Thought I needed a break?

I really felt like I needed a break but not to be. I had a huge event for our young women at church and I had volunteered to do all the last minute running around. I was almost to Costco, my last stop and my brakes starting giving out. Luckily my fabulous SIL Brittany was able to pick me up. I was grateful that I had gotten everything I needed but I nearly had a bad panic attack right before leaving to the young women's activity. I felt better once I got there and made it through the evening. That was last night and today I feel better. I am painting so I have been light-headed from the fumes. I really would have been able to handle the broken car if there hadn't been several other stressful things going at the same time. I am also grateful that I had left Em and Ballerina with Deena and Mya and Cory were at school. Many $'s later the van is fixed. That makes 4 repairs in three months. My van has over a hundred thousand miles so it's just going to have those problems but I really want to wait until next year before buying a new van. So I guess I'll keep fixing it.

When I called the tow company the guy who was helping me asked, "Is this the Kendra that married Scott and worked at the cannery." That was a weird question but it was a guy from high school and he and I were the only two non-Mexican workers at the cannery that summer. We hung out together on our lunch breaks and I never would have survived that icky job if it wasn't for him. He even gave me the nicest card at the end of the summer which I have never forgotten. What a funny coincidence to talk to him like that. He was a year younger than me but Scott remembered him too because he was such a nice guy. He must have like me for me because I never wore makeup to that job and I wore a hairnet everyday.

Tomorrow is Mya's 11th friend birthday party. We invited 13 girls and only a few have RSVP'd which is kind of frustrating that I don't know how many girls to expect. We are doing a Fondue theme. It should be fun no matter how many girls show up. She wanted a RC truck so I got her a giant one at Costco. The great thing about having an 11 year old is that she is so ready to babysit and that means a lot more freedom for me. I love it. For now I only have her babysit when I am no more than 5 minutes away. We might try going 10-15 minutes away in a month or two.

First Annual Sister's Weekend February 22nd to the 24th, 2008

I wish I had taken more pictures. For my oldest Sister Staci's birthday Jenna and bought her a plane ticket to fly over from Boise. The fares were so cheap we just couldn't resist. We had all arranged with our husband's to be around to watch our kids. Friday morning I picked up Staci at the airport. We met up with Jenna at her work then we went to lunch. We had sushi. I only ate mostly to fully cooked items but it was really good. The restaurant was really fun. Even Ballerina and Em enjoyed it. After we took Jenna back to work Staci and went to Value Village. She found some great deals. I chased the girls around the store. Ballerina figured out her shirt had snaps and took it off and ran around the store topless for a while.

We went and picked up my kids from school then we went home until Scott got there. We picked up Mom and went over to Seldie's Salon where she was working. Mom got a trim and I got my eyebrows waxed and a trim. The wax didn't hurt that bad so now I want to keep doing it. I want to get my lip waxed but she said that one really does hurt bad the first time.

After that we went to The Graze at the church to sample foods and get recipes for food storage. That was really fun and we got so full. SIL Brenda met up with us there. We went over to Jenna's afterwards and chatted and Seldie gave us pedicures. I stayed up till about 1:00 am but Staci and Jenna stayed up till almost 5:00 am. They were so tired the next day. I was more tired then they were but I figured it was because a few days later I got a bad cold.

Saturday morning Jenna drove her Land Cruiser and we all piled in. Brittany went with us even though she really wasn't feeling well. We went to the beauty supply store which is in the pictures below. Jenna was the driver for our Saturday outings. She was sporting her 80's hair for fun. She usually has it straight but she looked really cute with it wavy.
Mom gets the cutest outfit award for our Sister's weekend.
Seldie provided the great deals on hair supplies. And she gave us all great advice and what to get for our hair.
Staci has the greatest smile and her hair always looks perfect, even when she wakes up in the morning.
Here is a group shot of us at Ikea. Left to right: Seldie, Me, SIL Brenda, Mom (Tanya), SIL Brittany, Staci.
We spent many many hours at Ikea. Some our group got lost and kept going in circles. Ikea can be soooo overwhelming. Brittany had to go home after that, her cold had worn her out. We went to this little restaurant by the truck stop. There were very few people in there and the food was not great but the waitress was really good and we could talk and be giggly and no one cared.

Sunday Staci went to Church with us. Then later Jenna took Staci back to the airport. We all had such a good time. We are excited to see what we can do for next year.

Brittany's bridal gown

Here is the picture of my youngest Brother Kirk's wedding to his wife in the white dress SIL Brittany. The wedding was in May but I am including it today because I thought I should keep a post of what sewing projects I am working on. Mostly so I can feel good that I am accomplishing something tangible. (Oh ya that guy on the right is my younger Brother Calvin who is married to Brenda.

Today my SIL Brenda called and she was at the bridal shop that Brittany picked the style from, helping her friend with her wedding dress and she said she saw the dress that I copied and she was so amazed at how well it turned out. She always makes me feel so good about myself. I love her.

I know this is not a good picture of the dress and I will try to get a better one from Brittany. This was one of the only projects I did in 2007. It was difficult. I only had pictures to go by and there were some design details that I just made up as I went along. The dress was probably a little tight but that's a mistake I couldn't foresee. The original dress was sleeveless and strapless. She needed something that would be modest for the temple. She had tried this dress on and asked if I could copy it. I told her I would try and that I would make no promises but I would get it as close as possible. She said she would be happy with whatever I could do. And she meant it. She was very easy to work with.

The only problem I had was with bustling the train. I hadn't really done that too many times before. I followed the instructions in my handy sewing guide but the loops kept breaking. Tomorrow Brenda is bringing over her friend's dress and we are going to bustle it. I will see what I can figure out.

My current project is alterating my Grandma's temple dress. It's nearly done but I fitted her one more time today before I completely finish and it looks great. I am glad. It's always stressful when I start cutting things up and hope I get them put back together correctly and cut correctly. I just have to trust my judgement. I have made mistakes but luckily not any huge ones.