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.

Just a couple more days!

Little Miss Sunshine and I will be leaving tomorrow to go meet my Army Guy. He's flying in Friday morning! Woo hoo! We're so excited! We don't know how long everything will take (they haven't been really good at nailing down when things will be), but at least we'll be able to spend time together.

LMS doesn't really understand the concept of time yet, so a couple weeks ago we made a paper countdown chain. I told her that every night we'd take one off, and when there was none left, we'd be leaving to go get daddy. On several different occasions, I caught her trying to take extra links off. If they're all gone, we get to leave sooner, right? So funny to see how her mind works.

Leading music in Primary on Sunday wasn't actually as bad as I was afraid it would be. My arms were a lot less sore and my voice wasn't too bad, though I did get rather hoarse from trying to sing. However, I did get some funky streaks on my right shoulder. It was really weird, and the streaks were painful, too. They were mostly gone by Monday, and today there's just some residual stiffness in my upper arms. I don't think I'll be getting another pneumonia vaccine anytime in the future.

The perils of vaccines

Yesterday I received two vaccinations, the first ones in who knows how long. I know I got a tetanus shot when I was about 10 and accidentally stabbed my foot with a garden fork while working in the garden. I think I got another one when I broke my elbow when I was 20. I know I've done my Hep B series, and I think I was about 19 or 20 at the time. I can't think of any other shots I've gotten in the last 10 or 15 years, other than the 4 or 5 RhoGam shots I've gotten in the last 4 or 5 years.

My point being, it's been a while since I've gotten any vaccinations. I got a tetanus booster in my left arm and a pneumonia vaccine in my right arm, and man, do my arms hurt! Last night they were sore to the touch and it hurt to lift them. Today, still sore to the touch, still hurts to lift or move my arms in any way, and the lymph nodes in my armpits hurt. What is up with this? I don't remember being in pain with any other vaccines I've gotten (you'd think you'd remember this kind of pain), and while the RhoGam shots are never pleasant, there's enough other trauma (miscarriage, birth, etc) going on that it's not as noticeable.

Tomorrow will be fun. My voice is starting to get back to normal, and my throat doesn't hurt nearly as much as it used to, but I don't think I'll be doing much singing, and my right arm hurts the worst, so leading the music in Primary is going to be an experience.

I'm finally feeling a bit better

I haven't gotten much accomplished this week: I've felt like crap the last few days, but am finally feeling better (though not 100% yet). I did get my 6 month teeth cleaning done (no cavities!) and went to the doctor for a followup on the nausea (gone, thanks to the Nexium), and got my lungs checked out at the same time. No bronchitis or pneumonia, though my doctor does think I triggered my asthma pretty badly. I'm not completely sure that's the case here, though I do know that my asthma has been acting up since moving back here, so I didn't argue the point. I haven't used an inhaler in about 10 years, and it's been a couple years longer than that since I was using one on a regular basis. I'm curious to see if the inhaler makes a difference.

To illustrate how sick I've been: Wednesday morning after breakfast, I came upstairs and laid down. I ended up falling asleep, and when I woke up, the night shirt Little Miss Sunshine had been wearing was laying on the floor next to my bed, and she was nowhere to be seen. My first thought was 'Hmm, looks like LMS is running around naked.' Turns out she'd been trying to wake me up, and my mom and little brother heard her and came up to see what she was talking about. They helped her get dressed, and she went downstairs to play. On the rare occasions that I've fallen asleep during the day, I'm usually not deeply asleep- I wake up pretty easily. Not this time. I didn't hear her at all!

Thankfully, I'm feeling almost human now, and will finally be able to get some stuff done tomorrow. Good thing we didn't end up having to head out this week to go pick up my Army Guy: I haven't managed to pack yet (on the list for tomorrow), and driving while feeling that bad? That would not have been fun at all. He is in the States, though we still don't know when exactly we can go pick him up. We should find out soon, though.

I may have jumped the gun just a little bit...

I talked to my Army Guy yesterday, and he says instead of just a couple days, they have to spend a week doing debriefing stuff. So it looks like he'll be coming home close to when we originally thought. Of course, this could all change once he gets to the States and they are told the 'official' timeline for things. So until then, I'm not making plans either way. Though when you get right down to it, after being gone for 13 months, a few days one way or the other don't really make that much of a difference. We're just glad he's almost home.

Little Miss Sunshine and I have both managed to get sick (fevers, gunk in the lungs, etc) and I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out who we've been around that was sick. I couldn't come up with anybody, then I remembered that my dad's been mudding and sanding the walls in the bathroom. The last two times we were around the dust from drywall mud, we both got really sick. I think that's the case here. It really is amazing how sick we manage to get: our bodies must be incredibly allergic to something in the dust. An unfortunate side effect is that it rather limits our ability to do a lot of renovation on any house that we might buy. Drywall work could be done, but LMS and I would have to be out of the house and the house would have to air out really good before we could return. There goes my career as a do-it-yourself home fixer-upper. Too bad...

Not too much longer till my Army Guy is back!

My Army Guy might be home sooner than we thought! He's supposed to arrive back in the States on the 18th, and he thought he only had a couple days of debriefing stuff, which would put him back here sooner than we had heard (the 28th is what's been circulating). I had planned on driving out to get him on the 25th, but if he's going to be flying in sooner, we'll be leaving sooner too. Throws things off a bit, especially since we won't know the real schedule till he actually gets here. Not good for my gotta-plan-things-out OCD side.

So yesterday and today I ran errands, trying to make sure everything is ready to go, dug out our suitcases, and made a list of things to pack. Some of the packing can be done ahead of time, but some will have to wait till we know when we're leaving. I also have to make sure I have the Primary music stuff (which songs to work on, a substitute, etc) ready to go- for the three Sundays that I might or might not be gone. I only anticipate being gone for one, possibly two Sundays, but which one(s) won't be determined till my Army Guy actually arrives. So I need to be ready for all eventualities.

Yesterday I finished the second removable piece for Little Miss Sunshine's car seat cover. Yay!

Today I edited my Army Guy's midterm and read through some articles so I can proof his paper intelligently once he gets it written. It's going to be tight, but he's trying really hard to get everything written and turned in before the deadline (3 days from now), all while packing up and traveling from the base he's been on to a larger one, in preparation to coming home. And he's not sure he'll have an internet connection throughout this...

The car seat cover is finally finished!

I finally finished Little Miss Sunshine's car seat cover. The first picture is her old car seat, with the cover I made for it. I loved that fabric, too bad I couldn't find more...

The second photo is her current car seat. I really like it, and I like the pink, but unfortunately it gets dirty very easily. Especially since LMS has a habit of stepping on it as she climbs into it, and her shoes aren't always very clean. So my OCD takes over and I find myself making covers for her car seats.

The third and fourth photos show her car seat with the new cover. The darker purple line across the back, near where the seat joins the back, is where the removable piece attaches. I made one (and will make another as soon as I buy more bias tape; I barely had enough for the first one) removable piece that covers where she sits and where her feet rest. Those are the places that get the dirtiest.

The main seat cover is two pieces: one that covers the seat, foot rest, side pieces and goes up and around the top; the other covers the head rest and the back rest. The removable piece sits on top of the main piece and attaches to the back rest. Now I can just unhook it, toss it in the wash, and put the spare in place, without having to take the entire cover off. Which can be a massive pain. I know a lot of people don't worry about keeping car seats clean, but my OCD won't let me let it go.

Next up: making a slip cover for a chair. I've been gathering various pieces of furniture so I can furnish the room LMS and I share for my parents when we move out. I've found some great deals on craigslist, but in the instance of the chair, the cushions are red, which completely clashes with the color scheme. The price was too good to pass up, though, and I don't mind a bit of sewing. I also got a killer deal on a log bed, but will have to strip the crappy stain job (I kinda think that's why they were selling it: they got tired of looking at it) to make it look decent.

Fun with cousins

Yesterday wasn't the most effective day I've had, though I did get some errands taken care of. In the evening my brother and his family arrived just as Little Miss Sunshine was getting into bed. So she got a reprieve and got to stay up way past her bedtime, playing with her cousins that she hasn't seen since our family reunion in July.

This morning I rode my bike for half an hour. I think I'm ready to start increasing my time, as well as focus more on keeping my speed up. As I was riding today I got to thinking about my speedometer/odometer computer thingy. It's hooked up to my front tire, which of course is stationary when I'm on the indoor trainer. So my thought was perhaps I can switch it to my back tire. This would enable me to track my mileage and my speed. I know my speed is much better than it used to be, but I don't have any idea how fast that actually is. I need to look into it some more to find out.

LMS had fun playing with her cousins, but was very disappointed that they wouldn't play as long as she wanted to. They kept wandering off to do other things, which frustrated her no end, and she'd stand at the top of the stairs, hollering their names, trying to get them to come back up and play.

mom!

For the last few weeks now, when Little Miss Sunshine wakes up she whispers 'mom!'. She then whispers louder 'Mom!', then whispers louder still, 'MOM!' She keeps this up till I respond, at which point she says '(her name) wake up. (her name) sleep good!'

It's always a whisper, she never uses a normal tone of voice. Not sure why...

I finally went swimming again

I finally went swimming yesterday- the first time in about 6 months, and I could definitely tell it had been that long. I haven't finished the car seat cover yet, but I did finally get some stuff finished for Primary. Now that those things are done, I can get back to the car seat cover.

This morning there was a Stake enrichment meeting, and my mom had said she wasn't going to go and would watch Little Miss Sunshine for me. I decided to go to the temple, instead, though. When I told LMS that I was going to the temple, she said she wanted to go. We've had this discussion before: she really wants to go to the temple, and isn't thrilled when I tell her she has to wait till she's older. I think it's really neat that she's so set on going to the temple. It was a good session and I'm glad I was able to go.