June Cleaver & Me

So ... I was busy yesterday afternoon whipping up this little number to hang as a sample in this store for the March meeting of Grandmas R Us Club. I am feeling much better (thanks for your concern) but as I mentioned once before ... I am not a fast sewer ... so I wasn't sure if I could see the project to completion to take with me this morning.

Duh.

I was honestly embarassed for myself for having thought that, when I realized how simple it really was. Thank you Cindy Taylor Oates for your fun and fabulous pattern.

I cannot wait for Miss Dub to grow into it. She has her very own set of pots and pans, you know.

Now she just needs a l'il string of pearls and she is good to go.

Singing in the Rain!

So ... the Rainforest Quilt is quilted and bound. And if all goes well today it will be wrapped, boxed and mailed. My litte grand-nephew made his appearance three weeks ago, but he is probably too small to crawl around on this quite yet, so I am cutting myself some slack.

In other news: I am sick ... again! This would be the February version, not to be confused with the January version or the December version. Can I tell you how sick I am of being sick!

Oh ... and fyi ... taking leftover antibiotics (that have not expired) did nothing for me. Nothing. It's almost as if the medical community is conspiring against me because they just like to see me once a month.

I wonder how I can get that concept to work on my children. Hmmmmm . . . . .

List Less

So ... here is somewhat of a true confession, although I won't categorize it as such since I am working on changing it but ...

I am not a List Maker. (Go ahead and Gasp! I was pretty much expecting that.)

I don't know why lists have (in the past, I tell you ... in the past) actually intimidated me. I felt like if I started listing what I had to do, I would just never be able to stop and the sheer anxiety of it all would keep me from tackling the shorter list that had more immediate consequences. Sometimes I would make lists, but I just couldn't get it to latch onto me as a habit. (I did do the same with eating cookies and that latched on like crazy!)

However, while I was in the Land O'Lincoln, my dear daughter, Mrs. Dub told me of this book (pictured above) that a friend of hers was reading and I knew I had to read it. We headed off on one of our daily jaunts to Barnes & Noble and I picked up a copy for each of us. I read as much as I could on the plane home, but haven't actually read more since. What I have done is gone to Target, and purchased the above pile of notebooks and file folders with sweet coordinating birds and butterflies. Since then I have been listing my brains out.

And it has stuck. For five (count 'em 5!) days. I think there might be hope for me after all.

I must add that everyone else in my family are big list makers, but they clearly have gotten that habit from PDaddy. I would be remiss however if I didn't tell you that PDaddy doesn't know what a notebook looks like. He makes all of his lists on napkins. Subway napkins. Go figure.

So ... what about you? Are you a lister? And, do tell . . . what is your notebook/napkin/gum wrapper of choice?

A girl can dream ...

So ... I want it clear from the start that I am grateful for all my many blessings. I am particularly thankful to live here in the Southwest where the sun shines with abandon.

But ... truth be told ... I have always had this dream about living in the country with lush, green, rolling hills ... and trees. Lots of trees. A view of some languid water in the distance wouldn't be bad either.

At certain times in my life I mistakenly thought that the picture above existed for some people and that I was somehow missing out. Apparently browsing through 3.8 Country magazines a day can cloud the brain into thinking that the simple life is indeed that. No one mentions that those homes need cleaning too or that fences need mending or that cows ... well you get the picture.

So, I have come to terms with the olive tree in my front yard and I appreciate the way it arches over the sidewalk. If I squint when I look at the clear blue water in my backyard I miss the fact that there's a pool cleaner meandering around. And, as for the cows ...

I'll pass.

Do magazines ever cloud your brain? I'm pretty sure it's a real disease.

Jiggedy-Jig

So ... I'm home. And, truth be told, I'm a homebody. I am happy to sleep in my own bed and stumble into my own bathroom at 3 in the morning and eat my own cereal out of my own cereal bowls. Heck, I feel this way after coming home from a week at the beach.

I just like my home.

But this time it was a tad more bittersweet. 'Cause I had to leave these guys behind ...

... and that just isn't fair.

The Chair Man

So ... I'm getting the most bang from my buck with my time here in Illinois, but that isn't to say I'm not doing some California dreamin'. Here is one of the latest pics of L'il Gee, sporting a onesie from his mom's new company "Little Boogies". (More on that later when the website is up and running.)

I may or may not have tried to bite those little toes.

My tongue may or may not have suffered a small shock.
.
Here's to you L'il Gee. Always remember that Grandma is an equal-opportunity toe-nibbler.

at least my blood is thin!

So ... did I mention that I am from Arizona?

And that it was nearing the 80's there yesterday ... and sunny?

And that the picture above was taken last Wednesday here in Chi-town where the snow came in sideways and didn't stop until there was a full foot of it?

And that yesterday the high temperature was one lonely single digit and that that digit was ONE?

And that I prefer to count by tens?

Yeah ... maybe I did already mention that.

Role Model

So ... I am continuing to revel in my time with Miss Dub. She is amazing and smart and polite and cute and affectionate and ...

... she likes me, she really likes me! As you can see, I have been such a good influence on her that ... she wants to be just like me. (Or at least share my taste in shoes and sweaters.) Truth be told, she got all these splendid traits from her fabulous mom and dad. I am learning more and more this week that I want to be just like them.

Watch for upcoming stories about the W I N T E R weather this Arizonan has been reluctantly taking part in. Also look for some pictures of Mr. Gee that I have been snuggling with vicariously.

The Super Bowl

So ... I'm in Chicago-land taking care of my precious Miss Dub.

Q: "What?! You left the Valley of the Sun ... the home of the Giant ... Patriotic ... Game ... before it even started?!"

A: Yes. Hard as it may be to imagine, I found a better bowl game here. Word has it that lavender and green are the new team colors and that the name of the game is ingenuity not ... grunting.

That's not to say that there isn't a bit of "hat hair" going on with both games.

But, I'll stick with this one ... thank you very much.

We'll ALL Scream !

So ... just in case you were confused and/or really had a need to know about The Timeline, as it relates to Sonny-Boy and the Mrs., here goes:

June: Got married, honeymooned and moved in with us. Shortly thereafter, Sonny-Boy got a job in Alacante Spain.
September: They left for Spain, but were still waiting on the work Visas, so ... at worst ... they had ... at most ... 90 days there.
December: Worst case scenerio is alive and well and they leave Spain promptly on the 90th day. After the adventure of a lifetime, fyi.
January: Visas are nowhere in sight and Plan B is put into effect. Plan B involves a trip to New York City where they get umpteen interviews and multiple job offers apiece. Yes ... I am proud ... and I am not afraid to say it.
Today ... this very day: I just got back from the airport where they boarded the plane for their new life. These pictures were taken at our "going-away" dinner a few nights ago. Mexican food for dinner and ...

... Baskin Robbins Ice Cream for dessert. "Why?" you may innocently ask, because you know that there is never room for dessert after Mexican food! Because Mrs. Boy is going to be a marketing supervisor for Baskin-Robbins and we had some free coupons already. You know the significance of this, do you not?

Free Ice Cream. Lots of Free Ice Cream. Possibly for Life.

And Sonny-Boy is an architect, so we could be eating it in a pretty sweet home.

The End.