Joanne Heim

Sand between my toes

I really love the feeling of sand between my toes, but forgot to leave my flip flops in the car today when we headed out toward the beach this afternoon. I decided I'd rather hold Toben's hand than carry my shoes. (Besides, I'm loving the flowers on my toes from my pedicure last week and want them to last as long as possible!) I figure I've made it to local status since I had on sweat pants and a sweatshirt while other people were wearing swimsuits.

After church I got to go to the driving range with Toben and Audrey and watch her hit balls. She's doing really well and Toben is a great teacher. I would not be nearly so patient. She hits a ball, wanders around, talks for a while, goes to get a drink, hits another ball, wanders some more, sits in the grass, talks to herself, finds a ladybug, gets another drink...and so it goes. He's such a good dad to be so patient with her and to let her go at her own pace and to praise her when she does well.

From there we had lunch at Jim and Susan's and it was fun to see them for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Look at this basket of goodies Susan had for me. That's 16 skeins of alpaca wool (10 gray and 6 pale blue) and a vintage apron. The yarn was marked at $3 for the lot at a church sale yesterday! I told her she needs to call me before she goes adventuring like that again. I usually pride myself on finding a good deal, but she's in another class altogether!

It seems like there are lots of birthdays, babies, and so on coming up in May...I'm staying home tomorrow to do laundry, plow my way through the ironing pile, and be crafty. I sat down today to come up with a plan of action and I'm ready to begin tomorrow with baby things. It's always good to start small! Plus I need some more time to come up with a few more ideas for some of the people on my list.

Lazy Day

I have been an absolute bum all day, laying on the couch and rereading The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I read them when they first came out, but had mostly forgotten all the details so it was almost like reading them for the first time.

In between chapters, I did manage to do laundry, take down all the Easter decorations, watch Audrey and Emma perform their routine to a song from High School Musical, help Audrey make a felt cover for her journal, and have lunch at Taco Bell.

But mostly, I just sat on the couch and devoured my books and the remaining Easter jelly beans.

How I love lazy days!

Brownies

This came in the mail today, which is fitting since it was a Brownie day. We recite the Girl Scout Promise at the beginning of each meeting ("On my honor I will try to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law"), but I love that this one tacks on "especially those at home" at the end of it. I think I'll have to bring this to our meeting next week for show and tell. I took a bunch of the Girl Scout and Brownie books I've recently begun collecting to show the girls today. They loved seeing books about scouting that are 80 years old.

Oh, I'm tired! Two hours at the gym (BOSU and then a ballet class), followed by a trip to Costco (so much for only getting the five things on the list!), an errand to the Girl Scout store (they were out of what I needed), and then off to church to get set up for Brownies. I'm always amazed that a 90-minute Brownie meeting somehow takes most of the day. But these girls are definitely worth it.

Today the big thing at Brownies was tasting castor oil. We sing the "Lollipop" song a lot in our troop, and the second verse is all about castor oil. The girls have made a big deal about wanting to try it, so Terri ordered some from the pharmacy and we gave all the girls a little spoon and a taste--quickly followed by a Tootsie Pop and a rousing round of the song. Such fun!

We laugh so much and roll our eyes and shake our heads and just love these girls. And now I have to go collapse in a pile on my wonderfully comfortable bed!

Blank

There are evenings when I sit down to write my blog and it feels a little like beginning a new chapter in a book--there's a big empty space waiting to be filled and I wonder if I really have anything to say. Typically I feel most creative, most productive, most awake(!) early in the morning, and blogging at the end of the day is somewhat of a challenge for me.

It's also a little hard to focus because I've started bringing my computer into Audrey's room and I'm sitting here at the foot of her bed typing while she's sitting at the other end reading before she falls asleep. I'm afraid that when I'm in the room she talks way more than she reads. And I find myself trying to type and listen at the same time--something that doesn't work particularly well as I go back and delete words I didn't mean to write and my train of thought gets derailed by whatever Audrey is saying. Maybe I should start bringing my knitting in here instead. :)

Toben often lays in bed with Audrey at night and suggested I try it. She often has a lot to say at this time of night, and when she's gone at school all day and doing homework and such while I cook dinner and talk to everyone else too we don't often get focused time together. And focused time together is something we tend to need.

So we're working on it and finding time for the two of us. Because she's going to be in third grade next year (gulp!) and the day is coming when she will want to be with her friends and seek their approval more than mine. And so I have a renewed sense of urgency to invest in our relationship and to keep on top of it.

When the girls were small I often longed for the day when they would be self-entertaining and able to take a bath on their own. And now that it's here, I find I miss those days when I knew every part of their lives. It's strange to know that both of the girls have lives separate from me and that their lives will continue to become more and more that way as they grow and gain independence. I realize that it's normal, but right at this moment, I don't like it very much. I want them to stay small; they're growing up too fast for me these days.

I was talking with some other moms at Bible study this morning about how so much of what my kids are interested in and fascinated by is really way beyond them. They love to watch things on the Disney channel, to see the lives of teenagers acted out in things like High School Musical. And while it is a cute little movie, it's about kids who are ten years older than they are. I remember wanting to be older than I was for so much of my life, but I'm feeling the need to pull back from those things that are beyond the girls and to go back to Franklin and Little Bear and Madeline. Emma is still perfectly content with those things, but Audrey complains that they are for "babies." Of course, after refusing to watch a "baby" show, she often comes wandering in and gets hooked. I just have to smile and remind myself that at seven, she is still a little girl--even if she doesn't like to think so!

Bye, Sarah...

Sarah flew home today and as Emma said, "I wish she could stay a billion, zillion, thousand more days." My thoughts exactly.

Sarah and I have been friends since college, for almost 15 years, which is hard to believe. But when I look back on all that we've done and learned and experienced in that time, it makes sense. We've gone through a few short seasons of being out of touch during that time, but for the most part--the vast majority of those years--we have remained in close contact. We do tend to go for long stretches here and there without talking on the phone (our schedules don't always match up right!) but we never have that awkwardness of catching up you sometimes have with people. We always dive right back in where we left off.

I feel so fortunate to have friends like Sarah--friends I admire and want to be like. I used to long for one special friend--and am so thankful to have found so many!

"Stop talking and knit!"

This is what Emma said to me this afternoon because I was not knitting fast enough for her. She likes to click the clicker when I get to the beginning of the round and it was taking too long for her liking. Sarah and I laughed and laughed; Emma just looked at us and said, "What's so funny?"

But I did knit a lot today and am almost done with the cowl neck of my mohair sweater. After ballet this morning, Sarah and I had another breakfast at Pannikin (croissant and vanilla latte today) then went to Blockbuster and rented movies. We watched Sahara this morning, and parts of some other movies in between picking kids up at school. We're getting ready to watch Tristan and Isolde tonight. And to knit some more, of course! It feels like vacation.

La Jolla

Sarah and I spent the afternoon in La Jolla after an Anahata yoga class at Yoga 101 and an early lunch at Pannikin. It was a beautiful day as you can see.

After we wandered in and around La Jolla Village, we headed down to the cove in hopes of seeing some seals--which we did. There were lots of them today, lounging in the sun and splashing in the sea. They are so fat and funny on land, scratching their bellies and noses and lumbering across the sand.

Look how clear and blue the water was today...

It was such a wonderful day and when we came home, these were waiting in the mail. I can't wait to read them!

Pretty Toes

Sarah treated all of us girls to pedicures this afternoon. So we have clean, soft, beautiful feet. Yeah! Every time I get a pedicure, I think I should do it more often. But I don't usually treat myself to one all that often, more's the pity.

We went to church this morning and then to brunch at Il Fornio in Del Mar. I love sitting outside on the patio, drinking coffee and eating eggs benedict and looking out over the ocean. It was fun to linger over our meals and to sit and talk and just enjoy being all together.

Not much knitting today thus far. I seamed the shoulders on my mohair sweater and the next thing will be the cowl neck. I need some smaller length circular needles in order to do the sleeves. This is the yarn I'm using: Crystal Palace Yarns Kid Merino. I love the variegated red, orange, and pink.

School begins again tomorrow for the girls; we're watching Narnia, but I think it's time to turn it off and send the girls to bed (and myself too) so we can all get up rested and ready for a new day. Five o'clock will come all too early...

Knit Shop x 2

We sat in our pajamas and knit for several hours this morning, before heading to Jamba Juice. I don't think I'm going to have enough yarn for my sweater that I started yesterday--ahh! I know the yardage on the pattern is right, but it just doesn't match the yarn I have. So rather than pulling it all out (along with my hair!) I've set it aside and picked up my poor, neglected mohair sweater. I've made huge progress on it today and may even finish it before Sarah leaves.

We went to Knitting by the Beach in Solana Beach to look for a specific yarn for Sarah. She got the yarn she needed for her legwarmers from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (but didn't spend as much as she did at Noble Knits, Heather and Tess!). She started them to see what they'll look like (very wonderful--I may need a pair), but returned to her yoga bag which is coming along really quickly. We also ran into The Black Sheep so I could get some GGH Bergamo yarn for the Steek Vest pattern from Loop-d-Loop. Karen had put it on sale and it was all gone, but she had some other tubular wool ribbon that will work. It's a lovely rusty pumpkin color and I'm anxious to start it when I finish by mohair sweater.

Then we came home and sat and knit some more and watched Fools Rush In and The Return of the King on television before eating cioppino for dinner. Now we're going to go sit in the hot tub, since we're sore from BOSU yesterday. My abs hurt--especially when I laugh. And I've laughed a lot today. Ouch!

We did talk to Emily on the phone this morning--we missed you today and wish you were here too!

I haven't taken any pictures the last couple of days--we'll be sure to take some of all our projects tomorrow.

New project

I found some beautiful yarn at a local thriftshop last week, and took it along when Sarah and I went to Noble Knits today. The yarn is Phildar Phil'lin, a beautiful blend of cotton, linen, and some other stuff. It's a pale pink and has a gorgeous sheen to it. And I got three balls (600 yards total) for only $8!

I went online to find a pattern using this yarn, but the website and all the patterns are in French. While I do speak French, I don't know any knitting vocabulary beyond tricoter. The thought of translating a pattern and making it and having it turn out right seems a little iffy.

While Sarah touched lots of yarn and got started on a new felted yoga bag, I asked Heather and Tess for project ideas and decided to make this sweater. It's a crochet pattern, and the one in the shop I tried on is the same one in the picture on the pattern. I love the fuzzy orange, but think it will be so pretty in my pink yarn too--what's not to love about pink?

Anyway, we sat and worked on our projects for several hours. I so love a knit shop where you can sit and chat and knit and meet new people. We met a nice lady named Marcia--it turns out we know some people in common. Heather asked me about the books I've written, and when I mentioned the first one, Marcia said, "I have that book!" What a small world.

Sarah and I went to BOSU this morning and then to ballet. We nearly died and rewarded ourselves with breakfast at Pannakin and then Juanita's Mexican food tonight.

Time to work on my sweater some more.

Sarah

My friend Sarah is coming to visit today, and I'm so excited. I'm sure I'll start to wander as soon as dinner is done, around and around the house until it's time to go to the airport. The sheets are washed, the bathrooms are clean, the floors are mopped and vacuumed, and I'm ready!

The girls and I did some painting earlier this afternoon. The girls did watercolor paintings, and I did the same painting in acrylic and then in watercolor to see how they would turn out differently. I copied the image from some stickers that Emily sent to the girls for Easter.

Then we sat in Emma's room, still as statues, and watched the bunny (we've named her Molly) eat her dinner in the front yard. We sat there for about half an hour and noticed all the things about her--how her ears move in different directions, how she crouches down when she hears a noise she doesn't recognize, how her nose really twitches when she's smelling things. We'll leave some more carrots out tonight and introduce Sarah to her in the morning.

Wonderful Wednesday

We went for a walk earlier today along a huge, wide stretch of sidewalk overlooking the Flower Fields in Carlsbad. The color is absolutely amazing--so much more vibrant and breathtaking in person. Of course, it all overlooks the ocean too and today was clear and warm and one of those days where I tell myself over and over how blessed we are to live here.

We packed up the girls' bikes in the back of the car, so they rode bikes while Toben and I walked and held hands and talked about how much we love our kids as they rode on ahead of us.

And if that wasn't all great enough, I finished my book this afternoon and will send off the file to my editor tomorrow morning.

And to top all that off, one of my dearest friends is coming to visit tomorrow for almost a full week. Sarah and I are going to knit and buy yarn and have breakfast at Pannakin and walk on the beach and talk about books and catch up on the details of our lives and go to the park and look at paintings and maybe ride the train and generally have a ball.

I'm so thankful.

Field Trip

Since the girls are out of school this week, Terri and I planned a field trip to Balboa Park in downtown San Diego. There are tons of museums, the zoo, theaters, an organ pavilion, puppet shows, fountains, magic shows, restaurants, lots of green grass, playgrounds...I don't know why we don't go down there more often!

Every Tuesday a different museum is free, so we headed for the art museum first. I love this museum and could spend lots of time looking at all the great paintings. The girls enjoyed the first few galleries and had fun deciding which painting they'd like to take home and hang in their rooms, but they got a little bored after that. We'd brought along paper and colored pencils so we could all sit and draw, but the museum was crowded and we were all hungry.

So we headed toward the science center, where we had tickets for the 1 p.m. IMAX showing of Dolphins. We stopped at a magic show for 10 minutes on the way, tried to get some hot dogs, but settled for chocolate chip cookies to tide us over since the hot dog cart was out of hot dogs.

The dophin movie was fantastic--I think this was the first IMAX movie I've seen (or remember seeing). Then we got hot dogs, had a little picnic by the fountain and headed into the science center to explore. (We couldn't just buy IMAX tickets, so we spent big bucks to see the movie and decided to use the tickets to the rest of the museum and get our money's worth!) There was a huge exhibit called "Swing," all about the science of motion. It was very, very cool and we all had a great time. I think one of the biggest hits was this room where you stood against the white wall, pressed a button to turn on the lights, stood still as statues until the light went off again, and stepped away to see your shadow still on the wall. Very fun.

The dophin movie made me remember swimming with the dolphins at Sea World when I participated in their "Trainer for the Day" program. Toben gave it to me for my birthday one year. We taught the killer whale a trick--the belly breach--excercised owls, played with otter, jumped up and down with sea lions, and, of course, interacted with dolphins. Riding around the pool on the back of a dolphin is one of those things I will never, ever forget. I highly recommend it!

I love Emily!

Look what I found in my mailbox from my friend Emily today. Oh I love getting presents in the mail. Thank you, Emily! I love my bag and am so glad you decided to send it to me instead of keeping it for yourself. (Although now that I see it I totally understand why you were tempted!)

I love Emily. She lives next-door-but-one to the house we lived in before we moved to California. I'm convinced we lived in that house just so Emily and I could become friends. I miss being able to look out the front window to see if her lights were on and then running down the sidewalk to say hi.

The kids are out of school this week for Easter break. Toben took Audrey to play golf today for the whole day; Emma and I ran some errands (new ballet shoes and false eyelashes with rhinestones) and then laid down on the putting green in the backyard to soak in the sunshine.

I took the leftover chickens from brunch yesterday and all of the other chicken leftovers from the freezer and made a huge pot of chicken stock today. So now the freezer is full again, but with stock to make homemade chicken noodle soup--with homemade noodles and all. It smelled so good that everyone requested soup for dinner, so I tried to recreate the tortilla soup from La Especial Norte and it turned out pretty well. So here's what I did.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Combine and heat:
6 cups homemade chicken stock
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
10 roasted roma tomatoes (chopped and roasted w/ olive oil, garlic, kosher salt at 350 degrees for 45 minutes)

Then add:
1/2 onion, finely chopped

Ladle into bowls and top with:
avocado
cilantro
tortilla chips
shredded cheese

Happy Easter!

Finding a surprise Easter basket on the front porch from our neighbors
Seeing the girls find their Easter baskets and LOVE their stuffed toys
Listening to the girls tell me the Easter story
Being on time for church, dressed and ready and happy when it was time to head out the door
The sun breaking through the clouds during the service
Audrey and Emma in frilly Easter dresses and black, patent leather Mary Janes
Listening to the choir sing the "Hallelujah Chorus"
Singing with a huge crowd and feeling my throat start to close as I get carried away in gratitude
Driving home past the ocean--glassy and gorgeous this morning
Making strawberry trifle with Emma
The smell of roasting chicken
Roast chicken and oven-roasted potatoes and "Joanne" carrots for brunch
Spending time with family
Hiding Easter eggs at my friend Brenda's house
Watching Audrey and her best friend run around finding eggs together
Eating gooey chocolate cake
Sitting around someone else's dining room table to chat
A snuggle with the purring kitty
Finishing The Kite Runner
Sitting here watching Mickey Mouse's The Three Muskateers with my kids

Just a few of the things that have made this a wonderful Easter day.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

This and that

Blogging has become a diurnal (neat vocabluarly word, huh? means daily, of a day) occurance for me. I usually sit down to write in the evenings after the girls have gone to bed--a quiet time of day for me. Of course, it has its down sides too. I tend to take pictures of things right before I do this, so it's dark and that makes taking pictures a little more challenging. And, of course, I'm feeling a little sleepy. But this is what seems to work, so I guess I'll stick with it for now.

I made this little lamb today as a reward for cleaning the house. (It so helps to have something fun to motivate me!) I found the pattern here when I was cruising blogs yesterday. The pattern calls for fabric or wool felt--I didn't have felt, and didn't want to dig through my stash since there's stuff piled on top of the big box I keep fabric in. One of the things piled on top were some old white towels, and, well, the rest is history.

I quickly realized there was no way I was going to turn things right side out, so I just left the seam allowances on the outside like the felt ones on the pattern and it turned out fine. I did have to tack down her little ears--one stood straight up in an alarming way.

Since I never got the second sock dog made, I think this little lamb will go in Emma's Easter basket in the morning.

I've got the baskets filled (but couldn't find any Easter grass--oh well!) with their toys and a few little carrot-shaped eggs filled with some candy and a few dollars to go toward the American Girls they're saving up for. We're not hunting eggs in the morning--a first--because we're going over to Audrey's best friend's house in the afternoon for an Easter egg hunt. But I'll set out their baskets and the box of Resurrection Eggs for them to play with. (These are eggs filled with items that tell the story of Easter. My kids love them and they're the only eggs they usually hunt. Hmm...on second thought, maybe I will hide them after all. I love being the Easter Bunny!)

We'll also check the oven in the morning. We made Easter Story cookies tonight and sealed the oven up tight. They're meringue cookies that the girls made, with part of the Easter story to go with every step. The girls beat the pecans to pieces, smelled the vinegar, tasted the salt, and added the sugar. The mounded meringues represent the tomb and after sitting in the oven all night (which you turn off after putting the cookies in), they'll be hard and hollow--just like the empty tomb.

To switch subjects abruptly--I went to dance rehearsal today, and we got our costumes! The feathered head pieces are so wonderful and the gloves are very tight and hot, but neat. I stopped by the fabric store on the way home from class and picked up some silver, stretchy sequined trim that matches the headbands so I can embellish my tank top for the performance. I think I'll also sew fringe on it, but I need to think about it some more so I'll know how much to buy.

My sister makes me laugh!

We just came home from celebrating Passover with Terri and her family. And as we pulled in the driveway I noticed a package leaning against the front door. A big, skinny box. The only things I've not received from eBay are small, so I couldn't imagine what it was.

Audrey ran to get it and brought it in the kitchen--it was from my sister. Hmmm... I couldn't remember her saying she was sending anything. So I ripped off the paper to find a camera tripod box. I knew it wasn't that (she's a photographer and the tripod was obviously already hers). I do love surprises, so I shook the box a little and wondered what could be inside.

I opened the box to find--a bunch of sticks! I laughed out loud, and chuckled (isn't that a funny word?) every few minutes for the next little while. Funny, funny!

Sweet sis knows I've wanted a twig tree to decorate for Easter, spring, fall, Valentine's Day--whatever holiday is near. And she knows too that my tree doesn't need trimming. I'm guessing these are all from her apple tree in the backyard of her house in Denver.

It's too late to call her (and I wouldn't want to wake Ava up even if I thought Kristen would be awake--not a chance of that since the "sleepy as soon as it's dark" gene runs in my family), so I'll go ahead and say thank you here. THANK YOU! I'll look for a pot and get out the plaster of Paris first thing in the morning!

Our Passover Seder tonight was wonderful--we had a great time. We all went to the grocery store together, ate lunch, went to the Good Friday service at church, made dinner and dessert. It was an all-day thing and it flew by. The kids really seemed to enjoy tasting all the different items on their Seder plates (it would be fun to add even more next year) and loved hearing all the stories of Moses and the Israelites in Egypt.

We made a beef tenderloin and roasted a bunch of red potatoes in the pan with it--I love roasted potatoes. We also had steamed broccoli and carrots, yummy bread, a simple salad, and more of the haroset (apple-nut mixture to remind us of the mortar the Israelites used to make bricks in Egypt). The kids made a chocolate-strawberry trifle for dessert.

All in all, a great first Passover for our families. Next year in Jerusalem (or maybe at our house since we went to Terri's house tonight)!

P.S. Forgot to mention that we watched ALL of The Swiss Family Robinson while we prepared the food this afternoon. Yeah!

Perseverance

Here's my little sock dog, made last night while I watched The Swiss Family Robinson (which actually came on at 6, not 9, so I only got to see the last hour). Isn't he cute? Or maybe she...I haven't decided on a name yet, and think I may need to add a flower button to her ear if she's actually a girl.

This was so much fun to make. I'm sure I could do it more quickly by sewing a bunch of the seams on the machine, but it was nice to make something completely by hand. I'll definitely have to get some more socks!

I'm thinking this little dog will end up in an Easter basket, which means I need to make another one pretty quick too because I have to do everything in pairs with two kids.

I led the discussion at Bible study today--which is always fun to do. We talked this morning about Jacob and Leah and Rachel and their complicated lives and all of their children. I think I'm going to come up with a big family tree chart for all of the characters in the story of the patriarchs--although I'm not sure if I can find a piece of paper big enough for all the wives and children and cousins and uncles and so on! There is a chart in the front of our Bible study notebook, but the wives aren't listed and I want a complete one so I can keep everyone in all the stories straight.

I surprised Audrey this afternoon by showing up to her Easter party. Audrey and I have been butting heads some lately, and I'm feeling especially compelled to love her in ways she can see, and yet be really honest with her about the ways we can and cannot treat other people. She's always sorry for being so mean to me, and I want to help her process her feelings and learn to take the time to express them in ways that don't hurt other people. I'm feeling like we need to get all this straightened out now--before she gets to be a teenager and it gets really interesting! I'm committed to really praying for her and persevering through this moody, mean stage--not to give up because it's easier (oh, it's so much easier just to throw up my hands and walk away!) and because I see little bits of progress here and there. I don't want just better for her; I want the very best for her and am going to struggle along with her until we get there.

In the video part of Bible study today, Beth Moore asked the question: "How tenacious are you?" She was talking about Jacob wrestling with the angel of God and commented that we often give up before the blessing comes. I think of the C. S. Lewis quote that says we are far too easily pleased; we often settle for less than what God has for us. And I want to be tenacious in my family--to hang on, to persevere, to not give up until we receive the blessings God has promised.

But hanging on is so often tiring...but I guess that's what makes it persevering. If it were easy, we wouldn't have to persevere day in and day out.

Today's vocabulary word is ostracized (banished, shut out, barred). With Good Friday tomorrow and Easter this weekend, I'm especially aware of the lengths God went to in order to keep me from being ostracized from his family. As I get older, it seems like Easter gains more and more meaning and depth as my understanding of who God is grows and deepens. He is so good.

Swiss Family Robinson

The Swiss Family Robinson is on television tonight. I love this movie and have from the first time I saw it when...well I can't remember when! Here's one of those rare movies I do like as much as the book. Of course, the book is MUCH better than the movie--reading it allows you so much more insight into how they survived and made things like rubber boots and the kitchen sink made out of a sea turtle shell. In the book, they have more than one house--one is even part of a salt mine if I remember correctly.

But the movie is great too and I have a fun memory of laying in bed at The Cypress Inn in Carmel early one morning and watching this movie while eating cheese danish and drinking freshly squeezed OJ. It was one of the trips we took back to Carmel to celebrate our anniversary before we had kids.

I was so disappointed when they turned the Swiss Family Treehouse into Tarzan's Treehouse at Disneyland. It's just not the same.

Anyway, I've always wanted to be part of this family and ride around on an ostrich and swing on vines like they do in the movie. Not to mention live in a treehouse. Can you even imagine how wonderful that would be? (Yes, I'm choosing to ignore the giant snake that shows up on the beach in the book and in the river in the movie! It's my little fantasy, so I'll edit at will.)

I'm going to make a sock dog while I watch the movie to help keep myself awake. (I am NOT a night person!) Ever since I bought the Holiday 2002 issue of Martha Stewart Kids I've wanted to try making one. In my defense for waiting so long, I don't ever wear socks--except to the gym--so I don't really have any spare socks to cut up for little sock dogs. (Really, I can't remember the last time I wore socks. It must have been while visiting Colorado and snow!) But I bought some socks today while I was at Target, and I'm ready!

Early this morning, I looked out Audrey's window and there was a fat, little Easter bunny sitting in the grass under our tree. I think the Easter eggs hanging from the tree brought him! He was so cute and small and round and furry and soft-looking--I tried to take a picture, but the flash kept bouncing off the glass and he hopped away when I opened the garage door. I think I'll go toss some carrots into the grass before I forget!

P.S. Today's vocabulary word is gregarious, but I've already used it twice in the last week--in regard to sheep.

Redeeming the time

My mother talks a lot about redeeming the time, about making good use of the time you have. Sometimes that means that you knit a baby blanket while you watch a movie or a football game, other times that means talking on the phone while you drive or listening to a book on tape.

But I think that sometimes redeeming the time means simply using those little snippets of time throughout the day that seem to get lost in doing nothing, but add up to lots of lost time by the time the day is through.

I'm always surprised at how much I can do in 10 or 15 minutes--putting away laundry, cleaning the bathroom, mopping the kitchen. But so often I don't take advantage of those 10 or 15 minute chunks of time, thinking that I need to wait until I have a bigger block or an unlimited amount of time to get something accomplished.

The alarm didn't go off this morning, or maybe it went off but without the volume. Whatever happened, I heard Audrey get up to go to the bathroom and assumed it was still dark thirty until I rolled over and saw that it was after six! (Joey, that darn cat, didn't wake me up! How is it he won't let me sleep past 5:09 on a Saturday morning, but will let me oversleep on a Wednesday of all days?!) The morning felt a little rushed--not in terms of actually getting out the door, but because I missed my hour of quiet before everyone else gets up.

I headed off to ballet class, and came home to an empty house--something I love because it's often rare. After I ate my granola and watched some National Geographic special on killer whales, Toben came home and convinced me to go to his lunch meeting. I mostly said yes because the meeting was at Poseidon in Del Mar and I love to eat right on the beach. (I did find a spare 25 minutes in there to go sit in the dining room and pray through the noon office, which made up for missing my time alone this morning.) I took a book and read while they talked, but mostly I just looked at the ocean. It was kind of like having lunch by myself, even with three other people at the table. I liked it, you can probably see why.

Toben bought me a new car today--well, not new, but new to me. I've missed my Expedition ever since we got rid of it a year and a half ago, so he got me another one. Oh how I love sitting up high! Thank you, Toben! When I think about the whole idea of love languages, Toben always comes to mind because gifts are so clearly the way he expresses his love to people. It's not my primary way of receiving love, and it took me a long time in our marriage to realize that each time I look at a car, or a ring, or a bag, or something else he's given me that what I'm seeing is really romance and love. It still sometimes takes me a while to realize that, but it comes a lot faster than it used to. At times I think I've felt uncomfortable with his extravagant gifts, not sure how to react, but I'm learning that for him to see me delighting in them makes him so happy. Just like I love to see someone love a gift I've knitted. Isn't it funny how things that can appear so different sometimes are really the same thing in disguise?

The new car needs a name. The old Expedition was Big Blue, the car we traded in today was High-Ho Silver, Toben's car is Snow White. Audrey wants to call this one Goldilocks (it's a latte/gold color) and Emma wants to name it after an American Girl--preferably Samantha. Hmmm... I think I'll give it a few days and see what else we come up with. We seem to be stuck with color names. I'm thinking Ellie, short for Elephant, which was inspired by Emma who heard me talking about how much I like having a big trunk. Does everyone name their cars, or is it just us?

In all of the back and forthing to the dealership today, I did manage to sit down for a minute to work on my rough draft, and was surprised to find I'd completed a chapter without having set aside a big block of time. I think if I could manage to capture all of those 5, 10, or 15 minute blocks of time in my day I could conquer the world!

Today's vocab word is nefarious (wicked, vicious), a word I've always loved because it reminds me of villians in historical romance novels (one of my other secret vices in addition to country music!).

Okay, this is the last thing today--I promise. This little flock of sheep arrived in the mail today from England. Aren't the fun? And, Emily, look!, a border collie came with them to help keep all those gregarious sheep in line!

Oops! Almost forgot...

...the vocabulary word today is gyration (revolving action around an axis, winding round). As in, "It rained earlier and the gyration of the eggs hanging in the tree was fun to watch."

Easter tree

I've wanted an Easter tree for a while now. So here's what Emma and I came up with today!

I was inspired by a beautiful Easter tree on a table in Garlands, a little home boutique down the street. It was made of forced branches in a clear vase and had sparkly, pastel eggs hanging here and there, as well as pink ribbon draped throughout. So pretty! But I don't have a bare branch tree to decorate (I keep meaning to stop and ask for some branches when they're trimming the eucalyptus along the 101), and I don't have any pretty Easter egg ornaments.

But I did have a box full of plastic eggs and a bunch of curly ribbon in my wrapping box. So we put the two together and hung them from the tree in the front yard. We started with the huge ficus in the backyard, but decided to share our Easter joy with the whole neighborhood, and moved it all to the front yard. But I think I'll have to buy some more eggs when they go on clearance, so I can fill the backyard next year too!

(I think if you click on the photo you can see it a little more clearly.)

Easter company

Look who hatched just in time for Easter!

This little guy hatched this afternoon and was delighted to be invited to stay through Easter. Perhaps he'll need an Easter bonnet, we'll see.

Driving home from church today we saw a dog wearing "doggles." He was a medium-sized curly dog, wearing red goggles and hanging out the window. The goggles had a straps that went around his ears and under his chin; he looked like an old-fashioned aviator. We laughed and laughed and that cute little dog just laughed back, saying, "Don't you just wish you were as cool as me?" I did. Somehow even my Fendi sunglasses paled in comparison to his incredible style and je ne sais quoi.

I just love looking out the window when we're driving around. You see the most amazing things! License plates from other states, funny bumper stickers, and personalized plates (lots and lots of those around here!). Even driving down the 101 through Encinitas--something I do pretty frequently--I notice things I've never noticed before. I'm one of those moms who's always telling my kids to look out the window when we're riding in the car. We saw a really fat raccoon wandering down Neptune the other night; I suppose if I were a raccoon, I'd want to live on Neptune too. (For that matter, I'd be a prevarictor if I said I wouldn't want to live on Neptune as me, overlooking the ocean and watching the sunset each night from my deck on the cliffs!) (Please note that prevaricator is today's vocabulary word: one who tells an untruth, liar.)

These crazy roosters came to roost (do roosters roost?) today as well. And before we could say "cock-a-doodle-do" they'd invited their friends over to stay!

Outdoorsy Saturday

Here are my sweet beach babies earlier this afternoon. Toben and I sat and watched them while they made a big pile of rocks. They had a ball.

Then we headed to La Especial Norte for chicken tortilla soup--because the menu promises that if you're half dead it will bring you back to life. We're all fighting colds, so off to soup we go. It always seems to work, so we'll be feeling much better tomorrow and won't have to sniff our way through church in the morning!

We also went on a walk down the Batiquitos Lagoon trail this morning. We took Daisy, our beagle who hates riding in the car. She hasn't been beyond the backyard in a while and it was almost too much excitement for her. I've decided that she's probably agoraphobic--she shook and snorted and worried the whole time we were gone. I guess it's good we didn't take her all the way to dog beach. She slept the rest of the day, alternating between her big red pillow and a sunny spot on the putting green in the backyard.

On our walk we saw birds, lizards, one squirrel, and one jumping mullet. A mullet is a kind of fish that lives in the lagoon that jumps out of the water to clean its gills. For a while we saw lots of them all the time, but it's been a while so I was glad to see this one today. Maybe it's a seasonal thing. Before we found out why they jumped, we imagined all kinds of reasons: escaping predators, eating bugs, playing a wild game of leap fish. Here's a picture of a little bird we saw--both going on our walk and heading back. I think he was enjoying the sun and watching all the people and dogs go by.

Today's vocabulary word is etymology (origin or derivation of words, word study), which makes me think about one of my favorite programs on NPR, "A Way with Words." Toben laughs at it and the hosts are a little bit goofy, but I am fascinated by the etymology of our language. Toben heard the program today and told me the etymology of the phrase "ear mark." Trust me, it's gross and you don't want to know!

I did blow out some eggs to dye tomorrow. I think the girls and I will make egg chickens, inspired by the new issue of Martha Stewart Kids. I started by using a bulb syringe as she suggests (though I'd never done it that way before), but it took too long and I broke some eggs, so I just sterilized the eggs in boiling water for a few seconds and blew them out the old-fashioned way. Much faster and more efficient. Maybe we'll have little chicken pictures tomorrow!

I'm most of the way through my rough draft, cleaning it up and making some changes. I'm going through a hard copy with my trusty red pen; after a while, I just can't see things on the computer screen and need real paper to look at.

Before I forget, I did get a copy of Real Simple Family in the mail today--a special issue from Real Simple. There's lots of great stuff in it; I love how this magazine asks readers for their ideas and thoughts for so many different things. One of the questions asked in this family issue was how to get kids to help around the house. Lots of fun ideas. And on the next page, they asked kids how they helped out around the house. The answers were pretty funny--especially the one kid who said he takes a shower even though he hates it and the other kid who said the way he helps the most is sometimes just to stay out of his parents' way!

I'm off to check up on the Girl Scouts at the Ranch. They're having lots of fun--riding and canoeing and making plans to "make the ranch a better place." I did find out more about this book. It was published in 1921 and is one of a 10-book series. There are lots of books by this author and others about Girl Scouts and Brownie Scouts. I ordered one more and saw some selling on eBay for $200. Don't think I'll be adding those ones to my library. But I will keep my eye out for them, now that I know what I'm looking for. I think Audrey will enjoy them when she's older, and I'm excited to show them to my Brownie troop.

I also saw a complete set of Trixie Belden mysteries. Those would be fun to have too. I remember reading them as a kid, and recently read one again. The gang is always heading somewhere in Trixie's brother's jalopy and saying things like "Gleeps!" Makes me think of all the Three Investigator books too. "Jeepers!" Maybe I'll put those complete sets on my wish list...

Surprises in the mail

Our mailbox was stuffed today with these two things I ordered on eBay. The first is a book called The Girl Scouts on the Ranch by Edith Lavell. I'm up to chapter 4 and am just as excited as the Girl Scouts that they're going to spend two months on a ranch in Wyoming after graduating from Miss Allen's Boarding School. I love old books like this, and since I'm a Brownie troop leader it was a no-brainer purchase!

There's no title page or copyright date, so I don't really know how old the book is, but the book plate inside the front cover says: Property of Camp Cho Ridge. Hmm...sounds like a Google search is in order.

At the back of the book there are a bunch of ads for other book series for girls--so I'll also be off to amazon and eBay to see if I can find them too.

I also got the English Vocabulary Cards in the mail today--"A convenient method for developing, quickly and easily, your knowledge of those choice English words vital for advancement in your career." I have no idea what I'll do with them, but I had to have them. I've been seeing some amazing collage as I've blog-hopped (how's that for a word?); maybe these will inspire me to try one. The cards are fun, and have the word used in a sentence like this one for gregarious: "Sheep are, in general, gregarious animals." The definition is on the back of the card (so sheep, we now know, live in groups and like to be with others).

Maybe I'll have to learn (or use, since I already know a lot of them) a new word each day. There are 1,000 cards so it'll take a while!

Today was a Brownie day and the spirit of Easter permeated (passed through, spread itself, pervaded) our meeting. We walk from the school to our meeting room at the church down the street and practice orienteering each week--finding our way there using different things as a guide. We've used compasses, looked for clues to our meeting, and other things like that. Today the girls hunted for Easter eggs along the way with little Easter tree ornaments hidden inside. They loved it! Terri and I hid 15 eggs along the way, but only found 14 with the girls. I hope whoever found the one we lost found happiness in it! (The good thing was we only had 14 Brownies today, so it worked out perfectly.)

The girls made this little bunny door hanger as their craft today. We cut open carrot seed packets (sending the seeds home with the girls to plant) and stuffed them with Spanish moss and a little chenille bunny rabbit. They tied the string through holes punched in the packet to hang it. So cute!

We have 15 girls in our troop--all in the second grade. They are a great bunch of little girls and are able to do so much more than they could at the beginning of the year. We run a pretty tight meeting--the structure is the same each time, so the girls know the drill and what to expect. We love to sing with them; today our song leader chose "Whaddeleacha" (or however you spell it!) and it's hilarious to watch the girls crossing their arms to touch their ear and nose as fast as they can!

We also worked on the Penny Power try it today; we brainstormed ideas for how to spend our cookie money. A day at Disneyland, a sleepover, or a pool party seemed to be the top choices. We talked about how much things cost too--they thought a new car costs $2000, a house costs anywhere from $100 to $5000, and groceries for a week cost $30. Not quite. The one thing they all knew was that an American Girl Doll costs about $100 (if you get the book and accessories too).

Toben took us to Cold Stone for ice cream after dinner; I ate all of my Peanut Butter Cup Delight (or whatever it's called) despite planning to save half for tomorrow. Oh well, life is short and chocolate and peanut butter are sooooo good together.

I'm off to feed the cat and to remind him that tomorrow is Saturday--NO getting up at 5:09 tomorrow morning.

Can't put it down!

Thursdays are typically full days for me. I went to Bible study this morning and then met Terri at Michaels to get supplies for our Brownie meeting tomorrow after school. I picked up Emma from school, then we went back to Terri's house and spent a couple of hours planning Brownie stuff. Emma and I ran to the grocery store and finally made it home a little before four o'clock. Phew!

Terri loaned me the book Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson. I picked it up before dinner and haven't been able to put it down. It's astounding to me that women today live lives like this--without rights, at the mercy of the men in their lives, and filled with so much emptiness. Sultana, the princess whose life story is told, comments that the wealth of Saudi Arabia is the undoing of its people--because there is no need to work or strive for wealth, young people are bored and unhappy and unfulfilled. I can't help but see some similarities to life in America--or at least life here in So. Cal.

Several times in the past few days the idea of not valuing what you don't have to strive or work for has come up in different conversations I've had. That when we don't have to work for something we don't value it. In these conversations we've wondered about wanting to provide for our children and yet teaching them to learn the value of working for things at the same time. Definitely a balancing act.

It's always fascinating to me when the same idea pops up all over the place.

Not a very exciting or crafty post tonight...I'm going to go finish this book; I only have one chapter left to go.

New outfit for spring

I've had this little doll from IKEA for a while, and this morning she looked sad to be naked and not have a pretty outfit for spring. All of the dolls like this at Noble Knits have scarves and ponchos and sweaters and things to wear, and my doll needed something too. So since today was a knitting day, I sat down and came up with this little crocheted dress for her. And then I felt bad that she didn't have hair, so I made her a floppy hat. Doesn't she look happy, kicking up her heels with joy? She even had to go outside and model in the sunshine!

We were a small knitting group today--only four of us. But we had a great time as always and it was fun to catch up with my friend Monica since I haven't seen her in a while. She even brought banana bread to go with the Chunky Monkey Bread I made. I love having these women over to hang out and knit. We talk about all kinds of things--decorating, knitting, parenting, marriage, family, and just about everything else.

The doorbell rang after they all left; the FedEx truck brought my old window I bought on eBay. It was smaller than I expected; I think after paying such a ridiculous amount for packing and shipping I expected it to be the most fantasic window ever. I decided to hang it above Emma's bed, and since it has four panes I thought I'd embellish it with her name. Kids always love stuff with their name on it! I don't usually go for this kind of thing, but thought it would be a fun change. I printed out big letters and then cut them out of some pretty paper I had laying around. I glued them to the back of the window with a dab of Elmers and it's staying on just fine. (As you can see, Emma loves pink and her room is really PINK!)

Chunky Monkey!

My sweet husband let me spend all of the Costco rebate (and then some!) on stuff to make my blog great. I have a new scanner/printer/copier that scanned this lovely photo of me at about age 2 in Hawaii. And a new camera that took this picture of my buttonhole bag, all felted and done.

Isn't he nice?

Getting it all to work took all afternoon. The scanner set up like a dream, the camera took wonderful pictures. And then when I tried to get those pictures off the camera and onto the computer, we had a problem. My little Mac and the camera refused to be friends--they wouldn't even let me introduce them, let alone talk to each other and share my lovely photos. After too much time of trying to convince them that they'd really like each other if they just gave it a try, we headed back to Costco, returned the camera, and came home with a new one. This one loves my computer and they became instant friends with almost no help from me at all.

Don't you love it when you meet someone and instantly know you'll be great friends?

I'm very lucky to have wonderful, wonderful, dear, dear friends. All my life, I wanted a bosom friend like Anne's Diana, and as an adult I have so many! I'm very excited because my friend Sarah is coming to visit later this month for a whole week. We're going to knit and wander around La Jolla and have breakfast at Pannakin and brunch at Il Fornio in Del Mar and walk on the beach and knit and drink coffee and talk about books and go to Noble Knits and maybe ride the train downtown. Doesn't that sound like fun?

It's raining outside and I may have to go sit in the hot tub in the rain for a while after the girls go to bed.

The kitchen is starting to smell good--my knitters (the knittin' yahoos as Toben calls us, the knittin' llamas as Emma calls us, and the knittin' mamas as Audrey calls us) are coming in the morning so I'm baking Chunky Monkey Bread. Think Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream in bread form. Yep, it's that good! I'm making enough for Bible study on Thursday morning too, since it's my turn to bring food.

I get requests for this recipe all the time, and I usually forget to write it down for people. It's just forgetfulness really, I'm not guarding my secret recipe! Just to prove it, here it is for anyone who wants it.

Chunky Monkey Bread

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips (mini ones, if you can find them)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Cream margarine and butter. Add eggs and bananas; mix well. Gradually add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Grease loaf pan and flour lightly. Pour in batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.

I usually double this recipe, because what's the point of only making one loaf when it will be gone in about 15 minutes? (A double batch will do a bundt pan nicely.) You can make these as muffins too. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. A double recipe will make about 2 1/2 dozen muffins. And they freeze well, so what's not to love?

Enjoy!

Monday

Well I did get dressed after all today--long before the bus came, but after I sat on the couch and watched Room Service on HGTV. Emma and I went to Wal-Mart and to Jamba Juice. We wandered through Wal-Mart picking up little Easter things and who knows what else, and then I realized I didn't need any of it except the towels for the girls' bathroom and the two pillow forms (see pictures), so we wandered backwards and put everything else back where we found it.

My mom had given me these little girl quilt blocks ages ago, and I decided today was the day to make them into pillows as I'd planned all along. Isn't it amazing how long it can take to actually get some things done--years, in this case! I love these little Sunbonnet Sues--they are blanket-stitched all around and it must have taken a long time to do. I did put white sashing around the edge to make the pillows 16 inches; I couldn't find any fabric in my stash that was just right and nothing jumped out at me at the store either.

But before I could get started on the pillow project, I decided it was time for a new pin cushion. As I read blogs it seems like pin cushions and needle books are all the rage. My old pin cushion is one I made in the fifth grade out of some boring navy blue fabric. It was way to small and so I never really used it--kind of a problem when sewing a big project. So I used the scraps from the paisley bunnies. But this one is stuffed with polyfill, rather than my hair like the old one. (I recently cut off my hair and there was no way I was losing any more for this little project!)

I also made a little felt needle book--busy me! This post is getting a little photo full, so its picture is in the crafty album.

Here, by the way, is the Paisley family: Penelope, Polly, and Priscilla. These are the bunnies the girls helped me with--a little overstuffed and fraying around the edges where we filled them. But they do look cute sitting out by the pond, where yummy green things for bunnies grow. (Although Penelope does have a carrot close at hand if you look closely!)

I also sat down tonight and crocheted this round little bag in about 40 minutes (while Toben watched basketball and the girls played at noggin.com)--it's felting at the moment. The idea came from the One Skein book I got the other day, but I used Landscapes yarn from Lion Brand--it's much bulkier so I only did 7 rounds instead of 11. It's a little more hole-y than the one pictured in the book--thus the felting. There are two circles sewn together--with an opening left for a zipper.

So, all in all, a pretty crafty day. Now, it's time to fold laundry!

P.S. Our Costco rebate came today--new digital camera tomorrow--goodbye blurry, up close photos!

These are a few of my favorite things...

My buttonhole bag is done (finished while we watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tonight with Terri and her family). It's felted and drying! The girls and I finished book this morning and they were so excited to watch the movie. We started reading Prince Caspian in the hot tub this morning, but didn't get very far because the sun was bright and glaring--a little hard to read.

No church today--Emma's sniffling and snuffling with a cold.

For some reason, I was thinking of Maria in The Sound of Music and all of her favorite things. So here are some of mine:

City: Paris
Breakfast: Vanilla latte and croissant at Pannakin (Leucadia, CA)
Color: Pink
Season: Spring (although I'd probably say autumn if it was October)
Beach: Cannon Beach, OR; South Carlsbad State Beach, CA
Hawaiian Island: Kauai (south shore)
Room in my house: Dining room
Book in the Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Musical: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Disney character: Tinker bell
Flower: Hydrangea, tulip
Outfit: Miss Me embroidered jeans, yellow cardigan, John & David heels
Ballet step: Passe
Thing leftover from the 80s: Legwarmers
Childhood memory: So many...maybe reading out loud after dinner
Secret indulgence: Country music
Bible verse: Luke 1:45--Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished! (At least that's one of them!)
Television program: Room Service on HGTV
Teacher: Barbara Kingsolver, AP English, Air Academy High School
Gemstone: Diamonds!
Shoes: High heels
Time of day: 5-6 a.m. when the house is quiet and no one else is awake yet

My calendar is completely empty tomorrow! I'm going to do laundry and decide what project to do next. And I may stay in my pajamas until it's time to get Audrey from the bus...

Later...

I just emailed my rough draft off to my agent. My brain is mush, but I'm happy.

The end is in sight

I'm just a couple hours away from finishing up my rough draft and sending it off to my agent! And, look!, I've completely worn off the N from my keyboard, the E and D are almost all gone, and it looks the the S is next. Oh my!

I am a little bit scared to send my rough draft off to be read. Nobody's read anything except the first chapter so far, and I'm a little nervous. I've checked all I've written against my proposal, and I think I've delivered what I promised, so there shouldn't be any surprises for my editor. But, still, I hope what I've written is good and meets with everyone's approval.

I'm so looking forward to tomorrow. I've committed not to work on Sundays, to really take a day to rest and enjoy my family. And getting this finished (until feedback comes in and I make changes before sending it off to my editor for editing) will make tomorrow extra restful and enjoyable.

I did spend some time knitting my little buttonhole bag today. I can only write for so long before I start to go a little crazy and my mind goes completely blank. I've decided to make the top of the bag green, instead of just having the green be a few stripes. It spoke to me today too and now I know who it's for (since I don't wear purple!). I'll keep it to myself for know and make sure it turns out right before spilling the beans! I think I'll get it finished tomorrow.

We had rehearsal today for our dance recital in May. Two hours of working on our number to "All That Jazz" and I'm tired. A lot of technical stuff got cleaned up today, but my fan kick definitely needs some help. Good thing we have a month or so to keep practicing. The good thing is that I finally figured out how to shimmy shake and do a showgirl walk at the some time--something that's been beyond me. (Of course, I immediately yelled, "Look! I'm doing it!" and promptly lost my place in the dance. But it was noteworthy!) I'm excited to get my top done for the costume because all that fringe will make it look like I can really shimmy and shake it all!

Joey the cat woke me up at 5:09 this morning. I had to explain--yet again--about weekends, but he doesn't seem to get it. In his defense, I forgot to tell him that it was the weekend when we went to bed last night. I'm convinced he can tell time--tomorrow morning will a test. Don't forget to set your clocks forward an hour!

Okay, I can't put it off any longer. I'm off to finish my draft.