sorry 'bout that.

[this video isn't amazing, but the music is, so just listen while you read...]

Ben heard about my teasing post and said I owed you all an apology.
Sorry to leave you all hanging, I didn't mean to be mean!
sorry too, for that sounding like a 4-year-old apology. :(

Anyway, bear with me as I make a story out of this;
if it's too much for you, skip to the good stuff at the bottom...

The song above is kind of a theme song to my summer-sans-Ben.
It was the first song on his mix for me that he sent for our anniversary apart.
And, consequently, it was the first song on his mix from Jordan
who was housing him while I was away.

The song is a cover of Animal Collective's My Girls single, a strong tune on it's own,
but I do love this lady-version with its whimsical percussion.

For a time my only complaint was why this girl had to substitute "boys" for "girls"
and completely change the name of the song. Because, as I read the lyrics,
the guy who wrote it wasn't referring to lovers or girlfriends—which is why
you'd want to change a gender, right? Instead, she could have left the lyrics as-is,
as if referring to her own daughters.

But as I sat in that waiting room all alone after the unexpected ultrasound, it clicked:

She changed that song for me!

Because, at least for now, all I want is a proper house (and home) for

my boys.

[i was glad to read that he was indeed referring not only to his daughter but his wife too, click here for full lyrics.]

two announcements

2 little laptops jumping on the bed.

one fell off and BROKE his head.

mama called the doctor and the doctor said,

"it's ben's turn to share a laptop,
because yours is DEAD."

———

ok, so it's not 100% dead. in fact, i'm posting from it right now.

but the screen is all wiggety-whack, so I'm working in the 2-inch window
that is still somewhat functioning. Plans to move all my files over to Ben's new shiny
MacBook Pro with CS5 are underway.
But first I get to go pick him up and tell him all about my 6-hour venture
at the Human Services clinic today—where they whisked me
away and told me a gender like they were telling me the weather.
I saw Baby move in that ultrasound
and felt like I could tell what was going on way more
than I ever could tell from anyone's little black-and-white photo.

Oh, and they changed my due-date to 23 January. (Farther along than I thought). Not bad.

But really,
I'm going to go have fun with HusBen who's been gone all day with a test and a final project presentation.
Then I'll come back and tell you the he or she later.

Any guesses in the meantime?

ben felt his babe today

—that's all i'm going to say.

er—honestly, did you really think I could only say so much?
Can I just add it was exactly a month ago that I myself felt the little "twitch-like" movement?
And really, this is real? A whole body inside my body?

Faux Posts

So there's nothing to jump start into more blogging like guest blogging on your sister-in-law's famous blog. I went back and finally posted entries that had been drafts and posted pictures as I looked back in the camera. I'm determined to do it more often. Pardon me for fooling—but I gave them all previous dates, seeing as they all happened previously. :) At least this way the record is right, eh?

Anyway, remember these?

Well they've got friend now:

I swear I needed a tutorial on how to give a tutorial. :) But it was good fun. See it here.
Be sure to enter her giveaway for free good PurlSoho 100% wool felt!

Outing to the Outer Banks

my first bloomed magnolia since getting here—the middle part (pardon my non-technical language) was the best—that yellow thing is held up by a bright fuscia stem!

Muchas gracias to Craig who offered to let us tag along with him to the Atlantic Ocean while he worked the ER there at night. I've wondered about the Outer Banks ever since I my 5th grade state report on North Carolina. :) The nearest lighthouse was under construction, so that is still on the list-to-see, but it's a good thing we live here.

Here's what we did see:

The first thing Ben did after walking in was raise the blinds and open the window.
That window stayed open all night—what a good sound.

It made waking up pretty magical too. Allow my face to tell you I really couldn't believe it.

After a good breakfast at Gritts Grill, we headed to a certain memorial honoring some cool brothers:

Gotta love the type. This monument was constructed for the 25th anniversary of that first flight—which was December 17, 1903 in case you're wondering.

"Don't worry, she's never seen a goose before," Ben pretended to say to passersby. :)

But hey, I liked that they were part of the whole scene...

There were models galore! Oh how I wanted to be their with my model-loving family...
(especially Aviation-loving Ashton!)

The Wright Brothers Memorial also offers very luxurious parking spots.
I know state parks do this a lot for motorhomes, etc, but all the parking spots were huge!

———

From there we headed to the beach and just walked up and down the big wave-y shore since the "no swimming" flags were waving (we were impressed at everyone's obedience!). We came back for a dip in the pool before the game started. Ben was happy to even see a bit of it on a real TV. But his smile kind of faded as the game progressed—not in favor of BYU. :(

This trip marked seeing my first real live NC cicada up close! You can always hear them, but they hide well in the trees. I thought I was lucky when Ben pointed one out when we ate on the deck of a restaurant—but it was still far, and in motion. This one seemed to have ran into something and caught itself upside-down. It's head almost looked like a frog! After Ben confirmed it was a cicada, but before I thought to grab the camera, he flipped it over and it flew off fast...

Oh, and our final thrill:

Catching blue crab!!

Thanks Craig for putting up with my curiosity, and then for tolerating my zero help since I was so anxious to show off the process to my fam. Hey, Juárez-es: this is for you—

Anyway, it was a nice outing. Thanks again Craig.

Sauteéd Squash

this has been a top candidate for pregnancy cravings. it always sounds good, and always makes me feel good. even the sea salt and olive oil were a little interruptive of my perfect pregnancy food. this yellow squash came from the biggest farmer's market i've ever seen. (even bigger than burrough market in london. though not as gourmet, raleigh's seemed so authentic with everyone's accents!)

Jalapeño

Last week, I chopped coarsely one jalapeno (pronounced jaw-LAP-ˈēn-oh, if you are my family exaggerating a gringo accent) for the shrimp marinade. (Yes, I'm actually cooking, but that is an entirely different post—perhaps an entirely different blog of its own).

I remember having the tendency to be careful about touching it so much. But there really was no strong scent nor sensation on my skin, and I had already removed the vein and seeds, so I stopped worrying.

The burning came intensely about 5 hours later—under my nails. What? OK, yes, I keep my nails a little longer than normal. But 5 hours later? In fact, my left-hand fingertips continued to be hot all throughout the morning...

OK fine, it's time for a trim.

Flattered

Knudsens have always been good to me, but Katy has a way of making me feel loved like none other—perhaps because, unlike the others, we've never really spent much time together. But she's used long-distance mediums to get to know me, and to love me.  I can prove it:

Today she featured my Red Thread book on her wonderful corner of the Internet. (See!) 

(Calling it a "blog" simply doesn't do it justice).

She's celebrating National Sewing Month with post-after-post about all things sewing.

(So glad Red Thread counted.)

Except now that I think about it, Red Thread certainly does count. . . allow me to tie some threads together in my mind to bring it all together—it is all just now hitting me:
___________

I made this book during High School (thank you Mr. Rees for letting it count as an AP Art -worthy class project). That means that my grandmother, Mama Jose (no accent on the e, you notice, so it is not pronounced like your Mexican friend "José," but instead is a nickname for Josefina), was still alive and still living with us in my home. It's troubling to me that I don't remember the details of the hours I spent on this, but I know I must have used her thread and needles and expertise. 

 She must have taught me how to embroider that butterfly,
(could I really have figured that out on my own, was a Google search so productive back then?)

and I must have looked closer at the handkerchief she'd embroidered for my dad,
(who goes by Koki, and thus, the "K," even though his name is Jorge—confusing, I know. But why call James Jim anyhow?)
and really, her first sewing projects with me must have been the inspiration for this.

I still remember going through her scraps when we spent summers at her home when I was little. She would make the most early-90's-appropriate clothing for my Barbies, and for me. Shorts with both legs of opposing neon prints—alternating pockets on the side too.
(Oh, how I wish I were home and could scan these snapshots! Maya, wanna help me out?)

Yes, I owe some credit to Mama Jose for the best sewing memories I have. (Don't worry, Mom, you still win the prize for best cross-stitching memories.) I wish she were here now so she could guide me on many more projects now that I (think I) have more time. We would do more than sewing, too—she was a fan of many crafts. She would make me wallets from folding paper and she loved "mini" things so we'd make cardboard dioramas, too, I'm sure. Next month, it will have been 7 years since she's been gone. But there's reason to celebrate her today—(the last loose end-thread to tie up):

Today is Guatemala's Independence Day! If not for this wonderful "Land of the Eternal Spring," I wouldn't have Mama Jose nor my Papá. Hooray for Guatemala! And for National Sewing Month!

(thanks again, Katy)

Wish Me Luck

I'm going to take the NC driver's test today so I can get a license so I can prove residency so I can move through
the public health system so I can get a doctor so I can get an ultrasound so we can stop with the "it" business!
Oh, and so I we can register the Comanche so I can have transportation while Ben's gone so I can go exploring so I can not be so lame to be inside all day except when I do laundry or get the mail.

I'm a really bad test-taker. Everyone says things like this are no big deal, but I'm worried nonetheless.

 

Our State

We're here!

no, we didn't enter through swain county, but this is how i remember it looking—surrounded by trees. image found here.

Ok, we've been in the state for over a month now, but we're finally here—at the coinciding blog.

(I've been using the word coincide a lot lately... Ben's confused every time. Is it that weird of a word?)

I apologize starting now for all of you who may have links to olivia in provo, but the link from there brought you here, so it will bring anyone else here if it is too much of a hassle to change your link.

It's kind of weird to just get a new blog with a move, I know, but it's how I started blogging, and I kind of liked the idea. Plus I wanted an excuse to switch Wordpress after I tried out its cool features. But now that Blogger has upped its standards and features, I just can't betray the google-backed host.

I love Google, did you know? I love Google almost as much as a family member.

It was Google's birthday on 7 September. Since they're family, how about a little birthday tribute?