8 years 1 month and 1 day ago

I can't believe I never posted this. Oh my gosh. Seriously. This was kinda a big deal. I meant to post this September 6th but spaced it. Better late than never, right?


So September 6th was our 8th wedding anniversary. It's crazy to think we tied the knot so long ago! Crazy and wonderful. We actually got married at the court house but we had a beautiful and large reception once we got back from our honeymoon. This picture was taken then.

My dress was made in 1977 and was everything I didn't want in a dress~ cream colored, flowered lace, sleeves, and empire waist. I found it at a dress fair to raise money for cancer. There was a huge shared dressing room, where a handful of other girls were trying on dresses too. When my sister zipped this one up it felt like the world went silent and everyone in the room looked at me and all nodded at once. This. was. THE. dress. It was perfect.

Aaron and I have known each other since the fourth grade. He's known me (and loved me) from the time I wore my hair in a sideways pony tale, rocked neon leggins like it was nobody's business, tied my shirts to one side, only watched the Disney Channel and PBS, had terrrrrrrible acne, was convinced our dad's were "men in black" instead of nuclear engineers... clear through an unfortunate bitchy phase, came to my senses, decided to work 3 jobs during one summer, and getting super lazy. He's seen and loved me through my best and worst times.

He truly is my best friend and the perfect fit for my life. One true love. Sparkles, fireworks, butterflies, light headed-ness, weak knees~ the whole shebang.


For the first time in what feels like a life time, I dressed up to go out to dinner with him. He likes my hair in a ponytail, so I made it a special ponytail. What is that hair style called again? It has a name but I can't remember.


We went to Casa Mia, a favorite little Italian place of ours. Our server surprised us with ice cream when we told her it was our anniversary. No picture would be 100% complete without some form of hand sign from Aaron. This time it was an upside down "west-side" sign. What is that? "Married-side"?



We're not perfect people, but I couldn't be without him. He's the best husband and best daddy. I'm excited to spend forever after with him. ♥♥♥

The great outdoors

The apartment comple we live at has been doing a bunch of landscaping in our court this summer.  A few days ago they laid sod down in place of the juniper bushes and rocks.  I'M LOVING THE GRASS!

So is Dean.



That smile just makes me melt! *^_____^*  This is our first trip outside on the grass and it's just so nice!  The weather here has been too hot duringthe  day so I waited until almost 7pm to come out here.  Once fall hits an it's not 80-90 degrees all day long, I think we'll be spending a lot more time outside.  



This is my third cup of Mother's Milk tea today and I've read 15 chapters of this book in the last few days.  *So good!*

What have you guys been up to this weekend?  Any thing special or fun?

I hit the pan!

Hitting the bottom of a make up product is something that I dreaded in the past. I had this fear that once I used up a product it was gone forever never to be found, used, or loved again. It's pretty extreme, I know.

That is probably why I have so much make up... yeah it's definitely a factor.

To my surprise when I hit the pan of my new Snow White ELF eye shadow set, I was excited. "Look at that! I loved this so much you can tell by how much I'm using it!"


My first thought to myself was "Wow! I should go buy another one!" Haha! I haven't done it... yet. The creamy yellow is the perfect base color and blends in exactly with my cream eye shadow base. That color with the pretty gold on the upper left (and a baby bit of the brown in the bottom right)~ that combination gets me more compliments than I probably have ever in my life. This isn't an exaggeration.


Also this week, I hit the pan on my powder. Seeing this silver poke out doesn't freak me. There is always more powder.


This is the second compact this summer I have purchased of this particular brand and shade, and I will absolutely be buying another one. My dry skin has never looked good with powder, but since I had the baby my skin has acted differently and, for whatever, reason this powder just really works. It has great coverage without being heavy or cake-y.


Pretty soon I'll be hitting the pan on a Two Faced pallet my mom got me for Christmas. More creams and golds in that set are running a bit low.

When was the last time you hit the pan on a make up product? Is it a big deal for you? ♥

30 Days of Lists Catch Up Post

Must haves for a night in...
*snuggly blanket
*knitting
*Final Fantasy XI
*Something tasty to drink



The best things about this week...
*Aaron's birthday
**GOING TO GO SEE NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON** <- I forgot to write that one *NTX Takeover PPV *going to a Mariner's game *finding a lost knitting pattern Best places to find inspiration...

*people watching
*flipping through magazines
*patterns



Favorite cliches...
*"Better out than in" - Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets
*"No... why?" - my friend Hiro


Basic Travel Cosmetics

This is one of those posts I've thought about writing every time I go on a trip to Seattle or Portland. The trips are typically just over nighters so I don't bring a lot. I was so close to writing one for PAX weekend then decided against it. Then my friend Eve wrote a post about what she brought to Seattle that weekend and encouraged me to write one of my own. So here we go.

If some of these items look familiar it's because they're the same items I've been using all summer (as seen here). Some are new items I've splurged on since then.



Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation Stick
Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls
Maybelline Fit Me! Pressed Powder
Covergirl + Olay Tone Rehab CC Cream
Maybelline Master Smoky Eye Liner
L'Oreals Vouminous Miss Manga


Maybelline Color Tatoo 24 Hour Cream Eyeshadow
E.L.F. Snow White Eyeshadow set

Those are the items I wore over the weekend. And these are all the products I brought with me that weekend.


Pretty silly, I know, but I was feeling really unsure about myself. There really was no need to worry about it. I ended up wearing the products that I feel the best in, which is my every day stuff. One night I even brought out the red lip stain. I felt bold. Haha! This weekend was a confirmation for me to stick with what I know works and what I feel best in.

Me wearing this make up today. Also goofing off at work with one of the new chocobo plushies that arrived from Japan. It's so cute!

The Manga mascara is pretty great (a wee bit on the clumpy side) but really gives my lashes the look I desire~ full and long. The Tattoo eyeshadow I've been using as a base for all of my eyeshadows. It really does stay for the long haul which is great. There has been a few times I've forgotten to wash my face at night and Aaron will ask me in the morning if I had already done my makeup because my eyes look great. Quite an endorsement, hehe!

What do you bring on trips? Do you have travel sized makeup instead of the full sized ones? <3

Ain't nobody got time for...

This post is day 9 of 30 days of Lists.


*Carpal tunnel
*Tendinitis
*People who can't park
*People who can't drive

Since finding my lost pattern and reading my friend Eve's post about knitting, all I want to do is knit!  Wrist exercises and meds haven't worked to fix me in 2+ years so I'm looking else where for something to help my wrists.  I read that lemongrass oil is a natural anti-inflamatory so I'm going to be picking some of that up.  My mom recommended turmeric and glucosamine suppliments so I'm going to try that.  I already cook with turmeric so I'm down for that.

Do you have any recommendations for irritated wrists?  <3

Books everyone should read...

This post is day 8 of 30 days of Lists.


*anything by JRR Tolkien
*Harry Potter series
*His Dark Materials trilogy
*The Sword of Truth series

If you can't tell I'm totally on the stationary bike right now, and it's totally 11:49pm.  Getting my endorphin high right before I go to bed is how I roll.  Haha!  Just kidding, this just happened to be the only time today I could nake it happen.  I would be reading right now but I left my book in the bedroom.  Instead I'll play "Tsum Tsum" and "Two Dots" on my phone instead.

What books are ones you think oleveryone sglhould read? <3

I Found It



The day I moved my blog from my .net to Blogspot I knew, knew, I should back my patterns up somewhere just in case something happened. Even though I made back ups for my patterns, one slipped through the cracks~ Alena. It was such a bummer because this one was probably the most fun to make and knit for me.

Tonight I was thinking about trying to rewrite the pattern from the pictures but before I did that I decided to check a few more places for the pattern. I'm so glad I did because I FOUND IT! Somehow it got mixed up with some of the store's folders on the computer.



My favorite part about this pattern is that the cables don't actually require a cable needle. It's a bit tricky at first, but once you get the hang on it (which is pretty quick in my opinion) you won't want to use a cable needle again. Ok, so that might be a bold statement, but I do think you'll like this technique!



You can snag the pattern on Ravlery, on the pattern page, on here.

I am off to cast this on on some pretty sparkly white yarn I found. What have you been crafting lately? <3

Chores I actually enjoy...

This post is day 7 of 30 days of Lists.


*cooking
*laundry

Pretty short list today.  To be honest I don't super enjoy these but they have moments where I enjoy it.  As far as cooking goes, I like it but I don't like cleaning up after.  As for laundry, I love the feel of toasty warm clothes out pf the dryer.

<3

Every night before I go to bed...

This post is day 6 of 30 days of Lists.


*wash up
*snuggle with Aaron
*play games on my ipod
*put on wrestling or baseball for background noise.

When we were in Seattle last weekend I picked up some charcoal foaming face wash.  My skin behaves differently since becoming pregnant.  I'm still trying to find something that helps with my breakouts but doesn't dry me out.

Aaron and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary tonight.  Every night we still snuggle up in bed, my legs over his.

Playing games oh my ipod is just about all the gaming I get to do anymore.  If it requires more than one thumb/fingerI can't do it.  Games like "Fortune Street", "Two Dots", "Tsum Tsum" and "Ninja Village" (or any game by Kairosoft) are all great.

I'm fallig asleep as I write this so I'm off. <3

Things To Nurture This Month

This post is day 4 of 30 days of Lists.


*Aaron
*Dean
*myself
*knitting
*my wrists

Aaron has been such a good sport since the baby has been born.  I have never been good at balancing my time  between the people in my life, and even more so since having the baby.  Me being mommy is very important, but so is  me being wife.  We're celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary (our 13th year together) and I'd like to keep that spark alive and well for the next 60-70 years.

Lately I have been feeling I've lost a little bit of my personal spark and I'd like to get it back.  Tuesday I'm getting my hair done, and I'd like to start knitting again (and design some new patterns).  There is so much to be inspired by out there right now and I want to strike while the irons hot, so to speak.

What to work on... a cowl? A scarf? A hat? <3

Perspective

Isn't funny how our perspectives change throughout out life?  As we grow, read, learn, listen, our outlooks change.  It changes how we view ourselves, others, time... Life in general.  Since giving birth my perspectives on so much has chaged dramatically.

There have been a few things I have read in the last few months that have struck a cord with me and I want to share them.


Sometimes it seems like the most common sense lessons in life are the ones I struggle with. 

Love myself.

I am worth it.

Why is it so hard?  I don't know, but I'm going to keep working in it.  Until I get there I'll fake it untill I make.  Or something.  <3







If I had an extra hour in the day I would...



*knit
*knit more
*snuggle with Aaron and/or Dean
*read
*blog
*knit

(this is post 3 of 30 Days of Lists)

Loot


This PAX was one of the most, if not the most, satisfying trips to Seattle for me.  I have been saving my money I decided to not hold myself back from the all of the little things I wanted to accomplish/do/eat.  Essentially, I had a little bucket list for our trip and was ready to cross off as many things as I could.


Getting crepes at Unicone was high on my list.  They have an "okonomiyaki" crepe and I haven't had okonomiyaki since we were in Osaka last so I wanted to try it.  Sure enough, it was okonomiyaki in a crepe~ cabbage, egg, bonito flakes, pickeled ginger, Japanese mayo, and okonomiyaki sauce (which is a special type of bbq sauce).

All I was thinking in my head was "natsukashi!" which means "nastalgic" in Japanese.  This crepe brought me back to the time Aaron and I were talked into going to this restraunt by the place's outdoor hype-man (it's totally a real thing in Japan) and eating okonomiyaki and yakisoba.  Mmm!

A lot of my list was foods and this was the only one I remembered to snap a photo of, lol!  I also had a "choco almond corn whip" crepe (which is just a crepe filled with whip cream, almond slices, corn flakes, and chocolate syrup drizzle),  ton pei yaki (spicy pork inside a Japanese omelet topped w/Japanese mayo & tonkatsu sauce), pizza at Gameworks, and a soy Pumpkin Spice latte.  So much nummy food!!

Stuff pictured above that I picked up~~ a "Black Mesa" shirt and a Star Wars Storm Trooper button up.  You can't see the fine details with this but the pattern is Storm Trooper faces in various profile positions, and the buttons are little Empirial symbols.  Super cute!

I also picked up a little wallet, charcoal face soap, patterned stickey notes, notepad, and pen amd Daiso and Kinokunia.  A bottle of Japanese mayo (it's made with rice vinegar and oh-so-delicious!) was a must as I'm running low of my current bottle.  I've been eyeing a few cd's at Statbucks so I finally picked up "Cocktail Hour".  It's cute.  Has an enjoyable little variety of songs.  

Oh!  I just noticed that I didn't take a picture of the two games I got... bummer.  Oh well, I'm too comfy in bed to move and do it now, haha!  Anyways, I picked up "Boss Monster" which is a card game where each player is a dungeon boss and you try to kill the most heroes that walk into your dungeon.  I also bought "Angry Sheep", a dice game where you try to collect sheep during the sheep revolution.  Very fun!

What did everyone else do this last weekend? <3

I can't pass up...



*morning snuggles with Aaron
*any change to snag a coffee
*cute eye shadow palettes
*blasting AKB48 in my car and singing along (this and this over and over and over)
*any opportunity to watch Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movies.

(This post is day 2 of 30 Days of Lists)

Today was brought to you by...

The other day I ran across this really neat little website: 30 Days of Lists. It's basically a website for this neat month long creative journaling challenge. Since life has been hectic, I figured this is something I could do. I enjoy making lists so figured this might be something I'd like and be pretty easy to fit in each day.

Day One's list was "Today Was Brought To You By...". Here is my list:


*Pomegranate Peach Green Tea
*Hanging out with sisters
*Finding the perfect flannel shirts
*Breakfast burritos for dinner
*Cuddling♥
*Great new music ~ "The Cocktail Hour" a compilation on songs
I picked up at Starbucks

To get an idea of what other people have done, check out the Instagram hashtag #30lists. It does cost $10 to join, which is meh, but it does give you access to a ton of free printables, resources, tutorials, and more, which is neat. (From what I've seen on Etsy, you can't really buy that many printables for $10.)

Are you a list making sort of person? Do you make fancy lists or put them on Post-it Notes? Personally, I'm a Post-it Note gal. ♥

Third Grade

While cleaning out my closet yesterday, I found something that was very precious to me as a child.


My teacher had us make a Memory Book over Christmas and Spring breaks.  I don't know whatever happened to the Christmas one, but I found this one and it brought back a flood of memories.


This is me with my favorite stuffed animal at the time.  I still have this teddy bear in my pet net hanging in my bedroom.  I was all about the tie dye and neon back then.


Some things never change.  My favorite subject is still space.  In fact, in a few weeks we're going to see a lecture from Niel deGrasse Tyson.  (Omgee I'm so excited!!)

Can't fathon which book I was refering to with "horse".  "101 Dalmatians" I remember playing at recess because I had that entire movie memorized.  One thing I forgot that I wish I remembered was our school trip to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).  It was easily the best school field trip I went on. Too bad I can't recall much of it.  Every time we drive through Portland I tell Aaron (and anyone else in the car) I went there, lol!

Well there's a little snippet of my past.  Hope you enjoyed it!  What are some of your favorite things from elementary school?  Do you remember?  <3

Quiet Time



It's been said that the first two months of a babies life is the hardest for the parents.  We have been so blessed with our baby boy and this wasn't the case for us.  The past two months, however, have been a challenge.

Working full time, trying to keep a breastfeeding & pumping schedule, general stress, hormones, and PPD have weighed down on me pretty heavy.  Impatience, frustration, mixed signals were running rampant.  After some long talks, tears, hugs and kisses We have straightened out pretty much all of the wrinkles that have been givin us problems.  It feels great!

Having such a solid partner in this wild new world of parenting eases and comforts my heart.  I can look past the troubles and see peace.  Peace in my heart knowing that I am exactly where I want to be and where I'm meant to be.  I am at peace knowing that despite the challenges life has thrown at us, this house is full of love, and we can overcome anything.

It makes me all warm inside.  Just so nice and cozy.  So much so, I think I'll join my guys in a little shut eye.  Here's to a peaceful (and restful) nap.  <3

A Thankful Heart


First off, Dean is teething.  Yay!!

...

>.>

It's hard because he's been so chill that when he cries and cries now I kinda panic.  It's just him teething though so I know he's ok.  But still.. It's hard.  He ended up sleeping pretty much ALL DAY, hence him still bein in pj's at 4:00 in the afternoon.

The only reason we were even out of the house was because our car has been having some weird problems.  Our car doesn't start (but we have a perfectly good battery, which I've had checked) and the fan/a.c./heater works sporadically.  We are a one car family so Dean and I took the car to get looked at while Aaron was at work.

Our dealership was pretty vague about what they could do for us, so I called a local service shop that my father in law recommeded, Hi-Land Garage.  The guy on the phone was super nice and said that if I stopped by today he'd take a look at it to give me an idea of what needs to be done.

I guess I took too long getting there because the guy I talked to wasn't there. But the guy who was there offered to look at it too.  Charlie and his high school age assistant (who commented on how cute Dean was) pulled my car up in front of their busy garage and popped the hood.

Immediately he saw the problem.  One of the cables that connects to my battery was hardly connected.  (Thank God it stayed connected while we were driving!)  I guess it was worn out/coroded so he snipped it off and completely replaced it. The he went under the dash and noticed that the blower for our air is on it's last leg.  He did a temporary fix but told me I need to have it totally replace before winter.

All the while this was happening Dean was being cute and I was taking pictures of him.  Charlie joked and said I should put one of their business cards in with him.  I took a picture of their building instead, lol!



Then he closed the hood and said I was good to go.  When I asked him how much I owed him (he worked on my car for almost a half hour), he said I didn't owe him anything.  Just that when it comes to getting that blower replaced I come back and get it done through them.  I was taken aback.  Every bay in the garage was full, their parking lot was full.  He took tome away from someone else's car to help me.  He didn't have o do that.  Let alone not charge me for his time.

I am so greatfull that Charlie (and his assistant) were so nice to us and really helped us out.  (Especially when the dealership said they charge $88/hour for diagnosing cars!)  I will absolutley be being my car into them this fall when we replace the blower.

Right before I left, I told Charlie that I took that picture of Dean and posted it on Instagram pimping their garage.  He was surprised and excited.  I could tell he didn't expect that.  It's not a big deal or anything but it seemed to matter to him.


Tomorrow I'll be writing a thank you card to them.  Being a mechanic seems like a thankless job and these guys were pretty awesome and deserve to be recognized for it.  If I can't give them money, I want to at least give them something. *^_^*b 

*Yawn* But that will be tomorrow.  I'm too tired to do it tonight.  Hope you all had a good Friday and have a great weekend.   Are you doing anything super fun?  <3

Road Trip Tally v1


Do you play any car games while you're on road trips?  Counting "slug bugs" or spotting trains for instance.  My family was really big on car games as we took lots of road trips gowing up.  It was a mixed blessin for my parents, I think, beause it kept us busy and free of arguments, but we'd call out just about everything unique we saw.

Now that I'm grow up Aaron and I have our own car games we play.  We slug each other for slug bugs, throw up a "peace sign" for Volvo's (cuz it makes a V with your fingers), double fist slug for Mini Coopers (and call them in a silly voice saying "mini coooooooop"), and push up our glasses for Smart Cars.  (There are variations of this for the driver for safety.)

We live out in an area that's mostly desert and farmland so there's a ton of wildlife that I enjoy counting.  "Big birds" like bald eagles, hawks, and ospray.  Animals like marmots, sheep, goats, deer, and elk.  And the most exciting of all (if you're me) military vehicles- jeeps, armored vehicles, medical trucks, double helicopters, and jets.  Oh!  And windmills (pronounce windmeels, if you're me ;D).

For as long as I've had this blog I thought about writing down a tally of all the cool things I saw, but never did because I thought people would think I'm silly. Well I don't mind if people find I'm silly, and I count things every trip so it's kinda a big deal to me.

So this last weekend we went to Boise for a wedding, and I counted a lot of fun things!

• 1 bajillion Volvos (I stopped counting in the first hour cuz there were so many) (for this reason we just stopped counting vehicles all together)
• 16 big birds
• 2 herds of goats
• 1 herd of sheep
• 1 herd of just bulls
• 4 military vehicles (including one very small convoy)
• 3 trains
• 3 pockets of windmills

There, I did it!  That wasn't painful at all and you'll prbably not stop reading my blog because of this post. Right?! >.<;;

What car games do you play on road trips?

Basket of Organizing Goodies

"Back to school" sales are my favorite types sales.  Stores line their shelves with colorful and fun school and organization supplies.  I'm a sucker for them.  Target is especially awesome (but brutal for my bank account) thanks to their awesome Dollar Spot.  It's a rare occassion I leave Target without a handful of items from there.

Today Dean and I had a little shopping date so Aaron could nap since he wasn't feeling well.  Dean helped me pick up a basket full of goodies.  Most of it is for my planner and keeping all that stuff organized.  Now I can keep it all together in one nice spot instead of the bags I've been using.



The pouch, rulers, and pencils I got in Japan, and the mini pens I got at Target.


Various ink pads, stamps, and paperclips.


Clips, pads of paper, and washi tape.

 
A one-hole punch and a six-hole punch I ordered on Amazon.


Some good old Smashbook accessories.


L o v e  the notecard sets Target has been selling this year.  I used them for for my baby shower and a few other special occasions.  They're perfect for all of the reasons so of course I picked up all the new sets Target had.


Are you a sucker like me for Target and it's Dollar Spot items? <3



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