1/4 of a Century

I am officially one year older (and wiser too...ha, at least I am hoping). When I was younger I never quite understood how anyone could forget how old they were. The older I have become the easier that concept has been to understand. I have spent the past year of my life attempting to calculate my age each time I was asked how old I was because some how I managed to forget. Maybe the big "1/4 of a century" landmark and the fact that I can now get a rental car without paying the extra fee will help me to remember (but...probably not! Let's face it, the memory is fading quickly the older I become).

It was a wonderful birthday with a surprise visit from my Grandma who lives in Arizona. We enjoyed lots of good food, visiting, and seeing a movie. Dave made us all breakfast that morning (stuffed french toast with strawberries-my favorite). I also decided to go straight for opening the presents to kick off my day. I already had received my gift early but Dave wrapped it anyway (in Christmas paper along with a home made Christmas card).

The story behind the paper is that we always seem to fight over wrapping paper. I always want to get fun paper when I am giving someone a gift...his response it typically along the lines of "just use the Christmas paper, we have plenty of it!" I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less on my birthday! He gave me an external flash for my camera and my parents sent me a spice holder that I have wanted for a while. Each spice container measures in 1/4 tsp. increments with each turn of it's base (convenient if you love to cook and you can keep count). I am pretty excited about the new flash, although I have no clue how to use it yet. For Dessert, (since I am not much of a cake fan) Dave made me Flan, which is one of my favorites!

On to one more year of getting older (and wiser too)...

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Pillows

I found this wonderful greenish/blue fabric with a trellis pattern a while back and I fell in love with it. I figured since I was having my major surgery soon, it might be a perfect project to do with my mom while I was down during recovery. I bought several yards with the intention of making throw pillows for my sofa. I have to admit that this was my first big sewing project and I enlisted the help of many to get it done!

A thank you goes out to Andrea for letting me borrow her sewing machine, my mom for letting me talker her into getting them started after my surgery (we cut out the pattern, and made the piping), and Meghan who came over on my lonely days at home (after my mom had left) and gave me a great lesson in sewing!

The picture doesn't do them justice, because you miss the wonderful textural quality of the fabric and the beautiful coloration. But I simply couldn't help post a picture to show them off and to send out a big thank you to all who contributed in the process.

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Garvan Gardens

So I am very behind on a few posts, but eventually I will get caught up...I promise. At the end of March (yes, I really am that behind), we took a trip down to Hot Spring, AR to visit Garvan Garden all to see their "Tulip Extravaganza". It was suppose to be peak blooming season for tulips along with several other colorful spring flowers.

We had been experiencing beautiful spring time weather surrounding our trip, but the weekend we were available to go was far but nice. Nonetheless, I was still very determined to go considering tulips are one of my favorite flowers. We bundled up with coats, scarves, hats, and gloves and went out in the 35 degree weather to walk the gardens (I know it doesn't seem that cold, I mean I did live in Utah for 5 years- but if you would had seen the weather we had the weeks before, you would understand).

I was super excited to take some good photograph's of the gardens and all the tulips...but I was pretty unsuccessful. First disappointment: I pulled my tripod out and proceeded to set it up and as I went to mount my camera, I realized I had removed my tripod shoe from the bottom of my camera and had left it at home-therefore no tripod. Second disappointment: It was terribly windy, not to mention I could hardly hold my camera still because I was shaking from the cold. Third disappointment: Most all of the tulips had withered away or looked pretty pitiful from the cold storm and weather we had received.

Even though I find the images less than great, I figured I would share a few that turned out alright.

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Visitor

A few evenings ago, I walked by my front door to find a visitor attached to the glass. We have a large variety of frogs out in this part of the country, but I have yet to see the "sticky feet" (not exactly the technical name) kind! And it's not everyday you get the underside view.

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Lets Talk About the Weather...

These images are all from a storm several weeks ago, but I am just barely getting around to posting them. The clouds were crazy looking, but very beautiful at the same time. It was close to sunset and Dave and I just sat outside and watched the clouds as they rapidly changed into an amazing blanket of deep blues and grays filled with texture and depth. Living in Arkansas, I find myself talking, posting, or commenting about the weather a lot. I guess since I didn't grow up around any of this it seems to be kind of exciting.

I was warned when I first moved here, by a seasoned Arkansas Resident, that I would become a bit of a weather fanatic. At the time, I am not sure I understood what she meant, but after living here over a year, it has become more clear. You have to understand and know the weather in this part of the country so you are prepared for it. Whether it be you put a little extra Frizz Ease in your hair that morning, you don't go out because your car might be swept away by flood waters, or you bunker down for the night in your closet to keep safe from a tornado, it is always necessary to be ready for whatever is headed your way that day!

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Project: Birthday Present

My moms birthday was just a week before she came to take care of me following my surgery. I wanted to give her something fun for her birthday. I put a lot of thought into the things she liked to try and come up with a good idea. I finally recalled that she really likes things with Polka-dots and she also loves the color red. I searched online for something cute that was red and had polka-dots...a mixing bowl, place mats, ect. I couldn't find anything that seemed like a good fit so I asked a friend for ideas of where I could look. She mentioned that there was a pottery place in town that you can pick out a pottery item, paint it and have them fire it. Just a few days before my surgery I went to the shop, picked a plate that she could display, and painted it.


It seems like since I have been out of school, I don't have as many opportunities to do "projects" and to use creativity. It was so self satisfying to make her a cute little gift that was meant just for her. It's like what we use to do in elementary school and we were always so proud to bring home our creation to our parents. It was almost like I found the kid in me or something, not to mention it was a great stress reducer before the big surgery. It took me a few hours to paint it, but it gave me time to take my mind off of all the worries and stress that seemed to be consuming me the weeks before my operation (you should have seen my face...I had broken out like I was a 12 year old going through puberty all over again)! When I got home, I also made her some red polka dot marble magnets and put them in a cute little tin. To top it off, I wrapped the whole gift in some fun black and white polka dot wrapping paper with a pretty little ribbon.




She arrived late Saturday evening and I had made sure Dave had brought the present up to the hospital so I could give it to her as soon as she came to visit. I just wanted to share my little craft project, in hopes to maybe encourage and inspire others to go back to the ways of our childhood when we created gifts rather than just bought them. Money simply can't buy the self satisfaction of creating something personal for someone.

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Another Surgery

I officially have an excuse for my lack of posting... I promise. I just underwent my third surgery in less than three months (pretty impressive, huh). This one was definitely the most grueling... but I am happy to report that I survived. After five days in the hospital I finally returned home last Wednesday. The hospital stay was hard, but I am not sure coming home has been much easier. They both have their perks. To learn more about the surgery, please click on one of the links below.

My Road to Motherhood

A Five Day Stay in the Hospital...

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