my other car is a crane.

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...

2012-01-12T11:21:00.002-05:00

Seriously, isn't the title of this post from the most depressing Christmas song EVER (well, besides the song where a little boy had to get shoes for his mom before she DIED.)? Suddenly, on January 12, I have it stuck in my head and now you're stuck with it too. ;)

Gosh, I haven't blogged in ages! I've actually been doing a decent amount of sewing over the past month so I will defnitely have to catch up on sharing those fun pictures. Anywho, for the first time Heather and I hosted Christmas dinner for my family ~~this~~ last year! It was so much fun and I think, at the ripe age of 30, it helped solidify me into identifying as a tride and true adult, for real.

The family came over around 3:00 and we started the evening with appetizers of cheeseballs, meatballs, cookies and other sweet treats. I had the foresight to freeze all of the cookies I received at Tricia's AMAZING cookie exchange earlier in the month which may be one of the top 10 best ideas I've ever had. Not only did it save me from eating dozens of cookies myself during the holidays, but on Christmas day I had a wonderful assortment of goodies to serve everyone and I didn't have to bake one of them. WIN. :)

Michael put on his fanciest bow tie just for the ocassion.

We all got each other a ton of presents which didn't matter one bit; the best gift I ever could have gotten was having everyone I love most in the world all over at my house. It had been almost two years since my mom had been to my house (due to illness- our condo is on the second floor) and having her there filled me with more gratitude and joy than I can properly express.

I have a pretty crafty family and we all REALLY love making and give handmade gifts. This year I made quilts for my mom and sister and ordered headbands (to match their sparkley TOMS) and owl hats for the girls (check out Hitched and Stitched's website, makers of the cute-tastic owl hats, to check out dapper Brady in his custom sock monkey hat!).

Me and Mom with her Christmas quilt.

Laura having a HOOT of a good time- HA! :)

My sister also knitted us all beautiful scarves and the Lollies sewed a Christmas themed pillow case for me!

They did SUCH a good job!

Christmas Day 2011 = FANTASTIC. I'm looking forward to many more family gatherings at our house in the future. :)

a reflection

2011-12-22T11:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was sitting at work when my cell phone rang with my sister's number as the caller. I picked up and was met by a stranger's voice saying that my niece, Laura, had fainted and had a convulsion and that I needed to meet my sister in the ER at Children's Hospital immediately. Everything after that is a bit of a blur of tears, Kim taking the phone from me and her rushing me to my sister, as I wasn't in too good of a state to drive myself.

But that call… that call was the closest I've ever come to feeling like my own baby was hurt. Never in my life have I felt the way I did at that moment- not when my mom has been sick, not with any other struggle that has shown its face. In an instant I knew that I would do anything, even give my life, if one of those sweet babies needed something.

I sit here today, grateful that though we don't know what caused the episode yesterday that Laura is in good hands… not mine, not her parents or her sweet Bua, not the doctors' hands either. I know without a doubt that the love I feel for her is nowhere near the love that our heavenly Father feels for her. And though I would do anything in my power for her or her sister or brother, so would He and He has. I'm confident that He's got her in His grip and that He's going to take care of her every day of her life.

Yesterday reminded me of how blessed I am… despite the struggles. How very, very blessed I am because when you take it all away- the family, the friends, even life- I've still got more than I could ever need in Him.

Sending out an SOS to the world!

2011-12-16T09:32:00.007-05:00

Did I tell you that my sewing machine broke? It did, about a month ago. Suddenly the needle wouldn't pick up the bottom thread and some things would spin but others wouldn't... just silly. After I spent too much time cursing at it and going through every link that came up after Googling "effing Singer Inspiration effing fixes effing help me", I broke down and decided to take it to the shop.

As was recommended to me by Jessica at Sewn (heeeeeeeey!), I went to Luke's in Blue Ash to see if they could help a girl out. Dude, Nadine at Luke's could NOT have been nicer! She was friendly, helpful and wore jingle bell earrings. I kinda wanted to have coffee and cookies wtih her but that would have been weird. Anywho, looooooooong story short it's going to cost $90 (+ any parts that may or may not be needed) to fix my little guy. Since it cost around $200 when I started sewing three years ago, it hardly seems worth it.

So, bloggie friends, I'm in a pickle! I am in need of purchasing a new sewing machine but haven't a clue where to start! I bought my last one at Sears because it had the name Martha Stewart on it and, despite her man hands, she's kinda the shizzle. Anywho, needless to say, I really don't know what I'm doing when looking for a new machine. Can y'all help me out? What machine do you use? What machines are so lovely you want to send them Christmas cards in December?

Here are a couple that Nadine recommended (note: Luke's offers 50% off sewing machines when you trade your old one in, even if it's broken. say WHAT.)

Elna 340 (replacing the discontinued Elna 2800); $400 at Luke's, after the trade in discount.

Elna 3230; $699 at Luke's, after the trade-in discount. Nadine said it would last me for life. At that price, it better make me waffles every morning too.

I've also heard murmurs about the Oh, Brother (ok, that's not really their name...) sewing machines. Anybody have experience with those? What about Janome? I'm feeling a bit drawn to buying from Luke's because they offer a free lesson in how to actually work the machine (instead of fudging your way through it like I did) but when the most economical is a whopping $400, I have to wonder if there are other options that are equal in quality and durability but not so hard on the pocketbook.

So... whatcha think? Help a girl out!!! I've got a week off at Christmas to sew (and nap and watch movies and eat carbohydrates) but I need a new machine to do it with! :)

PS- On a COMPLETELY unrelated note, take a look at the inspiring message on Tricia's blog today. Don't we all need that reminder?! I know I do, especially after yesterday... thanks for sharing, t.Dawg. :)

It's hell to be white and over-privileged.

2011-12-15T16:12:00.001-05:00

Oh, friends; it's been too long! Life has been madness, with a cherry on top known as GRADUATE SCHOOL. I finished up with that mother yesterday though and will not be seeing her face again until January! Unless you count the proposals and planning and other funness I'll be doing for over the next month for an upcoming independent study. But, truth be told, I'm the nerd that doesn't mind that part so much. J

Here I am on day one of my December period, reflecting about life. Because that's what you do during your period when the new year is around the corner, yes? I often think I should have been born Catholic (no offense, yo) because of the guilt I feel about every single thing on a daily basis. But, I suppose my Southern Baptist upbringing may have had a hand in that too. Or maybe it's just me. Who knows.

Anywho, this thing about guilt—it surrounds me. It takes me over and it cripples me. Here are just a few of the musings that have taken residency in my heart over the past week:

"Oh my gosh, graduate school is so stressful. It's so hard. I can't do this. What is wrong with me?! It's a gift to be able to further my mind and education! Buck up!"
"I love my _________ (fill in the blank, it could be any number of people) so much. I don't know what I did to get them. I don't show it to them enough. I don't spend enough time with them."
"I'm spreading myself too thin. I'm not good enough for anybody. I'm selfish."
"Work is driving me nutty. I need a vacation. What the heck?! There are so many people out of a job right now, who CARES if I'm having a bad day?!"

+ a whole lot more that are just not worth my emotional state to publish on the Internet.

What's wrong with me? Is everyone like this? Is it the holidays? Is it being a woman? Is it my period? Whatever it is, I just want to feel full. I want to feel like I'm doing my best at everything and for everybody and still have just a smidge left over for myself. I don't feel close to accomplishing any of those goals today though.

{this moment}

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from life. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

To see other beautiful moments from around the blogosphere, check out Soule Mama on Fridays.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! :)

TOMS to the rescue!

2011-11-17T16:03:00.005-05:00

I fell in love with the mission of TOMS shoes a year or so ago and Heather and I now have 8 pairs between the two of us. Have you heard of the company before? Basically, every time you buy a pair of their shoes, a pair is given to a child in need who lives in Argentina or South Africa. Is that not AMAZING?!

Me and my favorite pair of cozy TOMS- Grey Woolen Men's Classics.

While in West Virginia visiting family last month, I saw that the founder of TOMS, Blake Mycoskie, has written a book on the movement (it's so much more that than a company, in my eyes) titled "Start Something that Matters". I immediately snatched up the book and read the first 50 pages that day when we got home. Well, graduate classes and work have gotten in the way of progressing further but I have literally been counting down the days until Christmas break when I'll have the opportunity to finish this book- among other things. :)

Though I haven't had the opportunity to finish "Start Something that Matters" yet, I have been following Blake's blog and there I read about a contest where, if you win, two copies of his book are sent to you- one to read and one to give away. Just write a review of the book on your blog and on Amazon and give a copy of his book away to a lucky blog reader. How great is that?

Guess what? I won the contest!!! :) I have in my possession two brand spankin' new copies of "Start Something that Matters". And since I already have a copy of my own, I'm going to give away both of these copies on here to two of you!

The catch? Well, there really isn't one. I love this company and their mission so much and I am confident that you will too. I'll post my review of Blake's book some time around Christmas and have the drawing shortly there after. In the mean time, check out TOMS and Blake to get inspired by the great work they're doing. And stop back by here in December for a chance to win a copy of "Start Something that Matters"! :)

{this moment}

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from life. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

To see other beautiful moments from around the blogosphere, check out Soule Mama on Fridays.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! :)

a single tree

2011-11-10T09:15:00.000-05:00

Truth be told, I adore every minute from the first of September through the beginning of January- it all seems so magical. This fall, though, I have so enjoyed the weather! Here in the greater Cincinnati area, we often go straight from the humid heat of summer to the mind numbing chills of winter with no autumn to speak of but, oh, not this year! It's been effing beautiful. You heard me- effing. :)

I've been fascinated by the transition of life this fall, both in people and in nature. There's a beautiful tree next to our driveway that I've been particularly enamored with and have been documenting it's changing leaves over the past few weeks.

This morning I woke up to our first frost of the season and I immediately went to the bedroom window to check on my little tree.

Yep, she's still hanging in there. :)

"A woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart." -Hal Borland

Easy as Sunday morning...

2011-11-07T09:25:00.000-05:00

I love Daylight Savings Time!!! What used to be an extra hour of sleep as a child has turned into an extra hour of relaxation as an adult. Our extra hour in the morning consisted of piping hot coffee, fresh blueberry muffins straight from the oven and of course, "Flipping Out" on DVD.

I hope you had a great 25 hour Sunday yesterday too! :)

{this moment}

2011-11-04T00:01:00.001-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from life. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

To see other beautiful moments from around the blogosphere, check out Soule Mama on Fridays.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! :)

{this moment}

2011-10-28T00:01:00.002-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from life. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

To see other beautiful moments from around the blogosphere, check out Soule Mama on Fridays.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! :)

How to save the earth and look super cute at the same time.

2011-10-26T00:01:00.001-04:00

A while back I got an itch to sew (I wish it was an itch to stitch so it would rhyme!) and I decided that a re-usable coffee sleeve was just the quick project I needed for almost instant gratification!

I went to Starbucks for inspiration in the form of a tall, vanilla, soy, no foam latte. Yumm... I also needed a coffee sleeve to use as a prototype. When I got home I took the sleeve apart, traced it onto the back of a cardboard cereal box and added half an inch to each of the four sides. Then with a pair of scissors, I cut the mother out!

See? Cereal box. And Raisin Bran from Trader Joe's, no less. Yummm...

I decided that I wanted this coffee sleeve to be reversible so I went through my fabric stash and picked out a fun elephant fabric along with a red and white fabric which I thought would coordinate nicely with it. I laid my cereal box template on each piece of fabric, traced it and then cut. Ridiculously easy.

I felt like just two pieces of cotton fabric wouldn't be thick enough for my liking so I also cut a piece of fusible interfacing and ironed that to the red and white fabric. After that I stacked it all together, first the elephants (right side up) then the red and white fabric with the interfacing (wrong side down) and went to town sewing all together except for one end. I flipped the sucker inside out so that it was now right side out, used a crochet hook to poke the corners out from the inside and sewed up the remaining side. Final step- I attached a piece of velcro to each end to secure the sleeve around a coffee mug.

This project was so fun and SO simple! My little friend, Kimbo, has a special fondness for elephants so I gave her this coffee sleeve as a prize.

So, if you're looking for an opportunity to sew something fun that won't take very long then this is totally the project for you. Oh, and you'll save the earth too- and look cute while doing so. :)

The jury's still out...

2011-10-25T00:01:00.003-04:00

but I may indeed be the crazy auntie. :)

I swear, he's about my favorite person in the whole world. Or at least my favorite little boy. :)

Big pimpin'

2011-10-24T16:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I parked my butt in the den for 14 hours doing research for a literature review that I'm writing for graduate school. It was riveting.

Not only was it more fun than watching paint dry, but I got to stare at this the whole time-

Yep- my fabric stash. It just sat there, sadly starring at me, while I was neglecting it for homework. I'm pretty sure that at one point some beautiful Tula Pink fabric actually cried out to me "Kara...Kara! Why have you foresaken us?!" That may have been nearing hour 12 of research though so some hallucination may have been involved.

Anywho, you know what the best part about doing 35 hours of homework was yesterday? That lovely lady I get to, you know, love. :) She cleaned the whole house until it sparkled like the top of the Chrysler Building (oh, pleeeeeeeease tell me someone gets that quote!!!), did the laundry, took care of some grossness that Michael got into and got me prizes.

Prize numero uno- a ginormous, fluffy blanket.

Prize number deux- freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

I like her a lot. :)

Anywho squared, I shut down Stella (the laptop, yo) just in time for me not to turn into a pumpkin...

And went to bed. Notice I didn't say I went to SLEEP. How is it that sometimes you are so tired you can't think straight but your mind won't turn off enough to get some shut eye? I tossed and turned for a good two hours before falling asleep. Nanners.

Fast forward to this morning and this is what I found when I came out of the bathroom-

Yep- Michael in a camo wife beater.

It's quite a funny life I lead.

Enough chit chat- back to research and the fabric that won't stop talking smack about me. :)

Pickin' em up and puttin' em down.

2011-10-21T10:06:00.003-04:00

It's the freakin' weekend- yahooooooooooooooo!!! :)

My blog was looking a little outdated so I did some work on it and voila! How do you like it? The background is a picture from Kate Spain's Fandango line of fabrics which I lurve. Seriously- it's not only aesthetically pretty but it's also almost silky to the touch. I may be making something out of that line for a Christmas gift too. Actually, I might be sewing a LOT of Christmas gifts these days! Unfortunately, I can't share any on here until after I give them- rats! Well, trust me that they're super cute and I can't wait to show them to y'all. :)

Ok, I have to stop talking about fabric before I slip and start talking about Christmas gifts. Did I tell you that I went to DC in September? Because I did! I was there for a work conference and learned so much- it was great. I also had a total of two hours of free time the entire time I was there- for reals. So, during my free hour one day I went on a power walk around the capital and saw all of these lovely sights!

The White House! Don't ask what I was thinking with that barette.

The Washington Monument!

What used to be the reflecting pool!

World War II monument!

The Lincoln Memorial!

And a really cool tree.

While at the Lincoln Memorial, someone asked me to take pictures of them which I did gladly. Dude then proceeded to pose in no less than 10 different ways for the pictures including laying on the steps going up to the monument, looking off into the distance "thoughtfully" and sitting on the steps while holding his chin in his hand. It was pretty amazing. :)

The day that I left I decided to take advantage of the second free hour of time and I went to one of the Smithsonians! Don't you love how all of the museums in DC are FREE?! Here were some of the hightlights for me:

Thought provoking signs!

The original muppets!

One of Abraham Lincoln's hats!

This belonged to George Washington!

THESE WERE ON JUDY GARLAND'S FEET IN THE WIZARD OF OZ!!!

And while I do keep my work life completely out of this blog, I do have to share this one picture of my time on Capitol Hill-

Oh, the irony. :)

Anywho, that was me being a baller in DC last month! Don't worry, I gave Barack your regards. :)

Fill it up again

2011-10-12T02:00:00.000-04:00

I was looking at a friend's photo album on the 'book and it was full of beautiful pictures of the trip that she and her baby daughter took to visit her family in Guatemala. The pictures were full of generations of loved ones sitting around laughing, kissing, hugging and talking- just full on loving each other. The pictures showed such a raw sense of comfort and peace that they filled me with happiness just looking at them.

If I looked at the pictures of me and my family, would our pictures look the same? I doubt that we love each other any less than those pictured in my friend's album but do we really treasure and relish our time together like we should? Now, I know that the pictures in said album were from a family reunion of sorts in another country and that there were lots of factors that added up to the happiness they experienced- not seeing each other very often because of living in different countries, for one. But I'm still so struck by how beautifully simple and lovely the entire expression between them was.

I am having this practically all-consuming urge to simplify- to slow down and experience life. To be alone in nature and to take in all of it- the smells of flowers, the sounds of animals and the shade of trees. I want to read a book leisurely and take the time to contemplate it and show what I've learned from it through my life. I want to feel so completely at peace and full that when someone sees a picture of me with my family the first word that comes to their mind is LOVE.

What is it with American society that keeps us all so rushed and our calendars so full that looking at all there is to do could very well cause an anxiety attack? Note that I am not pointing fingers here, I'm guilty of all of this- BIG TIME. I often think, and it's often said to me, that things will calm down after graduate school. Will it? Just this week I sent an Outlook request to a friend for us to take French lessons- and the request was dated for January 2013! I've also put in my calendar to begin taking tap dance classes again in fall of 2012- when I'll be done with the coursework portion of school.

French lessons and tap dance classes are nothing to be stressed out about- I get that. But I sit here and wonder- will they help to fill me up? Will I enjoy my time more when I'm doing those fun things versus going to graduate school? Or will they be two more things to block out time on my calendar for and to work other things around? Will I feel guilt for spending that time on myself versus on my family? Will my mind be filled with what I "should" be doing while I'm there instead of what I am actually doing?

I've got this one life to live and I want it to be so beautifully full that I can't handle it. But can beautiful and full co-exist?

When you walk through the valley, I will be with You.

2011-10-11T00:05:00.002-04:00

When I heard that October 11 was National Coming Out Day, I knew I wanted to be involved but wasn’t sure how much I could share. See, I think it’s cathartic and good and necessary to share yourself with others but there do indeed have to be some barriers when it comes to the internet, where everything is viewable by everyone. So, here’s some of my story that I feel like I can share in this forum.

My sister and I were raised Southern Baptist and while my mom taught love at home, fear was the lesson of choice at our church. On Sundays, my sister would give me a dime of my $1.00 a week allowance for tithing and we’d walk in our best clothes to church. Once there, we were taught about hell and how if we didn’t ask Jesus to come into our hearts that we would all burn in a hot pool of lava and fire for all of eternity with the murderers, homosexuals and all the other people that God hated and had separated from Himself. Every night I would pray over and over again for Jesus to forgive me of my sins. I was so afraid of spending eternity in hell that I thought I’d invented a full-proof prayer that could keep me from it- “Jesus, please forgive me for all the sins I’ve ever committed and for all the sins I ever will commit. I ask this in Your holy name, Amen.”

I was always so confused by the description of the scary, terrorizing God that I learned about in Sunday School versus the kind, loving Jesus Who I was quite certain I felt at work in my heart. I never understood how such different entities could be the same…how could goodness and light be scary and evil? I didn’t question this dichotomy because of the lack of obedience that I equated to this action- after all, we were taught in church that questioning God shows lack of faith in Him, another thing that would definitely put you in hell. (It’s fair to say that I’ve spent most of my life trying to stay out of hell, thanks to the teachings of conservative churches.) I never wanted to be viewed as unfaithful and I certainly would never tell anybody about the less than perfect thoughts that I had (according to what I had been taught) for fear of the judgment and wrath that I would surely face. Little did I know that those reactions would come to me sooner rather than later.

Throughout high school, it became increasingly obvious to me that I didn’t like boys the way that my friends did and I struggled internally with this for more years than I didn’t. When I was 19 years old though, my world got flipped upside down in a way that I couldn’t deny when my grandma was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. One day, nearly 18 months after her diagnosis, the two of us were sitting together in her hospital room when the doctor came in and told us that she indeed would never leave that hospital and that my grandma had just weeks to live. I felt like I had been run over by a train. When I got home that night. I got down on my knees and prayed to God to save me, again, and to get rid of the demons inside of me that kept me from Him. My grandma died the next month. The day of her funeral I decided that the me that was bad and dirty and destined to hell- the real me who was gay- was never going to come out and that I was going to make my grandmother proud by pursuing a virtuous, Christian life.

By the time I was 25, I had made a life for myself that wasn’t my own but one that I knew would be both applauded and revered. In addition to teaching high school Spanish, I worked as a part-time youth ministry volunteer in a very conservative, suburban church where I helped with international missions, led a high school girls’ Bible study and taught Sunday school. I went to evangelism training conferences and once in downtown Chicago I approached a homeless man on the street with whom I shared the Good News of Jesus Christ. I prayed and voted for George W. Bush, believed that Eve brought sin to both Adam and all of humanity and signed a petition at church against gay marriage.

During these years, and indeed to this day, I felt a strong call to pursue international mission work as a profession and was encouraged by many in my church family to start the process, including a personal invitation to serve at a homeless shelter in Perú where I had volunteered during two missions trips. However, when asked in the application paperwork “Have you ever had homosexual thoughts or tendencies?” I knew that I couldn’t answer honestly and resigned myself to never serving as a missionary, even though I had felt so strongly called to do so. Shortly thereafter another opportunity arose and I was asked to travel to Louisiana to interview (a formality, of course) for a position with a Christian, non-profit organization. By some strange coincidence or, better yet, an act of God, I declined the offer and chose instead to work for a local non-profit in Cincinnati, one without any church affiliation, developing training curriculum and managing adult volunteers- two things I had no experience with.

While working at said non-profit, I blossomed. I found people who laughed at my crazy stories and didn’t follow them up with “What did Jesus teach you through that?” I found acceptance and love in a way that God’s children had never shown me. Not at all because they didn’t want to or weren’t capable of doing so but because I never gave them an honest version of myself to get to know.

While working there, not only did I find myself but I found my love. I saw her walking through a set of doors one day and I remember instantly thinking that my life would never be the same. At that moment, I knew the charade was up. I fell in love at first sight and through no choosing of my own, I wasn’t willing to lie anymore. Three months later, I came out to my mom. I couldn’t lie one more day about who I was to her.

Just days after I came out to my mom, an elder of the church (I’ll call him Henry) where I continued to volunteer found out that I was a lesbian. The months that followed were a mix of extremes like I had never known. I was falling deeper in love with this woman I had met while at the same time I was being harassed by Henry through e-mails, constant phone calls and voice messages. I was repeatedly reminded what the Bible says about my “decisions” and was told that surely the one I love had taken advantage of me both emotionally and sexually; I was told that the mission of the non-profit that I worked for is to develop liberal, activist lesbians (along with statistical “data” to prove this case) and to quit my job there immediately before any more brainwashing could occur; I was forbidden to participate in any church activities and was told to have no communication with the young girls who I had mentored for the past five years- the girls that I loved and cherished and cared about more than I had ever cared for anyone outside of my family. I was hurt by my church family in ways that I never knew existed and hope to never feel again.

Not only had I been taught by the Southern Baptist church of my childhood and subsequently by the conservative Presbyterian church that I volunteered in to never question God or the elders of the church but, as a woman of faith, I was gently instructed to stay quiet and to not make too much noise. Women in conservative churches are more often than not dominated by this commandment and as proof to it’s biblical backing are referred to Paul’s teachings in 1 Corinthians 14: 34-35:

Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in church.

This was sometimes tough for me to follow as I come from a loving, yet loudly opinionated, family but I didn’t want to show a lack of faith by disobeying God or His men. After all, it was Eve (read: all women) who brought sin to Adam (read: all men) not the other way around. I didn’t want to speak out and cause any more trouble than she already had.

What my church didn’t realize though was that this commandment to remain silent as a God-fearing woman would backfire. Through all of the harassing e-mails, phone calls and voice messages, I decided to follow that old, wrongly taught line of Paul’s and decided to keep my mouth shut when I was being commanded (not by God) to answer for my actions. When Henry told me to come to his house for counseling, I didn’t reply. When I got warning that a member of the church would be making their way to my apartment for an intervention, I made myself absent. When I was told to never meet with any of the girls without explicit permission from their parents, I obeyed. I remained silent all but once when I sent a cordial two-line e-mail to Henry:

Thank you for your time and attention, Henry. I don't wish to talk to you about this aspect of my life but I appreciate knowing you're there.

In Christ,

Kara

For the first time in my 25 years, I had taken a teaching from the Bible that I had never understood nor agreed with but had followed so blindly and used it to my advantage. For years, I tried my best to obey silently because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do; now I used my silence as a way to guard and protect myself from any more possible hurt that my church family could hurl at me. I also knew that I had to do my best to try and hold onto my life, no matter how much I felt like it was trying to be taken from me. At 25, I wanted my silence to show my church family that I was strong and in charge and that I didn’t need them like I used to. I wanted them to see that I was an independent adult and that I was capable of discerning my relationship with Jesus without them.

My silence was powerful but it was also binding and to this day is marred with more regret then I'll EVER be able to express in words. Though I wanted to use my silence as a way to show my church family that I had the courage and strength to be myself, I actually displayed weakness and conformity by cowering to their wishes of staying away. I didn’t pick up the phone when those young girls I had cared and prayed for, and to this day love so much, would call and leave messages asking what they had done because I had abandoned them. I cried over the cards I got in the mail from friends at church I had counseled and prayed with because I knew that they were now holding prayer circles for me. I wasn’t there to comfort one of the girls I mentored when she came out as a lesbian… I wasn’t there for any of them.

Not only did my silence greatly affect those I cared for and loved, it taught me a lot about myself in the process. I needed to show myself that I didn’t need my church family anymore and that I was going to be ok being exactly who I was made to be. And, more than anything, I needed God to answer the prayer that I had given up to Him for so many years- that if I was all alone and afraid, that He would be enough for me. Though the hurt of that year haunts me to this day, I’m certain that without it God wouldn’t have convinced me, once and for all, that I’m His. And for that, I’m grateful.

{10 on 10} October 2011

2011-10-10T14:12:00.000-04:00

It's the 10th of the month which means it's time for 1 picture every hour for ten consecutive hours! Here's a bit of my day today; for the complete listing of all the super fun blogs participating in this project from around the world, click here.

Tanks- hehe. :)

What?! You've never had Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream? Shame on you...

Hope you enjoyed those pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them! I resisted big time from taking ten pictures of leaves on trees because Cincinnati is so freaking pretty in the fall... maybe next month you'll get all leaf pictures. :)

Don't forget that tomorrow, October 11, is National Coming Out Day! Encourage those around you to love themselves and each other and to lift each other up in encouragement. You can also stop by my little piece of the blogosphere to read some of my personal story tomorrow.

xoxo,

Too Twisted for Color TV

2011-10-07T09:07:00.005-04:00

How do you spend the morning drive to work? Well, today I spent mine playing with my newly found Bluetooth and talking to myself in Blanche Deveroe.

Guess what! Kim called me back!

What can I say? It's an exciting life I live. :)

Have a good weekend! Don't forget about National Coming Out Day next Tuesday and all of the fun blogs that are participating. :)

Get OUT!

2011-10-05T10:25:00.000-04:00

Ever heard of National Coming Out Day? I hadn't until last year and I now kinda love the idea. Here's the history of the day, according to Human Rights Campaign (HRC):

On Oct. 11, 1987, half a million people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It was the second such demonstration in our nation’s capital and resulted in the founding of a number of LGBT organizations, including the National Latino/a Gay & Lesbian Organization (LLEGÓ) and AT&T’s LGBT employee group, LEAGUE. The momentum continued four months after this extraordinary march as more than 100 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists from around the country gathered in Manassas, Va., about 25 miles outside Washington, D.C. Recognizing that the LGBT community often reacted defensively to anti-gay actions, they came up with the idea of a national day to celebrate coming out and chose the anniversary of that second march on Washington to mark it. The originators of the idea were Rob Eichberg, a founder of the personal growth workshop, The Experience, and Jean O'Leary, then head of National Gay Rights Advocates. From this idea the National Coming Out Day was born.

To this day National Coming Out Day continues to promote a safe world for LGBT individuals to live truthfully and openly.

National Coming Out Day happens every year on October 11- just six days from today! I've been thinking a lot about this and have decided to share a bit of my coming out story on this blog next week. I'm not ready to share the uber personal details yet but I would like to share as much as I feel that I'm able to.

I need to do this for cathartic reasons- I feel like it's both healthy and healing to open up and share what you're feeling and going through. I also hope that perhaps one day another person will stumble across my story and that they're able to relate to it and they'll accept that they're not a freak, like I once felt about myself; that in fact they are completely normal and they're not the only one who feels the way they do. And I hope that in reading my sotry, they feel comfort and believe that you can be a Christian and liberal AND gay... and even though others might tell you otherwise, it's really between you and God.

So, that's what I'm going to do- share a bit of my most vulnerable moments here next week. And to the rest of the lovely LGBT community here in the blogosphere- what do ya say? You IN? :)

How we do birthdays 'round these parts.

2011-10-03T15:36:00.006-04:00

Green Club celebrated a very special day today- the birthday day of our beloved enforcer, Brooke The Higgins!

Her time with us today included klassy tattoos of hot dogs wearing eye patches, yummy food from Asiana, inappropriate text conversations,

gift certificates to sewn studio (aka: best fabric store in town), framed limericks

and collages

plus a lovely photo strip of the whole gang.

Oh yeah, and this little diddy that Kim and I shared with Brooke on the 'book.

Happy birthday, BTH! We love you even if you did go to Cedarville. :)

Gosh, I wish *NSYNC would get back together.

2011-09-27T11:57:00.001-04:00

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack. :)

I'm trying to figure out this whole blog thing and what my role in the blogosphere is. I've got mucho on my mind but do I really want to share the priviate things with people I may never meet or know? That, friends, is the question. And, I'm pretty sure the answer is NO.
See, I'm pretty open about all aspects of my life in real life- the kind that doesn't involve a computer screen. I have been known to cry openly at really great performances by figure skaters at The Olympics (or on Dancing with the Stars...), jam to *NSYNC with all my windows down while driving through the ghetto and even tell fellow co-workers that "my vagina is crying" when I have bad cramps. You see, discretion isn't a word I'm too fond of. :)

But, open on the internet? I just don't know. While I figure out how deep I want to go on this blog though, may I present to you 10 of the randimonious thoughts that are floating around my noggin. Again, the ones that don't include my blood type or social security number. :)

Graduate school is hard. Unless you're an education major because apparently that program is the opposite of hard. Sorry for pissing off all the teachers but you know it's true.
That being said, graduate school seems a lot harder now that I only have one year of classes left vs. when I started last August. Grown up senioritis or professors that want to kill me? I'll let you decide.
I've learned so much about flexibility that I should be a pretzel by now.
When I was in my 20s, my idea of a perfect date night was getting dressed up and going out to dinner. In my 30s, I've discovered that the best date night consists of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup together on a Friday night. That, my friends, is peace and comfort. :)
My ass has gotten huge over the past 12 months. HUGE, I tell you! Good thing we joined the university gym together over the weekend. OY.
I keep trying to get rid of friends. Does that sound horrible? It's not intended to. I've realized over the past couple of years that life is way too short to spend precious time with people that don't fill you up and vice versa. If I could get my Facebook friends down to 10 (besides family, of course), I'd be happy. That being said, if you're reading this and realize that I'm not filling you up either or if you think I'm a jerk- please, just delete me. I won't mind.
I got a charm pack of Halloween fabrics and think I should make something! Table runner or a banner for the mantle? Humm...
Back to #6- I've made several really spectacular friends over the past year and wouldn't trade them for anything. Ok, maybe my goal should be 20 Facebook friends and not 10.
I started taking prenatal vitamins a week ago to grow my nails and hair faster and the day I started taking them I could suddenly put my hair into a pony tail! I don't make these things up, people.
I kinda want to change the world. Good thing we all have the ability to do so. :)

Alright, kids- back to the ol' grind. :)

I'm holding on.

2011-09-15T16:32:00.003-04:00

"In the pain, there is healing. In Your name, I find meaning."

{2011 Photography Project} August = GREEN

2011-08-31T10:52:00.003-04:00

To keep with tradition for this photography project, I decided to take all of my green pictures in one place this month. Welcome to the view from the driver's seat of my car. :)

Next month's color is purple... come back and check out what I find in Washington DC to show you! :)

TTFN

2011-08-28T21:26:00.002-04:00

I've taken a break from blogging lately- obviously. It hasn't been intentional so much as I just haven't been interested in it. I love reading blogs and get excited when I open up Google Reader, especially when I see posts from some of my favorite fellow bloggers. But, me blogging? Eh. Haven't felt like it.

So often blogging sounds, hold onto your keyboards, FAKE to me. I've heard of Facebook being called Fakebook and I often feel the same way about the blogosphere. Not every day is perfect nor does every day include brilliantly taken random pictures. So why do most blogs portray this? Or are others' lives really that perfect and the joke's on us? Gosh, I hope not.

I feel like if we all truly and honestly blogged about our feelings and emotions, fears and hopes, it'd be refreshing and we'd grow leaps and bounds. But who is going to do that? I was once inspired by a blog/Facebook friend to live in a real, transparent and vulnerable way and I've been doing my darndest to do that. But even she stopped blogging. That's not terribly encouraging. I also have another blog and Facebook friend who has opened her heart up to the blog world and has indeed shown her real and vulnerable self, but even those posts are all password protected (note: I would do the same thing if I was her). Do we really have to protect ourselves from others' reactions so much that we have to censor our writing or, at times, stop writing all together?

Anyway, I guess all of this rambling is to say that I'm going back to real writing for a while. You know, the kind with paper and pen. Journaling was always such a great outlet to release my thoughts in the past and it has most definitely gone by the wayside as life and its obligations snuck in. So, I'm going old school. And instead of transferring those personal feelings onto this web page for the world to see and contemplate and not respond to, I'll share them with the real people whose feedback I relish and crave.

Won't you do the same?

{10 on10!} August 2011

2011-08-10T15:18:00.001-04:00

Time for another 10 on 10! This is where on the 10th of each month, you take a picture an hour for ten consecutive hours and then post them on your blog. Then, just for kicks, link to the main 10 on 10 blog (to see all of this month's 10 on 10 entries from around the globe, click here).

Here's a little bit of my life today, on the 10th of August 2011, using the oh so lovely Hipstamatic app on Blanche Deveroe. :)

Read it all together, friends. :)

Now I'm off to look at all of your lovely 10 on 10 pictures! :)

Because Kate Spain said so.

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

As you know, I've recently discovered and fallen in love with Kate Spain fabrics! I may have bought some at a local fabric store and I may be posting some project pictures in the near future (and about that AMAZING store) too. :) I've also discovered, via her blog, that she has two kitties that she loves as much as we love ours! So much so that she's started Furry Friday where she'll post pictures of her little guys. Uh... WAIT. Did Kate Spain just give me an excuse to post even more pictures of our cats on this blog than I already do? I think so!

Folks, welcome to my first installment of...

FURRY FRIDAY!

Meet our kitties, Michael and Jackson.

Michael Alexander P. Keaton Leigh- age, 3 years and 3 months

Jackson June Carter- age, 3 years 4 months

We love these boys an insane amount. They have Halloween costumes (oh, just wait until October for those pictures!), clothes for every season and have even gotten their pictures taken with Santa, Mrs. Clause and their human cousins. This is what happens before you have kids, people. It's inevitable.

And just in case our true nerdiness isn't being shown as clearly here as it should be (has that ever really been a problem?), here's a little video of an exciting night at our house. This is Mike playing around in his new cube, making noises and eating cat-nip. Hold onto your seats, kids- it's gonna get CRAZY.

<p>http://www.youtube.com/embed/YwxbSPonSCo</a>" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></p>

What can I say, we're a couple of wild and crazy girls. ;)

On that note, I feel like I should go drink a glass of white wine and read a bit on rhetoric to redeem myself. But, since I've got two whole weeks off before graduate classes start again, I think we all know that I'll probably be drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper and playing the Smurf game on my iPod, Blanche Deveroe.

Klassy- it's a way of life, people:)

Take me home, country roads...

2011-08-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

Since it's August, I decided that's a good time to post pictures from the 4th of July weekend. Because that makes sense- right? :)
We spent a long weekend with Heather's parents at their mountain house and it was beautiful. We went to an arts and crafts fair, to a local artist co-op, took a train ride up a mountain, camped out + mucho mas. We had a blast! Here an abbreviated photo diary of the trip. :)

Hope you're having a beautiful summer as well. :)

My Woman Cave (get your mind out of the gutter, people)

2011-08-02T10:13:00.002-04:00

I'm still kinda on a high from our new lovely grey walls in the master bedroom (ah...) so I decided to share what's been going on in the den too!

We painted the den a full year ago- I know, bad blogger for just now posting pictures! For that being the smallest room in the house (save the bathrooms and laundry room) it was the biggest mother to paint, hands DOWN (probably because of all of the ~~crap~~ treasures we had stuffed in there). Here's some pictures of the old digs to bring you up to speed.

from the weekend we moved in- who ever thought that color was a good idea?!

HATE mini-blinds!!!

And here's how the room looked last August before we cleared it out to start painting-

holy disorganization!

As you'll remember from this post of yore, we painted the room Martha Stewart's lovely shade of Hummingbird Blue.

After we got the paint on the walls came the fun part- DECORATING! It's important to note that we painted the den all of two weeks before I started graduate school last year, you know- when all the fun stopped. So that's got MUCHO to do with just now posting these follow-up pictures... and the fact that it's a year later and the room still isn't completely done. And, since we're on the topic of the room not being totally done I think it's only fair to not post pictures of every nook and cranny until it is. You know, to keep the mystery alive. :)

Anywho, here are a few pictures of our in-process den!

hehe... just kidding! that's what the den looked like when we shoved everything from the master bedroom in there for painting last weekend. :)

Here is what the den really looks like today!

laptop + can of Diet Dr. Pepper = keeping it REAL

There's a lot left to do in there, including hanging some pictures on the walls and adding a chair in the corner that isn't visible in the picture. We did have a white IKEA chair in that corner but as it's now taking up residence in the bedroom, we've got a big ol' hole in the room there. We do have a comfy brown chair with no arms in another room that I think will work nicely there, once I slip cover it. That being said... anyone have any tips on slipcovering armless chairs? :)

Let me tell you, re-using furniture from other rooms (or the garage) plus a coat of paint is the most economical way to give a room a make-over! I think it's often easy to look at magazines and on the internet and see such great things for the home but get discourged at the prices. Peeps, there are so many ways to have a fun room without breaking the bank! Here are some ways that we did it in the den:

Painted an old dresser white and placed it in the room for more storage and as a fun place to set the tv- no cost for the paint, as it was left over from another project.
Dusted the old futon frame in the garage off and brought it upstairs. Snagged both the mattress and grey cover on sale.
Took an IKEA shelf from another room and found a new home for it in the den- no cost.
Placed some pretty postcards from West Virginia in cheap-o Target frames.

Transferred some of our pretty flower pictures from our trip to Costa Rica onto canvas using a really affordable internet site (Google.com is your friend, people).

Easy peasy, folks.

This, hands down, is my favorite room of the house! I spend A LOT of time in there as it's where I do my work for graduate school, in addition to grading the millions (exagerate much?) of essays that my students turn in so I wanted the room to be comfortable, functional and, of course, to reflect our personalities. I think we accomplished all three. :)

Man, posting this blog makes me really want to get this room DONE! I think some slip cover making and picture hanging may be in my near future... :)

Yay for GREY!

2011-08-01T19:19:00.005-04:00

If you know anything about me, you know that my two biggest loves are sewing and decorating! Well, besides God, Heather and my family, of course. :) We've owned our home for three years now (can't believe how quickly the time has flown...) and as of three days ago, the only rooms that were their original builder's flat white in color were the master bedroom, master bath and laundry room. Check out our bedroom from the weekend we moved in back in 2008-

Have I ever mentioned that I HATE mini-blinds? UGH.

Well, we snagged a great deal on the cutest Martha Stewart quilt and shams ever and decided that it was high time to get those walls painted! We made a unanimous (you know, all two of us) decision to never paint a room again and hired a great painter that was recommended to us by a friend. Let me tell ya, if you're looking for a painter in the Cincinnati area this is your guy. Luuuurve him.

Anywho.
We've been wanting a grey bedroom for as long as I can remember and decided to go with Light French Grey from Behr.

Then Saturday came and we got out of the man's way and let him get to work! My goodness, it was a wonderful feeling. :)

I considered not showing pictures of the bedroom until it was "finished" (you know, with pictures and mirrors and what not) but as I did take the process pledge (see the button on the left!) I'll stay true to my word and show things as they happen and not just the final product.
Soooo, here's our master bedroom so far! With a little help from Picassa to see what it will look like in the future too. :)

view from the top of the bed

looking across the room- hold your horses, we're painting the doors white!

that mirror will be a total DIY project- can't wait!

Michael's really camera shy- can't you tell? :)

our existing curtains work great with the new color. ps- not sure why the edge looks frayed in the picture... it's not in real life.

I love the grey walls so much!!! Yes, we've still got a bit to do but what a HUGE difference!

In addition to having the walls painted, re-arranging the furniture and adding the new bedding we also moved one of our white, slip covered IKEA chairs from the den into the bedroom this weekend.

How ya like that pillow? It's an old feed sack!

how ya like those red toenails too? :)

Couldn't have been easier to make either- I bought it an an antique fair a few weeks back for $10 (I could have haggled but it was just too hot, people), washed it, cut it in half, stuffed it, sewed it up and voila! A fun pillow for the bedroom. Plus, I have enough to make another pillow if I ever have a hankering for another feed sack pillow in the house.

So, blog friends, there you have it- our in process master bedroom! Time to get sewing those pillows for the trunk... :)

No, I didn't take any of these pictures- please don't sue me. :)

2011-07-27T11:53:00.004-04:00

The title of this post could also be "Procrastinatiooooooooooon" but I anticipated (HA!) that people wouldn't sing it like Carly Simon would. And since my blog is read by so many (hi, mom!) I thought I should in fact put out the disclaimer that I lifted all of the following pictures from the world wide web so I don't get sued for millions.

There.

Now that that's out of the way. :)

I've recently stumbled upon Kate Spain's blog and I'm in LOVE! I kinda wanna pour maple syrup all over her fabrics and roll around in them.

Too much?

I know...

Anywho, take a look at some of her gorgeous fabrics-

Central Park. Oh.My.Word. I want this. I neeeeeeeeeeed this.

These prints are so happy! And pretty!

Take a look at her Fandango fabric.

DROOL...

I think it's due time to forget about all of life's responsibilities, buy some of these lovelies and get to sewing! The rest of the work will just do itself... right? :)

The post in which I ramble like a crazy woman and share no pictures to break up the monotony.

2011-07-26T11:29:00.003-04:00

If you've made it past that stellar title, good for you. :)

My word, I am TIRED. Tired as in sleepy, sure (don't ask what time I woke up this morning), but just tired of the business of it all. I have always enjoyed staying busy in one fashion or another- as an undergrad it was going to school full time, working almost full time, volunteering my butt of at chuch and mentoring a host of young ladies + life; now, as a graduate student, it's working full time in my career, going to school full time, adjuncting at a local community college + life as an adult (you know- responsibilities, mortgage, laundry, grocery shopping, yadda, yadda, yadda).

It all seemed like such a good idea at the time. Isn't that how all plans start? :) I can go to graduate school and carry a 4.0 GPA while working full time and doing my darndest to excel professionally! An opportunity to interview for a great part-time college teaching position?! Yes, PLEASE! Oh, wait... I got that gig? And my career is keeping me busier than a one armed man in a paper hanging contest? And, wait- there's that killer graduate school part too. Oh, yes, and life- you know, my relationship, family and friends. I don't need to experience relaxation and calm and shoulders that aren't tight and tense. Shoooooooooot. I got this.

Is the insanity of how I'm experiencing life right now properly translating into the words on this blog post?

Needless to say, I'm feeling a little burned out. It just all seems like so much right now. And in addition to working, teaching, going to school and trying to live life I've got to find un monton de professors to work on my graduate research with me and then write two 15 page papers to present to them within the next couple of months to convince them to work with me. Just because I find them doesn't mean they think I'm cool enough to work with. And, frankly, my coolness is just dripping off of the computer screen as I type- isn't it?

I kinda wanna scream a little.

Or take a nap.

I know I'll get it all done. I know I'll graduate in a year with my Masters and a great GPA; ~~I know~~ I hope I do good teaching; I REALLY hope my professional career keeps going well and that it moves in the direction that I want it to go. These things are givens because I won't accept anything less from my life.

But, right now...

right now I'm tired. :(

FREEDOM

2011-07-25T10:02:00.000-04:00

When you hear someone say that the sanctity of marriage would be tarnished if gays and lesbians were given the legal right to marry, show them the picture below of these beautiful newleyweds in New York last weekend.

PLEASE TELL ME WHY THIS RIGHT IS EVEN UP FOR DEBATE.

Good Company

2011-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

My mom, sister and I looooooove going to the BonBonerie for brunch. My sister has actually gone there once a month for the past 8 years (age of the girls) for some quiet time while my mom watches the kids. I've been going there lately for lunch too because I've decided that life is too short to not use the good china. Ok, that is totally out of context but you get the idea. :)

Anywho, here are some pictures of our latest afternoon out at our favorite tea shop!

Man, I love those babies. :)

Once upon a time...

2011-07-18T18:04:00.000-04:00

I heard of a way to burn 1,000 calories in just an hour! "How?!", you are probably screaming at the computer right now. The answer- HOT YOGA.

No, no- not that kind of hot yoga! Hot Yoga is where you do yoga in a hot room. Shooooooooooot, I can do that! I lived in the jungles of Peru, for crying out loud! An hour in the suburbs doing stretches ain't got nothin' on me!

So, I found a hot yoga studio near my house and off I went! Look how excited I was!

Ah, the face of ignorance...

When I got to the yoga studio, I should have known that I stuck out like a brown shoe at a wedding. See, I went straight to the front desk and ~~yelled~~ said "Hi! I'm here to sign up for my first ever hot yoga class!". The front desk clerk shushed me and pointed to a sign that said "No Talking". Yikes. Anywho, we whispered for a while, I paid my fee and in 5 minutes I was on my way into the hot yoga room!

Yeah... this is where the story goes south. The temperature in the room was 106 DEGREES. Say what? I laid on my mat for 15 minutes before the ~~torture~~ class started and already my belly started feeling a little woozy. Then, the magic happened- the actual class started. After about 15 more minutes of standing on one foot with my hands over my head, I got that terrible watery feeling in my mouth... you know- the one where you're going to hurl everywhere. I went to the instructor and whispered (I learned my lesson last time) "I'm sorry, but I need to step out for a moment", the whole time willing myself not to throw up on him. He suggested that I sit down for a while. I responded that that sounded like a good idea but that I needed to, ahem, BARF and should probably excuse myself. His reponse? "Fine but don't come back." Done and DONE.

Needless to say, I left the inferno and tossed my cookies in the bathroom. Then I got in my car and went to the nearest McDonald's to comfort myself with a fountain Coke. Unfortunately, I was on the verge of up-chucking all night. Which you can plainly see in this picture-

And while that looks pretty darn pathetic, THIS is actually how I felt-

Moral of this post, folks? If an exercise routine says that you can burn 1,000 calories in an hour it's not because those calories are burned off, it's more like they're... well, you know.

WWJD?

2011-07-17T10:00:00.001-04:00

Probably not PLANK at church. :)

Junk in the Trunk Planking

2011-07-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Wednesday. :)

A little piece of heaven.

2011-07-12T09:28:00.003-04:00

Simple patchwork quilts are my favorite to sew- remember these two that I shared on the blog a while back?

Brady's birthday quilt

Super dooper scrappy quilt

I'm not a huge fan of cutting fabric but, let me tell you, I can cute a mean square. :) There are also SO many different combinations of fabrics that you can use to make a pattern out of the squares. Anywho, square patchwork quilts = mi favorito!

I typically never use patterns for anything I sew- like these quilts I sewed for the girls' birthday last year.

Laura

Molly

Oh.My.Gosh. Have they really grown that much in one year?! *sniff*

Sorry.

I digress.

Anyway, the girls' quilts obviously were made out of triangles and not squares but I wanted to share a large project that I didn't use a pattern for along with that same project which taught me the hard way that I am square in my heart and should never try to be anything other than that.

Hehe.

I'm off track again.

ANYWAY! The one thing that always confuses me when buying fabric for patchwork quilts is how much to buy. I've researched it online and looked in books but all of the formulas I've found are uber confusing. Luckily for me, Crazy Mom Quilts has posted the sizes of quilts on her blog:

A nice baby size quilt is around 42" x 52"
For a square baby quilt, anywhere from 36" to 42" works well
A crib quilt measures 45" x 60"
A nice lap size quilt is 60" x 72"
Twin size, 63" x 88"
Full size, 78" x 88"
Queen, 84" x 92"
King, 100" x 92"

She answers the following question about how to figure out the exact number of squares needed (note: charms= 5" squares):

"...how many charms will I need to make a twin size quilt?"

A charm square= 5".
Take away 1/2" (for seam allowances) and your finished square will equal 4.5".
63" (width of quilt) divided by 4.5" (finished square)=14
88" (length of quilt) divided by 4.5" (finished square)=19.56, which would round up to 20.
So 14 x 20=280 charm squares. Your layout will be 14 blocks wide by 20 blocks long. The quilt will measure 63" x 90".

Long story short, you'll need 280 5" squares for a twin size quilt. Or, what sounds even better, 140 10" squares. :)

Now that I cracked the code on that mother, I decided to figure out the number of 5" squares you'll need for each size to share with y'all. Cuz I'm a gem like that. :)

Baby size quilt= 108 five-inch squares
Square baby quilt= 8 five-inch squares
Crib quit= 130 five-inch squares
Lap quilt= 208 five-inch squares
Twin size quilt= 280 five-inch squares
Full size quilt= 340 five-inch squares
Queen size quilt= 399 five-inch squares
King size quilt= 462 five-inch squares

Alright girls- who's coming over to sew?! :)

Although my heart is torn...

2011-07-11T09:54:00.001-04:00

On my way to work today, this Casting Crowns song came on the radio at just the right time.

I will continue to praise Him, no matter what I'm feeling.

PLANKING = love

2011-07-09T14:12:00.006-04:00

Yes, you read the title correctly- I am now a planker. According to the all knowing Wikipedia, planking "is an activity, popular in various parts of the world, consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body, and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game. Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The location should also be as public as possible, and as many people as possible should be involved.^"

Basically, you lay on your belly with your arms to your sides and people take pictures. And you post them on the internet. Seeing as how I have ZERO athletic ability, this is exactly the hobby for me. :)

Here's my first attempt at planking in a frozen yogurt shop-

I wasn't terribly excited by that one though so we did another picture outside in the parking lot.

Now, that's the stuff! BTW- did you know that asphalt gets really hot in the summer? Who knew?

Have you planked before? If not, what are you waiting for?! If you can lay down, you can plank. I've been trying to convince everyone to lurve my new hobby as much as I do. And I'm strong-arming people into planking with me, so watch out. Kimbo, the photographer behind my planking greatness, tried to convince her husband, Randy, (they're the duo behind Hitched and Stitched) to plank... here was his virtual attempt.

He's a doozy. And, yes, his name is Randy Q. Awesome- because he is. :)

Well, there you have it! My first attempt at planking... besides those practice pictures that I shall never speak of again. :)

Please, oh please, won't you plank with me?! :)

{2011 Photography Project} June = BLACK

2011-06-30T14:08:00.004-04:00

It's time to participate in An Offering of Love's photography project! Have you heard about it? Basically, each month is given a color and during that month you're to take pictures of things that are that color to share when the month is up. I've decided that each month I'm going to take pictures of just one place for the project (in March all of the pictures were from inside my house and the pictures in April were all from Easter Sunday). Unfortunately, here we are on June 30th and I juuuuust barely remembered to take pictures for this month! So, you get pictures of my office for two months in a row. Waa, waa, waaaaaaaaaa. ;)

June's color was BLACK- enjoy!

It's so shocking looking at the collage from this month vs. last month's! In case you missed it, here's a smaller version of what last month's photo collage looked like (the color for May was yellow):

WOWZA! BIG change! I was feeling like my office was looking a bit like Romper Room so I de-cluttered biiiiiiiig time this week and added some pretty prints and a lamp from IKEA. Now it's much more stream lined, as you can tell from the transformation. It's kind of amazing what a change to your surroundings, even just visually, can do for you. I'm enjoying being at my desk so much more now! :)

I've got mucho to share with y'all but this is my last day of work before we head to Pocahontas County, West Virginia for five days!!! We are leaving tonight and I can't wait. Heather's family has a mountain house there which means we have the luxury of spending time in the beautiful surroundings of the West Virginia countryside whenever we'd like to but we often don't get the chance to with our busy schedules. So, we're taking full advantage of our time away this week! While there we'll be doing lots of fishing, taking walks and camping (!), we'll go to a state-wide arts festival and hit up the local artist co-op too. We'll also spend some time on Snowshoe Mountain for their annual 4th of July fireworks. And of course I'll be doing lesson plans here and there too. Can't wait to share it all with y'all next week! :)

Have a GREAT 4th of July weekend!

Kara

Lesson Learned

2011-06-23T14:49:00.002-04:00

My friend, Kim, and I were coming back to the office after lunch when I almost ran over a grown man crusing down the road on a tricycle. A TRICYCLE, people- with a flag. He ran a stop sign, I stopped in the middle of the intersection to avoid flattening his a*s doing the whole "mom reach" over Kim and the whole time he just rode past us smirking. It was quite a sight...

Later, Kim was saying how she wished she would gotten a video of the whole thing when I remembered that we indeed DO have videos of every day hijinks in my car! Here are some little diddies we recorded a couple of summers back when it was taking us a million years to get out of a parking garage after a Reds game-

Don't you love that graphic I used to signify being born? KLASSY. :)

Haven't had enough yet, huh? Ok... here's another.

Alright- it's official. I will now begin to take random videos from my car and post them on my blog to embarrass myself share with you. You've been warned. ;)

Preparando

2011-06-22T14:25:00.007-04:00

I start teaching English Composition II a week from today!!! So excited... and wondering if ignorance is indeed bliss. :) Tonight is orientation for the new adjunt faculty where we get our BlackBoard access, id. badges, etc.

I'm been most focused the past couple of weeks on developing my class syllabus. It's actually been a lot of fun... but I'm still not done! Eeek!

All of the writing assignments for my class will revlove around either controversial terms or human rights issues. I'd like to put as much multimedia in as possible so I've been scavaging YouTube like nobody's business.

At least I have Mike around for inspiration and motivation! He's been such a big help...

Going...

GONE! :)

World's BEST Icing!

2011-06-21T08:00:00.004-04:00

I made a three layer cake a few weeks back- WHOA! While making said cake, I realized that this was the first "traditional" cake I had ever made on my own. I've made old fashion sugar cream cakes, coffee cakes... but never a cake from a box. Blasphemy, I tell you.

Anywho, I decided to share with you my my mom's recipe for butter cream icing! It's amaaaazing.

Like how I blurred out the last name? All thanks to my part-time lover, Picassa. :)

Ingredients:

4 sticks of butter, softened (I like to let mine warm up on the stove, sometimes I microwave to speed along the process)
2 lbs of confectioner sugar
2 tsp vanilla (don't get imitation vanilla, people)
3 tsp of milk (to start with)

Put all except for the confectioner sugar in a blender and mix until combined. Then, change the speed to SLOW on your blender and SLOWLY add the confectioner sugar. Don't forget the SLOW part, other wise you will end up with a thick coating of white, pillowy sugar on everything in your kitchen- including inside your nose, ears and eyeballs, to name just a few. Switch to SLOW people- trust me.

I digress.

Back to the recipe.

Add additional milk as needed to get the perfect consistency for icing. The result?

Enough buttery goodness to make Paula Deen pee her pants.

This icing couldn't be easier to make and I haven't found a soul who didn't like it. Plus, the color has just the slightest tint of yellow to make it pretty enough to not add food coloring to. Though I do like to add a few shakes of shimmery glitter sprinkles myself. :)

This icing works great for any cake or cupcake... or to just keep in a bowl in the fridge when you need a spoonful of sinful goodness. Ahem.

Happy baking!

Mama Mia

2011-06-20T08:00:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned, my mom was in the hospital last week. Over the past year, Mom's been in the hospital several times- a big change from the first 59 years of her life when, as she says, "I went to the hospital twice and both times came back with babies." :)

Last year, I was rocked to my core when Mom first got sick. She had always taken care of everyone (EVERYone- not just our family) and was a nurse for 30 years... I just couldn't get my heart to understand that she wasn't invincible.

I felt like my heart was breaking. At times, I couldn't even believe that I was remembering to breathe- everything just seemed so wrong and scary. It was completely life changing.

So, when I got the call from my sister last Monday afternoon to meet her and my mom at the door to the ER with a wheelchair ASAP, my emotions immediately welled up inside of me and I became terrified once again that I was minutes away from losing my mom.

Something crazy happened this time though... I didn't lose it. I stayed alert and listened to what was happening so that I could try to help my mom. I didn't cry. And not because I was ashamed to but because I knew that I had a job to do. I was to take care of my mom to the best of my ability.

Now, I'm not saying that last week was easy in the least. And with just about everybody I encountered, besides my mom, I had an extremely short fuse. I am not at all proud of that. But I am grateful that I was able to keep it together, except while in the loving comfort of Heather's arms. It's kind of amazing the difference a year can make.

Before taking Mom home on Thursday, a nurse said to me "You're a great daughter". I did my best to be respectful and not look at her like she was nuts when I replied "No, SHE is a great mom." Over the past year, my sister and I have had the gift of taking care of our mom in some ways we hadn't before. I can't imagine anything else I'd rather do to show my love and appreciation for this amazing woman God has blessed our family with.

For Grandpa.

2011-06-19T13:45:00.000-04:00

Today is Father's Day which hasn't meant a whole lot to me in a long time. I was raised by my mom with a strong helping of sisterly guidance by my sis who is 8.5 years older than me. So, no father = Father's Day is just any other day of the year.

I spent some time with my mom yesterday and we were looking through some of her old pictures and writing on the backs who they are of. You know, in case she croaks and nobody knows who's in the pictures. ;) We came across several of my grandpa and his brother, Clayton, that I just had to take some pictures of to share since I'm not sure when I'll be scanning them in (Starting the gig as an English Composition instructor at a local community college in less than two weeks, in addition to my full-time job and life. Oy.).

I digress.

Back to reflections on Father's Day.

My grandpa was my main man for the first seven years of my life. He baby-sat me until I went to kindergarten and gave me Coke in my bottles. He thought that since he liked it, I would too. :)

My grandpa as a boy. I remember his eyes looking exactly the same so many years later.

My grandpa didn't have an easy life by any means but, man, he loved his family like none other. He was 6'4" and was a true "gentle giant". Soft spoken, loving and kind and so very sensitive.

Grandpa around 12 years old in 1942.

The majority of my memories from my first seven years of life are full of the times that I spent with this man. I remember him sitting on the porch with his neighbor, Geno, while I would play in the front yard or, more often than not, sit on his lap. I remember SO distinctly how he would cross his legs with an ankle over one knee and how I would fit perfectly there with my head against his chest. The memory is so vivid to me that it brings tears to my eyes.

Before the end of the school year in 1988 when I was seven, we made Father's Day cards for the men in our lives. I made one for Grandpa. After what would be the last time I saw him at the hospital I told Mom that I had forgotten his card at home. She told me that it was ok and that I could bring it to him the next day when we came to see him. He passed away early the next morning at the age of 58 from complications of open heart surgery.

My grandpa (on the back) with my Uncle Danny in the early 1970s.

It is so strange to me to think that he would be 81 years old this year and that he's been gone for so long. I could go on and on about how unfair it all is but, really, what's the point in that? Instead, I'm choosing to celebrate Father's Day this year for the first time in decades. I'm choosing to remember the man that gave life and love to my family. And who one day will wrap his arms around me again in Heaven.

God bless America.

2011-06-17T12:20:00.000-04:00

Oh, dear me, it's been too long!!! Mama was in the hospital for four days this week (more to follow on that), so I feel like my absence is justified. :) And, to make up for the past week, I am sharing this little diddy with you from the US Navy.

Oh, it's so hard to see!!! But, this is a Hurt Feelings Report. From the Navy. Obviously it's a joke... or is it? Here are a few of my favorite parts of the document-

Did you require a "tissue" for your tears?

Because the word tissue should always have quotation marks around it, right?

There's a section titled "Reason for Filing this Report (mark all that apply)". Some of those winners are:

I am a wimp.
I want my mommy.
Two beers is not enough.
The Navy needs to fix my problems.
I was told that I was not a hero.

Good to see our tax dollars hard at work.

Have a great weekend, every buggy! :)

10 on 10- Rex Walls Style!

2011-06-11T10:45:00.003-04:00

It's time for another 10 on 10, folks! 10 on 10 is a blog project where on the 10th of each month, you're challenged to take a picture an hour for 10 consecutive hours and to then blog about it and post your blog link on the main site. (To see fun 10 on 10s from around the world, click HERE. Unfortunately, the linky was closed when I went to the site so I couldn't link up. Waa, waa, waaaaaaaa.)

The 10th of June this year happened to be when book club gathered at our house to discuss "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls! This book was uh-mazing, so much so that my review is going to be on a separate blog post- check back for that.

In honor of the author's father, Rex Walls, I decided to not conform and instead of posting pictures from 10 consecutive hours, my pictures are all from book club. Don't do the skedaddle before looking at them, yo! :) Oh, and in case you are wondering about the... eclectic food choices for the day, each time we get together our food and drink choices follow a theme of the book we've read. This month we chose to make all upscale hillbilly cuisine to reflect Jeannette Walls' humble beginnings... hince salami rolls on a plate. Enjoy!

Tricia from Take 10 with Tricia .

Kim and Randy from The Spotted Elephant .

We rate each book that we read and take a picture of it's "score"- this is the only book that got 2 thumbs up from the entire group! :)

And, to keep with traditional Rex Walls style, I ended my 10 on 10 on June 11th, a little after midnight. :)

I hope everyone else had a great 10th!

It's my blog and I'll procrastinate if I want to.

2011-06-05T22:05:00.007-04:00

So, I really love the non-challenge! Buuuuuuuuut, I don't think I want to do it every day. It's summer- I want to run, I want to sing, I want to re-decorate! I will try to get all 30 days done by Labor Day though. A girl's gotta have goals. :)

I spent this weekend at my mom's while Heather painted the kitchen. Truth be told, this is the second time the kitchen's been painted since we bought our condo in May of 2008. Here's what it looked like when we first moved in-

GROSS. Our condo was built around 1992 and the only thing the previous owners had done was paint the den a weird blue color. So, we really had a blank slate to work with. Which has turned out to be very fulfilling, as all the inspiration for decorating has come from ourselves and not anything the house started with.

Fall of 2008 we painted the kitchen a green avocado color... not really too sure what we were thinking. Here's how it looked that Christmas at our open house.

Yep, gross brass hardware was still in tact at that point.

It's funny, I never knew I disliked the green so much until the new paint got on the walls. I knew I wanted a change but didn't realize how badly until we got something new.

Anywho, we were supposed to have Bid my Crib paint the kitchen but they turned out to be THE MOST UNPROFESSIONAL SERVICE I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED. More on that in a different post but, until then, DO NOT USE THEM. Since Heather had already taped off the kitchen for their originally scheduled painting day of last Thursday, she just decided to go ahead and do the painting this weekend while I helped my mom out at her house.

My inspiration for the paint color was from a Country Living story last year. The walls were a silver color, the wordwork was all white, the sink was white and the countertops were Carrera marble (check out this post for a look-alike). Luuuuuuuuurve.

Instead of silver, we ultimately chose Valspar's Grey Mist which we thought would go better with the dining and living rooms which are cornmeal in color.

Look at that skill used to cover up my disgustingly short thumb nail!

Here are some in-process pictures of the painting-

Wonder what OSHA would say about this? ;)

Wanna see more? Stay tuned for the finish product!

{30 Day Non-Challenge}- Day 3

2011-06-03T12:49:00.005-04:00

I don't like to be behind schedule, so I decided to do two posts in one day. :)

Day 3: What are your guilty pleasures?

Since one of them is PICASSA, I thought it fitting to show the others in a collage that I made using the freaking best FREE software ever.

Smurf Village game on Blanche Deveroe (AKA my iTouch). And Drop7... such good time wasters.
White Castle. Apparently this is a Cincinnati thing.
The Real Housewives of New York. Need I say more?
Slim Jims. So sad that the "Snap into a Slim Jim!" guy died. :(
FABRIC!!! Pretty, pretty fabric... oh, how you bring a spring to my step.
Trashy magazines. LURVE.

It wasn't until after designing and saving this collage that I realized that I forgot to add a picture of Mountain Dew!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I am a hardcore Dewski addict... can't believe I forgot it. I am nursing one as we speak though so that should count for something. :)

What about you? Any guilty pleasures you'd like to fess up? :)

{30 Day Non-Challenge}- Day 2

2011-06-03T09:36:00.001-04:00

First, let me say that I'm loving the flexibility of this "non-challenge" as it's June 3rd and I'm only on day 2, when I should be on day 3. :)

Day 2: Describe your high school self. What extracurricular activities, if any, did you participate in during high school?

Oh, high school... you sweet bitch. ;) As I have been known to say, I went to high school- just not very often. I was a CHRONIC skipper. Chronic, I tell ya. Just like Dr. Dre.

With some friends in the lunch room- I am in the back with the massive bangs.

I went to a really well known public high school that is currently among the top 75 in the nation. There was an entrance exam to get in, really strict guidelines to stay in and the education was, and continues to be, top notch. That being said, I had no interest in excelling academically while there... though I did take Spanish Language AP my 11th grade year and Spanish Literature AP my 12th grade year. What I cared about was having fun with my friends. :) My mom tells the story of when she was talking to one of her friends while I was in 11th grade about my lack of interest in Chemistry. His response? "Well, at least she's exceling in the chemistry of making friends." True dat. :)

Speaking of Chemistry, I shared this story in a post of yore but since today's all about high school I'll share again.

I hated Chemistry and it hated me back, double. My dear teacher, the animated Mrs. Chow, was...well... not too fond of me (I really can't blame her one bit- I only came to class ocassionally and it was usually to see what was going on that coming weekend). I remember once when she was passing out homework that she didn't pass back enough for me. I raised my hand and said "Excuse me, Mrs. Chow, but I didn't get the homework" to which she responded "Oh, like you're going to do it anyway!" and threw the papers at me. She was a doll. :) Here's another little diddy that she would often recite to the class, in a sing-song voice:

Mrs. Chow: "You- you are all on the slow boat to China! Me? I'm on the JET SKI! But, YOU, Kara- you are on the dock waving 'Good bye...' ".

Oh, Mrs. Chow. You were a treat. :)

So, yeah... high school and I didn't meet very often. But, I am pretty bright (if I do say so myself) and am in graduate school now so it worked out just fine. Plus, I really did make some great friends while there- especially one of my besties, Keyta, who I love dearly. Even if I did force her to be my friend. ;)

{2011 Photography Project} May = YELLOW + {30 Day Non-Challenge}- Day 1

2011-06-01T14:16:00.000-04:00

It's time to participate in An Offering of Love's photography project! Have you heard about it? Basically, each month is given a color and during that month you're to take pictures of things that are that color to share when the month is up. I've decided that each month I'm going to take pictures of just one place for the project (in March all of the pictures were from inside my house and the pictures in April were all from Easter Sunday). My plan was to take pictures of yellow things in Las Vegas last weekend... but I forgot. Then, I decided to take pictures of my very last troop meeting as a Daisy Girl Scout leader! But, I forgot that too. Sooooooooo, here are pictures of my office. :)

Not to shabby for making due in a pinch! This project is really a lot of fun... I have to remember it before the end of the month this time though! :) Make sure to head on over to An Offering of Love's blog to see everyone else's pretty pictures. :)

Speaking of blog projects, my gosh, I'm such a sucker for them! Jen mentioned one on her blog and, lo and behold, An Offering of Love has started it! Are you seeing a theme today? :) This is called a non-challenge so that we don't all feel the virtual pressure of posting every single day if we aren't able to do so. I'm going to try my best though!

Here's the non-challenge:

Provide a picture of the space where you normally blog.
Describe your high school self. What extracurricular activities, if any, did you participate in during high school?
What are your guilty pleasures?
for parents) What has most surprised you about parenthood? (for parents-to-be) What has most surprised you about ttc?
What do you prefer to do on your birthday? If you have children, what do you prefer to do for their birthday?
When was the last time you tried something new? What was it and what was the result?
What’s your favorite thing to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? If you have children, what are their favorites?
If you had to teach something, what would you teach? (If you DO teach, when did you discover your love for it?)
What is the most important lesson you learned from your own mother (or other primary caretaker)?
Share your favorite recipe (or two).
In what ways does being a lesbian/2-mom family impact your experience of parenting?
Tell us about the first time you got drunk (as far as you can remember…)
Tell us about the best job you ever had, and the worst.
How do you typically dress? How do you (or would you) like to dress your kid(s)?
What was your college experience like? Were you involved in any clubs, groups, etc?
How many friends do you have in real life that you talk to regularly? How many friends do you have that you feel are ‘true blue’ and how long have you known them?
(for parents) What is your favorite thing about parenthood? Your least favorite? (for parents-to-be) What are you most looking forward to about parenthood?
How do you feel about astrology? What’s your sign, baby, and do you think it matches your personality?
How do you (and your partner if applicable) feel about PDA?
What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you? Did you repay the kindness?
What child(ren)’s names do you like that your partner hates and thus you could never use?
What is your most beloved childhood memory? What memories are you trying to create (or will you try to create) for your child(ren)?
What are your favorite activities to do with your kid(s)?
What are your favorite activities to do without your kid(s)? (keep it clean!)
What did you want to be when you grew up? Why and/or how did that change over time?
What is/are the best piece(s) of parenting advice you’ve gotten or can give others?
Which movies or tv shows do you think are the most accurate portrayals of parenthood?
What size family do you come from, what size family do you want, and why?
What do you think about giving kids an allowance, and what chores do you or would you expect your child(ren) to help out with?
What is/are the most memorable questions or reactions you’ve gotten in regards to being a two-mom family?

Admittedly, some of these are going to be a little tricky since I'm not a mom yet but I'll do my best. :)

So... day 1, here we go!

Provide a picture of the space where you normally blog.

In a muffin! Ha! Sorry, I've got way too much energy today. :) I normally blog in the den which is the room featured in my header. It's a cheery little place and super cozy... my fave in the house.

Well, there you have it folks- two blog projects wrapped up into one post! Are you looking for a fun way to get into blogging more regularly? If so, join in! :)

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack.

2011-05-31T15:48:00.001-04:00

Sheesh, where have I been?! **I will be better at blogging, I will be better at blogging, I will be better at blogging...**

Now that that's out of the way. :)

Every year, my sister and her husband go to New York City (c'mon- you know that reminds you of the Pace salsa commercial) for a long weekend. Which means that my mom and I get to spend bunches of uninterrupted time with our favorite little ones!!! :) Mom usually keeps them Thursday and Friday and I'm on duty Saturday and Sunday. So, two weeks ago I was a professional Titi (auntie in Spanish) for a glorious two days. Here's some of the fun we had...

I had to give Henry, the autistic and diabetic cat 13 year-old cat, insulin. Molly's looking slightly worried and protective here.

EUREKA! We did it! I found out later though that I nearly killed the cat. Apparently I was only supposed to go up to the little 5 line and I went up to 20... or 25. Whoops.

Saturday afternoon was full of soccer games for all of the kids-

Brady kicking the ball... before he decided that he'd fall over 1,000,000 times during the game. As in DURING the game. We had a little talk about that which may have included me running on the field during the game. Whatevs. They're 4 years old and he was misbehaving. Titi won't be having any of that.

Speaking of running onto the field... I may have not realized that there were two white teams and may have, literally, ran into the middle of another game, folding chair over my arm and three kids running behind me, trying to stick Brady into another team's game when we first got there. Ooops... :)

The girls' game.

Molly waved HI as she came over to do that whole throw-the-ball-in-from-the-side-and-hope-that-somebody-kicks-it thing. As my sister came to realize "Our people don't do soccer, do they?". Answer: NOPE.

After the games, we got haircuts for the girls (because that is most definitely a Titi 'ponsibility, as they would say)...

Laura always gets layers.

Molly likes her's a little longer in the front than in the back so that she "looks like an elf". Love that girl. :)

Afterwards, we decided to go to my house to play with that kitties but I discovered upon pulling into my driveway that I left the keys on my sister's kitchen counter. When I realized this, I yelled "Oh, crap!" and now Brady says "Oh, crack!" when he gets frustrated. I kiiiiiinda love it. :)

Anywho, we decided instead to have a Taco Hell picnic on the lawn.

The next day we went to one of the best places in the city- Eden Park.

We played in Mirror Lake...

had a picnic lunch...

and had lots of fun playing around.

We finished off the day at home playing in the sprinkler with water balloons and water guns that they bought at Target the night before.

Is it just me or does he look a lot like Dennis the Menace here?

It was SO wonderful having the opportunity to spend an entire weekend with my favorite little people in the world. Sis, you can go out of town any time you'd like to. :)

Man, I feel like a woman!

2011-05-19T09:40:00.000-04:00

So, I've been purposefully absent from here because a post from last Friday is still missing and I thought that if I was quiet about it that it might just pop up on it's own. No such luck. Waa waa waaaaaa. Man, it's like we're getting what we pay for with Blogger or something! ;) You know... because it's FREE. It's a little coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs the way so many people got riled up about the site going down for a day or so last week. Seriously people. Get a hobby. Or watch The Real Housewives of New York. Something.

My Facebook status updates have been a little off the hook lately. I'm not going to share them here because some of them are super people specific and I don't want any hits put out on me. Anywho, I talked to my mom last night and about two minutes after we hung up she called me back.

"Kara..." she said in the sweetest of voices.
"Yes." I replied
"Umm... it seems like your PMS is getting pretty bad, honey. Have you been taking your medicine?"

I couldn't even be mad at her. :) Turns out I had forgotten to take my life-saving, get-away-from-me-now-before-I-give-you-the-evil-eye medicine for a few days. Oops... all of my rage makes sense now.

On that note, I'm gonna sign off. Because, quite honestly, there's no telling what could come out of this mouth today. Isn't being a woman grand? ;)

Back to sewing!!!

2011-05-12T11:15:00.000-04:00

Oh my word, I am so EFFING excited to have time to SEW again!!! There is nothing more rewarding than taking a pile of fabric and making it into something that is both usable and pretty. Ok... I guess there are things that are more rewarding than sewing (feeding the homeless, for one) but it's still WAY up there in my book. :)

On trips over the past year or so, I've been noticing that many hotels have small quilts at the end of a bed for decoration only. My friend Tricia calls them bed runners (so much better than what I had named them- foot quilts). I decided that this would be a great project to make for our bedroom to change the look of the room a bit!

I started with a trip to JoAnn's where I got the following fabrics:

We have been having a LOT of rain here over the past few months so these springy, bright colors were just the ticket to turn my grey skies blue. :) Our bed is queen size and it is SUPER tall so I bought one yard each of the blue and yellow fabrics and two yards of the off-white backing. I think... maybe it was 3/4 of a yard for the blue and yellow fabrics and 1.5 yards for the backing? I can never remember how much fabric I buy.

Anywho, I decided on a simple patchwork bed runner that would consist of three squares across and 11 squares down (each square is 10x10). I alternated the blue and yellow so that when it was pieced together it looked like a long checkerboard. Bit of advice for all of the new sewers out there- IRON! Let me say it again- IRON YOUR FABRIC!!! I used to think that this was a big waste of time but I was oh so very wrong, friends. I iron fabric before I start cutting, I iron again before I sew, I iron them all together when I'm done cutting and then I iron before quilting.

I'm not gonna lie, ironing can be a big ol' pain in the asphalt. But it is worth it. Iron people, it'll make the world a better place. Oh, and watch Flipping Out while you iron. Just because Jeff Lewis is so lovably nuts. :)

Don't you love my fancy ironing board? Nothing but the best for the Rowenta, let me tell you.

After I pieced my 10x10 squares together (33 in all), I laid it out on the bed to make sure it was the right size.

Eureka! And, yes, those are cat sock monkey beds on the trunk. :)

Then I looked at how the current pillows went (or rather didn't go) with my in-progress bed runner...

Dud.

So, before I went to quilting my bed runner I decided to quickly whip up a matching pillow. Man, I cut it close on the off-white fabric! Look how much fabric I had left after the two projects-

SCORE!

So- bed runner pieced together, throw pillow made. I then quilted the bed runner (no pictures of the basting since I would rather walk on hot coals than baste) and here is the finished product!

Isn't it pretty?! It's a little wrinkled because it just came out of the dryer when I snapped these pictures which I LOVE. I always wash items I sew before using/gifting them because I want them to look real and used- not mass produced.

I had a LOT of fun doing the quilting on this as I didn't do the standard stitch in the ditch that I had been so used to. Kim recently made a baby quilt where her quilting was so fun looking on the back and I knew that I wanted to try something similar. So, instead of trying to hide my stitching where each fabric meets I quilted a quarter inch on each side of where the fabric meets. Does that make sense? Hopefully this picture of the back will make more sense.

The total time it took to make this bed runner is as follows:

Ironing fabric, cutting 33 10x10 blocks and ironing the blocks again- around 1.5 hours
Piecing together all 33 blocks so that they're 3 blocks across and 11 blocks long- around 3 hours (Remember- our bed is queen size and is VERY high. If you have a queen bed that's of a normal height, I'd suggest a bed runner that's just 9 squares down.)
Basting and quilting- 4 hours? I think so.

All in all, the entire project took around 8-9 hours. YAHOO!!! I looooove a quick quilting project. Oh! The pillow! Here it is-

I kinda hate this picture because the fabric isn't washed yet, the stuffing is bunchy and a corner of the pillow isn't sewn. But, you get the picture.

If you're looking for an easy and rewarding way to spruce up a bedroom, give this project a try! If you decide to make a bed runner for your house, please post a link to the pictures in the comments section when you do so I can oogle over it. :)

Let's burn the gossips at the stake.

2011-05-11T15:56:00.003-04:00

It may sound completely nuts to those that know how much of a people person I am but I absolutely ADORE eating lunch, by myself, in my car. Seriously- LOVE IT. :)

Today I was listening to one of my favorite programs on NPR, The Story, about a former Presbyterian minister. My ears perked up a bit when I heard the P word as that's the great denomination I rolled out of. Ok- not quite the same denomination. There's a big difference between the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) and the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (PCUSA). Seriously. It's kooky.

Anywho, Murray Richmond shared the story of how he was once a Presbyterian minister who believed that homosexuality was a sin that separated people from God like none other and how he was led to believe that we were, drum roll, all created in the image of God.

Seriously though, his story was SO MOVING. He was eloquent, kind and, what I appreciated most, he rooted what he believes to be true with what the Bible says.

In Richmond's piece on the topic at Salon.com, he asks the following:

So why had we singled out homosexuality as a litmus test for True Christianity in the first place? Why had it become such a lightning rod for self-righteousness?

One reason, I think, is that it's easy to condemn homosexuality if you are not gay. It is much harder than condemning pride, or lust or greed, things that most practicing Christians have struggled with. It is all too easy to make homosexuality about "those people," and not me. If I were to judge someone for their inflated sense of pride, or their tendency to worship various cultural idols, I would feel some personal stake, some cringe of self-judgment. Not so with homosexuality.  

It is SO EASY to judge. It is even easier to judge when what you are judging has nothing to do with yourself. Is your neighbor's teenage daughter pregnant? GASP! Your kids are grown and married, so let's have a field day with that one. How about the lady who nobody likes at church- you know, the one with the dirty house and drinking problem? Ugh, disgusting! Why does she keep coming here?

But, see, things get a little hairy when you start poking at other people because if you look close enough... we're all pretty imperfect.

As my homeboy, Jesus, said:

And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)

Moral of this blog post? Well, I could tell you what my goal for it was but if you don't agree then it won't mean anything to you. Instead, go read Murray Richmond's story and develop your own.

{10 on 10!} May 2011

2011-05-10T19:47:00.004-04:00

It's time for another 10 on 10! This is where on the 10th of each month, you take a picture an hour for ten consecutive hours and then post them on your blog. Then, just for kicks, link to the main 10 on 10 blog (to see all of this month's 10 on 10 entries from around the globe, click here).

This month we're taking a trip back to, wait for it, my office. So exciting. :) I've decided to spice it up a little bit by adding a bit o' narration. Watch out, kids- I'm getting wild and crazy!

Mary Englebreit page-a-day calendar that reads "There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going." I beg to differ, but whatevs.

Calendar my sister made me for Christmas. The pictures for this month are from the girls' 7th birthday party last May which had a Secret Agent theme. I was the only one who wore the 'stache for the entire shin-dig. Of course I was. :)

Say you lost a private document a week or so back and you just realized that you didn't lose it but you in fact inadvertently saved it on your company's shared drive... well, this is how you'd look.

See, I've been having some... digestive problems lately. Kimbo decided to keep track of my troubles. No, KFC does not stand for Kentucky Fried Chicken. The K is for Kara and the C is for Chart... you figure out the rest. :)

Having a picnic lunch at Crossroads with one of my besties, Keyta!

Picture of a dear friend's baby! I bought the glasses for her before she popped out. She was born to wear them. :)

We may have a drinking problem...

Turns out I annoy I.T. guys everywhere I go. I don't mind so much. :)

Boo-ya, bitches!!!

Fun chalk drawings by the neighbor kids. :)

There you have it, my 10 on 10 for May 2011. Hope yours was grand!

Yee-haw, cowgirls!!!

2011-05-05T16:05:00.000-04:00

I am DONE with my first year of graduate classes!!! YIPPEE!!! This last week of getting portfolios togther (did I really have three due on the same day?!) was almost enough to drive me nanners but then I listened to some lovely 10,000 Maniacs music and it put everything into perspective. "These are the Days" by 10,000 Maniacs, to be exact.

Seriously- isn't that the WORST music video for such a great song?

This first year of graduate school has been challenging, most DEFINITELY, but it has also been one of the greatest gifts I've ever been fortunate enough to receive. I am SO humbled and grateful for the ability to study something I love... if you are reading this right now, please know that we are all stupid lucky, people. Seriously. STUPID lucky.

Not only did I discover an entire world of knowledge (oh my gosh, that sounds so cheese-filled) but I really kinda found myself in graduate school. Granted, I wasn't exactly lost but the acceptance I was shown by my fellow classmates and professors tugged on my heart a bit. At the beginning of the year, I was really nervous when I thought about how people would react when they found out I was gay. But, wouldn't you know, for the first time in my life an entire group of people was completely ok with it. In fact, they didn't care- because they shouldn't.

Throughout this year, in so many different ways, I kept being drawn back emotionally to the horrible experiences I felt within my church community when I came out. It's something I don't think I'll ever fully recover from and I'm not quite sure if I need to. Either way, when I was welcomed with open arms time and time again by those in my new academic community... well, I just don't know how to put that feeling into words. For the first time in a really long time, I opened myself up to vulnerability from those outside of my close knit group of family and friends and I didn't end up broken like I did before. It's a really great way to live, being open and honest and transparent, and I'm not going back to how I was before.

I know I'm rambling here but the fact is that I can't quite express the peace I found this year. For the first time in a long time, I feel COMPLETELY comfortable being who I am, I feel confident in my abilities to achieve my goals and, more than anything, I feel ridiculously blessed.

Are you there, Picasa? It's me... Kara.

2011-05-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

Ok. I may have a SERIOUS problem with Picasa... I looooove it!!! It is so easy to use and so ridiculously fun! After making the collage for the pink project this weekend, I had to bite the bullet and make a new header for the blog.

Here's what the first header I made in Picasa looked like-

In my first attempt, I wanted to show a collage that clearly represented my life and this one definitely did. It includes school, faith, my love, family, book club, yadda, yadda, yadda. After looking at that mother for a month or so, the business of it all made me feel like there was a strobe light going off in my head (exaggerate much?). So, I calmed it down a bit and now my header is...

THIS!

This header is a great representation of my home and it doesn't leave me feeling like I've shared too much of the sacred stuff with the blogosphere (like I've never done that before...). How ya like it?

The more I play around with Picasa in these monthly photo challanges encouraged by An Offering of Love, I'm thinking these might make a great callendar for next year! I love making Shutterfly calendars... don't you think that each different month would like great, especially since each month is color-coordinated? Now to just figure out what to do with January and February when I didn't know about the challenge...

Anywho, enough of my rambling love letter to Picasa. My sweetheart. The light of my computer life.

Ahem. Sorry.

Have a great week, everyone! :)

{2011 Photography Project} April = PINK

2011-05-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Have I said yet how much FUN An Offering of Love's photography project is?! Basically, each month is given a color and during that month you're to take pictures of things that are that color to share when the month is up. Last month, I took photos around my house one afternoon and really liked the idea of picking a single place to take pictures of. So, for April I did the same and took pictures at Easter!

I'm so glad that they chose pink for April since there's so much sugary goodness around in that color this time of year. I don't get what Peeps have to do with the resurrection of Christ but I'll take it! :)

I stumbled my way through Picasa and Picnik last month when doing this project and then wasted even more time making my new header with the (free!) software. Making this collage and adding the text to it today was SO MUCH EASIER than it was in the past... not really sure why but, once again, I'll take it. :) Actually, using Picasa was so simple that I think a change in my header is due soon. I'm thinking something more streamlined and with much less photo ~~chaos~~ excitement. Maybe a different header for each season?

Anywho, I hope April was a lovely month for y'all and I'm looking forward to seeing all of your pretty pink pictures!

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 30

2011-04-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

Laura and Titi at Disney World, December 2010

Admittedly, this is NOT the best picture of me. At all. But it's real and I think it shows how comfortable and lovely my relationship with Laura is. I love my family like none other and when those babies made me a Titi (auntie in Spanish), it was two of the best days of my life.

On that note, the Great Blog Challenge of 2011 is OVER! I have REALLY enjoyed getting to know y'all who participated and look forward to keeping in touch with each other.

I hope you all have a lovely May! :)

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 29

2011-04-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

Lose a bunch of weight.
Free airfare for me, my family in friends anywhere in the world for LIFE.
Crazy wonderful and luxurious spa treatments WEEKLY.

Ah, yes. That sounds lovely. :)

PS- Is tomorrow really the last day of the Great Blog Challenge? Where has the time gone?!?!

Oh, the humanity.

2011-04-28T11:04:00.000-04:00

I read this and realize that I'll do just fine as a mom. :)

For more winners, click here. Happy Thursday!

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 28

2011-04-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Quite honestly, not a lot. I used to be a terrible worry wart when I was younger but I just don't see the point anymore. What's going to happen will happen and stressing out about it is a waste of time. Of course, there are some things that do stress me out (I am human, folks) but they're very personal things that don't belong on a public forum. :)

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 27

2011-04-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

Yep, a picture with of all the grand"kids" with Santa and Mrs. Clause. Don't you love the way Santa and Brady are looking at Santa? Needless to say, a picture of just the cats and Mr. and Mrs. became our Christmas card that year. Yep, we're those people. :)

Huh.

2011-04-26T14:06:00.000-04:00

I do love me some Go-Gos, but this is just an odd combination of singers...

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 26

2011-04-26T08:00:00.003-04:00

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 25

2011-04-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

The Great Blog Challenge lasts for 30 days and the goal is to share a bit of yourself each day, following the prompts given. To see the full list of guides for each day, click here. If you'd like to join in the Great Blog Challenge, please do so at any time throughout the month! I can't wait to learn more about all of you! :)

Day 25: What's your favorite memory?

Oh gosh, I have so many WONDERFUL memories. :) Today, I'll share a story about my grandma.

My grandma lived with us until I was 13 and we were very close. When I was two months short of 19, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away when I was 20. It was a very quick sickness, marred with pain, suffering and so little mercy for my grandma.

Before she went into the hospital for the last time, I picked her up after classes from her chemotheraphy appointment to take her home. She was so weak and so very sick... it was devestating to see my feisty, loud, loving grandma that way. When we were about five minutes away from the hospital, we stopped at a red light where there was a window display at Adrian Durban, a local florist in Cincinnati. My grandma looked at that display from the passenger seat of our truck and said, with a peaceful smile on her face, "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?". I had to look away to hide the tears I couldn't keep from falling and I remember thinking that I would never in my life forget that moment.

My grandma taught me so many things throughout my life. That day, she taught me to see beauty in everything and to always live life with a grateful heart, no matter what you're going through. I love you so much, Grandma, and can't wait to see you again one day. :)

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 24

2011-04-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Oh.my.word. Seriously? Lots. Too much for one post. If you want to have a conversation about this, let's meet for coffee. Or chips and salsa- I'm easy. :)

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 23

2011-04-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

Puerto Rico has all of the advantages of Latin America with the added benefits of safe streets, clean water and not having to exchange money. You know this is important, peopele.

Anywho, some of our favorite aspects of the trip were...

Hanging out in Old San Juan (including going to El Morro, which is where the first picture of this post is from).

Finding a secret beach.

Exploring the rain forest, El Yunque.

It was a great trip... I think we need to go there again soon! :)

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 22

2011-04-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

My aunt and uncle lived in San Francisco for years and we had the opportunity to go visit them several times. Unfortunately, that was before the time of digital cameras so I am going to take advantage of Google and ~~steal~~ share others' pictures. :)

Truth be told, my aunt and uncle lived in San Mateo (just south of San Fran) but we spent lots of time in the city by the bay. Some of my favorite activities we always had fun doing while there are...

Self-guided walkman (ah, the 90s...) tour of Alcatraz. The gardens there are BEAUTIFUL but I'm pretty sure that this place is the cause of my huge fear of going to jail. Note to moms: you may want to re-consider allowing young children to hang out in Al Capone's jail cell while there.

Spending the afternoon at Pier 39. Great seafood, seals that do tricks and pearl earrings you get to harvest yourself. Can't go wrong with that combination.

Half Moon Bay. Ok, not technically in San Francisco or San Mateo but, holy cow, is it amazing. The drive is over beautiful mountains and the city is a cute little hippie place with beautiful beaches. So much fun.

There is an INSANE amount of things to do in San Francisco including fantastic parks, museums, opera, ballet, food, fun neighborhoods and SO much more. If you've never been, I'd highly recommend a trip there! :)

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 21

2011-04-21T08:00:00.002-04:00

I have pictures of myself ALL over this blog. Instead, here's a picture of my first ever white hair.

I found it last year and, yes, I had to document the day. It sucked.

The end. :)

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 20

2011-04-20T08:00:00.003-04:00

Kimbo also gave me a new Indian name on that trip, Crazy Tree, because of this guy.

As far as Indian names go, I'll take it. :)

What about you? Any fun nicknames?

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 19

2011-04-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 18

2011-04-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

{Great Blog Challenge} Day 17

2011-04-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

The end. :)