imperfection gives it character?

we've had the most beautiful sunsets the last 2 nights, just wish it would cool off. i wore a tank top at 9pm to walk Baxter and was hot. blah - tired of the AC being on!
made more progress on the secret projects tonight, well...on 1 of the 5. first major victory: threadding the bobbin. the first time i forgot to put the thread around the feed post and ended up with a knotty, sad bobbin and had to start over - but i knew what i did wrong so it was ok. the second issue was figuring out the little back-stitch feature when used with a decorative stitch, the machine is supposed to do it exactly after 3 stitches but it doesn't seem to be doing quite what i want. i'll have to play with it more tomorrow. anyway, steps 2 and 3 done tonight. progress feels good and i haven't screwed anything up royally - its just not quite as perfect as i wish....so, the first one has a bit of character. ;) and love from me! i also made some lasagna today, half for dinner and half for the freezer. i love the plan of stocking up for after baby's birth-day, but i'm going to need a bigger freezer!

culinary "great" and irresistable baking goodness

I'm currently simmering some homemade split pea/barley soup from California Pizza Kitchen and it smells fantastic-my plan is to make a little stuff each week to freeze and use after Christmas when no one will want to be cooking when we could be staring at a little baby man. Its the first time I've made this soup and it turns out its quite easy to make. Speaking of easy, I also gave in and made some Nestle pre-made cookies with halloween colored chocolate chips in them and they're fresh out of the oven and ready to be dipped in some milk. While I am very pro-homemade cookies, every once in awhile those little packages in the refrigerator section just look so yummy that I can't resist.

My exciting announcement of the day is that The Secret Life of Bees is going to be a movie in October! It is a fantastic book (by Sue Monk Kidd) that I highly recommend (recommended to me by a.boser who always finds the best books, amongst other things) you track down and read. Its short so you have time to breeze through it before October 17th when the movie is released, I think they have it at Target, but maybe even at the library. I located a library down in Mission Valley, but haven't been to one in San Marcos yet. Add that to my list of things to do.

my first project

my first post, my first project - i'll let the pictures do the talking as i don't want to spoil any surprises that some ladies who i love will get when the projecting is done! so far, its been quite a treat...the gathering of fabrics is the easiest and most fun part perhaps. that done, its on to the cutting and putting together. hoping for a good outcome and success with the first ventures on the janome, i want my sewing machine and i to be dear friends for years to come, so there's a bit of pressure for the first project to go smoothly.



the next project will be a Christmas stocking for the baby boy - with help from my mom when she visits in October. hopefully we'll get to use it this year!