Soccer Shots, Sewing a Sign, Singing and Signing

I admit, I only pretend to be a good photographer. I took some pictures at my soccer game (we won 5-1!), and got a few good ones - others were blurry (that is a great one of Jen otherwise) and one is headless. Oops!

I was asked to help make a sign for the Virginia Tech vs Alabama game a month ago. I was mainly asked because I was the only person Jacob knew that had a sewing machine. Despite my being used for my sewing skills, I agreed, and after some free BBQ dinner and a drink, I got started on the sign. Please note, if I was in charge of this project, I would have taken measurements and sewn it better. I showed up, was told how it should be sewn, and tried my best. (If it were up to me, I would have sewn it so the bottom wouldn't be as loose.) I helped paint a little too. For those who don't know, Frank BEAMER is Virginia Tech's head coach, and Kirby SMART is Alabama's defensive coach (I think). Yes, that's Frank in a Beamer and Kirby in a Smart car. The second image shows a smashed up Smart car.

Lastly this weekend the children's choir performed at church. I taught them a song in sign language that I learned when I was little: Jesus Loves Me. I've heard from several people that the kids LOVED learning sign language - maybe they'll keep an interest in it like I did! The first picture is me teaching the congregation how to applaud, the second is all the kids singing (and signing). I think it was taken at "Yes" in "Yes, Jesus loves me." I'll have to photograph the stained glass @ church sometime - it's beautiful! If you're interested in learning more about the church, the website is http://www.cpcaustin.org/ . (How's that for being evangelical, Elizabeth?)

Sunday Coffee at Summermoon Cafe

I absolutely love my sister's coffee shop in Rochester. I haven't found anything comparable in Austin, and I have yet to find a good coffee supplier here. I grab at least two pounds when I visit. When I tell Austinites about Sips (http://www.sipsrochester.com/), they ask about my favorite coffee shop in Austin. And I go blank. Long story short, I'm electing to go coffee shop shopping to see if there's a shop that's somewhat comparable to Sips.

This Sunday's coffee was from Summermoon Cafe. They roast their beans nearby via wood-fire. The coffee itself (after my tongue realized it was too hot to drink right away) was good. The set-up was home-y. But that's where it ended. I only had one choice for drip coffee. There was a slightly musty smell. I'm pretty sure that when I was in there with my work laptop, I wasn't able to connect to the internet. And they close at 6pm every night, despite the fact that there is a college within walking distance.

You put your right hand in...

...and do the Hokie Pokie!

Yes, we did it! Perhaps you're not as excited as I am for the victory of Virginia Tech over Nebraska on Friday. Festivities included the Hokie Pokie somewhere during the 4th quarter (That's what the top pic is -- I didn't turn my flash on in time. Don't ask me why they didn't Hokie Pokie right after the 3rd Q, when the stadium danced), specialized Hokie pizza (BBQ pizza with turkey -- who doesn't love eating their own mascot?), and a flaming Hokie shot which was compliments of the bar's manager.

This final picture is lacking a few fans who went home early and you can't see people jumping up and down, but it was our hangout for the afternoon. Thanks Lavaca Street Bar! For those of you who don't follow college football, Virginia Tech beat Nebraska 16-15 by scoring the winning touchdown within the last ~30 seconds of the game.

The one thing I'm excited to lose...

INCHES!

I took some measurements a month ago, as I thought that was the end of my "Shelley loses a lot of weight" (45 pounds) plan. This morning, I measured again. I wasn't expecting a big change from August 20, since I haven't really lost weight since then. Within the past month, I lost another inch off my waist and an inch off my hips! Please don't ask me how that's possible. I've been playing soccer twice a week for the past ~3 weeks, and I'm trying to commit myself to the gym more (I've been there over 100 times this year!)

Even more exciting, I'm about 2 inches away from fitting into my favorite jeans from high school! (Technically, I can fit into them now, but I'm certain no one wants to see me wearing them in public!)

Three Months Lost

I should have opted to go on vacation with my parents for this week. (Hi Mom & Dad!) I should be basking in the South Carolina sunshine, swimming in the 80 degree ocean, and drinking wine with my parents while they watch football. Heck, I would have been an only child for the week (despite the fact that I heard they have already talked to or saw all 3 of my siblings.) But no, I had to be unselfish, save my money, and stay in Austin. I could have had a calm before the storm!

What type of storm is coming? I've lost three months of work - I found out today that a deadline for a big project is no longer as far out as I imagined. It will be moved up three months! I should have enjoyed a vacation before I got this news, because it'll be work-work-work until mid-November. Yes, I thought I had until early February, but now everything will be crammed: my analysis, my work hours, my weeknights, my extra-curriculars... I'm sensing a late-night Friday work day since I'm so busy Tuesday-Thursday after work.

The final decision to "iron this experiment out" will be in 2 days. Keep your fingers crossed until then! I'm half-way hoping the "experiment" is to see how much we freak out if they pretend to change the dates. Otherwise, I'll definitely be planning a calm after the storm!


On a lighter note, I came across this news article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/09/15/tf.why.men.love.redheads/index.html

Where are all these boys that are infatuated with red hair and how come I'm never approached as much as this article suggests?

Wouldn't I get extra points of uniqueness for being left-handed as well?

And my comments are as follows:
(1) I've never been called a flame brain before
(2) I've never been compared to a unicorn before either
(3) Ignore the last sentence. We are not plain human beings, feel free to worship us as much as your heart desires

Happy Birthday, Babita!

I just wanted to give a shout out to Babita for turning 30! To celebrate, a few friends from church went over to her house to celebrate Friday night. It was a party filled with watching paint dry (literally - when I got there, the painter was still painting the walls.) But seriously, it was a gathering filled with Wii playing, Spaghetti Pie, and ice cream. I know my family is probably disappointed that I didn't say I made ice cream cake, but these Texans LOVE Spaghetti Pie. I introduced it to them, and I pretty much don't think they can handle the Kasiske ice cream cake yet. Yes, we did put 30 candles into the ice cream!

Here are some pics from the night of fun. Unfortunately, no one took a picture of me when the baby spit up on me and happened to get my cardigan, tshirt, AND jeans.

My new quilting book!

I have a good friend that got engaged a couple of months ago, and the wedding is next summer. I've been dabbling at table runner quilts, I made a baby quilt, I think by January/February, I'll be ready to attempt my first wedding quilt. I want to do something with a more traditional look, because I think the bride-to-be likes the country look. I didn't want to do the wedding ring quilt, partially because I have a feeling it won't look symmetric, and partially because I fear doing too much of a free-hand design while doing the actual quilting. I've google imaged searched, looked for books in the sewing stores I frequently visit, and nothing popped out at me...
...until I went to Half Price Books. There, hidden in the shelves, was this $5 book with the perfect quilt on the front cover. Not only will I be able to work with a variety of sewing techniques, this screams "new home, new family." I might replace the vines on the right side of the house with a door - because it's a little weird to me that there isn't a door.

The only scary part about this quilt: The pattern is for a finished quilt of 7' x 8': Eek! The biggest I've done was the baby quilt which was probably 4'x4' (or 5'x5'?). Should I scale it down so it's more of a lap blanket? I could suggest to my mom that the antique rocking chair she'll buy for the couple (her favorite wedding gift to give) goes along with the theme of the quilt. Or, I could go all-out and quilt to my heart's content to make the biggest and best quilt yet. She is, after all, my best-church-friend from my childhood.

My $3 Skirt

Yes, in total, this skirt cost me $3 in fabric, and that's all. I scanned the bargain racks to find this flowy peach with with star-ish flowers. I thought the vertical grains would be great on a skirt and at the very least, it might help slim down these dreaded Kasiske hips.

You'll see it looks fairly similar to a skirt I already own. I actually am in love with this polka dotted skirt, but have a feeling it's going to be ripped up some day soon. I noticed some puckering with the new skirt - I think the bias on the polka dot is at a 45 degree angle from how I sewed up the peach (because of the visible vertical lines!), so if I'm going to make another one, I will have to keep this in mind.

How did I only spend $3 on the peach fabric and not buy any stretch spandex fabric to go underneath? Recycling! I was (and still am) a fan of camisoles. This one I happened to hold on to for a while because it was gold (you might notice a little sparkle). Now I regret already getting rid of the rest of mine. I'd have to say that the best part about this is that I didn't really have to work with the edges of a stretchy material. They were already complete. The waist band is perfect - The cami had a built in bra, which you can see had a thick band, which coincidentally fits around my waist perfectly! Yes, I still have to work on removing the label without stretching the fabric too much, but it's not too noticeable as-is.

Hot pants!

Ok, I lied. They are not hot pants. But once you look at this fabric that I'll turn into some form of PJ pants, everyone will want a pair of these! Yes, I found a math fabric, and although the math used is a little elementary for my taste (I prefer calculus - like my math tie I got in Australia...), I think everyone will be oohing and aahing at my mathematical clothing!
I had a few random sewing projects late last week/this weekend. I'm not quite finished, so I don't want to spoil you with not finished pictures of my almost-finished skirt. I should be done in time to wear it to a labor day bbq - what fun.

A Day of San Antonio

I was invited to go to San Antonio for a day. So I took Thursday off (back to work on Friday though), and we drove down there. Everything on the schedule was new to me - including my first time at Sonic. I had a (please read with a french accent, like the commercial) bacon crossonic breakfast sandwich. Nothing special.

We started the adventure at the San Jose Mission. Seeing as how my visitors only really know about the Alamo, that's the only mission I've visited in the past. While we were there, we saw a light rainbow in the sky - you can see it arched over the cross.

We then traveled to the Market Square, had lunch, and ended our day at the McNay Museum. Though I couldn't take pictures indoors, here are few outdoor highlights: (I love the trashcan!)