Blast From The Past

This weekend we traveled back to Kevin's hometown to spend the weekend with his side of the family. It was a nostalgic weekend of looking through scrapbooks and old school work. Kevin brought some back home with us and I thought I'd share because some of the things he dug up are just HILARIOUS. I may be biased because he is my fiancé, and I am a teacher and am easily amused by children. I hope you can see the humor in some of it as well.

These first pictures are from a kindergarten notebook. From what we gathered, the students drew a picture and told the teacher what they drew, and the teacher wrote the sentence. 

I promise Kevin's mom is really a good mom, despite how unsupervised he appeared to be. (Sorry, Jolene!!) ;)

(This next one is just simply not true)

(Kevin said he still vividly remembers this dream)

(His teacher left something to be desired in her spelling as evidenced in the next two pictures)

Running out of ideas?? 

 My favorite part of the one above is the fact that he states, "...Her job is just to cook." Mind you, this couldn't be farther from the truth.

These next few are from his "diary", estimated to be from 2nd grade. He wrote in blue pen for the majority of the journal, and when he was really angry he wrote in red pen. (Jason and Lindsey are his older siblings.)

This is why I love kids!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And Kevin.)

Just for further embarrassment...here's a picture of Kevin from high school with a bunch of sock monkeys...
:)

ALLELUIA!!!!!

Today some awesome information has come to my attention. Like, the most awesome-est information you could ever imagine if you were me. And maybe you. If this information is as awesome to you as it is to me, we should be friends.

As you SHOULD know (if you don't, get with the program here, folks!) Brand New is my favorite band of all time. I will never ever get sick of listening to their music. Ever. It's pure art to my ears. My blog is named after them and I'm getting a tattoo with a lyric from their song. It is my DREAM in life to see them live! MY DREAM! I have heard my BFF Tonia rave about them on and on since I met her. She has told me my mind will be blown and my life will be complete when I finally see them. I don't doubt that. Kevin, who loves them, too, but is not nearly as obsessed, has seen them live, and loves to rub it in that I haven't. Since I started listening to them, they haven't toured anywhere NEAR the midwest. As a poor college student and the frugal gal I am, I haven't been able to travel to the coasts to see them, either. I considered traveling to Canada (11 hours north) with Tonia to see them, but Kevin assured me, "They're gonna come closer!" Well folks it's true. THEY'RE COMING!!!!!!!!!

Brand New announced on their Facebook page today that they are going to be playing at a festival in St. Paul June 23-24. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That's soooo close! I can't even handle this! Nobody is here to share my excitement, Tonia is still in school, and Kevin is working. So, here I am, blogging my excitement away!!!

The festival is called Rivers Edge, and they just announced the lineup. I only recognize a few bands, but it looks like a great lineup! Dave Matthews Band, Mutemath, Motion City Soundtrack... YES! The list goes on and on. You can read the whole list and all the details of the festival here.

Do you think it's coincidence I decided upon my Brand New tattoo the same week they have FINALLY decided to come see me? I don't. I think it's fate. And that means I have until June 23 to get my first tattoo! If this isn't motivation, I don't know what is! I can't wait!!!

Am I more excited for my wedding or for this concert, you ask? I plead the 5th. ;)

And now I'm off to go on a nice long run with some Brand New BLARING in my headphones! WATCH OUT, WORLD!

A Sweet Proposal

I'm an avid Green Wedding Shoes reader and you probably know, and I found this proposal there today. I am a sucker for a proposal story, especially a proposal caught on tape. Seeing and hearing about couples getting engaged gets me sentimental and thinking about my own engagement.

I'm pretty sappy, and this proposal brought tears to my eyes. So thoughtful and sweet. This couple turned their proposal caught on tape into their save the date! What a sweet idea. You can read all about their proposal and their video on GWS here.

{ charlene & johan } save the date. from Chennergy on Vimeo.

I'm home sick today with a bad cold and maybe the flu? Who knows. I have a feeling being out of the classroom for a week and then coming back, I caught some germs I wasn't used to. I also think being a sub makes me more suseptible to colds, as I go from school to school and classroom to classroom. Lots of exposure. Yech. I hate feeling icky. Hopefully a day of rest will make me all better. Kevin does a good job of taking care of me when I'm sick. Sometimes you just need a little extra love when you're sick.

Switch Swap

This past month I participated in the Switch Swap hosted by Mollie on her blog Wild Olive. When I first started my embroidering ventures, I used her blog to gain knowledge of the simple stitches and I also look to her blog for inspiration! If you're interested in embroidery, her blog is definitely the blog you want to look at.

A "Switch Swap" is a very simple and fun little project. Anyone who wanted to participate could sign up, give basic information about your personal preferences (colors, motifs, etc.) along with your address. Mollie assigned everyone a person to sent and embroidery piece to as well as someone who will send you one! Rather than partners, it was more of a circle swap! You can learn more about the Switch Swap here.

I had been waiting to share the piece I made until I received my goody in the mail so I could group it into one post. I received my embroidery before I even began mine. I must say, it put the pressure on me to make something of quality! I received my lovely little package in the mail. I should have taken pictures but I was too excited and ripped it right open!

Look at that beautiful piece of embroidery! Just for me!

The lovely lady who stitched this for me is named Sun and she is from California (how appropriate, thinks this midwesterner!) She sent me this lovely card explaining a cool connection we have. I included my blog in my switch swap information (because what better way to get to know me than my blog) and she actually visited! In a twist of fate it looks like we also will share the same anniversary :) June 22! I think that is so cool! I was also thought it was so nice the thought she put into it. She saw I was recently engaged, and embroidered adorable lovebirds. I just love it. It is also very well-made and it is clear she really put some time and energy into this piece.



Oh, but it gets better! She also included this AH-MAZE-ING little wire ring that I just LOVE! Words can't explain. I so want to learn how to make this. Sun-- if you're reading! Teach me how!! :)

Now, it's my turn. The information I got on my swap-ee is that she likes the colors red, orange, and green. The motifs she likes are anything cute and kitchen-y. She left it pretty wide open, which made it a little harder, but a lot of fun! I focused on the kitchen-y motif and found a warm color combination that would be happy in any kitchen. I pulled the design from my brain.

I have been trying to think of a little something "extra" to add. I have been going back and forth between thimble flower pots or an embroidered iPod case. The only problem is I don't know if she has an iPod, so maybe another sort of embroidered felt piece? Who knows!

I love the idea of a switch swap and am so glad I participated! Mollie is hosting another one in the fall, I'll keep ya'll posted when she does!

Ink Inspiration

Good golly this is my 3rd post about tattoos! I need to stop talking about it and just DO it! Such a commitment and I cannot make big decisions easily. (If you're new here, read my first post about tattoos here and a silly post about a tattoo here).

I've wanted a Brand New lyric for a long time, so I'm pretty set on that idea. I had to find the right lyric that spoke to me, a lyric that would still be meaningful when I'm 80 years old. "Hold On To Who You Love" has been stuck in my head for a long time. I can't ever see myself regretting that message, even when I'm old! It will only grow in meaning as I age.

Here is a picture I found on Brand New's Facebook page. I know I posted it the last time I talked about tattoos. I still like the idea of having the handwriting of my family as the fonts in the tattoo. It looks good in this one, but I'd be nervous it'd look jumbled or weird. It's an idea that adds even more meaning!

The next decision was placement. I had thought about my foot before, but I don't like feet and don't care to draw more attention to such an ugly body part. It's a weird quirk, I know. I saw a picture of a bride on Green Wedding Shoes that had a tattoo on her back and I fell in LOVE (I also fell in love with the entire wedding...you should click the link and check it out!) I think it just looks so cool and I love the placement on her shoulder blade. I want a tattoo that can be easily hidden, but I also want a tattoo that can be easily seen when I want it to be. 

While I want something a little more subtle and delicate, I was inspired. I searched for other tattoos on the shoulder blade and I loved the tattoos I found.

This is another Brand New lyric I found on Facebook. This is more what I had in mind for size and placement.

Another Brand New lyric :) I think this would be the exact size and placement I'd want.

I've also posted this one before. This is more of the size Kevin wants me to get but I think it might be too big. (Again, BN lyric.)

I loooove the placement on this one! However, I don't think it's be easy enough to conceal.

You always hear people say you should draw your tattoo on your skin and live with it for awhile to see if you really want it. Since I can't exactly write on my back, I asked Kevin to do it for me so I could see what it looks like in the mirror. My direct instructions were "In your neatest handwriting possible, write 'Hold On To Who You Love' in one straight line in small letters." Here's what he came up with:

It also took 6 tries to come up with this dark, blurry picture with a finger over the lens. Sheesh! Where's a woman when I need one?! Anyway, this is not at all what I had in mind so I'm not even going to consider this "inspiration" for my future tattoo. It was too humorous not to include.

Any thoughts? Opinions? Anyone have a lyric or meaningful text on their bodies? Tattoos on your shoulder blade? I'm open to your feedback!

I'm A Happy Blogger

Something awesome happened in March. This little blog of mine received almost 4,000 PAGEVIEWS! Can you believe it?! I know I can't. The previous high was 2,000. Readership DOUBLED in March. That blows my mind. Remember those wrapped headphones I made? Well, I pinned it to Pinterest and it spread like wildfire. That post alone received 330 views. Last week I was feeling a little uninspired to blog, but the support I am seeing and hearing from people from all over makes me so excited to keep it up. Thank you for all your comments on my posts and on Facebook and for taking time out of your day to read my blog! I appreciate each and every single one of you.

Here is a graphic from the blogger stats page of the amount of hits my blog has received since June of 2011 when I started blogging. I still can't believe it!

I love seeing the countries represented by my readers, too! I also love seeing support from friends I have that are studying or living abroad!! :) It's kind of hard to see, but the light green countries represent where my readers are coming from!

Here are the most read blog posts. I will be honest, it was a sad day when our engagement story ("Operation Vegetable Drop") was knocked out of the top spot. I had been hoping it would make a comeback, but it's not looking promising ;)

 I'm looking forward to growing my blog even more in April! I promise I will start kicking up the crafts more. I have mostly been doing home decor crafts, but my home is plenty decorated. I'm thinking of exploring the world of jewelry making and breaking out my sewing machine more often. If you see any crafts or have any ideas you'd like to see a tutorial on, send it my way! I'm always looking for new crafts.

Anyway, thanks again for reading guys. You really make my day!! :)

Cedar Falls Weekend

This weekend we went back to Cedar Falls (where both Kevin and I went to college) to help my brothers celebrate their 21st birthday. We got to spend time with lots of friends and family and it was a really great, but exhausting, weekend. I saw so many friends and loved being back at UNI. I never realize how much I miss it until I go back. I so badly want to be in college again. It was fun pretending for a weekend. Today I'm playing catch up--sleep, rehydrating, and blogging. I took a little blog break last week but I'm ready to get back into the swing of things this week.

Here are some photos from the weekend! 

The bar we went to has a traditional shot called the "Blue Wave." On your birthday, you take the shot and then they shower you with a pitcher of water. We told my brothers they should take the shot since it was their birthday. They were aaaaaall about it, and then this happened :)

Oddly enough neither side of our families have met yet, but this weekend my brothers met Kevin's sister.

We sang karaoke

For the first time, like, ever, Kevin asked ME to dance. Someone was nice enough to take some lovely pictures on my phone, which I was found today :) 

Chris and Allison are one of my favorite couples to hang out with! They're getting married in September, so I love talking to Allison about wedding planning. :) 

Chris is the most entertaining karaoke-er ever! These photos are priceless.

 We stayed with Heather and she has two cats. As you probably know, I am not fond of pets but something magical happened this weekend and now I want a cat. There, I said it.

And this is what I'm doing today. Recovering. It was such a fun weekend and I'm not ready for Monday to be here.