Monterey Bay Aquarium, Part 2

So, then we went inside.  There was so much to see, though not that much that I could photograph well. 

 This wave wall was very dramatic, and also the scene of some drama.  Shannon was trying to stage manage where everyone would stand, and Connor, I think, did not want to cooperate.  I have some hilarious sulky Shannon pictures.  But you can get a sense from these.

Jack thinks it's cool too.

Monterey Bay Aquarium, part 1

So, since I have my camera back, I can post pictures from my trip to Monterey at the end of March.  I have a bunch, and of course the Hooper children are adorable, so let's get started.

 A rainy grey day is a good time to be inside.  We weren't the only ones to head to the aquarium this day.  Such a contrast to the beautiful blues when I visited last October, but still impressive!

 

This girl is way too tall.

 Whereas MG is still snuggly tiny.

 

Miracle!  Everyone is looking at the camera at the same time!

 

Pretty flowers.  Not sure what these are. Kind of butterfly bush-ish.

 

Can you see the seals?

 

Our destination

 

Shannon chasing a pigeon.  No one knows why.

 

It was raining on our walk to the aquarium, and MG was the only one without a hat or hood.  This was my solution.  Didn't seem to bother her to have a sling wrapped around her head like a babushka.

 Silly Connor

 Serious Shannon

 

Photo by Connor, while we waited for Catherine's friend

 

Jack's ready to go in! Let's do it!

Hello Again!

It's a really bad sign when you can't remember the name of your blog.  I don't really have any pictures, but this weekend I:

• visited with baby Peter (and his parents and grandma)
• finished Catching Fire and started Mockingjay
• sewed a nursing cover for Ami
• knit Peter a preemie sized hat
• finished my cross-stitch sampler
• sewed a dress for MG
• went on an epic errand run with Zeek that took us to CVS, Target, Buy Buy Baby, and Trader Joe's
• read a book in less than 24 hours (not Mockingjay)
• baked cheesy biscuits for Easter dinner
• was too sick (stupid allergies) to make it to Easter Mass :(
• made chicken enchiladas
•  probably lots of other stuff

I hope the Hoopers had a great Easter weekend!

Books of 2011

I've been keeping track of all the books I've read for the last few years, and I decided to list all of 2011 here.  You can see I have a mix of good-for-the-brain books and fun romance novels.  Some months are slimmer than others, usually because I'm reading some giant tome.  It's fun to look back, because I can remember so clearly what was happening when I was reading these books.  I can see when I discovered a certain author and read through their back catalog - our London trip will probably always be linked with Loretta Chase in my mind.  When I got through something long and dense, like the flu book or Oldest Confederate Widow and let myself read whatever fun books came to mind.  Or when I was sick and read three old Rachel Gibson books in one day.  Books are only included here if they're finished, which gives me added incentive, but there were a few more that I just didn't make it through (and I read large sections of most of the Harry Potter books, but Deathly Hallows is the only one I re-read cover to cover).  2011 is the year of my Kindle, the year of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, Loretta Chase, Jill Shalvis, and Courtney Milan (all new discoveries), catching up on Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series, and re-reading some of the Harry Potter and Twilight books and some favorite Nora Roberts.  Some of these books were great, and have been recommended and passed on to others, and some are probably better forgotten, but I'm glad I have this record of what I read in 2011! 

January
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, John M. Barry

February
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Nocture, Syrie James
Vampires are Forever, Lynsay Sands
The Immortal Hunter, Lynsay Sands
Clara and Mr. Tiffany, Susan Vreeland
Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear
Power Play, Deirdre Martin
Salting Roses, Lorelle Marinello
Ape House, Sara Gruen

March
Treachery in Death, J.D. Robb
The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King

April
Breaking the Rules, Suzanne Brockmann
The Peach Keeper, Sarah Addison Allen

May
Chasing Fire, Nora Roberts
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, Allan Gurganus
Blue Dahlia, Nora Roberts
Black Rose, Nora Roberts
Red Lily, Nora Roberts
My One and Only, Kristan Higgins
The Mapping of Love and Death, Jacqueline Winspear

June
Just Like Heaven, Julia Quinn
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson
Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear
Simply Irresistable, Jill Shalvis
The Sweetest Thing, Jill Shalvis
When Tony Met Adam, Suzanne Brockmann
Miranda's Big Mistake, Jill Mansell
Beach Lane, Sherryl Woods
The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, Lauren Willig
Just Breathe, Susan Wiggs
The Mischief of the Mistletoe, Lauren Willig

July
Messenger of Truth, Jacqueline Winspear
An Incomplete Revenge, Jacqueline Winspear
Among the Bad, Jacqueline Winspear
The Orchid Affair, Lauren Willig
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
Unlocked, Courtney Milan
Unveiled, Courtney Milan
Trial by Desire, Courtney Milan
Proof by Seduction, Courtney Milan
Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase
Mr. Impossible, Loretta Chase
Last Night's Scandal, Loretta Chase

August
Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase
Miss Wonderful, Loretta Chase
Not Quite a Lady, Loretta Chase
Don't Tempt Me, Loretta Chase
Yours to Keep, Shannon Stacey
Get a Clue, Jill Shalvis
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
Wild Ride, Jennifer Cruse and Bob Mayer

September
A Lesson in Secrets, Jacqueline Winspear
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
Any Man of Mine, Rachel Gibson
Not Another Bad Date, Rachel Gibson
Tangled Up in You, Rachel Gibson

October
How to Knit a Love Song, Rachael Herron
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
How to Breathe Underwater, Julie Orringer
Unclaimed, Courtney Milan
Perfect Timing, Jill Mansell
Until There Was You, Kristan Higgins
Wench

November
Wartime Lies, Louis Begley
The Fairy Tale Bride, Kelly McClymer
Jane I'm Still Single Jones, Joan Reeves
Wicked Intentions, Elizabeth Hoyt
Heartstrings and Diamond Rings, Jane Graves
Small Town Christmas, Shalvis, Lang
Cover Me, Catherine Mann
Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer

December
Lessons in Seduction, Sandra Hyatt
The Accidental Duchess, Jessica Benson
The Next Always, Nora Roberts

Post-Christmas Gift Recap, Part 1

So, it's been quite a month!  I spent a good bit of December finishing up all the handmade gifts I had planned, spent a few days in NY for work (and walked my feet off), and then a week in Atlanta visiting family and friends.  Then New Year's and more sewing.  But I don't have many pictures to show for it.  I could go into detail about any of these things, but let's see the pictures of the gifts!

 Melissa's hat.  She wanted a hat similar to the red one I had knit myself, so I hope she likes it.  I have more pictures but I have to get them from my phone.  In the background you can see Daddy wearing the hat I knit him.  It was finished just before I drove home so I don't think I have any pictures of it. I actually wore it damp around my house while packing trying to get it to dry after blocking.  It's a simple ribbed cap, meant to just come down to cover the tips of your ears.  I would have made it a bit longer, but I was running out of yarn.  Also pictures to come of the one other knitted gift I made - Rebecca's pink scarf, as requested.  I have one other last minute gift I don't think I photographed - a Christmas skirt for Rebecca. 

 MG's dress, A la Belle Etoile pattern.  The pattern is Australian, so I hope I made the right size (I had to translate the cm to inches and I think I got her measurements right).  I thought the yellow and the birdies were so MG.

 Nate's pants, 2T (largest size in this pattern, sadly) Quick Change Trousers pattern from Handmade Beginnings.  I have made these pants so many times and I love them.  They seem comfy and they're reversible, so the seams are all enclosed and lots of fun fabric combos are possible.  I used a mixture of Christmas prints on the two pairs I made.  I may try to size this pattern up - I think it would be mostly about lengthening since you and Melissa have such skinny boys.

 Back of Nate's pants

 Sam's pants, 4T pattern from Growing Up Sew Liberated.  I loved this pattern and am looking forward to making a few more.  They fit Sam perfectly, though I cut the waist elastic much smaller than recommended.  I love the finishing details and the way they can be easily let out (particularly those cuffs) for growth.  The fabric is a cross weave, and looks really neat, but will be interesting to see how well it wears.

 Jack's pants, 18mo. size, also Quick Change Trousers

 Back of Jack's pants

 Connor's pants, 3T, pattern from Sewing for Boys.  The fabric is from an Ikea crib duvet, and I had intended it for a more pajama-ish pants, since the pattern is so crazy.  But this pants pattern seems more of a going outside in public sort of pattern since it has pockets.  Maybe you'll let him go outside in his crazy circus little drummer boy pants.  I thought they turned out cute, can't wait to hear how they turn out on the actual boy.

Shannon's dress, Piccadilly Circus pattern, hopefully not too big (this is a 7/8).  The fabric is by Sandi Henderson.

More to come!  And really, I have plenty to tell you!

Good, Bad, In Between

That's what yesterday was, the good, bad and in between. Work was ok - a little crazy because we're so close to our conference next week. And I finally bought my train ticket. I'm going to have some free time in NY - must figure out what to do, maybe wander around and look at holiday decorations. We had tickets to Much Ado About Nothing as part of our Shakespeare Theater subscription, so there was dinner at Austin Grill and the play - that was good. It was a fun version of the play, set in Cuba, very vibrant. The bad was that it had an 8pm showtime, so it was very late when I finally got home. Then the zipper on my skirt broke and I had to cut it off me. Bad, although the skirt was old and getting worn out, and had been free. But still sad. Then I had weird dreams about being sick and setting up conference calls. Then the construction workers started up at 7am and I couldn't sleep through all the beep beep beeping. Which kind of looks like I'm beeping out curse words, but that's what it actually was. Stupid backing up beeps. There were no actual curse words, but there could have, if I rolled that way. Here, hopefully, are photos I took this morning of the construction. Pardon the glare/reflection. It's very sunny in the morning.

Ben & Victoria's Wedding

So, let's catch up.  There's this thing where you post every day in November.  I clearly didn't do that.  I wonder if I can post every day in December.  Probably not, with all the travel, etc.  But let's catch up on what's been going on.  At the end of October I made a quick weekend trip to Atlanta for Ben and Victoria's wedding.  I flew in Thursday night, attended the rehearsal dinner Friday night and the wedding on Saturday, then had lunch with Alexa on Sunday and flew home.  I'm still getting used to my new camera and it did not seem to like the indoors much, so my photos aren't so great.  I think that's one reason I haven't posted about the wedding.  It was frustrating, so I didn't take so many.  So I have none of say, Larry and Gillian even though I was at the table with them.  And I have no pictures of me.  You'll just have to take my word that I was there!  But by now you will have seen the much better pictures on Victoria's Facebook page, so let's see what I've got.

 

Victoria with Carolyn, Elizabeth, and Stephanie

 Marti and Daddy

Siblings

 Blurry girlies

 Getting started - this is the sweet spot for my camera, apparently.  As long as they stand in this spot, we're good.

 I have more pictures of Melissa from the reception, but all of them are looking down her dress.  I thought she might find that less than flattering so I haven't posted them anywhere.

 Carolyn and Nate

 Sam!

 Rebecca, Nate, and Patty

 Pete and Rebecca

 Kat and Patrick

 Blurry newlywed dancing.  Let's just call it impressionist, shall we?

 More Patrick and Kat

 Dancing cousins

 Daniel and Carolyn

 Carolyn caught the bouquet

 Home again, home again!