Diary of a Mad Fabri-Holic

A Monumental Weekend

What does it take to keep me away from all of you lovelies for over a week?  The big move to the new building at work (I get to see my office this morning for the first time, but, I've been forewarned my desk, etc., have yet to arrive.  That should make life interesting.)  The first 2 weeks of 1st grade for Princess Girl have kept us hopping, what with back to school night and all sorts of other fun stuff.  And then, there was the impulsive family vacation we took over Labor Day Weekend...

Yup, we hopped in the car Friday afternoon, after I worked until midnight Thurs and then all morning Friday to make sure I'd be able to get away...  We spent Friday night in Cheyenne, did a little bit of shopping in the morning, and then made a beeline for South Dakota, where none of us had been before.  The Hubby and I decided it was high time ours kids had a road trip.  (With all our family on the East Coast, and that being a 2-3 day drive each way, and vacation time being limited, we always fly...)  And we'd never seen Mt Rushmore.  Well, now we have! 

Someone else saw the mountain, too.

The Alligator Scarf was my traveling buddy.  He enjoyed Mt Rushmore, the 1880 Train,

and also over 6 hours each way in the car. 

He'd be done, but I didn't spend as much time knitting as I could have...  I did spend some time with that cute family of mine...

And now for the PSA portion of this here blog: should you ever for any reason find yourself in Wheatland, Wyoming, do not, for any reason, stop in the Burger King.  And if you do, well, don't touch anything.  I have never ever in my life been in a fast food restaurant so filthy.  And I'd like to remind you all- I grew up and traveled in some pretty interesting places.  But this here Burger King was so foul, it tops anywhere I've been in the 3rd world.

Aside from that horrid experience, the trip was fabulous.  We played mini golf at what might have been the most difficult course, ever.  We had ice cream and pie.  I love pie.  We saw wildlife, both free and arranged for our viewing pleasure.  And we even had dinner with some singing cowboys.  I haven't finished editing the photos yet, but they'll be on Flickr when I am done.  And now, off to work to imagine what my desk may eventually look like.  Fun!

The Good, The Bad, and the Very Ugly

The Good:
On Jan 8, 2008, The Hubby and I fly to London for 6 nights of child free bliss in my favorite city on this earth.  My folks fly into Denver on Jan 7, 2008 to stay with the kids!  We found a deal that was too good to be true, but, isn't.  We booked through a reputable website, are flying a real airline, and have already checked the hotel out online...  Thank you, Travel Zoo!

The Bad:
My quilt sold at auction for the suggested retail value.  The suggested retail value was exactly one half of what I would have told them, had they asked me before-hand...  They asked me today, the day after the event, for tax purposes.  It is my professional experience that once an item at a silent auction reaches its actual stated value, bidding stops.  People like to feel they are getting a bargain, at least, at a silent auction.  Live auctions are different.  Sigh.  On the bright side, my quilt went to a good home- a former co-worker who is now the Executive Director of yet another local non-profit bought it to display in her apparently bare office...  So at least I know it will be loved.  (To prevent a photo-less post, here's the back of the quilt in that photo I promised to take...)

 

The Very Ugly:
For the 2nd time in 9 months, our mailbox was vandalized.  We have a VERY funky mailbox (ours was custom designed in purple and green), and it appears that by installing this one-of-a-kind art piece, we made a tacit agreement with the spoiled neighborhood brats that they could destroy it one piece at a time.  Last Sept., they ripped off the right front leg, and stole it as well, so we couldn't even repair it.  This Tuesday they attempted to rip off the left front leg, and when it wouldn't come off, they bent the entire thing upwards to a nearly 90 degree angle and also bent the mailbox door out of shape, leaving us with sopping wet mail thanks to a rainstorm.  We have some other neighbors with a cool tree-stump carving of a gnome, and they have as of late had vandalism issues as well.  While police reports have been filed in all cases, it is apparently NOT a tax payer priority to have a 24/7 stakeout of my block to catch what everyone assumes are just bratty kids.  Grumble.  The Hubby is seriously thinking of installing a security camera.  We have a strong suspicion that it is a particular kid who lives up the block, but no proof.

Back from Pittsburgh... without a pithy title.

This past weekend, the whole family flew to Pittsburgh to visit my grandma, my only remaining grandparent, and my kids' only great grandparent.  It was a mini-family reunion as we stayed with my Aunt and Uncle, my cousin drove in from MI, and my folks drove in from SC.  Phew!  That's a lot of family in one house...  Thank goodness my aunt and uncle have a huge house. 

Grandma lived out here in CO until 12/05, when she had to move from a retirement apartment to an assisted living facility, and it was deemed best to have her closer to more family.  We hadn't seen her since then, and for me, it was painful to see how much difference 18 months has made.  But I am very grateful for the time we were able to spend with her this weekend.

I took Lizard Ridge with me.  Fortunately, when the flight attendant and woman on my right hand side managed to spill *an entire can of ginger ale* into my lap/onto my bum, they missed the Noro completely.  My pants?  Not so lucky.  An apology from the flight attendant?  None to be heard.  Aside from its brush with near-wetness, Lizard Ridge did well on the trip with 2 squares completed, and a 3rd finished the morning after we got home.  And, one square got to take an extra special field trip:

Ikea, baby!  Pittsburgh has a cute, small Ikea, and of course, I had to go.  The Hubby and I took a Swedish meatball related field trip on our own while my family took the kids to the Children's Museum, which we hear was a blast.  but better than Ikea?  Not possible.

Meanwhile, I did finish the 1st QoV top before I left last week.

I worked the leftover pieced blocks into a nice star layout that I'm going to piece and send to Deb S for a border- she has more of the original blue fabric at her place.  Then, 2 tops for nearly the price of one!  Now, I just need to finish the back of the finished top, and send it to the next stop: quilting!

If I ever have time to sew again...

 

Hi, honeys, I'm home!

Did you miss me?

Wait, maybe I don't want to know the answer to that...  I'm going to assume you all did.  Even the lurkers (mwah, big kisses to all lurkers!)

We had a lovely vacation.  Thanks to some lovely parents (mine), we had a free hotel room (just barely off the Strip) by redeeming some of their Marriott Rewards points.  In fact, we had a 2-room suite!  A sweet suite, if you'll forgive me.

Because we had no hotel bill to pay, I felt fine indulging in my favorite hotel pastime.

Not that. Geez, you guys, get your minds out of the gutter. No, my favorite hotel indulgence would have to be-- ROOM SERVICE!

I especially love it when it comes with teeny tiny things.  Screw the environment, I want individual ketchups and Tabascos...  And jams and even honeys.  All in teeny tiny glass containers.

We had a lovely time.  We drove, and on the way down hit a big huge pipe in the road somewhere in Utah.  We found a mechanic who was able to confirm we did NOT do any damage, so we kept on.  On the way back, in a road work zone, a big ole rock hit the windshield and left a quarter sized star.  Again, in Utah. I no longer like Utah.  Fortunately, our insurance covered the repair with no fee, so that's now all better.

We're not big gamblers.  So why go to Vegas?  Well, we are big eaters.  (It shows, I know).  And big shoppers.  This trip, we left the Strip and explored.  We were rewarded by two of our best restaurant finds, ever.  Really.  Almost good enough to persuade us not to come home.  Except, we did sort of miss those kiddos...  Find #1: All you can eat Sushi place.  In the desert.  In a ratty strip mall far from the main drag.  Sound like a bad idea?  It wasn't.  For $20 pp, we had any and every kind of sushi, made fresh to order, plus anything else from the menu.  And it was goooood.  And, they had the best slogan I have EVER seen on a sushi joint.  You made need to click to read it- this photo is kind of small.

Find #2 was directly due to my desire to go fabric and yarn shopping. More on that later. (I'm such a tease.) M&M soul food cafe. Oh My God. It was in a nasssssssty little shopping center. I think the yellow puddle I stepped over on my way in was not water, if you get my drift. The booths were falling apart and our table was more uneven than the Senate majority. But, the food. The food, the food, the food. If I didn't think I would quickly have a heart attack and die, I would eat there every day for the rest of my life. Here you can see: smothered fried chicken, yams, mac n cheese, cornbread stuffing, corn bread, and sweet tea. You may gain three pounds reading this post.

What else did we do? The first night, we enjoyed a buffet dinner in the Middle East.  Have to do a casino buffet at least once while there, right?  We did some outlet shopping and I got me an FCUK T shirt...  We ate dinner at an old favorite that has left Denver behind, wah.  We saw a "traditional Las Vegas variety show"- aka showgirls, comedy and stunts.  Did I mention that room service?  And the sushi and soul food?  We also ate dinner right on the Strip, with a great view of the Bellagio fountains, at Mon Ami Gabi, a fake french cafe in the Paris casino complex.

We breakfasted in Rome

and took in a show- an amazing Cirque Du Soleil show- in old Hollywood.

Don't we clean up nice?  I wore my new hot dress, and my hot "I'm not a mommy tonight" shoes.  And my feet hurt later, but it was sooooooo worth it.

We even visited Nerd Heaven for The Hubby.

We were entertained by The King

or a reasonable version thereof, and then, we finished off the trip with some cheap prime rib and a trip downtown.

Friday we drove home, encountered that rock, and finally made it back in almost one piece.  Train Boy rewarded us by getting up 4 times in the night, and today, Princess Girl treated us to, so far, two rounds of vomiting.  Right now, I'm supposed to be at a friend's wedding reception.  We made it to the ceremony, but then had to come home for the sick girl.  Even with all this fun, it's still great to see them again.  Train Boy especially has been very clingy all day, and it's nice to know he loves his mama.  Cross fingers that the puke is all done.  We have big family plans tomorrow.

Remember that tease about fabric and yarn shopping? Since this post is more like the beginning of a book than a reasonable blog post, I'll save that for tomorrow.  Besides, I haven't photographed my loot yet, and I know you want to see it.  So, come back soon, ya hear?

It's "plane" to see...

... that at this time tomorrow I'll be on vacation!  We're flying, ugh, which means lots of drugs for yours truly.  I have a fear of flying that you wouldn't believe, which is truly a bit ludicrous for a foreign service brat like me!!!  We're off to visit my folks in lovely Okatie, SC- that's shouting distance from Hilton Head and Savannah, in case you are curious.  We'll be spending a week in the luxurious Oldfield community.  My favorite is the country club, where they just keep bringing me cosmos.  And shopping Savannah, and eating until I burst.  But before I go, I wanted to share a few things with you all.

First, shameless mommy moment.  Aren't they cute?  Here's Train Boy's formal 2nd birthday pix.  Yes, that is a big bruise in the center of his forehead, but we figured, hey, that's what he really looks like!

Second.  I have decided to enter my first ever challenge.  Check it out here.  I have 3 ideas so far.  I need opinions.  #1) Bra-vo (arts themed).  #2) Bra-zilla (a monster of a bra!).  #3) Bra-colli (I'm thinking green and leafy, perhaps with cheese sauce, too).  I'm leaning towards Bra-zilla.  I have never entered a challenge before, but an embellished bra is too good to pass up, plus the entry fee goes to charity.  Hmm, I wonder if that means I can deduct all the supplies?  LOL!

I had another exciting thrift store excursion- the Junior League runs a second hand shop nearby, and they sometimes have real treasures.  Turns out they are moving at the end of the month, so right now, the deals are amazing!  Check out the Thrift Store Scores album on the sidebar if interested...

My folks have- gasp- dial up- so I may be absent through the 16th.  I'm going to email myself a photo for Stash Sunday in the hopes I will be able to get it loaded...  If not, see you in a week or so.  Mwah (that's a big ole kiss to all you friends!)