04.20.08
Posted in ElisaLou, Sneak Peek at 3:53 pm by Elisa
hmmm haven’t thought of a name yet.
I have one more niece that needs a bag named after her but her name is more feminine and this bag is more practical. So I am saving her name for a girly bag. Maybe I will name this one after myself because I am so practical. 
Anyway- Lots of requests for a diaper bag and lots of requests for a camera bag over the last couple of years so I decided to roll it into one.
This bag does it all. A small messenger with an adjustable strap.
Lift up the flap and you have two exterior pockets
4 interior pockets hold a of stuff. I am using this bag as an everyday bag so here you see Cole’s Nintendo DS in case, my wallet, day planner, and under my keys (attached to the key ring) is my phone, gum, lip balm, etc. This is just stuff in the pockets- there is the whole rest of the bag that I haven’t filled up yet. Give me time….
But
it also makes a great camera bag
Here I have my SLR in the middle, two lenses, an extra strap, and my memory card case is attached to the key holder.
All the pockets are lined with heavy duty fleece interfacing to make them thick and cushy. The whole bag is made with this heavy fleece interfacing except the flap.
It also has a magnetic snap.
I plan to make a 2nd one for my camera because right now I don’t want to part with this one as my everyday bag.
I hauled it around to lacrosse games with me today and it was perfect. I adjusted the strap a few different times based on what I was carrying at the time- at one point I had it filled with extra jerseys, another point with lots of water bottles, and then when Cole got tired and I had to carry him (no he didn’t fit in the bag darnit) but I adjusted the strap so the bag rode low and I moved it to my butt so I could haul him around.
Look for it on the site very soon!
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04.18.08
Posted in ElisaLou, Life, Blue Jackets at 7:48 am by Elisa
-Well the obvious good thing about today is that it is Friday.
-It’s warm. I bought flowers, a basil plant and a rosemary plant yesterday to plant and we slept with the windows open last night.
-Boys are going to the Scarlet and Gray game tomorrow, they are excited!
-Grandparents are coming up for the weekend. Cole has been counting down the “sleeps”
-Forgetting Sarah Marshall is now in theaters
-Yesterday I got an email from Mary that said-
I come from a heavy duty hockey family, so the hockey blogs were great. My husband is the goalie coach at the prep school where we live, and I forwarded him the article you linked about the generous player who donated seats, $$, etc to kids in need. He shared it with the kids and other coaches.
She is referencing the post I did a few months ago about Rick Nash. reading her email made me smile. Good=Good. I love how it spreads. And that is why we love the Nasher and always point him out as a roll model for our boys, regardless of what sport they decide is the sport for them.
-Rachel for emailing me this
Thanks again for all you do. I still hold you up on a pedestal! You ROCK!
-almost wrapping up my duties as the yearbook chairperson for the PTA. At least for this year.
-funny dogs
Shiloh has started hoarding balls. It was funny at first but now the boys are starting to get mad because she will take the lacrosse balls while they are trying to play. When she gets a ball she puts it on the trampoline, her new favorite hangout.
And every time I walk by and see this dog sleeping like a frog I always smile.
-starting to plan neighborhood cook-outs
-getting our pool pass
-bikes. I have been longing to get mine back out and hit the trail.
-no more indoor exercising. Yesterday Barley and I went for a long walk.
-The grape hyacinth that I picked from the yard is making the whole house smell good.
- Cole sitting next to me right now singing “fat bottom girls” by Queen. Not sure if that is better than American Idiot but at least he is starting to show some diversity.
-Blake teaching himself to play guitar because his mom keeps forgetting to sign him up for lessons. He played Brain Stew for me the other day. At least the first 6 cords anyway.
-Summer is on it’s way. Yay.
-starting my day with a big mug of coffee and my orders sheets. Today I will be working from the back porch-
the fine print- thinking I may need to increase my font size, or maybe I need glasses. Sometimes it all starts to run together…..
Have a great weekend!
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04.17.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 8:22 am by Elisa
Yesterday Mary asked if I would talk about sewing machines, what a great idea!
I have had a love hate relationship with sewing machines for so many years, and when it came time to buy a new one I struggled with the choice almost as much as I did when I bought my car/truck.
Anyway, to start
I’m pretty sure that most sewers started as kids. My mom sewed a lot when I was little, especially the year my dad was in Vietnam- we had quite a few matching dresses
I had a small toy machine. I can’t remember exactly what it looked like but isn’t this one adorable?
It only got one star on Targets website so my guess is that like most “toy” machines it doesn’t work well.
I didn’t sew a lot on my toy machine- I was actually a fabric hoarder. My mom gave me scraps and I would lay them all out on a table and play “fabric store”. Hard to imagine that I was younger than Cole then.
I would fold and refold all the fabric but never ever would I cut them. Unless it was an ugly piece that I didn’t care about. I still struggle with this when I get fabric I love, that first cut is the hardest.
I know, I’m a freak.
I got my first real machine when I was in college. It was a pretty simple Kenmore, no bells and whistles.
I took a couple sewing classes but I have a bit of a problem when it comes to patterns- meaning I don’t like to follow them. I would get halfway through and get bored and never finish.
Because I was studying photography, I started spending more and more time in the darkroom and the sewing machine took a backseat.
Then I had a baby.
My mother-in-law is an excellent sewer (she made my wedding dress! An awesome form fitting Vogue deal that almost had her giving up sewing forever). She is also a quilter. About this time my sister-in-law started getting into quilting as well. They inspired me to pull out my sewing machine and started playing again.
During this time I probably went through three Kenmores. Trading up each time. I ended up with one that offered decorative stitches which I used a few here and there. But now wouldn’t really seek out in a machine.
Eventually I decided I wanted something that was good for quilting and I bought this one
A Janome 6600P. I looked at them all, Bernina, Viking (my mom has one),etc and finally settled on this one because of the wide bed, huge walking foot, and many options. I didn’t want/need embroidery so it was perfect. My second choice was the Bernina with the stitch regulator. I really love the Janome. I have had it for two years or so now.
If you sew clothing this is probably not the sewing machine for you as the arm does not detach and the base is so wide you can’t really fit things around it. It is really made for quilting- it comes with a table that slides around it so it keeps your quilt level while you are machine quilting.
My Janome gets very little use these days- I have made two quilts in the last couple years, an Amy Butler quilt sorta like this one
and a Denyse Schmidt one.
So what do I use now? A big ugly industrial machine that can sew through anything, including my fingers (there was a bit of a learning curve with this machine!)
You can read about the machine here
I was going to post a picture but it’s really not worth it (you can see a picture on the above link). It’s a big metal deal that sits in a table with a big separate motor and it has to be oiled!
It’s loud but fast and very powerful.
So there you have it, my exciting world of sewing machines.
Here are a couple things to keep in mind if you are in the market for a new machine (based on my own experience)
You don’t have to shell out big bucks for a decent machine. These days machines come with all kinds of features, if it is something you will never use (like for me embroidery), don’t pay for it.
Investigate the makers of machines- a lot of the machines are made by the same company, just with different names (Janome makes kenmores- kenmores are cheaper than janome….)
Hope this helps
Thanks Mary for the great suggestion!
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04.16.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 7:32 am by Elisa
A big mug sits by side today- well, and everyday.
Andy is in Boston at harvards business school for some conference which means that a bunch of boys piled into my bed last night. Too many arms and legs kicking me in the head. I’m tired.
Therefore I have nothing exciting to post- not that my posts are ever that exciting. So here are my latest “favs” from flickr. Not sure why there are blank spots- I guess they are pics that people didn’t want to share.
This one has a few local things that I like- the Pace-Hi sign that was by my old house in C-ville, Oval Beach in Saugatuck, Mackinac….
1. Pinwheels galore!, 2. Polaroid SX-70, 3. Spring, 4. Gossip, 5. Polaroid SX-70, 6. old friends…, 7. fluttering and dancing in the breeze…, 8. crosby, stills, nash and young, 9. Harbor View, 10. Jones Soda Bottles, 11. oh sunny day!, 12. don’t worry, 13. Oval Beach 1, 14. HI, 15. Arthur’s Circus, 16. am.patio8, 17. am.patio6, 18. am.patio5, 19. ROCK STAR, 20. 42 / 52: Fear, 21. Icebat - graffiti artist, 22. chalk, 23. Nuoooooo oooo ooo ooo oo oo o o o o o, 24. promising view, 25. Royal with a side of Cindy’s magic light, 26. Through The Viewfinder 12 Sticker Sheet, 27. unruly, 28. St. Patrick’s Day parade, 29. Rick Nash, 30. Log Cabin Blocks, 31. P2180038_1, 32. sun flower, 33. Book Collection, 34. Pink home office, 35. Been Around the Block, 36. IMG_4793
Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.
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04.15.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 7:23 am by Elisa
Unpacking from our home remodel I found this old (almost 8 years-ack!) information book for prospective students for Ohio State University’s MBA program.
Andy was a student at the time and they asked if they could feature us in the book- probably to show a diverse range of students (most students were not married with kids- in fact I remember one girl in particular telling me I was nuts when I got pregnant with Blake halfway through the program)
We gathered on the deck that Andy had just finished in the back of our cool old Clintonville house. It was May, and it was so hot.
They made us wear those ugly Fisher shirts and OSU sweatshirts- look at baby Blake- so sweaty! Such a roly-poly baby, man to have him back that age for just one day (or two or three-sniff) I would love to nibble those toes again. Now they are disgusting.
The boys thought it was pretty cool when I showed them last night- Austin wanted to know if they were still handing this book out.
Between finding things like this,
Andy asking me if I am still writing down all the funny things the boys say (no),
and seeing Blake sit for an hour with his scrapbook that I had just unpacked-
well I am thinking that I need to get back into some sort of scrapbooking hobby. I haven’t done it in years, and up until now I really didn’t miss it.
But now I realize that while I can get my photo fix online with flickr, the boys really miss reading and looking at how they have changed and the funny things they used to do.
Not to mention the fact that I have years worth of supplies. And the fact that time flies. No really, it does.
Last night I pulled out my *autographed* copy (love love love Cathy) of Clean and Simple (one and two).
Trying to light the fire.
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04.14.08
Posted in Life at 8:05 am by Elisa
Recently Polaroid announced that they will no longer be making instant film.
Makes me a little sad, makes me wish I had kept my Polaroid camera. It was a cheap one that I got in college when I went through a little Polaroid phase. Now I am addicted to this blog- love the soft dreamy colors.
My Polaroid Blog
Speaking of color, it was time to bring a little in from the yard
I am going through my usually Spring time antsy-ness. I am tired of mud, homework, projects, sports, etc.
I want to throw the kids (and maybe little Zo) into the car and head to the beach. Always this time of the year when I wish the beach was a couple hours away and do-able for a weekend trip.
But instead I pick flowers from the yard, and count down the days until our summer trip.
Happy Monday, always better with a venti Starbucks by my side.
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04.12.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 8:21 pm by Elisa
Started the day with a canceled soccer game (yay) for boy number 2 and then a soccer game for boy number three.
I was surprised when he wanted to play again this season as the fall season didn’t go so well
But I think it is all about the buddies.
It was so cold out there today
and at first he was really into it
he shoots, he scores- of course this was all pre-game.
he ran over to me and said, ” I think I am sooo good at this.”
But then the game started. And he decided he was kinda tired.
So I told him that in order to get the snack at the end of the game, he needed to keep playing. So he did. Sorta.
The older boys went to the Buckeye Cafe for an autograph signing with some of the OSU football players.
I used this time to mop the floors- last night we had an impromptu get-together with some friends which turned out to be 6 kids and 6 dogs (3 of the dogs pushing 100 lbs). Anyway- today the floors needed some cleaning.
Seriously happy we have all wood floors. After I got the floors clean I threw the dogs in the dog shower. So now we have clean floors AND clean dogs.
Then the boys comes bursting through the front door-talking a mile a minute
apparently they had a good time. Lots of autographs on their hats and jerseys. Here they are with their buddy Will.
We whisked Blake off to a birthday party, and I made some chili for dinner. Perfect end to cold and crazy day.
Tomorrow we are expecting snow for the lacrosse games, then back up to warm weather next week. Spring is such a roller coaster. I am hoping that since I did time at the cold soccer game today that I am off the hook tomorrow.
Looks like SNL will be a good one tonight with Ashton- hoping I can stay up to see it
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
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04.11.08
Posted in Life at 3:36 pm by Elisa
Every year our goofy weatherman likes to remind us that there is always one more snowfall after the forsythia blooms. He is usually right and it looks like we will be trading our warm temps for some icky weather just in time for the weekend.
Which means, soccer and lacrosse in the cold. GRRR!
Either that or they will cancel the games which is just as bad as Cole has been about to pee his pants in anticipation for his first soccer game of the season. Not sure why because last season he wouldn’t even stay on the field.
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04.10.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 12:29 pm by Elisa
Either Barley tied her up so she could take a little snooze
Or Cole is up to his usual tricks.
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Posted in ElisaLou at 8:14 am by Elisa
We have had the best weather this week, amazing how it makes everything better. Homework is done on the porch, the sound of the basketball bouncing, screams of delight from the tree swing, the dogs wrestling in the grass.
Spending a lot of time here
Watching a lot of this
and this
doing some jumping with him
The big kids can now double bounce me.
It’s obvious I haven’t been on the trampoline in a while- I am sore!
Love Spring.
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