MDSW 2013 Recap

Guess where I was today?  Somewhere south of here... fairgrounds... horrible traffic once you get within a mile of your destination?  You guessed it!  The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!



 Wearing a fabulous hat, nonetheless!

 

Would you believe I bought this hat at Home Depot?  Just squint your eyes a bit and imagine a mint julep in my hand - I could be at the Kentucky Derby!

 This had to be one of the best MDSW that I have been to in a long time.  The weather was beautiful - mild, and maybe only in the high 60s for most of the morning.  I wore my sports jacket all day - but there was a huge variance in what I saw other people wearing (everything from tank tops to fleece coats).

 I saw lots of animals, including mohair goats:

 

 Alpaca:

 

 Standoffish sheep:

 

 And the teeniest baby bunnies:

 

 The colors were amazing, too.

 





 Even the lack of color was beautiful:

 

 I came home with just four skeins of yarn:

 

 Two minty bars of soap:

 

 And two cherry tomato plants - one is a Black Cherry (a sweet purple cherry tomato) and the other a Sunpeach cherry (a pink-orange non-acidic cherry tomato):

 

 So, even despite the fact that I couldn't have any ice cream or kettle corn because of my temporary caps on my molars, I have to rank this up there as one of the best MDSWs I have ever been to... and I can't wait until next year!

Purple Belt Conquered!

Guess who is the owner of a shiny, new purple belt in Tae Kwon Do?

 

 Willow! I wasn't in the best position in the audience to take pictures, but I did manage to catch some video as Willow was working through her form (to prove she knew all the moves for the green belt and was ready to move on). It's interesting - in the lower levels, the instructors counts out the moves, and so the students are paced out - but as you move higher, you have to do it all in your head, and it becomes something like a dance.

 

 Congratulations, Willow! We're so proud of you! Now we have to buy sparring equipment, because with the purple belt level, she gets to learn how to do hand-to-hand combat.

Life Is But A Dream

Easter Egg Dyeing (With Bonus Stress!)

Dyeing Easter eggs should not be this stressful! But, add in a "ME DO IT" toddler, and little cups a dye - well, you have a disaster in the making. This picture is misleading - it looks like they were playing nicely and that Piper wasn't grabbing for everything in sight:

   

Piper dyeing her eggs. At this point, I kind of gave up on guiding her or I would have ended up with PAS dye all over my white shirt. And what on earth was I thinking wearing a white shirt while helping the kids with their eggs!?!?

 

 Willow and her eggs:

 

 Here are all of our eggs - we will be eating these for a while:

 

 Some of the ones I did ending up with fingerprints - I'm calling it a design feature:

   

This was nerve-wracking. I also didn't think to lay paper or a tablecloth down on the table, so now the table looks like it has been dyed as well. It's a good thing we aren't fancy in this house!

 I am not sure how I could have better contained this - I can't really leave her out of the festivities - but holy hell, she wants to do it her way all the time. Andrew just smirks and says, "Gee, Jo - where do you think she got that from?" Gah!

Willow had some bonus eggs she wanted to show off. She made these at her friend Amanda's house:

 

 Showgirl eggs might have been a safer bet with the toddler... a hot glue gun can't be worse than flinging dye everywhere, can it?

Oh, The Drama

The terrible twos have arrived. En force.

 Willow and I went shopping for a new outfit for her spring pictures last night. This kid has grown so much that all her dresses (except for the snazzy yellow one she wore to the dance) was either too tight or too short. We found a pretty dress at Kohl's last night - isn't Willow lovely in it?

 

 Willow coming downstairs in her dress drew a very unexpected reaction from Piper:

 

 Oh my Lord. She went ballistic! She was spitting with anger that Willow was wearing a 'fancy dress' (Piper's words) and she was not. It was a tantrum of epic proportions, so I had to take pictures. We have really been trying to get Piper to express herself with words rather than flipping out. I held her for a bit, and explained that she had to tell me why she was so upset, because I don't understand tantrums.

 A few more fat tears and some shuddering breaths, she came out with "Piper wear fancy dress..."

 

 Luckily, I had a fancy dress for her, too.

 

 This child is so mercurial - I foresee a bumpy ride for many years. Entertaining, but bumpy.

 Two pretty girls on the sofa - and neither one freaking out!

 

Another Pair of Socks

Not meant for me.

(sigh)



Damn me and my cankles.

Quick Book Report: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic book! Celaena Sardothien is an assassin imprisoned and enslaved in salt mines who is offered a chance of redemption if she can win a contest against some of the worst murderers, thieves, and soldiers to become the King's Assassin. A king, who massacred Celaena's own family and is responsible for her becoming an assassin to begin with. I wouldn't have expect Celaena to be such a likable character, but she was - despite everything that happened to her, she has a sense of humor and play that endears people to her, even when they don't want to. Maas' worldbuilding was wonderful - and I loved the backstory of the disappearance of magic and Celaena's own mysterious beginnings. I can't wait to read the next book in this series when it comes out.

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