the katie quilt

Yet another co-worker is having a baby!  Note to self:  stop drinking the water at work!  Katie is new to the department - she joined us about 6 months ago from another department, and she is having a girl.  Katie isn't decided on a color scheme (she said the nursery is "every color") or even a name, so I went off of Katie herself.  She's from New Orleans, so I wanted soft southern colors, the kind of colors you find on antique quilts hanging on clotheslines in the front yards of humid sun-soaked Louisiana yards (descriptive, yes?).  "Strawberry Fields Revisited" was the perfect fabric line - peachy pink, coral red, sage green, butter yellow, dark mint, light tan, and espresso.  Here's a better picture of the fabrics:

I went with a traditional Irish Chain pattern, and free-motioned an interlocking heart flower stencil in the white spaces.  It provided great texture once washed and dried!

The stencil pattern I used

I originally intended to back the quilt with seersucker, because seersucker is synonymous with New Orleans.  But, the pink was just off.  Too "candy pink" when the fabric leaned towards peach.  And what's the point of putting so much work into a quilt for the backing to not be perfect?  So, I tracked down yardage of my favorite peachy flowers, and used a green seersucker for the binding!

While in Thailand, I also picked her up some little woven baby shoes with bells, and Katie was floored by both gifts.  She's due in a month but could go any day now!

adios, gallbladder

It's been a week since I had my gallbladder removed, and I'm finally feeling "normal" again!  On Friday, February 24th, I was at work when I started feeling a burning in my right shoulder blade.  I thought it was heartburn, and figured it would work itself out.  I met the hubs for lunch, and on the way back to the office, I had such an intense pain, from my chest through to my right shoulder, that I couldn't breathe.  By the time I got back, I knew this wasn't heartburn, but I had no idea what it was.  I thought maybe an embolism from our travels abroad (note to self: stop googling symptoms), but definitely not a strained muscle. 

I went home, walked in near tears, and asked the hubs to take me to the emergency "doc in a box."  After blood tests, an EKG, and a chest x-ray, all with normal results, the hubs joked, "maybe it's your gallbladder."  They called in the sonogram tech, and 30 minutes later, I had my answer - 3 small gallstones causing trouble!  Because the gallstones were no longer blocking my liver ducts, the doctor let me leave, and I followed up with my regular doctor on Monday.  After spending the entire weekend afraid of everything I ate causing trouble again, my doctor offered me a choice - wait and see how bad it is when it happens again, or get the gallbladder out.  I wasn't going to wait to around for that kind of pain again!  Gallbladder had to go!

I got into the gastroenterologist two days later, who scheduled surgery for the following Tuesday at 11:00 am.  The night before, the nurse called me at 10:30 pm, and changed my surgery to 8:00 am!  I had to drive myself to the hospital at 6:00 am because the hubs had to get the kids to school - can't make alternate plans at 10:30 at night!

The surgery itself wasn't too bad - it's laparoscopic, so I could leave the same day.  But man, was I sore!  I couldn't move without feeling the four incisions' pain.  Here are 3 of the incisions (the 4th was in my belly button):

The shiny "wetness" is super glue!  They don't use sutures anymore.

Another thing (if you can handle more grisliness) - my veins are notoriously difficult to get an IV into.  They roll, hide, and in general cause trouble.  I warned the nurse, but she didn't listen, and I ended up with the worst bruise of the operation on my arm!  One week later, and it still hasn't healed as fast as my incisions.

One week later, the pain is lessened to the point of general soreness, and I'm feeling much better.  Jessica and my mom, Memaw and PawPaw, and my work sent flowers (the best mood boosters), and the hubs' aunt and uncle brought over dinner.  I'm ready for the bruises to fade and life without a gallbladder to be my new normal.  Enjoy some photos of the pretty flowers :)

From mom and Jessica

From Memaw and PawPaw

From the office

barrett: 46 months old

I'm a day late (again) with a good excuse - I had my gallbladder removed yesterday!  More on that some other time, but I was pretty out of it yesterday, so the monthly photo session was pushed to today.  

Barrett is definitely rocking his "Princess Diana" shag hair, and honestly, it doesn't occur to us to cut it!  But no doubt when it starts to warm up around here, he's going to need less hair keeping him hot.  Barrett is absolutely into his 3s now - wanting to do everything by himself, but only being able to do about 25% of it.  Then he gets frustrated, and lashes out at whoever is physically closest.  Luckily, we've found redirecting him and/or ignoring the whining helps greatly.  

Though most of the time, this kid is sweetness.  When he saw my blown-out vein in my arm (where a nurse totally messed up putting in an IV) and the bruising, he kissed it to "make it better."  And he's very aware of sitting on my lap and not leaning back on my incisions.  And he's started riding his bike by himself (with training wheels)!  

Likes:  Paw Patrol, school, fighting with Britton over bouncy balls, Girl Scout cookies

Dislikes:  the blue ball, no the purple ball, no the blue ball, nope the purple ball (and again and again)

91 months old

See that heart on Britton's hand?  Britton has recently discovered the joy of drawing on herself with markers.  She draws "bracelets" and "rings," and let's all just say a quick prayer that this doesn't lay the foundation for sleeves of tattoos later in life!  

Doesn't Britton look cute in her cowgirl clothes?  Today is Go Texan Day, marking the first day of the Houston Rodeo.  The trail riders ride up the highway, kids (and adults) are encouraged to dress up in their best "Texas" clothes, and Houstonians basically start continuously partying for the next month (as long as the rodeo lasts).  Britton just loves the excuse to wear her cowgirl boots!

Britton just finished up Science Club, which meets after school once per week for 6 weeks.  She loved it so much that she wanted to sign up for the second session too!  They've done experiments with light waves, bugs, volcanoes, robotics, and glow-in-the-dark chemicals.  She's still going gymnastics and piano lessons, and recently fell back in love with her scooter.  Last weekend we went roller skating together - she's picking it up, but still a little apprehensive about getting away from the wall.  

Likes:  Girl Scout cookies, scooter and bike rides around the neighborhood, her new BFF Lola (she rode the bus home with Lola last week - a first!), the beach

Dislikes:  wearing her retainer

our trip: singapore's gardens by the bay

We had less than two days in Singapore, so we decided to go to Gardens by the Bay.  These gardens are perched high above the city, and offer some beautiful nature in the middle of a busy and crowded city.  The gardens are separated into two areas:  the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome.

There were driftwood sculptures throughout the gardens.  

Afraid of heights?  Luckily, we aren't, and we went on that walkway!  The garden paths wind you around and through the different areas.

In the flower gardens, Singapore was celebrating Chinese New Year!

We didn't have a chance to do much - strolled some hawker centers, ate kaya toast (butter and coconut on thin toast, and it's so ridiculously yummy my mouth is watering right now), and checked out Chinatown.  The city seemed more relaxed than Hong Kong, where everything is loud and crowded, and I'd like to explore it more one day!

our trip: thailand outings

I hope you're not getting tired of our trip yet!  We had two outings at the end of our trip - the elephant sanctuary and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.  Let's start with my favorite animal - the elephant!

I would have loved to ride an elephant - until I learned about the conditions the "tourist" elephants are kept in, and the mistreatment that forcing elephants to carry humans for hours a day will cause.  If I really love elephants, I can't support tourist traps that allow riding. So instead, we went to an elephant sanctuary, which rescues those elephants!  

We spent a little over an hour riding in a truck to the tribal lands that make up the sanctuary.  In Thailand, anyone can buy an elephant - there are no requirements or restrictions.  So the sanctuary raises money to buy elephants from the groups that mistreat them.  The elephants then get to wander the land, being spoiled with sugar cane and bananas.  

There are 8 elephants at this sanctuary - this one is the baby at 2 years old.  It surprised me that the elephants are covered in hair, and their eyelashes are ridiculously long!  I had never touched an elephant before - their skin is thick and rough, and their trunks are so muscular.

When we arrived we got to feed bananas to the elephants.  They knew the treats were coming, and weren't shy about reaching those trunks out!

The elephants lined up at the fence, but the fence doesn't keep them in - there are no fences on either side of the pergola.  The elephants wander around, and after feeding them we rubbed mud all over them in the mud hole, then washed them off in the river!  We couldn't take cameras to the mud hole or river unless they were waterproof (ours wasn't), so I don't have any photos.

This girl, at 72 years old, is the oldest elephant on the grounds.  She was delighted by a guest's toddler daughter, and nothing fazed this old gentle soul.  I could have stayed with her all day.

On Monday, we went to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, an iconic temple in the mountains.  When you arrive, you are greeted by 306 steps up the mountain.  Sure, they've got a cable car, but part of the experience is wearing yourself out on the climb up!

And when you reach the top, you are greeted by gold!  The temple itself was large, with many tourists roaming around.  I bought a "singing cup" (a bell) from a shop just to the left of that temple below, as the perfect souvenir.

Of course, you can leave the bells there, as most people do, since the bells represent Buddha's voice in Buddhist Thailand.  

The view from the mountaintop - hazy and smoggy, but still a beautiful sight.

Coming up next - our last stop, in Singapore!

our trip: thailand eats

We spent multiple meals at one particular restaurant in Chiang Mai - Som Tam Soi 5.  Set up in Nun's out building (maybe a garage in its previous life?), it housed 8 tables and a tiny kitchen.  Nun is the owner, chef, waiter, and makes incredible food.  I was nervous before traveling to Asia - would I like the food?  Would everything be spicy?  What if I couldn't figure out the menu?  Luckily, most menus we encountered had pictures, so I could point out what I wanted, and when asked if I wanted it spicy I could shake my head "no"!

The hubs got the same things every time we went here - papaya salad (som tam), minced pork with holy basil, and we shared mango sticky rice for dessert.  I alternated between wide rice noddles with sweet soy sauce and pad thai.  Our dinners were less than $7 - TOTAL.

On Friday afternoon, we went to explore the Warorot Market.  This market is more of a local market, located in Chinatown of Chiang Mai.  There is an indoor section (below), then most food stalls are outdoors lining the streets.  The market was packed because of the Chinese New Year, and the weather was really hot, so we walked through then headed back to the hotel!

Food options:

Little quail rotisserie

Outdoor sushi at 90 degrees is still a no-no in my book!

I saw this little pink Volkswagen bug on our way out and had to grab a picture of it.  Not until I downloaded my photos did I notice the couple next to the bug, with their wheeled luggage and umbrella!

We spent all day Saturday at May's Thai Secret cooking school.  They picked us up at the hotel and our first stop was a local market about 20 minutes away.  This is a true local's market, and May took us on a tour of the local ingredients we'd be using during our cooking session.  May, like most residents, go to the markets daily.

It was hard to get pictures during our class because May had us working fast!  

Our class was comprised of a Canadian couple (Dave and Robin), a couple from Hawaii who are both operating nurses (Danielle and I can't remember her husband's name), and Neil, who runs the comedy section of Australia's public television.  It was a fun bunch and we all had a good time cooking together.  

The hubs made the papaya salad, and I made the spring rolls!  I also made yellow curry, mango sticky rice, and pad thai.

On the hubs' bucket list was a visit to the Cowboy Hat Lady.  At the North Gate's food market, you can get a wide variety of local food, but the hubs only had eyes for this woman and her khao kha mu (stewed pork leg).  Her food stall has been featured on television shows and is the most popular one, so we arrived early!  The hubs had two bowls of the pork and rice, with pickled mustard greens and chili vinegar sauce, raw chilis, and raw garlic.  It was incredible, tasted like nothing else I've ever eaten, but my craving was next door - I ate my weight in steamed pork buns!