Our itty bitty tree

We actually got our Christmas tree a while ago, but things have been really busy with my etsy shop and stuff, that i haven't gotten around to putting up a picture yet.

Here it is, it may be small, but i think it's beautiful :)

Thanksgiving trip . . . the saga continues

Well, i have some free time at work today, so i thought I'd finish my Thanksgiving trip highlights. I'll put some pictures in later on when i get home.

On thanksgiving day things were overall pretty chill. We had all chipped in to prepare a lot of the food the night before, so all that was left was Mr. Turkey. I helped Chris get it ready and we put it in the roaster. That thing was inherited from Chris' great grandma or something, and was on the fritz a little, but after fixing the breaker and stuff the roaster worked long enough to get the turkey to the proper temperature.

The table was really pretty and Chris' mom collects salt cellars and little salt spoons so everyone got their own at each setting. I think some day I'll want to do that too- It looks super fancy. The food was all over the place, which was good because there were 11 family members and 2 sister missionaries to feed. The food was yummy and the leftovers fit into a few tupperware containers.

Friday we went back to Warren Old Town - TWICE. In the afternoon to see Transporter 3 (action packed if overall totally unrealistic) and that evening to see Madagascar 2 (funny, as good as the original). We PIGGED out at the movies, but it was our last supper i suppose :)

Saturday we got ready to head home and things started out ok. We made it to denver just fine. Sunday was another issue though. We his two Interstate closures, one in Ft. Collins, CO and the other in Cheyenne, WY. The road opened at Cheyenne, but the wind was blowing snow everywhere, so it took us 90 minutes to go 30 miles.

We made it home about 9 pm and i was pretty grateful to be back. Nothing feels as good as sleeping in your own bed. It was a great Thanksgiving and I can't wait for next year!

idaho...IDAHO!!

As with anyone, I am not free of all prejudice. In fact I have one that I hold dear and use in a theraputic sense. Idaho is my scapegoat. This is something I enjoy, not because I have something to heap all my woes upon, but life seems to have made a game out of my dislike by providing me with weight to support my position. Mostly I refer to drivers with Idaho license plates. Often while I am out and about I will witness, and participate in, the stupidity of inept drivers, and more often than not these drivers have Idaho plates.

When I started uttering the phrase that is the title of this rant in place of normal cussing Blaire thought I was paranoid and prejudiced. Now after being married for two years she has had enough practical experience with me to admit that I am a magnet for stupid people everywhere, and unfortunately I live close to the Idaho border.

Take my most recent, and by far my most memorable, experience so far. Driving home from Kansas we had decided in advance to stay the night in Denver. I happen to be driving when we arrived in Denver, and we arrived at rush hour. Remember, this was Denver, CO, and we were driving from Kansas to Utah.

Well, like I said, it was rush hour and the freeway was getting clogged, but still moving at a brisk pace. I was feeling good about this big city experience till up ahead I noticed a beat up truck, not in the right lane, but in the middle lane right in front of me, and I was approaching at an alarming rate. To a driver this means that the vehicle you're approaching is going slower than you. This truck was going WAY slower, at least 15mph below the speed limit. Well, with it being rush hour I couldn't swerve around it but had to brake and wait for an opening to appear. At this point my driver's rage was minimal as this had been a good trip so far, and even though the liklihood of a rear-end hit was increasing, I was handling this well enough. Then I noticed this truck had Idaho plates. There, in Colorado, while I was driving from Kansas, this inept driver from Idaho, managed to find me. What were the chances!

Have you ever had the experience of blowing all your neural synapses at once? I doubt anyone can say yes to this honestly since remembering such a thing would be difficult, but I think it happened to me. As the improbability, and yet the reality, of the situation I was facing began to sink in, the mantra of idaho...idaho...Idaho! started coming out of my mouth. Really I don't remember the next few moments. When reason began again to reassert itself I found myself having to apologize for waking the baby in the back (apparently Elliette doesn't sleep well to 'IDAHO!...IDAHO!'), and for a bit of raceway driving. I guess I was desperate to make my way as far as possible, as quickly as possible, from that nexus of unfortunate impossibility.

Catching up . . . a little

Oh my goodness! Things have been more riculously busy than I ever could have imagined. Since I've been home, I've gotten a ton of orders from my Etsy shop and have been stuggling to keep up.

I'll start back in November and hopefully chronology will help me keep my place. No i haven't lost my mind yet, but you never know when it might happen :)

We left for Thanksgiving on Nov 22 and drove the first leg to Denver with Justin, Melissa and Elliette. Things went pretty smooth. Elliette is the bestest travel baby in the whole world. She slept a lot of the way and smiled a lot when she was awake.

Once we got to Denver we checked into our hotel and went to Casa Bonita which is a lot like the Mayan in SLC with the cheap-o Mexican food and cliff diving, but Casa Bonita is a lot cooler. They have a live mariachi band and if you start walking around, there are tons of levels and areas to see- you can get lost in there, it's pretty cool.

The next morning we finished our drive without weather or other incident and arrived happy but tired in loveley Haysville, KS. At this point only Chris' sister Jill and her family had arrived, so we weren't too squished yet.

Monday the 24th was Chris' 3* birthday(the age has been omitted to protect the young at heart:) We went to the zoo in Salina which was really fun despite the wind. We got to feed the animals, who by the way were very agressive to get those little pellets. (Yes that's me in the coat under all the hair)We also got to see the Elephants up close and hear lots of cool things about them from the keepers. Elijah kept his hands over his ears the whole time because he thought the elephants were going to trumpet- they never did though.

That evening we went to Warren Old Town Theatre in Wichita to see Chris' birthday movie choice- Quantum of Solace (James Bond). I think i've told just about everyone i've ever met about the awesomeness that is Warren Old Town. At this theatre you get a MENU when you go in and once you've picked what you want to eat, they BRING it to you once the movie starts. HELLO- isn' t that the most awesome thing you've heard(read) today!! The aisles there are super wide and the seats are more like recliners. The food is great too, i especially like their Thai Spicy Wings and the Chicken Nachos. Yummy!!

Tuesday night the main events were the arrival of Chris' sisters Britany and Lianne. We also cooked Chris' special recipe for ribs and he taught Jill how to make them too. We cooked 6 racks of beef ribs and just about finished them off, but i guess with 13 people in the house, that's not too hard to do :)

Wednesday it was back to Warren Old Town for TWILIGHT!!! I won't dissolve into girly screams and so forth right now, but sufficeth to say i REALLY liked the movie. Was it better than the book - no. Was it as good as the book - no. Was it still totally awesome - Heck YES!

Thursday was turkey day, but I'll have to finish this post in another installment. Tune in next time for the conclusion of our show. Hopefully the brain will still be intact :)

I know I'm ready to be a mom because . . .

No, this is not an announcement, just a reflection on the last couple of days.

I've been in Kansas observing Thanksgiving with Chris' family. It's been great speding time with everyone since we only get to see them once or twice a year. A few events have passed and i've been impressed with my ability to cope with them.

I've helped take care of baby Elliette and whenever i feed her, she always falls asleep. I like that. She also smiles at me and giggles, it's so sweet to see. I used to think crying babies were annoying, but i've learned that there's only so much you can do to comfort them, but they just might need to cry it out.

The biggest thing though was a super fun episode with my nephew Elijah. His parents left to go to town to get something and I was keeping an eye on him. Next thing i know he comes out of the bathroon stark naked and says, i pooped. I thought he was looking for a "good job" but when i went in the bathroom there was poop all over the wall.

You see Eli is a little person, as in a dwarf, and it's hard for him to reach the potty. I think he got up on his stool to reach the potty, tripped and ended up pooping on the wall.

Well i switched into action mode, plunked him in the bath and attacked the poopy wall with paper towels and cleaner. I only gagged a little bit, so i'm calling it a success.

Maybe i'm not totally ready to be a mom, but i think i'm a little bit better prepared for it. I mean i still love the kid, so that's a good sign-right?

Friend Filled Weekend

It's always nice to see people you haven't seen in a while. Our friends Adam and Robin and their son Corban were visiting Utah from Pampa, TX this weekend. We were able to meet up with them as well as Justin, Melissa and Elliette for some dinner at Bajio then we hung out at our house and got caught up on the last couple of months.

Elliette, Justin, Melissa, Chris, Blaire, Adam, Robin & Corban

I know we can

Generally I am not a super political person, but reflecting on the recent election and how the candidates have really polarized US citizens, I was inspired by President Elect- Barak Obama's speech last night. The excerpt from his speech below shows how the great USA has come though troubles and triumphs alike and although we may be facing hard times now, we as a nation and a people will prevail.

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing -- Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth -- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America."

I am an optimist in every way and I hope that the country can come together in this difficult time and that our new president can make the adjustments needed to help our country, it's government and it's citizens. I pray that the Lord's inspiration with be with him and Congress as they make choices that will lead us in a new and better direction. For me Obama's message of hope, no matter how naive it may seem, brings me some comfort for the future because sometimes all we can do is hope for a better tomorrow.

This is Halloween

For Halloween we stayed home and carved this lovely two-faced pumpkin. I did the right side and Chris did the left side. We each took turns and then covered our work up with newspaper so that neither of us saw the finished product until the end.

We also toasted the pumkin seeds and they were yummy! I think it might have been the first time pumpkin seeds turned out tasty. I think I've either burned or undercooked them every time previously.

And here we are with our finished work of art! Hooray for Halloween - BOO!!

Election Helps

With the Presidential election just a few days away, I'm still a little on the fence about which candidate I should choose. Both McCain and Obama have good ideas on how to fix problems and I've always thought of myself as more of an independent than a Republican or Democrat. I just want whoever will do the best job to be elected.

To help me decide who will do the best job, i found a really great comparison of the candidates policies, their voting records and whether or not analysts think their plans will work or not. I really like how i got the whole picture about each topic/plan and what the ramifications of each would be. If you have some time, take a look and decide for yourself at http://elections.msn.com/WhereTheyStand.aspx

Whatever you do, make sure you get out and vote on November 4th!

Remember too that there are more choices than just the two big candidates (I think there might be 8 or so). Most everyone has a favorite when thinking of McCain or Obama, and it's normal to think that one you like the least must be crazy for espousing the positions that he does.

This poses a problem when considering any other candidates. Going on the assumption that the majority of America is sane, and that the majority of America is going to vote for either McCain or Obama, and that the majority of America thinks the other half of that duo is crazy (making them both crazy), then I think I can assume that any other candidates must be certifiably insane. Since I don't feel like voting for crazy or insane, here are my top choices for a write-in candidate:

1.

Whoever this is, he's got the right attitude.

2. SUPERMAN Wouldn't that be awsome?

3. The number 53. It's prime.

YAY for Chris, the smartest man alive!!!

This is Chris, and that nasty picture is now gone.
It took 6 tries before I passed that stupid test btw.

As some of you may know, Chris has been working towards obtaining his certification as an Environmental Health Scientist so he could do food inspections, hazmat stuff, air quality oversight, swimming pools, onsite wastewater, meth houses inspection & containment and a whole lotta other stuff. We really needed him to pass this test so he could stay with the Health Department in Logan, as things with mosquito abatement are coming to an end. However, this certification is recognized nationally as well, so we would be able to move and he could stay in the same career.

Well today we got a call from one of Chris' bosses that an envelope from NEHA had come to the office and we were super nervous to check it out. We just got back and the news. . . is. . . AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Chris passed the test and our future is looking bright - hooray! He only needs to pass the test on Utah codes and laws, but compared to what he has just gone through, it is supposed to be a walk in the park.

I am sure that Heavenly Father answered our prayers and responded to our failthfulness. He knows the struggles we face and will stretch us only as far as we can go to grow and then comes the reward for our efforts. We are so thankful and blessed.

I am employed!

Hooray for me, I have a new job. Well actually it's the same job that I had in college taking in bound calls for an automotive accessory company. It's not super exciting or glamorous but it's full time and i get the weekends off, so i think it'll be ok.

I had training this week and I also had the most horrible flu in recorded history. I won't give you all the lovely details, but i will say that Chris took very good care of me thorugh the chills and the fever and even the yucky things. He is soooo good to me and now I get to take care of him becasue he has a cold :) Good thing it's conference weekend so we can recuperate together.

New Elliette Blog

Hooray!!!!!!! I've been working on a blog for all my Elliette stuff and the day has arrived - it's ready :)

My friend Hilary Frisby is the total shiz for helping me with the design and template. She's an awesome designer and a totally rad friend. I never would have been able to make it as cool as it is without her help.

So check it out. I've got a new feature called Learn to Make Mondays so there'll be a fun new project posted on the Elliette site along with all the new merchandise I come up with.

For some reason the comments are disabled on the elliette site, so you'll have to tell me what you think about it here. If you know how to turn the comments back on, please let me know :)

Unemployment = More Etsy Stuff

Well, I'm almost through my first week of unemployment and although I don't have a new job yet, I've been staying very busy working on new things for my etsy shop. I've added 3 Halloween onesies and I'm working on some Halloween costumes for babies that should be ready soon.

I've also created a new system for baby boys to wear a tie or bowtie to church. I added a collar to a onesie and then made a tie and bowtie that attach with hooks under the collar so the tie doesn't have to go around the neck, which could be a choking hazard. I've got a showcase spot coming up this Saturday, so hopefully I'll get some new sales with these new products.

If you want to take a quick look, scroll down to my etsy mini shop in the right sidebar. If you know anyone who would like one of my items, send them to my shop or buy it for them :)

I never thought it would happen to me . . .

Well it looks like I am out of a job. Just when things are going so well - I have a nice boss, I like the people I work with, the work is interesting, etc - we all get laid off. Yup, I mean everyone. Granted there were only 5 people in the whole company, but we call got canned last Friday.

So now I'm looking for a new job and I tell you what, the pickings are slim. Don't get me wrong, I could always work at Gossners making cheese, or Icon making treadmills, or any of the plethora of manufacturing jobs in Cache Valley, but I went that route once and since I was able to use my PR degree at Digital Slant(my former job)I'd kind of like to stick with that.

So i'll apply for a few secretarial positions this week and hopefully I can find the right mix of hours and benefits. On the upside, if I only get part time work I'll have more time to work on my Etsy shop. Mabe that's the route i should take. I'm not sure, but I'm going to the temple today, so hopefully that will help me figure it out.

So i guess if anyone knows of a good PR job around Logan, or even around wherever you are, let me know. I'm open to anything at this point.

Labor Day - Hooray!

Ah, it's Autumn time again and we celebrate working hard by what . . . taking a day off of course!

We started our celebration by going down to American Fork for little Elliette's blessing. I think it was a good idea of her parents to have it on a Saturday in an easier location to get to than Soda Springs where they usually are. There was just grandmas, grandpas, a few aunts and uncles and immediate family. Afterwards it was photo shoot time and then lunch time.

She's almost as small as her teddy bear, but twice as cute!!

Next we all caravaned it over to our favorite sea food eatery - Joe's Crab Shack!!! We took up a whole picnic table and then some. There's something fun about cramming together at a table and hitting eachother accidentally in the face with pieces of crab and corn on the cob juice :) Don't we look fetching in our bibs?

On Sunday we got up early and went to the Conference Center to watch the live taping of Music and the Spoken Word with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They were so good, I thought I was listening to a recording. After the concert was over, we took a trip up to the rooftop gardens and took a look at a granite mural that includes the image of Ruth May Fox who is an ancestor to Chris' Grandpa Bennett. After we ha d agood look around we were pretty hungry so we decided it was time for lunch.

The rest of the time it was just great to hang out with the family. Chris' mom, dad, sister Jill and her son Elijah were in town and it was great to spend time with them since we only get to see them once or twice a year. I'm so blessed to have great in-laws and extended family members. We always have a great time together.

I Made a Sale!!

I'm super excited because I made my first sale on Etsy!! I sold two of my Scrub-a-Dub Wash Mitts and gave them one free because of my current promotion in honor of the baby Elliette's birth.

More people have been discovering my shop and I hope that more sales aren't too far behind!!

So if you haven't checked out my store yet, you should :)

Also, i got a bunch of vintage fabric from my Grandma Perkins yesterday, so cool new stuff should be available in my shop soon!

Elliette is Bornded

I am happy to annouce that my first niece, Elliette Olivia Nelson, arrived at 12:35 ish am on Tuesday August 12. I was waiting for her parents to post the first pics of her before I put mine up.

She is so cute and I can't wait to have some cute kids of my own. Here are our pictures from when we went to visit Justin, Melissa and Elliette in the hospital.

Doesn't he look like a natural?

Organic or not

When I first heard the term "organic" when applied to food my brain threw up all over the inside of my skull. Now I get the twitches whenever I hear the term 'organically grown'.
This reaction is similar to how I reacted when I found out that some people linked immunizations with autism. Actually, that's not the stupid part. The stupid part is that a large group of people actually decided not to immunize their children.
Most recently I've had deal with the retard division of CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). As most of you know I kill mosquitoes, and that entails fogging, i.e. put a chemical in the air to kill the adult mosquitoes. A very surreal experience, but all too common for me, was when I had a conversation with a lady that insisted that West Nile was made up, cancer and any disease can be avoided/cured via a healthy diet, and that salmonella/e. coli was a conspiracy by the government to take control of the national food supply (where did all the tomatoes go?). Or how about the guy that claims that I made him dumber even though I never came within a block of his house, or the people that claim I'm responsible for their lackadaisical pet coughing blood when I haven't even been on that side of city.

In short:
Organic food SUCKS! (yes please, I love bugs with my veggies)
Flouridated water will NOT cause you to become susceptible to mind control
Polio/Measles/Mumps/Rubella/etc/etc=BAD, Immunizations=GOOD
If mosquito fog can't kill anything bigger than a mosquito, then it isn't going to hurt you.

Have you seen this man?

As you may have noticed from our anniversary post, Chris has grown a goatee. To be honest I didn't really like it at first, but I came to grow quite fond of it. Soon enough, it came to drive Chris crazy, so he decided to shave it off.

But before he did, I asked him to let me have a little fun with potential facial hair that he'll probably never grow. . .ever. Take a look and vote in the poll for the one you like best.





First up is Cowboy or Biker Chris. Either way you slice it, he's rough, he's tough and he won't take crap from anybody. Can you say, "Hasta La Vista Baby!"








This is 1970's Salesman Chris. Add a fat tie and a snazzy plaid polyester suit and he'll be giving you Saturday Night fever!








This is Artsy Chris. Add a beret, paint pallet and perhaps a black turtleneck and you've got the epitome of classical artistic sophistication. Oui, Oui!








Hey Dudes and Dude-ettes! I'm surfer Chris, come catch a wave with me, it'll be totally radical!









This is Everyday Totally Awesome Chris. My personal favorite :)

So vote for the one you like best and maybe he'll grow it. No promises though.

Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe it, two years has gone by so fast! In celebration of another 365 days of bliss, Chris planned a wonderful weekend in Salt Lake City full of suprises and fun.

We got started Friday night with a midnight showing of Batman: The Dark Knight. Despite the late hour the 400 seat theatre was sold out and we had to fight a gang of skater boys for two seats on the front row. The movie was great and we got to bed about 2:45 am - boy do we know how to live it up!

On saturday we slept in late and headed off to Salt Lake about noon. Our check in time at the hotel wasn't until 3 so we had a fun lunch at The Training Table. We think Logan could use a franchise . . .

Chris got us a room at the Anniversary Inn at the Salt City Jail. We stayed in the Italian Gondola Suite which came complete with a huge boat bed. From the bench seat you could watch movies on the big screen TV or cuddle with your honey :)

The bed was kind of tall and tricky to get out of, almost like a real boat on water.

For dinner we went to The Melting pot, which is the same restaurant Chris took me to for our first Valentine's day. We had a very filling meal and then went to a play at the Hale Center Theatre.

Sunday Morning we got to sleep in again and we decided for our Sunday observance we would walk around Temple Square and we even took a tour of the Conference Center. It was the only way to get up to see the roof, but boy was it bright and HOT up there.

After our tour we were ready to head home to the AC and our own bed. It was great to get away, but good to come home too.

On Monday we both took out actual anniversary (7/21) off of work and hung around being lazy. We took in a matinee of Journey to the Center of the Earth, which was suprisingly not horrible. We still like each other and it's been a great two years. We look forward to 50 or 60 more together.

Exciting Retail News!

It looks like Elliette is getting off to a great start! I got my first customer yesterday who is actually a store owner and wants to sell my wash mitts and honey bear soap in her store. It's crazy to think that something I made is going to be available to buy in an actual store, not just online.

I can't say things are taking off, but it's a move in the right direction. I hope that a full time Elliette career isn't in the too distant future :)

Crazy R Us

For those of us who can't pass citizenship tests but still love to blow things up.

How crazy are U?

Happy Birthday USA!!

It's time to put on your thinking caps and see if you remember all those things you learned in High School history class.

In commemoration of Independance Day, here is a link to a sample of questions from the newly revamped United States citizenship test. You have to get at least 85% correct, or they won't let you in. Do you have what it takes?

How To Eat Crab

First, you need to know what kind of crab you like. I recommend going to Red Lobster or Joe's Crab Shack and trying a combo of Snow (that's Opilio for all you Discovery Channel buffs), King, and Dungeness (if they have it). There are probably other types of crabs, but they're used for stuffing or other lesser dishes.

King crab is HUGE. When choosing what crab to eat it's important to remember that size isn't everything. There may be more meat with King crab, but it has a fishy taste. I hate fish. If you like fish (salmon, trout, halibut, it doesn't matter), then King could be for you. King also isn't tender, and can be chewy.

Snow and Dungeness are much smaller, but are very tender and have a buttery taste. Snow is our favorite. Dungeness tastes the same, but in short, is UGLY and looks nasty.

Next up is how to actually get the insides out. When you order crab you will get a couple basic tools (if you don't, ask for them). First is a nutcracker. The only other tool you might need is the tiny fork. I love the tiny fork. It makes me feel even bigger than I am, but when I eat mashed potatoes with it I end up eating very little which in turn makes me feel smaller :)

IMPORTANT! The tiny fork is NOT for getting meat out of the shell. You will end up destroying the meat and end up with nothing. Crab meat won't hold up to alot of grabbing, pulling, cutting, or piercing.

Ok, here we go, actually eating the crab. Remember, the goal when eating crab is to eat each piece as whole as possible. When served crab you'll get at least one arm and some legs. The legs we'll get to last since they are the easiest to eat. The arm is the only part that you'll need the nut cracker for. DISCLAIMER: King crabs need a nutcracker for most of the meal. They are hard and spiny and no fun at all to eat. Anyway, start with the claw. Take hold of the claw with one hand and the next segment with the other and bend and pull to separate the two. Then grab the moveable 'finger' and bend it backwards and pull out. Both of these actions should remove the cartilage from inside the claw. Then use the cracker to crack open the claw. Use the fork or fingers to pull apart the shell and grab the meat inside (which should still be intact).

For all other parts repeat the grabbing/pulling to remove the inner cartilage. Now, DON'T use the cracker for the other parts. Simply grab a segment with both hands and crack in two. Be gentle though. If done right you should end up with meat hanging out of one end. Easy. Sometimes the meat will be hiding inside one end. In that case you use the tiny fork like a can opener and open the soft side of the shell.

Crab eating can be fun, like eating ribs (but with less sauce), if you let yourself. Blaire and I got really messy at Joe's (I was eating potatoes and sausage without a fork :P). If you don't get messy, then you did it wrong.

so, we have a blog. I'm not allowed to change the landscape here, even though the colors are so....bleh.

Well I did it!

I finally plucked up some courage and set up my own store on etsy.com, which is a super cool marketplace for handmade or hand altered items. I'll keep a gallery of my items listed in the sidebar of the blog so you can see what's new, or you can head over to my store to check it out yourself. I'm even set up tp accept paypal, so I feel super business-y and official.

Tell your friends, family members, and anyone you think might care :) I'll be creating new things all the time and hopefully the world will like Elliette as much as I do.

Fun Filled Weekend

Last weekend we went down to American Fork for my sister-in-law Melissa's baby shower. While we were there we swung in to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. It was good times and for some reason we were treated like we were super important. I'm not complaining, it was actually kind of nice.

We got a $5 gift card for our next visit and they took our picture and posted it on their website.

I FINALLY have something to say. . .

So I've had this blog for several months and I've avoided posting because I thought I didn't have anything to say. Now I suppose I have something worth telling to people I know.

I've always liked to sew and recently the inspiration hit me to mix somthing else I like with sewing. . .babies. That's right, I'd like to give birth to a collection of infant and children's clothing. I've decided to name my venture Elliette in honor of my soon to be niece whose impending birth got me motivated to start sewing in earnest. I hope in time to have onesies, skirts, jumpers, pajamas, bath towels and quilts and much more. I'll soon be opening my own store on etsy.com, so I'll keep you posted on that.

All items are either hand sewn by me, or trims and embellishments are hand applied by me. All designs are my origional work and I've really enjoyed creating these tiny garments.

Take a look at these first items and let me know if you'd pay any money for them.

These are size 0-3 months old. I jazzed them up with some cute trim.

I didn't make the onesie, but the denim skirt is made from recycled jeans. I also added a snap closure to the waist to make it even easier to put on. Should fit babies 3-6 months.

On this shirt I hand appliqued a flower and added a button center. The skirt has an elastic waist to fit baby as she grows. I added a pintucked trim in the same polkadot fabric. Should fit babies 0-3 months.

I didn't sew the onesie here either, but I sewed the skirt. I added a casing with RicRack so it can be adjusted to fit baby as she grows. Should fit babies 3-6 months.

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