My First Car Wreck

So for those of you that didn't hear about it, just over a month ago I was in a car wreck on I-15. I was driving to work on a rainy Thursday morning. I was almost to the Pioneer Crossing exit, which was the exit I needed, when all of a sudden I started to hydro-plane. I started fishtailing before slamming into the concrete barrier that was on the yellow line on the right side (I-15 is under construction). Coming off the barrier, the car went up on two wheels before slamming back down and doing a full 360. I than fish-tailed again and slammed a second time into the barrier. The car hit both times on the passenger side of the car, thank goodness I was by myself. I also got lucky that I didn't hit ANY other cars during this whole ordeal. When I finally came to a stop in the far right lane, because as I said before there was no shoulder, I was beyond freaking out. I was hysterical and now afraid that someone was going to smash into me from behind. I got lucky that a construction worker happened to see the very end of the accident and called his safety person who than called 911. I couldn't think straight and didn't even think to call 911. I called Brent who was still asleep. Being hysterical freaked Brent out because he could do nothing about it because he was in St. Louis. A very nice cop on his way home, pulled up behind and turned on his lights so that no one would hit me. He determined my car was undrivable and stayed until the highway patrol got there. Ironically enough, the officer handling the accident was the father of one of the students I taught last year. After everything was taken care of, I decided it would be best NOT to go to work seeing as how I was still freaking out. The cop drove me home in a cop car while my car got towed away. I only had slight whiplash that went away. But let's just say that it hurts worse the second and third day than the first. After over a month of being in the shop, the car is now finished being fixed. I am flying back to pick it up in July because I am already going back for my friend Cindy's wedding. Below are the pictures of the damage done to the car. There was also a little damage on the roof.

Both passenger side tires had gashes about 1 to 2 feet in length.

It popped the speaker up on the passenger side of the dashboard.

NOT fun.

Asha's New Diaper bag

So my sister Asha had this great idea to make a diaper bag out of her husband's old military shirts. She cut everything out and I sewed it all together. I think it turned out awesome and the bag is huge!

This first picture shows the inside of the bag. You can see the bottle pockets on both sides on the inside (and they are on both sides on the outside as well).

The back of the bag.

The next two pictures are of the front of the bag.

I Know...it has been forever!

So a lot has happened since I last posted, obviously! So I am hoping to do several posts over the next few weeks but they will be in random order...just so you know :) Also, in case you haven't heard, we are living in St. Louis this summer.

How did I make those baby things? Find out!

Thanks for all wonderful comments about the gifts I made Asha! I am still in the process of several more things. It turns out that I have more fabric than I originally thought I did! Always a good thing. Some of you expressed interest in how to make the things so here are the blogs where I got the tutorials. Now, some of them I didn't follow exactly but that's okay! For the most part, all the tutorials are REALLY easy, even for inexperienced/new sewers! Here they are:

Carseat canopy/cover - I looked at these two websites to make Asha's

http://makeitdo.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/baby-car-seat-cover-tutorial/

http://just-because-i-am-me.blogspot.com/2010/02/car-seat-canopy-tutorial.html

Diaper changing pad clutch (This website also has other versions of the clutch. Some are super cute!)

http://smallfryandco.blogspot.com/2009/02/changing-pad-clutch.html

This tutorial is for a diaper clutch without the changing pad. I would suggest putting the Velco a little higher on the part that the flap attaches to. Mine won't quite hold the hard wipes travel cases but not a big deal. I am giving it to Asha and she can use it for organizing her diaper bag :)

http://thequiltingdiaries.blogspot.com/2009/01/diaper-clutch-tutorial.html

The following website is where I got the instructions to make the crib sheet. One note on this is that you have to make sure that it is 45 in wide. I washed the flannel before making it and it got stringy and took off 3 inches total. But I sewed ribbon to the edge to make it the right size again.

http://www.luvinthemommyhood.com/search/label/mommyhood%20baby%20bonanza?updated-max=2010-05-13T05%3A00%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=20

The cloth rings and wee wee wigwams are from this website (they are under her baby tag):

http://www.makeit-loveit.com

Now this is what I am making today: Burp cloths!!! I got the idea for the type I am making from this website:

http://www.prudentbaby.com/2009/12/diy-burp-cloth-how-to.html

Now these are some really fun websites and I love looking through the other stuff they make!! They have some really cool things on them so you should check them out! Enjoy! I will post more pics of finished things when I finish them!

Asha's Baby Gifts!

Here is the first installment of pictures of things I have got/made for Asha's little boy that will soon enter this world!

These first pictures are of a diaper clutch/changing pad. It is a changing pad that folds up to hold a couple of diapers and wipes.

This is what it looks like when it is unfolded.

These next pictures are of a carseat canopy for a baby. It blocks the sun, cold, rain, etc.

This next thing is a fitted crib sheet.

These are the shorts I got for Layne.

This next thing is a little pouch I made. It was originally to hold diapers and wipes, but she can use it for anything she wants. It can't hold the hard travel wipes case and still velcro shut (my fault, I placed the Velcro in the wrong spot) but it can hold one of those refill wipes things after some of the wipes have been used. I think it would be good to hold toys or snacks or something as well so the diaper bag can be all organized!

These are wee wee wigwams. You put them over little boys treasures when you change him so that he doesn't accidently spray you in the face. Not sure how well they work but they are easy to make and I had scraps of material so I thought Asha could try them out!

These are cloth chew toys that babies can play with. I showed them to another child out here in Cleveland and she went nuts for it so I guess to a baby they are fun!

Enjoy! I will post more things that I make as I finish them! I am hoping to make some more things tonight but we will see!!

Love you Asha!

5 year Anniversary!

So I know this post is long past due, but the laptop I am on does not have all the pictures I want to add and I am way behind, so I figure I should start somewhere. Hopefully this will lead to the posting addiction I tend to get after I get going again. I always think there is too much to do and never get started... Well that is not going to happen today!

Our 5 year wedding anniversary was on January 14, 2010! I can't believe we have been married for 5 wonderful years!!! Brent and I decided to go to the Melting Pot in SLC because he had won a gift card there during the summer and we had never been. It was AMAZING!! At first, we were like fondu? That doesn't sound too cool, but TRUST me it was! We had three courses: 1st was a cheese sauce that we dipped bread, veggies, and believe it or not apples! 2nd was a broth in which we dipped lots of different meats. 3rd was a chocolate fondue! Let me tell you that is amazing!!!

This is me doing the fondue thing with the cheese course!

This is what the broth looked like (with some potatoes cooking).

There were so many choices! It took us a few hours to have the whole meal but it was worth it and VERY relaxing! It is kinda pricey but wonderful!

Family Pictures!!!

So I know it has been forever, but I am really busy with teaching and everything else that I forget. Also, I think I overwhelm myself by thinking I have to catch EVERYTHING up so I don't do anything. Well...not today!

Our wonderful friend Ashley took some awesome pictures of us for Christmas and they will work as our five year anniversary pics too (which is in two weeks!). Here are just a few of them! Thanks Ashley!!! We love them!

Parallel Parking

So this may seem strange to those of you who have known me for a long time, but I parallel parked for the first time ever yesterday!!! It was kinda fun but hard. It wasn't a tight space but it is hard to get the whole car close to the curb. One of the teachers on my team at school helped me!! Thanks Cindy!

I have had a driver's license since I was 14, but haven't driven too much until the last couple of years and have never had a need to parallel park. I guess as I do it more, it will get easier!

2010 Scion xB

So for those who haven't heard....we got a new car!!!! We looked at several different options before buying our new xB. I LOVE IT!!!! Brent took care of EVERYTHING over the phone. I just went in and signed the papers at the dealership and bank. What a wonderful husband!!! He also picked out the color and such but I like too!

Funny story though, as you will notice in some of the pictures, the hub caps are missing (and what you can't see, is the radio was also missing). So I guess the new xBs don't come with either one since the car is so often customized. Normally they come in a few days after the car which is generally not a big deal EXCEPT the dealership hadn't received them yet!!! However, today, I went back up to SLC to get both of them installed and now the car is even better!!! (I picked up the car on Monday).

Enjoy the pictures!!!

One of the best things about the car is that it comes with a port for an iPod to be plugged in AND the cord to do it with!!!

I love this car!!!

Jack and the Skunk

This post is to explain how Jack got sprayed by a skunk. I have had a few people ask and so I thought I would post it, plus the pics I am posting with it are cute.

It all happened about two weeks ago...

Jack was having a good morning and than all of a sudden he started limping. He wouldn't walk on his back right leg. We were concerned that he had something stuck in his paw but we couldn't find anything. Jack wasn't his normal playful self, instead he slept most of the day. It was rainy (of course) so it worked out well because he didn't whine about going out. The slide show below shows him throughout the day as he is sleeping.

So when Daddy came home, I took Jack at to go to the bathroom and to meet him. I didn't concern myself with putting his leash on him because he wanted to be carried and still wasn't walking on his back right paw. I didn't think he could get into that much trouble. ... I was wrong...

I set him on the ground and he took off running! I was shocked. Now you need to know two things 1. it is very dark and there aren't many lights (and most of the ones they have don't work). 2. a skunk (and other small critters) like to hang out by the dumpster.

Anyways, I set him on the ground and he took off running. The next thing I hear is him wrestling an animal but I still can't see anything. I start yelling his name and he comes to me. But starts rubbing his face into the ground. At this point I begin to smell that nasty skunk smell. However when I picked Jack up, he smelled different. Just so you know skunk smell up close doesn't smell the same as the far away smell. It smells like wet, hot, nasty garbage.

We took Jack inside and started giving him baths. We even used dish soap (which did help quite a bit). He got a bath a couple of days in a row but it wasn't going away all the way. However, it got to the point where you can only smell it when he is wet and hot. It is hard to scrub him because he was sprayed mostly on his face.

The reason we didn't soak him in tomato juice is because we couldn't plug our tub and because he would jump out. But it is turning out ok now.

So this summer, Jack actually caught a woodchuck (that is for another day) and a skunk! Now you all know the story of the skunk!