playing and baking

Mama was on cooking/baking kick:

Made carrot/zucchini muffins





Watched yeast ferment



And kneaded dough



For the homemade pita pockets



We watched the oven



As tomatoes, onions, and garlic roasted (for our stew!)



Then, we bathed the dog



And played dolls



:)
Hope you are having as much fun as me....mwwwahh xxoo - G

a little of this n' that

Remember the days where you got your kicks from blowing milk into bubbles?



and raspberries could fit on your fingertips?



Yes, I live vicariously through my kids.

So, teach them ASL I must...





...while making & eating sushi.



But alas, I must knit, too.

Here are my knit blocks from the POP blanket being blocked. This is my first time blocking. I think. I don't remember blocking. It is mighty tedious. I don't like it.



And I wasn't going to start another project while being in the midst of the POP blanket, but my groupon to the local knit store was about to expire, so I went YARN SHOPPING!! wooohooo. I've been wanting to knit a runner for my dining table, so I sought out some luxury cotton. Oh yes.



Take care, you know whos!

xxoo,
Gilda

Goodbye Jake

Today, we said goodbye to our brother, our friend, our confidant, our baby, our protector, our dog. Goodbye, Jake, may you be a free spirit there in doggie heaven, running wild with your dog brothers, always having the sun shine down on you while you chomp on large sticks and howl your happy heart out! We love you, we love you, we love you forever.

catch up on my sappiness about living life...

When I signed on for a full time job, part time school, full time mama & wife, I thought I was crazy. Other people thought I was crazy, too. But you know what? It's not uncommon. In fact, I felt kinda bad I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. Do you know there are single mothers out there that work full time, go to school full time, and never have full time for their kids? True story. And there are dads, too, that have 3 jobs and still make time for school? Wow. But me? I'm finding some balance now. I finished my first semester - two classes. And I can officially apply for the degree program that I want to. That being Sign Language Interpreter. Y'all - I'm doing it!!! It's a crazy good feeling. Okay, yes, it's true that I'm a bit older than the rest of the kids in class and they say, "I bet you're a cool mom," but it's nice to have a dream. I mean, I'm hardly 40. What if I live until past 80? That means I have over half my life left. Crazy to think about, right? I mean, our society makes you think your life is over after 30. Oh hellz no; perhaps it's just beginning?

Anyway, let me give you a low down of the last 3 months:

My honey and I went to the North Shore for a mini vacation. Can you believe I live in Minnesota and never have been to the North Shore? That's crazy talk!

We went to Gooseberry Falls:


And Rock cliff Lighthouse:


My brother and dad did a little work on the house.

They put up crown molding:


And built a wall upstairs. Now, we have a bedroom and an office:

(dang, that boy's room is MESSY!!!)

Someone got their hair done:


No, really it was me:

We made Turkey Day treats:


Hung out with cousins:


and other family:




We found out our dog has cancer. Oh Lordy, this is a really, really sad one. He's been our baby for ten years. He's a pain in the ass, howling machine, but we love him. A lot. And it's been hard. And we don't know what we will do when the time comes, but we're letting nature take its course and trying to make him comfortable in the meantime. Some days, he seems really fine. Sometimes, it feels like he isn't sick at all. But we know the day will be coming. But there are people, humans, too, that we know that are sick with cancer. This is what happens when you get older. You are not invincible anymore. For me, I wish I could stay 17 forever. It's weird getting older. Really weird. And so when you get older, your thoughts are filled with prayers for all the people you know. Especially those that are sick. And you realize that life can be fleeting and so you remind yourself day after day - live in the moment, girl, live like there is no tomorrow, do what makes you happy, and be happy for the awesome moments you get with the people who make you happy, the people you love.

Especially be happy for moments like this:

He's waving. He's not yet too embarrassed of me. This makes me happy.

I wish I had more time for times like this:

Handmade mama time!

I even knit a bit these last few months, making my mama friends jar cozies:


Then, it was Christmas at my house. I bought a karaoke machine. Let me just tell you - forget knitting and signing, I'm gonna be a singer.
HA!

This is my niece:


My mom:


My daughter:


And now. It's almost the end of 2012. What will I be doing the night before? The same thing I did before the night of the end of the world, which never happened, and that is karaoking - helllloooo, did I not make it clear that that's what I do now?

I'll also be knitting up this blanket:

And, um, let's see...resolutions? Oh yah - make time to get skinny again.

That's all. Lovies.
Happy New Year,
xxoo,
Gilda

Livin' mi Vida Loca

Hey homies.

Here's a picture of my baby hats I knit for charity. They will go to babies of teens at a crisis center. It was all my friend Kristy's idea. She likes to knit for good. And I like the idea of that.



On the sticks now? Christmas presents! This year, I am doing it! Why wouldn't I, right?

But I also canned (or jarred. har har) 23 jars of salsa. Some mild, some spicy. I wish I could say the tomatoes came from my garden, but this year, despite having 6 tomato plants, I hardly yielded any. Just some to munch on. (I also didn't get raspberries. I think my plants were sad I was not giving them the attention I have been for the last few years.) So, I bought 25 pounds of tomatoes at the farmers market. I had enough jalapenos, but ended up buying a couple of habaneros for the spicy batch.



I think I will expand my horizons next year and can beans, too. But this year, salsa is mighty fine. :)

Remember I told you about my daughter being lactose intolerant? Well, things are fine in that area now. We give her lactaid. Lots of it. And it works!!!!

But my son - he's got the big allergy to cats. Woe is me, I've always been a cat person. Until he was 3, when we went to the allergist (2nd time, but this time they actually checked for animals! I mean, 3 years of ecsema? yeah, that was cat allergies.). We had 2 cats at the time. The doctor said, "he is DEATHLY allergic to cats. Get those cats out before he even comes home." It was a very sad time. But also good, because we finally had explanations!


Some people do not understand the cat allergy. They think it's a little skin irritation and that's it. But I know better. So I have always been cautious. Lately, he's wanted to go to his friends' houses. And some of them have cats. What is a mother to do but load the kid up with antihistamines and wish for the best? Sometimes, all is fine. Sometimes not. This is what happens when it's the later:



This picture hardly does justice. His face was ballooned. Under his eyes were black and blue. His skin was red. His eyes blood shot. I thought he just got his butt kicked. How horrible.

I wish I could just give him some lactaid.

Anyway,

I did the THRILLER flash mob at work. It was so AWESOME! How brave we all were.



And next week is my last class of this session. The next week after that, I start the next session. I hope I get an A. I am going to be a sad girl if I don't get an A.

Speaking of A's - we went to the Fall Conferences at the Junior High. Now wonder my mother never went to conferences. What a joke! All of the teachers were set up in the gym. Each had their own table and their own line. You got 5 minutes each. The lines alone were 30 minutes. We were there for 2 hours and spoke with 4 teachers. It was nice to get first hand information, but now that you can get grades and attendance online, I think I'll bow out of the Spring conferences. Maybe.

Okay, off to go get ready to go out to dinner with my handsome husband and then watch a comedy show in ASL. My husband must really love me!!!!! (I love him!)

Here is the man we're seeing:


TTFN.
xxoo,
G

philosophy 101 by Gilda

Hello friends.

I think of you often.

I've been so busy that I've had to pencil in bathroom breaks.

Time with family and friends is precious.



It was September 11th recently and every year it reminds me of how I need to make every moment of my life mean something. How I am lucky to be alive. And so I always think back...okay it's been 10 years, how have I made it worthwhile?

A long while ago, after my dear Aunt Fran died, I had a dream she came back. She said, "shhhh, I still have some more to learn before I go back." Maybe it was a silly dream, but a piece of me thinks it makes sense.

I don't think she meant going back to college, but more than that. What people do and why, how things work and why, the beauty of things, the magic of things, the mysteries. Imagine....the many, many things you will never know in a life time. But even more so, the things you WILL!

Ah, here I go with a few minutes of spare time to jot a few lines in the good ol blog and I'm getting all philosophical. Perhaps it's the college girl in me. HA.

Anyway, school is obviously amazing. Challenging, yes, but I still shiver with excitement!

My full time job is excellent, too. The people there ... well, they are brilliant folk. Brilliant in the way of books. People skills not so much. But you know me, I thrive on my people interactions (reason I got a job (basically)). So, I must let you in on a secret ...... I am leading a flash mob of ThRILLER in just a couple of weeks. I've been practicing with a group at work. It's daring even for me. But for them - well, they make me proud for their efforts!!! And today after I gave a presentation to 75 people, one of them said, "You bring a spark to this place." Which made my heart swell 50 times larger.



How I find time to knit, I do not know. But I finished a dog sweater custom order with Bears logo and a baby hat. If you want a free pattern, let me know, I can email you one.



Oh. and sad news: I learned yesterday that "that's da bomb" is now considered OLD!! So much for me saying that's da bomb diggity bomb! NOT! (remember when you used to say NOT after everything?)

One more tidbit: my son still wants chickens. And I still want to be a farmer. So,this past weekend we took a family trip to our friends' chicken farm for the day. It was da bomb diggity bomb. :)

Want to learn a little bit about our farmer friends? Here's a link to their story: http://www.wedge.coop/grocery/harmony-organics

That's all for now.

xxoo,
G

whirlwind ~ wooosh ~ happiness

Ahh, a moment to sit and contemplate.....

It's been a whirlwind week. I've started school. Talking 'bout night school, 'night school...yeah, and it rocks. When class ends, I don't want to leave. Even if it IS past my bed time. When I drive home, I feel empowered and vibrant. I'm doing something I really, really, really have wanted to do a long time. I feel proud of myself and that is a very awesome feeling.


(view of downtown st. paul from my school)

Things have been changing around here and so quickly, too. I went from being the stay at home mom to a working full time mom going to school at night. My son is going to junior high. And my husband became a Hells Angel. (ha! Kidding. But he is now a motorcycle rockstar. uhhuh). My daughter is as sassy as ever, so no change there :)



I've been knitting on my lunch breaks and in the evenings. Right now, I am working on a custom puppy sweater for a Chicago Bears fan. That's right, I make time for the knitting. I wasn't able to whip up a bunch of baby sweaters for fall craft shows, so that's a bummer, but maybe I'll have some done in time for Christmas.


(my nieces with my daughter (middle)

And because there's so little time, I've decided I want to spend time with people who make me happy. Simple as that. So those that are near and dear are the ones whom I want to spend time with.


(me n my hells angel, my bro and his girl with their new house, my dad with the kids, the kids after a swim trying to get into the house all wet.)

And like I said in my last post, we went to our friends' wedding. It was a great day. It brings tears to my eyes how great it was. I was the official photograher, which was very, very hard. I could never, ever do that for realz. I'm just not bossy enough. I had a hard time directing people. So, now I know that. But I still got some great shots and I made them a special gift with the photos.







Here's to spending time doing what you want with the people you want to be with,
xxoo,
Gilda