Fretting

We're having a BBQ today and it's gorgeous. Relatively cool for Tucson (high of 87 predicted which is almost cold in June).

Mommy hummingbird is right outside the door and she flies away whenever we open the door. She's getting braver and I really hope she screws her courage to the sticking place today. With the relative cool and the high traffic I'm fretting.

Apple's monitoring my brain again

Somebody get this thing off me!

I'm currently being crushed by a heavy weight, pressed down and completely immobilized. It presses down my shoulders, rendering me an inert lump. I shackles my hands, keeping me from cutting, pinning, drafting or sewing.

What is it?

It's the overwhelming volume of all the ideas I have right now. There are so many that I can't focus on any one at a time. It's sewing ADD.

I want to sew-along with the Cool Girls Club, but I'm pretty sure I need a full-bust adjustment on my t-shirt. Throw that on the to-do pile. I'm trying to think of patterns that will sell, so that gets slapped on, too.

Rylee has very few things sewn by me, in spite of all the sewing hoopla I've whipped up around me. But what should I make for her? I'd love to make everything she wears, where to start? I want to copy about everything I put on her these days so add those half-baked ideas to the heap. I have four or five patterns that aren't even opened. Should I sew them as is? Alter them? What fabrics anyway?

Not that this indecisiveness keeps me from buying fabrics. Oh, no. Must keep buying everything that strikes my fancy! And have those fabrics sit and say "What shall we do together?" And take sewing classes because they're "free" (included) and that loads me up with ideas.

And I sit and do...Not. One. Thing.

This is so not me. I'm a planner, a list-maker, a doer and executer. Steps one through five, I get them done and move on. I'm bold, decisive. Franklin Planner in hand, I bang out those to-do items.

I can blame sleep deprivation for at least some of it. Higher order mental skills are the first to go, or so I hear. But I wonder sometimes if something is fundamentally changed by all this SAHM business.Or maybe just the mom business. Can I get it back? Do I want it back? Maybe just some of it?

And so it goes...

Bliss

Tomorrow's agenda:

10:45 - Facial
12:00 - Pedicure
2:00 - Cut and lite

I'm finally spending the gift certificate Eric got me for Christmas 2008. That's the kind of mommy guilt that haunts my days.

Can't wait!

Being productive while wasting time

My fabric stash has been niggling at me, partly because it's so full of random junk that I'm not sure where to even start with sorting out projects. So I sat in front of American Idol tonight and finally organized it.

Here are the categories:
1. Stuff I have plans for (smallest pile)
2. Fat quarters and scraps about that big or slightly bigger
3. Blenders
4. Prints I think might sell and I have enough for one project
5. Prints I think might sell and I have enough for multiple projects
6. Knits
7. Twill
8. I have no idea what I'm going to do with this but I like it
9. Why the heck did I ever buy this?
10. Fabric already cut up for crayon rolls and reusable sandwich bags
11. Specialty fabrics
12. Cold weather fabric, I'll deal with it later (a very small pile) 
13. Christmas/seasonal

Not kidding. Those are the actual categories. My planning and organizing muscle is so gone right now...  At least it's better than three big bins of everything.

And if Crystal doesn't go home next week I'm definitely going to lose our home game. I had greater faith than was justified that tweens would vote for Aaron. Poop.

Sewing machine class, lessons learned

I took the 2nd of the two "free" classes for my sewing machine today. I say "free" in big, fat scare quotes because Costco has virtually the same machine for 1/3 what I paid at The Official Sewing Ladies Spend Your Life Savings Store. I did not know that when I purchased it, so I'm wringing as much "free" stuff out as I can.

Here's my take-home paper, ready to proudly display on the fridge.

And I learned

1. All about bobbin thread and how it will make decorative stitching much nicer. And also that they sell it right there at the store where I took the class!

2. Stabilizer is necessary for decorative stitching. It comes in several types. And also that they sell it right there at the store where I took the class!

3. Twin needles are super fun, although some stitches are better suited for it than others. And some old biddies need LOTS of reminders to adjust stitch width to keep from breaking off twin needles. And also that they sell twin needles at the store where I took the class!

4. Wing needles are not that scary and also that they sell them right there at the store where I took the class! But I didn't buy one this time, because I was afraid of something like this:

Wing Needle: WhoOOOOooo hooooo
Lynn: What's that?
WN: It's me, your wing needle. The one you bought at the "free" class.
Lynn: What do you want?
WN: Shouldn't we be doing all kinds of cool things? Get on the stick, lady!
Lynn: Look, Wing Needle, get off my back. I don't need it from you, too.

Because in spite of all this new knowledge I still don't really feel like sewing. I cleaned off the kitchen island (cutting and thinking space) today, though, so I'm hoping that will improve.

Mountains. Molehills. Mommy losing her mind.

I'm a letter writer. I don't mean personal letters; that's what Facebook and email and the phone are for. I mean letters to companies. You know those glowing letters companies proudly display to potential customers, carefully tucked into shiny sheet protectors? Those kind of letters. And also the kind that produce attempts to "rectify the situation" and sometimes include the phrase "my attorney."

I try to write at least as many positive as negative. I even wrote commendation letters for half-a-dozen of the nurses who took care of me when I had Rylee. So I'm not just some fussy old biddy complaining about poor service and my bunions. And the bar for one of these letters - positive or negative - is set moderately high.

This is the kind of thing that makes me indignant these days. And yes, I really did call the office.

auntninn's house
Arizona

Director in charge of DVD Programming
Nickelodeon
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

Re: The Backyardigans, “Escape from the Tower”

Dear Sir or Madame:

First let me apologize for not addressing this letter more personally. I was unable to obtain the title and name of the correct person when calling your New York office.

I have a 23-month old daughter and she loves the Backyardigans. We own all the DVDs and let her watch the program chiefly because of its high quality music, dancing and storytelling. Her father and I enjoy watching with her, and this is in contrast to a number of other children’s programs available today.

When I saw the latest DVD release, “Escape from the Tower”, on Amazon I pre-ordered it anticipating adding another excellent DVD to her collection. When it arrived I was disgusted to find the DVD included only three Backyardigans episodes and one episode of The Fresh Beat Band. This was particularly irritating since the Fresh Beat Band wasn’t included as a bonus feature, but in place of the typical fourth Backyardigans episode. The only other Backyardigans DVDs with three episodes include one double-length episode.

I have no desire to watch - let alone purchase - episodes of The Fresh Beat Band. I felt like Nickelodeon was forcing me to purchase something I didn’t want to get something I did want. This was especially true since the included episodes of The Backyardigans have not aired on television. If you peruse the DVD reviews on Amazon you will find I am not the only person who feels this way.

I hope this DVD will represent a one-off from the typical Backyardigans four-episode DVD bundling. While I would consider purchasing a DVD that included four Backyardigans episodes and a bonus preview of another show, I will reconsider future Backyardigans DVD purchases if Nickelodeon continues the practice of replacing content I wish to purchase with content I do not.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
auntninn

Priorities

I just looked at everything that needs to be done since getting back to include but not limited to:

• Laundry
• Unpacking
• Unloading the dishwasher
• Dusting
• Repacking my purse for "real life"
• Etc.

And decided the best use of my time right now is to add the new DVD player to the home network. And blog about it.

Everyone on Etsy is cooler than I am

But I'm starting to be ok with that.

So rather than trying to come up with some great, creative idea on my own. The kind that comes from a mommy who just oozes domestic prowess and who hums along with sweet, chirping song birds while kneading sprouted grain bread in a sparkling clean kitchen and sews perfect, cute clothing from patterns she drafts herself... You know, that kind of idea?

Instead of doing that I'm going to go ahead and shell out the $6 and buy this pattern because how awesome would this be for Rylee's birthday?

And maybe 50 other things from her shop because dang, lady. Rock and roll!

American Idol, The Home Game

Life is too short to spend your leisure time doing something boring. So why are Eric and I watching American Idol this year, even though it's the most booooooring seaaaaaason eeeeeveeeeer? Because a few seasons back we spiced it up by creating The Game.

We started betting on American Idol. Loser buys Winner dinner out of their allowance money and - of course  - Winner gets bragging rights all year.

The Rules
1. Starting with the top 12 each player predicts the order the Idols will be booted.

2. After the results each week a player receives a number of points equal to the difference between their prediction and the actual week # of the booted Idol. Example: If player predicts Pitchy Nopipes will go home week 5 and Pitchy actually goes home week 7 player receives 2 points.  Similarly, if Pitchy makes it to week 4 player receives 1 point.

For math geeks that looks like this:

3. Low score wins.

4. BONUS:  Each week after the performance show players select the Idol they think will be going home based on that night's performance. In the case of an accurate guess the opposing player receives a point. Doubling down on an initial pick is permitted. This also presents a strategic opportunity for a player to hedge a bad initial pick. This rule was introduced to keep things interesting when it becomes apparent that one player's victory is mathematically assured very early in the season. Also known as the Katherine-McPhee-is-a-talentless-hack-who-ruined-my day rule.

The Results

We started this four seasons ago and it's Very Serious Business in the auntninn household. The score stands at 2-2. We've decided this year is the last year to watch because it's so boring and because Simon's leaving will render future seasons even MORE boring. So this one is for all the marbles. 

We missed half of the 12 Idol week due to a DVR malfunction. We did our picks this week. Picks are listed from winner down, i.e. first position = first place, and they are as follows:

Lynn's Picks

1.  Aaron

2. Lee

3. Michael

4. Sibohan

5. Crystal ( < ---- Note, I think she has the most talent and therefore no chance of winning)

6. Casey

7. Katie

8. Didi

9. Andrew

10. Tim

11. Paige

Eric's Picks

1. Siobhan 

2. Crystal

3. Michael

4. Lee

5. Aaron

6. Casey

7. Katie

8. Didi

9. Tim

10. Andrew

11. Paige

Because this year's Idols are so bad and picking our order was more difficult than usual we decided to introduce a random pick and see how that did against us. We'll randomly generate a bonus pick each week.

Randomly Generated Pick

1. Aaron

2. Mike

3. Crystal

4. Didi

5. Tim

6. Casey

7. Lee

8. Paige

9. Sibohan

10. Andrew

11. Katie

Game on!

Final Skirt and the Front of the Camera

It's skirt due day! And like a good girl, I was finished ahead of time. And as promised, I got Eric to take some pictures.

So, in the words of my darling daughter....

DA!

My final skirt fabric is an Amy Butler twill. I love, love, love the soft colors. When I picked it out I figured I would have to make a top to match, but because I am old and set in my ways and kind of boring and always pick the same things have a unified style aesthetic, it turns out I already had a top to match. Woot!

I used a 9" sweep and finished the waistline with pre-made bias tape. I finished two muslins previously to practice the bias finish and the invisible zipper so of course screwed this one up. But not so badly that I couldn't fix it without re-cutting the darn thing.

I haven't been shopping much since changing from a working wardrobe in a warm/temperate climate to stay-at-home mommy in a hot climate. I'm so pleased to have something pretty, lightweight and in soft spring/summer colors. 

Here I am smoldering in it.

Yeah, baby. I totally do NOT spend my day covered in cracker crumbs and sour milk.

Weirdly sunspotted side view.

And to honor the intention of getting in front of the camera here are some action shots of it. These also reminded me of another reason there aren't a lot of pictures of me. See if you can spot it.

I'm glad to have these pictures of me and Rylee so she can look back and say....

I always knew mommy would have my back in the case of blurry, partial decapitation

And that her legs and hands would be there to encourage me to take risks...

...and catch me if I fall

And just hold me when I'm bored and staring at daddy.

These are a start. I'm going to try to get pictures of myself with Rylee at least once a month. It might sound silly, but it was really hard to take these and put them up. Without makeup or anything. Shreeeeek! 

To whit, this supposed-to-be-casual, easy, breezy front view  picture took about 20 minutes of moving around the backyard and five of hand wringing about how to keep my arms from looking like gingerbread man arms.

I guess I'll leave bored super model posing to the lovely next generation.

And yes. I took that last one...

Getting in front of the camera

If you took a look at our family photos and used them to try to construct the story of our lives I abandoned Rylee when she was about four months old. And visited her about two times prior to that. This in spite of the fact that she was with me almost literally 24 hours a day for her first nine months and then with me (24 hours - nighttime in her crib) after that and pretty much since.

This is partly because I'm the one who is usually behind the camera. But it's also because I think pictures of me look like this.

Time to get over it. My daughter deserves more pictures documenting our history.  My skirt is done and I'm going to have Eric take pictures of it tomorrow. And when Rylee's little matching dress is finished we'll have some mommy daughter pictures together.

There.

Pinky swear out in the open so now I have to.

Paralyzed by perfectionism

I don't have a permanent place to sew right now. I can choose between having a mess all over the kitchen island or toting my machines back and forth from island to storage.

Part of the reason for this is I can't seem to decide what type of setup I would like.

But I think I might be ready to pull the trigger on this.