For the love of IKEA.

This past weekend the boys and I made a trip up to Cincinnati for a little whirlwind vacation.  We were only away for maybe 30 hours or so, but it was a great time.  We had several places that were "must-stops" since we were only going to be there a short time. 

First we got to see our awesome friend, Kristin, whom I haven't seen since last fall.  It was great to catch up with a precious friend.  While we were visiting at Starbucks, G$ decided to eat some dirt.  That was his first dirt experience, and hopefully it will be his last, but I'm not going to bank on it.  Since the place we were planning to go for dinner had an hour-long wait, we decided to make Graeter's our dinner.  Smart.  To continue the sugar-high, we then hit up our old friend Tim Horton's for some delicious Timbits.  Thank you, Tim, for the Blueberry glazed!  YUM.  We went back to the hotel and decided to take G for a dip in the pool.  It was super fun, although I think he wanted to swim on his own instead of being contained in the float. 

Saturday we enjoyed a lovely (FREE!) breakfast at the hotel and headed nextdoor to IKEA.  This was the star, and the reason for, the trip.  Keith has never actually experienced IKEA before, except for the 2 times he used their restroom - once in Malaysia, the other in Burbank, CA.  Yep.  We've been wanting to get a shelf or shelves for our kitchen for me to store my ever-growing collection of cookbooks.  We dont' have a ton of cabinet space, and some of the books are simply too big.  We had seen several online that we liked, but once we got there, we knew we had to have this one:

I absolutely love it, and it is perfectly functional.  Thanks to Keith for putting it together and hanging it, without busting a hole in the wall. :)

We also found a cute little chair for G for the living room, now that he's getting to be such a big, big, boy.  He seemed to approve (pardon the paci).

He has loved having his very own chair (and he knows it's his!).  He climbs in and out of this thing all day long.  He's really into "reading" right now, so he will bring one book after another out and throw it in the chair and climb up.  It's pretty cute, if I do say so.

We also hit up the outlet mall a few exits up, where we found some great deals, and then we headed straight to our cherished TJ's.  We have so many favorite things we buy here - can't wait until there is one in Lexington.  Finally we stopped at Mio's Pizza, which took me back to my high school days.  I have lots of memories at this place, so it was nice to think back on them. 

Speaking of high school, we're off to Cincy again tomorrow for my high school reunion: Lucky #13!!!  Can't wait to see some of my dear friends.

Santa's Got a Brand New Bag, aka Mama's Got a Brand New Toy

Upon Keith's urging (and I'm actually being serious here), I just got this BEEYOUTEEFUL Spinning Wheel.  It's used, but very gently used. 

Can't wait to get some instruction from experts like Jan & Sara!!! 

It's called the Schacht Ladybug - it's a very light & portable wheel, and each wheel comes with its very own ladybug tucked away somewhere for the owner to find.  LOVE.

Not enough time!!!

So my computer was only able to be used for the weekend, and then I had to bring it back in to our IT guys to have it worked on some more.  Apparently dropping a computer can cause quite a few "hiccups."  Go figure.  Anyways, over the past few weeks I've had quite a few things I've wanted to blog about, but I haven't been able, because of my lack of working computer at home.  So, I have lots of things in my head, but of course, not much time, to post.  I'm sure you all need a tissue because this news brings tears to your eyes.  Basically I just wanted to let my 1-2 readers know that I'm here, and will post more soon. 

On a side note, I was just discussing with my mom that there's just not enough time in the week!  I mean, maybe if I didn't come to work 4 days I might be able to start checking off the plethora of baked goods, yarn projects, etc, that I want to tackle....not to mention that laundry that seems to continue to pile up!  I participate in this awesome knitting & crochet community called Ravelry.  This place is an addiction, for sure, but it's also a great resource.  I've been adding projects to my queue, and I'm suddenly beginning to feel overwhelmed.  It's hard to know which project to start first, or what I can wait on until later.  I realize it's only July, but in my mind, Christmas is right around the corner, and I have gifts to make!!!  This is the same way with baking.  I'm sure Jan knows my pain all too well.  There are so many recipes I want to try, and I just don't know where to begin! 

All of this to say, maybe I'll decide to tackle my baking queue soon - so be on the lookout for some yummies!!! :)

...well, that is if I get my laptop back..... :)

Ooh, just realized I can post a gratuitous picture of one item I've been able to check off my queue:  Chevron mitts.   Can't wait for my hands to be all toasty roasty in the winter!!

Digital Photography

This weekend I was lucky enough to take a class on digital photography, taught by a very talented local artist, Lennon Michalski.  I have always loved taking photographs.  I remember taking over my parents' camera whenever we would go anywhere, because of course I could take better pictures!  As I've grown up, many of my "big" gifts have been cameras (thanks to my parents for indulging me!).  But as much as I've loved photography, and as much as we have invested in cameras, I've never had any instruction on how to take better photographs.  I'm a hands-on learner, so just reading a manual doesn't always cut it for me. 

So when my mom found this opportunity for me through UK, I didn't want to miss it.  We spent about 2.5 hours in the lecture room for instruction on ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, and then we went out to the Arboretum for practice in the field.  We had a lunch break in between, and I'm pretty sure that during that hour, everything I thought I learned flew right out of my head!  When I walked up to the first subject to take a photo, I had NO IDEA what to do.  Honestly, I couldn't even take a picture in focus!  Finally I just decided to take several pictures of the same thing using different settings, and that helped me tremendously. 

I don't think for a minute that I took excellent photos, but I learned, and that was important for me.  I look forward to taking thousands more photos, and hopefully I'll continue to learn and grow in this area.  Below are just a few results of the day.  I'll spare you the out-of-focus shots!!

eta: These weren't edited in any way, because I just wanted to focus on what I did, not what my photograph could look like.