leaving on a jet plane....twice

My parents are finally retiring! And to celebrate, my family is taking a vacation together to Yellowstone in Montana. We've be planning it for months and months and I purchased our plane tickets weeks ago and vacation day finally arrived!

And then we drove to the airport a day early.

But don't worry, it's not like I got my husband up at 5 in the morning in order to get there on time. Oh wait, I did.

Oh yes, we had packed, worked like maniacs to get ready on time, hired a dog sitter, cleaned the house, changed the sheets, finished the laundry. You name it, we were ready to go. And then, while on the shuttle to the airport, Josh tried checking us in on our phones. And I realized our flight is on SUNDAY not SATURDAY. Seriously. I couldn't believe it. To make matters worse, I called my mom thinking that she would be expecting us on Saturday. Nope. Turns out I'm the only one who didn't realize we weren't arriving until Sunday.

Needless to say we sheepishly rode the shuttle back, picked up our car, endured the puzzled stares of the lot attendants, and went home.

We did eventually make it to the airport on the correct day, although my complete buffoonery hadn't ended. After several attempts to check in on our Delta phone app, Josh looked at my confirmation email that was clearly labeled UNITED AIRLINES. I seriously don't know what I was thinking. Oh wait! I wasn't. And then I almost missed our shuttle because I wandered away, looking for Pokemon..... At that point my loving husband put his hands on my shoulders, looked me in the eyes and said, in all earnestness, "I'm going to need you to be an adult today."

wedding rings {chronology}

I recently posted about one of hubby's tattoos. but i also wanted to share this one, too.

it's the reason we went into that parlor to begin with:

His (tattooed) wedding band. 

He's not a jewelry person, and I always knew that he wouldn't be crazy about a ring, so this was perfect. Growing up my dad never really wore his wedding ring (I have no idea why)  so I always just thought it was kinda optional for men. Because of that, it really wasn't a source of contention that his wedding band may not be a permanent fixture of his left hand.

Add to that the fact that my sister (the maid of honor) forgot his wedding band during the ceremony and we had to make due with her teeny-tiny little ring. Seriously, this thing was small. It wouldn't fit over his first knuckle! So I always joke that he didn't get a ring during the ceremony so why would I expect him to wear it?

But to go the traditional route, we still got him an (all metal) ring as well, but he lost it within a couple months of the wedding. Although to be fair he was an avid rock-climber at the time and he was always having to take the thing on and off. 

So I got him one for christmas:

 He helped pick it out from this shop on etsy. All wood and very light and comfortable. He wore it all the time, but after about a year it broke (see the crack?)

So then I got him this one (from this amazing shop):

Probably my favorite. Nope, definitely my favorite! I like that it's a combo of the first two rings: metal and wood together. He still doesn't wear it much and so I did sometimes, but he thought it was weird so I stopped. I don't know, i guess it is kinda weird...

and just so I don't feel left out, here's mine (which could use a good polish, i see...)

i absolutely adore it and you'll never catch me without it. 

 

Josh picked it out all on his own from a local shop, and later we got the wedding band made especially to go with it. I wanted something simple that didn't take away from the unique shape. 

And I love it most of all. Because of all it stands for, because it's my very own one-of-a-kind, and because it was chosen by my very own love!

violin case project

i don't know why i didn't do this before! granted, it's not the most amazing thing ever, but it's such an improvement!

violin cases are so boring, and mostly all look the same {the biggest differences often being whether it's black or brown} i can't tell you how many times i've gone up to a group of cases and opened the wrong one. whoops!

and just in case you wanted to follow my train of thought on this project, here it is:

1) i originally thought of embroidering something musical on it. but i don't have any embroidery skills to speak of

2) so then i thought about sewing on a few buttons and embroidering little stems on them to make them into notes.

 i actually made two of these, but it wasn't good. just not quite right.

but i liked the button idea, 

3) so i thought about sewing buttons all along the edge. i got out my stash of buttons, sorted them by color and had every intention of just putting them in random order. but as i started lining them up it looked really dull and boring. a little too random.

4) so then, since they were already grouped by color i thought i'd just sew a line of one color until it ran out and then switch colors. 

5) and then i thought, if i'm gonna do color, i might as well go rainbow. 

and that's what i ended up with. i'm sure the buttons will pop off over time, but that'll be easy to fix. and if i ever change my mind about the whole thing, they'll come off easily and leave the case in tact. 

i used lots of my old vintage buttons with things like trains, hats, and various animals that i've been hoarding.

ye old sewing machine

i've been spending so much time with my sewing machine lately that i thought it was time i shared the story of its purchase with you.

many years ago, just before i went to off to college my mom bought me this oldish, but working, sewing machine at a garage sale. and it was great. i didn't use it a lot in those early college years, but i was comforted knowing that it was there, in the back of my dorm room closet. 

fast forward a few more years and i'm a newlywed. using my sewing machine a lot more (since i have my own little apartment now) and it stops working. so my wonderful new hubby says the first thing we're going to do is buy me a new machine for our first christmas together. yay! until then, i'll just borrowed my mother-in-laws.

so right after thanksgiving i go to the best sewing machine store in town, tell them what i'm looking for and lo and behold! they have the perfect machine for me, with all the features i want, and since it's refurbished, it's half price and has a 2 year warranty including any repairs it might need.

needless to say, i'm over-the-moon extatic and sad i have to wait until christmas to use it! {still just borrowing mother-in-laws}

so, sometime in january there's a problem and i take it in to get it repaired {which is pretty inconvenient because the shop is about 20 miles away}. i get it back a couple weeks later and it's fine. then a month later, the same problem: take it to get fixed, pick it up. and then it happens a third time. boo!

this time when i go to pick it up, they tell me that it's not a fixable problem, and they will credit me the money from that machine towards a different one. the only catch is that they don't have any similar machines in, so i either have to upgrade {a lot} or just wait indefinitely for one to come in. no refunds.

so hubby is pretty upset and he's explaining to the shop guy that we're newlyweds, and poor and this was my christmas gift, and 3 months later it's still not fixed properly. and we want our money back, which the guy says they can't do.

meanwhile, i start crying {you know, just tearing up a little} because i'm really really disappointed. {i hate crying in front of others, but i couldn't help it}

so they guy sees this, visibly feels bad, and basically says "ok! here, have a new machine!" 

so, i got myself a brand new, way more expensive machine. 

and all was right with the world <3

edit:  i'm not a big fan of pink, but somehow you have made me wish my machine was pink!
i guess the lighting in the photo is weird...standard white :(

baby talk

my sister babysits for two little twin babies {about 18 months now} and sees them a few times a month. she's been doing this for at least a year, so they know and love her. they came over last night to spend the day with us and it was quite an adventure.

husband is pretty leary of babies, but he spent a fair amount of time with them, which led to quite a few funny conversations {by which i mean he talks to the babies. like they're 9}. here are my favorites:

josh comes downstairs to find a twin with no pants on and he says, in all seriousness: "where are your pants, baby? you need to put some pants on."

the twins are both sitting on the kitchen floor playing with josh and he says: "alright, you need to master object permanency. just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't still exist, ok babies?"

my hubby. the future college professor. totally cracks me up.

photo here

no freezer space? no problem!

"distribution time at the salvation army during christmas is a time of tremendous pressure and stress; there's not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that has to be done. the pressure isn't only on the officers, but the staff and the volunteers who are dedicated and committed to this whole process and to getting christmas food, goods, and toys out to families. as soon as the doors close on distribution day after a big distribution it's a complete sigh of relief and everybody is just absolutely drained. 

  {photo via veer}

one year we were at a corps where we had served just under 1000 families and we were absolutely exhausted. there were a few chickens leftover and we had packed everything in the freezer that we could, but there wasn't enough room, so we had a few chickens that we couldn't get in the freezer.  this was in a real cold climate and we had an emergency egress from the basement that had a vertical ladder that you could climb to get up to the street level. there was a little paved area right inside a door and then the ladder was there, and that was what we called the cold spot because there was a grate over the top and it was secure, but it was freezer cold all winter long. so we put the chickens out there because we knew they'd be safe and they would be totally frozen. and that worked out just fine. we were exhausted, we went home, we celebrated christmas with our families. when we went back to work we of course did all the clean up and then got back into our regular routine. 

and nobody remembered to retrieve those chickens when there was room in the freezer. 

and nobody remembered later than that. 

and nobody remembered later than that.

and in may we began to notice a *ahem* bad odor in the building. we finally traced its source to the downstairs area and then finally someone opened the door.

and we remebered those chickens."

{christmas story #3 from my mom. want more? story #1 story #2}

ding-dong ditch (christmas style)

here is the 2nd christmas story from my mom in my "christmas stories from mom" series {creatively titled, i know}

 read the first story, and a little bit about the whole thing here

 story #2

{dictated over the phone}

"a woman had picked up her things at the morning distribution, at her appointed time, and everything went the way it was supossed to, but she returned in the afternoon. she very apologetically asked if she could exchange the toys she got for one of her daughters for clothing instead. she was also apologetic because she had her 4-year-old daughter with her, and childern are not usually allowed at distributions for obvious reasons. but head start was over and she had nobody to watch her, so she had to come along. it was a bitterly cold day but the little girl only had on a see-through plastic raincoat for a coat. she had no hat or gloves, and her hands and face were bright red from the cold. the mother said that the other 2 girls had gotten clothing but she wanted to exchange the toys for clothing because they had been homeless and the other two girls had gotten some clothing and they needed that more than toys, so that's what she wanted to do. 

we agreed to do that, and while we were locating clothing of the right size, i had some other volunteers find a brand new coat, boots, hat and gloves for the little girl that was in the rain coat. so she left all bundled up and in warm new outer gear. the lady was extremely appreciative. 

after she left, i got a couple of our long-time and wonderful volunteers and we went through our toy shop, which was well supplied, and found the wishlist for all three of the girls and got them all of the toys they had asked for, and then lots more nice new clothing and just really did a christmas that they would never ever forget in their whole lives. we bagged them up in great giant bags and our volunteers took them that night to the family's house, put them on the porch, rang the doorbell and ran!"

this just puts a huge smile on my face :) and it reminds me of the importance of giving back to others this holiday season! i wish i could do more, i wish i did more, but i try my best to remember that every little thing counts and can make a difference in someone's life.

{photo via}

christmas stories from mom #1

 my mom has so many wonderfully funny and heartwarming christmas stories from my parents' work at the salvation army, and i personally can't resist a great story {especially from my mom} so i thought for the month of december i would ask her to be a guest blogger of sorts and tell me some of her favorites.

i hope you enjoy the stories as much as i do!

{dictated over the phone}:

 "well, this isn't a funny story but it's a heartwarming story i really love. 

we were doing adpot-a-family {donors provide their adopted family with all their food, gifts and clothing for christmas} for the first time in sioux city, iowa and we arranged for the donors to bring the purchases to the corps rather than take it to the homes of the people who'd signed up so that the families had privacy. so we were surprised when we got a phone call asking if a donor could deliver. it was the 85th air battalion. they requested a single mom with boys and we found a mother who had 4 boys. then they asked if they could deliver to their house and we explained that we couldn't do that because we wanted to retain the privacy of the family. but they asked if they could get permission to deliver any way. i was extremely reluctant to hear them out, however, they were persuasive. when i heard their argument we did change our minds because they delivered the christmas packages and food in a tank. and it was a christmas never to be forgotten by those boys when they came rolling in.

 the paper covered it. and the boys got to ride on the tank and got lots of attention from airmen who were so kind and had such a great idea. it was very impressive."

such a wonderful story. 
 my heart is quite warm now. yours too?

{photos via here and here}

red kettle campaign

wet money and the sound of the change machine. 

these are two things that always come to mind for me when i think about christmas.

weird, i know.

 i've talked before about my parents' jobs as salvation army officers {here}. which makes me an officer's kid, which comes with all kinds of unusual things. and because of this, my holidays have always been full of kettle counting. you know? all the people in front of stores ringing bells with the big "sharing is caring" signs. i love helping my parents count the money. i don't know why. wet money smells bad, and it's really dirty, but for me, it's just part of the christmas spirit.

i still remember when i was a little kid, living in iowa, falling asleep every night to the sound of the change machine going in the living room. we lived in a small city, so my parents usually counted all alone {every night}, and the change machine only separated the coins then. they still had to roll them and count them. now, they live in a huge{ish} city and count money with lots of other people, and the change machine is much quieter and actually counts the money for them.

and {almost} every time i visit them i still go help count. 

i love it.

hubby hates it.

{cause he's a germaphobe. did i mention how dirty money is?}

so, besides sharing one of my christmas stories with you, i also wanted to share this:

Banner Ad for Red Kettle

my own personal online kettle!

i can't tell you how excited i am to host this on my little blog. i love the kettle campaign and every year i bring out all my change, carry it around with me and put some in every kettle i come by.

it's a wonderful charity, you can donate as little or as much as you want because every little bit helps! truly! the salvation army is a charity with one of the lowest overheads, so what you give actually goes to people in need- not paying for publicity, paying to keep the lights on, or salaries {trust me on that one}

if you're looking for an easy and meaningful way to give back this holiday season, please consider donating!

my favorite thanksgiving story

my parents have always been planners. so when i was in 7th or 8th grade they decided it was time to update their wills. in order to do this, they talked to each me and my siblings {2 sisters, 1 brother} about what we would want left to us.

we were all together for thanksgiving that year as well {which doesn't usually happen} and i was talking to my older sister and said , "yeah, i talked to mom and dad about their will, and i told them i wasn't sure what i wanted, but i know i want that lamp"

big sister: "wait, what lamp?"

me: "you know, the one with the dancing lady and the colored glass"

big sis: "no way! i told them i want the lamp!"

then my brother walks in.

brother: "what are you guys talking about?"

big sis and i explain about how we both asked for the same lamp. to which he responds,

"well neither one of you are going to get it because that's the only thing i asked for!"

big sis: "i'm the oldest! i should get it!"

me: "oh yeah, well when did you talk to them, cause i asked for it first!"

brother: "i love it more than either of you, so i should get it!"

meanwhile my little sister has come in, and jumps in on the action:

"what?!? you mean you guys all want that lamp? cause i want it too!"

at this point we're all laughing hysterically, along with my parents.

i have no idea what it is about this lamp that we all love so much, but we really do. i'm sure my parents have had it for almost 40 years, so we all kinda grew up with it.

{marble base, bronze figurine, porceline face, hand blown glass in italy}

my mom's solution is to just break it so none of us can have it.

i wish everyone a wonderful thanksgiving, with lots of new stories to share!

my favorite holiday

for many many years now thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday. i've often thought it was very under-appreciated, but i think that may partially be because, while i love it for all the traditional reasons, i have many of my own too.

{thanksgiving '07, sister.me.hubby}

my parents are salvation army officers {simplified, they are pastors and social workers put together} since the holidays are such a time for giving and charity you can imagine how busy my household gets. well, actually maybe not. i know the holidays are crazy for everyone, but in my house it was the most stressful time of the year {and not something we really looked forward to}. my dad dropped us off at school and came home after we went to bed so it's safe to say we saw him most on sundays when he was behind the pulpit. my parents were organizing volunteers, managing bell ringing, over-seeing christmas adoptions, angel tree gifts, food baskets, christmas parties for staff and volunteers, and much much more.

this is of course on top of traditional holiday extras such as orchestra.choir.chamber concerts and friends' holiday parties.

i lost my family during the holidays, and my sister and i usually lived off pizza rolls and frozen pot pies {which i can't complain about because i thoroughly enjoy}

so for me, thanksgiving is not just about what i'm thankful for, it's really about family. it was our family's last hurrah. our last home made meal for many weeks, or actually our last meal together for weeks. it was the weekend we actually got to enjoy the holiday spirit. the presents were all bought {there was no time for shopping after black friday} we always decorated the day after thanksgiving and if the tree didn't get up by saturday, it didn't make it up at all {and yes, that happened once or twice}. after that, it was just a marathon run to christmas day. yes, in my family we counted down the days until christmas for a very different reason!

so even though my parents' positions have changed and christmas doesn't bring as many stresses and obligations as before, and i've moved out of the house {but still eating pizza rolls and pot pies} thanksgiving will always have a very special place in my heart. it always reminds me that though i have many things to be thankful for, the one that out weights all of the others put together is family! i'm going home tomorrow to be with my parents, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews and i can't wait!

what makes thanksgiving so special for you?

about a mouse

i had an amazing weekend.

one of those weekends where every moment is good.

hubby and i went to a poetry reading at a local art gallery on friday night, then headed to omaha for some time with my family on saturday. and even though we were only there for 24 hours it was wonderful!

so much laughing my stomach still hurts.

josh was doing homework most of our time there,

but we got to spend some quality time together on the trip there and back.

i love traveling with him because i can call a three hour car-ride "quality time" and he makes it seem so much shorter! i'm so glad that after 2 years of dating and 3 years of marriage we can still talk for hours.

anyway, one of my favorite stories from the weekend involves my dad.

background: my dad loves christmas lights, and takes great pride in his yearly (very classy and beautiful) displays.

he also has a terrible habit of breaking things (such as ribs, ankles, and heads) and falling off ladders.

exhibit a: one year (when i was around 8) he was putting up decorations, fell of the ladder onto the fence post and broke several ribs.

exhibit b: last year he was putting up decorations at the office and fell off the ladder, badly sprained his wrist and was very disoriented for hours.

this year my mom called to tell me that he fell off the ladder. again. and broke something. again.

it was a mouse.

he fell on a mouse and killed it.

only my dad.

i love him :)

(putting up more lights with both feet safely and firmly planted on the ground)