Monday. Photo Day.

Sort of.

You'll have to head over here for the full monty.

But here's a snippet of what is waiting for you:

Cheers,
A

Thursday Randomness

Because it's Thursday

(my favorite day of the week)

I thought I'd share this random story with you.

My first class at North Hennepin Community College

(where I earned my AAS degree - with a 4.0 baby!)

was Physical Geography.

I can't, for the life of me, remember the instructor's name.

The class began at 7:50

in the morning!

which was, to date, the dumbest collegiate scheduling decision

I have ever made.

But I digress.

One morning, as we discussed the layers of the atmosphere,

I raised my hand and asked the instructor,
"At what level are you able to see the stars?"

The class erupted in laughter.

My instructor snortled, ever so slightly, as well.

My smartass self got annoyed.

Really, really annoyed.

Jackasses. 

They were laughing at me.

Ugh.

The teacher replied, 

"You can see the stars from the ground. At night."

The class laughed louder.

At this point I was about ready to punch said instructor in the face

with my chair,

but being the wielder of wit that I am,

I casually responded to her retort with the following,

"Obviously. I am neither blind, nor an idiot. My question was in regard to daytime. At what level of the atmosphere does the refraction of light stop, thus making it possible to see space?" 

The teacher looked at me - her face blank.

A deadpan stare.

Deer, meet headlights. 

"I'm not sure?" she said.

And on we went with our lesson.

Did I mention I graduated (junior) college with a 4.0?

Apparently I was smarter than some of the educators.

If I may be so bold.

The moral of this story:

There's no such thing as a stupid question,

only stupid people. 

Cheers!

A

Freestyle

Saturday I sewed.
When DRL and  I went to Austin in December I picked up some fabric
at my favorite Austin fabric boutique, The Stitch Lab.
I had a half yard of quilter's linen in this great deep indigo color and it happened
to coordinate perfectly with the Erin McMorris' Summersault print I acquired on my trip.
The problem: I only had a half yard of that, too.

Oliver+S makes my favorite children's clothing patterns.
Almost everything I've sewn for my girls has been from one of Liesl's great patterns.
But they all require at least one yard of the "main fabric" for dressmaking.
I found myself on the horns of a dilemma.

I wanted to make Stella a dress.
I wanted to use these two fabrics.
I had no pattern.

Crap.

Except not!
I found a Gap dress in Stella's closet,
a hand-me-down from Elena,
that seemed exactly perfect.
I traced the body, adding extra width for the placket,
and a half inch all around for the seam allowance.
I relied heavily on the skills I learned making Liesl's patterns:
Sewing a placket,
adding a sleeve,
basting,
pleating,
hemming.
And I winged it.
I freestyled Stella a dress.

It's not perfect.
It doesn't lay flat in the front.
I accidentally cut the bottom (left) back piece.
I had to applique a patch there (I only had a 1/2 yard. I couldn't cut a new piece).
The pleat is slightly off-center in the front (It's spot on in the back!)

But I'm crazy happy with how it turned out.
Stella looks amazing in it.

Here's to trying new things.
To being brave and throwing the "you can't, no way" out the window.
Because the only thing worse than completely screwing it up,
would be to never have tried in the first place.

Cheers,
A

Theft of the Dial.

If you live in Minnesconsin, you're probably familiar with 89.3 The Current.
If you don't you can stream it live and hear what all the fuss is about.

I spend two hours a day in my car.
I listen to the current as though it were the Gospel.
I owe Frank Turner and Blitzen Trapper to the Current.
I'm sure I owe most of the music Chud introduced me to
to the Current.

I owe my sanity
to the Current.

In homage to my love of all things Public Radio,
I am going to host my very own
Theft of the Dial.
Dear Jill Riley, Mary Lucia, and Mark Wheat:
If you happen on my playlist,
I'd be honored to hear it on the radio.

To the rest of you:
Download these songs if they're not in your collection.
This is not a complete list of my favorite songs of all time,
but rather the anthem of the year that was 2011.
The songs I played over
and over
and over
again.

Turned up to eleven.

•Down in the Valley - The Head and The Heart
•Landfill - Daughter
•I Still Believe - Frank Turner
•Sweet Disposition - The Temper Tramp
•Dog Days Are Over - Florence+The Machine
•Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes
•LDN - Lily Allen
•Make You Feel My Love - Adele
•Holocene - Bon Iver
•Love The Way You Walk Away -  Blitzen Trapper
•The Girl You Lost to Cocaine - Sia
•Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley
•Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
•Big Time Sensuality - Bjork
•Fake Empire -  The National
•The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
•Both Hands - Ani Difranco
•Hallelujah - k.d. lang
•Human - The Killers
•Gimmie Sympathy - Metric
•Starlight - Muse
•Sunshine - Atmosphere

As an aside, here is a list of the albums I not only listened in their entirety,
but did so again and again and again.
If you don't own these albums, you should.

Adele - 21
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Daughter - His Young Heart EP
Florence+The Machine - Lungs
The Head and The Heart - The Head and The Heart
Metric - Fantasies
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
The National - Boxer


Happy downloading, friends!

xoxo
A

Belated

You turned two on Fetivus, Stella.
Two whole years we've known you.
Two whole years you've had to completely steal our hearts for life or longer.
You are daring.
Adventurous.
Wicked.
You love to laugh and run circles around Gramma's living room at approximately 6:15
every
single
night.
This past year has been a busy one:
Two moves, one across country.
Your first surgery. It seems your ears have an affinity for infection.
Your first pair of glasses AND your first box of disposable eye patches.
(Argh!)
Your last set of your baby teeth.
Your last bottle.
Your last cup of milk in the middle of the night.
Your last night sleeping in a crib.
Your last day as an infant.
You're a toddler now, child.
And with that comes great responsibility.

Run.
Explore.
Chase your sister until she screams "STOP IT!"
Tickle.
Dream.
Roll down hills and scrape your knees.
Sing.
Dance.
Let the music you create fill your soul.

I am so excited to be your momma, sweet girl.
I am so excited to continue to watch you grow.

I love you more than you know.
Forever and ever.

And still a day more.

xo

The Decemberist

Seeing as how I basically skipped the month of December
as it pertains to blogging
I am going to blog
December
in January.

Stella's Birthday.
Festivus.
The Holidays.
The new year and all that I have planned.
Resolutions.

You know.
The usual.

Stay tuned friends.

xox
Athena