???!!!! FLANNELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes!!! Flannel! I went looking for them. They called to my soul. I had to have them. In fact, I am sleeping with them next to me tonight. heehee

I love these. By the time I met thier aquantence I was getting sleepy and was thinking about having a nap. My arms were tired. My shoulders hurt from all the bags. My soul was content. I was happy.

What?? What is that you ask?? Exactly how many yards DID I buy?? Well, when I got home...ummm after my nap.. I measured. Then had a heart attack. Then I measured again.... Get ready for it...

Ta-Da!!!!! Meet 101 yards of fabric. Sigh. Sigh. I hear violins all of the sudden. I hear flutes. Sigh I hear the harp. I am in fabric heaven.

Send Help...and Coffe!!

This morning, being Superbowl Monday, I am waiting for my family to leave so I can finish getting ready to go to the fabric market. (remember we are a day ahead and get the superbowl today) It is taking forever for them to leave. Did I mention I've not had my morning cup of coffee yet?? Before every fabric shopping excoursion we women fortify ourselves with a large steaming hot cup of Starbucks coffee and one of thier pastry wonders. I am saving myself this morning. It is hard. It is very very hard. I am not nice in the morning without a cup of coffee. For example...here is one of the many conversations floating around my home this morning:

The Son : Boo-Bear is a pongu!! ( a pongu is a wet ummmmmmm toot. There I wrote it. It's a toot. SIGH!) Then he laughs maniacally just one step from her bedroom door while she comes out of her skin cause she knows he is going to come in her "private space."

Boo-Bear: SO! You're a pongu sniffer!!! The said when she comes out of her room and punches him in the stomach.

The Son: Mooooooom she hiiiiiiiit me. (said in the syruppy voice of a male trying to get his sister in trouble and loving every minute of it)

annnnnnd me: Nobody is a pongu and nobody is a pongu sniffer. AND IF YOU HIT HER BACK I AM GOING TO RIP HER FACE OFF!!! (see at this point the loudest person wins)

Me to the dog: did i just really say that??

The Dog: ?????

The Capt: co'mon D!!! We have to leave for the game!! Aren't you going to make us any egg sandwhiches?

Me, again to the dog who was sitting ever faithful by my side of the bed: I hate everyone but you!!!

45 more minutes and the Walkers Leigh and Jen will be here to take me to coffee nirvana. I am holding on.......hooooooolllldddddiiiinnnnngggg oooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

SUPERBOWL!!

Patriots or Giants?????? Who will be the big dog this year?? In this house we are going for the Pats. The jerseys have been purchased and plans have been made. The hubby and The Son are headed to a Super Bowl party. They have to get there at around 6:30 a-yem to start the festivities. Here in Korea it will be Monday morning when the game starts. The die-hard fans will be eating nachos and cosuming mass quantities of beer by 7am. :) Where will I be?? What will I be doing?? I will be with the Walker's Jen and Leigh. We are headed to the fabric market. The taxes have dropped and I only have 5 more months in the land where fabric is $2 a yard. I plan on hitting it and hitting it hard!!!

Have fun tomorrow everyone!!! (Whatever you decide to do)

Falling in love with "Dub-yuh"

The Capt made the three kiddos watch the State of the Union the other night. He wants them to be involved in the whole "picking the next president" process. My Boo-Bear and I were going out to dinner last night, just the two of us when she starts talking about the program. Here is how it went:

B.B : Dad made us watch George Bush the other night when you were at Bible Study (yep, I did go to Bible Study and threw this in there so you would be impressed with me!)

Me : What did you think?

B.B. George Bush said to vote on the issues and not on gender or race. He wants to give money to poor people too.

Me: Really? (and now I am just a tad amused cause up until then she had been quiet for about 20 minutes looking out the window as we drove to the restaraunt. She must've been thinking about it the whole time)

B.B. Yep, I may vote for him when I get older.

Me : God help us all.

heehee

The Son

My son is a butt head. SIGH! I was perusing the blog world and came across a really cool skateboard video where they blow things up and all. I saved it so we could watch it when he came home from school. As soon as he walked in I called for him to come here. I was all excited that he was going to think I was the best mom and totally awesome for, I don't know, "Connecting" with him and his teenagerie angst ridden self. He watched the video with a friend. The friend wanted to know who made the video. I preoceeded to tell them. Still smiling and feeling pretty good about the whole thing. Then my son snickered and said that no, that wasn't who made the video, he just "posted" it. Then they both laughed at me and went to his room.

Let this be written, let this be known...I will not ever find skateboarding videos of things being blown up again. There. The End.

Things you learn from parenting day by day...

Today was schedule change for my older kids at school. The year is already half over! Middle Daughter went to the cafeteria to get hers and as she walked up to the table to see if hers was ready the counselor spoke loudly about getting in line, waiting your turn and some other stuff. Since she looked her way my daughter thought she was talking to her. Now instead of going to the back of the line or telling the counselor that she was just looking my lovely daughter says out loud, "calm down." Hmmmmmmmmmm The counselor was on the other side of the room...it's not a big cafeteria...and she has a very strong personality. But. But. I say again...but...that was no excuse for my precious one to mouth off. Man! The counselor had her go up to her office and by that time my daughter had control of her faculties enough to say a bunch of yes ma'ams. Then she came home at lunch to tell me what happened. I wasn't very happy. I was calm and let her tell me the whole story and only asked a couple of questions. Then I re-explained our policy....if a teacher is being, in any way shape or form, crabby with you or loud with you or is talking to you in a way you don't like, call us. Be polite. It's a grown up. Then call us. We will handle it. I promise you, we will. (this in no way means they should take abuse, physical or verbal. Then they are to leave ASAP and head to the office to call me or their father so the gates of Hell can be opened and the teacher will feel the wrath of the ages on their faces!)
There are always two sides to every story and we like to get both before we act. Sometimes it's the kids fault. Contrary to popular opinion these days it is really sometimes the kids fault. Sometimes it's the teacher and you need to step in as a parent to help your child or back them up. Today it was my daughters fault. She told me she knew she should go and apologize again. I told her I'd be there with her. It's our job as a parent to be standing next to our kids as they make mistakes. It's how they grow and learn and feel secure in their place in the world. I feel strongly about that. I also said some other stuff but, well you mom's can probably guess that I was one un-happy camper with her.
I went to the counselors office later on in the day. I think she thought I was going to fight with her. I didn't. I apologized for my daughter and then told her she would be meeting us and she would apologize for herself. I told her I totally agreed that my progeny was in the wrong. When my daughter came in she apologized for herself and said it would never happen again. I was really proud of the little butt-head! Then the counselor talked to her a bit and gave her a big hug. Then we hugged. Then as I walked home with my little "pride and joy" she put her arm through mine and said she was sorry to me and thanked me for coming with her. It ended up being a good learning experience for her. So many days as a mom I feel like I maybe missed it. Today I felt like I did good. And you know what else, after all is said and done, my baby stepped up and did good too.

That's all you can ask as a parent.

Movie Review..

Last night the hubby and I saw the movie Juno. It's one of the cutest movies I've ever seen!!! If you haven't seen it due the the main character being pregnant and wanting to give the baby up for adoption and you're thinking Sad City...you'd be wrong my friend! This is a sweet movie...not sad at all!!! Go run to your nearest movie theater and watch it with a good girlfriend and the biggest popcorn and soda you can get!!!

Go Now!!!

turbo tax

The other day the Capt checked the mail and wonder of wonders our W-2's were in there!!! I had a little (heehee) cosmo while I gathered all the stuff I would need to do our taxes...

cosmo - check
laptop - check
06 taxes - check
another cosmo - check
comfy chair - check
smidge more cosmo -

15 minutes later and Houston we have a return!!!!!

I love turbo tax! What did we do before that thing?? You just download it and it asks you a bunch of questions then it makes you happy by telling you that you're getting a refund and can buy some furniture when you move back to the states in 5 months. :) Happy happy days!

He's sick.....God help us all..

The Capt took The Son to a church retreat this past weekend. It was at a ski resort. It was cold. My hubby came back with the sniffles. The sniffles turned into a headache on Monday. On Tuesday he had the sniffles a headache and a sore throat. Fast forward to today and he has the plague. He has been stoic amidst the pain. He went to work yesterday. Today?? Ummmm, no. He is home. Where are we?? We are all trembling in fear and trying our hardest to get out of here ASAP! We have one shower in this place and we are all fighting desperately to be next in line. The kiddos are lucky. They have school. I didn't even get called in to sub.
Who knew that all this time we were doing our mornings wrong?? Who knew that Boo-Bear shouldn't eat her cereal while watching cartoons happily. Who knew that the teens should be getting up 30 minutes early?? Who knew!!! WHO KNEW THE CAPT WAS SUCH A PAIN IN THE BUTT SISSY FACE WHEN HE'S NOT FEELING WELL???? He is CRABB-EEE this morning! Whew! We are all slinking along trying to blend in with the white paint on the walls so he will not notice us. I am ashamed to admit that as The Son and I were walking down the hallway together I pushed him in front and slid into an open doorway so that The Capt would notice him and not me. heehee Every man for himself I say!
Gotta go.....I'm headed to Walker Jen's for a sew day. Hopefully by the time we all get home the heaven's will have decided to take mercy on us and bestow some healing powers on this man of our!!! Pray for us people!! Pray hard!!!!

Oh the Horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went with a friend of mine to the local hospital off-base today so she could have what the rest of us were referring to as "the booby squish." Yep, she had to have a mammogram. I'm not using her name here as I do not want to embarrass her. I am not into embarrassing people I care about as you can tell from me letting the world know my youngest started her ummmmm You Know What. heehee
Anyway, back to the story. 4 of us met at Starbucks to start the day off right. Then my friend and I went to her appt while the other two went across the street to the market. Now let me tell you that this isn't just any ole' hospital. This is like stepping back in time. Not to offend a whole country but I gotta tell ya, it's tough on us Americans to go there. We are used to cleanliness and mucho privacy. Where you can walk down the hallway and not see people carrying their own urine bags or my personal favorite, the blood bag. Or while you are waiting for the elevator you are standing next to a person who obviously has come from major surgery and is shaking from the effects of anesthesia AND NOT EVEN COVERED UP. People will come in crowds to see what you are there for and watch your treatment. It's like live TV for them. There is nothing like having stitches while 10 strangers stand around and watch all while smacking on some gum.
This was not an appt I was willing to miss. I needed some blog material!
We get to the hospital and my friend informs me we need to go to the International Ward. I, of course, inform the people around us that we are headed to the International Ward. They didn't speak any English but looked properly impressed.
My friend fills out her paper work and our liaison takes us up a flight of stairs to the mammogram room. I am to wait for her in the waiting area. She is gone for 10 minutes. 10 minutes ladies!!! They don't fool around here! During that 10 minutes I amused myself by watching the toothless gentlemen who had his choice of 5 comfortable chairs but decided to sit right next to me. I just knew he was full of flesh eating bacteria and was trying to share some of it with me. When my friend came out of the door no one was happier to be out of the waiting area then I was. Forget her having to have a mammogram, it was all about me at this point!
We headed back downstairs so she could check out. As we walked back down the hallway towards the exit I almost got lost in a crowd of people headed to the emergency area. Now this is the place that strikes fear in even the hardiest of military wives. You do not want to go to this hospitals emergency area. It is just a large open bay. There are no curtains to section off areas. If someone comes in and has lost a limb they bleed right next to you. There are people with open sores thre.....people who have been in serious accidents sitting in chairs waiting to be seen. I did not want to go there. I looked up from the crowd of people and yelled to my friend not to leave me with all the terror in my soul making my voice shake. She came running and grabbed my hand then took off for safety. We made it out the front door and never has the aroma of kimche smelled so good. We inhaled for a while and then walked quietly to her car. Welllll maybe we giggled a little and maybe we snorted once or twice cause we giggled so hard..hmmmm maybe. :)
Never was a mammogram such an adventure!

Womans Day...

Back in High School Thursday night was Cosby Show night. I remember the episode where Rudy got her . and Claire told her about Woman's Day. A day to celebrate being a woman for the first time. She made popcorn and they snuggled under a warm blanket to watch a movie together. Just the mom and the daughter. I loved that idea and put it in the back of my head for a time when I would need it.

When it was Middle Daughters time for Woman's Day we went to the movies and saw Must Love Dogs. We had chocolate and popcorn. We put our heads together and shared a soda. After, we went to the drugstore and I let her pick out any and all the feminine products she felt she may need and we talked about "stuff". I answered questions, she listened. It was magical and she was the first to bring up Woman's Day when it was out Little Boo-Bears turn.

Last night she was up. We went to the movies to see Enchanted. Perfect Woman's Day movie!! We went to dinner first. To the Outback...which is mucho expensive here and totally a treat. We spent over an hour there. We had dessert.....a gooey chocolaty wonder. When we got to the movies we had perfect seats. She leaned over and put her head on my shoulder through most of the movie. After we sang the song from the movie while we walked the block to the car, much to the amusement of every Korean person downtown. I answered questions last night. She listened. It was magical. Then, since we are the only ones home this weekend (The Capt and The Son are on a ski weekend retreat for the teens at church and Middle Daughter is cheering at an away game) we slept out in living room.
I told her to remember this night and to do it with her own daughters when the time is right.

You know what??? I think she will. :)

The facts of life from a 10 year old.....

Now that our little Boo-Bear is growing up she asked me if we were going to have "the talk". Yes, I shivered a little and contemplated handing this lovely task over to her father.
We all know how that would go over..not! So as I was thinking what to say she informs me she knows all about sex anyway. Oh really??! WHAT??!! Here was our conversation.....

Me: Oh you do huh. What do you know??

Her: Sp*rm (sorry Jen) turns into an egg and then when the egg is done it cracks open and a baby comes out.

Me: Exactly.

She then sat back in her chair feeling all "in the know" and very grown-up and just a little over the whole "we don't take her seriously in the family" when she obviously knows everything there is to know about....well....everything.

Where in the world do they come up with this stuff????!!!!

My baby.....

Tonight I was in the living room watching TV.

Minding my own business.

Our youngest called out to me.Being a loving mother I yelled back that American Idol was on and to leave me alone. She called me again, sounding a bit louder. I, of course, did the only thing I could do with American Idol on...I yelled back that if she called me again she was going to bed early and for the love of all that is holy could she just fix it herself. She then pulls out the big guns and yells that it is "an e-mer-gen-cy". My heart starts beating fast cause she is in restroom. Uh-Oh!
I go back to see what's what and by the look on her face I know. My baby. Our youngest. She is a baby no longer. She grins at me and says, "I guess I'm a woman now." And, "do I get the talk?" Because I am all together and ready for this I run in the living room and tell my hubby I am taking her to the ER and that no child of ten can possible have her ummmmmm well you know. Yep. Way to make this not traumatic for her. Sheesh! I get her all bundled up and off we go with Middle Daughter in tow cause she wanted all the women in the house to be included in the adventure. The lady at the front desk looks perturbed when I walk in and tell her what's going on. She goes, "You brought her in cause she started her ummmmmm well you know?" HECK YEAH!!!!!! All while my little Boo-Bear is standing by me with a big grin on her face.
The Dr was wonderful. He checked to make sure nothing else was going on...he just took her temp and listened to her tummy and asked a couple of questions.....all the while I'm standing there rubbing my hands together and breathing heavily. I know he was thinking about giving me a Valium. Anyway, nothing is wrong with her that hasn't been wrong with zillions of other women. The Doctor gave me a pat on the back and said "don't worry mom, she's fine." I took her to the store and we bought every kind of "product" she ever thought of. Anything she wanted to try. You should've seen the cashiers face when the three of us walked up with 80 boxes of ummmmmmm feminine products and some chocolate. I think we may have scared her.

This Friday we will be having Womans Day. I am going to take her to a movie...just the two of us...and we will eat popcorn and have some chocolate. I will let her know how proud I am of her and that I love her..........................then I will go and light a candle for my hubby cause now he has three women in the house who will have PMS all at the same time. :)

The Ya-Ya's

I've made some wonderful friends here. Three women in particular. We call ourselves the Ya-Ya' and whenever we have a secret for "our" ears only we hold up a V sign and say Ya-Ya. The V is the signal that the next bit of conversation is for the vault. What?? You don't know what the vault is???? Hmmmmm Let me enlighten you. The vault is where secrets go and do not come out. Once something is in the vault it is not to be repeated. If you do repeat it you are no longer welcome to visit the vault. :) Anyway, these woman have made this assignment so much fun. We've explored Korea together, had lunches out, taken a girls weekend away, get together for regular Saturday movie night at Walker Jen's and even the hubby's get along.
Today the first of us got an assignment to a new Post. Three of us are leaving this summer. One is staying for another year. We will all be seperated. But our Walker Leigh is the first to find out where she is going. We have 5 more months together. I can't help feeling a little sad tonight.
To my Ya-Ya's.................................... I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!

That darned dog upstairs!!!!

The neighbors dog has been barking non-stop for three hours.

Why?

Why are you barking doggie?

Doesn't your throat hurt from all that noise coming out of you??

no?

Well you are killing my head!!!

I know when these people leave, their dog barks til they get home. Sometimes they are gone all day and he barks......all day long. Non-stop. Once they left him overnight. He barked. From 11pm-5am. I do not like this dog. Nope. I do not.

You know what???? Sometimes when they are gone I go upstairs, walk up to the front door, on tippy toes....and lean close to the door........and in my quietest voice I say to the dog......"you are the devil."

Makes me feel better every time!

:)

The Son meets a "lady of the evening"

Last night The Son went to the movies with his girlfriend. On the walk home he has to pass a bar/lounge. It is totally harmless...well it's always been...until last night. Last night a woman walked out of the bar side door. She sees my innocent baby and says to him "hey you!" "hey, hey you, come here!!" He, being a man of the world, pretended like he didn't hear her. She persisted. Finally he looked over at her and she asked him how old he was...with a leering smile on her face. He, again, being a man of he world, said the first thing that came to his mind. "ummmm I'm 12" Then he ran home. For those of you who aren't a regular here my son is 18. He came straight home and told my hubby who incidentally was a man of the world and would've sooooo handled that differently when he was 18. My hubby came to bed and told me. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. 12????!!! hahahahahahahahaha That's my boy! Always thinking on his feet and still very innocent. :)
hhahahahahahahahaha 12!

An Award!!!

Tracey at ozcountryquiltingmum nominated me for the "You Make My Day" award!!!!!!!!! I loves me some awards people and knowing I make someones day is the icing on the cake!!! The rules are thus (don't I sound smart!!) You think about someone who makes your day out there in blogland. No more then 10 now! You post them on your blog with their address so that other people can go and check them out. You also write to those you have nominated so that they know they are loved and appreciated. I loves me some loving and appreciating!!! heehee Okay, now for the hard part. My own nominees. (is that a word??) Every day I like to get up early, grab some coffee, head for the computer room and read my blogs. I have a couple of favorites. These people make me smile. They make me laugh out loud. They've even made me tear up a time or two. I've thought about it for two days and here are my favorites.....

First up: Tracey over at http://ozcountryquiltingmum.blogspot.com/
She's a wonderful mother living an extremely interesting life on a farm in Australia. She makes me laugh out loud and I go over her way every morning. :) Love ya Tracey!!

Then there is my Bec. She is an inspiration to mothers everywhere. I have been blessed to have had her in my life for 4 years now. She is worth a peek just to see her cute kids! To see her go to
http://bekahbyrd.blogspot.com/

Next in line is our very own Walker Jen at http://www.wackyhappenings.blogspot.com she is right now, this very minute building an empire on Etsy. She is a mom, designer, quilter and a scrapbooker. No one can put colors together like her. She has promised me a job when she hits the big time. She totally understands that Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fridays are not good for me work wise. I have things to do, people to see, places to go. The weekends are family time so that's out. Weds is good but only from 9-11 as I have my afternoon nap to think of. It's good to have friends in high places!!! heehee

Then there is Judy over at http://judylaquidara.blogspot.com/ I go over there to drool over her quilts. Not only can she quilt like no-one's business but she is an author of quilt books as well and AND she is a mom! She does all these things with great wit and style. Go check her out...you won't be sorry!!

http://www.jennyhaha.blogspot.com/ is a wonderful blog. I do warn you though, bring some tissues. Her little girl had open heart surgery. Can you even imagine??????! Her little one made it through just fine, thank goodness!! It's a great story!!!

http://www.thesiekmantriplets.blogspot.com/ Now this sweet lady, after raising a couple of kids, found her real one true love and they had them some triplets!!!! hahahahaha Love it! She writes about her every day life that is just sooooo not every day! Her three blessings are growing up and keeping her on her toes. She's hysterical!!!

Okay, my final one is Pam at http://pamscreativemind.blogspot.com/ When you go to say hi to her she has moved but for some reason my computer wouldn't let me cut and paste her blog address but check her out!!! She is one of the kindest people you will ever have the pleasure of knowing. She makes me laugh and I read her a lot. Hi Pam!!!

whew! Okay, now if you've been nominated spread the love!!! Nominate some of your own favorites and let them know you like them...you really like them!!!

A special thanks goes out to Tracey!!!! thanks for thinking of me!

dawn

My Capt...

Since it's Friday I don' have to get up at 5am and go to the gym. Good thing too since I have cramps. :) Don't you love having that information!!!! Anyway, I forgot to turn the alarm off and at 10 to 5 it buzzed. I rolled over, hit the off button and laid there feeling deliciously warm and cozy. I looked at my Capt sound asleep and breathing quietly. All warm and cozy himself. I leaned close and whispered to him, "Hey you. I don't have to work out this morning." Then I grinned when he said back, "zzzz mpnmsmpss". I said, "wanna cuddle??" For about 20 minutes I just rubbed his back and thought about how soft he was and that he smelled good in the morning and felt all in love while the heavens twinkled and the blue birds sang. He of course slept through it all.

Well I just got a phone call. It was him. My Capt. He says to me, "hey D, thanks for the back rub this morning. I gotta run, I just called to say I love you."

When we hung up I may have squealed like a teenager. My heart may have gone pitty pat and I may have even sighed.

A good start to the day if I do say so myself. :)

My Two Lives Come Face To Face.....

I got an email this week that has caused me to look at my blog and go "hmmmmmmmm".
This email is from an old friend of mine. We've been friends for around 13 years and used to go to the same church together. We even sang in the choir standing right next to each other. Our families have traveled many miles to stay with each other when we moved away to other States. It goes without saying that I love her as a sister. Now I find out that her computer died about a year ago and she wants to catch up on my blog.

Ummmmmmm no.

How do I explain this???? This blog is where I have put time in examining my "Real" self. My fears for my children....my anger at someone.....a drink or three out with the girls.....mooning over my hubby.......my struggle with church.....funny things...sad things. I am even working on a post talking about my 10 year struggle with depression. I think if she read my blog she might think that I have headed down the path of ill-repute. That I have fallen by the way-side.
I can hear you out there now saying that if we have really been friends for all these years then she should know the real me anyway. But let me ask you this.......have your two lives ever come face to face?? Has anyone ever read your blog, someone that knows you in real life, and said to you, "I didn't know you felt that way" or "I never knew that about you" and then looked at you with dis-approval?? How did you handle that?? What if it's a friendship you treasure?? Or have you ever hurt someone's feelings without meaning to. You put something in the blog not knowing they would read it and then they found it and took it out of context and got upset.

Just some things I'm thinking about. I'm not going to change anything about myself. I like the person I am and love having this blog to express myself. It's just when I got that email two days ago it gave me pause and I was also a little surprised at myself that my first thought was "oh heck no you aren't getting my blog address!!!!!!" Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm What do you think??
dawn

PMS rears it's ugly head..all over my hubby!

Last night the hubby came to bed and wanted to talk about our son. He is 18 and ummmmmmm how shall I say this...well he is pulling away a little and deciding that his father's ideas and his ideas are not one and the same. There, nicely said. Now this is totally normal, I know, but still a pain when you are the mom and you have to listen to both of them gripe about the other.
Well this particular argument stems from a ski trip and his girlfriends 18th birthday. Our church youth group is going on a ski trip. It will cost us $125 for just him to go. Then we have to buy a couple of other things like goggles...long johns...gloves. You know..things to keep him warm. We also have to give him spending money so that when they are away from the lodge he can eat. Now my hubby feels that since he is 18 he should pay for some of this. Well his girlfriend is also turning 18 this weekend and he needs money (that he does not have) to get her something special. The only jobs that teens can do here are bagging at our grocery store on base or baby sitting. They sign up to bag on Monday and find out Friday if they are picked. They can only bag on Saturdays and Sundays. Most of the kids run up to the office on Monday to sign up. Not"OUR" kid. It's like pulling teeth. The hubby wanted him to sign up to bag both days. The Son wants to only bag on Sunday. The hubby wants him to step up and start making things happen. The Son wants his father to take a step back but keep the wallet open.
Here is where I step in...I am laying in bed, minding my own business perusing the blog world when the hubby comes in and wants to talk about that son of "mine". I do not want to talk about that son of "mine". I want to read blogs and dread getting up the next morning at 5 to workout. He persists. I tell him we should be happy that he is signing up to bag at all and that it's normal for a kid his age to disagree with everything one minute and then need us the next and that it's also normal for him to want to spend all day of her 18th birthday waiting by the phone for her to call and tell him she is ready. He thinks The Son should work til 7 and then take her out with money he has earned and that he is done talking to me and he is going to sleep now goodnight. Ummmmmmmmmm no. He must have missed the memo about my PMS. I was mad now. Good and mad. I decided I was still mad about things he did or didn't do when we were 16 and he needed to hear about them. He started laughing when I informed him that "my intense dislike for him at that moment was threatening to bubble over like lava all over his face!!!" I took umbrage over the laughter. We went to sleep soon after that. He tried to put his foot next to mine like he usually does and I told him to put his foot up his bottom. More laughter from him and then he fell into a deep sleep while I prayed to the heavens above that I would snore like a truck driver and keep him awake!!
This morning we woke up and laughed and laughed and laughed. We love each other again and I know that as he is driving to work this morning he is thanking his lucky stars to have met someone who keeps things interesting.
heeheehee crazy PMS!
dawn

why?

It is almost 9 pm here in my part of the world. I've got my bedroom window open so that it can get cold in here and maybe the crazy man I try to sleep next to will be able to stop tossing and turning.....that's a whole nother' post...anyway what do I hear outside?? Two people running.

why.

Why are they running, and laughing, at 9 at night?

why.

It's just something that begs asking why.

idiots.

The Son...

My son came to me yesterday to tell me what his plans were after graduation this June. Here was a bit of the conversation..

The Son: Mom I think I know what I want to do with my life! (all excited)

Me: Really?? Tell me! (all supportive)

The Son: I want to play the X-Box 360 perfesionally! (very serious and still excited)

Me: ????

Me: cue crickets chirping.....

The Son: Just thought you should know.

Me: Just so long as you are happy son. (picked myself up off the floor and was supportive again)

a professional video game player.

we are so proud.

The place where dreams go to die...

For the past two days I've been getting up at o'dark thirty (10 to 5) and hitting the gym. I had been working out all summer long and got some things tighter then they had been before. As soon as school started and I went back to subbing I stopped the work outs. The things that had been tighter then before?? They slid to one side and plopped down on the floor and ran out of the room. Nothing is tight. Nothing is firm. Things are jiggly. I decided to take the bull by the horns and do something...anything about it.
Did you know that there are mirrors everywhere at the gym??? Did you know that when you try to run/jog...let's get honest here....flop around and breath heavy, that you can no longer live in a dream land where your boobies are perky and your stomach has a 6 pack??
My dreams died today folks. It wasn't pretty. There I was, minding my own business. Working out. Doing a brisk walk on the treadmill. I looked over to the right and saw this poor woman with a red face and a saggy behinny. I felt sorry for the woman and for a second I was glad she wasn't me...til I realized I was looking in a mirror!
Sigh..poor poor me.
Sigh......poor poor disillusioned me
Send help
I need Oprah's personal trainer...
and her chef....
and her stylist........
sigh

$32 dollars for what??!!

Yesterday Walker Jen and I went out to do some shopping at Home Plus. Home Plus is like a Super Target, a really nice Super Target.
I needed to get some fruit and some other "healthy cause it's the New Year" things. The hubby wanted some dried fruit to eat in his oatmeal. I found a huge display of all kinds of dried fruit and proceeded to watch the ladies around me so I would know how to go about getting some. It seemed to me you grabbed one of the workers milling around and pointed to what you wanted and then they would bag it, weigh it and even put some free goodies in there for you. The price for all this goodness was...what I though to be...about $2.50 in American dollars. I got three handfuls. The nice little lady weighed it and put the price tag on. By this time Walker Jen had finished getting some things and walked over to see what I was doing. She watches my goings on and says, "Ummmmm did you see the price for that??" I say, "it's only $2.50 a pound." She says to me...with much scepticism on her face "are you sure??" We both looked at the price and guess what folks......$32 FREAKIN DOLLARS!!!! FOR SOME DRIED YUCKY FRUIT THAT I DON'T EAT AND CAN'T GET ANY ENJOYMENT OUT OF...IT'S NOT FABRIC FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!!!! What to do?????? I tell Walker Jen that I've got to get rid of it! I know are saying I should've just looked horrified and given it back...they don't do that here. You point to it, they bag it, you buy it. What to do, I say, what to do?????? We walk around the store all the while giggling. Trying to find an isle that didn't have any people on it so I could put the bag on a shelf and walk away looking innocent. I finally see a free space by the frozen food and tell Walker Jen that I'm going in. 5 minutes later and I'm dried fruit free! We hurry and walk far far away from the fruit lady so she can't see my basket empty of her lovingly measured out bag. Then it happens...I hear an announcement over the loudspeaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It sounded like this"ayahadishio wha sow someda ohnyosayo wanaashedo." I know what that translates to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Could the crazy American come to frozen foods and get her fruit!!!!! NOW!
We left right after that.
I am exhausted still.

My Nemisis...

There is a woman who lives near me that is my nemesis. I call her my "nemi" for short. Why do I have a nemi?? Let me tell you. When we first moved here her daughter and my daughter were friends. Not bestest buds just school friends. Well one day her daughter had a sleepover. At her house there are allowed boys and girls at the sleepover as she has a son and a daughter. At my house this is called a recipe for disaster and I never let my daughter sleep over there if boys were there..call me crazy but sheesh!!! One night her daughter was having a big girls sleepover bash. My daughter was invited and asked if there were going to be boys there as well. She was promised that there weren't. Well guess what.....a bunch of boys ended up being invited. At 11pm! My daughter goes online and sends her brother an instant message that she is coming home and to let her in. The other mother...my nemi...was furious. She tells my daughter, "how will your mother know that boys were here if you don't tell her??"

What. The. Heck. Did. You. Say????!

Then she proceeds to tell every one in a 5 mile radius that I am an overprotective mother. She became enemy numero uno. I stopped talking to her and acted like she wasn't there, cause I am all mature like that and every time I would see her my friends and I would giggle and say"there goes your nemi!!" cause we are all mature like that. The other day I saw her in the store. Since it is a New Year I decide to smile at her. Not talk to her or anything, just smile. Do you know what she did???!!!! She didn't smile back. She just walked right by me!!!! Can you believe her??? When I ignore you for over a year you are supposed to pine for me and when I smile at you after said year of being ignore you are to smile back and be all happy that you may have a chance to get back in my good graces!!!! Does she not understand the way of the world???? Obviously not. Well let me tell you...it will be a cold day in the "down there" place before she sees my pearly whites!!!! HMPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rockin in the New Year!!

Soooo what is everyone doin' for New Years tonight????? I am sitting here eating M&M's and reading blogs...let the good times roll folks!
yee-haw!

woops....

ummmm...the hubby has reminded me that he also spent a while picking out a watch for me as a Christmas present. It is really pretty. He wanted to know why I was all about the fabric and didn't even mention the watch...ummmmmm hello!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fabric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The watch is really nice but ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm FFFFFFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!

See the glow on my face from fffaaaabbbrrriiicccc???!!!

heehee

Fabric market day...

I have been on vacation for a whole wonderful week. I've made one quilt already and am working on another one. Here is where I have everything set up...See the purple blocks?? I am working on a quilt for Middle Daughter. It was hard work looking through my bins to find some fabric bright enough to suit her taste. I am more a Thimbleberries/autummy color kinda girl. Before I started on the new quilt Walker Jen called and asked if I would go to the fabric store. I had a shower and threw on some clothes in about 30 minutes flat. Don't have to ask me twice!!! I found this fabric first off...it's for my resident cheer-leader. Cute huh!!

Then these fabrics spoke to me. They said I needed them. I would not be complete until I had them. They were soooo right. If you aren't a quilter you are asking about now "what is she going to do with those??" If you are a quilter you already know. I am going to look at them, fold them, put them in my stash so they can make friends with the other fabric, maybe take them out again to look at them and make my soul sing with happiness.
I loves me some fabric!!!!!

Christmas....

You know what every hubby should give a quilter for Christmas???? They should get them some fabric!!!! My hubby has that lesson down pat! He got with Walker Leigh and had her do a re-con mission to the fabric market...unbeknownst to me. On Christmas Eve he put this big box under the tree. I, of course, went right on over and picked it up. I could not for the life of me figure out what was in there. I was thinking to myself...."Oh Lord! Please not clothes!!!" The man has good taste but he is bad at picking out sizes. Poor thing always goes small.
On Christmas morning it was the first thing to be opened. I kept pulling out fabric...fabric and more fabric!!! They did really good! I would have a picture of it all but "someone" got a hold of my camera and messed up all the pictures of Christmas morning. AUGH! Just know a good time was had by all. It was a wonderful Christmas...kind of bittersweet though as this will be our last one here. We are due to get orders soon to a new place. Enough of that...I was thinking about what to do with some of the fabric. There is enough for about 4 quits. I had a pattern in mind from a Thimbleberries book I have. I went to Walker Jen's the othr day and wallah.....

A quilt is born. I love how it turned out!!!! Now I have to get it quilted so the hubby and I can snuggle underneath it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

dawn

It's Christmas!!!!!

Sshhhhh It is 10 minutes to 6 here in South Korea. I'm up...showered...the candles are lit all around the house...the dog has been walked and fed...I've got coffee next to me and the tree is glowing. I needs me some kids to wake up! Even the hubby is in bed. I've always been an early riser on Christmas day. I remember one year, when The Son was three,that I couldn't sleep all night long cause I was so excited. I ended waking the poor thing up at around 6:30 so he could open presents.
I'm giving everyone another 20 minutes and then I'm going to wake em' up.
I hope that everyone is having a wonderfully blessed day!!!
dawn

Traditions

What are your Christmas traditions?? I've been reading blogs today and people are either doing their traditions or they are doing a tour of homes...really like that one! I thought I'd hop on the bandwagon and write about some of ours.
Every year, for the past ten years, we've eaten a big lunch at a Chinese Restaurant. It all started one Christmas when we had finished our shopping and realized we had no money left to speak of. I went out to check the mail on the 23rd of December and my Grandfather had sent us a large check with strict instructions to do something fun on Christmas Eve. Everyone had a taste for Chinese and a tradition was born. We make sure to thank my Grandpa before we eat and to think of him now that he has passed on. It's something we look forward to every year.

Since lunch is so big we have cheese and crackers for dinner. We wait til it gets dark, light the tree, put on some Christmas music softly and have dinner together. The girls get to help make the platter.

On Christmas morning the kids have to wait til it's light out...or close to it...before they can come and get us up. Everyone has to make their beds, brush their teeth and get a robe on. The Capt lights the tree and puts some Christmas music on. Then they are let loose. I play Santa and pass out presents from under the tree. Then I start cooking the big lunch feast. We aren't doing the traditional turkey or ham this year. We had a pork shoulder last year and loved it so we decided to do that again this year.

I love Christmas time. It's one of my favorite times of year. We never go out anywhere on Christmas Eve so that it's just family time. Life gets so busy during the holidays that I need time to reconnect with my own family. I like to slow us down and make a night just for us. It's really special to me.

Okay, those are some of our traditions...what are yours?? Have a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!!!

dawn

I just plum forgot...

Guess who forgot to get Boo Bear's teacher a Christmas gift this year??

Yep, not only do I take two minute naps while subbing, I also forget to get teachers anything for Christmas.

And the hubby has the debit card.

And we haven't received our new packet of checks yet.

Sigh

The sub who falls asleep...

I was the music teacher yesterday. I fell asleep for a second. Just a second, I swear!!! No one saw, I swear! See what had happened was...I show up for work and look at the note the teacher left for me. It is 7:30 in the morning. I don't have a class until 9:30. It's high school guitar. The boys are allowed to "jam" (his words, I'm not cool like him) or they can talk, they just can't leave the room or else they might not come back. It's a big room with a nice comfy leather couch. I grab my book, tell them they better not leave under penalty of death and they better not bother me cause I am doing important things, curl up on the lovely leather couch and read....and get sleepy. Then I read the note again. I have no next class. SIGH! Walker Jen and my little guy (her cute adorable youngest son) come to visit me. Love that! They were at school for her daughters project day. Anyway....after an hour and a half of staring at the wall and reading more of my book I am even more sleepy. In come the young ones! I get them all settled down and put on Ice Age the movie. It is the week before Christmas and it is all movies all the time up there. I sit for 40 minutes while they watch the movie...in the dark...even MORE sleepy! Next class comes in...same movie. Here is where it gets dicey. I start to nod off. The room is cozy warm. The chair I am sitting in is cozy soft. I'm gone. I wake up, startled and look around. Thank goodness no one noticed as Ice Age is pretty fabulous stuff to second graders!
After all that excitement I had to come home and have a nap.
Yes folks, I get paid to nap at school. Does it get any better then that??? I don't think so!
heehee

Christmas and Walker Jen's affair...

Man oh man oh man! Christmas is just around the corner! I still have so much to do. I don't even know what I am serving for Christmas dinner. We aren't sure if we want the traditional dinner or if we want to go all buck wild and crazy. The parents are having T-Bones. When I told the hubby we looked at each other and said hmmmmmmmmm T-Bones! :) I just know that no one wants a turkey and if I make a ham I swell up like a waterlogged sponge. All that salt. I also have to get a few more things for The Son and some stocking stuffers. I need to get my nails done as well. You can't be Christmassy with nails not done. On Monday I am going to get up early to clean house. I love for it to be all sparkly Christmas Eve. oooooooh I may take the girls so we can get our toes done. I'm not to sure I will feel Christmassy enough unless I get my toes done. heehee What else...hmmmmm......I know there is more...Oh yeah, I have to bake three dozen cookies and make a dish to bring to a cookie swap/potluck on Thursday. I should get that done today since I'm subbing for the music teacher that day. Oh, and Walker Leigh is having a Christmas party on Saturday...gotta take something to that. A fingery food thing. On Sunday we have a small get together to go to and I have to take something to that. I probably will need to hit the grocery store. Whew..is this post exciting or what?!!! I have to go now. I am going shopping with Walker Leigh and hopefully out to lunch. Our Walker Jen is seeing another woman today. We think she may have a mistress and will we will be getting our binoculars out to follow her. If another woman is going to notice how wonderfully exciting she is and move in wellllllllllllllllll I may have to open up a can of "you know what"! and go all crazy! heeheehee We will have a moment of silence for you girlfriend!!! :)
Have a wonderful day everyone!
dawn

A change in plans...

I'm up early this morning. 5 am!! I like to get up early on the days I have to sub so that by the time I need to get my kids up, I'm awake and dressed with some coffee in me. This morning I woke up, took a shower, went out for a walk with Abbey (the dog) and by the time I poured that first lovely cup of coffee to sit down at the computer and read blogs for a whole 30 minutes my phone rang. It was my boss. Change in plans this week. I had a teacher booked for the whole week. She was an easy one too. Just show up, write some work on the board and then sit with a magazine while the kids worked quietly. Now my week is no more. My boss asked if I wanted to be the Korean culture teacher today. Sigh...okay, I guess. Can I tell you a little something about me...kinda "complainie?" I hate for plans to change. The whole OCD thing. Hate it with a passion!!! If I am all geared up in my head for a week of something and then it changes at the last minute it's hard for me to shift gears. Even with something as mundane as a teaching job. Weird I know! I have to hold it inside and get quiet for a minute cause it causes my blood pressure to rise just a bit. Then I have to tell myself how silly I am being. There is much wrenching in the gears dept in my head. After a bit I'm fine and life goes on but I gotta say...that first 5-10 minutes is a killer! Does anyone else out there suffer from the same thing?? I try hard to be a go with the flow kinda girl. If shopping plans change and we do something else I'm fine with that! Great!! But if it's something during the day that I have to do...something that I have to get my mind around in the first place....well then it's hard. I had to sit here at the computer with my coffee and have a moment of quiet cause now I'm the Korean culture teacher all day instead of a journalism teacher for half of the day. What a nerd! How do you change gears?? Is it hard for you?? Is it easy?? Pass on the knowledge girlfriends!!!!
dawn

Are you there God, it's me Dawn....

Dear God,
How art Thou?? I have a quick question for You. Why cramps?? I know Eve ate the apple and tempted Adam to do the same so now all women everywhere are smited and our teeth must gnash when we go through childbirth. But God. Why oh why didest thou decidest on the whole cramps thing?? When I have cramps I get crabby. This morning my girls slid against the wall as I walked past and when I went to walk in the living room they yelled to their brother, "BOMB IN THE HOLE!" That was his cue to dive to safety, which he did. I saw legs and feet as he did a perfect swan dive behind the couch. Even the dog is cowering in fear of me. My tummy hurts Lord and I am none to happy about it. I feel as if my insides are about to slid to the floor and run screaming down the street while I stand there in a stupor. Oh, and....AND I have to wrap stinking Christmas presents at the store this morning for our wives group. All I have to say about that is everyone better like my wrapping or they will die. Nuff said! I have taken a container of motrin, have 7000 stick on heating pads and will be wearing comfy pants. None of this is giving me any comfort so God, I have a request of Thouest...when I get to Heaven may I punch Eve in the nose?? Not hard..just a quick tap. It would make me feel a lot better if I could do this one small thing. I then promise to behave for the whole of eternity and not Tee-Pee King David's mansion or anything. I will not ding-dong-ditch the apostles...no matter how much fun it would be to see Paul standing at the door in his pajama's wondering who it is. (I hear he wears teddy bear pj's!) I especially promise not to bother You about the whole Dinosaur thingie...even though you know that is the first question on my list of things to know when I get "up there".
Thank you God for listening to my wants and needs. I am going to lay here in my comfy bed, with my large jersey on propped up with many pillows while I await for You to send me some pain relief.

All my admiration,
Dawn

p.s. I WOULD like to say that I think you did a bang up job on the whole making coffee beans thing!

p.p.s Could You please put the idea in my hubby's head that he should really get me the sewing machine I want for Christmas...I mean after you take care of the war and world hunger and prejudice and hate and disease and crime and the Clintons.
heehee

An MRI....an Affair..a hubby filled to the brim with Valium...

So I know everyone has been waiting with baited breath to see how the ole' MRI went today. It wasn't bad. The morning started early. Middle Daughter is home sick..what a tug at the momma heart strings! What to do?? Do I go with the hubby and support him through this time or stay with my baby while she has a fever and an upset tummy. We decided, gulp!, to let The Son stay home and take care of her AND hold down the fort. This is the same son who broke my oven last week. After making to many decisions to count at o dark thirty we were on the road and headed to the train station. The train station was pretty cool. Everything is in Korean but that didn't stop us from finding out way...and why is my computer putting everything in italics??? I hit the wrong key somewhere. What a dork. Back to my story. We get to Seoul and head to the hospital to make sure they are ready for him. We are a couple of hours early so we go to lunch. Then he pops the ole' Valium and we head back to the hospital where they take him to get his head checked. An hour later he comes sliding back in the room with a huge grin and red eyes. Let the fun begin!!! We decide to head back to the train station and get him something to drink and something else to eat cause now he has the munchies...heeheheeee
We find a coffee shop and buy a tart thingie and get a cup of coffee each. At the table next to us I notice a man talking softly to a woman and she is upset and not looking at him. Now here in the story you are asking yourself if I minded my own business and let them be and then you are shaking your head and saying, "not our girl!" I angled myself so I could see what was going on. They were Korean but ladies....we can ALL read body language and I knew without a doubt what was happening. He got up to leave at one point and she started to sniffle. There was a suitcase next to where he was sitting. I waited patiently for him to come back.

I'm thinking that he told his wife, who lives a couple of hours away, that he had a business trip and this woman sitting in the coffee shop is his mistress.

I glanced at my hubby and saw that he was staring off into space in a nice drug induced stupor and went back to watching the couple.

The man did come back and he got some tissue for the lady. He then gets out his calendar and tries to set up another "date". She wasn't having it. I'm thinking he was supposed to leave his wife and Other Woman's' biological clock has been ticking and she is fed up with waiting for him. She started to cry softly so he did what any sensitive man would do and he tried to hand her money. She looked shocked. I looked shocked...but in a secretive way cause I was trying very hard for them to not see me looking. He talked to her for a bit until she finally took the money. Then my hubby got fidgety and decided he wanted some chips. I had to take him to a convenience store across the train station. It was okay though cause it had been some day what with him having his head checked and the affair to remember and the 6000 taxis we took around town. We should get the results in a week or two. I am convinced he will get a good report. Thanks for everyone for their kind words!!! You guys are the greatest!!! I'm off to bed now. Night!

Signed,
Put a fork in me...I'm done!

My newest quilt...

Since I've been off work for awhile I've been able to quilt again. :) Big smile! I found a pattern in the January 2008 The Quilter magazine. It is called Midnight Elements by Pine Tree Quilts. whew! I want to make sure to give credit to the right people. It's on page 27 just in case I'm supposed to give that as well. I changed the colors and did the borders just a bit different. It's for the Son and he loves it! I am sending it to be quilted by Walker Jen's mom. I've been sending her my quilts and loving what she has been doing to them!!!!! Insert Commercial:

If you are looking for a new quilter for all those lovely quilt tops in your closet...go to Karen's Quilting Service. See sidebar. :)

I just finished it this afternoon and am busy looking for my next project. I LOVE HAVING TIME OFF!!!!!!! heehee

HE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Capt got a phone call from his boss tonight asking if he could come over and talk to him about something. We kind of looked at each other like "uh-oh!" We've been waiting to hear something about his promotion. Was this going to be the "you did it" visit or the "soo sorry you suck and didn't make it, there's always next time" visit. The boss showed up and gave us the wonderful news that my hubby made Major!!!!! Wahoo!! The Capt is no longer the Capt but the Major Select!!!!! He'll pin on sometime next year. I'm pretty proud of him!!!

Way to go big-guy!!!!!!!!

p.s. Thanks to Jen and Rob for being on the lookout for any and all info!! You guys rock!!!

Dear Blog Reader.....

I am loving my NeoWorx counter over there to the right. I got a question though...who is reading me from Switzerland???? I want to be your friend!!! I know we would just love each other! We could have coffee together over the internet and you could tell me all about lovely Swiss chocolate..I wouldn't even mind if you bought some for me!! hahaha hint hint hint! :)
You could take pictures of the Swiss Alps and send it to me. I can see it now..you standing at the top of the Alps with a sign that says "Hi, Dawn!!!"
So waddaya say??? Delurk!!!
To everyone else who stopped by today...you can delurk too!!! I would love to hear from you!!!
dawn

Celebrity Saturation....

Why are we so obsessed with celebrities? I mean my goodness, we watch them, we copy them, we...wait a sec I'll be right back..
Okay, I'm back. Brittany Spears was just on TV and I didn't want to miss her running over someones foot. Where was I?? Oh yes, celebrities and how we are obsessed and how it is just wrong. We all need to get lives of our owns. Don't we have anything...oops hold on. Kimora Lee Simmons is launching a new line for Baby Phat on her show. I need to catch this episode. I'm back. We need to find something else to occupy our time. Can you just imagine how much money we could save if we didn't by gossip mags. (This part only applies to the public at large, not myself. Star magazine and People would go under if I did not support them. Think of the jobs lost! I am a giver if I am anything!) I am calling for a boycot! Yep, that's right! A boy-cot! We need to get our lives.....ooooooooohhhhhh did you see what Kimora has on??? "Love the shoes girlfriend!!!!"
Ahem...forget all I said! Life would be pretty boring without watching E Entertainment, without my E Online, especially without my favorite all time show...Kimora Life in the Fab Lane! Go watch her now!!! What are you still doing here???? GO!!!!
heehee

Just get it all over with already!!!!!!

It's a crazy time here at Chez' Owens! The hubby has a couple of irons in the fire and I gotta tell ya...when the hubby has irons in the fire it makes for a very uncomfortable Chez' Owens.
First up...he finds out if he made Major or not on Weds. Huge pressure on him.
Second...Remember when I told you he didn't have a brain tumor?? Well it seems I spoke to soon. They wanted to do additional testing so on Thursday he has to have an MRI and and MRA. Yep, more pressure.
Third...we are leaving fabulous Korea this summer for greener pastures and it's time to figure out where we want to go. We plan, he makes calls, we finagle (is this a word??), we cajole and the Air Force laughs at how cute we are thinking we have a say-so in anything and sends us where they want. I want to go to a base by the mom and dad. He has tried to make that happen. But now...NOW he is all excited about this dream job. One where he will sort of be at school all day long learning about the finer points of his job. It's great for career progression but stinks if you have visions of long weekends with Gramma and Granpa.
My loving hubby handles all this stress in the typical male fashion...lots of loooong looks into space and much silence peppered by bursts of crabby-ness. I am daydreaming about trading him in for a new and improved model. If you are feeling sympathy pains for me then my work here is done! If you are feeling the need to send chocolate that would be greatly appreciated as well but better hold off...when he gets in these moods the next thing on his list is the improvement of his wife and he gets nit-picky. If you'll excuse me I am off to daydream about my happy place. The place where my house is clean, I have a Bernina sewing machine and my "nice" husband Carlo is all about rubbing the tension from my shoulders. :)
signed,
Dawn "hanging in there by a thread" Owens

Fash-un!

Went to the Market the other day with the Walkers Leigh and Jen. It was cold outside!!! I'm talking hurt your face cold! I, because I am cool like that, decided to wear some capris. Yep, I'm an idiot. Some of the local agimahs (ladies of a certain age) took umbridge with my choice of pants and proceeded to take me to task. Every where I went I had them shaking their heads and pointing at me. One of the older ladies came up to me and started fussing loudly. I have no idea what she said but then the funniest thing happened! She rolled up my capris above my ankle, all the while giving me the business, and then SHE SMACKED ME ONE! On the leg. Hard. Then she rolls up her pant leg and shows me all the layers she had on while still giving me the business. My posse, my girls, my ace-boon-coons were laughing hysterically. They were no help at all. It seemed to me I needed to take matters into my own hands. I apologized profusely to the agimah all the while bowing and I have to admit, laughing hysterically as well. I mean come on!!! Who does that???!!!! She smacked me people!!! hahahahahaha As soon as I could make my escape I went on a mission to find some socks. This was my choice....they called to me. I put them on and the shopping commenced. Now let me explain something...not one person noticed my socks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not one!!!! Everyone in the whole of Korea was upset with me when it was just my legs out there but do they blink an eye when I walk around with these babies on???? NOOOOOOO!! It was a constant source of amusement for the three of us that no one turned a head to look at me. I laughed so hard that day my stomach hurt! Good times in Korea folks! Good times! Oh, and does anyone know why my sentences are underlined here??????? Sheesh! If it's not one thing it's another on blogger!!!! Oh, and yes, my socks did remind me of the witch who had the house fall on her in the Wizard of Oz. hahahahaha You all know you want a pair of these babies!!!!

The pictures have landed...

Hurray!!! I did it!!! Read on my faithful ones...I have three posts complete with pictures.......
Now I must go and take a loooooong nap to recuperate.

snore...

Thanksgiving with Walker Jen and her family...

We had the lovely Walker Jen and her family over for Thanksgiving this year. It was a lot of fun!We ate a ton of food and then talked and laughed afterwards cause everyone was to full to get up from the table! Here is my big strong bucket of love carving the turkey that I slaved and worried over. Yes that is our Little Boo Bear drooling over the gravy. :)

Middle daughter is not complete without a bow in her hair lately. I think it's the whole cheerleader thingie taking over her body. hehee In the back you can see Walker Rob surveying his kiddos at the kid table.
The lovely Elisie-Pie (Walker Jen's daughter) waiting patiently for her food and wondering where she can get a rockin cheerleaderie bow.

The lovely Elisie-Pie wondering why she is at the kid table when she so obviously deserves to be with the teens in the living room. She is missing out on hot gossip and is none to pleased! As you can see "Pobbs" is happy wherever he goes and Ry-Noh is getting set to jack his big brothers food if his mom (Walker Jen) doesn't shake a leg and feed him already!!

I gotta say it was one of the best Thanksgivings ever! The hubby invited one of our neighbors over. His wife is Korean and he is American. It was her first good ole' fashioned food-fest and she fit right in. I got caught up in all the eating I was doing and forgot to get a picture of her. Next time I will take a breath between bites. Hope you and yours had as good a time as we did!!!