Bohemian Oatmeal

I can't get no.....satisfaction

2006-09-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm very unsatisfied with my blog. As you've probably noticed lately, the format has been changing like every time I post.

I've been reading tons of great blogs and really like their look and layout. Blogger leaves me unhappy and yet, it's free so ...

Also, no one is commenting anymore.

sigh....

UPDATE

There is a new version of blogger out there now and I'm going to try it out. The new address is:

www.bloggnome.blogspot.com

Whidbey Island

2006-08-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

We're back. We actually got back last week but I've been busy getting things back together in the house and laundry....man, lots of laundry.

The drive to Whidbey was pretty nice. I kept having Deja Vous since we had just driven the same stretch of freeway only two days before.

We got there pretty early since we wanted to have as much island time as we could fit into our 4 days.

Here's H on the beach right out front of the house we were staying at. We stayed with our friends C, E, & C. C's parents own this wonderful beachside house.

While on the island, we picked blackberries. H picked them for the first time so C gave him a lesson on how to make sure they are truely ripe. I'm sure there were some tart ones in there too. He tried to convince E to eat one that was half ripe and half not so she could experience the sweet tart taste. Then there was the time that he came running for me yelling, "Hey mom! I gotta sticker in my butt!" He indeed did, and it was removed promptly.

We did take an afternoon trip to Port Townsend. We loved the big ships in the marina and the ferry coming and going.

We also made it to Fort Casey. This is an old military fort that is not in use.

The days were mostly spent relaxing, knitting, and spinning. I also brought some yarn for E to work on a project. She was able to finish her project on the way home from Whidbey. This photo is at a rest stop outside of Ellensburg. Dish rag complete!

We had so much fun! Troy couldn't come because of work so it was only me and the kids. We hope next time, Troy will make it too.

On a sad note, while we were gone, our cat died. I waited to tell the kids until we got home. I'm very sad about it. More sad than I thought I'd be. Sometimes, when I'm spinning, one of his hairs will make it into the wool. *Sniff*

Martha's Yellow Cake

2006-08-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

Martha's Yellow Cake, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I baked Troy's Grandfather a birthday cake last weekend. He's just turned 80. Since he's a retired baker, there was no way I could get by with a box cake. He highly praised the cake. It's from the Martha Stewart Baking cookbook I got from the kids for x-mas. I used the yellow cake recipe with the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. The filling is Bonne Maman strawberry preserves. Yum!

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of ....Yarn

2006-08-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of ....Yarn, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

WOW!
Sorry this is a bit fuzzy. I had to take a photo of this giant ball of yarn I pulled off the winder. That is a foot long ruler next to it. It also stood about 7 inches tall.

This is the ugliest sock yarn in the world. The blue is fine, the white is fine, the purple....U-G-L-Y. The dye was a dark brown but some how split during dying into this grape-y purple. Bleh Maybe I might need to overdye it.

Mermaid Clapotis

2006-08-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

This is actually from a few days ago. I've already started dropping stitiches. It's strangly gratifying. Just watching it run makes me so giddy.

So, now I've run out of yarn and need to spin some more. Luckily, I've got nearly a full bobbin and just need to finish it off and set the twist.

Woot!

2 dye 4

2006-07-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

I've totally lost my mind.

You know that merino/silk top from HelloYarn....uhhhh, I sort of dyed it all.

I got some cushing dyes and went to town. I wanted it to look like the ocean, I think I've come close. It's really beautiful. The above photos are of my favorite sections.

As soon as it dried, I couldn't help myself and started spinning it. I'm going for singles that are Aran/Heavy Worsted. It's a little less uniform since I'm going from spinning really fine to heavier. I'm hoping you won't notice much in the final knitted object.

Here's some of the yarn...

I'm calling it Mermaid Yarn, it's for the Clapotis (I swear I'm the last knitter to do this project). It'll be a Mermaid Clapotis. I've started knitting it up and the pattern is sort of dangerously mindless. There are some "pay attention" sections that I could easily space out on if I'm not careful.

WOOT for new fiber and yarn!!!

VOX Invite

2006-07-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have one VOX invite to gift out. Any takers?

It's really cool, btw.

New Paint

2006-07-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

New Paint, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I'm so glad it's done! It was not my favorite thing to do, but I think I'm going to really enjoy the new color. There are little things I want for it but it will all come with time. I'm waiting for this evening to start spinning on it since the final coat feels dry but it's that dry that you think your nails are then you bump them and it's ruined....

Specs:
Minwax-Water Based Wood Stain Decorateror Tint Formula
Minwax Polycrylic Water Based Protective Finish (3 coats..BLAH)

The parts that look like natural wood have only been sanded and sealed witht the Polycrylic.

Moving for a while

2006-07-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

I'm trying out a new blog service.

Please follow me here:

http://gnome.vox.com/

UPDATE
So I just figured out that you have to be a member to comment. So I think I'll post on both. Feel free to comment here for a VOX post. As soon as I get invites, I'll invite people.

The Hitchhiker

2006-07-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Hitchhiker, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I did it, I ordered another spinning wheel. It's called The Hitchhiker and it's from The Merlin Tree in Vermont.

This one has the advatage of being uber portable unlike my Ashford that takes up an entire seat and flops around. I'm worried one of these days the entire maidenhead will come crashing off.

When I called in my order, he said he would ship next week.

Now to decide about finishes. It comes plain jane and I really want to have some fun with it.

I'm thinking either Gnomes or Jack Kerouac.

I'd like to use stain vs. paint and maybe stenciling or decoupage.

Any ideas?

Pirate Frenzy

2006-07-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

My life seems to be filled with pirates.

H's birthday is next week and he wants a pirate themed birthday.

Last winter I knit Troy the We Call Them Pirates hat and imediately wanted one for myself. I decided to make it for fair this year out of homespun. As soon as it got spun up and dyed, I had to start knitting. It went really fast and I was able to finish it up last friday at a local steel drum concert at the park. My loverly pal Ali took photos since I couldn't be bothered.

I had the two boys try it on since they are a good judge of softness and look entirely too cute in hats. The first photo is H and the second is Ali's boy N. Click on the photos for a larger size.

These photos are of the hat pre-blocked so it's kinda lumpy looking.

There be pirates about....

2006-07-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we went to our local premier of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. A friend of our through our Academy of Children's Theatre invited us to attend the premier in full costume and then after to go to her house for a huge pirate party.

Here is H and C. Notice C is going for the modern pirate look:

Our friend Janice is a HUGE pirate fan and dressed like Capt. Jack Sparrow.

The movie was great but I don't think as good as the first one. It also leaves you in a a lurch at the end with the impending third movie.

At the after party, the local newspaper showed up and interviewed some of the attendees. I got quoted so that makes me famous right? Article Here

Zizou a brisé mon coeur...

2006-07-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm moping today.

France lost the world cup game.

It was a great game, double overtime then it came to penalty kicks.

Zidane was red carded during the second overtime for loosing his temper. It was a very sad way to finish your career.

I weep for France.

Le Tour de Fleece

2006-07-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

+=

I haven't posted about the Tour de France starting last Saturday. I'm just in such a world cup frenzy right now.

Since Mr. Armstrong has retired, I'm a little less enthusiastic about the race. To keep myself involved, I've joined the Tour de Fleece. It's a spin-a-long for the duration of the race. The details are here.

I've set up a 30 minutes a day goal. I've exceeded this on some days due to world cup watching and this is what I've got so far.

It's Merino Top spun up into sport weight two ply. It's for a project for the fair. I want to knit We Call Them Pirates for myself. The black in the pattern will be replaced with olive green.

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!!!

2006-07-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

OMG!!!

ZIZOU just got a penalty kick for France!!!!

WOO HOOO!!!!!!

UPDATE!!!

France Won!!!!

Sunday: France vs. Italy for the final

WOOT!!!!!

Sock Monkey Hat

2006-07-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Sock Monkey Hat, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

The new Knitty is out: www.knitty.com

I have to make this hat! OMG It's the coolest!

Happy 4th of July!!

2006-07-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm just getting ready to watch the World Cup game of Germany vs. Italy. It should be a very good game. I'm not sure who I favor...

Hope you have a great 4th of July!

Saturday Spinning

2006-07-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday Spinning, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

This year I've been so into The World Cup. I don't know what it is, I'm loving soccer.

This was the view from my chair Saturday morning, watching Germany and Argentina play. Germany won after double overtime and penalty kicks. It was intense.

The End of the Season

2006-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

This year H played coach pitch baseball through the local community center. Last night, their coach arranged for them to sit in the VIP box and be "baseball buddies". They were right next to the dugout and got to get autographs and a hat.

Before the game, they ran out with the players and stood next to them for the national anthem.

Here he is running in after the anthem.

I think this was his favorite part of the entire baseball season. Next fall, we've him signed up for soccer. I think baseball is not fast enough for him. And, he loves watching the World Cup.

Merry Mid-Summer!

2006-06-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

It's finally summer!

It's so beautiful here, temperatures are in the 80's and low 90's.

The ice cream truck has started to make it's appearance.

Cherries are in season...

*sigh*

Summertime and the living is good!

2006-06-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

Please send more of these my way.

Yes, I'm finally posting. Last week I finished finals at school and this last weekend I rushed about doing things that I could finally allow myself to do. In the last weeks, I have been doing other things and luckily, I've photographed some of it.

My friend Elane had a last minute get together at her house the night before my French Oral Exam. We had to go, Elane is such a great hostess and we knew other friends would be there. We had grilled sausage and sangria. My first mosquito bites of the season occured there. I'm such bug bait. Who needs citronella when I'm around to attract all the mosquitos...

My niece E came over last week. She's so funny and smart. Yeah, yeah, yeah...all babies are smart, it's just I forgot how smart they can be. They hide behind all that cute-ness and then BANG! they're into the book shelf. I love it when she visits.

With local schools out, the community events that mark the arrival of summer have begun. We went to the local concert at the park on Friday last. It was jazz and they sounded good. It was aweful windy though and we left at 8:30 to warm up at home.

Saturday, we went to the local Master Gardener's Garden Faire. They have a demonstration garden at the library that you can walk through. They had guides and vendors and food. The kids dyed their hair green in the children's garden. We ran into the Shmoos there. I bought some organic blueberries for a snack and the kids bought very expensive ice cream.

Afterwards, we picked up Troy and headed off to a birthday party. It was lots of fun as well. I ended up spilling a full glass of wine on myself and I wasn't even tipsy at the time. My hand just had to teach me a lesson appearently and *splash*. It did wash out of the dress thank goodness.

Father's day we woke up and went to my parent's house for brunch and afterwards, the kids went swimming. We came home and crashed with full bellies and pretty much laid low for the rest of the day.

My week is filled with fun stuff and now that I've got more free time, I'll be more faithful at posting.

Tag Sales

2006-05-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to an estate and a few yard sales today. Above is our booty. If you click on the photo and go to flickr there are notes on everything showing what we paid.

We also got a push mower. It needs oiling and sharpening but otherwise, it's in great shape. H is looking forward to doing his own mowing. I'm hoping to convert to just the push mower. Troy is not into that, he would rather just mow once a week.

Towel Day!!

2006-05-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

I almost missed this. It's today.

We're big Douglas Adams fans here.

Check out the info here.

"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in and-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

May 25 is Towel Day, a tribute to Douglas Adams

A Snail's Pace

2006-05-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

The other day, one of my favorite blogs did a post about snails and taking things slower. It was a great couple of posts. It got me to thinking about how hurried I am all the time. Most of it is due to school, the other is outside commitments. Before I started back to school, I would complain that I didn't have enough time. Now, I really know what that looks like. Believe me when I say, the grass is much greener on the no school side.

With summer coming on, I want to make an effort to live our days at a snails pace. Everything doesn't have to be done right away. Appts. can be cancelled and we can choose only a few activities.

While oogling over Knitting Iris' snail photos, I wished that we had snails like that around here. This morning, my wish came true! While at school, walking with my friend a HUGE snail(golf ball size shell) was trying to make it accross the sidewalk into the shade, attempting to flee from the rising sun. Luckily, I had my camera from the day before in my bag and was able to snap a few shots of him. I was so content to just watch this fella stretch and progress along the side walk. I easily spent 5 minutes watching. I love the shadow he made on the sidewalk. Later, while going to class I noticed a bunch of them in the grass and near what is to now be called a "snail cove by" some bushes. When you actually stopped to look, you could see there were so many of these little creatures.

A snails pace...that's the life for me!

OMC- Westside Story 1961

2006-05-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

We've gotten back into our Oscar Movie Challenge again. With school ending soon, I can see the horizon and it's called more free time.

We watched Westside Story yesterday with the kids.

It's a musical.

I have decided I'm just not a musical fan. Songs just take way to long to convey a message that could be done in a sentence or two. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know, how very immature of me.

For those who aren't familiar with this movie, it won best picture in 1961 (and unbelievably 9 other oscars). It's a musical, it's got a pseudo Romeo and Juliet theme with a bit of race issues thrown in.

Near the end, we just couldn't stand it anymore and started fast forwarding through the music numbers.

I did really like the "technicolor" filming. It's pretty to watch.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

New Park Feature

2006-05-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

New Park Feature, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

We went to the park today, in the rain, to check out the new rock feature. It was supposed to be finished last tuesday but still doesn't have it's holds in. It's pretty tall, maybe 10 feet or so. I climbed up one of the easy sides (in a dress...thank-you very much) to check out the top. It's pretty cool. The only major draw back is that it's directly in the sun. So, in the summer, come early in the day. Or, come when it's raining. We had the park entirely to ourselves.

Table Loom

2006-05-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Table Loom, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I've just acquired a table loom (for free so I'm still compacting...WOOT!). I've been interesed in weaving for quite a while but haven't had the energy to put into the actualy learning process. I've also not owned the equipment needed and borrowed/rented it for a while until I realized that I didn't want to start something on a loom that I'd have to return eventually.

This table loom is actually one of two looms I'm getting. The other will be coming within a month or two. A friend of a friend's-husband's-grandmother passed away and she was a weaver. She had this table loom and a floor loom. The family wanted to pass it on to someone who would use it so....voila!

There is a bit of maintenance, the reeds have some rust, and the heddles are string and when it was stored, it was too tight so the heddle beams are a bit warped. It did come already warped though so I can play with it a bit before I put it away until school is out.

By the end of this year, I want to learn how to weave and maybe make most of my gifts for the holidays.

At The Park

2006-05-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

We went to the park the other day. It was so hot....in the mid to upper 90s.

It's a taste of summer and boy am I ready.

I'm burnt out on school. I've come to the realization that right now, in my life, isn't the right time to go back. My kids still need more of me than I can give when I'm in school and I don't want to waste this time with them studying and being gone a lot. So, I've made the decision no more school for a while. Who knows, maybe we'll go to college together when they're older.(-:

Looking forward to many fun days like this...

International Knit in Public Day

2006-05-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

June 10th is International Knit in Public Day. I'm thinking of doing a park day. Anyone interested?

Happy Mother's Day!

2006-05-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Vermicomposting...or....How my son gets to have pet worms.

2006-05-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

While doing "The Compact" thing I came across the idea of composting to leave a smaller footprint. I've always been intrigued by the notion and a friend, who was going through the master gardener program last year, told me about vermicomposting.

Vermicomposting is using worms to eat your kitchen food wastes. The nice thing about vermicomposting is that it can be done indoors, there is no smell(I'll get to how I found this fact out in a bit), and you put less biodegradable garbage in the landfill. I started telling H about it and being a 6yo who is in love with worms anyway, he really wanted to do it.

Mind you, I was intrigued, this doesn't really mean I'm up for worms in my house. I did some more online research and we did a library run. We've read up on it and have taken a free composting class to learn more hands on knowledge.

We decided to do it and determined that we needed 2 pounds of worms to compost our families needs. We had some rubbermaid bins in the basement with lids that would work perfectly and all we needed were the worms. Now they can't be just any worms, they had to be red worms also known as "red wigglers".

My first instinct was to call the master gardener program to see if they had a source. They really didn't. My mom donated $20 to H's worm fund and we had determined that we'd have to order them through the mail. On a lark, I thought I'd try "free-cycle". We had a ton of emails offering us red worms at no charge. We went with a woman who lives right up the hill from us. She showed us the area where she keeps her bins and there was no smell at all. She confirmed that fact that there wasn't a smell and handed us the big bucket-o-muck you see above. She explained that she had let them go to long without cleaning and that it was basically just "worm casings"(nice way to say worm poop).

I couldn't imagine that there were very many worms in that bucket, however, when we got home, I started to sort through the muck and it was like putting my hand in spaghetti. They were all just under the surface. All ages and sizes...there were some babies that were so small, they were mostly clear. I completely traumatized them by washing them off and put them in the prepared bin. Some were in such shock, they just laid on the surface in a pose I can only compare to panting.

So, we have pet worms. They are really not that bad. They have no teeth (thank-god..I'm pretty sure I'd be a mess if they did after the washing they got) and H is in love with them.

I'll keep you posted as to how we fare.

What I Want for Mother's Day or....The Dilema

2006-05-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

Back in April, MSL invited me to be one of the first to preview their new magazine:

I sent in my card for a free first issue. If I wanted to continue getting it, I just needed to send in the invoice with payment. I don't know what I was expecting but this magazine is AWESOME.

So, the dilema is that I want to continue getting it but it isn't kosher with The Compact. So, I'm finding myself trying to weedle a gift from my kids for mother's day by having them pay for my subscription. It's began, finding ways to cheat...

I'm a bad compact participant..

But check out the blueprint website and tell me it isn't worth it: Blueprint

MLC-Update Birthday Solution

2006-05-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Frugal Birthday Card, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

Since starting the compact on May 1st, I've had to come up with some very creative alternatives to just going out and buying stuff.

H had a birthday party to go to and, though I like to stock pile gifts for such occasions, I didn't have anything appropriate for his friend. After a fruitless trip to the thrift store. We decided to give $.

I know he loves Tintin so I captured this image off the web and fashioned a card in mspublisher.

H said he loved the card which is saying a lot since the kid is 1) a boy and 2)11 years old.

Sweet!

Breakfast 5.5.2006

2006-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Breakfast 5.5.2006, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

H just learned how to make coffee and every morning he loves to make it for me. Even though the mug says *bucks, it's actually some blend from Costco. Recently, I got some of *bucks Papua New Guinea for my birthday. It's a new favorite. I actually got my mom hooked on it. Troy has sugar in his coffee and felt that he didn't need to add it to his cup of Papua.

Since H made the coffee, I made blueberry muffins. I've been experimenting using whole wheat pastry flour in the place of white all purpose. So far this week, banana bread, blueberry muffins, a pizza dough all were modified with great success. For some reason, no one in my family has noticed. I think it's given the baked goods a "nutty" flavor but w/o the nuts.YUM!

Here is the Recipe:

WW Blueberry Muffins
1 3/4C WW Pastry Flour
1/3 C Sugar
2 teas. Baking Powder
3/4 C Milk
1/4 C Olive Oil (I use this in place of all vegetable oils)
1 Egg
1 C Blueberries
1/2 of a Lemon's Zest

Mix together all dry ingredients (first 3). Add the rest of the ingredients but don't stir until they are all added. Stir until just combined.

Scoop into muffin pan (this makes 12). And put into a 400degree oven for 20 minutes or until tops are nice and brown.

Enjoy!

My Procrastination is Your Pleasure...

2006-05-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

Guess what, I have a take home mid-term for my Inter-Cultural Studies(ICS) class that is due on Tuesday.

You know what that means....

Avoidance!

Here are some loverly pictures of my niece E. She's just over a year old and the only view I seem to have of her lately is the back of her adorable little head...

Month Long Challeng(MLC)- Update

2006-05-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

So far, so good. My first instinct is to go to the store still though. Then I realize what's going on and start to think of alternatives.

With gas being/getting so expensive, I've started to walk or bike to places. I kind of like the idea of getting places by my own energy. I'm really lucky that I live in town and not in a suburb. It makes it easy to get to the store, or the park, or goodwill. We plan on riding to my son's baseball game on Wednesday and to the park tomorrow.

One challenge this week was that a planner/calender that I've been waiting for finally came in. I went so far as submitting and order then realized that it's a purchase (DOH!) and cancelled it. Whew! That was close.

Another challenge is that my son has a birthday party to go to tomorrow. What to do for a gift when you can't go out and buy one. On a lark, we cruised the goodwill store. I found an awesome gift. It's was a wooden spanking paddle with a scripture on it. I figured C took things very literally and might not get the joke so I passed on it....sigh....

So 4 days into it and it's going fine.

Month Long Challenge

2006-05-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've stumbled across a great website called The Compact.

The idea was, starting Jan. 1st not to buy anything new. For example, you could buy groceries, toothpaste, cleaning products, lightbulbs....however, you wouldn't go out and buy say a sonicare toothbrush or a new lamp to replace a broken lamp. You can buy used via yardsales, thrift stores, ebay, bartering, finding a friend to lend with.

There are some people who are really going to town on this and finding alternatives to every day consumable. Look people, I'm buying toilet paper! There was a whole thing about that on their yahoo list. I'm happy that others might work towards that but, it's not happening here. Another thing is that we won't be making the kids follow the compact with their own money. We will be following the rules when it comes to things they need like clothing and such.

We're a little late on this but decided to try it for the month of May. It's a sort of Earth Day challenge for us. I'll keep you posted.

Yard Sale Find

2006-04-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Vintage Melamine Divided Dish, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I went out to some yard sales this morning. With gas prices at $3 a gallon, we had to be very methodical about our stops.

I got H some shirts for this fall and a cloth napkin (trying to increase my supply ). Two brand new, never opened toys in boxes that will be gifted to various kids for their birthdays, and this awesome dish. Not sure if I've shared my husband and my love of melamine with you all. (hey there's a post waiting to happen)

This piece is vintage melamine (Watertown:Lifetime)called a divided vegetable dish. It's in new condition and is an awesome Martha Stewart-ish blue.

Oddly Accurate

2006-04-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is exactly how we sleep...

Find your own pose!

Pinching Koala and Tree Traits and Tendencies: Pinching Koala and Tree couples experience a kind of super symbiosis that other sorts of couples (especially vegan couples) only dream of. The harmony that comes from this kind of pairing would be revolting if it weren’t so inspirational, which is why Pinching Koalas and Trees are often surrounded by friends and would-be friends, and their schedules are often booked months in advance.

Comfort Zone: Pinching Koala and Tree is one of the Wind sleepers poses. Other Wind poses you might explore include Softserve Swirl and Fireman's Carry.

Note: Koalas make for excellent lawyers and flea market bargainers, thanks to their characteristic tenaciousness.

Chevre on WW Bagel w/tomato and roasted Garlic

2006-04-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Chevre on WW Bagel w/tomato and roasted Garlic, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

This is my new favorite lunch lately. I got a HUGE chevre(goat cheese)log at Cost*o and have been eating it daily. If you can't tell entirely, it's a whole wheat bagel with roasted garlic then tomatos and chevre on top. I broil it for a few minutes in my toaster oven. Just a sprinkling of black pepper and voila!

It's pretty light, gives me a serving of fruit and dairy...YUM!

BED

2006-04-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

We live in a pretty small house, 900 sq. ft. We like living in small places for many reasons. It's smaller and takes me only a half an hour to clean for guests. Less room means less stuff. We don't lose each other. And, it's cheaper to live in a small place.

Because we have lived in small houses, we like to go as small as we can when it comes to furniture. We've had a full/double size bed (one step up from a single) since we've lived together (15yrs). The sheets are cheap to buy, the size was perfect for our small bedrooms. We made sleeping tangled an art form I dare any to replicate.

We noticed back in October that the mattresses we had were getting pretty old. We'd wake up with stiff necks and numb hips. I looked into buying a new mattress set and it's more than we wanted to spend. We convinced my parents to buy us a memory foam mattress topper for x-mas. It really helped out a lot. The only problem is it shifted horribly during the night and we'd have to "reset" it every morning.

Then, we got a call from my brother. He and his wife were getting rid of their 2 year old mattress set for a "Select Comfort" bed. WOOT!! Then we found out, it's a King size bed. Well, it's free and he was willing to bring it over. What the heck. My sister donated a quilt and a set of sheets to the cause and my SIL's mom gave us a Cuddle Ewe mattress pad for it. In the photo above you will see it looks like a normal albeit large bed. This bed is on the floor! There is no frame under it. I feel like the princess and the pea. The top mattress is so thick, I need to sew garters on the corners of the sheets to keep them on.

Now, we have the biggest bed I've ever slept in. There are moments when I can't even find Troy. We've gotten into a habit of meeting in the middle for a bit of pre-sleep cuddling then that's it, I don't see him till the next morning or evening if I don't have school that day. It's weird. Weird but, I LOVE IT!

HEY! And no trying to sneak peas over to test me out -k-.

Cupcake Porn

2006-04-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

For xmas, the kids bought me "Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook". Besides awesome photos and step by step instructions, it has some great classic recipes. I decided for my birthday I would bake her Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting. I can truely say, it was the best carrot cake I've ever had. The cake itself was light not too heavy and had a great crumb. I was a bit worried about the frosting. It called for fresh ginger and I was worried it would have a taste my kids wouldn't care for. I made the basic recipe sans the ginger and orange zest, took out about half, then proceeded with the recipe as written. H helped me and was my taste tester. He loved the one with the ginger and orange so we added the plain half back in and completed the recipe. OMG! You really need to try this frosting recipe. It was so light and fluffy. We refridgerated the rest of the cupcakes and the frosting had an even different texture the next day after it came out of the fridge. It was thicker and more like a fondant icing. Great both ways.

For my birthday this year I got a bike basket, some new clogs, and some perfume. We had dinner at the local Greek restaurant, then enjoyed our cupcakes afterward at home. I must say, it was one of the best birthdays ever.

Lame...

2006-04-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

I know. I keep promising some sort of content....it's lame. I don't even know if you'll trust me now.

I'm recovering from a week back at school. Still one more day to go, I really really really super promise to post something that isn't boring or irrelevent this weekend.

Maybe about how my birthday went today....or the crap yard sale I tried to have last Saturday. Then there is the amazing cupcakes I made and didn't snap a single photo of...

Of course there is the BED. See, I have content, I have things to share....

Really...

I promise.

(in case your wondering, 33)

Awe!

2006-03-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

You're all so sweet!

Thanks for all the compliments on the new do.

I'm starting to get used to the hair. It's so different. Nothing like going drastic to make you self reflect.

Well, I can't spend to much time self reflecting because I have my written French final on Wednesday. After that, I can go nuts if I'd like.

Something about spring that makes me want to make changes....

Dynomite!

2006-03-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm..Very interesting.

Hey, Look Maw, No Hair

2006-03-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

This is me yesterday morning. Well, it sort of looks like what I looked like yesterday morning. It was actually taken a month ago.

This week has been a bit crazy. First off, we legally changed out names. Yup, in front of a judge and all. Long story short, it was our last names. My DH has wanted to return to his birth name ever since I've known him. We finally did it. All of us, the entire family, this means kids too. And yes, it was very expensive and yes, it's a pain in the ass because you don't realize all the people you have to contact to let them know of the name change. Or, the legal documents that must be changed ,like wills and social security cards. It's a real ordeal let me tell ya.

I'm also going through finals and had my French oral exam yesterday. It counts as half of our final.

And to top it off, I've been having dreams about cutting my hair. In my dreams I have large sheep shears and I'm cutting my braids off. It was getting to the point that at least 3 times a week I was having these dreams.

Then one morning I woke up and this is what I found next to me in bed:

I'm totally kidding about that last part about waking up next to it. Gotcha didn't I. Actually, since my dream life was focusing on it so much, I got an appt. to get it cut. It was time. Every 5-7 years, I grow my hair out incredibly long then hack it off and send it to locks of love.

Here is what the hairdresser cut my hair like:

It's kinda shorter than what I had expected. But, strangely enough, the longer I have it, the more I kinda like it.

Here's the back:

Notice how high up that layering goes. I think it's the shortest I've ever had my hair that I can recall. Notice how dark it looks. I don't color my hair but the sun does. All that hair in the back hasn't seen daylight in ...well probably never. It's so dark! I might have to henna it or something. Last night I had to wash it before bed, she had put way to much styling product in it and believe me it smelled like it. When I ran my fingers through the back, they were coated in some sort of slippery slime. I put WAY too much shampoo in my hair. It felt like I was a little kid who got to wash their own hair for the very first time.

I think I'm going to like it.

What could happen if you're kids see a photo online...

2006-03-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

The internet is a dangerous place! Kids can see all kinds of things they've never seen before. Then, they will try and copy these images in their real life.

Just today, I was checking my bloglines and over my shoulder my son says,"Hey! What's that!!!" Try as hard as I could, I couldn't close the window in time.

This is the result:

I cannot be held responsible if you should show your own children this photo!!!

Use your computer at your own peril!

(this post is dedicated to my good friend over at The Good Life)

The offending post he saw can be found at Knitting Iris.

The Photographer

2006-03-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

H has a keen interest in photography. I must mention he's 6yo and his subject matter is a bit different than mine would be.

This two picture study is called "Heads or Tails?"

This is our 4yo Beagle Lily.

I have a secret....

2006-03-10T16:46:00.000-08:00

blog.

It's pretty easy to find.

It's my simple living blog.

In the case of national security...

2006-03-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

I got a comment on my last post asking me if I was Hbomb. After thinking about it for a bit, I thought I'd clear it up. Hbomb is a pseudonym for my son. His name begins with an H and when he was little we called him "The Hbomb" because he could come into a room and destroy it in nothing flat. I don't feel comfortable posting my childrens images and actual names online. Silly...I know.

Hope this clears things up.

P.S.
We are not terrorists (-:
(you know...just sayin....)

Mini Bundt Cakes

2006-03-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Mini Bundt Cakes, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

These are so tastey! They are lemon-yogurt-pecan coffee cakes. The recipe is via friend from a cooking light magazine. It was a very easy recipe and the results were great!

Now I need to get my own bundt cake pan since I borrowed this one from Shadows and Light.

Yum!

My New Passion.....

2006-03-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

I just discovered this fabulous drink, Cheerwine. It's a cherry soda. Not like a cherry coke...it sort of reminds me of pik-a-pop from when I was a kid. The cherry flavor. I would have loved to have shown you the beautiful garnet colored liquid but this happened....

Mini Holiday

2006-02-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we went on a mini holiday to Leavenworth. My aunt gave us a voucher for a night's stay at the Innsbrucker Inn. We chose their Chocolate Suite. It was very fun to get out of town and have no where to be and nothing to do.

There was a ton of snow in the mountains and in residents' yards. Not anywhere to sled though unless we wanted to trek out of town. We did go on a horse drawn carriage ride. It was a ton of fun to ride through town and look at stuff in a slower fashion. H's favorite part was when the horse stopped to poop and also when he saw a "slug bug" and called it while on the carriage ride.

Here are some more random pictures of our room and the views from our room.

and no, H isn't usually cross eyed....you should see the rest of the photos I've tried to take of him lately.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

2006-02-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

Happy Valentine's Day! I've been busy knitting and doing course work. I have been reading blogs though. Just haven't been posting myself.

The photos above from upper left-clockwise:new Valentine shoes from my dear Troy, H's monkey jail, new bracelet from C for Valentine's Day

I have been knitting. I was in a rush to finish my St. Valentine's day scarf. The idea was completely stolen from Rock Chick over at Purl Jam. It's knit in Manos using size 10 needles for the scarf body and size 7's for the heart tassels. I was really hoping that the yarn would be very soft and creamy since it's merino with corridale mixed in. It's pretty scratchy though. But, I can handle it....anything for fashion Dahhhhling.(oh, have been watching too much AbFab)

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day.

Update: Have fun with some of these web goodies.....

Your Candy Heart Says "First Kiss"

You're a true romantic who brings an innocent hope to each new relationship.
You see the good in every person you date, and you relish each step of falling in love.

Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic dinner your sweetie cooks for you

Your flirting style: friendly and sweet

What turns you off: cynics who don't believe in romance

Why you're hot: you always keep the romance alive

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Anatomical Heart Card @ FD Flicker Toys

Acme Heart Maker

No I didn't drop off the end of the earth...

2006-02-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit lazy about posting. I've been reading blogs but haven't mustered the energy to post on my own.

While I was away, I knitted up these fabulous fingerless mitts using some of the Hello Yarn I ordered. I'm calling them my Seattle Seahawk Fingerless Mitts...

I mish-mashed a few glove patterns for this one. If anyone is interested in it, I would consider writing it up. I decided to go fingerless mitts vs. gloves because of the bulk between the fingers. I actually knit the first one with 2 fingers, tried it on, and decided against it. I really like them and have been wearing them when I go out.

I'm also knitting up a valentines day scarf. It's turning out great and I hope to finish it this evening or tomorrow at the latest.

I followed a link off someone's blog(can't remember who's or what the site link to this is...sorry) to this site that generates word collages from your blog. Here's mine:

I like that it has Gnome in the middle...

UPDATE!!!!
I found the link for the word collage go here.

HelloYarn!

2006-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

HelloYarn, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

This came in the mail today. It's sport weight merino 8oz worth.

I'm having project attention deficit disorder (PADD). I don't know if anyone has coined this term but if they haven't, I am.

PADD: the inability to finish a project due to new materials acquired.

I've got it bad!!

Sock Frenzy

2006-01-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

Sock-Frenzy, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I am on a sock frenzy this new year. I've just started some toe up socks in the wonderful Lorna's Laces (gold hills) I won in Chic Knits world series contest. I've never done toe up socks and I'm really liking it. It's going amazingly fast especially using the 'magic loop' method. I also just picked up some Cherry Tree Hill 'Birches' for my next pair. (shhh don't tell Troy)

And to think I could be doing other very productive things with my time....

Dang! I was never that good at tag...

2006-01-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

Antoher Meme from Shadows & Light:

Four jobs you have had in your life:
Ballet Exercise Instructor
Cashier at Octopus' Garden
Purchase Coordinator @ Dept. of Ecology
Massage Therapist

Four movies you would watch over and over:
Amelie (it's so romantic and sweet)
Down with Love (so campy)
Anything with Carey Grant in it
LOTR trilogy

Four places you have lived:
Grandview, WA
Yakima, WA
Aberdeen, WA
Kennewick, WA (I really should consider moving out of state)

Four TV shows you love to watch:
My name is Earl
The Office (British and American)
Absolutely Fabulous (I wish they were still on)
Survivor (but only with my kids)

Four places you have been on vacation:
San Francisco
Anderson Island
Las Vegas
Vancouver BC

Four websites I visit daily:
Bloglines.com (and to my favorite blogs from there)
Flickr
Hello Yarn (for some reason it doesn't update in my bloglines)
iTunes Music Store

Four of my favorite foods:
Cupcakes (all kinds)
Good, stinky, gooey(or crumbly) cheese
Pistachio flavored anything
Red wine

Four places I would rather be right now:
Scotland
England
Paris
Tropical Location

Four bloggers I am tagging:
I'm going to stop it here since I just tagged some people a few days ago...

I guess I'm it...

2006-01-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Mrs. B from Mrs. B in Paris meme'd me. She wants to know all my bad habits AND she wants me to share them with the world.... Well here you are:

1) When I brush my teeth I HAVE to keep the faucet running. The sound of someone (even myself) brushing their teeth makes me want to vomit. Sad I know.. But hey, I recycle...

2) I'm a bit of a procastinator, if you don't believe me, check my blog post record as of late.

3) When knitting, if I have an itch on my head, I use one the the needles I'm using to itch it.

4) I am a compulsive turn signal user (blinker to some of you). It bothers me when others don't use it and you'll have to break my arm to get me from using it.

5) I always keep my nails trimmed short. Since massage school, I can't stand if my nails reach beyond the finger tip. I find very long nails disgusting...stuff can live under there people!

6) Whenever opening a new container of peanut butter, sour cream, yogurt etc., I have to "marr" the surface even if I'm not planning on using it at that time.

7) I have a thing for high end comfort shoes: Dansko, Birkenstock, Keen's

8) I have a weakness for sweets and will blow a diet over a mini-cupcake.

9) I have long curly-ish thick hair and I only wash it 2x per week.

10) I have a tendancy to jump into things only to regret it soon after.

Well there you have it, 10 horrible habits.

And who will I tag.....Ali (Shadows and Light), Troy (Robotic Pancake), M'Ellen (the Good Life), & Stephanie (Random Ramblings), and Shmoo (Shmoo Blog)

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Being back in school, caring for the household, and homeschooling the kids has kept me aweful busy. Not really a good excuse but the truth. I will be posting again tomorrow...really....for real. I mean it!

p.s. Thanks Mrs. B for getting me to post

By any other name.....

2006-01-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

You are a Rose:

You are creative, sensual, passionate, and bold.
You pour your heart into everything that you
do. Alluring and gifted with strong sex appeal,
you very easily draw people in with your animal
magnetism.

Symbolsim: The rose has always been a flower
heavily loaded with symbolism. In general it
symbolizes desire, passion, beauty, and
enchantment.

Which Flower are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Gnome Invasion

2005-12-31T20:12:00.000-08:00

I just love gnomes...the silent g, the super cute red hats, their joyous nature and drinking habits....what's not to love people.

Last week I went on a gnome frenzy and started knitting up a bunch of these guys. It's so addictive and takes hardly no yarn at all. Each one has their own little personality. The pattern was found at Saartje knits. (I go a bit longer on the torso and hat before binding off of decreases.)They're called korknisse.

There are more gnomes below and a wonderful bitty baby gnome that I also knitted up. That pattern is from here. Thanks to Knitting Iris for the link and check out her super cute gray and blue one.

Knit + Boy=Mom in Tears

2005-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

H has been wanting to learn to knit for a very long time. I'm sure it's the pointy sticks. It's that element of danger he craves. This year was the year, Santa brought him his very own knitting needles!

He of course already knows how to knit since he's been watching me do it his entire life. I finally convinced him to let me "help" get him started. The surprising thing is he took to it very easily. He had only a few problems with dropping stitches, which threw him into a crying fit. I explained, in a very yoda way, "There is no crying in knitting buddy. Anything you do, I can fix."

The stitches are still pretty large. He's knitting a pink(his favorite color) scarf for his General Grievous action figure. He did finish it and has cast on for a hat for his Ugly doll. Pictures of that to come later.

*Sniff, sniff* he's growing up...

X-mas Party A Go Go!

2005-12-31T17:29:00.000-08:00

So what do you do when your done with the presents, stuffing your face with treats and a full dinner, and ready to pass out from exhaustion since you've been up basically since 2:50 a.m.?

You go to a raging x-mas open house at "The Gates House". When we arrived at nearly 5:00, the party was in full swing. Kids showing each other their loot, adults drinking adult beverages. Enough food to feed an army (and good food too not just cheeze whiz and crackers), conversation abounded, and everyone was just happy to be there.

And if you don't believe me, check out the participants:

X-mas Revisited

2005-12-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful quiet xmas this year. No one was ill, everyone was in a great mood, things just went great.
This year I made it a point to wrap as I bought stuff. Usually, I'm a wrapping fiend on xmas eve and get a bit cranky. This year, I was able to make sushi on xmas eve (sorry no pics) and hang out with a friend who was visiting for the holiday. We had a few glasses of wine, listened to some great music and just mellowed out.
The tree photo above was taken after Santa had come.
In our house, the kids can open the stockings as soon as they get up. Presents must wait for a reasonable hour like 7:00. H got up, opened his stocking stuff and then wanted to know how long till he could open his other gifts. We had him read the clock numbers to us..."two....five...zero". WHAT!! Yes that's right, he woke up at 2:30ish and then wanted to know how much longer. We explained that he needed to get back to bed and sleep some more. He decided to sleep in the living room on the couch....with cartoons on...yeah. Then he wanted to run in every hour or so and find out if it was time yet.
We finally gave in at about 6:30. Everyone was pleased with their gifts. With C getting older (13 in a month) she is asking for more pricey gifts and I was worried that she would be upset that she didn't get the quantity like H. But, they were both very happy and excited with what they got.

C bought H a really cool real Harry Potter wand online and I think it was one of his favorite presents.
For breakfast I made this:

It's a German Pancake recipe courtesy of Shmoo. It so yummy and so full of butter that it made for a perfect xmas morning breakfast. And, it has fruit on it so that made me feel better that the kids would have one healthy thing that day.
We had dinner that afternoon at my parent's house. That evening we went to a friend's "open house" party. We saw a lot of friends we hadn't seen in a while. The kids got to bring a few gifts so show friends and well, I ate almost everything offered even though I was full to the point of illness. LOL But that's for another post.

I know .....L.A.M.E.

2005-12-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

Sorry for this excuse of a post. I'm waiting for some new photo software so I can wow you all with my awesome photo skills.

I hope you all had a wonderful xmas. Ours was very nice and quiet. Well except for the crazy wild xmas party we went to on xmas night. That was a crazy time...

The kids were all pleased with their xmas booty and I finished the surprise hat for Troy.(now to get a photo of him in it) He actually wears it all the time. This makes me so happy I could squeal every time I see him in it.

I don't want to ruin the rest of my future really-cool-awesome-award winning posts so come back in a bit.

Here's a list so you can get excited:
Xmas Revisited
Xmas Party a-go-go
Knit + Boy= Mother in Tears
Gnome Invasion
Resolution Re-cap
New Year...New List

Oh! And here's our family's holiday photo:

Pimp My Nutcracker

2005-12-24T09:23:00.000-08:00

Yeah, you read it right.
Have fun: Pimp My Nutcracker

This is kid friendly.

Giant Snow

2005-12-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

Giant Snow, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

Happy Solstice!

I've been a bit of a bad blogger of late. I'm such a procrastinator and am scrambling on the holiday front. This photo is from the other day.

We looked outside to see snow flakes the size of half dollar pieces. H ran out in a frenzy and started to punch them in the air. The begining of a new sport, snow boxing.

It sure did dump a lot of snow all at once but hasn't snowed since. Now the forcast is for the temp. to get above 40.

And I was hoping for a white holiday.

For a truely spectacular blog post for today, visit Knitting Iris (link in my side bar). She captured this day in such beautiful photos.

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

Watch Little Mew!

My Brother's Brioche Scarf

2005-12-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

Brioche Scarf, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I forgot to post this photo of the completed Brioche scarf I knit for my brother. It's from Melanie Falick's Weekend Knitting book. His birthday was in October and I finished it by December first. Hey, he got it. The idea of the book is that the projects in it can be finished in a weekend. This was not true for this scarf. Maybe, if you knit on it for a straight 72 hrs, you could finish it in a weekend.

It was my first time doing brioche and I really liked it. I would do it again. There is a matcing hat and a cowl in the book. They seem like they could be done in a weekend. I love how brioche looks different on both sides and the opposite side's color peeks through. You could really go nuts with color combinations.

Or you could just go really nuts...

Pajama Party

2005-11-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

pjfabric, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I have a few handmade items I'm making for x-mas this year. One of them is a slurry of flanel sleep pants. A total of 5 pair, thank-you very much!

Have I started? Well, if you count gathering materials then a resounding YES!

I also have a few other things on the needles. I did finish some knitting this week. Pictures to come soon.

How Low Can You Go?

2005-11-27T17:37:00.000-08:00

From Dawn & Katie.

First Level of Hell - Limbo

Charon ushers you across the river Acheron, and you find yourself upon the brink of grief's abysmal valley. You are in Limbo, a place of sorrow without torment. You encounter a seven-walled castle, and within those walls you find rolling fresh meadows illuminated by the light of reason, whereabout many shades dwell. These are the virtuous pagans, the great philosophers and authors, unbaptised children, and others unfit to enter the kingdom of heaven. You share company with Caesar, Homer, Virgil, Socrates, and Aristotle. There is no punishment here, and the atmosphere is peaceful, yet sad.

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Moderate
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante Inferno Hell Test

Cute as a Cupcake

2005-11-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

This is a holiday gift hat I've made for my niece E. This was one of our last sunny days..

sigh...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2005-11-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

This new Harry Potter movie is the best yet. However, it's not for the little ones.

C and I went to the midnight Harry Potter movie release here in town. C bought our tickets, she's getting so grown up. It was one of those things we'll always remember. We got there at 11:30 thinking we'd be there in plenty of time for a good seat. WRONG! The place was packed to capacity. The best we could get was second row, right side. It totally sucked. If it was less than a 300 degree angle, I would have been shocked. Tons of people were, "saving seats" for their friends who weren't there yet. I went and talked with the 12 yo...urrr I mean ticket taker and asked how long they were going to allow people to hold seats for others since it was so packed. He said it wasn't allowed to save seats. I scoffed in his general direction and said it was being done right now.

Back into the theater, I waited a few minutes still no reinforcements. C was visibly upset and mad at me because we didn't get there earlier. It was time to make something happen. There was one woman on an end, then an open seat, then 2 tweens then an open seat, in the center isle about ten rows from the back. After asking if either were saved (they weren't...WOOT!) I made the boys move down one and asked the lady to hold them for the 2 seconds it took for me to grab C from the crap seats in front. They were the perfect seats!

This movie made me jump so many times, I lost count. I've read the book so was familiar with the story. That little tidbit didn't matter much. It's such a visually intense movie. Some favorite parts: the National Quidditch Championship, the Dragons, the comedy throughout, Madam Maxine, the little bit of French they spoke I understood Woo Hoo! I'm sure there were more great parts but these are what come clearly to mind after 5 hours of sleep.

And the piece de resistance, when the film ended and we walked outside the theatre, there entire town was blanketed by a pea soup fog! I tried to take a picture and only got moisture particles.

You'll have to trust me,
It was magical!

Autumn Day

2005-11-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

We went to the park today. It was later in the day (3:00 pm) and the sun was going down. We started to freeze our...well you get the idea. It was great for pictures though.

The yarn is from the contest Bonne Marie held for the world series. I'm planning on trying some toe-up socks. As you can see in the picture next to it, I finished the calico socks and yup, ran out of yarn for the toe of one....grrrrr! I'll have to wear some shoes that cover it when I wear them in public. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone.

What a beautiful fall day!

Sorry....for my SUPERHUMAN BRAINPOWER!!!!

2005-11-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the quizes lately. I'm in the middle of finishing some projects. Real posts to come very soon.

Your Birthdate: April 5

You have many talents, and you are great at sharing those talents with others.
Most people would be jealous of your clever intellect, but you're just too likeable to elicit jealousy.
Progressive and original, you're usually thinking up cutting edge ideas.
Quick witted and fast thinking, you have difficulty finding new challenges.

Your strength: Your superhuman brainpower

Your weakness: Your susceptibility to boredom

Your power color: Tangerine

Your power symbol: Ace

Your power month: May

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

If I were a cat...

2005-11-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

You scored as Derranged Cat. Wow. . . lay off the halucinogenics and brush your hair once in a while. You're one sick, derranged s.o.b.

Drunk Cat

58%

Derranged Cat

58%

Ninja Cat

42%

Couch Potato Cat

42%

Love Machine Cat

25%

Pissed at the World Cat

25%

Nerd Cat

Which Absurd Cat are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Tagged!

2005-11-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

Shmoo tagged me a while back for a meme. Sorry it took me so long to get around to it.

Five things I plan to do before I die:

1. Travel the world.
2. Meet my great-great grandchildren.
3. Look good in a 2 piece (hey, even for a week will work)
4. Learn a language fluently.
5. Live in another country.

Five things I can do:

1. Knit.
2. Spin wool into yarn.
3. Make Soap.
4. Laugh at myself.
5. Survive.

Five things I cannot do:

1. Make my children learn.
2. The monkey bars at the park...sigh.
3. Change the past.
4. Time Travel.
5. Understand the religious right.

Five things that attract me to the opposite sex:

1. An accent...(yes, it's pathetic)
2. Sense of humor.
3. Voice.
4. Jawline.
5. Eyes.

Five things I say most often:

1. Like....(sad but true)
2. Huh?
3. That is NOT a good idea!
4. If you don't ....I'm going to FREAK-OUT!!!
5. The furniture is not playground equipment!

Five celebrity Crushes:
1. Carey Grant
2. Ewan McGregor
3. Johnny Depp
4. Brad Pitt
5. Clive Owen
6. Liam Neason
7. Gary Oldman

And now to tag some people....Ali, Krista, and Mary Ellen. (hee hee)

E-Day

2005-11-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

No, not election day silly. My niece E. We had a lot of fun yesterday. The top, she was sleeping on me and I just had to knit. Then, she was cute, then she tried to eat my book. Then I had to make sure I was knitting the right size for her noggin'(I had to adjust that photo to fit in the collage).

There's something cool about holding the person you're knitting for.

It's magical....

The Choxie Challenge

2005-11-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've all heard the online "buzz" about Target's new chocolate line. It's called Choxie (chocolate + moxie = Choxie...sounds like foxy) They are gourmet chocolates in creative packaging for a relatively low price (compared to gourmet candy).

I had to try some. Common' it's candy people. I got the Aztec Thin $1.50 and Troy got the chocolate covered espresso beans $2.50. Here's our review:

Aztec Thin: Pure milk chocolate with ground ancho chilies and ceylon cinnamon sprinkled with roasted cocoa nibs.
Chelee: Very good. I could have used a hint more chili flavor. The cinnamon was a bit distracting. The nibs on top were nice. And what do they mean "pure" milk chocolate. It has milk in it, so it isn't pure (my dark chocolate favoritism coming through)
C: love it! want more...
Troy:It tasted good. I'd eat it again.
H: HEY! What chocolate?! I never saw it!

Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans: mini-roasted arabica espresso beans covered in rich, dark, chocolate.
Troy: Espresso beans in chocolate, what more can you ask for?
Chelee: tastes like any other chocolate covered espresso beans.
C & H:passed on this test, not big into the coffee.

I'm excited to try other kinds of the chocolate. I'm also drawn to the packaging like a moth to a bug zapper.

I can be such a sheep....

Mushroom Boy

2005-11-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Mushroom Boy, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

We found this great patch of mushrooms in our side yard. During vacation, I picked up a mushroom identifying book. This is a Agaricus crocodilinus. It's common name is Portabella. We didn't try it just in case I was wrong.

Trick-or-Treat

2005-11-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

Trick-or-Treat
Originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

The one on the left is H. I know what your thinking, "Darth Vader looks bigger in the movies." C in on the right. She's a dementor from the Harry Potter Books.

We went to a friends house where they treated us to chicken and dumplings, baked brie, blue cheese, and other wonderful snacks not to mention wine. YUM! The kids had a lot of fun trick-or-treating through the neighborhood . On one trip, I scored a discarded/lost tiara. It was a magical night!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2005-10-31T21:49:00.000-08:00

Halloween House

2005-10-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

I finally got a picture of our house all dressed for Halloween. My favorite decorations besides the jack-o-lanterns are the vintage pumpkins in the windows and the skeleton on the door. Well, the bats in the windows are pretty cool too. Chloe's pumpkin is on the left. She picked it for the great handle as well as size. Notice how she made sure the "scar" was placed just right accross the face. HBomb's is on the right. His dad did the carving but he was artistic director. I'm not ready for him to handle knives though at age 6, he feels completely competent. LOL

I also did a bit of baking today. I made cupcakes, madeleines, and caramel apples. I just got two new madeleine pans made of silicon. I'm not sure I liked the result. They took quite a bit longer to bake than my aluminium pan. Also, I like the crispy outside the metal pan gives the cookie. The minis were aweful cute though. I think I need to experiment a bit with them. A cool thing (pun intended) about the silicon is that you can freeze in them as well. I can make mini-madeleine ice cubes for tea.

The forcast is for rain tomorrow. I hope not, the kids' costumes are not weather resistant. Our plan is to attend a friends neighborhood halloween party. We all meet there and then go trick-or-treating as a group. We always have a ton of fun.

I had no idea that last night was the return to standard time. Now, I feel really off. It doesn't help that the clocks around the house are all set to different times. You could be at 5:00 in the bedroom and 6:00 in the kitchen. Not to mention the car hasn't been set yet. I've just realized how tired I am. Even though tomorrow is a major holiday, I still have school in the morning. In France, they are on holiday for Tous Saints (All Saints Day). How cool would that be?

The Pumpkin Patch

2005-10-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

This last monday, we went to the local pumpkin patch. We were lucky because friends of ours decided to go as well and the weather was perfect. Not too cold and not too wet. We had so much fun searching for our pumpkins. The kids each got giant orange pumpkins and Troy and I got small white ones. At the pumpkin patch they had a petting zoo which was now under a new barn. I always felt bad in past years that they were exposed to the elements. There was also an inflated obstacle course. Afterwards we went in and had some ice cream. I bought a caramel apple for later but ended up eating in the car.

OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!!!

2005-10-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

First things first:

The Sox Won the world series!!!!

I'm so happy they won and not Texas. It was also a sweep of the series so they didn't just win, they kicked some serious tush!

and now for some cool news,

I won something!!
Yes, that's right me.

Bonne Marie from Chic Knits had a contest to see who could guess the winner of the series and the score.

I won! WOOT!
So I'll be getting some awesome sock yarn and bragging rights at Thanksgiving Dinner. (my family is into the baseball)

Thank-you Bonne Marie!

and

YEAH SOX!!!

The Future of Baseball:

This year was his first year playing. Hbomb's first time at bat. He's 5 in this photo.

T-dog

2005-10-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

T-dog, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

Over the weekend, I attended this little rascal's baptism. So I've achieved another life goal, I'm a GODMOTHER!!! I'd much rather be a fairy godmother but alas...

Blah, Blah, Blah...I know it's been a while...

2005-10-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy this last week. Let me do a recap.

Monday was book group...right? We discussed "The Shadow of the Wind". I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. I also watched my niece on Monday. She's growing up so fast. She's just turned 6 months old.

Tuesday night at about 8:30 I got "THE CALL" from my friend Ali's husband saying that it was starting to happen. I was up nearly all night sleeping for about an hour. It was so worth it. She gave birth to a beautiful baby the next afternoon at 1:08 ish. It was such an amazing life changing experience. I've only ever been the one giving birth and never had the luxury to observe it. Ali did so awesome! And the new baby is so cute. I mean, she was just adorable from the start. No awkward newborn looks, she is just cute as pie.

I came home Wednesday and crashed for about 2 hours until my husband got home. Needless to say, my house was trashed since the kids stayed home the whole time caring for each other with no real supervision. That evening I collapsed into bed at 8:00 and didn't wake until 5:30 the next morning when my body completely refused to get out of bed. This means, I missed 2 days of french class, arrrgghhh!

Thursday I recouped and did a bit of running to the store and my mom's house. I also tried to do some laundry. Laundry seems to multiply at a tremendous rate lately.

Friday, I woke up bright and early to go to Wenatchee for my nephew's christening. I rode up with my mom and HBomb. My brother and SIL met us there. It went great and apparently, I'm his godmother. She didn't really tell me this until the priest asked for the "sponsors to step forward". So, me and my brother stepped forward to vouch for our nephew's soul. Believe me, if you knew us, you wouldn't really ask this of us. My BIL 2 mothers were there. They are two of the most know-it-all ladies I've met since...well... since I looked in the mirror that morning(that's another story). We had an interesting discussion at lunch that culminated in them declaring Mormons are NOT christians and the fresh eggs are the best for hard boiled since they won't tear up the egg while pealing. Yeah...right...Out of courtesy for my poor sister who saw me start to freak out, I let it go after about 5 minutes of arguing. I'm not "keen" on the mormon religion but I'm sorry folks they are christians in the literal sense that they believe Jesus was christ, the son of god, and died for the sins of man. Yes they believe in a lot of other stuff but that isn't what defines christianity.

Saturday (today), I've been awful lazy. I ran to the Costco with my mom and went with her for some other errands she had to run. Came home, ate lunch, and took a nap. Troy got home and we ran to the store for groceries. Came home, vegged out had dinner, cruised the net. I did some knitting and now my friends...
I'm going to bed.

Bonne Nuit!
And Damn,
Quelle semaine !

Many thanks to my pal at The Stitchin' Sheep!

Socktoberfest!

2005-10-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm really getting the need for knitting right now. I'd like some sock yarn but....this will have to do for now.

You quite like socks, but your not overly-obsessed
with them. You would have been a pair of
knee-length socks in any colour, and probably
stripy or something to make you that little bit
more interesting.

What type of sock are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Really?!

2005-10-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

You Should Get a MFA (Masters of Fine Arts)

You're a blooming artistic talent, even if you aren't quite convinced.
You'd make an incredible artist, photographer, or film maker.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

And exactly what did I get done?

2005-10-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Great question... uh.....

How can entire weekend go by and me not have anything substantial to show for it?! Most of the weekend was spent getting ready to go. I went to farmers market on Saturday. I bought some spinach and some garlic. Then there was the Mexican bakery on the corner. You know it's bad when you buy more pastries than produce.

The laundry got mostly done Sat. I also listed a ton of stuff on Ebay and sold over $200 worth of items as "buy it now" on the first day. This will go towards our current budget. We're listing the VW this week and hope to sell it this weekend.(cross fingers)

I purchased some Django Rheinhardt music online and have been enjoying that the little bit that I've been home.

Yesterday was the finale for ACT's "Beauty and the Beast" play. It was great and now I'm glad it's over. It seemed like it began with the costumes back in August and is now finished. In the between time I started school and that added to the infamiliarity of my life. With the play over, I can focus on more "me" stuff and not everybody else stuff.

I know it's going to be great because this morning someone asked if I'd lost weight. After the shock, I had to reply that I hadn't (actually gained 3 pounds in the last month) but am pleased that someone thought I was "lookin' good" LOL.

I'm going to play catch-up on my list from the weekend today and now I can mark off 'Blog'.
hee hee

This Week in Life...

2005-10-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

This week flew bye. I got my first French test back and got a 47/50 pts possible. I so knew what I was trying to say and should have only missed one point but what can I say, Je suis individualiste!

This weekend is the last weekend of Beauty and the Beast. It's a great show and if you can, you should plan on going.

I have a HUGE list of "To-do's" for the weekend. If I can put some sort of dent into it, I'd be pleased.

HBomb has a very loose tooth and is having a hard time eating anything because that sucker is about to fall out on it's own.

Chloe and Troy went to a concert. Check out Robotic Pancake link on the side to hear more about that.

My dear friend Ali still hasn't had her baby yet. I really hope it's soon for her sake. She seems really tired and ready to be done with pregnancy.

HBomb and I went to goodwill and got his and Chloe's costumes for Halloween. He's planning on being Darth Vader and Chloe wants to be a Dementor. I would LOVE to be the Corpse Bride but I think I'll wait till next year.

Besides the costumes, I got a skirt, shirt, and dress which cost me less than $5 for all of it. (I've been lucky lately with clothes from there)For winter I'd like some black shoes, and some tights.

Better get going on that list!

Have a great weekend!

End of September

2005-09-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

So, I'm starting to get used to waking up very early for school....NOT!!!

Today is friday and the day of recovery. I don't have school for 3 more days. It's not the school part that's hard it's the hours. I LOVE my french class. I think I'm getting the hang of it. We have our first test on Monday. WOO HOO!!

I hurt my back last week so I haven't been to fitness lab for a few days. I need to catch up this week though. My Dr. says only stationary bike for a while, no treadmill.

On another note, this freakin' wind is killing my allergies. I've had a sinus headache for two days. I've even succumbed to Rx allergy medicine, advil, and extra strength tylenol. This is all at one time people. It's taking the edge off but if I stand up to fast, or turn my head to fast, severe pain. Like an icepick in the forehead(that little reference is for you Troy). If it would just rain...maybe relief.

I've decided to get serious about our finances. I keep trying to ignore them but it's not working (duh!). I've started a second blog all about this journey so as not to bore most of you with my financial life.

Hope you all have a great weekend. We'll be at the ACT plays most of the weekend, hope to see you there!

Pee Pee Tee Pee

2005-09-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

I almost covered my computer with coffee over this one.

Uncommon Goods

Fitness Lab

2005-09-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day at fitness lab. My orientation was at 6:00. That's 6:00 am!!!! OMG, I so didn't want to get up this morning. It was a complete waste of 20 minutes. We filled out a waiver, read the rules on the hand out (that we can take home and read at our leisure). Then, a walk around the fitness center. Finally I piped up with a "So, if we came to work out, can we get to it?" The bummer is that I couldn't use the 20 wasted minutes as actual lab time. GRRR

Today, I walked on a really high tech treadmill that simulates hills and valleys at different grades. It also takes your pulse and tells you if you're going fast enough to actually be doing anything. Oh, and it told me I burned 200 calories while using it. Since I also listened to a book on tape while I was walking, It felt like I was almost doing something.

I rounded out my hour by hopping on a stationary recumbent bike (who knew they even made these?) and peddled away another 10 minutes.

It's kind of nice to know I'm done exercising for the day. Even though I'm ready for a nap and it's not even 11:00.

French Class

2005-09-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Well, today was my first day of school. It was a bit scary at first then, after I relaxed a bit, it was great. One of the best parts is that when I came home, Hbomb was dressed, fed, and his bed was made! This never happens on a regular day with me at home, at least not by 9:30. The house wasn't half bad either.

First day of class, and yes, I have homework. The cool thing is it's fun. And, so far, I've gotten everything correct(we grade our own workbooks).

Yeah me!

La Belle et la Bete

2005-09-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready for our Academy of Children's Theatre production of Beauty and the Beast. Chloe works back stage and Troy is now working back stage. I usually help with concessions but this year was able to sew some costumes as well.

Here is a 'Silly Girl' costume:

And here is the Prince:

I did another silly girl costume but didn't get a photo of it before I had to give it to the costumer. The craziest one was the Prince. The entire jacket is lined, there are shoulder pads, and damn check out those buttons (all hand sewn on of course).

I'm excited to see the actors in them and hope to get a few photos of them wearing them.

If you live locally, you must come and see the play, it's a HUGE cast and bound to be a hit.

In preparation for seeing the play, we got Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bete from netflix. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Film noir at it's best. The dvd had some behind the scenes footage and was remastered. It is in french and HBomb was pissed that he couldn't understand it all. He did, to my surprise, pick up on some phrases and I was shocked that language came so easily to him.

Lily

2005-09-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

Lily, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

Our dog, Lily has been so bad lately. She's always been an escape artist but it's generally been through holes she finds in the fence. Recently, she's taken to digging holes under the fence. This dog is 4 years old and just discovered she can dig out. We've had to put her on a tether so she won't escape and get hurt or lost. It makes me sad to limit her to a 20 foot radius.

Bad dog!

Ella

2005-09-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ella, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

This photo is from last weekend. I put her in the tree swing at my mother's house. She loved it. The best was when her hair got super static charge and started to fly up.

It's so nice having a baby in my life.

BONUS: Pick her nose with your mouse pointer.
You know you want to.

Banana Bread

2005-09-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

Banana Bread, originally uploaded by That Bohemian Chick.

I've decided to use up the black bananas in my freezer. I think I prefer the thawed banana goo that comes from the peel like...gogurt. No mashing, easy measuring, no freezer burn, and I think it might even be sweeter and more banana flavored.

The recipe is from my Betty Crocker red and white cookbook. Very fast prep and makes the house smell great.

A New iPod.....

2005-09-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's so hard to "Make a Decision" these days about purchases. When we got our iPod's, we wanted to get the newest one in hopes that they wouldn't be improved upon for a while.

And, basically, they haven't. Then I got an email for Apple today. They now have the Harry Potter iPod. Totally cool.

Check it out.
(NO, we're not buying one, just drooling a bit)