Do you remember the days of early html?  Do you remember when every website had an “under construction” gif on it?  And, if you were really cool, your “under construction” gif was animated!

Do you remember the blink tag?  Did you use the blink tag?  I did. 🙂

Ah, those horrific, garish, ostentatious webpages of yore.  Now we have the garish, ostentatious webpages at MySpace which emulate the tasteless colors and complete lack of design (with the added element of sound!) of the early 90s personal webpages, but they are too complex.  The kids today have too many choices — it’s too easy to create a loud, flashy and abrasive personal webpage.  We had to really work at it in the early 90s.

Well, while surfing tonight, I found a website that specializes in garish mouse overs!  I went there to find holiday backgrounds (it’s where I found the background I use at the bottom of this page), and I found Text Effects.  Go ahead, hover your mouse over any of my links.

Isn’t it great?!  Can you feel yourself circa 1991?  Are you ready to cruise the usenet for porn now?  That was the only way to get it back then. 😉

Matt, Lily and Teddy Bear Swinging in the Back Garden
10 September 2006

I haven’t been able to think of much to write lately. For some reason, whenever I sit down at the computer to update my journal, my mind goes blank.

Good thing I have pictures of a cute baby to post. :)  Otherwise this would be a very boring journal.

I can’t decide whether to import my LiveJournal into this journal.  I think I’m going to though — that’s definitely the way I’m leaning.

I wish I had something interesting to say.  I’m just trying to complete some projects (Aunt Mary’s webpage, Donna’s logo, sewing jammie pants) before Baby #2 arrives on the scene and puts everything on hold for a little while.

I’m excited and nervous about the new baby.  I’m excited because I really do like our children.  They bring such joy into the house.  And I’m nervous because I don’t want to lose my precious free time when I get to work on the projects that I really enjoy.

I keep telling myself that I will only lose my free time for a little while.  Lily is just over a year and a half, and with each passing month, I get a little more time for me.  And it happened so quickly.  One moment, I only existed for her, and the next, I have an hour or two here and there where I can sew or write or play with my webpage.

Heh heh, not the most interesting post, but at least I posted something.  Maybe my mind will free up more with passing time.

Lily and her Posse
09 September 2006

When I hear Matt and Lily laughing in the other room, it makes me happy.  Even if I’m in a dark mood, their laughter pops me right out into sunshine.

Daddy and Lily sleeping in on Labor Day (this picture was taken at 9:40am)
04 September 2006

I love Labor Day.  There is something really pleasant about sleeping in on what would normally be a work day.

Matt, Lily and I have been having a decadent weekend.  Our weekend has been full of video games, eating out, and hobbies.  We’ve abused caffeine and stayed up every night until midnight and slept in every morning.  It’s been wonderful.

But the house is a wreck — a grade-A, first-class wreck — because we’ve spent all of our time doing fun stuff and completely ignored the cleaning.  I want to take an hour or two tonight and clean it as our decadent Labor Day weekend draws to a close.

I forgot to mention that I have given up sugar again.  Yesterday was Day #1 with no sugar.  So today is Day #2.  We’ll see how long I can make it this time.  I swear, giving up sugar is like giving up heroin — at least for someone whose body reacts to sugar like mine does.

I made two New Year Promises for 2006: 1) get off the dope (sugar), and 2) write a book.  I’ve got four months left.  And I really want to complete these so I can do something fun and new in 2007.  Of course, I’ll have a newborn baby and a toddler in 2007 so a lot may not get accomplished that year, other than raising children. 🙂

(I’ve been categorizing my posts.  It may be weird to say this, but it’s actually fun to categorize your posts.  But I also love office supplies and lists, so I think that says a little bit about my personality.)

The first striking think I’ve learned about sewing is that it is not a fast hobby.  I realize that I’m a complete beginner, but after a day of work, all I’ve managed to do is cut out two of the four pieces of cloth and mark them.

True, at least half of the time can be attributed to my sheer lack of experience, but even accounting for that, sewing is a very slow process.  But I guess you can say that about almost any hobby.  Cooking, gardening, coding — to create anything requires a fair amount of time and effort.

My second observation regarding sewing: many sewing enthusiasts seem to have cats.  It turns out that cats are quite… well, let’s just use the word “mischievous” so I don’t piss off too many cat lovers.

Several times, I found Raven (my cat) sleeping on my fabric after I had laborously washed, dried, and ironed it.  After shooing her off more than once and I began working with the fabric (therefore she could no longer lounge on it), she decided my pattern (which had also been ironed) was second best to my fabric as a cushion.  Every time I removed her from my pattern and put it somewhere else on the desk, she would follow it like metal shavings following a magnet.  Every time I turned around, she was laying on the pattern again.  And finally, with my pattern and cloth laid out over the table as I was cutting the fabric, she tried several times to jump on the table.

Cats can be both annoying and funny in the sewing area.

Did I mention it was a slow hobby?  Hopefully I will complete my Halloween jammie pants before Halloween. 🙂

Lily and Cody
Christmas 2005 in Conroe, Texas

Sorry I’m only posting pictures at the moment — not writing much.  I was trying to put off learning how to sew until 2007, but the desire became too strong.  I bought my first pattern (an easy jammie pants pattern) and material.  And I pulled out the sewing machine.

I’m such a beginner that I don’t even know how to wind the bobbin or thread the sewing machine.  So I’m reading and doing and learning, and it’s fun!

So that’s what I have been doing.  Well, that and being with Matt and Lily.  So I’ve been busy.

Oh, and Sarah Q is going to sew with me.  It’s always more fun to learn a new hobby when you have someone to share the experience.  She’s making jammie pants as well.  I’ll post a picture of us in our new jammie pants when we’re done.

And I’ll be pregnant in the picture.  My baby belly is becoming quite visible now.  So it’ll be a pregnant picture as well. 🙂

Daddy and Lily playing with the new digital camera.
July 2006

I love these pictures. Lily’s body art just makes them that much better. 🙂