Hippo Birdies Two Ewes!

"Today is my Birthday! Na na, na na, na na! Today is my Birthday!"


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Baby is here!

My girlfriend had her baby yesterday. I'm happy to say that the only thing I got correct from my dream was that she had a girl! I'm so excited for her! Her baby's name is Tessa. Isn't that pretty? Congrats my friends T & A!!

Pop can tab donation

A few years ago, a friend of ours asked us to collect the tabs off of our pop cans. A friend of his had a son who was collecting them for a school contest. We have since been collecting the tabs with no idea what to do with them. Recently I was talking to someone about this and they mentioned checking with the local hospital. I Googled "pop can tab hospital" and was able to find my local children's hospital was collecting them to help patients on dialysis.

I ran across a Snopes.com article basically saying, it's a myth that some places are turning into a truth; however, if you want to make a donation, why don't you just give them the money rather than the tabs? Now, I would have to agree with said statement. But if you look at it in another fashion, it can be used as a learning tool as how the boy's school was trying to do. It made everyone aware of the little things we can do everyday to remind us that someone out there needs some help. Some people can't open up a checkbook and donate, be it for one reason or another. Since we all are recycling our aluminum cans, why not put a small piggy bank, cookie jar, tissue box, shoebox, whatever, next to the recycle bin and pop those tabs off. I would say first, check with your local hospital to see if they have such a collection. If they do, great!

Now, here comes the lesson on removing pop tabs easily... Please be warned, you will be putting your fingers close/in the opening of the can so getting cut is possible. If done correctly, you will not be injured.

1. With the can empty, turn the tab to be covering the opening of the can.
2. Using gentle pressure, use your thumb to press down the tab towards the hole while grasping back part of the tab with your index finger of the same hand.
3. When it pops off, you will already have your thumb and index finger holding the tab, so the next thing to do is put it in your container.

Enjoy your pop!

Don't get me started on pop, soda, drink, coke... I'll save that for another blog some day...

Dreams

Last night I had a dream that made me happy and then made me sad. A girlfriend of mine is pregnant with #3 and is due any day now. In my dream, she had a healthy baby girl, 10 lbs (she has big kids), and her name started with a "C" (all I saw was the "C"). We were all happy for her...

Now the sad part... I saw my girlfriend's father crying and gave him a hug. He said he was said because this is the last birthday he will see. Let me back up a minute and mention that last summer he was diagnosed with cancer. I'm not completely sure of severity but to my understanding he was on a intense course of chemo. Unfortunately my girlfriend has moved across the country and I haven't been a good friend about keeping in touch, so I don't really know where he is in his battle. This dream really made me sad for her and I wanted to give her a hug when I woke up.

My only hope is that the first part of my dream comes true...

Is that real?

I don't remember what podcast it was (I thought it was Alex Anderson's but I can't find it) but one of the topics was about Fraser Smith. He makes wonderful woodcarvings that look like real items. Quilts are one of his focus items. Check out his website www.gofraser.com. Then tell me, don't they look like you can just take them off the rack and cuddle up in them? They look so real.

15 Year High School Reunion

Yesterday I received an email from someone in my high school class announcing the planning of the 15 year reunion. I can't believe it's been 15 years already. Years have gone by and I know that I have matured. One can only hope that others have matured as well. Looking back at our 10 year, one guy started out like he had changed but ended up being the same old obnoxious "kid". I felt sorry for his wife as she looked mortified at his actions. It was amazing to me how much some people changed and on the flip-side, how some didn't at all. I tried to keep in touch with a few but it seemed to dwindle after a short time. It's hard to remember some of these people. I wasn't one of the "popular" crowd. My family had moved to the area when I was a sophomore, so I only spent a few short years with this class. I remember when we were practicing for the annual "Powder Puff" game my senior year, I felt as if I was being left out and walked away. A little while later, one of my friends came by and told me people were asking her where the "cute little girl with glasses" went. I'd been in that class for 3 years of about 150 kids and they didn't even know my name. I wasn't unpopular, I had plenty of friends that were "lifers" in the school and very active. I'm interested in seeing how many of my circle/extended circle of friends will show up as compared to the popular crowd that was listed in the email (I was on the email because my mom works with one of the popular girl's dad).

Quilt Expo - Part 2

This past Saturday, Quilt Bug and I went to the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. We had a good time. We took a free-motion quilting class with Sheila Finklestein, which was very helpful. I had many questions that she was able to answer. I felt bad for Quilt Bug because she kept having trouble with her machine (not her fault). Finally she was able to get the ball rolling. I would have to say we both did pretty well for first-timers. Speed seems to be the key.

We also took a binding class with Connie Spurlock. I have to say, I think I got more out of her batting lecture then her binding lecture. The binding finish didn't look "finished" to me. It was just overlapped and then you had to whip-stitch it closed. I don't know about you but I prefer to make mine look like you don't know where the beginning is. I prefer the Liz's Lumpless Finish method myself.

At the end of the Expo, they had a big drawing for 4 new machines and other miscellaneous prizes, so of course we had to stay and see if either of us would win (you needed to be present to win). Well, neither of us won a sewing machine. :( However, I did win something!! It was funny because when they were calling names, you could hear groups of people cheer because they all seem to come in big groups. Quilt Bug and I came together so when the called my name it was very quite except for me screaming "That's me!" and they didn't hear me! I was really afraid that they would pull another name before I got there to get my prize. Finally I made it up to the stage and picked up my prize... a magnifying lamp (like it), a CD for creating a blazer (like it), a booklet for measuring accurately for garment creation (handy to have), and this pattern....

I'm really sorry but I'm sure I'm going to offend someone in saying this.... This thing is beyond words. Who would make this? I'm offended in the fact that someone would use a sweatshirt and put velvet on it thinking it would work well. You pay half as much for the sweatshirt than you do for the 1 yard of velvet. I am skipping over the fact that this is just not pretty. I would say that someone was trying to do a "Renaissance" feel with this but went a little bit in the wrong direction. Okay, I'm going to stop before I say something even worse...it's just bad. It almost reminds me of a blog I read a while ago about the 1977 JCPenney's catalog.