My newest obsession

For all of you who have been looking at this post for weeks wondering why there is not more too it, I'm finally here to explain. I was trying to post something to my blog via my newest obsession - my iPhone - when I realized that you have to have a special app to post to your blog, which I didn't have. I had already written the title (which is as far as you as get without the app) so, I thought I'd just close the window and that would be the end of it. I didn't realize the title had posted. I don't remember pushing post at all so I' not sure what happened, but the title did post with nothing to explain its meaning. So, the wait is over - my newest obsession is my iPhone. I love it and have found it useful in so many ways already. Daniel got it for me as a gift before I left on my trip to Argentina. Thanks Daniel!

Ah, Spring!

I love living in Knoxville during the spring. It is so beautiful to see all the flowering trees everywhere. I love the dogwoods and redbuds. However, my favorite bloom of the season is just beginning to show itself. I love wisteria. Heaven for me includes being surrounded with wisteria. I love the heavenly scent that drifts from its blooms. My friend lives across the street from a house with a big tree in front that becomes covered with wisteria every spring. It is my dream tree. Any dream house of mine would include this tree. I plan to make many visits to this tree since its owners are so kind as to share its wealth with others. So, if you are looking for me this spring, just follow the wisteria. I'll be roaming among the blooms somewhere.

Finn

Finn helping himself to a snack

...chowing down on an apple

...hanging with Ally (he sure knows how to get the pretty girls)

...being silly

...getting a start on his college reading

Busy (but aren't we all?)

I have really been a blog slacker lately. I finally have caught up on reading everyone's blogs and am finally updating my own. I just haven't seemed to have the time lately. Nap time is the only time I seem to get anything done. So lately I've been spending that time cleaning (we seem to be entertaining people a lot lately), sewing (I want to open an Etsy shop and make quilts for my friends that are getting married), or learning Spanish (I leave for Argentina in 3 1/2 weeks. Yay!). However, tonight I vowed to stop neglecting my blog, and I also wanted to know how all of you were doing. In all this catching up, I found that my friend Laura had tagged me, so ....

Here are the 8's
Rules:
1.) Post rules on your blog
2.)Answer the 6 "8" items
3.)Tag 8 of your friends

8 favorite shows: (Hopefully canceled shows count)
The Office (of course)
Seinfeld
Lost (Sayid killed Ben! My head is spinning at the paradox that has just been created. )
Ugly Betty
My So-Called Life
Pushing Daisies (So sad it got canceled)
The Facts of Life
Fraggle Rock

8 things I did yesterday:
Went to church
Made a key lime pie
Cleaned the kitchen
Gave someone a ride to church
Had dinner with my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, and of course, Finn and Daniel
Ate yummy zucchini bread my visiting teacher gave me (thanks Kristie!)
Ate yummy Challah bread that Kelly brought me (I was a very lucky girl yesterday)
Conducted Primary

8 things that I look forward to:
Argentina!
Hiking 40 miles of the Appalachain Trail with Daniel in May
Finn walking
Grad School...not any time soon
Having another baby someday
Opening my Etsy shop
Going to 3 of my friends weddings in the next few months
Going to the temple

8 favorite resturants:
Tomato Head
Chez Guevara
Stir Fry Cafe
Pizza Kitchen
Mellow Mushroom
Rosepepper's in Nashville
The mediterranean restaurant in Oak Ridge (can't remember it's name, but so delish!)
The French Market

8 things on my wishlist:
An iphone or blackberry
To learn to rock climb
To have time to do all the sewing I want to do
Unlimited texting
To learn as many languages as possible
To travel to every country or at least as many as possible
To have all my kids embrace the gospel, get married in the temple, and endure to the end.
To serve a mission

8 people to tag:
Desi
Amber
Lindsey
Beth
Katina
Marla
Eliza
Kristie

Since my birthday...

... Daniel built my shelves and put them on the wall in my sewing room. I also got my rotary cutter, mat, and rulers, but more on that later.

I've been working on a few projects. This table runner is one of them. A very simple project using a fabric remnant I got when I visited Lotta Jansdotter's studio last summer.

Finn and I have been going to the zoo on the days it has been warm here. He loves the animals, especially the red panda (it's also my favorite). I assume he likes the red panda best because it looks a lot like a cat, and cats are Finn's favorite things.

WARNING! Do not scroll down any further if you have a weak stomach. The next picture shows what happens when you are not very careful while using a rotary cutter.





Yea, so within 2 weeks of getting my wonderful rotary cutter, I slice a part of my finger off. They couldn't stitch it up because there was no skin to cover it with. No, that piece of skin wound up on my cutting table. So, the doctor cauterized it with silver nitrate to stop the bleeding (I had been applying pressure to my finger for 5 hours by the time this was done and the bleeding had not slowed one bit) and then covered it with Dermabond. It was really great to hear my doctor ask another of the ER doctors if he had ever tried that method before. He hadn't. My doctor informed him that he had read about it in a journal and that it is supposed to work really well. Let's hope so! The doctor also reassured me that he didn't believe he had used too much silver nitrate on my finger. Why does that matter? Because if he used too much, my finger will be black for the rest of my mortal life. That's not too bad. I'm sure Finn will think that is super cool in a few years. How many other moms have a black finger? And if this happens to you, don't believe the doctor when he tells you that it won't hurt at all tomorrow because he has covered up all the exposed nerves with Dermabond. He's lying to you. It not only hurts the next day, but the next 8 days (yea, I kept count). Also, you cannot speed on your way to the ER unless the person in the car with you is on death's door. Fortunately, the cop who pulled us over only lectured us instead of giving us a ticket. My favorite part was when the cop asked me, after Daniel told him why he was speeding, if I needed an ambulance. It was funny because I could see the hospital from where he pulled us over. I didn't need an ambulance. I just needed him to let us drive a few feet further to the hospital. The cop was really nice though. Everything is well now. Besides looking really gross, my finger doesn't hurt. I'm just glad I only cut off a little piece. I feel awful for people who lose whole fingers, hands, or limbs. I cannot imagine what that pain must be like, and hopefully I'll never know. I still love my rotary cutter though. I finished cutting my fabric that evening when I got home from the ER.

My wonderful weekend

What's behind this door? Only the best birthday present ever - my sewing/craft room!

This is my sewing table...

and this is my cutting table (sorry, it got put in the post turned the wrong way and I'm too lazy to fix it). I'm so excited! Now whenever I want to sew I don't have to drag everything to the dining table to do it. I just love it! Thanks Daniel! I also have a rotary cutter, mat ,and rulers that should be arriving any day now. Yay!

I turned 30 on Monday and it was a wonderful day. One of the best birthdays ever. Daniel left me a card that he designed on the table to greet me when I awoke. Then I had lunch at the Pizza Kitchen (one of my favorite places to eat) with Desi, Ashlee, and Natalie and all of our kids. It was so much fun! Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures.

Then, I got a wonderful surprise in the afternoon. Two of my dearest friends, Whitney and Kavita, drove all the way from Nashville to spend time with me on my birthday. They are so awesome! I've been friends with them for almost 12 years now. We became instant friends when we all met at freshman orientation at UT in the summer of 1997. They are the best. The picture above is one of the gifts they brought me. It's an iguana punchball. Who comes up with this stuff? Although I have to admit, it's probably the most unique gift I've ever gotten.

Here's a picture of Kavita, Whitney, and I at Chez Guevara (another favorite place to eat). We went there for my birthday dinner.
Finn, Daniel, and my brother Daniel were there also. All in all, I had a wonderful day spent with friends and family (and a cake from Magpies). It was the perfect birthday. I had so much fun turning 30. I also had a wonderful Valentine's Day. My very wonderful friend Kristie babysat Finn and actually kept him overnight! Thank you Kristie! So, Daniel and I got to go out and do what we love to do most on a cold, winter evening (or really any evening) - the always exciting dinner and a movie. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants, Stir Fry Cafe, and then went to see Coraline in 3D. We both enjoyed it and were impressed with the new 3D technology. I always love going out with Daniel because I always have so much fun. It doesn't matter what we do. I just enjoy his company so much and am so glad to be married to him. Yes, I had a very wonderful weekend.

Kids and art

I found this great post about how to teach younger children about creating art. I can't wait to try it with Finn when he is a little bit older. For those of you with 3 - 5 year olds, I would be interested to know how the lesson turns out if you decide to try it.

More books I want

I really have to stop looking at the craft books in Borders. I find more I want all the time. I did, however, get one of the books from my previous list - Denyse Schmidt's Quilts. I couldn't wait until my birthday and just went ahead and bought it. I'm excited to get started on my first quilt. I'd also like to learn how to make my own books. Does anyone have any suggestions on good books about making books?

Changing pad with pockets

I used some of my new fabrics to make this for a friend of mine that just had a baby. I have one like this that I bought on Etsy a couple years ago, and I absolutely love it. It's one of the most useful baby items I have. I hope my friends will enjoy theirs also.

Feeling loopy

I've had a sinus infection for the past week and a half and haven't been sleeping well. When I went to the doctor she prescribed me some tylenol with codeine to help me sleep. At first I took one pill before going to sleep, but I would still wake up coughing. On the bottle it said I could take 1 - 2 pills every 6 hours. So, last night at 10 pm I decided to take 2 pills. I'm still feeling it over 12 hours later. I can barely type this post. My mind feels really loopy and relaxed. Who can take 2 of these every 6 hours? I think I'll stick to just one pill tonight.

Favorite thing: Green & Black Chocolate

I love chocolate and Green & Black chocolate is some of my favorite. I'm telling you this now so you can start dropping hints in time for Valentine's Day. You can buy it at some Kroger stores, Whole Foods, or Earth Fare. And while we are on the topic of chocolate ... for those of you who live in the Knoxville area, Magpies is having their monthly cupcake tasting this Friday night from 4 - 7. The flavors this month are Chocolate Covered Cherry, White Chocolate Strawberry, and Red Hot Chocolate. Hopefully, I'll see you there! (Did you know that in the new issue of the Rachel Ray magazine she names Magpies as one of the best places to get cupcakes in the entire nation?!)

Who needs a vampire?

Since I know a lot of you are Twilight fans (myself included), I thought I'd share this with you. In case you've talked too much about Edward and the greatness of vampires, here's a valentine that will remind the special guy in your life that you can love regular guys too. You can get it here.

Lots and lots of fabric!

I just got the fabric I ordered from The Fabric Bar. I'm so excited to start sewing! I'm completely ready for all the wonderful craft books I'm going to get for my birthday. Just so you know, The Fabric Bar is having a wonderful sale right now on lots of Amy Butler fabrics - 50% off. I've got a link to their site on the side bar under "Sites I enjoy".

Books I want

I've been feeling crafty lately and these are some of the books I would like to get crafty with. Fortunately, my birthday is in a few weeks and these will be on my wish list. Unfortunately, the Lotta Jansdotter book doesn't come out until April.

Yummy granola!

Daniel and I gave some of our friends and family a bag of super tasty Maple Nut Granola as part of their Christmas gift this year. We like it so much that we now make a batch of it every week.

The Ingredients

5 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1 c. coconut chips or flakes
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/3 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. raisins

First, preheat oven to 275. Then combine oats, coconut, nuts, brown sugar, and seeds in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, mix together the maple syrup, water, and oil. Then pour the mixture over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Next, spread the mixture into a large (12 by 15 inch) roasting pan or large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes and remove from oven and stir. Then bake for another 45 minutes. Stir in cranberries and raisins and enjoy! It is so easy to make and so good to eat. I got the recipe from Eating Well magazine. If you've never checked it out before, I highly recommend buying the magazine or checking out the website for recipes. I've liked every recipe I've tried.

2009

I am not a very organized person. I'm getting better as the years go by, but I've still got a ways to go. One of the only ways I stay organized is to write on a wall calendar hanging in my kitchen. Last year Daniel's parents gave us a photo calendar, which I loved. However, at the end of December, of course, the calendar stopped. I began making plans, but had no where to write them down. I started to worry. I thought I would start standing up friends for lunch, miss visiting teaching appointments and presidency meetings, and get kicked out of Finn's doctor's office for missing too many appointments. I needed a calendar fast. I was going to just go out and buy a calendar, but I don't want to spend $15 on a calendar - Daniel and I can go to the movies for that. So, I decided to make a calendar myself. I'm not particularly crafty, but I like the way it turned out - simple and easy. It's kind of minimalist, but I like that. I just used some card stock, binder rings, photos, and fabric scraps. I really like the texture that the fabric gives to the calendar.

A few of Finn's favorite things...

the piano, or really any musical instrument

his blocks

cellphones, especially blackberries

anything he can climb on

and, of course, his stuffed animals, especially the bunny

Beware the CPSIA

Maybe I'm the last one to hear about the mess that the new law Congress passed a few months ago known as the Consumer Product Safety Information Act (CPSIA) has the potential to create. At first glance it appears to be a good law - it requires testing of all toys and any products used by children for lead and pthalates by Febuaray 10th, 2009. Any not tested will be considered hazardous waste and cannot be sold unless you want to incur a big fine. This rule applies not only to toys made after Feb. 10 but also all that are on the self. Not only do toy makers have to do testing, but apparently the sellers of toys must test what is on their shelves. This is fine for the big toy makers and stores - they can afford it, but what about the small handmade toy companies and stay at home moms who make and sell children's items? They will probably have to go out of business. Testing is very expensive if your a small company - each test can cost $500, and if you have to test a batch of each item you make, that adds up very quickly. What's ironic is that a lot of these small businesses and moms started making toys and other goods for children because they wanted safer options for their kids. Now they'll be out of business and the only option will be to buy from the big toy makers who are the ones who caused all the problems to begin with. So if you like to buy toys from small businesses or on Etsy or if you make items for children and sell them yourself, you should get involved. If you want a little more info, here are some links to news articles here, here, and here. There is also a lot of information on the Mothering Magazine website. They also have some ideas for sample letters to write your senators and congressmen/women. It is also a good idea to call them. I buy most of Finn's toys from small businesses that sell or make toys. I do this because I like to support the little guy and because the toys are of better quality and made by companies whose main objective is to make great toys for kids with natural materials and dyes. I don't want Finn to grow up toyless, but I'm not going to start buying plastic toys because that's my only option after Feb. 10 (Sorry, I don't mean to offend any of you who do buy plastic toys, but I prefer wooden toys. I think they are nicer and last longer, and they're made from a natural material). I guess I'll have to take up woodworking myself.

Favorite thing: Virgil's Root Beer

I've never been a big root beer fan, but I cannot get enough of Virgil's! It has been a great find since I'm trying to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from my life (no more Dr. Pepper :( !). It is filled with wonderful natural herbs and spices like nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, wintergreen, and anise and no caffeine. I highly recommend it. (By the way, it is really hard to do a blog entry while holding a 15 month old.)

I'm back!

Well, it's been awhile since I've blogged, as you may have noticed. I can't believe it's been a whole month almost! However, I'm now well rested and ready to return to the world of blogging. For my first post, I'll be playing catch up. We brought in the new year with our dear friends Manasseh and Lachelle. We miss them so much and wish they didn't live so far away in a land called Utah. Also to bring in the the new year , we decided it was time for Finn to get his first haircut. Daniel was his stylist.

So, Finn is now clean cut and no longer has the beginnings of a mullet. He was starting to look a little scraggly, but I kind of miss shaggy Finn.

Here we are at the Red Robin in Chattanooga on our way home from spending Christmas in Lucedale, MS with Daniel's family. He loved that balloon.

This is a picture that Daniel's sister Carmen took of Finn and his two cousins Ladner and Taite. She takes great pictures. This one is one of my favorites just because it makes me laugh.

Here's Finn cracking up at his cousins' shenanigans (is that how you spell that?).

My two sleepy boys on Christmas morning.


Here's Finn at the Ader's house playing around while I try to get pictures to send out in Christmas cards. Valerie and Ben did a great job trying to help me get Finn to smile. I don't know why he didn't want to smile. He's always smiling. This is the second year in a row that the Ader Christmas tree has been my background because we haven't put up a tree of our own. We have a fake tree and plenty of ornaments, but I haven't seen the need to put it up when we just go out of town for Christmas every year. Also, I didn't want to keep Finn out of it every day. Maybe next year we'll put it up since Finn will know a little more about what's going on.

I just thought this picture was cute.

Pre-Christmas: Since there was no tree to get into, Finn has to resort to playing with his favorite blocks (Thanks Ashlee!).

So, now we're all caught up. I hope all of you had a wonderful time during the holidays. Next on my to do list is to read everyone else's blogs to see what you guys have been up to, so I'm sure I'll read all about your holiday experiences then!