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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Christmas Season Photos


a few weeks before christmas we got this little box in the mail...it's from Russia where my aunt and uncle are serving a mission for our church. i was soooooooooo excited and wanted to open it ASAP but wasn't allowed. how rude. so it sat under the tree for awhile then was hidden b/c we kept opening the packaging little by little everyday. we will come back to this box later i'll make it a surprise like it was for me...

the first weekend in december is when we usually go and chop down our tree at the tree farm...it's usually a big ordeal b/c we have opposing opinions on what a christmas tree should look like. i like full bushy trees and others like more sparse layered trees. they won this year. :) p.s. they won b/c it was Sooooooooooo cold nobody wanted to be outside anymore.

after putting the tree up we decorated the rest of the living room. we've had those stockings since we were little and even though i think my mom would like them to be matching red stockings, we hang up our mismatched fun stockings.

christmas eve is always the baking day. we make SO many treats and goodies for friends. we spend the WHOLE day baking. this year was hard b/c usually we taste as we go along to make sure things taste good, this year i couldn't soooo that sucked. but we still made lots.

the finished plates. i think we made probably 10 different items we did way too much this year.


i'm in charge of the pretzel rods dipped in chocolate every year this time we did red chocolate then i drizzled white over it to give it a candy cane look.

finally after a long day of baking, delivering and having dinner at a friends house we skyped with my aunt in uncle in russia and opened our special box holy toledo i LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE russian nesting dolls and they sent us 2 sets and those cute little ornaments!!

we will be going to russia (my mom and i) either this summer or next summer to pick them up and i plan on packing an empty suitcase to stuff full with these things- put your order in now haha.
and last but not least christmas morning. santa got me a blu ray player to go with the flat screen TV i bought myself a few weeks ago. we got some good stuff including Beatles rock band which has been played constantly for the last several days.
ok i have to get ready for work now i hope everyone had a good christmas!! and a happy new year in a couple days!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Funky Chunky

Don't let the title...or cover photo fool you. this is an amazing book. it's crochet patterns of all sorts. some are pretty tacky but for the most part they have some pretty cool ideas. i just love to buy yarn so i should start using it up now.

if anyone still needs to get me a present here's a link, BOOK FOR $7! i'm just kidding, kind of. haha i think after the holidays after things settle down i'll buy
it and a few other pattern books. i just love it.
i'm all done with christmas shopping and wrapping (be jealous) but i'm still venturing to the mall
tomorrow morning for Old Navy's $1 socks! i've already bought them i'm just going to
take my receipt back and get the price adjustment. they also will have $3 basic sweatshirts. i'm all
about the pattern books and sales i guess. i will also be getting some buy one get one 1/2 off shoes (boots) at
famous footwear and FREE LIPGLOSS at bath and body works. wow what good savings.
i won't be at the mall past 10am so that's the only reason i'm going. no more mall for me after that.

also tip if you are going to shop at bellis fair mall, the car lines get REALLY bad depending on what
time you go shopping. park in the upper kohl's parking lot (where x-mas trees are sold),
it means you have to walk a little further but it saves you 45+ minutes waiting in that dang car line.
i learned that after working there 4 christmas' i would seriously sit in a row of cars one time for
almost an hour! you only have to wait for the light if you park up there.especially the next several
days if you go at a good time it shouldn't be too bad butit gets nasty the closer we get to christmas.
anyways good luck if you do venture out!!


p.s. if you have safari web browser don't use it to post blogs, it messes EVERYTHING UP!! i will
remember that and only use my regular explorer next time.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Kahards

So my friend is having a baby pretty soon (well march-ish) so i am helping plan a shower for her. i am in charge of food and invites and our other friend is in charge of decorations games. we decided last night that we are going to have the shower next month so i have to get the invites done! here's what i came up with:

their nursery is pink and green, the colors don't show up very well on here though.



i used my new slice and stamp sets to make these. pretty exciting. it's also the layout for the christmas cards i still have to get done :D. i'm still trying to decide what to have on the outside scallop, the word shower is redundant but i don't know what else to put...?! anyways probably won't blog much more this month, too much going on but i'm officially done shopping and wrapping!!!!!!!!!!! so glad i don't have to go near the mall or walmart for the next month!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Projects coming out of my ears!

i have started 8 too many projects in the last 2 or 3 days. it's a little ridiculous actually. i have crocheted projects and knitted projects, i don't discriminate haha. i have hats, blankets, wrist warmers, more blankets etc all going on at the same time. some are for Christmas gifts so those i guess will have to take priority but after seeing this:


i'm having a REALLLLLY hard time not starting another one right now. if/when i ever make this, it's ALL MINE. i'm so selfish i just love love love love love love it. i'm getting the book with the square patterns from the library, that's the only thing stopping me from starting it right this minute. i guess after i make my own i can make some for gifts but we'll see how easy (hard?) it is. i love everything about this dang blanket, here is a link to the blog where i found it Lindamade.

i also have about 12 photo sessions coming up in the next 2-3 weeks, i wish you could see how excited i am for those...i don't like that it's becoming a chore. uggg oh well just this weekend i have 4. lame.

i'm getting back into this reading thing again. i don't think i've read a book in about a month. usually i read a book a week or so. lately i've realized i like listening to books on tape (ha tape, i mean ipod) instead that way i can edit photos or crochet/knit while i listen. but the book i got tuesday is the old fashioned reading, no headphones required. the book is about this girl who commits suicide and she makes these tapes where she lets people know the reasons why she killed herself. it's really interesting and sad i'm about halfway done.

this book i'm writing is still 61 pages...it's been 61 pages for about a week now. i just haven't had the time to write in it. but i have a notebook i keep with me and write ideas down, i have about 4 handwritten pages with ideas. can you say back burner until after christmas?!

let's not talk about black friday. ok let's...michelle came over around 10 and we had every intention of staying awake, well around 12:30 we decided to sleep for half an hour...then an hour...then we decided not to go at all. well i have this thing called feeling guilty so i couldn't sleep anymore so i told michelle i was going to go but she could sleep if she wanted. she got up and we were in town by a little after 2. we went to the mall for Old Navy first...they decided not to open until 4 so we went to walmart and got some great deals and they let us check out at 4 instead of 5 :). then back to the mall where we waited outside target for a TV that was already sold out. then we went to fred meyers and i got myself a nice flat screen tv. woohoooo. we got home around 7 and i slept in until 1. it ended up being good. well this was unplanned and weird so i'll finish now. have a good December!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Playing Ketchup

Well, it's Thanksgiving...I'm not exactly sure where this month went but apparently it's gone. I haven't updated at all this month I guess I was busy?! I honestly am trying to remember what happened this month b/c I have no idea where it went.
Anyways a quick update:
*I have been on the Prism diet it will be 6 weeks on monday, that means 6 weeks without flour or sugar. There is not much to eat when you take those two things away. ahhhh i will be able to add potatoes and whole wheat flour on Monday, I'm excited!
*I will be waking up..actually not going to sleep tonight to go get some good deals hopefully early tomorrow morning, we are planning on being at Old Navy at 3am yikes.
*I started writing a "book" i have 61 pages done so far. it's going to be epic....well
*I've done several family photo sessions and i'm working on editing them. Also got my Moo business cards, sooooo cool. They are mini photos that i have taken with my info on the back.
*A few weeks ago I went to a scrapbooking retreat with my mom in Cle Elum, we stayed at a really nice resort called Suncadia. Next year they are having it at the same place so I have to decided if I'm going or not...hmmm
Here are some projects I worked on while I was there. I'm surprised I got anything done all i wanted to do was sleeeeeep the whole time. I had been pretty sick the week before leaving. (H1N1??!....just kidding...maybe)

OK on to the projects:

a little mini book that folds out into this:

pretty cool eh?

i made a bunch of these scrabble tile necklace pendants, I love them!


one of my major projects was to get a bunch of these magnets made...i probably got 50 done. these are a few of my favorites:

and all of them:



another major project i worked on was my Disneyland ATC scrapbook. It's not traditional b/c it's a round about type thing.

i got quite a few pages done but i have about 150 pictures left. it will be a year in may so i'm a little behind.
these are some recipe holders i made...well covered with paper while i was there. they are magnetic so you use the hand dandy magnets i made to hold the recipe.
and last but not least is the blanket i started a few weeks ago. I haven't been able to work on it as much as I want b/c my wrist clicks when i crochet. maybe i'll knit for awhile until my wrist stops hurting.
i took pictures at the resort I just don't have a card reader for that cameras card on my laptop and I'm too lazy to transfer them right now, maybe i'll update them another time, probably not though. :)
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Last Weekend:

i went to tracy's house this last weekend to scrapbook/relax/watch lots of movies. i'm happy to say i was a little productive...at least one of the days we were there. here are some pictures of what i did:

my crocheted baby blanket that will have a scalloped edge when i'm all done. it's not too bad for my first ever crocheted ANYTHING, ever. the colors don't really show well on here but i don't like that they are a little splotchy..oh well. i already have my next colors picked out and it will be a dozy.



the last day we were there my mom had like 3598725987 scraps from a scrapbook she made so i used her scraps to make some cards. these pics. really are not good, i had to use my brothers camera and i'm not too impressed...

this photo has nothing at all to do with my weekend but it's a shirt that i bought from threadless last week that just came in the mail today. i love weird shirts like this.
anyways also today i started a "wellness challenge" i'm calling it that b/c diet is a bad word in my mind and i'm trying to be well in all areas not just physically. if that makes sense. for example i am doing the prism food plan (haha i didn't say diet:)), exercising everyday, drinking at least 8 8oz. of water a day but at the rate i'm going i'll drink more than that probably. reading scriptures for 20-30 min. a day...this one is hard just b/c it requires a solid block of time. eventually i am going to purge my room and my car and get them clean once and for all. i also will be organizing my school stuff and making a schedule and sticking to it. we'll see how it goes! wish me luck.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

What to do...


hmmmm what happens when you happen to read something you weren't necessarily meant to read and you think maybe you should tell a person but don't want to b/c it's not really your business....and the way you came across it was a little stalkerish....but not intentionally....and you feel bad b/c you want the person to know what the other person said even though it's not really THAT big of a deal...even though i obviously think it is b/c i don't know what to do....i've decided to keep my mouth shut, i will not get in the middle of anything no matter how small. i'm trying to keep my nose out of other people's business and it's hard. no more gossip. ever. well.....hopefully. i'm trying to be better at life. i'll let you know how it goes.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Just Say NO!!

when i was 10 i was in D.A.R.E and learned to say no to drugs. well that's easy i've never had any desire to do drugs or drink or anything like that. however, they never had a class on how to say NO in other situations. i don't want this to be a complaining blog, it's supposed to be for things i make but i haven't made much lately b/c i haven't been saying NO.

i don't need to babysit for a family i've never met before just because they get my number from someone.
i don't need to sign up for a violin group in b'ham (i haven't even played for YEARS) just b/c some old lady asks me to.

these are just some recent events that i have said no to...yay me. however for every thing i do say NO to, there are 4 or 5 things i say YES to. it's not a big deal i really do like helping people out and doing things for people. i just need to learn that i don't have to do everything all the time. i need to learn to not feel bad about saying NO. some days i feel so stressed out and overwhelmed (partly b/c i'm not good at time management too:)) with things i don't need to do.
i have to make time for myself and for the things i have to do for me. for instance, clean my room/car, carve out time for my photography lessons, exercise (haven't started this yet ;( ). i feel like i'll be a lot healthier and in a better mood if i find a way to unwind and de-stress. i have to learn to:

the world won't end and there are other people out there to help. please don't think you can't ask me to do anything. i seriously don't mind helping out people, just know it might take me a little extra time until i get caught up with stuff. i also have to learn to not feel guilty when i say no...i'll work on it.

ok i am off to finish making some photo cd's which i will deliver tomorrow then be done with (!). then i'll only have 4ish more photo sessions to finish and send out. phew i got pretty backed up photo wise ;) for awhile but i'm almost caught up again. i'll never get that behind again i promise.

p.s. also know if i offer something i really mean i want to do it and i'm not just being nice!! seriously i'm not going to do nothing i'm just going to cut out what doesn't make sense for me right now. i'm trying to eliminate putting myself out and messing up my already made plans.

gosh i'm a complainer.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Dear "Homeless" Man,


I see you standing on that same corner every weekend. The first time I saw you, you had a gas can sitting by your feet and you had nice clothes on. The next week I saw you, your clothes were a little tattered and you had lost your job. This weekend you had an 18 month old baby who needs formula and diapers and you look like you really are homeless. I felt bad for not giving you money the first time I saw you. It would not be fun to be stuck without gas but I guess that's the curse of debit cards. The next week when I saw you I was confused because I thought you were from out of town...yet here you were again. I really hope you didn't lose your job and that you don't have a hungry baby at home. Maybe I'm a cold hearted person but I don't feel good about giving people money who are obviously taking advantage, which I realize you are.

I really hope you can find a job and earn some money for gas and diapers. There's a Wendy's, Taco Bell, Wal-Mart and Arby's all within walking distance of your corner and I'm sure you can get a job at one of those places.

I'm sorry your circumstances have brought you to the corner to beg for money but you have a different story every week and I don't feel good about giving you money.

Good Luck,
me

* I realize not everyone who stands on the corner begging is lying but i also know that some are and i find it hard to give away money when i don't know. maybe that's not Christ like and i shouldn't judge them or their circumstances but i would rather give them a hot meal and bring them someplace that can help them get a job and have a place to stay. of course i'm not going to let some stranger in my car but you get the idea. i would rather give them help then cash for who knows what. i've heard very different views on this matter and i guess i'm trying to figure out what i think about it.

anyways random but that's ok. i'm off to bed early to get rid of this headache.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

New project

i have this idea. it is an idea that will take some time and patience but i am determined to do it. it's probably pretty lame to other people but i'm ok with that. i'm going to photograph the ABC's. find random objects that look like letters and make the whole alphabet with them. i'm pretty excited about it. i got the idea from facebook actually. there's an application where you can "write" your name with different objects. i think it would be cool to be able to make words and frame them.

also i was thinking about doing a photo-a-day for the month of October and post it on my poor neglected
photography blog. oh i guess that means i should probably take a picture right now and upload it. haha i don't think things through sometimes. oh well. no pictures for this post i guess you'll have to go here and see what random thing i come up with to take a picture of tonight!!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Bucket List

a few weeks/a month or so ago michelle was over at my house and i was making fruit salad. i cut a baby watermelon in half and she asked if she could have a spoon and eat right the watermelon. i was like ok....she got really excited and said this is on my bucket list but my mom would never let me waste half a watermelon....well that was special but i decided to make up my own bucket list.
here are a few things in no particular order i would like to do before i kick the bucket.

ok i would either like to be on survivor or amazing race, or at least go to a survivor reunion show. i should probably get on this one b/c i don't know how much longer the show would last. if i had it my way it would never end!


SKYDIVE!!!!! seriously i would love to go. i might need to be pushed off the plane but after that i think it would be fun...or maybe a simulator would be better...?



swim with the sharks. slash hang out in a cage with sharks around me. or maybe if it was one of those cool places where the sharks don't attack and you can actually swim with them. that would be cool too. this might be where my obsession with shark week comes from.

go on a safari in africa. i chose this picture b/c i would have to invest in some amazing lens' like they are using. i could go for national geographic or just by myself.

i want to build my own house in the middle of a big field with nobody else around. it will be awesome. i guess i'll have to start saving for that. maybe in about 30 years :).

meet johnny depp :)! ummm i guess there's no explanation needed for that one.

travel around the world. greece would be a good starting point.

maybe part of that traveling could be done on a cruise ship.
anyways those are just a few things i wouldn't mind doing in my life. there is lots more where that came from but these are the most exciting.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Baby Bear Hat

Saturday night while watching 17 again with michelle and shelley i started this baby hat for a lady i work with who is having a baby next month (run on sentence much?). i only got like 8 rows done though i wasn't really motivated. well sunday i knitted a little longer and got the hat and one ear done and today after work i finished it up.

it's a bear hat....or just a brown blob with green things on top....it should fit a newborn head just perfectly hopefully.

this weekend i also used sam and shelley as my test subjects for "facepainting" shelley is the guy from kiss and sam is just a weirdo. a little random.
also emily this is for you since i never gave you that picture of reagans first haircut! even though it was a little it still matters! also i hope you are feeling better emily!!!! let me know if you need anything.
this was like a mishmash post, lots of random pics i found on my camera. at least i got one project done and i updated woohoooooo. ok off to start a new project? maybe. or i'll just go to sleep. ya right. hopefully that one random cow will stop mooing tonight.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

So much to do and not enough time...


i have so many pictures to
go through and edit and i just don't know when i'm going to do it all! ahhhhh. i need to almost take a few days off from other jobs just to have time to do it.

i have a big primary activity where i did little 5-10 min. mini sessions that need to be edited

i have probably 2 family's who need editing

a family reunion type thing to edit

a wedding

a new baby

and a 1 yr. old's pics.
phew. and i still have to start carving out a time for my classes from which i've only had time to do two lessons... :( eeeek. i need to make that the priority. so if you want me to take pictures for you i'd be happy to do it just know i'm a little behind at the moment and it might take some time to actually get the pictures and i know that's the hardest part, waiting after they're taken.

ok now i have to go take shelley into town for a little bit then get ready for work.
p.s. those pics above are from a wedding and a baby obviously. kristen and holland are pretending to duel like in harry potter. and the baby is flipping off the camera...i just thought it was funny.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Old Navy

I have many obsessions I'll admit...like the last post and the post before that and so on. Old Navy is one of those. I don't know why or how it started but I'm thinking I can blame Michelle. before she moved back I occasionally went to ON but since she's been home, i think i've gone in that dang store about 12 times...about half of the time i don't buy anything but still 12 TIMES! i'm not shopping's biggest fan unless it's kitchen supplies, groceries, lens', amazon.com...or target but i suppose that has changed?

Well this post is to let you know about a little thing i found a few weeks ago that lets me shop at ON w/o feeling SO guilty. it's called, Old Navy Weekly. every thursday at an undisclosed time in the evening they update this page. it is full of hidden coupons. some as good as $75 off $100 but i think they changed it to $65off $100 recently. last week i finally was there when they updated and got a $45 off of $100!!! woohoo! if you want to get a high value coupon you have to be right there when they update otherwise they will all be gone but you can still get other deals.

that's where this site comes in handy...it's this ladies blog but on the left hand side she has a chat room where you can go on thursdays around 4ish and they will ring a bell to let you know when ONW is updating. people also post where the high value coupons are so you have a better chance of getting one. only 200 people can be in the chat room at once so keep trying if you get booted out.

GOOD LUCK!!

this i think was $20 on sale super comfy though.


this sweater was the item of the week and was on sale for $12...with my coupon i got 3 for about $6 each! they have lots of colors/patterns



this dress was $30....the only thing i got that wasn't on sale. :(. although it certainly doesn't look like that on me:).
i also got their perfect cardigan for $20 originally $30. i could have gone for better sales in the clearance section but...didn't.
my coupon was for $45 off of $100 so i got $165 worth of clothes for $65.

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