A Little Music To Brighten Your Day

After perusing Wil Wheaton's blog, I came across this YouTube clip of a very talented "experimental musician", as Zoe Keating calls herself. If you can't tell, as she finishes a phrase of music on her cello, it is somehow "remembered" by her Macbook, and it continues to play under the next phrasing of music, making it sound as though the music is being played by a quartet (or bigger). It's some pretty complex stuff that I don't understand, but the music is haunting and beautiful. I'll be checking out her website and buying her music through iTunes soon, I'm sure.

I think if I ever decide to play music while I'm sewing, Zoe Keating will be at the top of the list. I have my second sewing lesson today, in which I'm supposed to start actually sewing my project, since I managed to lay out the pattern and cut the fabric all by myself at home! We'll see how it turns out.
Have a great day, and best to you all!
Amanda

The Hits Just Keep Coming...

See, I told you I'd come back! And, I have a couple of things to talk about since I last posted. Besides the fact that I've kept myself busy and away from the computer as much as possible over the last couple of weeks, I've also taken on a couple of outside responsibilities:
1) One of my mommy friends from Ohio sent me an e-mail last week asking if I'd write a guest post for her blog, and I jumped at the opportunity. It's been a long time since I've written anything with a clear purpose (besides my blog), and the subject is something with which I have a little experience. She wanted me to answer a question that a lot of women probably ask sometimes: why would a man become an OB/GYN? Since my hubby's been in the field for a while now, I knew I could give a pretty good, straightforward answer based on our own experiences. If you want to learn more, just head over to Momma Bear's blog and check my post out. While there, you might want to read some of her other great posts. She's a stay-at-home-mom of a 3-year-old, a 2 1/2-year-old, and a 10-month-old! How she does it, I don't know, but she's one tough, gutsy momma! Thanks, Momma Bear, for letting me share my perspective with you and your readers.
2) After my last post, I decided to really start getting involved in my local moms group. V and I started going to almost every scheduled meet-up, which kept us busy and also gave us a chance to interact with other moms and their kids. Last week, one of the moms asked one of the organizers of the group about another organizer who'd recently stepped down from her position. Apparently, she has a lot going on right now and needed a break from her responsibilities. Since V and I have become involved with the group and manage to appear at most of the scheduled meet-ups, I thought it might be a good idea to volunteer to help the other organizers. They were happy that I was willing to do so, and as of this morning, I'm now an assistant organizer. My only responsibilities will be to schedule a few meet-ups each month, preferably on Fridays when the other organizers won't be available, and to make certain I attend those meet-ups, so I can greet any new moms who join the group to make them feel welcome. I'm really excited about this because I think it'll help me feel more a part of the group. Plus, I'll have the chance to meet and greet new moms, help them get acquainted with the group, and help them find activities that they may have not known about before they joined up. I'm sure I'll post more about this as I get more involved.

Besides these two big opportunities that have crossed my path, I've also scheduled my first sewing lesson for tomorrow, and I've been trying to keep up with the books being read for a book club formed by most of the moms in the moms group. B and I have hosted several board gaming and D&D parties at our house the last couple of months, I've been able to spend some girl time with a college friend who lives here in town, I've had a play date with one of my neighbors and her baby girl and hope to do it again in the future, and I've really become familiar with all the kid-friendly activities in town. Though the new year started out a little slow, things are really starting to look up, and I feel like I'm beginning to truly enjoy my new home and home town.
I hope you all have a great week, and I'll try to post again, soon!
Best,
Amanda

It's Not "Goodbye"...Just "See You Soon"

I've known for a while now that I'm totally addicted to the Internet. Once I joined such social networking sites as Twitter and Facebook, it was the end of my social and home life as I know it. Well, almost. I still get out occasionally to meet up with the moms in my new play group, and B and I have been to quite a few gaming parties at our house and elsewhere. However, I've found that most of my downtime has been spent in front of my laptop screen, mindlessly soaking up random bits of entertainment or information. I'd love to be able to say that while I'm surfing the 'Nets, my son is getting in his daily nap or is in bed for the night. But, I'm going to be completely honest and say that usually, I've turned on the TV, so he can watch "Blue's Clues", and I can e-mail or Tweet in peace. It's totally selfish of me and probably one of the worst things I can do to my child. Well, probably not the worst, but the guilt my actions cause me to feel makes it appear that way. And, I would love to blame all of this on the cold weather, and being stuck in the house all day because of it, but that's not really an excuse. I was doing this way before winter hit us. Honestly, I think I'm just lonely and looking for some way to spend my time without sitting around and moping and wondering what other people are doing right at this moment. I love my son, but I'm finding it increasingly hard to enjoy him all day at home. He no longer naps and requires a lot of attention from me and his father, since, obviously, he has no one else with whom to play. I really want to have fun with him, but sometimes, I'm bored. Is that a terrible thing for me to say? Anyway, I'm finding my Internet habits are causing me to become increasingly impatient with him, which just isn't fair to either of us. Also, after having a conversation with my husband last night, it seems the Internet is harming our relationship as well. Actually, I think it's both my Internet habits and his video game habits. I know his video games are a way for him to relax, and I totally respect that, especially because he works so hard. However, we've spent many a night at home lately with him in front of the TV playing his XBox 360 and me in front of my laptop Twittering away about nothing in particular, and with very little interaction between us besides a quick kiss after he gets home from work and another quick kiss before he goes to bed. And, long after he and our son have gone to sleep, I'm still up past midnight checking my Facebook page or, again, Tweeting about some nonsense or other. How did we let technology take over our lives like that? It seemed to happened so easily. Anyway, to finally get to the point, and yes, I do have one, I'm going to put some limits on my Internet usage from now on. I haven't formed a complete plan, yet, but it'll probably be something that involves a timer or alarm of some kind and setting aside a particular time each day to do such things as check my e-mail and maybe read a favorite blog or webcomic (or two). I'm not giving up my Twitter or Facebook accounts, but I definitely need to limit my time on both sites. I'm telling you this now because it means I probably won't be blogging as much as I have in the past. I really enjoy this form of expression, but it's become another way for me to take the time I should be spending with my loved ones and, instead, using it to probably just bore other people about things happening in my life that are really only relevant to me and my family. I do thank all of you who come by here regularly. I have really appreciated all your thoughts and kind words over the past months. And, I promise to try to blog whenever I can or feel up to it. It's just that right now, I don't feel like there's anything particularly interesting going on in my life, so why take the time to expound on some weird, geeky webcomic that only I would appreciate, when I could be reading a book to my son? I hope I haven't offended any of you with what I've written. Just know that I'll write when I can. Right now, I need to really concentrate on what's important. That being said, I'm going to close my laptop, and go play with V.

Also, I've found that having a broken laptop screen that constantly threatens to fall on my fingers gives me another reason to limit my computer time.
Best to you all,
Amanda

Opera House Glove and Caplet GIVEAWAY!!!!

Opera House Glove and Caplet GIVEAWAY!!!!

My inner cosplaying-self is squealing with glee for these gloves, caplet, and especially the feathers! This blogger makes beautiful things, but mostly for little girls, so I really get excited when she gives away something for us big girls! ;) I hope I have a chance for these. They'd make a great addition to any 30's style costume for a murder mystery or Halloween party!

Snow Days!

As most of you are probably aware, the Midwest has been slammed with a massive winter storm, particularly where we live in southwestern Indiana. I think we've received around 8 to 10 inches of snow total in the past couple of days. I managed to get the driveway shoveled before B came home early from the office yesterday, only to discover this morning that it had been recovered with a fresh blanket of snow. B's on-call today, and since he didn't have to go into the hospital for anything this morning, he took the job of shoveling. Way back in August or September, I managed to find snow pants for V, so I was really excited that we were finally going to be able to use them. He wasn't so sure about them, his boots, or the snow, but once he realized what I was doing with the shovel yesterday, he wanted to help out as much as possible. He liked to tromp around in the boot prints and tracks left behind by car tires as well as try to push snow away with a broom or the shovel. Today, our neighbors were out pulling their sons on sleds. We don't have a sled, but I discovered our wagon could almost be considered an ATV. It sits up pretty high, and the wheels did fairly well in the shallower snow. I pulled V around our neighborhood in his wagon alongside our neighbors and their sledding boys. I also tried to get V to actually stand or sit in the snow, but it was pretty deep, and he would rather be held than get cold, wet stuff down his boots or in his mittens. All in all, though, we had a pretty good time. I have a feeling we'll be making a day of it tomorrow.

It reminds me of the line from "A Christmas Story": "My kid brother looked like a tick about ready to pop."


What our driveway looked like yesterday before being shoveled.


There's a lawn table and chairs underneath all that snow somewhere!


"Look, Mommy! I put on my mittens all by myself!"


Our little helper tries to push snow with the shovel.


V sitting atop one of the tall snowbanks left behind after all of our shoveling.


I made a snow angel and tried to get V to make one, too. He wasn't very happy about that.


Our wagon, the All Terrain Vehicle!


Hope you're all trying to stay warm and dry like us!
Best,
Amanda

Photos of V at Almost 2.5 Years Old

I forgot to include some pictures with my post of V's latest antics, so here are a few recent ones taken around Christmas time and this past month:



Best,
Amanda

Overheard...

While checking my e-mail earlier this afternoon, I heard V walking around the dining and living rooms on the main level of our house. All of a sudden, I overheard him yelling, "Oh, crap!" repeatedly. He was just fine, and it sounded like he was trying the words out for fun. I realized, though, that we're now at the stage when B and I need to watch what we say around him. Actually, my first thought was "He's really hearing the words I say, now. All the words. Oh, crap."
Guess I better find some new words for when I'm frustrated, angry, or exasperated, especially when V is in earshot.
Best,
Amanda