Totally Premature Rejoicing!

Yes! I finished one Christmas gift already and I'm almost through another one. To make sure I took care of the most important things first, I made a gift for a very demanding recipient who would surely give me hell if I did not give them something wonderful and amazing for Christmas.

I played a dangerous game, placing a skirt so close to Olive's back end...quite a gamble.

Yes, I made a skirt for lil' nine-year old Stella, who doesn't seem to really know when I gave her something and when I ducked out of a gift-giving situation and just showed up for cake. Anyhow, I figured it was safe to post this because Stella doesn't seem to do much on the internet, and even if she did, she'd probably forget about her gift before Christmas.

This skirt was based off the tutorial on Sew Delicious for a little version of a skirt seen on Peggy from "Mad Men", which should also apply to making grown-up sized skirts if you're so inclined. The denim is from an old pair of jeans that I wore through (finally, something to do with those other than denim-bottomed bags!), and the fabric is something that Eschy bought a couple of years back at Bolt for me to use on an Anna Tunic for her. The buttons...

The buttons are from the Ephemeral Mailbox Museum from a time before I really knew how to buy notions. They're adorable and and I love them, but since I'm not as whimsical with my clothing as I originally thought, I've had a hell of a time figuring out how to use glittered cupcake buttons. Don't even get me started on how I'm supposed to use the glittered scissor buttons in the same fashion...

So, not a bad start to the season, right? Right. Hopefully I don't go on a sewing strike until December 15th just to bring myself to the appropriate stress level. I hate my subconscious balancing acts.

Mexico Pictures--Our Digs

The resort-type place we stayed at (thank you, Tom and Anna Maria) was super beautiful and really close to the beach, and with a gargantuan pool that spanned two or three city blocks and sat on three different levels. Some of the days, we just kicked around the resort either hanging at the pool or snorkeling. Or sleeping. We napped and ate a lot! This is the last batch of photos for your perusal, so I hope you enjoy them!

Two words: Pool Bar!

The whole place looked like a highly cultivated jungle, it was really pretty to walk around.

Our little segment of beach was great to walk on, but not so hot for swimming. As you can see, there is a pumice-like quality to the area.

By the pool, well manicured.

The wake generated by our snorkeling boat on our way to the reefs. Yes, I was singing "Rio" (there are pictures of that as well).

Sunrise on our little section of beach.

ahhh, so wonderful. 

These are baby versions of fish we saw a lot of when we went snorkeling. These were in a tide-pool-like situation the morning we were watching the sunrise.

A nice jogger took this for us. We had a great time!

Mexico Pictures--Chichen Itza and nearby areas

We signed up for a day trip to Chichen Itza, a pre-Hispanic city in the middle of the Yucatan peninsula. It is one of the new seven wonders of the world (as established in 2007) and is super neat. On our way to Chichen Itza, we traveled through a colonial town (Valladolid) that I totally want to check out more, and stopped at a Mayan "village" for food, shopping, and cenote time!

The cenote! This is one of the big attractions in that village. There is a cenote in Chichen Itza too, but I don't believe you're permitted to swim there. That one is just for sacrificing. 

Well, jumping in was the natural thing to do. :)

See where that one dude is standing on the second highest level? That is where I jumped in from. (Blue Streak trained me well for this.)

Cenotes are limestone sinkholes--this one was 50 meters deep, so it was more or less like swimming in a quarry. Whoa!

The ballfield area in Chichen Itza.

The Observatory, where all kinds of astronomical shenanigans took place.

Chris and an unidentified structure (our tour guide was letting us wander solo at that point). Doesn't it look like there is a face in the building? Eek!

In front of el Castillo.

This shot is required.

El Castillo! We were pretty tuckered out at this time, and Chris was just barely putting up with me. What a champ...

Then we got back on the bus with all the liquored up people. (liquor was served on the bus, not in Chichen Itza) We weren't allowed to climb on any of the pyramids or touch anything, as the Federal government no longer permits it here, possibly at any of the ruins. What a drag!

Magic Kingdom Christmas!

Sleeping Beauty's castle says Merry Christmas!

PACKING TAPE!!!

Christmas fun begins NOW! I received the keystone of my Christmas wrapping paper in the mail today--holiday themed packing tape!

Top to bottom, we have the Baroque Frame Tape, the Partridge of Joy, the Todd (just kidding, the Mod Blooms), and the Snowflake. The Snowflake and the Partridge are last year's designs; 15% off. The Todd was added to help us break the $15 dollar mark, which in turn yielded the Baroque as a free gift! Whee! If you are inclined to go crazy at Tapeswell like me, use the coupon code TSOCT  which will get you the free roll of Baroque in addition to 20% off.
Gifts and letters from me will look so awesome this year! They won't look like trash! I am totally jazzed, in case you can't tell.
TAPE!

Problem with the Ponies

Last night we went to the harness races in celebration of Scott's birthday; I can assuredly say that Michelle and I, like Aunt Sharon, have a problem with the ponies. Aside from the fact that there was no parking fee at Cal Expo, no entry fee, $1 beer, and $1 hot dogs, it was more wonderful than I could have imagined! All members of my family got the "crazy eyes" as we placed ill-advised bets.

The race near the finish!

 The choicest part was when we found out that we (Jenn, Michelle, and I) could ride in the motorized starting gate, aka the wing car that starts the race. It was so wonderful because you're in this 1970something Cadillac with eight horses thundering behind you pulling little carts holding grown men. Not only that, but they've installed this odd cockpit type of thing in the car so you are sitting, looking backwards at all of the horse noses! I was incapable of speaking throughout this part, instead opting to desperately clutch both Jenn's and Michelle's shoulders while Michelle filled the role of announcer.

Clinging to the fence, rooting for our horses!

There weren't any big wins (or losses) amongst us until the last race of the evening; I placed a $2 bet on "Only in Lodi" to place (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), which yielded $28. Whoa! Hot dog! Not only that, but I thought I lost my  original ticket for that bet so I had Chris and Scott buy me another while I took a joyride in the wing car. I found my other ticket (the original bet) this morning, so guess what has two thumbs and is going to spend some more time with the ponies?

This girl!

Folsom:0, me: 1ish!

Yes! The trip to Folsom was more or less a success. It was completely a success in that I got there right as Chris John was getting off work, so Huzzah for me! Around 27 miles in two hours and five minutes, here is the recap.
I could not find my lil' bike pump, so I took off with all the other listed items from last post and some chapstick. I figured that in the worst case scenario, I would have to walk a fair amount and call someone to pick me up or find a bus route that would suit my needs. I took off at 3pm because I lost  a fair amount of time looking for that rascal of a bike pump. By that time, I had been running around in my helmet for ~1/2 hour, loathing it the whole time but fulling expecting to leave the house any second.
For those unfamiliar with the American River Bike Trail, it is nothing short of lovely.

It is well paved and more or less flat with some gentle rolls that would not ever be called hills. When I first heard about it, I thought it was some gravel path perilously close to sheer drops into the American River. It is like I was living on a different planet back then, or I was just simple.

These pictures give you an idea of how pleasant it is. The river is off to your right in this shot, there is a healthy amount of tree cover for most of the trail, and some crazy looking birds with yardstick long tails and urban squirrels who were tired of the rat race at the Capitol. Wild turkeys too. 

Previously, the farthest I had been on the ARBT was to Sac State with Chris. This is me, a fire in my belly from covering new ground!

For most of today's ride, I was as regal as a sack of cement in my bike saddle--I could not tell you why I was sitting so un-pretty, but I'm sure I'll feel it much more intensely in the morning.

By the way, the river looks freakin' wonderful right now. I repeatedly considered taking a tumble into it, in spite of the beautiful mid-60's weather. 

Looking a little worse for wear somewhere around 15 miles (in skinny leg jeans, I might add). No, I'm not drunk, you can tell because both of my eyes are open.

Things were straight wonderful until I got to where the ARBT ends and where the Folsom Bike Trails are supposed to pick up. Here is a shot across the five lane highway where Folsom Bike Trails were supposed to make an appearance.

WTF, Folsom? Anyhow, it took a little bit of resolve to bounce back from that, I got my adrenaline levels amped up by biking on Hazel and Iron Point on a scabby looking shoulder with the occasional faded bike emblem chipping away from the pavement. It actually wasn't that bad except for the first part when I was acclimating to being off the trail. It was like being in detox, very scary and painful. But after that, it wasn't too bad except for the terror of knowing that most of the drivers overtook me without seeing me at all. 

I made it to Intel, though. Glory days!

Chris gave me a ride home (he drove in case of any emergencies with my bike plans) and we went to Moxie to celebrate me living through my mission. :)

Now I only have to log about 18 more miles on the May is Bike Month site to meet my goal of 100 miles!

Canada/USPS:0 Me: a powerful score of 1!

Awesome! Incredibly stoked right now!
You see, last week I purchased some Echino fabric on etsy from a Canadian seller since no other shops were carrying the lion design I fancy. I found the fabric, fell in love, asked for a special listing, then was saddened to learn the seller was Canadian because that meant I had a two-three week delay in shopping gratification because shipping from Canada takes FOREVER! Seriously, I'm not exaggerating, it takes two-three weeks. So when Timber, Olive, and I encountered a package this afternoon, I assumed it was Chris's dorky Latin book which he ordered from Amazon. But no, what is this?!

My fabric came in! Way earlier than expected! Yes!

The double-weight gauze lion is supposed to be used for a shoulder bag...for me. Yes, I will finally make myself a bag. I've been thinking about it for far too long. I will need to put considerable forethought into this to make sure the lion is prominently displayed. I will also need to reinforce the bejeezus out of it, this fabric is like putting your face into a pile of puppies (you should really try that). I might have to select a different purpose for it, so soft. Hrm. 

And this is supposed to become a bag for Cate's birthday. I need to pre-treat the fabric and start running on this one. This is a nice home-dec weight fabric, quite sturdy.

The fabric's hasty arrival also means that I won't have to buy other fabric from Sew Mama Sew (15% off sale right now) for Cate's satchel. To the laundromat tomorrow!

Last day at Vet Med!

Well, this is exciting! Today is my last day at the VMTH, after three and a half years of working here. Timber and I are here for the last time, at least in the capacity of employee with (former) blood donor dog, and we are leaving some parting gifts.

(one candy box is bigger because it coincides with a birthday)

Yes, dishtowels from Thelma! I got these back in November and I told myself (and anyone who would listen), "I'm going to give these to the girls when I quit Vet Med." Six months later, I'm finally going through with it.
Adios, Vet Med!

If you're a dog around here...

...you gotta take a bath!

This was a big week for both Timber

and Olive.

Cheers to you, good hounds.

Birthday Party Recap, Fashion Glimpse

The colors of the evening: red, pink, and purple.

Even Chris and Bryce played along
What shoes did you think I would wear?
I say that Vanesa won "Best Outfit" for the night. Sadly, this picture doesn't do her adorable purple dress justice and you can't even see her festive tights, but still...

Birthday Party Recap!

Ah, Valentine's Day Birthday! Michelle has been raising ten kinds of a ruckus, demanding that I put a picture of the cake on the internet, so here it is. Mmm, cake.

It was your basic yellow cake with four berry jam in the center and vibrantly colored frosting. It is powerful cake, there is still a small bit in the kitchen. But not for long!

Here is Claire in front of the craft carnage. She opted to wear the apron (last remaining evidence of the mac 'n cheese we tore through earlier) for most of the night, in spite of wearing our theme colors with her chosen outfit.
Here are three of our mailboxes, hanging out together on the table. You can't tell, but they are heavy with valentine loot. You probably can tell that glitter still rules supreme in our house; I get concerned when I think about how much Timber has consumed in the past few days.

A sampling of the valentines. Most excellent!

Baking Day (a little late, part 2)

And, everyone's favorite, the sugar cookies.

Why is it that the confection on which we spend the most time only yields about 8 cookies? How does that happen? Anyhow, the meringue powder yielded another beautiful batch of frosting even if we did forget to mix a yellow. Oops.

And the final product. Looking at this, maybe we should just use clear saran wrap, the green is doing weird things to our vibrant cookies.

Another year of sisters baking, and another year I did not take a nap! Mark THAT on your calendars!