I'm Outta Here

I'm getting ready to go out of town for a week to visit my sister Laura in Ohio, so I thought I'd share a few of the things I've done before I go.  I made a Harry Potter apron for my sister-in-law Amanda's birthday.  If you don't already know, Amanda really loves HP.  So she had an HP themed birthday party and we played HP Scene It, drank Butter Beer, and got sorted into houses.  You know the usual things you do at a 28 year-olds birthday party.  Anyway I think she likes the apron.  Super cute, right?

I also made a Valentines yarn wreath - Don't act surprised, you knew I was going to.  I decided for V-day I needed to make it super frou-frou and I fell in love with the pink and white swirl yarn - makes me think of candy.

But mostly I'm excited for my little vacation.  I'm going sans-husband and am really looking forward to some girl time with my sis and her 5 girls.  Hurrah! But before I go I have to leave you with this little nugget.  As you know my brother Mike has been living with us for the last few months, and last night upon realizing that I was leaving today without Mark, he said, "Mark, I have two word for you: Risky Business."  (And now you know why I need some girl time.)

What Does Netflix Say About You?

For all of you that have Netflix - you know that they give suggestions based on your interests and preferences.  I occasionally scroll through just to see what's there and lately the categories have been cracking me up.  My brother Mike's been living with us for a few months and the combination of the three of us watching Netflix has been creating some random categories.  So I thought I'd share, here's what Netflix says about me today:

• British Period Pieces Based on Books
• Mind-Bending Suspenseful Sci-Fi & Fantasy
• Witty Dysfunctional-Family TV Shows
• Emotional Foreign Documentaries
• Violent Crime TV Shows
• Girl-Power Children & Family Movies
• Quirky TV Comedies
• Feel-good Foreign Action & Adventure

 And there you have it, this is my house in a nutshell.  So now I want to know - what does Netflix say about you?

Craft Talk

My friend Nancy invited me to a craft night to make yarn wreaths and since I already had plans and therefore can't go I decided to make my own.  (Which I did and I love it.)  Let me first say that when I heard the words yarn and wreath together I thought "this is not going to be good."  But then I realized that Nancy was making them and since she is quite fashionable I thought I'd at least click on the link she sent with the invite.  And let me tell you I am glad I did.  I absolutely adore these wreaths!  You see I have been without wreaths for years now (other than a Christmas one that I rather like but that my husband hates).  And so over these wreathless years when I am at the craft store I will occasionally look through the wreaths but never find anything I really love (or if I did find something it was outrageously expensive).  So I am extremely excited to realize that I can make custom wreaths, to my exact desires, for $8 or less.  That is $8 if I needed to buy all the supplies.  But since I already own a large pile of felt, a ton of ribbon, and a huge basket of yarn - I really only need to buy the wreaths, which are $2.99 and a few extra details to decorate with.  How great is that?  In fact I have already planned to make myself one for every season plus Halloween and Christmas.  I am having the best time coming up with color schemes and decorations for each one.  And since it is September I decided to make an autumnal one first - I finished it yesterday and really like how it turned out. 

If you want to make one for yourself instructions and examples are here and here.  I found it helpful to refer to both blogs, because they each have slightly different directions and examples of finished wreaths- so between the two I figured out more of what I wanted to do.  Anyway that's my craft of the day- see you next time!

Partners in Crime

So recently I have been spending my time rearranging and redecorating my house (I use redecorating loosely because I am doing it in the most affordable way possible - moving art from one room to another, repainting canvases, putting different photos in frames, etc...). Part of this process included asking my mom to send me old family photos - and when I say old, I mean old - I'm talking ancestors, baby. I decided it would be great to combine current family photos with old family photos all in black and white in my living room. I also went to the McKeon's and got some photos of Mark's family and scanned them in. And I am loving all the family mixed together.

Wedding photos of my parents, us, and Mark's parents






















Here Mark and I are playing together in the backyard wading pool

















My mom also sent me this photo of myself at age 6, which looks quite a bit like my niece Sophia (now age 6)











































My Grandma Wade with her twins and my sister Laura with her twins





































My mom as a toddler (with her twin brother Bill) and my niece Lily






















My mom in college and my sister Laura







































I think that was my favorite part about this whole experience - finding how much our old family looks like our new family...

Time for an Intervention?

Hi my name is Heather and I am an alien-aholic. There I've taken the 1st step towards recovering. I am admitting my problem. You see there are you ladies out there with your vampires and werewolves... But I'll take an alien any day of the week. Growing up with my sci-fi fan of a dad - we watched a lot of Star Trek and Star Wars, etc.... The first movie I remember seeing in the theater is E.T. But really this little obsession for me, I think, all started with the tv show Starman. Oh how I loved that Starman! And then of course there were the great shows like X-Files and The Next Generation that kept aliens alive and well in my mind. Roswell made me fall in madly in love with Max Evans and wish that a beautiful, tortured alien with a healing touch would come and save me from my pathetic 23-year-old existence. But now - now I have found the end all and be all of my alien-addictedness. The Doctor.

Oh, Doctor Who where have you been all my life? What's that? You've been there in England since 1963 - even before I was born - just waiting for me! I'm sure my dad tried to introduce you to me, but I was such a silly little girl then that I did not listen. But, thanks to my brothers, I now finally have you in my life. In fact, Michael and John should really be given medals of honor for introducing me to the two loves of my life - Mark and The Doctor.

So it is with great excitement that I present to you my one and only Doctor Who Bathroom (or Doctor Who Loo - if you like the rhyming and the British-ness of it all):




































The photos are a little dark (it is the bathroom after all), so to clarify the rug and soap dispenser are TARDIS blue and the towels are blue and black.



















The TARDIS in Starry Night - love it! Especially after the Van Gogh episode...
















This picture is really where the idea for the bathroom all started. So thanks to The Gorgonist on etsy for creating the most amazingly adorable and hilarious piece of art! Heather Winters and I decided it was me and her. And Mark unknowingly said he thinks the Dalek girl is the cutest one - so basically even in the sort-of cartoon version of myself he thinks I'm hot! (Now Heather you will have to test Greg and see if he passes.)





















A little collage of some of my favorite Doctor Who moments and monsters.





















And of course a TARDIS on the back of the toilet tank...





















Filled with potpourri, naturally.

Previously On...

If you haven't been hanging out with us for the past 3ish months (so I've been a little slack at the blogging lately- so sue me) here's what you've missed:

Redecorated our bedroom (thanks to a little help from my mom for supplying the comforter and 4 sexy throw pillows)

















Made a diaper bag for Heather Winters

















Had some new nieces - Alice and Penny Chabo were born 11/30/10 - come on! how adorable right?!

















Had some snow

















Had some Christmas

















Had some more snow, so we had a white Christmas (in NC who woulda thought) and watched some Doctor Who

















Made a hip bag (aka cooler way of saying fanny pack) for my sister Susy to use when she runs - she ran her 1st marathan at Disney earlier this month

















Had our 5th anniversary (which I incidentally have no pictures of) and a Happy New Year!

Now we're looking forward to going to Ohio to visit my sister Laura and her family next week. Can't wait to meet those twin babies! (And see the rest of my family too of course.)

Big, Angry Beastie

Well another month has gone by with barely any news from me and I'll tell you why. Because I have been a big, angry Beastie! I didn't want to push all my mean-nasty on you, so instead I have been having daily ice cream anti-socials. (Or cake, or brownies, or chips, or cheese, or Mexican food... Mmm Mexican food that sounds delicious. I need to eat dinner.) But today while I was reading over my lunch hour, I realized that I have been a big, angry Beastie and need to get over it! Basically I have been saying "woe is me" for over a month now and I'm sick of myself. To give you an idea of my inner monologue, here's a sample: "Where are my babies? Where's my rich husband? Where's my big, beautiful house? Why am I still working? Why aren't I a stay-at-home mom with lots of children? Where's my new car with working AC? etc, etc..." You see how annoying I've been?

So I decided to be happy with what I got. I don't have everything I ever dreamed of, but in some ways I have more... I have a loving husband who tells me I'm hot everyday. He's my best friend and cracks me up! (Plus I always loved John Lennon and he's a little John Lennon-looking. Or as I now think, John Lennon is a little Mark-looking.) I have a good job and I make good money - in fact I just got a raise today. And I'm using that job to help my husband pay his way through school - this lady is bringing home the bacon. (Mmm bacon. Really need to eat dinner.) I don't have any babies yet and sometimes it's dang hard not to stress out thinking about how these eggs have an expiration date and wanting to slap every pregnant lady I see. (No offense to all my pregnant girls. Love ya, mean it! Happy for you, sad for me - you know how it is...) But I know that I will have some babies - in the words of George Michael I just gotta have faith - because the Lord is smarter than me. And thanks to modern conveniences, I have a DVR, Netflix, and a library card so I can escape at the snap of a finger. We just moved in to a super cute apartment that we love. And we don't have roommates anymore! (Can I get an Amen?!) Although I have a 12 year old car with no working AC - I have no car payment. And my friend's husband just put a CD player in it - no more tape deck for me baby, welcome to the 21st century - so I have been enjoying rocking out to my CDs on my way to and from work each day.
















So you see life aint too shabby. I mean just look at that dorky expression on his face - how could I not love that guy and be happy?!

Now I am going to go eat dinner, cause I am starving. In case you didn't already guess.

Switcheroo

So remember that time I said that Mark and I were moving on March 13 to an adorable cottage in New Hill? Well never mind. We'll be staying where we are until August, cause apparently the Lord has other plans for us. It is a weird thing that we've gone through the last few weeks. We had been feeling like we were supposed to move, we found a great house, prayed about it and got "yes, you'll be very happy here." Then less than two weeks later we get, "Although you'd be very happy in that house, it's not My will. You're supposed to stay where you are until August." Mark and I have been very prayerful about it and we went to the temple Friday night and feel that this is what the Lord wants for us right now. And when it comes down to choosing between my personal selfish choice vs the Lord's choice - it's pretty much a no brainer! Through it all I've gained an even stronger testimony of faith and trusting that the Lord knows more about what's going on than we do. Even though it can sometimes be frustrating and scary to do what He says. So we'll see what happens over the next five months - and maybe we'll never know why we're supposed to stay and that's OK too.

In the mean time, since we already requested off vacation days for the move we decided to go on a mini vacation and visit my sister Laura and her family in Ohio. So you see we don't even have to wait five months for some of the payoff. Amish Butter here we come... Hurrah!

Feeling Neglected?

How have I neglected thee? Let me count the ways... Well just so you know I have not intentionally been neglecting you. I have written many-a-blog in my head while drifting off to sleep or driving in the car. Just seem to have a hard time getting in front of the computer with it all. But be assured the last month has been an adventurous one filled with Mark's healing eye, snow days and house/apartment hunting...

I am happy to report that Mark's eye is fully healed. Two beautiful green ones that I can gaze lovingly into for all eternity. (Too much? Perhaps...) And randomly through it all I found myself singing that girl's camp song "He's got one black, two black, eyes like a shoe black. Sweetheart to the bone..." (Ha! Now it's stuck in your head.)

We've had uncharacteristically wintery weather in NC. And as a result have had numerous snow days. Abby loved the snow! She shoved handful after handful into her mouth. She's definitely a snow-baby.











And in other news... as you know we've been renting my parents house for the last year but now they're ready to put it on the market. (And we're ready to be on our own again.) So despite the weather Mark and I have spent the last few weekends apartment/house hunting. Since we're not quite ready to buy a house, we wanted to find a place that we could happily live until we are ready to buy a house. We found ourselves looking in unexpected places like Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Apex. But most unexpected of all is that we chose a place in New Hill. It's an adorable little two bedroom cottage nestled in the country. I plan to go take some photos this week, so I'll post those soon. We'll only be 2 miles from Jordan Lake - so if you're looking for us in the summer, you'll know where to find us. We're moving March 13, so the next few weeks will be spent packing... But we're really excited!

Do You See What I See?

While Michael is living with us he's been sharing a bedroom with Abby and this is what he wakes up to every morning.

Adventures of a New Couch

Not long after John and family moved in, our couch broke. It was on it's way out and so having 3-4 people regularly sitting on it at a time officially killed it. So I found a new one on Craigs List and it was just what I wanted. Plus it was only $30! I mean I've seen couches in terrible shape for $100 on Craigs List so you can imagine my joy when this lovely plumness was only $30.

And you may think, "but Heather you have a blue recliner and a red lumpy sack, why would you buy a plum couch?" And my answer is, because it's awesome. Besides if the recliner and the lumpy sack had a baby it would totally be the color of the couch, so you see it's a furniture family I've got here.

Anyway the point is the lovely plumness came from a cat home. And sadly John and myself are incredibly allergic to cats. So we put it in the garage and Mark vacuumed the crazy out of it before bringing it into the house. But that wasn't quite enough. Because before long there was sneezing and itchy, watery eyes, etc. We ended up renting a rug doctor and now it is perfect. But before the rug doctor did her magic, when John was dying a particular allergy death, I suggested he do a neti pot. The only problem being that we don't own a neti pot and it was Sunday so we couldn't go buy one. So Michael and I helped him make a homemade version out of a salad dressing carafe (a clean one, of course). We ground up kosher salt in the spice grinder until it was a powder and shook it up in the carafe with warm water. The water was a bit too hot when John started, so he popped the top off and added some ice cubes, then resumed the neti pot. It worked great - but I am sad to say that I have no photos, so you will just have to use your imagination. Watching him put that carafe up his nose, with ice cubes tinkling against the glass will forever be emblazoned on my mind, and most definitely prevent me from ever using that carafe for italian dressing again.

M.I.A.

Well I feel like I haven't posted in forever... and that's pretty much because I haven't! So in case you've been wondering why I've been missing in action- it's because I've been sewing like a demon. (If there was a sewing demon, that is.) Making those diaper bags started it off and then I went on to making lots more bags for other people. And most recently I decided I needed some new stuff for my living room. So I rearranged the furniture, sewed some pillows and curtains, hung a bunch of fun family photos, put new tchotchke pieces on the mantel, and repainted these 3 canvases I have. (I got and painted them about ten years ago - and they looked dated - so I've been thinking about repainting them for a while now. And don't think that this means that I'm an artist or anything - I just kind of slap paint on the canvas and hope it comes out.) Anyway the point is - my new living room looks pretty great, if I do say so myself. Plus much less expensive then if I had gone around and bought everything - so bonus. And if you know me - then you know I LOVE red. If it's red, I pretty much want it. So my previous living room was mainly reds, including the aforementioned 3 canvases. But this time I decided that I needed to control my red craving and embrace more colors. It's not like I'm prejudice to other colors or anything, but you know how it is with your favorites. But now I've got greens, purples, blues, and yellows along with my red. And I love it - it's one big rainbow of a living room. (Well, you know what I mean.)

the pillows




























the curtains















the paintings

Moving On Up

Well we moved this past weekend. My parents had not yet sold their townhouse here in Cary; and I kept thinking that when John (my brother) and Amanda (his wife) move back to NC, we should all move in together and rent the parents house. But I knew that was craziness cause John and Amanda were going to move to Charlotte so he could go to Culinary school. (You might think that's craziness who would want to move in with their brother - but hey call me crazy I think it's going to be super fun! We'll have the best parties and also it is so much easier to cook for 4 than 2...) But then lo and behold I'm chatting with John on the phone a few weeks ago and he tells me that they've decided that they want to come back to the Raleigh area for a year or so and then move to Charlotte for school... So I told him what I'd been thinking, we talked to the parents, prayed about the decision, and ta-da here we are! And since, as I previously mentioned my parents have a washer and dryer in their house - we now have a W/D again. Hurrah! (So you see I didn't sell my W/D for nothing. I'm a genius. Though sadly not the Queen of the Laundromat any more - I had to relinquish my crown...)

So now we are unpacking and setting up the house. Which is really the best part of moving - getting settled in. And since John and Amanda are expecting a baby girl in May, it's been super fun setting up a baby's room since we haven't had any of our own yet. But I was laughing after all the men in the Ward helped us move, cause we have a cradle and a crib, so I'm sure they all went home telling their wives that I'm preggers! (So if you hear the rumors - be assured I'm not, but you'll be the first to know when I am.)

My parents are returning to the states on Thursday, so we are really excited to see them again. And Laura and her family are coming in to town this weekend as well - so I'm extra excited cause 1/2 the family will back in NC (at least for a moment). Since my parent's furniture has to ship from Australia and they are probably going to be moving to Virginia (or possibly another state), they will be staying with Susy until they know where they'll end up. And since we now have more space than a 2 bedroom apartment, we will be happily housing Laura's family this weekend. (Which is extra motivation to get the house all set up in a timely manner.) So this weekend is going to be tons of fun hanging out with the family. Hurrah! (And just to clarify - that last bit was not sarcasm. I know with me it can be hard to tell...)