Birthday Paintball and Creme Brulee

So 15-year-old boys love paintball. And one girl joined us for Drew's birthday paintball party too!


Here's a little of the action. Drew didn't pass out this year like he did last time, but we almost had another one pass out afterwards - paintball is hot, even in November!


And his French class had a little party yesterday before the holiday break. Everyone had to sign up for a French dish, cook it themselves, and discuss the history of it while sharing it with the class. Drew knew that Dean has made creme brulee before, so of course he signed up for that. They spent all afternoon cooking (think 27 eggs and a run to Old Time Pottery for ramekins, not to mention the butane refill from Lowe's for torching).


Drew was very proud that everybody like his dish, and I was happy we got to use this nifty ice pack again (it's to wrap around your face after wisdom teeth removal...or to keep creme brulee cold, you know, whatever).

Oh, and did you come here to see what I was sewing? Well the paintball party was preceded by a spend-the-night, and of course my sewing room is the guest room, so I had to pack EVERYTHING up. You don't even want to leave a dressmaker's form in the room alone with teenage boys - yeesh.

Who Loves the Blues?!

This is what we did Saturday. Man, forget watching them at the beach - this was up close and personal! We were given VIP tickets by Dean's best friend and the view was insane. Well, this first pic was taken from the stairs up to a cargo plane we got to walk through. Do not be distracted by the corn dogs.













This last one is terrible camera work, but maybe you can hear how loud they are - they snuck up on us.



Awesome weekend. And no, I did not do any sewing this weekend. Plus I've started reading Steve Jobs, and now I want to quit work and start my own company....making jackets! (Drew said a friend told him his fleece jacket was cool and would I make one for him....a business is born.)

Second funny story - Ladies Only

I was driving the boys to school and I asked Lucas to look in my purse and hand me my lipstick. He's rifling around and says, "Oh, I didn't know you had these poppers in here.". I don't know what he's talking about. He says, "You know, these things you pull and they pop. You have green, yellow, and purple.". Then I realize he went in the zippered compartment where the Tampax are. Doh!

Okay back to watch Vietnam in HD on the History Channel. And next they're starting Big Shrimping which was filmed in Bayou la Batre - cool! (I think textbooks may need to be replaced by documentaries from the History Channel - much more personal and impactful.)

What Did I Come in Here For?

Geez, that last post was supposed to be 2 funny stories, and I even started with "the first story." But then I got carried away and didn't have time to finish, and now I can't remember what the second story was. Aaaargh! I think it was something Lucas did. Who knows. Hey, here's a picture of cotton (sorry it's not bigger)!

Random, yes, but many of you people may not have seen a crop of cotton. I grew up near it and my dad pulled over one time and let us grab some (aiding and abetting, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, trespassing, theft, so much criminal activity). Anyway, I think it's so pretty and much more interesting than a crop of corn, for instance.

In other news, I attended my first class chat last week at PR. It says that your comment will be hidden from view until the teacher is ready to address it, but it just flies onto the screen, typos and all. It was fun, though, and I do think I've learned something. I don't KNOW for sure yet, though, because all I've done is thread trace my seams. Haven't even pulled the silk organza out of the bag yet. I missed the second chat last night, and the third one is Wednesday. Apparently these classes are aimed at women who don't work or have children in the Scouts!

Oh, and Paranormal Activity 3 was a hit. We had a great time, especially because the ticket seller asked me if the tickets were for me or not (odd), then I saw that lots of teenagers were getting carded and turned away. THEN there was an actual POLICEMAN at the door of the theater, and the ushers came in halfway through to raise a ruckus with some theater-goer. So exciting!

Dating in the 21st Century

The first story is about kids these days and how different they are from when I was a kid. When I was in the 5th grade, the love of my life to that point (Scott Kenny for any locals) asked me to go with him. I told my mom in the car after school, and she was so excited that when we got home she told my grandmother.

Mom: "Guess what, Mother? Scott asked Lynn to go with him!"
Mamaw: "Well how nice! Where are they going?"

If you grew up in Sylacauga in the 70's, you knew what "going with" meant. And in 1977 it meant you swapped bracelets....leather bracelets that you stamped and painted with your name and design of your choosing. When you broke up, you had to give their bracelet back.

Flash to this past weekend. Dean notices that Drew has changed his Facebook status to "In a relationship." It doesn't say with whom, but one of Drew's very clever acquaintances has typed, "Congratulations! Who's the lucky fella?" Funny guy. We assume it's with his recent date to Homecoming, but I've asked him every day if he's talked to her and the answer is no, they don't have any classes together. So we ask him if she's aware of the new relationship. No, she's not! (This reminds me of when he was in the 3rd grade and said a girl was his girlfriend. I, being very clever, asked him if he was her boyfriend, and he said no.)

Anyway, we tell him that he should talk to the girl before posting stuff like that. But this being 2011 and not 1977, he texts her to see if it's okay if he changes his relationship status on FB. She texts back yes. He texts back that he already did it but wanted to make sure she was okay with it. She texts back that yes, it's fine with her.

Now what just happened here - does she know that he thinks they're going together? And she turned him down to go to the movies tonight (all by text of course), so apparently she's not changing HER relationship status!

(I'm fine with it, by the way. We're going to see Paranormal Activity 3 and I didn't want to have to sit by myself.)

Online Class

Okay, I am kicking my mojo in the butt by signing up for a sewing class at PR. It's Clone Your Own Garment by Kenneth King, and it starts...today! So thankful for Ely's, because I went to Hancock Sunday night and they don't carry silk organza, which you need to do the class. I went by Ely's Fabric Warehouse today and snagged some. Did you know that stuff is $14 a yard?! Good thing this doesn't take much.

I was checking out when I noticed another room I've never seen before kind of behind the area where they all sit. Well, it's 3 rooms, in addition to the other 3 or 4 off to the side. You have to go through the breakroom, where rick-rack is next to snacks...

And this is the cutest home decor fabric back here - why don't they put this up front?

Did you say you needed toile?

So anyway, off to a potluck dinner and Court of Honor for the Boy Scouts, but I'll post more later about my baby-stepping jeans and the class. Hey, by the way, have you ever cooked something at 450 degrees for 45 minutes...that was supposed to be at 350 degrees? Was it still edible? This corn casserole has a nicely browned top, but the sides and bottom are toast, I'm afraid. Dang Mad Cow!