Test blog to see if I can post pictures

Can you tell that I photoshopped my uncle Steve into this picture?

Test post

I'm having trouble posting so I'm going to see if a blog without pictures will post.

Fiber Arts

Chelsea and I attended a Fiber Arts festival in West Fargo, ND, today.  We got to see women spinning their own yarn and displaying their own pieces of fiber art.

One really cool thing was this loom. You can see Chelsea also in the pictures.

The man in the picture, I regret that I didn't get his name, was the loom operator. He made wool, jean, chenille, and other scrap fabric rugs. The thing that intrigued me the most was how similar his loom was to my mother's loom. It was fastened together by wooden pegs like hers, and  it was peddle operated as well. It seemed a bit taller than my mom's, and maybe a bit narrower but it was strikingly similar. 

This man travels around to different festivals all summer long and sells his rugs. He originally bought the loom for $75, and the man that owned it before him had purchased it for only $1 from an auction.

Well, anyway, this festival was way cool, and Chelsea and I will be going back next year as well. Hopefully, we can bring along some more people. I think my mother would enjoy it so maybe I can convince her.

After the festival, I was all inspired to work on my own fiber crafts. I started cutting the  4 1\2 inch blocks for my Queen sized quilt that I'm making.

What... I didn't tell you about that yet? Shame on me. Well, Chelsea and I have been getting together to work on quilts every few weeks. We go to her house and we each work on our own quilt. I've chosen a difficult quilt for my first time.

Here are the types of fabrics that I'm using and some of the blocks that I've already cut.  I need about 314 of these blocks. I don't even have a 1/4 of them yet.

I'll try to keep you updated on my progress. My main goal is for this not to turn into a project that I never finish.

Belly Watch: 14 weeks along

Ok, it's time to start posting belly pictures again.  Here is me at 14 weeks.

Also, here is a picture of our first ultrasound pic at 10 weeks.

One of those e-mails

My mom just sent this to me via e-mail. I thought it would be fun to post my response via blog.

1. Do you like blue cheese? No
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No, in fact, I have never done any drugs.
3. Do you own a gun? Does a BB gun count?
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? What's Sonic?
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Icky. I prefer brats.
7. Favorite Christmas Song? Let it Snow
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? 1 cup of green tea
9. Can you do pushups? Yes
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring. It's simple and it doens't intrude in hand activities.
11. Your Favorite hobby? Forms of art. Photography, Quilting, Knitting
12. Do you work with people who idolize you? Not that I'm aware of.
13. Do you have A.D.D.? I don't think so.
14. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm good at interrupting others. I hate that.
15. Middle name? Ann
16. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I wonder if I'll have a new son or a new daughter in January. I wonder when we'll be able to buy a new house. I wonder what's for lunch, I'm starving already.
17. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. Not the norm, but: funions, milky way, cookies.
18. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Water, tea, or iced tea
19. Current worry right now? What kind of world will Raleigh grow up in?
20. Current hate right now? Cigarrette Smoke. This is always a hate for me.
21. Favorite place to be? Tioga Pit preferably with people I love
22. How did you bring in the New Year? At home, went to bed early.
23. Where would you like to go? Ireland, France, Africa, Australia
24. Name three people who will complete this. Jamie S., Erika, ?
25. Whose answer do you want to read the most? All of them
26. What color shirt are you wearing? Brown
27. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, too slippery, I prefer flannel.
28. Can you whistle? Yes
29. Favorite color(s)? Orange and Green
30. Would you be a pirate? No
31. What songs do you sing in the shower? "Whatever Lola wants"
32. Favorite girl's name? Don't have one yet.
33. Favorite boy's name? Raleigh
34. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing
35. Last thing that made you laugh? My son, Raleigh.
36. Best bed sheets as a child? I don't remember, they might have had flowers on them.
37. Worst injury you've ever had? I completely severed the ACL in my left leg, recovery time was 6-8 months.
38. Do you love where you live? It's ok. I'd prefer to be a little out of town with a big yard so that I can have a garden.
39. How many TVs do you have in your house? 1 that is used, 2 that haven't been turned on for months.
40. Who is your loudest friend? Erika, that's not a bad thing though. She's animated especially when she's had a cocktail.
41. How many dogs do you have? sadly, 0
42. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope only Josh.
43. What is your favorite article of clothing? Sweat pants
44. What is your favorite book? Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss or maybe "100 years of solitude"
45. What is your favorite candy? Dark Chocolate or "Good and Plenty's"
46. What is your favorite sports team? I don't have a favorite anymore, I don't follow sports.
47. What song do you want played at your funeral? Christmas music :), I don't know, maybe you should all bring in a jazz band when I die. Just don't wear black.
48. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? I was sleeping
49. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Crap, I need to do something with my hair.
50. Why was Question 50 missing? Probably because someone forgot to copy it.

Thompson Family Vacation

Last weekend plus a few week days, we had our Thompson family vacation down at Steve and Debs place. In previous years, we've gone to a resort of sorts, but this year we played it low key.  We had all kinds of fun. Aside from the pictures below, I do have videos to share, but I haven't uploaded them just yet.

Above: Steve setting Raleigh on the slide. Josh getting wet.

Below: Raleigh standing in Great Aunt Soni's brand new kitchen. Soni and Raleigh's Great Grandma Sara made a delicious meal for us on Saturday night.

Above: Raleigh posing with his Great Grandma Sara.

Below: Raleigh posing with his Great Aunt Soni while Josh held him.

I'm not ignoring you

Josh, Raleigh, little baby yet to be born, and I are visiting Josh's parents until next Tuesday. They have yet to reach the high-speed digital age and it will be very difficult for me to blog while we're here.

I swear, I'll post some great pics when I get back. Check back on Wednesday.

Until then, have fun!

Already doing chores

Yesterday and today, Raleigh helped me do the dishes. Today, I took some photographic evidence.

Happy Birthday Erika!!!!

Erika is a quarter-century old today!  If you see her, be sure to wish her a happy happy birthday!

 

When I saw this picture, which is from last Christmas, I pretended that she was throwing up some confetti in celebration of her 25 years. :)

More pictures from the 4th of July

 

Here are the other pictures that I promised.

Above: Raleigh playing with the John Deer toy that Grandpa Dave bought for him and Sam. Sam's working on finishing up a freezee.

Below: Raleigh, "I'm outa here" or "Eat my dust".

 

 

Above: Sam still working on his Freezee. Look at all his hair. Raleigh still seems bald when he stands next to Sam. You can't see his curls here, but he gets the most gorgeous curls at the back of his neck.

Below: My favorite place in the whole world. My mom and I got to come here one morning and just enjoy the sun and swim. She has a picture of me with my flippers on that is on her Blog.