I had typed out this long thing about a visit to the Unique Boutique (a scrapbooking store in Pullman) that Amanda and I made Monday, and inadvertently deleted it. Without repeating the whole thing again, suffice to say I can sum it up with these words: cluttered, overpriced, overstocked, rude. I actually ended up walking out without $60 worth of merchandise I had gathered up after a lecture I received from the owner on the wholesale costs of her products, complete with her bringing out her ring of cardstock samples and calling me "honey". I won't be back. We went to Joann's and Michael's instead, and I spent even more money (biggest purchase was a Xyron sticker-making and laminating machine).
I continue to scrapbook, which is a good thing because I'm sure buying enough stuff for it. I've now made four pages - two for my quilting book and two for my family scrapbook. Pictures below.
I'm adopting a soldier! I was poking around at scrapbooking websites today, subscribing to e-newsletters, when I came upon this link. A couple of weeks ago, I first heard the song Traveling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks, and was inspired to adopt a serviceperson as a penpal. I didn't know how to follow up on it, however, and then life crowded in and I didn't get around to looking into it. The link was very fortuitous, then. I went on over to Operation Military Support and read about it, then sent them an email asking for a soldier of my own. This could be fun!! I agree with their statement - whether or not you agree with the impending war, the soldiers need our support so they know they are cared for. My brother was in the Army and was active in Panama. Getting mail really does make a difference to them. I encourage you to adopt a soldier as well!
We're all sick. Actually, I think I got the least of it, but Mike, Kayla, and especially Adam have all been hit with some kind of flu. This after we all had a cold a week ago. Adam felt bad enough that we took him to see a nurse practitioner yesterday, and got him prescriptions for a cough suppressant and some antibiotic. She says his left ear is "starting to look pretty pink", and that he has a "good cough", so it looks like some kind of bacterial thing. He hates the medicine, and I can't say as I blame him; medicine always tastes pretty nasty to me, too.
I've taken up scrapbooking!! I lay all the blame at
Amanda's feet, since she's a scrapbooker and has been visiting the local
scrapbook stores to investigate teaching opportunities. I was along for most of
these, so the repeated exposure to the scrapbooking world wore me down. There
are some really CUTE things out there for scrapbookers (I LOOOOOOVE
Jolee's
Boutique) and there is some really tacky stuff out there - just like
quilting!! I can see where people could get to spending a lot of money at this,
but all in all it's a much cheaper habit than quilting. I finished my first page
on Valentine's Day, and I'm almost done with my second one. They don't take that
long, but I'm still working on the quilt for my niece, and just using the
scrapbooking to break the monotony. I'll post a picture of my first page
soon someday.
Last weekend was for running around. Friday was a trip to the scrapbook store, where I bought my first little collection of things to make my first page. Mike made a yummy dinner (cornish game hens!) that night, for Valentine's Day. Saturday, we went to the Vagina Monologues in Cheney with my friend Liz and her cousin. I was underwhelmed. Some of the monologues were poignant, some hit too close to home, and some were just needlessly and pointlessly dramatic. Yeah, I have a vagina. That does not make me special. It does make me more likely to be a victim of certain types of assault, but it doesn't in and of itself make me special, anymore than a guy having a penis makes him special. It's just a body part. After the monologues, we went to Ben Franklin where I checked out their scrapbooking section (TERRIBLE), then we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant (eh).
Sunday we drove back north again, this time to Spokane. I met a friend from online, Marilyn, at the Barnes & Noble. I got a few books, was gifted with some pussywillow, then Amanda and I went to have dinner at Taste of India on Division (as usual, excellent food, awful service). Afterward, we visited what, were it closer, would slowly but surely put me into unmanageable debt - a scrapbook store in the Mall called Scrapbook Paradise. Luckily the one on Pines, Huckleberry Patch, was closed, as it has gotten even better reviews. I got LOTS of things there (shopping is FUN). They have this huge, enormous Jolee's Boutique display right at the front of the store, when you walk in, so it took me almost an hour to even get past the entryway!
Adam continues to like preschool. He skipped it this past week because he was sick, but after school last week he said, "I want to go to school again. I want to play with more boys." When I dropped him off at his classroom, I told him I was going upstairs with the other mommies. He now reminds me at odd intervals, "You go upstairs with the other mommies, Mama." His language ability continues to amaze me. How in the world did I produce this little genius? Kayla still staunchly refuses to eat any solid foods whatsoever. I still offer them to her from time to time, but she has no interest. She's not putting toys in her mouth or reaching for food, so she's not showing much signs of readiness, but I, for one, would love to see her take culinary interest in something - anything! - other than ME. On the bright side, she has begun signing "milk" now whenever she's hungry (and sometimes when she's not, just to see what happens), and blowing kisses at me. If I kiss at her and her attention is sufficiently focused on me, she'll kiss back, and sometimes she'll initiate kisses of her own. It's very cute! She's also starting to climb things, which is somewhat less cute.
I've had a busy couple of days. Today, Mike and I took the kids into Colfax for their first visits to the eye doctor. Both are doing well, and we were asked to come back when Adam's 5 & Kayla's 3. After that, we made a deposit at the bank and went to the auto parts store to get replacement batteries for the RV. Quick stop at the Grange to have copies of keys made, then refilled gas at the Exxon, then did our weekly grocery run and came home. I worked on computer stuff before trying to have a nap (interrupted first by Kayla, then by Adam, neither of whom wanted to rest).
Yesterday, Amanda and I went to the Patchin People guild meeting in Pullman (preceded by stops at Subway and the Grange, both for feed). We met up with my friend Laurie and had a pretty good meeting. I was surprised at how little show and tell there was this time, but I guess the room can't be overflowing with quilts every month. Amanda jumped in feet first, agreeing to help put together orphan quilt blocks and tops for either auction or giveaway, to benefit Alternatives to Violence. We're having a workday for that before our next guild meeting. Amanda also signed on to do the guild's website, with some help from me. Next stop was the scrapbooking store in Pullman - Paper Pals. We chatted with the owner, Karen, and found that she may have need for both our services (Amanda for scrapbooking stuff, me for web design/maintenance). I don't know if it'll pan out or not, but we left our phone number and will see what happens, if anything. Then I went to the Shopko for a puzzle for Adam. Adam has really gotten quite amazing at puzzles, and I want to encourage his skill. Buzzes by the Dairy Queen and grocery store rounded out our trip.
And while I'm on grocery stores... my local area has suddenly gone dry for my new favorite snack, just when I was really getting to like it. I've looked everywhere, and none of the local stores seems to carry it anymore. The Rosauer's has the sign up for it, but that section is stocked with a different flavor. I talked to one of the managers, told him what my problem was, and left my number. I am going to hear back from them, in theory, but they didn't call today. Poopy!
We skipped the preschool last week. Not until yesterday morning was I feeling anything near like going out of the house for the day. Hopefully everyone will be well enough to make it this week.
I feel terrible. I woke up this morning with a headache, sore throat, and congestion, with sneezing to boot. Kayla had the snuffles yesterday, and a fever last night as a result of either her cold or the immunizations she got yesterday. I think both Mike and I have caught her cold, and I'm just waiting for Adam to come down with it to. Yuck!
Well, let's see. We survived Mike's absence with nothing major to report. He was home by about 8PM last Wednesday. Thursday morning I took Adam to preschool, which he continues to love. He told me as we were leaving, "I want to go to preschool again." He doesn't quite grasp the concept of "next week" yet. Friday we all went into town (even Amanda) to run errands and do the grocery shopping. Maybe half our food budget last week went to Cheez-its. :)
Monday afternoon, Amanda and I drove into St. John with Kayla to refill a propane tank (the big one had run out). Propane STINKS. After we dropped the tank off back at the house, we drove into Moscow to watch a couple of movies (A Guy Thing, which was "eh", and Just Married, which was hilarious). The roads were slick on the way home, but I took it easy - driving 35mph much of the way - and we made it without incident.