My Real Blog

Things I have been making

2010-09-15T07:09:00.001-07:00

I have not been blogging so much, but I have been busy crafting all over the place. I thought I should post a few things I have been working on before I forget.

Animal tails..

Rag Rug purse, yes my leg is that white!

Swimming suit, much cuter on the model.

Cake plate.

Bubble skirt. I made this for a friend's baby, but Darcy is the same size, so she is forced to model it. I mostly used the instructions from this tutorial:

http://sewhipmama.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/the-bubble-skirt-tutorial/

Easter crafts update...

2010-06-15T01:07:00.000-07:00

A few partial pictures of easter tees, a bunny above and a squirrel below.

A fallen branch from my palm tree that I turned into an easter tree, and cut out some flowers from mulberry paper.

Cut outs from marthastewart.com

Spelling Test Tomorrow

2010-06-09T00:42:00.001-07:00

ten words:

heart

leaf

big

put in

clear

use

yes

new

They all have the same vowel as you can see, the first character of each word it the sound 'ay'

An Easter Craft

2010-04-20T04:36:00.000-07:00

This little bunny is just so sweet. Eliza made it for easter matchbox, popsicle sticks and a little cotton ball butt. Got the idea from kidscraftweekly.com.

Long time since a post..

2010-01-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

So what have I been up to:

Working (2 shifts a week)

Baking (for festive Christmas Parties)

Dancing

Dieting (Made this for one of the festive parties)

Went to Ikea

2009-10-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to stop by an Ikea for a few hours in California. It was AWESOME! I bought some fabric on clearance:

(the yellow print, in the middle)

And these leaves for the girls room:

(Um no that is not a picture from our house just in case you were wondering)

So FUN!

Eliza's Birthday

2009-06-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

So I am finally posting birthday pictures. (2 months later...) She asked for a barbie party. It is pretty hard to find any kind of party decorations so, we had to get creative. I figured out we could buy some barbie magazines and cut out the pictures for decorations. I made this banner from scrapbook paper and pom-pom trim. I wish I could have made it with fabric, but the paper version is grand.

Eliza did the little decorating under the shelf.

A birthday crown that was worn for about 2 minutes :(

The barbie piñata, yes, that we made.

These boys were man enough to come to a barbie party.

The children are still when cake is near.

Eliza kept apologizing for a barbie being in the cake.

Moms busy at work.

It was very hard to get a shot of the present opening. It was a crazy blur of activity with all the kids hovering over the gifts and in about 37 seconds it was done with a heap of tissue paper and ribbon cast to the side

Aw, and like that, she is 4.

Kinda Broken

2009-05-09T01:28:00.000-07:00

Blogspot has been acting weird since my last post when I try to upload pictures, so this is the reason for my long absence. I have been posting some photos on facebook. I will be in the U.S. in less than a week (GASP!) So I shouldn't be blogging right now anyway, but I hope these pesky problems will go away once we get to the states.

Aren't these cute?

2009-04-09T05:55:00.001-07:00

I found these at: http://belladia.typepad.com/bella_dia/2008/12/button-clips.html via curbly.com. I am quickly falling for curbly, maybe more than craftzine's blog...

oh yeah, i have a blog

2009-04-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our computer died. Its over. The only sad part is all our Darcy baby pics are on the hard drive. I am really nervous. We are going to have to send the hard drive to a lab to have the photos recovered. So crazy, thats what they do to crazy criminals computers to retrieve data. All we want are our cute, chubby, drooly photos. I am excited about easter, even though it snuck up on me. I will try to dye eggs this year. I never have before because all chicken's eggs are brown here! I have been doing some crafts but can't show the pictures :(

We will be visiting the states again next month! As I prepare to leave I am thinking of all the good things about living here so I don't get wrapped up in going back to the U.S. and only focus on that. So here is reason #37- All gas stations are full service.

Here are some pictures we recovered:
Aren't these carrots amazing. When we cut them they had all those holes. They looked like little flowers! I know, I know there was probablly a worm in there...

Eliza at the zoo we went last month.

The girls hanging out on Eliza's bed. Eliza is always holding her hand or giving her kisses. So of course their arms are intertwined. She basically can't stop touching her.

Darcy started eating rice cereal. She usually tries to hold the spoon herself, I don't give it to her fast enough apparently.

Hmm what to say...

2009-03-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

I walked with the girls today over to the hospital. It is close and I go there to check Darcy's weight every few weeks. Anyway I was thinking about hospitals here. It seems like all hospitals here also have a dental clinic. Isn't that weird? Or maybe its like that everywhere else in the world, and the U.S. does it different. I had a root canal last year, and I went to the dental clinic at the hospital to get it done. Anyway... I just finished these pants. It is so interesting I just saw on Ginny's blog that she was making baby pants, and using old T-shirts. I made these from one of my old T-shirts. They are very light and soft. I didn't hem the bottoms so they are kind've like baby gaucho pants. I also made a couple of these little baby toys. There are a few little boys that will be showing up soon, so I wanted totake a crack at these with scrap fabric. I wanted to make more of a patchwork one like in the AnnaMaria book, but this just involved less cutting, so I went with this model. I still need to finish the top and bottom though. I wish I had time to do that, haha.

I am seeing the familiar signs of summer break all around. Swimming suits on sale, loud tropical shirts, and lots of heat; I can't believe its already time to endure another Thai summer (at least I'm not pregnant this time!)

Kewl

2009-02-24T05:02:00.000-08:00

I was just looking up quotes to get some of those little personalized labels to attach to your projects- a little pricey! So I stumbled across a site that has instructions on how to make your own. This may be so old and everyone is already doing this but I thought, "hmm clever." http://www.grumperina.com/labelcontent.htm

YAY, I made something

2009-02-22T00:54:00.000-08:00

This little felt scarf for Eliza for V-day (from marthastewart.com)

I also finally did some sewing on paper for a few cards. But didn't take pictures...

I have been working on a few other things. It feels sooo nice to be creative, it would be nice to have a little more time to do things, but I'll take what little time I have.

New Glasses

2009-02-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

Whaddya think?

Not Much to Report

2009-02-04T01:10:00.000-08:00

Here are Darcie's bitty booties.

Watching movies with our littlest guest. I'll just keep posting pictures of the kids because that is all I have had time for lately. We have been entertaining a lot lately and I have been busy cooking and helping everyone traveling everywhere. Our neighborhood had a bad day yesterday that I won't go into on this blog. I am very ready for a trip to the states, we are really hoping we can go back this spring.

Oh please stay blue, little eyes.

I love these little pants!

Mommy has a lot to learn about lighting!

Eliza is getting so big. She is very opinionated and she has quite a little personality, which is usually the only thing that gets her into trouble. We had a small celebration today because she had her first "Dry" night; donut holes and stickers. Maybe soon I will only have to buy diapers for one kid!

Some Christmas Photos

2009-01-18T20:36:00.001-08:00

She insisted on jumping in all the shots.

So about a week before Christmas we decided Eliza needed a kitchen set for Christmas. She has been saying her Dad was going to make here a "Kitchen Set," for almost 6 months now. We don't know where she got this idea, but we thought we should make it happen. So 2 days before Christmas we decide we should probablly start making it, haha. So Micah used most of 2 days to get it done, and it came out really well. I contributed the pot holder. I know. I wanted to make some felt food, but it didn't happen, so she will have to do with the $5 worth of plastic food we bought. She really loves it. She walked right past the tree full of presents and we had to pull her away to open them. I think I truly realized at that moment that less is more with gifts. They get overwhelemed and greedy when the presents are free flowing.
The fridge.

Darcy, not the best shot, it was late and dark.

Cheers! We had friends over for Christmas dinner, and the famous Chloe Castro joined Eliza at the kids table.

2009-01-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

I REALLY need to share christmas photos, but they are still sitting on my memory card. Lets just say there was a hasty last minute gift decision for Eliza, that resulted in a beatiful homemade kitchen set.

Here is another fruit tree in our yard. These are called rose apples, or in Thai, "Chompoo."

It tastes like a dry, bland apple, and looks like a pear a little. The red ones are sweeter, but my tree only has green.

And a few shots of the whats growing inside my house. Eliza is so ready to play with Darcy, it will happen all too soon.
A prelude to a smile...
And there it is!
She is starting to babble, and is totally sucking her thumb now. Its so cute.

Whoa a whole month!

2008-12-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

All in stripes!!

Where have I been? I've been trying to take a nap, I give up! Darcy is now 7 weeks old! She is desperately trying to suck on her fingers, she has about 50% proficiency. She has totally rejected the pacifier, though we have tried our darndest, so maybe she will go for her thumb soon.

Eliza had her Christmas program at school this weekend. So CUTE! All the chubby little kids dancing and dressed in costumes, it makes you melt. Eliza is really good at dancing. I want to get in her in some sort of dance class soon. Eliza and I made an apple cake with carmel icing for the dinner after, which no once touched. It is a very American dessert, and there may have been one other American family there. But I wasn't too hurt because we got to bring most of it home! Tell me if you want the recipe. There was an incident with a little boy who's Mom was holding Darcy. He got a little jealous o f his Mom holding another baby, and he smacked Darcy super hard in the face. She cried so much, it was hard not to smack him back!

Like I was saying...

2008-11-26T01:50:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of my girls, that look EXACTLY the same:

Here is Eliza at 2 1/2 weeks old,

and Darcy at 2 1/2 weeks old. The theory that I have been carrying Eliza's twin around for 3 years is still being investigated.

When pumpkins drink...

2008-11-25T03:16:00.000-08:00

Though I don't condone public pumpkin drunkeness, you have to laugh at this pumpkin's lack of self control.

Loi Krathong

2008-11-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

Another Loi Krathong has come and gone. The reasons behind the holiday aren't the best, appeasing spirits and all, but to see all the balloons in the night sky is really something. Micah and Eliza bought a few to let go for fun.

And a picture of Darcy this morning, crying, she does that a lot. I am still trying to figure her out, but I know with kids, you don't ever stop figuring them out.

She's here.

2008-11-12T05:24:00.000-08:00

I know you already know, but I finally had baby girl #2. Darcy Louise. She was born Nov. 2. I don't know her length, she is 3.6 kilos, I think. It was a rough labor and I was out of it when they measured her. I actually think I just gave birth to Eliza's twin, they look EXACTLY alike. I should investigate the likelihood of that...

Pack n Play makeover

2008-10-28T02:31:00.001-07:00

I finished this long ago, but haven't been able to get a good photo of the finished product. Oh well, here are some bad ones:

The reality of my life is that using a pack n play full time is a much better idea than just for when we travel, since we have to travel a lot. Its better to just use it exclusively and its one less adjustment for the baby. But I really could not look at this pack n play for another 2 years. I thought I would spruce it up a bit, a make it a little more homey. This is handed down from my brother and sister-in-law, and we our getting our miles out of it for sure. In reality when we are done with it, it will still be around Chiang Mai for another 10 years because everyone is always looking for a pack n play here.

Waiting around

2008-10-26T03:06:00.000-07:00

So today is my due date and... nothing. I am just taking it easy. I can't even sew much because sitting at the table hurts my stomach. We have been baking chocolately things lately, and enjoying the last few showers of rainy season. We made caramel yesterday and dipped lots of apples into it-our tribute to fall in America. Here are a few more things I made that I thought I wouldn't get to make, but the baby hasn't made an appearance yet, so these were sewn in 10 minute increments since that's about how long I can sit and sew. Some burp cloths with my last bit of fancy designer fabric. I really stretched that yard and a half I bought!

A skirt I made for Eliza. She wasn't being a very cooperative model! The bottom layer is actually an amazing scarf I bought at the market, I thought it would be pretty in the skirt.

And a butterfly shirt. After I finished Eliza said it was ugly and that we should give it to her friend. She is so particular about her clothes these days.

More Experiments

2008-10-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

A mosquito net for the carrier, my friend has one of these. I thought it would be good to go ahead and make one. The mosquitoes are really bad this year, so many people got Dengue Fever this year- in the city! It was quite easy to make, but hemming this material is definitely tricky!

I made this mobile. I wanted to make it like a cone, but it turned out looking like a Hershey's kiss-haha. I bought these little animals to make a mobile for Eliza before she was born, whoops. They are from McDonalds I bought them during Chinese New Year they had an animal for each year. That's why there is a chicken, sheep, cow and monkey, yes the monkey doesn't really fit, but it was way cuter than the rat.

Burp cloths and baby blankets

2008-10-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

I think I have posted almost everything now.Some burp cloths for a friend. Easy and quick.

And some blankets for baby #2. This is one side...

... and the other. ( I made one like this for Bethany, but no ruffles this time.)
And another back...
and front (and wrinkled).
And one more back...
and front. Still twiddling my thumbs until the baby comes. She has to wait at least until Saturday. Our friends that will watch Eliza are out of town until then.

Trashy Baby

2008-10-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

This was what I was most excited about making for baby #2. Micah had to help me balance it a bit. This mobile is made from drink lids, canned good lids, toilet paper rolls (the flowers), beads from around the house, some foam shapes I cut out, and some random wood from Micah's stash. I totally copied the idea from the plumpudding blog (http://myplumpudding.blogspot.com/2008/06/mobiles.html). She is amazing, and she works with felt a lot too. She keeps a lot of "trash," to use for crafts and she has made some great stuff. This craft is especially great because I try not to throw too much stuff away.

Not because I am some great environmentalist, but when you live here you are judged for every piece of trash you throw away. The trash cans in my neighborhood are like the town hall. EVERYONE goes through the trash. And no one throws anything away. My landlord has every empty can/bucket of paint she has ever bought sitting in her yard. There is a big yellow barrell in our yard that I hate but fear what would ever happen if I removed it from the yard. After Eliza's birthday party I actually bagged up all the trash from the presents and was going to take it to another dumpster in town because I knew I would get a battery of questions from people in my neighborhood, but Micah beat me too it and took the trash to our cans. And oh did the questions fly. I hate when we get pizza because everyone will eventually see the box and discuss how we had pizza for dinner. I also hate throwing out a rotting vegetable or two because everyone will discuss how rich we are to be able to buy vegetables and forget about them and simply toss them. And oh what about the time I was scolded for throwing out the apple peels when I was making my friend an apple pie. What a waste, she said. I am telling you, it messes with your mind.
And here is picture of me from last night. 38 weeks, there is no more room in there. I am ready to sink back into non-pregnant oblivion. I can hardly take the gasps from the tiny people I pass on the street when they see this huge woman coming at them. (Since I already tower over most of the women being 5'5" and all, the belly is just too much for them.)

Little things

2008-10-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

I have made so much baby stuff buy I am slow to post it. Here are a few more things:
Bitty booties, that still need some threads trimmed.

This was Eliza's outfit, it had a picture of a bear on the shirt that always bothered me since its obviously a bee outfit, so I did a little work. I feel like this is turning into a baby craft blog and it isn't very expatish. I am nearly done with everything so maybe we can become more well rounded soon.

I have been as sick as a dog for almost 2 weeks now. A cold that won't stop which we picked up from Eliza's preschool and I got food poisoning last week. Now I have an ear infection so my doctor told me to go get some drugs this morning. I love that I don't need a written prescription here, she just told me the dosage and everything over the phone and I bellied up to the bar myself and bought it all. (I normally would go get checked out, but this is my gazillionth ear infection, so I can tell its the real thing.) Hopefully baby waits to come until my cold is cleared up.

My House part 2

2008-10-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Here are few shots from our room. I forgot to take pictures of our bed, oh well. I still need to take pictures of the baby's corner too. But we really like the color of our walls. I love almost all shades of blue, so it isn't hard to pick out blues.

My window with some curtains I just finished.

Our rented chair, it came with the house, it is comfy but HIDEOUS. I had to make a little throw for it and a pillow. I had to make a cozy spot where I will soon spend many nights for all the late feedings. I could never get the hang of feeding in bed. Still searching for some sort of footstool... The little table is from the second hand market, but it is another thing we adopted when friends moved away. It is cute and old. I am thinking of painting it. I wanted a bright color but maybe just white, or a whitewash.

And this is the beast. I just got this for my birthday from Micah. It is super old from the second hand market. It is a big, beautiful dresser. I have NEVER had a dresser as long as I have lived here, most people get by with those plastic drawers, so this is definitely special. Micah sanded and stained it. When I found it at the market is was gross, unstained and COVERED in dried mud, and it was beautiful.

A Baby Shower

2008-09-28T02:20:00.001-07:00

Wow, I get a baby shower for this baby too!? I got some really cute little things, and we all had a lot of fun.
MMMM rice krispy treats...
and "Bootie Cake", so yummy!! Thanks Jen.

Whoa look at that belly, and we still have 4 weeks to grow!!!

Did I ever show you my... house?

2008-09-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

(If you live here, this post will bore you to tears.) I have been wanting to share some pictures of our house for everyone that will never get to see it in person :( We were really blessed to find this house about a year ago. It has been fun trying to decorate it, and since I am in hyper nest mode, it has been getting extra attention.

My bamboo chair where I sit and blow bubbles, I made the cushions myself.

More of the porch, an abandoned bird cage. I am thinking about painting it... And some cilantro plants that are now dead. I have no gardening talent, and Micah keeps wistfully mentioning a garden.

Front door, my little sign I did and some of our window shelves.

When you walk in there are some photos and pictures to the right. Picture of Eliza, a Chinese New Year's card from 7 years ago (year of the chicken?), a Thai orchid, nondescript tree, thrift store lamp and a family photo that predates Ashley, wow that is one old picture because Ashley is getting up there!!!
Little tray with lone living houseplant.

And some shots of some shelves in our windows. One special thing about this house. Some of the windows have little shelves in them. This is my 4th house in Thailand, and we have never had such a luxury

Thrift store birds.

Orphaned deer, used to be Christopher and Asia's. We took her in, she's a peach.

Little bowls. More house pictures coming soon.

Some Toys

2008-09-16T01:33:00.001-07:00

Just finished this for Eliza. I am going to put it in her bag for when we are at the hospital and she stays with friends. I made a little envelope shaped bag for all the pieces too, but I didn't get a picture. (I also have a little felt board that is felt mounted on heavy cardboard. It is from another little playset we had already.)The model here is showing off this season's latest swimwear, and in Thailand you need a good suit all year long.

Evening and formal wear (one is a very loose copy of Cinderella's gown)

Different hairstyles, and a variety of colors, we are soo PC.

Shirts...
Acessories
Shorts, skirts and pants (the belt is detachable)

This is a little cow for the baby. I still need to stitch on the collar, I saw a cow like this at a toy shop here for $20! can you believe it? So I loved it so much I tried to make one myself. It definitely has a lot of, "handmade charm," but it came out well in the end.

And last week Eliza said her baby needed a tutu. This only took about 5 minutes. I have made tons of these. You don't have to sew it. I just used a piece of elastic the size of the baby's waist and cut long strips of tulle, folded them in half around the elastic and knotted it. Of course once I made it, she said the baby didn't want it, and I have been picking it up off the floor ever since. I guess that's a three-year old for you.

Pants to Patch

2008-09-06T01:55:00.000-07:00

More hand me down clothes that I had to recover. I love these little pants but they had lots of spots, so I covered them up with new spots.

Baby Shower for Bethany

2008-09-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post some pictures because I got to make most of the stuff for the shower, it constitutes as a craft post I suppose. I got this idea from Martha Stewart. I made two, but I forgot to take a picture of both because I gave one to Bethany for the baby's room.
An easy little banner, caught in the air conditioner draft.
Bethany looks great! She is all baby, still so tiny.
I have been wanting to make a fruit bouquet for a long time. Fruit is sooo cheap here, it really needs to be done more often.
Some snacks.
I made this for the baby's room. They are naming her McKenzie.
A blanket I made.
And my contribution to the bitty bootie craze. I actually made these last year, but right before my Mom passed away, so yeah, I totally forgot about them, and found them a few weeks ago.
I hadn't decorated the yet, so I did the flowers last week.

Recipes to Share (some of these things are not good to eat)

2008-09-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

I have been needing to post the recipes/directions for some of our projects so here are the ones I used:

Bath Crayons:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/779453/how_to_make_the_best_homemade_bath.html?cat=24

Here is the recipe I used. I didn’t use ivory like they call for because I can’t get it here, so I just took two bars of white soap and grated it with my cheese grater. I also added TONS of food coloring. The crayons come out dark, but show up better in the tub that way. I also put them in the freezer for a few hours in their molds, and let them dry out for a few days on top of the fridge. I feel like they turned out pretty well. They aren't as smooth as a commercial crayon, but they served their purpose of dying the water and turning Eliza's belly blue.

Fingerpaint:
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 C. sugar
Medium saucepan
2 cups cold water
Muffin tin or small cups
spoon
food coloring
soap flakes of liquid dishwashing detergent

Directions:
Mix sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add cold water and continue stirring until the mixture is thick. Remove from heat. Divide the mixture into the four or five portions, spooning them into the sections of a muffin tin or small cups. Add a drop or two of food coloring and a pinch of soap flakes or a drop of liquid dishwashing detergent to each portion. Use a different color for each cup. Stri and let cool. Store covered in an airtight container.

I have made this a few times now. And I think the trick to make sure it doesn't get too thick is to remove the mixture from heat AS SOON as it starts to thicken. Because it still thickens even after you remove it from heat. My other advice it to keep it in the fridge. One reason is the paint starts to thicken after a few days, if you leave it at room temperature. And if you live here it will start to mold after a few days thanks to the tropical humidity. Once again it isn't QUITE the same consistency as store bought, but I think it makes a good enough substitute, and I also have no other option so...

Mini Brownie Bites
1/3 C. butter
2-1 oz. squares of unsweetened chocolate
3/4 C. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C. cup flour
1/2 C. mini M&M's

Directions
-Preheat oven to 325 degrees
-Ina saucepan, melt butter or margarine with chocolate over very low heat, stirring constantly witha wooden spoon. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour and 1/4 cup of the candies. Add chocolate mixture and whisk to blend.
-Using a spoon, fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Using 1/2 of the remaining candies, sprinkle on top of batter in each filled muffin cup.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes. Remove brownies from pan and cool thoroughly.
Makes 24 brownies.
(I actually used chocolate chips instead of M&Ms, except I topped one batch with M&Ms. But I wanted chocolate chips in them instead. Sometimes a candy shell gets in the way of what's really important [chocolate.])

How could I do this to a friend?

2008-08-30T01:42:00.000-07:00

I made an apron for Alicia in the states. Will the apron curse continue? Only time will tell. But the other aprons were for friends living in Asia, and were full length. This is a half apron and Alicia lives in the U.S already. So we will have to see. I didn't have a pattern, I kinda looked at an apron I bought from a thrift store last trip and copied it. I think that apron wasn't from a pattern either-haha. The waist ties were sewn on a little funny on the original so I just went with it. But for my first half apron, I think it turned out well. My friend Asia always said how silly half aprons are (especially ones made from white fabric!) Its true, just covering up a small patch from your waist to your knees? They are just for being pretty, and sometimes thats all that matters.

What I've Been Up too...

2008-08-26T01:19:00.000-07:00

Not much it seems. I really feel like I could lay down all the time at this point. But I am glad I have things to keep me up. I have been working on some things for a baby shower for Bethany this week. I really like the idea of decorations being gifts, so I am trying to go that way as much as I can. This is my first baby shower I have ever done, so there are lots of things I have always wanted to try that I am squeezing in. This is a little bouquet some of the things are rolled up socks, bibs, and washcloths.

I also made a little skirt for Eliza from a thrift store scarf I have had for forever. I never knew what to do with it, but I think it is well suited for a little fun skirt.
(She insists on wearing skirts at all times, but some are getting way too short!) It only took about 1/2 hr. or so. Very quick.

We have been making lots of pizza around here. It isn't too painful of a process because I do all the dough prep in our bread maker. It is a wonderful tool, and we use it constantly! So pizza making is really just a lot of chopping. We try to make it on a free day so it can be a family activity. I like to do it at home too because it is more healthy and cheap. I usually do a half whole wheat crust and it tastes great. (The whole wheat crust was not well received.)

6 Things About Me

2008-08-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

Anne is making me do this one. I assume I should say things that aren't obvious or that people already know, like: "I am a girl, I have freckles." Okay here goes... hmmm..

1. I HATE bacon, unless it is in green beans, but I still won't eat it, just the beans.
2. I am very fascinated by the subject of nutrition. Like what foods do what, what is high in certain vitamins etc.
3. I really must drink everything with a lot of ice and a straw. At home I ALWAYS have a cup of ice water with a straw sitting around somewhere. My most valued possessions is probably my water cooler. If I lived in the states I would have to have one of those fridges with a cold water dispenser. We always have a bag of ice in our freezer too.
4. I hate how chalk feels on my skin. It is really hard for me to play sidewalk chalk with Eliza outside.
5. It is really hard for me to read any fictional books. I don't know why. I stopped watching cartoons at a very young age, maybe there is a connection there. (We just saw WALL-E last week and I had to force myself to sit through it.
6. I would much rather shop at a thrift store than a mall. I try to go to thrift stores as much as possible in the states. Not even for financial reasons, I just love that everything is unique and if I buy it my friend doesn't have it in red (unlike shopping at Target or something, though they have really cool stuff). I try to cram as much thrift store items into my luggage as possible. Almost all the lamps in my house are from american thrift stores, some mirrors, and so much I can't even list it all.

I love this quilt!

2008-08-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

beautiful

I love the colors. I doubt I will be close to making something like this anytime soon, but it is perfect as far as quilts go.

SHIRTS!

2008-08-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some more onesies I have been patching and covering up from staining. I have been buying a few things here and there too. I didn't really shop at all for Eliza. It was hard to even find a onesie then. Things have changed so much. I feel like everything I find is Carters. Which is always so nice and soft compared to other clothes. So I feel spoiled to see the big piles of baby clothes 3 for 100 baht ($3) and they are mostly nice and name brand. They are all the rejects from the big lots they make here, but most of them are still in good shape.

And this is Micah's Father's Day shirt. He always wanted a robot shirt since I made the robot ones for Christmas for my nephews.

Fulfiling Tags

2008-08-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Me and My Hubby

How long have you been together? married 6 years

How long did you date? 6 months before we got engaged

How old is he? 27

Who eats more? He does

Who said “I love you” first? Him

Who is taller? Him

Who is smarter? Just depends on the topic. I am a better speller though.

Who does the laundry? Me unless he is out of shorts and doesn't want to bother me.

Who does the dishes? Me about 97 % of the time

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does

Who pays the bills? Mostly him unless I am on my way to 7-11. 7-11 is the center of the universe here, and you can pay most of your bills there you can also buy train and plane tickets there.

Who mows the lawn? A crew of 4 small men with weed whackers, he is not a part of that crew.

Who cooks dinner? ME

Who is more stubborn? not sure, maybe him

Who kissed who first? mutual

Who asked who out? Me, asked him to my prom.

Who proposed? Him

Who is more sensitive? MEEEEE

Who has more siblings? We both have the exact amount of siblings

What were you doing 10 years ago? Just starting my super cool new job at Blockbuster. Wearing wide leg jeans probably.

YOWZAS!!

2008-08-16T23:44:00.000-07:00

The 30 week shot. I am huge, I am a whale. I have reached the stage where you feel like you will always be this way and there is no way you will ever wear another pair of jeans that don't sport an elastic panel. This is me at the end of a long hot day. Notice- as much hair away from my face and neck as possible, and clothes as loose and breeze inducing as possible. Did I just say induce- I didn't mean it!

I have been feeling pretty normal except I have a new condition that I like to call, "Hot Face," that I experience a lot. It is basically like blushing but can happen spontaneously at any time of the day and sends a hot flash all through my pink little face. And it feels like my face is about 20 degrees (Farenheit) hotter than the rest of my body. "Hot Face" isn't listed as a pregnancy side effect and I haven't seen anything similar to it described before. Maybe it will make the 27th printing of the What to Expect book.

Eliza has been busy

2008-08-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

We been making some stuff together.

Brownie bites. I love brownie bites in America, the hostess ones. But these taste almost better. Maybe because they don't have chemicals and preservatives?

Yes Eliza ate some M&Ms, one brownie, and I let her lick the bowl. Bad Mom Alert Level: Yellow.

Bath Crayons. Eliza LOVES bath crayons. But we ran out of our stash from America. They are pretty easy to make, but I used way to many bowls and spoons in the process, I need to streamline the production.

Finger paint. You can buy it here for about a million dollars because its imported from America. The bottom one is supposed to be blue, but I accidentally dumped some green in, so bluish green it is.

Testing out the paint.

More shots from Ginger Cafe. Outside

My lone plate. The cookie was okay, but too crispy.

It is so cool here. Not like most of the coffee shops here. Most are very bare, asian modern, no atmosphere, but lots of potted plants. This is the polar opposite for sure.

If you weren't at the party you were missed. Maybe we should charter a flight over the pacific sometime.

That was weird.

2008-08-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

My blog just hasn't been working for two weeks now. So hopefully that was just a temporary glitch. But just in case I thought I would post a few pictures from my birthday party. First let me explain. I just told all of my friends to meet me at Ginger, a cute little coffee shop in the morning, but no one showed up!!! Because Micah had already planned a surprise party for me at Ginger that night.
So I played around with my camera a lot while I waited around.

I took a lot of pictures during the day, but they are on a different memory card, I don't know which. I will have to post them later. The place has great lighting and lots of chandeliers, so it is really cool at night too.

The cake, and I had the a little helper to blow out my candles. It was good, dark chocolate, coffee, cinnamon. But it was a little too rich for some people.

Fuzzy picture with Glenda.

Eliza had a good time.

The Tiniest Top

2008-07-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

It is impossible to find cute little brown tops for babies. I made this one from pillowcase dress pattern, but made it shirt length instead. It is so tiny. There are tutorials all over the internet for pillowcase dresses but I used this one: http://www.jenleheny.com/pillowcase-dress-instructions

Recovered

2008-07-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

ALMOST getting tired of this fabric, sorry Ms. Butler. More baby stuff to come. Bear with me, I am in total baby mode these days.

Yay I Did It!

2008-07-20T01:46:00.000-07:00

I JUST finished this and I am very proud of myself. This bumper pad has been my most feared project for baby #2. I of course didn't have a pattern but there is a decent tutorial at this site that I tried to adapt. http://www.allcrafts.net/baby.htm#sites. I stuffed it with batting rather than foam which I went back and forth on, but I think it is a little more cozy this way. (I kinda want to crawl up and take a nap in it.)

I bought this basket about 2 years ago just to loan out to all the my friends from other countries that come here to have babies. Chiang Mai is cheap and decent for childbirth so lots of people come. But this will be the first time I get to use it. Moses baskets are one of the only cheap things available to us here. You just get the basket though. You have to get a special mattress made at a foam shop. The sheet is actually just a pillow case. I will have to find a few more to match the bumper.

I was pretty excited to find this very decent polka dot fabric at the market here. I have been shopping for fabric A LOT lately, thanks to all the sewing. Anyway these pictures are from my front porch because it is raining and my house is very dark right now.

My VERY last apron-maybe

2008-07-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

I just finished this apron for Asia. It has been sitting around since December, but I finally took 15 minutes and finished it. This is the last time we hung out. Her and her husband left Thailand a few days ago. I am super bummed.

I also found out last week my really great friend in China is leaving for greener North American pastures at the end of the month. Double bummer. I realized that I made her an apron in January while she was here. So all two aprons I gave away this year were for people that are leaving. I am thinking there must be a connection, so no more aprons for my local friends. Its just too risky.

Buy a Wedding Dress at Target?

2008-07-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

So I was browsing online today and saw you can buy wedding dresses at target.com? I know I am a little out of the loop these days, but I was blown away by this dress, $64.99! It is so beautiful. The hilarious thing is, since its on clearance it is 64.99 in every size, except size 10, its $130. I guess that is the average size of brides these days right? That is so mean. I guess if you are a size 10 you can diet until you get into the 8 or go all out and eat your way to a 12. (I can't post the pictures, but check out the dress.)

http://www.target.com/gp/detail-tab-popup.html/ref=in_de_altview-all-images/602-3879146-5452610?ie=UTF8&parentStoreItem=0&popupVariant=PT01&asin=B000M3757G&tabToSelect=additionalImages

Zoo Trip

2008-07-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago with the Castro's. It was fun. They have really fixed it up. It has only been Eliza's second time going there.

These monkeys were so happy.

As advanced as our city is, there are still little reminders everywhere that this is still a developing country. Like how you can be inches away from huge animals and hold out a tasty treat for them to eat.

There is NO WAY this would fly in the west. But there is no threat of multi-million dollar lawsuits from citizens here. If we lose a hand, we lose a hand, that's what hippos like to eat after all.
But seriously you could totally put your hand in there mouth if you were brave/dim enough to try.

And our conflicted three-year old who will hand feed hippos and giraffes but not get within three feet of the panda mascot.

At a Resort

2008-07-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

We were at a resort this weekend for a conference. It was a nice place. I unfortunately got almost no pictures because we were having battery issues. So if you want to check it out you can look up the website: http://www.royalping.com/ But I did get a few photos of Eliza on stage with the other kids singing a little song about the armor of God.

Notice she is the only one NOT doing the hand motions, I think she likes to do her own choreography.
And one shot of us at the couples dinner; table conveniently hiding the belly.

Another Thing to Make

2008-06-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

I just saw this little thing online. It is a pacifier holder. It is so cute and small. I really want to make it. My list of things to make for this baby is getting so long, maybe if I am pregnant for two years I can get it all done.

Let the Patching Begin

2008-06-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

As soon as we found out we were having another girl I went to work at salvaging all of Eliza's old cl0thes. I discovered in horror that a lot of things had storage stains. I don't know if this is an official class of stain, but I have seen it a lot. So I have started trying to patch some of the better shirts and pants. I have finished one so far. Many more on the way since I can't go run out to target and just replace them. Ohh... target.

When I finished sewing this I showed it to Micah and I said, "I think I should add an eye." He pointed out there was already an eye and a wing in the right spot. That was a total accident.

A Scolding and a Coverup

2008-06-20T02:09:00.000-07:00

I went to the ob/gyn last night, and I got in trouble. You see each month I am only allowed to gain 2 kilos (4 poundsish) according to my doctor. But last month I gained 2.5 kilos!! Oh the shame of the extra pound. I am now ordered to eat high protein, low-carb. My friend was stuck at the clinic, waiting for results for a battery of tests because last month she gained 3 kilos (6 pounds) and this month only 1 kilo (2 pounds). They figured there must be something seriously wrong, or if they did an average of the two months, they would see she is right on target. Luckily I have my own prenatal vitamins from the U.S. because sometimes if you go over your 2 kilo allowance they won't give you vitamins for the next month.
In other news Elvira is back! That's my sewing machine. I didn't name here, its just the brand. So I got to finish my new nursing cover. I had one of these with Eliza, but it was made of flannel. So I had to go with cotton this time. These are good for those of us that like to be a little covered up when you are out in public. I could never get the hang of the blanket over the shoulder. Give me some velcro!

21 weeks

2008-06-15T17:08:00.001-07:00

Hey where is that baby? Okay lets try that picture again.

There, there's the baby. So here we are, feeling okay these days. I had only one headache all week. We are clueless for name ideas, so any suggestions we are taking, and the winner gets to change to first diaper! But please, no Holly, it doesn't work.

Bandits!

2008-06-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have a tree full of kaffir limes and leaves. I stole a picture from the internet because I haven't ventured out to the tree with a camera. Everyday at least a few neighbors mozey over to our fence and snatch our leaves from our tree. These leaves are a staple in many thai soups and sauces, and you may have heard of this ingredient if you have cooked much thai food. Sometimes they don't even bother to say hi, they just steal my leaves and walk off. Oh well.

There is a little old lady that lives at the end of the alley. And every morning she sweeps the whole alley. I am not sure why. I hope that I will live this long so I can finally answer the question, "What will I do to fill my days when I am old and have lots of free time?" Anyway, I try to leave some limes out on the fence for her each morning if I have a chance to pick some for her. I usually put out two or three, but the other day I put out 8 and she still stuffed her little pockets with every single one. She says she uses them to wash her hair; looks like she washed her hair a lot that day, but hey, she's got the time. Maybe I will get a picture of her sometime.

I copied this from the sight where I stole the picture:

Kaffir Lime leaf

The Kaffir Lime is a popular ingredient in Asian cooking, particularly in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The demand for it has grown as Asian immigrants have moved to the USA. This can also be spelled Kieffer. Gift box contains approximately 3 ounces.

$12.00 (3 oz., $12.00!!!??? I am in the wrong business!)

Project in Progress

2008-06-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Since my sewing machine is in the shop, I have turned my energy towards turning this into a light. I bought it at a shop here with some christmas money, but it was made to hold plants, at least it was at the shop. It is now hanging above my dining table, instead of with the pots, pans and bananas, so I will share the finished product hopefully soon.

I love this

2008-06-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Its so nice to wonder what your three-year old is doing and actually catch them being quiet and self contained. Especially when you have those days where you wonder, "Is she really potty trained because it didn't seem like it today?"

Or like yesterday, it was about 7:00 pm and I heard the millionth, "uh-oh Mommy," of the day. I don't know what I would have done if I heard uh-oh one more time (uh-oh usually means something spilled, broke, or didn't make it to the bathroom in time.)

Its nice to see her kicked back with a good book and a baby koala.

Christopher Won!!!

2008-06-02T00:06:00.000-07:00

Our friend won the scholarship to Vancouver Film School! Congratulations Christopher you are also a pretty good badminton player, so many talents. Thanks for anyone that voted for him!

Little Stars

2008-05-31T05:54:00.001-07:00

Eliza started going to a little Thai school 2 mornings a week. Its called little stars. http://www.littlestars-preschool.com/ (DON'T GO TO THIS SITE IF YOU ARE NOT IN A SECURE COUNTRY!) She likes it for the most part, so far. She doesn't like when I drop her off, but I am pretty sure she is over it as soon as my back side is out of view. It has a good mix of Thai and western kids. She learns in Thai half the time and then English. She has already learned so much. It makes me feel a little unfit since she had to go to a school for a few hours to learn some things, but as Micah pointed out, the teachers there don't have to cook, clean do the laundry and shopping for the kids, just teach them. She has already started doing a lot of pre-writing stuff, which I could never get her to do at home, and the other day she said, "Mom, bugs have 'tennas." (antenae) So it has been cool to see her report the things she has learned, and see the things she has made.
A bad shot of the playground with the sand, her favorite thing.
The eating area, before lunch of course, there are usually small rows of tables and chairs on the patio.
In her Thai classroom with some friends.
A back to school sign (it is back to school for most of the kids, since many have been going since they were 18 months!) The Thai school year begins in May.

First day, pink polo. Everyday has a different color in Thailand. And at her school they match there uniforms with that days color. (Sunday is red, Monday yellow, tuesday pink, wednesday green, thursday orange, friday blue, and I can NEVER remember Saturday.) But many people wear yellow on Mondays, even adults wear yellow shirts to work. The king was born on a Monday, so they wear the shirts to honor him. Everyone loves the king.

Help Someone Get into design school.

2008-05-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

Vote for Christopher! Our friend that works here with us is trying to get a scholarship into a film school in Vancouver. He is in the top 10 now and if he gets enough votes he could get a full ride. So if you have a minute go to the link and vote for his video. His user name is Chraisia. You have to have a youtube id to vote.

http://www.youtube.com/user/VancouverFilmSchool

New Family Photo

2008-05-20T01:26:00.000-07:00

We just took this photo after a concert at our little place. We are sending some of these out in the mail.

A Lazy Project

2008-05-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

I made this little dress for Eliza. It was pretty easy because it was from an old junior's skirt I bought at a yard sale. So I just cut it and sewed it so I could use the original zipper. I am still a little scared of my zipper abilities. I actually wanted it to be more of a tunic, but it is more dress length. That's what I get for not really taking any measurements. I may change the straps though, I am not crazy about how the ribbon is hanging on it.

Eliza Turned 3!

2008-05-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Eliza turned 3 last week. It was quite a week. We gave her a gift from us on Monday.

A new baby doll, stroller, bassinet, bottles etc. She was very excited to say the least.

And she got a little table and chair set from her Grandpa.

Then on Saturday we had a massive fish themed party. We made the hats, the decorations and the cake.

We played a fishing game.

There was an octopus craft for the bigger kids.

And the orange fish cake, which Eliza talked about for weeks. I think she tolerated her party. She just wanted to eat cake and ice cream.

This is when she had waited long enough and was standing by the oven where the cake was resting saying: "Come on Mom, come on Dad, fishy cake."

Ahh finally the cake.

And she is covered in all her birthday gifts. It was a good day. I don't know the final kid count, I stopped counting at 17. It was pretty peaceful considering it rained and the kids had to stay inside.

My Dream Stroller

2008-04-29T23:19:00.001-07:00

This is the stroller I hope we can get. We have had some really bad luck with strollers. I think it is half buying strollers from stores here, half just circumstances. Anyway we are trying to save our pennies to buy this one. It has a bench seat for the squirmy older sibling in the back or they can stand up on the platform. And an infant car seat (something else we need to buy) pops in the front. Since Eliza is still pretty small, we can get a lot of use out of this thing. She still sits in a stroller all the time too, so I am not ready to dethrone her when the next baby comes.

Eliza Went to the Movies (and we did too)

2008-04-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

We took Eliza to see Horton Hears A Who. She loved it! She is holding up the ticket stubs to prove it. I wanted to take a picture at the theater, but they frown on bringing cameras there, so what do you do.

She then stashed the tickets in a the trunk of her tricycle, where she keeps only the coolest things.

And she's off. She loves her, "red bike."

Sometimes I have to ride my, "black bike," with her around the driveway. Its actually Micah's bike. I have a pink cruiser bike, but it has a flat tire. Bummer.

These days the pink wings are becoming mandatory wardrobe requirement rather than just a dress up accessory.

She actually took them to the movies, but we made her leave them in the car.

Then she had to take a picture of me. She usually demands this when I have snapped quite a few.

And the first picture of the very small bump. I think it could still be mistaken for a "food baby," at this point.

People Need Rice

2008-04-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

I try to keep this blog pretty light, but this has been on my heart and mind a lot lately and we are definitely feeling the crunch here from the global food crisis. Many staples here: rice, cooking oil, and butter to name a few, have drastically increased in price. It is hard for our family, but there are many families here that are unable to buy as much food as before. It is very unsettling to see what is happening around the world with money, food and fuel right now. Read this article if you have a minute, and you may just be more grateful for your leftovers: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7340214.stm

A Little Picture of Our Place

2008-04-01T01:30:00.001-07:00

This is our little bench/toy boxish thing. Its actually not little its over 2 meters long. Its right next to our front door. It manages to hold most of Eliza's toys and gives some extra seating. We had the bench made, so it was a miracle that we were able to find pillows the perfect size for the seat part and baskets the perfect size for the toys. Of course I had to to a lot of hunting, but that is normal fare if you want to furnish your home. Some of the throw pillows I bought and some I made.

Easter Goodies

2008-03-24T00:21:00.000-07:00

We had a fun and HOT easter. Eliza hunted for eggs out in the yard before 9 o'clock so none of the candy would melt.

I had to help her a little bit. We have been protecting these plastic eggs for years now. They do not sell them here, but a team brought them one year and we guard them with our lives.

After some church we went to a hotel buffet and they had an indoor egg hunt for all the kids. I was really missing easter candy this year for some reason, but we managed with some M&M's and kisses. Next year jelly beans, next year.

I made Eliza a few little stuffed goodies for her basket; a massive stuffed carrot, and a flannel baby duck. I saw ducks like this on the target website and I thought they were so cute so I tried to make one myself. Eliza loves it.

It even made it in the family picture!

Our First Papaya

2008-03-16T23:25:00.000-07:00

When we moved into this house we didn't realize almost all of the trees are fruit trees! We have three fruit bearing trees (besides the papaya tree) but they are all fruits that are native to Thailand they don't have them back home. I will send pictures of those fruits as they get ripe. We also have some Jasmine bushes and some great flowers. So the papaya tree is like this little wimpy twig almost. We have to support it with a stick, and as I speak there are 5 more papayas ripening on it. Its so funny because the tree looks pretty sad. So here is the papaya with Micah's hand to show a size comparison.

This is amazing

2008-03-14T07:25:00.001-07:00

I found this at: http://blog.craftzine.com/3.html, the website I look at almost every day. This girl made this dress for her prom totally from all different kinds of lace. It is soo awesome. Maybe someday I will try to make it. Definitely hold off until after the baby belly.

Pretty Felt Flowers

2008-03-14T01:57:00.000-07:00

I just saw these on the the land of nod website. They are of course selling them for way to much money. They look pretty easy to make. Maybe I will try and let you know.

I have my hands full over here...

2008-03-06T05:40:00.000-08:00

I will post something soon.

Christmas gifts

2008-01-28T05:58:00.001-08:00

Okay, now that all the gifts have been distributed, I can show a couple of things I made. I wish I could have made more, but I really shouldn't have moved house Thanksgiving weekend.

These are some robot shirts I made for my nephews. I didn't make the shirts I just attached some robots to the fronts.
Micah was so jealous, so now I have to make him one too.

And this GIANT scarf pillow was for Christopher and Asia. I grabbed this scarf at a thrift store when I was in the U.S. I knew it would make an awesome pillow. (Sidenote: I have a scarf thing. I always look for scarves/ hankies to make into pillows.) I really wanted to use it in our house, but the colors aren't right. I did the back with some old sari material. It came out really well. I just hope they like it.

Took a vacation

2008-01-28T05:41:00.000-08:00

It was so great. We went to the beach we always go to, Cha Am, its in the gulf of Thailand. Not the most exciting beach, but it is very family friendly. We went with our usual band of people. We always go on vacation with the same people, to the same place, every year. Its actually pretty fun.

I got to spend a lot of time with my good friend Holly. Who is expecting #3. She looks awesome.
Eliza had a really good time. This was her first year of really getting into the whole beach/pool thing.

Here's to vacations in January!

Christmas for Eliza

2007-12-30T00:25:00.000-08:00

Eliza's Christmas gift. A little bamboo play house, or hut, if you will. It so much bigger than we asked the guy to make, but then again, who needs custom plans.

She got a little mirror which she loves to use to put on jewelry, and make funny faces.

Eliza wore this dress all day, including out to Christmas lunch, but not the shoes, those are for indoors only.

Christmas is officially over

2007-12-30T00:15:00.000-08:00

Ah its December 30th and we had our last christmas party. It has been CRAZY busy, but it such a great time to share, you have to take the opportunities when they come. I need to put up some Christmas pictures, but for now here are some of our sugar cookies that we had fun making.

Eliza's snowman, I think it came out quite well.
I have to say I am most impressed with the red and green swirly stars with silver beads.

And tommorrow its off to New Year's Eve celebrations. Yay! next week is vacation at the beach.

SUMO!!

2007-12-21T21:46:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago they held the Sumo World Championships in Chiang Mai. We were TOTALLY into it. They had wrestlers from everywhere, even some guys from America. There were a bunch of skinny guys too. They have a lightweight category- who knew? Most of the guys wore the traditional attire- the only painful part of being a spectator; but a lot opted for the spandex short under the diaper. As you will see in the picture. Eliza really loved it to. She still sings the song they were playing over the loudspeaker, well just the chorus really, which goes, "Sumo, sumo...."

This is Cool

2007-12-16T23:02:00.000-08:00

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/12/the_art_of_moneygami_origami_w.html

Tis the season...

2007-12-14T05:34:00.000-08:00

for potty training. An event I have feared for so long has come to pass, and really has been pretty smooth. I have to give a lot of credit to my husband and M & M minis though. The first few days were a challenge because we needed her to actually go in the toilet and realize that is what we were talking about. But once it happened and she got a treat, its been great. There have been a few accidents, but nothing catastrophic (hard wood floors helps!) She even went in a public bathroom.

Coming up for air

2007-12-03T05:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, we now have internet in our new place. It has been pretty crazy since Thanksgiving. I cooked a bevy of mashed potatoes and apple cider, then went to our friends to dine with 60 other people in their back yard. I also did crafts for the kids, it was fun, pumpkin seed necklaces, but no pictures-sorry. Then the Saturday after we moved to our new house. Our first week in this house was spent mostly recovering from an awful cold I contracted- probably from one of the 60 people at Thanksgiving. Pictures are coming soon. We still have some painting to do, but our Christmas tree is up. For now I have a picture another craft for Eliza's room.

It's Coming...

2007-11-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

Loi Krathong. It is a really cool holiday, going on this weekend. I don't celebrate it for any of the same reasons that most people here do, but it is so cool to see all the lanterns fill the sky, and the candles on the canals. Hopefully I can get some nice photos this year.

Eliza Crafts

2007-11-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

So I have started making some things for Eliza's room. Hopefully we can move into our house soon. Just waiting on bank transfers to pay the deposit. So here is the first I will share. I didn't make the lamp, just recovered the shade. I found two of these lamps at the thrift store while in the states. I actually wanted to do the ribbon horizontally, but DUH, you can only do that with a straight shade, not a tapered one. So I had to do them vertical, but I think it still came out okay.

I Think It Was A Holiday

2007-11-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

This morning we heard lots of loud drums and traditional music playing on the street. It turns out there was a huge parade going on and it had something to do with the Lanna traditions (Northern Thailand used to be the Lanna Kingdom). So I snapped a few shots. Everyone was marching up to Doi Suthep the MOST important temple in all of Northern Thailand, and it happens to be just right up the hill from us. Its a long walk and most people were just wearing sandals.

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

Right before we left the states we went to a pumpkin patch with my family. It was fun and there were some great photo ops for sure. Here is one photo with Eliza and her cousins, Skatty is the big one, and Schon is the little guy. They had huge tricycles there too.