Bobhadababy Itsaboy

Anyone else remember that commercial!?  It cracks me up just thinking about it!  Well the little addition to the family has made his arrival!  I'm being a terrible auntie and avoiding them until I get the quilt done.  (good news-- it's almost done!!)  The goal is to have it to him by this weekend, so I'll be posting pictures shortly after that.  :)

On a completely unrelated note, Pa goes back to Mayo tomorrow for his checkup.  All prayers for good news are appreciated!!

I'm off to work on the quilt now.  Have a great rest of the week!  :)

Wedding Update

I'm not sure this can even be considered an update.  That's how little we have gotten done for this shindig...

Here's what we DO have:
Date: December 31, 2014. Yes, we realize this is New Year's Eve.  And that it is on a Wednesday.
Party Location: Let's face it, everyone comes for the party, especially on NYE!  Downtown may never be the same...
Wedding Party: We haven't asked everyone yet though, so I guess I can't say too much here.
Dress: I have a dress.  I'm the girl who buys a wedding dress before she's engaged.  Quit judging.
Colors: Neutrals.  What does that mean?  I don't know.  Ask my wedding planner.  Aka: MS
Band: Kind of.  He's making calls to make sure everyone is in...
Two bouquets are done.  Thanks to CJ, aka Lil Poo Dog.
Oh, and we have an officiant!

I think that about sums it up.  Not bad for being over 25% of the way there--I think this year is going faster than normal ones!

To Do:
Photographer.
Caterer.
Drinks.
Ceremony location.
Attire for everyone else.
Party favors.
Decorations.
Hair.
Shoes.
Cake.
Invites.
Save the dates.
Engagement pictures.

The list keeps growing instead of shrinking... And with that, I'm off to do something completely not related to this wedding!

Where'd That Month Go!?

It's been over a month since I posted. I could use the whole wedding planning excuse, but that would be a lie.  We've made like two plans for that.  I'll try and do an update on that later this week, it won't take long!

We've been crazy busy at work.  I traveled to Las Vegas with OS for a weekend.  I went back home and played in an alumni volleyball tournament and attended my cousin's bridal shower.  I celebrated my two year anniversary at work.  I attended the horse fair and bought a waterer for my barn, which should be both started and completed in less than two months.  (Insert my stoked face here!!) 

And now we're here.  I'm working on a quilt for the new baby of the family.  He'll be here in 15 days so I had better get a move on it!  I'll also post pictures of that, after he gets it of course! 

As for now, it's back to work!  Whoo hoo!

Cancer Quilt

After we found out Pa had cancer, I got the idea to make him a quilt. I wanted him to have a piece of all of us when he was going through his treatments.

I started by texting everyone to pick out a piece of fabric that represented themselves. I heard back from everyone and went on a mission to find each one. And then I found random extra ones that reminded me of someone so I picked that up. By the time I got it all home, I had three bags full of random fabric. Ma had a couple wine patterns for her, Cornhuskers, and some "country" plaid and stars.  WI had Wisconsin and soccer patterns.  OS had some horse and dog ones.  MS had some chevron and camera prints.  BM had cars and construction.  DJ had Case and Hawkeyes.  I had some horses and softball.  OB had some racing checkers and Cyclones.  CJ had John Deere ones.  G had camo and hunting ones.  I also threw in some dog ones for the grand-pups.

Hmm... Now what pattern should I use with all this to make it look liked planned chaos instead of just plain chaos. I found one I liked. I started cutting pieces. Then I decided I hated it. Back to the drawing board Pinterest. 

And then I found it! I winged (is that a word? Wung?) the size. I wanted it to be a throw for him, but all I could find were small dimensions. I started cutting and sewing and cussing and sewing and ripping and cussing and sewing and then my goal of having it done for him to open on Christmas went by. 

Piecing it together

I ended up working on it practically nonstop so I could get it to him before he left for Mayo. 

He stopped on his way and met us to eat and I was able to give him the final product: 

Front (that's laying on a queen bed)

Back

It's nowhere near perfect. Or square. And I was barely able to snap a few pictures of it before we left, but I got it to him. And he took it with him and used it. And still uses it. (Hopefully I'll be able to get some better pictures next time I go back home.)

While it's not perfect, it was my biggest quilt to date and the one that meant the most. I thought it was a great way to have a part of us with him when he needed us most.

I used this tutorial at Better Off Thread and tweaked it to my size needs.  I'm sure I will use this pattern again soon!

You Know It's Windy When...

The water in the toilet bowl is moving and you haven't used it in quite some time... 

I hope the SHITMON holds up!! 

Valentine's Day

The day some love.  The day some hate.  And the day I could care less about...

In elementary, it meant a school party-- win!
In high school, the office would fill with flowers for all the girls and make all the others feel like crap because they don't have a boyfriend-- or in my case I had a boyfriend but didn't get flowers delivered to school, more on that in a bit.
In college it was a reason for us girls to get together and have our own date nights.
And now, it means I go to work and then go home.  Just like every other day! 
Tonight is going to get pretty crazy though, I'm taking MC to the vet to get weighed.  (Yeah, I know y'all are jealous of my V-Day!)

DJ and I have been together for a few Valentine's Days.  The first one I went out to eat with another guy.  (DJ knows about that now...)  And those V-Days since?  I couldn't tell you anything about them!  I know I've told him (multiple times) not to get me roses, or any flowers, on February 14.  That's just a waste of my barn money crazy to spend that kind of money for something that tomorrow will be half the price.  I remember one year he got me a bowl.  He went with a friend who got his wife a piece of pottery and so he thought he needed to get me one.  That bowl now holds onions in the corner where no one really sees it.  I told him to think for himself next time!!  Other than that, I have no idea if he's given me anything on Valentine's Day or not, and I'm completely okay with that!!  Just like I don't care that I've never received a Christmas present from him, even though I tend to go crazy at Christmastime!

I get stuff on a random Tuesday because he saw it and thought of me.  I got Buzz Balls a few weeks ago, for no reason.  I'm getting a barn.  I got an Explorer to drive my dogs around in.  Heck, he gave me a place to live when he knew me for a hot second and never asked for anything in return!  I got a ring.  (Man, I think I better go get him a better V-Day gift after writing this post...)

My point is, even though the calendar says Valentine's Day is on February 14, we celebrate it randomly throughout the year.  We're like that-- random. 

Bad Things Happen to Good People

This week has been one of wait and see.  One of DJ's old co-workers is sick.  He's been sick for a couple years with cancer, but this time it wasn't the cancer.  He has a hole in his colon and his body has been poisoning itself.  By the time they figured out what was wrong, it was too late to do anything.  When he went in on Sunday, they gave him 24-48 hours.  Two years ago they gave him six months to live.  I'm hoping the doctors are still bad at telling time.

We still haven't heard that anything has changed, but I'm doing all I can do right now.  Praying for his comfort.   Praying for his family.  Praying for the doctors. Please join me.