Quilts - Not Finished

I've been waiting to put this post together for a while now, since I didn't want any of the recipients of my quilts to see the posts. Now that everyone has received their  quilts, I can post away!

So, I've sewn on and off since I received my first sewing machine in elementary school. I never had any formal lessons, so I've pretty much only ever learned to do really basic stuff. You may remember way back here here here and here when I got on a pillowcase making roll after helping make pillowcases for our troops in Iraq. At this point, I was still using the same sewing machine I'd had since I was a kid, and it was not really conducive to learning new things on since it couldn't even really do a straight stitch very well.

Fortunately for me, my wonderful mother in law bought me a new fancy sewing machine as a bridal shower/wedding gift last year. I did all kinds of cute embroidery projects, and even did monogrammed handkerchiefs to give to my parents right before our wedding.

I've wanted to get into quilting for quite some time now, but never really got past just goofing around with it. I made this about 4-5 years ago, but never got past this stage. In fact, it's still sitting in a basket somewhere up in my closet.

It's......well....it's very bright. Lol. Maybe someday I'll turn it into a little baby girl quilt or something. Although, perhaps to a blind baby?

Anyway, when I found out that both my sister in law and cousin are pregnant, I thought I'd give this desire to be a quilter another stab. I was able to buy a pattern called twisted nines on Etsy. The lady sent me the pattern in PDF form and it was super easy to follow. Before I knew it, what started off as this:

Turned into this:

Which turned into this:

Close up:

New Job

Quite a lot has changed for me in the past few months! I have enjoyed a wonderful summer off with my husband, family and friends, and a couple weeks ago it was time to go back to work....a new work that is.

In May, I found out that my company had lost their contract with the school I was working at, and that I would be out of a job at the end of the school year. Although it was through no fault of my own and everything ended on great terms, I still took it pretty hard as it meant I once again had to start the whole job search all over again. Not just a job search, but the search for a paid internship that gave me the hours and supervision I need for licensure...not an easy thing to find. I was feeling very discouraged and bummed that I had to start all over again at a new place just 7 months after starting the last job. I just hate being the new person all the time, and not feeling like I have any stability.

You know the saying "it's all in who you know"? I couldn't think of another phrase to better describe my field. When I started my previous job last November, I was replacing another MFTI who was leaving for a better paying job. I got to know her a little here and there throughout the school year, as she came back to visit the kids/staff a few times. When she found out the company had lost their contract, she gave me the heads up to apply for a job at her new company. They weren't advertising, but I put in an application anyway. Long story short, I got an interview and got the job!

I've only been on the job for a few weeks, but I am LOVING it! I am once again working with high school kids, and I'm having fun getting to know them all. My case load is much smaller, the teachers/aids/coaches are wonderful, the company believes strongly in employing evidence-based practices, and I feel like I have support everywhere I turn. While I didn't see it at the time, I am so thankful that everything turned out the way it did, as I don't think I would have taken the initiative to apply if my previous job had continued on.

In other news, my husband and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on August 7th. We were invited to go to Disneyland that weekend with some friends, and seeing as it was our final weekend before school started again, we weren't going to pass up the chance for one last mini vacation. We had a great trip, and split off from the group for a bit on our anniversary to have dinner together at The Blue Bayou. We had a wonderful time, and it was a fun little way to wrap up the summer. I am even more in love with him than the day we were married, and I look forward to many more anniversaries together in the future. <3

Life is good. :-)

Dear Friends and Family

I get it. I'm nearly 28. I'm not getting any younger. I got married almost a full year ago. I have a wonderful husband and a happy marriage. Everyone around me is getting pregnant like they are supposed to. I get that the "typical" progression of things would be for us to get pregnant and start a family. I get it. I really do.

I don't know how else to express that we are not ready to have children. And while I know you all know that, I don't understand why I am constantly berated with "I'm ready to be a grandparent now!" or "any day now!" or "you don't want to wait too long!" or "hold the baby to get some practice!" or, or, or,.....I could go on and on. My absolute favorite is being mocked every time I have a stomach ache or don't feel well. Instead of a comforting "sorry you don't feel well" what I get is a "sounds like you're pregnant!" everywhere I turn.

While those comments may feel like they are all in good fun, what you may not realize is how OFTEN I hear them. The truth of the matter is that these comments get interpreted as pressure, which in turn makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong by choosing this path. I've always been the one that does what I was supposed to do. I stayed out of trouble, I listened to my parents, I got good grades, went to college, got a job. I later went above and beyond to and get my masters degree. While I hate to think I'm not doing what I'm "supposed to do", it just doesn't feel like the right path, and I don't want to feel guilty for not taking it.

I understand there is never a perfect time to have a family. I really do. However, we live in a one bedroom apartment in a area where we can't even begin to afford a home...or even a condo for that matter. I'm an unemployed intern making little to no money. I have no hope of getting licensed as a marriage and family therapist for AT LEAST another year, and I'm trying desperately in this economy just to get the training I need to make it somewhere in my profession. To top it all off, we were both born to young parents who are nowhere near close to retirement and not at all able to help us with childcare during the week. Introducing a baby into all this sounds like the scariest thing ever to me, and I have an IMMENSE amount of respect for people who are doing that.

I apologize if we have not taken the path that you took, or want us to take, but we would like to do everything we are able to do to make starting a family one of the happiest moments of our lives. We would like to have a home, and at least be somewhat settled in our careers. I know that not everyone needs this level of security before starting a family, but I do. Let's face it, my husband and I aren't exactly the biggest risk takers.

All I'm really asking is for people to just lay off the comments. I'm doing my best to brush them off, I really am, but you can only hear them so much before it starts to eat away at the confidence you have in the choices you are making. We will get there when the time is right. I promise.

Monterey 2011

Monterey 2011, a set on Flickr.

Weight Rundown #6: Hello Again

My weight loss journey has been up and down. It has been challenging, and hard to stick to at times, but I never go too long before jumping right back on track. While I still swear by the program I got tired of paying the $40 a month for the Weight Watchers membership. I also got tired (well mostly just lazy) of tracking every single thing I ate. I'd done it long enough that I had learned to listen to my body and how it should feel when I'm dieting.

For the last month or so I haven't counted points or tracked calories, and I'm happy to say I'm down to 8.2 lbs lost. That's 33% of my overall weight loss goal, which feels pretty good. I'm loving the new low, but still have 1.8 lbs to go before I hit 10lbs lost, 6.8 before I'm in the "healthy" category, 11.8 for 20 lbs lost, and 16.8 lbs overall to go.  :)

Happy 19th Birthday Brother!

Happy birthday to my little Dexter look alike!

Wordless Wednesday: Captain Calamari