Halloween 2011

Bob is really clever. 

He's also got a cheesy sense of humor. 

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

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

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

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

He said it, and then I made it happen. 

We're a good team.

Bob the baker.

The bun in the oven.

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

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

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

I love dressing up in epic Halloween costumes every year. 

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

Ahh, Pregnancy and Maternity Clothes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[insert fail music here]

:(

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

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

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

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

Cute and fitted in the back!

Yay!! I made my first maternity shirt!

First Prenatal Visit, Finally!

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

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

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

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

We have the first pictures of our baby!

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

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

The day I knew...

August 2, 2011

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

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

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

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

Two lines. There were definitely two little pink lines.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Independence Day

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

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


Parade in the morning...

The tank was cool.

So were all these military vehicles.

And this old car.

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

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

Yay! Parades can be fun.

Seven Peaks in the afternoon...

We completely splurged and bought season passes that 

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

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

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

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

It was fun and quite memorable.
Happy Independence Day!

Bridesmaid Dresses: DONE!

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

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

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

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

 Kaitlyn, the flower girl loved her dress.

Everyone really liked the zebra print lining.  

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

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

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

Wedding Dress Alteration

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

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

Yay!!

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

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

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

Then she called me.

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

Before:

After:

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

I hope it's what she wants!


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

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

start-up capital

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I love it. 

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

But it's startup capital for my store.

There. Justified. 

:)

from tacky to trendy

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

My kitchen window flower pot. 

It used to have two flowers in it. 

One died.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are those nasty fake flowers.

I'm sure they were pretty at some point. 

Maybe.

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

I love how it turned out!

Too hilarious not to tell...

Sometimes the strangest things happen to me.

And then sometimes, I accidentally do the strangest things.

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

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

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

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

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

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

:)

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

It was just too hilarious and embarrassing not to mention.

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