Kicking November to the Curb

Well, I had a goal to post everyday in November and I haven't completed that task. I'm tempted to go back and "rewrite" history by post-posting (heh). Here's my best excuse: As much as I enjoy visiting family, it really takes away my energy and the recoup is at least a week.

So, we'll have to see if I go back in time, or just soldier on and try not to worry too much about the past. I have a bit of perfectionism in me you know, and I think I'm only like 4 or 5 posts away from my goal. Stay tuned!

Celebration!

The man I love had a birthday today. Buttons was in heaven. The more birthdays, the better. Cake, the birthday song, and candles. What a great time! I won't blog too much about hubby. He's a fairly private person and I try to honor that as best I can. However, he reads my blog, so if you wanna give a shout out, he'll hear you!

Happy Birthday Honey!
Love,
Me

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Buttons has always been a good traveler. We always say she traveled home from China better than we did. However, I must remember that you cannot place your child in any set category such as "lover of pineapple" or "great traveler" because these things can change. So you're probably looking at the pictures and thinking "she looks so happy". Yes. That was the trip back home. The first leg of our flight to see relatives for Thanksgiving was hell. Buttons threw a tantrum and was not to be consoled for almost the entire flight.

You wanna know what set her off? The beverage service. She wanted both her orange juice and hubby's orange juice. Then she went into a crying, kicking, hitting fit and wouldn't stop for anything.




She settled down a bit before we landed and was in heaven that we would be taking the "choo-choo train", a tram in the airport, and fell asleep almost immediately on our second flight.





While we were waiting for my brother to pick us up, one of the women on our flight commented on what a good flyer Buttons was. Yeah, this time. But categories? I left those up around 9,000 feet.

Happy Thanksgiving

Buttons Thanksgiving 2005

Thanks for Sleep

In my list of thanks, I forgot sleep. I was looking at pictures of Thanksgiving 2005 and found this classic. Last year around this time, my hubby and I often slept in the nursery on the floor, brought Buttons to bed with us or just pulled out our hair. Then, we bought this book. Thank you Jodi A. Mindell. We are now sleeping through the night and Buttons is an attached and happy person.

Thanksgiving URLS

Want more information about this autumnal holiday? Click here

Looking for last minute recipe ideas? Click here or here or here

Vegetarian thanksgiving? Click here

Need a Thanksgiving craft fix? Click here

Martha? Click here

Turkey emergency? Click here

Wondering where the best places for a Thanksgiving meal in Circleville, Ohio? Click here

Knitting patterns of Turkey? Click here

Wanna knit a turkey hat? Click here

I'm not a fan of the "adopt-a- ___" phrase, but to save a turkey, click here

For a Thanksgiving giggle, click here

Happy Thanksgiving! I may not post again until post-Thanksgiving.

Thanks!

• I'm thankful for:
  
• Family in home
  
• Great Hubby
  
• Wonderful Buttons
  
• Family far away
  
• Friends near & far
  
• Knitting
  
• Button's laughter
  
• Music
  
• Sunshine
• Rain
• Snowflakes
  
• Autumn
  
• Good movies
  
• Bad Movies
  
• Animals
  
• Trees
  
• Flowers
  
• Art
• Adoption
  
• Christmas Stockings
• Photography
  
• Singing
  
• Commas
  
• Making holiday cookies with friends
  
• Pushing Buttons in a swing
  
• Playing piano
• Snuggling with Hubby
  
• Heart to heart talks with Hubby and friends
  
• Chocolate (goes well with above, BTW)
  
• Random acts of kindness
  
• Water (ocean, lake, stream, shower, glass of)
  
• Colors
  
• Blog readers who make it here
  
  Thanks!
  

Stranger than Fiction

My birthday is tomorrow and some wonderful friends watched Buttons while hubby and I went to see "Stranger than Fiction" and I'm really glad we went. I am a fan of Will Ferrell and movies like "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation", "I Heart Huckabees", so this one was right up my alley. Life sure has a way of intersecting points. We also went to church today and the sermon was about living your life in abundance instead of scarcity, enjoying your life and counting your blessings. You know, general life stuff. However, when this message comes at you twice in a day very powerfully, you begin to sit up and take notice. I think my next post will be counting my lucky stars, blessings, good things, etc. It's Thanksgiving this week. Hold me to this, guys.

Recent Projects

Here are a few pictures of things I've been doing when I'm not blogging. The lavender yarn on the needles will be a boucle mohair moebius scarf. My friend P. showed a bunch of us at our knitting group how to do this and it's really a kick. The cast-on was kicking my but and I was quite frustrated by it, so perhaps I will post about that another time. The pumpkin colored hat was for hubby, but I think will find a good home with our nephew. The striped sweater has been a UFO for Buttons before I even saw a picture of her. The soup is the best homemade soup I've ever made. Chicken noodle with the right amount of seasoning. Yeah! My mom would be so proud. (She's a very good soup maker.) I also take so many pictures of Buttons that she recently gave me the "star" treatment.

Average Mom

Buttons and I met up with some friends at the local mall to play on the indoor playground. I noticed a rambunctious 4 year old boy who was having a great deal of fun and I looked around to find his mom in order to give her a smile. We chatted for a few minutes about naps, bedtime, how great the little play area is, how the kids grow up so fast and then it was time for the boy and his mother to go home. A pleasant, everyday conversation between mothers. The amazing part? I'm pretty certain her son was born in Guatemala and was adopted and I'm sure she surmised the same about Buttons and China. Neither of us discussed adoption. It just never came into the conversation. When she left, I realized how much adoption comes up in conversation with the people I meet who have either adopted, know someone who has adopted or wonders about our adoption. Most of the time, it's ok. Adoption has been one of the absolute best things I've ever done in my life. (The other thing that ranks right up there is marrying my hubby.) I feel...I don't know... a responsibility to educate or at the very least be a positive reflection on the awesomeness of adoption. So when this conversation, as lovely and important as it was, never went to the big "A", I was relieved. Why? Maybe it's because at home I always feel just like other moms. When we're in public together a vibe of "different" is sent from other people. I'm ok with different. No. Really. I am. However, "average mom" seems to be a rare label that I enjoy wearing in public sometimes.

Waiting for Guffman

In my last post I asked for a topic. Wzgirl asked what theater performances I've been in and so here we go. My very first stage role ever was as Sister Margaretta in "The Sound of Music". (Sr. M. was one of the nuns in the movie who took part in sabotaging the Nazi cars and in the stage production is Maria's best bud.) What a wonderful time! In fact, Pixie from this post played Maria. It was a fun role and bigger than I ever expected to get my first time on stage. I was able to sing (solo and ensemble) and I was able to get a laugh. This picture was taken backstage and definitely not in character. Hubby and I were waiting to hear about Buttons and boy, did this make the time fly. (Contact your local community theater, Wzgirl!)

Next was "Jekyll & Hyde", which only had 2 things in common with "TSoM". It was a musical and many of the same people were involved in the show. I was cast in the ensemble and able to decide my own names: Lady Jane Cutswold and Iris, the blind beggar. Once again, it was a great time. This was early on after Buttons came into our lives and looking back, I don't think I would do that again so soon after the baby comes home. The rehearsals were mostly at night, post bed time, but I still missed my family. This picture was also taken backstage and pretty much in character as snobby upper class.

I definitely have the itch again, but I need to be selective about how I choose to spend time away from family. I would also like to do a "straight" show without any singing just to work on some acting skills. Thanks for asking Wzgirl!

Wondering about the title of this post? Check out this link.

Questions?

Ok, anything you want to ask me? I'm up for suggestions for the next post!

Plum

Out of ideas for todays post.

My Look Alikes

I obviously need to figure out why this is all flukey. I will refer to my new Blog book and get back to this.

My Accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Is This Really November?

We went to a local botanical garden today with some friends and had a great time in the 70 degree sunny weather. Why can't we bottle golden days like this to use in the winter when we're feeling blue? We played in the leaves, ran around in a children's maze, gazed at the beautiful flowers and watched a Lion Dance performed by a group of Chinese American children. Buttons was scared but she still clapped when they were done. On the way home, Buttons couldn't decide if she was more hungry or more tired, so she sat in her car seat eating "o's" while sleeping. It was quite a sight. Aren't summer days wonderful?

Lying in the Gutter, Looking at the Stars

Tonight I went to see a play at a local community theater. I had a great time and am getting the itch to audition again. I came home to find out my hubby had been replacing our toilet. No, he is not a plumber, just a man with a plan. Our toilet is now sitting in our yard next to our house waiting for the next bulk trash day. Whaddya think about turning it into a planter till then? By the way, thanks hubby! You rock.

Knitting Schmitting

Made beautiful soft hat for hubby. Made hubby try on hat before finishing. Made too small after finishing. Made aaaargh noise. Maybe nephew will enjoy hat.

Good Times and Assumptions

First off, read this post by my friend Marsha to find out how I spent last night. Oh, what fun! Above, you will find a picture of the delicious chocolates my Secret Pal sent me. Yummy. Also, the national election results today make me a very happy woman. See, good news and I am happy.

However, something happened at my local gym today that is giving me pause. I've been working out regularly for a few months now while Buttons stays in the "playroom". Buttons has had a bit of an adjustment, but is now pretty comfy there. Mostly. Today, when we walked into the playroom, our friend, 2 year-old"Helen" was already there and we said hello. One of the women who work there, "Monica", said "oh, you already know Helen. When she came in, I thought Buttons would be really happy to see her." Ok, Helen is Japanese, this was her first time in the nursery and what I assume Maureen was saying "hey, here is another Asian child, so they will have so much in common and maybe this will help Buttons be more comfy." At 2, I don't think kids have a sense of all this yet. I know my brother pointed out his buddy in pre-school by telling us he was the kid in the corner with the curly hair. His buddy also happened to be African-American. I don't know. I'm still working through why this chaps me and what to do about it, so I don't really have an ending for this post that ties it all together cause it's still messing around in my brain.

Tomorrow I hope to do a knitting post.

Use Your Voice Today

15 Minutes of Fame at 2

A few months ago I submitted this photo of Buttons to Adoptive Families Magazine for their first photo contest and "Bubbles" was a runner-up. I love this picture and it makes me chuckle every time I see it. I even have a little quote in the mag about the picture. Kinda cool, huh?

THANK YOU SECRET PAL

As if the funny e-cards and the fun e-mails weren't enough, my Secret Pal sent me a crazy good package as well. Wow, I have the best Secret Pal ever. I'd like to use her psuedonym here, but I'll have to ask her first. So, for now I just have to say once again...Thanks Secret Pal! I have wanted a book about blogging so I can personalize my blog a bit and now I have no excuses. I can't wait to try the recipes in this book. I'm also looking forward to listening to the Deep Forest CD.


Thanks as well for the Claudia Hand Painted fingering weight 100%Merino yarn in Plumicious. Oh, Secret Pal you sounded worried about the color. Let me assure you, I couldn't have picked out a better colorway or yarn. It's beeeautiful! Your recommendation was for gloves or socks. Well, for right now I'm just going to admire it's loveliness while I ponder it's future on my feet or on my hands.
This picture is hard to see, but my SP included Knipshildt Chocolatier chocolates. Heavenly and evil all at once. Oh my. After this post I will try some of the Kukicha Tea from Adagio Teas . You also sent a beautiful glass suncatcher in red with a sunflower on it. How did you know I love sunflowers? I have given these as gifts, but never had one for me. There was a lovely note as well...handwritten on beautiful pumpkin colored paper. Suffice it to say, I am overwhelmed by your generosity and thoughtfulness. Thank you.

For the First Time, I See Wicked

I went to NYC with my friend "Pixie" and we had a blast. This trip was part of my Mother's Day present. My first Broadway play excursion included lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner where the wait staff sings. I wish we had something like this near us although I'd never leave.





These glasses were purchased at the Stardust Diner and worn with enthusiasm. Pixie and I have done some community theater together and we always have a good time together. This was her 3rd time seeing Wicked. Yes, it really is that good.

This picture was taken at The Gershwin Theater while I was waiting with the hoardes to powder my nose. It's a lovely theater and it was fun to read all the names of the actors on the wall who worked so hard to bring stories to life on the stage. Community theater is not Broadway, but I'd like to think I have some inkling about the work that's involved in putting a show together.

Now, you don't think I forgot about Buttons, did you? I brought home a green flying monkey just for her. Her comment? "Buttons no like it, Mama. No monkey." However, it seems to be growing on her.



(FYI: To keep up with the "Post Every Day in November", I'm going to be retro-dating this post.)

Goodbye and Progress

Goodbye to my very first tape measure. I knew you well and you were a good friend to me while I made hats and sweaters. You also came in handy in a pinch during the dreaded swatch times. I shall miss you.

That said, I'm very excited at the possibility of owning one of these or these or some other fancy measuring tape. I couldn't do it while the purple workhorse was still in good condition, but now it's time for a new era.

Here is the project du jour... a hat for my dear hubby using color #42 of Schulana Merino Cotton 90. I picked up this yarn at Knitters Day Out over a month ago from Kindred Spirits Yarn Studio. I love this yarn and it's also featured as one of the current surprises on Knitty.com in a pattern by Jill, one of the owners of KSYS.

I will take the hat project to NYC tomorrow to see my very first production on Broadway..."Wicked". If you don't hear from me tomorrow, it means I'm exhausted from all the fun!

The Anal-Retentive Chef

Did you ever see Phil Hartman as the anal-retentive chef on SNL? He plays the host of a cooking show who is anal-retentive/OCD. He wraps his garbage in aluminum foil, then in a plastic ziploc bag, then in the garbage. His vegetables need to be cut just so and very uniformly or he throws them away.

Then there is me with play-do. Buttons has been very excited by play-do and we have lots of it left over from Halloween (our treat this year). Oh, the angst of white play-do with little flecks of all the colors and then eventually turning some nasty taupe color. So, she's playing and I'm thinking, don't fold that over and get it all smushed in the white or it will no longer be pristine. However, my thoughts did not funnel out through my mouth. I sat back, laughed, and let it all happen. No foil, no ziploc bag, no hesitation...just fun. I know this has and will continue to be a theme for me, but I'm so glad that Buttons is teaching me the ways to be a kid again.

Just have to say how much I miss Phil Hartman. What a talent and what a sad end. I also mean no offense to people who are truly dealing with OCD. I sometimes feel I have a bit of it, but realize there are people out there who are in a great deal of pain over this disease.

Everyday?

So apparently November is "post every day" month. It's also adoption awareness month, my hubby's birthday month (mine too), and Thanksgiving is in there somewhere as well. Posting every day seems daunting to me even when it seems I have much fodder to contemplate. I'll plan to at the very least post a different picture every day. Thanksgiving might get tricky though. We'll be seeing lotsa family!

Without going much further, let me say thanks to my secret pal for all of the great e-mails. She has some great movies to recommend along with a great sense of humor.

This pic is of Buttons making pizza and eating more toppings and cheese than she added .

While goat feeding (yes, we made another trip to the goats) her joy was palpable. She's scared of the caged chickens but will let the goats lick her hand. Yes, she did squeal.
Here's a pic of Buttons as a chicken (yes I know...irony) trick-or-treating. I think her favorite part was the flashlight. My favorite part was watching her little waddle walk in the padded costume. I'm having playgroup at my house this Friday (OMG, I am such a mom) and the kids are coming in costume. Why can't we do dress-up once a month instead of once a year?

Disclaimer: I do really I use a heavy amount of parenthesis and commas. Please forgive me, but I just can't help it. (Or can I?)