Elephants and Dandelions

So Jamo is gone in Costa Rica for the next couple of weeks. And while the first day or two I sat and moped, today I actually did something. I haven't done anything crafty in quite a while so it felt good to use my creative side. So here's the little project that I made today. Isn't it cute?

I'm hoping to do more things tomorrow. What I'm not sure. Maybe I'll work on the digi-scrapping I've been working on forever. I also need to clean. Sigh, life is kind of boring and sad without Jamo around. I'm ready for him to be home again. 1 week and 5 days more. At least I have these silly elephants to bring me joy. They make me smile for some reason.

Lime

It's a picture of a lime!
Today lime is my favorite fruit.

Self-Esteem? Happiness? Got it.

I'm glad that I've finally hit a point in my life where I really don't care what people think. Ok, I guess what they think about me. There are plenty of people out there with opinions, with judgments, with things I'm sure they'd love to shove down other people's throats. And I'm glad that I am happy enough with myself and where my life is and where it is going, that the little things don't phase me anymore. I'm glad I'm done with that ever consuming state of depression that I thought nobody understood and pretty much took over my life (and my previous blog, that has since been deleted from the internet world). I used to be in love with the song... So Unsexy, by Alanis Morrisette...

You can see full lyrics here... http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alanismorissette/sounsexy.html

But it's just all about how all these little things, these words people say, these rejections can make you feel like crap when really you're totally awesome. And I before when I listened to it, I never emotionally got to the end of the song, the part that says "Oh these little rejections how they disappear quickly... The moment I decide not to abandon me". But here I am now finally not letting all those little things deflate me, liking myself cause come on, I'm awesome right?

And I know that everyone is at a different spot in their life. But sometimes it makes me crazy when people let such small things make them so unhappy. When one small something had the power to bust their "ego". Which as a side note, I think egos are ridiculous and for those too insecure with themselves. I do however believe in self-worth, self-esteem and ones' general happiness/angst with life. And I think it's good to be proud of one's accomplishments and achievements, to feel good about a job well done (or sometimes just finished).

So I guess my wish is that everyone could see the good things in life, the happiness that is still there through all the other problems or trials that life brings us. Yes, there are hard times, there are painful times, there's time we want to hit things. But... Life is good! Life is to be enjoyed by everyone. Life is this totally awesome gift that we get to live every single day of our lives, and that's pretty awesome.

200

Today's blog post is brought to you by the number 200.

My Husband is Cute

Also, I'm pretty sure my husband is awesome. Okay, he totally is. And for some reason I thought this was kind of cute. For a long while he was used to going to bed without me. But lately I've been tired enough to go to sleep when he does. But one night I stayed up later. And I guess this is what happens when he goes to sleep without me. That's my bunny. He sleeps in the bed every night for some reason. And I think Jamo might like him too now.

But tonight I was staying up and sewing. And he was extra tired from last night. Diana came over and we played video games until way to late for old people. Plus Jamo has been writing papers and stuff and just hasn't gotten enough sleep lately (9 more days of this semester!). So he decided to sleep on the floor in front of the kitchen so he could still be in the same room as me as he slept. Yup, my husband still likes me! And pretty much he's the best person I know.

Burp Cloths

So I got a sewing machine a couple months ago. I think I posted about buying it. Anyway, so I haven't made a whole ton of stuff. I'm still not amazing and really need to learn how to sew in a straight line. But it seems as if all my friends are having babies. So I got this idea and have made a few sets for people. Burp cloths. Super easy and lets me practice.

Most have had girls recently. So I made a few of these in pink. I love the fabric.

And finally one of them decided to have a boy, so I finally got to buy more boyish fabric and make some of those. Mwahahaha, so cute.

I've also wanted to try making some of these little things...

They're like the pee-pee tee-pees you can find in the stores. You use them for boys so they don't pee on you when changing diapers. I'm unsure if they actually work (I've read stories of them flying across the room... entertaining if nothing else), but I thought they were cute.

So those were my fun crafts for the night.

November Fun

While I don't have pictures of everything, e.g. Thanksgiving, I did manage to take some, yay me! I've been really bad about getting photos this year.

I guess first in November I have photos of our new niece Stella (Jamo's brother and sis-in-law's).

Stella Ann

Tracy and baby

Next we have photos from Dad's 60th birthday. Holly and I made dinner and cake and stuff and threw him a little party over at Holly's. You've probably seen Holly's flip of the event, but here are some photos.

Decorations... we're awesome.

Dad's apple cake. More work than one would think.

The balloon game of course! One of Dad's favorite...

Frank and Em eating dinner. Holly made chicken bagel things, tasty.

More eating of the dinner.

Dad and Sandy. Unsure of what that face is, Happy Birthday should be singing now.

Candids at dinner. All very classy photos.

Soapbox of the Day: Pompous Music Idiots

So I've been sitting here at my computer like, all day, sigh. Must finish editing these wedding photos tonight. Anyway, and then sometimes I check my facebook for a break. And sometimes I remember that things bug me. Here is today's annoyance of the day...

I find people who think that they have superb taste is music annoying. Not only annoying, but kind of... pompous? It's like they think that they have superior taste and the rest of us just like crap. And then telling the world that they hate all the music on the radio, like there too awesome for the radio. As if. While I agree that not all music is amazing, or even lyrically creative, I can still appreciate it, or that fact that someone else might like it. While there is so much music out there, I think it's hard to find something that everyone agrees on. We all have different tastes. And why can't we just accept each other for our differences. I for one, like a lot of different types of music. Some I will admit to, others are guilty pleasures. But the truth is, if it has great lyrics or even just a catchy beat, chances are I'm going to like it.

Also, something that bugs me along the same lines. While some like to put others music down, some like to go on and on about how awesome the music they listen is. And then they proceed to name about 106 bands that no one anywhere has ever heard of. It's like they think they're extra cool for listening to music that no one else listens to. It's like, "Oh, you've never heard of them? That's cause only a small select group of choice people have had the opportunity to be enlightened by their unusual beat, crappy lyrics and bad recording." Sigh. And people have got to start somewhere, I get that. But it's the annoyingness of annoying people that annoys me. And the fact they they need to shove their opinions into everyone's ears to prove how superior their taste is. And maybe that makes my blog post hypocritical? I don't think my taste is superior, I know some of the music I listen to is not amazing (although some is :) ).

So I guess what I'm saying is that people should get off their high musical horses and enjoy the beauty of music and let others enjoy their it also. Also, stop being annoying.

Halloween Twenty-Ten

The weekend before Halloween we went over to Dad's and had Halloween fun. Sandy made her "crime scene" meatloaf and we all carved pumkins! We're totally awesome at it :).

Carvers of pumpkins from left to right:
Jason (D's BF), Diana, Dad/Sandy, Sheri, Jamo


The Friday before Halloween we had another couple over. This is their third year of coming over. Although, I think this might have been the best year so far. We ate pizza, made caramel apples, watched a scary movie and played games. And we ate tons of candy. We didn't even get to the cookie making portion of the evening.



Melting caramel



Bwahahah... Carolyn.



Jamo and his apple.

On Saturday, there was a gathering at Holly's house. The occasion? Frank falling through their bedroom ceiling. Dad came over to help fr fix it and the rest of us hung out.



Monster cupcakes that Sandy made.



I also brought over the rest of the caramel apples we had left over. So we all sat around and ate and talked.



Later that night Jamo brought over our Guitar Hero band set and the fam played that all evening. Good times.

On actual Halloween, we went to church, took a nap, and went over to our friends who were in town for the weekend and had a party over there with their family and some people from the ward.

Fall Boredom

So it's fall again and we have nothing going on. Life has gone back to the same old. Jamo goes to school full time and works full time. I work part time and do crafty things. And that's pretty much it. We also watch a lot of Netflix when we're bored. We really are lame. And I feel like time is crawling. It's like I can see an end to this tunnel called Jameson's schooling. And after that, who knows? It could be an awesome adventure, or at least a change in scenery. Seven and half months. I think there is a bee caught between my screen and window, it sure is loud. And I have no idea how it got in. Silly bees.

Trip to D.C.

Here are photos from our 3 week trip to DC. When Jameson wasn't working we did lots of sight-seeing and hanging out.

Here Jameson is hanging out in the hotel room. We spent 3 weeks in it, it almost started feeling like home... almost. Also note Jamo's awesome road rash he got when he had a seizure and face planted at a BP station in Ohio. Ow.

Flippin' Pizza. That's what's it's called. I have now had some amazing New York style pizza. It was yummy.

We ate out A LOT! Like, pretty much every lunch and dinner. Oy, we got super fat, as you can tell...

Me at the National Geographic Museum. They had a Da Vinci exhibit and it was awesome.

Umm, a plaque, shield thing?

We went to the 6 flags there in Maryland. It was slightly ghetto but had a few fabulous rides. The superman, ride of steel, was my favorite. After that, I think it would have to be these tea cups. I haven't been on a tea cup ride in like 10 years. It was amazing. I'm not sure it was Jamo's favorite. I made us spin like crazy fast. The other riders commented on our speed. We are awesome.

So we ate at this place called umm... something? Anyway, it had amazing mexican food. We ate there twice and got the same exact thing. It was a some sort of steak fajitas. But they didn't have all the slimy peppers and onions and stuff that they usually have. They were AWESOME. So good.
Here is the beautiful meat. I want some more.

We were walking around DC one day, trying to find the white house I think. There was a little park with this statue in it. I forget his name, but a metro station was named after him. Furragot, I think?

The White House... not much explanation needed.

Jamo and I in front of the white house. We are cool and can officially call ourselves Americans.

Lafayette Park. It's across the street from the white house. They had lots of statues and stuff there.

I've never seen one of these in real life. It made me want to play chess, which takes a lot.

Another famous dude. There were a lot of them and I can't remember them all.

The city.

We played a lot of games while there. We would sit on our bed, pull out the games and turn on HGTV and get dinner and Cold Stone. It was awesome.

One of our adventures led us to a modern art museum at the Smithsonian. In case you're wondering what it is... it's a big old square of pollen. Yup, it's art.

The sculpture gardens had some interesting things. This is some sort of glass room thing.

The Smithsonian Castle. It had famous people jewelry in it when we were there. Also had lots of info about the Smithsonian.

The air and space museum. These are rockets? Really tall ones...

Jamo looking at the displays.

A lunar lander like they used on the apollo 11 mission.

7-11 outside the zoo. Hotdog shaped hamburgers? Yes, please.

I love the meer cats. They were adorable and I could watch them all day. They're like sea otters on land.
Patrick Star? He looks like he's passed out and it made me giggle a little.

Jellies!

The sign outside the National Zoo.

Triceratops. There were so many cool dinosaur bones, this is just one of my pictures...
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Giant sea turtle. Yup, it was also awesome. I love turtles.

Cave men... hehe.

The Hope Diamond.

Outside the Museum of Natural History.

Inside the library of congress. It was a gorgeous building! They search you on the way out to see if you're stealing books, silly. Funny thing is that I had a library book in my bag for reading on the metro and they searched the sucker, lol. I'm pretty sure they don't have Hunger Games in their library.

Yup, naked gods in fountain form...

We did a session at the Washington D.C. temple. It really isn't as big as it looks or what I thought it would be. Overall I think the St. Louis temple wins, especially in the pretty department. Of course, I might be bias.

Supreme Court Building.

The Capitol building.
Sheri and the Capitol.

We went to the botanical garden that was part of the nation mall. It had lots of pretty plants and flowers. These are just a few.

Some sort of plant girl playing a something or drinking a something...

Jamo in the little bamboo forest thingy.

Washington Monument.
Me in front of it.

Jamo in front of it.

Here is the WWII memorial.

Everyone was putting there feet in the little pool there. My feet hurt SO BAD I wanted to cry. So this ended up being one of my favorite places :).


The Vietnam memorial.

At this point in the trip my camera died. So there are no photos from the Lincoln memorial except on Jameson's phone. And then my feet hurt so bad I didn't want to do anything else. We then made the trek back home.