Life Adventures for Miles

Tomorrow morning is a big day for the family (mostly my other half) as come 8'o'clock, my other half's promotion ceremony is starting. As the most important people to him (living in the same house/state) I and our 4-year-old have the honor and privilege to pin him on. An act that seems pretty easy as the family member (from what I understand) waits quietly and still until they are called up front and center to pin, they pin and...then go back to their places until the ceremony is over. For a Katja, this is terrifying. A crowd full of IMPORTANT people of all ranks including his 10-man team, remembering NOT to anxiously babble randomly (and inappropriately) when there is silence/pauses, being called up like a predetermined volunteer (which technically I guess I am), actually pinning on properly (and while practicing the act at home helps, it DOES NOT negate the variables of any other setting)...all while multitasking the act of minding my active-four-year-old. Who, I learned ...

Normal Tuesday-ing, today. Pups and blocks, screens, and crafting (I mended clothes today!). I learned how to clean melted crayon off fabric too. It took some time... and this web page I googled but I think it worked. We will see what my husband thinks (as he uses them more than I do) and if he says no, then I get more fabric scraps to play with, woohoo!              I also have been looking at and watching language videos and came to the conclusion that it is still pretty intimidating and overwhelming and as I don't have any community around me (physically or socially-for some of them, anyway) to outwardly practice and communicate with; I am sort of, of the mindset to just be appreciative of those who can and do use them...same goes for music and dancing, actually. I will just focus on my little kindergarten crafting skills, my family, and my bubble... Besides mending, I started my project for the week (using old pairs of jeans!). I have no idea what...

Today is a Monday of a Monday! As it is the end of the month, the bedsheets were washed (which takes forever because I NEVER remember it is happening.) I also swept and mopped the kitchen floors (ya me!). Crafting things today was small projects that have been hanging about: a weaving floor mat (yes that one pictured way way way back in April/May). I also "created" a holder from an old coaster holder and scraps of fabric and braided yarn. I edited and posted the May highlights video on youtube and all in between that was Luna pup playtime! Today the pups played sick/doctor, hide-and-seek, super pups, went to a dance party and showed off their moves, took a stroller ride around the apartment complex, and got washed and groomed! The screens came out for a quiet time, of course, and dinner was Jambalaya ("luna rice")! 

I did a thing! I found it a lot more fun creating the content then editing it, though. This technical stuff gave me a right headache! So, for the rest of the day I decided dark and quiet it will be (and it sort of worked considering we do still have a 4-year-old in the house).  So the book of the week . I got it with a batch of others like a month ago or so and didn't realize, or forgot, rather, that it is the most recent part of a narrative (that has 2 books before it) of 2 families connected through history. The first book showcases the complex relationship of Mattie, a young enslaved wetnurse, and her charge, Lisbeth. The second book sees them returning to the place they met after both escaping in their own way, Mattie to free family, and Lisbeth summoned by the death of her father (the plantation owner). This narrative adds Mattie's young fresh-faced 19-year-old daughter Jordan in the mix and further examins and expands the complex relationship between the families and the...

Craft of the week: string art! I had 6 mini canvases that I was going to hang my flood pictures on (natural disasters stink... literally in that case as sewer water was in the mix also!). We ended up getting other frames for that so I thought paw patrol for luna would be perfect. My original idea was fabric but I didn't have all the colors, so string, well yarn, it was! Luna got in the mix and helped with chase and rocky too!     

I wasn't up for much today so we didn't anything too active. Screen time, and blocks. I worked on making videos. My editing skills take me a lot longer then I thought! Enjoy this little creation story I wrote this weekend! “I have a story for your child, much like other stories you've heard. However, you must listen and listen well, for it may one day serve you when you least expect it.” “A story grandpa! For me? Oh, thank you!”  “There was a planet much like this. The planet had a job to do, and do it they did for every new cycle, the planet grew and grew. First, it formed its own armor for its fiery soul. As it armed itself, it found its thirst quenched in the form of water.”  “Water, water all around, and all of it to drink!” The little girl giggled. “Yes, my child. And as it drank and soaked it's new plated armor it discovers pockets and puckers and oh how it creaked and crackled while it grew! Until one day, these pockets and puckers found homes on the water's ...

Today was one of those days. I typically get my gossip and news and the outside worldly view from google or family and sometimes my other half. And looking at it all today...I felt like history is repeating itself from 70 years ago (okay, maybe not exactly but similar). Also that society sucks and needs to update itself. Also that these are the reasons why I stay in my box and not take the risk to step out of it... My other half, of course, has a completely different viewpoint (which also makes to me), and his experience is not based on the media (well not completely) as he actually does out and works amongst the society that I find so...sucky today. On top of my wonky mood, we had a taste of home cooking (Mexican food) and my stomach didn't like it so now I feel wonky and icky.  On another note, Luna and I had fun mostly playing make-believe today. There was also building with pups and catch!

Yesterday was a bit more luna independent (she was pretty huffy when I would "interrupt"), than usual. Today was a bit more on track and I even got her outside in the heat for a good hour(ish). While there was screen time, we also built things, paw patroled, "king & dragon-ed, " hide-and-seek-ed, bowled paw patrol, played "ball-and-goal" (soccer with us being the goalposts)., and even sequence, well sort of. I tried to get her to find things in sequence but she got too excited with her binoculars and I lost her to exploring. Ooh and we also played "luna pack" in which she becomes my backpack (I basically gave her a piggyback ride around the complex). I also finished some luna letters. The plan is to add  2Dpictures/words and 3D objects so she can practice her letters and sounds (and bonus for vocabulary). And I got the 2nd out 6 pieces done for my weekly project. Luna finally figured out what they are too and is super excited!

The other day my child did her normal habit (a habit we helped form and praised while forming) and instead of forgetting this habit she formed and that we helped her form, or even acknowledging that we didn't pay the closest attention to her and "lost" her...we scolded her for leaving our side. Now, this is one example from my family but this observation is a common practice among the average parents and society I've noticed in the four years of having my own child (and in looking back at being a child myself). From my understanding, it is an oxymoron (is that the right word for it?) act that stems from wanting our children to accumulate good habits or habits we and society find appropriate and valuable for being independent but also being protective and possibly paranoid that the people and society we want them to accumulate habits for and from are also dangerous. Also in which, generations of notions formed due to the multi-tasking that is adulthood/parenting (as th...

Yesterday, I got to see the luna wool dress in action. It worked pretty well, although, the top was a bit too loose still...and my other half said it was crooked but not too crooked (woohoo!). Today I woke up to fun things like pup playing and after we all had our caffeine and food for the morning we had some fun dancing ( Megan Trainor- Better when I'm Dancin' started it off and hen we went into the kid dance party PlayStation move it game playlist I found on youtube.). I noticed that when the music was directed at the kids (especially kids her age) she mostly preferred to watch it rather than dance to it...maybe because of the colors and other kids? In any case, we jammed out, and then she decided to cook Pup soup and play with her playmat/"things that move" toys. I took this time to work on some crafting. I did a long-awaited surgery on her rainbow pup and crafted a crochet hook holder from some too small luna stockings and the 3 ring toss rings I decided to save ...

This is a guide book to gain mental toughness. The book by Damon Zahariades, says that mental toughness has many synonyms and is defined as the durability throughout one's life journey as one will always encounter some sort of install in your path at one point or another (whether that is in the professional field or personal). He starts by saying it is a skill developed, which I can agree with as one isn't usually born with obstacles straight out of the womb, however, he also states that one doesn't always have the the...grit to develop it and I disagree. Living life, one is faced with mental toughness in all forms. Whether that is through being a pretty princess that has life handed to you or a tragic orphan who has to survive their childhood. Just because one has help doesn't negate their mental toughness, it just forms from a different angle than one that grits through it. I do agree that it can and is uncomfortable and will be...difficult to achieve as one has to e...

Today started with IHOP,  "the outside NEEDS me to play" was Luna's running quote while we were there. At 64 degrees I was an ice cube so that was a definite no-go for me! Then it was Walmart for food shopping! After that we decided it was still too cold, so home we went and just vegged out.    I spent the majority of the afternoon figuring out how to create and upload slideshow videos of highlights from the beginning of this blog to now on youtube, under Lifeadventuresformiles.  My thought is to start private/unlisted then public (like this blog) and post monthly with highlights, crafts...and maybe book reviews. I will start with slideshows but if I ever vlog more then once a month it will probably be videos on what we are doing/how I am crafting/what I am reading that week...so basically a video version of this (ish)! I also researched more business stuff. Oooh! Did I tell you about the weird dream I had?  I was more like the audience member for this dream....

Today I started out researching business things for blogging and YouTubery and ended up fabric stashing my own fabric and altering the stash for stuffed animal clothes. So craft of the week is said altering the clothes for stuffed animals! I did some bunny pants a few weeks (months?) ago but this time it was way easier as I got smarter, er well had them try on the clothes before doing anything to them. Since I wanted to save all of the patches, fasteners, and frilly things for other projects, it was mostly making sure their outfits stayed on (using by tying them!). She was pretty excited and I enjoyed the experience so yay for this easy craft week!

This morning started as normal, playing, screens, and caffeine. For breakfast, luna requested a fruit salad and took out all that we had left (today is food shopping day). She was very proud of the first cut she made then skipped off to her pups and let me finish. It was pretty good.  Then it was some play along with the videos (paw patrol and octonauts with youtube). There was a brief encounter with the caterpillar train as well. Then the kitchen tools came out again. The spatulas were our rackets/sticks to the yellow ball and a hilarious game of catch ensued. This led to using a grandma gift of the velcro ball/pads and even more, hilarity ensued! Now that I opened the tripod and we all know I like to document my days (my excuse is this blog and living far far away from family), I think part of it, was that Luna was hamming it up for the camera/video whenever she noticed it. While I was vacuuming (by the way, I think I will research older methods as this work smarter, not harder t...

Today, there were games we haven't played in a bit! Major climbing mountains but also stuffed animals, "trash handlers" (we transferred her stuffed animals around with kitchen tongs), and even tree decorating/tree earthquakes! There was also screen time of course, and outside time. The majority of the late afternoon/evening I re-enforced/replaced pieces of the green bag as when I tried to use it Monday, it couldn't hold weight very well (not surprising as I seem to re-enforce/revamp most of my projects). I even made noodles and sausages for dinner. Yum yum! 

We started out the day on an interesting note and it kinda went from there. She wanted to play outside in the windy sun (color then with her Red Robin balloon) and ended up dot to dotting the shed door instead. The rest of the day was filled with pups, cars, screen time, and playing with the  essential vlog kit from Digipower bought at Walmart.  I think I covered pretty much the main things I've noticed playing with it all day in the video. As a $40 basic kit from Walmart, I think it will do as long as I don't become overly...complicated with it. Blogger seems to not like my video file size so I will split one video into two...I have noticed doing all this, I still don't like me in videos, on-camera AND when I talk my mouth hardly moves, heh. I also have to remember that words can be powerful as this kit was bought due to a wondering comment I made about a month ago when looking into possibly furthering my blogging along and possibly starting my vlogging. My words also ende...

  This morning we did our normal play (blocks, pups) we also threw in some caterpillar games, alphabet puzzles, and screen time. Then the major adventure started! My adventure was pretty nerve-racking for me (tests, ack!) and predictably, I had to pee before, during, and after, I was so nervous  (the section were a lot of self-assessment questions and then sections in memory and the like (from what I understood). As I can't remember more than 2 steps ahead and still count on my fingers (or finger write on the table)...I finished faster then I thought I would (I had 20 minutes in the time slot). One of my favorite parts was making up a story (technically she started it and then I finished it) from a picture only book. It reminded me of a book from my childhood, my mother used for writing prompts in her tutoring program. I used to love (still kind of do) making up stories from them.  Luna had a big adventure with the doc today too. What should have been an eye exam and shot...

This week I started on my quilted skirt. I didn't finish it but I have...most of the shaping sorta done. I tried doing the elastic encased in fabric waistband and while it works (I think) there was a lot of piecing together still. Yes, I am pretty sure I am still doing it wrong though I did specifically stretch the elastic out so I would have enough fabric (this time I didn't account for the difference between hip/butt and waist. This week I also worked on my measurements for most body measurements from feet to shoulders, and am still de-clothing my closet (ie seeing what fits and If I like the fit). Thus far my bottoms are long skirts/dresses, sweats, and leggings; my tops tend to be wider, more long sleeve than not, and down to my hips-most of my shorter dresses are dedicated tops now- (I've also realized bra wise, I prefer cotton tank top undershirts)... and layers, lots of layers. Shoes are a bit tricky as my feet are more comfortable in wider shoes and I haven't fo...

This week I had no true interest in ready anything new...or that I had to focus on. C.W. Grey is known for writing fluffy gay romance that touches on reality but always has a happy ending (and usually huge families and lots and lots of pets). I also did my mental health self-assessments today (yes it took a lot of the day). This was easier and harder then I thought it would be. My husband had to remind me to go with my gut and not second guess (there were lots of skipping questions and going back to them later). Harder because I don't feel like I know myself that well/ am very indecisive and unobservant, and easier because the booklet was geared towards children so (hopefully) by this point I had gained the skill or understanding (usually) for said questions/behaviors.

Today we spent the majority Of the morning/afternoon walking to, around, and from the mall. While my exploring active social butterfly had a blast exploring (when she got to choose and pick and stay), it wore me out: the walking in the humidity heat, the peopling, as well as trying to keep my active 4-year-old to stay put all combined with the anxiety and stress of an upcoming mental health 3-hour test thing ( I HATE tests!)...on top of the self-assessments I haven't yet done that are due the day of the above-mentioned testing...yep, worn out and ready for it all to be over and done with.  So, the mall. We started strolling through Belk looking at all the garments, then the favorite for both, the bookstore. We spent this was the place we spent most of our time at, looking at toys, reading books to all the stuffed animals, and finally browsing the rest of the store. The rest of the time was spent venturing in and out of the rest of the mall stores in a loop, making a major pit stop ...

It was been raining and Luna has been loving it! We played in the puddles, she soaked herself in the major downpour, and that was just the ending! There was also building and pups and ducks galore! Yay!  I also noticed purchase my other half left on the nightstand. He got promoted!!!! Woohooo!!! Let's just hope we make back westward (or just out of here, cause I am ready to roll). Woohoo!!!  

Today we did our Sunday get ready day. Haircuts, window shopping, and luna play. We had Old Chicago for dinner (luna requested pizza) and then...we got home and my phone ...humified itself?...as I had to let it sit so the USB port would dry out before it would let me charge it. In the meantime, we played with the pups and trains and tracks and I started a quilted skirt project. Fun fun fun! 

Happy Labor day! Before I get into the fun facts of Labor day, I will share a short summary of what we did today: the same as yesterday, heh. I was mentally preparing myself for meeting new people from a throwaway comment of a maybe meet up (that he would have generated) from my other half but that didn't happen. Today was a good repeated of yesterday, we built with books and storied with pups and had copious amounts of screen time. I went done the rabbit hole of professional developments and ended up taking some personal aptitude quizzes from career sites (that basically said I have no hope for any of the technical skills that everyone wants nowadays but have a high interest in forming meaningful relationships and artistic pursuits) and one was well detailed in describing certain personality traits (it described me pretty darn well) ( 16perosnalities ). Crazy, crazy! On to the facts of Labor day (via google)! It pays tribute to the American workforce!  It started in New York in 18...