The good thing about going to Iowa

OK--I am actually hiding under a blanket as I type this, hiding from that little rugrat that is gabbing in his pack-n-play while in our hotel room in Iowa. We made a barrier out of the ironing board, my quilt and some pillows so that he can't see us from his pack-n-play (placed in the bathroom alcove) so that he will go to sleep. I forgot to move it into place before putting him down. If he sees us=GAME OVER.

Anyway, I digress...the thing I love now about going to Iowa is that I come back to the hotel to put Tate to sleep and I am in my jammies and chilling before 8pm. Love it! I knew there had to be a bright spot about making this journey! It's not that Iowa is that bad. It's just different from what I am used to...the fish out of water, the goose at the duck pond, a frickin alien on earth, etc etc etc.

I try to find something positive each time we come so it isn't such torture. One time it was treating myself to a whole new skin regiment from Bath and Body works and seeing if my skin improved. (Did it? No.) Another time it was to go to the local beauty college for a manicure. GREAT manicure, I have to say. Now, I look forward to Tate being my good excuse to turn down early and not offend anyone. Paul heads out while I stay here and enjoy relaxing without any distractions or responisibilties. Yea Iowa!!

Cutting Corn, Cutting Corn

Yep I am in Iowa celebrating the holidays with Paul's family.
Some observations:
*Travelling with a 17 mo old sucks
*McDonald's Asian Chicken Salad is AWESOME
*I can't get enough of ABC family during the holidays. (have you seen "Santa Baby"?? so cute!)
*I never have to worry about underdressing while I am here

*No sleep makes me a Grinch
*Where's the turnip?? This is a Chin fmaily tradition that I am very much missing...
*I was very happy to see a female couple with a Chinese baby in our hotel--that is the first bit of diversity I have seen besides myself ever since coming here.

Still more to come...

Christmas is actually fun...

If you know me somewhat well, you know I much more of a Halloween girl than into Christmas. This year, I have discovered that Christmas IS fun. Not to be a grinch, but the scurrying and the craziness always freaked me out and even as a kid, I would be sick almost EVERY Christmas.
Now that "Tater Snot" has joined us, this time of year has transformed into a fun, cozy festive time. Why else would I be inspired to whip up vanilla bean sugar cookies at moment's notice? Oh and not care if the kitchen is TRASHED? We had a blast making the dough and then rolling out the cookies the next day with Tate's best bud, Evan (and Aunt Katie).

While Evan shoved handfuls of dough into his mouth, Tate kept smashing it with the roller and smashing the cutters into it. Yea--I set aside dough so that some of the cookies would actually be edible. Unless you don't mind rugrat germs in your cookies and you can have THAT BATCH as well!



And the Quilt....Holy poo. Who knew the Amish ladies put this much work into making a frickin blanket? AND they sew it by hand. My heroes for the week, because as you can see, this all I have at this point. Sorry Mom--it might end up being a Valentine's Day quilt! Oh yea, and if you are a quilter, you can see that my measurements are WAY off...but i have a plan for my frankenquilt.....

Running late with the Christmas Presents

This is my mom's Christmas present. A bunch of red and green fabric you say? Ahhh you shouldn't have... No, really it will be a quilt at some point. Obviously, there is a lot of work to do and I couldn't finish it if I spent every single night ALL night on it, but eventually it will be a Christmas quilt. I originally planned on doing the center at a quilt class, but I didn't realize the class would just teach techniques, etc and that we wouldn't leave with a piece in hand....
Anyway, I know as much about quilting as I do about coal mining, which is nothing, so it should be an adventure.

Here is Tate today as I was taking pictures of the quilt fabrics. He is such a ham for the camera!

This is a photo the day after our big ice storm. It is now in the high 50s... and we have heat now! Of course it had to be close to FREEEEEZING when we were without power.

My own cupcakes

Finally! I can post pictures of my own cupcakes instead of stealing pictures online and wondering if I am violating copyright laws... They were very yummy and we have a ton leftover. I made them for a fun gathering we went to this weekend. They were the perfect size for Tate. We learned the hard way--a whole normal size cupcake+ Tate= BARFORAMA.

Read an article about school in Africa this morning. They have lots of beans and cassava (a potato like veggie) for most meals and I am obsessing about cupcakes... Again, we are so lucky and I want to remember that every single day. Paul thinks they get pizza on Wednesdays, but somehow I think he's wrong...
(total sidenote: remember that wonderful square pizza they used to serve in public school?? mmmmmmmm.)

I'm feeling very creative today... I might have to escape to the scrapbook store to work on some last minute projects. I have some pics to share, but they are Christmas presents and I don't want to spoil surprises!! Have a great day!

Thankful for the little things

No pics today...just happy to be in the warmth after having NO POWER for days. There are still people that still do not have power. Thanks to all those who helped out as we sought heat wherever we could find it!

On to other subjects--people who rush around and cut people off in traffic just to get your Christmas presents--YOU SUCK. Way to share the Christmas spirit!

More later when I get the house back in order...