Operation Christmas Cookie

Mom and I spent the whole weekend making Christmas cookies. Three pounds of butter, 12 and half cups of flour, and lots of laughing later, we finished with pretty spectacular results!

And the mower got the last word...

Yesterday was probably my last day mowing grass at work, and it was a little chilly out, so I grabbed my favorite toboggan. I don't usually wear it to work, but it was the only one I could find. It used to look like this one below (which is actually my brother's) but blue.



Now it looks like this:




I had taken it off and put it in my pocket, and it fell out on the ground. I guess the mower was either upset with me or hungry, because it sucked it up and spit it out the other side. I nearly cried, as it's the first thing I really designed (not the hat part - it came from Happy Hooker, but the fleur part). Sure I can make another one, but still, there was my happy, favorite hat in a mangled pile of blue yarn, some purple flung about, full of grass and gunk from under the mower deck. Goodbye, mower, I'm sure I won't miss you, and you won't miss me.

OMG! OMG!

I have a new job! The secretary where I work is leaving, and the powers that be have deemed me worthy enough to take her position. I start next week. I'm nervous and scared and excited. I'm so so glad to have to opportunity to move up some, gain some more professional experience, and learn a lot of new things. I've spent the last three days in intense anticipation, and going around feeling like I'm going to throw up all the time. This is definitely a good change.

Thank you, Josh Ritter

Oh bring me the love that can sweeten a sword
A boat that can love the rocks or the shore
The love of the iceberg reaching out for a wreck
Can you love me like the crosses love the nape of the neck?
- To the Dogs or Whoever from The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

John Deere Green

Dan and I spent the weekend in Muncie at Brandon's, and while there traveled to exciting Jay County, which hosted the 42nd Tri-State Gas Engine & Tractor Association show, and I promised a blog post about it. I attended with the promise of steam engines and Ivanhoe's ice cream afterward. Ivanhoe's became a reality, but the steam tractors were a tad scarce. I think there were 5. Here's one of them, heading up the Tractor Parade.


There were however lots of old tractors, about which the guys were able to reminisce about using as kids. This one is apparently similar to one Dan's family had:

I was a little out of my element there, as I pretty much grew up in the city. Even when I lived in the mountains of West Virginia, it was in a subdivision, and the mall was nearby. The closest thing we had to a tractor when I grew up was Grandpa's John Deere riding mower in Jeffersonville. But I digress: the tractor show. There were also a lot of small engines running, however superfluously, as most were not attached to anything. They just ran. Others were running water pumps or performing some other useful task. This was one my of favorites, mainly because it's the right color:


Also in the parade was this cute train, with the cars made from old barrels:


After wandering around the show for a few hours, it started to rain on us, so we drove (or napped) to Ivanhoe's and ate way too much, because that's what one does at Ivanhoe's. On an unexpected but pleasant detour back into town, we ran into this bridge:


which suffered an unfortunate fate:


In all it was a great (albeit very busy) weekend, definitely good to get out of town, and as always, really great to see some old friends.

State Fair, yo

I have not gone to the State Fair in 20 years. Really, I was 7 and living in Fern Creek at the time. I remember going with a girl from school and Girl Scouts. I remember nothing else. I do know that I hate crowds, and that's why I've stayed away. However my inlaws wanted to go tonight, so we went.



That was dinner. Hot beef sundae. Mashed potatoes, roast beef and gravy, corn, and shredded cheddar, with a cherry tomato on top. Heaven. I will be making this at home this winter.



Information you've always wanted: The winners of the ham contest.



This is what award winning tobacco looks like.



We thought these goats were fighting, but we found out later that it was foreplay.



At 815 pounds this was the biggest pumpkin.



Tater zoo!



We spent the whole time there looking for alpaca. At the last booth, right before we left, this is what we found. The stall was empty, containing only this:



Bastids took my alpaca away...



Good night!

IOU

I owe you guys a couple of blog posts, one with pictures from the Art Car Show last weekend, cake makin', and another about this week's LEO. I don't have the energy for it right now, but, I found out today that someone's been using my Blockbuster account. I got a call that I had some movies that were overdue and became suspicious, as I haven't rented a movie in quite some time, so I called. Someone used my account to rent a couple of movies that I've never heard of. Fortunately they're semi-honest people, because the movies had been returned and my credit card hasn't been charged, and I was able to cancel my account. What I don't understand is how they accessed the account to begin with, as I still have my card.
That's all the excitement I have for now...

Dear Josh Ritter, José González, and Alexi Murdoch,

Congratulations! The three of you are officially the songwriters with whom I am in Love. Sorry that you'll all have to share me. Really, guys, your music blows my mind, and right now, I am all a-swoon!

What's happened?

Here's what's happened. I spent the last half hour writing a delightfully funny and well composed blog entry, telling you all about my recent music purchases, domestic adventures and fleeting craziness. Then the internet ate it. I mean, Internet, if you're hungry, eat something that I didn't just spend half an hour writing. Eat something that no one cares about (oh, maybe you did!) And Blogger, you say that you automatically save drafts. So why didn't you? And if you did, where is it? I couldn't find it anywhere. And could I have that half hour of my life back? I could have been doing something else, like, I don't know, staring at the computer some more. Anyway, I'm not so sure I can rewrite that whole thing, but I'll try, just for the three people who read this thing.
Suffice to say that I really wanted to be depressed and spend the day in bed today. Wait, I was (am?) depressed, but I fortunately can recognize it and can force myself out of bed and finally out of the house. So the ipod, the cell phone (and so vicariously Mom) and I walked to ear x-tacy for the new Patty Griffin (who we're going to see next month!), José González (who we're seeing in December!), and Alexi Murdoch. I've also been listening to two awesome podcasts: Ritmo Latino and De Root Art. Ritmo Latino is hosted by a man from Colorado living in Poland, and is broadcast by National Public Radio in Micronesia. De Root Art is done by a Mexican living in England. His description of it says something like, "Music you like but haven't heard yet." This stuff is great. I love it; it's like listening to mix tapes made by people with much better music collections than I have.

Let's see. Domestic adventures... I decided last weekend that it would be a good idea to can spaghetti sauce, seeing as we had about 6 pounds of Roma tomatoes from the back yard to use up. I learned that from now on I'll freeze sauce instead of canning it. I was successful. I have 3 pints of canned spaghetti sauce, but it was more trouble than it was worth. I have a big kitchen, but still needed more space. I did take a few pictures, motivated by my favorite blogstress Alicia P (she takes beautiful pictures of the most ordinary things!) See how pretty it was?





I haven't actually eaten any of it yet, so we'll see later how it actually turned out. Hopefully no one gets botulism! (I shouldn't tempt it, should I?)

Lastly, the MRI referenced in the last post has been postponed until next Thursday, as long as the worker's comp doctor, who I have never seen, deems it medically necessary. All this could have been done for last week, but my paperwork was lost. Thanks Risk Management!

That's actually everything I wrote earlier. Awesome. Thanks for hanging in there.

¡Hasta entonces!

Bad Bad Blogger

I'm a bad blogger. I hear a motherly voice in the back of my head that says, "Now Kelley, if you want people to read your blog, then you have to actually post something on a semi regular basis." Yes, I know, and it's not for lack of things to blog. Recently I could have blogged about our recent trip to the Frazier International History Museum (aka Frazier Historical Arms Museum). I could have blogged about our trip on the Belle of Louisville. I can sit at work and think up blog posts all day long, but then to actually transfer those thoughts from my brain to my fingers, the keyboard, and your computer screen, not so much. But I do have news. I officially applied for graduation in December, and while I knew I had enough credits to graduate, the Dean has approved my application!
Also, I found out that the doctor who thought I had carpel tunnel now thinks that I don't have carpel tunnel but something else, probably something in my neck, so he has ordered an MRI. I was hoping to get through life without one, but regardless, I should get one in two weeks. I've heard nothing but horror stories from people who have had them, but I'm not as claustrophobic as they are. At any rate, I'm still on light duty for the time being. I'm also job hunting, so if anyone knows of an employer who's looking for a smart, graduate-to-be with a BA who LOVES Louisville, speaking Spanish, and generally getting things done, let me know.
And the big news (drum roll please!):
Dan found his wedding ring! After a year, and the purchase of a new Mexican silver ring, it was found in an envelope of change. Yes, it was hiding with a bunch of quarters. Amazing stuff.

Josh Ritter's New Album: The First Sounds (Preview)

I am so excited for this record to come out now! Josh Ritter never fails to please!

Two things

Kara blogged this survey thingy, and since I've never really filled one out before, I thought I'd go for it (and she posted that I would do it, so it's a little predetermined...) By the way, I may have to copy a couple of her answers...

Two Names You Go By:
1. Kelley -- Especially since I don't want to go by my middle name.
2. Mrs Lewis -- When people are trying to make me feel old.

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. Tennis shoes
2. An old Rodes City Run shirt, because I like it!

Two Things You Want in a Relationship
1. Sex -- It's that important!
2. Comfort and understanding

Two of Your Favorite Things to Do
1. Crochet
2. Speak Spanish, even better when I don't have to think about it too hard.

Two Things You Want Very Badly at This Moment
1. Dinner.
2. Sleep.

Two Pets You Have or Had
1. Charlie the cat, brought to us from Illinois by Dan's parents.
2. Tybalt, prince of cats, who decided running away was a better option than living with my dad.

Two People Who Will Fill This Out First
1. Actually, probably no one...
2. See number 1.

Two Things You Did Last Night
1. Unpacked my suitcase.
2. Zoned out with the internet and dreaded returning to work.

Name Two Chores That You Do Not Like Doing
1. Weedeating. I simply won't do it.
2. Dusting. It gives me a headache.

Two Things You Ate Today
1. Turkey sandwich with cheese and avocado.
2. I haven't had it yet, but Qdoba is on it's way

Two People You Talked to Last
1. My mom on the phone.
2. My lovely husband

Two Things You are Doing Tomorrow
1. Working.
2. Crocheting would be nice.

Two Favorite Holidays
Holidays have become so stressful. This will be tough.
1. Christmas, even with all the stress and work, I love giving gifts.
2. Derby -- Yes, it's a holiday around here.

Two Favorite Beverages
1. Mojitos. I've just learned to love them.
2. Coca Cola. I've tried to give it up, I just can't.

¡Lo extraño!

I`ve spent the last two weeks ready to just leave here and go home. Now I`m not so ready to leave. I still miss home, sure, but I`ve really gotten used to being here (and not going to work!) So I`ll be home very late tomorrow, and will have Sunday to settle back in, and go back to work Monday. So I`ll see you all a few days! Thanks for visiting to hear about my trip. It`s been a blast!

The moment we`ve all been waiting for...

Our Mexican Karaoke debut! I know you`re excited. I was actually roped into singing Karaoke last night at La Regadera (which means showerhead in Spanish, for those playing at home. Notice the showerhead and curtains, we were singing in the shower!).



I was actually pretty terrifed, so Juan agreed to go up there with me. I don`t know any songs in Spanish, and having the words there doesn`t always help. Somehow, I sang 6 songs (and I wasn`t even drunk!), 3 with Juan in Spanish, one with him in English,



Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with Shelly,


and Time After Time ( ah, Cindy Lauper!) with Shelly and Sharon.



With all these pictures, it felt like the paparazzi was there!

Was it prayer, luck, or Juan?

By the time we got back to the apartment yesterday, the electricity and water were back on. Shelly had prayed while we were at the church that if God found it in His heart to fix the electricity, to please make it happen. Only if He wanted to though... (That`s apparently how the Catholics do it) Juan had called CFE (like LGE)to see what the problem was, so I guess he had a hand in it too. Whoever it was, I`m just glad I got to take a shower!
Here are a few pictures that I wanted to post yesterday:

There are sculptures all along the oceanfront.




The altar at the church:



¡Mas escaleras!

¡Que aventura!

What an adventure! No pictures today, because my camara batteries are dead, so I´ll post some tomorrow, if I can get them charged. There was a storm last night (the first real rain of the year, thus beginning the rainy season), and we lost electricity last night, but only partially, sort of like a brownout instead of a blackout. Some lights are working, some are not, and some are working half way. The fans are moving a little bit, but not much. The fridge is only a little bit cold, so I think we lost all our food. So much for all the grocery shoppping and leftovers... Also, the water pump isn´t working, so when we got up this morning, there was no water. Hopefully it will be fixed tonight so we can get showers. The problem is with the electric company (read the government) so it may not get fixed right way, where in the States the electric company would have been out overnight fixing whatever was damaged in the storm. In the meantime we´re cleaning off with face wipes, but we can´t wash our hair that way! I´m sure something will be worked out soon.
We tried to go to Mass today at La iglesia de nuestra señora Guadalupe, and we were told by a taxi that Mass was at 9am, 11a, and 6pm. We showed up at 10:45 for the 11am Mass, only to find out that Mass was at 8am, 10am, 12pm, and some times in the evening. So, we were either early or late, depending on your perspective. We stayed for the end of the 10am service, bought something from the nuns, and went for breakfast.
Sharon went to visit a resort, but Shelly and I opted to stay in town and do some shopping. We wanted to get off the main tourist street so we weren´t accosted every two steps to buy a timeshare or visit a resort, and ended up walking up a very steep hill through a residential area to get back to an area that we´re familiar with. Even though I wasn´t sure exactly where we were, I had a map, and wasn´t for a moment scared. It was interesting to get out of the main shopping area and see where people lived. Shelly got some pictures since my camera died on me. We´ve all agreed to give each other copies of whatever pictures we take, so we´ll all have lots of pictures to show off.
Yesterday we went to a beach town called Yelapas. It´s not possible to drive there, you have to take a half hour water taxi ride across the bay. I wasn´t sure how my stomach would handle it, since I only have experience with being on a boat on a river, but I was fine. The beach was nice, and apparently there are waterfalls if we´d walked for about 45 minutes into the jungle, but by the time we´d thought of it, it was too late. It did confirm for me that I´m just not a beach person. I like the sun, I like the water, but I really prefer the river or the pool. I´m just not a fan of all the sand, I guess.
Tom had some more questions from an email (I´m glad he´s doing this, because there are things I forget to write about), so here we go:
I think Puerto Vallarta is between the size of Louisville and Jeffersonville. Tourism has built it up a lot, and on the drive to the water taxi you could see all the big oceanfront developments - for better or for worse. On the streets we´re meeting locals, but also Americans who work for the time share real estate companies. We try to talk to as many locals as we can, and avoid the ¨time share guys¨. Last week there were four of us in my class: Sharon, myself, Mike (from California) and Sara (from Holland, and speaks 5 languages!). Sara left Vallarta yesterday, so next week it will only be three of us. La profesor, Cinthia, is from Mexico City, and has a degree from UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) in tourism.
I just noticed how long this has become. That´s enough for one day. For those of you with ADD, sorry! :)

Lost it

I had a whole post done, and then lost it. I no longer have the groove. Tom asked me some questions, and I´ll answer those again, and maybe I´ll get some motivation tomorrow to recreate it. We´re in class 4 hours a day - 8am - 10am and
10:30a - 12:30p. I finally talked to my profesora about some more advanced grammar practice, so she recommended a book. They aren´t teaching a higher level class until the next session, so, since I´ve already paid, I´m SOL. We are learning a lot of culture though, and how to pronounce those difficult indigenous words! We haven´t had anything too interesting to eat, although we did go to the marina for crabs (jaiva) and paella Tuesday night. It was pretty fantastic, and a lot of food.

The marina:


I was amazed at how fast the sun went down when we watched it last night. Here it is:


And two minutes later, it´s gone.


We´re probably not going outside of Puerta Vallarta while we´re here, but who knows. There aren´t any ruins that the public can go to nearby, so that´s out. We´re planning to go to mass at a beautiful church here in town, and probably take a cab up in the mountains at some point. Sharon really wants us to sing kareoke in Spanish, so, even though I won´t even do it in English, we´ll probably do that one night. Sharon and Shelly are going to the beach later today, but I think I´m going to stay by the pool and try to get some writing done for school, since I´m not a big fan of sand in my hair. Maybe try to do some shopping. It´s pretty safe as long as I watch out for those crazy drivers!

¡Ciao!

Your questions answered!

I got a lot of messages from home today, which is awesome, but I don´t have time to respond to everything individually, so I`ll do it here. It`s an FAQ everyone!
The water in all of Puerta Vallarta is filtered, so no problems there. In our apartment it goes through 3 filters and UV, so the water is very good. The only thing we have to do is soak the vegetables in water and something that will kill amoebas. This means I likely won`t get sick while I`m here, thank goodness.
Our apartment is on a mountain, and Mom, it is as cute as the pictures from the Internet, and very secure. I`m the one who decided to get a place on the mountain instead of the beach, so it`s sort of my fault that we have to hike up there to get home. The road`s pretty steep. The only thing that will kill me here is the traffic. Pedestrians don`t have the right of way, and drivers are crazy. You think driving in the east end is bad? Try this place!
And for our Spanish lesson for the day... Tom - descalzo means barefoot. I did walk on the beach barefoot. Shelly is teaching me curse words. She actually has an instruction tape on her mp3 player. He says things like "Go f·$% yoursel" in English and Spanish, and is somehow really hilarious.
My class level is too low, but we are doing a lot of conversation, which is helping. I`m going to talk to the profesora tomorrow about getting practice for some harder grammar. They don`t have any teachers available for private instruction or tutoring apparently. There are only two teachers; he said a few left recently.
We actually cooked last night; salchichas, peppers and onions, and hominy. It was great. Tonight will probably be eggs and potatoes, and tomorrow shishcabobs, since there`s a grill on the terrace that we can use.
I will not be coming home with a Volkswagen Bug. The cab driver said they are just called "Volkswagen" and "They are very good cars." I will leave you with this (That`s our apartament building to the right):


and this:



Adios!

Puerta Vallarta - Day One

We made it into Puerta Vallarta just fine, but tired. I don´t think anyone slept well on Saturday night, but we still got up early and went out into the city. First I took some pictures from the apartament. Above is one view from the balcony.
We went out for lunch at a resaurant on the beach, walked around town a little bit, changed into our swimsuits, and went back to the beach.



Every few minutes vendors walked up and down the beach selling dresses, necklaces, skewers... They´re very persistant, but we were able to fend them off. We actually spent a little too much time out in the sun yesterday, especially since we walked everywhere. Grocery shopping was also an experience. The prices on some products, like apples, are higher than in the US, and some things you simply can´t find (fresh orange juice). We´re going to start cooking for ourselves now that we´re settled in a little bit. Since Shelly isn´t taking a class, she´s going to make up a menu for us to work from.

Some random photos from our walk:

This will become a design for an afghan, for whenever I can crochet again.


Sand art.



There are old VW bugs everywhere, and a couple that I want to photograph because they´ve been repurposed in some funny ways!

And for the record, my cell phone doesn´t work!

I need to find some lunch and get back to class, but I´ll update again in a couple of days... ¡Hasta luego!

Leaving on a jet plane...

The frequency of my blog posts is sad. However, it should pick up over the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow I hop a plane for Houston, which will put me on a plane to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for two weeks of Spanish immersion. Passport - check. Clothes for really hot weather - check. Hurricane - check. Really, a hurricane is supposed to hit south of Acapulco, which, in turn, is south of Puerta Vallarta. Here are the photos, ripped straight from the internet. First, a map of Mexico:
Now, a picture of the expected path of Tropical Storm Barbara (not yet a hurricane, mind you):


Puerta Vallarta is not even on that second image. So those of you calling me at work in the morning freaking out about a hurricane that doesn't even exist and trying to get me to CANCEL MY TRIP THAT I'VE BEEN PLANNING FOR 8 MONTHS can calm yourselves.

I'll check in here periodically with updates, photos, adventure, homesickness, and whathaveyou.

Finally, He Arrives!

My new baby cousin, WT, is here! Finally! He's actually early, but with all the trouble my aunt had during pregnancy and the fact that we all found out she was pregnant when she was 6! weeks! along!, it has felt like she was pregnant with him for an eternity. The picture is blurry; he doesn't really look like a fuzzy baby. He's actually sort of red and wrinkly with a little dark fuzzy hair on his head. I told him that someone forgot to give him eyelashes, because he doesn't have them yet. Amazing his head isn't misshapen, as a lot of baby heads are. I know he probably looks like every other baby out there, but he's my cousin, dang it, and so he's special. I know his big sister is excited, and his mom is relieved.

On the subject of moms: I Love mine. She really is my best friend and at times we have been all we had. Mom often compares us to Rory and Lorelai in the Gilmore Girls. I always tell her she's crazy, but really she's right. We just know each other so well, how we'll react to certain things, and how to handle each other's psychotic spells. She gave me something once that says: A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend. That's absolutely right.

No babies yet!

No, no, not my baby. I'm not having any babies. But my aunt is. He (the New Baby) really isn't due for a couple of weeks, but since she's had preeclampsia, the doctor induced labor early this morning. New Baby must not be ready, because at 3:30 this afternoon, Grandma called and said nothing was happening and they stopped and will try again tomorrow. I'm not sure how that works, to jump start labor and then stop it. My poor aunt. She's had such a rough pregnancy this time and is just ready for it to be over. New Baby, you'd better get here tomorrow, because you have some people here who are very anxious to meet you. We're ready, whether you are or not.

Derby hats

I wanted to post on the history of the phenomenon that is Kentucky Derby hats, as the world will be watching us closely here in Louisville tomorrow for the best two minutes in sports. It is on this day that after two weeks of local folks partying (starting with Thunder Over Louisville, the Great Steamboat Race, and a gluttony of other events) we put off all other important weekend plans, drink mint juleps, and act like we're experts on horse racing for the day, all while celebreties flock to our fine city. In fact, this year the Queen! of! England! is here. At any rate, part of the Derby tradition is the donning of elaborate hats, the likes that no one would ever wear any other time of the year. I was, however, unable to find any information on the history of this tradition. Even Wikipedia let me down on this one. As a good citizen of Louisville, I feel I should know already. What I do know is this year I got sucked into Derby hat fever and made my own. I planned on making this hat from Interweave Crochet anyway, so I decided to adorn it with a daisy chain while I was at it. I didn't use the cotton that the pattern called for, but Cotton Classic from Tahki - Stachy Charles, which I bought at Sophie's Fine Yarn Shoppe. The staff there was super helpful in finding a substitute yarn for the Debbie Bliss Cotton that the pattern called for, but they didn't carry. I can't say the same for other shops in town (really, they'll remain unnamed). The hat was fairly quick to make; I think I did it in 4 or 5 hours, and I love it. After Derby, the flowers come off and I'll wear it all summer.
Happy Derby, everyone! I'll start the partying after I get off work tomorrow...

Not ready yet...

I've set up this blog to post about crocheting projects, crazy life, and whatever else comes to mind. I'll probably also use it to document my upcoming trip to Mexico (June). I'm also tired of logging in and seeing blank blog space, so here's an initial post just me make me feel better until I have time to write a proper intro post. I definitely feel like I'm talking to myself, so I should have things to post soon so people can come visit!