The Man and I took Friday off last weekend to enjoy some quiet time at our house together since my brother-in-law flew down to be with my sister for a few days.  We got a ton of stuff done, visited with family, and took care of sick cats.  On the whole, it was a pretty good weekend. We had another meeting with our financ

The Man and I were hard at work in our yard again this weekend.  He finished edging and mowed again, and I planted twelve new plants after removing countless weeds and two huge grass mound thingies. Seriously, who plants "ornamental" grass?  Unless we're talking regular fescue-type grass called a "lawn,&qu

Dear J.C. Penney, I write to you today to remind you of your target demographic.  That'd be me.  Well, really, that would be my entire extended family--and, by extension, most of middle America.  We're all loyal "Penney's" customers.  I grew up looking forward to the late summer when my parents would drive me

The Man and I bought a house on a small lot.  It isn't microscopic, but it isn't exactly what anyone would call acreage at about 3,500 square feet.  If you consider how much space is taken by the house and garage, we really only have to manage about 1,000 square feet of actual yard.  Less if you take out sidewalk, the un

I knew that my cold last week had one more trick up its sleeve.  I was mostly convinced the head cold would turn into a chest cold as I had that annoying tickle down the back of my throat.  Thursday night, however, I reassured myself that this thing was really over except the last little bit of mucus hanging in my sinuses

I've had my share of colds, but the one that I got last weekend set a new standard for awful colds.  Seriously, I don't think I've ever had one that bad.  Evil, terrible, nasty bug! Last week, The Man was sick.  He had a cold, but he seemed to be coping pretty well.  He took a day and a half off from work, nothing majo

After years and years of talking myself out of it, I took the plunge today and bought myself some Old Spice deodorant.  That's right, I am a woman, and I am wearing a man's deodorant.  Stop the presses. There were two factors that led me to such a decision: scent and marketing. My dad wore Old Spice Classic aftershav

I have been taking it easy on the blog lately, but I'm making up for it by living my life in the real world.  Now that I'm not buried under yards upon yards of fabric with the king-sized quilt project, I have been able to breathe!  The Man and I are working on a long-term project together (not crafting or kids, just a pro

The Man and I don't always see eye-to-eye.  We know that we will never agree on some things (art? politics? emptying the dishwasher!), that we shouldn't share space in the kitchen together, and that we work on different priority schedules most of the time.  But in those important things like how we feel about family, mone

I have always hated tea.  I don't do coffee, and most of the other hot drinks are just too fussy for me.  I like water and some sodapop, but that's it.  Even lemonade is a rare addition to my drink list.  Water and pop get the job done. Last weekend, The Man and I were near Bridgeport Village in Tigard, Oregon.  We t

As with any situation in which you open yourself up to judgment from others, blogging for the first time can be frightening.  I was able to witness this journey as an outsider recently, and I could be more excited to watch someone I know go through the growing pains of life as a new blogger. My real-life family and frien

After finishing my massive quilt project last weekend, I took several days off.  I didn't move from the couch. No laundry, no dishes, only trips to the kitchen and bathroom as necessary for survival.  You think I'm kidding?  I discovered a new series, Doc Martin, on Netflix last Thursday night, and I watched all five sea

It is with excitement and a proud sense of achievement that I present to you a completed quilt!  The numbers on this quilt are, for me, staggering.  I could not be more pleased with the final product, and I'm so glad it has found its way to the intended bed. Final dimensions: approximately 116" x 124", king-

Not everyone in my life is aware of this blog.  It's not that I hide the fact that I'm a blogger, but sometimes I don't necessarily want everyone in my life to have quick access to my rants or beliefs or quirks.  I mean, I realize bloggy is available for anyone to read at any moment, but still, knowledge is power, right?

Before you read this, you should probably watch "Ew-in or Ew-out," as seen on Live with Kelly and Michael via YouTube.  Ewan McGregor's answers are fine enough, but I couldn't resist posting my own here. Brussels sprouts:  I'm out.  However, I don't think I've ever actually eaten a brussels sprout, so I don't

The Man and I have made more of an effort lately to be less busy.  We've found ourselves sprinting home from work most nights to feed the cats, and then we run out again to do something until late at night.  In the last month, I think I've been able to go home, make dinner, and flop on the couch with nothing pressing me b

The king-sized quilt continues to take shape.  I reduced the quilt pieces from four to two on Friday, and then I spent yesterday ironing, preshrinking, and otherwise flattening the muslin backing and batting.  I laid out the quilt layers yesterday and trimmed them up a bit before whipping out my fancy new basting gun.  R

From nearly seven hundred pieces to four, my parent's quilt has certainly taken shape.  I have to reduce the four pieces to two before I can begin basting the layers together, but that shouldn't take but an hour now.  Basting with my new basting gun will hopefully go quickly, and I may be able to get the quilting done in

Sorry about the total lack of updates lately.  I am working very diligently on a king-sized quilt, and the time I have for blogging gets pushed way, way, way down the list.  The Man and I haven't spent but two hours with friends since Thanksgiving, so that might be an indication of just how busy we've been. On the upsi

When I started this blog over seven years ago, I was really hoping someone other than myself would find it interesting.  I have always loved writing, and having a little corner of the Internet to myself seemed like a nice idea.  I could only dream of the day when my stat counter would cross from two digits to three.  As

Birth date: August 10, 2012 Breed: domestic shorthair Coat color: dark grey, no prominent markings Eye color: yellow to hazel Favorite place to sleep: in the cat tree or in Mommy's arms Favorite way to be held: on his back, cradled like a baby human Favorite toy: homemade fleece green frog (see picture below) or the l

Birth date: August 10, 2012 Breed: domestic shorthair Coat color: dark grey, no prominent markings Eye color: yellow to hazel Favorite place to sleep: on the couch or in anyone's lap, especially Daddy's Favorite way to be held: perched with her front paws on your shoulder, her chin resting on her paws Favorite toy: t

The Man and I are officially Christmas-ed out.  We still have another celebration gathering next weekend, so hopefully a little break will put us back in the spirit of the season. Between my last post and today, I've been tearing up my kitchen with all of the baking, cooking, and general food mayhem the holidays always br

The Man and I both had pets growing up, or so we thought.  In truth, our parents had pets, and we simply coexisted with our "sibling" pets.  We didn't feed, water, or care for the pets as much as we were entertained by them.  However, with both sets of our parents, we learned by their example how to be good pe

In my nine-day absence from this blog, I've written more than you can imagine.  However, rather than blog writing, I've been letter writing.  With my sister away in her basic training for the Air Force, our only communication is through letters.  I have been writing a ton, and it ends up in such fine print (trying to cra

The Man and I have had a very heavy week this week, thus my complete lack of desire to blog.  Our family bid farewell to my little (only) sister on Monday as she left for the U.S. Air Force.  She is now completing eight weeks of basic training, and we only have contact with her the old-fashioned way.  Her husband is livi

The Man and I have found new owners for our little home.  We are, once again, tenants.  The only difference is that this time we get to keep our house.  Our owners, demanding as they may be, prefer a life of eating, sleeping, and chasing that darn little red laser pointer that won't stop moving! After trips to three dif

I must have awoken this morning with a bit more gusto than usual.  In the last twelve hours, I've managed to tear the house apart and put it back together again.  The Man and I ran our errands in town just before lunch, so after eating, I set out to clean the master closet.  That sounds simple, but we crammed three close

What follows is a transcript (slightly edited for your reading pleasure, but the content hasn't changed) of an actual conversation my husband and I had today over an instant messaging service.  He had found a great deal on two OSU sweatshirts and wanted to let me know that he purchased them.  You have to understand that h

Happy Seven Years to Me!  I get to celebrate a blogiversary again and look back on the exciting things that have happened in my life over the past twelve months.  This year wasn't so much about big events and things but about growth. And no, The Man and I aren't talking about our expanding waistlines.  Those have--thank