It finally snowed!

We finally got a decent snowstorm yesterday and it didn't melt today! There was enough snow that I broke out my snowshoes and gave them a whirl. They worked pretty good, but the snow was all powder, so it wasn't the best conditions. Didn't bother getting out my cross country skis because of the powder. Maybe if the snow melts a little and re-freezes it will work better.

Little Miss Sunshine really, really wanted to build a snowman, so we built a tall cone of snow (all that the snow could handle) and called it a snowman. She thought it was great.

I got my exercise shoveling the front walk. It's been years since I shoveled snow. I worked up a bit of a sweat, but my back has some sore muscles now.

In the meantime, we've been searching for job openings, filling out applications, and so on. Lots of fun, and hopefully we'll see results soon.

Ode to my sewing machine

Some years ago I bought a brand new Singer sewing machine at Wal-Mart. It lasted maybe two years before completely seizing up and refusing to work any more. Admittedly, I did a lot of sewing with it, but I still expected it to last longer than two years. I have an antique Singer sewing machine that still runs. It's similar to the one in the first pict. It has a small motor (that needs to be replaced, so I haven't used it for a few years) that was attached some time after being manufactured so it can run on electricity. I've also got a table I can set it up on so it can run on a treadle. I'm not sure how old it is, but probably late 1800's to early 1900's. In any case, it still runs, and Singer machines used to be good quality.

After my plastic piece-of-crap machine died, I decided I would be better off finding an older machine, one that was metal, not plastic. After doing some research, I found a Singer 403 that was built in the 50's or 60's. It totally looks old school and un-cool (unlike the sleek, plastic piece-of-crap), but after 40 or 50 years, it's still running great. And it cost less, even after shipping, than the plastic piece-of-crap. Can't beat that.

One of the things I want to do once we move and get settled and get a dedicated sewing/craft area set up is some quilting. Real quilting, done properly, not eyeballed like the ones I've done up to this point. In an effort to learn more about proper quilting, I checked a couple books out of the library (my answer to everything!). The most helpful one was 'Foolproof Machine Quilting' by Mary Mashuta. It talks about different attachments to use to have it turn out properly. One of the things mentioned was a 'walking foot', which allows the fabric layers to feed through evenly. Since this has been a huge problem for me, I checked ebay for a walking foot for my sewing machine.

While doing the search, I came across other attachments for my machine, as well as an original product manual. I bought the manual, which was very informative regarding all the things my machine can do. All this time I thought my machine was only capable of straight and zig-zag stitches, but I discovered that there are discs/cams that can be inserted into the top of the machine that change the stitch. And there's around 15 or so, so I actually have quite a few choices of decorative stitches when I get around to quilting. After I buy the discs, of course. So neat that it can do so many cool things! I love my sewing machine....

Progress with my shinsplints?

I finally was able to see a chiropractor about my shin splints, and we're going to hit them with a two-pronged approach. I'm going to get orthotics, which will help line up my body properly, thereby reducing stress and strain to various other parts of my body (including my shins). I'll go in and she'll work on my shins and legs to align everything and reduce scar tissue and gristle. My first appointment was last week and she was massaging my shins and commented on the graininess present (I have very bumpy shins). She said it's a sign of scar tissue and gristle forming, and she'll be working to break it up. She's using deep tissue work (very painful!) and ultrasound therapy (feels good) to accomplish that. So hopefully between all this I'll be able to increase my mileage without massive amounts of pain and finally be able to lose some weight.

We've been busy

I haven't posted lately because we've been busy doing all sorts of things. We had to rearrange our room so Hubby and his stuff would fit (when we moved in a year ago, it was just Little Miss Sunshine and myself), dug out some of his things from storage, spent time with family, spent time with each other, and the real time-drainer: filled out lots of job applications. We've submitted about 10 or so so far and have a few more to finish up.

Did you know that if you want to apply for a job at the Defense Intelligence Agency there's a bunch of very detailed essay questions to answer? This is after filling out all the minutiae of your life up to this point (how many hours of schooling, dates of starting/ending, GPA, etc etc etc). A lot of these applications/questionnaires are so involved that they should hire you if you make it through the process successfully. I mean, seriously, they're making things way more complicated than they need to be. And you end up repeating info since even though you attach your resume, they still want you to fill in your work and education histories.

In any case, hopefully several will pan out quickly and we'll be able to have our pick of jobs. Just have to wait and see...

He's Home!!

My Army Guy flew in a week ago today at an obscenely early hour. The plane was early, so even though we got there early too (just not early enough), we missed him getting off the plane, which was disappointing. Little Miss Sunshine was very excited to see her daddy, but was a bit tired because of the early hour (you can see it in her face in the picture). I was also excited to see him (of course!) and we have all been enjoying spending time together as a family.

After the various meetings, briefs, and what-have-you, we took the scenic route home. We got to see parts of the state I haven't seen before (found a couple areas we'd love to have a cabin in) and scoped out some locations for my book. I'm still working out some details, and will soon be able to sit down and start writing.

My Army Guy (gotta come up with another name for him now) has a couple weeks of leave, so we'll be spending the next couple weeks sending out resumes and spending time together as a family, and hopefully by the time his leave is up he'll have a job.