Happy Halloween!

quilt blocks 4 & 5

 Just don't look too close- this is my first time ever doing embroidery. 

I can't even explain how much I have enjoyed this class. It has been really good for me. I have been working with other ladies who are as inexperienced as me and our teacher has been so kind. I am finally feeling like I could really tackle a (very simple) quilt on my own one day. 

pumpkin walk 2010

the pumpkin walk is held every year in North Logan. We went there for family night on Monday, and went at the perfect time- right before it got dark and cold and right before tons of people showed up.  They had some fun pumpkins:

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, the hungry caterpillar, red riding hood, smurfs, miss piggy and kermit,

more muppets, elmer fudd, hook, madagascar, horton

these penguins are made out of gourds

my favorite were the creative flower patches and the awesome christmas tree in the polar express display:

and afterwards we tried on some costumes:

Happy Halloween!! 

everyone needs to read this.

this is good. I'm so glad my husband is such an amazing man.

http://www.danoah.com/2010/10/worthless-women-and-men-who-make-them.html

Thriller

Last weekend we had a girls night with Jake's side of the family and went to see a Halloween Dance Performance called Thriller. It was a very entertaining and funny. My favorite dance was "Dem Bones" where they did tap dance and their clothing looked like a skeleton with the black light. I also loved watching the amazing ballet like in the Frankenstein's bride, and enjoyed all of the amazing talent.  It was a really fun night!

calling all Logan-ites...

Would anyone out there be interested in a book club?  I have been trying to find one and really have no idea and am considering starting one if enough people are interested.  Please let me know what you think.

wordless wednesday

Did I ever mention

...how much I hate not having a dishwasher?  They get piled up every single day and then I get rid of the pile and the next day it is back again.  The moral of the story is this: the next time you go to move into a new place, triple check to make sure a dishwasher is there. No matter how many times your husband says "I am positive I remember seeing a dishwasher,"  don't just take his word for it only to find out right after you signed the contract that he was not positive. :)

block 2 and 3

These are blocks 2 and 3 from my class.  I am so proud of myself for trying to learn this!

the fabric I am using for this little quilt is 

a charm pack of Spirit by Linda Tueller for Moda

my first quilt block

This is my first quilt block ever! I am really enjoying the class I am taking and am so glad I decided to do it.

There is one extra fabric in there because I cut the first charm square wrong, but at least I did it! Blocks 2 and 3 are pinned and just need to be sewn. I feel like little kid who just learned to write his/her name.

free canvas

I'm not sure how long this is going for, but I figured I would spread the word.  You can go here  to get a free 8x10 canvas print, you only pay shipping and tax.  If you want a bigger size, the prices are discounted a bunch so it is still a good deal. We ordered one for Jake's office yesterday since it currently has bare walls.

Logan Canyon

We missed a lot of the reds, but there were many beautiful golds and yellows. I love the beauty of fall. (I just wish the freezing cold didn't follow it!)

wordless wednesday

education

Although I am done with school (at least for now) my education is not over.  I love learning new things and trying to develop new talents.  Tonight I have a class to learn how to do basic piecing of quilt tops. I am super excited to learn something new!! 

It has been so fun for me to work on new things these past few months and to have the confidence that I can learn new things.  

...you have a duty to learn as much as you can. Strive to increase your knowledge of all that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” Seek knowledge “by study and also by faith."   -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

saturday finds

after finishing cooking on Saturday, Jake and I left to go for a drive up Logan canyon and look at the fall colors.  We didn't make it there because on our way we saw this fun yard sale:

we left with a few fun things- a cabinet for Jake's office, a cool old window to hang on the wall, a corner shelf and a cool chest:

needless to say the drive was postponed until Sunday and we went home to start painting. The window will hang in Jake's office, along with this cool print.

service

thanks to a kind friend and visiting teacher who came and helped me yesterday, my freezer now looks like this:

it is now filled with 20 meals that I can thaw and serve for dinner without having the stress of preparing it. What a great feeling. I am so grateful for her kind service.

small enough

I've had this song in my mind and heart for the last little while and last night when I went to the temple.

since I don't know how to upload mp3 files to blogger you can listen to it here. It's called Small Enough.

the lyrics are below. 

Oh, GREAT GOD, BE SMALL ENOUGH TO HEAR ME NOW
THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I WAS CRYING
FROM THE DARK OF DANIEL'S DEN
AND I HAVE ASKED YOU ONCE OR TWICE
IF YOU WOULD PART THE SEA AGAIN
BUT TONIGHT I DO NOT NEED A FIERY PILLAR IN THE SKY
JUST WANNA KNOW YOU'RE GONNA HOLD ME IF I START TO CRY
OH, GREAT GOD, BE SMALL ENOUGH TO HEAR ME NOW

OH, GREAT GOD, BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO FEEL YOU NOW
THERE HAVE BEEN MOMENTS WHEN I COULD NOT
FACE GOLIATH ON MY OWN
AND HOW COULD I FORGET WE'VE MARCHED AROUND
OUR SHARE OF JERICHOS
BUT I WILL NOT BE SETTING OUT A FLEECE FOR YOU TONIGHT
JUST WANNA KNOW THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT
OH GREAT GOD, BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO FEEL YOU NOW

ALL PRAISE AND ALL HONOR BE
TO THE GOD OF ANCIENT MYSTERIES
WHOSE EVERY SIGN AND WONDER TURN THE PAGES OF OUR HISTORY
BUT TONIGHT MY HEART IS HEAVY
AND I CANNOT KEEP FROM WHISPERING THIS PRAYER
"ARE YOU THERE?"

AND I KNOW YOU COULD LEAVE WRITING ON THE WALL
THATS JUST FOR ME
OR SEND WISDOM WHILE I'M SLEEPING,
LIKE IN SOLOMAN'S SWEET DREAMS
BUT I DON'T NEED THE STRENGTH OF SAMSON
OR A CHARIOT IN THE END
JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU STILL KNOW HOW MANY HAIRS
ARE ON MY HEAD
OH GREAT GOD, BE SMALL ENOUGH TO HEAR ME NOW

Karate

This is cute. 

photography lovin'

I love good photography.  And when I say good photography, I mean GOOD photography, the kind that is captured from the camera and not just adjusted in Photoshop.  There are so many people out there who just shoot, hoping the image will turn out and then add a Photoshop effect. I don't want to be like that.
Before I got married, I knew that the photography was one of the most important part of my wedding and found one that I thought would be great- I picked them because they also offered a joint package with videography. When I got to see the final results, I was a bit disappointed because they didn't even pose us right, especially my family shot! This was pretty important, since it was the first time my entire family (8 siblings and parents) had been together in 5 years. And while we are all in the picture, it definitely could have turned out better. I learned even more that all photography/photographers are not created equal.

While my photography is no where close to the amazing kind of photography, I am practicing and coming to love it more and learn more.I am starting to take my camera with me more often because so many of the memorable moments in life come when we haven't planned ahead.

With so many ways to capture life out there photography has become even more important to me because life is constantly speeding by.  I took a photography class in September because I have a beginning SLR camera and wanted to really learn how to use it. It was a wonderful experience for me because it opened my eyes to so many new options and, although I made a fool of myself in some of the classes, it was great to be learning with other people who want to improve their skills too.
I mentioned on here before about how awesome it is and that I really want to take Brooke's advanced class to get more experience with posing, lighting etc, but right now she is offering a give away on her blog for one spot to a lucky winner!

I would love to have this opportunity. While I have no intention of becoming a professional photographer, I do think that one of the greatest gifts I can give to my future children is capturing their life. Brooke taught me that your image can be great right out of the camera before editing, and I believe it!

oh, and here is my (not so good) picture of my finished camera strap cover. It's kind of hard to take a picture in a mirror of the strap after it is already back on the camera, but it is a pain to put it on and off so I took the lazy way out.  and sorry for such a long post!!

making strides

wordless wednesday

October 12of12

1. did some digital scrap booking 2.still construction outside our house 3.my current library books

4. our yummy dinner- a new recipe 5. working 6.leftover pumpkin pancakes for breakfast 7. driving on a new road that will make many errands super convenient for me 8. raspberry yogurt pretzels

9. my cute new camera strap cover 10. more construction 11. sunset 12. pumpkin decorations

cute

this niece of mine is CUTE.

the end.
P.S. (All of my 19 nieces and nephews are cute, but she was the recent birthday girl that I got to see this weekend.)

who do you want to become?

apple cake

I decided to try this recipe from my Country Living magazine.

I rarely try new recipes or want to bake just for fun.  Usually I will cook for dinner and often try new recipes, but that is out of a sense of obligation, not desire to make something different. 

Last Saturday was an exception though.  

I made this yummy treat. 

this is before and after the oven. 

And the final result:

The frosting didn't turn out that great.  I have never tried browned-butter frosting before, so it was new for me and I managed (big surprise) to mess it up, making the frosting drier and not as good as it should have been.

But, my brother and father-in-law both ended up eating a few pieces as we took it to different locations, so I guess it turned out ok. 

What is something new you have learned/done lately?