My New Hobby

So, I'm pretty sure my secret's out, but last week I did something I've always wanted to do... I bought a SEWING MACHINE!! I just got a basic one from Target, I watched it go down to $65 and I had a $50 gift certificate from X-Mas, so I threw caution to the wind and bought.

Here she is. I should probably name her, huh? She is a very simple machine, but I like her that way :)



This little hobby I picked up is brand new to me. So to start I knew I needed a book that could teach me the basics:




I thought I should start easy with a couple of pillows. Remember, I am starting from scratch; I had to watch the DVD to learn how to thread my machine. hehe. Okay there was a lot of watch.. pause.. do... rewind... rewatch.. re-do, but in the end I got it. It would have been helpful to be closer to my mama :(

Here are my finished pillows:



Before you get confused I only did the brick colored ones. I wanted to add a splash of color and I found a great home fabric store. I got the fabric for $2 a yard! Believe it or not, I was still nervous to purchase the fabric, even at $2 (my mom found this hilarious).



Close-up seam shot :)



The good news is, I'm LOVING this hobby! I didn't think I would take to it so quickly, but already I'm looking for new projects. To all you sewers out there, send me some patterns for easy projects if you got 'um.

Carlsbad Half

Yesterday Erin and I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon. This is the first half I have attempted since I got injured while training for the marathon, but it was roomie's first half ever. It was fun watching her train and accomplish her goal.

Training has been a little rough for me because the farther I got in the training the more knee problems I began having (AGAIN!!). I'm happy to say, though, I finished and it wasn't even my worst time.

Nate, Andrew and our friend Banke (we call him by his last name, really it's Chris) came to watch us at the finish line. Nate brought our camera along in an attempt to get some great shots of me finishing.... Well, sometimes it's not so easy.

Erin's best photo is her nearing the finish line:



An awesome picture of our friend/ex-neighbor Jenny:



And the best photo of me:



Hahaha.. It's funny how it worked out.. I thought Nate saw me coming up the whole time because the camera was on me. Little did I know he was searching the crowds. Nate has been to all 5 of my half marathons (such a supportive boyfriend), yet something happens and he just misses me.. Every time. Poor guy works so hard looking through the thousands of people and only catches glimpses of me :(

It was a fun day and a successful run. We were lucky enough to even take a picture with a celebrity. He wasn't much of a talker though:



I hope to be able to accomplish the Triple Crown this year. It is awarded to runners who finish all 3 of the San Diego Half Marathons. First things first, though, I need to get my knee checked out. I'll keep you all posted.

My Little Buddy

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have this dog around all the time (I know Erin agrees). She gives us hugs as soon as we walk in the door; always making us feel like we were missed. She LOVES to cuddle, I mean LOVES it. If I'm reading on the couch she is right on me napping. If Erin is watching TV, she can't do it without Stevie making Erin spoon her. AND when Nate is gone for 5 day work trips, I have Stevie there to keep me company..

I love this little princess.

Witnessing History

Yesterday's inauguration was an event I will never forget. For the first time in my life I was witnessing political history, one that showed the good of the American people, not the ugly that is displayed in our media all too often. The swarms of people crowding around the Lincoln Memorial (for miles, I might add) were there because in all the uncertainty that surrounds our nation, people still have hope in their hearts for a better future.

Obama said it best in his speech, "Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true."

Setting political beliefs aside, yesterday was an event that was monumental - no one can attest that. As we move forward in this new presidency, may we not forget the hope that was felt on January 20th, 2009.

"Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn our back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth the great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

- Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States

Per Nathan Eldon

I promise this isn't going to turn into a photo blog, but Nate wanted me to post these pics I took when we caught San Diego during a beautiful sunset. Enjoy..

San Diego Winter

Catch-Up: Part 1

It's time to get you all caught up on X-Mas. This year Nate and I headed to St. George, Utah, where Nate's sister lives. It was a pleasant surprise to be taking the drive from California to Utah (usually a desert scene) and seeing snow everywhere; where I have NEVER seen it before.

As always we had a ton of good food and partook in many fun activities with Nate's fam. It's seems like whenever Nate's family gets together we are trying out some new adventurous activity (they did introduce me to snowboarding), this year it was snowmobiling. We went on Christmas Eve and I don't even think I can put into words how much fun I had. I told Nate later that I was scared out of my mind when I was doing it, but was having so much fun at the same time..

Pete and Jack getting ready to ride:


Katie, making an X-Small helmet look like an X-Large (I was so impressed with how brave and excited she was):

Lynn taking a turn at driving with Don looking comfortable as her passenger:


Going up and down hills was the the most fun/terrifying thing.. I promise this was steeper than it looks:


Doesn't this look like Nate and I are posing in front of a back-drop?

Christmas morning has always been a favorite thing of mine. When I was a kid it was for obvious reasons, but now as I get older it's so much fun to watch other kids experience it. Katie, for the first year (I think.. Em?), had a full grasp on Santa and what to expect on Christmas morning. She and Jack were fun to watch as they excitedly opened their presents... and who wouldn't be excited? Look at Santa's special wrapping paper!

Katie was so funny, she said something along the lines of "Santa gives you what he thinks you will like best." I might have said it wrong, but you get the idea - that little girl has full confidence that Santa will do no wrong :)

A most pleasant surprise was my new colorful bowls. Em, Britt, and I all got them. Mark couldn't believe we really could be that excited about bowls. haha

Here we are before the unveiling:

Charlie was happy with his new Elmo cell phone:

One of the sweetest presents of the day was the painting and letter Emily got from Jack:

Kate's new vacuum from Mark. Okay truth be told I missed the real moment so this was a reenactment... I like how Maddy is acting surprised again too. ha.

Our Christmas was so fun and as always it was sad to have to leave and get back to work.. Part 2 coming soon!

Fun with the New D40

After about 5 months of talking about it, Nate and I finally purchased a REAL camera. We decided on the Nikon D40, mainly due to Nate's Sis-in-law, Kate, who takes amazing pics with hers and the fact that both my sisters recently got Nikon's too (gives you more lense options ;) ). So I haven't gone outside to really take some pictures, but here are a few of my favorite from the first couple of days of having it..

Stevie (aka the Princess):

Sofia (this is my favorite pic so far):

Me and my niece:

Nate (looking very handsome if i do say so myself):

Stevie again (probably thinking about her next meal):


I know I have a lot of catching up to do and I plan on doing it very soon... But hopefully these pics tide you over