Wednesday, January 27, 2010
My First Quilt (progress update 1)
So I have started to work on my very first quilt. I cute the squares a while back while in Little Rock, then finished sewing all the squares together a few weeks ago. Earlier this week I laid them all out and cut the extra fabric that will be put between each quilt square. Its obviously not the correct size to fit on any bed, so I think its going to be more of a couch quilt. Next time I'll focus on sizing it correctly to fit a bed... but back to THIS quilt. I really like the colors and patterns of the quilt... the reds are bright and the musical prints are so much fun. I have a red flannel picked out for the backing, but first I need to finish piecing together the front of it. I'm not sure if I am actually going to try machine quilting it or doing a tie quilt using yarn at the major joint points. I guess I'll decide after I have the top all sewn and pick out what type of batting to use. Dereck and I have yet to decide if we want to keep this one, since its my first!, or perhaps give it out as a gift. I guess that is yet another thing to be determined. Below are photos of the quilt laid out on the floor, and a close up of the different blocks. The blocks should be horizontal, like in the photo of my main quilt... but for some reason when they uploaded they turned vertical and I don't know how to fix it! Anyways, you get the idea!
Link to Pictures!
So under "blogs I follow" on the right hand side of this page, I have recently added my shared Shutterfly page. I know some of you have access to both this blog and my picture site, but now they are linked a little better :-)
Jane
Jane
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Is Anybody Out There?
So I've been trying to keep up with a few friends' blogs (a few are posted to the right) and I usually check at least weekly to see if any new posts have been made. I enjoy keeping up with the life updates, insights, and fun stuff that they post about. My friend Amy recently noted that in the 30 days she's had her blog she had 300 views, which averages to about 10 a day. She can count me as a few of those for sure! She uses a different website to post from, and after looking around my blogger dashboard for about 10 minutes, I was completely unable to figure out how to check my views. So I'm wondering, does anybody actually read this? I've received a few comments... but they are all from only 2 people, so as far as I know, only 2 people follow my blog!
So...should I post more often? Are my posts too boring? I originially started this blog to not only write down some of my thoughts and to publish some of my projects (this part I have been slacking on!), but hopefully to keep my friends and family updated on my "going-ons" since it seems like the day to day hustle and bustle doens't leave time for the basic "how've you been" conversations anymore.
Using the beautiful blogs of my friends as inspiration, I hope to make my entries a bit more creative and to add more pictures. The new computer should help with that, once I finally upload all my new pictures onto it :-)
So to those who read, thanks! You make it worth it :-)
So...should I post more often? Are my posts too boring? I originially started this blog to not only write down some of my thoughts and to publish some of my projects (this part I have been slacking on!), but hopefully to keep my friends and family updated on my "going-ons" since it seems like the day to day hustle and bustle doens't leave time for the basic "how've you been" conversations anymore.
Using the beautiful blogs of my friends as inspiration, I hope to make my entries a bit more creative and to add more pictures. The new computer should help with that, once I finally upload all my new pictures onto it :-)
So to those who read, thanks! You make it worth it :-)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Getting back on track
While we lived in Little Rock I did a fairly good job of overcoming the excuses and getting my butt in the gym, outside, or even just in front of the TV doing a workout DVD. I got lazy since we moved back to Corpus Christi, and I blame part of it on the bad weather (very unmotivating) but most was just me wanting to sit around instead of making myself go work out. Then the holidays came and I just gave up all together! Homecooked meals from Moms and Christmas chocolate did me in!
So now I am making it known (so hopefully I'll have something to hold myself to) that I'm going to get back on track and offically start my new years resolution (3 weeks into the new year, but whatever...haha). My goal is to do an active workout 4 days a week, and at a minimum go for a walk outside the days I don't have a workout. Lets see how this goes! I don't have a great need to loose a ton of weight... I still fit into my clothes, but I'm still not happy with what I'm seeing in the mirror. Plus, I just feel better after I work out and I think I need to think of that good feeling when looking for motivation instead of dreading the hard stage of feeling the burn!
So today starts it. I just finished the P90X Kempo workout, which is like Tae-Bo- lots of kicks and punches. So there, I publisized me goal. Now hold me to it!
So now I am making it known (so hopefully I'll have something to hold myself to) that I'm going to get back on track and offically start my new years resolution (3 weeks into the new year, but whatever...haha). My goal is to do an active workout 4 days a week, and at a minimum go for a walk outside the days I don't have a workout. Lets see how this goes! I don't have a great need to loose a ton of weight... I still fit into my clothes, but I'm still not happy with what I'm seeing in the mirror. Plus, I just feel better after I work out and I think I need to think of that good feeling when looking for motivation instead of dreading the hard stage of feeling the burn!
So today starts it. I just finished the P90X Kempo workout, which is like Tae-Bo- lots of kicks and punches. So there, I publisized me goal. Now hold me to it!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Home Sweet Guest Room
So on thursday I dropped Dereck off at the airport and we said our goodbyes as he left for his three weeks of training at Fairchild AFB in Spokane, Washington. He'll be doing a survival/POW training so it'll be a rough time but hopefully he'll learn some good things and not get too cold out in the woods camping in January! After he left I went back to the condo and finished cleaning up and packing up the car. On friday I handed in the keys and left to drive to Del Rio, TX where we have some friends living.
I will be staying with our friends Matt and Jai until Dereck gets back on February 6th. They are such a fun couple and so generous to open their home to me for this time. I have my own guest room and bathroom to use and Marty has a fenced in backyard to play in! Its great.
And for some good news, on thursday I found us a place to live from Feb 6 to March 12th... since our flight out to Japan should be on March 13th. We are going back to the complex we just moved out of, but this time renting a smaller, but furnished, unit directly from the condo management. They even helped us out with the deposits since they knew our situation. So thats one more weight off my shoulders!
So now I just have a few weeks to relax and be good to my hosts before packing up the car and driving back to Corpus Christi. Hopefully in February the weather will be a bit nicer there so we can enjoy the beach more before we head across the big pond.
Thats about it for me today!
I will be staying with our friends Matt and Jai until Dereck gets back on February 6th. They are such a fun couple and so generous to open their home to me for this time. I have my own guest room and bathroom to use and Marty has a fenced in backyard to play in! Its great.
And for some good news, on thursday I found us a place to live from Feb 6 to March 12th... since our flight out to Japan should be on March 13th. We are going back to the complex we just moved out of, but this time renting a smaller, but furnished, unit directly from the condo management. They even helped us out with the deposits since they knew our situation. So thats one more weight off my shoulders!
So now I just have a few weeks to relax and be good to my hosts before packing up the car and driving back to Corpus Christi. Hopefully in February the weather will be a bit nicer there so we can enjoy the beach more before we head across the big pond.
Thats about it for me today!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Crossroads
I titled this blog entry "Crossroads" to fit with the theme of my new layout. I was looking for something different than my cutesy little flowers and notebook themed blog I previously had and came across this layout. Being that we are going through a huge lifestyle change by moving from Texas to Tokyo, exploring life on a US military base overseas, and eventually finding a new "career" for the next 3 years, I think it fits well to say I am at a crossroads in life right now.
When we first found out that our first duty station base would be Yokota AB in Japan, Dereck and I were extremely excited. I was a bit scared and nervous, but I knew we'd have plenty of time to do the research and prepare for the change. This was in April 2009. I quit my job in May once we were married so I could move to Arkansas and be with Dereck while he finished up his pilot training. This really was our only option unless we wanted to be apart for the first 6 months of our marriage (and would add to the 2 years of being apart during our dating and engagement as well). Since neither of us wanted to do that, and since I was going to have to quit when we moved overseas anyway, I figured 6 months of unemployement before we arrived in Japan in November 2009 wouldn't be so bad. I might even figure out what I want to do once I get there!
Well as most everybody knows now, November turned to January 10th. January 10th stretched to January 30th. Then lately, January 30th got pushed to the new date of March 5th. So I've now been floating in this temporary space for almost 9 months already, have moved 2 times since then (first from San Antonio to Little Rock, then from Little Rock to Corpus Christi), and are prepping to make move number 3 since our lease in our condo was only good thru January when we orginially thought we were going to be leaving!(new location still Corpus Christi, address: unknown...)
We see no reason for this March 5th date to change, since Dereck will be 100% done with everything the Air Force needs him to accomplish before leaving the states by February 5th. So that gives us another 3-4 weeks of waiting around before flying out to Japan. Though leaving later than we thought allowed us enough time for a good trip home for Christmas, that is about the only positive from it. Both of us are sick of waiting around. Dereck is ready to join his new squadron and start flying real missions instead of training, training, and more training. I'm ready to have a house I can settle into and make into a real home for us, and to FIND A JOB!!! 9 months of unemployement is a bit too much for me to handle. I'm bored, I feel "useless"... like I'm not contributing to anything. Volunteering was great during the summer in Little Rock, but once we became a 1 car family, my volunteering had to stop since I didn't know when I'd have a car or not to use (Dereck getting on base to work has priority #1 of course).
As far as using this time off to decide what I want to do in Japan, well I think I have it down to a few options. After being able to work with children again while volunteering, it just enforced the desire I had to work with children on a regular basis. Watching them learn and progress brings a lot of joy to my life and makes me have the feeling that I'm making a difference. I also want to find something flexible, so that I can enjoy living in Japan and have enough time to be a tour guide to visiting friends & family, learn local customs and enjoy the city of Tokyo, and to spend time with my husband while he is home (he will be gone a lot). So here are the options I would like to explore when we settle into our new home:
1) Working in the youth/teen center on base, or doing working with an after-school tutoring program.
2) Trying to become a substitute teacher at the high school to decide if I like the classroom environment enough to pursue getting certified as a teacher (eventually teach Math/Physics)
3) Teach conversational English to Japanese speakers. This option has less to due with working with children, since I'm pretty sure all the students are adults, but I feel this is an opportunity that would be worth looking into. I have been told the pay is good and that it is a lot of fun! So why not look in to it?
I hope that I can find something that I enjoy doing so work isn't as much as a chore to me as it was before. Though I'm ready to have a job, I can't say I've missed the stress that came with my old job. SInce I quit I have been less stressed, have been sick much less often, and have learned how to cook more and to sew! I hope that my future job will add to my life in Japan... if we ever get there!!!
Here's to the crossroads and to getting through it with happy results.
When we first found out that our first duty station base would be Yokota AB in Japan, Dereck and I were extremely excited. I was a bit scared and nervous, but I knew we'd have plenty of time to do the research and prepare for the change. This was in April 2009. I quit my job in May once we were married so I could move to Arkansas and be with Dereck while he finished up his pilot training. This really was our only option unless we wanted to be apart for the first 6 months of our marriage (and would add to the 2 years of being apart during our dating and engagement as well). Since neither of us wanted to do that, and since I was going to have to quit when we moved overseas anyway, I figured 6 months of unemployement before we arrived in Japan in November 2009 wouldn't be so bad. I might even figure out what I want to do once I get there!
Well as most everybody knows now, November turned to January 10th. January 10th stretched to January 30th. Then lately, January 30th got pushed to the new date of March 5th. So I've now been floating in this temporary space for almost 9 months already, have moved 2 times since then (first from San Antonio to Little Rock, then from Little Rock to Corpus Christi), and are prepping to make move number 3 since our lease in our condo was only good thru January when we orginially thought we were going to be leaving!(new location still Corpus Christi, address: unknown...)
We see no reason for this March 5th date to change, since Dereck will be 100% done with everything the Air Force needs him to accomplish before leaving the states by February 5th. So that gives us another 3-4 weeks of waiting around before flying out to Japan. Though leaving later than we thought allowed us enough time for a good trip home for Christmas, that is about the only positive from it. Both of us are sick of waiting around. Dereck is ready to join his new squadron and start flying real missions instead of training, training, and more training. I'm ready to have a house I can settle into and make into a real home for us, and to FIND A JOB!!! 9 months of unemployement is a bit too much for me to handle. I'm bored, I feel "useless"... like I'm not contributing to anything. Volunteering was great during the summer in Little Rock, but once we became a 1 car family, my volunteering had to stop since I didn't know when I'd have a car or not to use (Dereck getting on base to work has priority #1 of course).
As far as using this time off to decide what I want to do in Japan, well I think I have it down to a few options. After being able to work with children again while volunteering, it just enforced the desire I had to work with children on a regular basis. Watching them learn and progress brings a lot of joy to my life and makes me have the feeling that I'm making a difference. I also want to find something flexible, so that I can enjoy living in Japan and have enough time to be a tour guide to visiting friends & family, learn local customs and enjoy the city of Tokyo, and to spend time with my husband while he is home (he will be gone a lot). So here are the options I would like to explore when we settle into our new home:
1) Working in the youth/teen center on base, or doing working with an after-school tutoring program.
2) Trying to become a substitute teacher at the high school to decide if I like the classroom environment enough to pursue getting certified as a teacher (eventually teach Math/Physics)
3) Teach conversational English to Japanese speakers. This option has less to due with working with children, since I'm pretty sure all the students are adults, but I feel this is an opportunity that would be worth looking into. I have been told the pay is good and that it is a lot of fun! So why not look in to it?
I hope that I can find something that I enjoy doing so work isn't as much as a chore to me as it was before. Though I'm ready to have a job, I can't say I've missed the stress that came with my old job. SInce I quit I have been less stressed, have been sick much less often, and have learned how to cook more and to sew! I hope that my future job will add to my life in Japan... if we ever get there!!!
Here's to the crossroads and to getting through it with happy results.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Holidays 2009!
So I realized I haven't written for a while and that is mainly for two reasons. Reason #1 is that we haven't had a reliable internet connection that is required for uploading and posting blogs/pictures/etc. Reason #2 is that we don't have a laptop with a working battery so our computer is not very portable to even bring it to a place that has a connection available. However, reason #2 is now SOLVED as I am now typing on my brand spanking new Toshiba laptop computer! Merry Christmas to US!
So speaking of Christmas, we had an excellent holiday back in Minnesota with family. Dereck and I flew up about 10 days before Christmas after dropping the dog off with a friend. We were sad to leave him but we didn't want to try driving all the way home like last year again... but it worked out because between our friend and the dog kennel, Marty was kept safe, happy, and healthy. Our flight was uneventful as were the first few days of the trip, just getting settled back "home" and enjoying time with our parents and Dereck's brother. It was great to have time to see friends and even some unexpected family down in the cities before Christmas too! All our gifts arrived undamaged and ready to be wrapped up and put under the tree. Dereck and I got our first Christmas tree together and set it up in my parent's living room. Even though it wasn't at our own home it was nice to do that holiday tradition together for the first time!
Christmas eve was supposed to be spent at Dereck's grandparent's house in Benson, MN, but due to a nasty snowstorm that blew in we decided not to make the drive. A combination of bad weather and us being a bit apprehensive after last year's bad weather roll-over accident made for a potentially dangerous trip in our eyes and it just wasn't worth it. Luckily nobody else had any issues getting there though and Grandma and Grandpa Beam had plenty of company. Dereck's parents ended up driving up there the day before Christmas eve, and we had a little present opening event before they hit the road, which was fun and everybody got just what they wanted! Christmas day was spent making two GIANT snowmen in my front yard with my Dad and then some waiting around for Mark and Valerie to make the slow drive up to Little Falls. Luckily they were coming from the south so they drove thru more rain than snow and had a safe trip. We opened up presents, had Christmas dinner, and even had a few intense games of Scrabble and Pictionary. The next day we had our traditional Christmas walk thru the state park which was eventful and very memorable for all of us (especially the Tree my dad ran right into! ouch!)
It seems like the days after Christmas flew bye so fast! I spent an afternoon shopping with my friend Maria, another afternoon shopping with my Mom, and Dereck and I spent a day going to Benson to finally see Grandma and Grandpa. Dereck's brother Sean had a nordic ski meet New Years Eve Day and it was fun (and very COLD) to watch him compete. We rang in 2010 at my friend Maria's which was fun to be a bit low-key and have time to visit, laugh, and catch up with her and her husband. We even got to play with her boys for a while too, and we always love seeing them!
New Years Day was spent driving down to the cities to have a quick visit with Genevieve and my godson Devon before she brought us to the airport for our flight back to Texas. I was so sad to leave everybody, since this will most likely be my last trip home before we move to Japan. But it was a good trip and we had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of friends and family. We were also very excited to see Marty again since it had been 17 days and that is the longest I'd ever been away from him. Our flight back was good and it was nice to be greated by 50 degree temperatures! We had a great Texas steak dinner that night before heading to bed. Jan 2nd was the last of our "Christmas Vacation" and we picked up Marty at the kennel. He was happy to see us but I think we were happier to see him! Then that afternoon Dereck and I went to see the touring Broadway production of The Lion King which was just amazing! It was part of my present from him and it was just perfect. We got back into Corpus that evening and were glad to be back on familiar turf.
It was a very eventful 2009 for us- Dereck getting his wings, us getting married and living together for the first time, plus moving twice in 7 months. We know 2010 will be great and though its started off at a nice, relaxing pace, its about to pick up pretty quick in the next few weeks! More on that to come....
So speaking of Christmas, we had an excellent holiday back in Minnesota with family. Dereck and I flew up about 10 days before Christmas after dropping the dog off with a friend. We were sad to leave him but we didn't want to try driving all the way home like last year again... but it worked out because between our friend and the dog kennel, Marty was kept safe, happy, and healthy. Our flight was uneventful as were the first few days of the trip, just getting settled back "home" and enjoying time with our parents and Dereck's brother. It was great to have time to see friends and even some unexpected family down in the cities before Christmas too! All our gifts arrived undamaged and ready to be wrapped up and put under the tree. Dereck and I got our first Christmas tree together and set it up in my parent's living room. Even though it wasn't at our own home it was nice to do that holiday tradition together for the first time!
Christmas eve was supposed to be spent at Dereck's grandparent's house in Benson, MN, but due to a nasty snowstorm that blew in we decided not to make the drive. A combination of bad weather and us being a bit apprehensive after last year's bad weather roll-over accident made for a potentially dangerous trip in our eyes and it just wasn't worth it. Luckily nobody else had any issues getting there though and Grandma and Grandpa Beam had plenty of company. Dereck's parents ended up driving up there the day before Christmas eve, and we had a little present opening event before they hit the road, which was fun and everybody got just what they wanted! Christmas day was spent making two GIANT snowmen in my front yard with my Dad and then some waiting around for Mark and Valerie to make the slow drive up to Little Falls. Luckily they were coming from the south so they drove thru more rain than snow and had a safe trip. We opened up presents, had Christmas dinner, and even had a few intense games of Scrabble and Pictionary. The next day we had our traditional Christmas walk thru the state park which was eventful and very memorable for all of us (especially the Tree my dad ran right into! ouch!)
It seems like the days after Christmas flew bye so fast! I spent an afternoon shopping with my friend Maria, another afternoon shopping with my Mom, and Dereck and I spent a day going to Benson to finally see Grandma and Grandpa. Dereck's brother Sean had a nordic ski meet New Years Eve Day and it was fun (and very COLD) to watch him compete. We rang in 2010 at my friend Maria's which was fun to be a bit low-key and have time to visit, laugh, and catch up with her and her husband. We even got to play with her boys for a while too, and we always love seeing them!
New Years Day was spent driving down to the cities to have a quick visit with Genevieve and my godson Devon before she brought us to the airport for our flight back to Texas. I was so sad to leave everybody, since this will most likely be my last trip home before we move to Japan. But it was a good trip and we had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of friends and family. We were also very excited to see Marty again since it had been 17 days and that is the longest I'd ever been away from him. Our flight back was good and it was nice to be greated by 50 degree temperatures! We had a great Texas steak dinner that night before heading to bed. Jan 2nd was the last of our "Christmas Vacation" and we picked up Marty at the kennel. He was happy to see us but I think we were happier to see him! Then that afternoon Dereck and I went to see the touring Broadway production of The Lion King which was just amazing! It was part of my present from him and it was just perfect. We got back into Corpus that evening and were glad to be back on familiar turf.
It was a very eventful 2009 for us- Dereck getting his wings, us getting married and living together for the first time, plus moving twice in 7 months. We know 2010 will be great and though its started off at a nice, relaxing pace, its about to pick up pretty quick in the next few weeks! More on that to come....
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