This is me, jumping on the bandwagon

Again I manage to have a huge gap in my postings...I don't mean to, but here it is almost 2 weeks later...excuses, excuses...I have lots, but they don't really matter. The bottom line is, I just haven't done it. McCloud was fun, I took lots of pics, but honestly, I don't even feel like posting the pics because there are so many to choose and write about, it feels like an overwhelming task. Eek! Someday...onto other things...


Here's something juicy about me (OK, well, maybe not)...I have never read the Harry Potter series. And I was given the first 4 as a Christmas present about 2 years ago. I dunno, just never had the urge. I suppose I have a preconceived notion that I won't like them because they're in the fantasy/science fiction realm, and I just can't get into that genre. I've attempted many times to read Lord of the Rings, can't do it, it is way too painful. It's like my brain can't conjure up the worlds because they're just too weird, nothing makes sense, so I give up. A Wrinkle in Time and the Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe were as far as I could delve into all that. Plus, when big phenomenons like the Harry books or trends come along, I'm never on the breaking wave of them - usually I'm at the tale end. I guess I like to see if they really pan out before I invest time or money into them. Anyway, I've heard that if I can get past the first two, it gets a lot better. I'm ready to see what all the fuss is about - I mean, lots of people I know and respect adore these books and are voraciously rereading them before they get the last one this summer. That is dedication - they wouldn't do that for a lame series, right? I also think that it will be good reading material for the plane; you know, something easy and quick. So here I go with book one, jumping on the Hogwarts bandwagon.


In crafting news, I've been stitching some onesies that are to be baby presents, but as luck would have it, the little guy that was supposed to be born on July 8th, decided to make his appearance yesterday morning in the wee small hours, and I only have one onesie done, one in the works, and a blanket to make. So. I have a little catching up to do on that front. But I learned that I can get one stitched pretty much in one night. My mom called yesterday and said that there was an impromptu baby shower thrown together at her church for this Friday night, and she has a gift card, but was hoping I could stitch her a onesie to go with it (one for a little girl), so could I pretty please do it? I said yes, and this is the result.




I really like how it turned out - so cute! When I was ironing on the transfer, I also prepped another onesie, because its my goal to make a semi-duplicate of whatever I'm currently working on and stash the other away to sell for our church's Holiday Boutique in November, so that way when it rolls around I'll be set and won't have to scramble last minute as much. I'm really curious to see if my goods'll sell, and if people even like them (and of course to raise $ for missions too). I also want to use my spiffy camera and take some pics to decorate the kitchen wall with - I have some ideas that I'm really excited about and can't wait to start! So much to do, so little time...
***BTW*** The Prilosec-like meds have really been helping my stomach, I feel great! Finally 2 days ago I got the results from the blood test. The #'s are alright, it shows that I am anemic (which most likely means the ulcers bled a little), so I have to come back in for another bloodtest. Lucky me! Thanks for all the kind prayers and words.

Wilderness Survival 101

That's what I call it. To Joe and his family, they call it camping. And that's what we'll be doing this weekend. But they can't fool me. There's no public sinks/showers, or outhouses with the crescent moon on the door. You wanna wash up? Jump in the creek. Need to go to the bathroom? Here's the shovel. Of course, I do have to say that when the girls are along for the trip, they do pull out all the stops, and set up a shower in the trees, and set up a little port a potty for us...but still. They have a serious aversion to campgrounds and all the people in them, and really never go to them.. So they head out to their little Shangri-La up by the base of Mt. Shasta called McCloud. You know you're there when you see a little bar, post office and gas station all rolled into one building. Turn immediately left off the highway, drive around the forest for a ways, then stop. Set up camp, you have arrived. This'll be my second time going. It's all a little shocking to me - I was not brought up to be a camper. My family has a cabin, so that's where we would always head because there was always work to do on it, and my mom loathes camping. She says that its no vacation at all for the woman, and I do see her point. Its a lot of packing/preparing, and then a ton of clean up/ laundry. But, Joe adores it, so I better get used to it, right? Besides, I get totally soft when he talks about doing stuff with our future kids there, and teaching them stuff, and keeping the tradition of going there with his bros up. So really, it's a lost cause.
Of course, McCloud does have its charms...it is very tranquil, and beautiful. At night you hear the creek rushing by, and the stars are awesome to see. And, its just fun to be together. So even though I was a punk when writing the first paragraph, I'm not really dreading the trip. But I am dreading the heat. I saw today that one of the towns up there was at 103 degrees - yuck. And it won't be a restful weekend by any means; I overheard Joe and his brother Jake go over the pros and cons of a day hike, and there's rumored to be a night hike in the works. The boys and Lisa left today to go set up camp and stuff (and they're the real hardcore campers anyway), and I am heading up tomorrow night with Joe's parents after work. Hooray for a 6 hour drive plus weekend Bay Area traffic when we'll be trying to get out of town! Smile!! Then we come home on Sunday, and jump right back into the grind. So, here I am, blogging, when really I should be packing my bag.
It's a little weird without Joe here. It's not like I can't sleep if he's not here, but it is a little strange, all the same. When I got dinner tonight, I just chose something that sounded good to me. Didn't think about quantity or making a complete meal. Trying to combat the blazing heat, I treated myself to cold shrimp with lots of cocktail sauce, corn on the cob, and some lemon gelato for dessert. Yummy! I also had total domination of the TV and computer (a rarity), the alarm won't go off at 4:30am, I don't have to iron him a shirt or pack his lunch...so that's all swell. And I'll definitely enjoy it. But I'll be glad when he's back. I miss him.

iPod Lovin'

This is my apple green mini iPod. I use it everyday and love it to bits. When its not in the dock, it's in my purse/car being toted around. Quite awhile ago, Candace made a cozy for her iPod that was awesome, and I tucked away that idea in my head to do at a later time. Every time I would go to make it, something would come up, and it would get put on the back burner. The other night, when Joe was watching something he had DVR'd that I wasn't really into, I grabbed some felt scraps, floss, a needle and went to town. This is the finished result:

The front; please folks, hold your applause till the end.

The back with spiffy initial letter "k"...

And we'll wrap up with the full body shot.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Mostly, I was using it as an exercise to practice some different stitches, because on the onsies I find myself using a lot of the split stitch, and that's it. If it was truly heinous, I could pitch it...but I ended up thinking it was pretty darn cute, and wanted to share it. Right now, I'm a real navy girl, and I love the aqua and coral against it - gives it a retro kick that I can't get enough of. Note to self - next time, use a ruler when cutting fabric. Eyeballing it is tough. And also, invest in a white pencil, because free styling your design on dark fabric at night is not the easiest. Having a little guide would be lots easier.

Lately, these two men are dominating the play time on the iPod...

Chris Rice is relatively new to me, and I think he's great. Especially the "Lemonade" song. I find myself humming it throughout the day.

Michael, well, I could listen to him sing the phone book and be enraptured. My mom and I are going to see him in August when he comes into town...till then he croons to me on my commute.

And there you have it. The up-to-date info on me and my iPod.

The D40 Has Landed

And I'm in love.

The American Media Is Driving Me Nuts Right Now

Just a little rant that I don't think the horrendous behavior of a blond heiress who is a twit needs to be the #1 story in the country right now. All day on the radio, Internet and TV have been blow by blow segments and updates as to whether Paris Hilton will or won't go back to jail. To quote Seinfeld and Joe's cousin Jerrod, this is completely asinine. What must we look like to other nations around the world, when this is what we as a country choose to put all our attention on? I can't believe that the media thinks this is good reporting. There are so many other things to be talking about; why not instead of people protesting her being in jail, they protest the presence of Al-Quaida terrorists cells here in their communities that plot to kill Americans (because they really do exist - don't believe me? Talk to your local law enforcement)? Why not honor soldiers and their families in interviews and rallies for them? Does she really deserve all this air-time and attention for breaking the law? Props to the judge who is sticking to his guns and doing what her parents should've done long ago: give her consequences for her actions. I admit that I like reading about the starts and celebrity gossip; when People magazine comes around I gobble it up. But I like the things like knowing where Reese Witherspoon shops, and seeing a picture of Jennifer Aniston walking her dog. I am sick of the constant barrage of Lindsay, Britney and Paris who keep getting lower, and lower, and lower and that the US can be so captivated by worthless people doing worthless things.

My Old Nemesis Is Back...

Ulcers. Boo. I dealt with them 8 years ago as a senior in high school. It wasn't fun. It happened smack in the middle of the school year and sidelined me for a good 2 months. I had a bleed-out, was in the ICU for a few days, had fun things done like an endoscopy and getting my stomach pumped. Yea. The consensus was that I had a major allergic reaction to Advil, so since then, I haven't had any Ibuprofen, NSAIDS or Advil. Not wanting to experience any of that again, I've been uber careful about the meds I take and try to be good about the foods I eat too; no more drinking glass after glass of grapefruit juice or pizza with red sauce. I'm not a smoker and only have a margarita once in a great while, so its not like those vices are the culprits. And I've done well since then. Sometimes when I feel upset, or under a lot of pressure, I'll feel a twinge of the old soreness, but nothing a few Tums couldn't help. But, about a week and a half ago for no apparent reason, the old symptoms were back. It was what I have always been dreading might happen - a repeat performance. Heartburn, tightness, just a constant uncomfortableness that wasn't going away. So today I went to the doctor. I figured I gave it a chance to subside, it hadn't, and I didn't want to fool around with it. So after 3 vials of blood drawn, being poked and prodded, here I am, just waitin' to know what they've found. They did give me an Rx for Prilosec, which helps block the production of excess acid in your stomach. Hopefully that does the trick and lets my stomach heal. If not, its off to the specialist for me, and I would be willing to bet that there would be another scope (ugh). So I'm praying that this all blows over. I think the hardest thing for me right now is wanting to know exactly why this was triggered again - I mean, I've steered clear of what was the "known" cause, so what in the world could it be? Is it chronic and something I'll have to be careful of forever? I know that stress can be a contributor too, but that one is tricky. I typically don't go around and think man, I feel stressed today, or I'm so stressed out right now. If someone were to ask me if I feel stressed out, I would probably answer no. Am I busy? Definitely. Is there enough time in the day to get everything done? No. But that's just life, and I don't really see it changing much, so you just have to get in and do it, otherwise it won't get done. Maybe that's not the right attitude to have and by having it make things harder on myself than I need to. Asking for help is not a bad thing and I need to remember that. Because even if I think I'm OK, obviously my body is telling me differently, and its time to reassess some things. I dunno. Guess just wait to see what the doc says and take it from there.

Graduation & Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti

Bet you thought I was gone for good! Nope, just a slacker. Haven't been around the place for the past two weekends, and not home much during the week, and when I am, I'm either catching up on chores, or enjoying important TV shows like Little People Big World, or Law & Order SVU. I still don't really feel like writing, but want to share the pics, so without further ado, here they are...

HUME LAKE COUPLES RETREAT

So, so, so glad that we were able to go to this. It looked a little sketchy for a stretch there, but God is good. He knew we really needed this piece of rejuvenation and focusing on us and Him. Hard to believe that a week ago at this time Erin, Kiyoko and I were in our swimsuits laying out in front of the lake, gearing up to do the GPS Treasure hunt. *Sigh* Very fun. There's no place else quite like Hume Lake. Think of the biggest and best summer camp you've ever been to, multiply it by 100, and you get Hume. They have quality facilities, quality location, quality worship, and get awesome speakers. You get the gist. We were fortunate to tag along with the Lankford's church, so we met a lot of new people, and they were all really nice. The scandal of the weekend was they thought Joe's identical brother Josh (whom they all know because he interns with Chris at their church) was there with a mystery woman (me). I lost count of the people who tentitively came up to Joe and said "Err, are you Josh, or Joe? And who are you with?". It was pretty funny.

Joe and I committed that we would always try and do things to benefit our marriage and relationship; we've just seen too many people focus on other things within their marriage like kids, work, etc., and we just want the foundation of "us" and where we are with the Lord to be rock solid, with the idea that everything else will be stronger and better off for it. That's why we're so for premarital counseling with a real counselor vs a pastor who definitely has the best of intentions, but not the same training. Ours was invaluable; in fact, we went back to her for about 1 session a month for 4 months right before Joe started the academy because we knew it was going to be a tough stressful situation. It really helped, and I firmly believe that working on yourself or relationship in that capacity is a good thing. More people should do it. OK, I'll get off my soap box now...
So, we took full advantage of all Hume had to offer like renting bikes and riding around the lake, the high ropes course for the guys, paddling out into the lake on a boat, the pool, the GPS treasure hunt (which was fun but really exhausting), the snack shack, hanging out at the coffee shop Hume n' Beans talking and laughing...really just playing. It was great. They took care of everything. But the real "meat" of the retreat was the speakers, Bill & Pam Farrel, who wrote the book Men Are Like Waffles & Women Are Like Spaghetti . We had all read the book, and actually, we had done it together as a small group with the Lankfords a few years ago. The whole point of the book in a nutshell, is that men compartmentalize things, while women connect everything together, and how to work through and with those differences in a loving relationship, rather than have them grow into really big problems. Communication, people!! That is what a lot of it boils down to...and Lord knows, I'm not perfect at it by any means, so it was really good to hear positive ways to work on it.

What was also really cool about the weekend, was not only being with the Lankfords (of course), but with our other friends who mean so much to us. Very rarely do all our schedules mesh together; so this was great. Hopefully, we can make it an annual thing where no matter where we are, or what we're up to, we can make it to this together. Friends are so important, aren't they? The older I get, the more I see just how much they do for us in our lives, and what purpose they have in them; especially for me, my girlfriends. Erin, well, I would have to sum it up that she is definitely my "kindred spirit" (you'll only get that reference if you read the Anne of Green Gables books, and if you didn't, I feel really sorry for you - its like you missed a piece of childhood). We are two peas in a pod. No matter how long it has been, we always start right back from where we left off - and we've never had a fight. No stupid girl drama with us. She was my maid of honor, she'll be my kids' aunt, and we'll be fun crazy old ladies together. 'Nuff said. And Kiyoko, she is the most generous person I know, coupled with fantastic advice. I love the frankness of our talks, how we can be creative and crafty together, and that time spent with her is time well spent. How did I get so lucky?

Me and my favorite guy. Jeez, I'm white. You can't tell where I start and where my tank top ends...

Biking around the lake with the Sorgels (Chase & Erin).

Contrary to what you might think, very yummy food - not camp-y at all. And check out the view from the dining hall...not too shabby, right?

Thank you Alder (especially room 201) - you were good to us...hope to see you next year!

GRADUATION

It was really fun, and I'm really glad that we were all able to be there, except, it really pointed out to me that my grandparents have really aged, and this was probably the last trip we'll make with them. I've been fortunate to have traveled quite a bit with all my grandparents, but this time was a very big contrast to all the previous times. It was stressful on them not remembering where they were, all the security precautions now, etc. Not too fun to watch. But on the flip side, my brother's graduated, we had an awesome dinner (no, didn't make it to the premiere), and really great memories. Luckily, we were blessed with a foggy morning for the graduation, otherwise I would've burned to a crisp despite the fact that I lathered on the sunscreen. We were seated out on the football field and there was not one spec of shade. I really hate being so fair, and I hope that our kids inherit Joe's tanning abilities. Anyway, the speakers were good, but there were A LOT of names we had to sit thru till they got to Blaine's. When they did, we all jumped up and screamed like maniacs. It was fun. Tip: If you are ever in the vicinity of the Napa Rose, go eat there. Even if its just for an appetizer or dessert. The whole time I was eating, I kept thinking that our friends Chris & Kiyoko should've been there, because they're the real foodies. Each dish looks like a work of art, and tastes amazingly good. You know how sometimes you go to a really classy or gourmet place, and nothing tastes good, because its all a little too fancy & weird? Not so here. Truly one of the best meals I've ever had. And if you don't want to eat, just go there to look, because it is gorgeous. Its a combo is Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, and the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite (we stayed there for a portion of our honeymoon), all beautiful timber, big boulders/river rock and stained glass, huge fireplaces, classy piano music playing - love it! I keep telling Blaine to please, please keep working at Disney when we have kids so we can use his sweet discount there at the park and hotels. He just rolls his eyes. I'm only half joking.

So, now you're caught up. Jeez, I didn't feel like writing, but man, I got on a roll. What's up next? Well, I just finished the first onsie, now onto another. We got our tax refund, so I'm hoping that this weekend we can go to a store and at least peruse if not buy a new camera (exciting!). We went and saw Pirates last night, and I'm still not sure what I think. I could watch Johnny Depp play that character forever - he was definitely the best part of the movie. I'm still trying to figure the plot out...I'm half convinced there wasn't really one. Not too sure. Anyway, have a great first weekend of June people!! (June - can you believe it?!?)