Creation: Crocheted Owl Pillow

One of my high school friends just happened to move right into my ward here in NC. Since we were in high school together, she has traveled and lived around the world and has turned into quite the seamstress, hostess, decorator, organizer, and I could go on. We've gone to so many of the same functions, and I've noticed she's given a handmade something-or-other to every person. Coming from someone who's trying to convert from giving just diapers and boobie pads (and let's be honest, those are necessary), I've been amazed.

So I noticed she's gotten into owls lately, and she loves making pillows, so I found a pattern on Joann's site and went from 20 pieces to this:

I dropped it off at her house while she was doing an 18 mile run.ON her birthday! Gee, not feeling inadequate at all. Anyway, she's fabulous, talented, and totally humble about it. Happy Birthday Annee!

Here's a link to her blog: Made on Maple

Crippling Weaknesses

I think one of my first ever blog posts had this same title, where I touted the many attributes of Diet Coke, Peanut M&Ms, and bacon. While I still swoon at the thought of any of those three things (though Diet Cherry Pepsi has eked out to first place in the artificially sweetened carbonated caffeinated beverage category), it's time to get a little more serious and pay tribute to things that can love me back.

Over Christmas, Ted and I tried hard to get together with the two men you see pictured below. For good reason. Jamal (name has been changed) and Adler (name has not been changed, but also goes by "Uncle Ads") became our go-to Settlers companions because they are as addicted to it as we are.

Let me back up. Settlers of Catan, particularly the Cities & Knights version, is how Ted and I got back together after a messy breakup and period of silence. Our first game we played with two other guys was quite awkward, but we all loved to just play, so we kept getting together. Then Ted and I had to sit next to each other because we were the only people laughing at each other's dumb (read: racial and/or inappropriate) jokes. Then we became good friends. Then lovers...

Wait. This isn't a Valentine's post. Sheesh.

Anyway, we played with all sorts of people, including other married people - some with kids, some without. We loved that, but one couple moved away, and then the other, but the wife of that couple didn't love it the way the rest of us did anyway. So we started placing an ad in the classifieds* for people who had a sickness and therefore had to play at the very least, once a week (hopefully more). We found them. And it turns out Uncle Ads worked with Ted and Jamal bakes incredible cookies, so it was a win-win-win-win. We had Dinner & Settlers often, sometimes twice a week. I referred to my husband and the two single awesome guys as "my boys", and cooked accordingly. We ate well, we played lots, and the nights were filled with loads of laughter and some of the best intellectual and thought-provoking conversations of my life. These guys are A-1 in my book.

Then we moved. And God found it in His infinite mercy to bless us with people here who are as addicted as we are. Don't think I don't thank Him in my prayers for that.

I flew back to CA a few months later to visit and help my mom pack up for her move. Visiting "my boys" was high on my priority list, so we cooked up a pound of bacon and had a jolly ol' time, though we missed Ted for that game.

To reprise our gaming over Christmas was its own gift. Jamal just got married last October to a fabulous girl, so I spent 90% of the game time engaged in conversation with her and was happy to feel like we all fit together well. And I still managed to win. Neener.

When Jamal was single, I loved going to his apartment because he was the ultimate bachelor. Maybe I shouldn't say "ultimate". He didn't have a "man cave" and his place was clean and hobbit-feet-smelling-free. But the reason I use the word "ultimate" is because of his kitchen, particularly his fridge. It's no secret I love my M&MS (peanut), and in this, Jamal is my soulmate. One night, while Ted and I were there, he ushered me into his kitchen, prepped me for the opening of his fridge door, and watched my reaction once my eyes beheld its contents: not just M&Ms, but Snickers and Reese's and sodas and Grasshopper cookies and chocolate chips for his awesome cookies and more and more. Then he opened his freezer: tiny cups of Haagen Dazs in all flavors and Haagen Dazs bars and more chocolate chips and Ben & Jerry's and and and and ohhhhhh. I made an audible gasp while he grinned at me and briefly considered breaking off my engagement to Ted and throwing myself at this man's feet. He is a sweets FIEND.

Naturally, while at their house over the holidays, I stole into his kitchen to look into his fridge to see if getting married had changed his ways. I saw milk. And cheese. And vegetables. And a couple containers with leftovers. And some chicken or something. What the hell? I expressed my disappointment, but then his lovely (and skinny, which I can't understand given the state of things) wife opened their cupboard and I saw THIS.

You can't see the pillar of light that was shining upon it because my flash was on, but it was certainly there. Look at that thing! A stack of Kit-Kats. Literal BAGS - a pound each - of chocolate-covered peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans. Gummi rings. Gummi worms. Yogurt raisins and pretzels. Lindt truffles. M&Ms, of course. Licorice, mints, candy bars, oh my! I had to ask his wife, "Did you marry Willy Wonka??"

There you have it. Three more crippling weaknesses. Settlers, my boys, and candy. Yes, chocolate DOES love me back. It loves me on my buns, my boobs, my thighs... It loves me all over.

*I wasn't quite that desperate, but I wouldn't put it past me.

Best Early Birthday Present EVER

I got a message on my phone weeks ago from someone I didn't know but whose area code was unmistakably from Utah. She said I was to reserve a particular weekend in January to stay in town, prepare our guest room, and don't ask questions. I was perplexed, intrigued. But with planning to leave for Christmas and everything that went with that, it slipped my mind. I figured that with no more notice or clues, it probably wouldn't end up being anything.

I think I mentioned it to Ted during our 3 weeks in Utah, but I'm not sure.

Sleep deprivation does many awful things to one's brain and body.

Then after we were back, I got a letter with no return address, postmarked Salt Lake City. In it was the same instruction, all typed out.

So mysterious!!!

As the day approached (and I told the news to Ted), we tried to figure out just who it could be. It had to be someone who knows I love (LOVE) surprises, but who would also have the gall to just tell me to be ready for, well, any ol' shmo.

But shmoes they were not! At the stroke of midnight Thursday night, there was a knock on my door and I opened it to behold....

THIS TRIO!!

I didn't get a picture of their arrival because I was too busy picking up my jaw off the floor. My bestest college friends all left their husbands and multiple children with babysitters and carpools and pre-made meals so they could hop on a couple of planes and fly all day to see me. I'm still shocked over it all.

Like all bestest college friends, we didn't have to do much to have a grand weekend. We ordered pizza, watched The Notebook, played Speed Scrabble and Mexican Train, made deep-dish cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches. And we laughed and laughed and laughed!

Amid the cacophony, we did manage to get out of the house for a little sightseeing, hence the Duke Chapel in the background and the grand doors below. There was someone practicing a most incredible organ in the Chapel while we were there, and Shannon, a rather fab organist herself, was in heaven. I, however, was in heaven the whole weekend and still haven't been brought down.

Shan, Val, Ker-dog, thank you so much for your many sacrifices to fly across the country to grant me a most fabulous few days. I heart you guys!

Creation: Crocheted Spring Purse

Spring is here! Time to celebrate and wear it proud. I saw this pattern in a book, and though I think it's adorable, there's no way I can fit my wallet, camera (though it's small), keys, phone, diapers, sippy cup, wipes, toys, a couple of pens, a spoon, applesauce, and pretzels in there. So I made it for someone else. TWO someone elses. I photographed the first one, but had a Moron Day and deleted the pictures before I could download them.

The first edition was for my sweet sister who had a birthday at the end of March. Her life has been topsy-turvy as of late, though I can't say I really pity her. She was a nanny in ITALY, of all places, from August to January, and when she got back after Christmas, someone somewhere told her that the work visa she currently held wasn't gonna cut it, so she had to come back to the U.S. to try to work it out with the consulate. They gave her the run-around, in way more detail and paragraphs than I'm going to get into, but in the meantime, my brother's family in Heber, UT, had quite a scare with their newborn boy. He contracted RSV, had to be lifeflighted (is that a verb?) to Salt Lake, and the parents were quickly in tow. However, they had 4 other boys left at home. So my sister dropped everything with consulates and visas and flew to Utah to stay in their home while little Jake recuperated in the hospital. She took care of four CRAZY boys so our brother could still go to work and Sara could stay with her son in the hospital. What a dear. What an unselfish thing to do. It's so like her to do that, too, so I made this for her.

Edition #2 was for our neighbor and friend, Ashley, who is constantly tending and tickling our little (huge) munchkin while I go do various errands. She's got her own day job and an additional side job, she's putting her husband through his last year of law school and planning grad parties and baby showers, but she always has time to take Tess under her wing. I told her I would have made her a scarf from a cool pattern in the same book, but it was probably too warm for that. She happened to be over one day when I was crocheting this purse, and she decided she wanted one, too. Same color, same handles, same size. (phew) I was only too happy to oblige.

So thank you, thank you to daily heroes who make the world go round. I love you immensely and think you're pretty stupendous.

It's not much, but it's from the heart.

Charleston: A day on the town

Charleston was so beautiful that we spent two days "just walking around" instead of the pre-planned one. Ted (trivia receptacle) mentioned that this is one part of the country that has very specific laws regarding what can be built and where, what color it can be painted, any and all signage, and even landscaping the city wants to use. All of this is done in an effort to preserve as much as possible the look that has existed for hundreds of years, and I must say, the efforts are well worth it to tourists like us. Not only was it a gorgeous spring day (which one hopes for on their spring break), but the scenery was enough to just want to sit on one of the large rocking-chair porches and drink it all in. But there was too much to see! So, walk we did.

Some streets were brick, while others were cobblestoned. I expressed my love for the cobblestones until I had to push an umbrella stroller across one for an entire two blocks. Then they weren't my favorite. But they were cool to look at!

We visited Fort Sumter, the site of the beginning of the Civil War on April 12, 1865. It has been excavated and somewhat restored, with some of the original cannons, and they've built a museum to showcase some of the artillery and a HUGE original flag. I was focused on how crazy it must have been to be a part of nonstop blasts coming to and going fro, but I also couldn't get out of my head that this was the place the four girls in the movie Shag told their parents they were visiting and instead went to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. It's not like the Fort was THAT big! How were their parents so easily fooled that it would take them an entire weekend to see it all?!? Of COURSE they were going to go to the beach and meet boys and enter shag contests and throw a party in the senator's house! I mean, the Fort was cool and all, but those things were much cooler when I was 18 and about to go off to college. I'm just sayin'. Sometimes parents are stupid and gullible.

I got a picture of my two favorite people closer up in front of this house, but then I realized the whole reason I took a picture of this house was because it reminded me of so many gorgeous houses and magnolia trees that I miss in my hometown. The scene could have been straight out of Pasadena, for all you know. But nope, Charleston, SC.

There were fountains a-plenty:

Our friend Ashley happened to take this shot right after Tessa stuck her hand in the stream of water and splashed it all over herself, inducing gasps and whimpers. Notice how great a mom I am - laughing at my poor unfortunate child. Whatever. She got over it.

This was one of many incredible-looking churches. But I included it because it was my favorite.

Spanish moss EVERYWHERE:

A small stretch dubbed "Rainbow Row". Fitting name, obviously.

As I crossed one of the streets, I noticed the sun was at a perfect point for a perfect photo. Unfortunately, I'm not a perfect photographer. This was me trying to be fancy.

Our group decided to try one of the restaurants that had been recommended in our "1000 Places (in USA and Canada) to See Before You Die" book. All of Charleston was in there, but they made special mention of this restaurant: Bowen's Island. We would never have just happened upon this place on our own, because it was on the edge of town, down a remote paved road that turned into a remoter dirt road full of huge ruts and bumps, and into a remotest cul-de-sac that housed a barn, a shack, and near-mountains of oyster shells. The barn was the restaurant, the shack was where you pre-paid, got your drinks (go with the cans, folks, because I personally saw a rat walking near the "water cooler"), and could watch your food get deep-fried. If you ordered oysters, you witnessed the little critters getting scalded to death in the huge boiling kettles you passed on your way to the barn/restaurant. Also, if you ordered said oysters, they came to you in an industrial-sized shovel, and the waiter just plopped them on your table. Good luck shuckin'.

None of us ordered oysters.

Here's our group in the quaint surroundings. Patrons were encouraged to write/carve on the wooden panels and 2x4s that made up "the walls", and there was a very fat dog lying in wait to receive any ill-placed table scraps. It reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and our chubby daughter simultaneously. Note to self: when fat and pregnant, always move to the back of group pictures.

The oyster carnage. This was only one of the dozen or so piles of shells out there. Oh, and go Duke.

Tessa is a bit of a flirt, but even she has her limit. This was about the 14th hug she got that night. From the same cute boy. I hope she keeps this attitude as a teenager, but it's probably wishful thinking considering who her mama is.

Charleston: Fantasy trees

We spent four beautiful days in Charleston over Ted's Spring Break. It was a break he sorely needed, and this time (as opposed to his Fall Break when we went to Hershey), everything was due before the break, so he could actually relax. We went with two other families, stayed in the same hotel, ate at the same joints, toured the same sights and everything. It was such a gas! We had a ball, even though the other couples left a day earlier than we did. On our last day, we visited an outdoor market with vendors who sold much of the same thing (so of course it reminded me of downtown L.A.). Some was kitschy, some was quite pretty, and some of it belonged in the garbage.

We looked through some photographed prints at one stand, and stopped at one incredible image of a tree. We asked the vendor what it was, and he said it was an oak that was 1500 years old, called the "Angel Oak Tree", and it lived on St John's Island, which was about 20 minutes away. After grabbing lunch and driving through the Citadel, we headed over there, not knowing exactly where it was, but hoping our GPS could give us some info. It did, and we found it, and we were SO GLAD we did. It was even more incredible than the pictures showed, because this thing was so huge, there's no way it could be captured in just one shot. The branches actually spanned almost two acres and had to be propped up off the ground. Keep in mind these next four shots are all one tree. By my calculations, the seed must have taken root only one lifetime after Moroni buried the plates in the hillside. So cool! ;)

Our last day together, all three families went to visit the Boone Plantation, made famous by the movie The Notebook. The house, Boone Hall, was grand, but the grounds were what was really impressive. There were fields galore for strawberries, pumpkins, green beans, melons (the kind you eat), eggplant, grapes, and all sorts of other things. They even made their own honey on the plantation. The whole place used to grow indigo, but once cotton became "king", the Boone Plantation (and most others) switched to cotton.


And my favorite, these oak trees that were just dripping with Spanish moss were glorious. On a whim, we popped the kids up into the branches and got them giddy with laughter.

Couldn't you just EAT THEM UP???

Farewell and Hello

I had to wait to write this post at a time when I wouldn't short out my computer keyboard from tear hyperactivity. It's been a huge transition for our little family (especially me) to leave a community in which I was born, grew up, left for college, got married, and had my first child, but I'm adjusting as well as I thought I would. I am discovering beauty every day, both in scenery and new friendships, so very soon, you just might be reading phrases like "I love it here!" and "I don't care if they don't have a See's within a 100-mile radius!". But for now, I'm still dying for a Rum Nougat (and a Double-Double, for that matter).

The Sunday before we pulled out of California, many many dear friends put together a fantastic open house to say their final farewells. It was a bittersweet night, because of course in my mind I was going through every memory with every person as they walked around and yapped and ate, unaware that though I was cackling and guffawing, inside I was a mess. Cackling is my coping mechanism. Now you know.

Stories in pictures:

Bruce, Elizabeth, Katie, and Sarah, holding our little Squeakpot. I was the exclusive babysitter for these girls when they were itty bitty. Well, really, since it was just Katie. I was 11 or 12, and for some reason, B&E entrusted their offspring to me for HOURS per week. Bruce is the only man besides Ted who wasn't afraid to come and rub my pregnant belly. I loved it, and somehow, he knew it (or didn't care).

Here's another lass I've known since she was a bump in mummy's tum. Amazing what an incredible young lady she's turned out to be - strong, clever, intelligent, mature, friendly, and the fastest fingers on a violin I think I've ever seen. She and her mom joined the church choir I directed for seven years, and as friends (basically family), we've been through a lot. Susie was my most recent visiting teacher, and for our visits, we went to go see plays! And to eat at restaurants! The culture and class just drips out of this woman, and her family mentoring hasn't stopped from my oldest brother to my youngest. She's such a giving, wonderful woman.

And here's Ted looking like he ditched his old wife for a new one. Tamar has been a long-time friend for, well, a long time. :) When I got my first teaching job, I went to her house, freaking out about how much I didn't know, and I gleaned as much wisdom from her teaching experience as I could. Ted and Tamar have known each other longer than I've known either, and after I dumped Ted the first time we dated, Tamar was a big part of Ted's support system. She's an active go-getter, and I only know a few people who have their hands in as many things as she does. And...she loves our kid, so she's way up there on our list.

This girl really belongs in the "scarecrow" position, but you know how blogger is. Shannon and I met at age 7 or so, and now we're, well, older. Words can't describe my deep-seated love for Shannon, because it comes from a place where you've had pretty great ups and pretty bad downs, and you've chosen to get through them all and keep being great friends. I realized while we lived together at college during our freshmen year (as the Hinckley Hall Hunnies, thank you) that we were as different as two women could be. It was a harsh realization, and I wasn't sure we would survive the ramifications, but I grew up and matured, and since then, we've been pretty inseparable. This girl plays a mean organ and game of basketball, whips up the best banana cream pie Ted and I have ever had, is more loyal than any yappy little puppy, and is one of the most devoted young moms I have the pleasure of knowing. She lives for her kids and has provided me with snippets of wisdom and goodness that I continue to use for my own life. Dawg, you know I love you. Here's to 25 more years together!

This next group is just a bunch of hooligans. Look at the mischief in their eyes! Four of the five folks pictured here raised children alongside my parents for 40 years, so I actually grew up with their kids (I've made out with two of the sons from the couple on the left - that's how tight I'm talkin' here), yet they have become my own friends. The secret is many many choir rehearsals with much raucous laughter. Music will do that - it is a timeless bond.

The two Allisons! Together I think we upped the naughty factor in RS significantly. She is a talented and very real piece of work. I've sought her advice on so many things, and was quite flabbergasted one day a few years ago when she wanted some acting tips for a show we were putting on. I couldn't believe she was actually nervous to perform! We laughed and laughed and she pulled everything off as if the audience were all her best friends and she was just being her usual unruly self. What a scream.

Ah, Jim and Carol. I would like to thank you both for looking so good that you actually made me look better. Here's another family I've known almost since time began, and I admit I feel lucky to have been a part of their history, even if only in the very smallest part. Jim and one of the hooligans in the above picture were dubbed the "two old muppets in the balcony" and certainly lived up to their nicknames every choir rehearsal. And the things Carol can do with paper are uncanny. The world is more enjoyable and beautiful because they exist.

Kim! My shoe-loving, tea-party-having, perfect-skinned princess! Can you believe this girl has a son who's my age? I STILL can't get over that! I've been dying to find out her secret for years, the little vixen. Her laugh is infectious, obviously.

Holy cow - where do I start with this next little group? Janet (Shannon/best friend's mom) is another one of those I-grew-up-with-your-kids-but-now-I'm-friends-with-you people, and we have been sharing a brain for several years now. I dubbed her my "other mother" because, well, she is. When a person spends almost every weekend at your house, playing your Monopoly, swimming (and peeing) in your pool, eating your blueberry muffins, and jacking Little Women off your bookshelf, and you just laugh and let them, you know it's love. I regret to inform everyone that little has changed, though I haven't jacked anything from their house in 20 years (but REALLY want to - have you seen this place??). The other family are the Moores. Kindred spirits, down to the core. Lilian is at your doorstep at the drop of a hat, doing anything and everything you never knew you needed. And I have never, nor will I ever, sing a better "Love Shack" than I do when I sing with Mike at Monday night karaoke, nor have I been as moved by an a capella version of any old hymn he chooses to sing. Mike, your voice is as golden as your wife and son.

Jean and Tim and little Weston are newer to my best friend scene, but no matter. Good food bonds people for life (like good music!) and the way these two dish it out, no wonder they have friends aplenty. I salute their love of Ghirardelli and M&Ms and bacon. Seriously.

And I salute your love of Diet Coke. Bless the consumption in your home. And nice jugs, Rebecca!

Ross and Tina - what a riot. When Ted and I were first married (I can say that now because it's been two and a half loooooong years already), these two invited us over for dinner and a game night. I brought dessert (can't remember what, so it must not have been memory-worthy), and Tina cooked up some awesome beef roast with potatoes and corn. We gorged and then got schooled by Tina as she stomped us all at Settlers. What an embarrassment. The thing is, she doesn't even look or sound like a fighter. She's got the same joie de vivre as Natalie from the Facts of Life, yet she'll pull the rug out from under you, and then giggle that she got your goat.

I really miss you guys.

Tawnie. The Tawn-Tawn. The Tawnster. A week before popping. Wish I could have looked that good. I guess you have to start out at 80 pounds, though. Gee whiz, she makes me look like I'm having another one, too. How depressing. Thanks, babe!

My best friend's husband of 6 1/2 years. I still got it, baby.

These three were all friends from our "single days". The two on the left are Heather and Andrew, a sassy meat-and-potatoes-and-disco sort of match-up, and the guy on the right is married to the 80-lb popper above (and has recently been joined by their poppee). I love that we all made our lives in the same spot, watched everyone date their honeys, get married, etc, and now we all get together and laugh about marriage. What a gas life is.

Few people have just marched into my life with no qualms or hesitations and wordlessly demanded my friendship, but Annette has, thank the Lord. And I was dying to give it to her.

What would a party for us have been without fabulous food? Janet, Shannon, Pam, Barbara, Susie, Carol, Annette, thank you for hosting the most wonderful send-off from a most wonderful place. We didn't deserve such lavish attention, but were grateful for it all the same.

Farewell to Pasadena, my old friend. I believe it is possible to keep all the best friends you have made through many years and to make even more in just a few. North Carolina, you have big shoes to fill, but already have a lot going for you. Hello and I love you to all my new friends and Farewell and I love you forever to all the old. Until I see you again...