The WA CA PA trip

I spent the last part of January and the beginning of February on a two week trip. My bestie, Stef, was getting hitched in WA and I was glad to be able to go. I considered this trip my graduation present and it was a nice reward for the last four years of craziness.

I wound up flying three one way flights for my trip- it was only $50 more to do that than the price it would cost to fly roundtrip from PA to WA. I'd be that far West, what's a two hour plane ride down to CA? I was thankful for the opportunity to also be able to go to CA to visit family- you can understand why from my previous post.

All the while I was very careful to keep my travel plans on the downlow on FB so that I could surprise my home ward that first Sunday. Hee hee! In preparing for the trip, I was also kneedeep in a sewing project- an apron for Stef as part of her wedding present.

I need one for me!

The first few day of my trip were spent in preparation for the wedding; I started to lose track of how many times I went to Target and Michaels. On my first Saturday, I helped move Stef out of her parent's house and into the apartment she'd share with David. I tagged along as her fiance David and her got their hair cut/done and followed them around while they took some pre-wedding photos (so there could be "wedding photos" at the reception). I went shopping with Stef and her friends, and I went to her bachelorette party in a condo rec room that was pretty fun. Whew!

Here are my fave pre-wedding shots that I took. I couldn't believe it when it only took 10 minutes to get to the temple- for the past four years it takes me 3.5 hours one way! Amazing! They both looked great and lucky us, the rain held off.

Funny story: As we were in front of the temple, a car drove by and a little girl stuck her head out and yelled "Congrats! You look very beautiful!". It was the cutest. Poor kid, we deceived her- they weren't married yet!

Stef looked cute at her Bachelorette party! 

I got up really early the next day and my friend Heather picked me up and was so sweet to drive me all the way to church. It was SO much fun to walk in to Sacrament meeting and surprise everyone that I went to church with for 20 years! I haven't seen them since I moved- four and a half years! It was nice to be loved and get lots of hugs. Everyone clapped for me when I was introduced in RS. And crazy to see how grown up all the kids are getting! It was a really wonderful Sunday. 

Laura's "favorite Mom" Kim, me and Melanie

Funny story: It was rather amusing when a few people came up to say hi- and then the next sentence out of their mouth was "Hey, there's a new single's ward in the area later today." Um, thanks? 

The next few days were spent shopping and doing last minute things to get ready for the big day that Wednesday. I even helped move furniture out into the garage! 

Cakepops!

Boys helping with flowers- cute!

I think I'll do a whole post dedicated to the wedding- there's so many photos!

Stay tuned!

After the wedding, I went to stay with Heather. I helped her throw a birthday party for her dad. It was nice to have a few days to relax and recuperate after the wedding. I got spoiled! Her friends were having an 80s party and I go to go too- it was so much fun to get all glammed up! We looked great. 

Blue eyeshadow and pink star earrings, always a great combo!

 Mark went punk 80s:

 Besties!

My ensemble- I LOVED it!

What a lot to pack for this trip- wedding outfit, presents, 80s outfit, etc! 

I was pretty pleased with my outfit- it's my best yet and I even had some real 80s jewelry on!

(Colored clips hanging from my neck and my sunglasses pin!)

I loved my earrings. Can I wear them everyday?

Heather even crimped her hair- I tried, but it just looked like bad 80s perm so that was ok too!

And the three of us fulfilled Robin Sparkles' request in her "Let's Go To The Mall" song- the three of us went to the mall dressed up like this, no joke! It was awesome....and legen..wait for it...dary!

My second Sunday I went to the Kent singles ward (trying to make the most of my trip out West, ha ha!) with my friend Julie. It was nice to see her and to be around young people. And super nice not to have to do a darn thing at church except show up and look good- I keep quite busy in our branch! One of my PA friends said she hoped I'd meet someone while back home- I had to remind her that this was the same fruitless area I had left!

 Me and Julie:

Jesse came by and it was nice catching up:

I even got to go to a fun sushi place where the sushi goes around on a little conveyor belt and you pick up what you want! So fun! I also got Teriyaki to eat (really hard to come by in PA!), but sadly not Enumclaw Teriyaki...I gotta have a reason to come back ;)

I also got to have a Say Yes To The Dress marathon! I love yelling at the TV! 

And I got to see Aimee, which was great. I miss her too!

Heather and Mark took me to the airport for the next leg of my journey- it was so hard to go!

Where did my week go???

I LOVE this pic!

But don't you love my Barbie suitcases?

Miss you, WA!

See you soon?

New Normal

I didn't mean to leave my rant up for so long, but it's been hard finding the motivation to write this post. When the ball dropped and it became 2012, I had this feeling in my heart that it was going to be a tough year

A few days later, I was right.

My grandmother (Dad's mother) had not one, but two strokes not long after that night. She has spent the last month and a half in hospitals and is now in a nursing home. She had a big complication when it was discovered that she was bleeding internally, they had to go up in through a blood vessel in her leg and repair the artery in her stomach. She used up a lot of units of blood and plasma. Thank goodness for the kind strangers who gave blood.

I spent two weeks out West- I went to WA for a dear friend's wedding and then I traveled down to CA to visit family. I was planning on going to CA anyhow before this happened, and then having all this happen made me anxious to get to CA. People ask me how my trip was, and it was a good trip (you'll see those pics next post) but my week in CA was hard. I usually gloss over the hard part. 


It was heartbreaking to see my dear grandmother in a hospital bed in her nursing home. This was all a total surprise, my grandmother is only 78 and very spry. She was just fine and even driving the day before her stroke. I forget how old she and my grandfather have become because they just don't act their age and haven't changed in 30 years. 


I didn't know what to expect when I saw my grandmother. I was able to visit her 4 times during my week there. I didn't know if she would recognize me, but she did and was so happy to see me. She's not quite herself, but more "herself" than I thought she would be. During my visits, she called me by name, asked me what Mom and Laura were up to. Told my dad that she and him have great kids. Remembered that the local mall had been remodeled. Out of the blue, she told me that she was so proud of me for graduating. That touched my heart. But she doesn't always know what's going on- she'd talk when we were saying a prayer before leaving. She couldn't remember if she'd had therapy that day. And she thinks she's in Utah. She keeps asking my dad and grandfather when they're returning home to SF.

She looks better than she is- she's generally pretty cheerful and happy. She looks like she should come home soon. But her health is bad. Her heart  and organs are bad and there's really nothing that can be done. She doesn't want to eat.

I do not know how much longer my grandmother will be around. In reality, I do not know how long any of my grandparents will be around.

It broke my heart to see my grandmother in this state. She will never come home. She is in limbo between this life and the next. It broke my heart to see my grandfather dealing with all of this. He whistles when he walks as a distraction- something he never did before. 


The unfinished business breaks my heart. I think about all the letters I should have written. When did I talk to her last before this happened? I talked to her every couple of weeks but I don't remember what we talked about last. She and Grandfather celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary right before this happened. Dad had the idea for each of us to write 15 memories (60 total) of them and we'd send it- but we were too late. Laura had been making afghans for them when this happened. I think of all my grandmother's unfinished work, the plans that will never be.

It was really hard to say goodbye and leave her room at the nursing home before it was time to catch my flight. It's probably the last time I'll see her alive. I didn't take a picture, but I made a memory in my heart. She was smiling and happy, sweet as ever. She didn't seem like she was hurting. I held her hand and kissed her forehead. I couldn't tell her that I loved her without totally bawling- I'm sure I'll regret that someday- but she knows that I do love her very much. 


I'm really thankful for the comfort that my family and I have received from Heavenly Father at this time. God has a plan, and we have to trust in Him.

My grandmother, with her daughters, granddaughters and great- granddaughter

I tell all this to you as a reminder to love your family. Take every opportunity you can- for one day, God will want them back. Don't wait on the things you want to do- someday you will not have the time.


My grandmother, without fail, told me that she loved me at the end of every phone call- and I returned the sentiment- and it still wasn't enough. 

Soapbox: Girl World Edition

Something interesting has been happening lately in FB Land. Normally my interactions on FB include stating how cute various people's children are, "liking" engagement ring shots and shuddering at TMI. Normally nothing too argumentative or controversial- until now.

In the last couple of weeks, I've had not one, not two but three discussions on FB that wound up becoming explosive. And get this- things that I said totally ticked off other people. And they said things that made me angry in return. Me, the girl who never spoke in high school and who tries oh oh so hard not to cause waves. I typically find myself being the peacemaker, bridging gaps between others- even in my own family.

I narrowed down the commonality between these three occurances:

People of the male persuasion commenting on Girl World topics that they know nothing about. 


Case #1:

A girl that I know made a post about modesty. Since I like to discuss this topic, I commented. She liked my comment. But uh oh, something I said upset one of her guy friends. He didn't like that I felt that us women were taught to be gatekeepers. It's a common complaint in church Girl World. Do I feel that guys are capable of controlling themselves? Yes. Is everyone responsible for their own actions? Yes. But a lot of church literature would have you believe otherwise in modesty/dating situations. When I come across items of that nature in YW manuals, I make it very clear that we're all responsible for our own actions.

Well this guy went from 0 to 60 very quickly. Instead of allowing me to have my opinion and then stating his (you know, how discussions usually work), I was Wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong. Nothing I said calmed him down (now keep in mind that I really said nothing controversial or argumentative in this whole discussion, he just chose to take offense at everything), he just got madder and madder. By the end I was being yelled at about how guys in YM are drilled in every lesson to respect women.

Think about that last sentence for a second. I laughed too.

While I believe that modesty applies to both men and women, in this instance it was us girls discussing our world and how it's taught. Something that this guy was never going to understand- but he jumped right in despite that. Instead of yelling at me about what YM are taught, it would have been better to try and explain to us what the YM program is like. I honestly would have liked to hear about things from his perspective. But please allow us to have ours.

Case #2:

Same friend posts video about the excessive use of Photoshop in magazines and advertisements. I made comments about it- it's getting a little scary how plastic and alien the women in our advertisements are becoming. And then I'm pretty sure the same guy -hold your shock and awe- makes comments where he makes leaps and bounds with statistics (and even he said that the logic was probably faulty). He goes on to have opinions about tanning and makeup. I chose not to say anything further for fear of setting this guy off again. But as I observed this discussion, it comes out that he didn't know what makeup is really used for. He thought it was to make skin darker- he had to be educated that, no, most makeup is about evening out the skin color that you already have and that its often difficult to find that foundation that matches perfectly.

Yes, Photoshop is used in advertising for men and whatnot, but the majority of it's use is in women's magazines and advertising directed at women. The whole issue was about Photoshop causing unrealistic standards of beauty and  women going insane trying to achieve them. I didn't care that a guy commented here, but for the love of Pete if you are going to rant and rave about makeup then can you please know what it's really used for???


Is it too much to ask that you actually know something about what you are talking about in a discussion???

Case #3:

This guy I know is engaged. He posts a photo of a lovely wedding dress as an idea for his fiance. Out of the ordinary, but hey. Then a problem arises- the dress has short sleeves and whatever will she do to get the long sleeves needed to marry in the temple? Myself and another girl lay out all the options- and really this isn't a huge problem to overcome. But no, our answers weren't good enough. Cause you know, as girls, we know nothing about girl sleeves. Or wedding dresses. Or temple ceremonies. They go on and on trying to solve a problem that wasn't real in the first place and that was just solved for them.

And oh yeah, it's up to this girl to solve this problem for herself. Not them. 
I kid you not, some other guy devised that long sleeves attached with Velcro would work. Velcro! On a wedding dress! And one guy found long sleeved temple jackets that were so lovely- I'm sure all the grandmas wear them these days. No! And then Velcro Boy was still devising sleeves- and the image he posted was of a long sleeved Lycra athletic shirt! Cause that's going to look good with satin and lace.

Somewhere in there I said "It's so much fun discussing wedding dresses with you guys" which is what I meant. I wasn't being snarky. It's just that I don't find myself often having discussions about bridalwear with those possessing Y chromosomes. I guess I should have rephrased it so that you couldn't possibly mistake it for sarcasm, but oh well. Well Velcro Boy took offense at that (and probably also that I very politely poo-pooed his Velcro idea) and I found myself backpeddling and explaining that I didn't mean anything by it. I hated that I had to be the one to backpeddle, but I did it to, you know, be the peacemaker.

But what incensed me is what came next- "Thanks, that's more respectful." And then continued to devise  sleeves attached with Rube Goldberg machines.


Well now I'm the one who wants an apology! Um, excuse me? You're the ones having a conversation about wedding dresses and I'm the one who has to be respectful? What!?? 


I really didn't like feeling like a sub-servant girl in that conversation. It was probably a good thing that that's the point when the discussion was taken down for good. I really started to feel like yelling.

So here we have guys having a conversation about topics that they know nothing about- women's fashion, the construction of sleeves and oh yeah wedding dresses. And us girls were made to feel like we didn't belong in this conversation. Um, what?

Hey dudes. I have something to offer to this conversation. Here's why you should um, believe me, and stop devising sleeves that won't work:

1) I've been designing clothes since my teens. I almost went to a fashion design college.

2) I've been to a ton of weddings and receptions. Seen all the options and have seen what works- and what doesn't!

3) I've worn formal dresses. With sleeves. I wear lots of sleeves.

4) I do a lot of sewing. I know what's going to work and what's not. I know how to attach pieces of cloth to one another.

5) AND OH YEAH I'M A GIRL!

Look, I'm all for discussions on FB but can we let people have their opinions, not get offended so easily and talk about things we actually know about? The equivalent would be me bombing in on discussions about sports and rap music and men's swimwear- things I know nothing about. I try really hard to offer opinions on matters that I *actually* know about- and it takes a lot for me to get mad. Is it too much to ask that in others?

And it's not just me having issues with guys butting in on conversations that they don't belong in- my girlfriend had a status about going to a baby shower and the comments that followed morphed into the Jerry Springer show. Everything was great until some guy made a comment. And then all heck broke out. Namecalling ensued between commenters. My friend's honor was "defended" (it didn't need to be). This guy had no idea about the intricacies of female relationships (why do women go to baby showers when they don't want to?) or the rituals of baby showers, but felt the need to comment anyhow. I don't think he'll be making that mistake anytime soon.

I'm about ready to make a "No Boys Allowed" sign for my fort. I'm tired of arguing and backpeddling.

If you think I'm irritated now, you should be thankful that I took a few days to cool off before writing this post- just think what that one would have been like!

Guys, we love you, but can you just leave Girl World to us girls? Or if you do come on in, please don't meddle. Thanks. I appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Liz


I guess I should like the fact that I have opinions and stir up trouble- I've come a long way, baby.

Trying not to manbash here but vent and create awareness....I'll bash on women next time to make things more fair ;)

I Love: More Christmas Love

I Love...

...Mom using a level to make sure the strings for cards were level. In our crooked house.

I Love...

...some brave critter who ran across both slushy ponds...and didn't fall in. 

We hope!

I Love...

...taking Christmas pics of my dad.

I Love...

 ...walking with the fam on Christmas day and leaving munchies for the critters.

A GREEN Christmas! Can you believe it?

I Love...

...caroling with the YW and whoever else wanted to come.
And the fact that I bought the perfect number of hats.

I Love...

...the annual family mall shopping trip. 

I Love...

 ...CINNAMON ROLLS!!

OM NOM NOM NOM

I Love...

 ...friends who come home for Christmas!

I Love...

...the green plastic necklace I found in a junk store for $2...two days before Christmas!

Total score. 

So many fun things about Christmas!

Hope you had a good one!

I Love: Christmas Edition

I Love...

...picking out a tree as a family from the local nursery. 

No, we didn't get that one!

I Love...

...when the tree lights finally work (it took two days!)

I Love...

 ...finding ornaments that are constructed similarly to displays that I did at BB&B:

(the tree was made of washcloths and the snowman from rolled up towels)

I Love...

 ...being surprised that my Mommy put my "Baby's First Ornament" on the tree.

Yes I am that old.

I Love...

 ...buying new Cracker Barrel ornaments (the red ball) that coordinate with previous Cracker Barrel ornaments:

And I love my ruffle-butt birds.

I Love...

 ...getting lovely cards from our friends. I love our wall of love.

I Love...

 ...making paper snowflakes both large and small.

I Love...

 ...seeing that Santa has visited!

I Love...

 ...getting nifty 'teacher' presents. Now I just need a desk!

I Love...

...displaying our Nativity Sets (this isn't all of them!)

I love Christmas.

I don't love our yellow walls.
But I love Christmas.

I hope you had a loving Christmas.

There's more I love...stay tuned!

The Girliest Christmas Ever

Well, this Christmas season, along with being busy with school kids, YW and YSA, I helped my friend decorate her first apartment for Christmas. You may remember this scene as our awesome Halloween party, you are correct! Since she already had hot pink items in her living room, red and green would have clashed. She loved my suggestion of a pink Christmas, so we ran with that. We both love hot pink and butterflies, so we had our theme.

It was super fun for me to help out with this. I gathered up all the pink and silver things I owned, and we added some new things too. Shopping for pink Christmas things was fun- it's becoming popular, so it wasn't terribly hard to find things in the shades we wanted. 

Lots of pics...so you get the full effect! 

Overall view of the living room:

The girliest tree ever!

My silver trees clean up well- note the pink shoe ornaments!

Tree close ups:

We kept the mantel around- turned it from a spooky thing into a pink wonderland!

I loved how the mantelscape turned out! 

 I made this wreath- pretty simple but effective!

I also made the pink tree on the right out of foam and crepe paper- fun!

(See my crafty blog for the how-to!)

Hung this ornament in a doorway, so lovely!

Well, the "customer" was a happy girl! 

You can't help but be happy in a room of pink!

Who says Christmas has to be red and green? It's fun to be different!

I would have SO much fun as an interior decorator! Or a set decorator for movies.

Now I just need my own place. 

Merry Pink Christmas to you!