Sew Fun!

I think I have written before about the excellent sewing skills in my family - grandma's and aunties....and that certainly escaped my DNA.

About 20 years ago I won a White Brand Sewing Machine in a sales contest when I was working in Pharmaceutical Sales.....it was rarely used and when I did use it - it made for some unhappy experiences.....so I bit the bullet and bought this little gem.......it has a self threading needles and 26 different stitch types!!!

I am thrilled with it and it just hums along and is most happy to do whatever I program into it!!! Could it - can it....is it...just possible I too can be 'Sew Happy'?!

I have to be careful not to escape into areas of overwhelming sewing projects.....I struggle anyway with hobbies....they become more like work to me....like I have to finish it and can't leave it alone for a minute until it is done.....

This is my first little project after reading and following the instructions on my new little cutie. The embroidered costumed figures are off a tshirt I bought for Brody when he was 7 months old to wear around Halloween....I backed it with some cute candy corn fabric, made it into a decorative pillow and stitched a little yellow ribbon to hang it up with when the holidays come.

Brody and Dylan slept over last night and this a.m. while Dylan was at Bowling Team and Brody was outside working in the yard with Gramps I whipped it up. When Brody came in (and I changed his clothes as he was soaked - Thanks Gramps) I had it finished and we talked about all the costumes and he would point at the ones as I called them out; ghost, devil, skeleton, mummy, vampire, monster, black cat, pumpkin....if he knew the sound they made he would say it (Monster - RAHHHHH), Kitty (MEOW), etc. It was a lot of fun and he liked the Mummy the best (I think it is because he loves his Mommy and it sounded close).

Anyway - loved the project, loved the inspiration to make it, loved sharing it with Brody and you all!

Coolest Summer Ever!

I am lovin this cool San Diego Summer.....as in temperature - not events, altho the events have been fun too!

We have the windows open at night and snuggle under a comforter and the cool breezes just float in.....ahhhhhh.......good for insomnia too! We sit outside in the evenings and need a light jacket! Even the lifeguards are bundled up.

I do feel bad for my visiting friends and families that are spending major bank at the beach houses and not seeing the sun until 4 p.m., if at all.

I remember my summers in Phx, playing Jacks in 110 degrees, no ac in the car, frying an egg on the concrete, baking in the sun at Lake Roosevelt, swamp coolers and running in the sprinklers. This summer it is all about long pants and long sleeved tshirts and I have to admit - pretty sweet.

Soon I will be in Phx/Scotttsdale to spend a few days at my brothers and bake in the the 'dry heat' - until then will soak up this coolest summer ever!

Catching Up....

It has been a kkkkkkrrrrraaaaazzzzzzeeeee week since we got home from Seattle. Got in late Tuesday night and back to work on Wednesday and both Steve and I had incredibly tough days when we returned.

The epitome of the chaos was when I left to get the boys from school on Friday and once I got there I realized I did not have car seats in my car! (Taken out for Seattle, not reinstalled). Thank goodness Kristen was close by and picked them up, I treated to yogurt and she got us settled back in the house before she had to leave. Then around 5 pm as I looked out to see Brody had his hand in a jar of mud my boss called and wanted to go over my 2011 budget numbers - argh!

Steve got home and brought dinner for all of us - our hero!!! After we ate he took the boys out front to play while I ran around the house like a crazy person making beds, getting out pj's getting the boys bath ready, etc. Soon we had them all bathed and cuddled and stories read and into bed they went. I don't think Dylan moved once his head hit the pillow. Steve and I were soon to follow!

Saturday morning Kristen picked up Dylan for bowling and Brody hung out with us. As soon as they returned I dashed to pick up lunch as my cousin from AZ and her daughter and grand kids that are renting a beach house for a few weeks were coming over for a play date. We don't get to see them often and look forward to our annual summer visits. They got a bit turned around with directions and ran a bit late but arrived and we sat outside and enjoyed our lunch (and the fantastic Julian Apple Pie they brought). The kids played in the pool and the outdoor play sink, the fountain, the 'construction site of GiGi Internation Aiport', the play house and inside in the toy room and with the train table. By 2 all the little ones (and the big ones) were tired and headed out. Steve and I fought the good fight at Wal*Mart and Costco to get him ready for his business trip. We came back home and I finished all the laundry and took a nice long hot shower and when I got out Steve said our buddy from Jupiter, Florida was going to come by and see us. He and his family used to live here and we were and are Besties so we were so happy to see him. Steve did get to play golf with him earlier in the week so I was happy to have a few minutes to visit as well. We are planning to go see them in October and talked about boating to the Keys while we are there - at least in October it will be a bit cooler in Florida. After he left we had our dinner at 9 .m. and went to bed! It has been so cool at night we slept really really well. Today I got up at 7 and worked for 3 hours on our bills, my parents bills, the caregivers payroll, etc. Then I ironed for 2 ours and then cleaned out the coat closet (have a huge pile to donate) and my closet. I made a quirky observation....all my summer pjs are pink; all my winter pj's are blue....what does that mean in the universe of control and balance???? I need to find my Magic 8 Ball and find out. I got dressed and am heading out to do a few errands and watch my sweet boys while Kristen goes to see Al's new baby Campbell - he is a whopper weighing in at 9.5 lbs! We had a 'Sprinkle' for Alison a few weeks ago and so happy the baby is here safe and sound!!!

Seattle Day 6

All good things do come to an end and we were sad that this was our last day in Seattle. Steve was exhausted so he just wanted to hang around the house however Deb had some errands to do and I headed out to pal around with her. We decided to hit all the Thrift Stores (Thank you On Star Directions) on our way to our destination. That was really fun - I found a big set of Mr. Potato Head and some brand new Tonka books on cranes, bulldozers & dump trucks for the boys. I found a really old vintage ceramic Turkey for my collection and it was just fun milling in and out. Deb found some great blocks for her preschool and we saw all kinds of interesting items. I must comment that their Thrift stores are clean and organized! Since we had planned to go back to Amy's and ran out of time I was glad I was all packed up prior to leaving for our errands. I did ask Steve to bring a carry back for me as I just did not feel like getting on the flight with a Thrift Sore bag (stay classy, San Diego) We met up with Steve at '13 Coins' a fantastic restaurant right near the airport. Deb and I split the fantastic Calamari Steak and Steve had a Avocado and Bacon sandwich. We hated to say goodbye however our flight time was near and Deb dropped us at SeaTac and we left right on time, a very quick layover in Oakland and arrived in SD around 9:45. Adam was right there to pick us up when our luggage came and little Rocky Road was so happy to see us. So good to go; so good to come home.

Seattle Day 5

A, S, K, B, D & B all were on the early flight back to SD. Deb, Steve, Amy and I were in our clam digging gear and headed out. Low tide was at 5, however, due to some direction challenges, including meeting a guy at a gas station who laughed that we were going clamming but was kind enought to guide us to our spot (Big Bay) we had our shovels in the dirt about 7 a.m. At first, Steve and I had no idea what we were doing.....so I headed over to Amy to observe her clamming skills. Deb was pointing out good areas and fell in a sink hole....once we recovered from laughing we got serious (btw - we laughed with her, not at her)!!! After an hour we all had our limit (40 each per our licenses), please a few oysters, muscles and sand dollars! We headed back to Amy's and rinsed off our muddy shoes and clothes and then scrubbed the 160+ clams and took the best showers we ever had. Deb and I then took off to get the remaining ingredients for a clam bake (shrimp, crab, corn, red potatoes, leeks, etc). Toby and his family arrived about 5 and we had so much fun feasting on the clam bake yummies.

Seattle Day 4

Day 4 we woke up at the water park and fixed some breakfast treats in the hotel....yes, again my niece thought of everything and we all had fresh fruit and breakfast casserole to enjoy. We had to check out of our room at 11; however had use of the park for the day. Being a Sunday and knowing traffic would be especially bad we packed up the cars and while the guys enjoyed a bit more of the park us girls ran to the outlet malls (slim pickins as far as outlets go) however, Kristen and Shannon scored at Quicksilver and Gymboree. I settled for some 'mom jeans' and had some of the worst customer service ever....once we were back in the car headed back to the lodge I shared my experience and Kristen and Shannon too shared about the customer service - we came the to the following conclusion: We all thought people would be friendly and upbeat in Seattle because my niece is friendly and upbeat - however, in the service industry in Seattle they must be miserable due to the weather and their outlook on life - even my sister told off the shuttle driver!

So we regrouped at the lodge and had a wonderful picnic lunch - turkey sands, chips, apples and goodies. We posed for this family picture (can you tell we were at a water park - what a motely crew) and my group headed back to the Seattle Marriott. Yes, traffic was bbaaaadddd - worse than before. Luckily the boys napped and we suffered in silence as we finally got to the hotel. Dropped off K, B & boys and headed to Amy's to clean up and unload. After the second group got home and K, B & boys returned we had a bbq and enjoyed the outside. Everyone was so tired and the kids were leaving in the a.m. so they said their sad goodbyes to their cousins....it was so fun to all be together as aunts, uncle and cousins.....

Seattle Day 3

Day 3 in cool and grey Seattle was a big day for the little ones. Adam and Shannon drove the mini over to the Marriott and picked up Kristen, Brian and the boys and our niece Amy fixed a really nice lunch for everyone - 18 in all! After we enjoyed that and the boys enjoyed her fountain and green space behind her adorable patio, we loaded up the minis and 'had ourselves a convoy' through Olympia to Great Mound to the Great Wolf Water Park.

I have lived in CA for 30 years, a 10 year stint in LA and 20 in SD - I will never ever ever again talk about traffic woes in said cities, but I have witnessed and confirmed that the I/5 in Seattle has the worst traffic I have ever been in (including DC, NYC, LA, Chi-Town, Rome, London, Dublin, etc., etc., etc). There are just too many cars for the 3 lanes they have. What should have taken 1.5 hrs took almost 3 - a long time for little ones to be patient and wait. My poor driver husband could not go over 15 - 25 mph.....so when we saw the GREAT WOLF ahead of us we were happy to be sure. The Lodge includes s a 5 story indoor water park and you check in and get wristbands that allow you access to everything - like an all inclusive. Everything you buy and do is done with the swipe of a wristband, even entry to your room. However, when we checked in our rooms were not ready so we sorted out what we needed for access to the water park portion and just then some kid triggered the fire alarm and thousands of people came streaming out.....chaos level could not have been higher. I laugh as my sister said to me 'You are so quiet' - I think I was in shock/chaos/traffic overload. I deal with chaos all day at work but for some reason this overwhelmed me and true to my survival dealing nature I had to go to shutdown mode for a bit. Finally our rooms were ready, we unloaded and regrouped. The suite was fantastic, spacious, clean and decorated like a lodge, including 46 inch flat screens over the fireplaces :) We had 2 separate bedrooms and a huge family room and a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and the family room had a couch that made into a bed. So we suited up and headed for the water park where Dylan and Brody were little fishes. It was amazing to see how this place works with water play and rides from babies to adults. Steve, Amy, Deb and I went on the 'Howling Tornado' and it was fast and over the top - one ride was enough for me. I had fun playing with the boys and watching the cousins and all the other little ones and families. The downside to the set up is that it is over clorined and humid, which, it has to be to be so clean and safe but for those of us that are sensitive to that sort of thing it was a bit much. It was so so fun.

At 6 pm we had a pizza party in Deb's room which was just like our room and down the hall. Since is was close to her 60th birthday we had a little 'roast' to her. The kids and cousins all told funny stories and I had crafted '60 Things about 60 Year old Deborah Sue' and we had some memories and laughs with that. Amy made a very yummy coconut sheet cake and we enjoyed the evening.