May 2015 Reflections

From the 2011 Year of Memories Brag Book by Dani Mogstad

Read, Listened, Watched

(affiliate link)

I finally started Hound of the Baskervilles, which I don't think I've read since high school. I'm rereading the entire canon (probably reading some of them for the first time, actually), and I didn't want to watch the Sherlock episode based on it until I had reread the novel, so we've been stuck half way through season 2 for months now. Soon, though!


(affiliate links)

New Movies:

• The Avengers: Age of Ultron - Very good, enjoyed it a lot, on the whole; did have a few issues here and there, but any film with this much going on is bound to have some
• Invitation to the Dance - Gene Kelly's personal labor of love; 3 segments of dancing only (no narration or singing), think Fantasia of dance (instead of animation); Ring Around the Rosy segment was my favorite (I love intertwining stories), and ironically featured the least Gene Kelly
• Tomorrowland - It's hard to figure out exactly what to say about this movie, other than it did not live up to its potential. One review said it was "less than the sum of its parts," and I tend to agree. It had all the right pieces, and it had its heart in the right place, but it just didn't really work, for reasons I can't fully articulate.
• Red 2 - We saw the original way back when, and found it a bit disappointing. This one seemed to have tighter writing and more fun throughout.
• Godzilla (2014) -  Eh, it was okay. Felt like it was just sort of there, which is the ultimate sin for an action movie, in my opinion. Was also a bit distracting seeing Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen playing husband and wife after just seeing them play brother and sister in Avengers 2.

Old Favorites: Monsters University, Sky High, Dick Tracy, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, X-Men, X2: X-Men United, Gattaca, The LEGO Movie, Edge of Tomorrow, Robin Hood, The Neverending Story, Peter Pan (2003)

Fun with Family and Friends

The beach was fun, as always, until stupid me didn't put sunscreen on the tops of my feet and got burned. Normally, it's not a problem, but we were there at least an hour later than normal, so the sun was more intense. I just feel like an idiot, since I know better!

And it's summer movie season, woohoo! Here was my Avengers-inspired manicure.

Milestones, Holidays, Special Events

We had a lovely Mother's Day with my mom and grandmother on Saturday. Here's our picture of 4 generations.

DH and I have officially been together for 20 years! Hard to believe.

We visited my parents and my mother-in-law over Memorial Day (see beach pictures above). Luke went fishing for the first time; my parents took him to a party at their friends' house while we went on a date, and they have a small fish pond. Apparently, he loved it. I have NO idea where he gets that from (DH and I both *hate* fishing!).

The Everyday and Routine

"The Everyday and Routine" is over for now! School's out, and none too soon. (And he even grew this year!) We are all quite burned out, especially after such an intense April preparing for a new standardized test. Ugh! Looking forward to some relaxing. (Remind me I said all of this in 3-4 weeks when I'm ready to send him back to school! LOL)

The Good, The Bad, The Unusual

He made A and B honor roll, and we weren't sure if he would given that he had a C for two consecutive progress reports.

He was also named as a 5th Grade Patrol for next year, though he won't serve until the second 9 weeks. He has literally wanted to be a patrol since he was in Kindergarten, so he is very excited!

I had my eye exam and I've changed almost a full diopter in my right eye. I'm trying not to be concerned about it, but that is a pretty serious change. I still need to get new glasses, though (it was a busy last 2-3 weeks of the month!). I had a physical with my regular doctor the following week and everything looked good, including my labs (both cholesterol and triglycerides were down!).

In other news, I now own my first pair of open-toed shoes since before Luke was born, not because I didn't like them but because I couldn't find any that fit! I even painted my toes for the first time in many months just for their public debut.

Progress on Goals

I put a couple of strands in one of the dessert mandalas the last day or two of the month, not really enough to post a picture. I didn't stitch any at all on my Mirabilia fairies. For eating at home, um, er, but, but!!! I have made a meal plan to try to get back on track with cooking, but most of that will take place in June, so I'll report on that next month. I have started tracking my food again, but only for a couple of weeks, so not much progress to report yet. I do have a get-together scheduled with my local friends for June as well! Very excited to see them. I think it has been 3 years since I've seen these ladies.

Prompts by Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: ready to relax this summer

Wordless Wednesday - May 27, 2015

Currently feeling: driving under expert supervision (a.k.a. humoring the child in the back seat)

Last Day of 4th Grade

He grew! After not growing last year, and after everyone being so much taller than he was in December, we were starting to worry. But this picture clearly shows that he grew. 4th grade was pretty trying, and we are all looking forward to getting to relax some over the summer.
Currently feeling: ready for a break

Wordless Wednesday - May 20, 2015

Currently feeling: um, I think it's humid!

Who's the Boss?

Copyright: snake3d / 123RF Stock Photo

My boss asked me to sit in for her on a meeting today. Fine, no problem. Apparently, she was sitting in for her boss, who was sitting in for his boss. So for purposes of this meeting, I was an Assistant Vice President!
Currently feeling: eek

Phineas and Ferb - Summer Finally Ends

I can't believe it! Phineas and Ferb is ending. I know we were almost to the point that Luke had outgrown it, but we still all really enjoyed watching it together. The final episode will air in June. We're really going to miss the whole gang in Danville. And I'm pretty sure "Whatcha doooin'?", Cutonium, and broken echo will always be part of our family lexicon.

Currently feeling: sad

Wordless Wednesday - May 13, 2015

Currently feeling: a kitten bouquet for Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2015

We had a great Mother's Day with my mom and her mom. (Technically, this was Saturday, but still.) We headed east to have lunch and visit a bit. There was even an old car in the parking lot at the restaurant. My grandmother loves things like that.

And then Sunday morning, I was greeted with a Kitten Bouquet. Luke was so proud of himself! LOL Hope all of you mothers out there had a good Mother's Day.

Currently feeling: loved

WIPocalypse 2015 - May 2015

So I did manage to get a little bit done since my last (fairly recent) update. Because it wasn't all that much, I'm only posting progress pictures, not "full scale" pictures, and only of the pieces I stitched on. I probably won't do a full "WIP photo shoot" until July (more on that at the end).

Topic: Do you look for LNS’s when you travel? What is the favorite shop you've ever found?

You know, I really don't, unless I'm traveling with my stitching friends (which I am blessed to do every few years). When I'm traveling with family, there generally isn't time. We're so busy trying to cram everything else in, and I'm the only person who would be interested in going, so I don't bother. One place I would really like to visit, though is The Silver Needle in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Should I ever get to Tulsa for some reason, I will definitely go!

But now, it's time for why you're really here: the pictures!

Titania, by Mirabilia

Hey, wing progress! Titania may fly yet. I've been saving most of the white until near the end so it didn't get dirty/dingy while working on other sections, but I think I'm about to the point that I'll need to start putting the white in on the wings to keep me from making a counting mistake.

Tiramisu, by Glendon Place

I'm quite happy with the progress on Tiramisu. I'm almost to the corner! I think I might be able to officially claim 1/4 done with it (except for beads of course; I'm a "bead at the end" type).

Baked Alaska, by Glendon Place

And last, but not least, a little bit of progress on the corner of Baked Alaska. I keep reminding myself that every little bit helps. Again, I'm getting quite close to being able to claim 1/4 done! It's quite exciting, actually.

That will do me for this month. I will be having TWO meet-ups with stitching friends in June! One is very close to the June WIPocalypse posting time, so I may hold off until after that one to post my June update. The other one is at the end of the month, but there will be shopping involved with that one, so there should be some fun stuff to show, be it stitching progress or new stash (hopefully both!). Until then, have a great month!
Currently feeling: not bad for only 3 weeks

First Date - 20 Years Ago

Twenty years ago today, two engineering students named Erin and Steve went on their first (official) date. (There was an unofficial not-exactly date-ish thing a couple of weeks before.) We met in the fall of our freshman year and became good friends, but we didn't start dating until the spring. This picture was taken about 6 months later, November 1995. We were both 19 here, (much!) closer to Luke's current age than our current age.

Currently feeling: can't believe it's been that long

Wordless Wednesday - May 6, 2015

Currently feeling: a boy and his ice cream cone; this is what happiness looks like

Ice Cream: A Conversation With Luke

Luke: I love Dairy Queen ice cream more than anything.
Me: More than anything ever?
Luke: Yeah. (pause) Except my cats. (pause) And my parents.
Currently feeling: thank you, I think

Let There Be Daylight

Image: 123rf.com/cowpland

I bought two OttLite CFL bulbs for my stitching lamp. Holy cow, what a difference! I am absolutely amazed. I know how well regular OttLite lamps work (the ones with the long skinny bulbs), and I knew anything had to be better than the regular GE CFLs I was using, but this is incredible. It's like I'm seeing everything for the first time. It makes me want to go pull out all of my WIPs to look at them under the new light. Wow! I wish I could afford to put them in every light fixture in the house.
Currently feeling: enlightened