First 10k

I completed my first goal for 2012.

I ran my first 10k on Sunday at the TLC Groundhog Run.  FYI: 10 k = 6.2 miles

A picture of me and the groundhog :)

It was held in the caves, there are businesses in these caves. It's neat. the temperature is controlled.

I definitely didn't train as much as I wanted to. I only ran 4 some miles, but not more than that.  I actually really wanted to run 5 miles before the race. But... life happens, weather doesn't work out, I get lazy, or I rather eat some ice cream than go running.

I just thought I could "coast" the rest of the way after the 4 miles.

At the race, super crowded! It was sold out! I convinced Steve and the kids to come. The kids didn't have much of a say, but I'm sure they were thrilled to sit in a stroller for an hour in a crowded space!

My run started out slow, I wanted to pace myself. I thought things were going well. I had my headphones on with my favorite pop music. I didn't push myself too much, like I would for 5ks. Around 3 miles, I ran over some water, and splattered it on the back of my legs. I don't like things on me when I run, I don't even like the ear buds, but I keep them in to keep myself motivated with music. So, all I could think about was this water that splashed on me and where the water have been, who has run over it with their shoes, am I going to have water marks on my pants, etc... useless thoughts, but I think it kept my mind off of being tired.
As I got to 4 miles, I was thinking, oh, this isn't too bad. I'm surviving, I just need to "coast". 
I think at 5 miles, they didn't have a marker (or at least I didn't see it) I was thinking, This is IT!!! Speed like the wind!!! It's your last mile and .2!!! Don't give up Nicole!
At 5.5 miles (I think), OMG, is this over yet!? I think I walk faster than my limpy hands and arms slow semi-jog.
6 miles, When is this mile ever going to end?! Am I just continuously running and the miles are getting longer?!
6.1 miles... The light at the end of the tunnel is coming! I can hear the crowd... I can do this... I can do this...


I sprinted the last bit so I can make it to the finish line! ... I was so glad it was over, but when it was over... I was thinking, that wasn't too bad, right?  hahaha.
 

Met half of my goals. I did run the whole way, but I did not run it in an hour or less.
My results: 1:04:41

I survived... and now.... on to the half-marathon training!!!

Happy Mother Challenge - Day 3

Happy Mother Challenge - Day 3

"This is your gentle invitation to start a conversation with yourself about God.  Start paying attention to the spiritual dimension of your life, praying about it if you feel called to do so, raising questions and seeking out the answers to them.   Don’t be afraid of religion and spirituality if you’ve never explored it before. Baby steps are better than no steps at all.

Tap into your heart of hearts and listen. That’s all."

Spirituality is always a hard topic to talk about. I am not shy to tell you that I am a Christian. I grew up in the Living Stream Ministries, as Steve and I got married, we now go to Community of Christ. 

I know that some people have issues with different denominations. Are we not all praying to the same God?

I do think this is a good challenge for me. Sometimes I forget that prayers can be so easy. I can pray during my drive to work instead of listening to talk radio (yes, i love talk radio). I forget that God is all around me, and I can talk to Him any where.

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Not sure what I'm talking about? Meg Meeker, MD's 10 Habits of Happy Mothers - Happy Mother Challenges

Click here for my Happy Mother Challenges.

Shoulder Heat Pillow Tutorial

For Art Gallery Fabric Challenge of 2012, January's Challenge was to come up with a heat therapy pillow.

I'm 5'-0" ... I am vertically challenged or "fun size", and I'm a sloucher!! It does not help with my height. So, my shoulders are always aching from slouching, hold the kids, sitting in front of the computer slouching.... it's mostly the slouching.

I decided to come up with a shoulder heat pillow. It can also be used on your tummy for those days where it just cramps all over. It works best when laying down and not doing any housework for those lovely days. ;)

Now... on to the tutorial!

Here are the supplies that you need:
1/2 yard of fabric
~ 10 1/2 cups of flax seeds (or buckwheat or rice)
~ 7 tablespoons of dried lavender (or dried chamomile)  -- this is optional

Go here to get the pattern that I drew out. It should fit on two 8.5 x 11 sheets. You'll see two dashes on page 2, that's where the first page should line up with the second page.

Step 1: Cut 2 pieces from the pattern from the 1/2 yard of fabric

Here I used Flower Bed Blush from Art Gallery Fabrics' Coquette collection

Step 2: Line up the two pieces with right sides together and sew all the way around until you get to one side of the C-shape.
Leave about 2 1/2" inches open on one end.

Step 3: Turn the right side out. I would mix 1 1/2 cup with 1 tablespoon of dried lavender.

 Step 4:  Pour the 1 1/2 cup in the C-shape, then I'd pin the flax fabric to keep the flax seeds in place. It helps to have a funnel.

Step 5: Stitch the along the pins, you want the flax seeds to have some room so it's not so bulky and it would sit on your shoulder better than a big chunk of seeds. In the picture below, I had the pins pretty close to the flax seeds, then I'd stitch to where the foot would barely touch the pins giving the flax seeds room after it's stitched.

Step 6: After your last flax seed fill for the pillow, close the 2.5" opening by turning a little bit of the opening fabric in.

That's it! Heat it up in the microwave or put it in the freezer. Don't just leave it in your microwave and walk off! Heat it 15-20 seconds to see if that's the warmth you like... and repeat if you want it warmer. It may be too hot to handle if you toss it in for too long! And I don't want anything to happen to you if that happens!

I had added an applique to my pillow as part of the challenge. I traced the poppy flower. I used Labyrinth Lilac from Art Gallery Fabrics'  Hyperreal Garden collection.

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Now here are some things that I did that you may or may not want to do.
Because flax seeds look like bugs, and I'm not a fan of bugs. If I see one, I'm spraying the house or calling the exterminator!

So, I zig-zag after stitching in Step 2 in case any flax seeds decides to escape, and I freak out because it looks like a bug! You could probably see the zig-zag stitching in the picture. This is totally up to you, you can go back and stitch zig zag if you want.

If you do not want to worry about the pins on keeping the flax seeds in place and stitch 7 times and just leave the flax seeds loose, you can. I did it because it keeps the flax seeds where you want it, it evenly distributes the heat on your shoulders.  That is also optional.

Make this for you and what works best for you!


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I hope this tutorial works out for you, and please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about this tutorial!

Please only use this for personal and not to sell.

If you found this tutorial helpful, please take the time to let me know by leaving me a comment. Your comments give me the encouragement to continue creating for you!

Happy Friday

Happy things that happened this week.

1. Craft lunch at work

2. My sewing machine working much smoother. I still cannot stop talking about how awesome it is now! lol

3. Talking to Leslie.

4. Child #2. He is not talking. He's 18 months old, doesn't talk other than babbles. But he's so good with his body language. The boys get dessert (usually couple tablespoons of pudding) after dinner, and I'll hand C his little cup, he'll get whatever he can with his spoon. Then he'll fuss for me to come over to him. He hands me his spoon, then points to the inside of his cup. It cracks me up. Then I'll take the cup, and he'll start fussing a little bit... as if he's saying "Mom! Hurry!!!" Then he'll start giggling the moment he gets more pudding!

5. Child #1. He is so independent. We're working on potty training [still]. He's doing really well. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he'll be trained by end of February or sooner!!!!!

Happy Mother Challenge - Day 2

Happy Mother Challenge - Day 2.

"Accept that cultivating your friendships takes work and commit to doing that work this week. Think of the two or three women in your life that mean the world to you. Pick up the phone—and no, don’t text your girlfriends–CALL THEM. Chat, even if you just have 5 minutes to catch up. Do whatever it takes to create a habit of touching base with these women—think of them as your tribe—weekly.  Create a calendar reminder, put it in your iPhone, place a sticky note on your fridge—anything that makes you stop and pick the phone to connect with these women that will mean so much to you over the years.
After you’ve completed this week’s exercise, make a mental note of how it made you feel to connect with your inner circle of friends. Now, go back and re-read the list you made last week and reflect on who you are as a mother and the friends that encircle you. Soak in those good feelings and know that you are loved."

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I'm going to admit that I neglect my friends. I always have. My mom had a major fall out friendship with a good friend with her's after high school, I think it was in her 20's. She would tell me that the people that you're closest with would hurt you most. It's just best to not have close friends.  So, that was instilled in my head really early on, as long as I can remember. She would always tell me to be careful when I got close to any friends. I forced myself to put a wall up.  I know she only told me this to prevent me from getting hurt... but I think it made it worse. I had a major fall out with my best friend in college. I knew her for a very, very long time. She was (and still is) a wonderful person. I finally got around several years after college and apologized to her. It was too late, but I needed to... she knows who she is, and if she reads this... I hope she knows that I still think of her and still miss her daily.
So, enough of that sob story and moving along with my challenge! 

Today, I called up one of my friends, Leslie, that I met online almost seven years ago. I haven't seen her since I was pregnant with D. I called her up, and just wanted to see how she is. I called her at such a bad time! Haha! She accidentally drove off with the gas pump in her car... and gas was overflowing. It was just crazy! I talked to her, tried to calm her down... which I think it did? Maybe? She definitely sounded calmer. It was a quick call, maybe 10-15 minutes. She was quite shocked to hear my voice, since we haven't talked on the phone for so long. We usually just e-mail. Either way, it was nice to hear her voice. 


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Not sure what I'm talking about? Meg Meeker, MD's The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers - Happy Mother Challenges
Here is my Happy Mother Challenge - Day 1.

Craft Lunch - hex nut bracelet

A co-worker of mine, Meghan, wanted to do some crafty stuff over lunch at work.
So, we came up with a craft and a day...

Today was it!

Meghan saw this bracelet (hex nut bracelet) - picture will take you to the tutorial from honestlywtf.com

So, here is us... attempting to make it. (sorry, I forgot my camera... so, this is all from my phone)

Meghan was the pro at this, she helped a couple of the girls. She's modeling her bracelet. :)

It's difficult to make, you have to get the hang of it. You have to hold the hex nut super tight, so you don't lose it's position. The black twine was skinnier and slippery, so, that took awhile. The beige twine was a bit coarser and thicker, so, that made it easier to make. 

It can be done by one person, but I think it was easier with two people. One to hold the hex nut and twine in place, and the other to thread the hex nut on the twine.

All in all, we were all happy with our bracelets :)

Sewing Machine Maintenance

I'm quite embarrassed about this.
My sewing machine was bought in 1996, Brother XL3010. It's been with me for a very long time.
The machine has been getting louder as years ago by, and clunking a lot. S says he can hear it 2 floors down, even with the door closed! It's like a construction zone!
I was almost to the point of buying a new one! But! I decided that last night that I needed to opened it and cleaned it out. First cleaning! They didn't teach this to me in 8th grade sewing class! I had to clean the machine?!  In 8th grade, I did not know anything about maintenance for these things. I just sewed. I mean, that was the point of the machine right?


The top isn't too bad. Except there was thread in there at the gears... stuck in there...

This 16 year old bunny needed to go!!

It is cleaned out. Grabbed a q-tip, dipped it in oil (for sewing machines).

Arrows are where you should dab the oil at

Arrows are where you should dab the oil at

I also read that if you use it more than one hour a day, you should dab oil daily!
Make sure the machine is unplugged when you're cleaning. After dabbing the oil, let the machine run super fast for 45 seconds to a minute. to get the parts all greased up!

The machine now does not sound like a jack hammer, it sews much smoother... I'm so incredibly happy that I cleaned out the dust!!

If you are an avid sewer sew-person... I hope you do not have a 16 year old dust bunny hanging out with you.

p.s. do not ask me why I waited this long to clean it out. Desperation maybe?


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edit: Here is a blog post from We All Sew about not using canned area

Mother Challenges

If you have boys, I recommend reading Boys Should Be Boys: 7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Sons by Meg Meeker, M.D. It's a great book to just helping you understand that boys will be boys, and it's okay. She points out a lot of common sense, but sometimes pointing it out helps us realize some of the things that we need to pay attention to.

So, Meg Meeker, MD has a website ... she has these Mom Challenges. Granted, we all have obstacles everyday. Moms do have a lot on their plates. There are days where I'm just running around like a chicken with its head cut off... frantic on how to get things done before I go to bed! I hope I'm not the only one that feels that way! I also think S helps by calming me down, asking me how he can help me, and even just say, "what are the priorities for tonight?" He's the calm one in all this.

These challenges that Meg Meeker, MD posts, I'm going to try and do them. Feel free to join me if you'd like! Let me know if you do!

Meg Meeker, MD's first challenge is Happy Mother Challenge.

Make a list. Yes, a list. But be serious about it. I know you have a list in your head about everything that you don’t do right. It’s a long list of every little failure and moment that you think you really messed up this Mom “job.”

I want you to make an actual, physical list of things that you are really GOOD at and what you LIKE about yourself, just as you are. Write down what you are, what you like, what you dream about, what makes you happy, what you’re good at, etc. A Happy List. A Positive List. Now, take that list and put it in your wallet. Take it out when you’re having a tough day and read through it when those negative thoughts embed themselves in your mind. Remember that you have value and you are good. Just as you are.

If you do not know about me, I'm quite a negative person.. which is why I started Happy Fridays, to remind myself that my week was pretty good. If something bad/negative happened... forget about it! Think of the happy moments!

I have my list of the negative thing that I have felt, thought, and done as my Mom "job" in my head. ...

But to write down the good... this is going to be tough.
1. I'm good at sewing.
2. I enjoy baking muffins from scratch for my family every Saturday or Sunday morning.
3. I love seeing a smile on my boys' face when I pick them up at daycare.
4. I love watching D paint, play with his car, trains, etc.
5. I love watching C play at the play kitchen, his joyful laugh when he runs away from us after taking off his clothes and diaper so we can change him (he loves to be naked).
6. I love seeing my boys enjoy the foods that I make
7. I love snuggling with my boys, even if it's so they D can stay up 10 extra minutes
8. I love my husband, who helps me around the house.
9. I love my husband, who supports me in everything that I do.

Happy Friday

1. BBQ in Williamsburg, KS -- Sunday was my MIL's birthday. She wanted to go to this place in Williamsburg, KS. Unfortunately, they were closed on Sundays. We went on Saturday. It was about an hour drive... it was very nice that the speed limit went up to 75mph! S and I (along with the kids) have never been there, let alone Williamsburg, KS! I really wasn't sure what to expect. It's a small town, that's all I know! We arrived at Guy & Mae's Tavern around 6pm. It was packed! I think it was the only place that was open on that main street! We had ribs, of course, and it was pretty good! We had a good time! C LOVED the potato salad. When it was done, he used his turkey (from his sandwich) to get the rest of the salad out. I was surprise for his 18 months of age that he was clever to do that. Kids surprise me all the time. He was a bit upset, so Grandma suggested to give him her cole slaw. The moment i put it in his mouth, he could not get it out quick enough! Needless to say, he threw a fit... until another side of potato salad came out for him.

2. C's (Child #2) 5 new teeth - they all pushed out this week! 4 molars, 1 canine. Yay ... and Poor guy.

3. My submission to Spoonflower for "outdated technology".

4. Mandy from iamthemandy was selling zippers for cheap! Yes, this totally made my week. lol

Floppy Disks meets Pop Art

Psst... the contest for "outdated technology" on spoonflower is up! ;)

don't remember the picture... check it out over here.

Quilt of Valor Part 2

I'm making progress on my quilt.

I just stitched the pieces together last three nights.

The picture does not show all the pieces, I'm just showing you what the general layout looks like. ;)

I cut all the blocks at 6" and stitched scant quarter inch. I'm going to cut the border at 6" stripes..... You know, I totally forgot about the binding. I might use the rest of a light color for the binding since the border is darker. What do you think?




Refresher:
part 1 (fabric selection)
email (intro of goal)

Spoonflower contest - outdated technology

I've been wanting to "design" fabrics for awhile. With technology these days, you really have to be jack of all trades. You have to know so many programs! I almost feel like I have to be a graphic design artist to do these things! Must know illustrator, photoshop, etc.

Nevertheless, I put together (after six hours) my "outdated technology" fabric.

Here it is: Floppy Disks meets Pop Art.

Floppy Floppy Disk

I have named it floppy floppy disk. I'm weird, but I'll say it in Adam Sandler's "Sloppy Joe" song. It makes me giggle.

I'm not sure when the contest will start, but I'll let you know when it does!
The contest is up and running! :)
http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters/new?contest_id=119

update:
ranked #44 out of #203

Happy Friday

Totally late on my Happy Friday!

1. D's Birthday Robot Party on Sunday!

2. I'm glad that the Robot Party is over! LOL! It's nice to not make the 2D and 3D robots every night. Each robot took at least an hour. There were a few late nights last week.

3. I'm very happy that C does not have hand foot mouth disease! Quick story about my stressful week! We learned on Tuesday from our daycare that a new child that just started coming last week had hand foot mouth disease, and the parents of this child did not inform the daycare until this Monday. C was sent home with a low grade (99.9 degrees) temp. The daycare was taking a precaution... so, C stayed home. He had a bad diaper rash that turned into blisters throughout the week. Needless to say, I panicked! I took C to see the doctor on Friday. Found out that he's allergic to the disposables that he's been using at daycare. We use cloth at home.  AND! The doctor says C showed no signs of hand foot mouth disease! Relief!

Quilt of Valor Part 1

Goal for Jan and Feb.

I bought my fabric yesterday! Pretty excited to start cutting and piecing it together.

The fabric on the far right will be the border and backing.

They are currently in the washer. After drying and ironing... these lovelies will be ready to cut!

As for the layout...
I had a general idea of how I wanted the quilt layout to be.
I wanted to mimic the Army ranks:

So, I did a quick sketch to either stitch the symbols or to actually cut each block.

After the quick sketch, I decided that the stitching will be much better for a beginner quilter like me.

I'm pretty excited :)

Robot Party!

I don't have all the pictures, but this is what I currently have. I'm missing the main attraction's picture... I'll post that tonight! Scroll all the way down for Piino the Robot!

The night before was his actual birthday, we told him about his birthday party. D was so excited. He made a comment, "... and I'll have birthday cake after nap?"

The day of the party (which was yesterday), we couldn't get D to nap at all. He was hyper and just excited. Probably because he heard Grandpa and Grandma's voices downstairs.

We finally just brought him downstairs after over an hour of not napping.

Cupcakes were made (confetti cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting)

The cupcake wrappers were from Robot Party from Cricut. The toppers (2") were for the water bottle wrappers, we didn't like the cupcake toppers that they had, so, we improvised. The toppers are actually two sided. One side is the square robot, and the other side is the round robot. We cut a circle small enough that you can't see it outside of the gear outline.
The purple wrapper and topper (top right cupcake) was for our niece, I made sure I made her a purple one since purple is her favorite color :)

The gears on the banner were from the Robot Party (8"), and the letters were from Robotz (6").  You can see couple of the robots hanging out over there on the edge of the frame.

D helped me put these robots around the living room.

This one makes me giggle because it looks like the dinosaur robot is chasing after the other two.

I made a 'girly' robot, D calls her "Mommy Robot"

And these guys watched over the presents. :)

I think I'm going to put the 2D robots in a shadow box. I'll post pictures when that happens :)

Overall, the party was a success! Everyone had a great time! They loved the cupcakes (I'll post recipes sometime soon)! ... D loved the robots! That makes me happy!

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Ed from church created this robot for vacation bible school. We asked if he still had it, and he was happy to put it together for us for D's birthday party!

His eyes glow, his heart beats (no sound, it just comes on and off), and his head moves too!

Here is a link to free printable ones for your parties!

Quilts of Valor

I think I found my project for January and February (one of my 12 goals for 2012 - start & complete a project a month). This may take longer than a month, that's why I am going do it for 2 months for this.

This is the goal -- I received this e-mail today from one of the shops that I enjoy buying fabrics from:

Many Quilters have asked about this cause. Robin Reich, one of our students and friend of Harper’s, is heading up this effort for those coming home from their assignments in the military based in Fort Riley, KS. Harper’s and our staff want to help in this effort and ask you to donate in any way you can. Harper’s will also have sewing space and time for anyone’s effort. Just call and schedule our classroom.


The following is information on how to help and let us know if you can help.


By March 1, 2012 we need a total of 400 quilts with presentation pillow cases for the wounded from Fort Riley, Kansas. I am trying to help coordinate this effort with some of the Kansas coordinators.


Quilts need to be 100% cotton quality fabric
Size of quilt: Width 55” min. to 72” max; Length 65” min. to 90” max.


Batting: Low-loft quality batting. (Cotton, 80/20, or poly from Pellon, Warm Company; Quilter's Dream; Hobbs)


Label: Put on a label with quilters name; quilt name; piecers name if different from quilters name. You can also include a note with your wishes for the soldier who receives it. I usually put little note about the quilt, and my name and address.


Presentation case: You can make a case out of coordinating fabric or other fabric. It should be a standard size pillowcase.


You do NOT have to use red/white/blue fabrics. The fabrics are your choice, just use quality fabrics.

Thank you so much for your help in this great project.


Robin Reich
QOV coordinator for Missouri
If you have any questions, please call.

I think this is great! The people in the military sacrifice so much for my family and myself. This is the least I could do.

After the birthday party this weekend, I'm going to go shopping for fabrics!

Robot Invitation

Here is the invitations that I said I would make available for you for your Robot Party!
Here is D's Invitations

If you are going to have photo place print them, you will want to use this one - the size is 4x6.

If you want to print it out on cardstock, you will want to use this one - size is 4.25 x 5.5:

Double check with the place that you want to print at for the resolution requirements.

Walmart's 4x6 minimum image resolution is 540x360.

FYI: The resolution for the 4x6 is 682x1023 and 4.25x5.5 is 765x990

As for the font, I used Lucida Sans Typewriter (I also stretched it a little too). You can also find fonts on dafont, they have lots of unique and free fonts.

If you do not have photoshop,  you can bring it into Paint or Word.

If you are going to use Word, insert the image. Have the picture set to behind text.

Start typing. You may need to adjust the picture as you type everything in, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Hope you enjoy!  Let me know how your invitations work out for you!

Here is how our Robot Party turned out!

If you found this tutorial helpful, please take the time to let me know by leaving me a comment. Your comments give me the encouragement to continue creating for you!

Robot Birthday Party Invitations

As you may know, we have been prepping for D's 3rd birthday party - Robot Theme.
I just finished the invitations over the boys' nap time yesterday.

I used the Robotz Cricut for the robot. It was my first time, I think it turned out pretty well. It did take 1.25 hours, a bit longer than I had expected. We scanned the robot, then I added the gears, text, and picture with Photoshop.
The invitation itself took about an hour.

I usually send these to 1 hour photo at Walmart (it's close to my work, so, I pick it up over lunch). I'm not too concerned with the quality since these are just invitations, and most people throw them away after either marking it on their calendar or the day after.

Here it is!

After the party, I'll put together all the pictures and links for you so it'd be easier for you to see it all.