kirstencan

Movies

I didn't get any sewing done after all this weekend (I'm going to have to make a public goal of finishing Princess' curtains this week - so that I actually do it!) - but I did get a little thrifting in. 

My little sister and I went to a thrift store and found a few good movies:

Spacecamp!  Does anyone else remember this movie?  It's so great in a bad '80's movie kind of way - but in a good way, too. I totally remember watching this movie on TV (Disney channel?) with my sibs.  It's as good as I remembered and a big hit with the boys because of the space shuttle (and it has an all-star cast!).

(Oh, and that's Top Gun behind it - I had a slight obsession with that movie when I was in junior high - and somehow I've never owned it.  Well, for $1.50 I can now enjoy it anytime I want! ;)

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In other random movie news - did you know that the Redbox kiosks are now selling their used dvd's?  It's a total deal - $7 each.  I checked out a few this weekend while out shopping and found Harry Potter 5 and Enchanted - I don't think I have to tell you how excited this made Princess! ;)

Oh, and today I found 'I am Legend' - but that's not for me.  Aaron wanted it.

Music

This is a little nerdy, but it's been fun playing with Princess' piano books.  I took lessons for a few years (if that) and my last lesson was when I was about eleven.  So, it's not surprising that Princess is passing me up already. 

Her recital was in the recital hall of a local music store - and since she needed new books, I was looking around and was excited to find the Pride & Prejudice score in an 'Easy Piano Solo' version.  Woohoo!  My sister has the 'real' one and it's HARD.  Not that the easy one is that easy... for me, anyway!

So, I've been tinkering around - and I will master this song if it kills me.

Besides, it makes me happy just that I can even attempt this music.  So beautiful.

When Princess and I came back from our girls' night out this weekend, I found that Aaron had bought the soundtrack from Amazon and downloaded it for me.  Because somehow I didn't have that one yet. 

Because that's the kind of husband he is.

 

 

In Six Words

Amber tagged me for a very fun/challenging meme.  The idea is to come up with a memoir for yourself using just six words (and accompanying photo).  Amber chose six beautiful and poignant words.

I went a different direction... and couldn't stop with just one set:

Sometimes my hair looks like rope.

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I have entirely too much fabric.

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I like socks loud and unmatched.

So, there you go.  Not very profound, huh? ;)

I hate tagging people because I never know who'll actually want to do the meme, so play along if you'd like - this one was fun to think about.

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Here's the story behind the meme (as copied from the original post):

As I read yet another book review of a memoir this weekend, my husband told me that I should write one. I said that my story would be much too short and rather boring so when I ran across the following book I decided it was just my speed. A six word memoir! Written by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure is a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were- For Sale: baby shoes, never worn. There’s a video on Amazon with examples from the book, it sounds like a fun read! I’d like to start a six word memoir meme and here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere

4 .Tag five more blogs with links

5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Things I've Learned

I've been working with the Young Women (teenage girls) at church for a few months now - and I've already learned SO much.

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They talk A LOT.  Constantly.  In my experience it's usually the 12-13 year olds who are the loudest and most obnoxious.  In our neighborhood it's the 17 year olds - who I'm lucky enough to be working with...

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If I were 17, I know exactly who I'd hang out with.  Here's how I found out:  I brought my copy of CRAFT magazine to show to the girls - I was sure they'd love the idea of making monsters for one of their activities.

(Who can resist this cute cover?)

I got 12 blank stares.  And a very awkward silence.  They looked at me like I was crazy.  Only one girl was like, 'Oh, cool!'  Yeah, she'd be my BFF if I was younger... (she's also the one with purple hair).

Another leader tried to cover me by saying, "Well... yeah, we could make some and donate them to a homeless shelter ...or something."

!

So, I made the one (cool) girl her own monster - since it won't be an activity anytime soon.  She loved it.

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They like to sing. A. Lot. For some reason we have a very high concentration of girls interested in Music Dance Theater.  I have a very low tolerance for musicals.  I used to like them, I don't know what happened...*  I have a few faves (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Singing in the Rain), but these girls are always belting out songs from ... whatever... and it gets ANNOYING.

*Wait, maybe I do know what happened!  In college I spent most of my time in the fine arts building.  The art students had their own wing, and that's where I liked to stay.  But, you know, occasionally one must venture out, and to do that you'd have to dodge the MDT majors who were always singing and dancing all over the building.  Once they were rehearsing a musical version of Noah's ark - and using an entire two-story staircase.  Rather than walk around to the other side of the building to get out, I walked through their rehearsal, ducking under and around people pretending to be elephants and monkeys.  They glared, but so did I.  Yeah, maybe that's what killed my taste for musicals...

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I have the same shoes as one of the 12 year olds.  I don't know what this says about my taste - or hers? - but I'm glad that when this girl noticed my shoes she didn't take hers off in embarrassment.

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Let's not forget:  I don't like snowmobiling.

Don't get me wrong, I love these girls.  In many ways they are awesome, but holy cow - exhausting! 

I'm trying not to think about girl's camp yet...

Out the car window

Driving down the same road I always drive to pick up Thomas at his bus stop, I noticed a few things I wished I could photograph.  They were all there the next day when I took my camera with me.

A man painting the mountains:

(I couldn't stop, so this is a shot with the camera held at arm's length - driving, not looking at the camera - I'm just happy he's in the shot at all!)

The mountains, but they're always there:

The shopping cart in the pile of plowed snow:

This one I thought was funny.  This was a target cart in the mall parking lot.  Someone must have left a cart from the nearby Target at the mall, and the plows just plowed it up with the snow.  It wasn't visible at all until the snow started melting.

And for this one I pulled over and rolled down my window - and got a funny look from the policeman driving by.

What did you see on your daily drives today?

At least I got a few decent photos...

This weekend was quite the adventure.  I work with the teenage girls (Young Women) at church, and some of them had an overnighter at a cabin way up in the mountains.

It wasn't till my ride got me up the mountain that I found out that you have to snowmobile up to the cabin.

Yikes!  I tried to play it cool, but I've never even really seen one, let along ride on one!  Luckily I got out of the 20-minute ride and we went further up the mountain.  So my first ever snowmobile ride was about 5-10 minutes AT NIGHT.  Not so fun.  We almost tipped over only once (Did you know they could tip?  I didn't until Friday night!) I was a little freaked, but not too bad.

After a night without much sleep (of course), another leader and I got out of the cabin first thing in the morning to enjoy the outdoors (and quiet).  It was really really beautiful up there.

I did take a couple of runs down the (super fast!!!) sledding hill, but that was all I wanted to risk with my knee.  The girls and the rest of the leaders spent all morning snowmobiling.  The leaders would take the girls + sleds up to the top of the mountain, and the girls would sled down - it was like a mile course!  Then they'd hop back on a snowmobile and head back up.  It did look like fun, but I really didn't want to chance my knee.

And I decided I hate snowmobiling.  No one else really understood this - and of course I didn't express that in those words - more like 'It's just not my thing.'  I just sat at the top of the hill, watching everyone and taking photos.  The snowmobiles didn't really scare me anymore (daylight!) but I had no desire to ride on them again (...except to get back to the trucks, darn it).  They are LOUD, they smell like gas fumes, and I just didn't like them!

Now, you may remember how I feel about motorboats - snowmobiles fall in the same category.  So here's where I get on my soapbox:
 
It's just seems like a really selfish form of recreation to me. It uses too much gasoline - when we should all be trying to use less, it pollutes, it's LOUD (poor neighbors - except I'm sure they had their own snowmobiles), and it tramples nature.  People around here get way upset when state or national parks declare that four-wheeling or snowmobiling isn't allowed there anymore - because they're doing damage.   

I don't get it.

And no one got why I was happy to just sit on the top of a gorgeous mountain and look around and enjoy nature.  Every few minutes someone would take a snowmobile (and gas fumes, thank you so much) up to the top of the hill, because they were sure I was feeling left out.   

That hour spent outside in the morning before the girls were up and the smell of unleaded was thick in the air was the best part of the whole weekend.

I think when you want to be 'in nature' you should be 'in nature' - able to pay attention to the beauty and hear the woodpeckers and smell the pine.

And don't get me started about them trying to talk me into driving one myself. 

 

Snow, Masterpiece, and Heather Ross

We got over a foot of snow yesterday!  Crazy stuff.

So, who watched Masterpiece this week?  I really loved Miss Austen regrets.  What a great film!  And it was fun seeing Greta Scaaci and Olivia Williams cast together, as I've always thought they looked alike.  Very believable sisters.

I'm really looking forward to the new Emma and Sense & Sensibility!

Big news for Heather Ross fans!  In the Buggy for Heather Ross flickr pool, Heather posts photos of her newest line! (*oops, you might have to join the group to see the pix). Wow, it is amazing! I cannot wait until it comes out in May!  This new line is the perfect blend of sophistication and whimsy (yes, I know that sounds silly, but it's true!).

(The shoveled snow pile was almost as big as Princess!)

Not too much going on - trying to research cars, shoveling, and brainstorming ideas for my Miniswap partner - who has 2 girls, what fun! :)

What are you up to?

Pressies

Man, it's been hard to get back in a blogging groove.  In part because the sore-throat fairy seems to have paid me another visit.  No fever this time, but worse pain.  What's up with that?!?  But I won't whine. 

I have a few more gifts that we got for Christmas that I simply must show you.  From my MIL, new quilts for the kiddos:

Not the best picture to actually show you the quilts, I realize, but I took these photos of the kids all wrapped up to send as a thank-you note - they're the best I've got.

Thomas' (left above) is hot rod fabric mixed with brights, in big blocks.  Princess' is this amazing retro paperdoll fabric set with 30's reproduction prints.  And the border is one of the large-scale ones.  So so pretty.... and I'm looking at it and realizing you can mostly see the back.  Sorry!  Monkey's is a panel with roads, with coordinating car and checker fabric.  Really fun.  The kids LOVE them.

From my brother, Karl, a handmade bowl by his friend, Greg.  A very cool gift.

My sister, Kellie, won for most creative packaging, completely inspired by The Office and amazing... but it might take too long to explain.... :)

My mom made the kids dress up clothes.  For the boys, tunics, knight's tops, capes, a Peter Pan top, Peter Pan/Robin Hood/Prince Phillip hats, and more.  The cool thing is she found a lot of the fabric for all this stuff from the remnant bin at Joann's.  Sweet.  And there is more, the boys wear them around and take them off wherever - so this is what I could gather this morning. :)  She didn't make the deluxe pirate hat or the horse on a stick (IKEA) that Monkey has named 'Charlie'.

For Princess, she made two Medieval-inspired Princess dresses.  She has recently grown out of all her gorgeous dress up clothes that my mom has made her. 

She is in love with both of them, and on Christmas day she probably changed outfits 8 times.

Mom also threw in a few more lovelies, not pictured, in the form of sparkly skirts, lace shawls, an embroidered stole.  Princess and her friends have been having a ball - quite literally.

 
(I love the trim on the purple dress, and I don't know if you can see it, but the pink dress has silver glitter in it!)

All the handmade love makes me happy, the kids' rooms look great, and hey -  Halloween just might be covered!

My Preciousssss..

My MIL gave me a box full of minny muu fabric for Christmas - and a fun nine-patch pattern to use them with. 

I'm drooling.  She couldn't have picked out cooler fabrics!

Jealous? :)

Any Questions?

Hi, guys.  I'm just flipping through the news programs this morning and seeing lots of discussions about 'Mormonism'. One of the potential candidates for the U.S. presidency is a Mormon, so apparently it's a hot topic.  Maybe also because earlier this year there was a documentary on PBS about it, too. 

So I just wanted to throw out there that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormon), and if you have any questions about the church I'd be happy to try and answer them, or you can check out this website.  I just wanted to mention that because I think that news programs, with their quick two-minute segments, don't always do the best job of answering questions, you know?

So in case you thought you didn't know any 'Mormons' now you do. :)

Have a great day!

xo
kirsten