apron strings

seasons of change.

I am thinking about quitting this blog. I am too busy and just have so many things pulling at my time.  And rather than write a few lines, I'd rather use that time to read your blogs. 

  

But maybe that's because I feel guilty-for some unknown reason-for not posting more when I don't. 

I doubt I'll go completely away, but I do suspect that I'll post less. 

xoxoxo

say it ain't so. (wordless wednesday)

insult to injury. ouch.

So, I am so, so sick. I have been since friday. It just keeps getting worse. I took my temperature-it is 103 with tylenol. 

Which means that it is probably not just a cold. The symptoms are a lot like those when I had strep. 

Which would be one of the worst things cate could catch. 

No nursing. No touching. Until we know. Until I finish antibiotics. 

I am heartbroken. First I have to birth her into a cruel world. And now, I can't even feel her nurse. 

Maybe my temperature is making me even more dramatic that usual. Because I am heartbroken. I've never not touched her for more than a handful of hours. And I've never gotten used to her not being inside me. 

Take a gander of the deliciousness that I am dying to touch. 

Cate. The Diaper Sessions. (wordless wednesday)

Cate. Now with Wings. Valentine's Day Pictures 2009. Volume I of III

Taking pictures of an infant is comical to say the least. I took at least 100 pictures in eight or so minutes. Half of the time she spent eating the tutu. And who can blame her? 

This is my February Creative Resolution. Because I have spent waaayyyy too much time on it. 

This really is volume on of three. Seriously, if you don't like pictures of a baby in a tutu-you've come to the wrong place. 

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

In Pursuit of Pictures

These are two of the 100 or so pictures that I took yesterday. They represent the lot. Yeah. So, we'll be at it again soon. After all, there's only one week left until Valentine's Day.

p.s. as much as I love Winston, he wasn't meant to be a part of the picture. 

Give V'day A Chance.

I love Valentine's Day. For so many reasons. The general dislike-even outright- abhorence of this day- remains unfounded. Contrary to popular belief, Hallmark did not, in fact, begin this pink and red saturated Valentine's Day. 

From the Associated Press:

***

...it wasn't called "Valentine's Day" until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II's decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down this decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14.

***

I mean, if you have the lonely circumstance of spending Valentine's alone, as I did for too many years, then your hatred of this day is understandable--if not deserved.

What about those who lament the commercialization of this holiday? Why let retailers ruin your day? Why not ignore the disconcerting aspect of Valentine's Day?  Boycott all  chocolates, over-priced flowers and fancy dinners and most especially the oh-so-evil Hallmark. I mean, do Valentine's Day haters also boycott Thanksgiving and the holiday season? I think not. 

Maybe all Valentine's Day haters are in the 1% of people who make sure that those around them know how much they care about them, all day everyday. Me? K? not.so.much. 

So, this girl and her ruddy haired husband and, of course and most of all, my teeny petit chou...will celebrate. With inexpensive pink and red decorations, valentines from cate to family and her boyfriend Carter and friend Olivia. 

plans. 

pictures. 

none yet. pictures of cate coming soon. which will include this dress, a tutu and feathered wings. when daddy is at work and can't stop me. and cate, who at twelve pounds, can only protest a wee bit.  

questions.

1. fess up, do you hate the holiday despite my desperate attempt to convince you otherwise? 

2. plans? 

 

A Nifty Skirt from a Thirfty Find.

Resolution Kept. For January at Least.

To fulfill the promise I made to myself, I made a skirt from a vintage tourist tablecloth, from Sew What Skirts.*

I like the patterns in this book, they are thoughtful enough to be interesting and easy enough to produce near perfect results. 

I made the Tourist Trap Skirt. It's made from a vintage tourist tablecloth. 

 

This skirt reminded me of how much I love to sew. There is the peace of it. The love of it and it gives me the fulfillment that, sometimes, being an attorney does not.  

 

I thought it would take me awhile to get back into sewing, to remember tricks and the tools that get me there. 

 

Though, I did somehow mistake a wax pencil for a chalk one. (um, wax=waxy, chalk =powdery) Which was the worst. If you don't know, you use CHALK pencils to mark the pattern marks, seam lines and darts. Luckily, these sewing experts helped me remedy the error. I had to wash the skirt about four times in cold water. Then I put rubbing alcohol on the spots which at least faded the marks. Then I soaked the skirt for about three days in an ultra-strong oxy mixture. This faded the skirt fabric, which was fine with me since the original colors were initially too bright. 

 

Oddly, I do not have a picture of me actually wearing the skirt, where you can see the whole thing. K was not home when I took the pictures and who knows where my tripod is. I tried to wait for a few days to see if I could grab a minute to get him to take the pictures of me actually wearing the skirt, but since our house nearly caught on fire and then there was the 911 call. I bet as soon as the weather returns to normal, (dear atlanta weather, UNCLE!) I'll wear it and try to snap some shots.

**I hate typepad, at least its cooperation with Macs. Nothing should be this hard. I can't delete pictures. And when I add images, *if,* it works it makes some of the fonts triple sized and makes the paragraphs double-spaced. It is driving me crazy.  

***I googled the author's name, and it appears that she played lacrosse for Yale. Well rounded chick, n'est pas?

On How I Found Myself on All Fours. Calling 911. Screaming.

For absoultuely no reason. 

I heard Cate fussing after a two hour nap. I glanced at the video montior-that shows the entire crib-AND SHE WASN'T IN THERE. 

Having not slept in three nights since the night she started scooting-WHILE FULLY SWADDLED-face down  up to the corner of the crib. 

I RAN UP TWO FLIGHTS OF STAIRS JUMPING FIVE AT A TIME. I rushed to her room. She wasn't in the crib-so I scanned the room, with phone in hand; calling 911. I knew she couldn't hear me-because I knew she had sustained a major head injury. I got on all fours and started crawling and screaming bloody murder.  

I didn't see her. I knew she had made it to the stairs and was about to roll down them and die. So I tried  to get up to run. I promptly fell back onto all fours. 

As I crawled, on all fours, through a suddenly quiet house..... I remembered. Cate was at the sitters. 

I am crazy. Seriously crazy.