good for the soul

I know I told you I kind of had a break down yesterday.  We won't get into all the details of it but let's just say me + no sleep + getting pulled over twice in one day (neither of them for speeding) 

= emotional breakdown

But, I will tell you that the normal  2 hour drive down to Provo that turned into 3 because of those stops was worth it. Because I got to hang out with someone who, like me needed some friend time in a major way. 

We went to some fabric stores, stopped by Alice Lane, got some ice cream,  

and chatted.

And, as I told her, it was good for my soul. 

We even made sure I didn't leave without making sure it would happen again in March.  

and crafts will definitely be on the agenda. Like making this cute pillow:

Thanks Liz, you have no idea how much fun it was for me to see you!

normal

If you are ever wondering if you were the weirdest or most emotional woman in the world, you would have just had to be near me today when I had a complete emotional breakdown in front of a bunch of people.  You would have definitely left thinking " I am normal after all. At least I'm not like her."

resolutions- a follow up

How are you doing on your resolutions for this year?  hopefully better than me.
I think I may need to start doing a weekly update just to hold myself accountable. Last month's theme for me was energy. Although I didn't get myself into a wonderful schedule, I exercised more and did have more energy.  I was really feeling bummed about my progress last month, and then my husband came home and told me someone says that I am always smiling and happy. probably because that person only sees me once a week. Anyway...
February's theme has been spirit. a lot of days I feel like I am doing worse then last month, but I haven't blogged about one thing that has brought the Spirit of God into our lives and home more: working in the temple.
We started a month ago and it has been wonderful. We are there early on Saturday mornings (our 4:30 rotation is the next 2 weeks- it is usually 5:30am) and cherish this opportunity we have to serve. It is wonderful. There hasn't been a week when I leave that I don't have a grin on my face and feeling of peace in my heart.   While I still have a long way to go, I am grateful to know that God loves me and I will continually strive to always come closer to our Father in Heaven.

expectations

I've been thinking about how our expectations determine so many outcomes.  If we expect something to turn out perfect, we will either be disappointed if it doesn't or we will spend much more time then we planned to make it perfect.
Last weekend I finished my mission scrapbook. I got back from my mission 4 years ago and it was the best 1.5 years of my life. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know that God led me there because I met my husband through it.
And my expectation for finishing the scrapbook was simply that- to finish it. I wanted a record of that time. I wanted to go through the box of items I have and scan them in so I could get rid of them. That was accomplished. It will not be a cute scrapbook and the pictures may even be blurry because of their low quality, but it is done. And that is what my expectation was.
The reason it took me 4 years to do it is because it took me that long to be able to change my expectations. Before it was too overwhelming so I avoided it- it was too big of a project to tackle.
I had a time limit- a groupon deal that was "expiring". Not until I finished it and ordered it did I find out they extended the deadline a few more weeks. But that didn't matter because I accomplished my goal according to my expectations. And giving myself a deadline made all the difference.
I'm not saying that lowering your expectations is always a good thing, but sometimes it is necessary.

for my brothers

In honor of my 5 brothers (3 of whom have birthdays within the next 4 days) I had to share these videos.  They shared them with us over Christmas (again) and we all enjoyed laughing. It's even more fun to hear them quote them at random times.

I love my brothers.

wordless wednesday

5 reasons why I hate making dinner

1. It takes an hour longer then I plan on it taking.
2. no matter how many times I go to the grocery store, I'm always missing something.
3. by the time I'm done I'm not hungry
4. 9/10 times my husband only eats a little and then a few hours later tells me his stomach hurts.
5. cooking for two just stinks. recipes never work.

anthro.

About a month ago I was down in Salt Lake and had a few hours to spare before picking Jake up from the airport.  I wandered around Gateway mall, just enjoying the shops and having fun.  I went to Anthropologie because I love their store even though I can't afford anything there.
I took a few (slightly blurry) pictures on my phone just because it's such a fun place.

wordless wednesday

"quality cleaning keeps you looking good"  (even decades after the sweater was in style)

Bloggers Pillow party

I decided I wanted to put this pillow into the bloggers pillow party.  I really enjoyed making this for someone close to me.  I loved the blue and the red and decided it would be the perfect Valentine's gift.

It's pretty simple, I  appliqued a heart and then added some borders and a zipper.

(bad lighting on this one)

I also used the name of the fabric from the selvage and added it to the corner.  I really liked that addition. I used this cute fabric for the back:

late

the last few weeks have been so crazy. It seems like life just keeps accelerating whether I am ready for it to or not.  Yesterday was crazy.  12 people at my job got laid off and I am so grateful I was not one of them. I feel horrible for those who did because it was totally unexpected and it just stinks.  Why would anyone pick Valentine's day to do it?  

I ran to the store after work to get the things I needed to make dinner and was unable to start it because I found out the massages we had scheduled for 5:30 and 6:30 were both at the same time. So, we ended up going out to eat and spending money we wanted to save because we simply didn't have time to make the dinner.  

But, I have to say that the evening made up for the crazy, awful work day.  Being with Jake and just enjoying him is wonderful. It was so nice to relax during our one hour massage and it is definitely something we need to try to fit into the budget at some point in our lives- a pedicure and message monthly would be amazing!  We rented a movie and stayed up way too late watching it, but had a fun evening.

Jake sent me some beautiful flowers that helped bring some brightness into the crazy work day.

Oh, and I'm posting my 12 of 12 even though its way late and my picture that I took of the temple at 5:30 am somehow got deleted so I used one that I took from the summer.  But I really want to have one for every month this year so I am cheating. :) 

1. driving around town 2. pupusas for dinner 3. a quick run to Jo-ann to finish some pillows. 4.  The Pupuseria  5. pillow 6. Keep Calm and have a cupcake 7. pillow in progress 8. we sold our cases- (that deserves a post of it's own) 9. more pillows 10. stake center- we had a great world-wide training. 11. temple- I love our time there every Saturday from 5:30-11:30 am. 12. My wonderful husband.

Happy Valentine's Day

I spent last week sewing some fun pillows for a few people and was excited about the way they turned out.  I hope you all have a wonderful day in celebrating your love for friends and family.

By choosing your path, you choose your destination. - Thomas S. Monson

um

Is it bad that I want a little girl just so I can put her in this cute dress?

I saw this at a downeast store a few weeks ago and immediately took a picture and sent it to my sisters.  P.S. Em and Jen, the link goes to the dress and it's $19.99 on sale. It's gorgeous. Maybe one day I'll be blessed with a little girl who can wear it. :)

oh and tomorrow is 12 of 12, here's hoping that I can remember.

a digital collection

i love inspiring words. From a young age I have always collected quotes that I love. I have a hard time remembering them in my head so I have several journals with them.  In a digital world, I usually have them on my computer but have always had a hard time organizing them, so this year I decided I'm not going to worry about organizing them.
I'm collecting a document of enjoyable quotes for the year, and at the end of the year I'm going to have them published in a book.  I'll use this site or this site and have a collection of the year.

posole

We have had this soup several times this year so far. It is so easy to make, has a ton of flavor and is a yummy leftover.  You can find the recipe here, although I usually skip the chili and squeeze the juice of one lime into the soup before serving.  You can use leftover chicken also, and it works great.

wordless wednesday

how do you feel about giveaways?

How do you feel about giveaways on blogs?  Do you enter them or do you ignore them?
I have won 1 giveaway on a blog and I really enjoyed it.  But, many of the blogs I read have a huge number of followers to entering for a giveaway gives me little to no chance of winning, even though I would love to win a fat quarter bundle of fabric.
Then, about a month ago, I realized that so many of my comments on giveaways are on the internet for all the world to see, especially if you google my name and I was not okay with that.
I only enter the ones that I think I may have a chance to win or that I really love, but the ones with tons of followers I usually avoid at this point.

What about you?

creativity

I really liked this quote that I read on The Inspired Room today:

CREATIVITY COMES OUT OF IMPERFECT CIRCUMSTANCES AND HAPPY ACCIDENTS.

pet peeve Thursday.

Don't worry, I'm not going to start doing this every week :)  I just have to get off my chest 2 things that bug me.

1. sale vs. sell
I know that we all make spelling mistakes (I am as guilty as the next person), but I am starting to think that people don't know the difference between the two words. I often come across it in my work- comments from customers who "sale t-shirts".  Most of the time the word sale is used in place of sell instead of vice versa. I blame it on our lack of knowledge of the English language in a technology driven world. Seriously people. Get off Facebook and learn something. Please tell me if (heaven forbid) you ever catch me using the wrong word.
2. Dr.
I'm sorry but I don't feel the need to call a dentist from 10 states away that I do not visit as Dr. I understand you went through the schooling, same with other people out there who have Phd's for other things, but are you really so pretentious that you expect everyone you meet or talk with to call you Dr? no thanks.  It drives me crazy.

 now I've said it.

felt flower wreath

We made this wreath at a church activity in December.  Since I've had this project on my list of things to make for a bit, I thought I could add some pom-poms to it.

But then I realized that it would be very time consuming and expensive to buy different colors of yarn just to finish off the wreath. So it has been taking up space as an unfinished project.  On Monday I was clearing up my messy craft space and thought to myself how stupid it was to have this just taking up space when this is one of the easiest projects to finish.  So, I bought a very small amount of felt to make these flowers and my project was finished in 15 minutes.  I pinned the flowers on so I can always move them or swap them out if desired.  It's not much, but at least it makes a finished project!

wordless wednesday

style stitches

I got this book from the library the other day and am still trying to decide if I am brave enough to attempt one of the cute bags.

I seriously feel cheated that Logan doesn't have a fabric store that carries all the cute fabric lines. The only one we have besides Joann's only gets a few cute lines in throughout the year and the rest are all average.  

But I sure love Amy Butler's fabric and I am grateful for online shopping :)