Sewing Machine

Here is a picture of my new sewing machine. I am going back to the store for a personal sewing lesson next Tuesday so I can learn all about the different stitches and when to use each one and other little tidbits about my machine.

Merry Christmas!!!

I know it isn't Christmas nor is that close to Christmas, but I got my present early so I am excited about Christmas at least for the next week or so.
Tucker wanted to surprise me with a sewing machine (probably so I would finish that quilt). After so discussion with his mom. He thought it would be best if I picked it out so I could exactly what I wanted. Below are the pillows I made with my new machine.


Since finishing these pillows I have decided to replace all of our throw pillows and my wonderful husband has given me a couple of other projects to keep me busy, since I can no longer use my old machine as excuse not to hem his pants.

Fire

Fire season has not officially started yet for the year and already it seems that fires are popping up all over the place. The mountains to the north of us are no longer visiable because of all the smoke from the fire to our west and there are more fires to the east as well at least the winds haven't started yet or who knows what would be happening.

Naked Neighbors

So how does one politely remind their neighbor to close the blinds when you are cooking/ walking around your apartment naked? I got home from work this evening and as my husband was preparing dinner we notice the neighbor across the way was at least completely topless and walking around her kitchen which lines up perfectly with ours. Needless to say turning on and off lights isn't enough to make one aware that their blinds are open. I am thinkg of leaving a note on their door but I also hope this is a one time event, and I won't have to do anything.

My Quilt

I have finished the top of my quilt well, mostly finished. I am planning on adding a border before I sew on the back. So for now this is as done as it can be. Now I just have to find fabric for the border and the backing and figure out how I want to finish it.

Sewing Update

My dress is finished. Sadly it will not be worn. Upon completion I deciced that more practice and even a class might help me improve for future projects. So here is the dress. So to help improve my sewing I am attending a class put together by a sister in my ward at church and I am making a quilt below is a picture of my super cute fabrics. I promise to post a picture once it is completed.

Zac's Visit in April

Since Zac posting enough pictures of the Dodger game and him tasting the ocean here is the rest of what we did while he was out here.

Here is Zac on the Rim of World, or at least the highway. We drove up through so of mountains because it was hot in the valley where we live.

Here we are enjoying beautiful Lake Gregory to bad it wasn't opened yet for swimming.



On Monday we headed back to the beach, this is Point Dume which is just north of Malibu.

After the beach which headed home instead of taking the interstate (freeway) we drove up through the mountains this time overlooking the San Fernando Valley.

We enjoyed having him out and hope he had a great time as well. Hopefully these pictures inspire other visits from family.

Dress Update

A quick update on the dress I have been working on. I have to sew the top and bottom together put in a zipper and hem it. So I am practically done, I think. I have had it tucked away in the closet for a couple of weeks now so I need to pull it back out and finish it.

Finally I am busy!!!

I am so excited after almost a year of attending my ward I finally have a calling. I know the anticipation as to what it could be is killing you so drum roll please......I am a team teacher for the CTR 8 class. I am happy to be serving in Primary and I think I get the best bunch the seven turning eight kids. The day I got the calling I was thrown in as their substitute teacher talk about fun. I had to prepare a lesson in 10minutes. But I get to be fully prepared for all of my future lessons.

P.S. Zac came out to visit this past week. So stay tuned for pictures. Although I think I might wait and let him post pictures first.

A New Project

I have been sick and tired of my dresses/skirts for a while now and I just haven't been able to find anything I like. Maybe I am too picky or maybe there just isn't anything out there worth buying. So I have decided to sew a dress. I found a pattern a couple of weeks ago and I bought some material on Monday and cut everything out now I just have to try and put it together. I have made clothes before but only a few things plus I always had some help from my wonderful mother however she is a couple thousand miles away now instead or down the street. So I can't have her show me how things are done or do it for me like she has in the past. So I will have to do this one on my own and maybe with only a few phone calls.

Happy Anniversary

I can't believe it has been 3 years seen we were married. A lot has happened in 3 years we both finished our degrees at Purdue, lived in three different states four if you count Indiana, moved 4 times one across country and we are both working full time, and enjoying every minute we get together. I am not sure what I expected 3 years ago, but I know I wouldn't have done anything different. We have grown so much and experience so much together; and I am looking forward to experiencing so much more with my wonderful husband.

Finding Joy

I really enjoyed Sacrament meeting this past Sunday. One of the talks was about finding joy, or making the most of your circumstances. This idea really stuck with me, probably because I haven't really taken the time to appreciate what I have out here in California. I often find myself feeling homesick or just miss calling some place home, although California is getting close. So I have been thinking a lot about what I enjoy about California instead of what is missing.

First I have a job that has and is providing wonderful opportunities, not many people can say they supervise/run a department at my age (just in case you were wondering I am the microbiology supervisor for a laboratory). Second, there is so much beauty to be found in the mountains and the surrounding hills, I love watching them as they change between the wet and dry seasons, not to mention the ocean, and the mostly wonderful weather. Lastly I love that so many of Tucker's co-workers have citrus trees in their yards. Last week Tucker brought home 2 lemons the first we used to make lemonade the second I used to make 2 Lemon-Meringue Pies (my favorite actually I can't think of a pie I don't like). Yes one lemon, produced 1 whole cup of juice more than enough for 2 pies.


This is not me trying to make a lemon look larger than it is, I am just trying to put the lemon's size into perspective. My pies also look beautiful so far there has not been any weeping from the meringue, but I have to wait until to tomorrow to see if they taste as good as they look.


So all in all I am trying to make California feel more like home by just finding and doing what makes me happy.

Catching Up

So it has been awhile, mainly because nothing exciting has happening in the last couple of weeks. Now that Tucker has Mondays off it is a little harder to find time to blog on my days off and during the week I am usually to tired to even turn on the computer. The last couple of Mondays Tucker and I have been exploring the mountains that surround us. First we checked out the Cleveland National Forest and did some hiking below are some of the pictures we took.


The following week we stayed closer to home and hiked through the San Gabriel mountains, back towards Eaton Falls (pictured below). This hike was more adventurous we were continually walking back and forth across the creek. It started out as a dry bed but by the end we had to cross by stepping on the dry rocks. At one point I missed a rock and ended up with my leg in the water so I spent the rest of the hike when my pant leg wet up to my knee. I was freezing by the time we reached the falls it was only like 65 degrees outside.

Where do we go from here?

So Tucker and I are looking into different airports around the country and we are trying to decide where we should move. I am just curious if you had the opportunity to move anywhere where would you move and why? What do you look for in a city or location before you pack-up and head across the country? Please let me know your thoughts.

Weekends together again

Tucker and I finally share a day off together. Last year we only had about 2 months where we shared a day off. This means we get to take more day trips around California, and maybe we will get to see a few more Cubs game and ballparks out here in the west. Our big adventure this week was grocery shopping and a trip to the hardware store, although we should have gone to the beach. The weather was perfect today and it was in the mid-80s... not to bad for January! Hopefully we can do something more exciting next week.

Happy New Year

I know I am a little late with this post, but better late than never. I hope everyone had a great New Years! As with most people I am excited for the new year. I now it will be full of surprises and lots of adventures.

In the spirit of change I have a made a few New Years Resolutions and yes I am writing them down for the world or whoever reads this blog to read in the hope that I actually keep a few.

First I need to improve my attitude towards attending church with my current ward. Yes I go but I usually leave early because I feel unwanted, so I need to change that.

I also want to reread the Book of Mormon, I need to be better about reading my scriptures more regularly.

I want to stop biting my nails, I always seem to have this on my list. I did better last year, just not good enough to kick the habit. My nails would get long enough for me to consider a manicure but by the time I had the money the nails where gone. Oh well maybe this will be the year.

Lastly the big one, I want to lose 60lbs. by Jan. 1, 2010. Yes that seems like a lot but that is only 5lbs. a month so 1-2lbs. a week which is healthy.

So those are my goals for the year and hopefully with any luck I might actually keep a few of them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!