The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin

I was doing some catching up on the news yesterday and came across this article (well, came across is the wrong word... my news ticker never gives me anything of value like 'bomb kills 3,000 people and leaves crater the size of Australia' that would be to easy... no my news ticker tells me that Gyllenhall and Witherspoon have broken up, because that's really important. Surprised by actual news would be more appropriate wording.) So evidently Switzerland has voted, overwhelmingly, to constitutionally ban minarets. Minarets being the spires used to call Muslims to prayer. I'm blown away by this. It makes me pretty sad and grateful I live here in this country. I was particularly disgusted with this bit of quotation. Backers said the growing Muslim population was straining the country "because Muslims don't just practice religion." Oh, terribly sorry about that. I didn't know that actually living what you believe was wrong. I didn't realize t

                        Thanks to Claire for helping me out! Also I have to tell you guys that the kids loved this activity. They've been spotting letters everywhere we go, definitely an activity worth doing with your own peeps. :)

I was wandering around the blogosphere last night waiting for the Remewin to fall asleep when I came across a review of a book called 'Walking the Bible.' The blogger was disappointed and in her review she made a comment something like this: The author used the premise that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all worship the same God. That is in no way, shape, or form accurate. That got me thinking. I guess I've always thought of God as God, whether he be referred to as Allah or Heavenly Father or whatever else he might be called. I hadn't really stopped to think that I was inferring we all worship the same God. If you really wanted to think long and hard about this (which is what I've been doing since 9pm last night) you start making some connnections. Thinking academically the three religions do come from the same source. All splitting off at different points in time. This would lead one to believe that we basically believe in the same God. Also, and I'

::rubs hands together:: This guy: I saw the David when I was 18. It was right after high school and I had saved money for a year to go to Italy. It was my first time out of the country. It was incredible. Everywhere we went was impressive and I spent 9 days in a cloud of art and culture, but the David was the crowning moment. Take a moment to look closely at the picture above. Take a good look whilst remembering that this sculpture was constructed of marble. See the elbow joint... that's a vein. I can only imagine the amount of talent it takes to produce that caliber of work from stone. We tend to think of people like Michelangelo or DaVinci or any of the greats as above us. But they really were just people like you and I. In fact they lacked alot of the common knowledge that we have... mainly technological. If you take into account that Michelangelo was just a man, a typical person with a knack for art, it makes the David more impressive. He devoted years to this scu

Good morning all. I am currently sitting here waiting for my new best friend the appliance repair man, to come over. I'm so excited to see him. -note sarcasm- I can't find my broom. That's one of those odd comments I catch myself saying every once in a while. --Don't wrap spaghetti around the dinosaurs neck.-- --Leaving the house naked is not okay.-- --Has anyone seen the broom?-- Who loses a broom!? Evidently me. I also got a call from Albowin's school today (already), so the Irish Twins have been attempting to walk to school for a few days now. The bus driver has to pick them up on the side of the road. ::shakes head:: Let me just lay out why this scenario doesn't work. 1) Our house is on the way to school. They would have to go past me to get there. So if they are afraid they are missing the bus, their logic is sadly flawed. 2) The two go to different schools. In our town K-1 go to one school and 2-5 go to another. The school they were hea

That two year old boy child was at it again all weekend long. I... of course... wanted to share it with you all. So here's a day by day breakdown of his antics. Day 1: The Mischievite gets a hold of a green marker. He's a good boy because he hardly ever draws on any walls, tables or windows. My Iyawin has a far more interesting canvas to use--his body. So whilst I was tending to the baby he endeavored to turn himself into a Martian. But he is two so his drawing technique got a little distracted when he discovered that a certain part of his body could be turned green as well. I came out of the bedroom to discover a boy with a green line from collar bone all the way down to the very tip of his. . . . well you get the idea. My son had discovered that the most important area to turn Martian would be the reproductive area. I laughed and laughed and laughed. Day 2: Dear darling boy that I love so much, I actually managed to give him a much needed bath. The green marker was c

I was reading the NieNie Dialogues this morning and she had a link to an interview she had done in Arizona. So I clicked on it and to my surprise was immediately transported into a world I once knew. A world I once lived in. I was startled by the sudden onslaught of emotions that took me. As the news report rolled on a wave of nostalgia washed over me and I grudgingly admitted a certain amount of longing for that arid desert landscape. I listened as the reporter Lin Sue Cooney talked. Her voice reminded me of bright sunny mornings in our little condo. The kids snuggled up on the couch with me as we watched the news. It reminded me of driving down car packed streets under a boiling hot sun as the air conditioner chugged away in front of me. Arizona. It's the sort of place that seeps into your being and begins defining who you are. The sort of place that you leave with a sigh of relief and then spend the rest of your life half longing for. So I kept clicking on all these

Tsunamis. ::shiver:: I can't stand the thought of being killed by water. If I had to give my least favorable way to die--it would be drowning. I think it ties back to when I was a kid. There this birthday party I attended at the swimming pool once and this boy that I knew was being a little rougher than he ought to have been. I don't know exactly what happened but I was under the water and he put his foot on me. At first it was just funny, but then he didn't let it up. He had me completely pinned under the water and I was starting to lose air. I thrashed around a bit trying to get out from under him. I tried to hit his leg, but I was under water. My lungs began to scream, I could feel this pressure building up inside me--like when you've been holding your breath too long. I began panicking. So in my final moments of capacity I grabbed his ankle and dug my fingernails in as deep as I could. It might have been a moment, but it seemed like an eternity, I dug deepe

I'm trying to blog, but Iyawin is watching 'Horton Hears a Who' and since I've never seen it, it's a bit distracting. It's funny. Have you ever seen it? Anyway... Last night I woke up with my hand clasped in Ralexwin's. It was very nice. It also made me think back to right after we were married. When we got married, Ralexwin had a lease with his brother on a little house in the Phoenix area. We moved in with him. We lived on Hamburger Helper and used bug spray like perfume (to keep the cockroaches at bay). We attended church when we could, which is to say when we actually managed to run into each other, since Ralexwin was getting his Civil Engineering degree AND working as a baggage handler at the airport and I was working at a hotel 1/2 an hour from where we lived. I worked 7-3 everyday... he worked 3-11 everynight. It was the very essence of new marriage and like any couple we loved it! It was bright and full of excitement. We had a full size

*Schoolwork assignment Which container holds the most marshmallows? How do you know? Medium. We counted all of them. Gees did you know that? Which container has the smallest volume? Explain. Tall-we counted! Gees it was easy.   *From childrens program at church I love my family because they give me food. They are sweeter than the color of Mars. Mom makes me Halloween costumes (homemade costumes are better than store bought costumes.) They gave me life. They gave me brothers and sisters (though sometimes I have to be really patient.) My mom and dad are better than my friends. "Mom, you look like you still have a baby in your belly." ::gasp:: "Is that like saying your f-a-t?" (five minutes later) "It's not that you are f-a-t, it's just that it looks like you are." *from a story written by Vicbowin I am a PRINCESS I'm stuck in a tower. A prince will come and save me Maybe cousin George, Kyle, or Maybe Uncle Smile Hope they save me.

Amidst the flash of camera's and the scratching of pencils, Cannwin spoke to reporters this morning about the whirlwind that struck her home over the weekend. "I'm just glad we all made it through in one piece. To be quite frank, I was certain we were going to have some bumps and bruises." It all started last week when Cannwin realized she'd taken on to much. "I looked at my calendar and thought to myself, 'I'm only one woman.' " Cannwin, a professed member of the LDS faith did not blame her religion for her overscheduling. "Many people think that Mormon women are 'forced' to be perfect. That's a common misconception. I never feel pressure from the men in my life to be better. It's all self-inflicted." She went on to describe the events of those harrowing 48 hours. "Friday night I told my husband that I'd rather not go to bed, because then I'd have to wake up. It was a hard moment for me, knowin

There's a hair in my bowl There's some hair on my coat There's so much hair in the tub -that it's starting to float. There's pills for my health There's pills for depression With a dime for each pill -I could end the recession. My chest is all sore My skin is all saggy I wish that my clothes -were a little bit baggy. I wake up at one I wake up at four I wake up at every -stupid creak in the floor. I changed clothes last month I showered last week As you can imagine -I'm starting to stink. There's toys on the floor There's laundry in piles Sometimes I just wish -I could sleep for awhile. I went to the store Took the baby along I thought that I'd... That I'd... z z z z z z z z

Just some random thoughts for you to digest today. ---- I managed to get a shower in this morning. How very nice for me and as always happens when I have five minutes to myself I did a lot of thinking. Then I turned to grab the soap and saw this on the shower wall:  That would be my hair creating a rather incredible image. So the nerd in me had to grab a picture. ---- And speaking of hair, the Remewin's hair is incredible. At 3 months old she's got so much of it that I get comments everywhere I go. I saw this blog devoted to hairstyles for little girls a few days ago and she had this cute style for when the girls hair was growing in on the sides and back. So I tried it on my little one and believe it or not she had enough! Ralexwin took her in his arms after I was done and apologized profusely for the torture I was inflicting upon her, but I ignored him. Girls need to get used to these sorts of things. ---- Then I also cut the Vicbowin's hair. I couldn

I think that I hit a turning point in my sewing abilities over the weekend. As if everything before that moment was just practice for the real stuff. I'm so excited! This weekend I made this: (a new carseat cover) click on picture for a fine little tutorial And this: (a repurposed outfit for the Vicbowin) The dress and jacket were made out of a Gap skirt (that I absolutely love and grew ::clears throat:: out of), a tank top, and an Old Navy shirt (the black jacket) that I never wore. I was so surprised at how well both projects came out that I've been gloating about it ever since. It's like I've been trying to learn a new language and all of a sudden it just clicked in my head. Now I can speak Sewingese! I'm so happy with myself that I'm going to shirk all other responsibilities for the day and sew something! You are now reading the blog of a woman who can sew!

Choose your fabric. It's fine to buy something a little cheaper for the back, since no one is going to see it. In fact I got both of these fabric pieces in the clearance section at Wal-Mart. You will also need, matching thread, batting for the middle, and binding for the edges. And alot of pins. Take your old car seat cover and lay it flat on the paper you've chosen to use. You will have several sections you need to trace: A top, a bottom, and any sides or overhanging areas. Now draw around the first section of the layed out car seat.. Generally speaking you can assume that the binding is hiding your seam so you don't need to make an allowance for it, but be aware that the issue might arise. Be sure to mark any parts that lie on the inside of the pattern, like strap holes and any extra stitching. Your patterns will start looking something like this. When you cut out your pattern sections, remember to write what each line is for, and cut