Mother's Day gift

James bought me this craft bag for Mother's Day.

Not to be confused with Crap Bag, the husband of Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.
Now I can carry around my knitting and other crafts in style.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The results of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

Duplos!

Also acceptable: Legos, building blocks, Lego thingy.

5 points to Kirida!
2 points each to Erdene and Mark, Bruce, Boni, Marianas Eye, Tamara, The Saipan Blogger, and Sheila.
3 points to Missy with the first "Duplo" entry.

It's getting close, ya'll!

Wednesday What Is It?

What is it?

Here's how to play.

Hey! Watch it!

National Treasure 2 - Mindless entertainment. Not a lot of substance (duh), lots of loopholes (who'd have thunk it), and completely impossible. But if you want to veg out, it's fun.

Highlander 3 - It was fun until the end. I mean, seriously, I just don't get it.

The Brave One - good movie! great acting. I'm not all that suspenseful...I mean, I'm not all that into suspense movies...but this was good.

I can deal with the power going out when I'm at home I can deal with the power going out when I'm at work. What I have a difficult time dealing with is when the power goes out when I'm approaching a traffic light sans power. Normal traffic rules are usually thrown out the window on Saipan during traffic light outages; the intersections are not turned into 4-way stop intersections, they are turned into free-for-alls. They are turned into cut-throat, every-man-for-himself intersections. Upon approach my heart races, I move to the outer lane if possible, I start eyeing the other drivers...trying to calculate who will arrive at the intersection first. Who is going to beat me? Who is going to snake me?

This afternoon as I approached the Microl interection along Beach Road, I saw that the lights were out, just as they had been at the MHS intersection and the Mt. Carmel intersection, and my heart started pounding. So I looked at the oncoming vehicles and in the middle of the intersection, which is one of the most hellish intersections on Saipan during the lunch rush, I spied an angel in blue.

Thank you Department of Public Safety for saving me from a panic attack.

Katelyn turned three!

I had a hard time on Mother's Day. It was one of those days when it sucks to be a woman. When your hormones control you and it takes every bit of strength not to cry. Yeah, it was one of those days.

But the day before....the day before was great! It was Katelyn's third birthday! She is a sweetheart, but she is fierce. She is only three (only three, ha!), but I have no doubt that she will grow into a strong, independent, compassionate, intelligent, responsible woman. I love you Katelyn. My daughter. My firstborn.

Katelyn turns 3, originally uploaded by Deece.

~~~

I've posted a piece over at Deece's Pieces. Check it out! (The page is not complete...)

Papaya Preserves? At Saipan's Own.

Wednesday What Is It?

What is it?

Here's how to play.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The result's of last last week's Wednesday What Is It?

Remote Control!

5 points to Erdene and Mark!
2 points each to Tamara, Missy, Bruce, JC, Boni, The Saipan Blogger, and Sheila.
1 point to Glend558.
Remember it's a smaller portion of a larger object. You tell me what the object is. It's in the rules.

See for yourself

Midnight Clear - Yes! Yes, I think so.

Lars and the Real Girl - I've always like Ryan Gosling. All the actors did a great job. Oddly funny.

Don't cry for me.

27 Dresses - I loved it! Funny girly movie.

The Golden Compass - not worth the time.

~~~

Want to know the secret to cutting onions without tears? Use a fan. Position the fan to blow the vapors away from you (or anyone else) and you'll be tear free.

Just one. No. Not just one. It's never been just one.

What do you do when you're sober but you've had a constant craving for alcohol for over a week straight? You remind yourself that you became sober at 19 for a reason and you turn to God and your husband for help. Because you know that once you take that first drink it will all be over.

No matter how much you think you can have just one drink, just one glass of wine, you've got to remember that you've never had just one glass of wine. You have to remember that there are many nights of your life that you can't remember because you've never had just one glass of wine.

One glass of wine is like letting a bloody slab of beef drip into the mouth of a starving lion. It only takes one taste to unleash the beast…and the other lions.

No matter how many years have passed and no matter how much control you think you now have, a lion can never really be tamed. Remember that you were a smart girl who did many stupid things. Remember that it's not glamorous. Remember the nights you can remember and remember the nights you can't. Remember that it's never been just one.

~~~

The Wednesday What Is It? will change tomorrow. I'm sorry, but my camera batteries are dead and I don't have a new picture.

You have permission to be jealous

Go ahead, you can be jealous. I would be. Here is all the stuff I got in the mail recently:

Four pounds of yarn in reggae colors so the teenagers will be happy; embroidery floss (more to come); cutting mat, cutter, and ruler; elastic; fabric; and a fabric marker.


My Presto 16-quart Pressure Canner and Fagor canning equipment. I know I said I was going to be jammin' last weekend, but wasn't. What with my daughter's 3rd birthday and Mother's Day and all (more to come). But I will certainly be jammin' this weekend.

Goodies
Originally uploaded by Deece

Check it out!

Check out my Saipan's Own page!


And check out some cheese!

Brie:

Tomato and Basil Cheddar:

French toast and an egg white omelet with tomato and basil cheddar makes one fabulous breakfast:

I buy my cheeses from Expressions on Capitol Hill.

Ogle my stash.

I wish I had a better camera. These pictures don't really capture the details and textures of the fabrics, but they'll have to do.

You may now ogle my stash. I said stash!

I think I'll make a purse out of this.


I see a ruffled skirt and a tank top for Katelyn.


Another purse with these.


I'm not sure what will come of these. I think there is a little girl's dress hiding in the fabric on the left and a little something for me hiding in the fabric on the right. The brown in the middle will be paired with any scraps.


These will most likely be a lined tote bag.


I'm not sure what will come of these. But the green fabric on the right is wonderful. Nice and strong with a fabulous texture.


These would make a lovely mu'u mu'u. And a bag of some sort.


Me thinks, wine bottle bags.


This is one piece of fabric. It is made of 7 panels of different prints. I have no clue what to do. A dress for my daughter and a skirt for me?


This picture looks terrible. The fabric is actually very nice. Black, white, and grays.


Some tote bags, perchance? The green one is awesome!


A purse or two. Or maybe a blouse. Or maybe a purse.


Booze bags.


I don't know, but I like it!


What do you see?

Remember to tell your graphically inclined friends about the contest.

Wednesday What Is It?

What is it?

Here's how to play.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The results of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

Mouthwash!

5 points to Boni!
2 points each to Mark and Erdene, Tamara, Missy, and Sheila.

Tami, can I call you Tami? Tami, thank you for the post. I was going to leave a comment on your entry post but I wan't able to. I fully accept your answer.

All is well with the world.

In the words of my man Ice Cube, "I gotta say, today was a good day."

Jacob let me sleep in until 7 this morning! 7:00! Not real sleep, mind you, the kind of short bursts of sleep you get when your still slightly sick son won't take his mouth off your boob - but it was good rest none the less.

My children did not cry or fight after they woke up and were handed to their babysitter.

I had a Kirin Milk Tea and a fried curry bread from Himawari for lunch. Fast food - good. Fried food - good. Curried food - mmmm.

I bought more fabric (it was on sale) - more to come with this, stay tuned.

And I got my Presto 16-quart Pressure Canner in the mail today! Thank you Walmart! So you know what that means....this weekend I'll be jammin, jammin, jammin, and I hope you like jammin too-oo-oo!

~~~

I recently discovered my love of sewing. Since I was a little girl I wanted to learn to knit, crochet, and sew. In college I learned to knit and crochet. And now I'm learning to sew. Would you like to see a few things I've made so far?

Originally uploaded by Deece

When I moved back to Saipan in 2003 I helped my sister sew some costumes for her Polynesian show. I liked it, but I was too intimidated to really delve into it. And for the life of me I couldn't remember how to wind that darn bobbin! Until one day when I was sewing for the Flame Tree Festival my sister gave me instructions over the phone on how to wind the bobbin. Ahhhhhh! The clouds parted and the angels sang. And another pathway in my life was lit.

I have since been buying threads, fabrics, cutting and measuring tools, and have been working out patterns in my head. (I like patterns for inspiration, but I'm not really a by-the-book kind of crafter. I do what feels right.) My only fear is that my hobbies are a good means to feed the hoarder in me.

I have a thing for office supplies. Colored leads, sticky pads, sign here post-its, in-boxes, organizers, fine tip felt markers...etc. I don't like to use them. I just like to have them. I like to have them and know I can use them. But I don't use them. Because if I did then I wouldn't have them anymore. Psycho, I know. But I'm not afraid to admit that it's true.

I have a bin, a big plastic bin overflowing with yarn and needles and hooks. (Hey, at least it's not the deep freezer where Missy hoards her stash:) But at least I have enough discipline to maintain my rule: no new yarns until I use my old yarns. My old yarns that were brought over from California with me. The yarns that if I use I won't have anymore. My bin has been pared down a bit and inventory does get turned over.

I now have a big plastic bin that is fast filling with fabric. Yikes! And what pretty fabric it is. I will show it to you later so you can ogle my stash. I said stash! And then you can ogle the pretty things I'm going to make with my stash. But first, I need to deal with my anxiety of actually using the fabric and allowing the contents of the bin to decrease. Because, say it with me, if I use it then I won't have it to use anymore.

~~~

Dear Lauren,

I have young children so I've missed many episodes of The Hills as of late. However, I caught the last episode last night...the last episode shown on Saipan, the one where Stephen is in town...and I've just got to say, get over it! Yeah, you and Stephen had a thing in high school. And yeah, you're not in high school anymore. But hello? You're both adults now. Get over this, "being with him makes me feel like I'm in high school" thing and recognize that you're adults and you have feelings for each other and being with him might actually work out. I want to see you in a good relationship with a man who cares for you and wants to be with you, just you. So get over yourself and kiss him!

Respectfully,

Deece

Resemblances

My daughter looks a lot like her father.
My son looks a lot like me.
But when my kids cry, they look a lot like eachother.

I'm working on it.

I haven't been posting as often as I'd like to, nor have I been commenting on other blogs when I read them. I do read them....I just haven't had the time to leave all the comments I want to.

I'm slowly changing things around here. You may have noticed the links to my other blogs...just under the header...now you can check out all of the things I make on their own pages. I updated Designs by Deece the other night. Check it out.

Logo Contest

Let me re-post and add to the logo contest I posted earlier. If you know anyone with graphic design skillz who might want to have a little fun, please pass this post their way.

I'm in need of a logo of sorts. I'm looking for something gender neutral and hot. Crazy cool-hot, hip-hot, not racy-hot.

1. Create a Deece logo. The logo will be used on this website, on clothing, on labels, etc.
   
2. Email it to create (at) deece (dot) net
3. If yours is chosen, you get an ajinoMOTO Racing Team t-shirt and credit for the design. But I get the rights to the logo.
   

There is no limit to the number of entries per person. Please submit all entries by May 15.

Arts and Entertainment

Walk Hard – funny. I fell asleep when we watched the Johnny Cash story. But I could definitely see the parody of Ray.

Juno – James says it's a chick flick. I liked it. In fact, if we had it tonight, I'd watch it again. As much as I wanted to be, I was never the kind of teenager whose dialogue was biting, witty, or sounded like it was written by an adult. You know, the kind of teenager in My So Called Life, Dawson's Creek (the first season – that's all I could watch before they got rid of the WB on Saipan), and Juno. What kind of teenage dialogue did I spit? I mastered the use of whatever, dude, shut up, man, and a myriad of cuss words that would make sailors weep.

There Will Be Blood – Good movie. I started the movie with no information other than the title. It was interesting

~~~

The Taste of India is my new favorite restaurant on island. Up until now it was Ben Kay at the Nikko. But now that the Nikko is no more, I am not sure if Ben Kay is either. I have never been disappointed at The Taste of India. The layers of flavors in the food are amazing, it is always fast, and the staff is always friendly.

On a similar note...James and I took our two-year daughter and our seven-year old niece to eat Coco's the other night. They are oddly kid-friendly. The staff was so friendly to us, even with my stinky, dirty, grimy, been-at-the-Flame-Tree-Festival-all-day self and two young, tired girls. They gave the girls their juice in fun plastic mugs and served their dinners on kid-friendly sectional plastic plates. But there was no kid's menu. I'm sorry, but most kids aren't interested in tenderloin steaks or fish prepared French style. They shared a hamburger steak. They really just ate the egg and rice.

~~~

Back on the Flame Tree Arts Festival...it is called the Flame Tree Arts Festival. And it was full of various types of art and artists, but there wasn't much variety in the art on stage. It was all the same: music and dancing. I like music and dancing, but I would like to experience more than just crafts, photography, music, and dancing at the Flame Tree Arts Festival. Let's get authors to do book readings and signings, let's hear some poetry reading, live comedy, short skits and monologues. How about some live demonstrations on stage instead of in the tents at the butt end of the festival.

Wednesday What Is It?

What is it?

Here's how to play.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The result's of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

A Video Tape!

5 points to Bigsoxfan!
2 points each to Bruce, Missy, Boni, Tamara, Sheila, The Saipan Blogger.
1 point to Glen.