First: 10 MInute Drawstring Pouch Tutuorial

That's right friends, I sewed something. And I took pictures of it! The sewing something is not the surprising part, but the taking pictures part is. The posting of the pictures is particularly mind-boggling. Blogger and I have not been getting along recently, and we've been fighting about pictures. 

Regardless, here is what I made:

What: Drawstring pouch for sunglasses

Materials: Two scraps of different fabric, and 8-10 inches of ribbon or twine or string. 

Why: Because I'm too cheap to buy a sunglasses case. Or nice sunglasses for that matter. They're sentimental. But I do want to protect them. 

How long: 20 minutes. This includes time for photo taking, two phone calls, and some very loud and distracting thunder and lightning. 

How: Allow me to show you

1. Size it up. Allow room for seams. Approx. 1/4 inches on all sides. 2 inches for the top. 

2. Pin it up. Pin all the way up one side, and leave about 1" space at the top of one side. If you squint you can see the seam stops well below the pin on the left. 

3. Repeat with second fabric. I chose a nice flannel (because I already had it) to be a soft liner for the sunglasses pouch. You can see here how I left a space at the top of one side of each pouch. 

4. Pin the pouch tops right sides together. Match up the sides with the gap. Sew all the way around the tops of the pouches. Skip the gap. 

5. By now you should have a long rectangle of fabric that is "inside out" with a 2" or so gap in the middle. Pin the lips of the gap back. This will be where the drawstrings come out. 

6. Carefully  sew the hem of each lip back. Do not sew this opening shut. You may need to roll back the lip that you are not working with and pin it. It should look like this when you finish this step.

7. Fold your long rectangle in half where the two sections of fabric meet. Match up the corners and sew at a 45 degree angle at both corners. Cut off the corner. This step will prevent the pouch from getting twisted, tangled, or infuriatingly inverted.

8. I don't know I don't have this picture, but reach through the lips of the gap that you sewed shut is step 6. Grab one of the corners, and pull is out of the gap. Pull gently until you have turned your pouch right side out. All of your seams should be hidden on the inside now, the corners are secured to one another, and you have the gap for the drawstring.

9. Now we need to sew around the circumference of the top to make a pocket for the drawstring. Locate the bottom of the gap, and use that as a guide.

10. Grab a safety pin and your ribbon, thread, twine, or whatever you are using for the drawstring. Attach the pin to your ribbon, and thread it through the drawstring pocket. Go around the whole pocket twice as shown in the next pictures. This will help keep the pouch closed when you want it closed.

11. Tie off your ribbon and you're done.

That Face

The only "celebrity" I've ever been told that I look like is Jane, from Tarzan. Resemblance?

Perhaps. 

But lately it seems that everyone seems to know me! Which is funny because I've been in this state never before, and I've lived here for a grand total of three and a half weeks. 

Nevertheless. 

While I've been running or walking Luna, I've been getting a lot of the beep-n-wave. Not the Honk-n-Holler. Which is different, and can best be described as a not so polite way of complimenting a lady on the way she looks. No its definitely been the beep-n-wave. Last week a family in an SUV drove by TWICE to make sure they got a wave back from me. 

At church yesterday, I was told I had a twin sister (news to me) in somebody's sister-in-law. I've never felt so popular. I guess this all comes from having an average looking dog, and being average height, weight, hair color, face shape etc. I look like a lot of people. 

So do me a favor. Pick your favorite doppleganger, and let me know who she (or if you're feeling mean) or he is. I wanna know who else in this great big world I look like. So have fun and tell me who. 

Whale Watching in Juneau, AK

                                   

Squirrel!

Luna learned a new word. They didn't hang around much in Utah, so she never learned it. But she seems to like it now. It can be a great distraction. Much like good old Dug.

Laundry Day

Now that we're in an apartment, we get to trek to the floor below up for the good old coin-op laundry. I actually don't mind that. I can haul my laundry down, throw them into a few machines, haul it back up and fold it in just an hour or so. Done and Done. No more all day laundry sessions. Plus, the machines are HE, and my clothes get even more clean. Love. It.

But it is still laundry day. There are always drawbacks. Like:

1. You're down to the bottom of the pile, and the last pair of skivvies bunch. 

2. Your last pair of running shorts are the ones that habitually ride up. That half moon during the day? Not mine, but (butt) pretty close. 

3. All of my favorites are dirty, so I have to get creative with my outfits. 

Alas, I'm sure I'm not the only one with Laundry Day blues. The only solution: wash your stinky clothes. 

On a separate and unrelated note, I still can't find my hot pads, windex, or leather wipes. Shoot.

(On a sperate and unrelated note, if anyone finds a small, brass key...)
[10 points if you can name the show. 20 if you can name the show AND season.]

First: Best Asian Inspired Dinner EVER

You all know that I'm no cook. Cooking is a necessary evil, and whenever possible, should be done by someone else.

So two posts in a week that include food, that I've made... unheard of. I guess my problem in that I love to eat. Go figure.

So part of my being (happily) unemployed for the moment has meant that I've been trying to be superwife. I've done a pretty good job this week, I think. I planned out all of the meals, and today I even started to prepare them before hubby got home from school! Superwife: 1, Daytime Television: 0

On the menu today was a feast. I kid you not. Between the two of us, there are rarely leftovers. We have an entire MEAL left. Not lunch sized, but dinner sized. Our amazing feast included two favorites, and a newbie.

Teriyaki Marinated Chicken Kabobs. (Diced chicken marinated in Kikkoman teriyaki sauce, then 'grilled' on the George Foreman)
Giada's Asian Chicken Salad (minus the chicken, the dressing is my absolute favorite)
and
Emily's Sesame Noodles (Make sure to make it with the Udon noodles)

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Oh. My. Yummy. 

I may have to start cooking on a regular basis. 

Welcome to Chigacoland!

No seriously, that is the name of our collective suburb. West Chicagoland. I laughed at first, but then I realized it was serious. There is a reason there are about 300 different freeways and highways crisscrossing Chicago and its suburbs. Oh. My. Goodness. And I thought Seattle was bad.

The biggest adjustment for me is that everything is flat. Like a pancake. Not even a lumpy pancake. Earlier this summer we flew into O'Hare, and I commented (with some despair in my voice) that there wasn't a hill over 6 feet tall within sight. Which is a long freaking way. Because there are no hills to block your view. I do not take that statement back. But, I'm am getting to like it. We are on the 5th floor of our apartment, and we can see for miles! And miles, and miles... Its actually really neat. My favorite part has been the thunderstorms. West, and mountain west regions have NOTHING on these thunderstorms. They are just plain Wicked!

Other than the overall flatness, we are adjusting well. Luna slept all 3 driving days, we listened to a book on tape, and we're great! Here are some things I love so far:

1. Fireflies. 'Nuff said.
2. Trees. I missed them living in Utah. Its not Seattle, but the greenery is goooood.
3. People. Everyone that we have met so far is so very very nice! People go out of their way to hold the door open for you, smile at you, say hello... I'm amazed.
4. Our ward. Lots of lovely people that are just so nice!
5. Giordano's Pizza. Look it up. You can have them ship you a pizza. Do it.


Things I do not love so far:

1. Cicadas. They are NOISY! And possibly the ugliest bug you have ever seen. But they are kinds cool in an entomological sense.
2. Humidity. Last week there was a heat warning out. The temp was in the upper 90's, but felt like 109 degrees. I sweat. A lot. Ew.
3. Mosquitoes. Lots of lakes, puddles, and retention ponds = mosquito heaven.
4. Ticks. Haven't found one yet, but Luna got a frontline treatment, and I'm living in fear.
5. Construction. 'Tis the season.

And yesterday we made an amazing dessert. The strangest step for me was to "slowly pour the boiling water mixture over the batter", but it was delicious! And pretty easy. Try it with strawberries and vanilla bean ice cream. :) After you order Giordano's pizza of course.

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Alas! The recipe for Brownie Pudding recipe from the better home and gardens cookbook does not appear to exist on the internet! This is as close as I can find, and mine looked a lot like the picture. I'll try to give you my version in the future.

First: Cross Country Move

Let me just say this right off- Pay someone else to pack for you. It will be totally worth it!

So Far:

One 16 ft moving truck
One tow dolly for Gunner
Two nervous breakdowns
Three trips for more boxes
Three days to drive
Five rolls of packing tape
Lots of stuff to donate
Nine Friends to help

And way too many goodbyes.

Wish us luck on the open road!