Reading Love

Articles: Your Refined Heavenly Home by Douglas Callister is the best church article I have ever read.  I read it often, because it is just so beautiful and well-written.

Books: Wuthering Heights, currently.  I read it in high school and can not remember anything about it.  I love to read books and then watch the film adaptations, so the real reason I'm reading it is to be able to then watch the version with Tom Hardy in it. Not to actually, you know, brush up on the Classics.

Kids' Books: Goodnight iPad.  It's so cute! We Give Books has so many great books on it!

Website/Blog: www.random-tutorial.com is fun--click the button and it takes you to a random tutorial.

Poetry: I have challenged myself to memorize a poem a week (as if I didn't need any more distractions from memorizing Japanese kanji).  Last week was Invictus, my Grandpa's favorite poem. This week is Ebeneezer Bleezer, for my kids. I have had these memorized before but then forgot them.  It has been a really good mental project for me while I sit and nurse throughout the day.

Also, this is currently my favorite poem right now. It's beautiful and makes me happy!

I have been daydreaming about American libraries lately...and magazines...
please distract me from thoughts of these luxuries with anything else good to read!

Finished: Hexagon Afghan

Babies LOVE rainbows of color!

  Remember the night I went into labor?  It was just a few hours after finally weaving in the last tails of this hexagon afghan that I had been working on for 7 months.  I have never actually finished an afghan before, although I've started several, so I feel accomplished!  And I learned some things, such as:

1.) Don't buy yarn on the internet. You can't feel it or really see the colors, so you never know what you are really getting.  I am not super thrilled with the yarn I ordered, which is Lion Brand Cotton Ease.  It's really stiff.  Lesson learned.

2.) If you crochet tightly, like myself, better buy a TON more yarn.  This yarn cost me waaay more than I expected, and I expected the afghan to buy waaaay bigger.  It's baby sized...and it took me 7 months. Not cool.  Maybe I need to relax my grip just a bit.

3.) Joining hexagons/squares, etc. as you go using this method is the only way to go.  If I would have known this years earlier, I would not have ended up with garbage bags full of hundreds of un-joined squares.

4.) Working on a super long project can be tiring but is actually really soothing.  I love to watch movies, and I don't feel lazy doing that as long as I am working on something. For that reason (and the fact that crocheting is quiet!), I would love to always have an afghan in progress.

And now that it's finished, I am super happy!  Not with the final product, but with the fact that I actually finished!

My next goal is to use up as much of my craft box as I can before we leave Japan, since space in the luggage is limited.

And also to actually DO some of the stuff that I PIN. You should, too.  You know who you are.

Baby Viking Says...

"Seriously, Mom? I disapprove."

This Made My Day!

My friend sent me this video, and it made my day! What a way to use your talents and have fun doing it! I love how the girl on the intercom gets such a kick out of it, too. Enjoy!

Seeking it out!

I'm not gonna lie--circumstances here are stressing me out much more than they are bringing me happiness. Hospital drama, work craziness, being away from family, and just living in Japan in winter in general are all adding up and making me a lot more stressed than I usually am.

On top of that, everything here is so expensive! I get the urge to sew or crochet but can't find any materials that are cheap or suitable for what I want to do. Good thing I am working on an afghan that will be keeping my hands busy for years or I would have serious anxiety issues.

I am not depressed but have realized that life here is full of discomfort, which is a good thing to experience once in a while but over a year, it takes its toll. So, I am seeking out happiness! I started with writing a list of 20 things that made me happy.
Then I read it. Then I realized that I had zero access to most of those things (sweet potatoes, magazines, Mexican food, my cats). Luckily, I do have my fun children and loving husband...and a few other things that bring me great joy that I need to remember, such as:

1.) I can finally get away with washing my hair 1-2 times a week! This may seem gross or not like an accomplishment at all, but I have been working on being able to do this for years! I have tried the no-shampoo method and natural cleansers, but my hair would always get greasy after 2 days. Maybe it is the Japanese shampoo I am using (Lux Super Shine) but my hair very rarely gets greasy like it did in the States. Hooray!

2.) This Being Elmo trailer makes me so happy! Kevin Clash is awesome, and the documentary looks so inspiring!


3.) Zombie Dice!

Fox gave me this game for Christmas (along with perfume called Samurai Woman..rrawr!), and I love it. It is Yahtzee-like and so simple that even my kids can play it. Cash is learning to write numbers and loves to keep score. Oh yes, my kids know all about zombies and find them funny. They know the book "Scooby Doo on Zombie Island" by heart.

4.) Funny pictures on Pinterest. I follow some really funny boards, so Fox and I usually get a really good laugh before we go to bed. Love this one:


So there are some things. What I really need is new music, which makes life so much better. I can not find any good music! Anyone? I can not handle folksy, melancholy music or Adele or anything super sappy at this point in my life. I need good, uptempo, clean, happy music. Or any good acoustic-guitar stuff. Any recommendations?

Hiccup the Hero Hats!

We are big fans of How to Train Your Dragon around here, so when I saw this crochet pattern from one of my favorite etsy shops, I knew what my next baby project would be: Little Viking Hats!

First, I made the newborn size, as modeled by Pooh:



And then a matching big brother hat. I don't know why Cash looks so sad in this picture--I think he wanted to be the one to take the pictures:


I can't wait to see the hat on a newborn! If you crochet, Mamachee is an awesome pattern writer. Zero problems with a crochet pattern for possibly the first time ever!

Pink!

I am not a huge lover of pink, unlike my sister Megan. I prefer to put a baby girl in purple :) BUT...I do like pink a lot.

Here are some fun pink things that have made me smile this week:

Strawberry Shake Milky Ways, imported from Russia to our local Toys 'R Us. Fox's favorite candy bar is Milky Way, so he was really excited about these!



Strawberry and Milk Flavor Pepsi. This stuff tastes like melted blue raspberry icee, so it is delicious! Don't worry--I only had a sip and gave the rest to Fox for his late night drive to church tonight. And no, I am not a Pepsi fan--I am just a sucker for limited edition flavors of any product!

And the cutest pink thing ever:


Cosette came out of her room after naptime cuddling her pink Snoopy in her new pink winter pajamas. If I let her choose her clothes, she usually goes for white, black, or orange--but she actually chose something pink this time! She has had a fever today, so it was really good to see her happy after naptime.

Now if only I could find some maternity clothes here that aren't in gray, black, or brown. Apparently, it's all about hiding that bump here!