I'm Back!!

But then, your probably wondering where the heck I went!!  Well, this last week, I went down to visit the Hubby in Mississippi!  WooHoo!!

I would have mentioned it earlier, but I'm extremely paranoid about telling people I'm going to be out of town...and my house will be empty...and an easy target for a robbery.  So I just skipped out without informing the whole blog-o-sphere of my plans.

It was an awesome trip, minus the 14 hr drive there and back.  Yep, we drove...I know, crazy!  But plane tickets are extremely too overpriced.  SO we (me and the parents) trekked all the way down there, driving through the night both ways.

I'll be posting pictures later throughout the week, but haven't quite figured out how to transfer them easily from my phone to my computer (Casey HELP).  For now, here is a peak at Casey and Me from last week:

As for Casey, he is doing great.  He's starting to bulk up (not in the fat-chubby way, but in the holy-crap-that's-a-lot-of-muscles way)!  He's got a huge group of friends down there, and from what I saw, they all seem great.  

Obviously, Case is ready to be home, but he's committed to his assignment.  The biggest annoyance for him is class.  He gets bored easily in it.  He's always been a fast learner, so waiting for everyone else to catch on is frustrating.  We only have a few more weeks though, then he'll be done!!

Leaving sucked!!  There's no way around that, but I'm trying to stay optimistic for the future.  April is almost here, and then May, and then he's home!!  I can do this, I can do this, I can do this (I feel like the little engine that could)!

I'll post more later, so stay tuned for more pictures...

A Lesson in Taping

For a while now I've been planning for some art above my sofa.  Right now the room feels drab and boring.  It needs some major punch of color. 

So yesterday I decided to tape off where I wanted the art to go.  And am I glad I did!  I had originally planned on doing the paintings this size (sorry about the existing wall art, I'm not gonna take it down till I'm ready to patch the holes, and hang the new stuff):

But after looking at it for a while, it felt too small.  I want something with high impact, to counter all the minimalism in my walls and sofa.  Also, I didn't like how the space above the paintings was practically the same size as the paintings themselves (about 3 ft each).  So I made it bigger:

Much better!!  But it still needed tweaking:

The narrower spacing feels more pulled together (pun totally intended!).  And so now I finally have the dimensions for my painting...or I should say paintings.  Add on top of that a gift card to Lowe's from my Sister for my birthday (I'm one happy lady).  Now I just need to head to the store for wood, and get crackin' on my project.

Oh, and I'm still working on my second pillow.  I finally got it all pinned up where I want it.  Photo's soon to follow.

Project: Pillow

Is anyone else out there a hobby enthusiast?  

Where you can't help yourself from trying new things?

Well that's me in a nut shell.  Especially if it has to do with the home.  I love learning new hobbies (painting, remodeling, you name it), but I'm a bit of a stickler.  Cause I have to become a "master" at anything I try (hence my "craptastic" old renderings post).  I don't like being an amateur at anything I do, but I do know my limitations.

So a few weeks ago, amidst a lull in work, I decided I would try my hand at sewing.  More specifically, at sewing pillows.  I had been looking for new throw pillows for a couple rooms in the house, and since I'm not willing to spend $20-30 on just one pillow (let alone $100 for a room of pillows), the idea arose for me to do them myself.

So on an especial dull day, I headed to the local fabric store to peruse the isles (Casey's learned that when I say I'm going to go look...I mean come back with armfuls of goodies).  Fabric stores can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you don't know exactly what you want.  But I came prepared.  Earlier in the week I had scribbled down some pillow designs I really liked.  

I soon found all the fabric I would need to start my new project!!  And headed home to plan it out. 

When it comes to sewing, I turn to the "moms".  Both are amazing!!  Casey's mom used to work at Hancock Fabrics, and pretty much knows everything about sewing there is to know.  And my mom seriously knows her way around a sewing machine...and is a great teacher.  So they both helped me with this little project of mine.

But enough about the how, here is my first finished pillow:

Isn't it cuuuuttte!!  I'm so excited about it!  And let me tell ya, it took me a long time to finish.  My mom helped me with some major parts all of this project.  She pretty much walked me through the whole process.  Including how to pull the fabric to get it to scrunch up.  Part of the sewing was really intimidating, so mom helped with that too.  And there was more than once that I had to rip out a row of stitching, and re-do it or let mom (like I said, I know my limitations).

But it was also very fun, and very rewarding!  It's like putting a jigsaw puzzle together, but you have to first cut all the pieces, and sew, and re-sew, and sew some more!!

In case your wondering, I used a pillow form for this pillow.  I'm lousy at stuffing pillows, and these two were 50% off at the fabric store!!!  I also put a fold over flap in the back, for easy cleaning and washing.

And since I had some fabric left over, I made some linen napkins too.  Here they are, with some of my "working station" (aka: mom's island) shots:

This is a close up on one of the corners.  You can't tell, but they were giving us some trouble sewing with all the double folded fabric.

I still have one more big pillow to finish in the next few days...once I can get back to mom's sewing machine.  But for now, I couldn't be happier with my little starter pillow!!

Lessons in Grocery Shopping

This last week was a first for me.  I finally went shopping on Base.  Casey had been bugging me about it for weeks, but it never seemed to work out (it's all the way across town for Heaven's sake).  And it was really hard to pull myself away from my oh-so-convenient grocery store about a mile and a half away. 

But since I was headed to the Base anyways to see the Dr. (read ALL about it in my last post), I figured it wouldn't hurt to look around at the grocery store.  Let me just say WOW, was I impressed!  The set up was great.  They had a ton of selection.  Their meat department ROCKED!  And I was able to find everything on my list without having to search (a BIG bonus for me...I hate asking for help). 

The biggest BONUS though was the price!!  Not only was the food cheaper on Base, there isn't sales tax on it either...SCORE!!  Which makes it well worth the gas and time to head all the way out there.  And since I'm so psyched about the prices, I thought I would share with you a bit of my "SCORE" worthy purchases!!

Apple Sauce:  Local Store- $2.69

                         Base- $1.79

Near East Couscous:  Local Store- $2.00

                                      Base- $1.74

Craisins: Local Store- $4.99

                Base- $2.83!!!

Dove Dark Choc.: Local Store- $3.50

                               Base- $2.99

Kashi Cereal: Local Store- $3.99

                        Base- $2.99

Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges: Local Store- $3.29

                                                       Base- $2.49

Lunch Meat (1 lb.): Local Store- $4.99

                                  Base- $2.79!!!!

Lunch Meat (9 oz.): Local Store- $3.00

                                   Base- $1.99

Easy Mac: Local Store- $3.49

                   Base- $2.50

Milk: Local Store- $3.18
          Base- $2.77

Giant Mott's Apple Juice: Local Store- $4.99

                                             Base- $2.50!!!

Naked Juice: Local Store- $3.19 or 2 for $6

                        Base- $1.85!!!

I also bought an 8 pack of the mini- bottles on sale for $2.50!!

Provolone Cheese: Local Store (Kraft 8 slices)- $3.99
                                 Base (Sargento 12 slices)- $1.99

And this was just the tip of the iceberg!!  I'm really hitting myself for waiting SO long to shop there!  This is just one more way for me to cut back on spending and save money.  I still need to find out if they accept coupons...but I'm a terrible coupon-er.

So, what are some of your "SCORE" worthy purchases?  I'd love to hear all about them!

Emergency Room Drama

Before Anyone gets all worried...I'm fine!

But since it's been so long since my last post, I figured I should fill you in on the recent happenings in my life.  So here goes:

I've been having chest pain the last few days.  I know: Red Flag!  I probably should have gone to the emergency room right away, but a) I'm only 24 for crying out loud, I'm not having a heart attack b) my pulse was fine and c) I wasn't going to get myself all worked up for nothing.

So I put it off for a few days, keeping a close eye on myself, and trying to rest.  Finally last night I decided I would call my Dr. in the morning, and go in for a simple check up.  I figured it was just indigestion, but I wanted to be certain. Well, that didn't happen.  As soon as I told the receptionist my problem...she yelled at me...scoffed me...and told me to go straight to the emergency room (Honestly, I know she was just doing her job, but WOW could she have been nicer)!

For some reason, being yelled at over the phone for trying to do the "right thing" (I WAS trying to take care of it, after all!), only made me more stressed out.  I started freaking.  I mean major-anxiety-attack kind of freaking ...which soon lead to tears.  I was all alone, with no Casey to turn to, and I was afraid to go to the emergency room on my own.

Luckily, I have a Dad who is always there for me!!  As soon as I called and told him what was up (through tears, I might add), he rushed over to take me.  Yay, Daddy!!  I can't tell you how much of a relief he was.  He stayed calm the whole time (we both knew nothing BIG was wrong with me), and kept my mind preoccupied from freaking further.

I was rushed through my check-in by 3 nurses (seriously 3...they must have been having a slow day), then got hooked up to a blood pressure machine...and all the other do-dads they could dig up.  I met with at least 10 different people, doing random checks.  Had an EKG test and Chest X-ray.  Got asked a ton of personal questions...over and over again (NO, I am NOT pregnant...for the 3rd time). Then got sent home.  No needles thankfully!!

Long story short, they believe I have Pleurisy.  A big fancy word for inflammation in the lungs or chest lining.  I most likely got this after having a MAJOR bought of allergies, which lead to constant sneezing.  It's pretty much like spraining an ankle, but in your chest.  There isn't much they can do for me (cause I can't really stop breathing, to give my lungs a rest) except tell me to take Advil...swell! 

So that's what I've been doing.  I know it could have turned out a LOT worse, so I'm grateful for that.  But the whole experience was too stressful...and too dramatic to care for.  I didn't realize a situation like this would be SO hard to handle.  Mainly because Casey wasn't here to consult.  I sometimes forget (given the situation) how completely dependent on him I can be.  I forget how much I need him.  Today was definitely one of those days.

And in case your wondering, Casey knows all about my situation now.  I sent him a text as soon as I got home.  He doesn't freak out (that's my job), so as soon as I told him I was fine, he was fine!  In fact, he thought it would be fun to tease everyone and tell them I got diagnosed with Pleurisy...and not say anything more!  Just to play with everyone's minds.  Jerk!!

So I've already made a follow up appointment with my Dr. for Friday, and hopefully she will be able to give me a clean bill of health.  It will be a welcomed relief!