Penguins and Other Pics

I made Sarah penguin pillows for her living room because I figured she'd probably never find purple winter or Christmas pillows.


And we made a pig pillow, too. I think it kinda looks like a Richard Scarry character.




And finally got a picture of Courage Bear.

Happy New Year!

So, we had a one year old here tonight, so we toasted early so Lisa and Lyam could get home to bed.

"May those who love us, love us.
Those who do not love us,
May God turn their hearts.
If their hearts cannot be turned,
May God turn their ankles,
So we will recognize them by their limp."




More Pics!

Good news!

So, I inherited a digital camera. My mom gave me my stepdad's Nikon Coolpix. Which means, more pics, more often. I will actually be able to post things in a timely manner. Or once the battery charges I will. It hasn't been recharged since like October.

I am bargain fu!

So the zipper broke on my Tuckerman today, and I was really bummed. I loved that coat, it was warm and comfy and had tons of pockets and I got a really good deal.

So we went to LL Bean. And the guy was like, ok, since you don't have your receipt what we're gonna have to give you what it's scanning for now and it might not be for much since it's from last year.

And I said, well, ok. I guess not much is better than a coat I can't wear.

So he looked it up, and it actually came up for more than I paid for it, by $30. So that's good.

Except that the same coat is selling for $179 which is $60 more than I got back. Damn.

So I got a different coat, which isn't rated for quite as cold as the Tuckerman, but what business do I have being outside when it's 35 below anyway. And this coat was only $89.

So I got gloves. And figured I had about $10 left. So I went to check out.

I had $11.45 left on the return card. And even better, I got a $10 gift card for spending more than $50.

Woohoo!

Still learning Japanese

Been playing Slime Forest A LOT lately, and I recognize (though some more readily than others) in the neighborhood of 500 kanji! However, since Japanese uses a completely differently alphabet and writing style than English, there is still the matter of putting the actual Japanese words to the Kanji.

Carl is going to register me for the paid version of Slime forest for Christmas and I believe that includes the pronunciation of the Kanji.

Also, I finally broke down and bought a book to teach me to write in Japanese. And it seems to be a really good book.

Tuttle Language Library's Japanese Hiragana for Beginners, by Timothy G Stout. www.tuttlepublishing.com

It's got writing practice and basic vocabulary. It's a lot like an elementary school reading workbook, there's crossword puzzles and a whole bunch vocabulary worksheets in it.

I'm really excited about the whole thing, because the other day I had that moment you get when you're learning something totally new and all of a sudden, your brain shifts and it all makes sense, instead of being a struggle. I got a new kanji on Slime Forest and I looked at it, and recognized all of the radicals in it. I couldn't figure out what the actually representation was, but I got enough of a feel for it that when I got the keyword, it made sense.

It's suddenly been a whole lot easier since then, I guess my brain "gets" Japanese now, even though there's still tons and tons to learn. Apparently, it takes something in the neighborhood of 1300 hours of study to become even moderately fluent in Japanese if you're starting as an English speaker.

The only thing I feel like I'm lacking right now is that I would like to have someone to practice speaking with and since I don't know anyone who is fluent in Japanese and none of my friends are interested in learning, that may be tough. Though I did find an SAT 2 study guide that has a downloadable .mp3 library for pronunciate and listening practice, so I might use that. It's not perfect, but it's certainly better than practicing with the cat.

Ah, well. sayonara!

Age

Late Nights and Early Mornings

I'm so tired! Wah! This past weekend I worked 7-3 and then 6-2:30. I have three more shifts this week, two of them are 7-3 and the other one is 2-11:30, at least, could be closer to 12. Say it with me, "EW!"

At least I'll get some off hours production in.

Back Home

So, my step-dad's memorial service was yesterday, and it was very nice. He was a well-loved man.

All in all though, it is kinda nice to get back to real life.

Sad News

To anyone who's been following the situation with my stepfather, I first of all want to thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Yesterday morning, after having been sick for quite a while, his kidneys started to fail and he was switched over to comfort care. In a matter of minutes, he slipped away quietly. It's sad and it's hard, but for the last week or so, just being awake has been more of a strain than his body could handle. Mostly, I'm glad he can be at peace now instead of struggling every day for every breath.

Pepperoni bread, yay!

Thought I'd share the recipe, it's so easy I feel like I'm cheating.

Get some frozen premade bread dough and some stick pepperoni.

Cut the pepperoni into 5" (approx.) lengths and cut those lengths into 5 0r 6 thin sticks.

Thaw and raise bread dough according to package instructions.

Separate loaves in half and flatten into a rectangle.

Roll pepperoni sticks into bread dough and bake according to package instructions.

Cool slightly and enjoy, with or without pizza sauce to dip in.