Love. Life.

Color palettes

2012-02-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the wonderful world of Pinterest, I've got color palettes on my mind. That, and I've been looking for an excuse to redo our living room {loved the colors when we moved in, but I want something brighter now}. So, now I'm addicted to finding the perfect color that will go with the warm gray/taupe that's on the majority of the walls in our house. We have a couple accent walls, both of which were painted a deep, dark red by the previous owners. I love red. Dearly. But I think our living room is juse too dark. So that means the red has to go, which also means I need to figure out a nice, neutral tone to paint over it! Which brings me back around to Pinterest and the website I discovered through it: Design Seeds. I am in love. You found a color you like, but don't really know what to go with it? Design Seeds. Picture you love, but you're not really sure what colors in it you want? Design Seeds. Here are some of my favorite finds so far from them:

Really loving the Spring Lily one {top right corner} and Bleeding Heart {bottom left}. And did you know they have books? *sigh* I'm in heaven... {If you want to see more, check out my board.}

2012-01-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited for The Hunger Games movie to be released in March. I want to see if they've done these wonderful books justice. I was browsing the interwebs looking for quotes {another book I want to make a canvas of}, and I was taken back to reading this, and all the highs and lows this series took me on. They are really quite lovely books {although slightly graphic in the violence, but that's what the Hunger Games were - violence}. Don't you think? {I listed some of my favorite quotes from each book after the picture of the cover.}

"Remember, we're madly in love, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it."

“I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often," he says. "They suit you.”

No one will forget me. Not my look, not my name. Katniss. The girl who was on fire.

"Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games."

"My nightmares are usually about losing you. I'm okay once I realize you're here."

I only say, "So what should we do with our last few days?"
"I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you," Peeta replies.

A spark could be enough to set them ablaze.

"Fire is catching. And if we burn, you burn with us."

“You love me. Real or not real?"
I tell him, "Real.”

“You're still trying to protect me. Real or not real," he whispers.
"Real," I answer. "Because that's what you and I do, protect each other.”

Getting crafty with Elinor and Marianne

2012-01-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

If you live in Washington, then you know we've had massive snow fall in the last 24 hours. Well, for here anyway. Most of us don't have 4 wheel drive vehicles, and if we do, we generally just use them for hauling things. Glen has a Volvo {that needs new tires} and I have an Acura. They're both great cars, mine not so much in snow. Glen's is pretty good in snow and ice, but with his tires being as old as they are and in need of replacement, we played it safe and stayed home all day. Now, this is day two for me being stuck at home {I stayed home yesterday because our silly weathermen kept saying it was going to dump buckets during the day, and it didn't}, so I'm going a little stir crazy. I've been killing time cleaning {tackled the bathroom today}, Pinning, watching Disney movies, and romping around in the snow {and freezing due to lack of cold weather gear}. But I've also been searching for the absolute best Sense and Sensibility cover to use for a craft project I have been scheming up. Ever since I put together those lovely Twilight cover mod podge canvases, I've been wanting to do ones for other books that I like. Ideally, I would be able to go to my favorite used book store and pick up an old copy of the books to make these with, but I'm a little snowed in. So, it was off to the interwebs! {Garan, that was for you.} You would not believe how difficult it was to find my favorite cover! After much searching, I ended up literally having to electronically piece it together...

Can you see why this one is my favorite? Its simple, without illustrations, and has post as the focal point! {LOVE} Now came the other hard part... figuring out what quote from the book I wanted to have on it. My absolute favorite quote of this work is not acutally in the book, but the movie. While I love it, I'm not sure I actually want it on the canvas...

Marianne: Always resignation and acceptance! Always prudence and honor and duty! Elinor, where is your heart?

Elinor: What do you know of my heart? What do you know of anything but your own suffering? For weeks, Marianne, I've had this pressing on me without being at liberty to speak of it to a single creature. It was forced upon me by the very person whose prior claims ruined all my hopes. I have had to endure her exultation again and again whilst knowing myself to be divided from Edward forever. Believe me, Marianne, had I not been bound to silence I could have produced proof enough of a broken heart even for you!

I love that line from the movie. In those simple lines, you really see Marianne and Elinor. And, while I think that part in the book is really good as well, its a bit long to do on the canvas. However, I do like the description Austen gives in chapter 1 of the two women...

Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;- her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.

Marianne's abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinor's. She was sensible and clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent.

...but I don't know that I want it as the line from the book on my canvas! So, I'm wondering if any of my Austen reading readers have favorites they would like to share {that I might be overlooking since its been a little while since the last time I read this book}.

More Princesses

2012-01-17T16:14:00.001-08:00

I found more of the Disney in Real Life photos {mostly princesses, but there is even one of Ursula}. I'm really loving these, especially Snow White! {I'll update with a link as soon as I'm at a computer.}

Update: the artist is Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen, and he's got a few more interpretations than what I posted.

That's so Disney

2012-01-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

With the weather being in a bit of a ridiculous mood {so far today we've had rain, snow, sun, slush, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something else!}, I'm hibernating. Sort of. I had to work last night and had Christmas {and birthday celebrations!} at my parents' house Sunday night, so I was driving in the icy conditions that none of us Western WA residence really know how to deal with. So today, since I don't have to work, I'm staying inside all day. So far, I've cleaned up our living room and bedroom {it can get messy after I work several days in a row}, and took it upon myself to organize the writing utensils in our desk {yes, I'm a nerd, I know}. Oh, and did I mention I've been Pinning for the last hour? Yeah... I know. That's pretty bad!

Last night, about an hour before I went to bed, I was browsing Pinterest via my phone {yay for iPhone apps!}, and stumbled across some neat Disney stuff. So I started Pinning. I found these lovely stained glass style artwork by Mandie Manzalo:

And I also found these "what if Disney princesses were real" pictures, which I just love!

And, now that I've shared with you a little of my Disney obsession, I'm going to go watch Beauty and the Beast. And, for those of you who like to comment, I'm curious: what's your favorite Disney movie?

Linus van Pelt {or a Christmas post, a little late}

2012-01-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

Linus from Peanuts is one of my favorite cartoon characters... so it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite Christmas traditions is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, especially after the whole gang gets caught up in the commercialization of Christmas and lose sight of the real reason for the season. I love that this special is still played on television, even though our media is becoming very PC. Linus comes across as such a smart boy, and its so refreshing to see something that reminds us all why we celebrate Christmas.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Turtles!

2012-01-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

I've always loved turtles, and when we had the chance to go to the Turtle Farm at Grand Caymen on vacation, I was pretty excited. Especially since I knew some of the turtle farms let you swim with the smaller turtles {or have a "turtle encounter"}. I think we all had a pretty fun time!

Aside from going into the little tank with the turtles, we also go to hold some 3-week-old baby turtles! It was so neat, and they were just so tiny! And, yes, we all made kissy faces while holding them {none of us actually kissed them, though... ick!}

One of my favorite pictures from our time at the turtle farm....

{I will try to gradually get all these pictures up here for your viewing pleasure... its taking me a little while because I love to edit them first, then putting the collages together... bear with me!}

We're back!

2012-01-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

The mister and I arrived home on Saturday sometime after 8PM and 12 hours of travel. While we had a wonderful time {pictures to follow!}, its really wonderful to be home. Even going back to work is nice in its own way.

I'm not sure if you guys know this, but I'm addicted to Pinterest. I love that since I now have an iPhone, I also have the free app. Pinning from anywhere I want to! One of the things I found today on Pinterest really hit home {I thought this website was about cataloging, wishing and frivolity?}:

{source}

There is one area in my life that I've talked about so much {if you're my friend/family, you know what it is!}, and I have prayed about it, but not nearly as much as all the yacking that was going on. The scripture that I read this morning even had to do with this quote and what I've been talking {instead of praying} about! Coincidence? I think not! So I've spent a good deal of time this morning praying about that certain subject. I know its difficult to give certain things to the Lord {biggest ones are family/relationships/future}... I am no exception when it comes to this! I plan everything out and thoroughly enjoy it when I have an exact date to look forward to. You might remember how difficult house hunting was for me... this other area that I've been doing a lot of talking about is even harder! No time lines really, just kind of out there and a "lets see what happens!" type of thing! There is a small timeline, but that's mostly if nothing happens within a given amount of time... but its pretty far away {or so it seems!}. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then I must really be confusing you. But, if you think of me and my blabbing, please pray for me to stop talking to others and start talking to God instead!

Hello from Florida!

2011-12-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

That's right! We're in sunny Florida right now! Well, it's not so sunny, seeing as the sun has set for the day and some ugly clouds have actually rolled in. But it was glorious all day. The entire family went to the beach this morning, which was wonderful! I've never been to the Atlantic Ocean and actually been in the ocean (last time I was on a boat, and we never actually went in the water off the ship). It's so nice to be at an ocean and be able to swim in it and not freeze to death. Have I mentioned it was gorgeous and sunny?? Oh my goodness...

Surreal

2011-12-20T23:24:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy at work, I haven't really had any time to concentrate on our upcoming family vacation... so it has kind of hit me like a bulldozer that we're leaving in about... 30 hours... to the Caribbean. For Christmas. And all I have packed are my dress shoes, swimsuits, strapless bra and sandals. According to Glen, that's all I need. Ha ha! So funny, that man. Did I mention we're staying here for the first two nights we're in Florida before we go on the ship {because, honestly, a cruise just wasn't enough... ;-) }:

Can you believe it? Yeah, I couldn't either when I first heard... it literally took months for it to sink in! How generous are Glen's grandparents? So, soon, we'll be on this:

Heading here:

Oh. My. Heavens. <-- that's how blue I imagine the sky will be the whole time we're there

Now if only I could somehow get to sleep...

Well, hello

2011-12-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

Has it really been two weeks since I blogged? Whoa. Life is really kicking my bum! So... what have I been up to? Well, mostly a whole lot of this:

{well, working hard and being nice to ~~all the incredibly rude holiday shoppers~~ people}

I've had babies on the mind a LOT lately, and not because I'm pregnant. Because I'm not pregnant. However, literally everyone I know who was trying to get pregnant is. And several who weren't trying are {in fact, a few really didn't want to get pregnant}. I know a couple of you reading this have been the one lone friend amongst all the pregnant friends and friends with little ones... it is now literally like I am the only one among my friends/acquaintances who doesn't have kids or at least one on the way. And I'm one of the older ones among my friends {yeah, I was born the year Rainbow Brite made her debut}. Glen and I do want to start a family, but something big has always come up or we haven't been on the same page at the same time. Waiting is difficult, especially when I had the "plan" of having all our kids by the time I was 30, and now we'll be lucky if we have our first by then!

Okay, enough of the baby rant...

Have I mentioned one reason why I'm glad I'm not pregnant right now? In 5 days I will be leaving again with Glen's family on a holiday cruise. Amazing, right?? We were all certain last year was going to be a once in a lifetime deal. Well, it kind of was... we spent New Years Eve on a cruise ship! This year, however, we will be celebrating Christmas on the tropical seas! I know, right?? I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it will be downright hot where we'll be for Christmas. Shoot, it'll probably be nicer than it was here all summer {we had an awful summer this year}. Which makes packing a little difficult. That, and working all the time... my next day off is the day before we leave, with my work schedule pretty much being all day, every day until then. Not complaining... I mean, I have a job. A pretty decent job, too. I just find myself laying awake at night thinking about packing...

And flying... I hate flying. So. Much. {Melissa, I know you understand!!} I'm already getting nervous about that. And Glen figured out how long our two flights even out to be: almost 7 hours. And that means I have to deal with two takeoffs... did I mention I really hate takeoff? I can handle being locked in a death machine for hours up in the air {so long as there isn't a lot of turbulence}, but the taking off is what does me in. Panic attacks, pretty sure I hyperventilate. Last time I almost crushed Glen's fingers with my death grip on his hand. Most people look at the picture above and think how lovely! Blue skies, green grass, heading off on an adventure! Not me. I think of how my stomach and entire body feels during that moment in flight. No good. *shudders*

Okay, sorry about the rambling... but I have to head out to work! So, this is just being typed and posted, no editing.

Twilight party

2011-11-30T16:22:00.001-08:00

Okay, so we had a small get together to celebrate all things Twilight the day/night before Breaking Dawn Part 1 came out {which, by the way, was just as good as I thought it would be - yes!}. Just thought I would pop on and share some of the pictures from that night. First, here are what I made for each person, with the help of the Bestest...

I know I've posted about this before, but I really enjoy this Mod Podge and canvas craft. For the ones in the above picture, we actually used covers and the quotes at the beginning of the books to put on the canvases. Let me say, as a book lover, it was weird trashing books. Yet fun. Each of us got the cover of our favorite book from the series {mine is Eclipse, if you're curious}.

Here's a little of the decorations - We had a little table where the books were displayed, along with ribbon {Eclipse} and a couple chess pieces {Breaking Dawn}. No, the Bestest doesn't normally have pictures of Bella, Edward and Jacob on her wall. Those were put up in place of her awesome NYC photos. And, yes, we ordered a cake for our party. To be color-coordinated {and delicious}, we ordered the highly appropriate red velvet.

Christmas Spirit

2011-11-29T18:38:00.001-08:00

I started putting decorations up for Christmas about 2 days after Halloween. Yes, I'm one of those people. I told one of my old coworkers that Thanksgiving is merely the first official dinner of the Christmas season. {I was kidding... a bit.} I love Christmas. I'm a gift giver, and this time of year is the one time I have an excuse to stretch the budget and buy/make something special for everyone in my life. I was making our Christmas cards, and after figuring out how much I spent on the supplies for them, plus my time putting them together, I realized I could have ordered some pretty decent ones online. Not that mine aren't decent - I think they look pretty good. Simple, but good. But I realized that I like making them because its something special I can give to people this time of the year {not that any other cards aren't special - trust me, as a lover of mail, they are... and if you send me one, I will proudly display it all season *hint, hint*}.

I digress... this post was meant started as an excuse to put up a couple pictures of our most festive areas in the house: the mantle and the Christmas tree! Sadly, I just have pictures taken with my phone {read: blurry}. But blurry picture is better than no picture, right?

I would like to note that the little stocking is not a cleaver way of us announcing a baby on the way {it is, however, a cleaver way to announce a pregnancy... but I'm not pregnant, so I digress... again...}. While we would be thrilled to welcome a little one into our life, God has other plans for us at the moment. The little stocking actually belongs to our sweet pups Arwen... we never got her one last year, and when I saw this at Target I had to pick it up!

Such a strong mother

2011-11-21T09:33:00.001-08:00

Have you read about Emily Rapp and her young son Ronan? Their story is heartbreaking, touching, loving... I found out about them here, and I just had to read more, praying for them as I did. I could not imagine having a child only to find out you would be saying goodbye to them before they could even say it back to you. Just heart-wrenching. To have the strength to live through all of that and go about your daily life with your precious miracle child, knowing that the Lord will be taking that miracle home soon. Grab a box of tissues if you're going to read their story. You'll need it.

Today is the day...

2011-11-17T12:23:00.001-08:00

...that The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 comes out! Yay! I'm waiting at my home right now for the Bestest to get off work and come pick me up, after which we will be running some errands {including picking up a delicious cake!}, then prepping her place for our fun night. I'm so excited! Another night to celebrate our dorkiness and the release of this movie!

I'm really looking forward to watching a beautiful wedding, which I read they actually did a mock-up of for the cast and crew after-viewing party...

It also looks like a good portion of the movie will be focusing on the honeymoon {not in graphic, sexual way, but more in a romantic way}...

I can't wait to see it! This will be epic.

Trailer-palooza

2011-11-16T10:48:00.001-08:00

I've never actually gone to any "palooza" of any sort... and this last week or so, a bunch of trailers have come out for various movies, mostly the trailers for the new Snow White movies coming out next year {not to mention a bunch of sneak peeks for Breaking Dawn}. They look so incredibly different, but at the same time have quite a few similarities. Just look:

Snow White and the Huntsman

Mirror, Mirror

I think I'm equally excited to see both! I love the twists each one seems to be taking. I think once these two are out, there will be a version of Snow White for just about everyone. {except, of course, those who prefer things with flesh eating zombies. Yeah, I went there.}

In other movie related news, Breaking Dawn comes out in a mere day and a half! No, I'm not going to the midnight showing - instead, the Bestest and I are having a small Breaking Dawn release party with Jenn and one of the Bestest's cousins tomorrow night {yay!!} and going to see the first showing of the movie Friday morning at one of the local theaters {yes, we've had out tickets for quite a while!}.

Lazy day

2011-11-12T21:47:00.001-08:00

After four 9-hour shifts at work, I took advantage of my day off. {At my job, my shifts usually don't start until noon or a little later and can last until 11pm, so they take up most my day.} Today was a day of...

painting nails

movie going {if you liked 300, see this - you'll love it}

setting up our Christmas tree {yes, I really did set it up this early}

...and having dinner with Glen's grandparents, mom and stepdad. Among all that, I was also able to work on some gifts for the Breaking Dawn release party The Bestest and I are throwing this Thursday {no, not going to the midnight showing}. Pretty good day, if I do say so myself. Good enough so that I'm not too sad that I have to work another 9-hour shift on tomorrow {and one that ends at 9 instead of 8 like a normal Sunday}. Oh, and we also caught a last glimpse of fall...

So, I guess today wasn't really that lazy after all, huh?

'Tis the Season

2011-11-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

Now that Halloween has been over for a week, it is officially Christmas Season for the W's! Seriously, though, Harry Potter is the perfect transition into the holidays for me. You have the wonderful wizarding world with the neat halloweens in the Great Hall, but you also have this:

I love Hogwarts and Hogsmead at Christmas time. The movies make it look so lovely! {Sorry, these were the only decent Harry Potter winter pictures I could find!}

I just love the scenes from Prisoner of Azkaban with the snow and the Shrieking Shack when Harry scares Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. There are a few in the above collage, but not a whole lot.

Another love during this holiday season? Pinterest tutorials. I plan on making at least two of these:

Butter beer!

2011-10-31T17:03:00.001-07:00

Yes, we're still in the middle of our Harry Potter marathon. But during The Goblet of Fire we made butter beer! That's right, my friends! The recipe we used is supposed to be as close as you can find to the J.K. Rowling-approved recipe that's used at Universal Studios.

Having a very HARRY Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, this year is again a very Harry Halloween! Since its a Monday, it was just going to be the Bestest and I {we both tend to have Mondays off}, but the hubs stayed home as well. It should be interesting to see how many of the movies we can get through, as we're only on The Chamber of Secrets {and its the one we started on today since we already watched The Sorcerer's Stone}. And we'll be making butter beer today as well! I'm very excited about that. And Harry Potter films are a great way to transition from Halloween/Fall to the holidays! {Yes, I'm also very excited about the upcoming holidays. This is my favorite time of year!}

Since I forgot...

2011-10-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the necklace I wrote about ordering Jenn for her birthday? I realized when I was going through pictures on the lappy that I never shared how the necklace turned out! I'm not even sure I shared what happened with the order... the first necklace I received from the creator of it was actually messed up {she forgot to stamp Haylie's birth date on the back} and instead of having me send it back and just getting it stamped on the one she already made, she sent me a new one! So, Jenn has the one with the birthstone and the date stamped on the back and I kept the one with just Haylie's name on the front {I figured that would be okay as her godmother and all}. This is how it turned out:

Lovely, isn't it? I got it here.

Spoke too soon

2011-10-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

You know how I mentioned in my last post I stopped taking the sleeping medicine I was on last Friday? Well, I'm most likely going to be taking it again... hopefully just a night or two this time. I stopped sleeping drug-free on Wednesday night {ironic that it was the same night I posted that!}. I've been really sick to my stomach the last couple days, which I'm kind of just chalking up to the lack of sleep and how that seems to completely screw up my entire body. I'm starting to loathe my bed again, and the last two nights just the thought of trying to sleep has brought me to tears {I'm a woman - I get overly emotional when I don't sleep!}. Any and all prayers on this would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully someday I'll get back to sleeping somewhat regularly... I can dream, can't I?

New app!

2011-10-19T22:18:00.001-07:00

I just discovered that Blogger has an app for my phone. I was waiting for one the first year I had an android phone, and nothing. Now it has one, which also means I can share pictures off my phone with ease...

A whole lot...

2011-10-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well hello there! This seems to be the season on my life that not a whole lot of anything is going on. Glen and I are starting to get settled in to him working days again {that's right, after two years, he's back on day shift, and has been for a couple months! Yipee skipee!}. Still no kiddos on the way yet - no avoiding my blog as to not write about a bun in the oven! Ha! I think at my age and being married for over a year {plus three!} when people ask "what's new with you?" they're really wondering are you going to be having kids soon?? Am I the only one in this situation that feels that way? After four years of this I think I might be getting used to it. And if you're wondering, I'll tell you what we tell everyone {including ourselves!}: all in God's timing.

Moving on...

Fall has greeted the Northwest full force. Crisp, cold mornings and evenings with sunny afternoons masking the cold that is getting worse each day. Should I say stronger instead of worse? I kind of like it. The beginning of fall and spring are my favorite times of the year. Both are crisp and allow us to wear scarves {I love scarves... in fact, I have one on right now}. Both have lovely colors that are associated with it {have you noticed the flora of fall is almost all warm in color? And vice versa for spring? Yet the weather is opposite}.

Fall makes me want to go on an adventure. Changing seasons do that to me. I think the movie The Holiday is also part of the culprit, as I now associate that with fall and cooler weather, and that movie just seems to scream "adventure!" to me. The kind of adventure I would want - go to England, stay in a quaint cottage and wander around the local village/town, cozy up inside when it gets too cold with a fire and a bottle of wine... yum...

Iris' cozy bedroom. Makes me actually want to sleep!*

The lovely little kitchen... so small, but that just makes it cozier. And the fireplace with the shelves above it? So nice!

Do you remember this from the movie? I don't. But, apparently it was {briefly}.

I think I might be spending my next night off watching this movie {so, next Tuesday}.

*Speaking of sleeping, I took my last dose of the sleeping medicine I was on on Friday! Hopefully that will be the last one I take... ever! Or, you know, at least for a while. Praise God! And I've slept pretty decent each night I've been off of it... Please let this continue! And just keep getting better!

How to fit it all in...

2011-10-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on in the last few weeks/months... I really have no idea where to start! Some fun things I've done lately...

Went to see him...

with her...

on August 26th.

I've been working a lot lately. Its weird going from about 15 hours a week {20 tops} to full time again. But our savings account is getting happier by the paycheck.

I've been working on my sleeping. Sounds weird, but its something that is a nightly task for me. Some nights I do great, others not so much. But at least I'm progressing {hopefully I won't be writing any "up all night" posts anytime soon!}. Lord willing, this will continue to get better...

Got a new book via the book exchange we had on Friday night at my house...

Went to my first Oktoberfest party last night. Yep, 28 and it was the first one I've ever been to. And all I had to drink was about 2oz of spiced wine. And it was GOOD spiced wine...

I have to go... hubs is calling me from the living room!

Tea and scones

2011-09-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

The last few days I've been having tea at night just as a welcome to fall. I love tea in the fall and winter, and it seemed like we were ushering in fall this last weekend, very abruptly after a wonderful week full of 80 degree weather! And one of my sister-in-laws left a quote about tea on my Facebook page, so I thought I would share some tea with all of you!

Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors. ~Alice Walker

Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn't try it on. ~Billy Connolly

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~Author Unknown

If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you. ~Gladstone, 1865

Breaking Dawn

2011-09-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

All of you know I'm a huge Twilight fan. As in all things Twilight, pretty much. The Bestest and I are already planning a party for the release of the movie this November. And, last night while I was at work, the official trailer came out for the movie. Oh yeah! Unfortunately, my phone wouldn't let me watch it... something about it not having the newest version of Flash on it {yet I did... go figure}. So, without further ado, here is the trailer if you haven't seen it! *grins like a schoolgirl seeing NKOTB*

Bringing Borders home

2011-09-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

When the Borders location closest to my house closed, my dad bought some of the shelves to put up in their den upstairs. Well, when he bought them, he bought a couple extra {he thought they would use four, and figured 6 would be a good number}. He ended up using four, so guess who got the other two? Yep! My neighbor! Just kidding, it was me. About a month ago, we finally got them over to the house and set up downstairs. Can I just say how nice it is to not only have a place for all my books {finally}, but also to I have a part of my favorite bookstore as a permanent fixture in my house? Its wonderful. I took some pictures of putting it up in the house, and I am finally getting around to posting them. {The watermark on each picture is the name of my book blog.}

Glen getting them ready to be attached to the ceiling

Secured and ready to get the shelves in

Arwen was there the whole time... isn't she just the cutest?

All the shelves up

Two shelves have these on them...

And this is on one shelf

About 2/3 of the books going into the shelves

Organizing the books {yes, categorized and alphabetized}

Almost done...

The finished product!

Remembering

2011-09-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

Has it really been 10 years? That astounds me. I still have difficultly watching the footage or reading anything. If I do, I will cry. Hard. I can't think about those who sacrificed their lives without tears.

You will always be remembered. Always.

{source}

Also, an author wrote her memories from that day, waiting to hear from her husband who worked in a building right next to the towers. You can read that here, and I suggest you do {with a box of tissues}.

Four years

2011-09-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

Or 1461 days...

Still so classy...

2011-09-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

My younger brother is silly. He makes weird faces when cameras get pulled out. He'll ham it up. He's classy. He used to be a little brat. I don't think he could do an accent (other than Ah-nold) to save his life. I still don't rightly know what his favorite color is, but I know one of his favorite beers. He had the biggest crush on Buffy {aka Sarah Michelle Gellar} when he was younger. He loves horror movies, although many of them don't scare him. He's an amazing photographer. He comes off kind of aloof and snarky, but he's one of the most compassionate people I know. He has a love for life and a zeal for living that I find myself envious of. But, most of all, he's my brother...

Happy birthday, Ky. I'm so glad I had you instead of a sister!

Oregon Coast Aquarium

2011-09-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Just some pictures from our time in Oregon. We saw a lot of wonderful things at the aquarium, I think the jellies were some of my favorites. And the seahorses. I always think I need to have a description for each and every photo, so this time I'm just going to upload the photos, and if anyone wants to know anything, post a comment!

Brace yourself...

2011-09-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Or, I guess, I should brace myself. I apparently sprained my thumb two weekends ago and have been going about my business as usual {although in much more pain when I'm done}. Last Thursday was the last straw, as when I came home from work and finished dinner my thumb was so sore I couldn't move it without severe pain. I told Glen, "Yep, I'm definitely going to the doctor tomorrow to see what's up with this." I'll admit, I was pretty worried. Most people I know who've had pain like this in their thumb broke something. All I could think was I don't have time to take off for surgery and recovery. I got in to see a new doctor on Friday morning, who did some pressure tests on my bones and my tendons, and let me know it was definitely sprained. So, now I have this awesome brace that, at the moment, I'm not wearing. I can't type with that sucker on. But I really should put it on for the day...

I wish I had a cool story to go along with how I sprained it. I'm pretty sure I was with the Bestest and said "ow, that kind of hurt", but didn't think any more of it as there was no swelling and no lasting pain. Unless, you know, I'm working and using my hand nonstop for hours on end. Which was pretty much every day. So, since I don't have a cool story, and saying "I honestly don't know" gets old after a while, I'm now telling people the far-fetched tale of thumb wrestling Lou Ferrigno. And how "this" {holding up my braced hand} is him letting me off easy. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Pushing Daisies

2011-08-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

I know I posted about this a while ago, but I've rediscovered my love for this short-lived show. I have the first season on DVD, and its just so quirky and wonderful! If you have a chance, look up the show. Watch it. You'll probably love it!

Another Hair Tutorial

2011-08-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

I found another fun hair tutorial on Sunday that I tried for my Aunt's BBQ. I'm tired of ponytails {I have one in my hair right now}, and I've been wanting to do something like this with my hair for a while...

The thing that took me the longest was actually doing the braid in the front! This is another 5-10 minute hairstyle that looks really cute and is a fun alternative way to pull your hair back from your face. I had many compliments on it when I wore my hair like this to work yesterday, including a little girl who asked me who did my hair so pretty. If any moms read this who have daughters that love having their hair done "pretty", try it. Because, after a LOT of searching, I finally found the website I originally saw this on...

Easy, romantic updo via Casey's Elegant Musings {as you can tell, I did mine a bit differently... my hair won't part down the middle and I nixed the side twists}

PS - Its a video tutorial... those are so much easier to follow!

Seaside

2011-08-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Glen and I went to Seaside last weekend, and was it ever wonderful. For the most part, it almost felt like a second honeymoon! {One of us was even sick like on our honeymoon, LOL.} We drove down to Newport, which should have only been a little over 5 hours from where we live... but that slowly turned into 8 due to traffic and road construction.

Normally we go to Seaside, which is a couple hours closer, and we'll stay for the weekend. Last year we decided that we would save up enough to go down to Newport {because, well, all the fun stuff is further south}. I'd done this trip with my family while growing up a couple times {at least}, as well as the youth group at my church when I was younger. I was raised by a lighthouse-loving dad {and, for the most part, mom... I don't think she's quite as attached to them as my dad is}, so going to the Oregon coast and lighthouse-hopping is something I consider really fun. Much to my great surprise, so does my hubs! A big part of the reason we went to Newport was to see Heceda Head, Yaquina Head and Yaquina Bay lighthouses. They were all amazing, but {sadly} we weren't' able to climb any! I think I was more disappointed about that then Glen was, because I've done the tours for all of them and its fascinating. I love me some lighthouses!

Another {much smaller} reason I wanted to go to Newport was for the food. Yep, you read right: the food! Years ago, when my family was going through Newport looking for a hotel for the night, we ran across this little hole-in-the-wall fresh seafood market {called the South Beach Fish Market} that also has some amazing clam chowder. Amazing. If you ever find yourself in Newport, you must look these guys up. I know it doesn't look like much, but this is the subject that has my mouth watering even now: *fair warning, all the pictures in this post are from my phone, so they're kind of gritty and some aren't very focused! But these were all the places I forgot to bring my camera, too.*

And this is what the outside looks like. It may look a little crazy and slightly cluttered, but that's part of the reason its easier to find!

The second night we were there {the same night we got our delicious chowder and seafood}, we decided to go to one of the local beaches to watch the sunset... again, I forgot my camera! Who goes to a beach to watch the sunset and leaves their camera at the hotel room? That would be me... thank goodness for camera phones, right? {This particular local beach was Agate Beach}

On to the food, right? I honestly can't remember the name of the place that came up with this idea, but they deserve a reward. It wouldn't surprise me if they had one for this specific dish: Crab and Avocado Pizza. Yum.

One of the last places we went to was Devil's Punch Bowl, although, since the tide wasn't in or out, there wasn't a whole lot of action at the bowl. But we found a little ice cream truck that served scoops of many different yummy flavors... which was right outside a little wine shop {I don't really drink right now, but it was so cute I had to go inside}. This is where we waited for our ice cream:

And, lastly, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which was a blast {I hope to have a seperate post about that soon - I didn't forget to bring my camera with me there!}

Who is the fairest?

2011-08-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Two new Snow White movies are coming to theaters next year - did you know that? I've heard about them for a litlle while, and I'm looking forward to both, as I think they will be very different. Just look at the official photos that have been released: {top is Kristen Stewart as a very Joan of Arc-looking Snow White, and bottom is Lily Collins as a very Disney-esque Snow White}

Also, Chris Helmsworth {aka Terry from True Blood and Thor of, well, Thor} is going to be the Huntsman in the one with Kristen Stewart. Now I really want to see that one! Which one are you looking forward too?

Tutorial tried

2011-07-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

While browsing Pinterest this morning {honestly, I can't remember why, I just was}, I stumbled across this blog, which lead me to this post. And I knew I had to try it. Sadly, I have no "before my 7 hour retail workday" picture, and my hubs was asleep when I got home. So these are my best shots!

Something I plan on doing when I do it again: actually spray my hair with a little hairspray before twisting and pinning so it looks more like it did when I first put it up and less like Princess Leia after a battle. One of my coworkers even said it looked like Princess Leia hair after about 4 hours into my shift. Thank you. But, can I really complain after only 5 minutes to do this and it staying out of my face all day at work? Nope. Not one bit. Now to try this one.

Product review pictures

2011-07-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you who were wondering what the products actually look like on, here are a couple pictures I took...

First time trying the YSL:

And one of the first times wearing the L'Oreal mascara:

Oh, Borders! Pt 2

2011-07-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Borders across the country officially started their liquidation process. So, naturally I went there and checked out what my beloved bookstore had going on {I actually went the day before the liquidation started, then came back the next day with Jenn and Stacy}. While the sales weren't the best, I found some great bargain books {at least, I hope they're great} and one books I've been waiting for since end of December/beginning of January {which was just released today}. And, me being the social media nerd that I am, I tweeted about it with a picture of some of my finds {you can read said twitpic/tweet here}. Wouldn't you know that the official Borders Facebook page posted my tweet? Yep, they did! Its since been removed {not really sure why}, but I got a screen capture of it while it was on there:

Oh, and did I mention that my extended family on Glen's side was on the BECU website's main page for a while? No? Oh, well, we all were. A great picture from the family cruise last December!

Product Review!

2011-07-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well, hello! I'm jumping on here really quick to do a random product review. No, I wasn't paid by either of the companies I'm going to be writing about. I'm not getting anything for this. I just want to share with you a couple of my favorite makeup things, which happen to be very similar.

A while ago {months, really} I was given mascara as a gift from someone. I know, kind of an odd gift, but its really good {and actually very expensive} mascara. Its by YSL, and its their Volume Effet Faux Cils Noir Radical Mascara. Long name, I know. It is one of their best selling mascaras, with many a person shelling out $30 a tube. Yes, you read that right: $30. Crazy, right? And someone I know {not very well, mind you} just gave it to me. Because they bought it and remembered they didn't like it. I would have returned it {that's just me}, but, hey, I'm happy for free, unused mascara! So, here's why I love this mascara:

~It gives me long, full lashes without clumping. Seriously, no clumps!
~It definitely has the "faux lash" look. I've never used fake lashes before {mine are pretty long to begin with}, but I was asked several times if my lashes were really mine when I wore this.
~I love the wand. Seriously. All the mascaras I'd been using before had horrible wands compared to this one. The wand is awesome.
~The actual formula makes my lashes feel nice, soft and natural. Hard to come by in a mascara, especially one that makes my lashes look so good *Homestar Runner Teen Girl Squad reference there*.
~It lasted me about 2+ months. Most other expensive mascaras I've gotten in the past have only last a month. So, for roughly $15/month, its not too bad. Still a too expensive for my taste.
~I have slightly sensitive eyes, and this doesn't bother them at all.
~Because I have longer lashes, I always have a problem with smudging the mascara on my upper eyelids {right belong my lashes} after a day in the heat or working hard at my job, and I didn't have a problem with that.

Some of the downsides: I really don't like perfumed makeup, and this apparently has the YSL perfume smell infused in it. Upside to that: other than when I was just putting it on, I couldn't tell. It also washes off very easily, so if you are a big fan of waterproof mascara or are looking for anything to wear when you might cry {wedding, funeral, going to a sappy movie}, then you might not want to wear this. It adds a lot of volume, which means loads of mascara, which in turn means big mess if you're crying or just have very watery eyes.

Well, you could imagine when I was running out of this I was a little sad, because there was no way I was going to spend $30 on another tube of mascara. However, I did probably spend $20 on the 3 tubes I bought when looking for the right one. Maybe as little as $15. But, after doing a few searches for mascaras that are comparable to the YSL one that I just fell in love with, I ran across this tutorial on YouTube with the young woman actually putting the YSL mascara on one eye and the comparable drug store mascara on the other. {Here's a link to the video if you're curious. She uses two coats of mascara, I'm much more of a one coat person. In fact, I never use more than one coat!}

So, are you curious as to what mascara compared to the YSL $30 mascara? It would be none other than L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara {link is for the waterproof, which I have not tried}! I'm pretty sure most drugstores have this mascara for about $7. Yeah, big price difference! So, in camparison, here's what I love about this mascara:

~Virtually no clumps. When its fresh out of the package, there are no clumps. I've had mine for about a month now, and occasionally get clumps. But, I do have a secret weapon to getting rid of the clumps, so it really doesn't bother me one bit.
~Long, full lashes.
~Very similar faux lash look to that of YSL. In fact, this looked better when I first purchased it than the YSL I had left over from my gift!
~Absolutely no smudging. At all. And it has a little more staying power than the YSL mascara.
~Again, sensitive eyes and absolutely no problem with irritation.
~No perfume to this mascara {like most drugstore mascaras}.
~Very easily removed with eye makeup remover {I love Neutrogena's Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover}

Some downsides to this one: Formula doesn't feel quite as good on the lashes as YSL. Not something that I'm too sore about, seeing as I save $23 with L'Oreal compared to YSL. Also, it starts to dry up a little faster than the YSL mascara. Again, not something that bothers me because of the price difference!

Well, that's my product review. I hope this is helpful if you're looking for a good mascara, or even if you aren't maybe you'll be brave and try something new!

*I know this really is not something I do on my blog, but I really wanted to share this super awesome find!*

Sore feet

2011-07-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

I just have to tell you all this because its amazing. I baked for 5 hours today. Straight. With the help of the Bestest, we made:

~Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate
~My infamous peanut butter cookies
~Cupcakes with an absolutely amazing homemade butter cream frosting
~Monster mini muffins
~Egg salad {not really baking, but it did take time on the stove and away from the actual baking, so I count it}
~Lemon curd {this attempt was not successful, but it took a good chunk of time. And it will be tried again, eventually}
~Mini lemon pies {those were SUPER quick and in replacement of the lemon curd that smelled like lemon-zested scrambled eggs... ick}

Not to mention actually making dinner tonight as well. What's all this for, you might ask? We're having tea at The Bestest's cabin tomorrow in celebration of my birthday! Woo hoo! We wanted to go to Georgian Tea at the Fairmont hotel in Seattle, but that's a little too expensive for us right now, so instead we're having a much more casual approach... and loads of sweets. At least we're making real food {aka healthier food} at the cabin to eat too!

*Side note: I know I've been awful with posting pictures, and that's probably 75% of why most people read blogs... I don't think I'm even going to try to catch up with anything! Well, maybe some catching up... soon...*

Glorious Freedom!

2011-07-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans! {Happy late Canada Day to any Canadian who might read this.} What do people think of most when they think of the fourth? Besides this:

Or these:

My best guess would be something like one of these:

{source}

{source - included a few different recipes!}

{source - recipe included as well! I'm going to have to try these on one of my days off this week!}

And, just in case any Canadians were feeling left out in the dessert goodness:

{source - same as the second American flag cake}

Also, since I have numerous family members who serve/d in various branches of the US Military, and without everyone who does we would not be celebrating this fantastic day with explosion of the fun kind and yummy treats, I want to take a moment to say THANK YOU. You know who you are, and because of your service and sacrifice I will always be grateful. Again, THANK YOU!

*After post edit - I actually didn't have any type of dessert on the Fourth. Definitely need to make something yummy these few days I'm off...*

Happy Birthday!

2011-06-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Jenn's birthday, me and the Bestest kidnapped her and handed Haylie off to my parents to watch while we stole Jenn for the night. We took Jenn out to Jimmy Mac's Roadhouse then saw Bad Teacher {which I thought was a great "chill" movie}. It was a great night! Then, two days later, Jenn and I went to the True Blood Season 4 Seattle premiere, which was awesome. Since we didn't get any pictures of Jenn's birthday celebration, here are a couple from our fun premiere night {well, of Jenn and I since the Bestest didn't come with us to the premiere}.

Love.

2011-06-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ferris Bueller's Day Off was one of the movies I watched during my days of insomnia. And, even though that time was awful and I always have a difficult time watching/reading movies/books that I associate with bad times, I still love this movie. Bridget shared this on her blog, and I love it. Enjoy.

Jesus Calling

2011-06-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Glen's step-mom is loaning me a book right now called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Its no secret that I have anxiety issues and have {in the past month and a half} been having problems sleeping. I've been working on focusing on the Lord throughout this, especially the last couple weeks. These two scriptures have been amazing for me!

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

If we weren't already married

2011-06-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

I think if Glen and I weren't already married, our wedding cake would look like this one:

The couple who had this cake had a very Android-themed wedding, including these menus:

The wind that blows...

2011-06-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

{source}

I first saw this on Her Library Adventures, and I thought the print was lovely. Today, I stumbled across it again on Etsy, and I thought I want to be courageous. That was it. A simple little thought that has so much behind it. I'm not a very courageous person. I'm shy, usually very quiet. Notice how I've just been writing about the weather? Not a whole lot is going on in my life, and I don't want to totally neglect my blog... so I tell you what its supposed to be like weather-wise over here.

I'm finally feeling somewhat "normal" again. Anxiety is getting back under control, I'm sleeping every night {still with the help of that one sleep aid, but I saw a naturalistic sleep specialist and she said to stay on it for now}. Its crazy to think that, just a month and a half ago, I was getting off my medication and telling myself I was doing just fine {if I was being honest with myself, though, dosing off my medication was taking a toll on me}. I look back at the last month or so and just think Wow. Oh, how I want to be courageous! I want to really just want to grab life with both hands and dig in, instead of holding it out with my thumb and forefinger and keeping it away. Because that's what I've been doing: holding life at a distance, watching it go by, counting down to my days off, then counting down until I work, because the physical labor during the day helps me sleep better at night... I want to live life, be courageous, not hold it at a distant and wait for it to pass by, hoping I get better by such-and-such date.

Change is good

2011-06-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

So, a couple days ago I posted about the lame weather we're supposed to be having this week... I always forget that I live in a state on the coast, and that means the weather can change rather quickly. This is what we're looking at for a 10-day forcast now:

Isn't it funny how things could change? I think I want to keep the blinds open all day every day for the next 3 months... weather permitting...

Tomorrow, however, I'm going to be going over to my mom's house to help her clean up and just enjoy her company. She had surgery a few weeks ago {nothing serious, she's okay, she just has a longer recovery time for this kind of surgery}, and because of that she can't lift anything more than 10lbs and she's not supposed to really do a whole lot of work. So, I get to go over there and help out, and can I just say I'm really looking forward to it? I've been looking forward to this for about a week. So. Excited!

Oh, Borders!

2011-06-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

The two Borders locations closest to my house have been closed for a few weeks now, which is kind of sad. I still get coupons from them, which are consistently going unused because I'm never able to get out to the other locations that are close-ish to my house {meaning at least a 30 minute drive out of my way}. At least I have a library close to my house! And, I have a used book store close to the house still... one that I always seem to find something at. All that being said, I want to go on a book store hopping adventure. Find a list of bookstores {little ones, used ones} in the area and check out each one. Take a day, maybe two... or space it out over a few weekends. Wouldn't that be grand? I would just follow the signs...

{source}

Too bad none of these places are on the West Coast! Well, at least I know this sign leads to a book store around here...

What I really meant to say was...

2011-06-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

So, when I got on two posts ago and wrote about the weather, one thing I wanted to share was the pictures I've taken of plants so far from our lovely little garden... some of them have been blooming like crazy the last week or so, while others are already past their season and dying off {C'est la vie - I will see you all next year!}. I know you're just going to the pictures anyway, so here are some of the blossoms {and a few tiny pinecones} from our yard!

Another book giveaway!

2011-06-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't win the other one I posted about... I'm hoping I might win this one... its for the third book in a series, and I've read the first two, which were pretty interesting. Taschima at Bloody Bookaholic is giving away the book Forever by Maggie Stiefvater {click here for the link!}, and regardless of if I win, this book will be joining the others on my bookshelf.

This series took quite a few twists and turns, and I would just like to say that, even though people think so, its not about werewolves. Its about people, who turn into wolves when the weather gets cold. As in, basically during the winter. Its pretty interesting, because the main girl the story revolves around is immune to this disease that's passed through the bite from one of these wolves {yes, its spread through bite like a werewolf}. But, oh, the endings! The second book has me REALLY wanting to read this third and final book! I can't wait!

Rainy summer?

2011-06-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, the summer before Glen and I got married {or, I guess the summer we got married, since we tied the knot in September}, it rained. A lot. In fact, almost every wedding we went to that summer it was raining. Every time there was an event that was a precursor to our wedding it rained... it was a wet summer! Our wedding day was fabulous, sunny and warm... what I'm getting at is I hope the gloom that has settled on our area is not a foreshadowing to the summer we're going to have. It was supposed to be nice and sunny today. Now, if I had the day off, I think I would pretend its sunny and warm, because I can see a little blue in the sky here and there {there's a big patch the the SE of my house right now}. Since I'm working, I'm going to kind of ignore that and pretend it says this way. The forecast doesn't look too incredibly promising...

...except Sunday. Sunday looks like it has potential. Which is good, because I have Sunday off! I really don't mind the weather being kind of on the gross side, so long as its somewhat decent when I have time off from work. However, I do have a bookshelf full of books that need reading {the last couple days I actually finished two books since it was raining in my neck of the woods}. Maybe I'll be getting more reading in on my days off next week since it looks like "wet" is the forecast again...

*in case you were wondering, the books I finished were Water for Elephants and Wither*

I love cake

2011-06-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you all know how much I love the wonderfulness that is cake, cupcakes, doughnuts, etc. Have you seen my list of blogs I follow {look to the right of this post... there it is!}? There's one called Cake Wrecks, and every Sunday they do what's called Sunday Sweets. Here are some recent ones that I think are just the butest things ever! {Disclaimer: I am not, nor am I trying to get pregnant. I just have *again* a lot of friends having babies right now... and who doesn't love birds and duckies??}

{Source}

Just call me Sneezy

2011-06-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

My allergies have been going crazy lately. Absolutely crazy! I love spring/summer, but honestly right now it doesn't look like either are going to be coming anytime soon, so I'd appreciate it if my allergies would stop acting like its a glorious, sunny spring. Yes, the gloomy weather has made my spirits a little gloomy as well {I worked all day on the nicest day of the year, only to have to next one be so awful... *frowns*}. I can't wait for nice weather to finally arrive, so I can do something like this:

{source}

Instead, I'm looking outside at this:

{source: taken with my phone at about 3:15PM looking out the craft room window}

I want to go chase some sun right now! Instead, I think I'm going to go be active around the house {use the glider a bit too}. Gotta get my endorphins up and make myself happy!

Breaking Dawn: Pt 1 trailer

2011-06-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

Because I'm a huge Twilight Saga fan, and you all know it.

Inpiration from the Word

2011-05-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

My friend Tarena posted this on her blog today, about something very different than what I'm going through... but this can be called upon for many different reasons!

Ephesians 3:16-21

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Four Weeks

2011-05-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

I've had what could probably be classified as the roughest month in my life this last month. Or, more accurately, four weeks. It was four weeks ago that this started, and I'd be lying if I said that there hasn't been more tears than I'd like to admit, emotional breakdowns, and an immense amount of panic attacks. Not. Fun. To top it all off, the only way I've been able to sleep the last 2+ weeks has been with a pretty hardcore prescribed sleep aid.

It feels like this is taking forever. I've seen a psychiatrist twice - the first time he seemed great, the second time not so much. Visit number two basically cemented the fact that that I really need to see some kind of sleep therapist. I've always had problems sleeping, especially getting to sleep. Now, I honestly can't remember what it feel like to just fall asleep at night. Just think about that for a moment... going to bed, and, no matter how exhausted you are, just not falling asleep. I will toss and turn for hours unless I take something like the sleep aid I'm on! I've tried taking a smaller dose of it going to bed, was up for hours, then took the rest and finally fell asleep. Last night I tried taking an extra dose of my anxiety med {which is a sedative} AND a natural sleep aid instead of the prescribed one, and was up until 3:30 when I finally caved and took the full dose of my prescribed sleep aid {don't worry, by then the anxiety med had worn off}.

Just going to bed each night gives me anxiety! I try to enjoy my days, but with each night looming over me, its difficult. I've had anxiety for a long time, but right now I wish it was physically capable for humans to chose if they want to sleep or not, instead of it being a necessity for sanity! Prayers would be greatly appreciated throughout this entire ordeal. I keep reminding myself that God doesn't give me any more than I can handle, even if I think I can't do it... its just hard to remember that with all of this going on! Lord, give me strength!!

I should be cleaning

2011-05-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Even as I sit here at my desk, I notice all the papers on it and think "I should really be cleaning instead of blogging." Then I think of all the books I have on my to read shelves and want to start reading something... in the limited amount of sunshine we have today. {Especially when this is what the rest of the week looks like...}

But I also need to go to the store and get some new shoes for work, because mine are awful. And, when I say awful, I mean really bad. As in, as soon as I get new ones, these are meeting Mr. Garbage Can. The one outside. Because they are just that bad. *Random fact, I usually only have one pair of shoes I wear to work unless its a desk job, in that case I have many cute heels.*

I think the organizing/cleaning part of me is really winning right now, because I can't concentrate to blog. Off I go!

One of a kind

2011-05-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

{you can find the source via my pinterest}

With the rough days/weeks I've had recently, I thought this was interesting and incredibly applicable. I keep finding myself nervous over {bad} events repeating themselves! If I had ink in my printer, I think I'd print a bunch of pages with this on the top, then write down the events of the day that make me either grateful it won't repeat itself or grateful it happened. Actually, I think I'll just get a bunch of pages out and write it on them anyway, or have that be the first thing I write in my journal.

{some of the other wonderful quotes from pinterest}

Petit Fours

2011-05-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

They just sound like they would be wonderful right now. Don't they look delicious?

What's been up...

2011-05-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

Ha ha, even after yet another night with literally no sleep, I can still make a decent pun. Because, you see, I've been the one who's been "up." Get it? I can't sleep, so I've been up all night! I figured since sleep is completely alluding me like someone would a rat with the plague, now is as good of a time as any to let everyone know what's been going on, and why I've been a blog slacker and just out of sorts lately. It has now been over a week since I started to have trouble sleeping. The first night it happened I went to the doctor thinking it was a fluke and just needing a prescription for something to help me sleep and a note to excuse me from work. Well, the medication they gave me to sleep turned out to be an antihistamine, and I'm one of the lucky few that those actually give me a burst of energy instead of making me tired. So, the next night I think I just got lucky after taking it and fell asleep from exhaustion, resulting in a few precious hours to last me until... two nights later. That's right. The following night when I went to bed I took the medication again that they had given me, thinking it was helping me sleep. And guess who got a burst of energy? Yep! So, thinking that I must not have taken enough, when 2AM rolled around I took another half dose. Only to have it wake me up so perfectly I didn't get back to sleep until Thursday night! But, the real problem with this last week was what I decided on with practically 3 days of no sleep and the ensuing emotional craziness that can follow. I was suggested by someone very close to me to see about checking myself into some kind of mental health program that could help me with not just the sleeping, but my anxiety as well. Yeah...

So, Thursday morning, Glen drove me all the way up to Bellevue, because we heard that's where the best program is. Unfortunately, they were full, but they recommended a place very close to home. I'm pretty sure they somehow concluded that I was at risk staying home because I couldn't function on no sleep, so they asked if I wanted to be admitted there and I said yes. I was under the impression this place would be helping me with my lack of sleep, and I couldn't have been more wrong. The few days I was there, I was treated like I was massively depressed and suicidal. Plus, they wouldn't let me sleep! I know, it was one of the most awful experience of my life thus far. I came home on Saturday night, and I actually slept for more than just a couple hours. I started feeling like "yes! I'm on the mend!" Sunday night rolled around and I only got 5 hours of sleep, but I woke up thinking "hey, at least I got sleep!" And last night came... and went... with me laying in bed the entire time, awake. What?!? Well, actually, I think I might have fallen asleep between 3:30 and 4, because I remember checking the clock at both those times thinking it was the fastest half-hour ever. {Trust me, when you're not sleeping, a half hour can feel like several hours.} So here I am. I let my boss know I can't come in to work today {which kills me a little each time to do... and it seriously hurts our finances since we're not in a position for me to miss any work, much less a couple weeks worth} and I made another appointment to see my general practitioner.

I've been looking up various information on sleep therapy techniques, and, sadly, most of them I've already tried. With no luck. I'm guessing they're just going to tell me to up my dose on the sleeping medicine they gave me back at the mental health unit until I can get in to see a psychiatrist {and I have to find a new one, because the one I was seeing obviously isn't really very helpful}.

At this point, I feel like even if I were to have every Christian in the entire world praying for my sleep, I would still be up every night...

I was gone, now I'm back

2011-05-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was gone for a few days, trying to take care of personal things. I wasn't really able to get a whole lot of help there, so now I'm home and going a different route. I'm hoping and praying for a good outcome for everything this time around. And I'll update more when I feel like I want to share everything on here!

Another sleepless night

2011-05-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

The title pretty much says it all. Its getting close to 5am, and I haven't slept a wink tonight. Again. My doctor gave me sleeping pills last time I was in, and took one on Tuesday night - worked pretty well, although I was really groggy the next morning. So, per doctor's orders, I only took a half of one last night since it made me so groggy before. I'm not joking when I say my body literally fought off the sleeping pill. So I took the other half. Same thing. So, here I am at 4:45am, wide awake. I can't get to sleep, even if my life depended on it. My job probably does. So, now I'm awake and worried that I'm going to lose my job, and instead of anxiety being the culprit, its insomnia! I have no idea what I'm going to do. I might just try to go in to work without having any sleep, but I'm pretty sure I'll end up hurting someone/myself. I can NOT lose my job. We have bills to pay, and I've already lost enough hours at work to make life extremely difficult for us. With this I don't know how we're going to make ends meet. And if I lose my job, we can't pay our bills and we'll end up losing our house. All because my body refuses to let me sleep. I'm scared and nervous; I'm terrified of losing my job over this.

2011-05-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

It is 7:23AM where I am right now {home}. I have literally been up all night with severe acid reflux/nausea, which has lead to massive anxiety and panic attacks. I'm beyond exhausted right now, but I can't sleep. I'm seriously hating everything right now, and trying to figure out whats wrong with me. I have no ideas, other than my body is literally just this messed up. I'm going to see the doctor today in a few hours, so I'll hopefully have something figured out by then. In the meantime, your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Birthday to my Bestest!

2011-05-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Visiting the Twilight Capitol of the World with my best friend, what a wonderful way to celebrate the anniversary of her birth! It was a wonderful weekend, with a few fun surprises.

1. We didn't see ANY logging trucks. At all. The last time we went, I think I counted about 18 just on the way there. Normally I get freaked out several times by having to ride behind the huge logs, and not once did it happen this trip.

2. It was nice out! It wasn't sunny the whole time, but there was hardly any rain. We were able to walk around Forks without jackets and didn't get wet! It was lovely.

3. It was the first time either of us had been to the beach in La Push and it wasn't foggy. Every other time it was really foggy either the entire time we were there, or we watched the fog roll in.

4. On the trail to Marymere Falls, we stumbled across a trio of deer. Almost literally! They were directly off the pathway leading into the forest. And, can I just tell you, walking through the forest was wonderful! I don't know about you, but that's definitely not something I get to do very often. And the walk was absolutely beautiful, everything green.

Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Sights, some of them very Twilight related

The deer on the way to Marymere Falls

Royal Wedding

2011-04-28T00:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've jumped on the royal wedding bandwagon. Sort of. I'd actually forgotten about it until a couple weeks ago, when my Avon knockoff Princess Diana ring came in. Yes, I ordered the knockoff ring from them... and its really pretty! Oh, just let me show you...

I have a "royal wedding date" with The Bestest when we come back from our road trip, so I will be holding off watching the wedding on Friday. Yes, it will probably be difficult for me to wait. But, seeing as I have loads of stuff to get done that day before we leave, I think I'll be able to wait. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures that I found of the royal couple!

Baking experiments

2011-04-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

When I bake/cook something for the first time, I generally find the recipe from my trusted Better Homes & Gardens cookbook... however, this year for The Bestest's birthday, I'm gong to attempt to make cake pops. While checking out some of the pins on one of my friends' Pinterest boards, I notices she had a DIY link to a cake pops recipe. Since last year I had a cake made for her birthday, I figure this year I should try to make something special. So, I will be attempting to make them with this tutorial!

Etsy Lovin'

2011-04-26T23:44:00.000-07:00

I've found some lovely things on Etsy lately... oh, that I had a disposable income... These are two things I absolutely love...

{Tickled Pink}

{Brookish Handmade Goods}

While I'm Waiting...

2011-04-26T01:13:00.000-07:00

I ordered some books online {can I just say "yay!" for Swagbucks? I've gotten $15 of Amazon.com gift cards in the last month and a half, and I'm thisclose to my next $5 gift card... for basically being on the internet}, and I'm anxiously awaiting them. Amazon has become my new favorite site, and I'm usually pleasently surprised with how fast I receive my orders. This one consists of mainly books {as most of my orders from them do}, and its all easy reads that I've been looking forward to {one for over a year!}:

In all honesty, even though I'm a self-proclaimed "Twi-hard", I didn't really think I would get the illustrated guide Stephanie Meyer has had in the works since the dawn of time. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, as she and her books haven't been around that long at all... but wasn't this book supposed to come out two years ago? But I've heard nothing but good reviews about it, and it gives a little more insight into the characters, which is perfect since this is the time of year I like to reread this series. And since this Friday I leave for the annual weekend away with the Bestest in celebration of the anniversary of her birth {AKA a birthday weekend getaway!}, it would be awesome if we had the books in time for our road trip!

Since the Twilight guide is not the book I've been waiting so long for, are you curious as to which one is? I wrote about the others in the series a while ago, so it should come as no surprise that City of Fallen Angels is the book I've been waiting for! The series was originally going to be a trilogy, but one thing lead to another, and the author decided she had at least three more books to go along with the original trilogy. I really like her writing style, so I'm excited to read this next one. I might have to see if I have enough free time each day to adopt Bloody Bookaholic's Reading System. We'll see how that goes...

The last couple years, the Bestest and I have gone to Port Townsend/Crescent Lake/Forks/La Push and other areas surrounding those mentioned. It. Is. Amazing. You have no idea, unless you've done it before. Washington is a beautiful state, and this is honestly one of my favorite areas. And I get to go with one of my ultimate favorite people. How cool is that?

Book Giveaway: Bloody Bookaholic

2011-04-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't written about any blog giveaways in a while, mostly because every time I have, its gotten me nowhere. However, with this particular giveaway, she tallies points for various things {x amount for tweeting about it, linking to it, blogging about it, ect.}. Everyone who reads this should know I love books, and, quite honestly, YA is one of my favorite kinds. Mainly YA SciFi, but quite a few genres in YA. Why YA? {Ha ha, sorry, I just had to write that.} Its nice to have some "easy" reads along with the more adult oriented stuff {no, not "adult", just adult}. What makes this giveaway so good? She has 44 books she's giving away to 4 people! Not 11 to each person, but 14 to the first 3 and 2 to the fourth {ha, if I do win this, I'll be the one that gets the two left over!}. So, are you wondering where to go for this? Taschima has a fun blog, Bloody Bookaholic {"Thou shalt read till thy eyes bleed"}. The contest, Spring Cleaning Giveaway, seems really good, giving everyone a decent chance at winning. I wonder how good my odds are...

Reading and Raindrops

2011-04-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

You know that time of year when you're so busy, even if you're not at your job? The last week has been ushering in that season for me, and "crazy busy" is a great way to describe it. When I haven't been working {and getting paid for it}, I've been working around the house and enjoying this insanely good weather {well, good for Washington}. So, what would happen today as I'm looking forward to enjoying a couple house of sunshine once I got off work? Yep - hello Washington overcast! This morning I went to work, and the sun was just about to break through the clouds. All day at work I saw the sun shining through the windows, wishing I could feel the warmth on my skin {even if that was through my living room window, since its so cold outside!}. The last hour or two of my shift, I wasn't around the windows at work, so I didn't really know what it was looking like outside. Sad to say, the overcast sky started leaking on me {aka raining}. Here's hoping tomorrow will give me some garden time, or at least a picnic with Glen!

1313

2011-04-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

Life seems to be about numbers right now. So many things I'm counting down to, things Glen's counting down to, things either of us are counting up from {okay, not gonna lie... I think its just me doing the counting up from various things}. The number of hours I'm getting at my job right now {too little}. Little things, like the number of books I have on my bookshelf left to read {its getting smaller!}. One of these days, I'm going to sit and explain all of the numbers to myself. Yes, myself. But, for now, here are some of the numbers in my life...

1313 days since I made the best decision of my life.

186 days since I started dosing off my medication

28 days that I've been on this dose {.37mg}

4 days until the Chris Tomlin concert with the Bestest

17 days until the annual birthday/Forks trip with the Bestest

79 days until Glen and I have the house to ourselves*
101 days until our yearly Oregon Coast weekend

254 days until we cruise with Glen's family again

*I would like to say that, while we are super excited to have our house to ourselves again, I would not change having Kris and Jenn live with us. It has been such a blessing to get to know both of them so much better and building this family unit. While I'm excited to have time alone with Glen again, I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with myself when they're gone!

Editing

2011-04-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

I just spent a little while trying to get an interesting picture of myself for my profile picture. First, I kind of don't like taking pictures of myself. I'm kind of picky, and like any picky person I'm super picky when it comes to myself. Well, that's pretty much like any woman. So, I was kind of surprised when taking said picture that I actually liked one enough to put on here... the problem? I got kind of edit happy on Picnik, and now there are three that I'm debating between. I thought maybe I could get some help from anyone who reads this. Here are the pictures:

If you would like to tell me which one you like the best (1, 2 or 3), that would be awesome! The one with the most "likes" will be my new picture. I'm kind of leaning more towards number 3 myself...

Blogiversary!

2011-04-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

Its officially my 3rd blog-iversay! I think I might bake a cake in celebration. I've never made one from scratch, and now is as good a time as any!

{source}

PS - I think this is my favorite shade of green at the moment.

Waiting for a sunny day

2011-04-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

{I wrote this on April 5th, and have just now uploaded the pictures! I neglect the blog when I have to edit the pictures before uploading them...}

A little while ago I asked an old friend if she could make me a handbag. She said yes, I just needed to pick out the material I wanted and ship it to her {she lives across the continent}. So I did and, after snow storms on my end and loads of stuff on her end, it came! Can I just say I am please beyond believe at how incredibly gorgeous this is? It is the perfect little spring/summer handbag. There is enough room for all of the essentials that I take with me, plus a book {or two!}. I have to admit, I was a little worried about the color of the print I'd chosen for the inside and straps, but its perfect {have I said that already?}. I thought I would be good and wait for a sunny day to start using it, but I doubt that is going to happen! *Just checked weather.com* Well, if its going to be sunny on Friday... {The color in these is off a little... its much warmer! I heart my Brooklyn bag!}

2011-04-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

Day 27 of 30 Days of Blogging
My day job verses my passion

My day job: working at a retail store that, while fun and has me up on my feet all day... is not my passion. My passion is family/friends, and reading! I would love to be a book critic {although I would really like to give good reviews for everything... and we all know that's not possible}, but my thoughts really don't have a tendency to stay on one subject for very long, and pretty soon my review wanders. Or it gets too in depth. Or not enough. Or, what is usually the case, I'm reading about 5 books at the same time and am therefore thinking of all five when I sit down to write about one. Sometimes its just hard for me to do one thing at a time...

Raining, raining, raining

2011-04-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

If you're a resident of Western Washington, you would know that spring equals rain. And a lot of it. Which, usually, I embrace. I'm a "true Washingtonian", and I love the wet weather that comprises most of our year... most of the time. However, when we get a snippet of lovely weather {as in, above 60 degrees and can wear shirts with short sleeves and no socks}, I start to want warm weather. Really badly, then just kind of wistfully until we start to get it on a regular basis {by "regular" for this area, I mean once a week or so}. So, with the weather outside looking like this:

I am longing for sunny weather! That way maybe we can make Haylie's second day in the sun more enjoyable then her first {yes, she's only had one day to play in the sun. See what I mean about needing warm, sunny weather? And about it being rare?}. If you don't believe me about not being that enjoyable, this was about as happy as she looked during the whole ordeal:

Yes, she was all bundled up. It wasn't that cold out, but it was cold enough. Isn't she just the cutest thing?

Kiddie Cuteness

2011-03-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a bad aunt. Horrible really. Why? Because I'm selfish. Instead of taking pictures of my niece, I'm holding her or playing with her. Wait, that doesn't make me a bad aunt? Just a bad blogger? Okay, I'll take that. In the meantime, here are some old ones of Haylie {"old" being relative, as they are from a few months ago, but a few months to a baby are like years to an adult!}.

Kyle and I with her on Christmas Day {don't you just love the faces babies make?}

Wearing my plaid Chucks {she makes the funniest faces!}

Bubbles

2011-03-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

After a long, hard day at work, I think I shall now be enjoying one of these.

I even have some wonderful bath salts! Oh, hot water... I will soon be yours! {I just love baths!}

Are you "Pinterest"ed?

2011-03-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to share about this for a while, but I've also been meaning to actually build up my boards before doing so {which has not happened}, and I was reminded of this via a post on my Facebook... have you checked out Pinterest? Its this nifty little site where you can "pin" your "interests" {basically create awesome picture bookmarks for things you find interesting}. Its a blast, and there are already so many things pinned! My obsessions with books and bottles are both being fostered there, and I discovered so many cute nooks I want to copy! Oh, that I had 5 houses to design exactly how I wanted - I would share them with you all! For now, I will just share my boards!

2011-03-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Day 26 of 30 Days of Blogging
List 10 things that you are thankful for

~Jesus, and his saving grace. Without him, I wouldn't be anything.

~Glen, aka The Hubs. He's the love of my life, so much more so now than when we first got married.
~My family. They are all wonderful, beautiful people. They make every day just that much better.
~My home. Not just my house, but where I live. And not just my specific neighborhood or city, but the country as well. We are so incredibly blessed here!
~Arwen. She can be incredibly irritating, especially when she does something awful like peeing inside. But she is just so loving and sweet!
~Books. In general. Mine, others, and the ability to read them.
~Technology. Without which this blog would not be possible.
~Free cruises! Yes, we get to go on another one. Yes, I will have more details later. I just want to see how many people read through this whole thing to get to this part...
~The ability to see color. Yeah, kind of weird, but true. If I were color blind, I wouldn't be able to see the beauty of my garden!
~Teeth. I have this weird obsession with teeth and appreciate mine very much. Another oddity, I know.

Retail therapy gone global.

2011-03-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Have you been to Cost Plus World Market? Do you have one in your neighborhood? Or semi-close to your neighborhood? If you haven't been, I suggest you do. But make sure you give yourself a set budget beforehand. I went on my day off this week and walked away with this:

Yep... two of the mason jar "water tanks", four candles, three yummy drinks, tea for Jenn, another bottle for my collection, a small votive holder for Jenn and some yummy pirouettes for Glen. All for less than one of the mason jar drink dispensers from Pottery Barn. Oh, yes... its wonderful to get good deals! Oh, and the post title? Its on their paper bags. That had me smiling like a bookworm in a library.

Spring for a Day

2011-03-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

Spring came and visited us for a day on Wednesday! It wasn't very long, but it was beautiful. Jenn and I weeded part of the garden {it is in dire need of loving!}, and Haylie stayed outside with us. It was the little one's first time really enjoying the outdoors while being old enough to know what was going on around her. Sadly, the neighbor's dog was barking up a storm, which scared the poor babe. I did get some lovely pictures of some of the garden blossoms. Spring, if it wasn't official before, it is now - I love you! I know you try to kill me every year through my allergies, but that's okay. I love you anyway.

PS - Do you like the retro effect? That would be thanks to Picnik!

Mason Jars

2011-03-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

I love bottles and glass containers, so its no wonder I love me some mason jars. And when I got my Pottery Barn catalog, I fell in love with their mason jar drink dispenser...

What's not to love? Its cute, dispenses wonderful liquids, and casually calls out "come, have a garden party with Kari!" Only one thing... the price tag. Ouch, Pottery Barn... $69 for a 1.5 gallon drink dispenser? I have some spending money, but I'm not going to drop it all on a drink dispenser for a garden party that is in the very new, fragile, barely-planning-it stage. So, like the last time I found something wonderful that was outrageously price on their site, I decided to check Cost Plus World Market online. Wouldn't you know they have a mason jar "water tank" that looks eerily similar and costs {wait for it...} a whopping $15? I know, right?

I have tomorrow off of work, and I think I might venture out to my local CPWM and pick a couple of these up! I'm so excited! This garden party might be a success after all... now we just need nice weather...

Also, while browsing the web for various mason jar ideas, I stumbled across a blog called Intimate Weddings... and their Ode to the Mason Jar {read it - its wonderful and the pictures are gorgeous!}... and a mason jar DIY soap dispenser. I think I must have this in my kitchen!

2011-03-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

Inspiration, via USPS

I got my Pottery Barn catalog in the mail about a week or two ago, and it had been sitting on my counter until a couple days ago. At which time I discovered it, and feel in love with all of the garden inspirations. Do you know what I thought of? The garden party I want to throw this summer! Oh, Pottery Barn, would that your wares were free, and I could get them! Oh well, I will probably check out thrift stores and World Market to see if they have anything cheap. But I will keep this as my inspiration guide!

2011-03-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Day 25 of 30 Days of Blogging
What I would find in your bag

My bag? Which one? *grins* I'll just go with my purse/the bag I always have with me...

~My wallet, which usually has my ID, debit card, Costco card, medical cards and library card. It also, coincidentally, never has cash...

~Car and house keys. Which are actually on two separate key rings. Long story short, I was loaning out my car a lot, so it was easiest just to have my car keys separate from the others. And they just kind of stayed that way.

~Cell phone. I know, I know... I love this device too much as a wonderful little necessary evil, but time when I don't have it {which is very rare} is cherished. I love quite time!

~3 different kinds of lip gloss and a couple different kinds of chap stick. And a jar of lip balm. Can you tell lip care is important to me?

~Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion without SPF. I still am scared to use too much SPF even though I was fine on the cruise the few times I did. And I love Aveeno. Its like heaven for my poor, dry hands.

~My Kindle. Especially if I'm going to work, because I like to curl up on the not-so-comfy couch in the corner and read. And it sure beats lugging around a big book {although I have been known to do that as well, which is why my purses are usually bigger}.

~A small notepad and 3 pens. I have one ballpoint {medium}, one liquid gel and another ballpoint {fine}. I rarely ever have more than 3 pens, but I will have less.

I'm sure there is more, but these are what I almost always, no matter what, have with me.

2011-03-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

Snicker. Doodle.

Yep, I made more today. Well, I made the dough last night and the cookies today. Tripled the recipe so I could send Glen to his weekly meeting at work with some, have a bunch for my work, and still have some for all of us here at the house. This is what was left after I packed up a dozen and a half for Glen to take to work:

Plus we'd eaten a few by the time I'd snapped this... I think that's more than enough, eh?

2011-03-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

Oh, dear. Guess what time of year it is? Book releases and new movies for the next several months! And, I'm thinking I might need to pick up a couple books that have movies coming out soon. I've said it a million times, but if I can read the book first, that's generally what I will do. {Side note: when I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, I'd literally finished the book early in the day and saw the movie that night with my cousins.}

I've heard only good things about Water for Elephants, but to be perfectly honest, I haven't heard a lot. That makes me wonder if that many people actually like it. I mean, if its so incredibly popular {New York Times Bestseller!}, and I don't know anyone out of my book-loving friends who've read it... well... {If you are one of my book loving friends/readers and have read it, please tell me if you liked it! I don't want any details, just let me know if you enjoyed it!}

Okay, I'm a bookstore junkie. I love the smell of books, the look of books and the feel of them in my hand. I love having one with me at all times so I can read whenever I want. So, it should come as no surprise that I've seen this book {Something Borrowed} about five dozen times in the last few months. Really, I have. But it looks so much like a Sophie Kinsella book that I've avoided it. Don't get me wrong, her Shopaholic books were entertaining, if not pretty repetitive. I stopped reading them at Shopaholic & Sister, because the plots were all to similar, and the endings were pretty much identical. So just the cover of Something Borrowed scared me away! However, if I can find it at a used bookstore for cheap {or online for cheaper}, I might try to read it. Have any of you read this book? Would you suggest it?

PS - As far as the movies go, I'm a huge fan of Reese Witherspoon and Ginnifer Goodwin, so these look promising. I think I'm going to have to drag Jenn and Stacy {aka The Bestest} to them!

2011-03-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

With the weather being crummy in my neck of the woods, I've had my sights set on spring and summer. Quite a bit. And, since we have a rather large patio, one thing I want to try to do this year was a garden party! I'm not exactly sure what theme I want to go with, but I know at some point in time this summer we will be having one {I'm leaning more towards drinking out of mason jars and a table full of cupcakes and other such yummy delights}. But how wonderful does white linen, sunshine, sweets, and raspberry lemonade with friends sound? Heavenly...

I think this is going to bring about a shopping spree on Etsy...

2011-03-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Day 24 of 30 Days of Blogging
Post your favorite quote or verse of scripture and why

"Can I go back to weird? I like being weird. Weird's all I've got. That, and my sweet style." -Moss, from IT Crowd

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.

I consider myself kind of odd {I usually just use the word "weird" or "quirky"}. I love these quotes because they have to do with being weird, and how we're all just a little weird. Glen and I are always telling each other how weird the other is, and the quote that usually follows is: "you knew that, and you still married me!" We're a family that loves to kid...

2011-03-10T23:56:00.000-08:00

Day 23 of 30 Days of Blogging
Something you crave a lot

Cupcakes: they're sweet and delicious...

tiny works of art that bring back the delights of childhood.

In short, cupcakes are perfectly sized portions of personal happiness.

source

And, since Glen and I are nerds...

2011-03-09T23:53:00.000-08:00

"How domestic of you"

I baked two batches of cookies today. And Glen's favorite burritos for dinner. While wearing my handmade apron. And put a {new} fresh clean duvet cover on our bed. I feel so domestic. And it always happens either on my last day off of two in a row or the morning/early afternoon before I go to work again. Then, while at work I keep thinking of all the wonderful, domestic things I want to do for my hubs when I get time off to do it... and I never do until now {aka right before I need to get "work-minded"}.

I'm working on becoming just a little better at actually being domestic on days that I work, which is kind of tricky for me, because I work nights {mostly}. I associate things like cooking dinner and cleaning the bathrooms as being more domestic, and most of the time Glen cleans the bathrooms on the weekends and I never cook dinner because we both take sandwiches to work as our evening-meal-break-food. However, I'm {normally} really good at keeping the bathroom tidy, as well as the bedroom. There's just something about having a clean bedroom, and I can't stand an untidy bathroom. And about fresh, clean bedding...

2011-03-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a lot lately! I've said it a million times, but I'm a major bookworm. I've finished a few books recently, and one of them talks about the story of Baba Yaga. I had never heard of her before... of course, I'm not Russian, and she is/was pretty big in Russian folklore, but I thought I would have at least heard of her at some point in all my reading. Twenty-seven, with about twenty-three years of reading under my belt, and I'm learning something interesting when I read even plain fiction. I'm currently reading The Apothecary's Daughter {Kindle edition}, and it has me wanting to make home remedies. Or, at least, tending my garden. Too bad we've had monsoon-like rains off and on today, making working outside impossible. I guess I'll just stare at my odd bottle collection and pretend I'm to fill them with household remedies...

Although she is mostly portrayed as a terrifying old crone, Baba Yaga can also play the role of a helper and wise woman. The Earth Mother, like all forces of nature, though often wild and untamed, can also be kind.

In her guise as wise hag, she sometimes gives advice and magical gifts to heroes and the pure of heart. The hero or heroine of the story often enters the crone's domain searching for wisdom, knowledge and truth. She is all-knowing, all seeing and all-revealing to those who would dare to ask.

She is said to be a guardian spirit of the fountain of the Waters of Life and of Death.

Baba Yaga is the Arch-Crone, the Goddess of Wisdom and Death, the Bone Mother. Wild and untamable, she is a nature spirit bringing wisdom and death of ego, and through death, rebirth.

Source

2011-03-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

Day 22 of 30 Days of Blogging
What makes you different from everyone else

Aside from the fact that there really is only one of me? Hmmm... not too much, I guess... So, instead, what makes me, well, me...

I'm a young woman who often acts like an old woman, preferring to stay home instead of going out, sit and read or cross stitch {speaking of which, I really should work on Starry Night... maybe on a day that I haven't been on my feet for the last 12 hours}. I love working nights, but I enjoy having evenings off too. I'm thrilled to pieces and get downright giddy when I have any weekends off with my husband. Paper makes me smile. Seriously, just about any kind of paper. I wish I were more creative {don't we all!}, and I would love to be more artistically inclined {oh, it would be wonderful to be able to express myself through drawing and painting!}. I love my husband so much I feel like I could burst with joy when I see him. I love my family with every fiber of my being and then some.

My brain is actually very dead right now. I would write more, but I've been up since about 6:30AM after only 4-ish hours of sleep. Maybe I should go to bed...

2011-03-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

Day 21 of 30 Days of Blogging
A picture of something that makes you happy

2011-02-28T11:52:00.000-08:00

Day 20 of 30 Days of Blogging
Write a letter to someone

I'm amazed at how many people have written letters on their blogs to people. I'm much more a private letter kind of person, so instead of writing a letter on here, I'm going to take the time to write a couple people actual letters! I've been meaning to write a few letters lately, and this is the perfect reason to. Oh, and if I were pregnant or a mother, I'd probably write my child a letter on here. Since I am neither, I feel weird about writing a letter to my yet-conceived-of child a letter on my blog. Especially if I never end up having kids... that would just be weird. Happy writing!

2011-02-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

Day 19 of 30 Days of Blogging
Write about a sweet memory from your past

A lot of my memories are attached to scents. Weird, I know. For example, the smell of a specific strawberry lip balm reminds me of being about six and when I would crawl under my bed and randomly clean out all the stuff that accumulated there over the past month {or six}. Why? Because one time I did that after losing said lip balm and I never found it.

So, here are some things that bring up sweet memories for me...

Fresh cut grass {doing my schoolwork outside during the spring} ~ Blueberry candles {youth retreat with a long stop in a lovely little port and shopping, just spending time with some wonderful young women} ~ The Pacific Ocean, more specifically in OR {camping on the ocean with my family, learning to set up a tent in sand, wonderful time away from reality with my family} ~ Lemon pie {reminds me of shared birthdays with my Grandma Barb and my cousin Sara} ~ Warm Rain {opening my window in summertime and smelling the rain while reading a good book} ~ Gingerbread {making little tasty houses at my Grandma Bunnie's with my brothers and my cousins; Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa's house}

There are many more, but those are some interesting ones. Does anyone else have such strong scent memories?

2011-02-27T13:28:00.000-08:00

Day 18 of 30 Days of Blogging
Plans/dreams/goals you have

I like Bridget's approach to this one, and since I have SO many dreams and have this phobia of writing them on a public place since I think it will jinx me, here's my daily...

I plan to go to a posh little town up north with my hubs to day, while I'm dreaming of cupcakes in all their soft goodness, and my goal is to be good and only eat one *winks*.

2011-02-24T15:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, thankful Thursdays are not going to be happening for a while. As in ever again. Not like I was really consistent with them before, but I'm officially not doing them anymore. Why? I'm tired of having really horrible Wednesdays! Lets just say yesterday was so bad, I'm still upset and crying over it today. And, being totally honest, I'm really not finding any reason to blog at all. My life never changes, its not very interesting. So, yeah... I might just stop blogging altogether.