actual t

I’m Christian, unless you’re gay.

2011-12-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

This is not meant to offend anyone. Just make you think.

I have not posted something on the Blog in a really long time, but I think this is something that I would like to say and I'd like bit more space then just a facebook link.

So here I go.

I just read an article that I KNOW everyone should read. And I mean everyone. It poses questions that I often consider myself, and I think ALL people should also consider.

I was raised in the Mormon faith. I went to church nearly every Sunday, youth group every Wednesday, and Seminary every morning (well some mornings) before school.

I was taught, many things that I still try to live by (despite not having gone to church in over a decade).

Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.

Treat others they way you would like to be treated.

and so on...

I also sadly learned that a lot of "religious" people can also be very hypocritical. Sure Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself, unless he is gay, weird, crazy, liberal, a drug addict... the list goes on.

I know that not all Mormons, or Christians believe this way, but there sure seem to be a lot that do. My teachers may not have flat out said that being gay was wrong, or hey don't bring that weird friend of your around here anymore, but more often then not I felt left out because I was a bit more "liberal" and open then most of my other peers at church.

Today I am in a Happy relationship with a loving husband. We have two beautiful children. But I also believe that two people of the same sex can and should have what my husband and I do.

I look at my sister-in-law who is raising her two children in a same sex relationship. She has trials just like a "normal" couple has. And she has two wonderful children that love both their moms. I know that both of them are going to grow up to be awesome people.

That is the end of my rant. I hope that you read I’m Christian, unless you’re gay. And I hope it makes you think. I don't think that my words or even the words in this article will change any ones mind, but I do hope it makes them think...

Worst blogger EVER!!

2010-03-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

So I am slowly starting to fall back into the Worst blogger ever category as it has been a month since my last post. I think what I really need to do is re post my 2010 to do list and give it the once over since I really need the motivation.

1. Loose at least 40 pounds.
I have lost 10 which is great but for the last two weeks I have really been slacking. The good news is that I'm down to my pre-Arthur weight, but I have A LOT of work to do if I am going to get down to 175 by July. I have several friends and a sister that are doing such a great job in their weight loss and I'm going to use their success to motivate me!

2. Walk or be active every day.
This one has been hard. I really need to just go out and do stuff. It has been hard to go for walks since it is so rainy most of the time, but I need to do more. I plan to start taking classes at least once a week while Arthur is in Daycare... this should help get me going at least. I also need to start doing some inside activities that get my heart rate up as well.

3. Keep better records.
I have really been sucking this one up. Must get better.

4. Be a better blogger.
See title of this post.

5. Draw more.
I think I am going to revise this one to Be artistic. As much as I love to draw I also love to do so many other artistic/crafty things to from now on I will just do something artistic (and not work related) each week. Draw, sew, paint, print, design, crochet... the possibilities are endless!

6. Make Actual Industries ROCK!
We at Actual are all working very hard on this one. I in particular have been struggling to find my place in the company even though I'm one of the owners. I think that I have a better understanding of what that place is and have been able to lent my skills to make Actual just a bit better. Also we launched our site which looks great!

7. Learn QuickBooks.
I think that by trying to do some of the bookkeeping/accounting we came to the conclusion that I am not a bookkeeper. I don't like numbers or math. We all decided that it would be easier to turn this over to a professional to handle.

8. Drink more water.
some days are good others not so much. I really need to get better at this one.

9. Start using cloth diapers again.
Still ROCKING this one! Arthur is all cloth at home. We have to put him in disposable 2 days a week for daycare, although I hope to start using them on those days as well soon.

10. Be more active with Arthur.
We went to one story time at the library in town, but I still need to do more with this. He is however going to daycare 2 days a week, where he gets to play with Leah who is 2.5. He really loves chasing her around, still on his knees as his is not quite walking walking yet.

Wow I really needed to take an inventory of my goals, some of which I'm rockin' others that I really need to catch up on. Here's to hoping that next month will be better, and that I can get my ass into gear and rock them all!!!

weekly update

2010-02-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

This is a snap shot from one of our outings in the sun last week. Arthur loves the swings!

Last week I neither lost or gained any weight so I suppose that is good. I did get out of the house and walked a lot! The weather has been gorgeous for the last week here in Oregon and I took advantage of it with several long walks, which felt so nice! This week I need to keep the walking up, and really keep track of all my food, and next week will be muck better.

For the most part I have been good at keeping my journal, this week my goal is to actually write in it every day. Although I do have an entry for every day, sometimes I have to do a few days catchup.

This last week I also designed new business cards for Actual. Brad and Greg are going to attend a digital signage show in Vegas this week, and they needed to have nice cards with the new logo to bring along. They really turned out nice, and we got them delivered in time to take to the show!

Happy week everyone!

weekly update/I don't diet well.

2010-02-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

So the week starting Feb 8th Matt and I were going to do a two week cleanse. The cleanse we chose was pretty easy to follow and actually involved eating food. I discovered however that I am no good at radical diets. They say they are going to give you all this energy and improve this and that, but all it did was make me tired and cranky. Now part of this may be due to the fact that I came down with a stomach bug on Monday, and really did not eat much of anything for two days. But by Thursday I came to the conclusion that if I have any chance loosing weight then silly diet gimmicks like that are not the way to go.

So Thursday I gave in, and gave up. Not completely, just the radical stuff. I started logging all of my food on weightwatchers.com, and committed to exercising, and making healthy food choices. I plan to not eat out, and limit my sugar and carb intake (I eat WAY to much sugar and carbs). I will do this by eating whole grains, lots of veggies, lean meats, and no more candy binges!

I'm well on my way, and already went from 213 pounds - 209.2 pounds! That is nearly 4 pounds and counting. Which also means that I'm only 9 pounds away from loosing all the "baby weight" I put on both pre and post pregnancy.

It has been a slow start, but I'm SUPER committed this time around and have to get my but in gear if I'm going to get down to 175 before July 12th...

Time sure flies/Happy Birthday Jack!

2010-02-06T09:36:00.001-08:00

(the loves his new cousin so much)

I can't believe how fast time seems to fly these days. It seems like just yesterday I was driving up to Salem to meet Jack for the very first time and today he is turning 4! Jack has got be one on the bravest little boys I have even met. He has been through so much in his life already, and he is always in such good spirits no matter how crappy he might be feeling.

He is such a great big brother and cousin. He has been know to just stop and say, "Arthur is the cutest baby ever". I can't wait to see what a great little man he is going to become.

Happy Birthday Jack!

January update

2010-02-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

So I figure that the beat way to keep on track for 2010 is to post an update on how my goals have been going and what I need to do to stay on track. I figure it I do this it will a) help me stay on track knowing that I have to let the world know every month how I'm doing, and b) it will raise me to at least "mediocre blogger" status, seeing as I will have at least 12 posts for the year, which is way more then last.

1. Loose at least 40 pounds.
Okay so I'm a bit behind on this one, I have not lost any weight in Jan, but I have not gained any either, so I suppose that is something. Starting next week Matt and I are going to do a cleansing diet, to Jump start our weight loss, then I am going to work my ass off, eat right and exercise. My goal is to be down to 175 before my 30th birthday which is in July. That means I have a little over 5 months to loose 35 pounds.

2. Walk or be active every day.
This has also been tough. I blame it mostly on myself, but I also blame the rain and cold, it is much harder to go out and walk when you have a baby. Babies melt in the rain... I'm thinking of joining west coast fitness with a friend, so I will have a work out buddy which is always great!

3. Keep better records.
I have actually been GREAT at this one. I bought a small pocket sized calender, and every day I just jot down a few thoughts, or things that happened, or whatever. It is only a small paragraph each day, but is makes it a reasonable goal, because if I were trying to do more it would just not get done at all.

4. Be a better blogger.
In the process of this one right now! also for the month of Feb. I think I will try and post once a week. Baby steps...

5. Draw more.
I am about half way with this one. I think I have missed one week. I think I will also start posting my illustrations every week on my crafT blog, this will also help out the previous goal.

6. Make Actual Industries ROCK!
I have finished the preliminary designs for actualindustries.com. Since we need to have a website to get clients this is a pretty important step. Now we just have to put the site into motion, this is my Feb. Actual Goal.

7. Learn QuickBooks.
We decided to turn all our end of the year stuff over to a book keeping firm that is going to get everything in order for us and set up our QuickBooks. Once that is done I will be able to learn how to enter in things, and keep everything straight.

8. Drink more water.
Some days I do really good other days not so much. I need to be better at this one. Also cutting out some of my caffeine will also help, which I will be doing on my cleanse.

9. Start using cloth diapers again.
I am ROCKING this one. Aside for the occasional disposable when we go out, or away we are back to cloth. Have found several options that I'm loving and are working well for Arthur. It is amazing on how much less trash we have each week, makes me feel so much better, about doing my part, you know for the world and stuff.

10. Be more active with Arthur.
This one I still need to work on. I was going to start trying to go to Story time at the library but it is at 10, which is right during Arthur's first nap these days, so I need to look into some other options that we can do. I'm thinking of swimming lessons. I think this will help both of us since I'm not much for the water, so I think if I go do it with him, I won't be as nervous myself. Also we may be putting him into daycare for a couple days a week, so that will help as well, plus it will give me some non-kid time to get other things done.

All in all I have done a good job. I still need a bit of work, but I think I'm on track to making 2010 a pretty damn fine year!!!

A better 2010.

2010-01-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

So I have decided to put this list out there for the "world" to see because if I do that it makes it real, and if it is real then I will actually accomplish it, or so the theory goes.

10 things I wish to accomplish in '10:

1. Loose at least 40 pounds. (20 or so of these are the pounds that I gained with Arthur, and the other 20 are are the pounds I should have lost before I had him)

2. Walk or be active every day. This will help with the previous goal, plus I just fell better when I am more active.

3. Keep better records. I have always been a horrible "journalist" if you will, and this year I want to be better. I bought a small purse calender and my plan is to jot down at least one thing that I did/thought/felt that day, and or one thing that Arthur did/thought/felt that day. This way I will be sure to remember when he took his first step, or said his first word.

4. Raise from my "worst blogger ever" status to at least "mediocre blogger".

5. Draw more. Right now the goal is to finish one small illustration every week. That is 52 illustrations in '10!

6. Work as hard as I can to make Actual Industries as awesome and profitable as I can.

7. Learn QuickBooks. This will also help with the previous goal.

8. Drink more water. I feel better when I do this. I get less headaches, my skin is clearer, and it just makes sense.

9. Start using cloth diapers again.

10. Be more active with Arthur. I tent to be a bit of a home body, so I want to get out into the world with him more, go places, do things, see people.

So there it is. Feel free to check up on me to make sure I'm working things out, and please tell me to get over myself when you find out they are not. Also be sure to tell me I rock when I actually accomplish something on the list!

Reflections on 2009

2010-01-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all my reader! It has been quite a life changing year here at the Davies'. Having Arthur has been one of the most wonderful, albeit stressful things I have even done in my life. I cannot complain much though. For those of you that have met Arthur you understand what I'm talking about. He is quite possibly the easiest baby on the planet :).

Here is a rundown of how 2009 shaped up for us:

January: I was about 28 weeks pregnant and counting. Although the first part of my pregnancy was pretty rough with awful all day (not just morning) sickness, bu the first of the year I was feeling fine and everything was a GO! Jan. 31 Matt's sister Cathy gives birth to Wyatt Richard Davies-Kang. We are so Happy ice-ice is going to have a cousin so close to him in age!

February: 32 weeks pregnant. Work for me at Hanlon Brown is starting to slow down quite a bit and I switch to hourly, which gives me some free time to get things ready for little Ice-Ice (at this point we were calling Arthur that, and did not reveal his name till his birthday). I'm pretty sure the nursery was still not set up or anything.

March: 36 weeks pregnant. My coworkers at HB threw me a nice little shower, where they all pitched in and bought Matt and I Arthur's car seat, among other little gifts! Matt and I went to the lovely Eric Cable (who also photographed our wedding) and had our photograph taken. This was so much fun, I'm so glad we did it. My wonderful sisters threw me a beautiful baby shower. I received so may great gifts, and was now more then ready to get the nursery all put together. The one good thing about waiting till you are 37 weeks pregnant to set the nursery up is, that you husband gets to do all of the putting together, and all you have to do id decorate! We also bought a new fridge which is so awesome, and arrives just a couple weeks before Arthur.

April: 40 weeks pregnant (and counting): April 2nd (ice-ice's due date) came and went. On April 7th we went to what should have been my first doctors appt. after giving birth, and chose the date of April 10th to induce labor. My doctor also wanted me to go in for fetal monitoring either that day or the next, just to make sure that everything was going smoothly inside... The next day at 9am Matt and I went up to OHSU expecting to just listen to and see the baby, and go home, and instead I was wheeled over to labor and delivery and a pitocin was started. After a very short 3 hour labor, and thanks to some proactive doctors, and a quick c-section, at 4:12pm on April 8th Arthur Harrison Davies made his debut into this world, weighing 8 pound 7 ounces, 22 inches long.

April was quite possibly one of the most stressful and rewarding months of my life thus far. I had pulled my share of all-nighters in college but was always able to re coop afterwards. As much as I cannot function on no sleep, we soon came up with a system and were on our way to becoming a happy functional family. Matt took the rest of the month off, and with help from my family and Matt's we made it through that first hectic month!

May: Arthur is 1 month old. Things are moving right along in the Davies household. Arthur starts to smile at us, and has not stopped since! We found out that My sister (Desiree) is pregnant with her second child! She actually found out the day after my baby shower, but waited a while to tell everyone so as not to steel my thunder. Thanks Dez!!! We are so happy again to have yet another cousin so close to Arthur's age!

June: Arthur is 2 months old. 12 pounds and 2 feet long! We our first road trip up to Seattle to see the Davies-Kang clan, so that they could meet Arthur. Matt got to celebrate his first Fathers Day, and Arthur rolled over for the first time, at only 10.5 weeks! Matt was lucky enough to survive the Nike lay-off, but lost over half his team and was moved to a different department. Matt and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary. We find out that Dez and Chris are having a baby girl. Jack was not happy about this, as he wanted a brother, that he wanted to name "the other Jack".

July: Arthur is 3-months old. We took another short road trip up to Seattle this time we were able to see Matt's Aunt Maryanne and Uncle Steve and his cousins, which he had not seen since our wedding. On 7.7.09 our good friends Brad and Annie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Maggie. Among the cousins that Arthur will have to grow up with, he will have a built in best friend just down the street. I can't wait! We took a just over a week long road trip with Dez, Chris, and Jack to Wyoming to the Bell-Wagner family reunion. I saw A LOT of family that I had not seen in many many years, and Arthur was able to meet his great Grandma and pa Bell. I'm so happy we took this trip and got to see all the family. First giggles! On Vacation I turn 29. Matt and I started a new business venture with Brad and Annie (mentioned above) and Actual Industries LLC was formed. I decide to become a stay at home mom, and not return to HB.

August: Arthur is 4 months old, and is starting to "talk" up a storm, and roll all over the place! Our good friends Jenny and John get hitched, and Arthur is able to meet all of his extended family that came out for the wedding! Matt Arthur and I take our first trip to the coast, and Arthur got to experience his first typical organ coast day, full of rain, wind and gray skys.

September: Arthur is 5 months old. Matt and I celebrate his 31st birthday and our 5th anniversary with a trip to Tacoma to see ACDC. I have to admit I was not sure about this present when I opened it but it turned out to be a pretty awesome concert. They can still rock for a bunch of old men :)! Arthur has his first taste of "real" food. He is not all that thrilled with the rice cereal and is much happier when we introduce peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes into the mix!

October: Arthur is 6 months old. We go back to Eric Cable and have our family portrait taken. Eric is so impressed with the photo's he has us sigh a model release. Arthur sure is one good looking baby! I have decided to make all of his food which is fun, and actually food I would not mind eating myself , if purred food is what I ate. We started getting weekly produce deliveries from organics to you that have provided many great organic meals to Arthur and ourselves! Arthur got his first stomach flu this month, we were all lucky to have it last only a few days. Arthur is the Pope for Halloween. Best costume EVER!!!

November: Arthur is 7 months old. He started to sit up on his own this month. He is still all smiles and talks up a storm. On 11.5.09 Dez and Chris welcome Ella Marlene Kiesel into the world. Jack and Ella are getting along just fine, although if you ask his who is cuter Ella or Arthur, he says Arthur! We celebrate Thanksgiving in Woodburn with my family.

December: Arthur is 8 months old, and has started to crawl and pull himself up to standing. He has the cutest little crawl, where he goes 3 or 4 steps and then tries to get up onto his toes and stand. He has not skipped crawling but I think he is going to move onto walking before he gets the whole crawling thing down. We celebrate Christmas at our place in Portland with Matt's all the family Matt's and mine. It is really fun to see all the cousins play, and have fun. I can't wait till next year when Arthur, Wyatt, and Ella are all old enough to know what is going on. After Christmas, Arthur also learned how to clap, thanks in part to Wyatt.

All in all 2009 has been quite a great year. We had a beautiful baby boy, and I can't wait to see what the next decade brings us...

Time sure files...

2009-07-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but our Arthur Pants is already three-and-a-half months old. He is already turning into such a little man. I can't wait to see who is is going to become in the months and years to come. He is so Awesome!!! I know I'm just a proud mom but he is really great. Beyond the fact that he is just the cutest baby in the world, he is also so clam and happy, and we could not have asked for a better baby.

Since I have been horrible at keeping you all in the loop I will give you a quick run down on what Mr. Arthur has been up to over the last three months.

• 4.8.2009 Arthur was born
• 4.11.2009 came home from the hospital
• we found out Aunt Dez and Uncle Chris are having a new baby! So excited that Arthur is going to have all these cousins and friends so close to his age. (They are having a little girl due Nov. 1st)
• he started smiling at 3-4 weeks old
• at 8 weeks he was already 24.25 inches long and counting
• third weekend in June went up to Seattle to meet the Davies-Kang clan
• 6.21.2009 (fathers day) on our trip up to Seattle Arthur rolled over (front to back) for the very first time (even before his cousin Wyatt)
• On July 4th on another trip up to Seattle he rolled over back to front.
• 7.6.2009 I officially became a stay at home mom, and told Hanlon Brown that I would not return back to work
• 7.7.09 Annie gives birth to miss Maggie Mosher. Sure to be Arthur's best friend in no time!
• 7.9-7.15.2009 Took our first LONG road trip to Wyoming to meet the fam! Got to meet his great grandma and pa Bell

Month three has just been full of firsts. He has started grabbing at anything he can get his hands on and putting them straight in his mouth. First giggles. Rolling around on the floor like a monkey. Splashing in the bath. And most recently we think he is working on his first teeth which he is not very happy about.

As for Matt and I we are doing our best to adapting to this new roll of being parents. Yesterday my friend Annie (who has an almost 2-week-old at home) asked me when it was that we finally transitioned into a routine with our lives that worked. I had a hard time answering this question because I don't remember an exact time that it all made sense, it just did. Now that I look back on the last three months all that I can say is that you just fall into this pattern of being a mom, and being a family, I do not when this happened exactly, I just know that it happened. Granted I have to give a bit of the credit to Arthur because he is such a calm, loving, happy baby. And the rest of the credit I have to give to Matt because he is go laid back and he made me realize that it was all going to be OK, and it will.

Meet Arthur Harrison Davies

2009-04-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

Arthur Harrison Davies
Born April 8th at 4:12 pm
8lbs 7oz
22 inches long

Ice Ice as he was at this point was due to enter the world on April 2nd 2009. This date came and went. We had a doctors appointment on the 7th where we determined that if he did not come on his own by Friday the 10th we were going to induce.

Since he was 5 days late at this point we had to go in to have some monitoring done the next morning. During the motoring his heart rate dropped substantially, and I was wheeled straight over to labor and delivery. They hooked us up to the monitors again and the doctors determined that I was going to have the baby that day. Even though we knew there was a small chance this would happen we did not bother to pack the car, so Matt headed home to fetch our things, and as soon as he got back they started the labor induction, at around 1 PM.

I was only in "labor" for about 3 hours, just as they were starting to administer my epidural the doctors determined that since Ices heart rate was still low they were going to have to perform a c-section, and about a minute latter I was wheeled into the OR, and not long after that we were welcoming Arthur Harrison into the world.

The Davies family was released from the hospital a few days latter. Life has been quite an adjustment with a new little one but we are all doing quite well. We have so many great family and friends that have given us so much help and support.

Arthur had his first official doctors appointment last week, and everything is going great, we have a nice healthy boy on our hands. I plan to keep you all posted on the life and times of the Davies family. I don't have any posted yet but keep an eye on my flicker page for many many photo's of our beautiful baby boy!

Almost over!

2009-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Man alive I have not updated my sad little blog in a decade! I figured I'd get you all caught up on my goings on since I'm due to have a baby tomorrow!

Being pregnant for the last 10 months has been quite a life changing experience, and I can't wait for the next stage of the process to begin. Here are 10 things that Ihave learned being pregnant:

1. Any woman who tells you that they had a perfect uneventful pregnancy is a big FAT liar!!!

2. I could never have bulimia I hate throwing up!

3. Don't wait till you are 8 months pregnant to super clean your bedroom it will take twice as long, and you will not be able to bend over and pick anything up.

4. Also don't wait till you are 37 weeks pregnant to assemble all your baby furniture, unless you want your husband to do it all... wait maybe that was a good thing to do :)!

5. Ask for help, there is always someone that is ready and willing to help, like when you can't get your socks on, or pick up something you just dropped.

6. The only thing worse then getting a cold when you are 36 weeks pregnant, is getting a cold 3 days before the baby is due.

7. If you want to eat it, eat it! I'm pregnant is the best excuse and it only lasts for a few months, plus this is the only time in your life that you are supposed to be fat.

8. I am convinced that pregnant woman get constipated so that they can practice pushing.

9. Don't give your poor baby a nickname like ice ice in the womb, because you know he is going to be called it for the rest of his life, even if that was not your intent.

10. Keeping the babies name a secret is fun! Drives people nuts!

Hopefully the next time I post little Ice Ice will have a "real" name, and there will be many new stories to share with you all.We'll keep you posted!

Forever and a day.

2008-11-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

I figured since I have not posted anything since July it was about time that I update my loyal readers (all three of you) on my where abouts!

My last few posts had been about getting healthier and starting to loose some weight. I did great during and just after the detox that Matt and I did the last few weeks of July, but since then I have managed to gain back most of the weight I lost. This however is not a bad thing, because they recommend that pregnant woman not "diet".

Which brings me to my next bit of good news, Matt and I are expecting our first child in early April! I'm due on the second. I'm just over 18 weeks along now, and we get to find out the sex on Nov. 12th so I will keep everyone posted on that as well.

Aside from that my other bit of good news is that I have a full time job! I finally got hired on full time at Hanlon Brown design (i'm the last one on the left). This is the place that I have been contracting at for the last three plus years. I have loved working there so much and I'm so glad that a position opened up. It is such a great company to work for! It is also nice to have a regular paycheck for a change especially with a baby on the way

I think that about sums it up! Expect more posts from here on out. And I will try my hardest not to make them all baby related...

down 10!

2008-07-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have lost a total of ten pounds in just over a week. Yeah me! I'm even getting used to not eating all of those wonderful things I have grown a custom to eating, though I really could go for a piece of bread slathered in brie right now.

The thing that is the hardest is not salt. Man alive I was never one that ate a ton of salt, but cutting it out all together is just plain bland. It is really amazing how just a little bit of salt really brings out the flavor of so many things.

Just one more week and I get to slowly add back some dairy wheat and even a bit of salt!

A Better T week one.

2008-07-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

So Matt and I have started our new Fat Flush diet. Everything has been going well, the food is better then I thought it would be. It has not even been that hard giving up sugar, caffeine, dairy, and wheat.

Inspired a bit by my friend Chris who has recentally has won his own "race for a little less" (I'm super impressed congrats you look awesome), I'm just going to to put it all out there...

My starting weight as of Monday July 14th 214 lbs

I have managed to gain almost 40 pounds since our trip to Europe last summer none of which was actually gained on the trip, which I am not so proud of.

The diet so far seams to be working Since Monday I have already lost almost 7 pounds. And Matt has lost about the same.

I have had a few moments that I wanted to throw it all away and have a big piece of cake, but the cravings have started to subside which is nice. I will be sure to keep everyone posted on my progress.

I never thought recess would be so hard...

2008-07-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Jean I have found a new fun (most of the time) way to kick start my fitness regime. It is called Urban Recess. I am participating in the Urban Recess Boot Camp, during the month of July. So far I have attended two classes, and both have kicked my ass, which I suppose is what I really need.

During the session we do things like jump rope (which a I don't think I have done since the fifth grade) and run/skip/march lines (which I swore I would never do again when I was a freshman in high school). As much hard work as it is, it is also a lot of fun! We also (towards the end of the session) do a lot of Pilates moves, which I'm horrible at because I'm so not flexible. But I can tell that doing them will make me more flexible, and strong, so I suppose they are not to bad.

If you are in the NW Portland area on Tuesday or Thursday in July night 6-7, you might want to stop by and join in and get your ass kicked as well. It is only a $15 fee...

A Better T

2008-06-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

So lately I have been really blah. I have had no energy, and for no particular reason, because I really don't do anything. I've managed to gain almost 30 pounds in the last year and I think that is about time that I get my body under control.

I have started to exercise more which has helped a little bit, I joined Curves again, and I have been taking hank for walks almost every day. But I still feel just blah.

Last week I came to the decision that I really needed to go on some sort of diet, and not just my normal I'll try and eat better diet, a REAL diet. I started to do some research on some different detox diets and came to the conclusion that a detox might just be the thing that I need to do.

After looking into several different diets I decided to go with the Fat Flush Plan. One of the reasons that I chose this diet was because it involves REAL food and not just strange liquid concoctions. It is more of a diet then a detox, but the whole point behind the diet is to cleanse your liver, and other organs, so they start to work like they should, and in turn you loose fat and weight. Along with the weight loss there should be other great side effects, like fewer headaches, more energy, and even fewer allergies.

I'm done being fat and unhealthy and am looking forward to changing my life and they way I think about food. Matt and I plan to do the diet together. We are reading the book now and plan to start the diet after my birthday, on July 14th. I will keep you all posted on my progress...

I am craf-T

2008-05-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

So I have finally got my ass in gear and started my new blog, craf-T. Check it out and be sure to tell all of your friends, I hope to turn it into somehting fun!

It's a Boy!

2008-04-21T08:50:00.001-07:00

This weekend Matt and I became the proud parents of (and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this) the CUTEST puppy in the world. His name is Hank. His mother was a Shepard mix, and the best they could tell his father was some sort of lab/newfoundland mix. Because his mother was a Shepard, and there was lab in the father he should not get quite as big as a newfoundland, but he should still be a big guy. I have posted more pics here.

Backyard Studio?

2008-04-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

As much as I want to transform my garage into a nice big artist studio, there are a few draw backs that I see with using my garage. First, it is a garage and no matter what I do with it, it will always feel like just that. Second, there are NO windows, not even in the garage doors so there would be no natural light. I know that it is a nice big space, but I think that the first two drawbacks are enough to make me want to change my mind.

Every other month I get super excited when my new Ready Made magazine comes in the mail. I immediately rip it open and read it on the spot.

This issue was no exception. Issue 34 was the green design issue, full of lots of great green tips and treats. The article that caught my eye was all about creative work spaces. "Creative work spaces" being modular buildings that you construct in your backyard, and use for various things including art studio. This got my wheels turning. The first few mentioned in the article were awesome but just a bit out of my price range. The last four in the article were just what I am looking for.

In issue 10 of Ready Made there was an article "Gimme Shelter" Build a modern bungalow in your backyard. This was all about how to build a studio in your backyard, complete with a list of supplies and instructions. The current issue features 4 versions constructed by actual Ready Made users, and are all really great.

So this is what I think that I want to do. It will be a lot smaller (only 100 sq feet) then using the garage, but I think that it will be really fun! All I have to is go online any buy my blueprints from Ready Made, get my supplies, and have a good ol' fashion barn raising! Wish me luck.

Light at the end of the tunnel... almost

2008-04-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm so close to being all done with the house. There are still a box or two here and there, and I have to rearrange and finish painting the kitchen.

Next project... The garage!

I will be turning the garage into a studio. Right now it is just a "garage" and will need quite a bit of work, but I'm up to it!

First we will need to put dry wall up on the celling, and some of the walls. This will be good for two reasons, first the garage will look like a more finished space, and less like a garage, and second, we will create a mess of storage space.

There will be some dry wall work we will ned to do to the walls as well.

I also plan to paint, and put up peg board for storage. I think that after it is all done it will be a pretty amazing transformation. I will keep you all posted on my progress as soon as I get everything rolling!

House Photos

2008-03-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

So I have finally got my ass in gear and posted some house photos. Right now there are just before and during photos. I will post the after photos as soon as we get all unpacked, and things put up. Enjoy!

cirque de sole... AMAZING!

2008-03-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

So we decided to take a break from all the house stuff last night and go to cirque de sole and it was amazing. If you have never had the chance to go I would highly recommend it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole night. How anyone can do the stuff they do to their bodies I will never know. This was my favorite act of the whole night, they were throwing these girls around like they were dolls, it looked so effortless. The costumes and music were also amazing! Anyway if you have a second check out the website... it is Friday after all!

ps. Just in case you were thinking of joining the circus!

Almost done!

2008-03-09T22:46:00.000-07:00

So we have been working our asses off and we are almost done with all the stuff (and more) that we wanted to have done before we moved* in. Once I have a bit more time in a week or so I will start to post pictures, and tell tales of everything we did to the house, so stay tuned.

*we have actually been living in the house for almost 2 weeks now sans furniture, well not completely sans furniture we have three dining room chairs, 2 camping chairs, a card table and a mattress.

New blog brainstorm session...

2008-02-19T23:12:00.001-08:00

So here's the deal, I'm going to start a new "crafty" blog and I need everyones help to decide what I want to include in it. I love being crafty, and I love sharing my craftiness with others, thus I feel the need to bring a crafty blog to the people, or at least the few of you that read my current blog... and hopefully more...

This is what I'm thinking... I want to do at least some sort of blog post every day (except Sunday because even god got a day to rest), and each day will have a theme. This is where my loyal readers (all three of you) come in, helping me choose all the themes, or at least giving me ideas on what you would like to read about.

here is what I have come up with so far:

blog day. On this day I will write about another blog that I have found that I think others should be reading as well...

hand made shopping day. On this day I will feature great places to find great hand made items.

shopping day. Since not everything great is hand made on this day I will feature things/ companies I find love and think others should love as well!

diy day. I'm full of all kinds of great projects that I would love to share with others.

pattern day: I first came up with the idea for this blog when I became addicted to this blog. Since I am addicted to patterns as well I will dedicate a whole day to them. Patterns I have found, patterns I have made...

shameless plug day... it is my blog!

That is all I have right now. I'm still not sure everything that I will include but I would like some input. Let me know what you think about my proposed topics, and feel free to suggest some other ones.

Happy Valentines to US!!!!

2008-02-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

So for valentines day today Matt and I get the best present EVER...

A house!

We get the Keys today!!!!!! We may not get to move in until the 25th (or sooner depending on when the "old" owners move out) but it is OFFICIALLY ours!!!!!!!!

Sining my life away/ Ikea is a happy place!!

2008-02-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Matt and I signed all of our paper work... and we are only 6 days away from being official home owners!!!! We close on Valentines day! We won't get to move in for a week to ten days after we close, but then current homeowners will have to pay us 50 bucks a day to live in "our" house so I suppose that it is OK!!!

Our first order of duty will be the walls and the floors! The whole house has the awful old carpet so we will ripping that all up, and putting in laminate floors. First we will paint the walls, because the carpet is just getting thrown out we don't have to be all careful not to get any on the floor. Next we will rip up all the old carpet and lay down the floors, before we start to move all of our stuff in.

Matt and I had a very productive day at Ikea. We were able to pick out several things that we want to get for the house, floors, shelves, book cases, couches, chairs, and tables. We want it all really. First we plan on doing the floors and walls and we will see what we can still afford after that. This is what our plan is thus far:

We plan on doing a green (surprise surprise) in the living room. It is going to match the green in the painting that I did with all the swirls. We hope to get a orange couch, and use brown, navy blue and red as accent colors... I can't wait to have color on my walls!! these colors will continue into the dining room and kitchen, because they are all like one big room anyway

In the family/Game room I think we are going to go with black, gray's, navy, and red. We found a leather sleeper sofa at Ikea that we liked. Also we found these chairs at Dania that we fell in love with they are the most comfortable chairs I have even sat in. We plan on getting them for the game room but we may wait for a bit because they are a bit on the spendy side but will be well worth the cost when we decide to splurge! And Splurge we will!

As far as the master bedroom goes we plan on using a dark blue as the main color, and other blues and greens to go with it. My favorite thing that I found at Ikea is the closet organization furniture that I want to use in the bedroom it is the PAX system and I LOVE it!!!!!!

I can't wait to do all my decorating, painting, and flooring and will keep you all posted as soon as the house is in our hands. I will take a mess of before, during and pictures so you all can see our work in progress!!!

In Loving Memory/Things I have learned/ Two weeks is a long time/ Home sweet home.

2008-02-04T13:08:00.001-08:00

A NOTE TO MY READERS: This post may be a bit on the long side but worth reading if you have a bit of time on your hands.

As some of you loyal readers may already know, my grandmother just passed away. We found out a few weeks ago that she was going to be taken off dialysis which meant she would only have 2-10 days to live. My mother was going to go out to Utah early so she could be with her before she passed away, and since I was not working at the time I decided to go out with her. We left on Friday the 18th. We thought she would only last a few days, and that the funeral would be on the 26th, but being the stubborn person she always was she held out till the 25th, so we had to postpone the funeral till the 2nd. Which is why I ended up in Utah for two weeks.

In Loving Memory

Edith Hatch Terry

Feb 1921-Jan 2008

Things I Learned from My Grandmother:

1) How to be the perfect hostess. Any of you have been to one of my parties can attest to how much I love to throw a good party. This talent I got from my Grandmother. She could throw an amazing party. From the delicious food, impeckably set tables, and fancy dishes, to the love she had for being the perfect hostess, I got it all from her.

2) How to sew. Now because I lived so far away from her my whole life she was never able to teach me personally how to sew, but she taught my mother and my mother taught me. She was always a perfectionist in all that she did and sewing was no exception. If a seam was not stright, or in the wrong place she would do it over until it was right. If a pattern called for 2 yards of material she could get it out of 1. She was pretty amazing. She was so very excited when she found out that I had taken up sewing, and was willing to give me all the tips she could

3) Things are not worth doing unless you do them well. See above for example.

4) And above all to Marry the person that you love. She and my grandfather were so much in love their whole lives. I remember they would always hold hands and give each other kisses, and as much as I thought this was a bit yucky as a child I can see now how beautiful it was. They were like this till the very end when my Grandfather would hold her hand while she was in bed unable to move, to the kiss he gave her before they closed her casket.

Things I learned in my two weeks in Utah.

1) THROW THINGS AWAY!!!! If for no other reason then one day someone is going to have to have to clean it all up. My grandmother saved everything. And although I ended up with some pretty cool fabric, thread, rick rack, and cards, I also threw A LOT of stuff away.

2) Just because something is a good deal does not mean you should buy it. You may think that someone will have a use for it some day but I will tell you now that no one will want a sheet set that was only 2 bucks that you purchased in 1975, huge orange flowers and all.

3) Orgonians are VERY polite. They let you in (in traffic), take their carts in at the store, they hold they door for you, etc. And in Utah they do not.

4) Utah drivers are Freekin' CRAZY. I think they suppose they have god on their side or something...

5) Learn all you can about who you are and where you came from. My Grandmother was full of so may stories about her past, and I wish I would have been abel to hear more of them.

6) "Crazy" old men are AWESOME!!!! Aside from the stroke that my Grandfather had over six years ago which affected mostly his speech, he has a bit of dimencha. Because of this he wore a lot of pants... I'm not sure if this is because he would forget that he already put a pair on, or he was just cold, or what, but more often then not he would have between 2-4 pairs of pants on, with a couple of belts to hold them up. As sad as this was for the most part it was nice to have something to laugh at.

7) Looking at old pictures of yourself and you family is a fun way to pass the time!!!

*can you tell which one is me!

Two weeks is a very long time, and I am so glad that I am home! As much as I wanted to be home by the end of the two weeks I was glad that I was able to go with my mother so I could be there to help, and give her a hug when she needed it. I learned a lot these past two weeks, and saw a lot of things that I never thought I would see. I was able to cry, and laugh and celebrate a woman that meant so much to a lot of people. She will be highly missed, but is in a much better place!

* If you give up i'm the bald one with the sticky-outy monkey ears!

House City Baby!!!!

2008-01-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

SO! This is the house. We have an inspection today, and as long as everything goes smoothly we should close by the middle of February! The house is in St. Johns, on a cute little street not to to far off of Lombard.

I CANNOT wait to be a home owner!!! The things I'm looking most forward to are:

1. not having to make sure I have quarters before I do a load of wash.

2. being able to do a load of laundry whenever I want, even it is just to wash a couple of things (I know that is two laundry things but I cant wait to have my very own washer and dryer!!!)

3. painting my walls any color I want!!!

4. not having to keep all my sewing and craft stuff in piles on my living room floor.

5. having a yard...

(and that is not even the whole yard)

6. planting a garden, in my amazing yard.

7. planting calla lilies (among many other flowers) in my yard!

8. having a place to put the letterpress that I have been dying to own.

9. DOG!!!!

10. having some place to call my own, and start a family in!

I will keep everyone posted... and you should all expect an invitation to a painting party soon!!

2008... A good year!!!

2008-01-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

First things first, I had a wonderful holiday. It was so much fun seeing my nephew and neice getting so big, and understanding christmas... I can't wait till next year, it will be even more fun!!! Seattle was a lot of fun and I'm so happy to have Matt's family just up the road. Having both of our families so close is so great!!!

All in all 2008 is looking up to be a great year and aside from a few little things that I need to do to make it even better I'm looking forward to the upcoming year.

In order to make my new years resolutions/goals "real" I figure I should share them with the whole world, that way If I get off track, everyone will know, thus whiping me into shape...

1. Become a homeowner. (Now I know this is really not a resolution, and just somehting that is going to happen but the following is a list of things I want to resolve as a home owner)
a. be a better house keeper
b. make a menu and cook at home
c. throw many fabulous dinner parties
d. do all I can to make my house my home

2. Be healthy, and in turn loose weight. I weighed myself this morning and I was not very happy with myself. I really need to get my ass in gear, eat better, exercise, and in general be a healthier person.

3. Get serious about getting my craft business up and running. Buying a house will help with this. The situation in my living room right now is a bit less then steller. As soon as we get the house I will have a place to sew, and a studio, to do some printing in!!! Aside from having the room to create, I also need to get my web site updated so I start making my own sales on-line.

4. Be a better communicator. I have way to many long lost friends and family that I need to stay in better touch with.

5. Make and stick to a budget. This will be something that we will have to do after we get the house. We have been so used to have ing a lot more disposable money that we will not have as soon as we have a mortgage to pay.

6. Eat out less. I figure this will just have to happen as soon as we start to do number 1 and 5, and will in turn help out with #2 and #1b, it will however be hard, because we really do love eating out..

7. Spend more time with friends and family.

8. Keep my blog updated at least once a week.

9. Be positive!

Heres to a happy and healthy 2008!!!!!

Christmas New bags and Home Shopping!

2007-12-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

So there are so many things going on. Christmas is almost here, and this year we get to spend it with all the Fam's. Sunday before Christmas we are having a Christmas Brunch with my Fam. I can't wait to see Jack at Christmas this year, as cute as he was last year he will be so much cuter this year!!! I got him the cutest little outfit. First a Tweed blazer (see above photo) from baby gap, with a sweater, and khaki pants to wear with it. he will be a perfect little yuppie in no time!

And then on to Seattle to see Matt's Fam. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE that Matt's sisters have moved to the NW and are only a few hours away. This will be the first Christmas that we get to spend with Lea, and she is almost three. I have to say that I have gone a bit over board with the presents, but I don't even care!!! she is getting a little play kitchen, so I got her this cute little set from Target with a real little set of pans, and spoons and stuff...FUN!!! We also got her fake sushi kit (see above) to "cook" they are made out of wood, and so freekin cute!

Next I have several New bags on ETSY that I'm pretty proud of so you should check them out. The more I make the better they get!!!

Last I'm sooooooo excited Matt and I have started out house hunt. We looked at several last weekend, and found one that we LOVE (see above photo) We are looking at more tomorrow, and hope to make a decision on which one we love the most to make an offer on. The one below is one we think may be a close contender to the one we LOVE so far!!! I'm so excited!!!!

I will keep you posted on how things go on the house front!!!
Have a Merry Christmas!

Bigger Better My Ass!!!!

2007-12-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

So my craft fair experience this weekend was a bit less then stellar. In fact it sucked ass. It was a badly ran, small and there were just no customers to buy anything. We made a whopping $24.50 which was not even enough to pay for the space.

All in all it was not that bad of an experience, and I learned some valuable lessons, and had an amazing weekend away with my wonderful husband, that did nothing but cheer me up when I was upset, about how much things sucked.

Things that I learned:

1. My core customer base IS NOT little old ladies that frequent holiday bazaars at the coast.
2. Being the most prepared, best looking booth at a small craft fair just means I really am ready for the "Big Leagues"
3. People really do love Monkeys in Hats!
4. My bags really do ROCK!!!!!
5. I have the best most caring big Teddy Bear of a husband, and I don't know what I would do without him.

Craft Fair

2007-11-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

So I have decided to take a leap and bring my bags and cards outside the computer... to the people. I will be attending my first craft fair this weekend in Lincoln City. I'm a bit nervous, because I have never done this before but I think I have the possibility of doing pretty well. I will have over 20 bags, some monkeys in hats cards, some ABCs and a few misc. other things.

I have been working my ass off over the last week to get everything ready and have the rest of this week, so I think I will be set. Over the weekend my Mom was my savior helping be make 2 full bags (great leather ones) and 2 partial bags.

I still have a lot to do and hope I will get it all done.
Wish me luck!!!

NEW BAGS!!!

2007-11-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

I just posted like 4 new ones! CHECK them out!!

It's Here!!!

2007-10-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

So I got my new sewing machine early last week, and I love it!!!! It sews through so much stuff nicely. I have made a few bags with it and have posted one that I hope to sell. Now that I have had a bit of time to practice I will soon be a bag making machine!!! I hope to start using leather (and not just the cheap scrap leather) to make the majority of my bags. I figure I would make a few more out of more cost effective materials, to get a hang of my machine...

I tried to post some photo's but bloger would not have it so you'll have to go to etsy to check it out...

stay tuned for even more creations soon!

How you can tell when you husband really loves you.....

2007-09-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

He runs over your foot with the car?

Well that is what Matt did to me on Monday! He was dropping me off at the gym, he thought I was crossing in back of the car, but alas I was crossing in front, and he went right over my left foot...OUCH!!!!! everything is alright, I went to the ER and got an x-ray, but nothing was wrong. It is pretty purple and splotchy, but only hurts now if i touch it or bump it on something hard, which I try to avoid.

One upside of having your foot run over, NO GYM, but the downside of that is My lazy ass just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and I was trying to be good and get back at it....aw well there is always next week!

God bless small cars!

My new Toy!!

2007-09-19T22:28:00.001-07:00

I just bought her on Ebay!!! I can't wait to get it! It is a n industrial strength model, for sewing through leather and vinyl. My old machine pooped out the other day. Instead of getting it fixed I decided to use the money toward a machine that was meant to sew the heavy stuff, I can't wait!

Look what it can do...

More bags...

2007-09-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

So I have just posted a few more bags.... check them out

BAGS!!!!

2007-09-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

So I promised you all a preview, before I posted these on ETSY to sell so here they are.....

Let me know what you think, I'm super excited!!! Go to my ETSY shop to check them out.

Tell all your friends to check them out as well!!!!

Change of Plan...

2007-08-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

So I have decided not to go back to school. I came to the conclusion the other night that really the only reason that I had decided to go back to school was because I felt the need for the title. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that what I'd be more happy with is just taking classes... so that is my plan! There is just way to many thing I would rather be doing right now with my money and my time! I want to have a house, and start a family, and make things, and if I were in school I could see all of those things being put off... Also the more I sew, the more I was thinking that book arts was not the right choice of a major.

Even thought I will not be enrolled as a full time student I still plan on taking as many classes as I can, because really what I want to do is learn. I hope to take a silk screening class that starts at the end of September. I will keep you all posted on my progress, and my artwork, soon I will have photographs of all of my bags, and I will show them off before I put them on ETSY to sell.....

T Loves Bags!

2007-08-07T12:57:00.001-07:00

So I know that I did not finish talking about my trip, but I got busy doing other things, and frankly did not want to write about the trip any more. As I feel like it I will post info about all of my stops, and keep all my pictures up to date on my flickr account!

I have been up to some sewing which has taken all of my time! I made a reversible skirt (from my Sew What! Skirts book) I don't have a photo of that yet though because the ones I took myself did not turn out well so I will have Matt help me tonight with that....

I also made a couple of bags!!! The first one I made from an Amy Bulter pattern. I really love her bags, and it was really easy to make. It was my first attempt at making a bag, and I think that I did a pretty good job! I need to make a few more from patterns, because I would like to come up with some of my own designs, but before I do I need to learn some basic skills.

Next I decided to not wait to learn new skills and just attempt my own "pattern". It turned out alright, and I really love the fabric, but there are things that drive me nuts about it. First of all the fabric was vinyl , and vinyl is just plain hard to sew, because the feet don't want to grab it. Since I have really never made my own bag pattern it is really simple, and kind of boring, but it is a start. I think that the more I make the better, I and they will be...

There was this class offered at OCAC this summer about drafting you own bag patterns, and making your own bags, but I did not find out about it until the class was over...I was so sad, and am hoping that they offer the class again soon!

Stay tuned for more exploration into my BAGS!!!!!!

Trip Photo's

2007-07-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

Click the my photo's link (off to the right) to viw more photo's from the trip. I don't have them all posted yet, but I do have a bunch!!! Or Click here!

Paris! Paris!

2007-07-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

We flew from Dublin to Paris the morning of the 3rd. Our lovely friend B (who was living there at the time) met us at the airport, and we all took the train back into the city. I have to say right now that B was the best part of our time in Paris, she was so much fun, and was willing to be a silly tourist right along with us, plus she spoke the language... she was our Parisian savior!!! Our hotel was not quiet ready yet so we dropped off out luggage and went to get some lunch...we were all starving! We had a fabulous crepe lunch. afterward it was tourist city!!!!

*this is us acting "french"
First we took a bus over to the Eiffel tower. We did not go up, even though there was not much of a line because it was raining off and on all day, but we did take the time to take all the cheesy eiffel tower pictures. The rest of the day we just wandered around the city to see all the sites, arch de triumph, the louvre, and a bunch of other cool old sites I can't even remember. For dinner we went to a French chain restaurant (I can't remember the name) who's specialty was mussels. I got my own huge pot of mussels...they were soooo good.

The next day we did more wandering around the city, and a bit of shopping. We were outside the pompidou (paris' modern are museum) and there was this guy with some really cool art work. B ended up getting a piece of his, and a bit latter after a coffee, and some thinking I went back and got a a painting for myself, because I knew If I did not I would regret it. We had to get back to our hotel by 5pm so we could start our "tour".

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the tour group I was about to spend two weeks with were not all fanny pack toting, black socks with sandels wearing people. They were mostly families with children ranging from, 15-26 and a couple of girls who were about to start medical/optometry school. They ended up being a great group of people. After a meet and greet we took the metro to a wonderful restaurant, and all had out first dinner as a group.

The next morning the whole group went to the Sainte Chapelle. It was very beautiful, and the stained glass windows were just amazing. We walked from there over to the Notre Dame which was also amazing. After our walk and site seeing, we broke for lunch, and had the rest of the day free to do what we wanted. We had a museum pass that would get us into a mess of places, so we chose to go to the pompidou (the modern art museum) There was so much great art to see.

There was this great exhibit called Détours d'objets Hijacking objects by Claude Courtecuisse. If you know me at all you will see why I like it so much. It was actually a children's exhibit. The artist took objects, toys, containers, blocks, anything you can think of, and stacked them up, and took photo's of them. There was also this room set up where you could go an sit on a plat form, and push a button, that took a picture of you, you then went over to a monitor and could choose from a list of images, including your photo, and make your own stack. You then printed out a receipt so you could go to a website and print out your stack. IT WAS SO COOL.

The next morning we went as a group to the louvre on out way out of town. We only spent about 3 hours there so we only had time for the highlights. One of which was the Mona Lisa, which frankly was a bit of a let down. It is an amazing piece of artwork, but there is something that 6 inches of bullet proof glass just takes away. All in all the museum was pretty amazing, and I'm glad we just got to see the highlights, because it is so huge it would really take weeks to see everything. ur

Thats about it for paris....Stay tuned to the next installment Beaune (bone) France!!!!

Beautiful Ireland

2007-07-20T14:44:00.001-07:00

Matt and I are back safe and sound, despite our 30 plus hour ordeal on our trip back from Rome. We had so much fun, ate a lot of food, drank a lot of wine (and beer thanks to Ireland, Switzerland, and Austria) and did a lot of walking.

Since we went a lot of places, and had so much fun in each place I thought I would break the trip up into several posts. I also plan on posting more pictures on Flickr so keep yours eyes peeled for those.

FIRST STOP--IRELAND!!!!

First things first, Guiness does taste better in Ireland.

Full Guinness=Happy T

Empty Guinness=Sad T

We flew into Dublin on the 27th of June. We had rented a car so as soon as we got there Matt got to learn very fast how to drive in the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road. He did very well, and I'm so glad we rented a car because it gave us so much more freedom, even if back roads in Ireland are barely big enough for two cars, and both those cars are going way way to fast. After going to get some lunch we headed back to our B&B which was so very cute. I felt so bad, because all I wanted to do was go to sleep, and our super cute hostess wanted to talk. After a great nap we woke up and went to find some dinner, but nothing around where we were was open, so for dinner we had a pint of Guinness, and I have to say it really does drink like a meal.

The next morning we headed off to the dingle peninsula, which is on the SW corner of the country, in the county of Kerry. Our first night we stayed just five minutes outside of town. It was just the cutest little town, full of shops, and pubs, and surrounded by the most beautiful country side I have even seen. The Next day we moved on to a B&B in downtown Dingle right in the middle of everything.

Our first day we rented bikes, we could have ridden the whole peninsula (about 25 miles) but ran into some problems. After about 2-3 miles into the trip Matt's bike tire popped, so we had to walk our bikes all the way into town to get him a new bike. We set off again, this time in the other direction, rode about 5ish miles, took a break for lunch, in a wonderful cow pasture, and decided to call it a day. Who were kidding 25 miles...

That night we decided to take advantage of the local dingle night life. Most pubs after 9ish have Irish music jam sessions. There was a big pud right across the street from our B&B so we went there first, had a pint, then decided to move along because it was so loud and crowded that we could not hear the music. We walked up the way a popped into a great little that was not crowded or, loud at all, and the band KICKED ASS!!!! They were an Irish bluegrass band that did covers of, the White Stripes "hotle yorba", Johnny Cash, and Violent Femmes "waiting for the bus" (J--I thought of you when they did this one). They were awesome!!!

After one more day of site seeing, and shopping we headed back to Dublin. We stayed again at the first B&B, it was about 30 minutes from Dublin. In the morning we went into Dublin but only stayed for a few hours. We liked the smaller out lining cities much more so we decided to spend our last night in one of those instead of the city. We went to Skerries which is on the beach, a beach the reminded me a lot of the Oregon coast. We went for a nice walk, and had a wonderful seafood dinner. It was the perfect end to what I hope will be the first of many trips to Ireland.

Stay Tuned for the next Fun filled installment....Paris! Paris!

Off to Europe, and Three happy years!!!

2007-06-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

So matt and I are off to Europe tomorrow!!!! I can't think of any better way to spend our third anniversary. Well If we could beam ourselves to Ireland instead of a 12 hour flight that would be great, but since I did not marry spock, I will have to settle for a champagne toast on the plane, in celebration of three wonderful years. Plus as a bonus I will be in Venice on my birthday!

Just a side note... We have been e-mailing back and fourth with several different B&B's in Ireland to make reservations for the trip, and I have to say the the Irish people are just so very polite, and happy. I can't wait!!!

Matt Davies MBA

2007-06-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Matt has officially graduated! It was a lovely ceremony (small school so it lasted less then 2 hours!!!) He has actually been done since end of march, but it was nice to have a ceremony to make it feel more complete. They mailed him is diploma in April, just getting it in the mail with no "graduation" or anything was really uneventful.

THANKS!!!! to all of you who made it out to the BBQ this weekend. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and celebrate!

8 days and counting...

2007-06-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

I can't wait, Matt and I leave for our trip next tuesday!!! We leave on the 26th (our anniversary) and will arrive in Dublin the morning of the 27th. I still have sooooo much stuff to do, to get ready for the trip, but I will have everything done in time, I hope. We are both only bringing one carry-on bag, so there will not be that much to pack anyway.

I'm a bit nervous about the flight because the longest flight I have been on was PDX to LAX with a stop in Oakland, so all the way to Dublin will be a bit more then I'm used to. It is not a nonstop flight, we have a stop in alanta, so at least that will break it up a bit.

I will try to stop at an Internet cafe and keep you all updated, but If I don't look forward to a mess of pictures and stories when I get back!!!!

Skirt City... and I'm the Mayor!

2007-06-10T20:37:00.001-07:00

So i'm super excited! I bought this book called Sew What! Skirts. It is a fabulous book that shows you how to make 16 different skirts, from your own pattern! I cant wait to put it to good use.

It has really great instructions, and the skirts are super cute! So may of the patterns out there are a bit middle aged for my taste, and all the patterns in the book are super hip.

Because you create the pattern from your own measurements it will fit a lot better then just using a pattern that says it will fit, but never does.

After I make a few skirts for myself I thinking about trying to sell custom made skirts for others. There is this web site called Esty where I think I will try and sell them. I was looking around on the site and somebody was selling a simple a-line skirt, and I thought I could do that. I love to sew, and I think people would love ordering a custom fit skirt. It might be while before I get that far but for now I will be hard at work making skirts for me!!

Exercise is stupid!

2007-06-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

So for the last month I have been going to a personal trainer at the 24 Hour Fitness where I work out. I just had my last session with her yesterday. Over all it has been a great experience and I have learned many things some of which are:

1. It takes more ass muscles to go down stairs then up them. I know this because after doing 40 lunges (especially since I have not done them since freshman year of high school) my ass was sore, and going down stairs with a sore ass is a real bitch.

2. Lunges are evil.

3. I can sill jump rope for a full minute without stopping, even though the last I I jumped rope New Kids on the Block were still in.

4. Overweight, big breasted adults should not jump rope.

5. The exercises that seem the easiest are the ones that really kick your ass.

6. even after all of this I say I hate exercise but I really don't I just wish I had not gone so long being a lazy ass, because if I was not such a lazy ass 40 lunges would not be such a bitch.

Inked

2007-06-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

So I have finally got my second in the line of might very well be many tattoos. I got it done about 4 weeks ago so it is all healed up and looks quite nice in my opinion! I got it done at infinity by traci! I came to her with the "T" and the idea to use vintage fabric patterns to create a floral pattern to be Incorporated with the "T" she brilliantly came up with what you see here! We chose to use a slate grey color for the outlines on the flowers, and the stitching to give it a softer feel, and to make it more like a fabric print. I love how it goes from my back over around my shoulder, but I might go back in and have her put a few more flowers around onto my upper arm, and that side of my shoulder.

I can't wait to get my next one!!!!

Ready Made

2007-06-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Every couple or months I get my new copy of Ready Made and I just get so excited! It is one of the best magazines I have ever read, and one of the few that I read from cover to cover the day I get it in the mail. It is full of crafty tips, for you and your home, everything from how to make a cute top out of a table cloth, to how to recover a dining room chair. They always have really great Ideas and every time I get the issue I want to go out and make all sorts of crafty things.

While reading my new issue I also stumbled upon this bad ass site Purl Soho They sell all kinds of great fabrics and yarns and it is great. It is so hard to find such great fabric, and I'm so excited that I found this site, and I think that I will have to make a bunch of great skirts to use all the great printed fabrics that I found. Theses are some of my favorites Heather Ross, Etsuko Furuya and so may more. I can't wait to order some, and make something great!

Back to School!

2007-05-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

* I did not make these books

So I have decided to go back to school. Six years of higher education was just not enough so I'm going back to try and make it an nice even eight years! I plan to attend Oregon College of Arts and Craft (OCAC). While there I will be getting my BFA in Book arts, where I will learn to hand make "art" books. I am very excited because I will be able to take my sometimes unhealthy love of paper, and printing and turn it in to something wonderful. Because of my previous six years of education I should only have to take 3-4 semesters to get my degree which will be great! I will be starting in the fall.

I will be taking:
• survey beg. book arts
• book and box arts
• intro to fibers
• natural science/math (sadly I was shy a math and science credit boooo)
• and maybe one more (15 and 12 credits cost the same amount)

I will keep you all posted on my progress and post photos on the projects that I will be working on.

All my friends are doing it!

2007-05-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

So I have decided to join the blog revolution. I figure I can use it as a place to keep all my adoring fans updated, because as you all know my life is just that exciting! Plus everybody else is doing it! This is all I really have to say right now, like I said I live a very exciting life, so stay tuned for more in the on going saga that is... actual t!