30 Before 30

A couple days before my birthday I decided that I wanted to make a "30 things I want to do before I turn 30"  list.  The idea has come to mind a few times in the past, but I never made any kind of bucket-ish list.  I figured that the last year of my 20s should be spent doing ^.^  I mean I could develop some good habits, improve some skills, discover a new passion, and make a ton of memories.  Who knows! So I sat down and jotted out this list.  I will admit that it didn't all come to me easily - I had to do some googling and read some other people's lists for inspiration, but after a couple days I was done.  I've also broken the list down into categories.  And here it is ^.^

 
                           Mental, Physical, Spiritual Health

• Read the Bible
  I plan to read the Bible and record my favorite texts or passages from each book.  This may overlap my birthday, but that's ok because this is something that I really need to do.
• Finish 20 books
  Last year, I set a goal to finish 15 books.  I finished up with 18.  I think that sets me up well for this year.
• Yoga-cise regularly
  I'm sadly out of shape... not overweight or anything, but I get winded running up the steps.  I want to build healthy habits so that whenever Lamar and I have kids, I'll be able to pass those habits on to them.
• Volunteer at an animal shelter
  When I lived in Huntsville, I would go to the animal shelter and just visit with the dogs.  It makes me feel good to kind of give back to the dogs less fortunate than Kiva & Tootie :)
• Do a split
  I have always wanted to be able to do a split.  That's about it to this one.

                           Craft-Blog-DIY

• Etsy for real
  I started my Etsy shop, The Light Crochet, within the last year and I definitely dropped it by the wayside.  So I want to get back to it and actually make and list pieces.  Wish me luck!
• Finish the quilt
  I started a proper patchwork quilt back in June 2012 and it's still not finished.  ::shameface::
• Crochet a sweater, a church shawl, and a top
  Most of my crochet projects are things like blankets, accessories, hats, and whatnot. So I want to learn to make other more usable things and try my hand at making clothing.
• Reupholster/Refinish a piece of furniture
  Lamar and I love watching the show "Flea Market Flip" and we're always saying how we could do a lot of the refinishing they do.  I'm planning to stop talking about it and be about it. Yep. Bringing out the power tools!
• Organize a yarn bombing
  I think I'm gonna plan on doing something for International Yarn Bomb day in June.  Or maybe I'll participate in another Sheepish Yarn Bomb or a Love bomb or something along those lines.
• Make a few Youtube videos
  This is another of those things I talk about doing, but I haven't done because I don't think I'm interesting enough.  So I'm going to record some of these goals as I go along.  That way my family and friends can follow along with me.  I think that's a good reason to make videos.  Plus watching old videos is fun.
• View an exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art
  I want to go just because I've never been.  When I was in college, students could go to the Huntsville Art Museum every Friday for like $5 and I never went.  That's four years of Fridays! I totally wasted those opportunities.
  
• Blog regularly
  Writing is a lot of fun for me and I really enjoyed when I was blogging more consistently.  Plus the more you write the better you become at it.

                           Photography

• Photograph 3 historical downtown areas
  I want to explore/photograph areas like Mt. Dora, Longwood, and Orlando.
• Complete 3-6 photo shoots
  This one is pretty much self-explanatory.
• Complete 3-6 photo stories
  I'm defining a 'photo story' as a group of pictures that tell a story in a journalistic way.
• Build print and online portfolios
  This absolutely MUST be done.  More of my friends and church members are asking me about photography and it will be awesome to be able to show them an updated portfolio of my work.

                           Suzie Homemaker Skills

• Make sushi & French macarons
  This is here because I love treating myself to these two things every so often and when I do I always think that I should just make them at home.  I know macarons have the reputation of being super difficult, but I really think I'll be able to make them.
• Plant an herb garden
  I know I want mint, rosemary, and basil to start. In my mind I have a long window box with my herbs growing in the kitchen window of Lamar and my future home. :)
• Eat and Eat Better
  I always forget to eat when I'm out and about.  I spend too much money on fast food when I'm completely capable of making food at home and carrying it to work with me.  Plus, this is another good habit to pass on to our kids.
• Make and keep a cleaning schedule
  Must. Regularly. Clean.  A clean home/space definitely helps me feel more positive and clear mentally.
  

                           Make Memories with Lamar

• Learn to play Bless the Broken Road on guitar
  This is the song I walked down the aisle to.  It would be awesome to be able to play and sing it to Lamar *.*  (yeah... just marinate in that cuteness!)
• Hike Wekiwa Springs
  Lamar and I use to go hiking on Monte Sano in Huntsville and we havent done anything like that since being in Florida.  I also hear that Wekiwa Springs state park is just great by itself.
• Go zip-lining
  I'm sure I'll be scared, but it'll be fun.  Lamar and I accidentally discovered a zip-lining place at the Sanford Zoo... I think it was Sanford.
• Do the paddleboats at Lake Eola
  Another cutesy thing I want to do with mah boo ^.^
• Go to Rebounderz
  Rebounderz is a place that has trampolines on the floors and walls.  They also have basketball hoops.  I want to take pictures of Lamar dunking.  Those photos will be EPIC!
  
• Go to CityArts Factory for a comedy
  I found this place on a list of free things to do in Orlando.  We dubbed Wednesday nights as date night and I'd like to start doing more new/out of the box things together.
  
• Write songs for our future kids
  Lamar has been asking me to write a song with him for a reeeally long time, and I think it would be awesome if we had a specially lullaby to sing to our kids.  I also want to write a good morning song and a soothing song. 
• Visit and review 6 hole-in-the-wall restaurants
  This is another of Lamar's ideas and another thing we talk about doing but have yet to do.  Being that he's such a foodie and whenever we go out to eat we end up sounding like the judges table on Chopped, this should be a fun activity.

                           Because... Why Not?

• Learn to juggle
  Yes.  I will juggle.  Then I will go to the studio and get my picture taken while juggling.  That will be awesome!

And that's my list!  I've already spent a week doing nothing on said list, so I'm gonna go now and watch a video on juggling ^.^

Hello 29 ^.^

Hi there!

My 29th birthday was last Tuesday.  Lamar planned out a full day of activities and it was awesome.  I'll write about the day later :)  Now, aside from the excited "it's my birthday" feelings, the day also brought some sobering thoughts.  Well... I shouldn't say 'sobering' because that sounds too sad.  It brought thoughts of thankfulness and awe.

The day after my birthday, I was driving to work and began reflecting on the many things that God carried me through during my 20's.  I thought about my first experience with depression in college.  I remembered how the simple act of staying awake became a massive task and things like crossing a street became life and death actions.  I remembered many nights spent crying or just laying on the floor... feeling like I was physically in a hole and unable to get out.  It was around this time that a friend told me to lift my hand up to heaven and ask God for comfort.  At first it sounded silly, but one day, in tears, I sat outside with my hand in the air until I felt the lightest brush against it.  And that was the comfort I needed.  Another time, I remembered laying on my dorm room floor in the fetal position coming to the conclusion that it was okay if I didn't wake up the next day.  In that moment, I felt like I was being hugged and it brought me so much peace.  I can recall numerous instances when I know that God was comforting me, speaking to me, or giving me a measure of peace. Now of course, as I replayed memory after memory, I started praising God for His care throughout those times.

It's so amazing that the God of the universe cares about me.  I mean think about that.  The God of the universe and all that is, ever was, and ever will be cares about you :)  He knows your name.  He knows my name.  As I turned these thoughts over in my head, this song came to mind.

Who am I, that the God of all the Earth

Would care to know my name

Would care to feel my hurt?

Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star

Would choose to light the way

For my ever wandering heart?

I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

A vapor in the wind

Still you hear me when I'm calling

Lord you catch me when I'm falling

And you've told me who I am

I am yours...

That... right there... is the blessing of reaching another birthday.  It gives another opportunity to thank God for loving me & protecting me & comforting me & carrying me & saving me & keeping me & allowing me to be able to share my testimony that God, my God, is Powerful.  He is a mighty, yet loving, warrior who fights my battles.  He defends me when my struggles try to flatten me.  He gives me hope. 

Happy 29th birthday to me :)

Nothing Like a Good Ol' Granny Square: WIP Wednesday

Hi!

Recently I've been doing a bunch of small crochet projects.  Little things like baby booties, beanies and teeny tiny flowers.  I realized the other day that I'm ready to tackle another big project.    So I decided to design a blanket and nothing says "come cuddle under me" like a crochet patchwork blanket! ^.^

This new blanket design started with me flipping through my 200 Crochet Squares book on the lookout for beautiful & simple patterns to build with.  I went over & over a few motifs before settling on two.  Only thing, once I actually started making them- I didn't like them so much.  So back to the drawing board I went.  Literally.  I took out my sketchbook, drew up a blanket & planned out the colors.  This approach definitely helped, and I went back to the pattern book to find blocks to highlight my color choices.  ...still no dice... -___-

What to do now?

I took it back to basics.  In my mind, there seems to be nothing quite like a good, traditional granny square ^.^  So I will hopefully have a new snuggle worthy granny patch blanket before June!  The colors I originally chose for it were white, grey, yellow & blue, but in the spirit of using up my yarn stash, I added black, green, and a darker blue.  It feels good to potentially use up quite a bit of yarn that's just been waiting to be used.

So far, I have all 61 of the white centers done and I've started working on the color rounds.  I actually used up a brand new skein of white yarn on them.  That was pretty cool. :)  The thing about granny squares that I love the most is their simplicity.  I can totally crochet them with my eyes closed... well everything after the first round.  What that means is, I can make them while watching YouTube or Netflix or while on lunch at the mall.  They're also super portable since I'm changing colors each couple rounds.  So I can easily carry a bunch of them in my bag with the necessary yarn color and work on them on the go.  

Why would I ever stray from the wondrous granny square!?!? *shrug*

Anywho, that's what's currently on my hook and I'm quite happy about it.  I can't wait until I start joining them together... I suppose I should decide what kind of join I want to use.  I'm leaning towards a single crochet join.  We'll see soon enough.  (BTW  I just spelled soon incorrectly twice o.O 'sune' then 'soone'... what the heck?!?  That's what I get for writing them up at 1 am. *sigh*)

Peace! I hope you're having a wonderful week :)

What's the Lesson?

So it kinda sucks for this to be the first post of 2015, but it is what it is.

Last week I had an interview for a company that does benefits administration.  I did all the recommended reading about the company and asked my brother-in-law to give me his perspective of working there.  I went over the practice questions the recruiter provided.  I refreshed myself on my past call center experiences.  I prayed.  I got there early.  I was personable and engaging.  I answered all the questions thoroughly.  I gave firm handshakes and good eye contact.  I asked follow up questions relevant to the business and policies.  I felt good afterward.

Buuuut... I got an email this morning saying, "after careful evaluation of your qualifications, we have decided that our current opportunities will now effectively utilize your skills and background."  It really sucked to see that as I started my day.

I'm really glad that when I woke up this morning, I had a little conversation with God about helping me stay on top of my anxiety (which has been threatening to flare up recently).  Then I did an hour of yoga.  During that time I meditated and focused on aligning my chakras and calming my mind.  After practicing, I had breakfast and a nice cup of green tea.

Then my peaceful state was shaken by that email.  After reading it and resisting the urge to cry/crawl back under the covers I started thinking "what's the lesson"??  I mean, there has to be a lesson or some point to any struggles that God allows you to go through.  So I'm sitting here, watching Tia & Tamera trying to figure out what the lesson could possibly be.

So far... I have..

• Maybe He's trying to get me to focus on working for Him more than to better my current financial situation.  Maybe I need to look for employment that will allow me to be more Christ centered. 
• Maybe He's trying to tell me that He is going to provide for my needs.  I've been looking for a new job so that I can make more money so that Lamar and I can move to our first place.  I've been taking a lot of responsibility to do that on myself.  Maybe God is saying 'remember Philippians 4:19'...

And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

• Maybe He's just saying find a way to enjoy this time of ease.  Use it to do other things.  You're picking up more interest in your handmade goods.  Use this time as a gift.

That's all I've got.  I am feeling better after thinking of these lessons.  Please keep me in prayer while I continue pondering what lessons I can learn from these setbacks.

Oh! Happy new year :) *chuckle*

Bootstraps: A How I'm Feeling Post

So it seems that I have managed to stumble myself right into quite the down day... :(  Although it wasn't really a surprise since I've been feeling a bit... murky... for the last few days, it still sucks.  I'm having a time with my anxiety as well, AND I am suppose to be doing a digital interview for a customer service job today.  Whoop-De-Flipping-Do...

I honestly feel like I might burst into tears in the middle of one of the interview questions... *sigh* but what can you do?  I was sitting in the bed this morning trying to snap myself out of my funk with a little instagram and a bit of youtube, but it didnt work.  It only led my mind to wander aimlessly, which ended up with thoughts of how useless I am and wondering if wanting to be happy at work is selfish.  I dont know.  The most frustrating part about days like this is that I cannot pinpoint a specific thing that sent me down.  Normally, I can have a bit of self talk and work out what's bothering me and figure some way to remedy it, but no matter how much self talk I did/do I'm still stuck.

How am I feeling right now?  I'm feeling like an island engulfed by fog...  I'm feeling very um... alone.  I feel like I'm all by myself in this day.  I know that down days always pass, but that knowledge does little to lessen the fierceness of the day itself.  I know I need to pull it together to do this interview.  I know I cannot collapse.  I know falling apart isn't an option.  But it gets hard.  Pulling yourself up by broken bootstraps is hard.  I just want to hide in the corner.

Thrift Haul! A return to Thrifty Thursdays

A few weeks ago I had to run an errand all the way out to Babe's school in Clermont.  I say "all the way" because Clermont is a good... 45 minute drive.  So while I was up that way, I stopped at a little thrift store called Angels of Mercy.  It looked to be either a mom/pop shop or a church owned stored.  I love coming across those because they always have great finds at great prices if you're willing to take a while and pick.

When I got to the door there was a sign that said "all clothes on hangers 50% off" 0.0 and naturally I thought Thrift Store Win!  I ended up not buying any clothes because I have no real closet space, but I did kindly load myself up with a few other things.  Books being a huge portion of this haul.  SO Angels of Mercy has a books/media room and while drifting about in it I saw another sign... "Bag of Books- $2" and considering one paperback was $0.50 and a hardback was $1 it only made sense for me to get a bag.  Even if I only found like 4 books it would have been a good deal.  I ended up with 11!  Slight overkill, but whatevs!

After the book room, I ventured over to the bags and purses.  I got one tote for $4.  It's huge and bright yellow... my own bit of sunshine ^.^  It just needed a bit of a clean, but other than that it was in great condition.  I'm now carrying it as my work bag and lemme tell you I love me some big bags! (I almost said I like big bags and I cannot lie... ::rolls eyes at self::  -___-)

I also picked up a few things for the kids at work: a couple puzzles and some crayons.  Just cuz I'm nice like that.

All things considered, I spent $9 before tax for 11 books, 2 puzzles, 2 new boxes of crayons, and a large tote/weekend bag.  Oh! They gave me a free loaf of bread too. :)  This thrift trip really brought back my love for independent thrift shops.  I mean, I do enjoy shopping at Goodwill, Salvation Army, and St. Vincents Du Paul's, but there's just something about mom/pop/church thrift stores that feels so nice... Am I crazy... probably not ^.^

Our Wedding Day!

So it's been.......... 5 months since I last wrote on here! Holy Canoli!!!  That is a bit ridiculous.

I totally thought that I'd be able to keep up with non-wedding blog posts throughout the wedding planning process... turns out I didn't do so well on that front, lol.  Anywho, I have returned to blogging... I may not be a frequent as I'd like (multiple posts per week) but I will actively write. Scout's honor ;-)

Since my ghost-mode was brought on by wedding planning stresses and whatnot, I figured that my "comeback" post should be the wedding story.  I'm sure I'll post more photos later.  So here goes.

Lamar and I got married on Sunday, June 15th.  It was Father's day and we had LOTS of friends and family in town.  That morning I got up super early (for my standards...) and had a blast getting ready with my girlfriends.  My bestsisterfriend, Amber, did my makeup which made it feel that much more special.  At random times throughout the morning I remember thinking 'I should eat' but be it nerves or excitement or forgetfulness I couldn't sit down to do it.  (Later on my cousin told me that she was sneaking me apple slices by calling my name and shoving a slice in my mouth.  lol! seriously!?)  Soon it was time to get cinched up into my dress.  In hindsight I should have told them it was too tight, but at the time all I was thinking was 'at least it's not gonna slip down'.

After a few hours of primping, all the ladies were ready.  We rode to the church in a stretch hummer (which I am still trying to decide how to like *shrug*).  Oh and it smelled like smoke and the AC was horrible.  We got to the church but couldn't go in because the guys hadn't made it there yet.  So we waited.  When it was time for the wedding to start and the men still hadn't arrived, I got worried and called Lamar.  He told me he was on the way.  I knew that meant he was not just going to be a couple mins late... but I said ok.  Soon it was half an hour past the scheduled start of the wedding and he still was missing.  Good ol' freak out me went just like this: wonder what's taking him so long... I hope he's OK... What If He Got Stuck In Traffic... WHAT IF HE GOT IN AN ACCIDENT!?!?!?!?!?!  OMG! HE'S BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT! ON OUR WEDDING DAY! HOLY CRAP! ::frantically dials phone:: 

He was fine. And soon arrived at the church.

When I saw him I was like c'mon yall, I'm getting out of this limo NOW!  All the guys were in the church in their places and we were FINALLY able to get out of the limo. 

First look with my dad :)

My cousin Marquita beautifully sang 'From This Moment' for the wedding party's entrance.  My friends Ricardo & Tasha sang 'God Bless the Broken Road' for my entrance.  I know it sounds super corny, but when the doors opened I only saw Lamar.  He looked so happy.  He also looked a little like he was holding his breath.  I wanted to speed walk down the aisle.  My dad and mom gave me away without crying and then we were walking up to our huppah.

Lamar and I talked and laughed a lot during our ceremony.  We held hands the whole time.  These are the sweet little things I remember.  Lamar's younger brother, Jason, sang 'I Want to Spend Tomorrow Here with You', my old roommate, Cherie, shared a reading called 'The Art of a Good Marriage', and our friend, Brianna, played violin while we lit the unity candle.  I loved having them participate in our ceremony.

One of the highlights of our ceremony was the kiss.  And not for the kissy face reason.  Lamar decided to "choreograph" a bit to Kiss de Girl from the Little Mermaid.  The bridesmaids were dancing and the groomsmen were encouraging him to get on with the kiss.  The best part was that our guests didn't know it was coming so there was a collective whaaat?? at the beginning. :) 

This is probably one of my favorite kiss pictures because of Allan's epic fist pump!

Just before we were pronounced husband & wife we had a 37 seconds moment.   I wanted to do it because SO many people kept telling me that my wedding day would be a blur of smiles and people and I wouldn't remember hardly any of it or who was there.  I figured that if I could take a bit of time to look at everyone and consciously make the memory I should.  So based on the quote from Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium "37 seconds well spent is a lifetime", we stood and looked out on all our friends and family.  I am VERY glad we did it.  It's the only time I remember seeing my best friend Ricky :)
We were then pronounced and everyone clapped and cheered.  The last part of the ceremony was a blessing read by our fathers.  Well it was supposed to be read by our fathers... Lamar's dad read the part I gave him, but my dad decided not to read the one I gave but to make up his own instead.  I'm so glad it still went with the theme of the blessing.

The reception was pretty standard, I think, well except for the appetizers and drinks during the cocktail hour.  Those were all created by Lamar and put together by him & the groomsmen (which was the reason for his late ceremony arrival). They were delicious.  We had toasts to our parents, toasts from the Best Man & Maid/Matron of Honor, mother son dance, father daughter dance, first dance, cake cutting... all the necessities.

All the toasts were really awesome. We're so blessed to have such great friends and family.

There were a couple surprises such as, my Maid of Honor, Sheree's toast was a poem she wrote to Eminem's "My Name Is" and that was really cool.  She even had these christian folk doing the call and response (HI - my name is - WHAT - my name is - WHO - my name is mrs. mrs. mrs. ryan!) Lamar changed our first dance song at the last minute to 'At Last' and Tasha sang the mess out of it.

I always have so much fun dancing with Lamar :)

He also asked Marquita to sing 'Fever' and we chair danced along (a la Cosby's). Ricardo and Vincent also sang during dinner.  When Lamar and his mom danced, they looked so sweet ^.^ I remember he was wondering if she would actually dance.  I'm glad she did.

Look how cute these two are!

The father-daughter dance was definitely a surprise for everyone because not only did my dad put together a choreographed dance segment to 'Billie Jean'... it turned into an impromptu dance battle between us! lol! Then when we got the the actual dance to 'Daddy's Angel' there are now quite a few pictures of my dad's crying face. hehe :)

I honestly thought my dad was going to have a tearful breakdown.

When we cut the cake, I remember thinking that it looked exactly like the drawing the baker did.  It had 3 tiers each with their own color and flavor (yellow amaretto, green velvet, blue lemon). I'm pretty sure the blue layer may have confused a guest or two.  The groom's cake was a stack of donuts topped with an Orlando Magic logo (please excuse the fact that the logo is upside-down in the picture) and sculptures of Kiva & Toot done by my aunt Margie.  Lamar was soo excited. :)

Yum! All the goodies!

The rest of the night was spent dancing with friends and family and having a good time!

So that was our wedding day.  To be completely honest, the first month after I had a hard time feeling like it was the "best day ever" because I could only see all the things that went wrong.  The expected wedding day was SO different than the reality and that made it hard for me to be happy about it.  One night I googled 'wedding day gone wrong' and read story after story of wedding fails.  That helped me to see that ish happens... even on your wedding day.  Everyone has some horror story in the files of their wedding, but you have to focus on the whole day and not the bad details in order to see that it was the best day ever.  Now, four months later, I am consistently laughing at most of those bad details.  But I see the day as I should: the day Lamar and I promised forever. :)

Small Stones: A How I'm Feeling Post

Recently I've been feeling quite overwhelmed with all things wedding.  It's warranted because our wedding is 3 weeks away and there is still SO much yet to be done... or at least I feel like there is. 

I've been having a super hard time going to sleep as of late, and that is starting to catch up with me.  Meaning, I'm starting to sleep smooth through my morning alarms which is not good.  Especially when my to-do list is way way longer than the done list.

Tonight, a few minutes ago, I checked my email and opened a message from a daily positivity thing I signed up for a long time ago.  This was the quote:

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." ~William Faulkner

This is actually the second time I've come across this quote in recent days.  It gives me encouragement.  It's saying, "just keep moving small stones, one project at a time, and when you look up, Kilimanjaro will be moved."

I need to keep this quote nearby.  It applies to so much more than to-do lists or wedding planning.  Any area of life can benefit from the mindset that a mountain is nothing but a pile of small stones.

Wedding Spot: DIY Wedding Veil

Hey there, it's wedding diy time again ^.^  Crafting my wedding one detail at a time (I'm corny, I know)

One of the first things I decided to definitely try to DIY was my veil.  I figured that a veil is, at its base, a piece of tulle, a comb, and a bit of trim.  I can handle that. I was an apparel and design minor in college after all! If I can't make a wedding veil, my teachers would be SHAMED! lol

In the midst of my dress search, I tried on a veil and unfortunately it weren't pretty... I totally felt like I couldn't breathe! I went all panicky and what not.  Afterwards I thought, "well I guess I need to walk around with a sheet over my face as practice..." *shrug*

So back to the DIY.  I first took pictures of veils that I liked to figure out what style to create.  In the end, I chose a 2-tier elbow/fingertip length design.  This would allow the top tier to double as the blusher.  It would have a comb attachment and a nice floral trim.

Inspiration veil from David's Bridal

Of course, like a good DIY'er, I did quite a bit of pinteresting to find a usable pattern.  I found and really like this one. The instructions were clear and super easy to follow. Two thumbs up!  I got my tulle from Joann's because I cannot justify not using a coupon on my crafty purchases... The hair comb came from my local beauty supply store and the trim was from the fabric shop I wrote about a little bit ago <original post -here->.

So yeah, I jumped right on it.

Picture 1: Determine the length you want for your blusher/top tier and back tier.

(I rigged up my dressform to simulate me with my wedding hair :) and draped the tulle over to determine how I wanted the veil to fall.  My dress is also on the form so I could make sure the details showed the way I wanted.)

Pictures 2 & 3: Lay out the tulle and cut to the desired length.  Round the edges.

Picture 4: Fold top tier over bottom tier and clip.

Pictures 5 & 6: Pin along the fold line and sew a wide running stitch to gather.

Picture 7: Gather tulle along the stitch line.  Sew back and forth a couple times to secure.

Picture 8: Attach the hair comb to the gathered area.

Picture 9: Sew on trim

The first hard part I ran into was gathering the tulle. Who woulda thought... It was SO fiddly and trying to hold and sew a straight line down that wispy fabric was enough to set my teeth on edge!  But eventually I got it done. [imagine accomplished face Caleisha here ^.^]  After I successfully gathered everything, I began the super-tedious task of pinning the trim to the edge.  Once I made my way about half way around, I noticed that there was way too much ruffling happening in the front.  That caused me to have to remove the whole gather -___- and redo with less material.

It took quite a bit of back & forth and trying different things before I had a veil that I could be proud of.  I'm very glad I decided to make my veil instead of just buying one.  There is just something about knowing that you yourself made aspects of your wedding details.

One of my favorite details of the finished veil is the price comparison to the inspiration veil.  As a thrifty gal, this seriously warms my heart *.* BOOO-YAAA!!!

I can't wait to see the veil with my dress on our wedding day! (1 month 4 days & counting ^.^)

My Furry Friend Tag

(Because... why not?)

A while ago I saw Claire, from HeyClaire on YouTube, do the My Furry Friend Tag about her cat Bruce and of course this was my response, "Yes!!! A perfectly reasonable opportunity to write about my dogs!!"  Buuut who really needs an excuse, right? ;-)

There are 9 questions in this tag and there will also be a slighly obscene amount of doggy photos in this post... Just a heads up ^.^  Anywho, let's get it!

1. What's you pet's name?
My pets are named Kiva Antionette and Tootie Lashay.  I have a thing about names.  I want names that have meaning.  Kiva is a Hebrew name that means protected.  I decided go with that name because a few months before I got Kiva, I had a whippet mix named Yanis (gift of God) for a couple days.  Unfortuanately, it turned out that Yanis had parvo and only lasted a few verrrrry sad days before he passed.  So needless to say, I was nervous that my next dog would have some ailment or another and I wanted her to be 'protected'.  Yep. That's the story.  Oh, and my best friend named her Antionette because she wanted to call her Toni for short... She's never called her Toni.

 Tootie on the other hand was named by her first owner and yeah... Tootie Lashay...  Early on, I wanted to change her name, but Lamar told me not to because he started calling her 'Toot a la poo' or something like that, lol.  So Tootie she is and shall stay.

2. What kind of pet and what breed?
They're both dogs... but I think you may have figured that out already...

Kiva is a beagle/jack russell mix.  Tootie is a chihuahua/rat terrier mix... maybe.  If you're good at calling dog breeds... let me know what you think she is :)

3. How long have you had your pet?
I have had Kiva for maybe 5 years and Toot for 3-ish.  I'm terrible at keeping track of these things *shrug*

4. How did you get your pet?
I adopted Kiva from the pound in Huntsville.

Tootie's gotcha story is my favorite ^.^  Basically, I was dog-sitting for a coworker while she was moving into a new apartment.  She was only suppose to be with me for a couple weeks, but as it unfortunately happens sometimes, the girl never came back for her.  I called her when Toot chewed up ALL my high heels and she promised to come get her at the end of the week... I have still not heard from her.  Good thing she left Tootie with me, because she could've easily ended up a stray or a pound puppy.

5. How old is your pet?
Here is another one of those questions that I'm not really sure about... Since I adopted Kiva I'm not sure how old she is really.  I'd say she is roughly 6ish.  Tootie is probably going on 4 maybe... I could be totally wrong tho. Meh...

 

6. What are some quirky things about your pet's personality?
These two dogs are so full of quirks its crazy!  Kiva use to have super bad separation anxiety when I first got her and now whenever I come home she cries and runs around to find something to hold in her mouth like a pacifier.  She also will push your hand up and down her belly if you stop rubbing her.  Very bossy...  Kiva is suuuper guilty... like all the time, whether she's done something or not.  If you ask her if she's sorry she makes the most pitiful looking sad face ever! It makes it really hard not to laugh when she actually gets in trouble.  She also likes to snuggle with whatever yarn ball I'm currently using.

Tootie is a grimlin.  She LOVES cave-like spaces.  Under the bed, behind the clothes in the closet, under tables, under chairs, down almost under the car seat.  She has even tried to get down by the pedals in the car.  Tryna kill us all... sigh.  She also likes feet.  She will lay next to your foot and cuddle it like a wierdo :)  She also likes to get up on Lamar's shoulder when he's driving and look out the window.  I'm always a little nervous that she's gonna fall out.

 

 

7. What does your relationship with your pet mean to you?
There is something about coming home and having super excited dogs jumping up and down like you're the best person in the world!  Kiva is very sensitive and will come lay next to me if I'm sad or crying. Tootie just makes me laugh a lot.

8. What are your favorite past times with your pet?
Dog parking & cuddles mostly.  I use to take Kiva hiking when we lived in Alabama and that was fun.  I need to find somewhere down here to take these pups a-gallivantin'.

9. What are the nicknames you call your pet?
Kiva-diva, Keevee, Kivanator, Stinker, Pretty girl.
Tootie-bootie, Tootles, Toots boots, Grimlin, Little one.

If you have pets, you should do this too. It was fun answering the questions and thinking back over the years of having these two pups.  Now for more pictures!  Huzzah!
 

official blanket testers

any crochet thing laid out is automatically her spot

cuddle-bug extraordinaire

this is how grimlins sleep lol

Oceans: A How I'm Feeling Post

It was really hard to get out of bed today.  And what makes it worse, I've felt myself sliding into this one.  But there's nothing I can do except pray it's a short one.

I did get myself up a couple times, but ended up back in bed... curled up.  The last time dragged my body out of bed, put clothes on and went into the living room.  I opened the front door since I kinda remembered someone knocking on it so I thought maybe the remaining wedding invitations had come.  It wasn't them.  Instead, there was a package from the library.

A couple weeks ago, I was getting dressed for church and listening to Pandora.  A song called Oceans by Hillsong came on and I immediately liked it.  Especially, the vamp at the end:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever you would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith would be made stronger
In the presence of my savior

So I found it at the library and requested home delivery.  Based on my account, I wasn't expecting it until tomorrow.  So today, when I saw it, I put it on straight away.  Thinking this will help me feel better.  But the vamp was not the reason I got the CD today.  This was...

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

An ocean is what I have always described my depression as.  A deep dark ocean.  With threatening waves.  Unknown depths.

Sometimes I'm on the shore, just inside the water... maybe up to my knees.  I can still see the shore. My feet are still on the ground.  I'm deep enough for the strength of the waves to move me, but not knock me down.  If something shakes me, I can still get out.

But there are other times that I feel like Peter, out in the middle of dark water and the waves are huge and there is no way I can possibly swim.  And I start to sink. 

When I first started sinking, my friend Ricardo told me to go outside and hold my hand up for God to grab me.  It was weird, but worked. A lot.  I still do it... 8 years later.

I will call upon Your name // Keep my eyes above the waves // When oceans rise

When I feel myself in the middle of the vastness of my oceans I feel so small.  Infinitely small. Like dust.  Like one good strong wave could dissolve me.  Treading water is hard.  My limbs are tired.  My lungs burn.  And all I can do is whisper...

JesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesusJesus

God showed me today that He cares about little me.

WIP Wednesday: The Metamorphosis of an Idea

(As usual I have fallen off the blogging bus... but in my defense... there has been quite a bit of wedding to do around here.  And I started a new job, nothing fancy, but it'll do.  I have been handwriting posts in my notebook, but sadly they take forever and a day to get to the computer. *shrug*  I really enjoy writing/keeping this blog, so I'm just going to have to figure a way to make myself do it...  Anywho, on to the actual post!)

So I find it really cool how some ideas seem to grow and develop rather organically.  I mean you start with a thought like this, "I'm gonna tie these thank you tags on with a ribbon.  Than some alphabet charms catch your eye and they get tossed into the mix.  So you sit down and try multiple times to tie a nice ribbon bow.  You know, one that will show off the charms, only to realize... It doesn't quite work.  So back in the bag they go.

Something doesn't click... What is it???
The next idea is to use a bit of chain to hang the charm just below the thank you tag.  Brilliant solution right?!

Not so much... GAH! What's missing?!?!  Back in the bag they go again.
The thing about creation is that sometimes the stars align and suddenly, while packing up beads to give to a friend, it hits you!  They're not suppose to be tied on with a silly bow!  These pieces are meant to be keychains!

Victory!!!
And then this happens.

 So yeah :) These key chains are a part of the gifts I'm creating for my bridesmaids.  I'll be posting a full look-see on the gifts soon.  Hopefully the girls will like them.  A lot.  Like really ^.^