Tell A Tall Tale

I am so happy! I just finished my book.
And it is sooooo cool!

When I was little I had this book called Tell A Tall Tale. It was my favorite book for years and years—I played with it all the time.  Now, in my dotage, I've been fondly reminiscing on those golden years of my childhood, affectionately thinking of the beloved playthings from days gone by. 

Well, not really. 

But this book has been on my mind  recently (for several months) because one day it occurred to me that I could make a book just like it.  So I did it.  About four months ago I gave the story formula to my family and asked them for some ideas.  Then I tweaked their stories, wrote some of my own, illustrated them all, scanned them onto the computer, had them printed, and put my little book together. 

a few of the pages

Cute, I think. But what makes this book really fun (and another item for my North Pole Toys store)  is that it is a puzzle, too.

I just finished it this afternoon, and my kids have already been playing with it a lot. :-)  Yay! It makes me happy!

Uh-oh, Spaghettios!

Bruce and I haven't had health insurance in years.  I'm not complaining; just stating a fact.  So last week I took advantage of SLCC's Student Clinic and had a physical.  I had a physical, a pap test (oh, hooray), and some blood labs done.  I was a big girl and I did not cry.

Anyway, they called me with the results of my blood tests yesterday.  Everything looks very good—all normal and healthy . . .

. . . except that my cholesterol is high, my bad lipids are high and my good lipids are low. :-(

I am not terribly surprised by this.  Actually, I wasn't surprised at all—I am slightly overweight, not super active (you know . . . outside of being a mom and full-time student), and have been going through a phase of craving—and indulging in—rich foods for the last eight months or so.  Nothing is "you are a prime candidate for a heart attack tomorrow morning" high.  It's more like, "Keep an eye on this and fix it before it gets bad" high.

>sigh<

OK then.  I can do that.

I told my family yesterday that if I gotta do it, then they gotta do it!  So it's limited red meats (doable), limited eggs (which I don't especially love anyway), and limited dairy (with which I have spasmodic love-affairs—except for ice cream, which is an ongoing affair). Plus we need more veggies and fruits (which I really love but never eat enough of), and more whole grains and brown rice, etc. (which I also really love), and more seafood (which I love discriminately). And less salt, but I don't use much salt when I'm cooking anyway—except on French fries, which are mostly a no-no. That doesn't seem so bad. The trouble is that my kids are getting older and gaining some kitchen skills and they frequently make yummy treats (like two to three times a week), and I'm supposed to cut back on that stuff, too.  Oh, sad day.

Well like I say, if I gotta do it, then they gotta do it.  Sweet treats once a week. And who knows?  Maybe I'll lose a few pounds along the way.  :-)

8:20 p.m. All right.  I've been to ballet class tonight; it's the first night we dressed for class.  I was right—I am probably the only one who's had as much ballet training as I have had.  The teacher knew my name by the end of class.  But I don't know if that makes up for my body.  Bleaaagh.  I feel like that ballerina-hippo from Disney's Fantasia.  >sigh<

So, I embark on another a new adventure! We'll see how this goes.

The Real Spring Lineup

OK.  This is really it; I have run out of time to make any more class changes.  I am really taking:

Pattern Alteration and Fit:  taking commercial patterns and making them fit a real body before you cut them out and sew them.  I will be altering and sewing two patterns for myself.

Jewelry Making:  as it says. Next Wednesday I am making a ring (a silver band).  Which finger should I make it to fit?  I'm thinking my right thumb. ;-)

Intro. to Ballet:  I went to this class last night; it was kind of disconcerting to walk into a class full of tall, thin kids who are all twenty years younger than me.  But as we watched some videos and talked about ballet a little, I realized that I probably know more than 99% of the class.  They may look better, but I will dance as well as they do, and maybe better than some. (That's really bad of me, isn't it?)

Draping:  learning to make a pattern by draping and pinning fabric over a figure to make a piece of clothing, and then taking that draped garment and making a pattern out of it.  And guess what?  I get to work with Georgianna again—my dress form from last spring!  Isn't that happy news?

So there we are. For real. And I think it will be OK.

Georgianna, the bejewelled, ballerina dress-form

Retreat, Retreat!

Yesterday I went to my Nutrition class for the first time.

Today I dropped that class like a hot brick.

First of all it was scheduled for my very worst time of day—
1 pm to 4 pm.  I've had classes from 1:00 to 4:00 before, and even though I am always very tired and suffering through the after-lunch-blahs at this time of day, I've gotten through them. So I figured I could handle this.  Nope.

At this bad, bad time of day I cannot go sit through a three hour, slightly scientific lecture that was intended for nursing students and not your average Joe Student.  And when that lecture mostly consists of watching a power-point slideshow and having the teacher read the slides . . . 
After 45 minutes my brain fell out and started rolling around on the floor. By 3:00 I was watching the clock anxiously. 

3:00.  Dang, one more hour!

3:01.  That's all? Really?  Oh, maaaannn!

3:01:46  Still only 3:00?!

Yes, I beat a very hasty retreat!  Instead I am going to take a ballet class. :-)

Here we go again . . .

School starts tomorrow. 
This semester's lineup is: 
Jewelry (making)—not part of the fashion major but it should be, don't you think? 
Fundamentals of Nutrition
Draping
Cardio Fitness
and Genealogy. 

Maaayybee Fashion Illustration, too.  Right now that class is full, and it's from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays anyway, which would be an extremely difficult time (which is why I didn't sign up for it in the first place).  So I might see if I can get into it, and I might just forget it until later.  But if I do wait I might end up having to take it in the summer, which would totally stink.  We'll see.

Anyway, wish this burned-out chick Luck!