Photo A Day Recap: Week 3

14: Something Yellow: This little sign hangs on the wall next to my desk. I moved the desk the previous week because it was too cold next to the window. On Monday I felt lonely without my little sign so I moved it too. My friend Lorelei has one too, I made both of them so they make me feel connected to her.

15: An Ordinary Moment: I took two. The first was in the morning before the madness of the day began. I like feeling prepared with everything in order (surprise) before the kids come in and everything gets messy.

The second one is of Penny. She always scopes (sniffs) out the air from the safety of the car before she gets out to go walking or running. Sled dogs hang out here sometimes she I think she's sniffing their smell, making sure they are not around before she feels 100% safe to get out. 

16: Two Things: The two things I ate for lunch. A clementine and some left overs. Yum.

17: Ready: I forgot to take a picture this day. Oops. Luckily my co-workers threw me a surprise party in the library. I was not ready for that. It was also "Patriots Day" at school. Charlie lent me his jersey and I had to Google 83 in case anyone asked me questions I would be ready to pretend I knew what I was talking about.

18: Shadow: Kind of a stretch here. Can you see the shadow from the clouds on the mountains in the distance? This was taken from the top of Jay Peak. It was freezing up there, but very beautiful.

19: Delicious: The hotel we stayed in had a Keurig and hot chocolate cups. Hot chocolate plus a Twix was the perfect after skiing snack.

20: Something You Saw: This is the view from the lift on Sunday. To the left you can see a cloud blowing in. About 3 minutes later the cloud brought tons of snow. Great conditions, except the wind that brought the snow resulted in 3 of the main lifts being closed for the day.

Sorry most of this week involved skiing. More diversity coming soon.

Lauren 

Tova! Tova! Tova!

Animal House reference anyone? After much wanting and research I finally bought the Tova pattern from Wiksten. You should too. I'm only a year or so late to the party. Seems as though everyone has one. And now I know why, they are so easy to make, and comfortable to wear. 

Ready to wear out for a Birthday Dinner. 

The best part about waiting a while to make a pattern everyone is talking about is that you can read their reviews and learn from their mistakes without actually making the mistakes yourself. The only real change I made was to line the placket. That's the part that opens up. Some people said that when the colar is open the wrong side of the fabric shows. It was an easy fix to just cut out four of that pattern piece instead of two and to sew them together so that you can't see the wrong side of the fabric. 

The fabric is swiss dot that my Mom bought for me back when I didn't have a job, so approximately three years ago. I am glad I waited though, as I love this top.

Now, off to ponder other Tova's to sew. If you're wondering my necklace is from Sweetheart Jewelry Box on Etsy. I love it and wear it almost everyday. I'd wear this shirt everyday too if not for fear of being judged and smelly. 

Lauren 

Honeymoon; Super Late Recap

I realized I never wrote about our honeymoon the other day. Since this blog is mostly for my own amusement and to record my thoughts etc. I figured I would post about it. We had approximately four trips planned, all of which fell through. We were going to go away in February of 2012 but Charlie couldn't miss school, then we couldn't really agree on a place to go to begin with. We finally got around to going on a honeymoon on our one year anniversary. After our friends wedding we flew to Portland Oregon. From Portland we went to the coast and drove down Route 101 to San Francisco. This post will be just pictures and captions about that leg of the trip, the second portion of our trip I'll write about in a second post. I could write tons about the trip, but I've decided to keep it mostly pictures, since they speak a thousands words themselves. 

Charlie and I on our anniversary at Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Crazy waves, Cannon Beach Oregon. 

Gorgeous sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

Another gorgeous sunset. 

Hike through the Redwoods. Stunning.

Redwoods. Seriously, they were spectacular. There are not adjectives great enough to describe the experience of seeing the Redwoods. It's something you just have to see for yourself.

My uncle Neal took us on a 20 mile bike ride around Oakland. My butt hurt for 4 days.

Enjoying a cruise around the San Francisco Bay. 

Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge. I forced Charlie to walk part of the way across. 

Nappa Valley. I realized I don't like wine so I took 1 million pictures. 

Curviest street in the world. And such a hike to get to. 

World's most delicious donuts. Bob's Donuts in San Francisco on Polk Street. You should go.

Part two pictures coming soon.

27 Years

Hurray! Today is my birthday. Lots of people I know don't like their birthdays. I have no idea why. Someone once told me that when you turn a new age you get to be every age you've ever been plus the age you are now. How exciting.

I must admit after re-reading my 26 goals for 26 years I realized how many of them fell by the wayside during the year. I also realized how many of them were totally subjective. As someone who writes measurable goals for a living I sure did a shoddy job or writing goals for myself. It also seems daunting to think of 27 new things to focus on this year. If 26 taught me anything it's to be happy with what you've got and where you are, and to just slow down and enjoy it. Did I sound too much like Ferris Bueller there?  (Bueller?...Bueller?.... Frye?)

Anyways, since 27 goals is way too much to think about and to focus on I've decided just to do a few. I wouldn't even call them "goals", more like focus points. I've also decided to focus on ideas and people and not items or things.

• Be active everyday. As I've said before its easier now with a dog. I'd like to do a few races this spring/summer/fall so I want to keep running to stay/get in shape for those upcoming races. My first will be the Muddy Moose in April, a 14 mile trial race. Right up my alley. I also feel like I need to realize that with the exception of having the flu or some other virus/disease, I am active everyday. I'm going to try to focus more on the fact that I am moving in some way, and not stress out if I don't run everyday. 
• Even though I said I wouldn't focus on "things" I'd like to reduce my fabric stash. I've been using what I have and managing just fine since November. I'm only going to buy fabric if it is for a project, not just because it's pretty. When I buy it I will have a project/pattern in mind and will (attempt) to buy all of the supplies at that times. Once it enters the house I will have to use it in 1 month or else I will...I'm not sure. I just want to use it, not hide it. This means you jersey fabric I've had hidden since 2009, I'm coming for you.
• Embrace my time. I worry a lot about "wasting" time. I would like to try to re-define my ideas about this. If I want to spend 30 minutes looking at Pinterest, I will. This isn't "wasted"time, it's time spent doing something I enjoy, no need to worry about it. 
• Along those lines, I'd like to feel more at peace and happy with where I am. As I've mentioned before I worry about our next stop, our next place. As someone with a Type A personality, it's hard for me to "live in the moment." I feel like I've been getting better though. I'd like to embrace more of that attitude. 

source.

The last 26 years have been great, I can't wait to see what 27 has in store. 

Lauren 

P.S. Charlie and I both took the day off from work and are skiing at Jay Peak. Charlie is excited about the skiing, and I can't wait to go to the indoor water park!

Upcycled Mittens and Headband

Before Christmas in the holiday hub-bub I accidentally shrunk my skiing sweater in the wash. I was sad for a few days, then realized I could make the tiny sweater into a pair of mittens. I've seen some around on Pinterest. I ended up using this pattern. 

The only change I made was not to line them. The wool makes them warm enough so I omitted the felt lining. I also was able to use the bottom of the sweater as the bottom of the mitten so it won't fray. 

I even had enough left over to make a headband.

I actually made two pairs of mittens, the first pair was much too small. I have abnormally long thumbs. When I tried to explain to Charlie that I have long thumbs, or more specifically, a long thumb, he didn't believe me. One thumb is longer than the other because I sucked it as a child. Charlie said he sucked his too and his were the same length. Apparently he didn't know that I sucked my thumb until the first grade. I even had to have a special retainer made to keep me from sucking my thumb. Anyways, weird thumbs aside, the first pair I made was way too small, now I have to find someone with short thumbs to give them to. 

So, with the left over scraps I pieced together enough to make a headband.  I think I might save the tiny scraps to make some little rice filled pocket warmers.

 Penny loves when I strangle her into a picture with my new mittens.

Please no more pictures!

Stay Warm! Lauren 

26 Years 26 Goals

With my birthday quickly approaching, I've decided to check in on my 26 Goals for 26. Here goes:

1. Get a dog. I really want one and I think my constant talk has convinced Charlie too. Yep! She's the best. I can't imagine our lives without our Penny girl. 
2. Buy a house. No. Not so much. Waiting for the time to be right. 
3. Move into house without hurting myself or being a mega jerk to others. Success on that front since we didn't move. I try not to be a mega jerk though. 
4. Stay physically active. Mostly. I haven't been running as much lately, but having a dog ensures that I at least walk a lot.  
5. Think more about things before I impulsively buy them. I've almost gone too far in the wrong direction here...thinking so much that I don't ever buy anything. 
6. Go on a honeymoon. Yeah! I just realized I never blogged about it though, I'll have to remedy that. Our trip was great. 
7. Take pictures. Yes. I need to work on taking pictures of people more though. I have a lot of pictures of Penny and mountains. 
8. Throw things away. Why must I save every card anyone has sent me? P.S. Thanks for the birthday cards peps! No. I've decided to embrace that I am super sentimental. I really like looking back at pictures, cards, momentos. I hope my future children are sentimental too or else I'll be on Horders. 
9. Finish things before starting other things. Kind of. I don't start a project until the first is finished, but I just make piles of things I want to do. This does not keep my work space much tidier than when I had 10 projects at once. 
10. Think before jumping to assumptions, especially in regards to the students I work with. I'm really trying. I seem to jump to an assumption, then back track and try to think of other possibilities. 
11. Stand up for myself. I told one of the teachers I work with that my motto at the beginning of the year would be "I don't take shit from anyone." I need to start following that motto. If only I could post it on the wall at school.... Somedays yes, somedays no. It's a work in progress. 
12. Keep working on keeping new and old friends. Well, I haven't really made many (any) new friends. 
13. Send more letters to people. Oops. The only person I send/sent letters to is Charlie's grandma. I send cards. 
14. Learn more about my family history. Oops again. 
15. Eat more vegetables. In the summer it's easy. In the winter not so much. 
16. Read more books. Yikes. I read a bunch this summer and then totally stopped. My Dad bought me a book for Christmas. I've tried to check books out from the library but all the good ones have waiting lists. 
17. Try to stop swearing like a trucker Friday night - Sunday night. Yes. I just swear all the time. 
18. Finish that gosh darn cross stitch for my Mom that I started in 2008! No but I am oh so close. Just check my constant instagraming of it.  
19. Make a quilt and give it away. Who will be the lucky winner? No. I didn't make a single quilt.With some friends expecting babies, this will change in 2013. 
20. Worry less. Ugh. No, definitely not. I have found however, that petting Penny before I go to bed helps me relax and sleep better.
21. Be more creative. In other words, spend less time online thinking about being creative and actually do something creative. I've been making a more conscious effort to close the computer and be crafty. I've also embraced the idea that sometimes looking at things online can help you get ideas, and other times doing nothing is just what you need to do.
22. Hike somewhere and spend the night, and not flip out about peeing in the woods or being dirty. Our Honeymoon meets 1/2 of the requirement. I did flip out one day though. After the flip out Charlie said he wouldn't make me sleep in a hut ever again though.
23. Stop and smell the roses every now and again. Sure. Whatever the heck that means.
24. Ask Charlie for things instead of assuming he can read my mind. I'm trying.
25. Spend time with my family and friends. Yes. I love doing this.
26. Continue appreciating what I have and feeling lucky, because I am. Most days I really do. Things happening around me make me so thankful for a loving husband, cozy warm home, fantastic family, cute as a button dog, and great friends. 

I can't wait to see what 27 has in store.

Lauren