Victoria's (errr, I mean Heather's) Secret

As you know, I'm a bridesmaid (and I'm sort of proud of this). Anyway, this past weekend me and the co-bridesmaid threw a bridal shower. The bride really wanted a lingerie-themed shower so we of course decided to pull our inspiration from Victoria's Secret. We had a great time!

Here's a few photos.

First of course, the invitations. I made these on the computer. I think they turned out cute.

Invitations

We included a little tag that gave her sizes. We also asked each person to bring a pair of new panties that "describe" the guest's personality. 

Invitation inserts

The panty game was quite funny. We had guests  "drop their panties" by the door:

The panty basket

Then we hung them on a "clothesline" - it was funny to see everyone's "personality." Maybe a little embarassing. . . but oh well, what would a bridal shower be without a stupid little game. 

Our clothesline

Everyone had a little "panty" nametag with black lace or polka dots and made up a "racy" nickname to wear. 

Of course, sticking with the theme, we needed cookies. We made matching little sets of bras and panties. 

Cookies!

And served lunch. We had quiche, bacon, potatoes, shrimp cocktail, croissants, bagels with smoked salmon cream cheese, and fruit with dip. Yummy!!

A view from part of the brunch line

Oh and what would a party be without mimosas? We created a mimosa bar, three different juices, champagne and fruit as a garnish. And of course a cake...a lace-up corset cake. 

It was a great time. The bride felt pampered (as it should be) and we had lots of giggles (lots of champagne helped that along). 

After the shower, it was time to do some makeup. I did Heather's makeup for some photos, complete with fake lashes etc. I can't show you the final in any photos but here's a preview. 

I should be a makeup artist! :) 

Top off the day with some good ole' line dancing lessons (no photos from that) and it's a day! On to the wedding......

39 by 39 - Do Something Awesome for Marc's Birthday & Get a Tattoo

Big surprise!!!

My now-adult son and I disagree on what is awesome when it comes to birthday celebrations! I know, I'm as shocked as you are.

Leading up to his birthday, I've been overcome with mixed emotions. Happiness. Pride. Sadness. Irritation (c'mon you mean your teen doesn't irritate you??). You name it - I've felt it.

at left: one week; at right: 18

Of course it's led to some reflection and it's interesting how twisted your emotions get:

How the heck did those 18 years just fly by?

You can't leave yet - stay home.
Ok, you're 18, get out. (he's not graduating yet so he's stuck with me but there's days lol)

I'm proud of the young man I've raised.
Did I do enough? I mean, he still doesn't do his own laundry.

I'm not old enough to have an adult son. I mean, it feels like I just graduated high school myself.

Needless to say overall I'm really excited and proud but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad.

Me and Marc this week

So I've been thinking of ways to celebrate the milestone. Pinterest had my convinced I should fill his room with helium balloons carrying pictures of him that represented every year of his life. (except I have no time and I scrapbooked them and they're put away and I'm too busy to pull them out). And that I should have made a quilt using all the baby clothes and tshirts I've saved over the years (except I didn't save them because I'm not a hoarder). And that I should give him a wonderful journal I've kept over the years in which I'd written down every cute thing he's ever said or did (except that those memories are mixed in with the rest of my journal and I'm not ready to give that to either boy yet). And of course that I should give him some awesome gift like a car (except I'm broke) or an heirloom like grandpa's watch (except that he's sort of irresponsible with tangible things right now so I think that's best for when he's a little older).


Suffice it to say, I was feeling like a failure for not doing something fantastic and nostalgic and memorable.

Then I was reminded he's an 18 year old boy who wants to hang with friends and he isn't on Pinterest so he doesn't know what he's missing:)

So here's what I did instead. I booked his tattoo appointment for his first tattoo. And guess what???

Marc and I finally agreed on what is awesome for your 18th birthday!

Stenciled on, it's about to get real!!

Adam (tattoo artist extraordinaire) doesn't look too happy at my photo snapping habit. Adam's really cool though and was fun to visit with while Marc got inked.

Side note: Marc must have asked about 400 times if it was going to hurt. He asked if anyone had passed out...the look on his face was priceless when Adam said dozens have passed out but only one has ever died. LMAO!!

No turning back now!

And the final product. An elk with R.I.P. Mason. Marc lost his best friend Mason a few years ago in a terrible accident. He's wanted this tattoo ever since. He originally wanted big graffiti letters that said RIP Mason but I helped guide him to an idea he loved even more. He and Mason shared a love of hunting.

first ink!

 And because we had an hour left in the scheduled time, Adam agreed to give me a bonus tattoo. I've always wanted the boys' zodiac signs. And now there they are. On my wrist. I love it!

After tattooing, I cooked dinner for a crazy bunch of kids that I love. Tri-tip, potato salad, garlic bread, and Marc's favorite strawberry dessert. The kids were nice enough to let me take their photo before dinner!

Happy birthday Marc!!

39 by 39 - Be a Bridesmaid

Adding "Be a Bridesmaid" to my annual bucket list was sort of like cheating. I knew it would happen - my great friend and cousin Heather had already asked me to be in her May ceremony. It was a win/win - I get to wear a beautiful dress and walk down an aisle without any commitment whatsoever! Yay me.

To say, I'm not a wedding person might be an understatement. I know girls that have waited their lives to have the wedding of their dreams - I might have been like that if I weren't so lousy at relationships. Even still...I watch the money poured into weddings and think, "Damn, that would have been one heck of a vacation." And of course, I don't have a lot of faith in forever, yadda yadda.

But ok, Heather wants a wedding and being a wonderful friend (at least in my opinion haha), I said yes. Besides, she swore she wasn't too demanding. In fact, I could pick any color dress I wanted as long as it was within her "sunset color" parameter.

First duty....the dress! Hers and mine. My "rule" was that I wouldn't wear yellow.

David Bridal's "Hue chart" 

Well, guess what...I'm wearing that Sunbeam Yellow color above. I want to say I hate yellow but it wasn't bad and I think with a little tan and a little darker hair color it's going to be fine. 

I'll of course post dress pics after the wedding. 

Of course, the BIG deal was her dress. I'm not posting a photo because it's bad luck. But while she tried on dresses, Bethani and I messed around. Here's me attempting to show Bethani a duck face (fail) and a veil.

duck face??

Then it was cake tasting. My experience with wedding cakes is "icky" but these were delicious. A fantastic bakery at a grocery store of all places. I wanted to eat more! The banana cake with chocolate frosting was DELICIOUS! 

wedding cake!

 Then comes another fun part - a Bridal Shower. This is the only part I'm envious of. We've decided to throw a lingerie party - Victoria's Secret themed. Would it be poor etiquette to throw myself a lingerie party where I ask all guests to bring me something to fill my dresser with silk and lace? Ok, that's what I thought.

So I made really cute little invitations on the computer and sent them out. I've created a delicious menu for the brunch and we'll host a fabulous mimosa bar. We're playing a fun game (bring a NEW pair of panties that represent your personality and we'll make Heather guess who they belong to).

bridal shower

Then the crafty part came. We put together centerpiece arrangement using mason jars, wood, candles, and flowers. Here's a couple of examples:

Centerpiece version 1 

Centerpiece version 2 (and Heather's legs lol)

 Then I hand painted a sign for her daughter to carry down the aisle. It drives me crazy that it's not perfect but Heather said it's what she wanted so ok.....

Here she comes

 Then the sign for the "program" - again, driving me crazy that it's not perfect but Heather loves "shabby chic" so she's loving it.

 And then yarn art....can you tell Heather has spent a little time on Pinterest? This took forever. But I was able to pound out some frustrations on all those dang nails!

For now, my duties are done. I'll be busy over the next few weeks and I'll post more photos later. Are you a wedding person?

39 x 39 - Sew a Skirt

I sewed a skirt. And it's actually something I think I'll wear. More about that in a minute.....

To say life's been busy would be an understatement. Between school, kids, work, and my other work (on the board at the Home Builders Association), I feel like I've been running running running. Rather than bore you with a bunch of words, let me tell you in photos:

Marc bought a new car. It's ugly but it beats the gas mileage in his ford truck. Good job kid!

I took a few minutes to make my feet pretty (or at least prettier-ish) in hopes that it would spring some sandal weather. This would never have happened if not for my beautiful friend Chrystal. Lately we've been carving out hour blocks to catch up. Amazing how much we need our girlfriends. I almost cancelled this day but instead, we kept our appointment. We painted our toes, I put makeup on her, and fixed her hair. Girly, fun.

 The Home Show! I'm on the board for the Klamath Basin Home Builders Association. This weekend was our annual Home and Garden Show. Nate came along and helped me out. Here I am taking a quick break.

 Speaking of Nate, we've been spending a lot of quality time together. Cuddles, conversations, hanging out. . . I love this kid.

And finally to that skirt. . . here's the finished product. Not too shabby (I'll post another pic when I've got a different shirt on lol). 

 It was really fun to take a piece of fabric, a piece of elastic and come up with something I could wear.

I've blogged before about my mom's sewing. I HATED it when she made my clothes growing up. I've had an aversion ever since. But then I started thinking...it could be sort of one of a kind. Maybe I'd save a little. And well, honestly, I could say I've done it.

I don't know how to read a pattern so I scoured pinterest for an easy tutorial. I stumbled across this simple skirt that says it takes 15 minutes. I would post all the directions but go to her blog. . .she does a great job explaining and I couldn't begin to improve on what she wrote. It took me about an hour (I'm a beginning beginner).

It really was super easy and has given me confidence to want to try something else. I'm thinking a maxi skirt is next.

The skirt is cute enough I'd wear it. It is a little too big. Apparently I added more than a half inch or inch to my hems.

Got any easy ideas for me to try next?

Burney Falls - 129 ft. Waterfall

For years, I've wanted to take a trip to McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park in California. A friend had told me about the gorgeous waterfalls and the opportunities to hike. This weekend for Spring Break, the weather was nice and so we loaded up to make the short trek. The Park is approximately 140 miles from Klamath Falls (perfect for a day trip). We packed a lunch and headed out in the morning. 

On the way, we pass the Veteran's Living Memorial Sculpture Garden. I've been here before but decided to take the boys through. Being 10- and 17-year old boys, I wasn't sure they'd find it interesting. I was pleased when they both took an interest and insisted on walking around to each monument. The memorial features large metal, welded humanoid type sculptures. It's sort of remote with Mt. Shasta looming in the background. It's awe-inspiring, moving, and worth the stop!

A tribute outside the POW/MIA sculpture

This sculpture is title "Coming Home"

The entrance of the memorial

Continuing on, you come to the silly little town of Weed, California. They've embraced the "Weed" name and you can buy shirts that say I love Weed, Weed makes me happy, etc. We didn't explore but we did buy a souvenier. 

Traveling on down the road, listening to some rap and rock from my days (Tone Loc, Dr. Dre, Guns N Roses), we rocked out. The kids began to get hungry. My plan was to wait until we got to the falls but we saw a turnoff for a "vista" and pulled over. It was worth it - we found bonus falls that I didn't even know existed. 

We turned into the Lower Falls Picnic Area. It was well-maintained, nice roads, and clean bathrooms/picnic tables. We ate our lunches and walked down to the falls (a very easy, very short walk). 

Marc stands near the falls

 The rocks to climb over have been worn smooth and holes have been created from the water.

One of the holes was big enough for Marc to stand in.

Love them!

Nate found a relaxing rock

After the short hike and our bellies full, we headed out to Burney. According to the website, the centerpiece of the Memorial State Park is the falls themselves. The falls drop 129 feet. The weather was drop dead gorgeous, I even took off the jacket and hiked in my tank top. We took the Falls loop trail to begin with. It's a 1.4 mile hike. Pretty easy. Some uphill but not enough to complain about. 

The boys pose at the entrance

The Falls! GORGEOUS!

Marc posing for the camera

He asked for this photo - pretty sure it was to send to a girl

squirrels everywhere. 

 After hiking and playing, we began the trek back home. On the way down, I'd seen a sign for historical McCloud. I took the exit while the boys slept and drove through a cute little town that I want to revisit. Victorian looking homes, quaint shops -nothing to interest the boys but it'll be on my list. How can you resist neat architecture against bright blue skies and quiet streets with no cars?

The boys slept (they take after me) as we trekked back to Klamath. Driving through a short little detour to view Mt. Shasta City added another "next time" destination to my list. I'm excited to drive down and explore this seemingly "hippy-dippy" new-age-y town that boasts psychics, stores with crystals that heal, and the best drinking water anywhere! I suggest making the drive to Burney Falls - it's worth it! 

Took a Deep Breath and I'm Back

It's easy to get so focused on the negative that we forget all the positive. For example, I beat myself up a lot for the things I think I've done "wrong" - you want examples?

• divorced....twice
• my oldest son's rocky relationship with his dad
• my oldest son's absent bio dad
• the fact I don't have a lot of money and sometimes have to tell my kids no

We'll just stop there. 

As my regular readers will know, life threw me a curveball when Roy (aka bio dad, aka first husband) appeared after more than a decade's hiatus. I retreated, took many many many deep breaths, prayed, and allowed myself to feel every stupid emotion that came with it. And I'm coming out on the other end feeling pretty good about me.

Here's my realizations:

My divorces weren't all my fault - it takes two. My life would be very different had I stayed married and not in a good way.

Marc's relationship with his dad is not my fault. As a matter of fact, I've encouraged him to try. I've tried to give his dad some help. I've done what I can and will continue as appropriate.

Roy giving Marc up for adoption was a good thing, the right thing, and Roy had more than enough opportunities to be in his life.

It's okay for kids to hear no to requests for money and material things once in a while.

I'm not the same person I was 18 years ago when Roy and I married and I'm thankful for that!

Oh I could go on and on but I won't. I will say it's very weird to reconnect after more than a decade with someone you were intimate with. On one hand, your head knows they'll have changed (for better or worse) but with a decade's absence, you still think of them the way they were x number of years ago. It's surreal. It's also interesting the way memories have changed. I remember something he's forgotten and vice versa.

Anyway, enough of that. Life's good!

Retreat and Focus

I'm a dyed in the wool people pleaser.  I will work my behind off to make everyone around me happy and then I'll crash, retreat, recuperate, and refocus. It's my modus operandi.

I'm working hard to change it. I want to make people happy...I've come to understand that it might be one of my gifts. It might be my purpose. It brings me joy.

But I need to learn when to draw the line. Need to identify when enough is enough. And I need to learn when it's okay to have a voice rather than keeping my mouth shut. I need to rid myself of the guilt that comes from making a decision for me.

To my friends, you've probably noticed a retreat for a time being. It's only temporary while I focus and evaluate. If you've known me very long, you'll know this too shall pass.

It's a cycle:

I think I'm superwoman. I believe I'm the woman that can make myself happy and make all of you happy at the same time. I think I have superhero abilities that will allow me to juggle it all and prove it can be done. I work at it, plug away at it, and succeed. . . for a while.

I thrive under the pressure of everyone expecting something from me. Work, school, kids, friends, family, loved ones. . .

And pretty soon there's a conflict. Too many people, too many things, and it's too much. I feel overwhelmed so I try harder.

And then I "fail" at something. Maybe I forget the kiddo has a science expirement due and we do it at the last minute and I don't think it's worthy. Or I forget a birthday. A deadline at work. Or I stay up late doing homework because I didn't plan accordingly.

And pretty soon, I'm lost inside my head, trying to figure out how to make it all work. I start getting irritated and I know it's not your fault...it's mine...so I keep my mouth shut because I'm not ready to make decisions yet or say how I feel.

I'm waiting until my mind has worked through all the emotions before I speak. If I speak now, I might yell and ask what's in it for me? I might make you mad. I might say no to something that's important to me. I'm working through it all and evaluating . . . evaluating. . . evaluating.

And then I start communicating. I start sharing. I focus on the things important to me. I'll give those things my attention, my energy, my heart and soul....

Unfortunately for some of you, it might be frustrating. It's just me.

Right now, I'm feeling overwhelmed and trying to get a handle on everything so I can go back to feeling like me.

Between trying to complete school (it's important to me for so many many reasons);
keep my oldest son out of trouble and on track to graduate (he's such a good kid but so much like me),
spend quality time with my youngest son and give him the attention he needs,
watch my oldest son to make sure he's okay with the emergence of bio-dad,
make major changes at work and make them successful,
deal with some crazy emotions myself from the emergency of the ex,
stay on track with my diet,
focus on some health things,
deal with my crazy emotions over my son turning 18,
fix my finances,
make a difference,
be a friend,
be a lover,
be me,
stay sane,
conquer the world (okay, just kidding). . .

I'm overwhelmed.

Ok, back to work. . .