Practice, Practice, Practice.

Time. I have a lot of time on my hands. I had been planning to go to college this spring quarter and I don't think I am going to be able to make it. I even turned down a pretty fun job offer since I thought I would be attending school in a couple weeks. Yes, I am very disappointed. I am not going to lie, but between the snow storm, therefor not being able to get our car out of the driveway the day I needed to do testing + lack of funds for school supplies and honestly not being 100% ready to go back to school, (everyone says college is different than high school but I LOATHED high school, it was the worst 4 years of my life) maybe it is best I start in the Autumn and get all of my first year done in one chunk. Well, I suppose that gives me 2 more seasons to crochet like a mad woman. I would love to learn to make headbands, pins, doilies, pillows ect. ect ect... Also, I would like to be referred to as "crafty" instead of a 99 year old lady in a 21 year old's body.  Hey! An ability is not something to be made fun of man! : )

Mushroom socks for life!

I was at my in-laws house one time watching T.V. which in my opinion could have been a wonderful instrument for learning and seeing places you will most likely never get to travel too, like little hooka bars in Egypt or dangerous Asian zip-lines, but now featured on every channel is crap food ads and 80% naked ladies and... anyway I am getting distracted and the T.V. is not even in front of me!  Back to sitting in front of the telly a couple months ago. We were all watching some mind numbing fake interview between two animated characters and Jack Black. A quote caught my attention and I never forgot it for some reason.  "What does it mean to play in instrument? It means to get sound out of it. I can play probably all instruments" -Jack Black

I am using the word "playing" very loosely here when I say I am playing the guitar. I am a wimp and since I am not a full hearted learner, (orchestra instruments are much more my thing) the pain from forming chords with my finger tips is just too much and I practice briefly before putting it away.

 I made this little banner out of some yarn 

and old t-shirts I did not want anymore. 

That is what I have been doing with my 

old unwearable clothes that are gnarly 

enough not to go to a second hand store.

Sewing fabrics!

It says "All is Love" 

What do you think? I love it!

I felt this picture was appropriate since I wanted to write about practicing. This is my nephew. Yup! I am an Auntie, which a pretty rad. I love watching this lil dude grow. He has great parents who are really fighting for what they believe in. Their son. It is funny how everyone has their 2 cents about how things should go when it comes to parenting. Hey, if they are not harming anyone and they're following their hearts and instincts, go for it! : ) And in turn hopefully, respectfully they don't shove their parenting style down your throat. (Not that they ever have or would. That was a rather general statement for all parents.) It's a win-win!  He has been practicing walking these last couple days. I can't wait to see him again! 

 Lil' wobblin' legs have made my top 10 most favorite things!

 

 I got my new and even more lovely bow in the mail a couple of days ago. *Gush, gush, gush*

The mail lady just sat in her car and honked at us. It did not fit in the mail box and she could not get to the door there was so much snow. Jared leaped like a gazelle, a gazelle that was getting wet and cold for his lady gazelle. He is my hero!  (Snow + Handsome Husband? Dreams do come true! ) 

However it did not suddenly make me KABOOM amazing at playing... I thought I ordered that one!

Haha I guess like with everything else, I have got to practice.

2 Years and an Associates Degree Later...

This simple story begins about 6 years ago.

I was sixteen when my mom pulled me into her bedroom. I was not in trouble, I truly never broke her rules, (with my index finger I am circling and invisible halo around my head making oohing and awing noises) so I did not know what was going on. "I am pregnant" she said. I felt so many things, disappointed, worried for her health, the babies health, surprised, excited, but most of all,          alone.
She did not let me tell anyone for a while which was the hardest thing! My youngest brother was ten so there was quite a gap and my mom was not married so she was embarrassed. However my siblings and I did not care what others thought, we were just excited to have a baby in the house.

That year in a high school home ec. class, I started making a pink and black quilt. I was betting everything I was going to have another little sister. Then out came Landon, 100% boy. Dang! What was I going to do with this 90% finished quilt?

I heard that a friend in my family had a baby girl, a reason to finish the quilt! Nope, she had so many blankies already. What to do, what to do? A couple years later my sister in law conceived her first child. A beautiful baby boy, but a boy none the less. Who would I give this little pink quilt too?
It is just sitting in my hallway closet collecting dust.

A couple of days ago my mother in law told me her friend was starting a quilting class and... "SIGN ME UP!" I interjected... She did not even get a chance to ask if I wanted to go! I love sewing and I know how to quilt but I want to go anyway. Jared asked if I had ever quilted. I was confused, had he not ever seen the little quilt tucked away in the hallway?

Last night I brought it out and showed him. I laughed at the fabrics I chose back then. I was very into the whole "emo" scene so I picked hearts, polka dots, and stripes. What a combo! Heehee. I laid it on the living room floor and asked Jared what to do with it. Should I just toss it? He smiled. That sort of smile that gives me shivers down to my feet, the sort of shivers I felt when we first kissed. He asked when I am done with my 2 years of college and I have my full degree if we could welcome a little baby into the world.(Which I had been bringing up a ton these last few months) He says he feels in his gut we are going to have a girl first. I guess we shall see. Either way  I am beyond excited, and these next 2 years are going to seem like eternity. We have names picked and we have been talking a long time about what kind of parents we would like to be. Hopefully the world does not get too bad before then, but that is a topic I'd like to keep to myself. It is crazy how time flies. It seems like just yesterday Mr.Vangus was walking me to my first grade classroom. Ah life. :)

The First Snow Day

 Can you tell I love snow?

Random Weekly Goodness

Winter is hard on us since we love to be outside so much, but where we live it is just too cold!

But we did what we usually do, just went for it. And the result was the same as usual, a good choice. 

(We live on the wild side, ya know?)

Outside adventures are always fun. I am glad Jared pushes me to get out more, I just get so comfortable inside! But when I go outside and I am commenting on the beauty of 

everything and how amazing every color is, (as if I had forgotten)

 I know it's been WAY TOO long since I have been outdoors. 

BFFL <3 !!! I was sorting through the photos on my computer and I started to look at the pictures that were taken the day we got married. We have changed a ton mentally and physically. It is so cool to look back and see the changes. I set a wedding picture as my desktop. Best day of my life!

 This is what my living room floor has been looking like.  Fabric everywhere!

 Yes, it is messy, but it is such a good feeling. 

Livin' the dream man. Livin' the dream.

You know how men have their "man caves"?  Well this is my WOAHman den. It has everything I want! I have my sewing machine, recipe books, computer, violin, chess board with hidden games inside and some inspiring doodles of mine.  *Favorite spot in the house.*

 The picture on the left is not of great quality, but it really shows Maps, how WE see Maps. 

* MEOW!  MEOW! MEOW! MEOW! MEOW! MEOW! *

On the left is an apron I made a bit ago and found again! Woo hoo! (Well not really, but you know how it feels to find something you think you have lost) P.S. Blue, I owe you some scrubs, and yes, those are old lady curtain flowers. Oi.

Sorry about the Beiber hair. I am growing it out okay! Haha

This is a dress I made last night! No pattern or anything. Just free hand with some fabric from Indonesia my "Aunt" gave me. I was trying to go with some high end fancy cut,

 but obviously I still need to work on it. 

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Our little class is one of my favorite things in life.

I found these deep in the cupboard. They must have been made

 before we were teachers. The kids thought they were a hoot!

Because Sunday school teachers are classy. 

Because Sunday school teachers are cozy!

MerDock is a drama queen. He almost died without us!

Mer's new favorite spot. He has to flip around about 6 times to get his body to *mostly* fit up there.

I think we need to talk to Maps about her "eating herself into a zombie-coma" problem.

Peace

Car ride.

Cotton candy.

This reminds me of the city. Sometimes I miss it so much.

I wished I was in that airplane. Can you imagine the sunset?

Sky > Parking lots

Coming home.

 Best for last right? Oh man, I wish our neighbor had a unicorn. I never thought I would say that.

This Week at Our House...

 I landed this awesome desk from my in-laws that I turned into a much wanted vanity.

 These were the bird ornaments I received from the ornament exchange, now they live in our bedroom.

 These little guys live are going to live on my new vanity. The camera was a gift to Jared I found at a thrift store and the vintage "Snow White" lunch pale is filled with my treasures! Also this week I broke my violin bow. Yup, I want a new one, hopefully soon!

 We made omelets. Did you know eggs + rice milk does this? Cool!

Banana carvings were made, and we bought a night light for our bedroom. 

The fog has been rolling through the mountains, sprinkling snow here and there.

Still waiting for snow!

Pretty easy, monotonous week. I can't wait until school starts up again! (But then again, I can. Hehe)

Stay-In Date Night

The husband and I were not feeling too great today but we tried to make the best of it. 

Today was a stay at home, watch movies, chips and salsa for dinner/lunch, pj's all day kind of day.

I was taught how to play poker as Jared fed the fire log by log. Our house has been so warm and cozy lately. After a few card games and learning how to bluff my way into winning,  Jared and I became bored and played chess while making Harry Potter jokes. I felt like today was one of the better days lately. 

Winter blues, ya know?

 This is a really rare site. As we played chess, Maps fell asleep and we could just focus on the game!

 I knew it was not going to last long...

...and just like that. No more games. Catzilla says so...

As we were serving ourselves home grown mushroom pasta, Louis Armstrong came on the radio.  Pretty classy... ;)

 We have been waking up late and staying up until the wee hours of the morning. So once again food was put off and we made dinner at 1 in the morning. Not the healthiest option and I don't suggest it, but for what it was, it was amazing. My husband is a mycologist, I guess you could say, and today we got a large flush of oyster mushrooms. They have a very rich meaty texture and taste. For anyone who could go without meat, I highly suggest mushrooms as a replacement. 

(For taste, not protein ;P  For protein try quinoa. That stuff is great!)

This week I have taken so many pictures that I have wanted to put on my blog. Neat macros of  things around the house, new Christmas goodies, sky photographs (the sky has been just amazing here), and pictures of mushroom cultivation before and after shots! Stay tuned, more to come really soon!

2 Projects and Other Ramblings

People are so fascinating to me, because everyone is different. 

Everyone has their different tastes, hobbies, skills and traits. It's really easy  to enjoy people that embrace those things about themselves. People like that are the most interesting, groovy sorts of people. They have so much to show the world and are not afraid to bring themselves to the "table of life" that we all sit at.

Most people imagine themselves quite a bit different than they are in reality 

but as long as you have a grasp of how you actually present yourself on this earth, I'd say you're just fine.

In my head when I see myself, I imagine black waving locks even Rapunzel would envy.

I'd be wearing a huge gothic victorian gown sitting in a forest at the edge of an ebony grand piano.

That's pretty far from reality considering I have never wore a crinoline caged dress and I can't play piano.(Yet!) Not to mention I am naturally blonde, born in 1990, and just a little too 

late for corsets and boots like these:

(Beautiful right? Well if you think so I found theses on http://recollections.biz)

Yet I wear corsets and shoes like that anyway, since it is a little more socially acceptable at this point. ;)

It's a shame we don't live in a world free of judgement so people could be just exactly who they want to be.

All of that aside there are still things I can and will do with my time here, and those things do not actually build who I am at all. It took 21 years to realize that truth. I am still me without my hair dyed, piercings in, cool clothes, violin, tattoos, sewing machine or any THING since all of those things are subject to change.

Who you are is in IN you, it's something you can't take out.

It's your heart, soul, higher being, whatever you want to call it, 

and that does not change with my nose ring in or out. 

With that being said, here are the two projects I am working on. 

The hardest part is I just want them done, so I can have something tangible that I did!

But as Miley Cyrus said (Yes, she is a tween pop sensation and 

I am sure she did not even write the song but it has a very good point) 

"There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb"

I restrung my violin on my own for the first time last night!

 I am pretty pumped about sewing these. 

I really have not sewn with patterns before but it should be fun!

The finished product will be posted soon! 

This is my "I restrung my violin when everyone said it was going to be too hard" face. :)

Well, I may have got an ittee bittee amount of help from my husband,
when I walked by him with a hammer he decided it would be best to step in for moral support.

Hope you enjoyed my thoughts. Peace!