Buttoned Up Cards

Alright, remember back to Post 100 when I said I had been waiting to write because I wanted to "reveal" something (and not that I was pregnant!!), well that blessed day has finally come! I know you're all as excited as I am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have started another blog! Ha! I know! Just what you have been waiting for! It is still under construction, however, I think I made it look pretty cute. And I even dabbled in HTML successfully, which I am very proud of. The blog is called "Buttoned Up Cards" and it is going to be devoted to all things crafty that I do. I have decided there are few (if any) things I enjoy more than making greeting cards (I know! Weird!), so it turns out that I make an awful lot of them. Unfortunately, I do not know that many people who need to receive a greeting card from me. But I know that all of you know at least 5 or 6 people a year who need a card, whether it be birthday, thank you, congratulations, thinking of you, get well soon, wedding wishes or whatever. So, I've decided I will make cards for all of you. No, not for free. Sorry, I'm not that cool. But I am open to orders and probably negotiation : ) I also have not figured out a real good way to actually receive money, so... as you can see the whole thing is really a work in progress. So, Buttoned Up Cards is the site where you can go to see what I can do and all the other things I can do besides greeting cards. It will also save this blog from becoming a tribute to crafts so I can keep blogging about the same inane things that I always do (because we all know that's the "me" you all really love). Many of you faithful readers have seen some of the cards that I have made in the past, as most of them have ended up on here. The first post has a few pictures, and there is a slideshow on the side where you can watch them all a little faster and a little smaller.

In addition to greeting cards, I have another love almost as strong. Handwriting. You will see all kinds of hand writing on the cards I have made, along with some of their corresponding envelopes. You will notice that all writing is hand-done (except that which is clearly cut out of paper or stamped). That is right, I have about 8or 9 distinctly different handwritings which I can pull out at will, most of which aren't ugly! Haha, oh that is just me kidding around. I think they all look pretty nice (I probably have 15+ if we count the ugly ones). So, long story short, if you need something hand-written (eh? wedding invites? eh?), call me and we'll talk.

Anyway, I hope you guys like it and I hope those of you who are craft-haters will appreciate the increased lack of craftiness blithering on this blog, and those of you who are craft-lovers will check it out regularly!

That happened.

So many of you already know that this happened, but I haven't documented it here on the blog yet which means that to those of you who refuse to live in Logan and see me daily, this will all be new and exciting.

So we stayed here in Utah for Christmas this year. It was my first Christmas away from home, which was totally strange and sad, but we had a blast with the Wilsons too. Justin's family has a wonderful Christmas tradition that some people have put under the category of "insanity." Remember the "Night before Christmas" poem?

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

Right. Well, the Wilson's version goes a little something like this:

The children were nestled up in 50 million layers of winter wear,

While hopes of living through the night danced in their heads,

And mamma, the only sane one went inside to sleep warm,

While dad and the rest of everyone else slept in sleeping bags under the frozen night sky for Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas to all and to all, may you live to see tomorrow.

This "fun" tradition also includes a run around the neighborhood right before bed in as little clothing as will keep you alive. Justin had been trying to convince me basically since marriage, and really pushing the idea hard this last year, that I would really enjoy sleeping outside on Christmas Eve. Now, you are all my friends. Think for a couple seconds of words that describe how I feel about the outdoors. . . .

Camping incapable, nature-hating, cold-loathing... all of these adjectives might have come to mind and they are all dead on. I don't know what kind of short circuiting happened to make me to agree to participate in this madness, but I did.

While I couldn't bring myself to run around the neighborhood (you all are aware of my running capabilities as well), I did sleep outside on Christmas Eve. And I lived to tell the tale.

Here are some pictures:

Awwww... so smiley. This is clearly before we even went outside. Just look at how many layers I am wearing!!! In addition to what you can see here, I had on two pairs of cotton socks, a pair of wool socks, three pairs of flannel PJ pants, a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, and gloves. Talk about feeling like the kid in "A Christmas Story!"

This is us just getting settled in for the night. As you can see here, I slept between Andrea and Justin. I know you can't tell which is which in this picture, because everyone had so many pairs of clothes on that genders became virtually indistinguishable, but Andrea is on my left and Justin is the one with his butt in the air. Look at how happy I look in this picture! Also look at all the SNOW ON THE GROUND. It continued to snow all night, and we woke up with about an inch on top of us (I'm still working on getting that picture).

For any of you who remember how windy it was on Christmas Eve in Salt Lake and how snowy it was that night, just imagine being outside. We put down a tarp, then put our sleeping bags on half of it, and then folded the other half over ourselves like a giant "people taco." It actually wasn't as cold as I expected and the worst part was your breath condensing on the tarp in your face and then having the freezing cold water right in you face all night. Also the tarp being so close to your face made it feel a little like you might suffocate at any moment, which made it really hard to fall asleep (or fall back asleep if you woke up). I woke up at about 6:30am and felt a little panicky about the tarp in my face and decided it was time to go inside. Merrill went inside at the same time, so I count it as a successful night. And now, when I never do it again, at least Justin can't hold it over my head.

2 years

So yesterday was Justin and my second anniversary! We got away this weekend to a hotel in town and ate out at out favorite Olive Garden (whole plate of five cheese ziti+anniversary=NO GUILT.) It was wonderful to get away and have someone else do the dishes (Justin is probably thinking "What is she talking about?! I always do the dishes!!" I know. Thanks, hon.). I can not believe how fast the time has gone and how much fun we have had in two years! We have vacationed to New York, to California (twice!), to Las Vegas, we've graduated from college, we've moved 3 times, been on all kinds of fun date nights, been to weddings, funerals, baby blessings, had two of our brothers leave on missions and one other one come home, and a little bit of everything else in between. And we still like each other even! There is no better feeling than having Justin around. He is:
1. helpful
2. patient
3. hardworking
4. funny
5. he does the dishes and tons of other chores
6. puts up with my card-making stuff all around the house
7. doesn't get bothered when I never put my shoes away
8. hangs up my coat for me when I fail to (like every day).
9. is an all around nice guy (thumbs up, Justin!)
It's been a fun two years. Here's to an equally exciting third!!!

This is us a couple days before our engagement and a couple months before the wedding:

WEDDING!!!

Now:

Martin Luther King Day

Yes, I am at work.
No, neither of my bosses are here.
Yes, I have been sick since Wednesday night (WHAT?!?!?!?!? How is this lasting so long!?)
No, I do not want to be at work.
No, apparently most of the other attorneys don't want to be at work either since only 2 of the 10 are here.
No, the mail does not run today.
No, the court is not open today.
No, nothing we do will actually go out today.
No, I do not have anything to do anyway.
Yes, I wish I was at home drinking OJ and sleeping and watching TV.
Yes, Emma just asked me from across the office if I wanted to play cards with her.
Yes, I am plotting a way to convince all the other attorneys to leave.
Yes, I am probably going to leave around 3:00 today (thank you, sick pay).

I knew it!

This is why I'm so glad we spent that gift card. The closest Circuit city is in Ogden and there ain't no online shopping. You can read more here if you're interested. I'm going to go home and hug my Tom-tom from Santa. Thanks Santa for being able to see the future!

EBAY IS DA BOMB SQUARED!!!

I just sold my second item on EBAY! It was listed for 4 minutes!! I made a quick $50 tonight!! What the heck?! I can't believe it!

EBAY IS DA BOMB

I just sold my first item on ebay!! And it only took like 3 hours!!! Now, I've been a big fan of ebay purchasing, but now ebay is helping me get old "no, we can't by that back. We change editions 2 or 3 times a semester. Love, the BYU Bookstore" textbooks off my shelf?! Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!

DI

So lately, I have been noticing that while it is one of my favorite places to go, a lot of people hate/diss on the DI. Why is this?! Who could hate a store that, among other things:

1. Has friendly customer service

2. Is an everything-you-could-ever-want-all-in-the-same-place store

3. Has pants for as low as $5 and shirts for as low as $2

4. Has many pieces of clothing with the tags still on for the aforementioned prices

5. Has sometimes negotiable prices

6. Has awesome antiques and old books

7. Is, I'm pretty sure, the cheapest place on earth to by picture frames (just buy a bottle of black spray paint and you're good to go!)

8. All kinds of craft paper and thread and ribbon and buttons for $0.50 or less

9. Beautiful old glass vases where the glass is uneven and has a bubble here and there (for a buck or less!)

10. The list goes on and on...

Now, I'm no fool. I know there is a lot of junk at the DI. Things I would never buy. But you know what, I have quite a lot of clothes from there (roughly 3 or 4 shirts, 2 or 3 pairs of pants, a cardigan, a coat, and several pairs of shoes), most of which look brand new. And you know what else? I regularly get compliments on almost everything I have from there, and from people who profess to hate the DI. We have a lot of home decor that we've gotten there, too, some which we've spruced up and some that we haven't had to. We save tons of money and get everything we want for ridiculously low prices. We don't have to save up for a few months to go get that new pair of pants or frame for my next project. Who could not like that?! I just cannot wrap my head around it. So if you are a DI hater, please help me understand! And if you are a DI lover like Justin and I, then we will see you there on Friday night.

I finished it

I am pretty proud of myself, I'm not gonna lie.

Mid-transformation

So it's almost 1 in the morning and I have been working on a new look for the blog. However, I now have to stop, seeing as it is 1 in the morning and I absolutely have to go to bed. So.... the look right now, well, it's rather half and half. Sorry to anyone who reads this before I fix it haha : )