Naturally Optimistic

Well, that was lame. We set up a screening of GOD ROCKED at a church here in Duluth (the church I sometimes attend...) & exactly NO ONE showed up. Hmph. How disappointing. Jason, Erin & I chatted with the Pastor & gave up about 10 minutes after our scheduled start time. Times like these all lend themselves quite easily to my feeling of burnt-out-ness. Hmph.

I think I have the Croup. Seriously. I was up half the night barking like a seal. It was not fun. Thankfully Steve was sleeping in the other room (heaven forbid we share germs!) but I think I still woke him up. Ugh. Then Dahlia was up & ready to go at 5am. Luckily I persuaded her to snooze a bit longer. She has (thankfully!) slept through the past few nights. I think the high humidity level in her room is really helping. Maybe I can sleep in there tonight! We're going to Grand Marais tomorrow, no matter WHAT I feel like. So there! Happy Friday!

Today my plan was to get up, drop Dahlia off at daycare, hit Barnes & Noble for some bridal mags for a newly engaged friend of mine, buy some maternity blue jeans (sadly needed) then go to work where I would make final tweaks on our 'rough cut' of RILEY before screening it before a few cast/crew members tonight. Instead I'm at home with a wee toddler who's hacking up nastiness in her lungs. She sounds terrible. When I called daycare today they said that one little one came down with bronchitis last week. Awesome. So we're going to the doctor this afternoon. I'm hoping it's 'nothing....' but I'd rather find out for sure. Of course it's only a few days before Steve & I have our getaway up the shore planned. I'm feeling "okay" but I have coughed a few times today. I hope I'm not getting sick!!! **Update: I took Dahlia to the doctor - it's an ear infection. On a scale of 10 it's about a 3-4 so it was good that I ...

Eeeeek! Where is the time going?!?

Tantrum #1 came when I started getting Dahlia ready for a bath this morning. We usually do baths at nighttime, but I had some plans this evening (that ended up changing...) so I wanted to give her a bath this morning. Well, she wasn't too into that idea and threw a HOLY fit. Wow. WOW. Screaming, crying, thrashing, arching of the back, down on the floor, etc. Getting her into the bathtub was super fun. Then by that point I wasn't giving up so KEEPING her in the bathtub also super fun. Especially once she was all wet & soapy & slippery. By time we got to the hair rinsing part she had calmed a bit but it was truly one of the least fun bathtimes we've had. Ugh. Tantrum #2 came when we were at my office & it was time to leave. It was terribly close to naptime & I really wanted to get her home before she fell asleep (we made it to the garage and THEN she was falling asleep. Ah well, she did nap for 2 hours - thank god). At the office she was a peach, until I said ...

I am hungry & have nasty heartburn simultaneously. Ugh. Not fun.

We had our last two production days for THE LIFE OF RILEY this weekend. Wow! We are DONE! We have our 4th feature film in the can. Whohooo! On Friday we shot all day at our apartment location. A little inside, a little outside. It was cold outside. And subsequently inside when we had to have the door open. But we ended early and things went well. Yesterday we headed up the North Shore to revisit Gooseberry Falls, Palisade Head & Grand Marais. Let me tell you, hiking up to Palisade Head with my pregnant self was not all that fun. I started first and ended last. Ugh. It was exhausting. Which is too bad because usually that is right up my alley! Oh well. Getting to the falls at Gooseberry was a bit challenging too because of my girth, the amount of ice & my general paranoia, but I didn't fall, which is quite shocking. The McMurdo boots were GREAT. I used a couple of hand warmers in them for the 2nd part of the day and they were very toasty without being all sweaty. I also thin...

The baby blanket for #2 is coming along nicely. These squares knit up pretty quickly and I'm so much happier with the color & texture. It's fun to switch between colors & patterns too. Prevents burnout (at least thus far). I'm hoping to keep this pace up and finish this blanket sooner rather than later...but I know myself so I won't hold myself to that!

Even though this *really* happened several months ago, it was pretty cool to get GOD ROCKED from Netflix today. It looks all 'official' and stuff. :) We have no idea if it's being rented by many people or not, but at least it's available. Of course, we're still waiting for our distributor to PAY us, but that is just how it goes in this godforsaken business. For the record, no, I'm not going to watch it. I've seen it enough! It was just fun to get.

This is a photo of the paperwork I had to copy & complete to submit for Snowbate. Snowbate is a tax incentive program from the MN Film & TV Board & the State of MN. We had to go through a qualification process this past summer to get RILEY in the program & certified...We will receive a 15% tax rebate (ie: cash!) on monies spent in the state for our film production. It all has to do with job creation & retention & continuing to have money spent locally. Nationally MN USED to have one of the best tax incentive programs out there, but not so much any more. Of the requested $25m for this program, they received $1m for 2009/2010. That is why you don't see many big budget Hollywood films being shot here any more (even if they are set here!). They're going to the states who offer more incentives (or other countries). It might not mean a lot to you, but for those who are freelancers, production houses, rental houses, post-production houses, etc in the entertainm...

Baby B is doing good - measuring as he/she should, making all sorts of cute faces & punching motions during today's ultrasound. He/She took a BIG yawn right before this shot was taken - hence the open mouth. Next month the fun begins! I get to get a big shot in my big butt (rhogam for the negative Rh factor) and then I get to do another GTT (one hour). Apparently I ate very well over Christmas because I gained about 7lbs in the last month! Yikes! Okay, time to lay off the baked goods and get back to being a more healthy eater. (I'm at 12lbs total for this pregnancy - not too shabby!)

Fancast rocks and I can watch all the mindless television I want that would normally only be able to be viewed if you have cable. I watch everything on the computer anyway! sweet. Also - I dig Hulu & SnagFilms . Check them out if you're looking for some free entertainment & documentaries!

Every so often I go through other people's links and find some new inspiration. There was no shortage this year, & I didn't really look very far. Anyway - some new blogs that I've been enjoying & that have been inspiring me so far in this new year. Soule Mama (courtesy of Minnesota is Heaven ) Under the Tulip Tree How About Orange The Purl Bee Take a while to browse & become inspired yourself! There are some amazingly creative & talented people out there.

I knitted up the first square of the baby blanket on Friday night. I hated it. I hated how light-weight & delicate it was (I love this yarn for another baby blanket pattern I have); the ends & sides curled up, the pattern was all wonky, it did not have the drape I was expecting. So, I took back the yarn. All of it - sans the skein I had partially used (bummer that I started with my least favorite color, hmph). I went back to Yarn Harbor and they set me straight! They showed me some beautiful cotton yarn (a little more $$ but a LOT more delicious colors to choose from), she showed me how I was reading the pattern incorrectly (duh, well THAT would do it!) and a couple ladies who were there knitting gave me lots of input & advice on my color choices (which was a-okay by me!). So, here are the new colors for the baby blanket: A little more 'fun' a little brighter, my camera doesn't do the color justice but these are lovely, richly saturated and have a great texture....

Why oh why won't Dahlia sleep in...just a little bit? This is getting ridiculous. NEMO is babysitting her right now because I'm just to tired to start playing this early!

A yearly tradition - although in the 3 1/2 years I've been paired with MariAnna, we've only managed to go to one of the games. Tonight was #2! We started the evening by eating a lot of Sammy's Pizza & having a great conversation. I also gave her her belated Christmas gift. I was quite proud of myself - using only what I had already in the house, I put together a fantastic collection of arts/crafts supplies! Supplies to make cards, scrapbook, whatever - including - card stock, ribbons, beads, stickers, patterned paper, envelopes, a glue stick, charcoal, pastels, paint brushes, clips, mini-tapes, cute post-it notes, embellishments, foam stickers, & a couple of penguin cutesy things (she loves penguins). See, I'm feeling the economic pinch and would rather spend time with her making things & laughing & chatting than buy her something that she doesn't need/want/won't use/will get lost in her house in 5 minutes, etc....so this worked very well. I also...

Maybe I was so excited about destashing a bit, because then it allowed me to go and acquire some NEW for the stash. I figured before I lose my income completely (or take a rather hefty pay-cut - COMING SOON! FEBRUARY 2010) I would indulge in yarn for a new project. I bought this book when I found out I was pregnant again as a gift for myself. My sole purpose in buying it was for this blanket... So, Baby #2 will *hopefully* have a lovely cozy handmade-by-Mama blanket to welcome him/her. We'll see how I do. It's 45 squares sewn together...I figured if I get bored I can do some at a time and then come back to it. Oh! I also have a WIP... I've had this fabulous yarn since I did a "Knit-Flix" swap back in 2006. I just never knew what to do with it...last weekend I wanted to start something new so searched my yarn stash (hence the destashing) and then the patterns I had on hand + my needles and came up with a "Scoop Bag" in the "Chicks with Sticks" ...

I went to Stitch & Bitch with all the lovely ladies last night and it was a blast. It was much needed. I'm so glad Holly was there to regale us with stories of her hysterectomy, and Sarah M was there to gross us out with stories of obscenely large burn blisters on her hands from tie-dyeing accidents; Theresa & Andrea were there throwing in tales of newly finished hardwood floors, all manner of pets & cat poop; Anna showed Michelle the "Naughty Knits" book & I managed to totally screw up my project and then make Holly fix it for me...at which time I stopped working all together. ha! There was a lot of laughter, a bowl of bacon-bacon dip consumed AND they destashed my yarn stash! Yes! I've had a LARGE bin of yarn that I either purchased & never used or scraps that I'll probably never get to and since I'm trying to make room in my house, I just let it all go. I'm someone who holds on to potential "supplies" for years and years an...

View from our front porch...my little camera does not do it justice.

New meal plan over here . The idea is to go to the grocery store only every other week instead of EVERY week because inevitably I spend more money when I go to the store weekly...and that has to stop. I read somewhere, sometime...(great reference, huh?) that if you plan meals for 2 weeks you can cut your grocery bill by something like 40-50%! I don't know if that's true, but it's worth a try. It also suggested eating fresh veggies & produce the first week, and frozen or canned the 2nd week...that way you're not tempted to run to the store when you run out of something 'fresh.' You still have options! Of course we'll need to make pit stops for things like lunchmeat & milk but other than that I'm going to really try to stick to this plan. We'll see how it goes.

I'm restricting Dahlia's website to invited readers only - if I missed you, I'm sorry. Send me a message and I'll put you on the list! I'm hoping to actually update "daily" over there!

In the past I've made excessive lists about all the things I'm going to accomplish (or at least the goals I've set) for the new year to come. Mostly I do not come close, but the lists allow me to keep my brain somewhat organized. Last year I resolved to do one thing - learn how to knit socks. Well, I was halfway successful. This summer I knitted one sock. One sad sock that still does not have a mate. Ah well. At least I was .500 for the year. This year I feel like my brain/resolutions are split in two. Pre-new-baby and post-new-baby. So here are my goals for both: Pre-New-Baby: -Patch, prime & paint our bedroom, put up artwork, acquire (somehow) night stands & a reading light for me. -Strip the wallpaper in the baby's room, prime, paint, make cute valance, artwork etc for new little peanut. Dig out Dahlia's early infant stuff. Get ready. -Paint those godforsaken ugly flesh colored bookshelves!!!!!! -Paint stairs leading up. -Live more frugally/save more mon...

Things are dire, but not as dire as I thought. Looks like we'll get some funds to finish RILEY - and within that we have to finish the film, promote the film & get a little salary to keep us going. IT's going to be tough....but at least it's not a dead stop.