The Navy Wife

This is the start of me documenting all of the items that I have sewn for myself!

I may have married an army boy, but I love the color navy! Sewing this dress for myself was fun and I learned a lot. Hubby has been working 14 hour days so while he was home for a bit, I got him to snap a few pictures on our balcony to link up to The Sew Off, realizing the seams still need pressed. 

To make this dress, I altered a sloper to my measurements to start the pattern work. I rotated the side and lower bust darts to the neckline and converted them into pleats. Additional fabric was added to the center front to allow for the center pleats since they aren't actually needed to allow room for the bust. The lower portion of the dress is just straight down from the hip. The sleeves are set in evenly despite looking gathered in the second picture. I love being able to choose the sleeve and skirt length in the items I make for myself. 

One month ago

I found out I am pregnant.

It's crazy looking at the dates that it has been one month since we found out. It was a Monday night and we were at the store together picking up basics and looking for games to buy. I think we settled on a catch set and badminton rackets. I also threw in a box of pregnancy tests since we were hoping to try in the next couple months. I was impatient when we got home and took one anyway. I stared at it in the bathroom, my heart feeling so full when I knew. It was a surreal moment.

I came out and told Chris the news. He was laying in bed, just about asleep. I'll blame his reaction upon his tiredness. He said something along the lines of "Ok... well let's try to keep it that way and maybe you should take another test in the morning to make sure it's right." I think that both of us didn't want to get our hopes up too much just in case, even though I knew this was really happening.

Right away I felt huge. I think my mind was reasoning that since I was pregnant, I didn't always have to suck it in like most girls do. I even bought a few maternity items. Chris thought I was crazy but it was evident there was at least one baby in there. I was hungry all the time, but when I ate a lot, I almost lost my dinner in the parking lot and mall. July 20th ended up being my last day of work. I had experienced a few days of hardly being able to get to work in the mornings and didn't want to burden Emily who I nannyed for. I can say that that was the last time awhile I had a really good day. The next day I felt sick but mustered up my strength for a baseball game. The game was really fun and I'm glad Chris and I got to spend that time together.

That first week of being home was awful. My parents came into town the next day and were able to help out for a few days. I was throwing up, so weak, and just felt horrible. Making it through the day until Chris could get home to help was about all I could handle. The day after my parents left, Sierra was able to stay with me. That night was the worst it had been though, so we made an appointment in Idaho to get me some relief. All my medication did make me feel better, if I could sleep through the hour it takes before kicking in.

After just a few days in Idaho, we came back to Utah for Chris to work three more days until drill. These days were a blur and I survived with my pills. To say I am tired of traveling is an understatement as we went back up to Idaho. Thursday August 2nd was exciting for us though. My emergency appointment the week before was just for the medication, so now we were able to have the rest of my first appointment. We had our ultrasound which confirmed there is just one little guy in there. The most disappointing part for me was they moved me back 10 days. I should have been 9 weeks at the appointment, and now I was only 7 1/2?! It seemed like the past few weeks I'd worked so hard to keep food down were taken away from me.

Now I am 8 1/2 weeks and I have been doing better. I only take my medication when I need it and have been able to have more good days. Although a good day still consists of being in bed 99% of the time. It is still a little strange to think there's a little guy growing in me. He (although we won't know the sex until around October) is so small, but already amazes me. He barely has fingers, yet seems to already be a thumb sucker. So far has defiantly been a roller coaster. I'm hoping things will slow down enough to allow me to finish school. We also have big decisions to figure out like where to live and how to stretch our income. However, we are so blessed and couldn't be more grateful for the wild ride that has already begun.

happy 21

I guess it's that time again. One year older and wiser too. A lot has happened this past year. Figuring out I couldn't live without Christopher and everything unfolding after that. Being alive for 21 years, I am happy with where I am. It's great to think at 21 I am close to graduating, getting married, starting a family, and putting our dreams into a reality. That makes me smile just thinking about. Christopher likes to spoil me and my birthday was no exception.

We celebrated early on the 10th we celebrated with a quick trip to Boise and the best concert of my life. It will be hard to top this one. We left fairly early and drove the 5 hours there. Chris even appeased me by letting us listen to country most of the way. Once we finally hit Boise, we had some time to kill. We went to pet stores and Chris fell in love with a doggie. He would have taken her home right then if he could have. Or driven back up for her. I'm definitely warming up to the idea because it will help make our family. We took to the mall where he continued in the spoilage and got me a dress for our cruise.

When it was finally time to get ready for the concert, we parked and took some time walking around. We sat and talked at Starbucks. We walked streets unfamiliar hand in hand.

Finally it was time to go to the arena. Without too much of a wait, we were in our seats.

Dia Frampton was the first opener. She is a little hippie-ish, but I know a few of her songs.

After Dia, Justin Moore took the stage. He is a short, funny guy. Before the concert, I didn't recognize his name that much. Hosever, he does have a lot of great dongs that I know well. One favorite was Bait a hook.

It took awhile in between singers for set changes, but soon Blake's band was ready.

Blake's entrance took my breath away. He was elevated and came down. My heart was racing, I couldn't regulate my breaths. I think I was actually in shock from the excitement. I kept looking from Blake to Christopher making sure that this was really happening. He opened with Footloose and a few other songs before welcoming us all there. He said he was nervous which surprised me. The arena wasn't to big, but the levels put people in "the nosebleed seats, the nosebleed seats, and the nosebleed seats."

Blake of course referenced Twitter, how he swears and drinks. He was was continually taking a shot of whiskey. Chris said he though he was drunk before he even came out. Oh Blake.

Most of the songs, I would be singing along and then rerealizing that was really him and go into shock all over again. After the fact, Chris calculated I took a picture every 12.6 seconds of the concert. Obsessed? Maybe.

Some of the cutest parts were singing and somewhat dancing along with the cute songs Who Are You When I'm Not Looking, and God Gave Me You. Blake singing our song to Chris and I, one of the best moments ever.

Near the end, Dia came back out and they sang their song. I love the words and the fatherly nature Blake gets when he's around her.

Justin also came out for a song together. They were both so funny and drunk. Justin jumped up into Blake's arms at the end.

Blake left$but of course came back for a few final songs at the end. I didn't want it to end even though it was a pretty long concert.

With a smile across my face and souvenirs in my hand we heading home. We were so tired, we ended up pulling orer only an hour later. Sleeping in the car wasn't that fun. By about 5 I couldn't do it anymore and starting driving back. Chris took over an hour later and soon enough we were home. My music wasn't cutting it for him the way back, but he found my oldies from high school. With that music, he was good to go.

Back home, we took a nice long nap. We had steak, potatoes, and Olive Garden Salad for dinner with Tyler and Molly followed by a little bball.

2.2 SO HAPPY

Tonight I sat in front of the tv for hours waiting for Blake Shelton to be on Leno.
I was so excited, hushed everyone multiple times, and most importantly,
CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM NEXT MONTH!

2.1 Don't worry, be happy

So my goal of writing this year hasn't been what I had hoped for. However today is February 1st. All my New Years Resolutions I gave up on in the first few days are back in full force. And I'm already sad about some of them. I could really use a chocolate milk right now.

I think the most often time that I blog is when I'm having a bad day. which to be honest feels like right now. I think it has a big part to do with not wanting to do anything else. No homework, no going out, no trying to have, and sitting and moping. While it's good to let it out, I'm not as good at sharing all of the happy things. I have had amazing days this past month and I need to be more grateful for them. Which by the way reminds me of a pin I found this week.

"Don't let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life."

I think I need to keep that on repeat in my head a mist the Mr. Shelton and Miss Frampton :)
So here it is: What I learned from January 2012

School starting up again. It doesn't get any easier. In fact it is getting harder and harder. Some days I want to give up. Then I get a gokd grade on a test and feel motivated.

The temple is where I need to be. Being there I felt peace and came to a big decision: 

I quit work. I can't imagine still working. I still have no time and I feel like I made the right decision.

Even when days drag on, days go by. January 1st seems like so long ago, and yet I'm another month closer to the best day of my life.

Things happen for a reason. I am so glad I ended up with Sierra as my roommate. She keeps me smiling everyday.

And finally.. I love Chris more than ever, more and more each day. He is the reason I keep going. Not only that but I am happy just thinking about him. Everything makes sense with him. Two and a half months!