Making an effort to honour the past

Michael and I decided that we wanted to put up some photos of our 12 years together at our wedding reception (because that's a long time, and we owe it to our various hair cuts), and I think we found a solution. Without ruining anything for folks attending, I think you can get an idea of how we plan to hang them in the photo, above.

Like everything else that we've planned for the big day, we chose this method because it was easiest. Other than picking the photos and getting some digital photos developed, it's basically done. Oh yeah, we have to make sure that they're arranged in the right order, because it's a time-line of sorts. I'm surprised at how hard this has been to do. Did I mention now long we've been together? That's a lot of photos.

Now that I see the photos hanging, I'm tempted to do something similar with wedding photos in our apartment, once the dust has settled from the big event. Michael thinks that something like this photo wall would be nice.

Blame Twitter

Hello! I haven't written for a while. There are a few reasons for the silence, but the main reason is Twitter. I joined last week, and it's distracting me.

Before I continue, does everyone know what Twitter is? Read this article if you don't know, or if you want some tips on using Twitter: Making the most of Twitter

I joined for a few reasons. First, Zoe T asked me what Twitter was, and while I sort of knew, I thought that I should probably have a better understanding before I answered her; I also felt that I should be more aware of Internet trends, given my web-based job and my blog and all. Then Jillian told me she joined because she wants to dabble in experimental promotion opportunities related to her job. Then there's Sarah, who has been twittering very successfully for a while now, and Brie, who just joined. So really, I just had to do it. Also, Amr has been twittering, and since he isn't on Facebook, I have extra incentive to stick with it.

I also like writing, and I really like being creative within constraints. If 140 characters isn't a constraint, I don't know what is.

You'll be able to read my tweets (yes, I said tweets) in the sidebar, but you should check out these folks too (Tina Fey hasn't updated in a while, but she's funny, yo):

johnroderick She: "Do you think your life is out of control?" Me: "I don't THINK it's out of control, I PERCEIVE that it's out of control via my senses."

yowhatsthehaps You can't tell, but I'm totally giving you the bedroom eyes right now. That's what it's called when you look sleepy, right? Rowr.

rainnwilson Sign on Wendys: "Try our Premium Fish!" Me: "A) what is premium fish? B) Definitely I will, yes."

TinaFey You tell the sandwich artist "a dab of mayo" and they slather it. It's almost like they're not being paid a living wage or something.

kabesh Cherry blossoms, please wait up for Erin and Michael's wedding.

So. Twitter, hey? I'm still not sure what to think.

Guest post: Making A Good Start

This weekend I joined Marc's mom and went to my third Sewing and Quilt Show. It seemed a little mellower than in years past (in years past it has felt a little frantic). I felt that this year I actually had a perspective about it all, which was fun. Since last year, I have either finished or made good progress on 4 quilts. I have some idea of what I'm able to handle, ambition-wise, and my purchases reflected that I think. I resisted a few things, for example, whose novelty might have swayed me before. I am wise to your seduction, triangles and cute pins!
I have about 12 hours left of hand quilting on my mom's quilt, but I can't resist starting on this one. About 90% of the fabric I bought this weekend was pink with flowers. I thought that was funny.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

When I was 16, I used to wear a button on my backpack that said World's cutest leprechaun. I was pretty cool. Today I'm wearing a plastic shamrock that has been in our family for many years. Michael is wearing another button I dug up, one that claims he is an Honourary leprechaun. He also gets to attend a St. Paddy's Day potluck at lunch. Lucky. He made a corned beef, potato and sauerkraut dish in our slow cooker over night, which was a strange smell to wake up to. Aside from sampling the beef, I honoured the day by reading Belfast's 'new troubles' are really no trouble from the Saturday Globe & Mail over breakfast, an optimistic story. If you want to get up to something a little cheerier, I recommend making these chocolate whiskey and beer cupcakes and sharing one with me.

Making an embroidered gift with due process

This is my artistic process for embroidery (I don't recommend it):

I remember that I like emboridering things. I decide to make someone a gift with a simple design on it. I start embroidering a tea towel or something else that I have on hand. I get carried away with all sorts of intricate possibilities. I get overwhelmed. I delay. I realize I only gave myself a half hour to finish the project before giving it away. I finish the project while Michael waits for me at the door. I spray the project with water so the lines from the embroidery hoop might go away before I hand it over. I hope the fabric dries in time. I don't wrap the gift so it might dry in time. I get bummed out that I didn't make something more intricate. I think about that one wonky detail (damn you, blue heart). I give the embroidery project away. I realize that even though it's simple and wonky, it's still cute. Usually I forget to take a photo at this point, but this time around the recipient had some fun props that I couldn't resist (Happy Birthday Zoe!).

Preparing for a certain event

Michael and I spent last weekend in Vancouver shopping around for wedding outfits with my mom. We're getting married very soon, and we figured we should find something to wear already. This is the three of us on Main Street, a few blocks from our old apartment building:


Main Street provided a fruitful shopping experience for my mom and me. I found a dress at Body Politic, and both of us got new coats at The Lip Lounge. Aren't they cute? Michael wasn't so lucky, but I'm not worried about him since he already identified some options in Victoria.

I haven't been writing about the wedding because it's not something that I want to do. I will say that we're keeping it small and simple, and I'll be sure to post photos after the whole thing is done. Oh, and we're going to Kauai for our honeymoon. Has anyone been there before?


My mom's flight home was delayed because of that freak snow fall on Monday. Wasn't it crazy? The snow flakes were so giant that I could barely see as a walked to work.

Did you partake in the miracle of human flight?

My mom was here last weekend (after partaking in the miracle of human flight, of course), and I have some stories to tell you about that, but I need to download some photos first. In the meantime, you should probably watch this video (so you can understand the human flight comment):



I never heard of Louis CK before. He's good.

Guest post: Making (quilts for) babies

Got to shake up the blog post titles a little right? I'm sure that babies are things worth making too, but let's just stick to quilts for now, OK Mom?

My friend's sister (also my friend!) is having a baby this summer. It's very exciting. Recently I got to feel her belly, which, in combination with the ramping up of NCAA college basketball for March Madness this year, has really kicked me into high gear, quilt-wise! Just like last year! I'm like Pavlov's Quilting Dog, if you will.

I'm especially happy with the binding on this one. I wasn't totally sure that it was going to come together until I started sewing the binding on this afternoon. As Marc said when he saw it, it really ties the room together.

Because the wood grain didn't provide enough texture

I'm sure you've noticed that I'm exploring the wonderful world of Photoshop. Er, I've got a lot to learn.

Listening to talk radio

One of my tentative plans for 2009 was to start listening to This American Life. I've always been a fan of talk radio, but until now I've limited my exposure to the CBC and sometimes NPR (when our CBC reception is off or we're visiting the USA). I think the name This American Life prevented me from checking it out earlier, but I decided to give it a try because I wanted to know why everyone loves Ira Glass (the host) so much. Also, I'm into podcasts now.

I wish I hadn't waited so long, and now I'm making up for lost time by listening to this list of favorite episodes. These are a few of my favorites from that list:

• Break-Up. Writer Starlee Kine on what makes the perfect break-up song and whether really sad music can actually make you feel better. Plus, an eight-year-old author of a book about divorce and other stories from the heart of heartbreak.
  
• My Pen Pal. Sarah, a ten-year-old from the upper peninsula of Michigan, unwittingly becomes pen pals with Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, arguably U.S. enemy number one at the time. Then she goes to visit him.
  
• Superpowers. A teenage girl made a checklist of all the things she'd need to do to become a superhero – learn to fly a helicopter, learn Russian, learn to fire a bazooka, you get the idea – and then proceeded to do all the things on the list. Also, which superpower is better: flight or invisibility?
  
• Babysitting. The last story in this show, about two teenagers who ended up babysitting children who didn't exist, is one of the most popular things we've ever put on the air, and even won an international prize.
  
• Switched at Birth. On a summer day in 1951, two baby girls were born in a hospital in small-town Wisconsin. The infants were accidentally switched, and went home with the wrong families. One of the mothers realized the mistake but chose to keep quiet. Until the day, more than 40 years later, when she decided to tell both daughters what happened. How the truth changed two families' lives—and how it didn't.

This American Life is home to story-telling brilliance, which allows it to entertain me with topics I never thought I'd be interested in. Not surprisingly, David Sedaris and Jonathan Goldstein are frequent contributors.

I know some of you are already fans, but even if that's the case, I think you should listen to one or two of these episodes so we can be fans together. Phil Collins won me over in one of them! Can you guess which one?