Weekend in Review

Nick and I went to a Welcome Home party for a friend that just came back from a month in Brazil. She made some seriously amazing Brazilian food, complete with cocktails made with their signature liquor. After a few of those, things got a little crazy. I can't remember the last time I went to a party that so many stupid silly things happened - it was a great time!

First, there was Jello-Bear. There is a back story, of course.

There's this teddy bear, which has been around for a while now. About 3 years ago, Nick and Zak were roommates, and their apartment building had an underground parking garage. Zak found the bear abandoned on the dumpster, and put it on the hood of Nick’s car. Nick knew it was Zak, so he skewered the bear on Zak’s antenna. This bear has been going back and forth this entire time…one time it wound up under someone’s back tire, so when they backed out, it lost a leg. We snuck it into Zak’s mailbox once. Nick and I asked Zak to take care of our cats while we were on vacation in June…when we came back the bear was in our freezer.

So….we had to come up with something good….12 large boxes of jello and 2 days later…we had jello bear!

Then, there was the waxing. Our friend Elishia is an aesthetician - she brought a home waxing kit to help fit in with the "Brazilian" theme. If you don't get the reference, I would recommend Google - but do not click on any images!!!

So, the waxing kit. It turns out Nicole was due for a brow touch-up, so we started the wax heating. Nick and Zak couldn't turn down a crazy stunt.....

Reality Trumps Aspiration

Remember that time when I talked about hand-stitching a quilt? Remember how determined I was to accomplish said task? Things have changed. Now I'm more determined to finish the quilt with my sanity intact. I bought a sewing machine. Hopefully I'll have this finished before next year!

Don't get me wrong, I still believe that I could finish that quilt by hand. Unfortunately this project was turning out to be a stressful deadline situation, and I was losing my motivation to do it with the thoughts of how much time it was going to take. So, screw it, I bought a machine.

Just Call Me "Covered Wagon Kim"

I'm really inspired by the things my mother writes about on her website.

Scratch that.

I'm really inspired by the way my mom lives her life. There are certain things that I could never do, like homeschooling children if I had any, or live in the country full time, or depend on a wood burning stove for all of my heat in the winter. But then there are other things she does that are so simple and easy to do with a little motivation and creativity. She makes her own laundry soap and dries her clothes out on the line. She uses food containers for storage, and a coffee can for her knitting, rather than buying some fancy container at the store. She has a very productive garden, which lowers her dependence on the grocery store produce department considerably. She's not afraid to make big purchases when they are necessary, such as a new washing machine or food processor, but necessary is the key element in her spending. She's constantly trying to find new ways to be "green" - something I thought I had down pretty well as a Seattle-ite, but I'm constantly learning new things from her and those who contribute comments on her website.

I've started taking on new projects, which are inspired by her ideas, but not necessarily based on them. This year was my first attempt at a garden. I have to keep it pretty small, since I only have my apartment deck to store everything on, but I have a variety of plants going. I've definitely learned a few things this year, and hope that next year will be even more fruitful.

I've also taken up canning. I had some girlfriends over on Labor Day for a canning party where we made apple butter! I'm hoping to expand my pantry of home-canned goods in the next couple of months. Not only will this enable Nick and I to enjoy seasonal produce all year, but it will certainly make for inexpensive Christmas gifts!

My newest and biggest project is quilting. I'm making a baby quilt for a friend and it's turned into quite the adventure! I don't have a sewing machine, and though I could certainly fit one into my budget, I think I'm pretty good with a needle and thread. I have really short legs, so I get plenty of practice hemming most of my slacks. So, I'm hand-stitching the entire thing. That's right. I'm hand quilting the layers together, only after I've hand stitching each piece of fabric together. It's going to take me FOREVER to complete. I was hoping to have it done by the time the baby is born in November, but I suspect this may turn into a Christmas present when all is said and done....

I've even expanded my cooking to simpler things! Rather than spending tons of money every day to make fancy dinners, I'm spending more time studying what I already have in the kitchen, cooking from my cupboards. When I want to try something new, I usually find my recipes online, where I can review other peoples' reviews to determine if something is worth the time and cost to make. I'm also working really hard to not eat out as often - something that has not been easy with the social girls I work with!

Okay...I'm officially rambling. I guess I just want to brag about the positive changes that I've been making, and brag about what a great influence my mom has been!

But Wait, There’s More!

It seems that some clarification is needed with regard to my last post. I think Sarah Palin seems like a cool person -- A kick in the pants, if you will. However, I have no intention of voting for her. Her stances on the key issues are exactly the opposite of what I believe. I think it would be fun to have a beer with her and NOT discuss politics. If we went there I might be tempted to punch her in the face.

Next on The Opinion Poll

Alright, I'll admit it. I like her! I don't agree with Sarah Palin on many things. However, I think she is good at delivering a speech. She's SASSY! And FUNNY! I'd love to grab a beer with her sometime. Unfortunately I think some of her statements were less than factual, and she went on the attack a bit more than necessary. I also have to say that I think she shot herself in the foot with her statements about Obama's lack of experience. I certainly don't discount her experience and background, but I don't think she's in any position to point fingers.

As much as I think it was more strategy from the Republican Ticket, I can certainly appreciate the time Palin took to introduce her entire family. I'm sure she's a great mother who loves her family, but I stand by my previous statement.

Step down and take care of your family.

The Circus That This Election Has Become

Oy. Where to start? I don’t think anyone would argue with my view that McCain’s choice of running-mate is curiously strategic. I’m just not sure how good his strategy really is. While I believe that there are women voters who would be happy with any woman in office – one step at a time, so they say – I also think most Hillary supporters are smart enough to know that Sarah Palin does not side with them on the key issues. It’s rather offensive that McCain thinks this strategy will work with the majority of women voters, really.

If I were a member of the Republican Party, I would be pissed at McCain. He’s made a complete spectacle of his campaign. He chose someone who he barely knows, who has very little political experience and zero foreign policy experience. Sortof kills his argument that Obama is too “green” for office if you ask me. He chose someone with quite the controversial background, who is in the midst of quite the shocking situation with her daughter.

Let the games begin! I know that any running-mate he chose would be under harsh scrutiny, and it’s pretty much impossible to keep your skeletons in the closet when you’re running for office. The celebrity comes with a very high price, and I certainly don’t envy anyone in that position. However, it seems that voting her into office is exactly the type of thing that the Republican Party would term a “Slippery Slope”.

If I were a member of the Republican Party, I would be pissed at Palin as well. What does it say for your family values if you’re willing to accept a position knowing it will put your pregnant teenage daughter on a pedestal? I absolutely agree that family should be left out of the campaign process – especially children. I don’t think anyone would argue that point. However, I can’t believe that Palin would actually think this situation would be left untouched because family should be held “sacred” in the political process. Shame on you, Mother Palin. Step down and take care of your family.