My little sister got her mission call today. She is going to the Paraguay Asuncion Mission. It's spanish speaking. Woo hoo! She goes into the MTC on August 17th. I'm so proud of her. I'm also so very jealous and excited for her. She's going to be a great missionary.
Sadly, nobody guessed Paraguay. Ok, not true. It was my first guess and I told my mom that. She then told me that a boy from our old ward that we're not super fond of is going there so I decided to change it and guessed Argentina since that's close. I shouldn't have changed my guess! I was right!
CONGRATS, CHELS!
April 21, 2011
March 18, 2011
Busy, Busy, Busy
This last week has been a crazy one. Between going to physical therapy three times a week in Murray, painting my kitchen (not finished), babysitting up to 6 kids, trying to make 4 quilts and creating my Etsy shop and new blog, I might have bitten off more than I can chew. The current state of my house proves it.
I started painting my kitchen almost two weeks ago. However, what was supposed to be a simple project has turned into a major nightmare. When we got to the counter area we found that the builders had used silicone caulking on it. You can't paint over silicone. So we've had to try to remove the caulking, recaulk and then paint. Sadly, we're still trying to get the original caulking off. Silicone is the bane of my existence right now. I HATE it. It's almost impossible to remove. So now my kitchen is currently half red and half blue. *sigh*
On a happier note, I've gotten a bunch of new quilts done and finally created my Etsy site and blog and have them listed. I'm so excited! I've named my shop Pukka Designs. As per Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of pukka is:
I started painting my kitchen almost two weeks ago. However, what was supposed to be a simple project has turned into a major nightmare. When we got to the counter area we found that the builders had used silicone caulking on it. You can't paint over silicone. So we've had to try to remove the caulking, recaulk and then paint. Sadly, we're still trying to get the original caulking off. Silicone is the bane of my existence right now. I HATE it. It's almost impossible to remove. So now my kitchen is currently half red and half blue. *sigh*
On a happier note, I've gotten a bunch of new quilts done and finally created my Etsy site and blog and have them listed. I'm so excited! I've named my shop Pukka Designs. As per Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of pukka is:
: genuine, authentic; also : first-class
I love the word. You can see my shop by clicking here. My new blog is here. I was going to wait until it was completely finished, but I've decided to let you all see me build it up from scratch. So far there's only rag quilts, but I'm currently working on a couple of non-rag quilts. I'll post them soon. Please spread the word about my shop!
Here's a quick preview of the quilts in the shop:
I love the word. You can see my shop by clicking here. My new blog is here. I was going to wait until it was completely finished, but I've decided to let you all see me build it up from scratch. So far there's only rag quilts, but I'm currently working on a couple of non-rag quilts. I'll post them soon. Please spread the word about my shop!
Here's a quick preview of the quilts in the shop:
Baby Steps
Lindy has been taking a few little steps for a few weeks but is now officially walking! We're pretty excited about it. She's so spoiled (being the only grandchild on my side and ALWAYS being held) that she hasn't needed to walk nor gotten much of a chance so it's taken a little while. She's still fairly wobbly & falls & likes to walk around holding onto the walls, but hey, she's walking! Look at her go!
March 8, 2011
Pain Free?!
Last week I went to see the rheumatologist for my anylosing spondylitis. It was a great visit. Well, not at first. He reminded me of House. He was kind of a jerk. But it got better and I could tell that he really cared about what he was doing. He did a bunch of range of motion tests with me and told me that I need to go on an anti-inflammatory and start physical therapy. Sadly, anti-inflammatories can cause kidney damage & since I'm at such high risk for it anyway with diabetes, I'll have to get tests done every 3 months or so to see how my kidney function is. But he said that with these new treatments, I should be able to live pain free. That's such a foreign concept to me. I haven't had a day w/o pain since I was 10. It's exciting!
I started my physical therapy yesterday. It kicked my trash. I was SO sore! I used to be really strong. In high school I could whip out push ups like they were nothing and even beat the boys in my neighborhood at arm wrestling. Yesterday I couldn't even do the exercises for my shoulders with 1.5 lbs before they gave out. Pitiful. It was a very humbling experience. But I guess if my shoulders/knees/back were strong, I wouldn't be in PT in the first place.
I'm going to be going a few times a week for a couple of weeks - until I learn all the exercises. After that I just have to do them by myself at home a few times a week and hopefully work up to everyday without needing Morphine (no, I didn't really get/take any). ;) I'm going to learn them all and then teach my dad since he's got it too and hasn't been to a doctor for it in over 20 years (?!). I'm hoping we'll both cut down our amount of pain significantly. I really am excited about this!
I started my physical therapy yesterday. It kicked my trash. I was SO sore! I used to be really strong. In high school I could whip out push ups like they were nothing and even beat the boys in my neighborhood at arm wrestling. Yesterday I couldn't even do the exercises for my shoulders with 1.5 lbs before they gave out. Pitiful. It was a very humbling experience. But I guess if my shoulders/knees/back were strong, I wouldn't be in PT in the first place.
I'm going to be going a few times a week for a couple of weeks - until I learn all the exercises. After that I just have to do them by myself at home a few times a week and hopefully work up to everyday without needing Morphine (no, I didn't really get/take any). ;) I'm going to learn them all and then teach my dad since he's got it too and hasn't been to a doctor for it in over 20 years (?!). I'm hoping we'll both cut down our amount of pain significantly. I really am excited about this!
February 24, 2011
Nursery Paintings
This is another very long overdue post. When we moved into our condo I wanted to have decorations to hang above Lindy's crib. I was thinking I wanted wall hangings that matched her crib bedding, but it didn't come with any. So I decided to paint my own. I got canvases from JoAnns that were already stretched (and 50% off! Woot!), paint from WalMart and freehanded them. I really love how they turned out.
I actually only got one shade of pink, green and purple for all of these. I just used white and black to change the shade. It worked out very nicely.
Lindy sat in her bumbo on the table the whole time I did these. She hadn't yet learned to crawl (like I said, LONG overdue) so she didn't know she was confined in her seat and was SO good. She just sat, watched & babbled at me. It was wonderful.
Now to paint her bedroom walls...I seriously need to get my house all painted before my sister leaves on her mission and I don't have an all-day free babysitter.
Lindy's bumper pad complete w/ Lindy's ear in the picture
I actually only got one shade of pink, green and purple for all of these. I just used white and black to change the shade. It worked out very nicely.Lindy sat in her bumbo on the table the whole time I did these. She hadn't yet learned to crawl (like I said, LONG overdue) so she didn't know she was confined in her seat and was SO good. She just sat, watched & babbled at me. It was wonderful.
Now to paint her bedroom walls...I seriously need to get my house all painted before my sister leaves on her mission and I don't have an all-day free babysitter.
Spaghetti
Tonight my mom texted me and told me that Lindy loves spaghetti. She's watching her since I'm sick. Anyway, it reminded me of the first time Lindy had spaghetti. I just had to share. I was feeding her while trying to do a million other things so Allan told me that he'd feed her. Apparently Allan's definition of feeding Lindy is putting the bowl on her high chair tray and walking away. *rolling eyes* I returned to see this:
Sadly I'd already stripped her clothes off before this picture. At first I was angry with Allan for not feeding her, but another look at Lindy and all I could do was laugh. It was worth the mess for a picture of her face. It's even in her hair and on her eyelids! I put her in the tub and after I drained it, there were red floaties in a ring around the tub. HAHAHA! The joys of parenting.
Sadly I'd already stripped her clothes off before this picture. At first I was angry with Allan for not feeding her, but another look at Lindy and all I could do was laugh. It was worth the mess for a picture of her face. It's even in her hair and on her eyelids! I put her in the tub and after I drained it, there were red floaties in a ring around the tub. HAHAHA! The joys of parenting.
Sick
I've been so sick for the last couple of days. Last night I had a fever of 102. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had a fever. Granted, I also can't remember the last time I felt this sick - it was probably the last time I had a fever. Go figure.
Luckily for me, my family lives close and my wonderful little sister came down today and watched Lindy all day long so I could rest (and keep my distance from her). When she had to go to work, she took Lindy so my family could watch her until Allan gets out of school. So basically, I have had nothing more important to do than lie around all day. It's driving me crazy.
I think the 2nd worst thing about being sick (2nd only to the fever, chills, congestion, headache, body aches and fatigue) is having to rest. While I do love to sleep, lying around all day drives me insane. I can only pray that I'll never be on bed rest for anything. I think I would die. I'm too much of a busybody. My mom (whom I get the trait from) knows this and has been texting me all day reminding me to rest, even pleading occasionally. I've been on the couch for the last 3 hours and so now I'm going to blog like crazy to keep me occupied. Beware.
P.S. Lindy was really sick a couple of weeks ago. She was throwing up and had diarrhea. Let me tell you, at least 3 diarrhea blowouts a day is NOT fun. We finally had to give her baths everytime instead of wiping her because her little bum was so raw. Poor thing. She lost quite a bit of weight. Check this out:
So sad! Her eyes look so hollow and her face is so thin in this pictures. She'd also had blow outs in all the extra outfits I had packed that day (2) so she was wearing one of Chelsea's tanktops. It took a week to get over. Luckily she's put all her weight back on and looks great now.
Luckily for me, my family lives close and my wonderful little sister came down today and watched Lindy all day long so I could rest (and keep my distance from her). When she had to go to work, she took Lindy so my family could watch her until Allan gets out of school. So basically, I have had nothing more important to do than lie around all day. It's driving me crazy.
I think the 2nd worst thing about being sick (2nd only to the fever, chills, congestion, headache, body aches and fatigue) is having to rest. While I do love to sleep, lying around all day drives me insane. I can only pray that I'll never be on bed rest for anything. I think I would die. I'm too much of a busybody. My mom (whom I get the trait from) knows this and has been texting me all day reminding me to rest, even pleading occasionally. I've been on the couch for the last 3 hours and so now I'm going to blog like crazy to keep me occupied. Beware.
P.S. Lindy was really sick a couple of weeks ago. She was throwing up and had diarrhea. Let me tell you, at least 3 diarrhea blowouts a day is NOT fun. We finally had to give her baths everytime instead of wiping her because her little bum was so raw. Poor thing. She lost quite a bit of weight. Check this out:
So sad! Her eyes look so hollow and her face is so thin in this pictures. She'd also had blow outs in all the extra outfits I had packed that day (2) so she was wearing one of Chelsea's tanktops. It took a week to get over. Luckily she's put all her weight back on and looks great now.
February 22, 2011
Miranda's Quilt
Back when we first moved back from Texas in fall of 2009 (Yep, this is a very long overdue post), I was despairing over my lack of fabric because I wanted to quilt so badly. Miranda gave me a bunch of fabric she'd had for a couple of years because she knew she'd never use it. I remember when she got it. She LOVED the fabric and yet was giving it to me. (Have I mentioned what a GREAT friend she is?) I couldn't dream of taking it until I had a very clever idea. I would take it and pretend that I was using it for a baby quilt for Lindy (who wasn't born yet) and then make a quilt for her instead, since that's what she originally wanted. Brilliant!
I used the Slide Show pattern from Atkinson Designs. I think it worked perfectly. I kept texting her pictures of my progress (until it got too big & she'd know it wasn't a baby quilt) to see what she thought. Before Christmas I took it to her. She looked so confused when she opened it. She thought it was for my baby. It took her a little while to figure out that it was actually for her and that I'd tricked her. Ha ha! I wanted to quilt it for her, but my machine went all wonky so I couldn't. I gave it to her unfinished & then Brad took it in to be quilted several months later (because I'm a loser & never actually did it). I don't have pictures of it all finished & quilted (hint, hint Miranda - I'd love a finished picture) but I do have pictures from the day I gave it to her.
The squares are from the Freckles line by Free Spirit. So cute! The rest is just white on white and an aqua small floral pattern for the border. None of them are solids like they appear. I love how it turned out.
Oh ya, I forgot to mention that Brad was totally in on this with me. He payed for all the extra fabric & batting I needed and I made it. We make a great team.
I used the Slide Show pattern from Atkinson Designs. I think it worked perfectly. I kept texting her pictures of my progress (until it got too big & she'd know it wasn't a baby quilt) to see what she thought. Before Christmas I took it to her. She looked so confused when she opened it. She thought it was for my baby. It took her a little while to figure out that it was actually for her and that I'd tricked her. Ha ha! I wanted to quilt it for her, but my machine went all wonky so I couldn't. I gave it to her unfinished & then Brad took it in to be quilted several months later (because I'm a loser & never actually did it). I don't have pictures of it all finished & quilted (hint, hint Miranda - I'd love a finished picture) but I do have pictures from the day I gave it to her.
The squares are from the Freckles line by Free Spirit. So cute! The rest is just white on white and an aqua small floral pattern for the border. None of them are solids like they appear. I love how it turned out.
Oh ya, I forgot to mention that Brad was totally in on this with me. He payed for all the extra fabric & batting I needed and I made it. We make a great team.
"New" Kitchen Table
A long time ago, (does this sound like a storybook beginning?) I got a table off of KSL for super cheap. It was super ugly (hence it being cheap), but it was solid wood, had a leaf in the middle and had 6 chairs. The plan was to sand it, paint it black and then reupholster the chairs. It sat in storage for many, many months - first at Allan's mom's house and then in our extra bedroom.
After I got my piano, I realized I needed to get the table out of the bedrooms so the piano could fit in there. I got to work!...and made a complete mess of the extra bedroom.
Never had I been so motivated...until I started sanding the chairs. I grossly underestimated the work in sanding chairs. It was such a pain. I got discouraged and stopped. Even now, if I never sand again, it will be too soon.
But alas, a friend was coming into town and staying at our house so the table had to be finished so she could stay in the extra bedroom. That's when my wonderful mom told me that she & my sister were coming to help me with it. Aren't the great?! It was just the jump start I needed. My sister & her friend finished sanding the chairs (I just couldn't bring myself to do it) in the bedroom and my mom and I painted in the kitchen. It was a full house project!
After all the painting was finished, I went to Home Fabrics (LOVE that store!) and got this to reupholster the chairs:
So pretty!
When I pulled off the ugly fabric from the seats, I found an even uglier fabric! The seats had already been reupholstered once before! I can see why!
EWWWW!
But the seats are now reupholstered (did I mention that I also LOVE my new staple gun?) and look fantastic!
And after a couple coats of polyeurethane...
VOILA!
After I got my piano, I realized I needed to get the table out of the bedrooms so the piano could fit in there. I got to work!...and made a complete mess of the extra bedroom.
Never had I been so motivated...until I started sanding the chairs. I grossly underestimated the work in sanding chairs. It was such a pain. I got discouraged and stopped. Even now, if I never sand again, it will be too soon.
But alas, a friend was coming into town and staying at our house so the table had to be finished so she could stay in the extra bedroom. That's when my wonderful mom told me that she & my sister were coming to help me with it. Aren't the great?! It was just the jump start I needed. My sister & her friend finished sanding the chairs (I just couldn't bring myself to do it) in the bedroom and my mom and I painted in the kitchen. It was a full house project!
After all the painting was finished, I went to Home Fabrics (LOVE that store!) and got this to reupholster the chairs:
So pretty!
EWWWW!But the seats are now reupholstered (did I mention that I also LOVE my new staple gun?) and look fantastic!
And after a couple coats of polyeurethane...
VOILA!A beautiful, high-end looking table...for cheap!
You may be wondering why the leaf is not in the table and why there are only 4 chairs when I said I got 6. Well, like I said earlier, I really, truly HATE dislike sanding the chairs. Therefore, there are only 4 chairs for now. Maybe someday I'll tackle the other 2. I still consider this completed.
Yes, I know it totally clashes with my blue walls, but that is my NEXT project.
To be continued...Yes, I know it totally clashes with my blue walls, but that is my NEXT project.
February 16, 2011
Ow!
I just had to share a funny story about Lindy. These are the things I want to remember. Today I was using the bathroom and Lindy crawled in and came up to me. She saw my pump site in my thigh, grabbed it, and pulled. I wasn't expecting it so I yelled, "Ow!" She then grabbed it again and said, "Ow!" She did this numerous times until I could finish my business & get my pants up & my site covered. I swear, the girl grows more arms while I'm trying to restrain her two! It hurt, but it was so funny that I couldn't be angry. Babies really are like sponges. Good thing all I said was "ow!" :)
February 15, 2011
Chocolate
Miranda, being the bestest best friend that she is, got me some gluten free chocolate dipped wafer cookies this week. Not thinking, I left them on the floor in the living room when I went to...do something around the house. Lindy found them & figure out how to pull them out. She obviously enjoyed them.
I love the "Mommy, I didn't eat your chocolate" face. Once again, I couldn't be mad. All I could do was laugh.
I love the "Mommy, I didn't eat your chocolate" face. Once again, I couldn't be mad. All I could do was laugh.
February 6, 2011
Scalped!
As we were getting ready to leave Colorado, I told Allan that I was going to to upstairs and get a wet washcloth to get the bow out of Lindy's hair. (I stick it in with Elmer's glue. All you need is H2O to get it out.) Allan decided that using the "band-aid method" would be much faster. Lindy looked totally shocked for about 2 seconds and then started screaming. Looking at the picture below, I don't blame her.
At first I was totally horrified. Then on the way home, when I was texting my mom about it, I couldn't stop laughing. I literally laughed until I cried. Allan scalped Lindy. See?
Can you tell where the bow was? HAHAHA!
At first I was totally horrified. Then on the way home, when I was texting my mom about it, I couldn't stop laughing. I literally laughed until I cried. Allan scalped Lindy. See?
Can you tell where the bow was? HAHAHA!Trip to Colorado
At the end of January, we went out to Colorado Springs to surprise Mike & Megan. We called Meg's dad beforehand to see if they'd be around. We were a bit nervous that the secret would be let out, but they were definitely surprised!
We had so much fun! Allan and Mike played video games all week long. Allan was in heaven. Meg and I made lots of new hair bows for Lindy (see next post about one of them) and talked about how we need to live closer together so we can be crafting buddies. We also went to Meg's brother's and sister's basketball games (Mike is the asst. coach for her brother's HS team so that was even better) and played Ticket to Ride and Bohnanza (we just had to teach them!) over and over. In all the times we played, I think I only lost once, maybe twice. It was awesome! And of course, I had to do some coupon shopping out there since they doubled the value of coupons. I scored some AWESOME deals!
Lindy was SO good for the whole trip, even the long drives. We're really lucky. She loved everyone and was very social. It was a nice break for me because everyone loved her and took her so I didn't have to for the most part.
And of course, Allan and I just had to go dancing out in Denver. It was so great! We got to see our wonderful friend, Nate. We miss him so much. And Denver dancing is fantastic. I think my favorite part was when I was dancing with a guy who was really good and we were having a fantastic dance and I was feeling all cool...then my knee gave out (happens all the time - stupid joints) and I totally fell on my butt. Yeah, not so cool after that. Talk about a lesson in humility! LOL! All I could do was laugh.
We ended up staying for almost 1 1/2 weeks. It wasn't our intention, but a big storm hit. Sadly, when we left, we ended up driving in it anyway. What is normally about an 8-9 hour drive was a 13 hour drive. But we made it home safely and were happy to be able to spend so much time with them.
We played so much and had so much fun that I completely forgot to take pictures. Hey Meg, will you send me whatever pictures your family took on your phones? :)
We had so much fun! Allan and Mike played video games all week long. Allan was in heaven. Meg and I made lots of new hair bows for Lindy (see next post about one of them) and talked about how we need to live closer together so we can be crafting buddies. We also went to Meg's brother's and sister's basketball games (Mike is the asst. coach for her brother's HS team so that was even better) and played Ticket to Ride and Bohnanza (we just had to teach them!) over and over. In all the times we played, I think I only lost once, maybe twice. It was awesome! And of course, I had to do some coupon shopping out there since they doubled the value of coupons. I scored some AWESOME deals!
Lindy was SO good for the whole trip, even the long drives. We're really lucky. She loved everyone and was very social. It was a nice break for me because everyone loved her and took her so I didn't have to for the most part.
And of course, Allan and I just had to go dancing out in Denver. It was so great! We got to see our wonderful friend, Nate. We miss him so much. And Denver dancing is fantastic. I think my favorite part was when I was dancing with a guy who was really good and we were having a fantastic dance and I was feeling all cool...then my knee gave out (happens all the time - stupid joints) and I totally fell on my butt. Yeah, not so cool after that. Talk about a lesson in humility! LOL! All I could do was laugh.
We ended up staying for almost 1 1/2 weeks. It wasn't our intention, but a big storm hit. Sadly, when we left, we ended up driving in it anyway. What is normally about an 8-9 hour drive was a 13 hour drive. But we made it home safely and were happy to be able to spend so much time with them.
We played so much and had so much fun that I completely forgot to take pictures. Hey Meg, will you send me whatever pictures your family took on your phones? :)
January 16, 2011
Lindy's 1st Birthday
**I've been waiting to post this until I had all my pictures loaded. Sadly, all the pictures on my camera were somehow wiped out. I have no pictures or videos of Lindy's first birthday. I'm devastated. Tears have been shed over it. If any of you readers have some, please, please, please send them to me.
Lindy's first birthday was so much fun! We only invited family over so it was fairly small, but still a blast. It was rubber duck themed since Lindy LOVES rubber ducks. Chelsea and Jackson went to town with the decorating and my mom got some darling duck balloons. I had no idea they were going to do all that, it was awsome!
We did a potato bar for the adults and then watched Lindy tear into her cake. I made two - one for Lindy to destroy and one for everyone to eat. She was a little bit hesitant at first, but after Allan took her hand and smashed it into the cake, she was good to go. She did exactly what I hoped she would- mutilate it and get it everywhere. It was all over her hands, legs, torso, feet and hair. Fantastic!
I decided to play around with fondant for the cake for everybody to eat. I'm really excited about how it turned out. Not too bad for my first, eh? The ducks are the only thing that isn't edible. I got real ones for Lindy to play with after.
It actually tasted really good. Usually fondant is not so great, but this stuff was. Woo hoo!
Lindy then opened presents. It was fun to watch. She was actually more interested in the presents than the wrapping paper. I've heard that's rare. :) She got some clothes and lots of new toys.
Lindy's first birthday was so much fun! We only invited family over so it was fairly small, but still a blast. It was rubber duck themed since Lindy LOVES rubber ducks. Chelsea and Jackson went to town with the decorating and my mom got some darling duck balloons. I had no idea they were going to do all that, it was awsome!
We did a potato bar for the adults and then watched Lindy tear into her cake. I made two - one for Lindy to destroy and one for everyone to eat. She was a little bit hesitant at first, but after Allan took her hand and smashed it into the cake, she was good to go. She did exactly what I hoped she would- mutilate it and get it everywhere. It was all over her hands, legs, torso, feet and hair. Fantastic!
I decided to play around with fondant for the cake for everybody to eat. I'm really excited about how it turned out. Not too bad for my first, eh? The ducks are the only thing that isn't edible. I got real ones for Lindy to play with after.
It actually tasted really good. Usually fondant is not so great, but this stuff was. Woo hoo!
Lindy then opened presents. It was fun to watch. She was actually more interested in the presents than the wrapping paper. I've heard that's rare. :) She got some clothes and lots of new toys.
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