PRO- ductive!

I'll admit it....lately I've gotten a little bit of my crafting bug back! Of course, I wouldn't choose to go back to my old stand by of sewing ( even though I have a quiet book ::cough:: projects I need to finish!) No no...now is the time that I decide to pick up a couple of new hobbies.....as if my plate wasn't already full enough!

I've decided I'm going to teach myself how to write HTML/XHTML/CSS. I know...I'm nuts! I signed myself up for a free online course and bought a "how too" book that I am trying to decipher. It's totally one of those "... For Dummies" books. I know....cliche but, I've had luck with those books in the past, so  I figured, eh, why not? ( BTW.....you should totally check out 7-Day Menu Planning for Dummies!! That book has saved dinner time around here, literally!)

Why the sudden interest in this topic you ask? Well, I know how to 'fiddle' with code that is already established. But you can only do so much when you 'fiddle'. And I want to create a unique site, and I want to do it well. So....you start with the basics! PLUS....I figure this will give me an excellent excuse to nudge Skunky into buying me that new more powerful computer I've been lusting after! And to get those design programs I've wanted but haven't really had an actual reason to get them!

My other new hobby....wood working! I decided in February, before Skunky got home, that I wanted to build a play kitchen for Pollyanna's next birthday. ( Many of you may remember this post.) Well...I started it and I'm really excited about it!! So far Skunky and I have completed this:

It's a toy Pie Hutch!! I am SOOOOO incredibly happy with how it came out, because this is my first time working with wood and power tools ever! I did all of the cutting and most of the gluing and nailing myself. Skunky did have to come help me save it a little after I mistakenly put some of the pieces together in the wrong way ( ummmm...the plans I have TOTALLY did not specify that there was an actual technique to putting joints together! Obviously the plans I have were written for people who are familiar with woodworking!)

Best part of this project? Skunky's comment upon finishing: " Gee, Jen....we're gonna have to put you together a big girl Pie Hutch now." I just about squealed in delight, lol! I freaking love that man!

We still have a stove, sink, and fridge to make so the set is complete! I'm hoping to go to Lowes tonight to pick up the wood for the next part! We're planning to finish and paint all four of the pieces together once we have them all built because I really don't know what colors we're going to paint them yet! Once they're done though I'll post the finished product!

We also refinished our dining room table and the new chairs we bought. Here is before:

And here is after:

The whole table is white...it just looks yellow on top because of the light on.

 Sure wish I had my SIL around to use her fabulous photography skills and take some cool looking finished pictures! I plan on making some seat cushions to go along with them but have decided to put that project on hold...seeing the way that Pollyanna climbs up into, and then wiggles around on the chair makes me realize that they probably wouldn't last long with children of the age I have in my house! However...though the chairs look stiff and hard, they really are pretty comfortable for a dining chair...I'm not even sure they need cushions, except for the aesthetic of it.

Anywhoodle....until next time!

FRG, Sub Ball, oh...and life goes on as normal!

Once again...its about a week since my last post! Better track record then my former posting I agree, but not quite up to where I'd like to be. My goal is to post at least twice a week, with hopefully something REALLY interesting and delightful to read! Of course my family and friends are interested in what I write, but they're biased. What about being interesting to other military wives out there who are looking for someone who understands their situation to connect to? That's the audience I'm finding it hard to write to. So then I stall....and get mad at myself for stalling. :) And the circle goes round and round until I finally get my butt on here and post something. It's my process I guess. So maybe I shouldn't complain about it. :)

I miss my husband tonight. Who am I kidding, I miss him desperately every night. But what I mean is...eh...I guess I always have this point mid-way of whatever underway is going at the time that I really just get tired of being alone. (And I assure you, length does not matter! It could be five days, it could be five weeks! I haven't had to deal with five months yet...but, like clockwork, at mid point I get depressed!) It really makes me curious and a little bit nervous about what our looming deployment is going to be like. BUT I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

I've been getting a lot of emails from our boat FRG lately. (For those of you unfamiliar with the term, FRG stands for Family Readiness Group, and is basically what the Navy Wives Club turned into when it started having to accommodate male spouses of deployed sailors.) I haven't been to an FRG meeting since November. I wanted to go to the last one earlier this month, but unfortunately my husband, who SWORE he'd be home on time, of course was assigned some task that kept him on the boat until 930pm and I missed it yet again. The reason I mention this is because...when I started going to the FRG, my goodness was it disorganized! But, then again we had just gotten and new Ombudsman and things were all in a jumble. But now it looks like they're getting their act together, and I feel slightly compelled to get involved! For instance, recently my husbands boat won an award for their cook staff, so the whole galley staff is going down to Virginia for a week next month and they won't be serving food on the boat. So the FRG is doing a fundraiser where they'll be selling baked goods and pizza to the sailors, on the pier mind you, for lunch one day during the week. And I'm like....huh, spend a few hours on the pier, feet away from my rarely seen husband who will hopefully surface long enough to atleast have lunch with me? Sign me up!!! LOL I'm insane I know. If I could only find a baby sitter for little L... :)

In other news, I'm also getting ready for the Submarine Birthday Ball, and I'm actually really excited. It's a big year this year...the 100th birthday I think, so of course, in the Submarine Capitol of the World, they're getting ready for a big time bash! AND...I have thus decided to MAKE my dress. (You try to find a modest, formal dress fit for a 9 months pregnant woman!) So I have taken on the task of making this...


Into this...

Of course, I can't do anything without totally changing everything until it no longer looks like what it was originally. :) The dress is only 1/2 done at this point. It's going to have sleeves, out of that same zebra print with a black cuff, and the belt that is on there right now is coming off, due to having tried on the dress and I am extremely dissatisfied with it's placement above my chest ( as the pattern calls for) making the whole dress take on a very "mu mu"-ish feel to it. INSTEAD it's going to have a WIDER black belt that goes all the way around my body and sits comfortably under my chest, but above my baby bump. :) I'll post more pictures when it's complete. :)

Other than all of that...life goes on as normal. L drove me a bit crazy today. She's always a force to be reckoned with, but today...today was a " mommy is putting you to bed a 1/2 hour early because she can't deal with it any longer" type day. :) Hopefully tomorrow she'll be a bit more chill, so I can actually get some house cleaning done, and not feel like nearly so much as a slob as I feel tonight!

Alright, I've been putting in a few too many late nights recently, ( underway induced insomnia with a pinch of 3rd trimester uncomfortableness thrown in just for kicks ) so I think I'm gonna sign off for now. Hope y'all have a great night!

Until next time,
Jen