One thing about being a parent: going to the movies is not as easy or cheap as it used to be. (Let's face it, it's not that cheap for any one.) Since we now have to go to the trouble of hiring a babysitter to go see a movie together (or drive to NC for grandparent support), we don't go to the movies very often. However, I am a Harry Potter addict, so it was very important to me to see the last movie in the theater. So last weekend, we hired a sitter.
Because the sitter wasn't entirely sure what time she'd actually arrive at our house (she had a CPR class in the morning), I opted against buying tickets before hand. My theory was that it was long enough after the opening date that it shouldn't be an issue. That way, also, if the babysitter was late we could catch a later showing. This was probably a bad move. The babysitter arrived right on time, and we found out that she had another job later in the evening. With assurances that we'd be home with plenty of time to spare, we set out for the theater.
Our problem was that it was a million degrees outside that day. So everyone and their uncle had gone to the theater. We arrived at the theater, and a minute after we got in line, the show time we needed sold out. The next time would be too late for our sitter. Our options were to either a) see another movie (none of which sounded any good by comparison) b) go home and give up or c) do something completely different.
I was not satisfied with any of these options, as my heart was set on seeing Harry Potter. I mean, I'd just finished rereading the seventh book the night before, and when were we going to get a sitter again? So I pulled out my phone and found another theater near by. We hopped back in the car for round two.
The next theater was at a mall. I dropped Zack off and found parking, then met him in line. The good news was they had a show time that would still get us home in time for the sitter (barely). The bad news was the theater had broken A/C. They had signs up everywhere warning viewers that the theaters were "very hot". But this was a Harry Potter Emergency, so we went for it.
Every employee we spoke to reminded us of the heat situation (remember, it's a million degrees outside, too), but we decided to brave it anyway. We got our popcorn and sodas and headed in. The theater was not that hot. It was warm, but not warm enough to deter a nerd like me. Zack doesn't mind heat, so he wasn't bothered either (or he's really a great husband and pretended). We really enjoyed the movie. I won't give anything away; I'll just say it was awesome.
When the movie ended, we called the sitter to appologize and work out how to get her to her next job on time, but it turned out that the other people had asked to push their time back. So that worked out nicely too. Apparently, we were just meant to see the movie that day. So it turned out to be a really nice date afternoon. I love happy endings!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Creativity
Lately, I've been motivated to crochet again. This is partly because I really do want to get rid of my yarn so I can buy new, and partly because it seems like everyone I know is having kids right now, and I love making stuff for babies. Lucky for me, I have know lots of people who have babies for whom I can make things. Unfortunately, I don't have the kind of time I used to, so I can't make blankets for everyone like I did once upon a time.
Now, I mostly make hats. I started with this pattern, which is easy to remember and simple enough to work for boys or girls:
Sorry all the pictures are sideways. I blame the Iphone. Anyway, I made a few like that, and then I got tired of that pattern over and over and over, so I did some hunting and found another simple pattern. I used it to make these for some twin boys who are due in a few months.
Of course, sometimes I get ambitious and I go back to making slightly larger projects. I made this for my cousin's daughter, who is due next month.
My best time to crochet is actually bath time when I do Ela's bedtime routine. She plays in the bath, I crochet and talk to her about her games. I like to watch her play, but it's more fun when I have something to do with my hands, and crocheting doesn't require my full mental attention. I only get a few rows in a night, and I'm not always on Ela duty anyway, but I'm plowing through the gifts for my friends, and I have a few other projects I'd like to work on, too. It's fun to have time for it again.
Now, I mostly make hats. I started with this pattern, which is easy to remember and simple enough to work for boys or girls:
Sorry all the pictures are sideways. I blame the Iphone. Anyway, I made a few like that, and then I got tired of that pattern over and over and over, so I did some hunting and found another simple pattern. I used it to make these for some twin boys who are due in a few months.
Of course, sometimes I get ambitious and I go back to making slightly larger projects. I made this for my cousin's daughter, who is due next month.
My best time to crochet is actually bath time when I do Ela's bedtime routine. She plays in the bath, I crochet and talk to her about her games. I like to watch her play, but it's more fun when I have something to do with my hands, and crocheting doesn't require my full mental attention. I only get a few rows in a night, and I'm not always on Ela duty anyway, but I'm plowing through the gifts for my friends, and I have a few other projects I'd like to work on, too. It's fun to have time for it again.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Previous Owner
When we moved from Japan to DC, one of the first things I did (literally straight from getting off the plane) was get a cell phone number. The number I happened to get belonged to someone else before me. Her name is Tiffany (whose last name I'll keep to myself). I know because I got calls for her frequently in the first few months that I had the number. Most were automated, but occasionally a real human would call for her. I told them all the same thing: it wasn't her number any more. I'm sure lots of people have had this same experience.
As the calls persisted, I became more and more curious about this Tiffany who had failed to tell so many people when her number changed. Naturally, I started to invent a life for her, since the callers were quite persistant and she was brought to my attention so regularly. I assumed that she was up to her ears in debt because I couldn't think of any better reason for my phone to be called every day by an automated, unknown number around the same time (between 8:00 and 9:00 am). I could understand not telling the money lenders what her new number was, even if they were really annoying to me.
The ones that baffled me for a long time were the calls from humans who were clearly not calling for professional reasons, and the texts from similar sources. The guy who opened the conversation with "Girl, where you at?" for example, was probably a friend of some sort, right? So may be Tiffany was trying to break ties with a few people and simply failed to send them her new number as a result. May be...
I blissfully made up my own stories of Tiffany's life, depending on the most recent calls (which persisted well past a year after I had the number). I never figured I find out anything about her beyond her name and the fact that she used to have my number. She was, for my purposes, a fictional character in my own mental dramas.
Then, when I was pregnant with Lily and reached a point where my belly wouldn't fit in normal clothes, I went to the mall in search of maternity T-shirts. The lady at the store asked for my number to put my name in the system (they do that a lot at maternity stores). When I gave her my number, she replied, "Tiffany?" I laughed out loud before I corrected the clerk. It was an interesting way to discover that my phone had been owned by someone else who, aside from overspending, was at some point pregnant. It lended a whole new level to my pretend life for her. Also, now we had something in common.
A few days ago, I got a piece of junk mail for Tiffany. It was addressed to her at my address. It totally weirded me out. I can only assume that someone had a record of my phone number belonging to Tiffany, and also a record of my phone number some how being attached ot my current address, so they assumed she lives here. It would be too much of a coincidence if she had actually lived here. I mean, DC is small, but not that small. It was strange all the same. The person who I had made into a fiction for my own entertainment has gotten to be a little too alive. I don't get calls for her very often anymore, and I think I'll kind of be glad when I move again and get someone else's old number.
As the calls persisted, I became more and more curious about this Tiffany who had failed to tell so many people when her number changed. Naturally, I started to invent a life for her, since the callers were quite persistant and she was brought to my attention so regularly. I assumed that she was up to her ears in debt because I couldn't think of any better reason for my phone to be called every day by an automated, unknown number around the same time (between 8:00 and 9:00 am). I could understand not telling the money lenders what her new number was, even if they were really annoying to me.
The ones that baffled me for a long time were the calls from humans who were clearly not calling for professional reasons, and the texts from similar sources. The guy who opened the conversation with "Girl, where you at?" for example, was probably a friend of some sort, right? So may be Tiffany was trying to break ties with a few people and simply failed to send them her new number as a result. May be...
I blissfully made up my own stories of Tiffany's life, depending on the most recent calls (which persisted well past a year after I had the number). I never figured I find out anything about her beyond her name and the fact that she used to have my number. She was, for my purposes, a fictional character in my own mental dramas.
Then, when I was pregnant with Lily and reached a point where my belly wouldn't fit in normal clothes, I went to the mall in search of maternity T-shirts. The lady at the store asked for my number to put my name in the system (they do that a lot at maternity stores). When I gave her my number, she replied, "Tiffany?" I laughed out loud before I corrected the clerk. It was an interesting way to discover that my phone had been owned by someone else who, aside from overspending, was at some point pregnant. It lended a whole new level to my pretend life for her. Also, now we had something in common.
A few days ago, I got a piece of junk mail for Tiffany. It was addressed to her at my address. It totally weirded me out. I can only assume that someone had a record of my phone number belonging to Tiffany, and also a record of my phone number some how being attached ot my current address, so they assumed she lives here. It would be too much of a coincidence if she had actually lived here. I mean, DC is small, but not that small. It was strange all the same. The person who I had made into a fiction for my own entertainment has gotten to be a little too alive. I don't get calls for her very often anymore, and I think I'll kind of be glad when I move again and get someone else's old number.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Celebrating
Over the Fourth of July Weekend, lots of people we love came to DC to sight see and celebrate. Ela got to spend some time with her second cousins bouncing...
... and playing in a sprinkler (which doesn't show up in this picture nearly as well as Ela's reaction to it does).
The kids also liked spending time with Lily.
And Ela got some advice on how to be a super big sister.
We had some friends from college visiting us as well, but I was having too much fun hanging out with them to remember to take pictures. Sorry about that. Anyway, we've been very busy and having entirely too much fun.
... and playing in a sprinkler (which doesn't show up in this picture nearly as well as Ela's reaction to it does).
The kids also liked spending time with Lily.
And Ela got some advice on how to be a super big sister.
We had some friends from college visiting us as well, but I was having too much fun hanging out with them to remember to take pictures. Sorry about that. Anyway, we've been very busy and having entirely too much fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)