Simple Joy of Sewing

For the last 6 months or so, I've been watching my secret stitch club sisters finish apron after apron. I had yet to finish one. But, now, yeah!! My first one. I love it! It wasn't that difficult either. It's lemon fabric and it just makes me smile. I have found a simple joy in doing this and I can't wait to figure out my next project. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I might start a baby blanket next. And by the way mom, I'm loving my machine! It works great. I guess that first fabric was just difficult to work with. :)

A Bunch of Monkeys

This last Monday, we went to the zoo with some friends from our ward. The kids had a blast! Jace loved the monkeys, turtles and elephants. This was one of the days that I LOVE living in AZ. Everywhere else in the country is mostly cold and snowy, but here it was in the 70's. Perfect weather to be outside! Thanks for inviting us!

Monet in the Making

Since I've been home with Jace, I've been trying to incorporate CRAFT TIME. Because we can't afford preschool anymore, he misses creating and playing this way. A couple weeks ago we were playing around with some glue and paper and felt and stickers and I tried to help him situate pieces here and there but he wouldn't have it. this was HIS project. He proceeded to place shapes and a dot of glue on the top. Finally, after getting frustrated that I kept trying to "fix" his mistake. He pointed to his picture and said, "See, this is art." How cute!! I couldn't believe he just said that. He already was expressing his own version of art. Who am I or anyone to tell him it wasn't. It made me think of how each of us have our own version of what "art" is and what's beautiful. But, yes, to me that day, that was art because Jace created it. I thought about posting it on EBAY and getting $1,000 for his masterpiece. :)

Fun With G'ma and G'Pa

A couple weekends ago, my parents came to visit and we had a great time! Jace was under the weather with bronchitis so he was much more tame than usual. But, we still had a fun time. We went to the NATURAL HISTORY museum. Jace loved the DINOSAURS and the waterfall area...what a surprise. ( This boy LOVES water. We went to the zoo just yesterday and he liked all the animals, but anytime there's water, "LOOK MOM, Water." Yes, quite amazing for the gajillianth time.)

Also, thanks to Jessie and Casey, we were able to introduce my parents to Wii! Needless to say, my mom and dad had a quite a few matches and rematches and such. We had a great time playing that. THANK YOU! It was nice to do something different than just watching a movie. And Dad, I think you and mom need a tennis rematch-you might be better in real life but she put you away a couple times in Wii. :) Thanks for coming. I love you guys! Jace loved having you here too.

Pat Tillman Foundation

I'm doing some independent sales consulting with a company called Sandbox Creative, whose client is the Pat Tillman Foundation. They just introduced an incredible promotion!!!

Check out the news coverage below. Just wanted to let you in on some work I'm doing and give you an opportunity to donate for a great cause...and a chance to win. You can purchase your tickets online at: http://www.tillmanchopper.com/ When asked where you heard about it, check the box STACEY REED.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/0214tr-tillman0208.html

One-of-a-kind Tillman Chopper

Custom Black Metallic Paint
U.S. Army Ranger 2nd Battalion flag on the front fender
NFL Honor Patch on gas tank
Silver Star Award for Valor
Purple Heart awarded by the President of the United States
Military dog tag rear view mirrors
Chrome football headlight
NFL embossed logo
ASU Sun Devil embossed logo
ASU mascot – Sparky on rear fender
Official NFL leather football seat
Football kicking-tee for kickstand
$85,000 value

P.S. pass it along. we're still looking for a MAJOR SPONSOR

Buble' Away

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.

Ours was a simple one with a simple delight. Heath and I love Michael Buble. He just came out with his new CD, Call Me Irresponsible. I gave it to him that morning and we've been listening to it ever since. It's the best old school jazz and classic tunes. We've never had a song, but this has become "ours". I love being able to share in the same things with Heath. Everyone knows men and women are so different in so many ways, so I really LOVE when Heath and I can find something we both enjoy!

Psych!

So, I have to post about this because it's quickly becoming one of my favorite shows! PSYCH! http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/ No really, that's the name of the show. Heath and I started watching tidbits here and there last year, and now we watch it every Friday night. It's season finale is TONIGHT. So, you don't have to ask where I'll be tonight at 11 p.m. At home, snuggled in bed watching Psych with my hubby. I even surprised him with the Season One DVD for Christmas. We watch episodes from it all the time...even if we've seen it 5 times....it's always funny! James Roday is hillarious. Plus, I love murder mysteries and I can get my kicks and my giggles with Psych! It also helps that James Roday aka "Shawn Spencer" is pretty easy on the eyes :) If you haven't already, watch an episode or two, I bet you'll enjoy it!

Tagged....Twice

Okay, Stacy B., and Tiffany, here's my post. Thanks for thinking of me. I finally got around to it. I figure I can cover all tags with this one.

10 years ago: Wow, I was a junior in high school. Next year will be my 10 year high school reunion! Time flies

5 things on my to-do list: 1) Update my blog with oh so many pictures and stories and life happenings, 2) Find an extra crock pot for tomorrow night's new beginnings. 3) Clean the house...oh, wait, that's every day. 4) Make next week's dinner menu 5) Call Tiffany for her birthday tomorrow. :0)

5 Snacks I enjoy: 1) chips and salsa 2) chocolate chip cookies 3) any fruit 4) breadsticks 5) slurpees

5 places I have lived: 1) Thousand Oaks, CA 2) Rexburg, ID 3) Provo, UT 4) Mesa, AZ 5) hopefully...Denver, CO

5 jobs that I have had: 1) Store Clerk 2) Concession Stand 3) Administraive Assistant 4) PR Specialist 5) Marketing Director

5 Things people don't know about me: 1) I can't sleep without socks on. 2) I secretly want to pursue my dream as a singer 3) I love old movies 4) I enjoy watching sports 5) I would love to take a painting class

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: 1) get out of debt 2)buy a home in CA 3) redo my mom's kitchen..heck, buy her her dream home 4) go to Italy 5) get a brand new wardrobe.

I tag Allisa and Nikki

Aloha

The sun has set on Hawaii :) I was thrilled to get this picture becuase it was the only sunset we really saw. Every night was overcast and cloudy. This was such a blessing to go on this trip. I know it sounds cheesy but I really fell in love with Heath all over again. I forgot what it was like to just be with him and enjoy things together. We have some amazing memories from this trip that I'll never forget. We vowed on the plane ride home to take a trip somewhere just the two of us every 5 years just to make sure we don't forget why we love eachother. Aloha Hawaii, until we meet again.

I never saw blue like that before

So, the beaches were few and far between but the water was so BLUE. See the black rocks everwhere? There's so much of it from the lava and someplaces you have to hike through miles of that to get to sandy areas. I had to climb over that barefoot to to get in the ocean. I should have brought those mesh shoes and life would've been easier. We didn't stay long at this beach but I was glad we went. The water was so crystal turquoise blue. I really couldn't believe it. The waves were large too. I didn't get too far in...becuase most of you know...I was on my own with anything in the water because of Heath's hand infection. It wasn't as fun without him. He couldn't get in the ocean with me and couldn't even go snorkeling with me. By the way, I begged Heath to take a picture of me in my snorkel gear because I had never done it before and he said I looked way to silly. But...I wanted to look silly and knew it would've been a keeper picture. too bad. Snorkeling was so INCREDIBLE. I would go every day if I could. I saw fish and coral and swam with 4 turtles. What an adventure. I was sad Heath missed out. Don't feel too bad for him, he still had a great time. We both got some sun, which was sorely needed. Oh and in the middle of one of our sunbathing days, a siren went off for a sunami. I almost peed my pants. It was just a test, but man that is loud!!!! Every bone in your body can feel the vibration of it. The photographer next to us said, well there's nothing we can do about it now and just sat there. Um...hello... higher ground maybe?? Hope I never have to be in that real situation.

Waterfalls Galore.

You think, you've seen one, you've seen them all. But, these amazing scenes never got old to me. I would love to go to Kauii because I believe they have twice as money waterfalls and lagoon areas. I'm almost done with Hawaii....I promise I'll talk about other things soon.

Our Perfect House

Or...something close to it. On our way to Hilo (the side with the rainforests, waterfalls, and valley's where they filmed Jurassic Park), we drove this area of miles of grass lands. We came upon a cute little city called Parker Ranch. It was small but had the most adorable homes. Heath and I just love the homes that have character and big porches in the front. (not what we're used to seeing) I wonder how much the land was going for because it was such a nice area. Besides being miles away from our families, maybe someday when we're old and gray, we'll retire to Parker Ranch.

Somewhere in Hilo

So, I know, you most are sick of hearing about our Hawaii adventures, but I'm doing this mostly for my rememberance. So, you'll have to bear with me until I get to the happennings of the present. :) I had to post these pictures because it's proof of my adventurous spirit. I wanted so desperately to take an amazing hike and find a secluded lagoon and go skinny dip..ooops I mean...swimming. Well, here it is. Our tour book said it would be a 10 minute stroll. It ending up being a 30-45 minute treacherous, muddy, slippery, bug-infested, yet thrilling yike. I managed to get 5 or 6 mosquito bites, slip on some branches and bruised my tailbone, neck and back and just missed falling more than 50 ft. to my death. The hike took us to the top of the waterfall instead of to the bottom and because of all the rain it was so incredibly dangerous. I had no idea where we were going but it was exciting and so beautiful. So, I got my hike...but no swimming. And, I found out later Heath wasn't even planning on going in with me because he was wary of what was in the water. But, I bet I could've seduced him if we found the perfect spot. Guess we'll have to wait for our next exotic trip in 15 years or so.

Lot of Splaining To Do

....in Ricky Ricardo's words

I know. I haven't been up with the blogging world lately. I wanted to post some Hawaii pictures for you all to enjoy but I didn't get to post anything about the trip so, here it goes. Well, yah, of course it was AMAZING...the best trip I've ever been on besides my honeymoon. First off, I feel so blessed to have this opportunity. My boss surprised me with the trip as a going away gift and needless to say, I was floored! We originally were going to bring Jace and a babysitter, but after a lot of thought...we knew it should be just Heath and I! Can I just tell you that the 6 hr plane ride itself was enough for me to not bring him. I can remember just thanking my lucky stars that I didn't. And oh, the plane ride: you can imagine anyone would get a little nervous when your captain says, "Please stay in your seats and keep your seatbelt fastened, as we are going to experience SEVERE turbulance and you will fly out of your seat." Yikes! I'm not too bad on plane flights, but with the bumbing and the bouncing, I got nausea for a bit but all was well in the end. :)

HAWAII, itself. Okay, the second we walk off the plane, I know for sure we are somewhere I've never been. The humidity was so thick and the air so damp. It was different but all very exciting. We flew into Kailua-Kona and the airport is made up of little huts. It was dark when we landed so I couldn't see much of the coast and mostly saw lots of black rock lava everywhere so far.

The Condo - Cute little cozy condo...it wasn't anything luxurious but it was perfect. One bedroom, one kitchen, one family room and everything provided for! It WAS perfect. It was next to our two pools, a fountain/grassy patio area and then a minute walk down to the cliffs of the beach. It's not what I expected but it still was beautiful. Every morning, we would walk down and watch the sunrise and drink our "coffee" (hot chocolate) with the other tenants. No one knew what was in our cups, but if they did, they would think we are crazy...considering this is the island of KONA Coffee and people talked so much about how wonderful it was! The families next to us were so kind and helpful. Everyone thought we were on our honeymoon. I loved it! It felt like we were a little bit. People told us where to go and what was worth it and where to eat and such.

Back to the Beach - I thought there would be sandy beaches everwhere, but the Big Island has a lot of rocky areas from the lava flows and hasn't had as much time to create sandy areas...there are some gems but you have to travel to and hike a bit.

to be continued...gotta go. :)