The New Year Has Come & Gone!

Wow, it's already the end of February! So much has gone on since the last post. Some good, some not so good. Our new year saw a medical emergency ... one that has us at the hospital daily since January 3rd! My dear grandmother was flown to Oahu, underwent surgery, was in ICU for over 6 weeks, and continues to be in the hospital. But she's getting better every single day! Thank you, Lord! Constantly going to the hospital to be with her (who wants to be alone in a hospital?) and driving family to and from the hospital has finally taken a toll ... yep, I've come down with a stinkin' cold. Ugh! So I haven't been able to drop by the hospital for the last two days. Gramms will probably scowl at me when I do finally show up. Thankfully, Jess has been going.

So needless to say, I haven't done any crafting, cooking, baking or anything fun! And once again, have ignored blogland! Remember the raggedy from Furlough Day 2? Well, here she is:

She's such a cute size! And I love her pink dress! She was eventually going to make it to my Etsy shop, but has been brought to the hospital to (hopefully) bring a little sunshine into grandma's room! I definitely need to sew another ... she was so quick and easy to do! Now to find the time to go work on another!

Did you know that the best people are born in February? Yep, it's true. Moi! Hubby! Dad (one day after me, what a great gift you got, huh?)! Brother #1, born on Valentine's day! Sorry mom, you missed February by one measly day! Bummers. So yes, a lot of birthdays. My b-day happened to fall on Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, so no nice dinner for me. That's okay, Hubby didn't get his b-day dinner either (too stressed out and busy). But that just means we get to have a huge treat once Lent is over. Hahaha! But back to February birthdays ... like I said, only the best people are born in Feb. And meet our newest little addition to the February b-day pack:

Isabella Corinne, my newest neice! She's adorable! You should see how she has her parents (of cupcake wedding ... no, they wasted no time!) wrapped around her tiny finger. I haven't seen her in almost a week, and now with this cold, all the more so I need to stay away. Can't be passing germs to the little one. I'm sure the next time I'll see her she'll have grown a bunch! I better get over this cold soon ... I need to squeeze the little bambino!

Funny, I refer to her parents' wedding as the "cupcake wedding" because of the more than 100 cupcakes that I baked. Addy must really like cupcakes ... because her baby shower also had cupcakes. It was bakery themed. And while it was a lot of work, I think we pulled it off. Maybe I'll blog about the shower in my next post. Until then ... have a great day!

Furlough ... Day 5

Hi all! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! My Christmas was quiet and relaxing. I got some kitchen stuff from the hubby. Of course, like I mentioned in my previous post, I also bought some fabrics for myself. So I got my two favorite things -- kitchen stuff and craft stuff! Now to find a place for this stuff. Living in a small one bedroom apartment is not fun and it's about time to start looking for a bigger place.

Today started the second week of our furlough and I spent the day being a complete bum! I slept in and when I woke up, sat around watching TV. Ugh! Talk about being unproductive. Well, no ... I did stitch the dolly legs on and put her dress on. Okay, so it's taking a week to get done, but I will get it done tomorrow. Promise! And, I also brought lunch to the hubby. What a nice treat.

Take a look at what was perched outside my door:

It's two birds sitting in my basil pot. Of course, this was taken a while back, but I happened to come across the photo and had to smile. There were two nesting in the pot, maybe even three! Sadly, I have a black thumb and the basil plant didn't make it. It's probably too hot to sit outside. Maybe next summer I'll try again.

Here's hoping for a productive week (anything is going to be more productive than today), so until Day 6 ...

Furlough ... Day 3 and 4

Can you believe I spent most of Furlough Day 3 at ... WORK??? Yep, I had to go into the office to work on crunching some numbers and reviewing a few contracts. Sigh. So long for a nice break. Truthfully, my break so far has been nice and quiet. Just how I like it! For Day 4, I spent it browsing fabrics at Kaimuk Dry Goods and books at Barnes and Noble. I did NO Christmas shopping this year for anyone (sorry gang), but I did manage to buy some fabrics and a couple of new books.

I also made some yummy treats involving these three ingredients:

Can you guess what it was? Hahaha!

Tomorrow is Christmas and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas. Since there was no holiday shopping going on here, there's not going to be much presents to open. Although, a Crate and Barrel box was at the door when I got home this evening. Sweet!

Furlough Days will continue next week! Check back then ... hopefully I can finish that little Raggedy Ann doll (no she's still not finished)!

Furlough ... Day 2

Day two of furlough! Chatted on the phone with mom and spent the day being mostly lazy! Hahaha!

Besides spending some quality time on the treadmill (two days in the row, think I can keep it up?) and cleaning the bathroom (yuck), I started on a raggedy ann doll. It's smaller in size ... I had to start small! She'll end up being about 11" and will wear a strawberry dress. Maybe she'll even hold a sweet berry, we'll see. She's made using a Raggedy Old Annie's pattern. Here's what I accomplished yesterday:

And all I did today was work on painting the legs:

Hopefully this little cutie will be done tomorrow! I just need to stitch her face and hair on and then add some accents. And then I'll need to think of what I'm sewing next!

Furlough ... Day 1

Hi all. I've truly neglected this blog for months! Ugh! I don't know ... maybe blogging is just not my thing. I love reading blogs, but by the time I get home from work every day, well, let's just say I'm just too tired to do anything else. And yeah, my crafts have suffered too. Sigh!

But, good news ... I'm on furlough for the next two weeks! Well, not really furlough. It's called "Administrative Leave;" I took a 5% pay cut for this fiscal year but I get these next two weeks off (and another week during spring break). Kind of sweet! So let's see if I'm going to be productive this next two weeks. What do you think? I at least want to get to some crafting!

But this is what I'm facing:

A complete mess ... this is just one small shot of the stuff I've got to go through. Ugh! Wish me luck!

Images of Home

So as you may know from the last post (weeks ago ... NEED to get better with this blogging), Greg and I spent the 4th of July weekend at home on Kauai. Kauai will always be my home and there are moments when I would move back in a heartbeat. But boy was it hot! Like sweltering hot! I don't miss that! We had a nice time with some family over for an evening BBQ. Greg was just going crazy with the camera. Tons of interesting shots of my childhood home. Here's some cool shots ...

Hey, look ... here we are! In the middle of that big Pacific Ocean!


Yummy ... pineapple upside-down cake! Get ready to dig in!


Sister #2's rocking horse.


Aging wine?


Ready and waiting for the next sewing project (hint, hint Marlene ... get with it)!


Two of my creations ... the pillow from eons ago when I was just learning to cross stitch and the country goose that my mom scooped up. And don't forgot about traveling AC-the-dog, who accompanies Greg and I on all of our trips. He even made it to Paris and Rome when Greg and I got hitched!


Row of dried peonies from Sister #1's wedding.


Wood grain of an old table outside:


Rusting weights.


Drip, drip, drip ... I just love this shot. I think Greg had to lie on the ground to get this shot!


Aaahhh ... laundry memories! I remember hanging clothes on the line to dry. Ugh! I did not like that chore when I was younger. Living in the city, well, no clothes lines! Yay!


My handprint, forever stamped in concrete pavers designed and made by my Dad! I can't remember how old I was, but this was oh so many years ago.


A beautiful setting sun as we started our drive to the airport ... goodbye Kekaha ... we'll be back!

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing all a very happy 4th of July. I'm at home, on Kauai ... sweltering in the heat! Photos to follow!

Mail Call

I discovered McMaster & Storm a while ago and loved all their goodies. So, because I'm so enamored with everything French, Italian, European, etc., I decided to try out their Italian stapler. So cute! I had hoped for the pink stapler, but OMG ... the teal is perfect! And I scored scalloped scissors with real scallops, not just waves. Can't wait to try that on a doll dress. And all the freebies from Kara. Yum!


Oh, and the packaging was like getting a birthday present all over again! And my b-day was months ago (don't remind me).


I think I'll need to order again!

Bad Blogger!

I've been MIA for a bit! Busy with life, I guess. Wish I was busy with crafting, but nope ... just work and home. And cruising some of my favorite blogs. Yes, I really need to update my list of what ... two blogs. Believe me, I read much more than what's listed over in the sidebar!

Speaking of which, I wish I could read and understand Portuguese! OMG, I just love maçã riscada. I stumbled on it one day and was blown away with the colorfulness of her shop and all the goodies in her window. Oh how I would love to visit. Hmm ... you know, I am Portuguese myself ... maybe one day! Unfortunately, all I can do is look at the photos; Portuguese or not, I can't understand one bit. I'll settle for just looking!

Okay, so I mentioned that I haven't been crafting. But at least someone else has! Thought I'd share this cutie! Made by Kalina, aka Aunty Kat. Her creations are unreal. Her stories are fun, too! You can only get her mini teddies on eBay (for now, anyway). Interested in her stuff? Go search for her username: aloha_cub. Or check out her Etsy shop!


Next time I'll have to post before her auction ends! And maybe get a better photo ... kind of looks weird. Click on it and see a better version in Flickr.

A bit about me ...

I was born on the lovely Garden Island of Kauai. I am the oldest of 8 children -- 6 girls and 2 boys! Can you believe that?
I grew up on Kauai until I moved to Oahu for college, where I've stayed. I have an accounting degree from UH, where I currently work FT.

I'm married to a wonderful, supportive guy. We were married in Rome and honeymooned in Paris. It was perfect and I can't wait to go back for another visit. I often tell Greg that I dream of living in France or Italy. He laughs!

We live in a small apartment which is being overrun by my cookbooks and craft supplies. We hope to move to our own home soon but the Hawaii housing market is ridiculous. We've even considered moving to the west coast, but we love Hawaii and would freeze anywhere else (I'll gladly freeze in France or Italy).

I enjoy crafting and being creative. I collect tons of patterns -- raggedy anns, bears, cats, stitcheries ... all kinds of stuff. I probably have way too much supplies; I'll never use half of this stuff in my lifetime. I'm also getting into sewing bags and pouches. Fun!! So you can imagine the amount of fabric I keep buying. Sigh. I just need to make time and get creating.

So with that, I'll end here, head to my local craft store to peruse the aisles and then return home and finish up some angels! Or maybe I'll skip the craft store and just finish them up. I hope to post a photo of the completed trio before the weekend is up ... wish me luck. Here's a sneak peek of the work in progress.