Reindeer Pillow & Thanksgiving

So I had this idea in my head about a reindeer pillow….and so I did a google image search. Turns out Target has sold one in the past that was EXACTLY what I was envisioning. They don’t sell it anymore I don’t think, but anyway…I basically did this:

1. Copied the picture of the pillow into photoshop
2. Sized the image to about 16”x16” (cause that was about how big I wanted my pillow to be)
3. Had the image viewed in “print size” and lightly traced the image onto a bunch of pieces of papers then taped those together
4. Cut shape out, traced image onto red felt
5. Cut red felt out
6. Cut two pieces of white felt each 16 ½” square
7. Pinned the heck out the reindeer onto the white square
8. Sewed close to the edge all around the edges of the reindeer
9. Put right sides together and sewed around edges a 3/8” seam allowance, and left a gap in the bottom large enough to turn inside out and stuff a pillow form into
10. Snipped corners, turned inside out, pushed corners out, ironed sides, stuffed pillow form inside, pinned gap closed, and top stitched close to the edge

That’s it! It was so easy. Definitely time consuming. The two most time consuming things were cutting out the reindeer and sewing it on! Lots of twists and turns which involves a lot of sew, stop, lift pressure foot, turn, lower pressure foot, sew, repeat.

Anyway, it turned out just as I’d hoped! I'm very happy.

Thanksgiving was great. Everything turned out. One odd thing...I got sweet potatoes- I DID- and they were cooking and when I cut into them...they were white on the inside! Not orange! What the? I have no idea. They still tasted yummy though.

Another highlight...I made this UH-MAZING peanut butter cream pie that had chocolate ganache layer, oreo crust, peanut butter cream, peanut butter cups atop, oh it was yummy. It was made in a spring form pan. About half of it was eaten when I put it in the fridge. Well, I was taking it out of the fridge later...when I don't really know what happened but the spring form was open and the pie slipped RIGHT THROUGH MY HANDS AND FACE FIRST ON THE FLOOR! Don't worry, I was still holding the spring form part. Yeah...I was heart broken to say the least. I mean seriously. That thing took time and money. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS! Oh well. 

Next morning Patty had to watch a ton of kids at her house but she really wanted the sewing table and cutting mat that goes on sale on black fridays (SUPER good deal), so I offered to get it for her. I decided to head out at 5:45 cause I just wasn't sure how busy it'd be (opened at 6am) well...GOOD THING I DID! There was a line outside for I'd say....forever. Oh man. So I trucked out there to the end of the line and stood in the cold for 10 minutes or so...chatting with the ladies around me. Then we went in and let me tell you- it is a good thing I went that early because there were only THREE tables in the store and guess who got them?! The lady infront of me, me, and the lady behind me that were standing in line! Oh my! So anywho...I got those and was out of the store an hour later...and by then I was awake and hungry so I ate and started bringin up my Christmas decor!

I couldn't believe it...I think it took me around 5 hours to decorate my house! But it is decorated and cleaned and I am good to go. So fun. Here's a little preview.

One thing I just kept feeling so happy about was that I cooked in the kitchen and cleaned my house for hours on Weds, I cooked for hours on Thurs, I decorated for hours on Friday, and holy smokes it was all possible! I just kept flashing back to two years earlier when I was making ONE apple pie at my sisters house and I just felt so exhausted after it. I don't think I even cleaned up! Just standing and doing something for that long made me so tired. I remember things feeling so hard back then. And then the Monday we got back we found out I did in fact have Lyme Disease. Well...fast forward two years and working so hard and taking so many pills and disgusting herbs...and I am a new woman! I can work! HARD. In fact, yesterday, I even had enough energy even though yes, I was tired! But I really wanted to sew that pillow, so I did it! I had enough energy and even after days of working I still could do it. So so so grateful. Makes me really happy. I am so blessed!

Well, now it's officialy the season and I am needing to hustle and start getting/making/wrapping presents! Woohoo! So fun.

PS. I have probably LITERALLY eaten about 20 rolls in the past two days. We had lots leftover. They are yummy. 

Plans plans plans

You guys. I am so happy to report...I AM ALIVE!

I was starting to wonder...but seriously, today I feel better than I have in days. With the help of good ol Nyquil and Dayquil, I've made it. I've crossed the bridge. I am on the up. Perfect timing because I have a busy few days ahead of me!

Here's the plan:

Tomorrow I will make apple pie, chocolate pie, and peanut butter pie. I will also be cleaning the bathrooms and helping Clay with any of the chores he's planning on doing (vacuum and mop floors, wipe up the slobber on walls). Of course early in the day I will prepare the turkey by starting the brining process. Oh, and in case you are wondering, yes I am working tomorrow! Yikes!

Thursday morning I will pop that turkey in the oven, make two batches of rolls (there never seem to be enough in my opinion), make some sweet potatoes, clean up, set up, welcome my guests and eat and eat and eat!

I am SO excited. About all of it! I happen to love making pies. It's just such a great end product, and pie just feels like such an old fashioned thing to do...it makes me happy.

I also love making rolls. I love bread and dough and baking.

Sweet potatoes on the other hand...we'll see about that. First time for that.

I'm really really really excited for Friday to decorate for Christmas!

I am not planning on doing any shopping...unless something SCREAMS at me from the ads. But I highly doubt that will happen. I'd rather relax and watch movies and sleep and stuff.

Well, good luck to all of you on your cooking and eating festivities! I am feeling really blessed to have a double oven this week :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm just hangin in there

 So, I haven't been posting and that's pretty much because I GOT SICK! UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I have this awful cold that has my throat hurting and my nose sneezin and runnin and going RAW from wiping so much. Boo. The other night I was on my first real day of being sick so I dug up my energies and made myself this.

Chicken noodle soup and biscuits! All gluten free! So so tasty.

We won tickets to breaking dawn and Clay kept saying, "You aren't going to be able to go!" and I kept telling him to stop talking cause I was going. And I went! I think Heavenly Father really was lookin out for me because all up to the POINT of the movie I was sneezing and miserable and I don't really think I sneezed once during the movie. Don't worry though, I did after.

I know I don't look sick, but I am! 

So anyway...now I'm just drinkin my tea and trying to rest. But I have to go grocery shopping today for Thanksgiving! There's no way I'm waiting till next week after work...

Another random thing is my left ear is plugged and it wont unplug. And it hurts! I don't understand. 

So please pray that I will get over this cold quickly and that my left ear will unplug. Thanks!

By the way- LOVED THE MOVIE! It was so good! The fake baby was a bit strange but everything else was just great.

A whole lot of random goodness

I am so excited for Christmas! I'm SO happy that Thanksgiving is next week so I can eat a bunch of delicious food and then decorate and shop and make things and listen to music and watch movies! YES!

My thanksgiving decor is a bit pathetic. I mean...I just don't have enough of it. The truth is, if you only have a few decorations for a holiday it doesn't work because it just doesn't flow right and ugh. I am NOT enjoying my decor so I really need to add to it.

I am planning on making 3 pies for Thanksgiving. Patty will make another one. That will be 4 pies. It's exciting. Desert is kind of the most important part in my opinion. And rolls.

I am going to twilight on Thursday. And not even at midnight! I get to go to an early showing at 6:30. Talk about fantastic.



Let me tell you what movie I'm SO EXCITED about. Les Miserables. Oh baby, it looks grand. I am planning on seeing it Christmas day. And I'll probably bring cadbury mini eggs with me. It's a plan.

Clay and I are just finishing up our Star Wars marathon. Clay and I LOVE to do movie marathons. About once a year we do Lord of the Rings. We've done Harry Potter maybe a couple times. This is our second time doing Star Wars. We've done Bourne movies a ton of times. It's always fun. I realized I haven't seen the old star wars in a long time. I just kind of love how cheesy they are! And the special effects from those days are fantastic. Like....in episode V, there is this monster at the beginning that gets Luke while he's in that horribly cold snowy place, and OH MY GOSH I laughed out loud when he came on the screen! Luke screamed of course, but that monster was funny looking. Anyway, they are awesome. I just love Han Solo. And now I understand why my parents and siblings always made fun of Luke and called him so whiney. Cause HOLY SMOKES he's a cry baby! Clay and I couldn't help but laugh so much when he found out that Vader was his father! I mean really, it's pretty embarrassing. Although I admit it'd be pretty traumatizing to find out the biggest evil person in the universe (literally- all of space!) was your dad. 

Poor Luke.

Well, that's pretty much it for now.

Saturday Morning

I love Saturday! Especially days like today. I woke up at 10 and was like, hmmmm what am I going to do today? Cause I seriously have NO PLANS! It's so fantastic! So I decided I should read some Les Mis, and make some homemadeish apple cider (apple juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg heated on the stove).

Do you remember when I had the goal to read this book in 50 days? That was approximately 168 days ago. PAHAHHAA! I laugh in the face of my overachieving goals! I am finally on the last third of the book I think...I am determined to finish it by the end of the month. That way I have a month before the movie comes out and then it'll all just be wonderful.

You know what? I make goals A LOT! And I don't reach them A LOT! But I'm not really discouraged or upset about it. I just kind of giggle at myself that I thought I'd read this book in 50 days. But I keep on truckin. I also resolved to post once a day. I obviously didn't do that well this week...but I keep trying. I think my goals are fantastic! Even when I don't achieve them perfectly. They keep my life exciting and give them purpose at different points in time. Sometimes, I need a goal that keeps me entertained or distracted...and anywho...I can get off track and get away from the goal but I can also come back to it. I feel sad when people don't want to make goals because they are scared they wont achieve them. Cause I am constantly not achieving my goals! But I am also constantly striving towards something. It's the journey, not the end that has merit. That's my opinion anyhow.

This book is so amazing. It's most likely the most wonderful amazing piece of literature I've ever read. It is HARD to read. That's why it's taken me so long. And its my second time trying! People simply don't write like this anymore. It feels really immature when I read current books right after I've read Les Mis. Don't worry, I'm not becoming a book snob...I still love lots of current books. It's just different. A lot more of feeling on the surface, instead of deep in your soul.

For instance, Marius and Cossette. Their love story. Oh! It's like...I have no idea how they portray it in the movie or play, but in the book, they literally fall in love before they've even spoken to each other or known each others name. And it's completely real and believable. And wonderful. And romantic. There are so many pages dedicated to Marius's internal agony and joy as he simply catches Cossette glancing at him. Or his struggle as he decides to walk past her. And once they FINALLY meet, after a year of not seeing each other, they both know they love each other and seal it with one simple kiss. I just love it. There is something so romantic about falling inlove after only glancing in ones direction and catching their eye.

Do not ruin anything by talking about what happens after this point because I don't know what happens after this.

Anywho...I am still enjoying my slow slow process of reading this book. I will be glad to be done, but I am still enjoying it. I just wish there weren't so many pages dedicated to history that I just can't wrap my head around.

Anyway, happy Saturday! Have a good day.

Election Emotions

Well, this was me yesterday morning so happy and excited to vote! I had high hopes for the things I voted on. I voted for Romney/Ryan. I voted Yes, No, Yes on Idaho Props 1,2,3. Oh! And I voted in preserving the rights to hunt in Idaho. 

This is me and Clay stuck on the couch going CRAZY watching Fox News. Oh man. At one point I was just seriously going ABSOLUTELY insane. I'm like, oh my gosh! It's seriously only 7:25pm?! I feel like I've been watching this my ENTIRE LIFE. So I got up, cleaned our two bathrooms, watched 1 and a half episodes of Alias and Clay came in with a frown and a thumbs down. 

Obama is still our President.

I started to tear up. NOT out of joy. Out of utter sadness and worry. I worry about the taxes coming on small businesses. I worry about the economy. I worry about the values of our country. 

So then I went online and looked at our local news and it looks like Props 1,2,3 all go NO. I only wanted no on one of them, so that was another disappointment. I'll tell you this- I know this is super controversial and people are super emotional on both sides, but I truly feel like our kids education is lacking and Prop's 1 and 3 could've helped that. I fear that Idaho kids are lagging behind much of the country. 

Clay decided to change his attitude QUICK. Like literally minutes after the election was called. I told him I needed at least that night to sulk. But he told me that America wasn't ready for a Mormon president, and to just look at all the open conversation that has been had about our religion. Most of America probably now realizes mormons aren't freak cult members. Either way, the door has been opened.

But I want to emphasize that I didn't want Romney to win because he is mormon. Not at all. I wanted him to win because he has solid successful experience. He aims for getting America working, not keeping Americans dependent on government aid. He believes in people working hard and earning what they get. Also, he has good moral values. And honestly? This isn't the most respectful reason for wanting him to win, but I wanted him to win so that Obama would lose. I've come to realize Obama is a liar, a fame whore, and kind of annoying. I mean really I get annoyed when I see his face and hear him talk. I know that's not like a legit reason (that I'm annoyed), but hey...it's real for me. I hate negative feelings in my body, and he just always seems to stir them up. 

Alas, I will still pray for this country, pray for our leaders, and hope for the best. It will be an interesting 4 years. We will see how some of these things play out that Obama has set in motion. I am still grateful to be an American and I still love this country! I'm so happy that I could vote and I really am so amazingly HAPPY that I live in a country where I have rights and can speak my mind and get infuriated with others with that same right! I'm grateful I have the right to disagree with my husband, or any man for that matter, and I'm grateful I can wear the clothes, makeup, hair everything I want. I'm grateful I have a house, a job, a family, and though my health isn't optimal, it is a lot better than many. Life is still good. Do I still have a nagging worry in the back of my mind? Yes. Oh well. It is time to look forward with faith and do MY best in helping our country and society become better. 

Now we can all focus on more important things like how to decorate for Thanksgiving!

Paul's Bday/Mustang

This is Clay in Paul's 1964 1/2 Mustang. Paul has held onto the Mustang for years and finally this past year he restored it and it's just awesome. Clay drove us to Stockmans, a steakhouse, for Paul's bday on Saturday. It was fun! I hadn't ridden in it yet. He did such a good job.

 Patty and Paul in the back.

 Here I am attempting to get us all but it didn't quite work. Oh well...

I stole this one from Patty's facebook cause I couldn't find any of the outside of the car that I'd taken. They took these earlier in the summer I think. Cool pic huh? Patty's sister Susan took some and anyway, it really is a cool car. Everyone loves it.
 
 Well, in the theme of happiness, I am so happy for the family I married into. I love them all so much. They are all so kind and wonderful! I'm really really really lucky.

Today I am tired. I don't know why really. But I worked and then went to three different stores to run errands. Then I came home, unloaded, put away groceries, made dinner, and the kitchen is an absolute disaster. Sigh...I suppose I should clean it. I decided to opt out of Zumba tonight. Sometimes life is too stressful and I need time to zone out. I'm okay with that. It's called managing stress.

Alrighty, off to do the dishes! Don't forget to vote.

Halloween, Seattle, etc

This year me and the girls at work decided to be Where's Waldo girls. Pretty fun. I realized at about 9:00pm the night before that I didn't have a hat. So I took some fabric and made one really REALLY quick. It's not that impressive but it works for a halloween outfit I think!



So here's the deal. I've never handed out candy before for halloween, but planned on doing so this year. I went to winco and got three bags. Then realized, okay that means there's approximately 45 pieces of candy and what if these kids are sticking their big hands in and grabbing huge HAND fulls?! Clay thought this was highly likely. So we were looking at maybe having the potential for 15 kids or so? This got me stressin. I mean like majorly stressin. I just didn't want to run out of candy and leave these kids hangin. And I didn't want to be stressing out the whole night saying, "nu uh uh! Only one!". So after much deliberation, Clay and I decided I'd better run to Sam's club after work and get one of those big bags, just to be on the safe side. And I know what made Clay lean towards this decision. I told him that any leftovers we have we could take with us to Seattle and eat cause whenever we go to Seattle we cheat...and this way we buy less snacks. Cause pretty much everytime we are waiting around in the airport we end up buying snacks. Which basically cost as much as our airplane tickets. Anyway. Clay's face pretty much lit up at the thought that we could have the leftovers and EAT them.

I know, it's bad. But it's not like we are having tons of candy all the time! So I figured, what the heck. Lets celebrate this holiday.

Turns out we did need that extra bag, but we still had leftovers. And we definitely both made ourselves sick eating so much candy!!!

Seattle was good. Let me tell you- Seattle is GORGEOUS right now. Holy moly, the trees are so stinking beautiful. Our appointment wasn't anything extraordinary. For a bit of an update....

I am basically symptom free but just have these REALLY subtle lingering symptoms. Our doctor, Clay, and I all feel that I am not done yet. But we feel that I am SO SO CLOSE! Clay is on a good track, he is also dealing with subtle symptoms. We asked her how she feels about where we are at and she said we are "poster patients" or something. And that we are further along than she would hope for us. So that's good! We knew at the beginning this could take 3-5 years to get rid of and we've been at it for 2 years.

Our doctor has her dog at the office and seriously she is the SWEETEST dog ever. Like she just comes and greets you and is just so nice and sweet. She loves Clay cause he's really good at scratching her. 

I decided that I am still going to post a picture a day of things I'm grateful for...but I'm not going to put so much pressure on myself about learning my camera. I will continue to learn slowly, but a lot of my pics will just be how I used to do them. I will still work on it though! I think I kinda hate doing the same thing everyday, so I feel like the way I was thinking before was like...making it so I would only be able to study my camera each day and that just gets boring and stuff.

A few randoms....One, I am like OBSESSED with the show Alias. I'm watching it on netflix and it's pretty great. Two, tomorrow is the election and can I tell you? I am SO EXCITED for it to be over. Here at Idaho obviously Romney will win but we have some local propositions that are getting some HEATED discussions. I have never seen so many people in Idaho at odds with each other. Literally, there are no commercials on the radio anymore- its one after another about each of these propositions. It's about education reform. Teachers are all anti-propositions and business people are for it and anyway, Clay and I have been really really thinking hard on it. I'm still not positive. I know what I'm voting on one of them, but am still on the fence about the others. Did you know Idaho is 49th in the nation in sending their kids to college? That's like...awful. So you can see why Clay and I are thinking hard on this. Anyway, I guess we'll see where I stand tomorrow!

Well, that's all for now.