YOUNG CHAOS

One of the things I've loved doing the most since I went on my sewing hiatus is being able to read again. I received a notice from my library the other day that one of my book requests was in and waiting for me. I didn't even remember having a request. The book was the host by Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight Saga. I was already in the middle of trying to read my book club book, Pillars of the Earth when I picked this up. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. My poor children...such neglect. I read the 500+ page book in about 3 days. Stephenie calls it "science fiction for those that don't like science fiction". Well I love anything that's a bit off kilter from reality, something that could be real, but as far as we know, isn't. This book was perfect for me. The love story in it wasn't quite as unbelievable as I found the story in Twilight...and I LIKED that. The story was so believable, it was kinda scary. I'm not good at book reviews, I've never had the talent for breaking down a book and saying what was so wonderful about it, unless I was discussing the book with people who have already read it. I tend to give away the parts that need to be secret. All I'll say is, what a incredibly fascinating storyline mixed with love and loss and the complexity of human relations and emotions. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a good story they can get lost in.

Most people who know me probably consider me a really creative person. I've experienced a huge awakening this past year about my creativity. I have a whole other post I want to do about that, hopefully I'll have time in the future get those thoughts out. In a nutshell, and I'm sure many will disagree with me, I'm not creative. I'm an executor. I'm a pretty good executor, but I'm not creative. Not originally creative. I have rarely had an original, great creative idea. Oh, I'm good at taking other peoples original great ideas and copying them. Sometimes blatantly, sometimes with a twist. I prefer the twist, it's what has made me FEEL creative my whole life.


I was messing around on the computer, really a luxury, and decided to check out the Matilda Jane clothing line. My friend Amanda introduced me to her stuff. I love the clothes. I think they are amazing. The night before I had been watching a small marathon of the new Project Runway. I am in awe of the sewing and design talent on that show. I wish I could be more like that. I think that's what spawned the next few thoughts. "maybe I could...I have a ton of fabric remnants...what could I make?" So after feeling inspired by Project Runway and Matilda Jane, I got busy. I pulled out all my fabric scraps to see what I could pull together. I wanted a dress for Leah. She's been crazy about dresses lately. I blame watching Cinderella on the ride home from Reno. I couldn't listen to Monsters or Cars again. Now it's Princess this and Princess that and she has to wear a Princess dress everyday. She's my little tom boy and this princess phase is funny to me. She finally acting like a girl. So I set out to create a princess dress. I had fun and didn't want to stop till my creation was finished. I had no pattern, it was all out of my head and I designed it as I went along. I'm really happy with the finished product and Leah loves her princess dress. I feel like it's the most originally creative thing I've done in a very long time.

Where'd I Go?
Many of you have probably wondered what happened to me. I've been MIA for over a month now, at least in the blogging world. I have been so over scheduled, all my fault of course. I'm always taking on more than I should. I manage to get it all done, but WOW, I hate what happens to me in the process. I get grumpy, sleep deprived and I'm sure there is whole list of negative traits. So here is what I've been doing.

1. I volunteered to organize my local MOMS Club chapter's Annual Yard Sale. It's a big fundraiser for us. I was able to help last year and decided I'd like to run it this year. It was a huge undertaking and of course I had to plan it down to the last detail. I was gathering donations from our MOMS for months and then the week before, with loads of help, we went through everything. Now you may not understand how much stuff there was. I have a 2 car garage and it filled up 2/3rds of it, most stacked to my waist or higher. I should have taken pictures, but I didn't. I spend almost every second of my free time getting ready for the big sale. It was alot of fun and I'd consider doing it again. We raised a bunch of money and I'm happy about the outcome.

2. I decided to take a break from my sewing business until after Derek deploys. My business has been great. So many wonderful people telling everyone they know about me. I've been getting hits off Google and I'm sure if I tried I could sew full time. I'm not trying and I'm sewing in every spare minute I have. It's awesome, but challenging to fit everything all together. I was inundated with orders right at the end and was rushing to get those done so I could be ready for my family vacation. So no time to blog, yet again.

3. Family VACATION! It took some time, but at the last minute. Seriously, 2 days before departure, derek's leave was approved and we were able to head to Reno for our family reunion/vacation. What a blast! I loved meeting and seeing some of derek's family again. We all got together on the 4th at Bower's Mansion just outside Reno. It was a great location and the weather was nice and cool. The kids had fun playing while the adults played and chatted. See the pictures below for all the fun. I even got a picture of a very elusive creature. She's in a red shirt with a camera strapped around her neck... We got back at the end of last week. I'm glad to be home and glad to have that drive behind us. It's not as bad as I expected. It helped having derek drive so I could manage the kids. Though at one point of the trip, I crawled into the back seat to sit between the car seats. Not the most comfortable, but it helped keep the peace the last 90 minutes of the trip.

4. Since I've been home, I've been relaxing a little, okay not much, I had another project to hurry and finish. I didn't take pictures, I'm hoping the new owners will so I can post them. This last year I've been on the executive board of MOMS Club here in my town. It's been a wonderful experience. I was the secretary. My year term ended on July 1st. As a gift for our 2 co-presidents and good friends of mine, the rest of the board chipped in for some gifts. At the last minute I decided I had time..ha..to make something special for them. I found a great pattern I drew inspiration from while in Reno and whipped these two aprons up. I wanted to have them ready for our end of the year Volunteer Appreciation Dinner that was held last night. We met at a local restaurant for dinner. I had so much fun. Everyone was all dressed up and looking great. We had a great dinner and a good time talking. I always love getting together with these women. They are a source of inspiration for me and have helped me through rough times. I have a very rough patch coming up here with derek leaving and I know each of them will be there to help when when I need it and even when I don't. I'm lucky to have these friends in my life and I'm so happy I found that MOMS Club business card right after I moved here. I don't know what I'd have done without it.

So here are some random pictures from our days.

Charlie has learned to crawl and climb. He pulls himself to standing and is cruising around slowly. He has his two front teeth coming in and has started screaming in high pitched bursts. ugh, not a happy phase.

We all toured a local fire station a few weeks ago. Leah LOVED it. She has a thing for fire trucks. I didn't remember my camera so I snapped a few after in her plastic fire hat.

Leah likes to pretend to put on my makeup when I get ready in the morning. This time she didn't pretend and I didn't catch her till it was too late....

Charlie and his little baby friends, emily and bryce.



The Digger
Leah loves to dig in the dirt. She donned this outfit herself and went out to dig in Grandma's garden. She is good and only digs the dirt, not the plants, so Grandma was okay with her out there.
Outdoor Fun

The kids and I headed out side when the house was too hot to be inside. We don't have A/C because apparently WA doesn't think it's hot enough for it. HA! So here we are playing in the grass, eating Popsicles and looking cute.