random memory

the other day i was listening to a death cab for cutie song - which i'm sorry to say i can't remember the name of right now. but in it there is a line that says : "catholic school, vicious as golden rule. i had my knuckles bruised by a lady in black." i smiled to myself as i remembered my days in catholic school. i spent quite a few of my early elementary years in a couple different catholic schools. my experiences weren't really bad, except that i was painfully shy. like, sat by myself every day, shy. that really had nothing to do with catholic school though. it was just made worse by the fact that it was incredibly clique-ish. these kids had grown up together and didn't readily let outsiders in. this one particular school was in burlingame, ca. if you aren't familiar with this town, let me paint you a picture: set in the hills outside of san francisco it is a very affluent community. the houses were ALL amazing. no cookies cutter, suburban type homes here. more like old mansions. all of them. the house we lived in was no different, albeit a bit haunted, but that's a different post. there was lots of old money, established families, and, it seemed to me, lots of catholic families (which is the religion i grew up practicing). in this school there was a parish set right on the school grounds, complete with a priest and nuns. in seventh grade, well all through my schools years, i struggled terribly with math. of course i felt i was the only one, and in truth, i might have been. i was the only one who got to go with the nun during math for tutoring. i was taken into an empty classroom with this woman. she was actually very kind, when she wasn't tutoring me! she had to be in her eighties - at least. and she always - ALWAYS had coffee. as she tutored me she would go into these coughing fits and as a result little splats of coffee would appear on my paper. she would take her wrinkled, arthritic-ridden hand and wipe (smudge) them into my paper. my paper was illegible by the time we were done. when she wasn't coughing and spitting coffee on my paper, and sometimes me, she was talking. nothing out of the ordinary with this, except for the fact that if you drink non-stop coffee your breath is equal to that of a toilet in need of cleaning. bad. i tried to chew gum to combat her dragon breath, but we weren't allowed to chew gum. so this only worked once. then i tried putting my head down when she spoke to me. this didn't last either. she thought i was being rude and demanded that i look at her when she was speaking to me. i can't hold my breath for long periods of time. i found this out during my tutored days with the nun. blast! so throughout all of seventh and part of eighth grade, for that hour during each weekday, my life was made miserable by a woman of the cloth. i mean no disrespect. none at all. like i said, she was very nice and as far as i could tell, a very good nun. i'm just saying.

he likes to have his picture taken...

sometimes he poses when he knows that i know he is posing. sometimes he thinks he is being sly and poses when he thinks i think he is being "natural". case in point:
obvious pose:


his "catalog look":
i mean, come on... is he four or twenty four??? we never know, it sort of depends!

feeling very domestic!

yesterday was a very "martha stewart" day for me. i love those days...don't you? i feel so accomplished and a bit clever too. i made two delicious recipes. the first were yummilicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. they are melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious! the second was banana bread. i got the recipe from my friend natalies blog. (so good, natalie...thanks for sharing!)
i did two loads of laundry. i know, it doesn't sound like much, but laundry is not my favorite chore, so i have to pat myself on the back ;)
and....i finished a quilt for my mom. when she saw the last one i made she requested one (in the comment section - followed up by a phone call). i really want to share the whole quilt with you all, but i don't want to completely ruin her surprise. it is one of my favorites. i added a few things here and there (stamped images with permanent ink). here are two little "teasers"......


sorry the following picture is so bad - the lighting was off and i had a really hard time getting the focus on the word with all those little folds of fabric. my camera was very confused!

by the way, i love this word lately. mostly due to president monsons talk in general conference. of course i had to incorporate it into my current projects!!


thank you all for your words of support with my pregnancy! i feel great - now. that may change. i am really tired. really tired! but i am so happy and feel so incredibly blessed to have this little life inside me! a privilege indeed.

i am.........

PREGNANT!! just found out, so i am only a couple of weeks along. but i am never one to hold onto such news. had to share.

tagged - time to learn more about me!

i've been tagged. this one is to list 7 random things about yourself. i love these things because they make you reveal yourself just a bit, and after all, this is a journal of sorts, no? i will want my kids to know these things too.



1) i have a really hard time accepting help/charity/service from others. i am more than willing to give it, and try to seek out opportunities to do so, but being on the receiving end is hard for me. and ASKING for help???? forget it! i have to reallllly have exhausted all my options before i do that. i have worthiness issues, i guess.

2) things that freak me out: grass (sitting on), frogs, most slimy things, being late. i seriously have a panic attack if i even think i will be late. i am always 10 minutes early (unless it's inappropriate to be that early - in which case i usually still am, i just park or drive around until the acceptable time arrives) if i am late, something is terribly wrong.

3) i twirl my hair when i am: bored, nervous, stressed/anxious or thinking. so, kind of all the time. stephan tells me my hair will fall out someday (because i am a really stressed out girl), but i can't seem to stop this bad habit.

4) no matter what i do i cannot limit my creative interests. i've tried to focus on one or two things. impossible. my mind is in constant motion, and to deny myself a certain creative outlet is like killing a big part of who i am.

5) when i was younger i was painfully shy. catholic school was really hard for me because it was so clique-ish. i would pretend to be sick as often as my mom would "fall" for it just to avoid school. when i got into high school i sort of grew out of this a bit, but in certain social situations i still have shy tendencies.

6) i was on my high school dance team, and was captain my senior year. we went to nationals and took third place that year. a far cry from the shy catholic school girl, huh! (dancing is something i dearly miss, and often dream about taking classes. maybe when time and money are more abundant)

7) if you see me without accessories (ie: jewelry, usually lots of it) there is something wrong, or i have just worked out. i love to wear jewelry! i love to make jewelry. i have an accessory addiction. one that i have no desire to cure, because i think i wouldn't be me without my jewelry! i will definitely be that old lady who wears a bit too many necklaces (they probably don't really even match), lots of bracelets, and fluffy pink hair. just mark my words.

enough said...

this is EXACTLY the experience most photographer have!!! am i right? oh, and for the record, when i am the "subject" i, too am saying the same thing. only it's usually: "man, i hate my double chin", or "my face looks fat lately".

weekend rundown...

* "all hallows eve" banner completed friday night. i handcut those letters on thursday while watching the vp debate. took forever! it's hard to see in this picture, but there is black glitter on top. * did a few halloween collages... just for fun, and just because it's one of my favorite things to do!

* another halloween collage.


* kyle had a baseball game on saturday. in this picture you can see the ball directly over his head (he hit a foul)

* he was catcher A LOT. my thighs hurt just watching him squat, stand up, squat, stand up.....good exercise (if you have the knees of a ten year old!!)

* ben enjoying the weekly "to go candy-goodie bag" brought by the grandparents. they come EVERY single week to watch kyle's game......from colorado springs!!! (about an hour or so long drive)

* noah enjoying....well, attention. he is very devoted to this hat these days. i call it his 'huck finn' hat. for obvious reasons.

* sunday: conference quiche. mmm.....a most yummy tradition we started about a year ago. every general conference (which is every six months) we have at least two yummy quiches made by stephan. well, i make the crust...i do like my crust recipe. this conference it was ham and cheese for the kids, and a veggie/bacon medley for the adults. ahh...they were delicious!

* 178th general conference for the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. i enjoyed it so much. i loved president monsons talks, but most especially his sunday morning session talk. it touched me deeply. it was exactly what i needed to hear. all of the speakers were wonderful, and brought such an amazing spirit. i am so thankful i was able to be spiritually fed.

Q is for.... quick quilt

on monday i started a quilt. a quilt that i actually had a dream about. whenever that happens i know i have to bring it into reality!

so this is what it looked like on monday.....

and this is what it looked like yesterday - finished!!

i don't know what my favorite part is....the fabulous houndstooth backing?...or maybe the funky individual squares (each fabric has a story all it's own)?...or maybe the fact that the denim squares are my sons old jeans?....or maybe it's that screamin' pink satin quilt binding? it's probably all of it, and the fact that this quilt came to me in a dream, and now i can cuddle up underneath it and 'dream' up more projects!!
i dearly love my "inspiration quilt"!!!!