The order of things

Three random people at Borders know I'm pregnant and Derrick doesn't. How fun is that?

I finally worked up the gumption to take a pregnancy test yesterday morning (though that was a bit of an adventure too--the first time I tried I couldn't hold back my pee long enough to open the stupid test package, as if my body really, REALLY didn't want to know). I sent pictures to Derrick, who may have seen them by now if he's checked his email, but definitely hadn't last night, since he was still driving through a lovely snowstorm in the Wasatch mountains. Since I had a 40% off coupon at Border's, I went out to buy The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Borders didn't have that book in stock, so I bought The Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy and the Baby's First Year instead. I'm pleased with the book. It's a bit like a high school text-book, which I find reassuring. Anyway, when I couldn't find the first book immediately, I tried looking it up on the computers scattered around the store so I wouldn't have to ask anyone. A very helpful employee came over to help me and saw what I was looking at, and wished me congratulations. Then at the check out counter I complained about not being able to find the book I wanted and the two people there were very helpful, but also now know I'm pregnant before my husband does. Now I really want Derrick to check his email so I can tell him! :)

Give a Little Bit

I'm a terrible daughter-in-law. Derrick and I spent thanksgiving with his family this year since we're spending Christmas in Utah. Since we'll be in Utah, we also exchanged our Christmas gifts. My in-laws really splurged on us this year--Derrick got a very nice (and very expensive) tripod and tripod head for his camera, and I got a set of the dishes I wanted from Bed Bath and Beyond, and an ironing board (it's amazing how domestic I'm becoming, but you really do need one for sewing, and it's really irritating ironing on carpet). Very thoughtful and very useful gifts to us, especially given that the two of us are still maintaining two households and thus don't have a lot of spare cash for fun things like new dishes and camera equipment.

ANYWAY. Then my in-laws opened their gifts from us. They weren't quite so extravagant, shall we say. We bought most of our gifts for family in Greece this year, so there were some space and financial considerations. Even so. Derrick's dad wanted wine from Greece, which we purchased and managed to get back to the states even in Derrick's soft-sided bag, and got all the way to Indiana, where I dropped it carrying it into the house. So, Derrick's dad got Argentine wine instead.

We gave my Mother-in-law an olive-wood spatula. Yes, that's right, a spatula. It's a very nice spatula, made of really quite beautiful, curly, spalted olive wood. But it's a spatula. To make it even worse, in Greece we got me a small square tablecloth with a Greek key border and olives embroidered on it, and a set of four matching napkins. Derrick showed it to his mom, who thought it was for her, and quite obviously thought it was an absolutely gorgeous piece. I wish we'd given it to her now. Oh well--at least this means we really, REALLY have to go back, if for no other reason than to get my Mother-in-law the tablecloth she deserves.

Melt into the Walls

So, I finished curtains this weekend, which is truly an accomplishment for me. I remember as a kid trying so hard to use my grandma's sewing machine to sew doll clothes, only to have the sewing machine eat the fabric and get clogged. My grandma, who spent every evening listening to the TV as she sewed stacks of clothing and quilts, would have to come in after me and clean out the mangled pieces of fabric wound tightly with yards of thread. Under her expert hands the machine would function beautifully, but no matter what tricks she'd show me, I just couldn't get the thing to work for me.

While I was at Penn State Melissa talked me into making her a dress for Halloween (I guess the bad memories slipped my mind long enough for her to convince me it would be fun), and that was probably my first successful sewing venture. The dress was huge--not only did we get the wrong size pattern, but I was so nervous about my ability to sew small seams that I cut something like an extra half-inch on every side of the pattern. Even as huge as it was, the dress turned out sufficiently nicely that I was willing to take up sewing again.

Anyway, my bedroom window faces the apartments next door, which have annoyingly bright lights on all night long. I haven't been around enough for it to really bother me, but lately I've had trouble getting to sleep, and thought actual darkness might help. To my happiness, they do, and they look really snazzy! The curtains are made from some lovely faux-suede fabric that was a joy to work with. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 yards of the stuff in other colors that I plan to make into a quilt (in my copious free time, of course).