Life in my cookie jar:

Chelsie's Wedding

2012-01-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

I'm no photographer, but I love taking pictures and editing them. I am looking forward to the day when I can own a DSLR camera and take legit photos for friends as well as my own creations and events. Until then, I'll make due with Bob's little broken-screened Canon.

Chelsie is a very close friend of mine--like a little sister I never had. I met her while serving as a missionary for 18 months in San Antonio, TX. A few years later, Bob and I let her live with us for a month while she got back on her feet after couple of exceptionally difficult years of life and trials. Once she got her life in order, she met a fantastic man named Josh, and they fell head-over-heels in love. Within a matter of months they were engaged, and married shortly thereafter.

The wedding was in Salt Lake City, UT, and it wasn't until after Bob and I had moved to San Diego. But Chelsie means enough to me that I was willing and excited to drive up for the celebration and help her out in whatever ways she needed to make the wedding as special as possible.

So while there for a week, I helped her make her veil, her bouquet, and Josh's boutonniere. She's not the extravagant type, so a simple little bouquet and a plain veil with a ribbon sewn around the edge was all she wanted. I also fixed her hair for her.

I was going to add a train to her dress too, but I came down with the flu the day I was going to do it. Miraculously, I was perfectly well during the entire day-of the wedding, but the following day I was back to feeling sick and recovering for two or three weeks after that. Weird, but I'm so thankful that I was well enough to be there for the full day of celebrating!

Here are a bunch of photos I took from her wedding day.

They were so happy as they walked out of the temple where they were married for time and all eternity.

Cute and simple bouquet & boutonniere.

And just look at the love oozing from them!

Chelsie's and Josh's families combined.

Chelsie & her mom. I love both of these ladies!

Me and Chelsie.

I was so happy and the sun was so bright that I couldn't help but get squinty-eyed.

And this is my favorite picture I got of them. They're so in love it's absurd. And wonderful.

Congratulations to you both!

I couldn't be happier in your choice of spouse--either of you!

Upholstering Our Headboard... Again.

2012-01-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Remember that headboard Bob and I built last year? Well, we picked out the fabric for it without realizing how small of a repeating pattern it makes. It didn't take very long for both of us to realize we didn't like it on the headboard. The fabric is great--we both still like it! But not for something with so much surface area.

I used another 50% off coupon at Jo-Ann's and splurged on some really nice upholstery fabric. I originally wanted it to be a rich, dark brown, but I didn't mind the idea of making it another color. So off came the red printed canvas, and on went the new dark brown stuff--tufted and everything!

When we first made it, we never figured out a way for it to mount to the wall or bed frame. Instead we just pushed our mattress about 2 inches away from the wall and let the headboard rest on the box spring which we left right up against the wall. The headboard is tall enough that even though we lost about a foot of its height that way, it still looked pretty good.

I started working on it back in September (hence, no pregnant belly in those pictures) and got it done to a point where I needed to figure out how to mount it on the wall or bed frame again. Bob and I talked over idea after idea and couldn't figure out something we both agreed on. I even went to both Home Depot and Lowe's and asked a few of their employees or "specialists" their ideas. I got a whole bunch of worthless answers, including, "I don't think we have anything here that can do something like that for you." I sometimes wonder why and how those people got jobs working there.

So it got put on hold for a few months. It's been sitting in a closet, tufted and buttons on it, but the fabric wasn't stapled to the back in case I should wait to do that once we figure out a solution. But it's been driving me nuts because every time I open that closet, there it is, beautiful and just waiting to be put up!

It wasn't until we were recently talking to a friend of Bob's who's a handyman and home repair/remodel specialist that he gave us the brilliant idea I'd been waiting for but couldn't think of:

make a French cleat for it.

Duh!

I know exactly what that is, but how did I not think of it sooner?

I had Bob cut it for me (to let him do some of the manly work because I love him, although I could have done it all myself), and then I attached it to the back.

(I love that I'm nearly almost 7 months pregnant and I'm using power tools.

I also really like that I have photographic evidence of it.)

And then Bob helped with the other side of the cleats. Finding studs in these old walls is impossible, but he figured it out (after drilling about a dozen pilot holes). And he hung it up too, because it's heavy and he wouldn't let me try by myself, being pregnant and all.

And now it's finally finished.

Ta-dah!

Look at that tufting! Not too shabby for the project I learned it on.

Bob snapped a couple of pictures of me enjoying our handy-work.

It's comfy and looks pretty too.

Down & Depressed

2012-01-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling down the past several days. Maybe it's just crazy emotions and hormones from being pregnant. Regardless, my feelings are still valid, and I'm sad. It's been quite a while since I've had a day like this.

I'm not sure how to pinpoint it or where it came from. I kept Bob up late last night talking and crying. I feel bad about that, but I really needed it. Today I slept until nearly 11am. I woke up to my stomach grumbling. Were I not pregnant, I would have rolled over and gone back to sleep. But for this child's sake, I got up to eat, but then I got right back into bed. Bob came home for lunch, and after taking him back to work, I decided I wanted to have something (no matter how silly) to show for myself when he comes home tonight. So the Costco-sized bag of toilet paper that has been sitting in our hallway next to the bathroom for 4 days finally got put away.

And then I got back into bed with a bag of chips to munch on.

My friend Adam called. He and a few of our friends from Provo are planning to come and visit for a weekend in February.

Lyssa called and wants me to come and take Valentines Day pictures of her and her husband today around 3:00.

As much as I would love to close the blinds and go back to sleep today, maybe it'll be good for me to get out...

*sigh*

Here's what's been weighing heavily on my mind.

I miss my family. I miss my mom. I wish I was still little so I could curl up on my mother's lap and cry as she'd hold me close and sway gently in her old rocking chair.

I've never lived in California, and the weather here is gorgeous 90% of the time. I'm not used to that. I miss rainy days, thunder storms, snow and sleet, playing in the frosty woods, and watching the sunrise over acres of trees and fields of grass. I've always dreamed of living here and how amazing and glamorous it would be. Everyone from a small town secretly (or not so secretly) wants to live in California, right? Well, I did, anyway.

I have these irrational fears that have only surfaced recently. I worry that something will happen to Bob. Every day when he leaves for work, I make sure that I kiss him and hug him tightly for a moment, just in case it's the last time I ever do. I make sure he knows I love him, because I never want him to leave home without being reminded of that, in case it's the last thing he hears from me in this life.

My life has been filled with wonderful people and an amazing family. But it has also been filled with heartache, hardships, pain, and loss. I've needed my parents and siblings and close friends to help me through all of the difficulty I've had, whether they know about it or not. Right now it seems like I'm just coasting and everything is too good, like it's about time for something terrible to happen again. After all, Heavenly Father never lets too many good things happen to me. He just never has. I'm not bitter about that. If I need trials, then I'll take them humbly and try my best to learn what I need to and prove to the Lord that I'm becoming who He wants me to become. I'm just nervous and anticipating the worst right now because it's been too long since some heart wrenching event has occurred in my life.

And I'm going to be a mother in under three months. I've had the faith that this is what God has wants us to do--have children now and not wait any longer. I've been terrified of having kids for most of my life. The responsibility overwhelms me, not to mention my fear of childbirth. I need to be so selfless for this tiny person that Heavenly Father is trusting me to take care of. My own mother was and is incredible, as well as the epitome of selflessness. How can I ever amount to that? How can I set my own comforts and hobbies and passions aside as frequently as this child will need me to, when those things have been the therapy and means of getting me through the trials and pain that I've been faced with in the past? I still have faith that this is what God would have us do--become parents and bring more of His spirit children into the world to have a chance at life. I know that much is true. I'm just so worried that He's overestimating my strength and ability. Of course He isn't--He knows me better than I know myself. But what if I'm overestimating myself? Am I really ready to be responsible for such a helpless infant who will need 100% of my time, energy, and love?

I'm sure all of these thoughts are due to me being pregnant. But how do I keep going with all of them weighing me down? It's a lot for me to try and deal with right now, on top of the current responsibilities I have.

I mostly just needed to let them out so that maybe they won't be such a focus for me anymore. They're written down, not forgotten about. Maybe I can move on from them, or at least they'll be in the background now.

Another Car Caddy

2012-01-07T16:35:00.001-07:00

I made one of my nephews a car caddy last year for Christmas. It turns out that his little brother loves it just as much and would often try to take it and play with it too.

And ensue sibling disagreements over yet another toy...

So I made another one. Here's how this one turned out:

The inside.

The outside.

I love the detail on it. The paths on the corners,
the pond, the flower bed, and the road, of course.

The latch to keep the caddy closed.

I like how this one turned out too. When I finally have the time and space (which is always the excuse, I know), I'd love to make these and sell them on a regular basis.

And every one of them would be different and unique.

Mom & Dad's Christmas Present 2011

2012-01-07T12:48:00.001-07:00

My mom and dad can be kind of difficult to Christmas shop for. It's not that they're picky or have expensive taste or anything like that. But they literally have everything they need. And if they don't, they'll build or make their own.

They built the beautiful house they live in, and it's out in the country surrounded my fields and forests. My mom has a hobby room where she can sit and make whatever crafty stuff she can think up. My dad has a shop to keep and use all of his fancy tools when he needs to make or repair something. They have a hammock on the back deck for gorgeous, slow days, and lovely furniture inside the entire house. They have a Camry, Jeep, and a little farm truck. Annually, they raise a summer vegetable garden and frequently plant more fruit trees as space and seasons permit. My mom cans or freezes 85% of what they grow so they have delicious, home-grown food year-round. My mom is a fantastic cook and really knows how to make a house a home. They have 4 grown-up kids who are all married, and 8 grand-kids with a 9th on the way. They have a steady, decent income. They've got a fun and healthy marriage, and laughter is a part of every-day life.

So how am I supposed to give them anything they could possibly want or need for Christmas?

When I was 7, it was easy because they'd adore whatever I made with paper and glue and sequins and glitter. I still prefer making them gifts, because they're far more personal and one-of-a-kind. But these days my skills have increased from those basic glued crafts into serious works of art made from whatever medium I'm in the mood for. I know they could care less about what I give them, and they'd prefer to sit and talk and get a hug from me. But I don't live close enough to them to have that option. I live in California and they live in Tennessee. I want them to have a reminder of how much I love and appreciate them. I want them to have something they can see or touch when they need a pick-me-up. So that's what I attempt to do when I embark on making their gifts.

As I was walking through a a huge bead and jewelry warehouse a while back, I noticed some pretty little decorations toward the back on some shelves. There were trees made from wire and natural stone. I'd seen things like that before, but these ones cost between $150 - $350. I think they were quite overpriced. However, I do know wire-wrapping techniques and have made some relatively intricate jewelry in the past, so the gears in my creative brain began turning.

I bought a few spools of copper wire, searched for the perfect color and shape of natural stone beads, and got to work.

I'm pretty pleased with the outcome.

Then I felt like the tree needed an explanation. I wasn't going to be there when they opened it, and I wanted them to know the materials it was made it from as well as the symbolism that turned up in it. Plus, they probably will want to frame or set whatever written description of it with it on display. So I typed and printed something up to go along with it.

Here's what I wrote:

Our Family’s Foundation

copper, Russian jasper, and yellow jade
handmade by Janae L. Pettit

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

Helaman 5:12

Mom and Dad, you established Christ as the foundation of our home, which gave us all the faith and ability to do the same in our individual homes & families. Here is a gift to show my gratitude for the immeasurable and priceless gift you have given me--my testimony and understanding of how important gospel centered living is.

We have been through the storms and trials that have come with living in this world. Like this tree, our family began growing from the “rock of our Redeemer,” and each of us have taken root in a firm place and continued growing and building ourselves upon it. We haven’t fallen, regardless of the ferocity of the adversary’s winds and hail.

This tree is a symbol of our family’ strength and extraordinary uniqueness, as it was carefully created and there is no other quite like it in existence. There are 8 branches, one for each of your 4 children and one for each of their spouses.

They were visiting my grandma in Utah for the holiday, so they needed a way to take it safely back to Tennessee on an airplane afterward. I found a sturdy box that fit the tree perfectly, gift-wrapped the outside, punched some holes in the bottom, and zip-tied the base of it into the bottom so it wouldn't move. I included a couple of extra zip ties so that after opening it, they could take it out, admire it, and then secure it back in the box for traveling.

My mom called me on Christmas morning, and it didn't take long for her to get past the well-wishing formalities so that she could talk about how much she loved the gift. I'm so glad both she and my dad like it. It's another unique treasure they can display in their home, and it has far more meaning than if I'd simply bought and quickly wrapped anything else.

And the quest for next year's gift begins...

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

My favorite memories of Christmas 2011:

Christmas tree shopping with Bob.

We went to the Kiwanis tree lot here and learned about the different kinds of trees they were selling. Then we looked at all of them. We also played hide and seek briefly. After going back and forth in deciding between 2 or 3 trees, we finally picked a gorgeous noble fir to take home with us. Once it was paid for and strapped to the top of the car, we went to Foster's for some ice cream (ice cream + Christmas sounds silly to me, but living somewhere like San Diego makes it seem understandable because it had gotten up into the high 70s during the day), and then we unloaded the tree at home, set it up in the living room, and decorated it together while listening to Christmas music.

Ugly Sweater Parties.

We were only invited to one this year. But it was fun! And now we'll store those awful sweaters away until next year.

My gifts to Bob.

My stocking-stuffers to him sucked, but I made up for it with a Kindle and a Leatherman he unwrapped later.

The gift from me to my mother-in-law.

She likes the color red, and she likes to have a blanket over her while she's sitting in her easy chair. Thank you Lauren for the afghan you made for her! It is perfect! She can't get over how soft and warm it is. She absolutely loves it.

The Spirit of Christmas that never seems to fail.

I was worried that December 25th just wasn't going to feel much like Christmas this year. Things had been so busy and hectic that we didn't have time to do the usual Christmasy things that I'd been wanting to do. All of Christmas Eve consisted of cleaning and organizing parts of the house for dinner the following day. That night we realized we hadn't bought pajamas for each other yet, so we dashed to Old Navy and arrived after they had already closed and locked the doors. We waited, hoping that we might be able to talk an employee into letting us in. It worked and the employee was so nice about it! Men's pj-pants were completely out, so I got Bob 2 shirts instead of a shirt and pajama pants, and he got me a super comfy pair of pajama-sweatpants. We went to bed tired but happy that Old Navy was so forgiving and kept up what little bit of Christmas cheer I'd felt so far. Christmas morning came around, and we all slept in.

Right after waking up. We went out to see what presents Santa had left us.

Then we went to church and heard some wonderful reminders about how the Savior and service is what the season is about.

We snagged a picture of us just after getting home from church.

We came home and got back in our pajamas. And then we opened gifts. It was fun and happy, filled with kind words and that Christmas Spirit, just like opening presents should be.

Stockings stuffed and presents wrapped, just waiting to be opened.

Christmas dinner was filled with interesting conversation, laughter, stories, and helpful hands.

Christmas night Bob and I read from parts of the New Testament about Christ's birth, ending the holiday just as we began it--by again remembering Christ's birth and thanking our Father in Heaven for sending Him to earth 2000 years ago.

... ... ...

Next year will be different. We're hoping to be in our own house by then. We'll have an 8 or 9 month-old son, and a third stocking to hang up. We'll probably be more broke than ever and have more bills than ever too. We'll listen to Christmas music most days from the beginning of December to the end of the month. I'll bake and cook a lot more so we can give goodies to our friends and so that our house will smell more like Christmas. We'll even try to mail out Christmas letters to all of our friends and family members.

But the two things that will stay the same will be our few silly traditions and that never failing Spirit that the Christmas holiday always, always brings.

Bob's Birthday

2011-11-26T10:05:00.001-07:00

Bob turned 27 this year! And his birthday happened to fall on Thanksgiving Day. So after all of the eating and festivities were done, we celebrated Bob. And it was EPIC.

Bob was sitting at the head of the table by the window, and couldn't see into the living room. So towards the end of dinner, I started removing guest's plates as they were done eating. Sinjin was sitting on the opposite end of the table, so I asked him to help me with Bob's birthday presents. He quickly got up to help. I showed him to a massize box covered in a navy blue sheet, and he helped me uncover it and bring it into the living room, then bring out some other smaller boxes all wrapped and set them on top of it. I added a giant bow on top of it all, and slipped back into the dining room. Lana and Uncle Bud could see what Sinjin and I were up to through the doorway, and they both just grinned while pretending there was nothing suspicious going on.

Bob hadn't even noticed that I'd slipped away, and he was still carrying on the same conversation with the missionaries that he was when I'd left a few minutes before.

Soon after that I suggested that we move into the living room where it was more comfortable and we could relax better. Bob and I were last in there. I sat on the couch, directly in front of the pile of presents. Bob sat next to me, and Sinjin sat in an armchair to our right. Bob was still carrying on with Sinjin oblivious to the elephant in the room. Sinjin glanced at me with a big grin on his face. Bob still didn't notice. Lana made eye contact with me silently asking if Bob had seen his birthday presents. Nearly laughing I shook my head no.

Minutes dragged by, all of us just waiting.

I watched Bob's eyes until finally I saw him glance forward.

He suddenly gasped and said, "Whoa!"

He put his hand over his chest and threw his head back and laughed.

"What is THAT?!" he said.

I laughed and replied, "Happy Birthday!"

Everyone laughed and we poked fun at him for not seeing what was obviously in plain sight. He sat there stunned for a few minutes, because the biggest box was unwrapped and everyone could see quite clearly what it was.

Then he finally went over and began unwrapping his other gifts.

Pure joy and surprise. Best reaction EVER.

He wasn't anticipating a tv AND and Xbox....

Stoked!!

All together, he got a 50" flat screen plasma TV, an Xbox 360, 2 controllers, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Halo Reach.

...Oh yes, I spoiled him big time.

Then again, his gifts were just as much for me as they are for him, and he knows it. But he's a good sport and doesn't mind sharing.

He's been so busy with work and things around the house that I've been in charge of our finances. I went over our budget several times before determining a way to afford such extravagant gifts, and after researching and talking with friends who know about TVs and Xboxes (especially one who works at Best Buy), I figured out a way to get exactly what I wanted for him. I was only planning on getting a 42" or possibly a 46" TV, but then I found a 50" that's the same parts and manufacturer as Samsung, but it's the Best Buy brand. All I'm not getting are some silver letters that say 'Samsung' on the bottom of it. And it cost the same as the smaller Samsung. That was an easy choice. (Thank you Stephanie for the advice and tips!)

Bob and I talked about it all later, after everyone had left. He said this birthday was more over the top than any other he'd ever had. I knew that, and he knows this might be his last birthday like this for a while. But I remember the times when my birthday landed on Easter. I remember my mom making sure that we celebrated the holiday, but then she always made a special time for me to make sure I didn't get forgotten about. I know Bob's had the same problem with Thanksgiving, and as I explained how important it was for me to have one day a year to be celebrated, I wanted him to make sure he never felt forgotten about on a day like that. Yes, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, but after that, it was Bob's turn to be in the spotlight. He really appreciated that, and I know he still can't believe he's now the proud owner of a beautiful 50" TV. Sure, it's just a temporal thing, but man is it fun!

Isn't it pretty??

And best of all, I'm still his top priority, as his wife and family should be.

Happy Birthday, Bob!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T13:10:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving was a success this year! The kitchen only got filled with smoke once, but it dissipated quickly and the delicious aroma of turkey and sweet potatoes soon returned. Also, I failed to get ANY photos of dinner or preparation. I'm really bummed about that. I'll have to make some of these dishes again in the coming weeks and get pictures of those to add on here later, with the exception of the turkey. I was really excited to wear one of the aprons my grandma had sent me a week or so back. It's really cute, especially with my tiny pregnant belly, and I wish I had gotten photos of that too.

So here's how the day went.

I got up around 8am, had a nice slow and easy morning, and after a couple of hours I rubbed olive oil on three large sweet potatoes, poked each of them several times with a fork, wrapped them in foil, and baked them for about an hour.

Then I removed my turkey from its wrapping, took out its neck (but put it inside the oven bag to bake with the turkey) rinsed the turkey inside and out, dried the inside out with some paper towels, and made up a recipe for it, basing it off of one I saw on TV the other day. Keep in mind that Thanksgiving isn't about eating healthy and drinking green smoothies. It's about being thankful for what we're blessed with, eating delicious food, and enjoying life's simple but abundant pleasures. Here's my basic turkey recipe:

(Sorry, I don't usually measure of my seasonings. I just added a shake or two here and there, depending on how strong a spice or herb is--less clove and sage, a little more rosemary and cinnamon, more orange zest and pepper...)

One 12 pound turkey, thawed
2 oranges
1 onion

Combine:
2 cubes of butter, softened
salt
pepper
sage
rosemary
cinnamon
clove
orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While raw, carefully separate turkey skin from turkey breast, making a pocket and being careful not to tear or make holes in it. Tuck some butter mix into turkey skin/breast pocket. Rub remaining butter mix over the rest of the turkey, as well as inside the body cavity. Slice one onion into large chunks, and 2 oranges in half. Place inside turkey's body cavity. Place in oven baking bag, then into large baking dish, and bake in the oven for 3.5 hours.

I got the turkey in the oven a little before 11am. Then I scooped out the sweet potatoes into a large bowl, discarded their skins, and stuck them in the fridge to cool more.

Then I had about 3 hours to clean and tidy up the house. Bob had gone surfing that morning, and around noon he called wondering if he could have his surfer friends and their family come over for a light lunch. He then clarified by asking if we could make tortilla soup with our new Blendtec. I was just excited to use that blender again, so I was excited about it. He stopped by the grocery store and bought all of the ingredients fresh, then came on home. I put everything in the blender, and pressed the 'soups' button, and in 90 seconds we had a steaming hot soup for 8 people ready to be eaten. Add lime, avocado slices, and tortilla chips, and it was perfection.

Our friends went home for their own Thanksgiving celebration after about an hour or so.

Around 2pm I made the broccoli casserole:

2 bags frozen broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
cheese (I used a pre-grated four cheese blend)
1/3 C of butter
1 tube of Ritz crackers, crushed (crush them in the tube before opening it--it's easier that way)

Steam broccoli for 5-6 minutes. Place broccoli in a casserole dish, evenly distributed. Pour cream of mushroom soup over broccoli, spread evenly. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese over top of that (I'm a cheese-lover, so I used a couple of good-sized handfuls). In a separate bowl, melt butter and pour in ritz crackers. Mix well, and pour over top of broccoli/cream soup/cheese. Bake for 30 min at 350.

Before I put it in the oven, I made the sweet potato casserole:

Combine:

3 C cooked sweet potatoes (bake them for an hour, cool, then peel)

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C evaporated milk (try evaporated goat milk or try almond milk)

1/2 C melted butter (try 1/3 C coconut oil)

1 tsp cinnamon

Place in greased 8 x11 casserole. Mix topping and spread over top. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Topping:

1 C brown sugar (try 1 C evaporated cane juice + 1-2 tbsp of molasses)

1/3 C flour

1/3 C butter (try 1/4 C coconut oil)

1 C pecans

1 C coconut

optional: sprinkle mini marshmallows on top.

Once I finished putting together the casseroles, the turkey was done. I pulled that out of the oven to let it rest before opening the oven bag and letting Bob carve it. Then I put the casseroles in. I tried a fancy variation of the sweet potato casserole, where I baked it with just the topping so it would get crispy, and then add the marshmallows and broil it for a minute or two to brown them..... And I forgot about it. After a few minutes Bob noticed smoke coming out of the oven. I pulled out the charred marshmallow topping and rushed outside with it to avoid getting anymore smoke in the house. Once it stopped smoking, I went back in, saddened by my mini-fiasco. It was an easy fix though. I grabbed a metal spatula and scooped off the blackened marshmallow topping. Then I added more marshmallows, and tried broiling it one more time. I checked it ever 30 seconds and didn't take the oven mitts off my hands until it was ready to come out of the oven, so as not to forget about it again. I saved the day and no one could even tell I had messed it up the first time.

Then I made the stuffing:

I sliced a granny-smith apple and added it to a Stove Top mix and 5 minutes later it was done.

My mother in law had made the cranberry jello sauce and rolls the day before, Aunt Wei Wei brought Chinese dumplings (made from scratch, and she's Chinese so these are legit and SO good), fried rice, and 2 pies from Costco--one pumpkin and one pecan. We all sat down and ate at about 4pm (even though it was all ready by 3pm.... Family always shows up late, you know...)

So here was our dinner menu:

turkey

stuffing

sweet potato casserole

broccoli casserole

cranberry jello sauce

dumplings

fried rice

rolls

pumpkin pie with whipped cream

pecan pie

juice or water for drinks

Not bad for planning and preparing my first Thanksgiving nearly all on my own! I think delegating is the key--the less I had to cook, the more I kept my head on and enjoyed the day.

We had a wonderful time visiting together:

myself,

Bob,

Lana (my mother-in-law),

Aunt Wei Wei,

Uncle Bud,

Sinjin (Bob's cousin and Bud and Wei Wei's son),

David (a Chinese guy who is renting a room in Aunt Wei Wei's house),

and the two missionaries from church, Elder Geier and Elder Kirchoeffer.

We had a good time visiting with family, telling stories, and getting to know each other better. It was memorable and really made me appreciate the family I married into.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2 Years!

2011-11-22T14:23:00.001-07:00

On November 21st, 2009, I married my best friend. We've been through a lot in just 2 years of marriage. In some ways it feels like it's been longer, while in a lot of other ways it still feels like our wedding was just a month ago.

2 weeks into our marriage, our apartment flooded.
1 month in, my cousin lived with us for 3 months so she could get on her feet out in UT.
6 months in, I quit my job, then went to Singapore by myself for a month for school.
9 months in, a close friend lived with us for a month so she could straighten out her life.
10 months in, we moved to a better apartment and I got a better job.
12 months in, we celebrated 1 year of marriage & took a road trip to visit family in CA.
15 months in, I quit that job because it wasn't actually better.
16 months in, I really did get a better job.
17 months in, I postponed school until I could figure out what I want to get a degree in.
18 months in, Bob finally quit his demeaning and awful job.
21 months in, we found out I'm pregnant & moved to San Diego in a big leap of faith.
24 months in, we celebrated 2 years of marriage.

And throughout the whole thing, Bob has been patient, kind, and loving toward me. I've made incredible progress in coping with my diagnosis of PTSD and the challenges it brings, all due mainly to Bob's help and support. He's made progress with his diagnosis of ADD, and together we've learned to make the weaknesses it's caused him into strengths that he can use to his advantage. We're happier now individually and together than ever before in our lives.

Allow me to brag a little bit about how amazing of an anniversary we had.

We completely splurged. It's our last wedding anniversary without children (until we're old and retired), which in our minds also means we only have a few months left to use our money irresponsibly until we need to use a big chunk of it for this baby boy we're having in a few short months.

So......

We went to the Loews Coronado Bay Resort.

I'd never been over to Coronado before, so let me tell you about it. It's a small island right off the bay by downtown San Diego. It's got a very elite-feeling little city on it, with adorable little shops and houses lining the streets, a small military base, and several hotels and resorts strewn along it.

We checked in on Sunday around 6pm. We told them it was our anniversary and that I'm almost 5 months pregnant, so they upgraded us to a better room with a better view--3rd floor, king sized bed, and a bay view from the balcony. It was magnificent!

I didn't take this picture, but this is what our room looked like (thank you Google!).

We had dinner at one of the little restaurants there that night, called the Market Cafe. I ordered what was called the chicken duo (and it was, by the way, the best chicken dish I think I have ever eaten--seriously!) and Bob had braised short ribs with truffled potatoes, bone marrow (yes, it was a cooked bone sliced open showing the marrow to scoop out and eat), and steamed seasonal vegetables. We got an additional side of grilled asparagus, because I love that stuff--especially when it's cooked right. It was all SO good! Later we got some chocolates for dessert, and just explored around the resort for a little while before relaxing in our room for the rest of the night.

Monday morning was our anniversary date. I woke up around 6am to the most beautiful sunrise!

The horizon was bright orange and I could see across the bay to the city of San Diego and the mountains behind it raising up out of the low-lying fog.

Look across the bay at all of that fog covering San Diego!

After taking those pictures, I laid back down in bed and dozed for a few more hours until Bob woke up. We ate muffins and yogurt in bed for breakfast, then got up as slowly as we wanted. I had a prenatal appointment at 11am. We went and heard our son's heartbeat again. He's strong and healthy and so am I.

We went to lunch at City Deli in downtown San Diego, just a few blocks from my doctor's office.

I got the BBQ brisket sandwich, and Bob got a Reuben.

I'm such a carnivore sometimes...

A messy carnivore.

Mmmm..... Look at that amazing Rueben....

Last bite!

Then we walked enjoyed downtown a little. We went to Village Hat Shop for about an hour and tried on dozens of fun, weird, and stylish hats. Bob bought me a really cute one that he wouldn't let me put back once I tried it on.

Here I am sporting my new hat while admiring these cute little birds in a huge birdhouse at Loews.

We drove back to Loews, relaxed a bit, and then Bob sent me to the spa for a 50 minute prenatal massage while he stretched out and relaxed in the spa hot tub. The Sea Spa itself was amazing. I was handed a comfy robe and sandals when I checked in for my appointment. The halls and rooms were filled with candles and lounge chairs. The locker room was the classiest locker room I'd ever seen. The showers were complete with fantastic shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and even shaving cream. There were complimentary lotions, shower caps, razors, hair spray, deodorant, and a hair dryer. And my massage was exactly what I needed! All the stress and tension in my back, legs, and feet had disappeared and I felt like my age had decreased by several years.

While I was at the spa, Bob had snuck back down to the car to get my anniversary present that he'd left hidden behind the back seat. When we made our way back to our room, I walked in and there on the bed was a big box wrapped in gold wrapping paper. As I changed and put on my robe, I pulled out a little sealed envelope for Bob, feeling silly at how small my gift looked compared to his. We ordered room service for dinner, since we were far too relaxed to go anywhere, and then while we were waiting for dinner to be delivered we opened our presents.

Bob got me a Blendtec blender. I've been wanting one for years! And let's be honest, it's just as much for himself as it is for me, not that I mind.

I gave Bob a home-made card, and inside I'd folded up 2 vouchers for a paddle board class. Bob's been wanting to try paddle boarding, so I bought 2 so he could decide if he wants to take me or take one of his friends. Of course he wants to take me, so my gift to him is just as much for me as it is for him.

What perfect presents to celebrate being married--we get to enjoy them together, not just separately.

Our dinner showed up, and it was incredible! Bob really wanted hot wings. So we got some hot for him and some mild for me, along with some parmesan french fries on the side. I ordered an Italian pasta dish. We brought some sparkling cider with us so we got some wine glasses along with dinner, plus some complimentary chocolate covered strawberries. It was absolutely lovely and so romantic to have an intimate meal in the privacy of our own room.

After eating and letting our food settle a bit and before going to bed, we took those drink vouchers downstairs to the lounge, and enjoyed some delicious non-alcoholic drinks, mixed nuts, and M&Ms. We both got these drinks called Blushing Bubbles. They came in champagne flutes with a little lemon rind twist decorating the top and were utter bubbly-raspberry-lemony bliss.

Tuesday morning we woke up and had muffins and hot chocolate on the balcony.

Then went back to the Sea Spa to enjoy the free amenities before we checked out of our room.

Ahhh.... The fresh morning sun quickly warmed up the chilly morning air.

We might have spent more money than we probably should have... But--my goodness--it was worth every penny! We did enough that we felt accomplished instead of lazy, and that's what has made me feel so good about or stay-cation. That's what made it feel longer than just a couple of nights. And none of it was stressful--we had no schedule, but we had lots of possible activities to enjoy.

Happy 2-year anniversary to us!

We sure know how to celebrate, if you ask me. We'll see how much we can simplify our celebrations in the coming years as we tighten our belts while having kids and preparing for the future. I'll be perfectly happy to go to romantic restaurants instead of having all-out extravagant evenings.

All I really want is to be with Bob for a few special hours while we reflect on our courtship, our beautiful wedding, how strong our marriage is, and the reasons why we're still madly in love with each other. <3

It's a boy!!

2011-11-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

We had an appointment with an ultrasound technician on November 14th. It was an anatomy scan, so along with checking our baby's size and health, we found out the gender.

We went in and within 5 seconds of using the ultrasound machine the technician had this shot:

Yeah, there's no denying that.

It was as if he was saying, "Yeah Mom, I'm a BOY!! Not a girl like you've been thinking."

My first thought was, 'Oh... Wait... Our baby's not a girl..?' I was kind of stunned.

And then it hit me.

We're having a boy.

We're having a BOY!!!

Bob was so proud.

We can take him fishing and teach him how to use a pocket knife. We can take him hiking and camping. We can teach him to play soccer and lacrosse. He can get hatchets and crazy tools and knives from his uncles for Christmas. We can teach him the gospel and pray that he'll serve as a missionary for two years at age 19. Bob can baptize him at 8 years old and he can become a Deacon and pass the Sacrament at church when he's 12. He'll be our oldest child, and he'll be loving and protective of his siblings--especially his sisters.

I shed some tears as I looked at the computer monitor and saw those images of his little body squirming and wiggling, then relaxing and resting.

"He's a really beautiful baby," the technician said multiple times, admiringly.
"You can tell that in those pictures?" I asked.
"Oh yes!" she responded. "He's got great features and really is good-looking."
I was sure that she says it often to most expectant mothers she sees, but she made sure that we knew she wasn't just saying it. She absolutely meant it.

As the she was checking his measurements and organ processes, he got the hiccups. It was so cute! He also decided to show off and he flexed his muscles for us, proving his masculinity that much more. We laughed. Bob held my hand and looked thrilled, torn between looking at me and looking at the images of our son with sheer joy on his face.

What a special moment.

Here's his umbilical cord.

His little legs!

One profile shot.
You can see his left hand by his chin and his umbilical cord next to that.

Look at his face--those teeny features are adorable!

Little forehead, nose, and mouth... I think he was about to start sucking his thumb here.

Not sure what this is, but it's him!

Wait... I'm human... Does that mean that Bob's an alien!?
His little skull is even kinda cute, even if he does look alien.

His little arm and hand. So tiny and cute!

This is my favorite shot. Look at how much of him you can see! Head, arms, hands, torso, leg...

And now we have to decide on boy names. We're not in any rush.

We are open to suggestions--who knows how we'll find his name!

We'll know it when we hear it or when we see him face to face for the first time.

20 weeks. I'm halfway there!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T13:24:00.002-07:00

Bob is really clever.

He's also got a cheesy sense of humor.

He loves old-man jokes, corny punch lines, puns, and plays on words.

I've listened to him tell a 20 minute story he made up just so he could say a well known string of words with a few mixed up letters so that the meaning is completely changed from what we're all familiar with.

It's the kind of thing 80% of the population might roll their eyes at, but I laugh every time.

So it's no surprise that Bob had a silly, although brilliant, idea for Halloween costumes this year.

He said it, and then I made it happen.

We're a good team.

Bob the baker.

The bun in the oven.

I used a box, my Leatherman and a box cutter, packing tape, spray paint, hot glue, magnets (to keep the oven door closed), aluminum foil, and the knobs are juice bottle caps with round white stickers on them.

Buy a box of honey buns, put one inside, and the costume is complete.

It's a fun pregnant-lady costume, and wouldn't have been complete without the proud pastry chef.

I love dressing up in epic Halloween costumes every year.

We'll have to out-do ourselves again next year, and we'll have an additional tiny family member to incorporate into the mix. We're already planning it out. It will be epic--I can guarantee that much.

Ahh, Pregnancy and Maternity Clothes.

2011-10-21T15:43:00.000-06:00

This pregnancy has really been rough on me so far. I've still been getting crafty pretty often, making things and starting projects, etc. I just haven't had the energy to photograph and blog about any of them. Well, I'm really hoping that changes soon. I'm 16 weeks now, and I've had more energy lately, even if I've still been feeling raunchy. But energy is good! I still sleep 10 or more hours a night, but I've been trying to go to bed at a more regular hour too... Like 1:30am instead of 3am. Baby steps! I can't just go to bed at 10pm after I've been staying up until 4am every night. Anyway, after my brief visit to the ER to start the week off, I've been doing a lot better.

Oh yeah. I went to the ER at 3am Monday morning. I had only thrown up once this whole pregnancy, and that was because I didn't eat as soon as I should have. But Sunday morning I was puking due to more than morning sickness. I also had diarrhea really bad, and I know that's not a normal symptom from pregnancy. By the end of the day, I knew I was sick. I couldn't keep anything down and I was dehydrated, which was starting to cause painful cramping in my abdomen. So we had an adventure to the ER.

They gave me some Zofran. It helped immediately and the nausea/vomiting was gone in a matter of minutes. They did an ultrasound, and the baby was fine. I dozed on and off all night, getting maybe an hour total of sleep. Then I was released to go home somewhere around 10am with a prescription for Zofran. It really is a miracle pill.

Bob is a really wonderful man though. He took care of me all day long, getting me whatever I wanted (mostly just 7-Up or Ginger Ale and crackers). Then he stayed with me in the ER all night without sleeping at all. And then he had a job interview at 8am. He went 40 hours straight by the time he got to sleep again, around 3pm. Bless his heart. I married a good man.

Good news: I'm beginning to feel better and Bob got the job.

So, like I mentioned before, I've been trying to keep busy and make stuff to keep from going crazy. I'll post about my projects little by little. The one I'm currently most excited about is my first piece of maternity clothing. I've looked, and the rumors that maternity clothing is expensive are true. Forget about using my grocery money to look cute! I'm making my maternity outfits.

Before we moved here, I went to the DI and found some large and hideous clothing that had potential as something it wasn't and bought them for cheap. One was a men's polo shirt, size large. I liked that it was a knit and the print on the fabric is what gave it potential.

Now, I tried to get a picture of it before working on it, but I failed to upload the photo to my laptop before altering it.... And this was the outcome:

[insert fail music here]

Just imagine a shapeless polo shirt with a black collar and short sleeves that go all the way down to my forearms.

I need a new camera. I broke the screen on ours sometime when I was snowboarding last year. So I have no idea what's going on when the buttons are pushed on it. It's a surprise every time. I know which button to press for a timer, but that's all.

So after playing button mash on my camera I can show you that I made an adorable maternity tunic!

Adjustable front tie so that as I get bigger I can have it as tight or loose as I want.

Cute and fitted in the back!

Yay!! I made my first maternity shirt!

First Prenatal Visit, Finally!

2011-09-28T15:00:00.001-06:00

I found out I was pregnant at a really inconvenient time. We were moving out of Utah just barely too soon to get any medical aid, and moving to California just a little too late in the pregnancy to get the usual 10-week checkup. Neither Bob nor I have jobs yet. No health insurance. Medi-Cal denied us because we didn't understand something in the paperwork and all the bureaucracy nonsense, so we're trying to get an advocate to help us understand it all. Our savings is drained. We are literally dirt broke with about $5 in our checking account and $6 in my wallet. It's been a little stressful, to say the least.

My mother-in-law is pretty good friends with a lady at church who happens to be an ob-gyn. She emailed her and told her about our situation, and this angel of a doctor just told us to come in for an appointment asap. So we did. I called yesterday afternoon and the receptionist asked if 9:30am the following day was too soon. Ha! No way! So Bob and I went in, finally, for our very first prenatal doctor's visit. We didn't do everything during the checkup that most people do, but that's because we weren't going to pay a cent for anything at that time. The bill would come later as we could afford it. Some lab work and results require payment immediately, so to instead of any of that we just talked with Dr. Williams about everything and she did an ultrasound. It was a very simple first visit.

I'm not really showing yet, so it still doesn't seem real. This really helped it sink in. There's absolutely no denying that we're having a baby within the next several months.

There's only one in there (Phew! There's a high chance we could have twins).
I'm officially 13 weeks along (that's one week farther than I thought).
I've gained 3 pounds so far (I think it's due to doing nothing but eating and sleeping for the past two months, not so much the baby weight).
And my official due date is April 4th. That's right, on my very own birthday.

We have the first pictures of our baby!

The ultrasound pictures were so fun to get! And Dr. Williams is wonderful. She was trying to get good images at different angles all over my abdomen. I have a tilted uterus, which makes it slightly more difficult than normal, but by this point it doesn't make too huge of a difference. Our little fetus is quite the mover, too. Dr. Williams had a tough time getting a good image because this growing baby just would not hold still! So don't worry if you can't see these images very clearly. It was tough to get any clear shots. Dr. Williams even took the time to rewind the footage and show us our baby's individual fingers as they moved across the screen at one point. We could see four perfect little finger tips and a little thumb. Facial features were clear, especially the eyes. We could see the umbilical cord, spine and other bones really well.

It was tough not to cry as we looked at the beginnings of our first child-to-be. It was a really exciting moment for us, and we can't wait to see the progress in the coming weeks and months.

The day I knew...

2011-09-02T19:17:00.002-06:00

August 2, 2011

I woke up at 7:25am with a full bladder. Before I even opened my eyes I immediately thought, "Pregnancy Test! Pregnancy Test!"

I had a lot on my mind last night as I was falling asleep. I was thinking about the episodes of 24 your dad and I watched, all the things we had to get done, all the boxes we needed to pack for our move to San Diego, how great Nichole's wedding dress turned out (since I had just finished it) and how much I should charge her, and of course, my worry that I would forget to take one of those expensive pregnancy tests when I woke up in the morning with a full bladder. Quite the opposite of forgetting, I couldn't just lay in bed ignoring my need to use the bathroom like I usually attempt to. I was feeling fidgety and nervous, probably because I knew without taking the test that I was already pregnant.

So I got up, and in the dim morning light coming through the bathroom window, I made a good guess at my aim to take that pregnancy test. I washed my hands, then found a blanket to wrap around me as I sat on the couch and waited for what seemed like the longest three minutes I can remember.

I picked up the test stick that was sitting on the arm rest next to me. Was that... two lines? Was one just really light or was I imaging it? I walked over to the window for more light.

Two lines. There were definitely two little pink lines.

I set the stick down on a shelf in the bathroom, unsure of what to do next, so I crawled back into bed where your dad was still fast asleep. As I did so, he rolled over and put an arm around me, pulling me closer to him and sighing with relief. Even in his unconscious sleeping state he loves me.

But I couldn't go back to sleep. I couldn't even keep my eyes closed. I scanned the bookshelf against the wall I was facing. I remembered that your Aunt Ashley had given me a pregnancy planner a while back because she didn't need it and thought I might find it useful some time relatively soon. I couldn't see it. I needed to find it. I needed to find something to grasp onto and answer the questions and concerns that kept filling up my mind.

I slipped back out of bed and got dressed. There was no way I could just lay there for another hour and a half until my alarm went off. I looked at the bookshelf and found the planner, hidden behind a larger notebook. I pulled it out and crept into the living room, sitting down in the armchair next to the big front window.

So many things ran through my mind: How far along was I? When would I be due? We don't have health insurance. How can we afford this? Who can I talk to? Everybody will talk to everyone else--I don't want to tell anyone yet. I don't want to tell my mom or Trina or Ashley yet. It's too early. I almost don't want to tell Bob.

I opened the planner and looked at what the first trimester will be like. I looked in the back at what was happening to you at this point, looking at images, reading about your growth, and trying to understand how tiny you were at that instant. I determined that I must be 3 or 4 weeks along. That means you'll be born close to my birthday.

I sat deep in thought for a little while. Just two days ago your Aunt Trina asked if I was pregnant because of some foreign old wive's tale someone had mentioned to her about Peyton's behavior that day at church. I'd said no, but the rest of the day I couldn't stop considering it. I was having some symptoms--I was gassy and had random stomach cramps, tenderness in certain places, and I'd thought I was just PMSing the other week, but if that was the case then I should have been menstruating by now if not sooner.

I spent a few hours online researching insurance and medicaid possibilities, signing up for free emails, tips, ideas, and baby products, and trying to get myself well aware of what to do next.

Your dad woke up around 9:00am when his alarm clock went off. After going to the bathroom he came out and sat next to me at the computer. He looked on the desk where I'd laid that pregnancy planner.
"Are we going to have a baby?" he asked.
"Maybe."
"Are you ok with that?"
After a pause I said, "I think so."

I guzzled water and took the other two pregnancy tests in the box at different times. I wanted to be sure. I didn't even have to wait three minutes for them--each time they came up with two pink lines within 15 seconds.

It wasn't until lunch time that I cried. I made chicken salad sandwiches and as your dad asked a blessing over the food, he specifically prayed for us, for you, and for our future. I'd been on the edge of tears on and off all morning, and that was finally what sent me over the edge. They weren't sad tears, or frightened tears, well--mostly not. They were tears of comfort and timid joy.

I can't imagine living life and enjoying eternity with anyone but your father. I can't imagine trusting anyone else to be a loving, protective, fun dad for you and your siblings other than him. Of course we'll figure everything out, and I trust that he'll work hard to make sure all of your needs and mine are provided for. I'll do my part, and he'll do his. We'll be the best parents we know how to be, and hopefully Heavenly Father knows what he's doing and knows that we're ready for you, or that we will be ready in 8 or 9 months.

We're so excited to meet you in this life, to see you as a brand new person, and hold you in our arms. I've been anticipating that moment when I'll get to hold your little body and spirit in my arms, knowing that our family is closer to being complete. I've agonized with tears of sadness, aching because I've missed you and wanted you to be here as my child so much. Although I'm nervous, I'm thrilled. These next several months are going to be full of challenges, memory-making, physical discomfort, spiritual growth, and most of all--absolute happiness at the thought of holding you in my arms--finally.

We love you. We always have, and we always will.

Independence Day

2011-09-02T19:04:00.001-06:00

(I'm catching up on old posts I've been meaning to get done...)

For the 4th of July, Bob and I really lived it up.

Parade in the morning...

The tank was cool.

So were all these military vehicles.

And this old car.

Here's Bob, with some really awesome bagpipers parading behind him.

And this was my favorite part. I know, how nerdy of me...

Yay! Parades can be fun.

Seven Peaks in the afternoon...

We completely splurged and bought season passes that

day so we can go as often as we want until we move.

And I'm getting little freckles on my face from the summer sunshine!

And we finished the day with Chinese-takeout and watching fireworks at Thanksgiving Point from the side of the road.

Can you tell we were kind of tired by the end of the day?

It was fun and quite memorable.
Happy Independence Day!

Bridesmaid Dresses: DONE!

2011-06-22T23:17:00.002-06:00

I went to Tennessee for 10 days, from June 10-20th. Jennifer had her wedding and I wanted to have a short vacation. I sewed every morning, all afternoon, and even during half the night every day until the wedding. Then I had a day and a half to relax. It was NOT long enough. At all. It never is.

But I'm happy these dresses are done. I'm glad I had the opportunity to help Jennifer out and design and make her bridesmaid dresses from her wants and the ideas that came out of my little brain. In our first conversation about them, she told me she wanted them to stand out and just really pop. That they did!

Looking at how they turned out, there are things I would have changed about them and they would have looked better. Had I used my time more wisely I might have had time to actually make those adjustments as I realized them, like putting boning in every dress, not just the maid of honor's.

Overall, I think they looked great, and really made the wedding party look how Jennifer envisioned.

Kaitlyn, the flower girl loved her dress.

Everyone really liked the zebra print lining.

Erica, the maid of honor, really liked her dress. I was so glad it fit her perfectly--I hadn't had a chance to do a fitting for her until three days before the wedding! Luckily, I didn't have to make a single alteration.

I was also happy that Erica's dress fit her so well because she was bending over and fixing Jennifer's dress all evening. I'm glad it was high-cut enough that she didn't fall out of it or have a single problem with it.

Look at how adorable this shot is! Those dresses looked great, as did all of the girls, especially Jennifer.

Wedding Dress Alteration

2011-06-03T21:43:00.002-06:00

I have this sign in my front yard advertising that I make bridesmaid dresses and formals. I've had it there since January, maybe longer. It never really seemed to do anything for me except look nice and professional.

Then last week a girl called me because she sees that sign in my yard nearly every day as she walks up to campus.

Yay!!

She was actually wondering if I could put some sleeves on her wedding dress.

The last time I did something like that..... They didn't turn out very well. (Sorry about that, Trina. But I did it for free!) If I'd known then what I know now, they would have turned out a LOT better...

Anyway, she came on over and showed me the dress and extra fabric she'd gotten from the bridal store, and told me what she had in mind. As it turns out, she originally was going to have a bolero made by the alterations specialist at this bridal store, but when it was made, it just was not what she wanted. They altered it, and didn't do anything that she'd asked them to do. Then they wouldn't make the bustle for the train like she wanted. She finally just gave up, frustrated at how expensive it was and how it was all for nothing. (It's not the first time I've heard complaints about that specific bridal store or fixed something they messed up on another wedding gown.)

Then she called me.

It's a pretty easy job, really. Well, for me it is. It just takes a little time, especially since I'm sewing some lace onto it by hand. It's just about done, so I took pictures.

Before:

After:

I actually like it with the sleeves more. I think wedding dress designers just design sleeveless gowns because it's easier. Sleeves can be tricky, but these ones weren't difficult at all.

I hope it's what she wants!

As if that wasn't enough, that same day another girl knocked on my door wondering about bridesmaid dresses for her wedding in August. So much for slowing down after this month....

I guess Heavenly Father is answering my prayers about how we'll earn and save enough money to move to San Diego.

start-up capital

2011-05-29T14:00:00.005-06:00

On Friday night I got really excited about starting my business. I began typing up all of my ideas into a business plan. I was going to wait until July, after I'm done with everything I'm doing for Jennifer's wedding, but I just couldn't help it.

I wrote down the service my business will offer, listed out all of the dessert items that will be included on the menu, the regularly used ingredients, kitchen utensils that will be needed, the jewelry and clothing -making items that will be needed, and the equipment I'll need to get started.

That night as I was laying in bed trying to sleep, ideas kept popping into my mind, so I wrote them down on a notepad I have on my nightstand. I finally dozed off, with my imagination running wild envisioning the store, the treats, the displays, the kitchen....

Saturday morning I woke up early to bring our card table to a friend's house so she and several others could borrow it for their yard sale. I should have joined in on it with all of our leftovers from our yard sales last year, but I just didn't have the energy.

While there, I noticed a couple of slat-board shelving units someone was selling. "Start-up capital!!" my brain yelled at me. One even had a signboard on top of it. I found out whose they were, went to an ATM, then went back and bought both of them for $20! Those things retail for way more than that. What a deal!

Then I searched and searched for the accessories that go on it, like the baskets and hooks and what-not. Lowes and Home Depot don't carry anything for them. Staples has it on their website, but not in the store. I finally broadened m search and found a couple of stores in SLC that carry that stuff. All but one were closed on Saturdays. Well, that made it easy. So I took a trip up there.

The store is called Modern Display. Oh, my goodness--it's a good thing I don't live closer to it or else I'd spend all of my money in there! The downstairs level is full of gorgeous furnishings and decor, as well as holiday decorations, things like faux flowers, stunning candlesticks, vases, mirrors, wall clocks, etc. It's like an upscale section of Hobby Lobby. Then the upstairs level has all of the store and business display merchandise, including jewelry display items, signs, fitting room mirrors, mannequins--seriously almost anything you need for a store. I went right to the clearance corner and found all of the hooks I needed and a small shelf. I spent a whopping $6 on it all! That's way better than the prices I was finding online.

I got home and spray painted the hooks and shelf so they'd all match (they were different colors and I wanted them the same) with the paint I used on my succulent plant container. Then I rearranged my living room/office area so that my new/used slat board unit would fit better in the front window with my dressmaking model.

I love it.

Of course, it's more that we'll have to pack when we eventually move.

But it's startup capital for my store.

There. Justified.

from tacky to trendy

2011-05-29T13:25:00.003-06:00

I love plants. I love flower gardens, vegetable gardens, potted plants, etc. But it's been tough to keep them alive and healthy. It's not that I lack a green thumb, it's just that I'm not home enough to really take care of them. I've been going out of town a lot recently, and with Bob out of town so frequently as well, it's been impossible to keep any plants healthy. Take this, for example:

My kitchen window flower pot.

It used to have two flowers in it.

One died.

The other one is on its way, if you'll notice the poor leaves and shriveled up flowers on it. And especially with me going out of town for 10 days in a couple of weeks, I doubt it'll last. Bob won't be home either, so how am I supposed to keep these poor things alive?

I'm hoping I found a solution. I've seen these little "zen garden" style dishes with cute little succulents growing in them. They're hardier and don't need to be watered so often, so I'm hoping when I go out of town they'll last until I can make it back. I've wanted to get one of these for a while, but I haven't been able to afford one.

Then I just decided to make my own. I practically make everything else, so why not?

After getting my paycheck and depositing it on Friday, I went to Lowes. I found all of the little tiny plants I was looking for, costing $2-3 each. I almost got a cactus, because they had these pretty flowers on the tops of them. Then I looked closer, and realized that the flowers were fake and just glued on. Total let-down! I ended up getting an aloe vera plant, something nicknamed "baby toes," and three others.

The chic little bowls and dishes that usually hold these plants are ridiculously expensive. Well, the ones there were, anyway. So I went to the DI. I love going there, but the problem is I always end up getting more than I intend to get, so I don't go very often. I walked back to my favorite aisle--the one with all the glass jars and vases. See, I collect really unique flower pots and glass jars and containers of all sorts. It took all of my self control not to snatch up 5 or so really cool glass jars right at first. I had to keep telling myself, "It'll just be more to pack later when we eventually move..."

I settled on this horrible shiny brass-colored tin container that had these old, faded, dirty fake flowers in it. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take a full-on before picture. I was just so excited to see the finished product that it slipped my mind.) I ran to one last store and bought a can of spray paint, then headed home.

Here are those nasty fake flowers.

I'm sure they were pretty at some point.

Maybe.

I spray painted the container a nice metallic/hammered metal brown color. There was also some really dried out Spanish moss covering the floral foam the flowers were stuck in, so I used it to cover the soil, then covered that with some little stones I still have from our wedding reception a year and a half ago.

I love how it turned out!

Too hilarious not to tell...

2011-05-18T09:19:00.004-06:00

Sometimes the strangest things happen to me.

And then sometimes, I accidentally do the strangest things.

Lucky for me, both of those happened to me this morning, and it's not even 9am.

I woke up to Bob kissing me goodbye as he left for work. It was about 7am, and he smelled like pancakes and fresh orange juice. I laid in bed a while longer, enjoying how cozy it was under the covers on another chilly and rainy morning. I finally got up and went to the living room, snuggled up under a quilt on the couch out there, and turned on my laptop for my usual online routine: email, facebook, check what new episodes are on Hulu, check for updated comics that I read, play some of my nerdy video games for a little while, etcetera.

At some point my stomach rumbled, so I went into the kitchen to see if Bob had left any pancakes for me. He did. Then I remembered we were out of syrup. I didn't want to wait ten minutes and make some more. I was hungry now. So I peaked around in the fridge and found caramel syrup. Then I found chocolate syrup. They're syrup, right? Close enough for me right now. I drizzled them over my pancakes and decided they would be good enough.

As I walked back to the living room I noticed a spot on my foot hurting. It had hurt all morning when I walked or stood on it, but this time I decided to check it out before I ate my oh-so nutritious breakfast. I set my plate aside on the couch next to me, and looked at the underside of my foot. It was hard to tell because I hadn't turned on any lights and it was still pretty dim inside our house from the rainy-day light coming in through the windows, but it looked like... a hair was stuck in my foot?

I walked into the bathroom to find the tweezers and sit next to the window in there for better light. Sure enough, a half inch long piece of hair was stuck into the bottom of my foot like a splinter. I know I gave Bob a haircut barefoot yesterday, but... That was really weird. I pulled it out, and my foot felt immediately better. Seriously weird.

Somewhere between setting my plate aside and being weirded out by that hair-splinter, I forgot I had a plate of chocolate syrup covered pancakes on the couch....

:)

I sat right on my plate, which was camouflaged so well by the colorful quilt next to it. I had a sudden cold sensation on my backside, so I squealed and jumped up at the same time, and when I realized what happened then couldn't stop laughing. I looked at my behind and it was all I could do to stay upright from laughter as I went into the bathroom, took off my pants and rinsed them under some cold running water.

It was just too hilarious and embarrassing not to mention.

The good news is that my pants are already a brownish-tan color, so if they stain, it won't be too noticeable. The other good news is that fortunately, my pancakes weren't ruined. Just flatter, and I enjoyed them anyway.

epiphanies & 18 hour days

2011-05-13T14:10:00.002-06:00

At work, Mother's Day is probably our busiest holiday of the year. Valentines Day is pretty close behind it, but seriously, Mother's Day was....ridiculous. In a good way. We started getting ready for it a week or two ahead of time, cutting the lengths of ribbon we need, folding boxes for arrangement transportation, putting together the 12 and 6 count boxes for chocolate dipped fruit, prepping loads and loads of containers and vases for arrangements, etc. The only thing we couldn't prep that far ahead of time was the actual fruit itself.

Thursday, May 5th was pretty normal, except that instead of going into work at 4pm I went in at 10am and stayed the entire day. Then Friday I went in at 7:30am and didn't get off until after 2am. Saturday was the same. And Sunday I went in at 7:30am and got off around 5pm. I worked a 10 hour day, nd 18 hour day, another 18 hour day, and then a 10 hour day after that. What made it even longer was standing for nearly that entire time. I'd get home and ask Bob to give me a foot massage at 3am, which he'd kindly do for me, then I'd fall asleep during it, and get up a few hours later to go stand some more.

Saturday morning I awoke and sat up in bed to rub the sleep from my eyes. Then I stood up. The familiar throbbing in my feet and tenderness in my knees came back immediately, my hands were stiff and forearms sore from pinching the fruit skewers and pushing them into arrangement foam for hours on end, and my back hurt from holding and leaning over the chocolate dipping pots. It was hard not to whimper as I walked from the bedroom to the bathroom, knowing the day would consist of all the same work, and that I'd be feeling even worse by the end of the day, and worse by the following morning.

Luckily for me, Bob was working as a temporary delivery driver, so he got up with me, sympathized as much as he could, and helped me hobble around as I got dressed and ready for work. Even though I was working non-stop for hours on end, it was always refreshing to see Bob walk through the prep area as he'd scan and take more deliveries. As he walked past me he'd just brush his hand across my back or shoulders. Even though I didn't react to it usually, it was a momentary and pleasant distraction from how much I hurt and how tired I was. It was so nice to have him there for a few minutes at a time, partially because I love being around him and also because I knew he was helping to earn some money.

Speaking of which, overtime pay is great. So is a generous boss who included a hefty cash bonus with my pay check this week. She also let us make an arrangement to take home on Sunday evening. I wish I'd taken a picture! It was so good! It looked like this, only with chocolate dipped oranges, chocolate cinnamon apples, and some white chocolate strawberries, and I put it all in a cute orange watering-can keepsake container:

I'm glad I made it through last weekend. I'm very ready for my usual weekend off. I'm hoping to get the house cleaned today so that we can play all day tomorrow (well, when I'm not working on Jennifer's bridesmaid dresses).

With all that time to think as I stood at work making arrangements and dipping fruit in chocolate, I realized a couple of things.

I want to open my own store really, really badly. I think I want to open a gourmet dessert shop to start with. I never really got tired of dipping fruit the whole time I did that over Mother's Day or Valentines Day. I just really like to make all of it look pretty with swirls and toppings on everything. I stood there, dreaming and fantasizing about what my shop would look like, what kinds of desserts I'd make how I'd package them for customers, how I'd display them, etc. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to actually get out some paper and write down my ideas and create a business plan, and figure out how to get the right start up capital. I haven't been this motivated about something like this in a while (which is why I'm writing about it).

I love sewing and fashion design, but I also realized I really hate keeping up with current trends, projecting the styles for the upcoming seasons and years, and sometimes I actually get tired of sewing (believe it or not). I hate how long it takes to get one piece of clothing done.

Accessories are different. I could make hair clips and jewelery all day long. In fact, I used to do just that when I worked a Busy Beads & Moore in Clarksville. I never got tired of it. I finally finished Jennifer's hairpiece for her wedding, and got it mailed out to her this week as well. It was a $20 item. If I made and sold just 5 of those a day, that's $100 a day! I know that includes supplies, but I'd still profit a lot on those kinds of things.

I guess I like fast results. I love projects that I can start and finish in matter of hours or within the day... Like accessories... And desserts... I'm not a fan of baking with yeast or dough. All the kneading and waiting, kneading and waiting drives me nuts. So cupcakes, cake bites, cakes, pies, tarts, and chocolates are all things I love to make. Opening a shop up to sell those kinds of things would take lots of work and time, (and boy, am I learning how to put in long hours at work) but once it got off the ground, I'd rarely have to go in before 7 or 8am, whereas a bakery requires getting started at 3 or 4am because of all that dough and yeast and nonsense.

So, I'm going to work on slowly gathering the start up capital I need, saving money for it, as well as finding things like a commercial sized mixer (or two!), double-boilers, chocolate warmers and fountains, a display cooler or two, freezer(s)/refrigerator(s), bun racks/carts, ovens.... You know, stuff like that. I know a lot of small companies go into too much debt too soon when they first open, so I'd like to avoid that. I'm willing to use things 2nd hand--heck, even 3rd hand if it's in good condition. I don't need or even want brand new stuff. Besides, I love vintage, antique, and steampunk styles. I intend for my shop to be along those lines, so the older the better (if it works, anyway).

I'm so excited about it, I want to start it up now.

*sigh*

But I can wait. I want to start it when we move to San Diego anyway, so it'll be a while until then.

I guess I'm learning patience, too.

Stamping and Baking

2011-05-01T16:30:00.002-06:00

Today I was in the mood for creating stuff.

I made some little miniature cards with those new stamps I bought.

Then I baked some mini loaves of pumpkin spice bread with pecans and chocolate chips.

And then I gave them all away.

(I hope that bread was good. I didn't even try any of it.)

Kitchen Flowers

2011-05-01T16:29:00.002-06:00

When I bought those stamps from Roberts the other day, I also bought five red silk gerber daisies. I've had a white vase from an arrangement I got from work a while ago, and I've been wanting to put some flowers in it since I brought it home. I also had some black feathers left from Jennifer's hairpiece that I made earlier in the week, so I got creative with them.

It's kinda fun.

I think it was just what our kitchen was lacking.

TMI about discounts

2011-04-30T23:58:00.001-06:00

I'm a fan of saving money. I'm also a fan of finding ridiculously good deals on things--things I want and things I need.

Yesterday I did just that. Twice.

A little while ago, I got a $10 gift card in the mail for my birthday from Victoria's Secret, as well as a $10 off gift certificate, and another gift card that came with a purchase I'd made from that store a couple of months ago online. I didn't know how much money was on that last one--I had to go into the store to find out. All three of those discounts were going to expire at the end of the month, so I decided to see if it would be worth it to use them.

After work I went over to the mall and into Victoria's Secret to browse around. Soon I'll need a new bra, so I decided to see if I could find one. This may be more than you want to know, but last year I got measured and discovered that I was a really obscure, hard to find bra size. I asked one of the store employees to point me in the right direction to find a bra in that size, and she said, "Oh, we don't carry that size in the store anymore. But you can buy them online still." Great. I'm not about to buy my bras online, because what if I hate the way they fit? I'd have to mail it back, order a different style, get it, try it on, and if I didn't like that one... It would just be ridiculous. Also, I really like how the ones from Victoria's Secret fit. I just prefer them over department store bras. Anyway, since it has been over a year, I decided to get measured again and see if maybe anything's changed just so I'd know... And I'm officially not a random, obscure size anymore! That was such good news.

My other good news: with all of those discounts I mentioned earlier, I bought $45 bra for $16. Ha! That's how much bras at Wal-Mart cost! Oh, it was a beautiful use of my money.

That evening, Bob and I went to congratulate our friend Teresa on graduating from college. Teresa and I ended up going out shopping while Bob and her husband, Zach, stayed back and played video games. I didn't find what I was looking for, but we did find some 99 cent shelves at Roberts with lots of cute stamps, blank cards, and other goodies on them. Seriously--stamps for a dollar! I almost bought every one of them, but then I exercised self control and only got a few. I couldn't decide which ones to put back though. Teresa and I literally dug through those shelves for over half an hour picking things out, putting things back, picking them out again... It was fun, but we decided we probably shouldn't go shopping together again unless we actually have money to splurge with.

Two great deals in one day! I'm one happy girl.

Now I'm ready to go make some cards...
(While wearing a comfortable, new bra.)

I should be a wedding planner.

2011-04-28T12:31:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I think I'd love to be a wedding planner. I love coordinating colors and styles. I love creating desserts and appetizers and full course meals. I love designing formal clothing and accessories. I love making things pretty and I have such an eye for little details. And I love to be organized (I just wish I could afford to splurge on the best organizational items so I could do it like I want to).

My friend Jennifer is getting married in June. She asked me to make her bridesmaid dresses. Her colors: purple and zebra print with lime green accents.

Here are what the dresses are looking like:

I designed them with her ideas and suggestions. I think they're turning out pretty fun! I flew to TN over Easter weekend and fitted all the bridesmaids. All of the girls seemed to like them, and some were thrilled at how cute and figure flattering they are. It's always nice to be a bridesmaid and like the dress enough to wear it later. It also makes me feel good that I'm really getting really experienced at professional quality sewing, especially since this was the first pattern I made myself!

Jennifer was also interested in a hair piece for her big day. After several emails full of ideas, I came up with this for her:

There are olivine (bright green) colored crystals in the center of the daisy and two types of feathers behind it. I really like how it turned out, and she loves it too!

Now I just need to attach it to an alligator clip and send it to her. And then it's time to finish those bridesmaid dresses...

My 25th Birthday

2011-04-28T11:51:00.007-06:00

I'm behind on blogging. I blame it on myself. I've been really busy.

Anyway, I'm 25 years old now! Well, as of April 4th. I'm one lucky girl too. I had two birthday parties. Well, three kind of... Let me back up...

At the end of March I went to San Diego to take a brief vacation and then bring Bob back home with me. He'd been down there for three weeks. I missed him, and I'd been working like a machine since he'd been gone. When I got to the SD airport and he picked me up I almost didn't recognize him. He hadn't shaved for three weeks and had a full beard! He looked so different. And then I noticed that he was tan. He had this sparkle in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a while. He was wearing flip flops, jeans, some random t-shirt with an unbuttoned flannel shirt over it, and a trucker hat. He was back in his element and it showed. He was once again that cheerful and quirky surfer bum that I fell in love with 5+ years ago. Best of all, he was genuinely happy. That's something I hadn't seen in a while, and it made me want to cry for joy to see him like that again.

I decided then and there that we NEED to move to San Diego. Soon. Not just because it's beautiful, I love the beach and surfing, and the weather is nice and mild, but because Bob is healthier there--mentally and emotionally, which makes him physically healthier too. Living in Utah has been hard on him, which has made it hard on me too.

So while I was visiting for the week, we went surfing twice, we went and laid on the beach, walked around down town, visited the FIDM campus there and met with a counselor there, and had a really great time. We stayed with Bob's best friend Stan and his wife Lyssa. It was a good time.

Ahh.... I love the beach.

Friday while I was there Lyssa was having a party. It was themed and we all made robot costumes. Before the party, I went to visit my cousin Marissa, and when I got back, I got surprised by several friends there since it turned out to be a surprise party for my birthday!

(That's the pretty version of what happened. Really, I'm kind of a control freak and when things seemed weird or fishy or inconvenient, I kind of threw a fit because I couldn't understand what was going on since I wasn't in control of it, then Bob unfortunately had to ruin the surprise of it to settle me down. I felt so terrible about it. Also, I realized that I still need more therapy.)

Lyssa made a really fun cake too. It was Wall-E shaped, and looked awesome. It tasted even better! Anyone remember our wedding cake at our reception in California? Well Lyssa made that, and this was the same kind. YUMMY. It's my favorite. Ever.

The trip was too short. Bob and I felt so at home there, especially at church with his old family ward. It just feels like we belong there, and coming back to Utah was tough. But we're staying here until we can figure out how to be able to make that move financially. Cost of living in SD is high, a moving van is ridiculously expensive--plus the cost of gas, we need a place to live down there, and we both need steady employment. I might be able to get a job at an Edible Arrangements down there, but I feel like I need more experience up here where I am before I'd be valuable enough to warrant a transfer down to there. Bob needs steady work down there, and we need to earn enough to pay our bills up here and save up for the big move. It feels impossible right now since we're practically scraping by.

Anyway, April 2nd rolled around and Bob threw me another party, only this one was not a surprise since he didn't want that headache again. I went out to The Spark with some girl friends of mine (what few I have) for yummy appetizers and drinks, and then went over to some friends' house for the party. It was fun, and even though it was late and not everyone got to stay for long, I was thankful for those who did show up. It meant a lot to me that I was thought of on my big day, considering that last year my birthday disappeared into Easter.

Bob wrote the "Happy Birthday" and my name on the cake.
He did such a good job!

I'm really a fat kid stuck in a skinny girl's body.

Family & Friends

It was my birthday, and I wanted to play Halo. So we did.

I think the funniest part of that night was when Jennie Ray and Nichole were fighting over who was paying for my check at The Spark while the rest of us realized that Trina spaced-out and forgot to pay for her drink before she left. I just laughed about it. I was going to pay for it, but when Jennie and Nichole realized I had a check in my hands and was going to pay for that, they snatched it up and then argued about who was going to pay for that one too.

Classic.

I'm so blessed to have such great friends and family.

Well that was fast.

2011-03-14T12:17:00.001-06:00

About three weeks into working at the brand new store, I felt like I was getting the hang of things pretty well. Most of the other employees would even come to me with questions about various work-related needs and techniques. It made me feel pretty good, because 1) I love helping and teaching others, and 2) it means others can tell that I am skilled and knowledgeable, which just feels great.

On my way out of the store one day after a full morning of work, my boss chatted with me briefly and practically in passing mentioned that she wants to make me assistant manager. Sweeeeeet!! I think some of my co-workers were expecting it. I'll admit I was hopeful, but I wasn't sure if she'd really need one since she and her husband both work at the store pretty frequently. And it's not that I'm aspiring, but I would like to learn various responsibilities of managing the store so that I can use what I learn for opening my own small business in the future. I told that to my boss back in my interview when I turned in my employment application, and I think it's stuck with her and is a big part of why she hired me. She even brings it up from time to time, recognizing that this isn't just some job for me while I'm between other modes of employ. I want to learn how to run a successful small and specialized store so that I can do just that one day. The things I'm learning at work I'm taking to heart and storing away for future reference. I'm not just another girl who wants to work with great people in a fun atmosphere. I don't just want a discount on what we sell. I'm definitely not in it just for the money, because the pay may be decent but I'm definitely not going to get rich off my paychecks. I want to learn everything I can for future purposes.

So being assistant manager is pretty exciting for me to say the least.

At the same time, I'm kind of nervous and worried that I'll start making mistakes or mess up more frequently, because I do that when I'm under pressure. I just hope I can maintain my confidence and excitement about it and not give in to whatever insecurities and self-doubt and low self-esteem issues I might have. I'm strong and independent, not weak and completely reliant on others.... right?

For now, I'm thrilled about it. I just hope it sticks.

I've Been Hacked!

2011-03-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

That's right, my sneaky and subversive husband has hacked my account, and has typed this blog post as a surprise to me. Just so y'all don't get confused, he'll be talking as though he's me, even though I, Janae, had nothing to do with this particular post.

Let's start off by setting down some basics that we can all agree on.

I'm Janae, and I'm incredibly attractive. Also, I'm lots of fun.
I have such a wide range of interests and talents that I can hardly keep up with them. I love to cook, bake, sew, craft with paper, scissors, fabric, glue, wood, and just about anything else I can get my hands on
I have an excellent eye for design and aesthetics, and I love to bring that to play in organizing and decorating my home, and in all those crafty things.
I want to learn and do so much more! I've always wanted to go hang gliding, I love climbing but don't go enough, and I love snowboarding, but same problem there. I still need to learn to crochet and a bunch of other crafts and hobbies.
I'm hopelessly addicted to Halo. I wasn't very good a few years ago, but after weekly sessions with friends, I can legitimately hold my own. I've even won a few rounds.
I really really really want to learn metalsmithing so I can design and cast my own jewelery. Why does everything I want to do cost so much?
Case in point, I also want to travel the globe. I want to see third world countries and the remnants of the height of European monarchies. I want to see the tropics, the tundra, and be swallowed in the vastness of the Sahara. I want to see all the different places right here in the U.S., from the Painted Desert, to the Redwoods, to Mt. Rushmore, to the Everglades, to New York City, to the coasts of Maine, to the underground Boston music scene...
Have you noticed how cute I am? I'm seriously attractive, really! Who else do you know that could pull off any hair color, any outfit, any style? We are few and far between. Worship us.
I throw the BEST parties. ....E V A R R R.
I am one tough chick. If you had any idea all of the crap I've been through in my life to get where I am, you would probably faint. Or maybe you'd relate if you've been there, too. Respect my journey.
A side effect of all that is PTSD, which I've written other posts about, from time to time. This makes even the most trivial of matters sometimes insurmountable in the moment. Do you get it? Maybe. But unless you've dealt with it, I doubt it. Like I said, I'm tough. I always make it through it.
I have an incredible amount of faith, and a very strong testimony of the Restored Gospel. Sometimes the social side of attending church is hard for me to deal with (see above), but I will always love the Savior, the Gospel, and my Heavenly Father. It's unshakable.
My husband is better than your husband.
Did I mention how ridiculously attractive I am?
Have you hung out with me lately? Why not? I promise you that I am outrageously hilarious, and a load of fun! Seriously, what's your excuse?
I've changed through about 9 different majors in college (lots of interests) so I know a lot about a lot of stuff, instead of a little bit about a lot of stuff or everything about one thing. Except for sewing- my husband thinks I might know just about everything about that, but I don't really think so; There's always something new to learn!
I love animals and I really want a dog! We never really got to have one growing up and now that I'm older, I want one.
I love my sisters-in-law and I wish I hung out with them more. What do we have in common? What can we do together?
I'm going to be the coolest mom ever, except for maybe my mom, who is perpetually amazing. My husband has no doubt that I can live up to her legacy, though.

Well, that's about all for now. Comment on this post and tell me how much you love me, because after all, I'm not really writing this, so it's not fishing for compliments, is it?!

Like old times...

2011-02-09T16:10:00.004-07:00

When I was in high school, and for the first few years of college, I had this whole punk-rock kind of style and mentality. I liked it. In all honesty, I still kind of do. It just seemed to fit me better than anything else, and over time, I've made it all my own. I liked crazy belt buckles, studded leather belts, my favorite band t-shirts, jeans so holey they were falling apart, and music that made me want to jump around or get in a fight.

For my high school prom, I wore my black leather studded belt and nautical star buckle with my red prom dress that I designed and made myself. I had long hair and dyed the tips of it red like the dress, giving me red curls in my up-do, along with strips of a different old studded belt woven through the curls. I think I looked pretty awesome, and my date made the look complete. He had a red suit with a black satin tux-style stripe down the side of his pants, black satin lapels, completed by a Rancid patch among a few others hand-sewn onto it in various places. He wore a black pair of Chucks. I wore a pair of high-heeled Converse-style shoes (that I still have because I love them so much). We looked fantastic! I wish I could find pictures of that night, because we were the best looking couple there and we stood out from everyone.

During my freshman year of college, I tried out fluorescent orange highlights once, and with my long hair, they looked awful. So I asked my friend who had dyed it to chop it all off. She'd been in hair school, so she knew mostly what she was doing, I think. Later on I even dyed my whole head that bright orange color. I loved it. And I somehow got away with it on BYU campus.

I've worn whatever I wanted for just about my whole life--well, from about 5th grade on, when I really started to become interested in clothing and fashion. I've dyed my hair numerous times, dozens of colors, had it in countless styles and lengths, and I've had a lot of fun doing all of that.

I've always liked the fact that people tell me they wish they had the guts to do some of the things I do. I guess I feel like I add flavor to the world, doing some things not many of my friends would, whether with my hair, makeup, clothing, or whatever else.

When I went on a mission, I put a lot of that behind me, because I needed to look the part of one of the Lord's servants and have other people recognize me as such. Short spiky hair and studded belts doesn't really fit that criteria. So I grew it out, wore skirts, collared shirts, and sweater vests for a year and a half, and it was well worth the sacrifice. What an incredible time of my life those short 18 months were!

So I've been back in "real life" for over two years now. I've kept that former style of mine toned down quite a bit. But recently, I've just been having this.... this........ crazy urge to pick it up some more, once again. So here's my most recent splurge:

I got stop-sign-red highlights.

I think it's fun. And my favorite part is noticing how people react when they see me with this color of hair. Some do a double take. Some point it out right away and make sure it wasn't some mistake my hairdresser made. My favorite is when people talk to me like nothing is different, not mentioning the elephant in the room while staring at it the whole time. So what if you wouldn't do this or think it's tacky? I think it's fun, and I like it.

I really just wanted to let everyone know, my hair is bright, bright red right now.

It'll fade, but for now, it matches the color of my shirt.

I'm great at what I do well.

2011-02-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'd just like to write about how great I am right now. Not because I'm full of myself. But this is my blog, and my self esteem has a history of being pretty low, so the fact that I feel great about myself today is very important to me.

Yesterday before I left work, my boss handed me the store key and asked if I'd open this morning.

See, the store opened almost two weeks ago, and there are about seven of us customer service reps who also design the fruit arrangements that we sell. Training took three or four days, and we've slowly been getting everything organized and going. By the middle of last week, it was obvious who the efficient, hard workers are. There are only about three of the seven of us who work quickly without jeopardizing product quality. You guessed it, I am one of the three. My boss even acknowledged it to me, asking my opinion on how the others work and what we can possibly do to improve things. The delivery drivers all see it too, and they all secretly tell the three of us that they like us better because they appreciate how we really work for our pay.

The problem is that once business picks up, instead of prepping the fruit until nearly 1pm and the afternoon shift only making five or six arrangements a day, we should be able to have all the fruit prepped by 10:30 and by about noon or so have up to 25 arrangements ready for delivery. Yeah, there's a lot of work for us to do until that point, myself included.

Last week, one of the girls took over two hours to slice up four pineapples. This morning, the guy I was working with took two hours to slice up four oranges. Granted, it's not just peeling and chopping or whacking off what ppl don't eat--things are cut into shapes and in specific ways, but with the machines we use and training we've had, they should be FAR quicker at prepping the fruit! I cut 2 oranges in a matter of minutes the other day, and I sliced two pineapples in about 15 minutes this morning. Really, what is taking them so long? I also came in the other day and found all of the strawberries skewered wrong. When Valentines Day hits, I'm afraid they might be the reason we don't get every order filled on time. It stresses me out. I know it's not my store, but I take pride in where I work and in the work I do there. It seems like they don't.

My boss also comes to me when we have an order for chocolate dipped fruit. Everyone got the same training on it, everyone has practiced it, but everyone agrees that I'm the best at it. (I'll admit, I'm no stranger to gourmet desserts and it's not the first time I've dipped something delicious in chocolate, so I was a step ahead of everyone else when we all got hired.) My boss will generally have me dip whatever needs dipping when I'm there, and when I come on for my afternoon shifts and someone else is dipping fruit she'll have me go back and see how they're doing, and teach them how they can improve if they need it.

I'm also really glad I included so many of my random skills in my resume.

We dip some fruit in peanut butter, and with how crazy peanut allergies are, we have to have to be incredibly careful, and have separate everything for the peanut butter dipping station. Every utensil and dish we use for peanut butter has to have an orange sticker label on it so we know to only use it for peanut butter. My boss wasn't sure how to keep the cloths and apron(s) separate for that station, especially with needing to launder them every day, because stickers + fabric + washing won't exactly work. I offered to sew on some orange tags to the cloths and an orange ribbon across the top of one of the aprons. She happily approved of my idea, and I think she likes my initiative too.

She also asked me to help her with the booth for a bridal fair we're taking part in, mostly because of my experience in weddings and fashion design. It's right up my alley.

So, back to yesterday.

As I was rinsing off several pints of strawberries, in passing and completely out of the blue, my boss says to me, "Don't let me forget to give you the key so you can open the store tomorrow morning."

I thought, 'Has she talked to me about this? Did she forget to talk to me about this? Did I forget that she talked to me about this? ...I guess I'm getting a key to the store.'

I was pretty excited. I'm not sure who else or even if anyone else is getting one, but either way I'm happy she trusts me! I like to think I'm her favorite.

So today I opened the store! It was flawless and I did everything perfectly! We even had four online orders from overnight. It was just me and the slow-orange-slicing guy, and I could hardly get any work done prepping fruit because I kept having to take phone-in orders, walk-in orders, and even another online order. I needed slow-orange-slicer to finish those oranges, so I was taking care of everything else while he took his sweet time peeling the off skin, then the pith, and then slicing two into even wedges and the other two into round slices.

My boss came in around 11:30 and asked how it was going.

I mentioned slow-orange-slicer, and how I wasn't sure what to do about him. Then I told her about all the business we were getting, and she half-jokingly said, "Well you should just open every day!" I just smiled, because really, I would like that. I would love to have enough of her trust to open and run the store without her should she want or need me to. It's important for me to feel needed at work, like I'm an important part of the business. It makes me want to work harder, to contribute more, and to be a part of the business's success. It's just a part of who I am and how I work. Plus, a getting a pay-raise is always nice and is bound to happen at some point, and I'd like to feel deserving of that should I get one.

So I'm feeling happy today. I'm feeling productive, valuable, and skilled.
It's nice.

I'm sure at some point I'll have a bad day at work where everything goes wrong when I'm there.

But for now, I'll just enjoy this day of bliss while I can.

Oh yeah, about Christmas...

2011-01-30T16:23:00.004-07:00

I've been meaning to post about this, so I decided to give myself until the end of January. So I even have a day to spare!

I loved Christmas this year. It was super fun and fantastic! We dressed up and went to a Christmas party. My hair is barely long enough to curl!

Also, we had out first Christmas tree! We went and bought it from one of those tree lots. Jeez, those things are expensive! I liked ours a lot. It had character. Next year, we're just going to Lowes and to get one from there--better price for a better tree, let me tell you. We still don't have a star for the top of our tree, but we made sure to have the lights start at the very top so there'd at least be something bright and shiny. And Bob's got this ancient electric train set that he was ridiculously excited to put around the tree. We had a lot of fun with it.

Also, it was great to be able to spend the holiday with family. My parents were in town, and two of my brother's families live so close we tend to see everyone frequently. We all slept at Russ & Ashley's house on Christmas Eve, and had a blast. Here are some highlights:

So, on Christmas Eve, Santa stopped by and dropped off presents for everyone. They were all pajamas for us to sleep in. Here are mine, Bob's, and Owen's. His little pirate PJs were adorable!

And Christmas morning. I ended up getting all the stocking-stuffers, except a snap bracelet Bob surprised me with. We had candy, more candy, clementine oranges for stocking toe fillers, and Bob got a nice pair of wool socks in his. As for our gifts, I made Bob's robe that he got from me (which I posted about earlier), and he got me a new Calle street soccer ball (because someone used mine while I was serving as a missionary for 18months and never gave it back or replaced it... *cough* Ben *cough* That's okay, I wasn't really expecting to get it back anyway.).

Also, I was reading somewhere about gift etiquette. Apparently, a woman should never receive anything related to cooking as a gift, ever. Well, I'm sorry whoever wrote that, but you are SO wrong! I absolutely love cooking--baking especially. I asked for lots of kitchenware for Christmas. If that were all I got, I would be so happy! It is pretty much all I got anyway, and I'm not complaining one bit! My favorite (I know I shouldn't pick favorites, but I really can't help it) is from my sister-in-law, Lauren. I seriously was not expecting this beauty:

I've been saving this space on the wall for something specifically like this! Ah, it's like a dream come true! And what I love about it is that my mom & dad got me a bunch of other cooking stuff, and now I can use Lauren's gift to hang my parent's gifts on. Perfect!

I'm still so happy about it, I sometimes can't contain myself and I squeal as I jump up and down for joy when I walk through the kitchen.

What a good end of 2010 we had!

confusion

2011-01-10T15:09:00.002-07:00

Have you ever laughed and cried at the same time? I don't mean laughing so hard you cry--I'm talking about squeezing out tears while sobbing and between those sobs you're somehow cracking up laughing.

I'm not sure if ironic is the right word, but it's the only one I can think of at the moment.

Bob and I have been discussing our plans for the future, trying to decide what we need to do, where we need to go, and when we need to do various things. Back in November, we both were so sick of living in Provo that we were ready to just forget about all the junk we own and stay in San Diego after Thanksgiving rather than come back up to Utah at all.

Over Christmas break, something changed somehow, because we suddenly realized last week how much we actually love living here right now. We have a wonderful and cute home, we have fantastic friends, we live close to some family, snowboarding and rock climbing are practically right out side our front door, and we love the people we go to church with. Life feels pretty good here, really.

There are still problems we're having, with Bob hating his job and wanting a new one but unable to get hired anywhere else he applies. My job as an industrial designer has turned out to be pretty miserable. My willingness to work extra hard and to please clients has been taken advantage of, to the point where I'm the only one working and making projects really progress. I'm done there and would rather not be run into the ground anymore, so I'm finishing this last project (because I don't want to pawn it off onto anybody else like they did to me) and then I'm quitting. In light of that, I've been looking for a better job, more suited for me.

Speaking of which, I seriously have a passion for industrial design, but what with all the PTSD crap I've been struggling with for years and finally taking care of for the past year, I've got some major creative blocks that I can't seem to get past when it comes to sketching and designing and learning about the creative process. The weird thing is, even with all of that keeping me from really excelling in that field, I've always been able to sew and make jewelry--even design those things from scratch. For some reason, I can still be creative in that area, but not when it comes to positioning simple shapes and forms, sketching out ideas just to get more ideas flowing, and building 3-D objects out of balsa wood and foam core board. I don't get it.

So for my emotional well being (which I've ignored my whole life until now, so this is a new thing for me to actually think about), I changed my major--again, I know. I really don't know if I'm ever going to graduate--not from BYU anyway. I'm an open major for the 4th time. So I've been taking some sewing classes instead of finishing the last of my GEs. Not that I don't know how to sew (obviously, from many, many of my blog posts), but I've never learned professional techniques and skills related to sewing. I've always just taught myself, so it's been great to learn and improve my skills.

In light of my deep distaste for my job, I decided to job search a bit as well. Bob's job is kind of hit and miss on whether he will or won't have work, so it's been kind of unreliable. So to try and have a steadier income, I looked for a job on ksl.com the other day at the perfect time to find out that a new Edible Arrangements is opening up here in Provo and that they were taking applications and hiring employees! So on Wednesday of last week, I put together a resume and drove over to apply. I got there and the owner was doing on-the-spot interviews with everyone. Thank goodness I dressed professionally! There were about five people in line waiting to be interviewed, and another person filling out an application at a table. So I joined in, waited, and was interviewed. I tried to not only make a good impression, but to also be memorable. The owner said to expect a phone call on Friday or Monday letting us know if she hired me or not. All weekend I was really banking on getting it, praying at every chance to get hired, because I really think I'd love it and the steady paycheck would be great!

Thursday morning, however, things began to really change again. Bob got an early phone call that woke us both up. His grandma on his mom's side was having heart problems and was in the hospital. Late Friday afternoon he got another phone call, and this time his aunt told him that his grandma had just passed away. Grandma didn't want a funeral either--she just wanted to be cremated, then have her ashes placed next to her husbands at a military cemetery. No family gathering or service--just put where she wanted to be.

With that, it seems like a lot of options are opening up for us suddenly. We might have some opportunities in San Diego to get life going down there. It's even felt like Bob doesn't have much going on up here anymore and he needs to go somewhere so that he can get a real career underway. I kind of make my life progress where ever I live with the various skills I have, so I'm content just about anywhere.

Today I got home from class, and Bob and I talked about what to do now. I started really doubting that I'd get the job at Edible Arrangements, because let's be honest--I'm not the most qualified person and there were tons of applicants. My sewing class professor is willing to let me advance more and also take a pattern-making class due to my experience. I've also looked into transferring to FIDM in San Diego to get a degree in something fashion related. (Honestly, I've always wanted to do that, but I just never thought it was realistic or logical.) Bob is looking at going down to San Diego even within the next month or two to start working on a possible property management career. We feel like that's what he should do, and yet we both feel like I should stay and finish some classes here. We decided that that's just what we'll do. Bob will go on to San Diego relatively soon, I'll take the sewing classes here to get as much experience as I can, and then go down to San Diego this summer, and we'll get settled there.

Once we decided that, Bob went to finally take a shower for the day, and I got online to look at FIDM stuff. Not even five minutes after I sat down at the computer, my phone rang, and I just knew exactly what that phone call was before I even pulled out my phone.

Edible Arrangements wanted to hire me. This is the first time that I've ever applied for a job anywhere and they want to hire me purely out of my skills, personality, and how I look on paper. I've always gotten jobs in the past because I knew someone who knew me. Any time I've applied for a job otherwise, I've never been hired, and I've tried it that way a lot with zero success.

After I accepted and hung up the phone. I just sat on the floor for a moment in shock. Then I felt like crying and laughing at the same time. So I did.

There I was, pathetically laying on the floor confused out of my mind as to what to do, because we'd just made a decision about life, and it needed to change again. Emotional whiplash is what I call it. If I work, I know I won't be able to take that pattern-making class. I'm already doing some other things (bridesmaid dresses and a freelance design job, on top of everything I'm already doing for other people) and there's no way I can handle all of that and a job.

So I cried about it, plus the idea of having Bob be away from me for a few months sounds really lonely and hard for me, and that made me cry more. I laughed because this situation was so typical of what Heavenly Father likes to do to challenge me. There's just too many good options for me to choose from. Funny, right?

Now it looks like I'm only going to take the intermediate sewing class and work at Edible Arrangements. And if I really like it, I know I'm not going to want to leave it and move to San Diego. I'm hoping I can transfer to work at one there or even open up a new one down there. I guess I'll have to wait and see how I like it.

Either way, this was just way too much for me to handle, so I had to write it down and get it out of my head. I know, that was long. But now I don't have to sit there and let it stress me out. It's all written down and if I forget about it for a little while, it's okay because it's not all completely gone.

Thanks for reading, if you did.

Christmas stockings

2010-12-31T13:31:00.001-07:00

I didn't want to buy stockings.
So I made them.
And it was easy.

Here's how:

I cut out iron-on interfacing the shape, size (including the seam allowance), and orientation I wanted them to be (toes facing left as I look at it).
I cut three more stocking shapes out of some left over golden satin, taking into account orientation again for backing and lining.
I cut out scraps of Christmas colored fabrics.
I ironed them onto the interfacing.
I trimmed off whatever extra was hanging off the edge of the interfacing.
I used embroidery thread and tightly zig-zag stitched between the patches.
I sewed two of the satin pieces together for the inside lining.
I sewed the patchwork piece and the last satin piece together for the outside.
I put the lining inside the patchwork and satin outside piece.
I sewed the lining to the outside around the top.
I sewed a loop for hanging the stocking in place at the top.
I sewed a strip of satin around the top.
I pressed then hand sewed the satin strip in place on the inside.

And voila!!

Stockings!
Original and there is not a single one exactly like either of these in the world.
(Except maybe my mom's, who I got the idea from--but she used different fabric than I had and made hers years ago.)

And in case anyone is wondering about those tags on our stockings...

It became a tradition in my family when I was growing up for each person who served a full-time mission for church to clip their missionary name tag to their stocking (thanks to my oldest brother Russ for starting it). I want to keep that tradition going, so Bob and I put our name tags on our stockings this year. Besides, missionaries teach about Christ every day--His birth, His life, His atonement, and His resurrection. I think that in today's world, missionaries are full of the Christmas spirit year-round, so what a great time of year to keep in mind the importance of missionary work and sharing the Gospel with others as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

newly recovered throw pillows

2010-12-31T12:27:00.003-07:00

When Bob and I got married, we moved into an unfurnished apartment. That meant we were taking any furniture anyone wanted to give to us, no matter how stylishly hideous it was. In fact, the other day I realized that we've only bought three pieces of furniture that we use on a regular basis, and we we got some wicked-good deals on them--our entertainment center, one of our dressers, and our bed. Otherwise, it's all been free.

So before we got married someone told me their apartment complex was getting new couches and just throwing out the old ones. I was all over that. I couldn't afford to care what it looked like--we just needed a place to sit when people come over and to snuggle while watching movies.

Since we've been married I'd been looking at couch covers on a regular basis. For a while I used two huge blankets--two because it's such a massive beast of furniture that one wouldn't cover it. Then some friends of ours gave us a bright red cover that they weren't using anymore (Thank you, Zach & Teresa!!). I have to say, almost any solid color is better than that navy, green, red, and tan plaid. (Although, with our green carpet it looks like Christmas year round in our living room with that red couch cover. Good thing I like that holiday!)

So for a while we've had this pretty red couch, and the plaid pillows matched it okay, but let's be honest, the pillows really were hideous regardless of what color they were paired with.

The other day while at the fabric store, I found a rockin' deal on some upholstery fabric. There I was, standing in line to get some fabric cut. Of course, the cutting counter is right next to the discount aisle. I find this nice fuzzy cross-hatched looking brown fabric and liked it. Then I looked at the price. It was originally $9 a yard, marked down to $6, and that day it was half off of that. $3 a yard later, I was all stocked up and ready to go.

Using that, I finally decided it was time to give those plaid pillows a face lift.

The process:

The outcome:

A tip: My original throw pillows were super flat and pretty worthless. I made these pillows an inch smaller so the stuffing would puff them out more and not get so flat.

Bob likes them because they're firm and fluffy. I like them because of that too, and because they're pretty.

(I also really like the holes in Bob's socks in this picture.)

home made gifts from me

2010-12-31T02:46:00.001-07:00

I decided to try and make several Christmas presents this year, since Bob and I have thinner wallets than normal. I wanted to try and make everyone's gifts, but I think someone stole all my time sometime this month. Seriously, whoever broke in and robbed my time, I'll find you and get it back one day. So I only made a few gifts.

Lucky for me, after posting about my roll-up pencil case a while back, my sister-in-law, Lauren, mentioned wanting something like it for all of her crochet hooks and things. I know it wasn't a huge surprise what she was getting from me for Christmas, but I hope she liked getting it anyway. I love cute little ribbons and I tend to get my overall theme for a project from whatever is printed or designed on the ribbon I use for it. Just FYI, those appliqués took a ridiculously long amount of time, but they were so worth it. Merry Christmas!

Lauren also mentioned an idea for something similar that I could make for one of her sons who has a lot of little toy cars. I can't take credit for the idea. It came from here. But I made my own adjustments to the pattern and idea, and I like how it turned out. I hope Grant does too. And I hope some of his cars fit in it. Sorry if they don't.

I wanted to make a few other things for Lauren's other kids, but I just ran out of time. So Lauren, I'm sorry I took the easy way out and bought some toys and dress-up stuff for the other two kids, and I had no idea what I could possibly make for Cam, so I was planning on buying him something anyway. I hope Christmas was great for y'all regardless of how well our presents were or weren't received!

The last gift I made was for Bob. I still think it's lame, but I couldn't afford to go out and buy anything, and Bob has expensive taste so everything he'd like to get as a gift costs about two or more of his paychecks combined. So I sucked it up and made him a nice flannel robe. He only mentioned a few times this year how I have one (that I made in high school) and he wished he had one.

So I found some fabric I already had and dug out the pattern I used 6 years ago. Then I had to figure out ways to get him out of the house so I could work on it. When he had work, it was easy. But when he didn't have work it got tricky. I got him to run some errands for me one day, and what normally would take him at least an hour and a half took him 45 minutes! I saw him drive back up to the house as I was in the middle of hemming the bottom. Really, Bob? The ONE time I NEED you to take a longtime, you take finish of everything in a ridiculously fast amount of time?! So I stopped where I was, quickly wadded up the nearly-done robe, hid it in the closet among the massive amounts of fabrics that I have, and jumped in the shower to avoid suspicion because I'm a terrible liar.

Somehow I got it all done. He claims to like it a lot, but I still think it was kind of a lame gift since it was the only thing I got him, while he got me a new Calle street soccer ball and new snow pants. Although, I did take care of all the stocking stuffers (not that I mind because I got EXACTLY what I wanted in my stocking this year), so I suppose I'm allowed to slack off a little bit on him, right?

November Holidays 2010

2010-12-30T19:16:00.004-07:00

Life just doesn't slow down, does it?

Here I am trying to simplify and get things off my plate without taking on more, and it just doesn't seem to work! Well, I'm finally at a point where I have time to post blogs again. So before this year ends, let me catch up.

Here's what happened in November:

Bob applied to be a snowboarding instructor at Sundance, and after multiple interviews, they invited him to take part in a skills test, after which they would let him know if he got the job or not. We were both really pumped for it. I want him to finally get a job he loves. So the skills test was coming up and we were informed that it would take place at Brighton on the Saturday before our anniversary. We decided to make a big holiday out of everything, so here's what we did.

Friday, November 19th. We cleaned the house and packed the car. We went to dinner at Tucanos, then headed up to Brighton to celebrate our anniversary early by staying the night in a cozy little cabin at the resort.

Saturday, November 20th. Bob made breakfast (and if you don't know, my husband makes the absolute BEST breakfasts), then he took off for his skills test. I tidied up and got our stuff ready to leave, then went out and hit the slopes for some sweet, sweet snowboarding.

It was snowing the whole time, making every one of my rides down incredible from all the fresh powder. Then it started to turn into a blizzard with tons of wind while the temperature dropped. By noon I was pretty shot! I finally met up with Bob, exhausted and frozen. But we wanted to get at least one run in together, so we squeezed it in before I we had to be out of our cabin.

Then we left, hastily loaded up the car, changed, and drove over to Elko, Nevada where we had dinner with my wonderful friend Monica. We stopped and bought tire chains before driving further, thinking we'd need them while in the Sierras. It started snowing on us the closer we got to the California border, and right at the state line the interstate was closed, CDOT claiming there was zero visibility. So we turned around and drove about 20 miles back to Reno and stayed in a Motel 6 for the night. It was a fun adventure. (Really, it was something like 3am by this point and I had a terrible cold, felt drained and miserable, and was beyond ready to sleep in a bed, and there are no hotels anywhere around there but all the way back in Reno. So I got a little frustrated and whiny.)

Sunday, November 21st. We've been married for one year!! It really doesn't feel like it at all. It's weird to me how completely normal being married to Bob feels. It feels like our wedding was only a couple of weeks ago, and at the same time I can't remember what it was like not to be married to him, making it feel like it's been years and years.

Anyway, the roads had finally opened again, so we drove on to North Lake Tahoe, California. What a breath-taking drive it was! The snow was just stunning. I could definitely get used to living somewhere like that, even if that means shoveling our driveway every day. We visited Bob's Uncle Jim, who lives in a cabin in the woods (really, the whole neighborhood is in the woods, so it feels like your're more alone there than you actually are). It was small and rustic, and Bob and I got to stay in the tiny loft upstairs. When we arrived, Uncle Jim was supposed to be at work, but had gotten snowed in, so he was shoveling his driveway instead.

After taking our things inside, Bob helped shovel snow and I laid down upstairs to take what I thought would be a quick nap. I woke up almost three hours later, feeling very much rested and quite a bit better than I had for the past couple of days. We went to lunch, and while driving through town I completely fell in love with that place. The town consists of little specialty stores and shops--no big corporate giants, and everything was old cabin-style. It's the kind of place where I dream of living. Bob's cousin Tani came home that night and we got to visit with her briefly. She's quiet and really funny, and beyond artistically talented. She's far more gifted than I could ever be.

Monday, November 22nd. We woke up and shoveled the driveway again, because it had snowed during the entire day before and all through the night.

Then we took off and drove around Tahoe to visit Bob's Uncle Joe in South Lake Tahoe. Afterward we took a very long and very beautiful drive through the snowy Sierras. We passed the Kirkwood resort, where a gas station had unleaded for $4.36 a gallon. Ridiculous. But the drive was incredible!

We made it to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sue's for the night in Clovis, CA, right outside of Fresno. We had fun there--we ate dinner and then sat around telling stories and joking around, mostly laughing. My cousins Eric and Kimmy were constantly making references to funny books and movies, and Bob joined right in because he knew everything they were talking about. He fit right in, and I think everyone was pleasantly surprised by it, except me--I expected it. We got to take a look at Uncle Jeff's shops, look at his airplane he's been building for years now, and even a newer project he's taken on--restoring a late 40s Indian motorcycle. We had a great time, and wished we could have stayed longer.

Tuesday, November 23rd. We drove to San Luis Obispo, CA to visit Bob's Grandma Mary Alice. We made it around lunch time while she was working at the Family History Center. So Bob's Aunt Leslie (Uncle Jim's wife, who's in SLO for now taking care of her aging mother) took us out to lunch at a great little Mexican place in downtown SLO. We timed it just right and ended up having Bob's cousins Cody and Eric (who are brothers) and Eric's girlfriend Karen come to lunch with us.

That night we went to dinner in Morro Bay, to another little Mexican place, with Grandma Mary Alice, Bob's Uncle Tom and Aunt Linda, and Bob's cousin Carrie and her daughter Sierra. It was a fun time. Tom and Linda made Bob a mini-birthday cake since his birthday was the following day, and we all got to sing and celebrate together. Then we went back to Grandma's house and relaxed before going to bed.

Wednesday, November 24th. Bob turned 26!!!! We left SLO and finally made it to San Diego. We got new tires for our car (thanks to Bob's parents!), and while waiting for those we went thrift store shopping and landed some awesome buys! Bob found some nice Volcom khakis for $4and I got a pretty green dress for $3. Sweet!

Then that evening we had a birthday dinner and one of Bob's best friends Eric and his wife Lora came over for dinner. There was birthday pie and presents and everything. Bob's friend Christina also stopped by that night to visit and to wish him happy birthday.

We spent the rest of the week there in San Diego. Every day brought gorgeous weather and relaxing afternoons.

Thursday we had a fantastic Thanksgiving feast.

Friday we went to a birthday party for Bob with lots of food and even more friends.

The rest of our time there was great. We saw a matinée showing of a movie one day, another day we went to a drive in movie, and we made sure to sleep-in every day.

Bob's other best friend, Stanly, was in Hawaii for the holiday. He has lots of pets though, so Bob's mom got to take care of his parrot, Farley while he was gone, so we got to take Farley on adventures in the back yard while we were there. It was fun!

Monday, November 29th. We finally left to drive back up to Utah. We stopped and visited Grandma Tweedie in the evening and stayed the night with her. We had a nice visit and wished we could have stayed longer. Hopefully next time we'll have more time and be able to afford a longer stay!

Tuesday, November 30th. We left and began the very last part of our trip. We stopped in Cedar City to have lunch with Aunt Judith, and she took us to Cafe Rio. We visited for a few hours and just talked, then had to be on our way. We finally made it back home in the early evening.

There were a few things that I learned from this trip.
1. Bob and I are happy and have a fantastic relationship. All of Bob's relatives said something about it. Every aunt and uncle and even some of his cousins brought it up at some point, and commented on how lucky we are. It sure feels great to know that other people notice it, even if we don't.

2. I'm really glad we cleaned the house really well before we left. I enjoyed coming home to clean house. It made me want to keep it clean, so I put away everything I brought home from the trip right away (except my clothes... I'm still working on that...).

3. A well planned vacation, no matter how far you drive, when spent with as much family as possible can make it seem twice as long while also being way more fun and relaxing. We needed a break, and this road trip was the perfect therapy for feeling overworked, overstressed, and under-rested.

I can't wait to take another road trip with my best friend and husband!

There's something special about road trips to us.

After all, that is how and why we met in the first place.

House = Home

2010-11-13T01:16:00.000-07:00

Since Bob and I have been married, I've wanted a nice bed frame, or at least a headboard. When we were still living in that crummy basement apartment we started building a simple one together, and then it got put on hold.... And six months later I finished it with a little bit of Bob's help.

I was at Jo-Ann's yesterday and got inspired by their Veteran's Day sale. Tons of things were 50% off. So we went back tonight and bought some upholstery foam and canvas. And then I found some other fabric that was already discounted to $6 a yard in the red-tag section (from $9+), and it was all half off as well. $3 a yard?! I think so! I love good sales.

Even though we spent quite a chunk of money, we saved the same amount that we paid because of how great of a sale everything was. Maybe we should have waited to buy all of that, but then it would have cost full price and we would have had to save up even more for even longer. Oh well. I think it was worth it.

So it started out as a bunch of stuff...

...and it turned into a simple upholstered headboard.

Bob documented my progress.

He also blatantly spoke of my attractiveness since I know how to handle tools.

There's even extra fabric left over that I can use to make some small wall-hangings and/or re-cover some throw pillows.

Now I want to find a deal on some pillow cases, because all the different shades of orange and the random blue one just make it all way too busy. I'm thinking dark brown. It would tie everything together so much better.

We also bought a curtain rod for the living room and now we have curtains up around that huge front window. And we found some baskets for our shoe shelf next to the front door.

I liked our house when we moved in back in August, but I'm loving this place more every day!

Lastly, here's my latest creation of custom-made clothing for a client of mine:

Pretty retro, huh? He loves it. I can't wait to get it done and see him wearing it. I really hope he wears it during concerts and shows that he and his band put on. It's so appropriate for him and his personality.

And now that these projects are just about done, I'm going to work on Christmas gifts.

The list never ends, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is good when I have fabric, beads, wire, glue, scissors, and pliers covering my hobby table.

Stress and Success (part III) + Halloween

2010-10-31T15:07:00.002-06:00

And in the last week, I've been a sewing maniac. I made three Halloween costumes, altered two other costumes, finished a skirt for my sewing class, started and made a lot of progress on a nice collared shirt for one of my customers.

The costumes I made were fantastic. Jennie Ray was Daphne for Halloween, and she and I made a perfect purple dress and ascot for it. Rebecca Flake was the Little Mermaid during the "Kiss the Girl" song in the movie, so she and I made a pretty blue corset and a light blue skirt and altered a white blouse to go under the corset. I also made a zombie cheerleader costume for Alyssa who is 11 years old. (She's a girl I recently began mentoring, which I'll write a whole blog about later.) Her outfit was black with glittery skulls and white accents, including a big letter A on the front of her top. I also made her a black and white striped turtleneck and leggings to go underneath. Lastly I made two bows with the left over black and white striped ribbon for her hair. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of her in her costume, and I'm really bummed about that. :(

Jennie & Becca's costumes.

Then Bob and I had been debating all week about our costumes. Someone in one of my classes mentioned Barbie and Ken the other day, and I thought that would be hilarious. Bob and I just watched Toy Story 3 last weekend, so I wanted to dress up like the Barbie and Ken from that movie. We'd found some wigs earlier in the week at a Halloween store. Then on Friday, the day before our Halloween party, we went to the DI searching for anything really. We lucked out with Bob and found some awesome pleated shorts, a horrible blue-patterned shirt, a belt, and even some sweet loafers. I looked and looked, and finally found what I thought might just work. It was an ugly light bluish-teal leisure suit kind of thing. I tried it on and it was kinda big and fit me weirdly, but I could alter it just fine and make it work. I found a perfect pink belt to go with it too, and borrowed some pink leg warmers, hot pink heels, and a pink head band from Jennie Ray. I altered everything that night, and when Bob put his costume on he really wasn't sure if he could go as Ken. I think he was just embarrassed to be wearing the light blue ascot that I made him.

So Saturday rolled around and we had breakfast Jennie and Rebecca's apartment. I gave Chelsie a hair cut. We all carved pumpkins. And then we got ready for the night. I have to say, Bob and I looked so good!

Bob carved the cat, I carved the face with the stem as a nose.

We made it to our Halloween party a few minutes late. When we showed up everyone was seated at tables and the people in charge were giving instructions for how the evening would go. Bob and I walked in a door towards the front of the room and just stood next to the wall, looking for a place to sit. Then I noticed everyone looking at us and giggling. At one point the people up in front had to stop talking because everyone was laughing about our costumes instead of listening to instructions. Then I noticed that Bob had walked in stiff-armed and legged, smiling and waving like a Ken doll. I honestly loved all the attention.

We got so many compliments on our outfits. Everyone loved them I think, and everyone knew exactly who we were supposed to be. That was my favorite part, aside from the fact that nobody recognized us at first. They knew who we were dressed up as, but all the hair in the wigs really threw everybody off. It was great!

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head were even there!

Bob as Ken.

Me as Barbie.

We ended up winning the Best Overall Costume award, a $10 gift certificate to Spoon It Up. I love frozen yogurt, and I love winning contests. It was so worth all the makeup and fake eyelashes and alterations and headaches of the week. Halloween has been great this year.

Stress and Success (part II)

2010-10-31T13:55:00.000-06:00

After my whole presentation Friday morning, myself and three of my co-workers had a very important meeting with the CEO, David Clark, and a Supervising Lab Manager, Anna White, of Intermountain Health Care. We were to present a prototype for a new product we're working on and get any feedback and insight we could from them.

We'd been preparing for it for a week, well, I had been anyway. I was taking this meeting really seriously, probably more-so than anyone else. We decided who would present what part and we each came up with questions that needed to be answered. I made some business cards with our contact information on it, and printed out copies of the meeting's outline for each of us. I'd made the most up-to-date prototype and brought it and some older ones with me. I told everyone what to wear, because mechanical and chemical engineers can be pretty clueless about that (which they admitted to me a few days prior).

Around lunch time we all met up and took a BYU car over to the CEO's office. All of us were dressed professionally and we all looked pretty awesome. I called shotgun as we walked out to the car, and as we were driving, I couldn't help but feel tickled about how great of an experience all of that was. I felt like somebody important that belonged to an important company going to some big important executive meeting. Not only did I feel like that, but it was all true!

We made it over there and waited in a lobby outside of the conference room where the meeting would take place. All of us were giddy and excited, especially since we're only college students and things like this usually only happen to professionals.

The meeting itself went well. Our prototype and idea were received well. We got the feedback we needed to help us know in what direction we need to go. Both the CEO and lab manager agreed that if we can get our product finished with the appropriate standards met, they would immediately begin using it to replace their currently ineffective products.

Then Anna took us around part of their facility and discussed some additional problems they have there. She was so excited for our innovative ideas. She really wants our product to work out and is willing to help is as much as she is able to.

Everything went better than any of us expected! We all have a new energy about this project now. I think we all really want to see it exceed now more than ever. So now it's time to get to work!

Stress and Success (part I)

2010-10-31T13:27:00.001-06:00

The past two weeks have been absurd.

I was selected among many other students to give a brief presentation to a bunch of people who donate lots of money to BYU's School of Technology each year. Since my major is in that school, and some of the donors funded a lot of money for me to go to Singapore, and the professor in charge of the trip to Singapore adores me for some reason (I really don't know why he thinks so highly of me--I didn't suck up or try to be teacher's pet at all; I was just myself and he and his wife somehow love me... not that I mind...), the Dean of the school asked if I would be willing to share with these donors what I learned from that trip, how it's helped me, and express my gratitude to them. Of course I accepted. I love speaking to people and large groups. I know, I'm crazy, but I really enjoy it.

So on October 22nd, I woke up early and got ready for the day. Bob really wanted to come and hear me speak, even though it was only going to be for 2 minutes, so he came with me. We were both all dressed up and professional-looking. We arrived and quietly sat in the back until my turn to speak.

There were only two of us students who were selected to present. A guy who went to China for a study abroad went before me. The poor guy was nervous and shaking and tripped over his words a few times. I wanted to just hug him and tell him to relax. He finished, and it was my turn.

I felt a little nervous too, but I did my best to hide it. I had a few PowerPoint slides with pictures from the trip. The first picture was of the whole group of students who were a part of the class. We were all dressed professionally in it and had our projects displayed. My small group was gathered around the wheelchair we designed and prototyped, and I was sitting in it. As I was standing there, I briefly explained that I was not actually confined to a wheelchair, which several people chuckled at. I discussed our project idea and the basics of how it worked. The next slide had several pictures on it. One was of me eating some weird food with chopsticks. I told them of some things I learned, especially that I don't like fried oysters as I pointed to that specific image, at which everyone laughed.

'Okay,' I thought, 'I got them all to laugh, so now they have some connection with me.' I was able to relax and opened up more about my experience in learning how to work with engineers, design products, listen to various viewpoints from different people, etc. As I started wrapping up my short speech, I gave some small background on me, that I lived on a farm in Tennessee, and I never really thought that I would have a chance to travel to such an incredible country to further my education. I meant every word of it, and I unexpectedly got choked up and teary-eyed. I finished by thanking them all for helping me to have such an amazing experience, because I never could have gone without their help.

I ended and as I walked back to my seat, I thought, 'Holy cow. Where did those tears come from?' I sat back down next to Bob, beaming because I felt so good about how I spoke. He leaned over and hugged me, then whispered in my ear, "Good job!"

I really felt like I nailed that presentation. I know, it was only a couple of minutes long, but it was partially up to me to show these donors that the money they donate is really going to a good cause and being used well, and we even hope they'll consider donating more. If I hadn't have given a great speech, it could have affected the donations they give in a negative way.

After it was over, I went out into the hall/lobby to stand and see if anyone wanted to say hello to me or anything. On my way out I was stopped by several people who complimented me on my presentation. As we were talking I glanced over at the other student who spoke. He had all of two people talking to him, while I had about eight talking to me. I felt kind of bad for the other guy. I'm such a spot-light stealer sometimes. And yet, as much as I felt bad, I also felt like I had to do that to some extent, because his speech wasn't very good. He had some good pictures and made some good points, but I felt like I had to be really good to make up for anything that his was lacking.

Man, I am so analytic. Is that a bad thing? I'm not sure if the way I think sometimes is right or wrong. It's just how I think.

Either way, the presentation was successful and everyone appreciated my words and insights. I felt great about myself, and met a lot of important people. I can't remember all of their names, but I sure home they'll remember me.

My Wishlist

2010-10-31T12:40:00.010-06:00

I've been thinking about Christmas lately, and what to give others for the holiday. Along with that, I've been doing some thinking about what I want, and I've been coming up with a handy list. Unfortunately, most of what I want seems to be some-what expensive...

I'll keep adding to it regularly as other items I want come up and there will be a link to this in the margin with some of my favorite blog entries so you can find it easily if you need to.

So if anyone needs to know what I'd like and I can't remember when asked directly, here are some ideas.

Snow boots. No Uggs, please. They're ugly and not very waterproof. I'd prefer something like these:

Better pots/pans. No Teflon. I'm tired of it scraping and peeling off and not being able to use any metal utensils in them. I want some real steel or copper-bottomed ones if at all possible. Heck, even just one nice frying pan would be great.

A Kitchen Aid mixer. As much as I would love to have a floor-standing industrial sized one, I know it wouldn't be very logical at this point. Any color will really do, but of course I'd like an orange one if such a color exists among Kitchen Aid, but I really like the silver one too. Red is also nice. Or black.

Cheese slicer. You know, the one with the wire that sometimes makes a really cool "bing!" sound... Like this one:

This:

It's a ribbon organizer.
(You can find it here as well.)

A DSLR Camera. Probably a basic Canon, like one of the Rebel models; nothing with too many bells and whistles yet. I'm still doing research, but any suggestion or recommendation from experienced photographers is welcome.

projects in the process

2010-10-10T13:58:00.001-06:00

I've been doing a lot lately, hence the sparseness or lack of blogging. But here are some things I've been working on:

Somehow I can't ever quit sewing for other people. Last winter I made some clothing for this guy named Jeff who's in a band. He's 6' 4" and weighs maybe 160. He's super tall and really skinny, so it's hard to find clothes that fit him well. His mom found me at JoAnn's one day and just struck up a conversation with me, got my business card, and next thing I know I'm taking his measurements and custom-making a snazzy shirt and an even snazzier blazer for him. Well, the other day he came wanting another shirt and a vest as well, and this time he brought his girlfriend with him, who happens to want a dress made. I started on the dress first, and here's what it looks like so far:

Also, on Saturday we had a small yard sale together with our neighbors, during which we played scrabble and made $30. Also, our neighbors happen to have some small hedge clippers, so we trimmed down some crazy branches off of a bush in front of the house that blocks some of our front window. Then, I'm not sure why, but I made a wreath out of the clipped-off branches. We have some rose bushes in our front yard as well, along with some nice vines growing in the back. Everyone joined in and suggested putting some roses on it and Bob went and clipped some vines for me to use as well. It was fun, and I think it turned out pretty fabulous, considering that I made it all from scraps of whatever was on the property at our house.

Lastly, I'm planning on having a pajama party this Friday. It's been a while since I've had a party of any kind, and I remember throwing parties all the time when I was a little girl. My mom encouraged it and I think she had a lot of fun with it too. So, I'm starting up again. I made up a bunch of invitations and handed them out to friends. The front has lots of colors and different papers used and the back has all the information on it. I wanted them to be reminiscent of pajama pants, but I'm not sure if that really came across or not. Here's what they look like:

I'm planning on putting together some little bracelet-making and card-making kits for everyone who wants one, and I have a friend who is a Mary Kay consultant who will hopefully be able to come and demonstrate the new microderm-abrasion product available and maybe do some makeovers as well. The girls that come can either stay a few hours or sleep over, and then in the morning Bob and a friend (who he's staying with that night, and whose wife will be attending the party) will be making pancakes for anyone who will be staying the night. I'm pretty excited about it! I love throwing parties!

Always last

2010-09-13T13:46:00.000-06:00

I guess that's part of being the youngest child, no matter what my age is.

I'm always last... Last to date. Last to drive. Last to play sports. Last to graduate high school. Last to serve a mission. Last to get married. Last to finish college.

Last to have kids.

That's the one that's on my mind right now. Well, I've been contemplating it for quite some time now, honestly. This is just the first I've really decided to express it publicly. All of my friends and family are pregnant and having children. It's such a happy time and it's all so exciting! I love seeing lives starting and other lives progressing. I love playing with and spoiling my nephews and nieces and close friends' kids. And for a while now I've found myself wishing I had some of my own.

And it seems like over and over I'm told that I'm just baby crazy because everyone around me is having babies.

Is there something wrong with wanting to increase my womanhood to motherhood? Is there something wrong with me for wanting to nurture an infant and teach growing children about life, the gospel, and love? Is there something wrong with me for letting my maternal instinct out? Am I wrong for admitting that I'm no longer terrified of marriage and having a family?

Well I'll stand up for myself since only one other person has when I bring it up. No, there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of that.

So don't tell me I'm "just baby crazy" and that I'm being silly. Don't say "it'll pass," it's only a phase, and I'll be glad later when I don't have children burdening me down. Because for the first time in my entire life, I want kids. I've feared that I'd never want them, never wish for them, and then I'd have them just because of obligation and expectation. And I've always feared that I'd be a terrible mother because of it.

Don't persuade me not to have children yet. Do you think that helps? Why can't someone reassure me that having children is fantastic and fun and a wonderful part of life? Why do you only tell me about the grueling parts of it? Well life itself will always be grueling. I'm stuck with that no matter what. How much more 'preparation' do I need? A few more years? Just so I'm 'older' or 'more experienced' or so that I can enjoy time with my husband? Older won't let me have as many kids, and what other experience do I need so that I can have kids? Will I stop enjoying time with my husband all together if we have kids (even though I know there won't be nearly as much of it)?

Doesn't having children add another dimension to life? Sure, it brings it's own challenges with it, but since when has life been free of trials and difficulties anyway?

I guess I'm just frustrated with the lack of support I feel when I express the fact that I want to have kids, while everyone who is having children gets all this love and praise. When I'm pregnant will I ever get that or will I only hear others tell me it was a poor choice and a bad idea?

As excited as I am for Ben and Trina, Marissa and Brandon, Natalie and Brett, and so many others (which, I'm seriously beside myself with excitement for all of them), I'm also hurting in about that same amount. I just can't figure out what to do with it. I'm not jealous--not at all because those families all deserve to have those beautiful children and all the love and happiness life has to offer. With all my heart I hope for lots of laughter and unlimited smiles as those children grow.

I'm just not sure what to do with this.... other feeling. I'm suppose I'm sad, because I want that kind of love and support. Well, whether or not I ever have it, I'm still going to have children when it's time (and I do hope it's soon, to be honest). No one can persuade me differently, regardless of how difficult it might make everything. Just keep those degrading thoughts to yourself and stop adding to my struggles.

... ... ... ... ...

Okay.

Perhaps that was too much information, and maybe it made you feel awkward. But I needed it out of my head. And now that it's out, I can move on and stop letting it bother me.

Bob's first sewing project:

2010-09-08T20:16:00.002-06:00

I've been sewing since age 7, and Bob's mom's been sewing for years as well. But Bob has never sewed, not even his boyscout patches.

Monday I wasn't feeling well, so I laid in bed most of the day with an upset stomach and a headache. Bob organized some left over messes from the move for most of the day. (What a fun Labor Day. So much for a great 3-day weekend.)

After a little while I noticed it got really quiet. I knew Bob hadn't left, but I got curious. So I walked out and found him sitting at my craft table with a rectangle of fabric in front of him, carefully smoothed out. He looked up at me sheepishly.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked.
"Attempting to make something." Then he added, "I'm not sure what to do next," he admitted.

I had complained about how annoying my little method was for saving grocery bags earlier that day. Every time I open the cabinet under the kitchen sink, the grocery bag filled with other grocery bags falls off of its little hanging place on the back of the cabinet door. So Bob went on to explain that his mom has a fabric grocery-bag holder, only it's this huge tube of fabric. He decided that we didn't need one quite that size, so he was trying to figure out how to do it himself. I think he wanted it to be a surprise, but realized he needed my help and wasn't sure how to ask.

So I gave him suggestions. I'd go back and lay down, and a couple of minutes later he called me back out to help him again. That happened a few times, and then a little while later he walked into the bedroom and proudly presented the finished product:

He did a great job!

And even though he used some of my vintage fabric that I got from Nin's attic without asking, it didn't even matter by the end. After I threaded the sewing machine and showed him how to use it briefly, he did the rest all by himself!

It looks so good that we're not putting it under the kitchen sink like we had originally planned. It's hanging in the bathroom on the hand-towel rack where it adds a little fun color to the corner by the window.

Not bad for his first sewing project!

It'll make a funny story later...

2010-09-07T13:26:00.000-06:00

I know there are a lot of things in life that are painful, difficult, or unpleasant, but a lot of time it makes for a good story later. I have had countless experiences like that--how I got my chipped tooth, the time I got food poisoning and my puke changed every shade of the rainbow in a single day, the time I got food poisoning from Jack in the Box while on a cabin trip, the time(s) I accidentally punched Bob in the face, just to name a few.

Luckily the one that happened today wasn't nearly as unpleasant as those.

I woke up to Bob's alarm around 6am, reached over and tried to wake him up.... And then I woke up at 7:30 because it was getting so light in our room. Bob was still in bed and was 30 minutes late for work. I didn't have to get up until 8, so I reached over and nudged Bob to tell him to call his supervisor.

"Bob, you're late for work. You better call Zack."
No response.
"Bob! Go call Zack!"
To which Bob replied, in a most exasperated, sarcastic and rude voice,"Fine....... ZACK!!!"

It actually hurt my feelings at the time because of how much of a jerk he was being about it.
'Fine,' I thought. 'I'll just let you be late. I won't even try to wake you up again.'
So I got up at 8 and showered, and as I was getting my wallet out of my purse in the bedroom to put in my backpack just before walking out the door, Bob woke up and said good morning to me. I just glared at him and said, "I'm going to class," and forced a goodbye kiss out of myself.

It wasn't until he came home for lunch that I told him about it. And we both laughed about how silly we were. "So that's why you were being mean towards me this morning...." Bob realized through his chuckling. "I don't even remember doing that. I'll have to tell Zack about it!"

And so, the moral of this story is don't ever take Bob seriously or personally while he's sleeping, even if he seems like he's awake....

On second thought, don't even take him seriously or personally while he's awake either.

roll-up pencil case

2010-09-03T13:52:00.002-06:00

I hate things that are designed poorly. I guess that comes with my major, but really, I've always hated that. Even simple things like the hooks on the back of bathroom-stall doors. I hate that they frequently can't hold a purse or jacket like they're meant to, all because they're designed badly.

One thing I really don't like are pencil cases. I hate them. I bought a hard plastic one last year, and within 2 months it was breaking. I hate the fabric ones because the zipper won't open far enough for me to dig around and find the pen I need, so I end up dumping everything out on the desk, and then my pens are taking up the whole desk and I have to put all but the one I need back away before I can get to sketching.

I'm just anal and irritable. I know.

But with school starting, I need to be organized so I don't lose my mind with everything I have to do in the next few weeks and throughout the semester. So I came home from school yesterday and made my own pencil case.

It's perfect.

Here's my favorite picture I took of it.

I was searching through my fabric, and picked a color scheme. I originally decided on the brown and green, and then as I was looking at all my ribbon I found this cute and colorful tree ribbon. So I went with it and made the outside of the case match the ribbon print.

And I love it! It only took a couple of hours from start to finish. It's 22 inches long by 9 inches wide. It holds 20 pens/pencils, plus 6 little containers of pencil led (I use different hardnesses and colors of led, so they're nice to have handy). There is batting between the inside and outside layers for padding and to protect the led from breaking if dropped.

I think I'll make one for my paintbrushes too.
What else can this kind of thing be used for? I'm thinking about Christmas gifts now... Hey Lauren, how many crochet needles do you have? ;)

the 2nd place we live...

2010-08-25T10:58:00.001-06:00

So Bob and I moved to a new place! Well, the house isn't new, but the whole experience is new. We have windows!! There's at least one window in every room, even the bathroom. We don't even have to turn on any lights during the day! It's amazing!

The kitchen is huge and there's a ton of cabinet space, plus a window over the sink.

The shower in the bathroom is a normal size, which seems huge.

The ceilings are high enough to stretch and not scrape your knuckles on the painful, painted-over popcorn finish that our old place had. It's one bedroom, one bathroom, but the living room is big enough that we've sectioned it off to make a small part of it a little craft area for me. When we can afford it, I plan on getting a nice room divider to put between the two implied rooms. And there's a HUGE front window in the living room.

There's a nice yard, and on our front steps there's a cucumber vine in a planting box.

I know a lot of people were like, "What? You already moved?" because we just kind of suddenly did it. But the former tenants were some friends of ours, and we learned that they were leaving Tuesday morning of last week, so we started moving in that afternoon. That night I decided we should just move our bed and some clothes over so we could go ahead and start living there. So we did. And holy cow--what an amazing change! I'm far less depressed and it's not as big of a struggle to get out of bed every day. Bob seems happier too! The hard part is now that I love this place so much I don't want to go to work--I wanna stay here!

The first morning I woke up here, I got up early with Bob and got breakfast ready in our fabulous kitchen, made him a lunch, and then sat in the living room looking out the big front window to watch the sunrise. It put me in a great mood and I've had some really good days since living here.

And moving was fun, and yet it makes me crazy. I love the change, but all the packing and unpacking drives me nuts. Plus, we had a limited supply of boxes. Luckily the move was just around the block, so we'd pack up all the boxes we had, load them into my car, drive the 15 seconds over to the new place, unload them, unpack them, and then bring the empty boxes back to reload. I put things away during the process, so just about everything is in its place already. That was the best way to move! I've enjoyed it.

Our contract at the old place ends on the 31st, and this month's rent for the new place was already paid for by our friends who moved out. So we have a few more days to finish cleaning the old basement before we're done there. It's just really hard to get myself motivated to go back to that dank, dreary place, especially since I hate cleaning--especially there. But we'll get it done and hopefully get our deposit back too, especially since paying our deposit here has really hurt us financially. But we'll bounce back... That is, after tuition, textbooks, and September rent all get paid too...

more things I've recently made

2010-08-24T14:05:00.001-06:00

So I won the Blog Candy from Aunt Elaine's blog the other day: a set of stamps, pens, some paper, and an ink pad. I've already used those stamps several times in the few weeks I've had them! At Trina's baby shower, to make a get well card, for some magnets my ward mission council made, and I finally decided to use them for some fun yesterday, just to see what I could come up with. I don't have tons of paper or supplies, so it's really simple. But I've learned that frequently, less is more.

And speaking of Trina's baby shower, it was so fun! I couldn't have done it without Ashley, so I definitely can't take credit for it all. She had some fantastic ideas and by the time we got everything decorated and people started showing up, it looked like something people would pay money for! I was so busy that I didn't take pictures of any of it, but I did take some of the gift I made for Trina. I love making hooded towels now, and matching wash cloths to go with them. I'm planning to make some and sell them on my Etsy store (as soon as I have some time!). But here is hers. The photos aren't the best because I was in a hurry, but you can still see how cute it is.

Now I need to get back to work. Bob's been getting onto me about finishing those incomplete assignments, but I needed a break! So back to work it is.

Trina's Baby Shower invitations

2010-08-01T15:35:00.000-06:00

After going to Marissa's baby shower a few months ago, Trina said something about me helping to do hers at the end of the summer. So here it is, the beginning of August and I'm trying to get things all planned for it. I've split up the responsibilities between me and three other people, so hopefully it won't be overwhelming and too expensive for me. I'm really excited about it. I love throwing parties and making cute invitations and things.

And speaking of invitations, I got a sample of Trina's done. I love how it turned out! Sometimes I look at the things I make and I think, "Did I really just make something that freaking amazing?!"

So here is what they look like:

And here is what will be printed on the green section in the middle:

Maybe I should just make announcements and invitations for a living. I really enjoy doing it. I just wonder if people would actually want to pay me for it.

These are a few of my favorite things.

2010-07-31T16:24:00.001-06:00

I really enjoy crafts and hand-making things, from hair clips to jewelry, to my day planner.

I decided to document my favorite items I've made. some of them are on my Etsy website, and some I use every day. I wanted to document them as a reference for myself and for anyone else who'd like to see crafty little things, whether for fun or for inspiration.

A more recent item for sale on Etsy. I love this lace! It's almost tacky, but still cute if used right.

This one was so easy and fun. Someone bought it off my Etsy store just two days after I posted it up!

I like this one. It's very earthy and reminds me of autumn and Thanksgiving.

I'd seen some flowers like these before, so I tried to see if I could make them on my own. My first attempt resulted in the ones on the bottom left. I really like how they all turned out!

I actually made these for Bob over a year ago, while I was still in Tennessee and working at the bead shop. One day he asked if I could make him something other than jewelry. I came up with these. We have them on display in our front room because we like them so much.

I have always struggled to find a planner that I like. They either have too much or not enough. So I took a mini three-ring binder and made it my planner. I made my own cover just like I wanted, and I've never had a better planner! Not too big, not too small. For a while I even printed my own pages to go inside, but then I found some I actually really love.

I found these yellow and black swirled beads in San Diego over Christmas last year. I love them! But I don't know that I'd ever wear them. So I decided to at least make something someone else could wear.

I'll put others up on occasion as I make them.

I've debated on writing up instructions or tutorials for how to make some of these. I'll consider it if anyone leaves a comment asking for it.

Which one(s) do you like?

They hired the right girl.

2010-07-30T12:35:00.006-06:00

I've been a little stressed and overwhelmed by my new job, even though I love it. I worry that they're gonna decide that I'm not capable enough for it, because Marcel (the other designer they hired that I work with daily) is really good at it. So I've been trying to keep from being an annoying overachiever or just shutting down completely. Polar opposite reactions, I know. I'm a little nuts.

So yesterday at work we were dissecting part of a working prototype to look at its components. It was a simple handle that was screwed into the side of this product, and we were looking at how it works exactly. We needed a philips screwdriver, and Zack went to look around for one. He came back with a really insufficient, too-small flat head hoping it would work because it was all we had.

And then I hoped beyond anything I'd ever hoped for that I hadn't unloaded my backpack completely from when we went camping a couple weekends ago... I usually keep it in there anyway....

"I might have my Leatherman in my backpack," I said as I dashed back to the other room to check a certain pocket on my backpack.

Zack looked up with an expression of complete awe on his face and said, "If you have one I'll be really impressed."

Needless to say, he was really impressed.

They did hire the right person for this job, girl and all. So, Russ, it looks like I am getting paid to be awesome.

The best Christmas present ever.

To love life...

2010-07-30T12:21:00.000-06:00

I used to live life just wishing and dreaming about the future. I never paid much attention to how life was in the moment or how I was doing in the present--I'd done that during my high school years, but it never seemed to make me any happier. But when I started living to reach future goals, I at least had more hope in my life. And then I started living life for nothing but the future because I hated how things were in the present. It's like I went from one extreme to another in search of happiness and peace of mind, still never finding it. I mostly just ignored myself because I didn't like me, and the best way to distract myself from me was to think about where I was going instead of where I was at the time.

It wasn't until my therapist pointed out to me that I need to be sure that I like where I am now that I started realizing those one-way thinking habits. As obvious as it is, I never recognized that I needed a "happy medium" of both to be happy myself.

I am now pleased to say that I love who I am (perhaps for the first time in my life). I have goals I'm working towards, complete with a healthy view of myself right now. Here are some of those goals and how where I am now is helping me to reach them:

1. Graduate with a BFA in Industrial Design. I'm getting valuable experience at work designing products of all sorts. I'm finishing that incomplete I took in one ID class last fall. I'm going to finish freshman level ID classes in the winter, apply and be accepted into the upper level ID classes.

Final assignment from one of my ID classes last year. Not bad, for a freshman, though it could be better.

2. Live in a nice, comfortable house/home. We just found a different place to live that's still in our ward boundaries. It's the main level of a house, with lots of windows and lots of sunlight, a bigger kitchen, large living room, and lots of closets with storage space. No more dark basements for us. And rent is even cheaper than what we're paying now. We're trying to be careful with our money so that we can begin saving up to buy/build a house that we'll actually own one day. We have family photos (our extensive 2-person family of Bob and I) and hope to get more, as well as images of Christ and the temple to put up as daily reminders and to invite the Spirit into our home.

3. Have kids... several kids... Even though we're not trying for it right now (and if we get surprised I think well be okay), we're both learning so much about how we're going to parent. Some things I hope to do/not do: Not lay my infant child on the floor at church during Sacrament meeting, show them how to enjoy the outdoors, not put them in front of the TV as a quick fix to keep them entertained everyday, let them help me to cook meals and treats, teach them how to sew and make simple crafts as young as they want to start learning, assign chores they can do--with or without my help--at certain age marks, begin teaching them what it means to be chaste and to have morals as young as eight years old, show them how to love and be generous to others by my example, instill a love for music, singing, and instruments in them from infancy.

4. Play the piano... Again. I still have an electric keyboard I got for Christmas one year when I was a kid, and it still works. I'd also like to take a piano class at BYU before I graduate. I started one last year, but I was taking too many credits and had to drop it. I still have 3+ years to try it again.

5. Open my store/bakery. I started my Etsy site. I took a couple of classes at the LDS Employment office about being self employed and starting a small business. I have tons of fabric and some other supplies to help when I want to get it up and running. I've looked into small business loans and calculated out how much money I'll need just to get it going. I've got a business plan started, and I'm almost ready to get the business actually started. It's just not the right time yet. But it will happen.


Chrissy Konachamp won the Iron Man World Championship in 2007.

6. Finish an Iron Man race. I've been riding my bike everywhere--to work, to run errands, to look at potential houses to move into, etc. I went on an hour long ride the other morning before the sun came over the mountains and made the midday heat unbearable. If I can strengthen my knees on my bicycle and by swimming, I'll be better able to run long distances without blowing them out. I've also been monitoring what I eat. I've been eating far less meat, partially because it's expensive and partially because too much meat isn't healthy, and replacing what I'd normally put meat in with rice or beans or something similar. It's been both cost effective and I'm feeling great.

7. Serve a full-time mission as a senior couple. Bob and I went to the temple last night, and it was a wonderful experience. I've been trying to make prayer and morning scripture study more of a priority, though I'm not perfect at it yet. We've been trying to be better about fulfilling our callings, especially since we're ward missionaries. And like I said earlier, we're really pushing to keep a specific budget, including saving for later in life.

I have more goals, but these are the ones that were on my mind as I recognized myself again this morning. I decided to write them down so that I could get them organized into reality and reflect on them later. Plus, it feels great to see my successes and accomplishments and let those be my focus rather than my failures. And even my failures have resulted in some success. For example, I considered dropping that piano class last year a failure, but had I not done that, I wouldn't have taken other steps to get to where I am now, and where I am in my life is a really big accomplishment for me.

It's nice to see the big picture and see things, and myself, accurately.

The newest employee of ETS....

2010-07-15T18:58:00.007-06:00

So I've been looking for a job ever since I quit mine back in April. I was so tired of stage managing. It was a great job with great co-workers, but I was stagnant. I was making as high a wage as possible, I wasn't learning anything new, and I was just feeling very stuck. It was even affecting other aspects of my life as well--I was feeling stuck in school as well as in my relationship with my husband.So I quit--I was just done.

Then I went to Singapore for three weeks, which put job searching on hold. I returned at the beginning of June, and from then on I'd been submitting applications, creating resumes, going to the LDS Employment office, started my Etsy business, and I've been thinking for some time now that I should just really get focused and settled in a job of some sort.

Last week I got a response to an application I had submitted for an editorial position for a company that publishes scrapbooking magazines. They wanted me to complete some writing exercises to see if I was cut out for the job. I enjoyed doing them--it was fun and I felt like I was pretty good at it. I submitted them on Monday, and they told me I'd find out either way in the next week or two.

I also started taking a series of self employment classes at the LDS Employment office and decided to get my business plan up and running again for my gift shop/bakery. At the same time as that, I realized that Bob really needed to get a move on in regards to his schooling. In order to do that, I had decided to postpone my schooling for a bit and work full time so that he could focus on school and get done that much sooner so that life could progress a little more (aka having kids). I was totally fine with that, stopping my schooling a bit and then finishing it later. I even decided to move forward with my business because the location I was looking at for the store became available again. So I was pretty excited. It seemed like everything was supposed to go in that direction.

Not even an hour after talking that choice over with Bob and settling on it, I get a phone call to schedule an interview for a position I had applied for weeks ago. It was for a company of student engineers who were looking to hire some industrial designers. I decided to go ahead with the interview, if nothing else just for the experience. I doubted they'd want to hire me--I'm still just a freshman in the program.

I went to the interview yesterday. A fellow classmate, Quinn, from my ID classes last year was interviewing before me, and on his way out we chatted momentarily. Then I turned to walk in for my interview. I introduced myself before even looking at who was interviewing me. It turns out that it was Zack Bomsta, the guy who married a former roommate of mine two weeks earlier, whose reception I'd attended. Small world! He laughed and said he was already aware of who I am, though it didn't register until just then when he saw me. He asked me questions about Quinn, who--I'll be honest--is amazing and extremely talented. I admitted that he was one of the top 10 students in our classes when it comes to quality of work and talent. Then we went on to questions about me and my capabilities. On my resume I included my study abroad course to Singapore and the experience I now have with international relations and collaborating with others to create a product. We discussed that, and he said that it made my application stand out from all the other ones. I had forgotten about that. I suppose that would make me look pretty awesome.

After the interview, I still didn't feel super confident so I basically forgot about it. I continued on in my business things and preparing to not take classes come fall semester. Then today Zack calls me and says he wants to hire me. I asked if I could talk it over with my husband and get back to him about it. I talked to Bob. I prayed. I read my scriptures. I called my Dad. I prayed some more. And then I called Zack back to ask more questions about the job.

I learned that it pays $15 an hour and I'll be working anywhere from 10-20 hours a week on average. He even said some of the current employees have time for full or part time jobs in addition to this one, as well as school. Also, they have two ways of hiring people: either through BYU or through a different agency if any of the BYU students don't have enough credits to be employed by BYU.

Well, that resolved all my problems and concerns. I can go to school while taking as many or few credits as I need, and I can have a second job on the side if necessary (or if I get that editorial job). Not only that, but I realized that when I'm done and finally get that evasive Bachelor of Fine Arts degree I so much want, I'll have experience in the exact same field I'll be going into. What company won't want to hire someone with both a degree AND experience? Seriously! If I can keep this job until I graduate (which I think I want to already) I'll have 3-4 years of design experience in the workplace!

I'll be working on a panel of four industrial designers--including Quinn and two other upperclassmen, one of which I've heard great things about. I go in tomorrow at 11am to get hired with the other three, and then we're getting right to work. It looks like I'll be taking classes this fall after all, and it'll probably be only 6-9 credits worth.

It seems like it's too good to be true. But if it's really as good as it all sounds right now, can I just say jackpot!!

The Lord really knows what He's doing. When I think I have something figured out and it seems right and I go that way, he always stops me if I'm wrong. Thank goodness that he never lets me down and He never leads me in the wrong direction.

In other news, Bob auditioned for a short movie today. Neither of us really think he'll get the part, but it was fun anyway! In the Craigslist ad it said to bring a headshot and resume. Well, considering that Bob has no acting experience, a resume seemed a little ridiculous. But we decided a head shot would be good. So I took some photos of Bob this morning, and here's the one we picked.

I think he's dang handsome.

My Etsy store!

2010-07-04T23:26:00.000-06:00

So if you don't know already, I've been wanting to open a little gift shop/bakery for most of my life. I had a location picked out and I was hoping to get it going this fall. But I didn't sign the lease for the location soon enough. I walked by there a couple of weeks ago and the "For Lease" sign was down and there were some things in the windows. Talk about disappointment! I was super bummed out.

I decided that maybe it just isn't time to get it going yet.

Bob took me out to some fun little boutiques last week, Cherry Lane & the Flower Basket. I loved them! I wish I could work in one of those shops, or at least sell some of my creations to them for resale. But I wasn't feeling very good about my abilities since I hadn't gotten any responses on my job applications or resumes that I'd turned in a few days earlier. So I didn't bother asking anyone about it.

Instead I just decided to get an online shop going. Thursday, the same day that Bob took me out to those boutiques, I logged into my Etsy.com account and created my shop, and posted a few items for sale.

On Friday I got a message from a lady who just happened upon my page, and she gave me some wonderful suggestions and feedback on it. Then on Saturday she bought one of my items! Holy cow--my first sale not even two days after I opened my shop with only three items for sale! I was so jazzed when I looked at it tonight that I posted a few more items and improved my bio and policies page among other things.

So now I'm really excited about selling my creations! If you haven't already, go and take a look at it. And if you have an account, please make my shop a favorite (only if you like it, and if not, let me know how I can improve!).

If I can't go to work, I'll let work come to me. And I'm going to have a blast doing it!

Here today, Gone tomorrow.

2010-06-30T00:40:00.008-06:00

I love how things in life can change so quickly. One day I'm single, the next I'm married. When I go to bed the house is nice and clean, I wake up in the morning and there's an inch of water covering our bedroom floor. My hair is long in the morning, then short and messy in the afternoon. I wake up at home and go to sleep that night on the other side of the world.

On Monday I was registered for summer classes, and on Tuesday I dropped all of them.

As it turns out, I filed my FAFSA too soon. Had I waited a month until after I had gotten married, I would be getting grant money to go to school right now. But because I filled it out when I was still single, I was considered dependent on my parents. It just so happens that the 2009 FAFSA is still being used for summer term, and there's nothing I can do to change it even though my situation is drastically different than it was eight months ago.

So to avoid getting a loan for as long as I possibly can, I'm just pushing my classes back another year. I'll finish my GE's this fall, while I should be getting some nice grant money, and then in January I'll take the classes that I was going to take now. That means I won't get to apply for sophomore year of Industrial Design until August of next year.

As frustrating as it is, I've decided to stop trying to rush it. The fact is, I'm not going to graduate any sooner, and I might as well try to enjoy life instead of trying to rush through it to get to a final end point. I need to enjoy where I am now, wherever that is. Besides, Bob still has at least four years of school left, so it's not like we'll really be going anywhere anytime soon.

Now I need to find a job. I was going to wait until August to find one, when I finished summer term, but since I'm no longer taking classes I need something to do. Plus, Bob isn't really making enough income by himself at the moment, and we've been hurting a bit for cash since I quit mine back in April. I searched on-campus jobs at BYU and only found three that I'm interested in, and then I found a few others on Craigslist. I'm surprisingly motivated about this too-- yesterday I made a resume in half an hour, and I think it's pretty awesome.

(https://acrobat.com/#d=Towitc6GfueosOBk9uCucg)

Then today I made an online portfolio to go along with my resume. Most of the things in the portfolio are likely graphics you've already seen in an earlier blog, but I like the effect of having them all together in a nice and neat slide show display. (After clicking on it you can use your mouse or left and right arrow keys to navigate through.)

(https://acrobat.com/#d=4grH5CmqSpiAfdsc85X9Tg&x=s)

So if anyone knows of anywhere in Provo or Orem or any other nearby place that could use a designer with my abilities, let me know. I would really love to get a job doing something I like that will also help me in my career goals.

Also, the other day a friend of mine sent me a message via Facebook. I met her and her family in San Antonio while I was serving as a missionary there. I love them a lot. So in this message she tells me that she wants to stop at my place on her way back to Texas from Washington state. She'd gone up there with her mom and siblings because they moved there recently, but she needed to get out and find a place to work. So rather than just stop here for a night, I told her she was welcome to stay here for a little while if she needed to. So Chelsie and her cat, Tiger, are staying here for about a month now. She'd like to get a job, but I 'm not sure if she'll be staying long enough to find one. She's planning on leaving in August, so we'll see.

As I was discussing this decision with Bob, I was reminded of my own mother. I remember letting a few people live with us from time to time. My mom was so willing to open up our home to friends and family if they needed a place to stay. I guess some people might think it's a little weird, but I feel like it's my way of serving others when there's not much else I can do. Plus, when I was 19 I remember wishing there was somewhere I could go and get away from life and my problems, a haven of sorts. If I'm able to do that for someone--especially a friend I care about--and help to get their life in order, why shouldn't I? Besides, we have fun together. She does remind me a lot of myself a little bit when I was 19.

And on a random note, I found this cool website the other day. If you like fabric and have some extra money, or if you need something for a specific sewing project and you can't find it, here's a solution:

SpoonFlower.com

I think it's a great idea. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.

Favorite ID Assignments

2010-06-18T10:25:00.003-06:00

In case you don't know, I'm studying Industrial Design and BYU. I changed my major about 8 times before I found this one, which is what I was looking for all along. Let me explain why this is my chosen major. I'm a hands-on learner. I don't do well in lectures or on tests, I struggle to stay focused on what I read when I study text books, and I can't stand writing research essays about something I have no interest in.

So why am I in college? Because I need an education. I'd often catch myself drawing or sketching instead of reading, looking around myself and analyzing how poorly things are constructed or made instead of listening, and enjoying interesting images and nicely designed things online instead of typing papers.

Industrial Design requires no text books, we have no tests or final exams, and lectures are rarely longer than 20 or 30 minutes. For homework, we get really vague, ambiguous assignments and we have to complete them by the next class period. They involve the various elements of design, both on 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional levels. In other words, we have to make things look pretty--both images on paper and models you can pick up and hold. And it took me three years of misery in majors that I hated to find this four year program that I adore. Yes, I still have three more years of it even though I've already done four years of schooling. The timing is my main regret.

So I love my major and I'm super excited to continue on in learning and making tons of projects when summer term starts on Monday. But I still have this incomplete that I took for a class last fall when I was dealing with, well, lots of things. I wanted to finish the incomplete grade and get all those assignments turned in before summer term began, but I just feel stuck--like I can't get creative enough to finish all of the assignments.

The other hold up was that I have to take pictures of all the projects and assignments I do. I lost Bob's camera battery charger around the time that I went to Singapore. So I've been trying to finish assignments and find a good deal on a charger (especially since we literally have zero money to spend ever since I quit my job). I looked online and found the charger for about $25. That's a quarter of $100! Do you have any idea what I can do with $25??? So then I felt a ping of inspiration and looked on Craigslist. No luck. I went to KSL, and just a day earlier someone had posted an ad selling the exact charger I need--plus a battery (which, batteries are expensive!) and transfer cord, all for $10! I LOVE when inspiration comes. We went and picked that up yesterday.

So back to my dilemma of not feeling creative. The assignments I have to do are all 3-D. In other words I have to build things out of card-stock, balsa wood, and foam-core board. I've got one and a half of the 7+ assignments done. So how do I find inspiration to finish the rest of them before August?

I remember getting some ideas from looking at my 2-D assignments for some of my classes. So I found my USB drive that I had them all stored on, and took a look at them again.

I impressed myself. It's been eight or so months since I've looked at them, and I really like some of them! I wish I could print out my favorites, frame them, then hang them around our office so I could inspire myself. However, a lack of money is keeping me from doing that.

So next best thing, I'll post them on here and see how other people feel about them. I'm not really fishing for compliments, just encouragement...

Okay, if you want to call that fishing for compliments, maybe it is. But really, I just need a little reassurance and a pick-me-up.

So to explain a bit on these, I used Adobe Illustrator to create them. There was no right or wrong way to do our projects, as long as we were using our knowledge and understanding of design to do them. And our assignments were extremely vague, which I quickly learned just gave us more freedom in creating them. For example, one assignment from that class was to make a composition using four squares to demonstrate the word 'tension'.

Wait, what?

Exactly.

An assignment on rhythm and emphasis.

Another assignment on emphasis.

Notice how your eye travels as you look at it. I learned to manipulate lines and space to have you look where I want you to without you really knowing it.

Assignment on rhythm and how to make it nice instead of annoyingly repetitive.

Another on emphasis and movement.

(This one was inspire by a photo of sand dunes. Can you tell?)

Inspired by the way fabric moves in the wind (like a flag).

Inspired by stairs.

(It's hard to make it interesting and not boring. You try it!)

I love brick and cobblestone roads and walkways. Can't you tell?

This was a fun assignment! We had to come up with and present a product of limited edition M&Ms in honor of the Olympics. This was mine. I really like it.

An assignment on pattern exploration and presentation.

Can you find the single shape I created the whole thing from?

I highlighted it somewhere.

My final project for that class, called a "Perceptual Painting".

We were to create something that expressed ourselves using all the elements of design that we'd learned so far in the class. This is my explanation of it:

I love sketching, especially with charcoal. I created the squares using lines that resemble the way different sketching mediums look on paper.

I always want to be unique and different. Sometimes I feel like people are expecting me to be this perfect little person, a 'square' just like everyone else. So I do that for a while, but before long I have to break out of it and be me again. Hence, the squares and the one in the background that is being destroyed.

I picked the various shades of brown because it seems like such a boring color to many people, but if you look carefully, it can turn into some of the richest, most warm and comfortable hues you'll ever find. Similarly, I hope that people can see more in me than what first meets the eye.

Lastly, I love literature and poetry, both reading and writing it. With that in mind, I incorporated some favorite lines of a favorite poet. The words leave an open-ended question, because I'm curious to see what others will make of this creation of mine.

That's all I'll post on here. It's kind of a lot, but we had tons of assignments like these. I just included my favorites.

What do you think?

Singapore Trip: Part 2 + Coming Home

2010-06-09T14:58:00.003-06:00

Both Sundays we went to church . And it was just like church back home! Except, instead of Spanish translation, there was Chinese translation for those who needed it. And everyone had Asian accents. One of the missionaries serving in the ward we went to is actually from San Antonio! It was fun to meet and talk to him. I really love how no matter where I go in the world, the church will still be the same. There I am in this completely foreign country where nothing is the same as home, but as soon as I step inside the chapel it's all so familiar and comfortable. I just love that.

A few of us went for a walk one Sunday afternoon. We passed the rich neighborhood where the homes were like duplex-style townhouses. They were huge and beautiful! They were white and looked very western, but there was still that Asian influence in them. Then just past those houses we stumbled upon this crazy place. It was like a huge park devoted to Asian and Buddhist culture, full of painted statues from folklore and stories. It was so big we didn't even get to see the whole thing before we had to leave.

One part was so weird though, and kind of grotesque. In the eastern religions here, they mostly believe in reincarnation. So their doctrine is that after you die you get judged and depending on how well you did in life you cross one of three bridges to your next life. The golden and silver bridges are good, but the third bridge is the one to the 10 Courts of Hell. You have to go to each court and if you committed a crime punishable by that court, you have to suffer a punishment. Some of the punishments are really horrible, and there were little statues and figures demonstrating of all of it. Some punishments were getting sawed in half, having your guts pulled out through your belly button, being thrown on a hill of knives, being boiled in hot oil, and other really gruesome things that I won't mention more. It was so weird!! There were some I couldn't even look at because of how graphic they were. Talk about disturbing. Not exactly what I'd planned on doing on a Sunday afternoon--church in the morning, walking through Hell in the afternoon... But it made me again very glad to know the truth. Quite comforting to know that when I die I don't have to feel more pain--no arms getting chopped off or getting ground by a stone. I'm also glad that I only have to deal with mortality once, rather than being reincarnated over and over until I can become good enough to break the cycle. The spirit world and kingdoms of glory just sound so much better to me, plus they make more sense and the Spirit constantly confirms the truth of it to me all the time.

Monday the 24th we got out of class at noon. The NUS students love taking us around to tour places and trying to get us to eat different foods and things. So we went to the Steamboat restaurant for lunch, and as expensive as it was, it was really fun. It was like a buffet, but way different than a US buffet. They bring these huge pots of soup to our table and put them on these hot plates to cook. Then we go and grab all this raw food--meat, noodles, and all kinds of things that I don't know the names for-- and we put what we want in the soup. It was SO good! And then the broth left over after having so many things cooked in it tastes amazing! There was this mango flavored pudding and some rose flavored ice cream for dessert. Both were delicious!! If it didn't cost so much money I'd definitely go back!

Afterward we went to Sentosa! It's a little island off the southern edge of the country and is still part of Singapore. It's a big tourist attraction, but being Monday there was hardly anyone there. We spent all of our time at the beach because it was so gorgeous and there was so much to do. We had a blast and took some amazing pictures as well. We stayed until after the sunset, then walked around the island some. There's this huge Merlion (mermaid + lion) statue there that is just beautiful and is all lit up at night. It's about 10 stories tall and is very majestic looking. It was a really fun afternoon, even though I'm pretty sure a responsible student would have been doing homework and research with all that free time instead of having so much fun.

The following days were mostly just full of lectures in class and group work outside of class. My group consisted of myself and three other people: Sin Lian, Siraj, and Wayne. Sin Liang and Wayne are Chinese, and Siraj is Indian, I think. We decided to redesign a product that would better accommodate a person transferring from the wheelchair to another surface (bed, toilet, couch, etc.) and still keep it affordable. We explored so many ideas, such as a wheelchair-friendly bed, some crazy transfer devices, and the wheelchair itself. Our final design is a wheelchair with a transfer board built into the armrest. It took forever to get to that point though! We ended up actually buying a used wheelchair and building a very rough, functional prototype and I made some final sketches of what it would look like if produced commercially (see below, though they're not as good as I'd like them to be). I really like how everything turned out, but getting there was really difficult. Three very different engineering-minded people and an industrial designer rarely see things the same way to start with, add a communication barrier in there with people who speak the same language at different levels and with really thick accents and you get a lot of stubbornness and frustration from everyone, though I think I felt it most. Though the thing I learned most from all of this was patience and perseverance.

I wish we'd had more time there for sight-seeing. I didn't have time to ride an elephant, swim with dolphins, or go on the Singapore Flyer. The last Friday there we presented our final designs to the class, and then at 3:00am that night we were on our way to the airport. But we made the best of it, and a bunch of us went out to have fun that last night.

We went to Orchard Boulevard, the busiest and most crowded street in the entire country I think, and walked around, shopped, and watched street performers. We went to this spa to try one of their services too. They have these little fish that eat the dead skin off of your feet. All of us Americans had to try it. My friend Brian and I went in first, and as soon as he stuck his feet in all these little tiny fish immediately covered his feet and went to town. I had the hardest time putting my feet in after I saw that, because it reminded me of leeches for a minute. But Brian talked me into it. It was the weirdest sensation in the world! My feet are the only place I'm not ticklish, but it tickled so much, especially when they'd wiggle themselves between my toes! We were all laughing and squealing while trying to be quiet in this nice relaxing place where people were in the next room getting massages and pedicures. My feet did feel pretty nice afterward though. It was so much fun! I want to do it again.

Then we found this huge playground. I mean, I'm not kidding. We didn't even get to see all of it because it was so humongous! And there were fun things for adults too! It started out with this small merry-go-round thing that maybe four people can stand on, and as it started spinning you'd lean in and it would speed up. It was so funny to see people try and stay on it when it started spinning really fast. It became a game to see who could stay on the longest and who could walk in a straight line after being on it. There was also a two-story high pyramid with a web of ropes inside it for climbing on. And then my favorite part were these short zip-lines. I seriously want to build a playground like that in Provo because tons college students would seriously love it, along with kids.

None of us went to sleep that night, and then on the flight back I slept for five hours during the first flight, and about three for the second one. Jet lag is kind of rough, but coming home was great! It was wonderful to see Bob again. I got dropped off by a shuttle at my house, and Bob came out to get my suitcase. As soon as I saw him my heart did a flip and I couldn't stop smiling. It felt just like old times when I'd visit him before we ever lived closer than 12 hours away from one another. He'd put his hair in this little faux-hawk thing that I think is super hott, And as soon as we stepped inside our house and closed the front door we just stood there and hugged for several minutes. I don't know how to explain it, but something about his touch just relaxes me like nothing else in this world.

I fell asleep for most of the day. I couldn't sleep much that night, and around 3am I found myself completely awake and unable to even close my eyes, much less fall asleep again. It turned out that Bob was awake too (since his sleep schedule was all thrown off from staying up too late playing video games and things, and not liking to sleep without me there). So we got up, I made some pumpkin bread and we played Halo on the X Box for a few hours until it was daylight. (See, Bob had borrowed our friend Scott's X Box soon after I left, since Scott had recently gotten some other gaming consoles and never uses this one anymore... and it might just end up ours, who knows...) Then we both fell asleep at about 10:30am, and I didn't wake up until 3pm, which meant we completely slept through church. And then I somehow woke up again at 7:30pm, even though I don't remember falling asleep again. Adjusting to the time here is proving a bit more of a challenge than I thought it might.

Lastly, I am so glad to get back to familiar food again! In Singapore there are food stalls and restaurants that claim to have "Western Food." Never go to any if you ever happen to be in that country. I tried one, just to see what they thought American food was like. I got barbecued chicken, and it came with French fries that reminded me of cardboard, some vegetables that I didn't entirely recognize, and an omelet. The chicken tasted more like it was fried in lard and then covered in Catalina salad dressing. Needless to say, it was horrible. Now, I loved the authentic food in Singapore, but my insides did not like it very much. I had a stomach ache almost every day from it, and my intestines just did not like absorbing all these weird, new things. The last night there we ate fish head something, frog legs, shark fin soup, and of course--rice. It was really delicious, but a few hours afterward I had to find a bathroom every half hour, because I definitely ate something I should not have. Not fun, especially having to fly home shortly thereafter.

(Fish head. See it on the right side of the platter?)

So on Saturday night I cooked again. I missed cooking! I missed being able to read food labels too. Even though the national language is English, everything is still in Chinese or Malay for the most part. So I made barbecued chicken sandwiches with peas and carrots on the side, something I am familiar with that is cooked right and didn't give me abdominal problems the next day. Such a relief, and it tasted so good.

It was a fun trip, but it's good to be home.

Singapore Trip: Part 1

2010-05-21T21:52:00.003-06:00

So a few months ago Bob and I went to a seminar about a short study abroad opportunity for the engineering students at BYU. It was a three week trip to Singapore. I thought it looked incredible, but I knew it was expensive so I had kind of pushed it our of my mind. But Bob had a different idea. He wanted me to go. I guess in his eyes he felt like I should take an opportunity like this, because who knows when we'll end up having kids--this could be the only chance I ever get to do something like that. I was concerned about the price, but he said we'd figure it out.

And so we have. My group left around 6:00am on Monday morning, May 17th. We flew to San Francisco and then toured a few places. First IDEO (which, the company has changed over the years--it used to be mostly a design firm, but they've gotten into business consulting now, improving the ways companies work).

Then Stanford. Can I just tell you, that school is HUGE!!! Seriously, we were driving through campus for about 30 minutes before we got to the building we were visiting. They've got a sweet machine shop, plus a foundry and welding shop. I failed to take pictures of that, unfortunately. After that we went to see the Zircon company. They're a small business that makes a few tools, mainly stud finders. That's what they're known for. It was really fun and enlightening. And at the end they gave us each a stud finder for free! I know those don't cost a ton, but I don't have one. Well, now I do! And it's their newer design. Sorry Dad, I think mine might be nicer than yours.

Then we flew for 18 hours, stopping over in Tokyo after the first 12 hour flight. I had an aisle seat in the very back of the plane with zero space so I couldn't relax. Then we had a 7 hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore, where there was about an average of one person per row. I was able to finally stretch out and sleep. I think that's the best I've ever slept on an airplane! I suppose the fact that I'd been awake for 28 hours straight helped.

Singapore is beautiful! It's nice and humid, always over 80 degrees (even at night), and there are plants growing everywhere--even on other plants, especially trees. Really, if there's a small space between any building or pavement, they stick some kind of plant there. It's just gorgeous. And the country's national flower is the orchid. I love it here!

It's a clean country, all 30 miles of it. Napkins don't exist here. Neither do mosquitoes. The campus is nice, built mostly on hillsides. Because property is scarce, everything is built up or under ground. The malls here have two or three levels below ground, and the apartment buildings (where everyone lives--houses don't really exist here because the price of land is so high) are like sky scrapers. It's a crazy sight. Outside of each window on the apartment buildings are these bamboo poles which people hang their clothes on to dry. It's very limited space-wise, and also kind of dangerous because if the wet clothes are too heavy or the bamboo stick is too old and rotten, it can break, falling all the way down to the ground level from sometimes 50 floors up or higher. It's crazy!

Here's my room and the view from my window.

Our class is fun. There are students from Penn State, on from Carnegie Mellon, us from BYU, and half of our class is from here at NUS (National University of Singapore). We're working on product design and development, coming up with our own projects. It's really laid back, while really rigorous because we're covering a semester's worth of information in two and a half weeks.

Also, everything here is super cheap! Breakfast for me is under $2.
This morning I ate this:

It's coconut rice, with peanuts and little fried minnows, a different small fish, and some spicy-sweet sauce. It comes wrapped in a big leaf, folded into a little boxy-pouch. It's surprisingly delicious!

Lunch or dinner for me is usually $3. On campus their food area is called a Canteen. It's like the Cougareat on steroids! There aren't any major food chains, but instead just shops of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and other kinds of food. It's amazing and dirt cheap! I have no idea what I ate yesterday for lunch, but it had rice and what I think was chicken. For dinner yesterday we went to this place called West Coast, where there are just a bunch of little food booths and shops. It's kind of like a bazaar, I guess. I ordered a pretty normal dish for here--fried oysters. It's basically oysters with an egg mixed in, fried in green onions and served with a spicy sauce on the side. It was a tough consistency to swallow--gooey and soft, but there were a few crunchy parts too.

And while we were eating, this random weird Asian guy saw all of us white people and thought we were Australians. He came over to talk to us, and at one point he was talking to my friend Brian who was sitting next to me, and gesturing toward me said how good looking his wife was, then whistled at me. Without time to even respond the guy came over to me, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Eh, yah husband..?" pointing to Brian, then winked and wiggled his eyebrows at me and left. It took us a second to realize what he was saying because his accent was so hard to decipher, and then we all just cracked up.

After dinner we walked around the shops. We found some durians and had to try them. They smell pretty rank, especially once they're cut open, but they supposedly taste sweet. The outside is really spiky and sharp, and the inside is this weird yellow, foamy looking mass. they sell them as the fruit itself, and also as just the inside stuff.

Some of the NUS students who were showing us around bought us some to try. I went to pick up a chunk of it, and it just fell apart in a gooey mess. That was unexpected. So I scooped it up and put some in my mouth as I held my breath. It was.....interesting to say the least. It did have an oddly sweet flavor, but the consistency made it hard to swallow. I managed to do so without gagging. Our native friends just laughed at us, then dug right in and ate up all the rest that we couldn't. Maybe I'll try it again later and see if I like it better.

Then we went on a Night Safari. It's basically a zoo of nocturnal animals, so it's only open at night. It was so much fun! We watched an animal show, and one of the guys in our group got to hold a huge python that was bigger around than my waist! We also rode on the tram and got to see all kinds of things--random breeds of deer, a rhino, lions, elephants, as well as some weird animals I've never seen or heard of before. We walked around a bit and saw some leopards and flying squirrels--but these ones were huge! They were the size of big, fluffy house cats. I really enjoyed it.

Photos of the fried oysters, Angela and I holding durians, and our Night Safari.

The time change here has really been rough on me. I've been forcing myself into it, making myself stay awake, but I can't seem to sleep in much. Yesterday I woke up at 4:15am and couldn't go back to sleep. So I just kept myself busy until the breakfast place opened. Today I woke up at 7:30am. That was nice.

So the trip here is going great. I'm having a blast and really enjoying a different culture and the beautiful country. I think I love traveling. I've always thought I would, but this is just solidifying that idea. It's only been two days, so I can't wait to see what else I get to do while I'm here!

Hosting a baby shower...

2010-05-16T01:21:00.000-06:00

So Marissa's baby shower was Thursday last week. I learned a few things from it:

1. I spent way too much money on it. But everything I bought was for her! And baby things are just too cute anyway.

2. Decorating blank onesies with stamps and fabric markers is my favorite baby shower activity.

3. Three boxes worth of cake bites is enough to feed everyone at a BYU football game. But man are they delicious!!

4. Well, this isn't news to me, but doing all of this just reiterated the fact that I'm a total over-achiever, in case you didn't know.

5. I should start a business for party and event planning so I can make a profit on it. Apparently I'm good at it.

Hooded Baby Towel

2010-05-11T12:22:00.001-06:00

I'm throwing my first ever baby shower for my cousin, Marissa. She and I were roommates for two years out here in college, then we both served missions, both got married afterward, and now she's expecting her first child. She and her husband were hoping to wait a little while to have kids, maybe three years, but three months into their marriage they got a nice little surprise. It's going to be a boy. She was kind of nervous about letting any of her friends here throw her baby shower. When I found out she was pregnant I immediately asked her if I could throw it for her, to her great relief.

So it's this Thursday. I went out shopping for it yesterday. I spent more money than I should have, but it was fun! And the money I did spend was on mostly good deals. For example, I got four packages of crepe paper streamers, four bags of balloons, paper plates, napkins, prize bags, and a small laundry basket for a game all for $16. I love dollar stores!

Anyway, I also wanted to get her a gift I could wrap. But I was already broke. Then I saw some towels at Costco and thought of that cute little hooded bath towel I had as a kid. I've never made one, but I know they're simple. I called my mom about it just to clarify a couple of things, then ran to Wal-Mart to get a towel I could afford more. I opted for a nice sage-green color, especially because Marissa preferred green for her baby stuff. (Blue and yellow are great too, but she really seems to like green.) I found some cute ribbon to match, then went home and got to work on organizing and planning for Thursday, and finally made the towel.

I looked up some DIY instructions online just for some tips, and there was one lady who made a pleat in the back. I really liked it so I did it as well. You can see it in the bottom left photo. I also have some nice thin brown ribbon that matched the striped ribbon I bought, so I used it as well. I love how it turned out, especially the top left photo--you can see the detail of the ribbon.

Then I folded and wrapped it up nicely with some more brown ribbon (bottom right photo). It's a simple project, but I really like how it turned out. I hope Marissa does too.