Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Fabric

Well folks, I did it. I designed my own fabric and I couldn't be more pleased with myself.

I am really into the look of hand-stamped textiles right now. I like the inconsistencies, imperfections, and surprises that come with it. The three fabrics I've created so far are all from stamps that I designed and carved myself. I started off with fabrics that are only black and white because I wanted to keep it simple. I like how they turned out and am so excited to get my samples in the mail!

If you like my fabrics, go to spoonflower.com and "like"them, thanks!

http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1596258

http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1596341

http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1596305


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Building a Life in Eugene

All right friends in Eugene, I need some help and suggestions. Our move back home is now less than a month from now and we need to get some things figured out when we get there. Since we plan on being in Eugene for the foreseeable future we need to get set up with some support.

Here are the things that I would really appreciate advice/recommendations on:

1) Family practice doctor: I have had the same doctor since I was cookin' in my mother's womb. Our whole family always went to the same doctor whenever we were sick. I would love to find a doctor in Eugene that our whole family can go to.

2) Dentist: Like my doctor, I have only ever been to one dentist. He retired this year so I would like us to find a good dentist in Eugene.

3) OBGYN: We plan on trying to conceive in less than a year so I need a good OBGYN. I am open to both male and female doctors but need a doctor who is awesome at communicating, offering me information, that will listen to me and encourage me to ask questions.

4) Gym: We want to get a gym membership when we get there. Our requirements are decent hours (open later than 8pm), indoor pool, nice/clean locker rooms, good/plentiful equipment for working out, group classes such as yoga, zumba, centergy, etc. Oh, and it can't be far away or else we won't go.

5) I am also taking suggestions for an energy efficient washer and dryer and an electric lawn mower.


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Whirlwind Weekend

I know you are all sitting on pins and needles as you wait to hear whether or not we found some semi-permanent lodgings in Eugene yet...and we did!

On Friday afternoon we drove down to Salem and skidded into town just in time to get to my sister's high school musical. They performed Grease which, despite my feeling like it was almost too risque for high schoolers to perform, was awesome! They did a fantastic job and Kellin was a star.

Next morning we hopped into the car and made our way down to the promised land, Eugene. We had an appointment to meet with the lady who managed the property we were looking at at 10:30am. Despite some ugly shades of paint on a few interior walls and oldish kitchen appliances, we really liked the place. The two-bedroom duplex has a pretty big yard, laminate wood floors throughout, a nice brick fireplace, windows that are far bigger than our current ones, and a garage. The neighborhood is as friendly as any can look in November gloom and is only a hop, skip and a jump to Ricky's new job. We signed the paperwork and put down a deposit before leaving town that day. It feels great to have that all settled and squared away.

Saturday afternoon I was able to attend a dear friend's baby shower. It was definitely the best baby shower I have ever been to. It was a luncheon with delicious savories and treats and the only "game" was a hilarious mad-lib that the hostess put together about the birth. It felt so lovely to be surrounded by almost all of my good Eugene friends, it made me look forward to moving home that much more.

We left Eugene at 4pm, drove back to Seattle and watched the end of the Ducks stomping on Cal. The two remaining weekend days were much less adventurous but we made it out the other side. Hooray for not being homeless in Eugene!

A Cousin Nonetheless

My baby cousin Lynlee left this world on Saturday and returned to Heavenly Father. Lynlee fought valiantly while she was here and gave us all a lesson in faith. Thank-you for all of you who sent up prayers of comfort and hopefulness on behlaf of her and her family; those prayers were felt and appreciated. We are all sad that we didn't have time to get to know Lynlee and see her grow up and look forward to having that privilege beyond the veil.

I wasn't able to meet Lynlee during her sojourn in this life but she is my dear little cousin just the same and I will sorely miss her.

Please continue to pray for Lynlee's parents Aaron and Joy, and her big brother Dallin as they grieve during this time.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Spectacular, Spectacular!

Last Tuesday night we had the priveledge of seeing Wicked at the Paramount Theatre here in Seattle. I'm pretty sure this is only the second real musical I have ever seen, the first being Sweeny Todd. It was spectacular! Both of the female leads were excellent and the set was really cool too. I loved the big steampunkish dragon that was above the stage. We had great seats and could hear well. While I knew that the story was supposed to be a background story about the witches from The Wizard of Oz, I purposefully didn't read a synopses of the story beforehand so that I could be surprised. I am so glad I made that choice! The story, songs, characters, everything was new to me which made it all the more exciting.  I really liked the story too, I'm glad it was centered on friendship instead of romance--nice change of pace. I think they included just the right amount of references to the movie's plot, which helped me stay on track with the timeline. It was funny, the music was awesome, and I loved it all.


The other awesome thing we did last week was try butterbeer (yes, like from Harry Potter). It was hands down the most delicious beverage I have ever imbibed. The mix of warm, foamy butterscotch, cider, and ginger was so wonderful! If any of you come back to visit us in our last month here we will take you to get some. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can coax some semblance of a recipe out of one of the employes at Hot Cakes (the place where we had it).

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Winning!

It feels good when the Ducks win a football game. It feels way better when your candidate wins the presidential election. This is the second election I've been able to vote in, both times I voted for Barack Obama, both times he won. I love it. I'm sorry for all of my friends and family that are feeling sad right now but I can't pretend I'm sorry about the outcome of this race.

I'm singing a song that always gets stuck in my head when I'm feeling happy and spazy,"I'm high as a kite, I just might stop to check you out!" And a lot of people here in the great state of Washington might actually be high pretty soon here. By casting my ballot I helped legalize marijuana AND gay marriage. Woohoo!

I'm happy this election cycle is finally over, as I'm sure you all are. I'm happy I have another four years under a democratic president. I'm happy I won't have to buy one of those bumper stickers that says "Republicans for Voldemort."





P.S. Don't rag on my cheeriness if you're a Romney fan, keep that to your own blog pretty please.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Imperfect

I was on a low last week. It happens to the best of us I'm afraid. I knew things weren't really right with me but in a break down with Ricky on Thursday night I acknowledged the depression that had been eating away at me. The inability to fall asleep at night and then sleeping until 12:30 pm should have been a dead giveaway but I had been ignoring it.

We talked through things and decided that I needed some motivation. Playing the housewife really takes an emotional toll on my sense of worth that I apparently have a hard time dealing with. So, I'm throwing myself head first into art. Yes, ART. I have been hoarding a rolladex of ideas and images in my head for many moons but lacked the courage to expose them, until now.

It's a long and complicated process but my goal is to design fabrics and then use the fabrics to make other things. I'm feeling really inspired and motivated right now and I'm trying to ride that for as long as I can. More details to come regarding my eventual success or failure in theis endeavor.

Meanwhile I am learning to accept and even embrace imperfection. I'm learning to look at a would-be flaw in a new light and to love the quirks of my work. I continually have to widen my eyes, walk away, come back, and then widen my eyes again. It's proving therapeutic and enjoyable. Wish me luck.