:: Brinna's ::

:: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 ::
:: Christmastime is here! ::

I've gotten most of my shopping done already. Just a couple more people left, on Andrew's side. I mailed everyone else's yesterday, as well as a bunch of cards. Talk about a line at the post office! There was even quite a line for the self-service machine, but I sent some of it media mail, which was incredibly cheaper, and you can't do that with the machine.

I made bread for the first time yesterday, and it came out really well. It wasn't whole wheat unfortunately, I was just using the stuff I already have. I haven't gone grocery shopping in quite a while, but next paycheck I'll be filling the fridge again. I'm surprised at how much I have on the shelves. This paycheck was very slim...well, the leftovers were. We've been paying extra on the house to get a month ahead to get on the accelerated payment plan, plus Andrew started sending an allotment to our USAA account that the car payment gets taken out of. Next month should be normal again, and our next major money eating project is the master bathroom. I don't know what all we're doing to it, but I'm sure we're tiling the floor and shower. We'll see when we have a couple grand saved. If we can be as miserly as we have been this month it won't be long. :)

Andrew finished the pantry shelves! They look really nice. We got some good wood and he put a decorative edge on it with his router, then stained them a medium brown. They're a dark oak color I guess, close to mahogany. It's wonderful to have so much space to put things. My kitchen is so small! Hopefully when we paint the cabinets white it will help.

He also finished removing the wallpaper from the walls in Alice's room. That was a long hard job. Most of the wallpaper in the bedrooms was self-stick, so not hard to remove, but Alice's room was the 'good kind', and Andrew had to put in a lot of elbow grease to get it off. I would have done it, but the fumes weren't good for my condition. Next is painting the room. It's white on top and a bright mint green (!) on bottom, separated by brown chair rail moulding. I'm thinking of putting a thin layer of dark bluish-green paint I already have over the mint green, hoping it will come out looking like ocean water, and painting fish around the room. I'd have to paint above the moulding something else, probably sky blue. Maybe seagulls. Alice's furniture won't completely match but it won't be too bad.

I've been making various baked treats the past couple weeks. I finally found some cream of coconut for macaroons. I can usually only find coconut milk. I've made peanut brittle, brown sugar shortbread, and something else I can't recall offhand. The brittle was interesting. I made it double-thick by accident...I'd doubled the recipe and forgot to use double the pans! Tastes ok though... And I made jerky, which isn't baked but still good. I've finally gotten used to cooking dinner every day, and am actually getting to where my food tastes good instead of just decent. It's rarely tasted bad, to my knowledge... I've even forgotten to cook the frozen Stouffer's I have in the freezer, I've been more creative lately.

Not much going on at work lately, my boss is focused on Christmas. I've done with all the scarves, praise the Lord!! I was getting so tired of knitting. Now I can actually knit for ME again. Incredible. I enjoy sewing at home for the shop, still, but I will not go in to do alterations again. I forgot how stressful it was. Last week she had nothing ready for me, so she said I could stay and help out a bit if I liked. I didn't really want to, but I was there already. Oh what a nightmare...I altered some men's sleeves' lengths, which isn't terribly complicated but I'd forgotten a couple minor steps, which were easy to do. But it changed her entire attitude towards my work. Instead of being mostly right, she became incredibly nitpicky. The work was good, just a couple minor things, something noone else would have realized were wrong. I'm not saying I shouldn't have fixed what I did wrong, I'm glad to be corrected. It's just the manner in which it's done. I am grateful I have the chance to learn the difference between good work and perfect work. It's just that my boss can make you cry over the smallest thing, and it's not just because I'm pregnant, it's everyone who works there that I know well. I'm so glad I can work at home!

Well, I better get going, Alice is up from her nap, and I have laundry to fold. Merry Christmas!

:: Brinna 8:48 AM [+] ::
...