Happy Anniversary!

To me and Steve! Love you honey! :)

Meowy Christmas!

We had a cat named Christmas growing up...we actually named our pets after the holidays closest to when we got the pet...so Christmas was a Christmas present after another cat had passed on... We also had Easter the cocker mutt and St. Patrick, who was the coolest rumpy Manx that we rescued from the Humane Society...and numerous fish named ridiculous names like "The Fourth of July."

So in honor of Christmas the cat (I need to find a picture to post of him), I leave you with this:

MEOWY CHRISTMAS!

Mental Note to Myself...

This is not how magnetic snaps are supposed to look:

Rather, this is how the snap should look:

The washer goes against the wrong side of the fabric...duh!

I made another fabric basket for a Christmas gift for one of my grandmas...I ran out of steam to make the 3 baskets on my list, and only ended up with this one. I'm sure it will be a last second decision on who to give it to...the others will be sent for Valentine's Day if I get my mojo back. Completely scrappy, and to be honest, mostly made from fabrics I would not otherwise use. Some were from the Spare Change swap, and others are more vintage-y squares I got from Nanette when I ordered from her (all completely unique, begging to be a part of something scrappy like this). You can't tell in the photo, but the bottom is a deep purple mini cord. And the inside is a floral print from a thrifted pillow case.

And just because I'm having fun playing with my new camera, and the severe lack of photos earlier today, isn't the macro setting just amazing??

The full-size photo is even better!

AND...who is this little guy?? This is Meeko, he sometimes lives in our neighbor's back yard, and likes to crawl up the tree and peer at our kitties. Steve managed to capture this photo of him (with some Picasa editing thrown in to lighten him up and lessen the devil eyes).

Alright, y'all...this is probably the last real post for a while...so Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy 2009, etc. etc. See ya on the flip side! :)

The year is coming to a close...

...and I packed up my sewing machine last night, so that's its nice & safe from kitties while we're in Nebraska over the holidays. All of my supplies and fabrics are put away, although I realized I need re-organize my craft closet when I get back.

My goals in 2009 are to start AND finish a bunch of quilts (so I can use up the copious quantities of fabric I acquired this year)...and to maybe take a class or two on garment sewing, as I would like to make myself some skirts.

At some point, I also need to catch up on some scrapbooking, which has gone into some serious hibernation while I've been sewing.

Cheers in 2009!

Blogger Issues

OK, so does anyone know what I'm doing wrong in blogger that doesn't keep all of the line/paragraph breaks that I'm intending.

It all keeps coming out as these crazy run-on paragraphs, that I don't even want to read, let alone anyone else!

Weekend Update Dec20-21

We had a pleasantly busy weekend, and I forgot to pull the photos I managed to remember to take off my camera :(

After more than 1.5 hours in the car Friday night, I made it the 20 miles from work to Leslie's house for a wine tasting party (Leslie works with Steve and provides the cats love & attention when we leave them to go on trips). Great party, we ordered a couple of bottles. :) Steve & I agreed to open one present when we got home - I got this lil guy and Steve grabbed a box and tore into...only to find he was opening one of my presents. Uh, yeah...he was having a little trouble reading his own handwriting on the sticker. So he put that package back, and opened up his binoculars (a true Geek, yes - a camping Geek!).

We opened the rest of the presents in the morning on Saturday...and I got Seams to Me, David Cook's CD, electronic Monopoly, Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, Rabbids for the DS, and a bunch of great lil stocking stuffers, including these yummy things, which will go on the airplane with me on Wednesday (it's tradition). Apparently, the cashier @ Target asked Steve if the Monopoly, Rabbids & David Cook CD were for his kid... Um...not quite!

(photo added in as a post edit later)

On Saturday, we went over to Shannon & Cory's for turkey dinner & Rock Band. I can manage playing bass on easy mode and hit most of the notes - but Enter Sandman almost did me in, there's quite a few "easy" bass notes in that song! I like singing, but other people do too, so I just sat down to press buttons and hope my hand-eye coordination functions properly.

Sunday was spent crafting a few last-minute gifts. I've had this USC fabric for a while now, going to incorporate into a quilt for us since Steve is getting is Master's degree from USC, but I realized very quickly that the fabric wasn't going to be used for him. Fortunately, my friend Christina is now teaching @ USC, and fiancee Jason is also an alum. So I made Christina a fully reversible tote bag with the USC on one side, and this cute Recess panel making up the reverse (from local fabric store though, I needed to match the fabric up). I took the remainder USC fabric and made Jason a scarf backed in dark gray fleece (50% off @ Joanns right now!). Of course, I neglected to get a photo of the finished product. Gave them their gifts last night, before we went and walked around a crazy neighborhood in Torrance totally decked out in white lights and decorations. *sigh* I love white Christmas lights (there were a few blues in the mix, guessing for Hanukkah). This is what I came up when I googled for the Torrance lights. We didn't see the Simpsons...but we did see a polar bear praying to Baby Jesus, but I thought it looked like the polar bear was ready to stage a coup on the manger.

These scarfs are my favorite thing to make right now - super easy, and if you get a nice geometric print, you can just sew right down the lines. So then I took the leftover Echino airplane fabric from Joelle's bag and whipped up a scarf for my friend Carrie, one of my college roomies, later bridesmaid @ my wedding, and an aerospace engineer working @ Boeing. I'll give her the scarf on Friday, we're meeting up in Omaha to have breakfast @ Village Inn...I haven't seen her in over a year, and Steve has never met boyfriend Dave, who is a great guy!

Sorry for the linky post with no 1 photos - boo for me! :(

Tonight, I need to attempt to pack a bunch of warm clothes in one small carry-on suitcase... I will deserve a prize if I can accomplish this! Plus, my anxiety levels have kicked up a notch after hearing about the airplane near-disaster in Denver on Saturday night... Let's hope Denver has learned their lesson and stop allowing airplanes to take off in 31 knot crosswinds!

I always find the weirdest news on Yahoo...

...this time, I'm relieved to find that I'm less likely to die in California from a natural event than I would be in Nebraska, according to the Death Map. And apparently, moving to Colorado would be more hazardous to my life...

Strange Yahoo!

Crafting has gone by the wayside...

After my exhausting Sunday (still cursing that darn reversible bag!), I haven't really gotten back on the sewing wagon, and I need to... I'm still trying to be ambitious and put together a few more fabric baskets for my grandparents, along with a couple more handmade gift items for a couple of friends. All I've been able to do the last couple of days is just chill on the couch after work...and maybe muster up the energy to play a game or two of this:


Turns out that I'm really good at putting movies in order by their release, while Steve is REALLY good at identifying movies from just one screencap or drawing. So, by sheer dumb luck, I am sometimes able to beat him if there aren't too many of these picture games...
We also discovered last night that you can very cheapy buy UNO as an xbox download...but Xbox is a cheater! Somehow, I think there might be some UNO looming in my future!

Twilight Alert!

So I don't know if all the Twilighters are keeping up with the drama surrounding the New Moon movie, but here it is in a nutshell:

*Director Catherine Harwick out, Chris Weitz in

*Production being pushed up to very SOON so they can release New Moon in late 2009

*Jacob casting being revisited... I have to agree that Taylor Lautner is sort of a babyface, and probably can't keep up with the physical changes in the Jacob character. So I think I can live with this casting choice... but Prince Caspian as Aro?? I always though Aro was older...but I can handle the man candy Ben Barnes would bring to the screen - although he's got to be made up so he's all papery, whispy white skinned...

Sammy Saturday

On Saturday, we went out with Sammy, even though it was early (you know, 8:30am) and it was slightly rainy and cold outside... And wouldn't you know it, we were the only crazies out there...at least with the horse! Steve & Scott went with me, so they could practice hiking...and they got to break their boots into slightly muddy trails, and figure out how to deal with that!

It was a good time...here are the photos! The sky was really dramatic, with these light beams poking thru the cloud wall...they looked like spotlights on the water! The air was really calm...then a few hours later, the wind really kicked up and eventually blew in the rain Sunday night/Monday morning. In the last photo, Sammy is wondering if the camera is perhaps a carrot...I think not! He loves his treats!

Tutorial: Purse/Bag Handles

Based on the difficulty I had making the reversible purse, and because I had already cut the pieces from my expensive Echino Nico fabric, I had to do something different, using the pieces I had. So I cut off the handles of the reversible purse template and decided to make lemonade... And in the process, I decided just to make some normal bag handles and do the tutorial I promised.

So here goes! Before you start, you should figure out how long your handle(s) need to be. When I do the hobo bags, the handle is approx. 26" long, the ones on the Manhattan bag are each approx. 14" long, and the ones in this tutorial are each approx. 20" long. For an cross-body messenger style bag, that will land you in the 45"-60" range depending on how tall you are - just grab a measuring tape (the sewing kind, not the metal kind), and sling across your body to figure it out. This tutorial will give you handles that measure 1.25" in width.

What you need:

*Handle fabric = 4" wide by the length of your handles (see above)

*Pellon 987F Fleece (or a similar weighted fusible fleece - I think it's a medium to heavy weight fleece) cut to 1.25" width

*Pellon DecorBond 809 (or similar) cut to 1.25" width

*Twill tape 1.25" width (I bought this stuff - yes, the 72 yd. roll, I figured it was easier than going to the store every so often just to get twill tape...I will never run out of this, and it cost $12!)

Directions:

*Cut your 4" wide handle strips. This is what I started with:

please excuse my pressing sheet in these photos - there are some gross burn marks!

*Iron wrong sides together in half length-wise.

*Then open up your fabric. Place your fleece fusible side against wrong side of handle piece, using the center crease as the edge you butt the fleece up against...then give it a light press (enough to make it stick), fold the handle wrong sides together and give it a good press (you're using the handle as a press cloth). REMINDER: Make sure you're using steam on the wool/cotton setting!

*Open your handle fabric back up. Place the DecorBond on the other side of the crease, fusible against wrong side of fabric, and repeat the previous step. If your fleece/DecorBond pieces aren't as long as the handle, don't worry! I just butt the ends of a new piece right up against the end of where I stopped, and it works fine (but don't overlap, you don't need the bulk). Trust me, you won't be able to tell where the split is once you get this sewed up!

*Place the twill tape on top of the side with the DecorBond.

*Fold over the remaining edge of the handle fabric on top of the twill tape/DecorBond side. You should be folding over approximately .75" - with the folds, it's probably somewhere between .5" and .75".

*Repeat fold over and ironing on the fleece side.

*Then fold wrong sides together in half again, and iron the crap out of the strap. Provided you did the above steps properly, the open sides of the strap should be lined up with each other.

*Now we are going to sew. I pin the open sides of the strap together to prevent shifting. I start in the middle and work my way out.

See how I've lined up the breaks in the fabric design? This is important if your fabric can be lined up (and isn't a seamless allover print). The pins really do help the fabric from bunching up in the next steps.

*For the top-stitching, I use my zipper foot. This allows me to get really close to the edge. I think I do this step as if I were left-handed. I attach my zipper foot on the left side, so I get good light from machine to see. Make sure your needle is kicked all the way out to the edge of your zipper foot. NOTE: I use a 90/14 needle for this step, you are going thru a LOT of layers, and really, do you want to deal with a broken needle in the middle of sewing?? No, you do not.

*Edge-stitch the open sides of your handles first, staying as close to the edge as possible, but trying to keep a consistent distance from the edge of the handle. If you have more than one handle, go ahead and chain-piece these suckers. Then turn your handle to the fold side, and edge stitch that side too!

*Now, you could stop after stitching both sides. BUT, why not add another row of stitches to each side?? I kick my needle back toward the center, and line up the edge of the zipper foot to the edge of the fabric, and away I go! Seriously, the double lines look SOOO much better. And as an added bonus, in case you messed up your edge stitching on the open side of the handle, the 2nd row of stitches will ensure you get that handle sewn up nicely!

*Attach your handles where they belong.

Make sure you figure out which side of the handle should be the outside of the handle, and place that side right sides against your bag fabric. For a more solid/allover print, I make whatever side that has the best stitching as my outside.

*Sew your lining & outside together, leaving an opening for turning in the top. Top-stitch around top edge of bag, closing your turning hole while doing so. Don't forget to keep your handles straight up from the top of the bag so you get a good top-stitch to hold them in place.

And viola! You're done...you have an awesome bag with super sturdy handles!

Whew! That took forever, mucho props to all those who have put together tutorials out there!

The Reversible Purse

So there is a reversible purse tutorial available online - 2 slightly different variations, one from Martha and one from All People Quilt (and now I can't find the link to the pattern...grrr...). I printed the template from the APQ version, because I didn't have to enlarge the page to put the template together...just a bunch of paper & taped it together. Then I cut out the pieces for 2 bags from my $18/yard Echino Nico fabric, and got to work. APQ suggests adding a layer of batting with the lining, so I thought "what the hell?" and decided to actually quilt it, adding a layer of muslin to the back (BTW, did the quilting first then cut the template). Then the directions between Martha & APQ differ.

So I followed Martha's directions, sewed up the sides, but not all the way up for both lining & outside. And I sewed along the tops of the handles. Then disaster hit...sewing the lining & outside together. The smaller strap handle wouldn't fit around the bottom part of my machine, so I had to sew it upright (I don't know if this makes sense), which was difficult. Then I figured out I shouldn't have sewed the tops of the handles (APQ instructions coming in here) because I wasn't able to turn the handles once I got the lining & outside partially sewn together. Out came the seam ripper...pulled out the top seams and the unstitched a bit down the side where the lining & outside were sewn together. Then I could turn the handles, re-sew the tops together, and stitch the outside to lining AGAIN. I was able to successfully sew together the "neck" of the bag and topstitch. But again, topstitching the outside of the little handle was considerably difficult.

Honestly, this is probably the worse bag I've put together so far...the instructions seem deceptively simple, and need to be much more detailed. If you are going to attempt this one, I would go with APQ's instructions, they seemed to get you on the right track (if you can figure them out). Has anyone in bloggy land managed to make this bag successfully 1st try??? A more detailed tutorial would be great...

Anywho, here is the lining side of the bag...the outside shall remain only a hint, otherwise the recipient will know she is the recipient based on the fabric.

Sunshine and Lemonade: Weekend Winners: May I have your autograph?

Sunshine and Lemonade: Weekend Winners: May I have your autograph?:

Great scrapbook stuff from Creative Memories! :)

Scotty Doggie update

Kyle has named his Scotty doggie "Patches" and the fabric basket is being used to corral and tote around his blocks!

AND, my grandma is giving me the Scotty doggie she has, under the condition that I can't change his name - he is called Shep. I think I can agree to that condition!

Update on Bicycling Santas...

A friend helped me out thru Facebook, letting me know all of the random Santas in Echo Park on Saturday were participating in SantaCon, a bar crawl.

That would explain the revelry!

And the place that held the Craftacular did indeed turn back into a bar later that night, entertaining all of the Santas that managed to make it that far...

A great way to spread some holiday cheer

EDIT! Update from my friend:
I went to the official Walter Reed Army Medical Center website to verify the address, and it is actually the Red Cross who is sponsoring the card drive, not Walter Reed.

So please send your cards to the address below postmarked by DECEMBER 10TH:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD. 20791-5456

If you send it to Walter Reed it won't go to the right place for distribution. Here is the official link if you want more info: http://www.wramc.amedd.army.mil/NewsAndEvents/media/resource/Lists/wrarticles/DispForm.aspx?Id=65&

I guess it pays to fact check before sending along the fadish e-mails we all get. I figure that if you really want to send a card, you are safe to mail it by tomorrow, as these cards are for both international and domestic distribution.

I just got this message from a friend, and thought it was a wonderful idea:

If you are sending out holiday cards this year, make an extra card and send it to the address below:

A Recovering American Soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

No matter what your position on the war, these men and women have been through hell and they need all of us to remind them why they went through so much. It's the least that we can do, even if your funds are short this year. There are so many ways that we can give other than money. You might even donate an hour or two to your favorite local charity -- vetran's, environment, animal shelter, low-income clinic, etc. -- to share some of what you have in plenty... hope.

Here is a site you can go to "click for a cause" for free as well. Another easy way to donate. http://www.care2.com/click2donate/

Hugs and hot chocolate to one and all!

The Weekend Update

I suffered my first crafting injury on Friday night:

I was making a little card keeper thing, and trying to hammer on a snap using this thingy. Obviously, that didn't quite go as planned... Now the blood blister just looks very dark under the skin, and I keep trying to lick what I think is chocolate off my finger. That was too much information, huh? Well, it's going to happen again during this post, so consider yourselves warned...


I finished up my Winter Foxes handbag...but have since discovered I apparently have no idea how to properly attach magnetic snaps and need to un-sew my lining so I can place the snap washer BEHIND the fabric (shoulda asked my mechanically-inclined hubby when doing this step if it looked right to him). Which means I've screwed up more than one magnetic snap... *grr*

The bag was difficult to put together - the mini-cord lining/side fabric coupled with Pellon 987F fleece and some DecorBond make for some thick layers (I even bent a denim needle!). But other than the snap issue, I'm really diggin' this bag...it's cute! And my handles are super sturdy - one of these days, I'm going to do a tutorial on making bag straps, because I really like how hefty and professional-looking they turn out, and I haven't seen a tutorial that provides the same level of heft. I just need to make another bag with straps, so I can do the photos for the steps.


After a whirlwind Saturday morning finishing and packaging up some birthday presents (SIL Kristina and step-mom Donna) and just-because presents (for 2 of my fav baby girls Jacqueline & Leah), we headed out...

for Donna

For my girl Jacqueline

I made Steve go with me up to Echo Park, to the BUST Holiday Craftacular. His efforts were rewarded by the sight of hundreds of people dressed up as Santa, riding bikes and singing on a school bus - only in LA! The craftacular was OK; I didn't end up buying anything, but the stuff was way better than the Redondo Beach craft fair a couple of weeks ago (that was just old ladies selling stuff like doilies that doesn't really appeal to anyone in my age range, although I appreciate the effort)...but there weren't that many different vendors (maybe 20), so that was sort of disappointing. But I think this was the first year in LA... The other random thing was that this was held in what probably turned into a nightclub later that night... My fav vendor was I Heart Guts; completely unique, I liked the "I'm a Liver, not a Fighter" tees! And speaking of...I guess I Heart Guts will also be participating next weekend in Unique Los Angeles - maybe I'll go check this one out too, hopefully sans Steve (I feel bad torturing him!).



We hung out with Gabe on Saturday, sans Joelle (in DC for work), as Steve is busy learning all things xbox and Media Center. He also was transferring some DVDs to the new TB drive. As of last night, we (and by we, I mean Steve) figured out the best way to get the connection to the main router is to use good old fashioned CAT5 cable (of which we have hundreds of feet, so definitely didn't need to go to a store to get some of that). We just couldn't get the wireless to work at a speed necessary to stream to the xbox. But we were able to stream Kung Fu Panda from the TB drive in the other room, and watch it last night - good times. Steve will be drilling a hole thru the wall next weekend, so he can feed the CAT5 thru the wall to the spare bedroom/office where the router is housed. I am cringing already, as would my landlord if he knew we were putting more holes in the walls. We are going to have to buy a gallon of spackle to repair those holes when we (eventually) move out!


We also put up the Christmas decorations - we don't actually have as much as I remember, but it's still quite a bit for a small apartment with very little storage space. I think I'm going to do a separate post on the random ornaments that decorate our tree - it's very "scrappy" with no cohesive theme. But my tree skirt looks awesome underneath the fake tree! And hopefully it will hold up to repeated washings from the cat barfing on it (keepin' it real here, folks!).

Locks of Love

I decided back in August that I was going to grow my hair out to donate to Locks of Love...I certainly have enough hair, and even though I'm not really a fan of the thick mess going past the tops of my shoulders, I'm going to tough it out.

I haven't really had long hair since 6th grade...it was sort of long for my wedding, but I don't think I have any good pictures of exactly how long it was before I cut it back to chin length (my CA driver's license picture has a girl on it who only sort of resembles me - inevitably took the most horrible photo possible - she looks high in the picture, and that just isn't me at all - at least I know what I could look like high; I'm planning to retake the photo when I renew next year). Maybe I'll dig up a 4th/5th grade era photo to show my hair in it's full (and probably permed) glory...

I discussed my plan in September with Marili (pronounced Marley), my hair chick. She thought it would take me about a year, given how fast my hair grows, about 1" per month (normal is 1/2" per month). So now I'm due for a trim (and some shaping), and I think I have about 5" already...so yeah, 1" per month. I need 10" to send in, but I'm going to try for a full foot. The problem is that it will be totally thick & yucky during SoCal summer, so that's not that much fun.

OK, now that my intentions are out here in blog land, I have some incentive to follow through. :-D Updates to follow...

Freda's Hive Giveaway

Nanette over @ Freda's Hive is doing 7 giveaways... I love her blog, I've bought several patterns from her - she has great banners using 2.5" squares, which I'm saving fabric scraps for... :)

Today's prize is a quilt - free fabric is always good, huh! :)

Sunshine and Lemonade: Weekend Winners: Lost in the Weeds

Sunshine and Lemonade: Weekend Winners: Lost in the Weeds: Giving away Lost season 1 & Weeds season 1...

I absolutely love Weeds, so that would be awesome to win that one.

And I've never jumped on the Lost bandwagon, but am curious what all of the fuss is about...I currently have it queued up in Netflix, but haven't started watching yet.

Ok, Mir...time for your opinion...

So I decided to venture over to Santa Monica's Sewing Arts Center because I needed thread during Thursday's lunch break. While there, I had a chat with a lady about the disaster quilt, and she seemed pretty convinced the thrifted sheet was a BAD idea for the backing.

dimensions approximately 37" x 44"

Since I don't think I can rip out my stitches, I'm going to have to start all over again. Fortunately, I bought the quilt kit on sale, so dollars-wise, I'm not out very much at all.

So there are several options for you Mir.

I can salvage most of the blocks from the original quilt (all except 3)...

So...
1) I can rework the original blocks into a smaller, more squarish quilt (more like 37" x 37")

OR, I can completely start over and make something new. I happen to have the perfect fabrics to use...but they shall remain a surprise ;) Although, I will tell you that they are more subdued than the ones above!

So...

2) I can re-do the original quilt in new fabrics

OR - we can do a new pattern - below are some ideas...

3) Disappearing Nine-Patch (this is way easier than it looks, BTW):From Krom Mama

4) Happy Hour quilt:

from CrazyMomQuilts

5) Patchwork Charm squares:

Also CrazyMomQuilts

6) Finn's Quilt:

So those are some choices - none of which is at all complicated, and totally doable.

Mir, your assignment is to pick 2 of the above (or 2 of your own idea, as long as it's relatively simple - squares & rectangles are good for me)...and let me know...

Then I'll pick what I want to do! ;)

My Christmas Gift!

So, this summer, my good 'ol Canon PowerShot S500 starting turning some pictures pink:





Which was really sad...the Elph was my first digital camera...Steve bought it for me in the fall of 2004 (yeah, maybe a little slow to hop on the digital camera bandwagon). And it has taken some real gems, including this (which is still my favorite photo I've ever taken):



But it seemed like the logical time to get a new camera...and since I've had such good luck with Canon thus far, I decided to get the Canon Powershot SD790IS.

It came today, and I had to do a picture comparison.

Test subject: Sylvester

Spot: by the coffee table in the living room, approximately 6 feet away

Old camera, max zoom:

New camera, max zoom:

So yeah, I'm pretty happy!

Have you ever...?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain – I've hiked on a mountain, I think that counts??
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping – OH DEAR! Does it count if your bikini sort of falls off your body after going down a water slide?
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching - again, does it count if you gone, but not seen any whales?
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp – dude, the Holocaust Museum in DC is pretty close!
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury – almost!
91. Met someone famous – you would think living in LA that this would be an easy yes, but I really don't pay attention that much!
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day – too many times to count

What's in a Name?

YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle.): Micizzle

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal): Pink Cat

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME : (your middle name and street you live on/or neighborhood if it's a number): Paige Voorhees (this one is really good!)

YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name: Foxmi

YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and favorite drink) Blue Mojito (ironically, a blue mojito is really tasty, also)

YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names): Jean Dale

YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets) ** Black Radar**

YOUR PORN NAME: (name of your 1st pet and the street you grew up on) Charlie Clay

Christmas Traditions Survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? All of the above
2. Real tree or Artificial? I grew up with fake...Steve grew up with real. Right now, we have to have fake (our apt lease doesn't permit it). We get the real tree when we go back to his parents house.

3. When do you put up the tree? After Thanksgiving, no earlier
4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever we got to it – it will probably be the 2^nd weekend in January this time around
5. Do you like eggnog? Nope

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My 1^st ten-speed bike
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad
8. Easiest person to buy for? Usually Steve, this year in particular was my step-dad Rob
9. Do you have a nativity scene? no
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail... I love getting mail!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't think of any. I subscribe to "it's the thought that counts"...plus most people know my tastes pretty well.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Muppet Christmas Carol!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I think of it – I bought stuff starting in August this year!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe?
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? ham
16. Lights on the tree? yes... multicolored because Steve won't let me do all white
17. Favorite Christmas song? Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Always have to travel.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A bow…I can't find a star that my wussy plastic tree will hold upright
21 Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Growing up, in the morning (but we got to open one early after the church Christmas program); now with Steve's family, we open Christmas morning AFTER everyone is awake

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Store shopping in LA – too many people…so I tend to go online!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Country-fied
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I'm a Christmas ham kind of gal

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Everything on my Amazon wish list

Cyber Monday arrived on Tuesday

Now that's what I call service (and yay! for free shipping!).

So apparently if you order non-computer items from Dell, including an xbox and a terabyte (TB) drive, it will arrive next day (versus the desktop near-fiasco a couple of years ago which involved me pulling basically breaking into a FedEx ground facility). And thanks to cyber Monday deals coupled with a corporate discount from Steve, we saved $100 and didn't pay shipping.

This is all a part of Steve's master plan...which is a modification (ie, slightly less crazy) of Gabe's master plan that involves not renting DVRs (using the computer to record shows and stream throughout the house) and storing copies of all our DVDs on the TB drive.

Merry Christmas to us!