Tender Mercies

It seemed as we were walking through miles and miles of fabric. On either side of me were bolts of brightly colored flannel and a million possibilities.  "How about this one? Do you like it?" Grandma C. asked.  "Ya I like it. Oooo! Look at this one!" I said as I pointed to a yellow Hello Kitty printed piece.  "Alright, put it on the stack then." This sort of conversation went on for quite some time as we made our way through the array of fabric options. The year was 2005 and Grandma had come to California to visit. She had taken up a new project of making rag quilts for all of her grandchildren and that day was the day my sister and I would pick out our pieces. I had so much fun finding pieces that I felt represented me. Some were more like me than others, but they are all cute and all made me smile.  As the years passed and life happened, Grandma had some health issues and my sister's and my quilts never got made. Grand...

I love questionnaires; the more off-the-wall the questions, the better. I thought it about time to do a little fun get-to-know me post. While I am not the most creative person around, I hope you can find some enjoyment reading this and that you can get to know me a little bit more. Let's Begin! I am happiest when... Marshall helps me in the kitchen . ...especially if it involves... laughter, good food, and cuddling on the couch afterwards.   I have always wanted to... 1)go paddle boarding and 2) visit every U.S. state.  My family and I... travel the "non-touristy" way. We camped at the beach when we went to the Caribbean instead of getting a hotel.  I am a terrible... liar. Seriously. I can't keep a secret from anyone, especially Marshall. Unless it involves a present. Then I am amazing (because surprising someone with a gift is the best thing ever!)   My first job was... a figure skating coach at age 16. My only other non-coaching job was when I worked...

Wednesday was supposed to be a normal day. Being the first day of spring break after the family had all returned home from a whirlwind reunion, I was glad to finally be at home with just me and my husband. Although I had slept wonderfully the night before, fatigue filled my body around lunch time, so I resorted to my bed for a nap instead of taking a walk outside with Marshall. Two and a half hours later I was awakened by a soft voice and gentle hand on my shoulder. He didn't think I wanted to stay asleep for much longer so that I would be able to sleep that night; I thought he was right. Planning on going on our walk after a snack, I went into the kitchen to whip together a smoothie to quench my thirst and appetite. I hadn't even pulled all the ingredients out when I sat down on the floor, feeling quite nauseous and weak. "Oh it's just because I am hungry," I thought to myself. Soon enough I was laying on the carpet, too weak to do anything. Marshall finished m...

I've got a "Food Nerd" confession to make.  Maybe I am the only one who has collected a great deal of recipes for let's say, banana bread or chocolate chip cookies, only to wonder which one is the best and worth my time to make and eat.  I have always wanted to make all of the different versions--test kitchen style--and then have a testing panel to vote on the best one. Ya I'm strange, I know. However, this past weekend my silly dream came true! You see, my family is coming into town this next weekend and as the hostess, I am just so excited to cook for them. They are arriving late on a Saturday night, so I wanted an easy hot meal waiting for my tired travelers. Soup and fresh bread came to mind. When I headed over to my "Soups" Pinterest board, I noticed that I had 4 broccoli soup recipes pinned. Broccoli soup sounded really good to me and it was the winner among a list of five soup options I gave out to my family.  Soon the wheels began to turn in...

Dearest sisters and future daughters of mine,            You have been on my mind a lot lately. What I am about to tell you may feel like a lot to take in at once or it may seem silly. However you feel is okay, but please know that I am speaking from my heart. My current body.             There was a period in my life where I wore a size 0, could run 8 miles on command, and complete 1000 weighted squats within an hour's workout at the gym.  My naturally type-A personality drove me to this idealist form of perfection. I was constantly moving and believed that if I didn't work out for at least 1-2 hours a day, I would get fat and lazy. There were some seasons where I convinced myself that a 30 minute workout would suffice, as long as it was a HARD exercise session.  But on those days I would eat less. I was always tired, always hungry, and most of the time easily annoyed or cranky around those I loved ...

Hi friends! I am really excited about the latest craft I finished this week. About a month ago, my friend offered me some of her scrap fabric which she was cleaning out of her house. I took one piece which I thought might look nice in my dining room. My vision was to make a table runner, which of course I had never made before. Off to Pinterest it was, though my search was not very helpful for what I had in mind. This time I was to follow my own abilities and instincts and do without a pattern or guide. I am really pleased with how it turned out! So what does this have to do with the title? Well, while I was ironing the fabric after sewing the two pieces together, I turned around for what was supposed to be five seconds while the iron was doing its job, but it ended up being about 30 seconds. I guess I didn't listen to my mom when I was a young girl when she told me to never turn away from the iron while you're ironing. Whoops. When I picked up the iron the excessive...