Puffy Love

I know I said that I would NEVER make another one of these again, but they're just so darn cute! Plus, I was trying to have the first quilt I made be genderless, but it is definitely fit for a girl and who knows what I will be having first....whenever that may be. :) With this blanket I wanted to take pictures of all the steps. I was pretty good at taking pictures at the beginning and then slacked off, but I think it still gives a good feel for how much work you actually have to do for these puppies.

1. 338 squares 2. Side view (it's not quite all of them)

3. All puffs sewn together 4. Lindsey and me sewing our cute blankets

5. Sewn in strips and then you sew the

strips together. 6. Finished front view

Now, like I said, I should have taken pictures at the end, because it's actually the hardest part. Getting the silk edge in was annoying since it was slipping out all over the place, then sewing the silk, the batting and the backing all together. It's hard because you have to squish each puff down to get it through your machine so your hands get so tired. I had to unstitch some of the edges about 5 times and try again. Here are better views of the front and back:

Front and Back

Since I now have a blanket for each gender, I think it's safe to say that I won't make another one ever again....unless I go crazy and get the idea that they're oodles of fun. Hm....maybe when I'm 80. However, I LOVE these blankets and they are so cute and they really are pretty fun to make when you take your time. :)

A Telephone Line to God

To start the week off, we had a lovely Relief Society lesson about gratitude yesterday. I shared a story about how laughing at life's trials makes those trials easier to bear, which then helps you to be more grateful for the things in your life. Funny how things bite you right in the left cheek the very next day.

Great Labor Day, Monday morning. Up at 7:15 am and ready for a jog. Nice, crisp, cool September air to prepare me for a full 11 hour day of work....but that's ok since it was time and a half. Things looked lovely. Simply lovely. I came home, hopped in the shower, turned on the computer to start working. The clock turns 7:57 am, Brian calls to inform me that he hit a light pole. A light pole in the middle of the parking lot that he couldn't see because the early morning sunlight was shining right in his face. So....our car has a lovely bent bumper and a very smashed in hood. Bite in the left cheek! What do I do? Do I get upset (after making sure he was ok, of course)? Do I rant and rave about he should have been watching for this pole, since he's been there before? Do I cry? Yes. I cry. Just for a few minutes though. It's okay, really. Things happen and of course you have to pay for little accidents, but I'm glad it wasn't worse and I'm glad he's ok. Then, at 8:03, a lovely little reminder of my relief society lesson came to humble me very quickly. All I want to do is sit and cry and bask in the horrible events of the morning. With my headset in one ear and hands on the keyboard, I hear a beep in my ear signaling that someone is calling to order contacts. A normal and appropriate response would be, "Thank you for calling 1-800 Contacts, this is Stacy, how can I help you today?" However, I respond differently since I have been groaning over my bent car all morning. Instead, I answer the phone, "Our dear Heavenly Father, thank...." pause...... (oh crap!! I just answered a company call in a prayer!) The man on the other end starts to say, " Is this 1-800 Con..."

I hung up immediately!

Oh man! What was I supposed to say? "Oh yeah, this is 1-800 Contacts. Sorry, my husband just wrecked the car and I've been talking to God ever since." Oh brother. I bet he called back and asked the next person where we were located and I bet it all made sense to him when he found out that we're based in Utah. Thanks Mormon heritage, I now have a telephone line direct to Heavenly Father. Needless to say I burst out laughing and couldn't control it.

To top off my morning, I ran outside to turn off our flooding sprinklers (all while being in a not ready status at work (meaning I don't receive calls at that time)). Anyway, I turn off the sprinklers, go back to my door, and turn the knob to go inside. GREAT! Brian always locks the door when he leaves, but you can't tell if it's locked or not from the inside. Thanks honey. Again, I was not very happy. Good thing our bedroom window was cracked, so I had to break into our house and hurry back to work. I got inside after a few minutes, washed all the mud and dirt of my legs and sat back to work again. Thanks to my morning phone prayer, I just started to laugh again.

All in a days work.

Birthday Weekend

So, I don't really know why I get so emotional at little things, but I just do now-a-days. Friday afternoon Brian informed me that his friend, wife, and baby were going to stay the weekend with us. I was NOT a happy camper. I cried all day since I was going to have to play hostess on my birthday and we weren't going to be able to spend any time together. I guess I've been kind of a Brian hog lately because I haven't seen him at all the last couple weeks. He just started doing a scuba diving class, and he has to be gone from 6-11:30 pm two nights a week. I've really missed him. Needless to say, I was really excited for the weekend just to spend time with him. I started to feel really bad though since his friend and his little family are driving and moving all the way to Texas and here I am complaining that I have to play hostess. So, I tried not to say anything for the rest of the day and just take it as it comes. I tend to blow things out of proportion anyway.

Saturday was tons of fun! Brian surprised me with some birthday roses from him and them another white rose from my sweet in-laws, which were absolutely beautiful! I love flowers! I also got these awesome beauties for my birthday...

I LOVE these shoes!! They are so cute...and very tall! However, I had nothing to wear them with other than one pair of jeans, so Brian took me shopping to get a new Sunday outfit to match. We spent all day trying to find a cute outfit and finally found one. I got a new navy pencil skirt and a normal button up shirt to go with. Since I had just been standing on my toes all day in these puppies, my feet were killing me. I was happy to take them off when I got home for sure! Anyway, after shopping we went to Red Lobster since Brian was craving sea food and I really wanted some crab. Yum! I love crab!! We also tried to catch Star Trek, but since all the college kids are back in town, it was all sold out. Stupid dollar theater. Sometimes I really hate the dollar theater, but I really wanted Brian to see it. Darn! We had to go home to welcome our company and then we just stayed at home the entire night.

Sunday, my actual b-day, was pretty nice and relaxing. We just lounged around the house and my parents came down that night and brought ice cream and brownies. YUM! Funniest thing was that Brian's friend, Jared, was the first one to wish me a happy birthday. Brian forgot that it was Sunday instead of Saturday I guess. Jared and his wife have the CUTEST baby girl. I soaked up holding her the whole weekend and now I dearly miss her now that she's gone. We had a lot of fun having them over for the weekend since we don't have babies over here very often. We would also stay up late and tell stupid stories that were only funny in the early morning hours. We haven't done that since the single life ended. Good times.

Well, now I'm 23 and I think this year will be super fun (even though I detest odd numbers...23. YUCK!). We wants kids to be coming sometime soon and I couldn't be more impatient waiting for that day to come. No, we're not pregnant yet. Just hopefuls for the coming months. Thanks to my wonderful husband, I had another great birthday. He is way too good to me!