I Heart Fudgies!

Those who know the Sundstroms KNOW we have a million names for all kinds of things, people and whatnot. And they tend to be utterly unique.

I think my all time favorite Sundstrom-ism is "Fudgies", which the rest of the world knows as pigtails. And Logan is the cutest fudgie-wearer around!

Is fudgies not the perfect name for her little piggytails? Discuss.

A Couple of New Finished Items

I abandoned my "Mystic Roses" shawl after finishing the first part, didn't really love the pattern. But I loved the red yarn, so will use it for another lace pattern I like better. Meantime, I've been knitting on a few things:

This is a sock from "Knitting Vintage Socks" and is a 19th century pattern, which the author has nicely 'translated' into modern knitting terms. I got the yarn for $8.00 at an estate sale (it's Pagewood Farms Denali, so that was a great deal). The sock has a German Heel, which I'm not sure I love but it was fun to knit something from the Victorian Era. Sock #2 is underway.

This is my second square for my cashmere Aran afghan. It has a big spider and a little bug in the web. Since spiders are the only animal I'm NOT terrified of, I like this square. And the yarn is to die for, soooo soft. No one but me will be using this blankie when I get it done (unless you are very very nice to me)

I'm Moving Here!

The knitted village of Mersham, England. Local knitters have been working on this for 20 years. It's complete with teenage smokers, soccer hooligans and more!

Spaz Alert

My family knows I am the world's WORST bike rider. I didn't 'master' bike riding until I was 12 (to be honest, I've never really mastered bike riding...) But I persevere. Today I got out Bertie the Townie Cruiser for her maiden voyage of '09, and Steve and I biked down to the local cafe (all of 6 blocks away). I hadn't been on the bike for more than two minutes before I took my first spill of '09. For no apparent reason, I tumbled off my bike and onto the pavement. So here's my first elbow scrape of the year!

Nothing a little Neosporin didn't fix. But I'm still amazed at my absolute inability to handle a bicycle, even one with only 3 speeds and coaster brakes...

Week 15 Results

I lost .8 lbs. Should have tried to pee before weigh in so I could have made my 20 lb. goal! Rats.

Reader's Theater

Liam was the narrator for today's 'Reader's Theater' performance in his 2nd grade class. It was very cute, the story was about a group at camp who thought they heard a bear -- turned out it was a snorer. He is reading so well now!

If you donated to his class' project on Donorschoose.org, the Reader's Theater was one of the items purchased. The kids really did a great job putting on their show and it was fun to watch reading come to life for them!

Loving Daffodils!

Spring has finally sprung in Spokane! We have some flowers coming up in our yard, mainly cheery daffodils. In honor of Spring, I just bought a skein of this yarn from Three Irish Girls to knit a sunny pair of socks. Who wouldn't look and feel happy with bright yellow socks!?

What Fools We Mortals Be

In honor of The Bard's 455th birthday, it's "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" and I present this clip from my all-time favorite ep of "Gilligan's Island". Yep, the gang performs a musical version of Hamlet! And I still can't hear the opera "Carmen" without singing "Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be". Sad but true.

The Aftermath...

See all of these muscles? Every damn one of them is SCREAMING at me for getting so out of shape. I was hobbling around all day yesterday after our Race for the Cure. God help me if I try to run lol. Now to force those butt muscles to get out the door and to the park tomorrow for training!

Race For the Cure

Thanks for letting me steal a pic from your blog, P! We joined 7000+ 'racers' this morning for a fun walk through downtown Spokane. I'm sore now, but it was a good way to spend a Sunday morning.

Week 14 Results

I lost .6 pounds. Not too bad considering we had Easter in there. But next week, I WILL get to -20 lbs! And Pia, I still can't fix 'Little Lotta'. Boo.

I Heart Susan Boyle!

You've probably already seen this incredible lady, but if not, you are in for a treat! LOVE HER.

Yikes!

"Boston police are investigating attacks on two masseuses-for-hire at luxury hotels" ...the CRAIGSLIST KILLER. Note to self: tell Steve no advertising on Craigslist!

Darn You, Little Lotta!

My 'Virtual Weight Loss' gadget is messin' with me. I can't seem to adjust her weight to my (sad but true) REAL weight of 191#. I thought she was looking pretty skinny over there. Oh well, I'll just imagine that's what I look like.

To Die For

Tatum and Logan in their beautiful Spring frocks AND a matching dress for the American Girl Doll. I die.

The Many Faces of Alex P.

Here's the proof that Al did indeed (finally!) get a haircut:

And here are the two goofballs

Easter Fun With the P's

Steve and I enjoyed a lovely Easter lunch with the P's and friends. Although we couldn't convince Jon to drive over, we managed to have a fine time and the food was delish (with Lorraine and Bridget cooking, it was a no-miss deal).

The boys were up at 5:30 to see what the Easter Bunny had left. Smart EB left the eggs out in the front yard, so T-Rex couldn't gobble them up; he had to content himself with chewing up a wooden skateboard and a log in the backyard.

Although the weather was pretty nasty, a grand time was had by all, and Steve even rode his bike over to the party. He tried to convince me that there are 'no hills' between our house and Lorraine's, but I'm not buying it. I WILL ride Bertie the Bike over there sometime this spring/summer though! Just not yet...

Here are a few pix of the guys:

Alex explaining to Mikey about a 'knuckle sandwich'

Liam looking very smart in his glasses and wristwatch (and he is a great time-teller!)

Mikey asked for the 'butt' of the lamb cake, evidently that's the tastiest part :-)

RJ, the moving target, as usual. This is the clearest picture I was able to snap of him, with Bridget's cute dog Max.

The Easter Massacre

Since today is Easter, I thought I'd retell a favorite family story, the infamous "Easter Massacre".

Way back in the 60s, the fam traveled in a ginormous station wagon, and pretty much ignored any seat belts that might have been in the car. We were traveling home from our annual Easter dinner with the grandparents, with Mom, Dad and Baby Jon in the front seat, Judy, Susan and Ray in the middle seat, Joe, B-Z and me in the 'way back', and Lisa & Jamie stuffed in the tiny area between the middle and way back seats. Some of us were holding our new made in Japan Easter Bunnies, which (as we were to soon find out) featured eyeballs that popped out pretty easily.

As we toodled down Bothell Way, disaster! We were hit by a car! Now here's where the collective memory of various Sundstroms collides: in my version of the Easter Massacre, we were hit practically head-on. Stuff went flying everywhere, including the dangerous eyeballs (which had little points on them to hold them in the bunny eyesockets), and we careened to a halt right next to the vet's office on the corner of Bothell Way and Ballinger Way.

Luckily, no injuries except to the poor bunnies. And a family legend was born. Feel free to add your own memories of T.E.M.!!!

My Minnesota Socks

Finished the 2nd sock of this pair. I decided to show two options for the colors, must say I prefer the white background. I think these turned out pretty cute!

Week 13 Results

Yay! I lost 2.4 lbs! Don't ask me how I managed it, but the scale doesn't lie :-) That's 17+ lbs lost so far, maybe I will make it to -20 before the end of the month...

Too Cute for Words

I just finished this adorable Bunny Hat to give to Katie's friend Allison at her baby shower today. It's from "Itty Bitty Hats" and I think it's as cute as can be. You can't really see the bunny ears all that well in this picture, I'll try to get a better one. I can't believe Katie's pals are having babies, god I'm old :-)

Hoppy Easter!

Is there anything more precious than a pre-schooler wearing his bunny ears? I think not.

Thanks Katie!

LOL, here's Gladys Hippo, thanks for being so internet-savvy Katie! I kind of love her.

A Small Step for a Woman...

but a giant leap for a Weight Watcher. When I stopped at Walmart (I KNOW. I hate Wally World, but it is close to my house and cheap) for new pants, I was able to buy them 2 sizes smaller. Of course, they are still ginormous, but not as ginorm as when I started WW.

And fellow bloggers will understand this: I was trying to find a good picture to go with this post, so I typed in 'stretch pants' thinking I'd find some big ole ladies in SP. What came up was "Gladys Hippo" from an old Nick series "Rocko's Modern Life": Gladys Hippo is a sunglasses-wearing, stretch pants sporting hippopotamus with whom Rocko would often collide with in Season 1 episodes and get in her way. She would utter her catchphrase, a "How dare you!" at this juncture, which is always in a deep, manly voice, in total contrast to her unnerving high-pitched voice.

But damn, I could not find a picture of Gladys, even though I wasted oh about 2 hours trying.

A Case Of Mistaken Identity!

LOLOL! Skyn brought in this black cat with a name tag: OLIVE. DO NOT FEED ME. And guess what?! It's NOT Ben 10! So I guess the fat black & WHITE cat can strap the feed bag back on, it's buffet time at our house!

Help If You Can

This is my pal Liam's second grade class, and a worthy cause if you can help! Non-fiction is always Liam's choice at the library, and I love being able to help bring books to his classroom.

"I teach a brilliant bunch of second grade students. We are high-need, low income school.
Students need a variety of reading material at hand in order to become engaged readers! Second graders love non-fiction text which we currently have very little of in our classroom. We also have limited space in which to display books.
I found this great bookstand which needs little space, yet provide a front faced view of books. This provides excitement and motivation to read non-fiction text. We study communities and bees in second grade, and the texts I have chosen will enhance our curriculum units!
Only through your generous gifts can we provide excellent reading opportunities for our students. Our children need to read non-fiction books which creates learning opportunities and motivation to learn more! Thank you for your willingness to make a difference!

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The Truth About Ben-10 Comes Out At Last

So we've (and by 'we' I mean Steve) been adopted by this black cat in our neighborhood, who has been hanging out at our house for a couple of months. Steve named him 'Ben-10' (the boys' fave cartoon show) and got him cat food, some kitty toys and lets him in the house whenever he comes a-knockin.

Yesterday, this nice young couple stopped by and asked if we'd been feeding their black cat. Turns out the 'stray' lives around the corner and is getting FAT from mooching off all the neighbors. His name is OLIVE (lol, how's that for a koinkidink, Megs?) and his owners have been wondering why he's getting so round and who he's been stealing cat toys from. They said he's very social, and to please not feed him as the Mrs. is really allergic to cats unless they feed him some special food.

Poor Skyn was crushed, but I said Olive could come and hang out with him any time, just no more freeloading.

Farewell, Frida & Olive

F&O have flown the coop. Sadly, we decided they would be happier living amongst their own kind, rather than in our living room (well, I'D be happier). Steve took them to one of his clients, who raise chickens. Maybe we'll get some eggs eventually...

Week 12? Results

Not sure what Week I'm actually on, just know I should be a lot skinnier lol. I did lose 1 lb. last week though! So I'm almost back to my 15 lb. total loss.

Why It's Great To Have A Big Sister

A tiny bit late but happy birthday, big sister!

And here are some reasons why it's great to have a big sister (and why my big sister is the BEST):

1. She can do all the bad teen stuff first, so your parents are worn out by the time you get there.

2. She has way better clothes than you, so if you wait till she leaves the house in the morning, you can 'borrow' a cool outfit.

3. She got me kicked out of Canyon Park Junior High because I wore her VERY COOL culottes outfit to school. This was back in the Iron Age when girls couldn't wear pants. Of course, she didn't actually know I was wearing the outfit (see #2 above)

4. She gets to drive first, so you can scope out her car and decide which one is the coolest when you are ready to get your driver's license (Mustang).

5. She tells you about the good books, records, and magazines and usually has them, making it easy to 'borrow' (geez I guess I did a lot of 'borrowing' didn't I?)

6. She has kids before you, so you can do all the fun things with them, then go home.

7. She sews your wedding dress, and it's beautiful (don't laugh, 'peasant dresses' were IN in '74)

8. She's the best knitter you know, giving you a lofty goal to aim for.

9. She's always there when you need her; rides to/from the airport, couches and furniture for various apartments, dinner and breakfast anytime, and just a shoulder to lean on when it is needed.

10. She's the BEST companion on a knitting retreat! Doesn't even complain when you snore/cough/toss and turn all night. Plus talks to strangers so you don't have to.

Happy Birthday Susna! You are the BEST!!!