Monday, November 30, 2009

Whirlwind

Last week was been an absolute whirlwind, let me explain. A bunch of my friends are getting married shortly, some to each other. My good friend Rene is marrying a guy named Mike (he's a good guy, I approve) in Utah just before Christmas. Adding to the complexity is that Rene’s older brother Dennis (also my friend) is marrying my good friend Ame about a week later in California. I met my friends through our YSA activities out here, though they are in Idaho at school most of the time. I’ve known them all (except Mike) for over two years. So yes, that’s right- Dennis and Rene’s parents have not one, but TWO weddings out west over the holidays. How I feel for them!

So Dennis & Ame and Rene & Mike came home last week for Thanksgiving, it was so nice to see them. I only went to school on Monday of last week, I skipped math class on Tuesday to go to the Palmyra temple with Rene for her to receive her endowments. Which would you pick? Ha! It was a really great day, but it was quite long. I got to their house at noon, we munched and left at one in the afternoon. I rode up with Rene and Mike and Rene’s uncle. It takes a good three hours to drive to Palmyra. We walked around the temple grounds and took some photos. Later we got something to eat and killed time at the little church bookstore in Palmyra. Rene’s session wasn’t until 7:30 that evening so that her parents could get there after they got out of work.

It was really nice to be in the temple with Rene and her family and other people that I know. It made me think back to when I went through for the first time and how my life has been blessed since. After the session, we had fun eating at Denny’s all together and probably didn’t leave there til nearly 1 am! And there was still the drive back home. We were blessed that we didn’t hit deer several times on the way home, we came very close. Finally I got back to my car and slowly drove home to avoid hitting deer, I made it home at 3:30 am! It was a very, very long day but it was so nice.

The funniest part of Tuesday was that Rene realized that she didn’t have a white bra with her until we were in Palmyra! And there isn’t a Walmart or anything like that close by-it’s a small town. She had some luck at a nearby dollar store, so that was our running joke for the evening. That was almost as good as my Mom’s friend who was hemming her wedding gown while in the car to the temple!

Me and Rene:

Wednesday was spent sleeping in and working on different projects. I am throwing Ame a bridal shower in the near future (I would throw one for Rene but she had to go back and Ame is staying home longer) so I made invitations and I also worked on some of my assignments for the party held for the couples on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Since both couples will be living out West after they are married and will not be back here for some time, a “pre-reception” or “preception” was planned. I offered my services when I found out about that a few weeks ago, coordinating things between four of us ladies has been a little crazy!

Thanksgiving was a nice day with the family, it almost always is just the four of us since we never seem to live by other relatives. Like usual, you spend far more time cooking and cleaning up than actually eating the meal, but it was nice. I made my own pumpkin flower arrangement to decorate our table; Mom and Laura made one as well. Dad did a really good job with the turkey, he likes to experiment with seasonings. It was nice to spend a fairly relaxing day with my family and to remember our many blessings.


My flowers:

Yummy dinner (Mom took the pic):


Friday revolved around the party, Laura and I went over in the morning to help set up (it was held at our little branch building because it was “neutral” territory located between the two families). Most buildings have a gym, but not our little building- the chapel and RS room open up into one large room. It’s a little funny eating and having merriment in the chapel (we have branch dinners in there regularly), but there’s not a whole lot that we can do. As far as church rooms go, it’s pretty nice and neutral (no burnt orange carpet or cinderblock walls like back home!) so it makes for a nice party space. I’ve seen receptions in rented hotel ballrooms where the room was uglier than our little building. Our chairs are pretty ugly though, but oh well.

Our little building cleans up well:

The "Cinderella" theme decor: Silver branches, gold pumpkins and little clear slippers on the tables:



My jobs were :


1) To cover the RS chalkboard and put the lettering for the party on the fabric (I printed the letters large, then cut them out and traced them onto nice paper which I then cut out again). I bought fabric and sewed the cover. Unfortunately I had a “Doh!” moment because I bought 40” fabric when I should have bought 60” wide fabric so I had to scramble and add the border at the bottom. I meant to do that, right?

The Couples: Mike & Rene, Dennis and Ame


2) To find and decorate two baskets that would hold cards that people brought to the party. One for each couple- each basket was to be decorated in their wedding colors. You would not believe how hard it is to find complimenting baskets that would be shaped pretty for cards. Mom and I scrambled for two weeks- even places like Joanns and Michaels had a pitiful offering. I wound up using one that Mom already owned, and one that she found someplace, they complimented each other well enough in shape and size and coloring.

I bought fake flowers and taped them together and wired them to each basket, adding big bows. As a final touch I created a scroll with each couple’s names and attached it to their basket and added a faux butterfly or two. I hate most fake flowers (and I hated them even as a child) but I was pretty pleased with how they turned out. In a perfect world (or for my own shindig) I would have created blooms out of paper or fabric instead of storebought ones, but there was no time for that.

Rene's colors are red and aqua:

Ame's colors are lavender and yellow:


3) To bring lights for the fake plants that had been gleaned from other buildings. The lights were from my extensive collection (people used to borrow my rose lights back home for weddings). Laura did a good job of putting them on the bushes.


We came back before the party started and helped with a few last minute things. We also loaned cake servers, a punch bowl and baskets for baked goods to the cause. The only real glitch that night was that Dennis and Rene’s parents were late getting to the building (and they were doing most of the food) due to car trouble but it was fine. It was nice to spend the evening with my friends and I had a nice time talking and laughing with everyone. Laura and I stayed to help clean up, and made it home about 10:30 that night. Dennis, Rene and Mike went back to Idaho this weekend, I'm glad Ame is staying longer. All the couples are so incredibly happy that it's hard not to have that happiness rub off on you. Most of my friends from out here have moved permanently or are away most of the time at school, so I can get a bit lonesome. I love it when friends come home to visit.

Me with Dennis and Ame:

Cutting the cake:

Playing a silly game with shoes ("Voting" with your or your finace's shoe as to who is more likely to do/not do something- pretty funny!)


So now you can see why it’s been a crazy week, it’s been nice to relax a bit (and sleep off the turkey) this weekend. There are not many people getting married out here (this party makes two open houses that we’ve attended since moving here over two years ago) so it was nice to be needed. Mom and I collect pretty things that people have used for weddings in the past, we joke about becoming a rental house!


This week also marked 6 years of being home from my mission (I came home two days before Thanksgiving way back when), thankfully I was not depressed about the anniversary unlike last year. 2009 has been a pretty good year, lots of blessings, so I can’t complain too much. Hope everyone had a good holiday and a good week.


Now onto getting back in the grind at school and getting ready for Christmas! I’m excited about the latter.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Gobble Gobble

While I'm showing YW activities, I thought I'd show what we did earlier in the month. We had a combined evening with the RS where we ate together (stews cooked in pumpkins and pumpkin cupcakes) and then Mom and I showed everyone how to create a flower arrangement in a little pumpkin. We picked up that trick back home and it's fun to do...and makes a great decoration for your Thanksgiving table!

My mom and Sis Johnson with the girls:
Laureen and her arrangement:

Tasha did these arrangements:

One thing that's great about the girls is that they're not afraid to dive right in and try something new, adults often don't have that quality. They had fun learning how to do this.
Here's How:
1) Find a little pumpkin, cut off the top and hollow it out.
2) soak some floral foam in water, cut a chunk to stick in the pumpkin.
3) Arrange your greenery, try to hide where the pumkin meets the foam.
4) Add your flowers, fill in with filler.
Voila! You have a masterpiece! Keep your foam moist and it'll last a while.



Friday, November 20, 2009

Happy Birthday to all....

...and to all a great night! I think the birthday party idea was hatched back in September or so, the girls were saying that they hadn't gotten to celebrate their birthdays at YW (I send a card but I don't make a night of it or else we'd never get anything done!) so we decided to celebrate everyone's birthday last Wednesday- no one had a birthday this month so it was "neutral". We started with a mini lesson about Heavenly Father and the plan of happiness and how to deal with adversity, then moved on to our game. I ran 6 lengths of yarn all through the YW room, each led to a reward. Some were easier then others. Definitely some adversity! It was quite the tripping hazzard!


"Spiderwebbing" a room is a family tradition of ours, every now and then we'll make someone follow a tangled string to their present. Each girl found two sets of knit gloves (not bad for a buck!) at the end of their string since I had heard some of them say that they needed gloves for winter. They had fun and learned some patience and cooperation while untangling themselves! One girl didn't show, so I wound up playing too.

Laureen, Breanne and Jen:
Then we moved on to decorating cakes. It was a lot of prep and a lot of cleanup, but the girls and I had fun! They learned how to do a crumbcoat, how to frost the cake and then they had fun playing with the different colors and frosting tips.

Kelsey, Laureen, Jen and Breanne (Katie not pictured):




Laureen did flowers:


Katie drew an anime character, she was pretty good with piping frosting!


I was too busy to decorate a cake at the party, so I decorated the leftover cake later that night. I was stuck with a rectangle cake, so what else could I do but an homage to my Kodak!


I think I can apply for my Wreckerator license now, lol.
The girls are as sweet as their cakes, I really enjoy this calling and I'm growing along with them.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

One man's trash...

...is totally another's treasure! I have so much fun antiquing, flea marketing, garage saleing, etc. It's always a treat to wander Goodwill, too. I like to see the potential in something that others can't. I have fun revamping things plus it's much "greener" (and cheaper!) to buy things that have already been made rather then to cause new things to be manufactured, not to mention you are keeping stuff out of landfills! If I had my own place I think it would be Salvation Army Style all the way! Here's the latest finds:


I love to collect vintage dishes (and they're aqua! Double score!):



Aren't these vintage bride dolls the sweetest? I love love love them! I will use the one on the right to decorate with at the upcoming bridal shower I am throwing my friend (she is a brunette). They were only $2 each and I estimate they are from the 40's or 50's at the latest:


I also found this wooden house, it looks like it was made to hold a chotchke or two, but I like it on it's own as a sculptural element. It now sits by the phone.




Another steal was this random of random quilt top...a random quilt for a random girl, eh, Angela? Ha ha. It's actually rather difficult for us humans to create a random thing, our brains want to organize things so badly- I was rather impressed at their randomness. I guesstimate that this quilt top was made in the 60's or 70's as it has some very funky fabrics! Some even have butterflies, it was a sign.

The fabrics aren't actually pieced together, but zigzagged onto a backing.


Sometimes a steal really is someone's trash, like the other week when my parents found this antique sewing machine sitting outside an Amish house. They asked about it and sure enough it was out for the trash. And it's in great condition too- the paint still looks great, no rust. We have a Singer treadle machine that my mom bought when I was little (she sewed us a lot of costumes on that machine! Way to go Mom!) so we have an appreciation for them. I'm curious as to what happened to the cabinet this would have been a part of.


I was surprised that this was out on the curb, it'd be worth a pretty penny in an antique shop, especially since it is in such nice condition.



The silver detail is quite Art Deco, this machine is probably from the 1920's or 30's. It's newer than our treadle machine. Us Chaneys like to rescue cool stuff, lol. And you wonder why we have too much stuff....



Thought I'd show what can be done with a thrift store find- I bought this gold plastic frame a few weeks ago and finally revamped it last weekend.


Before:

I spraypainted it black- when you remove color from an object it becomes all about its form. I LOVED the design that was left on the cardboard! So ghostly! Next time I'll have to remember to put a good piece of paper down to preserve the design.

I let it dry and hung it in my room, no other place for it now!

Can you tell I like butterflies from my pic? Ha ha. I really like "Mod Victorian" items so I liked how the frame turned out. I think it would look great with some Haunted Mansion wallpaper!





Stay tuned, folks for more craftiness!

Creepy Baby Dolls

Recently I finished my creepy baby doll painting, our teacher wanted us to try flesh tones because they are hard to do. My dolls weren't even as creepy as other ones that people had to paint!


You never draw on a canvas with a pencil, instead you sketch it with paint- yellow ochre. It'll blend into your painting because it's not a harsh color.
Here's the finished product, I was pleased:

Here's the photo of the dolls:

Our teacher encourages us to tweak our paintings if needed- adjust contrast or pump up color. Ultimately the painting has to stand on its own, the items won't always be there for a comparison!

It's always so interesting to see how people can take the same thing and make it all their own- this is someone else's painting of the doll on the left that you see in mine. It's fun seeing everyone's style.



No actual painting in class for awhile now, I have a little meeting with my teacher next Monday and then after Thanksgiving we'll be brainstorming our final projects. The semester is going by fast! I am having fun.


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Youth Conference

My sleeping bag and suitcase have gotten quite a workout this year and especially lately as I chaperoned Youth Conference the weekend after I went to the Tuckahoe Conference. I'll admit it: I didn't want to go to Youth Conference, mostly because I am still sick and really wanted my rest. But I had two girls going, so off I went.

None of our YW went last year, so having two go this year was an improvement and I was glad that they decided to go. None of my girls are terribly active so this was a good opportunity for them.

In the end, the weekend was good for all of us and I did have some fun. On Friday night, the kids made little oil lamps out of clay and then they had an 80's dance. It was hysterical having to correct the girls about the 80's! Kinda made me feel old, lol.

Conversation 1:
Laureen: What should I wear to the 80's dance?
Me: Well, blah blah, bright colors, blah blah...
Laureen: I'll wear my halloween costume then! It's bright colors!
Me: But your costume was Go Go 1960's, that's different.
Laureen: But it's bright colors!
Me: Sigh...

Conversation 2:
Katie: I'm going to request an 80's song. I'll request "Barbie Girl".
Me: Uh, Katie, that's not from the 80's.
Katie: Well then I'll request "Mambo No. 5". That's 80's, right Liz?
Me: Uh, no Katie. Much more recent.


I found my vintage sunglasses pin, pinned on the extra button from my coat, and added some saftey pins to become insta-80's. Not bad for spur of the moment! The button was in honor of a shirt I had as a kid that was covered in buttons. I know I have 80's jewelry somewhere, I'll have to find it. I did a side ponytail and bought some very buh-loo eyeshadow on the way to picking up the girls, so funny to see that Cover Girl makes "new"eyeshadow the same shade as Cookie Monster! Who wears this stuff for real??

We're planning our January YSA conference and I really think our dance has got to be an 80's dance. It would be so much fun!





My retro look:

Loved Miranda's hair!
My "Only in Lynnwood" blue eyeshadow:
The lake was pretty:
Laureen and Katie in front of the Girl's cabin:


On Saturday, the kids had many, many speakers and they got to make little tart-type pies and they had a lesson about the Brother of Jared, as the tarts resembled barges. While the kids played outside in the afternoon, I sat with a table of older sisters and listened to their birth/nursing stories for at least an hour and a half. Kindof awkward when you're the only non-married, non-baby producing person at the table. Don't get me wrong, I like babies but it was a bit much. I don't really fit in at youth activities...I'm not one of the older adults and I'm not one of the kids.
The closing devotional on Saturday was about the parable of the ten virgins, then each youth got their baked clay lamp and got to put a wick and olive oil in it and light it. I had a little epiphany when Brother Papa was talking about the bridegroom coming. No, not referring to Jesus or the Second Coming but about literally a groom...am I ready? One day he will come and I need to be ready. That has caused me to do some thinking and evaluation of myself.
Part of me is like "Good grief, where's my man?" and part of me is like "Ahhh! I'm not ready!" and those two sides duke it out. I think the biggest obstacle to my feeling ready is my health, so I need to work on that.
See? Youth Conference is good for everyone, including big kids like me.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Halloween Conference

Last weekend (Friday and Saturday) I went down by Harrisburg, PA to yet another YSA conference. I have some friends down there that I've met at other conferences and I really wanted to do something fun for Halloween. I haven't had an opportunity to dress up in costume or do anything spectacular for Halloween since moving here, and Halloween is one of my favorite holidays!

Things were going well on the trip down (I left from school)....until my Google directions failed me...what should have taken about 5 hours took me 7 (!) because it skipped a step and didn't tell me to get off the freeway. So I'm looking for the exit on the wrong freeway...I figured this out after I made it through Harrisburg and I knew the place was before Harrisburg. But the real problem was that there were NO exits to turn around for the longest time! I finally got turned around and found the campgrounds (by using my directions from the camp to home and figuring it out backwards). I got there later then I wanted and I was rather frazzled. I turned my frown upside down and changed into my costume for the dance.

I tried to be a pirate, I even made a skirt. But I think I came off looking more like a gypsy, lol. I couldn't find boots anywhere and I need some stripes in there, then I'll look like a pirate. Next time. I joked with Stef that I was there to find my own Steve the Pirate, lol. Gar!



My costume:

Me and Ivan:

Lots of cute costumes at the dance, like PB&J!:

My friends Ivan, Becca and Kate (as conjoined twins, lol!):
It was hilarious watching the "twins" dance!
The dance was fun...except for some really short guy wanting to dance with me and having his hand on my butt! He was short, but come on!

After the dance I helped out in the haunted house (put together in a creepy abandoned cafeteria at the camp). It was rather reminiscent of when I helped out at my friend's haunted house in high school. And also very reminiscent of hiding and scaring Laura back when we had a hallway!It was fun scaring people! Some people really jumped, it was great. Others I just distracted til they reached the guy hiding in the corner and then he scared the crap out of them! Teamwork rocks.

Inside the haunted house, now I really look like a gypsy:


And as a witch at my post:
Typecasting, no? LOL




Boy scouts built the camp and most of it was normal cabins but I got to sleep in the fort!
Across the street was this castle, but alas no Prince Charming:


The next day was fun as well. After breakfast we had a really good speaker (I may devote an entire post to him later) and then you could do whatever. I played Apples to Apples (such a fun game!) with a big group of people, it was pretty funny! You could go canoeing or go on a big zip line which didn't appeal to me.


Breakfast with my new friend Myriam (she's from Florida, served a mission in WA and also moved to PA to be near her family!). I didn't catch Leather Jacket Girl's name.
I meet a lot of really neat people at these events, love it!


I left a little early so that I could get home at a halfway decent time that night. Going home was much smoother, I made it home at 9:30pm. I took my time and stopped a few times for food, potty breaks, etc. I also saw elders at one of the rest stops! I went over and said hi to them...yes I have become one of the crazy RMs that used to come up to me, lol. They were very sweet and had both served near our little branch, they knew some of our members.

All was going well til I woke up with the flu on Sunday, so no church for me. I imagine I caught it at school, everyone has been dropping like flies. I was pretty amazed I hadn't caught it yet, especially since I have such a crummy immune system. I spent four days on the couch in a what seemed like a fever induced coma, I went back to classes yesterday. I'm still tired and a bit weak but doing alright. Thankfully it worked out that I didn't miss anything terribly important.
I got better just in time to go be a chaperone for Youth Conference this weekend! I'd really like to rest, hope I survive okay! We're camping in cabins up in NY, I seem to be camping a lot lately!