three

The Sprout's third birthday has come and gone.  It was really fun because he is finally old enough to realize that it is HIS birthday.  Family came over, we opened presents and had cake.  We also did the inevitable ..cut his hair.  Nanny lined up with the scissors and the curls fell to the ground.  I will let you know that the Sprout wanted his hair cut.  He kept telling me "Mommy, Nanny cut hair?"  So, I had to let it happen.  He looks like a little boy, and it is really hard to get used to.

He has grown so much this year that you really can't write it all down at once.  I will sum up what he is like now.

He talks, and asks "why?" with a Yorkshire accent.
He runs and jumps and hops.  He is good at kicking the soccer ball.
He sings.
He can be bossy and still throws tantrums.
He can sit still for short periods of time.
He understands a little too much.
He is almost fully potty trained, we still have some accidents.
He really likes cars, trains, and air planes and luckily he got all three for his birthday.
He has friends.

He is going into pre-school next week.  He has been slowly introduced the past week and he is very excited as all of his friends are there.

On Sunday, we are going to have a small birthday/Halloween party with pumpkin carving.  And yes, we have the famous Halloween tree.

This year I am going to take the Sprout Trick-or-Treating.  He is going to be a monkey.

That is about it.  Happy birthday Sprout.

The past couple of weeks

Finally, I get to write something.  Feeling a little guilty for not finishing my Nathan's year update for his birthday, but I lost steam and now I can't remember where I was going with the post.

It has been so awesome having my mom here the past 2 weeks and as always I am extreemly sad to have her go.  Not only did she do my dishes for me (thanks by the way), but she had a huge impact on the Sprout that was really fun to see.  The Sprout now makes a "broom broom" noise when he is playing with his tractor and other cars, he says "uh oh" allot and he has an appreciation for "Patty Cake."

The Sprout goes "Broom"

He walks!

For the Sprout's first birthday we had a small family party with a couple of friends.  We had zucchini bread with a cream cheese frosting and the Sprout entertained us by taking his first steps with the aid of his push and ride car.  We also carved pumpkins.  With his birthday money we bought many new toys including a shape sorting box, a tractor, Mega Bloks, peg puzzle, and a light up drum.  He loves his push and ride cars (he got 2) and four wheel cow, as well as his ELC Sherwood Castle that has little guys resembling Robin Hood.  We finally got wall stickers for the Sprout's room and we have put most of them up; it is looking good.

We made our way down to London to go to the American Embassy to get the Sprout's American passport.  The trip went well, but the time at the Embassy was as efficient as the American government could be.  We spent 2 hours going between 4 different people who all told me the same thing, that I needed to get a notarized  consent form from Richard before they could issue the Sprout's passport.  It would have been nice if they could have told me that before I went down.  At least we don't have to go back into London.

I finally got my cortozone shot in my back.  It is feeling a bit better, but there are times of soreness.  I pick up the Sprout too much.  However, now I am dealing with a stupid sciatica which is a little worse than my back problem.

Halloween was pretty laid back.  The Sprout dawned a "Spider" costume instead of the cow costume because it was too hot (but not nearly as cute).  We had quite a few trick-or-treaters, and our pumpkins didn't get smashed.

Overall, the Sprout, Richard and I were all spoiled during my mom's visit and we will miss her dearly.

Autumn

The Sprout is at nursery and for the first time I feel like I have some time off (except for the half painted bathroom hanging over my head and all the boxes that still need to be unpacked but won't).  I can finally get a bit of writing done and I think I will ponder Autumn since I don't think any other season brings about such memories.

For some reason Autumn brings my most vivid childhood memories.  The other day we were graced with a Sky Sports Channel Open Day so I got to watch the Saints v. Colts game, and surprisingly, I watched it.  It was a good game.  But while I was watching the game I felt there were atmospherical elements missing such as the smell of chicken stock and the sound of a vacuum cleaner and my parents rumbling feat and loud shouts at the TV.  I told Richard this and he commented "wow, there must be some specific memory related to that."  Of course there is.  Football is usually on TV on a Sunday which seemed to be my mom's cleaning and cooking day when I was little.  So, besides the sounds of the crowd on the TV and my parents cheering, was the sound of the vacuum and smell of chicken stock on the stove.

For some reason the chill of Autumn brings me to light a cinnamon smelling candle and if I had a real fireplace I would light that too.  I also get whiffs of Purdy Elementary and school supplies.  I don't know why it is specifically Purdy Elementary and not Harbor Ridge or Tacoma Community College.

I also get a hankering to knit.

The other day I was perusing Gig Harbor's Facebook Page and found that the Fish Bowl had already taken place.  I was surprised it was so early in the year, of course true to form, the Tides won 17 to 14.  Glad to see something never changes.  I also saw that there is a Gig Harbor Chowder Cook Off...yummm chowder (Mallard's Landing took all 3 awards).  I need to learn to make Clam Chowder because they don't have it in a can here.

Of course the thing I get most excited about in the Fall is Halloween.  I need to get moving on my horror movie-a-thon.

And now a new thing to get excited about, the Sprout's birthday.  We are going to have his first birthday party on the 23rd of October.

Did you know I have been in Bradford for 5 years?  Pretty crazy.

The start of Autumn also brings the snowball of the holiday season.  People start to go crazy getting ready for Christmas and I start planning for my British Thanksgiving party.  This year I want to go to a lighting ceremony.

So even though the growing darkness and cold, rainy weather is a pain in the backside, Autumn is one of my favourite seasons and I am looking forward to it this year.

It's that time again

It seems that for the past 3 years I announce my plans for my October Horror Movie-a-Thon.  Because I can't seem to get much done with the Sprout around and I go to sleep between 8-10 pm, I have am having a limited movie-a-thon this year.  I have a list of movies that must be seen every year, so I am sticking with them and I will try to fit in horror movies I have missed throughout this year.

Movies that must been seen every year:

• Evil Dead
• Evil Dead 2
• The Army of Darkness
• Shaun of the Dead
• Nightmare On Elm Street 1 (maybe more)
• Halloween 1
• Dawn of the Dead
• Donnie Darko

• It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
• Dog Soldiers
• Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Just a note:  we only have limited internet, so I will be posting a full recap of the move plus photos when we get our internet back.

Friday funnies and some bits and bobs

I wanted to add some random stuff as well as deliver the Friday Lolcats.

Anyone looking for some crafts?  I came across a great blog called The Long Thread, they have some pretty cool projects that look pretty easy.  I really need a sewing machine.

I found out why our cellar is so damp...the neighbours have a leak.  The water guys were out to fix it yesterday (that is why I know what happened), so I am hoping Richard calls the property management people to at least let them know it isn't our fault and we may find that the landlord has a dehumidifier we can use.  If not we may buy one...I like them because they help my back..

Has anyone checked out the new FOX show Glee?  It is on FOX Wednesdays at 9.  Hilarious.  It is about a high school glee club, adult humour and worth a look.

I am very excited for the movie Zombieland to come out.  It comes out here in the UK next weekend, I think it comes out this weekend in the US.  We are definitely going to have to spend the money to go see it.  Infact I am so excited I am adding the trailer below:



At the end of each week, I am going to try to give reviews of the horror flicks I saw as part of my Horror Movie-Thon.  I will be rating the originality of the villain, killings, and story; the continuity of the plot; the horror, gore and creepiness factors; and the sequel potential: and of course how watchable it was.  I may have some gaps.  I haven't decided if I should review classic horror flicks and movies I have seen a million times.  I might just write a little on why I decided they should be watched every year.

And now the moment you have all been waiting for...man this week was difficult, too many good ones:

It's Lolcats to the rescue:

Thankful Anyway Thursday and the beginning of the halloween movie-thon

It's easy to be thankful for the good stuff, can you be thankful for the not so good?
(as serious or light-hearted as you like)
Finally October 1st!  Now I can begin my horror movie-thon...it has been so hard to wait and I haven't even decided on what to watch first.
I don't really have anything to say that doesn't involve the typical whine about how much my body hates me and how I am thankful anyway because of the Sprout...  I am a little tired of  using the Sprout as my positive focus when I hurt and feel it becomes the politically correct thing to say.  So this week I am not saying it (although I just kinda did).
I am interested in the fact that I didn't receive any comments on my gay marriage opinion piece.  Very interesting...either no one agrees, everyone agrees or I have more people not talking to me than I thought...or it could be that the issue is worn out (kinda like healthcare...although I don't think either issue could EVER be warn out).
This last weekend Richard had to move all of our storage from the cellar to the living room because it all began to mold.  Richard said he found black, white, grey, orange and yellow mold.  Fun times.  
I guess I can say I am thankful that I have a husband that could take care of all that because I wouldn't have been able to bring the boxes upstairs and I shouldn't be inhaling that stuff (neither should he, but he has a strong immune system).  What bit I did breathe in made me want to vomit it was so strong.  I have had the doors open for 4 days now, luckily it hasn't been too cold.  Now we will just have to see how long it takes for us to contact the property people to tell them about it (this link is good for people who rent in Washington State).  You'd think it was something they would want to know, but property management people are a strange breed.

Here are some things I am thankful for (not thankful anyway) this week:
Scented Candles...thank you Ms. Molly for the reminder that candles smell good.
People who said they are sending me packages
Richard's paycheck and job
LolCats
Halloween
Zucchini Bread
Peep Show (a really funny British TV series)

Halloween movie announcement 1

Around this time last year I announced my horror movie list for my month long movie marathon.  Here is this year's list.

This year's "movies I haven't seen" list:

• Book of Blood
• Zombieland
• Drag Me To Hell
• Grace
• The Ring 2
• Pumpkinhead
• Cat People
• Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
• Theater of Blood

This year's theme movies: Hammer Horror.  This was a bit hard because many of the movies are hard to find:

• The Horror Of Dracula
• Dracula Prince of Darkness
• The Brides of Dracula

Movies I have seen and must been seen every year:

• Evil Dead
• Evil Dead 2
• The Army of Darkness
• Shaun of the Dead
• Nightmare On Elm Street 1 (maybe more)
• Halloween 1
• Dawn of the Dead
• It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
• Dog Soldiers
• Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

So far I have 22, so I need some help.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Keep in mind I have seen a ton of horror movies, but I am willing to watch good ones again.

Halloween excitement

Yes, it is a horrible thing that I am thinking about Halloween...I don't even think the stores have their stuff up yet. This year, however, it will be extremely exciting because I am throwing a Spooky Thanksgiving party on Halloween. This party will make October the most festive month I will probably ever manage and it will celebrate the 5th Thanksgiving I have hosted.  I am having Thanksgiving on Halloween for a couple of reasons: A) The Sprout is due to arrive on t he 25th of November; B) No one in Britain seems to celebrate Halloween so my friends seem to be free; C) Halloween is on a Saturday.

I don't know if anyone remembers, but I have a strict October/Halloween ritual of a daily horror movie for the month of October and specific festivities on the day of Halloween. This year my Halloween day traditions will be different but the month long movie fest will not be. I am still working on which movies will be incorporated into the marathon, but luckily I blogged about it last year, so I have a list of movies I managed to forget about or would like to see again.

Every year I have to find a horror series (i.e. Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween) to incorporate into my film festival. My choices are getting a little thin so this year I am making it a Hammer Horror October. I will watch selected movies that were made by the Hammer Film Corporation that brought us such classics as The Horror of Dracula (and many other Dracula movies), The Curse of Frankenstein (and many other Frankenstein films), and the Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll. These movies usually star Peter Cushing and /or Christopher Lee and many of you have probably seen at least one of them. I know that people my parent’s age were raised on them at the theatre.

I am excited that I am having a party because I will get to decorate, make party favours and cook food. Last year I got a Martha Stewart Living magazine for the month of October, so I have been looking over it to see what cool ways I can decorate the house. Her website has tons of stuff on it too.

I already have the menu planned (which wasn't hard because I usually make the same thing every year):

Turkey with sausage, apple and cranberry stuffing (I don't usually eat stuffing, but this was really good last year)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Winter root vegetables

Waldorf Salad

Pumpkin pie

Pomegranate and apple crisp (this is a new one)

After dinner I am going to offer a horror film marathon if people are up to it, and while we are waiting for food to be ready we are going to carve pumpkins and turnips (because I don't have a TV to watch sports on.)

I am so excited!!

Halloween Blues

Well, Halloween came and went and was a little disappointing. I had to work, but wore my pink devil horns and veil that I aquired at my hen night to work. No one else dressed up, not even a little. Only one other customer, a 5 year old girl in a pumpkin mask, dressed up, and most customers that talked to me asked why I was dressed up. Stupid British. Halloween is such a let down here. ASDA, British Wal-Mart, had all kinds of Halloween stuff in their window, so don't tell me you don't know that it is Halloween. I know people here celebrate Halloween, but where are they? Anyway, Richard and I still carried out my traditions and got on with it. The night ended with me throwing my pumpkin out the window in the alley. It made the most satisfying thump that echoed and made me "Whoo hoo!"

Because it is November, we had to start playing our Christmas music and holiday-up the store. We actually had to start doing all of this stuff the 29th of October. I am sorry, but this is way too early. The Christmas music isn't bad yet, but I am sure I will want to kill the receiver in about a month.

Arts and Crafts and stuff

For the past couple of months I have been doing a lot of cross stitching, I love it! Recently, I have gotten into black work. It is deceptively difficult, but the end result is really beautiful.

I thought I would share a couple of pieces I have done:

This is the finished product of Darby's wedding cross stitch I made for her and Barry. I still have yet to see the piece with the frame in person, but looks really nice.



Here is a Tatty Teddy (warning: this website plays music) I made for Emma's birthday (sorry about the glare, I didn't think to take a picture until I had already framed it). This was the first piece I framed myself.



Now for the black work. This is a practice piece. I just did some random pictures. I guess it is a badly designed sampler (sorry about the creasing, like I said it was just a practice piece).


Here is a small piece I just finished. I find making the back look like the front to be the funnest part. If you use holbein stitch instead of back stitch, you can make the piece almost totally reversible.

Front

Back

Yesterday, Emma came over and we carved pumpkins whilst watching "The Adventures of Ichabod Crane" and "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". David, Richard's brother has been staying with us for the past 10 days and he was able to take part in the ritual. It took Emma over an hour to carve out the little spider on her pumpkin.

From the reader's Left to Right: Emma, Richard, Jessika and David.

In other news:
I have moved up in the coffee cooperate world and have the new title of Team Leader. I get to change out the till and train people. I also got a raise...Yea Me!! I am finally moving up in the world.

Fire!!!

As I sat down to begin my 31 days of horror movies, Richard asked me, "Do you smell something burning?" I said, "Yes, I do." So, we looked outside and sure enough a building was on fire. Now, this is the 3rd building in my general vicinity to go up into flames in the past 2 years.



We got tons of pictures (300 or so) here are some good ones. The fire started around 7:30 pm and is still smouldering (it is about 9:00 am). They are in order.

All and all, I watched it for a couple of hours. Eventually, the front of the building collapsed, which was pretty cool to see. There is a whole other section that we could not see from our window, so I will have to go take a look at that.

H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N spells Halloween

I can't spell Halloween without singing that song...



I have a long running tradition that I came up with years ago that in October, I would watch at least 1 scary movie a day for the whole month. A pumpkin would be carved a week before Halloween while watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. On All Hallows Eve a candle will be lit in the morning and extinguished at midnight, spaghetti is consumed (as per the Barnett family tradition) and the pumpkin will be lobbed out the window before bed.

Now, every year I have to come up with a list of ghoulish movies to watch...a whole month's worth. I like at least half to be movies I haven't seen. Because this is a long standing tradition for me, I have seen a heck of a lot of horror films and as such I am not picky as to the quality of the film (they can't all be Night of the Living Dead).

This year I have gotten off to a head start. I have a pretty good list going, an because this is a blog, I am going to share it with you.

Movies I haven't seen:

• April Fool's Day
• Cat People
• Grindhouse/Planet Terror
• Night of Demons
• The Quiet Family
• Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
• King of the Zombies
• Zombi 2
• Leprechaun 1-3

Movies I have seen:

• Exorcist 3
• Friday the 13th 1 (maybe more)
• Slither
• American Werewolf in London

Movies I have seen and must been seen every year:

• Evil Dead
• Evil Dead 2
• The Army of Darkness
• Shaun of the Dead
• Nightmare On Elm Street 1 (maybe more)
• Halloween 1
• Dawn of the Dead
• It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
• Dog Soldiers
• Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

TV episodes:

• How I Met Your Mother- "The Slutty Pumpkin"
• The Simpson's Tree house of Horror Series
• South Park Halloween Episodes: "Pink Eye," "Spooky Fish," "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery," "Hell on Earth 2006,"

So as you can see, I have a pretty good list going. Richard gets really bored with my Halloween movie tradition...but I don't really care, it is my favorite one. This year I am going to start a binder with movie lists and DVD pockets that will hopefully make the years to come much easier.
Now eventhough I have this list, I always like to get ideas from everyone else.