Catching Up

I've given up trying to download pictures on my laptop and have come to terms with the fact that all posts with pictures will have to be done on the desktop. I forgot how much better the keyboard is on the desk top though and may have to start using it for all my posting needs. My laptop is missing the s button and if I want to type any word with the letter s I have to press hard on the little rubber nubby thing that is supposed to lay underneath the key.

There is a lot to catch up on. First of all my birthday was March 20th. It was fantastic. Gary surprised me with an MP3 player. I love it so much. I haven't had a birthday surprise in years. Well a month before my birthday my sewing machine completely died, not my antique featherweight but my other sewing machine, the Viking that did zigzag and buttonholes. When you make clothes those are essential. I bought the viking on eBay for 30 bucks. It never really worked that great but it was cheap and I was so busy with school I wasn't sewing much. Well, as I said it died so I just went out and bought myself a new machine and called it my birthday present. I love it. It wasn't too expensive and was on sale of course. It is computerized and makes buttonholes automatically. There is a slot for you to put your button in and the machine automatically makes the button hole the right size. It's like magic. So I was just counting on that to be my present but my sweet husband found a great deal on an MP3 and got it for me. It is 4 gigs and does video, pictures, voice recorder and FM radio. I didn't even know I wanted one and I use it every single day. Thank you Gary.

We went to a Japanese Hibachi grill called Bonsai. It was just like Beni Hana's. The food was entertaining and excellent. The best part was that they had sushi! Good sushi is hard to come by in Abilene. We ordered a sample platter of sushi and every time we bit into it a lady at our table would practically start dry heaving. She would say things like "I can't believe anyone would eat that!" and "Oh my gosh that is so gross!" Her friend kept telling her "No, no its really good." This lady just went on and on. It got to be really funny. I think after a while I took a bite just to see how much I could gross her out. But seriously if you hate sushi that much then it would make since that you not got to a restaurant that serves sushi. The funniest thing was at the end of the meal they gave everyone complimentary "sushi" they called it the "Abilene" and it went against everything sushi stands for. First of all, the filling was steak. It was wrapped in rice and seaweed and then deep fried and then slathered with a cream cheese sauce. Hmmmmmm? I am not a sushi purest. I like my California rolls and my cream cheese rolls but steak, deep fried, with cream cheese sauce.... what? It was good but it was too Texas and not enough Japan for me. I think it was good though for people who don't normally like sushi.

Gary also made me a cake in the shape of my Featherweight sewing machine. He told me he was going to do it and I was actually surprised by how great it looked. Gary is even less skilled in the baking area than I am but his cake was a work of art. Also we ran out of birthday candles so I ended up blowing out matches.

Ethan also had a birthday on the 26th on march. His was Star Wars themed of course. We invited his best friend over for pizza and video games. I've found this to be a magical combination for little boys. Ethan got lots of Star Wars stuff including the Sarlacc pit as seen in Return of the Jedi. It is awesome!!! I managed to make Ethan a Light Sabre cake. The best part was that it was made up primarily of Twinkies. No baking involved. Hooray!!

As part of our student lifestyle I have decided to try to make most of my presents I give to others. With this being the case it is much easier to make a whole bunch of a specific thing for a specific event and the simpler the better. For women I know who are having a baby girl I make the same jumper. For those who are having baby boys I found a really cute and simple pattern for baby booties. It called for felt. I didn't want to use craft felt because I didn't think it was nice enough. I didn't want to use wool felt because it was difficult to find here in Abilene. So one day I was walking around Hobby Lobby and found a bag of scrap leather for 3$. The light bulb in my head glowed. I took the bag home and experimented with it and found that I could make two pairs of booties per bag. That comes out to 1.50 per pair. And they are leather which will last forever. I love them so much I wish I had a pair.

I also made a cute pleated skirt. I decided I would not buy clothes because I can make them and it would be a great way to save money. To be honest I usually like the clothes I like more because they fit me and last longer. The problem with this is it takes a lot longer. Well I finally finished this skirt. The pleats took forever but I am really happy with the results.

I went to the Twilight party and had a blast. I didn't get home until 1 am. Everyone there, with the exception of Andrea (the young sister who invited me) and her teenage sister, was over thirty. I really got to know some of the sisters in the ward. Some of them were pretty wild but that's what made it so much fun. Andrea's mom was not satisfied with how quiet I was. I tend to become an introvert in a setting with a lot of people. I enjoy watching others a lot more than others watching me and I don't like being the center of attention. Renee (Andrea's mom) invited me out to lunch because I was too quiet at the party and her curiosity had not been satiated. We had a great time. She is one of those funny, witty people who are the life of the party. I tend to get a long with those kinds of people a lot because they fill the void when I have nothing to say and I like to listen to all the funny things they say that I can't think to say.