Back in the Game

I've started up quilting again- now that my house is somewhat in order and nothing is too pressing that I can't get a little sewing done in between.  My first project is a quilt for Shari.  She was my choreographer for both the musicals I did at Lemoyne.  She's fabulous at what she does and we worked really well together, so it was a win-win situation.  I'm going to miss working with her.  I meant to make a quilt for her earlier, but during the actual musical there's only time for the musical itself and just about nothing else, so I'm finally getting around to it. 

I'm using some of the left over material from the actual costumes of Once on This Island to make it a little more meaningful for her, but Shari's a very classy person and tropical themed decor is not exactly her style, so I'm going to try to mute the island garb by bringing in some darker materials - one having Treble Clefs on it - keeping with the whole music theme and do a Basket-weave design alternating the costume materials every other block.  We'll see how it turns out.  My goal is to have it done by the time I leave for Utah in 2 weeks.  Wish me luck!

Yard Work

After consulting with my dad through pictures last night I decided to tackle the front yard landscape.  The first issue was the dandelion plants.  I've never seen them grow that huge.  They were taller than Nathan and have thick roots that I had to dig up all around the house.  I thought that was the most pressing task at hand, because I don't want dandelions spreading all over my lawn. Then I had the task of uprooting this minty-vined herb plant (that's about as technical as I get with plants).  It has taken over all of the plants and bushes. 

I feel like having a house is making me learn new things everyday.  I don't have much of a green thumb.  In fact, the plant Adam bought me was killed because I let it stay out in the frost. (I was in denial for a while, but eventually Joel made me throw it away- it wasn't going to come back to life as much as I wanted it to).  I watched my dad garden my whole life, but the only time I helped was when it was obligatory for Family Home Evening Monday nights.  I should have paid better attention, because I don't really know what I'm doing.  I guess I'm going to have to teach myself some green thumb-ness and hope it sticks this time.
Here's the before........

After weeding and trimming.......that's as far as I could get before it started raining......

With new topsoil and some new flowers planted (taken at dusk when I finally finished)........

 The 2 in front are Hibiscus that will be Red and Orange when they blossom- you can kind of see an orange flower starting to bloom.

Home Sweet Home

As per the request of my dad, here are some pictures of our new home.  The piano movers came today, so everything is pretty much in place now.  I had a brief moment of panic when the keys all played as though the pedal was down no matter if it was or not, but luckily it was a quick fix and my baby is back- (yes, I mean the piano).
Here is the view from the front door.

My favorite thing about the kitchen (besides the cabinet and counter space) is the dishwasher!!  After 4 years of being without one it is a dream come true!

(Below- The view from the garage door)

Next to the kitchen is the utility room out to the backyard.  My first project is to get some curtains for this door, because I don't like the fact that people can look straight into my house.  We live on a quiet cul-de-sac, but our backyard runs into a busy street, so we're eventually going to need a fence.  Since that's not quite in the budget right now I'll have to be happy with curtains and some type of restraining device for Nathan :)

Oh, and Joel got his license this morning (after a couple more steps- I'll spare you the details), so he's officially legal and ready to start residency next week.  Wahoo!

Book Time!

I finally finished reading The-Read-Aloud-Handbook and I'm so excited to start reading the suggested books in the back.  Now that we're officially unpacked and box-free Nathan and I will be taking his first trip to the public library on Monday, and I'm thrilled (it's the small things in life).  I saw an article in the newspaper that this library is on the brink of closure, because of the town voting down its budget, so I'm a bit concerned, but in the meantime I plan on using it to its fullest potential.  I am a book-loving nerd and I make no apologies about it.
My next book I started is actually more of a tutorial- First-Quilt-Book - I have a bunch of quilting projects on the horizon and I've never actually read anything on quilting itself, so I thought I would try to glean some basic tips in an effort to improve my skills.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Bureaucracy At Its Finest

So, the wallet is gone forever I think.  The waitress at the restaurant said there were some young girls that sat where we did, and that they may have picked it up.  So this morning Joel has spent his time trying to get a new license.  We went to the BMV (it's Bureau - not Department) of Ohio and they told Joel he needed to have the DMV (Department - not Bureau) of Pennsylvania fax them a letter stating that he has a Pennsylvania license on official letterhead.  They gave us the PennDot phone number and away we went.  The only problem is that the phone number doesn't actually give you the option of talking to anyone- it's completely automated.  There's an out of state phone number, but it also tells you to go to your nearest PennDot for assistance (I'm not joking).  I went online to see if I could find any other phone numbers for PennDot.  I found a couple, but all were automated with no option to talk to anyone.  Finally, I came across the general office phone number, and 3 transfers later and a new phone number to call, Joel finally got to talk to someone, but they told him that Pennsylvania will not send a letter without first receiving an official request from the BMV of Ohio stating that they need an official letter from the DMV.  Are you kidding me?  Joel calls the Ohio BMV which was a lot easier to get on the phone, but they told him that "we don't do that."  Awesome.
We're left with 2 options: 1- Joel can retake his driving test, but there are no immediate openings, so he would have to wait and hope they can get him in by the time his orientation begins, or 2- overnight a request for replacement form with the accompanying money order (of course) for Pennsylvania to make a copy of a letter that says he's replacing his license (isn't that pretty much what we wanted in the first place?), so that they'll fax it the Ohio BMV, and then Joel can take the written test and get an Ohio license.  Geez.
......The saga continues......we'll let you know if Joel ever actually indeed has a license again.

Moving Drama

Well, we made it to Ohio safe and sound, but not without some bumps and bruises along the way. 
1- The movers almost couldn't move us, because the Facilities Manager for our apartment complex went ballistic on our driver.  It was heated.  It was ugly.  Then he yelled at Joel to make him talk to the driver as well.  The driver drove off without our stuff and panic set in until we realized the driver was just going around the block to try to get rid of the Manager.  Anyway, that got solved- the guy apologized after Joel talked to the housing office and complained, and then the movers loaded everything up in peace.
2- The most upsetting thing of the day was Joel losing his wallet.  We closed down our bank account, so he had $1,000 in his wallet.  We went out to dinner and when we came home he no longer had it.  I about had a heart attack.  We retraced our steps, talked to the people at the restaurant, looked all in the car and parking lots, but to no avail.  I'm not going to lie, it hurts to lose that kind of money.  Being in a new state the following day also complicates things because now Joel has no way of easily getting an Ohio license or a new temple recommend.  There are added steps for both procedures simply because of the whole moving out of state thing.  I told Joel he was going to have to get a driver's permit and that maybe if he was nice to me I would supervise his learning how to drive (he wasn't quite as amused as I was)   :)
On a happier note, Nathan did wonderful on the drive to Ohio.  I was nervous about driving by myself with him, but he did a lot better than I expected.  A box full of toys next to him definitely helped me out. We are also making good headway with all of our boxes and should be completely unpacked and ready to go in the next couple of days.  Joel and I are enjoying this time together as we "create" our new home.

Last day of School

School ended today and I was a blubbering idiot for most of it.  I'm not even going to say how many times I cried, because it's just plain embarrassing.  Saying good-bye is not one of my fortes in life and there are quite a few kids I had a hard time letting go of.  Some of my kids that have been in the musical and select choir have become an extension to my family- I'd adopt all of them if I could.  They wrote me some of the most heartfelt letters and gave me such cute gifts.  I will miss them.  They are what made every moment worth it.  I am thrilled to be staying home with Nathan this next year, but I will miss my kiddos.

One of my 8th grade General Music classes got me a Neopet with all of their names on it.  I didn't even know what one was, but apparently they're popular because all day long kids commented about it while it was on my desk.
Some other kids gave me some silly bands.  I feel like my coolness factor skyrocketed when a 6th grader asked me if I wanted to trade silly bands. Joel didn't even know what silly bands were, so he's definitely lagging behind in the coolness factor.  They are basically the jelly bracelets I had in elementary school, but now they are in different shapes that you can collect.

Quilt Complete!

A few stitches, a couple of months later and voila (imagine the accent mark on the a)! - Mya's quilt is finally done!  I finished binding it on the way down to Virginia for Jackson Lewis' baby blessing yesterday.  The ride turned out to be quite eventful for reasons other than the quilt - bad weather, bad DC traffic, and bad screaming from Nathan followed by getting lost twice and missing the blessing- ya, it was eventful.  It continued to be eventful because when we went to leave we had a flat tire.  Of course it was Sunday night, so nothing was open.  Oh, the joys of life.  On the bright side: we were right outside Justin and Jenny's home, so Joel and Nathan could stay over night with them and fix the car, and then luckily Barb and Becky were heading back up, so they could take me home for school today. What a crazy life.  There's always something.  But hey, at least I finished the quilt. Sigh.