Ball of Fire

That's the name of the movie I just turned on. Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. However, that is also how I wish my body was right now instead of Ball of Dough. I challenge anyone to make Ball of Dough into a movie. Having a naturally quick metabolism turned me complacent and now I'm realizing that I need to work to be healthy. So... hey there Yoga! My mom and I figured this was a gentle toning solution to my needs, but I'm fairly certain I'll be hurting tomorrow after my very first session tonight.

Yep, she had to get in on the yoga.

I grew up in dance lessons and also played tennis, but I think I've lost all of my endurance and most of my flexibility. I can, however, do that fancy foot thing that yoga people do. It isn't obvious in the following picture, but I was sweaty and tired, so you can just imagine.

This weekend I headed up to Carpinteria to hang out with family. I love that the second I get near the campground there, the smell makes the corners of my mouth turn up and happy memories come rushing at me. My family has camped at Carpinteria since before I was born and it is almost a member of the family. It rained the first day there, but in exchange, we got a rainbow.

Momma, cousin Laura, Aunt Della. Awesome ladies.

For those of you who don't know my mom, she's a pretty awesome lady. I often find myself praying that I'll be half as good of a mom as she is for my brothers and I. See her on the left in the picture above. I was so glad that I got to spend some time with her and (of course) the rest of the family (not all pictured). I love them all.

The reason I can't be a vegetarian? Steak. An essential camping food in my family.

Among the skills I boast... firebuilding. Sure, they might smoke. But where there's smoke, there's fire!

I made and brought muffins!

As you can tell, I didn't have too many words to pull the rest of the pictures together. All of the above are part of my Easter in Carpinteria. Looks good, eh?

Hubbs texted me earlier asking if I wanted a fancy cupcake when I got home from work. Who can object to that? So I told him that if he brought me a cupcake I'd give him a kiss. I also told him that cupcakes are basically the same thing as roses for me. He brought home four cupcakes. I love him.

Close-up on Red Velvet, the flavor of our wedding cake.

He's getting lots of kisses for these. Gosh, I wish I had more to say, but the longer I sit here, the more tired I get, so I should hop in the shower so I'm not smelly for when hubbs comes home from rehearsal tonight. 

P.S. This movie has totally lost me. I think I'd better turn it off and try again some time when I can devote my full attentions to it. Gary Cooper is a cutie pie and I'd rather not think he's boring because I've got a short attention span.

"Couponers" are weird.

That's the revelation that I'm working with right now.

I happen to love watching certain channels on cable, one of them being TLC, the others being History and Discovery. I may sound like a bit of a nerd, but those channels have The Coolest Stuff. Except for "Extreme Couponers." Hubbs and I always manage to catch a few minutes of this show and usually end up yelling at the people on TV and changing the channel. Insert angry rant here. Grrrr...

In other news, I'm teaching a friend of mine to use patterns for sewing this week. I went with hubbs to the fabric store to pick out a pattern and material already. I know I've mentioned previously that I'm not good at math, but for some reason, I understand sewing and patterns. It is a weird skill that seems to get better with every garment I make. Anyway, I decided to cut out and familiarize myself with my pattern ahead of time, though, so that I'll actually be helpful. I chose this awesome floral linen blend that is perfect for the season and should line up with fashion trends, too. Of course, when I'm sewing, cutting, or crafting, the Fluffy One feels a need to help.

Such a flirt.

She's adorable, but generally more trouble than help. Unless you consider her favorite trick, which could be considered help if done at the correct time during the process. Ellie has a preference obsession with anything shiny. It can be diamonds, rhinestones, or the pearly straight pins that I use for sewing. She likes to pull my straight pins out of the fabric with her mouth. It is a very delicate process that she takes quite seriously. It doesn't take much to see how this could be detrimental to my work.

She's just waiting for me to turn away to grab that green pin...

I didn't realize when I started writing that this would become a kitten and sewing post. Apparently that makes me a bit of a crazy. My apologies if you don't like kitties, but with a face like the one below, you must be the crazy one to not at least admit she's cute.

Adorable.

I should go now, since it is drawing near time for my shower. However, I feel proud to notify those few faithful readers that I will soon be writing a guest blog for the awesome Emily F. If you aren't familiar with Emily's blog, she writes (and has guests write) about their first experiences with things. It is one that I read every chance I get because it is, more often than not, quite funny. I threw her a few ideas for firsts which I'll tease you with below:

-The first time I try to catch a bunny.
-The first time I have Kogi.
-The first time I let Ellie try to catch and kill a spider but instead it got away and now I'm afraid to let my feet touch our carpet.
-The first time I paint a dinosaur.

I know these are all tantalizing and you can hardly wait. But, until I get around to doing and writing one of the above, check out Emily's blog, Anything Once.

Adios!

Oops!

Well, it's been a while since I've written, especially because I began this puppy thinking I would write several times a week. However, with life being what it is, I haven't felt much like writing. I'm still not feeling gung-ho about it, but let's give it the old college try, eh?

Exciting news...

Hubbs is going to an intern on the Cirque du Soleil show, "O!" We are so pumped and excited for what this means for the future. However, "O" is in Las Vegas and we are in Southern California. What does this mean? It means that for 12 weeks, hubbs and I will be living in different states. This isn't as bad as it sounds. Vegas is a four hour drive and I will go to see hubbs at least once a month. Plus, it could lead to an awesome job for him.

Less exciting news...

Friday night, hubbs and I went to see Romeo and Juliet at the college we graduated from. We had a few differing opinions, but the main consensus was that it was a good show. It makes me remember that one day I'd like to teach Theatre at a college. One day.

Last night, we bought a Ninja and made deliciousness happen. We had jalapeno and pepperjack burgers complimented by a blended margarita. Dessert was a chai shake. Needless to say, we are enjoying the Ninja, especially since our dinky teeny blender was starting to smoke smell funny after it had made a few shakes. Let's not have our kitchen appliances blow up on us... sound good? :)

We have the coolest plates.

Today, we went to church, did a bit more housecleaning (seriously, how much fluff does the fluffy one have to distribute in every corner?), and who knows what we will do now? Maybe I can talk him into a trip to the fabric store. I have a skirt in mind that I want to make. :)

They do this naturally. It is both cute and weird.

On that note... I've decided that while I'm not in shows, I need to be craftier. Either thinking up ways to rob a bank, or making fun stuff. And I need to do this multiple times a week. As a result, you may become victim to zillions of pictures of handmade items. I apologize in advance. I'm also looking into starting a shop on Etsy.com to sell my creations. Of course, the shop won't open until I've got a few things made to sell, but it is good to do my research. I'm thinking that I can sell for a bit of a profit so that I won't lose money by keeping on a crafty habit. Heck, maybe I'll even make a bit of money. That's a crazy idea. :)

The shoes I just got are the inspiration for the skirt I want to make. They make me swoon.

And that's all, folks!