I'm supposed to be doing homework right now but instead I'm doing home work. ... Yeah, not really funny at all.
I've decided through experience and the advice of others that we've got bug problems.
There are roaches (although I only see one at a time) in the kitchen that are getting brave and venturing into other areas (I ran into one in the living room the other night) and there are other bugs that are biting Ruby and I in our sleep (and possibly all the time I just don't notice as much). That either means we have fleas or bed bugs. Yuck.
If it's bed bugs we'll have to have an exterminator do all sorts of crazy things but if it's fleas we might be able to treat it ourselves with borax.
I did LOTS of reading today and borax kills fleas as well as repels roaches. It's not totally safe (as in you should eat it, touch it in full concentration or inhale it directly) but it's not as toxic as a lot of the stuff exterminators use.
So we're going to think about it more this weekend (and possibly rip all of our carpet out, which we've wanted to do and just haven't yet) and I have an appointment to get a free estimate with an exterminator on Monday.
Does anyone have any advice/wisdom/experience with any of this? Has anyone used borax or found an exterminator that they highly recommend (or one that we should avoid)?
I hope you all have a wonderful (and pest free) day!
p.s. I was going to put a photo of a pest but then decided against it. I don't want to see anyone of them and I'm sure you don't either. Here's a pretty fall photo instead. It's by Etsy seller ParallaxPhoto. Oh, how I miss MN autumn...
It's only Pesky Friday
Fireproof
I'm usually the last person to know about new movies or anticipate a new film (the list of movies I "need" to see is so long that I've stopped adding to it) but this film is one I'd like to see opening night. Rather than confuse you with my less than exemplary summary skills I'll just direct you to the website where there are lots of resources for you to learn about the film. You can watch the trailer, read about Kirk Cameron refusing to kiss his "on screen wife" (awesome), get ticket/theater info, learn about fireproofing your own marriage and more!
I'm definitely in favor of having my money go to this movie rather than a cheesy chic-flick or a gory horror movie (yuck!).
Would anyone like to join me for a movie?
Two for the Price of One
I was in Wal-mart the other day getting a few things and I saw some fall centerpieces in the craft section. I'm sure if you've been to Wal-mart recently you've seen them. One bunch of flowers in red, orange or yellow in a "pot" that's wrapped in brown paper like poinsettia's at Christmas. It's not often that I like the decor I see there (especially not the artificial flower variety) but these I enjoyed. I didn't enjoy them $7 though. But I found the same flowers loose and decided I liked them $3. I couldn't decide between the purple and the orange so I got both - two for the price of one!
I got them home and scrounged around in my craft stuff to find material for the "pots." I had just finished our oatmeal that morning so I cut the container in half for the bases and tied the textured paper around them with kitchen twine.
The paper is some sort of packing paper that I got 4 years ago. Yes, I had been saving it for 4 years. I was just sure that I would burst with creativity one day and have the perfect mixed media collage project for it. This isn't really what I had in mind but then again I've never been much of a collage artist.
The fabric on the chair in the background is my curtains for the dining room. I just need to get curtain rods but who knows when I'll get around to that.
Next project, paint chip oak leaves.
I was tagged
A- Attached or Single? -Attached - Married to my BFF Chuck
B- Best Friend(s): Chuck
C- Cake or Pie: neither is my favorite dessert but I do like a good coffee cake
D- Drink of Choice: I really need to drink more water but I prefer coffee - I did so good while I was pregnant but now it seems the more I drink the more I remember how much I loved it!
E- Essential Item: other than the diaper bag? Burt's Bee's chapstick
F- Favorite Color: I was into green but I'm liking Orange more and more
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: sour worms
H- Hometown: Milroy, MN
I- Indulgence: Amaretto Breve (oh the calories!)
J- January or February: Do I have a preference for either month? Umm...
K- Kids: I've birthed one and I plan on birthing more but we're open to adoption also
L- Life, for me, is incomplete without: Jesus.
M- Marriage Date: Which one? July 12th, Aug. 17th, June 18th
N- Number of Siblings: 4 - 2 of each gender
O- Oranges or Apples? I eat more apples (Gala) but I like the smell of oranges a lot
P- Phobia/Fears: nothing too serious but I am startled to profanity by the roach in my kitchen regularly
Q- Favorite Quote: I don't have a favorite but the Bible has some really good ones
R- Reasons to smile: Ruby's smile, crisp mornings, friends
S- Season: I love spring and fall, the changes, but here in Texas it's different than MN so right now I'm loving fall - the cool mornings and evenings are perfect for coffee with my loves
T- Tag Ten: Lisa Gordan, Carissa, Suzanne, Katie, Chuck, Dominee, Jessica, Kim, Lynne, Leah Gordan
U- Unknown fact about me: I'm not afraid of spiders but I can be reduced to tears by June Bugs... just thinking about them makes me squirm
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I don't oppress my food, just eat it
W- Worst Habit: biting my lips
X- X-rays or Ultrasounds: I guess it was hard to come up with an X - only when necessary
Y- Your Favorite Foods: Calico beans, chocolate covered cherries, coffee, chips and salsa and baked goods of several varieties
Z- Zodiac: Cancer - but I don't follow any of that
Green things
I was sure my garden was a lost cause. I kicked myself for not tending it, sighed deeply when I thought about all those squash that would never be and wondered by only my basil produced.
Then Ruby and I took one last look at it.
Behold! Green Beans! And there are more that will be ready in the next few days!
And green peppers! There are baby green peppers! Amazing!
Still no tomatoes but I am hopeful! I'll water it tonight and weed tomorrow and maybe that will help. Is it to late to plant more?
We got a little sick but we're still here!
Hello Friends. It's been a long week but here we are again, we made it.
Just being alive another day feels good. I've been working on taking time to breathe and be grateful for that breath and my life and the lives of my family and all that we're blessed with.
We had a cold last weekend and Ruby is still fighting off a stuffy nose but it doesn't really bother her and she's as smiley as ever. We caught her giggling a little on video last night so we can look back in, well, a few weeks, and see how much she's grown. She's bigger every time I pick her up it seems.
Last Friday night we celebrated Carissa's birthday in total 80's glory and it was a blast. The pictures are on our other camera so maybe I'll get some posted this weekend. There's really no way to prepare you for how awesome and how frightening those pictures are.
I think I mentioned a few days/weeks ago that I got my haircut but then I never posted any pictures. Well, it wasn't much of a cut so you didn't miss out. I had been growing my hair so when I went to get it styled I was hesitant to have him really cut it as I'm sure many of you can relate to. But of course just a few days later it was up in pony tails again and that's when I know it's time for a change. So here it is - my new, new haircut courtesy of my friend Lisa who's fabulous with a razor blade. Thanks Lisa!
We're enjoying the cool mornings and evenings and I'm starting to plan for the fall thinking about home decor, baked goods and casseroles. A lot of what fall means to me is tied up with food. I try not to make fall type foods in the spring and summer which means in Texas there's a smaller window for all those wonderful foods. Of course our oven is on the fritz so I'm going to have to get creative with my use of the crockpot and stove. Anyone have any great fall recipes that don't involve an oven? I've heard that you can bake in a crockpot but never tried it before - this might be the week!
Days with Significance
I tried to write something memorable, heart felt and concise about what happened 7 years ago but to be honest, the day doesn't hold much personal significance; my life didn't change much. I don't know anyone personally who lost a loved one, a job or a dream. My life has remained normal. I see the impact in the airports, magazines and hear about the differences in the news but my daily routine doesn't seem to miss a beat. But I want to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't feel the impact deeper in my heart as an American and as a person. I can't imagine losing a spouse, a parent, a child or even a friend to such a tragedy but I'm praying that God will send people into the lives of those whose world's were upturned to show peace and love to them. This day is significant in history and in so many people's lives and I don't want to pass it by without acknowledging that.
This day will forever hold another significance for me. Today is the first day that Ruby laughed. She giggled in delight. My heart soared and I couldn't help but laugh with her. Her smile makes my day brighter and I praise God that He's entrusted her to me for these last three months and pray that He'll give me many more months and years with her. She's wonderful.
I've been replaced
Ruby has finally become friends with her pacifier. I had no idea that a little bit of plastic could so quickly take my place. I was adamant about not giving her one for a few months, not wanting her to be one of those toddlers toddling everywhere with one in her mouth, but have since decided that she won't be one of those kids and neither will she be attached to me 24/7. We've discovered that she likes to nurse herself to sleep but then if she doesn't stay asleep she wants to nurse some more... well, you see how this could be difficult when in the afternoons she doesn't sleep much longer than 30 minutes most of the time. So today I began a new routine and it involves the pacifier. I feed Ruby and play with her and when it's nap time she gets her pacifier and is put in her "crib" (we're just using a pack-and-play). She did great today!
Origami Tessellations
That's right, you heard right, Origami Tessellations. Two awesome things that I when paired become even more awesome.
While google-ing for tessellations today I happened up this website and was blown away. From there I checked out Flickr and found all kinds of cool origami tessellations and even some just straight up awesome origami.
I've always liked math and as I've gotten older have gotten more interested in things that also pop up in art like tessellations and phi. I recently read a book all about phi and it's history and loved it. In fact I'm going to try to find it again and hopefully more like it.
I hope your week began well today. Enjoy. Oh, you can click on the images for their original locations!
Origami Tessellation by Eric Gjerde
By Andrea Russo
Edited on Sept. 8 (Thanks Ray!)- This one IS out of just one sheet of paper! Awesome! It's by Joel CooperNo-Sew Crafts on the Horizon
I have been really wanting to sew lately but my sewing machine is broken. Blah. I'm sure if it were working, however, I wouldn't have such a desire to use it. Oh well. I'll just save up all my ideas for later.
Not being able to sew has made me look into other methods of being crafty and I've learned quite a bit. I'm going to make Ruby a new mobile out of felt and hand stitch/embroider it. I saw one online I liked but now I don't remember where... Here's a similar and also very cute one from girlsdefine.com.
I'm also going to give freezer paper stenciling a try. I wanted to screen print but after looking into it and different methods I decided the freezer paper was much cheaper and easier with similar results. Here's a tutorial I found and liked for those of you not familiar with the Freezer Paper Stencil process. Maybe after I get sick of that I'll move onto screen printing. The only problem is that I'm not sure what to stencil... I'm only so creative and unfortunately deciding to stencil clothes is about as far as I've got. So if anyone has any super awesome ideas or any cool websites that might offer some inspiration (read: designs to copy) let me know!!!
In any case, Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh, and I'm getting very excited for fall - I just got the latest issue of Rachel Ray magazine and there were all kinds of good cool weather recipes as well as a few neat ideas of how to use a pumpkin for something other than a jack-o-lantern. More on that later!
School and School Bags!
I've survived my first week of being "back to school" and am feeling ok about it. I know it's going to be hard and homework is going to have to be higher on my list of priorities than I'd like it to be but I know that's it's important and I'm glad that I'm not taking time off from it. I also met with an adviser this week and if I take some summer classes and keep my GPA up I can graduate fall of '09 or spring '10 Magna Cum Laude! Pretty cool - and not that far away! It's farther away than I would like, especially since my "peers" from high school are graduated, but it's less than two years away! It's now my goal to graduate Magna (or higher) in two years or less. Wow... writing that down makes it sort of scary - what if I don't make it? Ok, I'm also going to try to not get ahead of myself. Think happy thoughts...
In an effort to remain positive about going back to school I've decided to make a new school bag. I'd love to buy one of these from Etsy sellers christystudio and ChickBags but feel I should use what I have.
So I'm going to put a design like one I saw on a pillow at Anthropologie a while back (always look, never buy) on a simple white book tote I've got laying around. I'll maybe get it done by next week. I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done.
Announcement Photo?
