A Busy Week

I thought when I quit teaching dance that I'd have so much more free time and things would be so much easier. Wrong. I just filled up my time with other things. But being busy is good, so I can't complain.

Jeffrey found a new hiding place this week, in the Twirly-Dirly (no idea why we call it that, but we do). It's caused us to add yet another child lock to our cupboards since I'd rather not have vinegar splashed all over my floor and my son.
Isn't his smile priceless? And the spongebob teeth in the front? Seriously cute!
Here's Jeffrey testing a theory. The idea is that if one binky is good, two must be better right?
We're in the process of getting rid of the binks, but he keeps finding them all over and feeling like he needs them. Silly kid.

I had a great first workshop this week for my stamp club. We made the two cards in the back and the front was just an example of the great effects you can get with the watercolor crayons. They make me feel like such an artist when, really, I've got hardly any talent. But I was pretty proud of myself, I came up with the designs on my own. If you would like to order anything from Stampin' Up! feel free to use my website. www.triciamacneil.stampinup.net

Second Look at Some Photos from the Brown Family Vacation

Dandylion

I took this photo last fall with my Canon PowerShot while I was with a group of students out at our field site. When I took a peak at it in black and white it showed potential for its good contrasts and variety of texture.

Yay!!

This video shows two of Jeffers' new talents, telling you what a monkey says and showing his excitement when you cheer Yay! Enjoy

Armor

While I was home from church today I was listening to General Conference when I started playing around with this photo of some armor that I shot in Rothenburg several months ago. After a little tweaking it started to look pretty good, so I tried it out with a black border and ended up adding a little writing to it at the bottom. Tricia liked it enough that she wants to have one printed to hang in Jeffrey's room.

Sunday Morning with Jeffrey

Jeffrey was not feeling well today, so I stayed home from church with him so that he does not get other kids at church sick by touching everything that they touch. Even though he is pretty happy this morning he had a rough night last night so we do not want to take any chances. I turned the last General Conference on my iPod on and put it in our radio for me to listen to during the morning.

I read a few chapters of "Black Beauty" with Jeffrey. His ability to sit with me and listen to a story is increasing. I am thinking about recording some stories for Jeffrey to listen to when I am at work.

I spent seveal hours walking around the house with Jeffrey playing all the games he made for himself as hit attention kept turning from one object to another. The most fun of the morning was when Jeffrey got up on his car and pushed him around the house from behind. I can see why Jeffrey learned to walk. It is not easy going all around the house on two hands and two knees.

At noon I gave Jeffrey a bottle and a snack and he was soon asleep in my arms while we both sat on the living room couch.

Looking through some of my older photos last night I found these two that I had not at the time taken to their full potential. With a little bit more photo finishing knowledge I was able to take these to the next step.

A Morning Out of the House

We had hoped to go to Play Mobil Land one more time now that Jeffrey can walk, but he has not been feeling good the last two days and will fall on as it is it would not be wise to take Jeffrey out. Tricia new that I would begin to feel couped up by the end of the day so she sent me out this morning to have some fun outside of the house. I drove around for about three hours stopping here and there when I was able to see something that caught my eye from the drivers seat. After parking the car safely off the road, I put my camera around my neck and brought along my tripod to get some interesting pictures of the turning season in Germany. I only came home with a few photos, 37 to be exact, but from that I was able to pick out the best potentials and work with them a little more.

What's Kept Me Busy Lately

Fall is here, slightly-depressing, sun doesn't want to come out, colder than cold, fall. Good news is, this is the last on we have to have. I am one of those people affected by the seasons, winter without the sun depresses me. But the silver lining here is that in just a few short months I'll be back in Colorado. Cory and I are already planning our first week of meals. We're trying to find out if there's a Chipotle anywhere near where our car will be shipped.

I have set up a regular little jewelry class and it's been a lot of fun. I love being able to share what I know about jewelry making with other people. It's such a fun hobby to have. And I've decided why I like jewelry so much. I recently threw out probably 10-15 pairs of jeans from the pre-baby me. It's just not in the cards to get back to a 4. My hips (without any extra padding) are not that thin anymore. It was sad to have to do it, but we have to live a somewhat mobile lifestyle and I can't be hauling that many pairs of pants around when there's not much hope to get back into them. But I didn't have to throw out any jewelry. Jewelry is my friend.

I am also a new Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and I just set up my website, so if you'd like some amazingly cute stamp supplies you can visit my site http://www.triciamacneil.stampinup.net/ and buy them there. They have some of the cutest stamps for the holidays! I love some of the Halloween ones and I think some of you will be getting a super cute Halloween card with them.

Other than that, I'm just trying to keep up with my 16 month old, trying to help the primary children learn reverence, and keep myself sane! Guess which ones I'm succeeding at?

SSG Mullen

SSG Mullen was only at the Academy for a few short months before he was picked up to move onto better places. Lucky guy. I was able to get to know him while we worked together one day out on the CBRN lane. He seems like the type of NCO that I would have worked well with. In between iterations he let me take this photo of him. I hope that I can catch back up to him via the internet to send him a copy of this photo.

Graduation Time

I am glad to be done with yet another WLC cycle. Tricia and I have some great plans to get a lot of things done around the house and get out and have some fun too.

I did not have to teach this cycle since the NCO of the Year competition brought me back half way through this cycle, but I did end up with a squad during the field for two days to grade them while another SGL was out sick. I took this photo as the students were negotiating our CBRN lane where it is necessary to put on their protective mask. The mission is quite simple; secure the objective and hold it against enemy attacks. The difficulty comes in having to communicate wearing this mask and moving through the territory looking through two eye holes. I get a kick out of the students that begin to get frustrated with each other.

No Unhallowed Hand Can Stop the Work

When the missionaries came over to our home several weeks ago I started thinking that perhaps their down stairs apartment may have a few bare walls that need decorating. Most missionary apartments I have been in are decorated with cut outs from the Ensign magazine taped to the wall, or perhaps a print or two from the church art work collection. It only costs a few dollars to have an 8x10 photo professionaly printed at SnapFish, so I put this photo I took together for them and will have it printed next time we send an order. Tricia has even found some great 8x10 black frames at the PX to give it the final touch.

Fluffy Apple Dip

Tricia had a few friends over for a morning of jewelry making, so I made an appetizer dish for everybody as a snack. It turned out to be pretty good, so here is the recipie.

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened



• 1 tablespoon peanut butter



• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice



• 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme



• Apple wedges

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and pumpkin pie spice until blended; fold in marshmallow creme. Serve with apple wedges. Yeilds two cups.

Fall is Here

Fall came on quickly this year. All summer we have enjoyed the sun rising early and setting late. It makes the days seem very long and even the late night has warm air. In just a few short days, the sun has shortened its time visible in the day leaving the mornings and the evenings’ dark and cold. The air is very chilled and it is necessary to have a good jacket on during the middle of the day.

Not all of the leaves have had a chance to turn color yet, but it is definitely hot cocoa weather. I have to look at the clock more often to remind myself that it is not as late in the evening as it sometimes seems. It is time to take the furniture off the patio since we will not be going out in this temperature to enjoy an evening meal on the balcony. I put on gloves when I ride my bike to work in the morning to keep the chill of the wind off my hands.

Winter will not be far behind.

Painting for Service

To get the Sergeant Morales Club involved in some community projects at our last meeting we discussed what was going on in the local area. As it turned out, one of our members is a Boy Scout leader and let us know that on Saturday as part of a move from one building to another the Scouts would be painting their new building. Formerly the Teen Center, the walls were painted two tones of purple. We did not have the assets to paint the entire inside of the building, but we were able to use some masking tape to mark off the sharp line between the two purples and paint the bottom one over in white. This is a job that would take some professional tools and skills to get done right, but with simple rollers and brushes we transformed the place quite a bit in the two and a half hours that I was able to get away from work to help with.

I was impressed to see joining us in the project some big names in the local military community. It was great to see some of these important people that are normally very hard to get in personal contact with because so many people are trying to get their attention involved in this quiet project.

Bath Time

Bath time with Jeffrey has become such an important tradition for us that I find myself planning my evening activities to always end at 2100 so that our time together will be undistracted and uninterrupted. As the evening wares on and Jeffrey becomes tired he can get cranky some times. The only cure for a cranky Jeffrey at night is bath time. When he hears the familiar sound of the bath water running no other toy is interesting any more. He quickly walks down the hall and takes a few seconds to survey the water filling the tub. Next, he bends down and selects the bath toys that interest him most and one at a time tosses them in and takes a moment to observe how each one reacts with the water.

By this time, I have laid his towel out on the floor for him, and matched together the PJs he will be wearing after. Once his clothes are off, I give him the Superman leap into the tub and then water and soap him down. He allows me to clean him quickly because he knows that the rest of the time will be his to play with his toys and splash in the water. I usually take a seat and let him play by himself for about ten minutes. Once in a while, he will look up at me, especially if he is splashing to ensure that I am having as much fun as he is, otherwise he is content to have some play alone time.

When he shows signs of coming down from the height of entertainment I give him another Superman leap out of the tub and lay him down on his towel, where I dry him and give him a bit of lotion all over. Lately he has taken to rubbing in the lotion on his chest and stomach to help. Once his PJs are on, he heads back to the tub to look at his toys laying out in the empty bottom while I turn out the light. The shaft of light coming through the open door lets him know that we are done and he can make his exit.

Military Vehicles

While out on an errand I stopped at lunch time and took some photographs of the old military vehicles around our post put out for decoration. I had so much fun getting these photos that I awoke early the next morning to get another hour of shooting in while the light was good.

A Test Project with Tricia

Tricia is getting very excited about her opportunity to start demonstrating and selling stamps for the Stampin-Up! business. She has been going for months to a friends house in our area that has been very successful in demonstrating and selling. She will be gone for a short time and has agreed to allow Tricia to start up as a demonstrator and take over the area for a short time. This is Tricia's foot in the door of the business for when we get to Colorado.

The stamps sell themselves since the ideas is to invite others over to make a small project. The project shows everyone how easy it is to make something clever and attractive, and peaks the interest of everyone about how to get their own set of stamps, paper and other tools. I have to say that I am quite impressed with the array of tools that this business sells. There is a lot of science and engineering into making these products colorful and durable.

To get ready for her first demonstration, Tricia talked me through the steps of making this truck and pumpkins.

Biking to work

I was curious the other day about just how far my trip to work is every day on my bike. I took the car to work and found to my surprise that my round trip is nearly five miles. At five miles per day for 30 days, and having to teach 10 cycles per year, plus the days that we come to work out of cycle, I estimate that I bike 48 of the 52 weeks per year. That adds up to 1,680 miles per year, and after three years 5,040 miles.

This allows me to leave the car home for Tricia so that we do not need to pay for a second car, second insurance, second oil and tire rotation nor second repairs. The initial cost of my bike was $250, plus $150 in repairs so far.

I hope that our living situation in Colorado will permit me to continue this. Riding a bike is a big money saver and it has kept me in shape.

I Wish You Could Have Been Here For This One

The pork roast that Tricia made for our Sunday dinner was awesome. I wish you could have been here to taste it with us.

A Half Hour with Jeffrey

This is one of the first times that Jeffrey has gone down the stairs on his feet. It took him a long time to figure out that he could hold onto the railing as well as my hand during his decent.

Jeffrey found a scattered acorns over a corner of the playground and picked out a few good for tossing and running after.

After a short trip on the slide Jeffrey spotted the swing set and went right to it.

Jeffrey's Mom decided that she was done carrying all of his worldly goods around for him, so while in Dusseldorf we found this great backpack for him to carry his stuff around in. The first time we put it on, he just sat and cried, like a turtle who's rolled onto his back. He still struggles when he trips and if he gets down he can't get back up again. But he will put his arm out to put it on, so maybe he doesn't hate it so much.

Flowers

I bought some flowers for Tricia to try out our crystal vase we bought a short while ago. I used them to try out a few photographic techniques I have been wanting to try. I placed my black fleece jacket behind the photos as I took each shot and used an apeture f5.6 to ensure that none of the deatil of the jacket showed up.

Long Lost Ring

I cleaned out my top drawer yestarday and found this ring tucked away that I have not worn in a long time. I purchased it right before graduation of basic training. My fingers are slightly bigger now and give this ring a more comfortable fit. I think I will wear it more often now.

Drill and Ceremony Competition

This morning was the Bco drill and ceremony competition between the three platoons. I was asked to take some photos of the competition to contribute to the slideshow at the graduation. I decided to get creative with my photo finishing in Lightroom.

Sharing the Book of Mormon

The Elders came over a night ago for dinner and they brought for us a short presentation in which they asked us to think about people that we know that could right now be prepared to recieve the Book of Mormon. We watched a short video in which President Monson related a story about a missionary that wrote his testimony in a copy of the Book of Mormon and had it returned to him many years later with the news that the book had been a part of the conversion of many people. The missionaries then asked us each to write our testimonies on the blank page in front of the title page. We are now thinking about who we can give the book to.

I am very impressed with the two Elders that we have working in our area. Both are hard working and are eager to share of the many experiences they make for themselves each day. Going to a members home is tryouts for a pair of missionaries. This is their chance to impress upon the members in a very personal way that they are the pair of missionaries that you want to introduce your associates, friends and familiy members to. Our missionaries have made the cut.

Icommunicado

Sorry, our phone has been out for the last few days and we were not able to make or recieve weekend calls. Hopefully this will be resolved within the next few days.

Something to fill the time...

What time did you get up this morning? 8:00

Diamonds or pearls? diamonds

What was the last film that you saw at the cinema? The Mummy 3, no need to waste your money, it wasn't great

What is your favorite TV show? The Office

What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal

What is your middle name? Anne with an E, just like Anne Shirley (but actually named after my Grandma Joanne)

What food do you dislike? Tomatoes or other oddly textured foods

What is your favorite CD at the moment? What's the Rumpus? by Gaelic Storm

What kind of car do you drive? Pontiac Grand Am...or Grandma as someone once called it.

Favorite sandwich? A smore sandwich

What characteristic do you despise in others? Dishonestly I think

Favorite item of clothing? Shoes!

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? My dream has always been Ireland...we're finally going in December

Where would you retire to? Spain!

What was your most recent memorable birthday? This last one was pretty fun...Cory went shopping with me all day and then made me dinner!

Favorite sport to watch? I'm not a sporty gal.

When is your birthday? July 4th

Are you a morning person or a night? Night

What is your shoe size? 9 1/2 (grew when I was preggers)

Pets? I don't have any, but I live vicariously through other people's pets

Any new exciting news you'd like to share with us? There are only6 months until we return to the US!

What did you want to be when you were little? A princess...until I figured out how that worked and then I wanted to be a mom.

How old are you today? 27

What is your favorite flower? Magnolias

What is a day on your calendar that you are looking forward to? March 7, 2009

What is your full name? I'm skipping this one because as Dwight Schrute told me, Identity theft is not a joke.

What are you listening to right now? Cory talking to Jeffrey

What was the last thing you ate? A brownie (we had the missionaries over)

Do you wish on stars? I used to...but there were too many rules...only on the first one, only on the brightest. Then I learned that if I asked Daddy he'd give me whatever I wanted.

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink

How is your weather right now? Rainy and dark, it's night

Last person you spoke to on the phone? Our phone's dead...something silly wrong with it...but a lady in our ward about substituting on Sunday

Favorite soft drink? Don't love bubbles...but Spain has Fanta Limon which is love.

Last place you ate out? The Italian Place with my parents and Scott and Jen

Hair color? someone called it Mousy once...we'll go with that rather than ugly brown with a few grays!

What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies (I had the rockin'ist Barbie house and always the coolest clothes both of which were made by my ubertalented Mum!)

Summer or winter? Summer (but not in the humidity)

Hugs or kisses? Kisses

Chocolate or vanilla? Depends, German chocolate? Yes!

Coffee or tea? I'll pass

When was the last time you cried? When I dropped Mum and Dad off.

What is under your bed? Dance dresses and a wig

What did you do last night? Played with Cory and Jeffers.

What are you afraid of? Closed spaces

Salty or sweet? Sweet

How many keys on your key ring? 5 or something...I just got a key to the church.

How many years at your current job? At Momness? PAige would tell you I've been practicing way too long, but I've been certified (as insane) for 15 months!

Favorite day of the week? Any day Cory gets to be home

How many towns have you lived in? Too many to count, but three since I've been married. (Wow, for 3 years. I move too much!)

Do you make friends easily? I'm a shy girl, but yeah I think so.

Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Yes, it's fun to know.

What is the last book you read? Fox in Socks...but on my own, I'm reading the book club book, the No. 1 Ladies Dective Agency