The Random Mrs.

Postpartum is...

2012-02-04T15:38:00.000-06:00

The worst.

I could go on and on about my experience so far, but I won't. I'll try to keep it to a few sentences...

The pain is surprisingly...eh, painful. I can't believe they don't prescribe pain pills for it. Ibuprofen didn't even touch the surface. Thank goodness I had hydrocodone left over from my kidney issues that I took. Seriously, one night the pain was so bad that I almost went to the ER.

Emotions are all over the place. I am so happy one day and sobbing the next day over how frustratingly difficult it is to be at home with a newborn. I love her, but she is pretty boring.

Dehydration is a serious issue. I didn't realize that I had to drink so much water. If you think you've had enough, you haven't. Drink some more.

Tomorrow this kid will be one month old. It's gone by really quickly and I am glad about it. Every day she gets a little more interesting. I think by week 6 or 8, I'll be hoping that it doesn't go by so fast.

Now here is a funny picture. Baby Hoff*.

*seriously?! please tell me you don't need an explanation for this...

The Birth Story

2012-01-25T20:13:00.003-06:00

The night before Ava's due date, I was talking to Pete and mentioned how funny it would be if she arrived the next day. I had been referring to myself as a statistic since my miscarriage in October 2010. I never thought I would experience that and then I did. I never thought I would suffer from a kidney stone and then I did. I never expected to be hospitalized with hydronephrosis and then I was. I didn't think I would test positive for Group B strep and then I did. So why not continue with it and give me a baby on her actual due date.

I woke up at about 5:30 on Sunday morning to some mild contractions. They were pretty regular, but not severe. I moved out to the couch to writhe around in pain and time them while Pete slept in. He taught at church and I didn't want him to be tired. I remember texting Farrah at about 7am telling her the "news". She immediately called me all excited and proclaimed that I was going to have a baby today. I told her to calm down and not to get too excited yet. We'll see.

My main focus was resting and trying to take naps in between pain. Oddly enough, my doctor called at about 10:30. He was on call at the hospital and noticed that he had overbooked himself for our induction on Wednesday. He was asking if we could reschedule for Tuesday. I told him sure and that I was actually about to give him a call because of my contractions. He basically shrugged me off and told me to rest and that it could be a false alarm. If they got worse, I should come in. I thought it was pretty funny that he was pretty much trying to convince that I wasn't in labor.

But I was. I woke up from my nap at noon and had to go to the bathroom. Immediately upon relieving myself, I felt the worst contraction. It sent horrible pain through my body and I broke out in a sweat. I decided that if this was how it was going to continue, I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. By this time, Pete had decided it was best to skip church. Good idea considering I immediately began to throw some last minute items into my hospital bag and told Pete to get ready.

I didn't time the next contractions. They were so painful that I was throwing up and could barely move. We were in the car by 12:30 and I was on the phone to Farrah in tears on the way over. I told her to let the rest of the family know and to stay put until further notice.

Pete dropped me off at the front where I signed in and waited for the nurse to bring me back. It's a weird thing to stand in the waiting room while in labor. Weird and tortuous.

We were admitted and when they checked me I was dilated to a 3 and 100% effaced (earlier that week I was at a 2 and 70% effaced). I waited about 45 minutes and through another bout of nausea before asking for the epidural. I had hoped that I could hold out longer, but it is horrible pain and I didn't want to mess with any other pain aids. You can't concentrate on anything but it and it is exhausting. How do women go through it naturally and then have the strength when it comes time to push?

My anesthesiologist's name was Lennie. I took this as a good sign, considering that's my own nickname. I politely asked him not to paralyze me before he did his thing. He was great and it was not at all as bad as I thought. I felt relief soon after and was able to relax and rest. It was an amazing relief. I highly recommend it.

They checked me again and I was dilated to a 4. The next step was to break my water. Of course, when the laborer came in to do so, she found that my water had already broken on its own. I was very thankful for this occurring naturally. From there, I basically rested while Pete went out to get a sandwich and my mom visited (I knew she wouldn't be able to stay away!).

They turned me from side to side as I progressed pretty much a centimeter per hour. It went so quick and easy. All of a sudden, at about 5:45, the nurse pronounced me ready. It was then that it got a bit scary. They had me turn one more time and the baby's heart rate dropped. Suddenly, my mom was rushed out and there were about ten people in the room. My doctor was pulled from his surgery to attend to the situation.

My nurse gave me some medicine to speed up the heart rate and put me on oxygen. It went so fast that Pete told me later he didn't know what was going on. All we knew is that they wanted me to push.

This is the bad part about an epidural. I couldn't feel anything at the beginning of pushing. I just did it when they told me to. It was really difficult for the first 30 minutes until I started to feel some pressure. From there, I gave it all I could and it was the hardest thing ever! I remember watching the clock and thinking, Holy hell, how much longer can I do this?! I remember that at 6:30, I was ready to give up. It was so hard and exhausting. Thankfully, she popped out at 6:41.

I cried. Not because I felt an instant love (heck, I didn't even really get to see her until about 45 minutes later), but because I was amazed at what I had just done and relieved that it was so quick and relatively easy. When she came out, I heard her crying and was trying to look at her, but all I could see was her little feet in the air. Then they moved her up to my chest to wipe off, but I couldn't see through the tears. Then they took her to the warming bed and handed her to Pete.

This was a moment I will always remember and that will always bring tears to my eyes. I looked over to see Pete holding our bundled up baby girl. He was just beaming down at her.

From there, they stitched me up (I had a second degree tear - again, thank goodness for that epidural!) and then I was ready to hold the baby.

It was weird. She was this foreign little person that belonged to me. I didn't have an instant connection. In fact, I'm still working on that part, but every day is a little better and I like her a little bit more :)

*Thanks to Farrah for snapping those last three pictures for me while Ava was resting on my chest. Looks like my photography skills are rubbing off on her and I am so glad because I have yet to get any professional pictures of this kid!

Ava Grace

2012-01-21T15:42:00.001-06:00

This is the babe that arrived right on her due date (Jan 8th) at 6:41pm. She is tiny and weighed in at 6lbs 15oz (she dipped down to 6lbs 8oz). I have so much to share about the delivery and my experience so far, but you'll just have to wait a few more days. I need more sleep. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from our phones.

Waiting for a baby...

2012-01-07T23:46:00.000-06:00

This whole pregnancy thing has gone by super fast. Even at the beginning when I was waiting around to make sure it was going to "stick", it went by pretty fast. I think it's because baby Scarlet served as an excellent distraction and filled the baby hunger that I was experiencing.

Now that I am at 40 weeks (tomorrow), I am dying! Okay, overstatement. I'm so anxious to have her get here already!! People keep checking in for status updates and every little pain I experience gets super analyzed, but unfortunately, has not yet led to the inevitable. I'm in so much general pain that I don't really sleep. I've had a relatively easy pregnancy, so these last few weeks have thrown me for a loop.

My big concern these days is a huge lack of baby activity. I'm pretty sure she has officially outgrown her accommodations and yep, it makes me worried when I don't feel anything for a while. This is the only reason why I agreed to a three day past due date induction. I really wanted to hold out for at least a week and a half past due date, but my doctor suggested otherwise. He is the professional and I trust him.

So if Baby D doesn't arrive before Wednesday, she is getting forced out. It doesn't seem real that I will have a baby next week. We've been waiting so long for this and I just can't wrap my head around the reality of the situation...

In the meantime, I've been taking long slow walks on the treadmill. As in 30 minute miles. That's slow. I tried to go faster, but it hurt. It still leaves my hips hurting pretty bad, but I keep doing it. Also, my feet are pretty much too puffy to fit into my running shoes, but I still jam them in there. My toes get mad at me and the tops of my feet get bruised...even though I have the laces nearly all pulled out. (Yes, these are terrible phone pictures. I'm too lazy to give you the high quality stuff.)

In another effort to keep myself active these days, Pete and I walked around Target for random baby crap. I got some more wipes and came across this freaking adorable little outfit. I repeat, I never intended to have a bird themed baby, but whatever!

Another little item I found at Target was this round yellow clock on clearance for under $3. I had to get it. I love clocks and this room was missing one. Don't judge my shelves. They are still under random construction until I get a baby in there and things start getting real.

So there you have it. I'm just waiting around....and it is so boring and annoying. I really, really do not want to be induced, so please say a little prayer for me that Baby D decides to arrive on her own before Wednesday.

You know, the funny thing about planning for a baby and how you want your delivery to go...you study everything out and get totally prepared, but by the end you just get to a point of wanting to get it done! I made sure that even though I was going to a standard doctor at a standard hospital, I would still have the options of any other woman wanting a more natural delivery. And I do. My doctor is awesome and so is the hospital. Ask me five years ago and I would have insisted on having a water birth with no medical intervention. Years have passed and I have opened my mind a little more and educated myself on why things are done the way they are. It's not as bad as I thought or what people have told me.

Still, though, I really would like to get this process, at least, started naturally.

Pete and Scarls

2012-01-02T14:02:00.001-06:00

Pete rarely lets me take photos of him anymore (he was a great model when we were first married). Fortunately, when he is hanging out with Scarlet, I think I get some of the best pictures of him. They are just so sweet together. Pete likes to call her Scarls. Here they are playing with Scarlet's new toy on Christmas.

I love it when she puts her head down like this and her cheeks are all chunky.

As far as how our holiday went... This was the first year that we all didn't sleep over at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. It was a weird year that just didn't feel like Christmas. I have a hard time with change and I really didn't like it. On Christmas morning, we all got up to go to my parents' church meeting and then proceed to their house for the rest of the day for presents. Unfortunately, on the way to church, I started to feel a little queasy. So I tried to push through it, but ended up in the church bathroom after about twenty minutes. Pete sent my sister out to check on me and she convinced me to go home and rest until the service was over. So Pete and I checked out early. It totally sucked, but I started to feel better and the rest of the day was nice and chill with the family.

We did manage to get a few family pictures after church in our Sunday best. You aren't going to see them online, though. I took five on the tripod and in every single one, someone manged to have their eyes closed. Then on the last one, I just let them all be silly and it's a cute picture...but sometimes some pictures are just best left off the internet :)

Baby D Gray and Yellow Nursery Reveal!

2012-01-01T16:01:00.000-06:00

Well, it's week 39 and I am finally done with this unborn babe's room. She better like it. I was going for something simple, working with what we already had, and I think it came out better than I expected. It also came out with a little birdie theme that I didn't plan on, but whatever! Take a tour with me...

This is the view from the door. It's also the view from where you sit on the couch in the living room. I love that I can see the crib and peek on the baby easily. Yes, the mobile is a little high, but I have a tall husband who will appreciate not getting his head stuck in it every time he gets into the crib area.

This is the view from the chair. I took Pete's childhood dresser that we weren't using and painted it white and the original handles a bronze. I found the mirror at Hobby Lobby (on sale!). It might get a yellow paint come springtime, but for now, it works in black. Then there is the changing pad with a yellow cover and a little bucket with socks and hats and a little toy. I kept the curtains that were originally used for the office. They are my favorite curtains and go with pretty much anything!

Here is a peek into the dresser drawers. Top drawer holds all the diaper changing needs. There is a handful of newborn diapers, wipes, and the start of our cloth diaper collection. Second drawer is full of pajamas. Third drawer contains separates. I chose to line the drawers with a fun polka dot liner left over from our own dressers. The closet holds all the outfits and bath needs.

This is our big achievement. The tree wall. Pete worked hard on painting a simple tree with branches and leaves and little yellow birds. Then we have three shelves hung on select branches and adorned with random things. Next to it sits our rocker/recliner that I love. It fully reclines to sleep on, if need be. This was very important to me to have in the room, in case one of us wanted to stay the night in there. The chair was the most expensive baby purchase and one that I think is so worth it!

You get a little sight of the "rug" on the floor...it's not really a rug, but an awesome, thick blanket that my friend made for me. It's kind of a place keeper until I can get my hands on what I really want. I'm working on getting a custom made "petal" rug from a seller on Etsy. I also am working on finding a cute clock for one of the shelves. I am really liking this one, but can't decide if I want to shell out the money for it or not...

Anyway, so here is the main nook of the room. I kept the wide shelves up from the office and just got a little creative with some artwork. Using simple white IKEA frames I already had and leftover felt from the mobile, I hand stitched animal outlines. I didn't take any closeups, but there is an owl, elephant, giraffe, mouse, duck, and turtle. They're pretty cute and simple.

The center art piece is my favorite. I found it on the wall of a little specialty paper boutique in Brookside that we like to pop into every now and then (they are always so nice!). I knew it would be perfect and the saying is just so sweet. I splurged and bought it for myself (from Pete) for Christmas. It reads, "This is the start of your sweet little story. The part where your page meets mine. No matter where your tale takes you tomorrow our story will always read LOVE."

Oh and here is the mobile/art installation/skyscape I created. Nothing too major, but I just couldn't find the perfect mobile that didn't cost an arm and a leg. So I went and bought a bunch of felt (too much, actually) and made this thing. Just some clouds, a sun and birds stitched together with contrasting embroidery thread. I stuffed them a little with stuffing to give some dimension and hung with clear wire. I really like it and they move pretty easily with the fan running. Scarlet liked it.

Obviously, we kept the crib clean for safety reasons. Just a yellow fitted sheet. Also, I do realize that the mattress is very high. We rigged it that way when I was watching Scarlet and I couldn't reach in to grab her with my belly in the way. We'll put it back down to where it's supposed to be.

The two blankets hanging on the back are from grandmas. The top yellow and white one is from my mom when she wanted to make a baby blanket for her first grandchild (intended for mine). The bottom one is from my dad's mom. She makes us all awesome blankets for babies and is actually working on quilting a second one too. I love homemade baby blankets!

So there you have it. Our finished nursery. It feels so good to have it done and ready. We'll see when baby D decides to make her arrival...

My Last Few Weeks' To Do List

2011-12-15T14:22:00.001-06:00

First thing, here is a picture of our new office area in the basement that I promised to show you. It is very raw, but Pete says he likes it that way. Fine by me, if it means saving a lot of pennies.

Now, on to more important business...I had to make a list. My mind is overwhelmed with things that I still need to get done in the next few weeks. I need to finish off the baby's room and we are starting that tonight with going out to Buy Buy Baby to return some things and buy some others (thank goodness for coupons!). You'll notice that I have the diapers to return. Stupid me registered for the wrong diapers thinking they were my only option. They are almost all-in-ones, but have inserts. No real biggie, but I found the true all-in-ones online that happen to be organic, which is a bonus because the reviews say it holds the smell better. It just sucks that I have to buy them online when I will have a nice little credit at Buy Buy Baby once I return what I already have. Oh well.

Probably the biggest to do on the list is the tree mural. Pete plans to sketch that out and paint it starting this weekend. I really hope it turns out well because I think it will be absolutely awesome if it does. I just need to get a good picture printed out that he can copy, some no-VOC paint, and a few cheap shelves I've had my eye on at Target.

Another big deal is the bathroom. I will admit that I never really clean the bathroom except for a quick wipe around the toilet and sink. It's just an old house with stains that will never come out and that is discouraging when attempting to keep it clean. But I need to really get down in there with some bleach. And I NEVER clean with stuff other than Biokleen (can't stand the smells). That is how bad I want that room scoured. I just don't want to be the one that has to do it.

Other than that, I finished my Christmas shopping online yesterday and it feels pretty good. Oh, except for the part when they emailed me back and said that one of my chosen items is no longer available. Crap.

The Final Countdown

2011-12-14T11:49:00.000-06:00

I am 36.5 weeks. When you have an experience that sends you to labor and delivery for 15+ hours with the threat of triggering early labor, you kind of start to think, Okay, maybe this baby is getting ready for her arrival.

Last week I woke up from a nap with really bad cramping on my lower right back side. It wasn't easing up and was just getting worse. I called Farrah after about an hour of trying to relieve the pain myself with stretching, water, some Tylenol, applesauce, and lying down to see if she had ever had some similar stuff. She said no and that maybe I should call my nurse. I wouldn't usually do this, but because the pain was not easing up and was starting to reach down under my belly, I figured it couldn't hurt. Of course, while I was on hold, the light bulb in my head went off and I realized what I was experiencing: severe kidney pain.

Just like in January this year when I had a kidney stone from out of the blue, I was having the same sort of pain. I told this to the nurse when she finally got on the phone with me and she said that the doctor wanted me to head straight to labor and delivery. This was at about 4:30. I had no one to drive me and couldn't wait around. That drive was torture. The parking was torture. The walk to the entrance was torture. And the standing around for five minutes for them to admit me was torture.

Pete got there about ten minutes after I was admitted. It wasn't until about 6pm that they finally got me some pain medicine. In addition to checking for a stone, I was also tested for preeclampsia (my BP was high and my feet were swollen). This scared me more than the possibility of a kidney stone. Thankfully, I checked out fine and there was no stone to be found. I was also thankful that the pain subsided quite quickly as the evening progressed and it wasn't nearly as severe as what I felt in January.

They took me off the IV in the morning and waited until noon to send us home. My awesome doctor was there to visit me not only that evening (he had a delivery), but also that morning. He determined that what I had experienced was hydronephrosis. Apparently, it's quite common with pregnant women as their insides get squished and the ureter can get blocked. This causes some no flow issues and backup to the kidney, which can cause the same kind of pain associated with a stone. You just find a way to manage the pain if it comes back until you deliver. So I got a prescription and am just crossing my fingers that it doesn't come back.

So what did I learn from this? A new fancy word. Bring your own pillow to the hospital. My baby girl is a trooper because even when drugged, she was moving around like normal. L&D has women admitted about 4-5 times a day for this, gall bladder, and pre-term labor issues. Pete is amazing when it comes to dealing with high stress situations (okay, I already knew this). He reminded me to breath and stay calm when I was hurting which probably helped to keep early labor at bay. Oh and get ready for the baby!

I'm not ready. The room isn't ready. I don't have a bag packed. I still need so many odds and ends.

I'm scared. What if she doesn't come into this world in a "normal" way? What if something bad happens? What if I can't handle the pain, pressure, stress, etc? Everything is about to change in a very big way and I am excited, but also quite nervous. I know it's normal and I know everything will end up just fine, but I can't help but have the bad thoughts get to me every now and then.

Final Baby Room Details

2011-11-27T14:45:00.001-06:00

My sister, Farrah, finally got tired of looking at the crazy mess in the baby's room and had it organized in less than a few hours. She is amazing and has the energy that I will never have, whether I am pregnant or not. Needless, to say, the room is looking great and is well on its way to being complete.

What I need now are some finishing details. Like a rug. The room and its contents are all rectangle, so I am searching for the perfect round little rug. I really like this yellow one on Overstock, but am having trouble pulling the trigger on it. I would post a picture, but it literally just looks like a yellow circle.

I do have plans to do this on a wide empty wall by the chair. It's so amazingly perfect and sweet and simple. The decal is out of my budget, but Pete says that he can paint it on the wall. The shelves will put me back about $30-$50, but I think it will be worth it. To make it cheaper, I might go with just two shelves and more wall design like the second photo. Hopefully, we can get started on sketching it out this week. I think I will make my little birds yellow or dark gray.

As for a cute mobile, I really like this bird on a branch one. We definitely have a ton of branches to choose from in the backyard and it should be pretty affordable. The blogger mentions having frustrations with balance, but I really want to take a stab at it. I might just do a variation as a wall decoration or something...we'll see.

Also, I need a big round mirror to go above the dresser, like Farrah's. (Again, need to bring in some more roundness to the room.) In fact, I plan to get the same one from Hobby Lobby and will probably paint it yellow for a fun color pop.

Remember those long wide shelves from when we redid the office? Well, I am planning to leave those up. I just need to find stuff to fill them with. I have these simple cheap white IKEA frames that I may incorporate. I just can't decide what kind of baby-friendly graphic to put in them. Maybe some letter card graphics or numbers or dates of significance...?

I am 34 weeks today and am really starting to feel the pressure to get everything in order. I'm also starting to get uncomfortable. It's now just beginning to feel like I have a baby hanging out inside of me. I can't bend over well. I'm having a harder time working out for longer than ten minutes. I can't sit still without practically having an anxiety attack (this happened at the movies on Thanksgiving and we had to walk out). This also creates an issue at church. We usually only go to sacrament, but Pete got a calling so he stays and I leave early. Today was really difficult sitting still and wearing tights around my hips is nearly impossible (and putting them on!). We'll see how much I attend during December and January. Anyway, I'm getting close and these weeks are literally flying by. Let's hope it stays that way and December doesn't feel like the longest month in history!

The Growing Belly, Part 2

2011-11-18T22:35:00.000-06:00

I've not stayed on top of taking belly pictures. Honestly, I just don't really see much difference. I'm a big girl already, so my belly isn't getting too crazy. Farrah still tells me that I don't look all that pregnant and I am still wearing a lot of my regular shirts. Again, though, I am not complaining! You can compare earlier weeks from this post.

Today, I am ending my week's reign on 32 weeks. I can honestly say that this still does not feel completely real. Am I really going to have a baby in just over a month and a half? The only thing that keeps it feeling remotely like reality is that this little girl is moving around in there!

Baby D Nursery Update

2011-11-17T21:40:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted because we have been in major baby preparation mode! Moving the office downstairs, purchasing baby furniture, taking childbirth classes, merging rooms, etc. It's been more than I expected considering our tiny little house and how we've had to get creative.

So, we'll start from the beginning where we moved the office down to the basement. We just cleared out the area and moved in without building it up. This was the most affordable option for us right now and Pete has decided that he actually enjoys the "raw, industrial" feel. Once I clean it up a bit, I will take a picture. It's really nothing special anyway.

From there, the second bedroom was officially clear, except for the closet. Since we've been married, Pete and I have always had a second bedroom where his clothes have resided. This is the first time in over five years that we have ever truly shared a room and closet. Big deal. Especially considering the size of our baby house's closets. So we had to get creative and shift the rods so that we could fit two on top of each other. It worked! Baby closet is now clear and Pete has officially moved in to "my" room.

A few weeks ago, we purchased the crib and rocker/recliner. The crib is a Graco Sarah Classic and we love its simplicity (and price!). Walmart's ship-to-store option was the cheapest and easiest way to get it. The recliner was our biggest baby purchase. I had high standards for a seating/sleeping option in this room. I needed something that was small, yet comfortable and I (or Pete) could sleep in. I, personally, really do not like standard rockers and gliders. I get motion sickness very easily. When we came across this LaZBoy in Nebraska Furntiure Mart (I can't find it online), I knew it was perfect. And so was the color! It's a very pretty steely blue that grounds the room well.

We also bought the mattress (with a 20% off coupon!), mainly so we could have a place for Scarlet to sleep when I watch her. The Colgate Classico II was highly recommended and I wanted something that would last. I especially like it because its cover is waterproof. No extra purchase for a cover (or two)! It's got eyelet holes on the sides for ventilation and we let it air out plenty with the windows open. Scarlet seems to sleep very well on it and thoroughly enjoys the noise from scratching the top.

This was how the room looked for a little while until...

Farrah dropped the baby hand-me-down bomb and all the shower gifts got moved in from the living room.

This is mostly the shower stash. You'll notice that we also now have a short dresser in there. It's Pete's, from when he was a baby. I painted it white and lined the drawers all cute. I'll have a post on that later.

This is most of the hand-me-down pile. The large IKEA bag was too stuffed that we had to use an old diaper box that also came with some unused disposable newborn diapers. I now have the perfect amount to get me through the first week or so before moving permanently onto cloth diapers!

I have a ton of clothes to go through and get organized. I finally bought baby hangers today and plan to get started on that stuff this weekend. I'm definitely feeling the exhaustion with really getting into the third trimester. I have to take a lot of naps to get through the day without getting too cranky.

Hang in with me as I have less than eight weeks to go and more stuff to share!

NHP November Mini Sessions

2011-11-03T22:40:00.002-05:00

Pop over to Newton House Photography to get the details on November mini sessions! It's a great little deal for a quick, cheap photoshoot before I take a break from working to have a kid. If I don't see you this month, hopefully, I'll see you in the spring! Thank you all so much for your support!

Sewing Mistakes I Will Not Repeat

2011-11-03T22:37:00.001-05:00

Ever since I bought my sewing machine about a year ago, I have learned a few important things along the way. Obviously, I was a total sewing novice and just figured I would pick up some fabric and go along my merry way creating wondrous crafty things. Wrong. Here are a few things I have learned...

1. Pick the appropriate fabric - My first project was a simple cafe curtain for my kitchen to cover the window on the back door. I just went to the store, picked up a cheap cotton fabric in colors I liked and went to work. Not until a few months later, did I realize that it looked really bad. It looked crafty (which I hate!). The fabric was totally wrong for my project. I wanted curtains that looked good and I needed a home decor fabric with the appropriate weight and style. I have yet to replace those curtains, but man, do they serve as a reminder to not make that mistake again.

2. Wash and dry before crafting - This is a step you don't want to pass. Thing is, fabric will shrink. I was so excited to make some fabulous couch pillow covers that I just took the fabric out of the bag and got to sewing. Not until I spilled some spaghetti sauce on one and went to wash it, did I realize my mistake. The fabric shrunk and sadly, gaped open on the back of my pillows. You can't see it from the front, but it still sucks. The best advice I ever came across was to immediately take your fabric out of the bag to wash, dry and iron before putting it in your stash. That way, it's ready when you are.

3. Iron, iron, iron - Just like washing and drying, you need to use your iron when sewing. It is so helpful when hemming and keeping your fabric flat. Sometimes, I will get lazy, but I quickly suck it up because I know it makes my projects look that much more professional.

4. Use the right needle - I honestly just discovered this a few months ago when browsing through a sewing book. It was for a project using some tough material and had a little tip to change your sewing needle to one that is more appropriate for the fabric. Duh! So if you are wondering why your general needle is giving you a hard time with super thick canvas, this may be why. Also, needles dull out after use, so change it out for a nice sharp one!

5. Slow and steady - Machines will go fast, but this usually ends up badly. This is especially true for my basic machine. As much as I want to just fly down the line, I know it's best to take it at a kinder pace. Not only is it nice to my machine, but to my project as well. It usually leads to cleaner, straighter lines.

Anything you've learned along the way that is worth sharing? Oh, and want to know my favorite site for sewing tips and tutorials? Make It and Love It!

Little Baby Pumpkin

2011-11-01T19:42:00.001-05:00

Every Halloween, we keep it simple. Snacks, a scary movie, and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. This year, our pumpkins were also very simple. Just faces. Mine were the two at the bottom and Pete's is on top.

This Halloween, I was lucky enough to get to babysit Scarlet (I was so tempted to take her on errands dressed up, but the costume was too fluffy to strap into the car seat). Farrah packed her costume, so I could get some first Halloween pictures. Sadly, she was a little cranky from teeth coming in, so it was difficult to get a smile. Although, it's usually pretty hard to get a smile on camera with her...

When Pete came home, he wanted to put her in the middle of our pumpkins. She wasn't that thrilled.

Then when he went to stand her on the railing, I got a rare smile.

Then her mom got there and she helped her sit up and smile in the backyard.

She was so cute and fluffy in that costume! We had a great holiday with a lot of visitors coming for treats, the most we have ever had at the house! Scarlet also got to break in the new baby's room, crib and all. I'll try to get some pictures of the progress up later this week!

My Awesome Niece

2011-10-21T10:50:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if I blog too much about Scarlet, my niece...but then I see this blogger going crazy over her nephew all the time and I figure I'm okay. Yes, that's right. I need to compare myself with another blogger for justification of my own hobbies.

It goes without saying that if I have my camera around and the babe happens to be there, I will be taking pictures of her. Last week, I rented a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L for a large family photoshoot and was testing it out. (It was a pimp lens, but I realized that I would have been fine without it.) Scarlet was in her little exer-saucer play toy thing and giving it the crazy eyes.

She's getting so big so fast! This child is four months today and already popping out two teeth and learning to sit on her own. She talks a bunch and mimics your noises really well (I've been teaching her to growl!) It's just so fun to see her new tricks each week.

Anyway....so then we moved over to Farrah's room where I put her on the bed and opened the window for the light to bathe her. Now this where I got to play in Photoshop with her pictures.

And then there's Baby Rambo. I love how chunky her face is when she is lying on her back.

My Gray and Yellow Baby Shower

2011-10-20T22:37:00.001-05:00

Let's talk showers. As in my baby shower. My fabulously cute and simple gray and yellow themed event that Farrah put on. You walk in the front door and this was the view. (How great that she already had a gray living room to compliment things!)

The gifts were placed on the fireplace where I sat to open them and then there was a guessing game and a card to fill out on the card table. Notice the garland of mine and Pete's baby pictures. More on that in a second.

I'm pretty sure you could say that this shower was inspired by Pinterest. Farrah got much of her inspiration from there. Not sure of the details on these baby wishes cards, but they were awesome. She dressed them up all cute and laid them out for people to fill in while mingling.

You'll have to check out her blog for details on what each line item was. I can't wait to put together a little "baby book box" with all these in there. I got a great mix of sweet and funny cards from my closest friends and family. It was fun to come home and read through them all with Pete. Baby D is gonna love it when she gets older!

The guessing game that we did was to guess at mine and Pete's birth weight. Farrah had two glass containers filled with treats based on each one of us. The winner got to take one of them home.

Pete weighed 9lbs 3oz (he was a really late baby).

I weighed 8lbs 2oz.

The baby photo garland was especially fun to browse over. She just simply used twine and clothes pins to hang up snapshots.

The food was pretty fun and easy. Definitely, the most Pinterest inspired part.

We had strawberries hulled with whip cream sprayed inside (they melted pretty quickly, though). Then there was a bucket full of different flavored IZZE sodas. My favorite is the grapefruit! We also had cucumber water.

Two types of finger sandwiches were served: cucumber and Nutella. I got the cucumber recipe from here. They were super yummy!

Farrah sliced up some colorful veggies to put in cups with ranch dressing at the bottom. Fun and easy snacking!

My mom helped Farrah out.

And what is a baby shower without the Martha Stewart pom-pom balls?! I made those and Farrah added some cool strings of colored dots. She made them from paint swatches we snatched from Home Depot and fishing line.

This is me at 27 weeks.

Here are the EFG kids: Farrah, me, and Genny. This reminds me that I need to teach my mom how to use my camera or remember to switch it over to auto when I hand it off. Oh well!

Baby D News

2011-10-13T16:38:00.002-05:00

Want to hear about my upcoming baby? We just had another sonogram yesterday at the 27.5 weeks mark. Everything looks perfect and the baby is in the 55th percentile. The technician said that she is positioned perfectly and will likely be an 8 pounder if things progress the same. Sounds good to me!

The crazy thing about yesterday was to see how much of an actual baby she looks like! We didn't get a profile, but a full on face image. It was totally creepy and awesome. I never thought I would be posting belly pictures or sonogram pictures, but after yesterday, I can't resist! You've got to check out this face.

I put this little collage together for my baby shower on Saturday. With so many pictures of her already and people asking to see them, I figured this would be a fun way to see the growth so far. (By the way, I can't wait to post pictures of my baby shower. Farrah has been furiously working away to make it awesome, so I am pretty excited to share all the details with you!)

In other news, the basement still looks like this. As Pete researched the best way to build in our basement, he started running into some issues and it just didn't look like it was going to work out the way we wanted. So we are just going to make the place look "pretty" and more organized. Throw down a rug, hang some art, and add some lighting. If he is still wanting to build it out after the baby comes, then we will tackle it then.

I am realizing that I have been a total slacker in this whole "making room for baby" thing. I have only five baby things that fit in a plastic bag. The room is still very much so our office. I am still wearing all my regular clothes except for one pair of maternity jeans and workout pants. I do have three maternity shirts, but only wear one. I totally feel pregnant, but still don't really look it. I'm not complaining, I just wonder how much longer I can stretch my current wardrobe.

On my baby to do list for the next few weeks:

Pre-register at the hospital and sign up for classes
Find a pediatrician
Buy another pair of jeans
Organize basement
Move office into basement

I was thinking back to Farrah's baby shower the other day and realized that she was just around 28 weeks at the time. She had her baby's room done! Crib and all!! I have not had the "nesting" phase yet. Am I so behind or what?!

Pete, The Babysitter

2011-10-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I had a photoshoot and needed some assistance with a reflector. So I called in Farrah and asked if she was up for the job. I even told her I had a babysitter, Pete! Pete doesn't have a lot of experience with babies (he's never even changed a diaper!), but he does like Scarlet and Scarlet likes him. So off we went and were back just in time to see that the babe was napping. (Yes, Pete had lucked out and didn't have her long enough to have to feed or change her.)

I WISH I had a picture of the napping babe. He had laid her in the middle of our bed with a towel under her head (in case she drooled too much or spit up, duh). The best part was that he couldn't find a blanket, so her little body was covered by one of Pete's sweatshirts. It was so cute!

After she woke up, she came into the office to hang out for a bit. Pete had her on his knees and let her listen to some of his jams on the headphones.

I'm totally nervous that our baby won't be as awesome as this one.

Little Worries

2011-09-29T15:21:00.000-05:00

Along my journey to start a family with no luck for a little while, I had to go through some testing. One of the issues my doctor was concerned about was my possibly having poly cystic ovarian syndrome (which he diagnosed me with, but then took it back after I got pregnant). In an attempt to diagnose this and see what might be causing my infertility, I had to take the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. This is where you fast for 12 hours, get blood drawn, drink a horrible sugar juice, and then not eat anything for another three hours while getting blood drawn every hour. It sucks. I passed that test last summer, thank goodness.

So when I hit the mark of having to be checked for gestational diabetes (the one you can get when you are pregnant), I didn't think too much of it. Their initial screening is a simple 1-hour glucose test that isn't so horribly involved. Unfortunately, I didn't pass that one. By two points!! What do you think their next step is to diagnose GD? The torture test.

It's even more torturous when you are pregnant and have a raging appetite and get sick easily if you don't eat. I was dreading it. I made sure I was super tired the night before so that I could just sleep through my hunger and wake up just thirty minutes before my appointment. I brought water to keep downing, so I could trick my body into thinking it wasn't really that hungry. You see, I am that pregnant woman who gets really sick and lightheaded if I don't eat, like, every two hours. So, yeah, I was worried. Not only that I would pass out, but because I really didn't want to have GD. I like my indulgences.

After my fourth blood sample, the lab tech sent me home telling me that they would only call if I had it.

Today, they called. I swore out loud before I picked up the phone and answered it sadly. My doctor had told the nurse to make sure and call me to let me know that I PASSED! I was so happy. The nurse was laughing at me and making fun of me. She said she could hear me holding my breath. So freakin' relieved. I really didn't think I had it, because I have been so careful with diet and exercise, but, heck, you never know!

What am I doing to celebrate? Making these bad boys. I saw this recipe for pumpkin bars last week and haven't been able to get them off my mind. I told Pete that if I get good results, I am making them!

Now for a funny picture of a baby wearing socks.

I get to watch this kid every Tuesday and my house is always freezing, so her hands and feet get pretty cold. I wanted to take her on a walk, but her mother didn't pack socks. Well, I had forgotten that I had one more baby purchase...a little boutique box of argyle baby socks that I spent way too much money on, but couldn't pass them up. HELLO! Baby argyle socks! Do you even know me?!? Anyway, baby Scarlet got to break them in. She was super excited about it. Can't you tell? She even got to wear the pink ones on her hands during our walk. Special day for that kid.

Baby Buys

2011-09-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

It's now 25 weeks. You would think that I would have started to acquire a few baby items, but...no. I have four. I just couldn't bring myself to get too excited and too crazy too soon. In fact, it was a pretty big deal when I bought my first piece of baby clothing. Kind of weird, too.

Anyway, these are the items.

1. Carter's Receiving Blankets - At a trip to Babies R Us with Farrah, I saw these super cute blankets and decided I had to have them. This was before we found out the sex or I decided on a nursery theme, but I knew I would want them either way.

2. IKEA Play Barn - When Genny and I went to Chicago this summer, I was just closing in on 14 weeks. I was pretty positive this baby was a sure thing, so I let myself buy this toy as my very first baby purchase. I totally fell in love with it. It's a fold out cloth barn set up with animals. I could picture Scarlet and my little one playing together....seriously, I just had to have it.

3. IKEA Cloth Barn Animals - The barn needed more animals.

4. Gap Pink/Grey Ruffle Outfit - While shopping at Gap Outlet a week or so after finding out the sex, I saw this outfit. It was on sale and so cute and precious. I have a feeling that, being born in January, my baby will live in these footed cuties.

I have made a point to not buy anything else until after my baby shower. Who knows what people will give me and I have yet to go through Farrah's hand-me-downs (which she has a ton of!).

The Office 2.0

2011-09-26T20:46:00.000-05:00

Remember when I showed you our little office makeover earlier this year? To think, just a few months later, we would be finding out I was pregnant and needing to give this room another different kind of makeover. (By the way, I totally believe in "if you build it, they will come", even if you build for something else...)

So, now that things are looking pretty solid and a baby will most likely be dropping in early next year, Pete is getting started on building a new office. Where will this new room go? In our very dark unfinished basement.

Yep, basically, those stairs lead down into a large open space where you have four corners that are suitable for four different areas (each with their own little window!). We chose one of the "nicer" corners to build in. Pete is actually really excited to flex his manly building muscles and I am pretty anxious to see how it turns out. Considering our tight budget, it will be a pretty basic job that just includes walls, but whatever! He may even throw in a closet!

So tonight, he is getting started on clearing the shelf out and framing things out. I'll keep you updated!

Simple Way to Save Some Monthly Cash

2011-09-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

In an effort to sock away a little extra cash each month, we made the hard decision to cut out cable. This may be trivial to some, but it's a big deal to me. I love television. It's one of my hobbies. At the same time, it's a life sucker. Why pay $70 each month for mindless, life-sucking entertainment when I can get it for free or for just $8 a month?

Enter Netflix. Pete was already subscribed to instant Netflix and we had it streaming to the living room tv through the PS3. One day, I thought, why not move the Wii into the bedroom and stream Netflix to that tv as well? We never really use that device anyway. (The bedroom tv was the only thing holding me back from making the cable cut because it would have made that device useless.) We can stream Netflix to up to two places at once, so it was perfect!

So Pete got to work feeding things through. You can see in this picture an up close look at the little hole behind the tv that feeds into the office closet. This is where the cables go through for a nice clean install.

Here's a blurry pull back that shows Pete's DIY-ed version of a wall bracket for our flat screen (yep, we didn't want to shell out $60-ish for a real bracket).

The long silver thing is the Wii receiver device.

You can see the hole at the top of the closet where all the wires feed through down to the Wii box sitting at the bottom. (Yes, this is Pete's closet...in the office. Our baby house has tiny closets and there isn't much room to fit two people in one...although that is going to have to change in a few months.)

Now, I have Netflix streaming instantly to the bedroom and the remote turns the device on and off without the box having to be in the room. I love it!

I thought that I would be going through major cable withdrawals, but I'm not! I have to yet to miss my old shows. I can always catch them online or watch them at my sister's house, if I really want to. Another great thing about this is that I can pause something in the living room and continue it in the bedroom. With Time Warner, I wasn't able to do that. Yay!

Yet, Another New Blog

2011-09-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

I totally took a shot in the dark and made a new blog. And guess what, it's more of my photography. Big surprise, eh?!

Actually, it's just my pictures from around the city and I thought it would be fun to make all of them available for sale. It keeps me inspired to continue to work on my personal photography and also gives anyone an opportunity to check it out and buy something if they want. I always see the typical skyline photography in gift shops and stuff, but I want more "personal" subject matter. I want to see Kansas City from a different perspective.

So, take a gander at it just to see where I've been hanging out. Other than here, of course.

Kansas City Backdrop

The Growing Belly

2011-09-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't usually put my belly on display like this, but I have to admit that a pregnant tummy is fascinating. I love to watch them grow. So I'm not sure how many more of these will show up here, but here is one from the last month or so.

First, here is a picture of me on my birthday, May 31st. I was around 8 weeks. Nothing to show.

Sometimes, if I remember when I am wearing the same tank top and pants, I will take a belly shot. I was very curious to compare the growth after this weekend of experiencing some major growing pains.

Anyway, that's about it. Nothing too crazy, but it definitely looks like that little girl is growing. By the way, if there was ever a time to comment on this blog, now would be it. I would love to hear some feedback from women who have done this already. Especially after this weekend where I had what I call, burning of the insides. Basically, between my lower rib cage and belly button, it was so hot and uncomfortable. It hurt! I had to stay in bed. We were pretty worried about it, but deduced that it was probably just stretching of the muscles. I'm going to double check with the doctor this week at my appointment. Anyone else experienced this?

Grandparents and the baby

2011-09-16T08:19:00.000-05:00

If you haven't noticed, I hang out with this kid. A lot. Like pretty much every day, except Thursdays. Last Sunday, we were all at my parents' house hanging out. My mom wanted some pictures of them with the baby, so I obliged. Not my best stuff, but that's okay.

Someone found their toes.

Then got cranky, but still so cute.

Pete and the baby

2011-09-15T16:37:00.001-05:00

In the past few weeks, Pete has really taken a liking to baby Scarlet. It tugs at my heartstrings to see how sweet he is with her and how calm they are together. I can't remember the exact details on this picture, but I believe it was sometime last week. They were watching TV together and I had to sneak in for a photo of it.

Baby Talk

2011-09-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

I take video of Scarlet with my phone all the time (I have so many little one and two minute clips!). She is quite the "talker" at only two months. She will copy your "ooh's" and "ahh's", even at different levels of loudness! The one below is Farrah saying "I know" to get her to "howl" back at us. It totally starts to get annoying right before the good part.

This second video was taken just the other day. Farrah baracaded her with her favorite pillows on my couch. She has started to reach and touch things. She was trying to pull at her "little birdie friends". Kind of boring, but she amazes me at how well she sits with her head up at just past 10 weeks old. Oh, and she is just totally adorable.

Claire's Weekend Visit

2011-09-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

My older sister, Claire, came to visit the family this last weekend. It was really nice to have her out here, especially since she hadn't seen the most recent addition to the Scott family.

Yes, Scarlet's outfit makes reference to how she makes chunky thighs look good. (The babe is producing a lot of saliva these days. Half of her pictures are of her blowing spit bubbles.)

This picture makes me melt. Genny, my favorite model ever, with my new favorite.

Um, this picture rocks my socks off. Like, I would blow it up for my wall if it didn't seem a bit like Claire might suck my face off.

Farrah: Hey Elena, take some family pictures, but only show my head and I will only be patient enough for about five shots.

Scott girls. I give Bo the camera and instead of trying to look for a good shot, he just holds the shutter down. He thinks he's cool like that. Whatevs. You know I love a good candid photo.

PS: I'm almost 21 weeks in this picture.

Let me tell you a story...

2011-08-25T13:24:00.000-05:00

There once was a girl who had a bad year. One that took her down a road that she never thought she'd be on. Discovering how out of place she felt in the 9-5 working world. Schooling that was clearly not what she wanted. Trips to the doctor for things she did not think would ever enter her life. Just when she thought a new year would bring a great new beginning, she lost her job (not like it was a big surprise or that she wanted to keep it anyway). All the same, it will always kind of suck at first when you get let go.

With key family members rallied around her, she decided to make the best of a bad situation. She stood up, dusted herself off, and proceeded on to what she really wanted out of life.

Okay, can you say corny?! Trust me, though, that is way better than a huge sob story that I could have shared. Sometimes, it's just better to skip over the sad part and go straight to the good stuff. For example, Pete and I are getting a little baby girl come January.

It's been quite the secret, for me, at least. I can't say that much for the few family members that couldn't keep their mouths as shut as I would prefer. Honestly, I just wanted to make sure that things were progressing normally and I got a good look at a health baby before openly sharing my news. I got that look yesterday.

The little one is a mover, but I can't really feel it too much yet. The tech said I have an anterior placenta which just adds more padding on top of what I already have. She measured in at about 19-ish weeks (put me back one week) and weighed about 12 ounces. She looks like a butterball; 20 week belly and 19 week head. Because she was so small, the tech couldn't see the heart outflows, so I will be getting another peek at her around 28 weeks. Kinda super excited about that. This kid has a tons of pictures already.

Anyway, it's been an interesting past few months. One that has mainly led to an aversion of electronics; computer and camera. This is why there has been a huge lack of blogging and picture taking. I thought this aversion was crazy until I read another pregnant woman's confession to an aversion to crafting. So, I am not crazy.

As far as family stuff goes, this will be the third newest grandchild in the Scott family. Farrah had Scarlet in June, Amber will be having a surprise in September, and I will get mine in January.

To me, this is a little miracle. Pete and I are thrilled, but also very aware that anything can (and does) happen. I thank God every day for this and continue to keep my faith that all will work out in the end. I just can't wait until I get to hold my healthy little baby.

Tip: How to tape off circle frames with ease

2011-07-27T11:49:00.000-05:00

Check out this genius idea that popped out of my little sister's head:

Farrah wanted a big round mirror to hang in the baby's room. It was going to go on the red wall, so she wanted it to be white. After searching for weeks, we finally found the perfect size at the craft store. Unfortunately, it was black. Never fear! I love to spray paint stuff, so that is what we did.

As we were driving home, I was telling Farrah what a pain it was to tape off the mirror on a circle frame. In fact, to me, it can sometimes be a deal breaker. Lo and behold, out of that little pregnant head of hers, she suggested a brilliant idea. Glad Cling Wrap.

Here is where we stuck down strips of it. We pressed it nice and tightly into all the edges, making sure to overlap the pieces for full coverage.

Then Farrah took a razor blade and lightly cut around the edges.

See how perfect that is?!

I then took it out to the backyard where we used an old tray table to hold it up while I sprayed three coats of white paint.

I think there was one or two spots around the edges where the wrap peeled up after a dried coat of paint and a little white got on the mirror. Thankfully, it wasn't anything that didn't come off with a little scrape of the fingernail.

After a significant dry time, it went to its place on the red wall in Scar baby's room. It looks great in there!

Scar Baby Cuteness

2011-07-26T15:21:00.000-05:00

I am so in love with this stinkin' kid.

I have to hold myself back when going shopping. For example, Farrah and I were wandering around the baby section at Target the other day. They had the cutest little outfits out for only $9.99. I would pick one up, go crazy over it and throw it in the cart. I had three outfits picked out and was looking for more, when Farrah kind of gave me that look. Like, "Okay, you are awesome for wanting to buy my baby everything in here, but you can't." So we picked what we thought was the cutest one and ran away so I wouldn't be tempted further.

chunky face!

Of course, we immediately put the new clothes on Scar baby once we got back home. (The poor kid was sweating through her clothes anyway and needed to be stripped down for ventilation.) I put her in the chair and Farrah held her up (she's just barely over a month old). Pretty cute phone pictures, if you ask me!

Oat Smoothie

2011-07-26T14:47:00.000-05:00

I'm about ready to pack up and get out of this stupid heat. I am SO over it. It literally makes me sick. All I want is cold stuff and I haven't cooked in a long time (this makes Pete a sad guy). Anyway, I took a tip from one of my favorite bloggers and added oats to my smoothie for more of a filling snack. See the white bits?

Basically my typical one-cup smoothie consists of the following:

Handful of mixed frozen berries

Two-three ice cubes

Some squirts of agave nectar

Water to just come above the base of the blender

A small dump of Quaker Oatmeal oats from the can

It's so easy and satisfying. If you don't add the oats, it's almost like a sorbet!

Gardner, KS Hot Air Balloons

2011-06-07T15:17:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have been off in La-La Land. I haven't been on the computer or taking pictures or really leaving my house for the last few weeks. Just not feeling it...

Oddly enough today, I made myself get up and do something. A few weeks ago Pete and I went to Gardner to check out the hot air balloons. Little did I know that it was going to be such a small, intimate, casual thing. It was awesome! We were literally right next to the teams while they set up their balloons and flew away. There were photographers everywhere! That part was actually quite intimidating. I don't know why I get self conscious sometimes about my photography, but I do. It took me a while before I pulled out my (new!) camera and started snapping away.

It was fun to watch them set up from the very beginning. They would back their trailers in and pull out a huge pouch that held the balloon and the bucket. They would set up the bars and fire blower thing and then carefully unroll the balloon.

They'd open up the balloon and get it all puffed up and ready to get the heat blown in.

Once the balloon was full they'd tip the basket upright and keep the thing steady with one guy roping the top of the balloon on the ground and a bunch of other guys holding the basket down.

Then, when they deemed it the perfect wind, they'd take off. Apparently, sunset and sunrise have the calmest winds. They don't usually take off in winds higher than 10 mph. One of the ladies walking around and passing out cards stopped to chat with us. She mentioned that in the mountains the wind is circular, so you can take off and land in practically the same spot. Pretty cool.

The $14 Glider Makeover

2011-05-26T18:22:00.000-05:00

Farrah's having a baby. The baby's room needed a chair. Enter this glider she found at a garage sale for $14. (She had her brother-in-law flirt with the woman to get it down from $25.)

The frame is great. The cushions, not so much. Enter me and my old duvet cover from IKEA that I loved too much to toss even when it started to yellow at the top. I knew it was destined to be something else someone would love.

After about a week of three nights for each cushion, I was able to make it look new. It was quite the challenge. I wrapped the fabric around the cushions like a present to get a rough pattern and started sewing. The corners were the toughest, as they were rounded. They got some pleat action.

This was in no way a perfect sewing job, but Farrah didn't care and we hid the imperfections. I think it compliments her baby's room quite well and I was happy to be able to help out.

See my picture makeover in the back? It's not staying in that spot, they just have yet to hang it up. Also, sorry about the quality of the last two photos. They were taken quickly with my phone.

Muriel Kauffman Theatre

2011-05-23T16:46:00.001-05:00

Pete and I were downtown a few weeks ago to hear one of his coworker's bands play. I couldn't help but snap a few pictures on my phone as we were driving around. I always forget how cool Kansas City is once I get away from the typical places I visit. I have seen the new opera house being built, but I was blown away when we stopped right by it. It's gorgeous and I absolutely love this picture I got. It's just great to have something like this in Kansas City.

The Not-So-Yellow Tandem Bike

2011-05-11T12:11:00.000-05:00

Last week, Farrah and I went to visit my mom. We noticed that their neighborhood was having a garage sale, so I decided to drive around a bit. Nothing too special until we saw two bikes in someone's front yard with for sale signs on them. One was an adult carrier tricycle and the other was a nice black tandem.

Now, when we lived in Utah, our family had a fabulous old school yellow tandem bike. We loved that thing. Unfortunately, someone got rid of it or something and I have been longing for one ever since. So you know my heart skipped a beat when I saw this beauty and they were only asking $75! Of course, in my mind, I was buying it for $50.

Well, Pete wasn't on board (too cool for tandems), so I went to my dad to tell him the story. I didn't even have to convince him before he was handing me twenties and telling me to go get it. So Farrah and I headed back to the house where I talked to an older man who said he was getting rid of them because his wife lost her sense of balance. It was in great condition and he took my $50 without any argument.

Needless to say, the Scott family is very happy with their new toy.

And just for kicks, here is a pretty pregnant belly picture from the sister who refuses to let me get her head in the shot. Silly girl.

Rolled Paper Flower Bouquet

2011-05-09T18:42:00.001-05:00

For Mother's Day, I decided to make a bouquet that would last a while. Honestly, I just wanted something different that wouldn't cost me loads of money, so when I came across this flower tutorial, I knew I wanted to copy it.

I planned to use a vase I already had on hand, so I just stopped by Hobby Lobby to pick up some paper and floral wire.

I just cut the paper in circles, then in spirals and rolled them. Then I took a leaf shape and glued it to the flower and floral wire. I burnt my fingers, but after about two hours, I had a good bunch to work with.

Unfortunately, not enough to use my yellow vase with. So I went to the fridge and used a pickle jar that had expired. It was perfect. I also found some clear beads in the basement and tied a ribbon around the jar that I had on hand.

My mom loved it :)

*One thing I will do differently for next time: Use double sided paper. Gotta love the flower with a bar code on the back.

Pretty Picture

2011-05-05T22:32:00.000-05:00

I took this with my phone last month on one of the back streets. I think we have gorgeous, barely paved, tree lined streets around here. They are quickly disappearing, though, so I try to take pictures of them while I can. I use the vignette app to spice up some of the pictures I take on my phone. Considering I keep my other photography pretty natural, I like to have fun with the phone pictures.

Oh, and look-y there, I stuck my name on it. I found one of my pictures hanging out on someone else's blog and decided I needed to "stamp" my stuff from here on out. Thankfully, Kristen Duke (love her photography!) posted a helpful tutorial on how to do this because I couldn't figure it out for the life of me!

Easter

2011-05-02T11:17:00.000-05:00

Mom: I have a really fun hat that I'm wearing to church for Easter and a new polka dot dress!

Me: Cute! You'll have to keep it on for a second so I can get some pictures. Let's throw Dad in there too!

My favorite pictures of my mom is when she is laughing like this. She doesn't like it, but I feel that it represents her beautifully and perfectly. It's vulnerable and pure.

Love.

New Site!

2011-04-21T11:59:00.001-05:00

After a failed attempt at Pete building me a photography site (not his fault!), I have made a blog one in the interim. Click here to visit!

I'll probably keep my photography posts over there, so if you like reading those, add my new site to your Google Reader or blog list or whatever!

Farrah's Baby Shower

2011-04-21T08:21:00.001-05:00

I threw Farrah a baby shower at her house. It was a great success! My social anxiety was on the low scale, so that was a plus. Here are some pictures of the place.

This is where I set up a little spot for people to leave notes and name suggestions.

This was the "activities" table. Farrah wanted her guests to create onesies, so I bought a bunch of plain white onesies and paint. The laundry basket held 171 diapers for the guessing game. Whoever guessed closest won a cute little potted plant. I found the green and pink pails in the $1 section at Target. I knew I'd make good use of them!

These are the Martha Stewart tissue pom-pom balls I made from $.99 tissue paper I found at Tuesday Morning. They were what got us started on the lime green and hot pink theme.

This is the view from the landing off the kitchen. It was nice that Farrah already had a well decorated house and I didn't need to worry about going overboard with more decor.

We had simple fruit and sandwiches provided by my mom.

I made the punch.

Genny went crazy making cute little onesies.

One of our favorites was one left by our cousin, Mallorie.

The momma-to-be was looking fabulous!

Genny supplied her famous raspberry cream cupcakes.

We got to play with Farrah's friend's baby.

Farrah got reunited with her high school buddies.

An Official Housewife

2011-04-20T08:34:00.003-05:00

I've made the transition from Unofficial Housewife to Official Housewife. I feel very blessed and lucky and relieved. Thankfully, I have a husband who supports this and is pretty happy about it as long as I am happy. Oh, and as long as I have dinner ready for him when he comes home.

This is my new challenge: making dinner. I've never been a cook and my skills have mostly been in the baking department. So to find recipes that are yummy (to my picky taste) and not too intimidating is a little difficult. Thankfully, I only have to come up with about two or three per week. Considering there are only two of us, one dish yields enough leftovers for the next night that we are fine with eating again.

So what have I been cooking, you might be wondering...Well, it's only been a few weeks that I have completely dived into this, so there aren't a whole bunch of new recipes that I have tried.

I have tried a two creamy enchilada recipes. The first one, I really liked and the second one, Pete really liked. The jury is still out on the perfect recipe. This picture is of the first one.

Then last evening, we tried some gnocchi with zucchini and tomatoes. It was very flavorful and surprisingly filling! For those of you unfamiliar with gnocchi, it's basically a pasta ball made of flour. I had no idea what the heck it was until Farrah made us dinner with it a few years ago.

via

One of the recipes that has quickly become our favorite is tortellini with spinach. It is so perfect for the season and quick and easy. I found it using the All Recipes app on my phone. I have already made it about four times in the last few weeks. I compliment it with some Pepperidge Farm frozen garlic bread.

taken with my phone

When I go looking for recipes, I try to get vegetable based ones with less then 7-10 ingredients. I seriously get scared off by anything more complicated.

Two things I have discovered a need for in the kitchen: a super cute apron and a food processor. Anyone have a great food processor that cost them less than $100?

Thrift Store Picture Makeover

2011-04-19T15:11:00.000-05:00

Farrah and I were out browsing the local Salvation Army store when she saw this painting. She immediately fell in love with it and I immediately fell in love with the frame. It had major potential and she wanted it for her baby's room. So I snatched it up and got it all ready to gift to her in time for her baby shower.

The gold was gaudy, but the intricate details were perfect!

I just painted it white with some leftover paint I had and glazed it with black gloss. It picked up the details beautifully!I think it gave it a fresh, new life.

Once she gets it hung up in its new home, I'll post a picture.

My Little Piano

2011-04-15T14:13:00.001-05:00

My mom and I found this a few years ago at a little antique shop in Old Town Lenexa. It's actually a sweet little music jewelry box. I have it sitting on my shelf in the front room. It doesn't match anything in my house, but I love it.

I love the precious little bench that goes with it.

It was the only "toy" I could think of to try out some toy photography shots. This new adventure brought me out of my photography funk and now I just want to make beautiful pictures of tiny things. Like these tiny little wildflowers from my yard.

First, but not my last, Stuffed Animal Thing...

2011-04-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

This is the lobster lamb. Dubbed so because of its ridiculously large "lobster" arms.

(phone picture after Farrah placed it in the crib)

You would think that I would be better at following directions....or cutting out the pieces...Whatever. This was my first try at making a stuffed animal from a pattern and somehow, I still think it's awesome.

You see, I had a vision (ala velveteen rabbit) of a sweet cuddly first stuffed animal that was handmade by a loved one and delicately garnered with a shiny, satin red bow. It would match the baby's room and be carried everywhere. It would be the keepsake of her childhood years...Where did I go wrong? The pattern cutting. I thought I followed directions, but obviously not. I ended up cutting the wrong sides, so I had to do it over again (thank goodness for my "be prepared" ways and buying extra yardage!). This resulted in frustrated cutting, which only led to disproportioned body parts. Poor little lamb.

I had it sitting out when Genny came over the other day. She LOVED it. She loved the special little guy. It made me kind of love it too. After all, it is still super cuddly and the baby that it is intended for will never know the difference. She may be confused when she finally sees one in real life...Baby: Momma, why doesn't that lamb look like mine? Farrah: Oh, because Aunt Elena is too cheap and lazy to make you a proportioned stuffed animal.

But seriously, I keep looking at it and loving it more and more. It was ~~fun~~ quite the experience to make a stuffed animal. There are many things I will do differently the next time. Although, I am totally thinking of scrapping the perfect patterned idea and diving into ugly doll world. They don't care if one arm is bigger than the other....

Composting

2011-04-07T16:07:00.002-05:00

We have a huge compost pit at the back of our property, but it is pretty annoying to walk all the way back there just to dump some scraps. We tried the counter top compost pail, but it attracted ants and again, we still had to dump it in the back. Too far (it's like an eighth of a mile!). Too lazy. It was driving me crazy that we weren't saving our scraps, so I came up with a solution: make a small compost bin right outside our back door!

I found a cute green bin on sale for $6. Drilled some holes in the bottom and the top for aeration. Filled it a 1/4 of the way with dry leaves and then halfway with dirt.

Then I dumped my scraps, covered it with the dirt, and sprinkled some water on top to keep it moist. Voila! Compost bin that is super convenient.

I even decided to keep a plastic bag on the kitchen cart to throw the scraps in for the day until they are ready to dump.

I am so excited! This will be great compost for our plants and sprinkling on the garden. If it gets too full, I'll just take it to the back to the big guy for composting next year. Win, win!

Fanning the Flames of Love

2011-04-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

First, check out the way corny title. Couldn't resist. Anyway...our backyard was in desperate need of a fire pit. If anything, just to be able to burn all of our sticks. We literally have three growing piles of them! We've been eying the standard round ones you can buy anywhere, but I just didn't want to spend over $50 on one. Call me cheap, but I just didn't want to do it!

So for Pete's birthday, I got the idea to surprise him by building an in ground one. In my opinion, I just thought that it would look really cool. So I went online, searching for how-to's.

Before I could start building, I needed to start collecting some rock. We have lava rock in our front bushes and we hate it! We plan to completely tear apart our front porch area, so I figured it would be okay to start removing the rocks and use some for the pit. Bigger undertaking than I anticipated. It was heavy lifting. I scooped them up with a dustpan into the wheelbarrow and hauled them back to the area I was using for the pit.

Once that was done, I could start digging the "hole". I needed to get a good foundation for the first row and I needed it to be level. This was the most time consuming part. I had my mom and Farrah with me, but they could only do so much considering their conditions (old and pregnant). Either way, they were a huge help! Too bad they couldn't help much with the 14lb bricks. That was the most horrible, back breaking part! I had forty of them that needed to get into the shopping cart, into my car, out of my car into the wheelbarrow, and to the spot. We could only wheel 4-6 each time because of the weight.

That's Farrah taking a break. (I tried to give her other yard jobs like taking care of old potted plants, but that was still a bit much for the pregacious gal.)

Once we got the digging done, I threw in some gravel and lava rock to make a sturdy foundation. I also had to make sure it was all level. Pete is a perfectionist when it comes to landscaping and yard work, so I wanted to make sure it was up to his standards.

After the first row was done, it was smooth sailing from there. Pete was so surprised. Not exactly about the pit (he had caught on to that part), but that we worked with all that brick by ourselves. He plans to make some in ground benches for seating in the next week or so. We have yet to break it in, but I am so thrilled to finally have a fire pit!

Before and Afters

2011-04-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you love a good "before and after". I especially like photography ones. I was working on some pictures yesterday and pulled up some old ones. These guys needed some better lighting and color correction. Nothing over the top, but just enough to make them pop!

A Fuller Shelf Life

2011-03-18T14:01:00.000-05:00

My project for the day was to fill out my picture ledge that I showed you a few weeks ago. It was bare and as much as I am still not completely satisfied with it, at least it doesn't look so naked.

I changed out the flowers for some black ones and added some pictures. Another thing that I added was an "inspiration" poster I saw this morning on this blog. You could purchase it here, but I decided to whip up my own real quick.

I just opened Microsoft Publisher, downloaded a fun font (called twelve weeks pregnant!), and went for a soothing pink-ish color. It's printed on cardstock and reads "Taking time to live life will only inspire your work". It really struck a chord with me. It sits right above my head and keeps me motivated. Oh, and I totally didn't spend one penny on it!

Here is a close up of one of the paintings I have sitting on the ledge. My grandpa Scotty is an amazing painter and always has little canvases around of his latest stuff. When we were there last to visit, he graciously let us take a picture. I chose this because it reminds me of a little cabin in the mountains in Colorado. It compliments the other little canvas I have on the ledge below.

Wanna see what I picked up on the side of the road yesterday?

I have big plans for that door! There's no room in my house for it, but I grabbed it with Farrah's house in mind. Stay tuned!

Fun New Phone Pictures

2011-03-17T20:21:00.000-05:00

Pete has been hating his BlackBerry and lusting after the HTC EVO. So Saturday, we went to the Sprint store to check them out. Well, we ended up walking out with them.

One of the many reasons I decided it was such a good buy was because of the 8 megapixel camera and HD video. My Canon Powershot was getting quite dated (at only 4 megapixels and horrible video quality) and instead of getting a new one, this phone works perfectly.

Check out the gorgeous sunset pictures it captured the other night. I was driving, so I had Genny snap these. She did a great job!

This is my favorite.

An Unofficial Housewife

2011-03-09T22:40:00.000-06:00

My family asks me what I do all day. Well...I'm not really sure, but somehow my days get filled up with running errands, cleaning, or hanging out with the very people that ask me that question.

Today, my day consisted of the following...

Wake up at 9-ish.

Go to the computer to check the latest news updates on this (the wife of the guy I hung out with/dated for a bit in high school). Move on to Facebook and the latest blog updates via Google Reader.

Browse through and edit more pictures from this weekend in Wichita with my sisters.

My dad's father, Grandpa Scotty, hugging Amber, my older sister.

From bottom left: Amber, Uncle David, Farrah, Claire and Grandpa Scotty.

Amber and her daughter Audrey.

My dad, Grandpa Kansas to Audrey, and Audrey.

Take a break to make myself some crepes for breakfast and bake some chicken for this week's salads.

Check back on the computer and get distracted by this (love me some old school Janet!):

Do some online window shopping for this and this, but then decide to try to make a variation of my own first. So I go online searching for some tutorials. Found some inspiration to get me started! It's about 12:30 and I start rummaging through my craft stash.

Get hungry and eat some lunch while watching TV. Get distracted by the TV for a half hour...

Get up, wash some dishes, and start making a headband. Headband not working out as well as I hoped, but make plans to try again later now that I know what I did wrong.

Farrah calls and says she's coming over! It's about 2:45 as we head out for some shopping (found a great picture at Salvation Army) and joining in with my mom for more shopping at Nebraska Furniture Mart and dinner.

I get home at 9-ish, check the computer, talk to Pete and I am down for the night! Fun day in the life of me! What do you do all day?!

Our Newly Improved Office

2011-03-04T21:30:00.001-06:00

Our house has two bedrooms. One is the bedroom (duh!) and the other is the office. More specifically, Pete's office. I never touched it. He had one picture that he found a while ago to put up and that was it. I really had no idea what to do with the space, especially considering I rarely went in there.

Of course that changed when Pete put together a desktop for me thinking that it would be faster than my laptop with the whole photography thing. It was really sweet and I ended up loving having a desktop! So with all my time now being spent in the office, I needed to do something with it.

This is the main blank wall. I had a vision of picture ledges like my favorite bloggers seen here.

I wasn't really sure what to do with the other two walls, but ended up bringing all our wall decor from the basement that we had used for the living room in our old place. I was quite thrilled that I could use most of it again and save some money!

That was the one picture that Pete had picked out. It's a cool volcano thing and I figured why take his one piece down. So we left it. As for dressing up the window, I decided I would steal the curtains from the bedroom.

Ready...here are my picture ledges. Wanna know what I did? Instead of spending a couple hundred bucks here, I made my own for under $30. I went to Home Depot with my mom and looked for the perfect six foot pieces of wood. I found window molding that had perfect ridges for resting items! Bonus: they are thick enough to put little vases and knick-knacks on! The top piece is six feet wide and the bottom is six and a half. Pete just screwed them up there with an "L" bracket and voila! I literally ran around the house searching for stuff to start it out with. (So, no, they will not be that bare forever.) See my super cute lamp in the corner?! I was so happy to find that at TJ Maxx, especially considering how Pete likes to work in the dark and I don't.

The volcano corner with new window dressings (that still need hemming). I love what curtains do to a room! I also totally forgot to take the clock out of the picture. That is not its home.

Now here was the tricky wall. It's kind of big, but we only had this picture to work with. We turned it on its side and decided it could work. In the end, Pete deemed it "ghetto" and I told him I would look for new artwork. Either way, I don't think it's that bad.

I have to admit that aside from the ledges, I love this wall. I got to use my favorite picture frame and put in my black and white photos. I think it fills the space perfectly and helps remind people that they are in a grey room, not a purple one.

You like how Pete is just chillin', watching his KU videos? I was too excited to push him out and "stage" the room perfectly before taking pictures and blogging about it.

The Latest Snow Adventures of Pete and Elena!

2011-02-27T13:07:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in my post below, it snowed on Thursday night and Pete wasn't working on the Friday before his new job started. I made a point to plan something fun and different for us to do. Pete had his heart set on visiting Cave Spring in Kansas City. It's a historic nature center that he had been to as a kid.

I was excited because I knew it would be COVERED in snow. I strapped on my snow gear and we headed out. We were the only ones there and it was untouched territory (aside from the deer). I was in heaven. It literally felt like I was walking through the wardrobe into my own snow covered magical land.

It had a cave.

There were lots of fun bridges.

There were also random old chimneys.

This little lake was probably the most exciting part. We walked through some trees and there it was. It was gorgeous and still and so serene. We walked through the woods all around the perimeter.

Like I said, magical.

Snowy Night

2011-02-27T12:12:00.000-06:00

Thursday's weather was pretty cool. It pretty much scanned through all options: rain, fog, hail, sleet, snow. It's was Pete's last day before starting the new job on Monday (yay!) and I thought it would be nice to see a movie. So when we left to see the movie (I Am Number Four; highly recommend it) it was sleeting. When we walked out of the theater, everything was covered in snow. It was awesome!

I immediately pulled the tripod out to the front porch to get pictures. It was actually a pretty good experiment with exposure times.

This picture was taken with a two second exposure at ISO 800.

This one was taken with an eight second exposure time. Considering it was 9pm, it's pretty crazy how this looks like daylight.

This one was 1/5 of a second.

This was six seconds. Notice my blurry neighbors out shoveling.

Orchid Love

2011-02-25T08:18:00.003-06:00

I do not like roses. I don't like the way they smell and honestly, I think red roses are dark and depressing. So when Valentine's Day came around and Pete was late coming home from work, I was just hoping that he wasn't picking up roses. Good man, he brought me home an orchid. A really pretty one.

When I rented a 50mm f/1.4 lens, this orchid was my subject.

And yeah, I totally want that lens. Luckily, I am fine settling for its cheaper sibling.

Um, are you guys getting sick of all my photography posts yet? Should I rename this blog to The Random Photographer? ;)

Self Taught

2011-02-24T16:04:00.000-06:00

I was hanging out with Farrah last night while she was working on the baby's room (yep, my little sister is pregnant, in case you didn't know). She had just finished putting together the crib when we started talking about mattresses. She made a comment about the price of organic ones and I nodded my head saying, "Yep, I know." She stopped and just looked at me saying, "How and why do you know that stuff?"

Cuz Elena likes to learn about anything and everything.

Today I am educating myself on exposure and shutter speeds. I told y'all how I am only shooting in manual mode these days (and all future days), so I am trying to learn about every aspect. I heard Bryan Peterson had some good books on the subject, so I checked them out. Literally.

Anywho, I had the opportunity to meet with a local photographer. After looking at my stuff, I asked him if he had any suggestions or criticism. Composition. I need to work on my composition and black and white photography. He's totally right. I forget about black and white and my pictures are pretty one-note. So I'm off to practice!

Liberty Memorial Fog

2011-02-22T16:49:00.000-06:00

Last week contained a beautiful foggy day. This fog didn't let up until after 10am. Crazy! I went out to Liberty Memorial thinking I could get some fun pictures. It was so nice to just be out on that day, all alone with my camera, enjoying the scenery.

There were some other photographers up there, including one from the Kansas City Star that introduced himself to me because he had shot some stuff with me in it. Gotta admit, it was pretty cool. (Unfortunately, he didn't send me any pictures, like he said he would. Sad.)

With that said, these are a few of my shots. Honestly, I wish I could have captured some better ones, but it was still really nice to get out there.

Practice Makes Perfect

2011-02-21T16:16:00.000-06:00

It's nerve-racking to put yourself out there, but that is what I have decided to do with photography. I am taking an opportunity that I believe I have been blessed with and making something of it. I offered to do some free stuff to build my portfolio and some people took advantage of it! I was SO nervous. I couldn't sleep. I still can't and if I do, I am literally dreaming about photo sessions. I just want to make sure that I do my best even though I am still learning.

Anyway, I convinced Genny to do a trial run with me the evening before my "first" time. The sun was so bright, but she was a good sport and stuck it out for me.

I kept making comments about how it was just too bright (even at 4:45pm) and it wasn't helping me get good shots. Genny was curious as to what I meant, so here is a perfect example:

When Pete and I wanted engagement pictures, we borrowed his dad's camera and decided to take them ourselves. Well, actually, I had Genny and my dad help. This was back in 2006 and my dad was the only one who really knew the most about photography.

So with Genny, we went to the plaza in the middle of the day and snapped away. It was super bright and not ideal conditions for great, natural light photos. Check out the shadows:

Now with my dad, we went to the local park one afternoon. It was overcast and was on the verge of raining. I remember thinking, this is not good. We're not gonna get anything from this. Wrong. It was perfect. No harsh shadows. All the colors were saturated. It was just perfect light.

Just fun stuff you learn along the way!

By the way, if I had to pick my "thing" in taking pictures, I think it would be head shots. I'm realizing that I always go for a good head shot. Need to work on opening my options...

Sunday at the Park

2011-02-15T19:32:00.000-06:00

Sunday was gorgeous. We had to get out of the house, so we popped over to Shawnee Mission Park. Our first stop: The Tower. It was a big deal growing up to hit up the tower to hang out. It's covered in graffiti and the steps get super steep towards the top.

From there, we just walked around...

The snow was quickly melting, but it would have been nice to have some boots on. Our tennies got quite wet and muddy.

There were a few bright white trees that were speaking to me. Seriously, this guy was just glowing.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T08:13:00.001-06:00

I was out on Saturday morning and when I came home, I noticed a chocolate-y pan in the sink. I asked Pete what it was all about and he asked me if I wanted my Valentine's day gift early. Um, yeah!

That man spent the morning making me chocolate covered strawberries. They were dipped in milk chocolate and white chocolate. He even pulled out some drizzling skills. I was SO surprised! And touched! He said he had some trouble with the whole double boiling thing, but luckily bought extra chocolate. How sweet is he?!

I can honestly say that this is just as good, if not better, than anything he could have purchased.

My Ugly To-Do Board

2011-02-11T10:20:00.000-06:00

My desk used to be housed in the bedroom under this bulletin board. I had high hopes for this huge board when I bought in on clearance. I was going to paint the trim and do that whole fabric/ribbon look, maybe. Well, obviously, I never got to it (story of my life). Also, I never took the dang ugly board down after we moved the desk out. So it sits on the wall.

Last month, I figured I'd throw daily reminders on it and things I needed to get done that were on a bigger scale. Some of these things include painting Pete's dresser (gotta wait till spring), cleaning out the garage, clearing boxes from the basement, etc. I have literally had these on my mental to-do list for a very long time.

I was so proud when I was able to remove, not one, but two cards off the board! First, was the "paint trim in kitchen". Like I've pointed out before, the poor kitchen and bathroom remain pretty much untouched as far as updates go. One of the little pieces that needed to be done was painting the remaining kitchen trim white and I finally did it! I blame Farrah for getting me in the painting mood with her house. It followed me home and into my kitchen.

The second card that got to come off was the "load pictures onto website". Pete made me a little photography website and it needed some pictures. I finally got around to it just to realize that they look really bad in the format, so it's officially back on Pete's list to work on. (The site is up, but it's still "under construction", so I'm not sharing a link.)

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

2011-02-09T14:28:00.000-06:00

Genny has a special skill - raspberry cream cupcakes. She makes these yummy treats every now and then and the family just devours them. Again, I got to practice my skills. Genny even offered to be a little model for me!

*By the way, I have to toot my own horn for a second. I have successfully been steering clear of using my camera in auto mode or any other "cheat" modes. I have been working solely in manual mode. I'm getting faster at being able to judge the settings without spending too long to test them out first. Just a little step closer to being more "professional", I hope.

Snowed In

2011-02-08T23:30:00.000-06:00

Dude, check out that snow! This was Wednesday morning last week. Pete woke up at 6:30 for work to discover that he was snowed in (see street picture below). I wasn't about to give him my car when I wanted to go and drive in this stuff! He was happy to have a day off. Of course, he spent three hours shoveling our driveway and then helping the neighbor. Isn't our little blue house so precious?

The city didn't get to our street until later that afternoon. Pete shoveled a bit out into the street, so you can clearly see how thick the snow was. I wouldn't have been able to make it through without the 4wd. It was pretty cool.

Random Accessories On My Mind

2011-02-07T18:18:00.027-06:00

Over the last few weeks, these things have caught my eye. From top left:

Steve Madden crossbody bag - So freaking awesome because of all the pockets. I love anything that keeps my crap organized. Bonus: It's a crossbody!
Adidas watch - For some reason I really like this white watch. I don't think I would ever be able to pull it off, though.
Neff stocking cap - I just got my first ear flap hat, so I am in love with all of them right now.
Tree necklace - I love the simplicity and daintiness of this necklace.
Frye boots - I have been wanting real riding boots for over a year now. I'm sad that I don't have the body type to pull of the "jeans in boots" look, but I still want them!
Two Tone pumps - Sassy!
Until There's a Cure bracelet - I had one of these in high school and wore it all the time. I so badly want a new one.
Hunter boots - Doesn't everyone want a pair? How can you not?!

Snow Day Goodies

2011-02-02T11:38:00.001-06:00

Today, a blizzard blew into Kansas City. Luckily, for me, I ain't got a job right now. I got to enjoy this wondrous event from the comfort of my home. Of course, I love snow and I love to get out and play in it. This includes driving. Pete took my SUV into work, but came home early. Good for me because I got to take it for a drive to the grocery store. I was especially pleased when we got a little stuck in the parking lot and I had to engage the 4wd.

Okay, back to the matter at hand. Nutter Butter Truffles. I don't even like them that much (Nutter Butters, that is), but when I saw this recipe, I knew I should save it for a rainy day...or a snowy one. It has less than five ingredients, which is right up my alley. I also got to drizzle and make them look pretty. This made me happy. Life is all about the simple joy, right?

I had a lot left over after I ate my portion, so I was excited to further the pretty with ribbon tied packages for family and friends. Oh, and bonus, I decided to practice my food photography!

The Door Knob

2011-02-01T19:47:00.002-06:00

I was in a photography kind of mood today. My subject: the door knob. Actually, I opened the door to take a picture of the crazy blizzard, but...it was seriously a blizzard outside and I just couldn't do it. So, obviously, our old door knob caught my eye.

When we bought this house, I hated the knobs. They are all really old and worn down. They are all the same style, but have been worn down differently. I made a comment to the realtor (my SIL) who immediately told me no! People purchase these old homes with expectations of these old pieces. If I insisted on replacing the knobs, she advised me to at least save them to put back in later. Yeah, I just decided to not touch them. Over time, I have come to love them. They are quite charming. I love the keyholes.

Anyway, they proved to be the perfect little pictures to play with.

And because I love to see pictures straight out of the camera, here are mine.

I think it would be fun to take a few more and frame a little series of them. I think I like the first picture's style the best. Could be good in the office...?

Snow Day 2011

2011-01-21T21:11:00.002-06:00

So the week after I got let go/fired/kicked to the curb, God decided to be kind and cover this city in a beautiful white blanket. Seriously, I was stoked to immediately get out and go play in it. I didn't get any amazing pictures like I was hoping, but here is what I did get.

My mom watching the kids sledding down the hill. Look at that snow coming down (I had to shield my camera the whole time).

Well, that's it. Our first big snow of the season. The next day, we even got in some sledding!

Bokeh Shots

2010-12-26T22:57:00.000-06:00

Attempts to get some pictures with good bokeh:

Unfortunately, these are the only pictures I took over Christmas. We all spent the day eating, napping, and watching movies. As Pete described it, we were all in a "sleepy haze". I guess that's what happens when you combine a pregnant girl, one who slept on the floor with the dog, and one who slept on the couch while her husband ~~slept~~ tossed and turned in a very bad bed. Oh and the parents were sick.

Saving up for...

2010-12-26T18:52:00.000-06:00

This guy.

It's the perfect mid-level camera for me.

Kelly Moore Bag

2010-12-22T22:02:00.000-06:00

I want this bag. I really, really want it.

I've been in a photography funk for a few months. My poor camera feels neglected. This past week, I've been trying to re-ignite the passion flame. For me, this includes searching for fabulous new gear. This is where this fabulous Kelly Moore Bag comes into play. It's perfect. Perfect because it looks and acts like a purse, but fits my camera and lens comfortably. I need it.

Oh and to add more to my lusting for this bag, now that I've blogged about it, I can get $30 off. Hello! It's officially on sale.

Fall 2010

2010-11-27T21:18:00.001-06:00

I've been a bad blogger. What fun is having a blog if you're not going to be a regular poster, right? Sorry about that.

Here's my pumpkin from Halloween. I was totally uninspired and ended up going a little crazy. Yes, that includes spaghetti as hair...on a pumpkin.

It actually ended up being pretty cool once we put the light in.

Claire and her boyfriend Jason came down from Chicago for a weekend to celebrate Farrah's birthday. We had fun visiting with them and getting to know J.

Genny and mom at Farrah's birthday dinner.

Farrah posing with her birthday cake.

Pete playing goalie on his indoor soccer team he put together. He loves getting back in there (even if he does have to play goalie for a half)!

Okay, this cake gets a few extra pictures. I made it after seeing a tutorial online. It's just a double layer round cake. I stacked Kit Kat bars around the edge and put M&M's on top to make it look like a barrel full of candy. It was so fun to make!

Halloween GIF

2010-11-04T15:36:00.003-05:00

Here's a little snippet of our Halloween. (Okay, this is actually more of a test. I just figured out how to make a gif!)

Pumpkin Vases

2010-11-03T22:54:00.000-05:00

These last few weeks have been...eventful, but there is nothing like a little craft project with the momma to be the perfect amount of distraction. My mom makes these cute pumpkin vases each season and I wanted to help this time.

I chose to make a medium and small sized one (she usually makes small ones). Just start by carving out the pumpkin like you regularly would do for jack-o-lanterns.

Secondly, take some melted wax (my mom picked up some stuff called Gulf Wax from Ace Hardware) and roll it around to cover the inside of the pumpkin. The intention is to make it somewhat waterproof for holding flowers.

To get into the top cuts, we brushed the wax along the top (don't use a brush that you don't mind tossing out afterward). Oh and lookie there, a picture of the wax we used.

Let your pumpkins dry for a bit and then fill them with some water and fresh flowers of your choice.

I actually wanted to showcase my pumpkins outside on my front porch (this picture shows my mom's), so we picked up some fake flowers that would last. We made these two and a half weeks ago and mine are still looking fabulous. The coating of wax has really helped to make these guys last a while.

Food Post....again

2010-10-10T21:53:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am going to talk about food. Again. Hey, I get hungry and I eat. Actually, it's more like I am one of the pickiest eaters in the world. I like to think that I am not, but time and time again, I am proven wrong.

So I've been on some random food kicks. I go through phases where all I will eat are the same things for a week or two. (I've always been like this.) This time around all I want are enchiladas, chips and salsa, and chicken fingers.

At the grocery store, I picked up some Amy's Kitchen frozen enchiladas. I love this brand. It's organic and wholesome with real ingredients. I don't like to buy microwave meals, but sometimes, it's just what I want and it's super convenient. Bonus: This brand does not use plastic containers and their plastic wrap is free of PVC! Extra Bonus: It's all vegetarian.

Every time I buy one of their products, I love it. They taste good and not over processed or fake. Some of my favorites are the margherita pizza, tomato and cheese enchilada, beans and cheese burrito, and stuffed pasta shells bowl. (That looks like I really like cheese, but I don't. At least not that much.) Yummy.

Fall TV

2010-10-04T21:53:00.000-05:00

Fall came around and so did new episodes of The Office and Community (my favorites!). By the way, where is Parks and Recreation? All I see is that new episodes will be starting soon...

There are a few new shows I started watching. First is Hellcats on CW. Love it! After ABC Family's Make It or Break It ended, I was left with a void. What would fill the cheesy-dance/gymnastics-girl show in my life? Enter: Hellcats. Bonus: The two main characters are from the Disney channel! So, yeah, check it out.

I've also started watching TLC's Quints by Surprise. Again, I was left with a void to fill once the Jon & Kate Plus 8 charade. This new show is fun and cute, like early Jon & Kate Plus 8. Bonus: No demeaning, biting remarks between the couple!

Additional standy-bys that I enjoy:

Flipping Out
Project Runway
Hoarders
19 Kids and Counting
Glee

What stuff are you watching this season?

Dr. McDougall's Soup Box!

2010-09-16T16:08:00.000-05:00

So this picture is really bad because I took it with my phone. I was too lazy to pull out the camera, but I was really excited to find this soup last night at Whole Foods!

I have a big issue with the BPA thing. I try to avoid it at all costs. I have almost completely cut out the purchase of anything canned. I am also trying to stay away from packaged stuff (unfortunately, it's harder to do). Every time I tear open a granola bar and see the strings of glue, I lose my appetite.

My biggest concern was soup. I love a good soup, but was scared to keep buying cans. I saw the boxed soups and picked up this brand (it offered the types that I want). First off, no BPA! Second, the box has more ounces than the cans, so it is more filling. Third, awesome, real ingredients!

I love it and can't wait to try the garden vegetable. The chunky tomato is super yummy! Chunks of tomato and a nice little kick of garlic.

Clearly, I highly recommend it :)

Conspiracy Theory?

2010-09-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

Watch the video. I'm interested in your thoughts, so don't be shy. I think it's a little extreme with comparisons to Hitler's methods, but has very valid points. I like coming across these things every now and then to remind me to be very conscious of all products that I use. VERY CONSCIOUS.

Sunshine

2010-09-07T20:34:00.000-05:00

Kate Spade is making yummy jewelry. I instantly fell in love with this necklace.

Then I saw this bracelet. So cute!

Little Silver Scooter

2010-09-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

My parents got themselves a little toy. They had been talking about getting a scooter for a while and finally did! Farrah is obsessed with it and had a hard time prying herself away.

I figured I would practice my panning skills. This is the first time I have done this, but with my dad's help, it didn't come out too bad. Not too good, either.

The Poppa's Birthday

2010-09-03T22:22:00.001-05:00

This man's big birthday was Monday.

I made him a cake.

Genny gave him a heartfelt card.

Even Dondi showed up!

His mom was there to celebrate too!

Sweet silly love.

*These were all taken with my new flash unit. Can you tell the difference?

Making Pillow Covers

2010-09-01T19:04:00.000-05:00

My couch has been looking rather bare. I have lots of throw pillows, but not in the design that I want. I decided I wanted a modern black and white look and that I could totally make my own pillow covers. I had plenty of pillows to throw into them. So while at Hobby Lobby with Farrah one afternoon, I saw this fabric and figured it would be a good start. (see my old plaid pillow peeking out)

I didn't want to sew the pillow in or mess with zippers, so I was thrilled when I found this video that perfectly explained how to make an envelope pillow cover. Seriously, these things are so easy and you can pop one out in 30 minutes.

My next dilemma was finding a good complimentary fabric. (I like four pillows on my couch.) I could have gone with anything, considering my first fabric choice was so basic. I really like Amy Butler fabric, so I found a store in Lawrence selling it. Genny and I popped over there and came across this fabric (not Amy Butler). It was a bit of a splurge, but I figured it was worth it, considering my first fabric only cost me $10.

It's totally different, but I love it!

Here is the final room shot. (still need to figure something out to dress up the windows...)

All in all, I save a lot of money doing it myself. Pete and I had come across pillows at the store, but if I bought four at $30 each, it would cost me over $100! This option cost me under $40!

Soon to come...

2010-08-29T23:10:00.000-05:00

pillow covers, birthday pictures and a new toy for the Scott parents!

Ruffles!

2010-08-19T19:23:00.001-05:00

I've been helping Farrah's sister-in-law make curtains for her little girl's room, so basically my sewing machine has been hanging out over at her house. Okay, it had been sitting at my house for forever, not being used. The second it leaves, all I want to do now are my sewing projects! Lovely how that happens.

Anyway, I've been craving (is that the right word...?) sewing. Sewing what, you ask? RUFFLES. Yep, I just want to make ruffle stuff. Like this super cute pillow.

picture from how does she

I just want to put ruffles on everything. Edging on cardigans, pillowcases, purses....

Fun with Photoshop Actions

2010-08-14T23:11:00.001-05:00

When I worked for my dad, I had a co-worker named James. He and I were the main employees and, obviously, we spent a lot of time together. He kept me abreast of all the geeky stuff that a computer guy would know. Like sending me links from digg.com and Strongbad email videos. (Okay, I just got distracted by that for about twenty minutes!)

Remember those Mac vs PC commercials with the two guys? Well, there were a bunch of parody videos and one was about gaming. Basically, PC won that battle. Mac's rebuttal: you can play Photoshop. Enter the running joke of me playing Photoshop for hours on end every night.

Wow, that was a long intro to my simple post....So today I was playing Photoshop like any normal adult woman on a Saturday afternoon while her husband is out doing yard work. My game today: actions. You can buy actions that will give your pictures great effects. Effects that one would spend hours doing. Some effects, that no matter how long I try doing, I would never get quite right. So, you can make your own actions or you can buy them and load them into your program. Then, all you do, is push play. Simple as that.

Sadly, the actions that I want to buy are pricey. As in $150. And that is only for some of them. There are tons out there that are awesome! On a happy note, though, I found some free ones and was able to get a sample of the pricey ones. Yay for me!

This is a lomo action. I guess there are lomo cameras that make really intense color images, so people try to achieve this by editing their photos. I love the look, but for the life of me could never get it right. So I was literally jumping up and down when I found a free action for it. Look how it completely transforms this picture into a cool, non-boring one. (Yes, this is my backyard.)

Genny, my favorite model, gets a double treatment. The lomo effect and a Troy effect (the middle one) from Totally Rad Actions. Gosh, I am in love with the Troy effect. Just gorgeous.

My mom and Genny get the Troy effect again.

And in one of my all-time favorite pictures of Pete and me on the beach in Puerto Vallarta: the Boutwell Magic Glasses effect. Again, from Totally Rad Actions. The perfect touch on an almost already perfect picture.

*Click on the pictures to enlarge*

Newton House Photography

2010-08-13T16:21:00.000-05:00

So if you haven't noticed already, there's a new piece on my blog. It's my Etsy shop!! Yep, I decided to start selling my pictures. It's my new project and I hope that someone, somewhere likes what they see enough to buy it and hang it in their home. If not, no biggie. If yes, then it makes me really happy and hopefully, it makes them happy too :)

It's called Newton House Photography (Pete's still working on my website) and I think I have a decent selection up right now. Pop over and let me know what you think. I'm a total newbie and would love your opinion. Also, if you know my stuff and don't see something you want, just let me know!

Garden Tomatoes

2010-08-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

I was out to lunch with my little sister, Genny, the other day when she told me that I should post more. I laughed a little, thinking, hey, someone actually reads this blog! This made me happy and curious. I told her that my blogging habits have changed over the years and I try not to get too personal with everyone who has internet access. This leads to less blogging for me. So, Genny, what should I blog about? My tomatoes, she suggested. More of my craft projects. Okay. I can do that.

So, if you follow my house blog, you know all about our adventures in gardening. This last week was a huge deal as we got our first tomatoes! Notice, if you will, the tops. Not looking so good. Pete and I were wondering about this. We figured they were just a little underdeveloped considering their place in the garden. It was cute, actually, because at the grocery store the next day, Pete pointed out their tomatoes. The local ones looked just like ours. This made us feel better.

These tomatoes are so yummy and juicy. It's all I have been eating. I stocked up on some fresh mozzarella and have been eating my favorite salads!

We have also been eating yellow squash. I have yet to get a picture of it before it's all gone!

Decorative Storage Boxes

2010-08-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

When we built our desk for the office, we left open shelves to add a bit of interest with decorative baskets or boxes. Who knew this would be such a headache.

Considering the desk was built after the Pottery Barn style, I went there to find baskets that would fit the dimensions. Holy crap, those baskets were $40 each and I needed four. It would have cost more for the baskets than the actual desk!

So I searched. And searched. The items I found were always too expensive, not the right size or there would not be enough in stock.

Then one day I came across this blog post where she made her own storage boxes out of cardboard and slapped some fabric on the front. I could do that.

I grabbed some boxes from work and my parents' house. Pete helped me pick out some scrapbook paper (good fabric is hard and expensive to come by around here) that he could deal with, considering he spent the most time in that room, and I was off! Okay, it took me a while to do this. I had to cut cardboard with a rotary cutter and use two pieces for each side. Basically, that was really eight boxes that I built. Then, because the paper didn't fully cover the front, I glued two pieces and put a piece of ribbon down the front to cover the seams.

Voila!

The crappy part about this project is that I only measured one opening, assuming they would all be the same size. I was wrong. That is why there is a gap on some of them. Also, the last two boxes, I assembled differently, therefore causing them to stick out of the opening by an inch. As you can imagine, by this point, I didn't care. I was just glad to be done.

They are a little...much. They pop more than we anticipated, but once we get the rest of the room designed, they should blend a lot better. If anything, I can just recover them later.

All in all, I saved A LOT of money with this approach. I used eight sheets of paper at $.59 each and ribbon at $1.50. It cost me $6.22 for these guys. Nice.

Projects

2010-08-05T21:03:00.000-05:00

I have SO many little craft projects that I am working on right now. I don't know what my deal is, but I've been embracing my crafty side and it's been really fun...and relaxing, which is what I need. Unfortunately, I have a small (okay, big) problem with starting on one and not finishing it before I get distracted by another one. Seriously, this is a huge problem for me.

Right now, I am really trying to focus on finishing the making of my own storage boxes for our homemade desk. It's taking me forever because I have to do the same time-consuming building FOUR times. I have almost two done and that right there has taken me two weeks. Sad, I know.

Other things that I have been doing:

Headbands - This started one night with Farrah while searching for a crafty thing to keep us occupied and I am now addicted.
Storage Boxes - After seeing this post, I was all over this hugely frugal idea. I should have pictures this weekend of the finished result (hopefully!).
Sewing - This is my worst problem. I have plans and supplies for a coin purse and a skirt that I bought over a few months ago. I have yet to even start on these.
Dresser - I have planned to paint Pete's dresser white to match mine since winter. All the spray paint has been waiting in the garage. What have I done with it? Used it for everything else.
Picture Frames - This would probably be one of the easiest to do. I have six Ikea frames that need to be moved since we rearranged our bedroom. I just want to string them on some ribbon and hang them vertically. Yeah, I've that all ready to go since February.

Kitchen - Um, only half of it is painted. 'Nough said.

I think that's it. See? Problem. In my attempts to remedy this issue, I have promised myself to not buy into anything new until I finish something off my current list. Now that I work part-time (hooray!!), I have more time to get this accomplished.

New project that I have been eying....Lens pets! Seriously, how adorable are they for getting the little ones to look at the camera!

Karl Taylor Photography Channel

2010-07-31T10:12:00.001-05:00

In my recent days of being totally consumed by photography brain (thinking about it, as opposed to actually doing it), I stumbled upon this YouTube channel from Karl Taylor Photography. He's a commercial photographer that does some awesome work. Basically, he's put together a bunch of short videos that ultimately promote his DVD lineup, but they have great tips. Stop by and check it out if you are interested.

Colorado Vacay: The End

2010-07-18T17:32:00.002-05:00

We headed back to Kansas on Tuesday afternoon. The plan was to drive home through I70 and check out Vail. We pulled off the highway to take a visit, but it was quite the bustling little city. I didn't even want to bother walking through the shops. So we pulled right back out onto the highway. Vail was gorgeous, though. It reminded me of the Hollywood Hills. On either side of the highway, there were huge, beautiful houses speckled along the mountain sides. Just gorgeous. Geez, I can't even begin to imagine it in the winter.

The next plan was to stop at Denver and check out their famous shopping center, Cherry Creek North. We did, but there wasn't anything that we didn't have here, in Kansas City. All, in all, we were not impressed with Denver. Nope. It was cool, but again, it just reminded of a little bit better Kansas City.

So we proceeded to drive through the night until we got home at 4am. Gosh, it was quite a blow when we stepped out into Kansas weather and were hit with the hot, humid air. It had been so nice to be in perfect, humid-less weather. Poor Pete was quite miserable and upset that we couldn't just pick up our house and move it to Boulder.

Anyway, it was a magnificent vacation. It was so nice to get away and do whatever we wanted with no strict plan to do anything. We discovered the perfect place for just us and I can't wait to go back!

Colorado Vacay: Ouray, Part Three

2010-07-18T17:08:00.000-05:00

Pete and I planned to do some easy hiking in the morning before heading out to a mine tour. After breakfast, at about 8:30am, we packed up our gear and headed toward Cascade Falls. This was the waterfall we could see from town.

Now, Pete started making a joke at my expense. He says that I have cried three times while on this vacation. First time, we were pulling into Boulder and I was just amazed at the beauty of the mountains right in front of us. Two, we were pulling into Ouray and it instantly exceeded all my expectations from the very first second. It was beyond gorgeous and breathtaking. Third time was within minutes of hiking toward Cascade Falls.

You see, we are at about 7,500 feet above sea level. Unfortunately, I am not in the best shape, so not only does this affect a normal person, it really affects me. For the first few days, I did great. I had no problem hiking and walking and riding horses and all that. This morning, though, it had all caught up to me. My abs hurt from horseback riding. My rib hurt from banging into the side of the jeep going down the mountain and my leg had a huge bruised knot on it from being shoved into the jeep for two hours. We basically had been going strong from the second we pulled into Colorado and I just needed a break.

So yes, I teared up. I suddenly fell short of breath and my legs just didn't want to do it anymore. We turned back and drove up to Box Canyon Falls where you could park at the base and walk about 500 feet to the falls. It was awesome. They had built a structure that took you into the split in the mountain where a waterfall was rushing down. You felt the spray of the water and could walk around the rocks at the base.

I was dumb and left my battery charging at the hotel, so I didn't have my camera. We did, however, have Pete's dad. Unfortunately, when we came home to look through them, they were messed up. Weird and unfortunate. Thank goodness, Pete had been running the little camera video.

Here's a silly video he took.

From there, we headed back to Cascade Falls. We took another look at the map and discovered that we could also drive up to that base and just have an easy hike to the falls. Cascade Falls was stunning. It was a super tall, thin waterfall that streamed over a long decline of rocks. Poor Pete really wanted to scale the rocks and get behind the waterfall. Unfortunately, these mountains are so steep and rugged.

That was the end of the hiking for the day. We visited a local mine tour and learned about all that stuff. Not too interesting, but it was cool to go into the mine. It was a perfect 52 degrees and very dark. No pictures of that. (I was pictured out at that point.)

From Ouray into the next town of Silverton, there is a stretch of highway that is known as the Million Dollar Highway aka Red Mountain Pass aka Pete's Memory Lane (I dubbed it that one myself). Words cannot describe its beauty. Pictures cannot capture it all. I can tell you, though, it is worth a thirteen hour drive from Kansas City.

Can you guess what that mountain is called? Red Mountain. That railroad just ends right at the edge like that. It's crazy to think that it was built over the deep valley to the other side. Frightening, actually.

Never have I been on a highway where the speed limit has points of 25 mph and 10 mph on the switchbacks. It is paved, but still very dangerous if you are not paying attention. Pete drove on the way to Silverton and I drove on the way back. This way, we were able to take turns marveling at the views. One second too long to gaze at the valley and you are, poof, over the cliff. (This happened over the holiday weekend with a local boy who stepped back while shooting off fireworks. Tragic.)

Yes, I took that while driving. Very slowly.

We stopped at Silverton, which is another small little city like Ouray, but not as picturesque. It's more of a run down cowboy stop that isn't as snuggle by the mountains as Ouray is. (I don't blame the mountains. Ouray is just too cute not to want to wrap your big arms around it.)

Pete had me stop to take some pictures of the wildflowers. Sadly, none of those pictures her took turned out.

We got back to town at about 6:30 and were beat. There is just so much to do and see. This is a place that needs a full week at the very least. Thank goodness we extended our stay for another day.

So we finished off our evening with dinner, a walk through the shops, and our, now traditional, stop at Mouse's Chocolates for treats and a hot drink.

Colorado Vacay: Yankee Boy Basin, Part Two

2010-07-18T16:12:00.001-05:00

I have a great video of the big rock, but stupid Blogger won't let me upload it for some reason. Bummer, I guess I will try later. So....

We grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading out to Ridgeway (about 15 minutes away) for a horseback ride. We were the only two for the ride. Now, this was my first time on horseback since being a 9-year-old girl scout (which I really don't recall actually riding then). I just wanted the experience. Pete, on the other hand, had been riding in Ouray before and had fond memories.

Do not go horseback riding at Debs Livery in Ridgeway, CO. The gentleman was kind, but the ride was not at all what we had hoped for. It was along the highway in the open sun and then barely into a wildlife area that was not scenic at all, except for some mountains off in the distant. The only good part about it was that I finally got to ride a horse and the gentleman positioned me and Pete for some pictures (not good enough to post, though).

Oh and I got the most stupid sunburn on my left arm that was exposed after I had pushed my long sleeves up a bit. Silly, silly two-tone looking burn.

Just to give you an idea of how perfect Ouray weather is...At 2pm in Ridgeway, it was 84 degrees. At 3:30pm in Ouray (on our way back in), it was 64 and sunny. The locations were just about 14 miles from each other. We love Ouray, if for just this reason alone.

The evening progressed pretty normally with dinner and walking along the shops on Main street. Suddenly, the wind picked up and the clouds got dark and heavy over the mountain tops. A storm was blowing in. Fast. We looked at each and quickly headed for our hotel. We grabbed our cameras and tried to get what we could before it was too dark. Ouray just got some sprinkles and gusts of wind, but I would have loved to have seen what it was doing up in the mountains.

I took this picture before realizing I was in the wrong camera mode. I do like it, however, because it really picks up the cloudiness. It was crazy!

It was probably best that we weren't able to squeeze in a jeep tour the next morning. Conditions would not have been good.

Colorado Vacay: Yankee Boy Basin

2010-07-18T00:28:00.000-05:00

Yankee Boy Basin is about 10,000 feet above sea level with two waterfalls, called Twin Falls. Ouray is at about 7,800 feet, so it was noticeably different. I would crouch down for a picture of a wildflower and instantly get lightheaded as soon as I stood up. I almost toppled over a few times. After about a half hour, I started to feel sharp pains in my upper shoulders every time I breathed in. One of the locals offered helpful advice and said it was normal to experience these things. I mean, Kansas City has an elevation of about 1,000 feet, so I was definitely feeling the difference!

Gorgeous, isn't it?

Our way down from the basin went by so quickly. It took us about an hour and a half to go up and twenty minutes to get down. We were following behind a few cars and the dust was awful. I had a sweatshirt covering my face most of the way, but it didn't save my hair from collecting a good amount. Yuck.

Here's a cheap shot of Ouray.

You want to see some video? I had my little Canon Powershot that takes video. It's not great, but I think it's fun to have some video to get another view of things.

This is a 360 view while I was standing in the middle of the basin.

Colorado Vacay: Ouray, Part Two

2010-07-15T23:18:00.001-05:00

This morning in Ouray started early. We had to find breakfast and be at the jeep place by 8am for our tour up into Yankee Boy Basin (a moderate rated pass). It was a chilly morning. I had a long sleeved tee, sweatshirt and jacket. Even then, once we got into the open truck, I tightened my hood around my head to stay warm.

The 16 mile round trip trek took us four hours. Our tour stopped at good photography points and historically notable spots. There were some very cool abandoned mining buildings. One of them was a doorway into the actual mine that was very creepy. It's too bad they had it locked up. Apparently, it's dangerous and people can fall down shafts to never be found again. Huh.

For the most part, it was a pretty tame pass. The road was pretty smooth and the wide even though there was a crazy cliff to fall off.

This is the famous rock that hangs over the road. It's pretty cool, if I say so myself.

Okay, it was also kind of scary.

Some of the mining stuff along the way was pretty cool. It was all busted up from the avalanches. Our tour guide told us a story about a 96 year old woman who had been on a tour and told them that she taught school in one of the busted up buildings. When they asked her how it was to live up in these mountains, she replied, "It was hell on earth." It was freezing in the twenty foot snows and there was black smoke all over from the mining. Yuck.

So many pictures! I am going to have to break this post into two. I gotta fit in the video too!

To be continued...

Colorado Vacay: Ouray, Part One

2010-07-15T22:13:00.000-05:00

Saturday's adventure had us driving further west to Ouray, CO. It's a little town that Pete's mom loved and would have her family vacation there. Pete had very fond memories and insisted we go there for Yankee Boy Basin pictures and other outdoor fun.

We were mesmerized on our way in via the mountains. The scenery never ceases to amaze me. (Little did I know that I was just getting started...)

As we turned onto our final stretch into Ouray, I couldn't help but hope that we were headed right into the peaks that I was admiring. Sure enough, we literally drove straight into Main street where you suddenly felt like you had just entered a cutesy little movie. Ouray's Main street is literally about seven blocks lined with shops and food. Just a few hundred feet behind each side is straight up mountainside. I cried. I couldn't help it. It was more than I had expected. Stunning. I couldn't believe that such perfect little places existed outside of the movie screen.

This is the view from our front balcony. We were just nestled in the mountains. I wish I would have gone out the street and done a 360 degree video. I didn't get as many pictures as I had hoped. I just wanted to enjoy it as much as possible without trying to get a picture of every single thing.

We immediately walked the street, poking into the shops that were still open for the evening. The owners were so friendly, asking where we were from and where we were staying. After speaking with one, I got nervous about taking our own car (as we had originally planned) up to Yankee Boy Basin. We convinced ourselves that spending the extra money for a safe, leisurely tour would be a better idea. So we booked the 8am Sunday morning jeep tour.

As I proceeded to reserve a time at 2pm for horseback riding and talked to Pete about some hiking trails, I quickly decided that two nights in Ouray just wouldn't be enough. There was too much to see. Too much to do. We went to a late dinner and decided to extend our stay another night. I could forgo shopping in Denver for more priceless activity here.

Ouray nights are chilly. The mornings start out at about 50, progress into the mid-70s, and descend into the 50s again. We loved it! I got to wear my cardigans and jacket. We stopped in at Mouse's Chocolates for some hot drinks and treats. Pete, with his caramel hot apple cider and me, with my hot chocolate proceeded to walk along in the 54 degree evening planning the rest of our stay.

Colorado Vacay: Boulder

2010-07-14T21:48:00.001-05:00

At about 10pm on Thursday, we headed out for Denver. We figured we'd get there early, but certainly weren't expecting to arrive at 6am. Certainly, enough, though we did. Once we got there, we decided to just head into Boulder and see what it had to offer. We stopped in at a local breakfast cafe right at 7am.

The Walnut Cafe was as local as you get. Their menu was covered in pictures of their customers. This was what I wanted. Local. We asked our waitress, a tall, skinny blond with a pixie cut and tattoo covered arms, what we could do to kill some time before shops opened. She suggested her favorite trail and walking along Pearl Street Mall. Just like that, our day was planned.

Our first hike into the Colorado mountains took my breath away. About every five minutes, we just stopped and looked all around in awe. So many people were taking their morning runs/walks with their friends and dogs. They were all so friendly, offering a warm smile and a "good morning".

Pete had his cell phone and was sending pictures to his dad and co-workers. Bragging, of course. How could he not? It was absolutely beautiful. Even with living in Utah and visiting the mountains every now and then, I don't remember experiences like what we had that morning. We planned to visit again later that evening.

It was still only about 9am, but we headed out to the Pearl Street Mall. Again, I was just blown away by the beauty of this four block street of local stores and eateries. It was mostly shaded by tall trees with perfectly manicured center plots of flowers, playground and seating area. We sat and watched people on their way to work and getting their stores ready for the day. The weather was perfect. Just about 65 degrees and breezy. Pete didn't even flinch at the realization that we were at a mall. He was in love with the cool, Colorado outdoors.

By 11am, Pete couldn't even walk straight, he was so exhausted. He had driven all night with only four hours of sleep from the night before. We hadn't planned to find a hotel until after 2pm, so we went back to the car in the parking garage, rolled down the windows and attempted to take a nap. That was until I got sick. I needed a hotel right then and there. I immediately called around and found a very helpful woman that found us a room with an early check-in. Saved.

After a nap and more shopping, we went out to Agave Mexican Bistro and had one of the best Mexican meals. When we ordered chips and salsa, our waiter made it fresh with his mortar and pestle right at our table. After dinner, we headed back up to do some more hiking. We chose a more challenging trail than the morning's. The pictures don't do it justice (and neither does my bad camera day, ya know, like sometimes you have a bad hair day. I have bad camera days.)

Basically, what we did was drive toward the mountains and you usually ended up at the bottom of a trail. It was awesome. This trail was quite steep and right at the edge of the mountain. I had a few moments of anxiety of being right on the edge and had to sit down to get composure. I mean, I have issues with the nosebleed sections' steepness at Arrowhead stadium!

As you might be able to tell, it was getting dark. We were headed back to the car when Pete saw those huge rocks to the left and the trail leading up to them. He looked at me, smiled slyly, and said he wanted to head up. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck on the mountain in the dark. At the same time, the last thing I wanted was to travel all the way to Colorado and not do something we wanted to experience. I sighed, looked at my sweet husband and said, "Okay, let's do it!"

Look. It's a little sliver of Boulder.

What a great city.

Monday, Monday!

2010-07-12T23:05:00.000-05:00

Is it Monday? Honestly, I have to keep checking my phone to see what day it is. We are on our last night in Ouray, with plans to be back home on Wednesday. While we've been away, I have been journaling a detailed story of our adventures. Hopefully, when I get home, all I will have to do is plug in pictures. I think you'll really like it, so stay tuned!

Bonus: We even have some video!