To the North!

Northern California, that is.  We went there for a week and had a grand old time, full of sights and seeing.  Here's how it all happened:

For months we contemplated having a vacation before the Speck arrives--a "babymoon", if you prefer the jargon--but never decided on anything.  Then towards the end of March Drew's boss suggested he come out to California to finally visit the office (he works remotely, you may recall).  To which I said "Vacation!!!" and that was that.  So, not only did we get vacation, we got part of it paid for, since Drew was doing work stuff for a few days.  Partly paid for trips are really the best kind of trips.

We went a lot of places and saw a lot of things, and by golly, if I can boil a Mediterranean cruise down to one post, I can surely do the same for this trip!  But as usual, Drew has covered it in greater detail, if you are looking for detail.  Let's take it place by place:

1) Sacramento: home of the airport and our arrival after an uneventful flight.  We picked up our rental car and headed to...

2) Rancho Cordova: our nearby destination and home of Drew's office.  We checked into our hotel, and tried without success to find a Hmong restaurant in the area.  In the end we went to the recommended Adalberto's for Mexican.  

It turns out their menu is almost identical to the places here, but the food was a lot less greasy, came with free salsa and chips and didn't require a Tums later.  Win-win-win!  From RC, we went a ways up the road to...

3) El Dorado Hills!  We lived here for several years when I was a lass--it's the place and house I remember best from my childhood and it's where we moved from when we went to Missouri.  It was strange and fun to visit, where some things looked so much the same and so many things looked totally different.  It would have been fun to be there with my family, who remember so much more than me, but I did all right on my own.  It was much greener and prettier (scenically speaking) than I remembered.  In some ways it reminded me very much of Missouri, which I did not expect.

My old house!  My room was upstairs in the far right corner.  I wonder if the Strawberry Shortcake wallpaper is still up...

My beloved elementary school.  Go Badgers!  Who are now, apparently, bears. 

At the end of our EDH exploring, we went back to Rancho and picked up a (pricey) pizza from Round Table Pizza, just because I remembered it.  It was very good, and Drew is so nice not to complain when I want a vegetable pizza.

The next three days we stayed in Rancho, and Drew went to work while I sat by the pool in the morning and did little projects at the hotel in the afternoon.  The weather was perfect the entire trip, though the locals apologized many times that it wasn't "better." 

Drewbles went into more detail about this, but I will mention it too.  He's been listening to this particular Survivor podcast for a number of years now, and the people who do it live near Rancho.  So on Wednesday night we watched Survivor with them and then featured on the recap podcast after!  We are like celebrities or at least celebrity adjacent.  Anyway, they were extremely nice and very conscientious hosts and never let my water glass run out.  We stayed up very, very late, but it was really fun and Drew was beside himself with glee.  The next morning we checked out and headed off to...

4) The Jelly Belly Factory: It is exactly what it sounds like--a factory for making jelly bellies.  It also includes this soaring jelly belly man and a lot of Ronald Reagan art made from jelly bellies.

We bought a bag of Belly Flops, had some samples, wore our hats on the tour and then got back on the road for...  

5) The Walt Disney Family Museum: This was our first stop in San Francisco, and it is also much what it sounds like (though it is not owned or run by the Disney company).  We had some navigational issues getting there, but still had plenty of time to see it all.  Highlights include a model of Disneyland and the frequent benches that I took advantage of.  

 

 

After a few hours here, it was evening time and we headed into...

6) San Francisco (proper): We started our first night there by sitting down on the bed and...didn't get up again.  We ordered some Thai and watched a lot of Wife Swap while waiting for Project Runway, which didn't come on until 9 and was TWO HOURS and I fell asleep at the end.  It was good to take it easy because the next day started early with...

6a) Fisherman's Wharf/Aquarium of the Bay/Pier 39: I very much enjoy the sight and smell of fresh seafood, even though I am sometimes grossed out by seeing their glassy eyeballs.  The aquarium was a bit on the small side, but I enjoyed their multiple tunnels and baby rays that would pop their little faces out of the water--has anyone ever seen full-grown rays do that?  I never have seen the like!  Anyway, the chowder from Boudin's made a very excellent lunch.

 

 

 

 

We also saw Hugh Jackman.

6b) Alcatraz: there are so many places I never thought I would actually see in my life, and this is one of them.  One of the good things about Drew is that he DOES stuff instead of wishing to do stuff or talking about doing stuff.  I am less of a doer so he is good for me that way.  Anyhoo, Alcatraz!  It was a very interesting place to visit and kind of spooky too, being an old prison and all.  What a horrible place to live!  Then again, the people who lived there were pretty horrible themselves so...

 

 

One tourist lady in particular was taking these super excited photos throughout. I decided to try her method in the solitary confinement area.  No light or human contact, woot!

6c) Lombard Street: It's...curvy...?  We spent the rest of the night watching Wife Swap (again) and waiting for the new episode of Grimm to come on, only to get a repeat in the end.  Thwarted!

6d) Muir Woods: When I was girl in EDH, we learned about Redwoods in school and all got a tiny sapling to plant.  I remember having ideas about planting it under a trampoline and the tree growing up through it.  This was a silly idea, not least because we didn't even HAVE a trampoline.  Anyway, it was been a lifelong goal of mine to see the Redwoods, and we did it!  (Also, I have to give Rise of the Planet of the Apes credit for my knowing there were Redwoods near San Francisco.)

 

 

 

Sometimes when I see something like this that I've always wanted to see, it feels kind of anticlimactic when it actually happens.  I don't know what I expect--that there will be streamers or fireworks or people congratulating me?  I am learning to just be impressed and glad on my own.  And the trees were SO tall and lovely and it smelled so nice.  Muir Woods itself is a very nice place to visit, with wide, smooth paths to walk on and numerous options for trails of various lengths.  I would love to go back one day and do a longer one, with Drew carrying the Speck around instead of me.  We left there with a little tree model carved from--what else--a Redwood and a nifty pair of earrings made of tiny Redwood pinecones.

6e) The Golden Gate Bridge: We drove over it four times and took lots of pictures.  It is, um, a good, sturdy bridge.

(For all our awkward-on-purpose picture taking, sometimes we look kind of awkward on accident.  It keeps us humble?)

6f) Ocean Beach: Neither of us knew SF housed such a great, sandy beach!  I could have sat there all day, and I would be happy to live in earshot of waves.  Alas, I know from House Hunters that that can be a very expensive place to live.  We did some sand writing, I found some more shells for my collection and we were grossed out by the many partial bodies of crabs in the sand.

  
6g) Ghiradelli Square: We wound up going here for dinner at a fancy schmancy restaurant and I had more chowder (not as good as Boudin's!).  True fact: I couldn't eat all my bread bowl but since I cannot let a bread bowl go to waste, I brought it all the way back home. 

And that, essentially, was the end of our trip!  The next morning we packed, I wore my dress as a skirt (awesome), I maybe cried about not being able to pack a suitcase right (um), we went back to Sacramento and a short flight and drive later we were back at home.

It was the perfect length of trip, and it was fun to see a new place and so many new things.  I was a little nervous beforehand about my ability to do stuff, and while I wasn't as fast as usual, I was quite pleased with how well I kept up and how not-hard it was.  Go me!  I suppose the Speck deserves a little credit there too.  *high fives tummy*  Thanks for the trip, Husb and Husb's work!

(Final side note: people in California were much more prone to stare at my stomach than Utahers.  Also much more prone to say things like "When are you due!?!?  *googly eyes*"  Newbs.)

Crafts are for Babies! (pt. 4)

Way back at Christmastime, when the world was finally interesting to me again (beyond House Hunters and the couch), I started thinking about this little creature human who had taken up residence in my innards.  Not meaningful thoughts, but thoughts like "I should probably make something."  I enjoyed making my little felt snowmen so much that I soon came to the conclusion that I needed to make a mobile with felt animals galore.  

I poked around the internet for tutorials, but the one I kept seeing that suited my plan involved cross stitching hoops.  Now, let me say that sometimes I am irrational.  And for some reason I was irrationally against using cross stitching hoops.  The thought filled me with revulsion.  It STILL fills me with revulsion.  (Obviously I have nothing against other people using those hoops--it's just the thought of ME using them that I can't stand) 

So, I came up with the whole design myself and I intended to document this whole mobile-making process from start to finish.  Well.  That didn't really happen at all.  Oh well, I'll conquer Pinterest another day.  Plus, now I am mysterious.  

Once we knew the Speck was a boy, I knew I wanted a mobile of sea creatures.  So Drewbles and I brainstormed a bit for creatures and corresponding colors and then I drew the thing up:

(Side story: sometimes during college, when I was really hungry, I would sometimes draw my dinner in my notebook margins--all of the ingredients and how to assemble them.  This worked best with sandwiches and burritos.)

Then I drew out my little patterns, using an oatmeal lid as a frame for the drawings to keep them all roughly the same size.  It was not an exact science, as some were long and some were tall and some were big all around. 

We took a little trip to Coney Island Hobby Lobby and then I got to work cutting them out.  Then, while we were in California and Drew was working, I spent a couple afternoons sewing them up and stuffing them.  One thing I quickly learned: stuff as you go!  I even took a picture of this part:

That was the last picture I took before it was done, oops.  Assembly didn't take as long as I thought, but I did hit a bump when it came time to fixing the anchor to the rest of it (I had drawn this out but it didn't work quite right in execution).  I scowled at it for a few days and then Drew sat down and figured it out in ten minutes.  This is what husbandfolk are for, people.  Here is the finished product:

(Husbandfolk are also handy for holding things so you can take pictures of your craftiness)

Here are some glamour shots of the individual players:

(We call this one Spyro...it was not intentional)

(When I sewed this one up his open-mouthed smile kind of disappeared.  Now it looks more like a toothless, old-man kind of smile.  But he's still pretty cute, I GUESS.)

I'll let you work out just how it all came together because it would be a really boring thing to read and probably confusing without any pictures.  But I'm pleased to say that it turned out exactly how I envisioned it, and really, can one ask any more of a craft?  

The Law and the Lady (Book Review)

Author: Wilkie Collins
Year: 1875
Genre: Mystery/Classics
Reading Level: Adult

Plot Summary: Valeria is a brand-new bride when she accidentally uncovers a dreadful secret in her new husband's past.  Too ashamed to live with her knowing she is aware of his history, her husband leaves her.  Determined to recover her marriage, Valeria begins her own investigation into the past, but what she finds there may do more harm than good.

Red Flags: None

My Rating: B
This book was a nice change of pace, as it's been a while since I read a classic.  I wish I could say this was more satisfying than it was, but still, I generally enjoyed it.  The first half was definitely my favorite part--it was compelling and mysterious.  The second half started to drag, partly because I figured things out so far ahead of the characters (it would be interesting to know if many contemporary readers solved the mystery early or if this is just a byproduct of living in the age of Law & Order).   

There were a lot of interesting elements to this book, as well as a few rather dull ones.  Dexter in particular was so different and, really, quite strange (as was Ariel).  It's also unusual to read a mystery novel from a female protagonist's perspective.  Valeria was not the most exciting character, but I always hoped the best for her and was invested in her self-declared mission. I wouldn't call Wilkie Collins a masterful writer, but he did create a couple of very memorable (and rather tragic) characters.

Overall, there were some very unique elements to this book, especially in the characters, and the mystery was a compelling one.  I wish the second half had kept up the intensity of the first, but despite my quibbles, it was a worthwhile read.

Memorable lines:
"It shared the fate of most warnings. It only made me more and more eager to have my own way."--ch. 23

"My brains are boiling in my head."--ch. 24

"There is the whole difference between the mental constitution of the sexes, which no legislation will ever alter as long as the world lasts! What does it matter? Women are infinitely superior to men in the moral qualities which are the true adornments of humanity. Be content—oh, my mistaken sisters, be content with that!"--ch. 29

"And so it ended! Not as I thought it would end; not perhaps as you thought it would end. What do we know of our own lives? What do we know of the fulfillment of our dearest wishes? God knows—and that is best."--ch. 50

Crafts are for Babies! (pt. 3)

I followed up my first sewing effort with an infinitely easier project!  I wanted to sew something for the Speck so I could later say "Hey, you, don't spit up on that nice thing I made for you!"  I hunted around the internet's tutorials but never found anything easy enough suitable.  So I gave up on that for a while, until I happened across a super easy tutorial for a super easy blanket (showing here).  And what can I say, it was as super easy as it looked! 

 

(Sometimes when I just glance at those little whales I think their red cheeks are eyes and they look scary.  I'm sure the Speck will be wiser than me.)

There is some question as to who this blanket belongs too...but I must say that I had the first nap with it.  Tis cozy. 

Consider this a sneak peek into our maritime/aquatic/oceanic airlines themed room for the Speck.  And by "themed" I mean it has things in it that made us say "Hey, it's oceany!  Let's get that one." 

Insurgent (Book Review)

Author: Veronica Roth
Year: 2012
Genre: Dystopian
Reading Level: Young Adult
Series: Second in the Divergent trilogy

Literary Awards:

Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fantasy and Best Goodreads Author (2012)

Plot Summary: The harmony that once existed between the five factions is gone, replaced with the threat of war and death.  Tris Prior grapples with the loss of her family and her own guilt, all while being stuck firmly in the middle of the factions' conflicts.  To keep what she has left will require sacrifice and (dun dun dun) insurgency.

Red Flags: Violence, some mild teenage lustiness

My Rating: B-
I'm not going to go on about this too much--most of my issues with this book were the same as with the first.  The first thing I noticed about this book was that I had forgotten almost everything about Divergent in the two months since reading it.  I remembered the basics, but I forgot almost every side character.  Not only that, but I forgot characters introduced in this book when I didn't read for a day or two.  What does that mean?  Too many side characters.  

Overall, this book was just kind of dull for me.  It's too long, too little happens and the ending is only so-so.  Tris veers a bit into Bella territory with her needless intentions of self-sacrifice and overwrought romantic angsting.  But I liked Janice Christina more this time around, and I'll surely pick up the third one at some point to see how it all wraps up.  But...I just don't think this series is that great.  Maybe in a few years, after a few more books, Veronica Roth will impress me more.

Some choice lines:
"Something inside me gets warm and soft."  (Just like a Hot Pocket in the microwave)

Crafts are for Babies! (pt. 2)

When I was a girl child, my Mama taught me how to sew.  This was probably a rather obnoxious process for her, given myself, but she persevered and I went on to make many pairs of pajama pants.  The last few years I've wanted to get a sewing machine but since we didn't really have a place, I held off.  This past Christmas, aided by Black Friday, I got myself a shiny new sewing machine.  It is hardly fancy pants, but it's just right for me right now.  

After Christmas I did not sew a single thing, partly because I was just too intimidated by it after not sewing for a number of years.  I talked a lot about making things for the Speck, but it never happened (see previous sentence).  Finally, when our recent vacation plans materialized and involved a pool, I decided it was time to break it out--I needed a swimsuit cover-up, if I wanted to avoid looking ridiculous in my usual one.  I read this tutorial about 50 times and decided I could do it (insert triumphant *fistpump* here).  

The first step: Subject Drewbles to the fabric store after work.  This was a good idea because it turns out he has a knack for spotting the perfect thread match.

(I say subject because my Daddio would rather go, well, anywhere other than the fabric store, so I have long since assumed all dudes are this way.  But, as usual, the Husb is happy to go along to anywhere.)

The second step: Decide there's plenty of time before vacation and let the fabric age like a fine cheese on the counter.

The third step: Realize we're leaving in two days and spend part of Friday night learning how to thread the bobbin and practicing on a fabric remnant from Walmart.  

(This is the ideal setup for sewing)

The fourth step: Trick Drewbles into thinking I made him pajama pants and watch him try to put them on.  

 

HAHAHA, I fooled him so good!!!!!

The fifth step: Mark the pattern with chalk using a tank top and maxi dress (I didn't trust myself to do it free hand), then do anything else to avoid actually cutting the fabric.

The sixth step: Cautiously cut the fabric, gathering steam along the way.  Gather so much steam that I don't bother to cut the hem in any kind of straight line.

The seventh step: Fret that it will never fit, but start sewing anyway.

The eighth step: Finish, with only having to redo one section, and immediately wiggle into it, despite all the clothes I'm already wearing. 

The ninth step: Rejoice that it fits!  For some reason, I uncharacteristically skipped the "weep and wail as perfectionism takes over" part and went straight to the "laugh at how wobbly some of the seams are" part instead.  

The tenth step: Hurray!  

Crafts are for Babies! (pt. 1)

A few months ago, Drewbles and I were talking about the Care Bear Stare (never let it be said that we don't talk about the important things).  At that moment, it dawned on me that I had the PERFECT Care Bear tummy.  What better way, I thought, to harness the potential of my basketball-like figure than with a shirt that would make me look like a Care Bear?  

Well.  As it turns out, no one else has had this same idea because I couldn't find anything like that.  Ideally, this is what I wanted:

But I couldn't find anything close to that, so I put on my thinking cap again.  I had this pack of iron-on paper already so if I could find a pink maternity shirt then I could make my own!  You would think pink maternity shirts would be everywhere, but I had trouble finding the right one.  Eventually I happened upon one at Hobby Lobby (of COURSE) that was even on super sale (of COURSE--I mean, it was Hobby Lobby [I love you, Hobby Lobby!]).

So I made my awesome design in Photoshop, which took all of five minutes (all I did was find an image of the belly I wanted and then used the pen tool to recreate the shape at the size I wanted).  Then I got out my iron-on paper-in-waiting and printed it off.  "So close to finishing and it was so easy!" I crowed. 

Here's a funny thing: apparently unused sheets of iron-on paper don't really last for, oh, ten years.  Who would have thought?  I tried twice--there was no way that transfer was separating from the backing paper.  NO WAY. 

I'm pleased to say the story has a happy ending that goes like this: we went to Walmart and bought new paper.  I printed it off again, peeled off the backing in 30 seconds and finished my shirt at last!  On our vacation last week I broke it out for the first time:

(Why yes, I DID take these pictures in the hotel bathroom.  I hope you notice their fine 90s decor.)

Wearing the design on such an, ahem, rounded surface makes it kind of pucker around the edges, but I don't care because it's still so funny to me.  And before you ask, I picked Love-a-lot bear's design simply because that's the Care Bear I have.  

But yes, one person did ask if I'm having twins.  I can only hope the t-shirt led to that question and not my size...hmmmmm.