Take your best shot.

They Say It's Almost My Birthday...

2011-09-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

This will be the most self indulgent post I plan to ever write, but it's been a rough day and I want to write about something light-hearted. So here it is, my post about what I would like for my birthday.

In no particular order:

1. Adele CD

2. Alternative-Down Comforter, Queen in Avocado - I love the one we received for our wedding, but Jay hogs it! We are not a blanket-sharing couple, so I'd like my own.

3. Magical Lawn Mower and Garden Weeder- Our lawn mower has been on the fritz all summer. If a magical lawn mower could mow our lawn and weed our front flower bed, that would be awesome.

4.Escada -Island Paradise Perfume

5. Terra Organics Produce Delivery - We have several friends that have signed up for this and love it! I love having fresh organic produce delivered to our house to encourage us to eat better as well as offering up items for me to make into food for Audrey.

6. Getting family pictures. - This one is happening on Friday. Our friends, Jacqui and Travis are taking our family pictures.

7. Trip to California. - This one should be happening later this fall. We have a handful of wonderful friends in Northern California that I really want to visit.

8. 1" Ceramic Flat Iron - With my newly shortened hair, my current flat iron gets uncomfortably close to my scalp.

9. Bridesmaids on DVD.

10. Lose the last 10 pounds of "baby weight."

That's all for now.

Adaptable

2011-07-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Audrey's pediatrician's office always talks about how the "ideal" baby should be adaptable to our lives.
Today I found a new adaptation,... Audrey in a baby carrier while I'm online, haha!

Here are pictures of how she is sitting right now as I write this.

When the going gets tough, my attitude sucks!

2011-07-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

I promise you, blog readers, a post and maybe even a video (?!) about Audrey later this week. But for now, I want to write out my thoughts and "ah ha's" that I received from church last night.

For the last five or so weeks, we've been going through the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and how it applies to our lives as Christians. Last night's step was Step 4 "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
When I sit down and think about my struggles and am really honest with myself, I get really upset and frustrated with myself. As many times as I commit to myself, others, and God that I will put effort forth to work on different things, I still fall short. But as I read a post on the church blog, I was reminded that we shouldn't let ourselves be so weighed down with this "inventory list," that we feel helpless or hopeless. Instead, we should focus on hope and the help that God provides through the Holy Spirit, and other Christians.

My friend Lindsy spoke last night at church. She posed the question, think of a stressful time in your life and how did you handled the stress? Did you blame other people? What kinds of things were you saying?

Instantly I thought of my last few weeks at work, and how I've felt overwhelmed and stressed. As much as I may try to have a positive attitude, when I get stressed, I find myself making excuses and blaming others, gossiping, and ending most days feeling anxious, negative, and overwhelmed. Obviously, we all fall short sometimes, but when I stopped and thought about my actions and where my heart is at in these situations, I felt so horrible. But instead of dwelling on the horribleness, I am starting off this week with new found hope and patience.

Proverbs 12: 25 "Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. "

So my prayer, focus for this week is taken from Psalm 51:10,

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me... Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
So off I go, into my week with a willing spirit to serve God and others, to not blame others but to encourage others, and to let go of stress and anxiety.

CCM would be proud..

2011-06-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Since becoming a mom, I have become driven to be the best person I can be. And although I type that with much conviction, it's WAAAYY easier said than done, especially in certain areas of my life. So I warn you now faithful blog readers, what you may start to read it going to be different, it's going to be boldly real and honest.

I want. I want to walk into a store and buy whatever I like, eat wherever sounds good without worrying about the prices, buy small things, buy big things, want things for now, and want things for later. I want. Sounds like a case of the gimmie's right?

At our amazing church, I was hit with a brick (metaphorical brick.) I spend so much time and energy, wanting and earning more money so I can buy the "want" items. My first week back to work after maternity leave and I worked overtime and even went in on the weekend. Along with that I've been thinking about signing up to be a sales consultant for a cleaning product brand to make extra money. I have gotten so caught up on what is tangible that I'm ignoring the most important things in my life, the intangible ones.

Although I broke down about this last night, it's still kind-of embarrassing to write and admit. As much of a giving person as I think I am, I still want for myself. It's been a long time since I stopped and truly appreciated who I am and what I have, and acknowledging that God provides for all of my needs.

So today I took the first step, I acknowledge that God provides for all my needs and there is no need for me to want.

I've asked my husband, and I ask you readers, to hold me accountable. I'm not pledging to become a saint and give away my possessions (so no eyeballing by DVD collection or Kitchen Aid mixer,) but rather to have a change of heart and mind, to focus on the things that really matter. Today I found myself stop and thinking about if I really "needed" something, or "wanted" it. Unfortunately I didn't ask this question before I gulpped down a handful of mini Tootsie Rolls today. :)

Last week I was reminded of an old Jennifer Knapp song, and last night made me think of the lyrics again:

It's time
To get down on my knees and pray
"Lord, undo me!"
Put away my flesh and bone
'Til You own this spirit through me Lord,
Undo me.

I am wanting, needing, guilty and greedy
Unrighteous, unholy; undo me. Undo me!

Abba Father You must wonder why
More times than Peter I have denied.
Three nails and a cross to prove
I owe my life eternally to you!

Now this isn't to say my blog won't feature pictures, my crazy coupon trips, crafts, or tales of my daughter, but it will also feature my celebrations and struggles. Happy 4th if I don't post again before the holiday!

Oh, and to reference the title of my blog post.. Contemporary Christian Music magazine. I think they'd give me two thumbs up for a 10+ year old Jennifer Knapp reference.

O' Honey

2011-06-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

I go through phases of wanting to sew, photograph, and bake. Last week it was the "craft bug," and this week it's the "baking bug."

Earlier this week I made Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (and muffins) for Jay. I found this great recipe on allrecipes.com (one of my favorite sites.) The secret ingredient: mayonnaise!

This morning I made a Chocolate Eruption Cheesecake, filled with white and semi-sweet chocolate chips, Snickers, and brownies.

And now, I'm making a new recipe I've never tried, but am already in love with... Blueberry-Blackberry Honey-Glazed Scones.
Both the cheesecake and scones were from the book, A Passion for Baking. My sister-in-law bought me the cookbook for Christmas a few years ago, and truly EVERYTHING I've made out of it is no short of amazing. I recommend any baker go out and buy it.

Now that baking and crafting have re-entered my life after having Audrey, I need to work on re-introducing photography. I might have a new "hobby" up my sleeve too...

Monkey Business

2011-06-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

The past few days I spent a few hours in my craft room, the first time since Audrey was born. Our friends, Matt and Jill, are expecting a baby boy in August. I wanted to make something handmade for her shower. I made a blanket with flannel and chenille (not shown as I had already put it in the gift bag,) but I also made this...

A monkey, and not just an ordinary monkey, a monkey with flying capabilities. (May I note here that the tube socks give the "flying" power, not the cape.)

Now I can't take credit for coming up with the design, I used this tutorial from mmmcrafts, one of my favorite blogs! It did, however, inspire me to start writing tutorials. So my current goal is to design a stuffed animal (turtle, koala, panda?) and make a tutorial for it to share with others. Here's hoping I get it done before Halloween, haha!

The Birth Post

2011-05-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

I realize I owe my few, but faithful blog readers, a much need update. Specifically, one about my amazing little girl, Audrey Jean!

I was scheduled to be induced on Thursday, March 10th. They instructed me to call the hospital at 5:00 A.M. to see if a room was available. I called at 5:00 A.M., and they told me they were very busy and to try again at 8. In the mean time, "things" started happening to kick off labor naturally. I was THRILLED! I still didn't believe my contractions were real, so I waited until I got the "okay" to go into the hospital, finally at 1:00 P.M., we got the okay to go in. I was admitted at 2:00 P.M. and was told I wasn't going home without a baby in my arms, yahoo!

Upon getting admitted, my nurse checked to see if I was dilated. I almost jumped out of my bed to hear I was a "1." (After weeks of going to the doctor only to hear that I wasn't effaced, wasn't dilated, etc.) Getting checked, jump started my contractions into overdrive, to a point they couldn't give me any medicine to help soften my cervix. So they kept waiting for the contractions to slow down, but they didn't. At 8:00 P.M. they decided they were going to try a cervix water-balloon to help me dilate to a 3. The idea of this procedure freaked me out, I did NOT want a balloon inside me! Right before they went to do the procedure, the supervising doctor checked me and said I was already dilated to a 3, hallelujah!

By that point, I decided to try to walk for a half hour and see if gravity would do some of the hard work. I came back, winded, and dilated to a 5. Now it was time to rock the epidural and start pitocin. They gave me a minimal amount of pictocin since my body was in labor already, but they wanted things to progress faster. Sometime around then my water broke. I wasn't sure if I peed my bed or my water broke, but they verified it was my water, haha. Within 3 hours of being on it, I was dilated to a 7 and about an hour later, was at a 9 and almost ready to start pushing.

At this point, I had Jay call the parents to head back to the hospital. (About 4 or 5 A.M.) When the nurse told me earlier that the epidural would take away the pain but not the pressure, I didn't understand. Haha, at this time, I was starting to understand. The pressure of her head was painful indeed! I was instructed to start pushing, so I did, three pushes for every contraction. And I did good, for about an hour, and then.. I hit a wall.

I broke down, I cried, and confessed "I can't do it!" I was winded, tired, out of breath, and in pain. The lovely nurse and awesome doctor listened to my cry, and answered it with more pain meds. The added medicine dulled it enough for me to relax for about 2 hours so I could build up some strength. Around that time, the shift changed on nurses. I was sad to see my nurse go. Of course the new nurse wanted to check me to see how far I was dilated. Upon looking at me, she told me the baby was crowning and I had to start pushing.

First off, I had Jay check to verify what she was saying. (I wasn't going to have a nurse lie to me just to get me to listen to her.) Sure enough, our little girl was right there, waiting for her big entrance. We got the doctor and my dad (to take pictures once she was born,) and ready we were! I pushed through 4 contractions and wa-la, Audrey Jean entered the world with a cry on March 11th at 7:48 a.m.

As predicted, Jay and I both cried such happy, joyful tears. Both in amazement of how beautiful she was as she was laid on my chest. The nurses commented on how big she was, but we didn't believe it until they weighed her... 9 pounds and 8 ounces! She seemed so small, heck, she still does.

Here are a few pictures of her first moments/days:

Now, she's 9 weeks old and doing wonderful! She smiles when smiled at, coo's, and is starting to try to touch things. She loves looking at things and is building more words/sounds to her vocabulary every day. We love snuggling and playing with her. Here's a more updated picture:

Ready or not, here she comes!

2011-03-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

I am happy to write that after being pregnant for approximately 40 weeks and 6 days, off work for 6 days, and growing thin on patience..... I am getting induced.

While maybe not my first choice (which was for her to be born at 38 or 39 weeks,) I am more than happy with this. After completing a non-stress test and A.F.I. test, it was determined that she's completely healthy and ready to enter the world. So on Thursday morning, we call Labor and Delivery, and hope they have a bed ready for me.

Once at the hospital, they will have to "ripen my cervix," which may take anywhere from 6 to 48 hours. After that, I'll get started on Pitocin to kick off labor and contractions. The doctor expects her to be born on Friday or Saturday.

So that's the update for now. We're anxious and excited. My next post will be filled with baby pictures and stories about being exhausted.

Are we there yet?

2011-02-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

38 weeks on Wednesday and still no signs of Audrey making her appearance. Yes, I know it's "good" for her to stay in there, and bake up nice and healthy (and big.) But this mama was almost a 9 pound baby, as was my husband. So as great as her growing is, I really don't want to push out a 9 pound baby if it can be avoided.

These days she still does a good amount of big movements. The newest development is fairly severe back pain for the last week. The doctor (and I) believe this is because of the way she is positioned. I'm trying to keep my pelvis tilted forward to help keep her off my back, but it's not a very comfortable way to sit. Accordingly, each night ends with a nice back rub from Jay until I fall soundly asleep. He now wakes up when I attempt to roll over to my other side due to my heavy breathing, but falls right back asleep once he sees I'm okay.

My in-law's came over last weekend and helped me finish Audrey's room as well as build/install our new head/footboard from Ikea. Our bed was sliding around a lot so now it's trapped between the two and much more comfortable.

Last weekend I was part of Soiree Amore. A few months ago, a group of local crafters (including myself) got together to put on small craft events in people's homes. Our last event was in Olympia with part of the proceeds benefiting the Fund for Women and Girls. See Katie's blog for details on Soiree Amore and Soiree Noel (held in December.)

Are we done yet?

2011-01-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

I'm counting the days until I hit 36 weeks (on Wednesday.) While I haven't updated this in awhile I would say one of the biggest changes to happen is that she's "dropped." My lovely little girl now lingers uncomfortably close to my bladder which I blame for my frequent trips to the restroom and my waddle-like walk. Oh, and did I mention her movements aren't "pleasant" little "tickles?" Here's a picture Jay captured a few minutes ago of me while Audrey was repositioning herself (not a kick, a full on roll-over or whatever she does in there.)

Now here's the picture taken a few moments after.

This past week I washed most of her clothes, and started putting things away in her drawers. I still have some laundry left to do and things I want to hang on the walls. Jay's mom has offered to come over to help so I'm sure I'll be taking her up on that soon.

The dogs have no clue what "little sister" means, in a short matter of weeks they will. Jay and I are both committed to still giving them attention and working with them on commands. (Yes, we should've done that before I got pregnant, but oh well.)

Jay is excited and anxious about being a dad, but I know he'll be great. He's a night owl so I'm hoping he'll take the majority or at least half of the "late night" shifts so I can get some good sleep in. Of course when he goes back to work and I'm still at home, I'm sure I'll be the one getting up with her.

My hospital bag is almost fully packed so beyond the things I have on my to-do list, we're just about ready for Audrey. Now the real question.. is she ready for us?

Mom's Quilt

2011-01-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

The last thing I crossed off my to-do list for 2010, was my mom's quilt. During a mother-daughter day, we went to an awesome fabric store (Calico Cat) in Auburn, and picked out all the fabric for a quilt in March/April of 2009. Quite awhile later.. I FINISHED IT!!

Here are a few pictures of the finished quilt. It is queen-size with a white flannel back.

Jay's Pregnant!

2011-01-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

I promised baby bump pictures, little did you know they were going to be of JAY'S BABY BUMP! For our last childbirth preparation class, Jay got to wear the empathy belly for an hour.

Here's the instructor (which we LOVED,) putting on a contraption to simulate the pressure we feel on our chest when breathing.

Here comes the belly, in less than 5 minutes he was carrying roughly a full-term baby, the whole "package" weighing in at 30-35 pounds.

Jay automatically started waddling a little bit and had to slowly squat when trying to sit down. I was thrilled to watch this!

Jay getting used to his new figure. There are weighted balls inside the belly that actually move when you walk to simulate the feeling of a baby kicking/moving.

His "lovely" maternity shirt.

While Jay has been excellent at being understanding and always there to give a massage, I love that he was able to experience this, especially on his 30th birthday! What other guy can say he celebrated his birthday by being pregnant for an hour?

Audrey's Room - In Progress

2011-01-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wait and post pictures of Audrey's room once it was complete, and looked perfect and beautiful... instead, I'm posting them now. These pictures don't do the colors justice (Tiffany blue, deep red, and metallic silver,) but they will have to do. At this point, I still have to make her crib bumper, quilt, some floor pillows (for her toy/reading area,) and a fabric banner.

Anyways, here's a glimpse into her room as it looks now.

A few years ago I bought these curtains from Goodwill, originally from Ikea. I cut them down lengthwise to fit this area. The white make the area brighter which is nice since the room is on the smaller side.

This is her crib, currently filled with clothes I need to sort and put away, and her shelves. Her shelves are extra special since my dad made them for me, and they used to be in my room at their house. The "A" is a gift from one of my best friends, Cate. The car seats I snagged separately, one at a yard sale and one on Craiglist for less than 1/4 of the original price.

The rocking chair was my grandmother's and was left to me in her will. I remember rocking myself in it when I visited her house. I knew right away when we found out I was pregnant that this would go in her room. The vintage Raggedy Ann I found at Goodwill, and the bunny was my Uncle John's and I used to love snuggling with it as a kid.

Nothing too exciting here, you can get an idea of the metallic silver on the walls and see two prints I've framed. I spray-painted the frames to match the "Tiffany blue" wall color.

I had this in my room as a child and wanted Audrey to have one too. I found it at Goodwill and spray-painted the frame a deep red color to match the theme of the room.

Some other items I've bought and still need to put up in her room. The red frames I spray-painted, they were originally gold. The vintage books I'm going to turn into a small shelf, and the angels are going to hang in her room next to a Audrey Hepburn quote that I like.

That's all for now, baby bump pictures to follow later this week.

The Final Countdown

2010-12-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

I had to keep reminding myself, that this would be the last Christmas without our little baby. Audrey is moving around so much these days, it doesn't take much to be remembered the sweet and wonderful gift we are set to receive in 9 short weeks (yes, only 9!)

Now that Christmas has past, it seems like a very busy 9 weeks. New Years is less than a week away, followed by Jay's 30th birthday a few days later, then a few baby showers, then somehow it's magically February and I start toting around my hospital bag in whatever car I'm in.

I've almost finished my mom's quilt (pictures to follow,) and will start working on a few things for Audrey's room. Our goal is for her to sleep in her room starting day one... we'll see how that goes.

Tummy pictures to follow next week.

Gigantor Baby?

2010-12-18T09:16:00.000-08:00

At my 28 week doctor appointment, it was requested that I get another ultrasound as I was "measuring larger than my due date." The doctor followed this by saying "Don't worry." Don't worry?! Don't worry?! I am a human being, a first-time mom, and a good friend to a few people that had some crazy things go sideways in their pregnancies.... and she expects me NOT to worry?!

All I could think about leading up to it, is what may be causing me to measure large:

Fibroids
Gestational Diabetes
Gaining too much weight personally
Audrey gaining too much weight

I felt like I was already off to the wrong start as a mom. On Tuesday, I had my ultrasound.

The experience, as always, was pretty amazing. In this image, she's sideways and snuggling into me (which I find adorable.) She has her hand tucked up under her chin.

According to the technician, her feet and legs are long. I'm okay with a long baby, but what I was really worried about, was her estimated weight.

A profile shot. She was moving around too much to secure nicer pictures. We'll have to work on that whole "smile for the camera" thing once she's born.

So the end result... NO GIGANTOR BABY!! She's measuring about 15" long, which is average and is approximately 2 pounds and 15 ounces. With her head down and her behind up and out, she is taking up more space and causing the measurements to be larger. This news made me thrilled!

Right now, it is guessed that her eyesight is about 20/400, only able to make out objects a few inches from her face. (Can she even recognize her feet?) She still moves around quite a bit, the "punches" and "kicks" are getting stronger every few weeks. I've had some mild swelling in my ankles and fingers, but only my left side. Sleeping is sometimes a task that involves a lot of repositioning but I always get a least 7 hours if not more. My energy levels have stayed about the same, but now I'm getting anxious to put her room together and get the house ready.

I never would've guessed this time last year, that I'd be pregnant at Christmas. It's still very exciting, more so everyday. We're both still nervous, but know that we'll do fine. We started childbirth classes two weeks ago and in two more weeks, Jay gets to wear the empathy belly. (Photos to follow.)

Less than 77 days to go until we get to meet little Audrey!

Week 26

2010-11-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

With a few days left of "Week 26," I thought I'd highlight some of Audrey's assumed developments these past few weeks.

Her approximate size is 1.5-2.0 pounds, and should be around 14 inches. She gains roughly half a pound a week.

Right now, Audrey has more taste buds than she will ever have. This means she'll taste the Oreo's and milk I just had, and hopefully enjoy them as much as I did. (Yes, I know I'm supposed to watch my sugar intake, but I only had a 6-pack.)

According to some sources, she has now developed distinct periods of sleeping and waking. Based on her activity the past two weeks, I would agree. She goes for what seems like a few hours without much/any movement, to times where I think she's headlining a musical inside my stomach.

Her hearing has developed a lot so I try to play music as much as possible to get her used to noise. I don't know if she's prepared for her two four-legged brothers when she's born. (Nor are they ready for her.)

In the next few weeks, if it hasn't happened already, her eyes will begin to open. Nothing too exciting to see where she's living, but another great sign of her amazing development and God's creation.

We start our birthing class in two weeks and are excited (and a little anxious.) Decorating her room as come to a temporary halt due to the holidays, but will pick back up in a few weeks.

Thanks for all the kind words about me and my preggo stomach. Sometimes I find the look endearing, and others, frustrating. I promise to update with pictures every few weeks.

Ewe's not fat, ewe's pregnant

2010-11-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

I promise I haven't reached a complete lazy-streak yet, outside of not updating my blog, I've been doing plenty.

Oh, before I get started, I should make sure everyone knows.. we're having a girl! We picked out the name Audrey Jean. No real reason for the name except we liked it, and then found out that Jean was Jay's grandmother's middle name and one of my best friend's (which obviously offered up more brownie points for the name.)

So what have we gotten done so far..

We painted Audrey's room aqua and metallic silver (pictures to follow.)

I registered at Target and Babies R Us

We registered for childbirth preparation and newborn classes.

We've received some wonderful hand-me-down's from friends (thank you Sarah and Heather!)

Oh, and a somewhat milestone development.. Audrey's moving (a lot.)

I'm feeling good although more tired than my 'normal' self. After my doctor's appointment on Tuesday, I was advised to lower my sugar intake and raise my protein intake. Believe it or not, I actually listened to the doctor! We've been enjoying lots of raw vegetables, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, and turkey so far this week.

My mood and temperament is normal although my manager says I get feistier everyday.

Today I'm 25 1/2 weeks pregnant with 14 1/2 weeks left to go. Sometimes it seems like a lot of time left, and then other times, I realize March is right around the corner (after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and gasp... Jay's 30TH BIRTHDAY!!!)

For you that read this, but haven't had the 'pleasure' of seeing me and my growing belly/baby-in-action, here's a photo taken moments ago (literally.)

Kidz Kaboodle Sale Results

2010-10-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

During my lunch, my co-worker and I traveled to 6th Ave to check out the Kidz Kaboodle Sale. The sale, their monthly quarter sale, started at 10:00 A.M., so I had no idea what to expect, nor how picked over it would be. I'm pleased to report that even though we didn't wait in line, or get their early, I still found 82 awesome items, all for 25 cents each!

Here are some mediocre photos of what I bought, all items range from newborn to 24 months.

One of my favorite finds was the cute black dress, Baby Gap, for a quarter.
Close-up of all of the onesies. I've heard you can never have enough.

I bought this sleeper because of the saying and outline of the guitar:

Although a lot of the brands I picked up were Carters and Target, I scored nicer end labels like this:

Once I get an idea of what I have, I'll be more selective at upcoming sales, but will definitely go to them again. The best part of buying all this stuff, the savings, and my mom offered to wash them for me, yea!!

Audrey's Room

2010-10-13T20:53:00.001-07:00

So like many others, I've slacked off on updating my blog. For the few of you that read this that don't already know... we're having a girl! Funny enough, I had gut feeling it was a girl and started looking at girl names in July and had already placed 'Audrey' as a favorite. After consulting the HUGE baby name book, Jay and I both agreed that 'Audrey' was still the best fit. So... Audrey Tichy it is!

And now, to decorate and paint Audrey's room.

Here is my current paint palette idea, aqua (Whirlpool) and red (Red Licorice.)

Here are some of my favorite Etsy items that are inspiring the decor:

Blissful Dreams Quilt

One of my best friends bought me some of this fabric for my birthday, unknowing that a few weeks later it would be part of the theme/colors for Audrey's room.

And for the people that know that I'm a Audrey Hepburn way (but in no way am naming my child after her,) I thought this would be a beautiful saying to somehow (and somewhere) incorporate into the room:

Fabric Bunting

I want to make a fabric bunting out of fabric that I have (if you've seen my stash you'll know that I have a variety to choose from.) I'm hoping the bunting would help pull the two colors of the room together.

Glitter Clothespins

I'm not sure if I'll go the glitter route or maybe glue cute buttons and ribbon to the front of the clothespins and hang along a wall to display pictures and eventually artwork.

Josef 'March' Doll

I used to get the birthday ones when I was little and I love that her potential birthstone will match her room color.

I bought these prints before I even knew I was pregnant but the colors fit:

This may make its way into the room too:

Baby's First Photo

2010-08-13T20:02:00.001-07:00

To all of the people (few or many,) that follow this blog to read about crafts and saving money, I promise to get back to that at some point, but for now I can only find motivation (and energy) to post these first pictures of the baby taken at our first ultrasound today! Seeing the baby was surreal and absolutely wonderful, both Jay and I were taken back with awe.

So to keep this short and sweet, here is a photo from today. I'm measuring pretty much where I should be based on the baby's due date.

We were able to see the heart beating(flickering) and hand movement, all inside my stomach, so crazy and exciting!

My belly has a best friend it's Z-O-F-R-A-N

2010-08-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, I can't yell the chants of how wonderful Zofran is yet.. but I hope it lives up to its hype and I can soon be screaming across the mountain tops... "I no longer have nausea, thanks to Zofran." The medicine was prescribed to me yesterday at my FIRST appointment at my OB/GYN office.

On a side note, doesn't Zofran sound like Zohan? (Never saw the movie.)

My appointment went great, I'm exactly 10 weeks along today and all signs indicate the baby and I are healthy. (It's approximately 1.25" tall right now.) While I was hoping that Jay and I would be able to hear the heartbeat, we found out we'll get to on September 2nd at our next appointment. Not to fear bloggers, my video-recorder will be in tow to record this unique experience and post back here!

My energy is still pretty zapped, especially work days by the time I get home, but I've been told there's hope in my 2nd trimester. I'm excited for the ultrasound and start planning the nursery decor.

Tomorrow we're having a craft night for me to start focusing on finishing some projects and starting some new baby-related ones. After all I don't want the baby taking up all of the posts on my blog. :) This weekend we're heading to Portland for a short trip of vintage, thrift, and fabric stores. I'll do my best to come back and post what goodies I find.

Have you heard the word?

2010-07-23T13:23:00.001-07:00

The bird is the word!

Actually in all honesty, the word is...

I'm pregnant and due in early March!

Already I have been embraced by morning sickness, nausea, and constant fatigue. What's next for me and the littl' blueberry (as I call the baby,) hopefully as I slowly approach the end of my first trimester I'll find more energy and start making plans on converting my beloved craft room into a beloved baby room. (Don't be too sad for me, I get to convert our entire garage into my new, LARGER, and improved craft room.)

Jay could not be a better husband and nurse to me right now. He's running around town picking up Pizza Hut, smoothies, and whatever else that gives me a not-want-to-throw-up feeling. We talk and relax a lot but have promised each other not to lose who we are in the midst of becoming parents. So far, so good.

Friends and family all seem very excited and supportive. My next doctor's appointment is August 3rd, hopefully we'll get to hear the heartbeat and secure our due date.

I still can't totally grasp the fact that we're having a baby, us.... me... it's incredible and incredibly scary. Here we go....

there's never enough time to...

2010-06-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

craft, there's never enough time to craft. I often find myself with wonderful intentions of making every one's gifts for birthdays, weddings, etc. and at the last minute find myself running to Target, hoping to find that "perfect gift."

Anyways, once again I found myself with intentions of making a baby shower gift for Jay's cousin's wife, who is due next month. Although I was unable to make the shower, we're planning on having dinner with them next Monday (and taking some maternity photos, yea!) So what does that mean, get my sewing pedal-to-the-metal.

My first task was to make burp clothes and receiving blankets. I made a few more burp clothes but didn't grab them in time to take a picture.

Then after hours (yes HOURS,) of going through my fabric stash, I picked out the perfect gender-neutral fabrics for a baby quilt. This piece came together much, MUCH, quicker than my other baby quilts, I think it's my new favorite pattern! Notice my Boston Terrie/Pug, Bruiser, in the corner trying to get a closer look?

The back of the quilt is made out of an off-white, super soft "minky" that I had.

Close-up of the fabric, I adore the pear fabric, especially when I found it on sale online for half the price I paid at a local store. This is one of the fabric pieces I hoard away, thinking I need to save it for the perfect project (and preferably something I keep,) but I think it found its purpose and looks great.

The finished product hanging out in my backyard.

One project down, about 6 more to go (including another baby blanket.) Think I have my work cut out for me with backlogged presents, so anyone out there expecting a gift from me sometime in the remainder of 2010... expect something from Target. :)

2010 Goals - June Update

2010-06-17T18:56:00.001-07:00

Along with it being awhile since I blogged, I haven't updated my 2010 goals for awhile.

1. Become a saver. - The first half of the year, I did REALLY well with this. With my new job, I took a substantial pay cut and haven't been able to put anything in savings for the last month and a half. I am saving my Etsy money rather than spending it though, so in reality still saving, just not as much as I hoped.
2. Lose 27 pounds before my 27th birthday. - I'm down 9 pounds for the year and find myself in a mad rush to take off the remaining 18 pounds in 3 months. I am shifting my eating habits slightly and am exercising 2-4 times a week. Baby steps towards good habits. I know I need to step up my game if I'm going to lose 6 pounds a month.
3. Make exercise a habit. - Work-in-progress.
4. Sell $500-worth of Etsy items per month. - Can I move this goal for 2011? Etsy has not been a priority since the beginning of the year. I imagine this fall I'll buckle down and list everything I have.
5. De-clutter the house. - Slow work in progress.
6. Do more photography. - Not so busy with this, but it's my fault. My life feels a little cluttered and I think once I get the house organized, get the pending craft projects done, I'll focus more on this. Life is too short for me to focus on one hobby.
7. Go to church. - Not so hot with this one, we are planning to go this Sunday for Father's Day. This will be I think the 3rd time this year.
8. Finish in-process sewing projects. - This one I'm not so proud of... still behind.
9. Become a better wife. - In process.
10.Spend more time with family, friends, and loved ones. - Doing good with spending time with my parents and certain friends, but I need to branch out.
11. Do one craft out of a craft book each month. - Cancelling, I have too many other things to do and try to accomplish like #8.
12. Take care of the lawn. - Finally, a positive update! My lawn is in pamper heaven! I water it everyday, it's been re-seeded, flower beds have been weeded, etc. There's more left to do as we've neglected our lawn for three years, but it's way better than what it was.
13. Go to the east coast. - Planning to go there for my 27th birthday, but have yet to book anything. Hmm... another reason why I'm cancelling #11.
14. Take at least one photography class. - Done.
15. Listen to music more. - Better!
16. Teach the dogs. - I worked on it while Jay was on tour and need to continue to work with them on "sit" and "stay."
17. Get rid of frumpy clothes - Partial update, went through my closet but probably need to go through it again.
18. Paint the downstairs. - No update.
19. Talking about things - Doing well.
20. Get rid of Ecuador trip - Almost complete! I donated it and it was sold to benefit the PLU Women's Center, but I need to email the company and get the name changed.
21. Try out for the Dockyard Derby Dames Roller Derby! - Long story short, it didn't go well and this is slated to hit 2011 goals.

I started a new job about 5 weeks ago which is proving to be an interesting experience. I'm really trying to make healthier decisions but my problem with all things I try is that they're short-lived. Here I am, sporting a tattoo that says "Despite Everything, I Refuse to Quit," yet here I am going back on forth on eating well, excercising, doing yardwork, etc. Any tips on how to beat my lack of attention span to my goals?

Never Pay Full Price!

2010-05-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

Never pay full price! This motto is true with a lot of things in my life. My grocery items are bought on sale, my car was negotiated down from "full price," we negotiated on our house, I bought our couch set used on Craigslist ($350 for micro suede,) and last but not least... I never pay full price for clothes.

I spent today with my parent's, enjoying one of our favorite hobbies.. thrift store shopping. Shopping at thrift stores is practical, fun, and tends to get me better brand names than I can normally afford to buy. Let me show you how today's shopping venture broke-down. We stopped at four thrift stores and spent anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes at each one.

Looking for a way to leverage your money the best for back to school shopping? I picked up these items for my friend's daughter and another friend's young son.

Featured in photo are: 2 Youth Jackets, 3 Pants for Boy, 2 Skirts, 2 Pairs Jeans, 3 Pairs Capri's (two of which are GAP,) 9 Shirts (Old Navy, Target, Oshkosh, etc.) and 3 Sundresses.

Here's a close up of one of my favorite items, an army green Mossimo coat, a Target brand.

Regular Price: $25 Purchased Price: $3.59

Oshkosh Girl's Hooded Thermal

Regular Price: $18 Purchased Price: $2.59

I picked up this "princess" dress for my niece who loves to dress up. For all the parents out there reading this, buy their dresses off-season at thrift stores for upcoming holidays. These dresses are worn maybe a handful of times and are substantially cheaper than department stores!

Regular Price: $45 Purchased Price: $4.99

Unisex Suede Snowsuit (2T)

Regular Price: Roughly $45 Purchase Price: $6.50

Now onto what I bought for ME! I hit the mother load at the Value Village in Burien and the Goodwill in Southcenter and ended up with: 2 sweaters (one is Ann Taylor,) 2 Banana Republic cardigans, 2 blouses, 6 pairs of pants (Ann Taylor, Express, Gap, and Banana Republic,) a pair of Mossimo shorts ($1.50,) and a couple other goodies I'll show off in a minute.

A friend of mine wanted to buy this Ikea frame, but I recommended she look for one at thrift stores. While these are not as curvy as that one, I think they might be good alternatives at $6.50 a piece once they're painted.

To finish this post on a high note, I wanted to show off my favorite deals of the day.. shoes and suits!

Anne Klein shoes, look brand new!

Original Price: $65 Purchased Price: $3.50

I really like Steve Madden shoes, but have never paid full price for a pair.

Original Price: $80 Purchased price: $5

Cute navy blue B.P. (Brass Plum at Nordstrom) shoes.

Original Price: $69.95 Purchased Price: $4.80

And now onto the grand finale, the suits I got for a steal at Goodwill!

JCPenny Worthington Suit:

Original Price: $100 Purchased Price: $9

This Liz Claiborne suit is awesome in person (sorry the pictures don't do it justice.)

Original Price: $200+ Purchased Price: $11

Ann Taylor Tan Suit

Original Price: $300+ Purchased Price: $20

Ann Taylor Wool Suit

Original Price: $250+ Purchased Price: $20

Along with a necklace, storage box, and 8 items for my vintage Etsy store. My grand total for the day is......

$258.33

(Doing a rough calculation, I saved over $1,500 on original prices.)

While that may seem like a lot, review everything I bought with that money, especially the work items. I am pretty pleased with how I was able to stretch my money.

I encourage everyone to try out thrift store shopping if you haven't already. On holidays, such as today, they often offer 50% off the entire store which helps a lot (although stores tend to be busier and picked over.)

Never pay full price!

Seattle, Fabric and Jimmy Eat World References

2010-05-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

I recently got to spend a long weekend with one of my best friends Cate and her husband Ron. Upon picking them up from the airport we stopped at Assemble, followed by Gasworks Park (shown below.) After the Park we went to sugar. and then the van battery died, luckily after 30 minutes it started up and we darted back to Tacoma.

On Saturday and Sunday, Cate and I worked on making fabric bunting/banners. For awhile now I've been trying to decide what to hang above our bed; Jay is fearful of anything heavy, assuming it will come crashing down on our heads, thus.. a fabric banner was born!

{For}{Me}

{This Is}

{Heaven}

Yes, the title of a Jimmy Eat World song now hangs above our bed. The very same Jimmy Eat World song Jay and I danced to at our wedding.

For me, it's a perfect reminder of a wonderful day and a wonderful life I have with him regardless of the days where him (or I) wake up on the wrong side of the bed.

Candy Sushi for JDawg

2010-04-25T13:02:00.001-07:00

I love blogs, but not as much as one of my best friends, Katie. Awhile ago, I stumbled upon a blog post about making sushi with Peeps. As most of you may know, I dislike seafood so this was the perfect type of sushi for me. I bought a few packs of Peeps after Easter and waited for the right time to use them. Katie threw a surprise party for her husband's birthday with an international food theme so I decided now was the time for the candy sushi to make its appearance.

I gathered up candies at Top Foods since you can buy things in bulk (or lack of) there. Candies included were: Twizzlers, green and orange peeps, Swedish fish, dried papaya, gummi worms, and sour apple licorice. (Sour apples did not make the cut.)

To make the peeps look like fish I cut them in half horizontally and cut a slit in the bottom half.

Being surrounded by this much candy for a few hours was so tempting.

This poor little peep had no idea what he was in for..

So good!

I made half batches of rice krispies to make sure I had enough time to mold it before it hardened. I took a scoop of "krispie", and flattened it out. Once flattened, I'd add a row of treats and then roll it up as shown. Instead of touching the krispie with my hand I used parchment paper to keep it from sticking.

Below is my first batch which I did wrong, but still turned out okay.

Some pictures of the finished product.

Close up of the Swedish fish sushi, one of my favorites.

In case you were wondering, I found Green Apple fruit roll-up at Albertsons. I was really impressed with the texture of it and the taste, I wouldn't want any to go to waste! :)

The sushi platter:

I almost forgot to mention, Katie found a blog featuring a sushi cake and who can have a birthday without a cake? This was quicker than the smaller sushi rolls but turned out just as cute. I ended up smooshing orange peep heads to resemble caviar and used kiwi to pose as wasabi.

This project was so much fun and was made for such a wonderful person. Katie and Jonathan are simply put, amazing people and I'm continually thankful for having them in my life. Happy Birthday JDawg!

SuperEmma and her monkey sidekick!

2010-04-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

I love spending time with family, and have embraced the extended Tichy family as my own cousins, nephews, nieces, etc. That being said, yesterday was my cousin's daughter's 1st Birthday. When thinking of a gift for her, I quickly decided that I needed to think out of the box and be creative as little Emma is, well, shall I say, a little spoiled? (What 1-year-old isn't?)

So here's what I came up with along with some photos of the party itself (where Emma won all of the kids over by hosting a Easter egg hunt!)

A set of "clippies" with magenta felt roses.

Every superhero needs a sidekick, so I created this with the help from a tutorial from mmmcrafts.com

The monkey was supposed to have a skirt and hat, I opted for a cape and mask instead.

I love the smirk on her face.

Back cape shot:

And now, for SuperEmma's mask:

And matching cape:

Pictures from Emma's Party

Jay, Travis, and their dad hanging out.

The food was amazing!

The kids LOVED the egg hunt, finding these chicks were their favorite part!

Austin's chick:

Ethan's chick:

More cupcake shots, cherry frosting and cherry chip cupcake!

Can you tell what area I spent a lot of time at? Food!

Emma's mom has promised me a picture of her in her SuperEmma gear, I can't wait to see them!

.Stephanie and Dylan.

2010-02-20T23:19:00.001-08:00

By April, if not sooner, I will be moving my photography over to a separate blog. Until then, please be patient as I utilize this blog for well... everything!

Today I shared the afternoon with Stephanie and her son Dylan. If you've been reading my blog for very long you will remember her from the maternity photos I did over a year ago. It was a beautiful day out at Wright Park so we headed there and watched Dylan squeal with delight at all of the people, ducks, dogs, and toys he encountered!

The picture below is one of my favorites.

Still "iffy" on the one below:

Good ole' black and white:

Dylan's toy of the day was a hammer. I often borrowed it to lure his attention to the camera.

Another favorite:

Dylan got pretty excited about the ducks and seagulls!

One quick reminder: My February giveaway ends next week, look a few posts back for details on how to enter!

2010 Goals - February Update

2010-02-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a moment to provide an update on my 2010 Goals and to add a few that I forgot to list originally.

1. Become a saver. - I'm happy to announce that this goal is a success-in-progress. We're saving at least $500 a month now. I couldn't be more happy about this one!

2. Lose 27 pounds before my 27th birthday. - I'm down 6.7 pounds for the year! If I keep up the work this week, I should be out of the 170's by my weigh-in on Monday. Cross your fingers!!

3. Make exercise a habit. - Work-in-progress. I'm averaging 2-3 activities per week.

4. Sell $500-worth of Etsy items per month. - Not there yet. I'm beginning to realize the more time you invest in Etsy, the more you "reap the reward." I've put little time into it lately, thus little amount of sales.

5. De-clutter the house. - I finally organized my craft room! It took three weeks for me to finish but I LOVE that room. (Pictures to follow in a future post.)

6. Do more photography. - Another success-in-progress. So far we've shot a wedding, with more work either booked or being negotiated.

7. Go to church. - We're going again this Sunday for our "once a month commitment."

8. Finish in-process sewing projects. - This one I'm not so proud of... still behind.

9. Become a better wife. - In process. I talked with my husband last night and he agreed that we get closer everyday which I love and am so thankful for!

10. Spend more time with family and friends. - Doing well so far!

11. Do one craft out of a craft book each month. - I didn't complete this in January, so I need to double-up for February.

12. Take care of the lawn. - No update.

13. Go to the east coast. - No update.

14. Take at least one photography class. - I've signed up for two classes, one on lighting and the other on wedding photography.

15. Listen to music more. - I'm listening to music more, but need to rotate CD's more frequently. I've been listening to the same Kimya Dawson CD for almost a week in our kitchen.

16. Teach the dogs. - No update.

17. Get rid of frumpy clothes - No update, although my co-worker Calyn says I haven't worn any to work. Hopefully I can recruit a friend to go through my closet with me this weekend and we can document some of my horrific clothing choices!

18. Paint the downstairs. - No update.

19. Talking about things - I think I'm doing well with this, especially in talking with Jay.

20. Get rid of Ecuador trip - Almost complete! I will be donating to trip to the Pacific Lutheran University's Women's Center Auction to be held at the end of March. I just need to verify with the company that it's okay to transfer it and extend the certificate date.

Added goal:

21. Try out for the Dockyard Derby Dames Roller Derby! - Yes, it's been a goal of mine for a few years and now I'm trying to make it a reality! Tryouts are the end of March.

This One's For The Children...

2010-02-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it may be part of a famous New Kids on the Block song, but this post IS for the children. I told all of you that my goal was to have at least one giveaway a month, while running around the house tonight making freezer meals, cleaning my craft room, loading pictures, and doing laundry, I realized I had forgotten to post the February giveaway. My sincere apologies!

Some of you may remember when I made superhero capes for my niece and nephews last summer...

Each cape was personalized with their name appliqued on the back:

As you might have guessed already, I'm giving away one personalized cape for the "superhero" in your life. This is open to anyone in the US, yes, I will ship your cape!

So what do you have to do to enter the giveaway?

1. Leave a comment on this post about who you'd give the cape to if you win and you'll be automatically entered.

2. Looking for an extra entry? Leave an ADDITIONAL comment on this post about your favorite craft that I've featured on my blog and you'll be entered again.

3. Follow my blog? Remind me that you do, or start following my blog and you'll receive another entry!

Giveaway closes at midnight on February 28, 2010.

Today, I Offically Converted!

2010-01-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

For the past year+, I've been envious of my friend Angela and her coupon success. She is the QUEEN of stretching money, particularly at grocery stores. About a year ago, she graced the cyber-world with The Coupon Project, a wonderful blog that I follow constantly! If you're looking for a guide to help walk you through where to find the best deals on your groceries, holiday gifts, even your cable bills, this is a blog you need to check out!

As all of you have read, one of my goals is to save money this year. Part of that goal for me, has been to challenge myself to stretch our money with groceries and not eat out as often (I used to average 3-4 times a week.)

Let me walk you (quickly) through my process and then I tell you about why today is the day I converted.

1. Buy paper and cut out every product coupon I think I'll use.

2. Write a list of what's on sale at the grocery stores.

3. Go through my coupon organizer and pull out coupons that match the store sales.

4. I organize more! I have a binder I keep sheet protectors in for each store. I place the weekly ad and all the coupons I need for the shopping trip inside.

5. Go shopping. Pull out the appropriate "sheet" for each store, and you're ready to go!

6. I almost forgot, bring your reusable bags! Save green and go green at the same time!

Tonight, I spent two and a half hours grocery shopping, stopped at FIVE stores. Think I'm crazy? Wait till you hear the bottom line!

First Stop: Fred Meyers

I loaded up on cheese, canned tomatoes (for chili and lasagna), Jay's essentials of bread and bananas, and a couple other pieces of produce.

Bottom Line: $16.89 Saved: $14.94

Second Stop: Saar's Market Place

This trip was a little disappointing. I didn't watch my receipt well and was double charged for a bag of onions (5 lbs for $1.48!). I was happy overall with their everyday prices, snagged ricotta cheese at a decent price and bought Italian Sausage at $1.58 a pound to use for soup and lasagna this week.

Bottom Line: $11.55 Saved: Roughly $5

Third Stop: Albertson's

Quaker products are on sale for $1 to $1.40 a piece this week. I stocked up on Quick Oatmeal, boxed oatmeal, Quaker Chewy Bars (for Jay), Quaker Breakfast Cookies (for my mom), syrup and pancake mix. Their Xtreme Value this week is when you buy ONE box of popcorn, you get another box free along with two 2-liters of pop (7-UP or A&W.) Wishbone dressing was on sale for $1 and I loaded up on Ziploc Freezer Bags to use for my upcoming freezer meal swap. Oh, "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" are only $1 each with coupon too!
Bottom Line: $43.39 Saved: $113.59 Extra Bonus: $2 off my next purchase!

Fourth Stop: Safeway

I'm trying out the Bounce Dryer Bar for $3.99 and a 18-ct of eggs. On Saturday they have bags of Doritos for 99 cents, I will be back then, stocking up for my junk-food-loving-husband.
Bottom Line: $5.85 Saved: $3.30

Fifth Stop: Walgreens

Aluminum Foil, Wax Paper, and Chicken Broth were on sale. My golden finds, two bottles of Pert Plus, 50 cents after my coupons! Two bottles of Coffee-Mate creamer for .49 cents after coupons!
Bottom Line: $7.12 Saved: 16.67 Extra Bonus: $3 off my next purchase!

Total Bottom Line: $84.89 Savings: $153.50

So I converted today, to coupons, to taking the extra minute to look for a better deal, to read Angela's blog and catch deals that I didn't see before, and to finally take control of my spending. It's official, I'm a couponer for life!

Close-ups of my grocery trip, not featured: produce and bread.

Giveaway Winner!

2010-01-18T12:05:00.001-08:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway! I plan on hosting a giveaway every month. Make sure to check back the first week of February for information about the upcoming giveaway. One hint: If you have kids or know a kid, you're going to want to enter!

I almost forgot to post the winner. The winner I met in 1991, we became instant friends and have stayed in touch over the years as we grew up and figured out how to control our thick and frizzy hair. Congratulations to Isabel, you've won!

Mike and Isabel at our wedding which was only a few days from their one year anniversary.

Thanks again for entering my giveaway. Please keep me in mind for all your future photography needs and check back for more updates and giveaways.

2010 Goals

2010-01-17T22:39:00.000-08:00

I know it's already into the new year, but I wanted to take a moment to formally document my goals for the year. This will serve as a record and also as a constant reminder (and a reminder to those of you that know me personally to hold me accountable.)

1. Become a saver. - I've never been a saver, always a spender. So far the year is off to a good start with a couple hundred "new" dollars in our account.

2. Lose 27 pounds before my 27th birthday. - 8 months until my birthday. My last weigh in was 178 (yes, I'm actually posting my weight for all to see!)

3. Join the gym and make exercising a habit. - Well the first part of this is done, I joined the gym last Tuesday and have gone twice so far.

4. Sell $500-worth of items on Etsy each month. - Off to a strong start in January, but we'll see how it goes.

5. De-clutter the house. - I want to go through every room at least once this year and organize it, get rid of access stuff, etc.

6. Do more photography. - I'd really love to do photography full-time. I need to continue to improve my skills and to get more photography jobs.

7. Go to church. - Jay and I have committed to going at least once a month.

8. Finish in-process craft projects. - I have three quilts, burp clothes, cape, and a crib bumper that are owed to people.

9. Become a better wife and grow closer with my husband. - I love my husband so much, I know that this year has the potential to put us through a lot but I know that we can conquer anything.

10. Spend more time with family, friends, and loved ones. - After experiencing the loss of my uncle a few days ago and Jay's cousin a few months ago, this goal continues to flow through my mind and heart.

11. Do one craft out of one of my many craft books each month. - This was inspired by a blog I read.

12. Weed and take care of the lawn. - This is a joint venture by Jay and I. It's a little embarrassing (and awesome) when your mom comes over and weeds for you. Luckily this isn't something I have to worry about for a few months.

13. Go to the East Coast. - We cancelled our trip for this past October but I hope we can go soon, maybe for my 27th birthday?

14. Take at least one photography class.

15. Listen to music more.

16. Teach the dogs basic obedience commands. - Sit, stay, come, get down.

17. Get rid of all frumpy clothes. - This applies to my entire wardrobe except for pajamas. This will be easier to accomplish once my body is a less frumpy shape.

18. Paint the downstairs. - Two works: Oak Wainscoting. Bleh!

19. Don't let things bottle up, talk about them.

20. Figure out how to get rid of a trip to Ecuador. - I bid on it at an auction and won but we can't afford the plane tickets to take the trip.

This list is a work in progress, but this is where it stands as of today.

The Perfect Fabric

2010-01-06T21:27:00.000-08:00

Very often I sit down to brainstorm a project, I pick out a pattern and then head to my scary excuse-of-a-craft-room to pick out fabric. Sometimes, believe it or not (to those of you that have seen my piles of fabric).. I can't find the perfect fabric. Luckily I have been blessed with a car, and a car that could probably drive itself to JoAnn Fabrics if needed. There I browse for minutes or hours, touching fabric, looking at patterns, buttons, and ribbon.. dreaming of the possibilities.

That is exactly what happened when I decided I was going to make a bag for my wonderful and beautiful sister-in-law Glory. I wanted it to be perfect; not too bright, no big patterns, nothing that would snag easy, etc. After an hour of wandering the store with one of my best friends Danielle, we selected a beautiful olive green color for the exterior, complimented by brown satin.

This is the first time I've used an actual pattern (the ones that feel and tear like tissue paper.) If you recall, I made a "sample" bag first and posted it here. Besides some less than perfect handstitching, I'd say it turned out wonderful.

To anyone who's reading this and is impressed with my sewing skills, I must say two things:

1. Read the "Lookie" post of my blog to look at my first bag in this pattern.

2. If I can do it, I promise you can too. I'm always looking for craft buddies!

The handles were not part of the original pattern but I liked the sturdiness of these faux leather handles better. The brown satin flower was also a pattern modification and was the trickiest part of this project believe it or not!

Thanks for following my blog to those of you reading this. I plan on blogging more in 2010, featuring my crafts, life, photography, travel, etc. I'm also planning to host a giveaway a month so make sure to check back for that.

New Year, New Ideas, New Giveaways!

2009-12-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks I've been brainstorming ideas on what kind of goals I want to set for myself in 2010. A lot of time has been spent, think of ways to promote my recently opened and running Etsy store, Sidetracked Vintage, and my small photography business.

While the main focus of this blog has mostly been to post pictures of my most recent creative endeavors, I'd now like to utilize the blog to host a giveaway.

Now this giveaway may not be exciting to all of you, as it can only be offered to people living (or visiting) Washington State, within Pierce or King County. But don't get too distraught, there's plenty of other giveaways in the future!

So here it is... a one-hour photo session with images on a CD at the location of your choice*

There's many ways you can enter and get multiple entries:

1. You'll receive an entry if you follow this blog.

2. You'll receive another entry if you follow this blog.

3. Visit my Etsy Store and leave a comment (on this post) about your favorite item.

4. Post about this giveaway on your blog and receive another entry!

Deadline to enter is midnight on January 17th!

*Now for the fine print. Session must be scheduled before March 31st. Session should include no more than 4 people. (People can be added for $5 per person.) A minimum of 30 images will be provided on CD. Location must be mutually agreed upon by photographer (me) and the winner. Not to worry about that part, I love trying out new locations!

Oh, I almost forgot.. you can "gift" this too as long as they meet the location requirements.

Lookie!

2009-12-12T02:49:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I decided to make a bag with "scrap" material before I use "pretty" material to make one as a Christmas gift. This was the result. The question now is do I keep it or give it away?

An Ellie, For Ellie

2009-12-05T00:57:00.000-08:00

Every year I brainstorm to pick out or in this case create, the perfect present for everyone, especially my nephews and neice. This year was no exception, however, I decided that I wanted to make as many gifts as possible. Accordingly, I came up with this for my neice Ellie with the help of a pattern from Wee Wonderfuls.

A note for Ellie to read before opening her gift.

I tried to package the doll to remain comfortable while in a 20 day slumber until she's opened on Christmas Eve.

Oh look, Ellie's awake from her nap in her comfy (and minky-fabric-lined) sleeping bag.

Good Morning Ellie! What a great hair day you're having!

No jumping on the bed Ellie, goofy girl!

Ellie pats her cat, Paws, before heading out to school. I used a lot of velcro on the clothes since the feet and head are large.

Ellie grabs her backpack and she's out the door to catch the bus.

Oh, go figure it's raining! Ellie puts on her angora hoodie and shoes. (I love recycling sweaters!)

Wow, it's time for bed already. It is 1:17 A.M. as I'm writing this.

Goodnight Ellie.

Baby McKinney Quilt

2009-09-29T21:22:00.001-07:00

My lovely and beautiful co-worker Sarah is 11 short days away from having a little baby girl. During our many talks about what type of bedding she wanted, I showed her Heather Bailey and Amy Butler fabric. She instantly fell in love with Amy Butler fabric, and soon we were talking up plans of making bedding for Baby McKinney. Last night I finished the quilt and a pillow. Here are some pictures of my 4th quilt/blanket.

We picked out a soft minky fabric for the back.
I was happy with how the diagonal design came out with the squares.

Here's the pillow I made while guessing measurements and making up my own pattern. Maybe not perfection, but practical.

I can't wait to meet Baby McKinney and have her try out her new bedding!

Super Secret Craft Project Revealed...

2009-09-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

When Jay's cousin Josh passed away at 35 years old, I knew I wanted to do something. I wasn't sure what I could do, what words I could say to help ease his family's painful loss. So I made a quilt, a quilt of prayers. After a lot of hours of work I completed the quilt around 1:00 this afternoon and gave it to Joy (Josh's sister) at his memorial service. I hope it serves as a way for memories to be cherished in weeks, months, and years to come for them, especially his young daughter Gracie.

Here are photos of the quilt of prayers, otherwise known as the "Super Secret Craft Project."

The hearts were individually cut out and appliqued on for people to write on.

I'm so happy to be a part of the Tichy family and to have the opportunity to get to know such wonderful people.

Sneak Peek: Erika and Matt

2009-08-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

Last week I took some engagement photos for my friend Erika and her husband-to-be Matt. Here's a itty bitty sneak peek:

X and O's

2009-08-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

For Timm (singer of Owen Hart and guitar player in The Helm) and Timmie's wedding, I decided to make them a gift. Timm is straight-edge (no alcohol, no drugs, etc.) but Timmie does drink. Straight-edge is often symbolized by people drawing "X"'s on their hands, so accordingly, Timm received two X ovenmitt's and Timmie received the O's!

The bride and groom each received a special dish towel embellished by me! Timmie's isn't quite done yet. Here's Timm's, he likes metal music in case I left that part out..
Here's a close-up of Timm's mitts!

My husband Jay showing off the mitts. He was pretty excited about this gift. Perhaps if I make him a set he'll be more likely to cook?

Here is their full gift along with a gift card to Trader Joes.

Congrats Timm and Timmie! (Pictures of their wedding to potentially follow.)

Nona Jo

2009-08-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our friend Becky came into town with her beautiful daughter Nona, whom I hadn't seen in at least a year. I had no doubt that she would be taller, bigger, but wow, so beautiful and full of personality. Our plans of taking photos at the park didn't materialize, but we still had fun and I still got some pictures. I hope they visit again soon, this time with Josh (Becky's amazing husband.)

Here's Becky. We met in 2001 in our Environmental Science class in High School.

Nona enjoying yummy vegan goodness.

Nona got wide-eyed everytime the flash went off in her face but she loved pushing the camera button to take pictures of mommy and Barney!

She choose to listen to me when I nicely asked her to sit next to her friends. She has a stubborn streak like her mom!

Nona eating again.

Nona and mommy!

Family is Forever

2009-07-14T22:37:00.001-07:00

A month or so ago, I had the joy of spending the day with my two nephews and my neice. Before leaving, I traced their handprints and had each of them write their names. Here's what I finally did with them:

I didn't have a pattern so I made it up as I went. Both tan fabrics are actually old sheets.
I put soft, minky brown fabric on the back which matches the heart on the front.

Jay and I took the blanket over to her yesterday and she seemed really excited about it. I hope it's a great reminder of her wonderful family, we're all very blessed.

Congratulations Sam & Katie!

2009-06-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

I've known Sam for 8 years and Katie for 3 years. On Saturday, Jay and I had the joy of attending their beautiful wedding. A wedding, which we almost missed because I was busy trying to finish making this, their wedding present:

A black picture frame, red photo album (hiding underneath the towels), three tea towels, and an apron. (Recipie book not pictured.)

I bought this fabric six or so months ago with my mom. It's an 8-section fabric, providing different coordinating designs. Perfect for a coordinated gift with different items.

I these colors together. I still struggle with not hoarding all the fabric for myself, but it's much easier to give it up as a gift to someone I hope/think will appreciate it.

Close-up of apron.

Going to weddings is always such a wonderful thing. I love being reminded of the vows Jay and I took, our special day, and all the wonderful people we got to spend it with. No matter what, I continue to love him more every day. I wish that for Sam and Katie, and all our married friends.

Two Pounds and a Baby Shower!

2009-06-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

First, I must address the two pounds; it is the approximate amount of weight I lost in the last 7 days. While this may or may not seem like a lot, I hope it's a sign of things to come and will continue to occur for awhile.
I've been in denial the last year, thinking I was eating "okay". The second I looked at the nutritional facts for tortilla chips I knew my eating habits were going to change!

And now, on to the baby shower! I met my friend Kimberly in 3rd Grade. We stopped going to the same school in 6th Grade but have kept in touch over the years as we both still live locally. Sunday, I attended her baby shower and made a batch of homemade baby items to give her and her baby (the identity of which is unknown.)

I had a decorative paint can in my craft room that I bought from Artco a few years ago that I put everything in. After seeing how it turned out, I'm compelled to do this again.

Pictured is one of two onesies, one of three burp cloths, and two pacifier holders (I added two pacifiers inside to go with them).

This shows the other onesie, another burp cloth, and a glimpse of one of the pairs of booties I made. Here's some close ups of everything:

Booties, I truly love making these! Thanks to my friend Sarah, I'm going to try to make a protype for adults too!

I tried to keep everything pretty neutral since Kim doesn't know if she's having a boy or girl.
A taggie blanket. Why spend $15- $25 for one from the store when Rachelle can hook you up?!

Kim and her husband Brittin have a Corgi, Bowser, which inspired this onesie design. This, in turn, inspired me to try this with Pugs and Boston Terriers (will post once they are finished.)

I saved this for last, because it was quite possibley my favorite part of her gift. (As you might have been able to guess, she's a photographer too!)

I had so much fun making her gift. Now I need to get started on a wedding present for our friends Katie and Sam that are getting married in two weeks!

SuperFreeze, SuperMelt, and SuperSlow

2009-05-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, as I was dinking around the house, sewing tote bags, I decided to make something for my two nephews and my neice that I was going to see later that evening.

They are three of the most amazing children I've ever met and I love every chance I get to spend time with them. I've seen different blogs and tutorials on how to make capes for children, but I decided to try it on my own from scratch. I didn't measure anything it was all freehand, which I think turned out okay in the end. Although Ellie's looks a little wonky compared to her brother's capes.

May I introduce, for the first time ever,

SuperSlow (Ellie), SuperMelt (Austin), and SuperFreeze (Ethan):

They often meet in secret hideouts in the forest to discuss how to overthrow evil and fight criminals.

Overall I was pretty pleased with how they turned out and the kids LOVED them! As much as I look forward to getting some activity on my Etsy store and starting a booth with Katie, nothing beats making things for people that you know they appreciate.

Sew-the-Line Crafts

2009-04-05T09:22:00.001-07:00

The tentative name for Katie and I's craft business is Sew the Line.
Here are a few things I've made lately, including my FIRST sellable item, hooray!

The theme for Silas' room is birds so I went online and tried to find some bird patterns, and came back with this. I was fairly pleased with myself as it was the second thing I've sewn.

Katie has two Labradoodles. This stuffed animal was my attempt at Ollie, their oldest Labradoodle. I made modifications to a pattern from my Softies book. This is the FIRST thing I ever sewed with my machine.

Two new friends hanging out at Silas' baby shower. I'm sure they were nervous to go home with Silas and meet all of his other stuffed friends.

Burp cloths, one of my favorite things to make! My first one was a prototype (as Cate would say), the second one (shown below) is my first sellable item!

Adding the ric-a-rac added a lot of character to the item. I want to make a lot more but haven't had time. I will be making these for all baby showers I go to in the future.

Unfortunately, that's all the sewing I've done lately. Maybe this week I'll make something, a bag purhaps....

I need to take a dump!

2009-03-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

To help encourage each other to lose weight and get in shape, my mom and I came up with a challenge called "Dump tha' Junk". To help track our progress and milestones, I started a blog devoted to the challenge.

Click here to go see our junk!

Quilt and the City

2009-03-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

I picked up some fabric at Ben Franklin crafts called "City Girl" a month or so ago, thinking it would be perfect to make a blanket for my friend/co-worker, Kristen, who was going to be moving to New York.

I truly enjoyed making this quilt for her, sending her well wishes and prayers for safe travel and job opportunities, etc. with each cut, fold, and stitch.

Here are some photos of my second quilt:

I didn't have a pattern to go off of, so I made a outline with dimensions and figured it out on my own.

I used two cotton fabrics and a flannel-backed satin.

The rows seemed never ending once I laid them out.

I tried to take a photo to show how big it was, but ran out of time and just hung it over the couch after I ironned it (about 30 minutes before I gave it to her at work, talk about last minute!)
I searched all around town and finally went to Seattle to find the soft, fuzzy fabric for the back in chocolate brown.

My favorite touch to this quilt is the embroirdered square I did on it for her. While I hope we continue to stay in touch and remain friends, I hope this will serve as a reminder of me, Washington, and everyone here.

Here's a photo of it all packaged up and ready to go:

I'm now brainstorming quilts for Mother's Day but haven't figured out the pattern yet. Last night and tonight I've been working on burp cloths. Hopefully I'll get photos of them posted in the next few days.

Silas and my Craft Room

2009-03-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

Monday night I had the honor of being the first non-relative to babysit Silas, my friend Katie and Jonathan's son. This is the first time I've ever been around a baby on a consistent basis and I love it. It's amazing to see how much he's grown since he was born eight weeks ago.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Silas slept 80% of the time I watched him which made for an easy and pleasant experience. It also let me capture this photo of him:

I uploaded some photos of my craft room. Most of them are close-up shots because I still have a quarter of the room being used for storage of other household goodies right now.

My dad was really into painting ceramics about 6 or 7 years ago and he painted this coffee mug for me. It fits perfect in this room and is a wonderful reminder of my dad and all he has done and continues to do for me. I appologize in advance for the multiple photos of this item, but I love how they turned out (I hope Katie is proud.) The item holding the thread is a small decorative chair that my Grandma Mary gave me.

I love vintage items, its almost as if you can sense or see that they have a story to tell, a life they've lived. I especially love old jars. I'm so happy to finally have a use and place for them. Hopefully I'll acquire more to fill up my entire cabinet.

The red baskets I got in a stack at a Goodwill for 29 cents. I'm going to use some of them when I start making felt food, I thought they'd be super cute to hold felt strawberries and other fruit.

Do not be fooled, this is about one fourth of the fabric I have. I vowed to Jay yesterday that I wouldn't purchase anymore fabric until I made a dent in what I already have. Katie and I have committed to having a sewing night once a week so we can start gearing up for the summer.

My "vow" to Jay was after some serious fabric purchasing yesterday. Katie and I started at Ben Franklin and ended at Pacific Fabrics. (Everything was 20%, what was a girl to do!?!)

I'm in love with reproduction flour sack fabric and hope to make a quilt with it someday. The patterns below I thought were adorable, I'm thinking of making oven mits with it.

I rounded of my fabric collection with some more modern prints shown below. I washed most of this so its craft-ready!

Let the sewing begin!

adorable cookies for my adorable husband

2009-02-22T21:41:00.000-08:00

The Wednesday before Valentine's Day, Katie and I went to a class at Sugar Bakery in Seattle to learn how to decorate truffles and cookies. The class was a lot of fun, we had unlimited supplies ranging from edible silver beads to edible glitter to rainbow sprinkles and everything inbetween.
Jay was originally scared to eat the silver beads, I had to convince him that they were meant to be ate. I wonder who came up with the idea?

SWAK (Sealed With A Kiss), I'm bringin' it back ol' school!

This was my favorite cookie that I made for Jay. Although I've never been able to put into words how much I love my husband, I've always tried to sum it up with "I adore you". (It's written inside his wedding band with our initials and wedding date.)

Katie playing with her food!

My finished truffles. Taiga (Jay's friend) ate these almost the moment they arrived home at our house.

Katie took this right before we left.

Jay was excited to eat the cookies but passed on the truffles. I'm not a chocolate fan so I shared the "i adore u" cookie with him on V-Day. In case I haven't mentioned it in this blog lately, my husband is wonderful.

I adore him.

President's Day

2009-02-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

I feel bad, today's "President's Day", and this is the first time I've stopped to think about our current president, or any of the past. As rough and stressful as I think my job can/has been, I cannot imagine the things they've done or tried to do to help make things better for our country. (Some have overcome, some have failed.) Anyways, here's hoping and praying that Obama and his "crew" help get America back on its feet.

The "bump-a-lump" I talked about last week ended up being a TON of muscle tension, they perscribed massage therapy. While I was excited about this, the process of coordinating appointments and carpooling stresses me out a bit. I promised Jay I'd call this week and get an appointment set up. I've had this pain/discomfort for a year and a half, I'm excited to have it gone!

Today I went to Ben Franklin Craft's with Katie, Jonathan, Katie's Dad, and Silas. While my entire being wanted to run over and swoop up a bunch of adorable material and buy it, I did not. (I bought one, but it's for a special project and Katie okayed it!)

After the craft store, we went to downtown Sumner and ate at KC's Caboose which was quite yummy! When we finished lunch, we walked around the shops and got even more craft ideas! I can't wait until I'm done with school this quarter so I can come home and sew every night!

Jay's leaving for tour approximately four weeks from now, wahhh!! I'll have to keep myself extra busy while he's gone.

Sewing and Bump-a-lump

2009-02-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

I spent almost the entire weekend with my parents. We went to thrift shops to buy fabric and odds-and-ends for my craft room (in progress). Sunday we went to Port Orchard and bought a desk, shelf unit, and armoire. I still have a lot of work to do in putting the room together and getting rid of the HUGE amount of stuff currently piled in the living room. (I dumped out the entire room).

I LOVE my craft room, it's going to be such a great santuary space to get away and craft without worrying if there's going to be space to eat dinner. (Our dining room table currently doubles as my craft space). I'm hoping by the end of next weekend I'll have everything back in order and have a clean house again.

I bought a lot of fabric the last two weeks with hopes of making quilts, baby blankets, burp cloths, bibs, swaddle blankets, softies, coffee cozies, tote bags, and more! Katie and I hung out tonight and talked more about getting things ready for a booth at the farmers market. Once I have my craft room all set up we'll have a great place to be creative and store things.

Oh, about the bump. So for the last year and a half I've had a bump on my neck. It never went away, Jay swears it moved and he also thinks there's two now and not one. When I went to an urgent care clinic a year or so ago the doctor looked at it briefly and said it was just stress-related. I've gotten a little worried recently because my neck is sore very often and I've been getting headaches. (I know, not good signs right?) So, I looked it up online (I do NOT recommend to do this, it does NOT help!) The "trusty" internet said it could be anything from a cyst to cancer. I'm not freaking out, but I'm a little worried and scared about it. I'm going to call the doctor's office tomorrow and schedule an appointment so Jay and I can ease our concerns.

In other news, for the few of you that read this that don't work with me, I received the honor of being named Employee of the Year last week. It was a top 50 highlight of my life and top 10 of my career. I really love my job, I think this is the first time in a long time (if ever) that I've felt that way.

My First Quilt... Emma's Quilt

2009-01-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

While in Colorado last week I picked up a great craft book with instructions for a baby clothes quilt. The pages inspired me to make a quilt (but with actual fabric) for Jay's cousin Sarah who is expecting a baby girl, Emma, in late March.

On Tuesday, I went to Goodwill planning on using "recycled" fabric from shirts. This proved very time consuming and just as expensive as buying fabric so I went to Joann Fabrics on Tuesday and purchased the rest of the fabric. The solid chocolate brown, pink, and green are all fabric cut from either a shirt or pillow cases. I like the idea of using "found objects" but will be on the prowl more this summer when yard saling.

Here are my quilt squares which were very time consuming to cut even with my cutting tool:
I originally had a brown floral backing picked out and purchased for this, but last night I realized that a baby much rather have something soft against their skin so I ran to Joann's again and purchased this soft and fluffy pink fabric that I love!

Once I had sewn my 8 rolls of 10 squares, I lined them up in the order I wanted and got ready to make the magic happen!

Did I forget to mention the reason I picked out these colors was because they matched the colors of items in Emma's registry? If so, now you know. The photo below shows all of the strips sewn together. At this point it was about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning (yes as in today).

Jay got home from a show in Seattle around this time and promised to keep me company until I went to bed. He lasted for about an hour before he crashed and began snoring along with the dogs.

Bear loves to cuddle but is a fanatic about having to be covered by a blanket which is why the photo below is so rare. (Not only he is not covered, he's asleep with a leg daggling in the air).

Sewing on the binding was the most difficult part of this whole experience, it didn't help I was trying to put it on around 5:00 a.m either. I finished up the binding this morning. I definately want to work on my binding skills for future projects, I'm not all-together horrible, but by no means awesome either.

Photo with the craft book I was using. (I know I should list what book it is but I'm too tired to go find it. It's by Alicia Paulson who has a blog called Posie Gets Cozy).

As instructed, I threaded embroirdery floss through the blanket to add another decorative touch and also secure the batting.

Overall, I loved making this quilt. I love learning how to do new things and I really enjoyed making something for Sarah and the soon-to-be-born Emma. She seemed to really like it today when I gave it to her at her baby shower.

From start to finish I'd say this took at least 30 hours but was well worth it. I want to go get more fabric and start another one, maybe a big one this time?

My new goal is to learn how to make felt food that's the rant and rave of the craft scene these days. It's super cute, would be a great gift for my neice, and would be good to sell at a booth at the farmers market (one of my goals for this summer).

Take this Bakerella!

2009-01-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

In honor of getting my 6" baking pan in the mail, I decided to attempt a recipie I found online for a butterscotch brownie cake with butterscotch and chocolate ganache.

Everything went well with the first layer and smelled amazing!

The directions called for setting the cake on some cooling racks, but I don't have any so I flipped a dog bowl upside down and cut out a piece of parchment paper for it to sit on while I drizzled ganache on it.

I was pretty proud of myself, and pretty hungry. The chocolate ganache was a bit of a turnoff due to my dislike of chocolate as a whole.

This was the original finished product, two layers of lucious butterscotch. Even Jay wanted a piece!

Now if you will look below, you will see the error of my ways... underbaking the top layer. One little crack was all it took for the layer to come tumbling down. I quickly removed it and tried to save the bottom layer with ganache.

This photo is dark, but all-in-all, I'd say the bottom layer was saved and made it to work the next day for my co-worker Sarah. (She's been training me in my new position and has been wonderful!)

I'm in love with these pans, they make the perfect size and don't take a long time to bake. I learned with this recipie that its very doughy and needs to be baked in thinner layers or else the middle will never cook.

Jay's a HUGE fan of this and wants me to bake it again which is always a good sign. One for the cookbook? I think so!

Stephanie's Gospel and Jazz

2008-11-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

Today, a co-worker and I decided to try out Downtown Tacoma's newest restaurant, Stephanie's Gospel and Jazz on Pacific Avenue.

We walked in and was promptly greeted by a gentleman in a black windbreaker and baseball cap who led us to our table. The table was covered in sophisticated white linens and linen napkins, nice right? These touches could not make you ignore the large aztec artwork on the wall (as the location was previously a mexican restaurant) or the bamboo chairs you were sitting in.

To add to the strange atmosphere, they had live music of a piano player on a baby grand. This, although a nice gesture, made it difficult to hear one another even though we were about half a restaurant-length away from the piano. The piano player was wearing a jacket and baseball cap as well. (I must add that this is in contrast to the white long sleeve, collared shirt and dress slacks that our server was wearing.)

The photocopied menu had a few stains on it from previous use. Menu features included a lot of southern food and some other things thrown in such as Chicken Parmesean, which my co-worker and I both choose thinking it was a "safe choice."

While waiting for our food, the piano playing ending to which our server stopped and clapped continually for him. (This doesn't sound as awkward as it was.)

Finally, our food arrived, hooray! A decent sized breaded chicken breast on top of linguine noodles with spaghetti sauce and cheese. The sauce was bland and tasted a bit watered down and the chicken... the chicken had the texture of McDonald's chicken nuggets... nothing that even resembled real meat. This lead to me eating about half of my chicken and a third or so of my spaghetti.

The saving grace to this experience was a) I had someone to share it with and Lindsay is one of the best people to share stuff with, and b) we had a coupon and received $5 off our bill.

The one positive thing that Lindsay and I agreed on was that perhaps southern food is more of their specialty and that's what they should stick to. Regardless, we will not be back.

On a completely non-related topic: Thanksgiving is almost here, yippee! Jay and I just finished 40 develed eggs, an Oreo Triple Layer Pie, and a Pumpkin Cheesecake. (Did I mention we cleaned part of the house too?)

And now.. to DVR!

Baby in tha' Hood

2008-11-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

Last night confirmed that we are not ready to have a child. Within 20 minutes of coming home, Bear peed on my foot, and Bruiser threw-up on the bed, we were spent!

While Jay and I still have months, years, or decades in front of us until we contemplate bringing another Tichy into the world, a few of my good friends are pregnant, one of them being Stephanie Hood.

I met Stephanie through a group of friends that I met through Club IMPACT and going to shows back in 1999. Stephanie lived with me and my family for at least half of her senior year, during which we got even closer. She got married three years ago to J.D. and now they're expecting their first child, a son, on December 31st.

As part of Stephanie's baby shower gift, I offered to take some photos of her in her glowing, pregnant state. Little did she know this was more of a gift to me, I had so much fun hanging out with her and taking these shots.
We started off the afternoon at Point Defiance Park where I tried to move around her without stepping in the pond and helping her avoid looking into the sun.

This is one of my favorite shots from the day. I love how simple it is.

This made this look much more comfortable than I imagine it actually is. What a perfect model, smiling, looking away, she took direction much better than when I try to pose Bruiser or Bear!

I was able to sneak in some fall color in this photo.

This is another favorite that I took at Ruston Way in the new area of the park. I made sure she had enough room on the ledge to avoid any possibility of her falling over. She was caught laughing at me plenty throughout the day while I tripped and stumbled over things trying to get "the right angle." At one point I was laying on the ground.

While I'm constantly hearing how "overdone" this shot is, I still like the simplicity of it.

I wish we would've plotted on where to write "Mommy Loves You" a little better to provide a better angle but did okay considering. This was one of the last shots of the day and by that point our tummy's were growling!

This shot was one that Stephanie wanted to do but I love how it turned out! J.D. is so excited to be a dad and is very much in love with his wife.

I was happy to have the opportunity to capture this amazing time in their lives while getting to spend time with a great friend.

Picture me doing the "cabbage patch"

2008-11-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

If I felt better, and wasn't plugged up with watery eyes, I would be doing the "cabbage patch" right about now.

After an agonizing week of waiting, I was offered a Marketing Coordinator position at my work. I am thrilled to learn a new job and work with awesome people at the same time.

That's all for now. I'm sick, but very happy! Oh, and to make this week even better, I received the Employee of the Quarter award yesterday and a $250 gift card!

And now... homework...

Birthday Boys!

2008-11-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, the weekend went by fast!

Friday night, Jay and I were Halloween Grinch's and turned out the tights while I did homework and he played Grand Theft Auto (which he is in the process of beating the last mission as I type this).

Saturday I photographed Vince and Gavin's Birthday. Gavin turned one and Vince turned 3. The kids were so happy, polite, and LOVE their mommy. It definately makes me excited to be a mom someday.

This photo was taken right before he dug into his very own birthday cake!

I think I had just tickled Vince when I took this. They're both so easy going, it was great!

All About Ellie

2008-10-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

I took a handful of photos at the Annual Tichy Halloween two weekends ago, but decided to devote this post just to my adorable neice Ellie that just turned 3.

Apparently she loves this dress that my mom got her and wears it for dress-up all of the time.

In the midst of the pumpkin carving excitement, she decided to go entertain herself while her Papa made a Thomas-the-Engine pumpkin. (Photos of that to follow).

I secretly wonder if our kids are going to be as cute as theirs, do they even have a chance? I hope so!

Taste of Rainier Part 2

2008-10-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

I had the most fun making this three layer chocolate cake and frosting from scratch. I'm sure if I baked for a living I wouldn't enjoy it as much, but as it stands now, I love it!

Taste of Rainier Part 1 - Carrot Cake Cupcakes

2008-10-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

In honor of my company's upcoming event "Taste of Rainier", which is a potluck-type event where employees play a flat fee to eat the food that everyone brings, I decided to try out some new recipies.

My first one was Carrot Cake Cupcakes. I got the recipie off of http://www.allrecipies.com/

Ingredients:
2 ounces white chocolate
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/8 cups white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

2. Beat together the eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl, and mix in the oil and vanilla. Fold in carrots and pineapple. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix flour mixture into the carrot mixture until evenly moist. Fold in 1/2 cup walnuts. Transfer to the prepared muffin cups.

3.Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before topping with the icing and sprinkling with remaining walnuts.

4. In small saucepan, melt white chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature.

5. In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in white chocolate, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and orange extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Mix in heavy cream.

6. Once the icing is made and the cupcakes were cooled, I used my icing tips and attempted creativity in edible form.

The cupcakes were a huge hit and in my opinion looked pretty yummy too! The frosting was great and could go on lots of other baking goodies as well. Jay said it had too much pineapple in it, but he's not much of a fruit/carrot cake guy. I'll definately make these again.

9 Month Update

2008-10-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

SiSince blogs continue to be the up and coming form of Myspace, LiveJournal, a newsletter, and diary combined; I decided I should update mine since it's been... well.. quite awhile.

Sad to say I did not do any of my marathons or runs this year. While I did have a personal trainer for awhile, that has also subsided. My new goal, and I think more realistic one is to go to the gym straight after work with Jay 2-3 times a week for 20 minutes. He has agreed to this, now I just need to add him to my membership at the Y.

Along with my new found commitment to getting in shape, I started a new quarter at school. Although I should find hope in the fact that I am working my way, slowly towards the "light" of graduation... this class makes me want to grab a bat, break the light, shut the door, throw away the key, and ignore my dreams and thoughts of making something of myself. Anatomy and Physiology, does that say enough by itself?

In other news, I love photography and had my first wedding three weeks ago. I still have a lot of work to do to learn my skill but I don't think I'm awful. Hopefully awful will turn into awesome in 2009, we'll see. Oh, and we're going to Colorado for Nick's wedding in January (it's Heather's wedding t00.) Yahoo! Ekk, I almost forgot, one of my best friends is prego! While she continues to torture me with not finding out the sex of the little one, I'm sooo excited for her!

i'm on vacation from excercise

2008-01-30T20:25:00.000-08:00

vacation implies that i'm taking a short break and that i haven't lost focus, which is why i like the phrase.. "i'm on vacation from excercise."

after taking four days off for numerous reasons I got on my treadmill on Saturday and proceeded to almost run/jog a mile when BOOM... I passed out. Don't worry, I got off the treadmill before I passed out, partially because I was getting dizzy and also because I wanted to skip over the Jackson 5 song that was playing so I could listen to "Sugar Daddy." That song won't sound so sweet in the future since that's that song I woke up to as I was laying on the floor about 15 feet from the treadmill. I yelled for Jay and he came flying down the stairs to which I started crying, embarassed about my littl' episode.

I haven't gotten on the treadmill since. I keep wanting to (with supervision of course,) but I decided that my assignment for school was more important. I say that, yet I'm sitting here, typing this instead of finishing it. (My other excuse is that Jay's band is practicing downstairs so I have the dogs in the computer room and they're FREAKING out!) It's not that I don't like school, I just don't like the homework that comes along with it. I much rather participate in a conversation for two hours every week and not have ANY homework. I'd even give up at a maximum 4 hours a week to get out of homework.

I want to start hanging out with people besides my family and my husband. Get a social life in '08, it'll be cool, it'll be great! Yes.. that's my corny slogan for the year.

And now, back to my Sociology paper. Are you sure I can't just talk for four hours instead?

13.75

2008-01-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

13.75 is my average mpm today, wohoo! I'm actually enjoying running, I look forward to it when I get home from work. (I know, I'm crazy.) I hope it's nice this weekend so I can run outside and bike with my dad.

I have yet to wake up with bulging muscles... still very dissapointing. I have a little baby arm muscle that I flex everyday in hopes of making it bigger.

I'm a cheater

2008-01-13T23:03:00.000-08:00

After three days of not running or doing any form of excercise, I got back on the treadmill. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't want to, it's more that I just ran out of time for a few days and running took lower priority than spending time with my parents and danielle.

I would've loved to do an outside run today since the weather was great but instead went grocery shopping with my dad and then headed to the theater to see Sweeney Todd with Danielle. Good movie, I think they added more blood than was needed, but it was still very enjoyable (especially watching the look on Danielle's face as blood spurted everywhere.)

Today I ran 3 miles in 43.5 minutes which averages to 14.5 minutes per mile. This means I have met my "feat of the week" by getting my time under 15 minutes per mile, but I did not run 4 miles. So this next week I need to build myself up to 4 miles while maintaining my average min. per mile.

My parents got back from their cruise on Saturday and I'm offically very jealous. Jay and I have yet to plan our vacation that's supposively happening in 4 and a half months. I should probably get on top of that this week....

What a way to spend my lunch hour...

2008-01-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

I spent my lunch hour today at South Sound Running by my work. Not only was I trying on running shoes... I was testing them inside the store! I can imagine that I run/jog pretty funny anyways, but the "joy" of getting to run from one end of the store to the other to test out different shoes was beyond a level of enjoyment I am used to. I can truly say after trying on 5-7 pairs of South Sound Runnings finest... THEY ALL FEEL THE SAME! Okay, there were a few times where I noticed a difference, but the only difference I seemed to notice was the colors and who's really a big fan of teal these days? (I appologize to anyone reading this who reads it while wearing any form of teal.)

I decided on a pair of Brooks running shoes that are slick, silver, blue and make me run faster than ever... okay, I haven't even run in them yet, but they look pretty! The great part about the shoes is a) I think I can run faster in them and that's half the battle, and b) the return policy! The return policy is wonderful, for the next 30 days I can run, jog, pogo, dance, or hop in them and if I don't like them I can exchange them for a different type of shoe!

Although I really wanted to try out my new shoes, I wanted to enjoy some time with my huby so after work we got food at the Pacific Grill during happy hour. Not only is their food amazing, but it's very well priced during happy hour where we managed to get a casear salad, and two orders of cheeseburger sliders and fries for $10.88. (I need to mention that our salad got comped because the sliders took so long.) After stuffing our face we went to see Juno at the Grand. I could go on about this movie, just know that it made Jay and I cry, not want a baby for awhile, swear to never buy boysenberry condoms, and to cross our fingers our kids are not allergic to dog saliva.

No update on my running pace since the only running I did was inside a store today. (The girl working there said I could count it, but having to constantly turn around and run back through off my pace.)

Chipper Jen

2008-01-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I refused to use a "Rest Day" so I decided to squeeze in two miles on the treadmill before Jessica and Mayah came over. I finished in 28 minutes (14 minutes per mile for those of you playing at home.) I'm really exciting about continuing to gain speed, but my knees are starting to feel it as I run/jog more. I told Jay I was having sympathy pains for Tasha's knees.

Today I decided to workout to a Crunch Abs DVD that I bought at Ross a few years ago for $3.99. I think that 45 minutes made me stretch muscles I didn't think I had, and my abs... holy poop do they ache right now. Yes, I still expect to wake up tomorrow morning with a washboard stomach now that I've excercised them... but I know the reality is I'll have the same pooch there as I do right now. (Although it should be on it's way to getting smaller.)

The good and bad part about my new found hobby is that I don't have a scale. In the last 6-8 months I've been at the heaviest weight I've ever been at (although we won't disclose what that is,) so I never thought twice about wanting a scale. It's not all in what you weigh, it's how you feel, you look, and how confident you are. I feel confident that I'm losing weight!

Tomorrow will most likely be a "Rest Day" since I'm going to a show with Jay, and then I'm back at it on Friday.

I pushed myself too hard

2008-01-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

About eight minutes ago I finished the craziest run/jog of my life (so far.) After reading more of my book I was inspired to "push myself" past my "walls."

So I did a two minute warm up walk and then started jog/running. I felt very healthy and confident, being able to keep a speed of 13 minutes per mile. But as I finished my first mile (still feeling awesome,) I slowed it down for a minute or two and then pushed myself again. Well, I pushed myself too hard because about 3 minutes later I had to slow down and couldn't catch my breath. At this point I was close to two miles and was NOT going to give up or give up my 15 minute per mile goal. So I held onto the handle bars, drank from Gatorade, and sucked it up and made it.

I'm super proud of myself, but will listen to my body better next time.
My accomplishment: 2 miles in 29 minutes (14.5 minutes per mile.)
My punishment: I can feel my pulse pounding through my chest and randomly enough.. through my legs.

I got my new credit card and debit card in the mail today so it's time to go register for the runs! (Wow, did that sound like a poop joke or what?)

As far as changes to my body.. this is my 9th day of training so I can't say I've seen the change I hope for. (Which is to wake up as a size 6 and having lost 30 pounds.) My legs are definately getting toned, that's about the only noticable change so far. Once I get my bulging biceps and six pack I'll post pictures!

I'm working on two tattoo designs right now; I think I've decided that will be my "reward" for accomplishing the 10k. Now it's a matter of finishing the design, having someone draw it, and then being patient enough to wait five months to get it.

A 12k is how many miles?

2008-01-05T20:18:00.001-08:00

So I started reading the book Tasha loaned to me, A Women's Marathon Guide for Non-Runners. The book is great and confirmed a few things I have already started doing: a) thinking about what i'm "signing up for" before I start telling anyone I've made a commitment to something like this, and b) once I've made the commitment... tell everyone I know so that I can encourage others and they can hold me accountable.

Yesterday at Jay's parents I was talking about my training and how I'm still really enthusiastic at this point and the whole family decided to do the Sound to Narrows in June. It sounds like we'll do the 5k, but still, that's awesome!

So right now I'm commited to three events in 2008, which is enough for me.
St. Patricks Day Dash 5K (the sunday before St. Patricks Day)
Mother's Day 10k (do I see a theme linking runs to holidays?)
Sound to Narrows 5k or 12k

After each day I work out I go to bed expecting to be 2 sizes smaller when I wake up the next morning... this has yet to happen. It feels great to be excercising and have energy though!

Along with my "fitness" goal for 2008, I'm commiting to saving money, becoming a better person (specifically, a better wife), continue going to school, strengthening my walk with God, going to Disneyworld, and doing this all while maintaining my sanity.

My goal for next week is to get up to 4 miles while maintaining 15 minutes per mile.

Time Today: 3.75 miles in 58.5 minutes (15.6 minutes per mile)

49 Minutes!

2008-01-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

Walking/jogging/running three miles in 49 minutes in my accomplishment of the week! I recently decided to start training for a 10k Run/Walk in May and haven't missed a workout day since! I know I have a long journey ahead of me before the pounds start dropping and before I'm ready to run for 6+ miles, but I feel good knowing that I'm at least moving forward and making progress everyday.

I declared today Bear's birthday. Bear is my one-year-old Boston Terrier. I love both of my dogs alot, I can't imagine how it's going to be someday when I have a child of my own.