...on sewing and things

Yesterday was my very beginners sewing class.  I have sewn a little bit here and there so am not completely unfamiliar with a sewing machine but I also am not that great at teaching myself things.  The class covered basic things like threading a needle, winding a bobbin, different stitches, different needles, basic stuff like that.  It was a good refresher for me and made me feel a little more confident about starting up some sewing projects.  The only problem now is that I feel completely overwhelmed with what to do!  I feel like I can conquer the world with my sewing projects when in reality I am still very much a beginner.  I have never been very good at setting goals but in order to stay in control and not quit on this sewing thing, I feel it is best to start out with one simple project and go from there.  That project has yet to be determined but I have a few ideas in the works.

Remember I talked a few posts ago about getting crafty?  So apparently these yarn wreaths are all the rage lately, right?  I made this one before Jack was born as a Fall wreath for our front door and I have yet to make a spring one although I have all the materials ready and waiting.  The fun thing about these is that they are super easy and, I think, really cute.  You can make them personalized to whatever you like which is also pretty cool.  The stinky thing about these is wrapping them.  It's kind of a pain and a little bit time consuming but all in a ll a pretty simple project.  I thought about making these as "my new craft", as my mom would say, but then I decided that I wanted to try something that required a little bit more skill which is where all the sewing talk comes in.  I will probably make a few more of these for different seasons and what not but i'm not quite committed to doing bunches and bunches of them.  I did make one for my sister and completely forgot to take a picture.  I'll see if she can send me one so that I can post it on here.

Happy Monday!

...on toms

Question:  What do we think of toms shoes?  Cute?  Ugly?  Hispstery?  Awesome?  Lame?  I think that I am liking them and I just saw a store here in town that carries them.  I feel like people either love them or hate them.  What do you think?

...on balloons

A couple of sundays ago I was getting ready for church when Adam called for me to come look at something outside.....

BALLOONS!!  

Adam proposed at Balloon Fiesta and so both of use get so excited any time we see hot air balloons in the air.  Our new house is only a few miles away from the balloon park so there have been a couple of times we have looked out the window to see some floating overhead.  Adam was standing in our driveway when he took these pictures if that gives you any idea of how close they were to us.  We even waved to some of the passengers while we were walking to church!  If any of you are looking for a vacation in October and have a strong desire to go to a huge hot air balloon show then Albuquerque is the place for you!  We have an extra room and would love to have visitors!  

..on our trip to Phoenix

Jack and I took our first road trip to Phoenix last weekend.  Adam's mom was kind enough to drive out with me so that I would not have to go it alone with a three-month-old on a seven hour car ride.  I must say, Hammy has some skills when it comes to climbing over the seat in order to entertain a screaming baby.  Our little Jack-pot did awesome throughout the whole trip.  He slept most of the way there and back and endured more shopping in one weekend than should ever be allowed for a tiny baby boy.  He was smothered with love by Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, Mom and Hammy and he had a great time!  

Grandpa and Jack

Grandma and Grandpa hangin' out.  Check out Jack's shoes-those were Adam's when he was just a little dude.  

Auntie

Me and my friend Lisa

Me, Annie, Jack, and Dad

...on cookies!

I love to bake.  LOVE to bake.  I have always wanted to make pretty sugar cookies with lovely icing and I have never had success.  You know the ones I'm talking about, right?  The ones that you would go buy at a bakery for a shower or wedding or something with pretty piping and smooth icing?  I decided to make some heart shaped cookies for valentine's day so I googled up some recipes and landed on Martha Stewart's website.  I used her recipe for sugar cookies and icing but I used half sugar and half agave nectar in the cookies because that's what I had on hand.  These cookies were seriously easy and I had a lot of fun making them.  It took a little longer than it would have three months ago because I had to do some of the piping and icing with a little dude on my hip.  I can't wait until he is old enough to bake with me!   Oh, I used up all of my red food coloring the last time I baked a red velvet cake so my hearts are blue and green.  

...on love

This is such a beautiful song and so appropriate for valentine's day because it's all about love.  Have a listen but be sure to pay attention to the words.  Happy Valentine's Day!


“What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been pondering
“What does love look like?”
“What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been asking of You

I once believed that love was romance, just a chance
I even thought that love was for the lucky and the beautiful
I once believed that love was a momentary bliss
But love is more than this
All You ever wanted was my attention
All You ever wanted was love from me
All You ever wanted was my affections, to sit here at Your feet

Then I sat down, a little frustrated and confused
If all of life comes down to love
Then love has to be more than sentiment
More than selfishness and selfish gain

And then I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me
I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me
He was looking at me, looking at Him, staring through me
I could not escape those beautiful eyes
And I began to weep and weep

He had arms wide open, a heart exposed
Arms wide open; He was bleeding, bleeding

Love’s definition, love’s definition was looking at me
Looking at Him, hanging on a tree
I began to weep and weep and weep and weep

This is how I know what love is, this is how I know what love is

And as I sat there weeping, crying
Those beautiful eyes, full of desire and love

He said to me, “You shall love Me, You shall love Me
You shall love Me, You shall love Me”

With arms wide open, a heart exposed
With arms wide open, bleeding, sometimes bleeding

If anybody’s looking for love in all the wrong places
If you’ve been searching for love, come to Me, come to Me
Take up your cross, deny yourself
Forget your father’s house and run, run with Me
You were made for abandonment, wholeheartedness
You were made for someone greater, someone bigger, so follow Me
And You’ll come alive when you learn to die

...on three months

Here is our little three month old Jack-pot.  Thanks to cousin Sarah for the precious onesie...it is one of Jack's favorites.  I kind of caught the end of a smile here.  Every time he is smiling and I get out my phone to take a picture it's like he knows.  He immediately gets very serious and then when the phone goes away it's all smiles again.  

...on unemployment

I guess it has been about two weeks now since I resigned from my job.  That's right, I am officially unemployed as a teacher of other people's children and am now a full time teacher of my own child.  This was a really difficult decision for many reasons.  Adam and I both agreed that, if at all possible, it would be best for me to stay home with Jack.  At first, we didn't know if we could swing it financially so we sat down and really looked hard at our budget to see if me staying home was even a possibility.  Once we decided that we could make it work on one income, Adam pretty much left it up to me to decide whether or not I wanted to go back to work.  I have always felt like I was wired to be a mom and take care of my family so, naturally, I was leaning towards not going back.  Adam and I had countless conversations on what I should do, and can we really make it work, and is it worth it to have a little extra money or to have time with our son, etc.  Even as I drove to the school to resign I had doubts about my decision.  Me, who was always so convinced that I wanted to stay home!  I called Adam in the parking lot as well as my Mom just for validation that this was, in fact, the right decision.  They both assured me that this was a good thing and so...I did it.  Surprisingly, It was a bittersweet moment for me.  More sweet than bitter, but still.  I suppose it is hard closing the working chapter in my life-at least for now.  I think it is hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that, although I am not contributing financially to our family anymore, I am contributing in other ways.  In more important ways, I think.  Right now I kind of feel like a man without a country.  I am no longer a part of the working community and I feel like I am still in "orientation" at my new job as a mom.  The transition has been more difficult than I thought but I have made a decision to embrace this new career, if you will, with gusto!  One day, one prayer, and sometimes, one minute at a time.

Gettin' Crafty

I have always had a little bit of creativity running through my veins but I usually have a hard time harnessing that creativity and turning it into something pretty.  My goal is to begin nurturing that creativity and make it into a hobby.  For starters, I have signed up for a sewing class and I am so excited!  It is just a basic class but for me, I hope, it will be a stepping stone.  I also have a few other craft projects up my sleeves and I supposed part of me is writing this post so that I can be held accountable to share them with you all when I am done.  No turning back and no giving up!

Paleo Challenge Update:  Adam and I have been eating paleo for 9 days now with very few "cheat" meals.  The first few days were hard but we have really enjoyed creating new meals with different ingredients.  I'll post some recipes on here soon.  The big challenge is going to be when I go out to Phoenix in a couple of weeks.....eeek!  So far, we have each lost a little bit of weight!

Crossfit Mom Update:  I left the gym yesterday thinking..."man, it's almost as if all I've done for the past few months is sit on my butt!"  And then it hit me-oh yeah, that is what I've done (with bed rest, and all).  I am determined to get back in shape and I'll take it one sore muscle at a time!

Blog Design

If anyone has any tips on blog design, please do share.  I keep on messing with mine and am completely unimpressed with the outcome.  I don't really like the way the layout looks or the way it flows.  Any, and I mean ANY tips would be of great help!

Thanks!

T comes to Town!

A couple of weekends ago, Jack's Auntie Tiff came into town!  I hadn't seen T in I think a year, year and a half?  I can't even remember that is how long it had been.  We were so excited to have T come and visit us and, of course, for her to meet Jackson.  We didn't do a whole lot of exciting stuff over the weekend.  Just a little bit of shopping and a whole lot of catching up.  We went to grab coffee and ended up being gone for three hours without even realizing it!  Don't you just love reconnecting with friends?  It is kind of like putting on a comfy sweater that fits just right.  On Saturday night we were going to take T out to dinner for her birthday and had and incident with the garage door.  No one can be quite sure what happened but let's just say that the garage door apparently has a mind of its own and attacked my car.  So Tiff and I went to dinner while sweet (and annoyed) Adam waited for the garage repair guy.  Thanks, T, for coming out and letting us celebrate your birthday with you!  I can't wait till you guys move to Arizona!!!

The Paleo Challenge

I have started writing this post about three times now and could not bring myself to finish it.  I'm beginning think that I didn't want to post it so that Adam and I could back out if we wanted to.  But here I am posting about our challenge so I suppose there is no turning back now!  About a year ago, Adam was introduced to The Paleo Diet-a diet that mainly consists of meat and veggies.  He has always wanted to try it but I wasn't on board during my pregnancy because, well, just because.  We both have a few pounds that we want to lose and continue talking about making our diet more healthful.  So...we have decided to challenge ourselves to eat only paleo for the next 30 days.  We are almost done with day two and I must say that I am ready to quit.  Let me paint a picture for you.  The low tonight in Albuquerque is -3, that's right -3 and it has been snowing all day.  Now, normally on a day like today I would venture over to a little coffee shop up the street (Starbucks) and get me my coffee fix so that I could enjoy it while baking a yummy batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Only thing is...neither of these things fit into the paleo diet-big bummer.  I ended up making myself a cup of vanilla chai tea (thanks to Kristina) and found a recipe for Paleo brownies that smell divine!  So two days down, twenty-eight to go!  Wish us luck!  By the way, I'm still debating whether or not to post our before and after pics.