Busiest Summer Yet! I'm a New Mommy!

I'm EXHAUSTED!!! So let me tell you where this summer went in the House of Jensen this year.

This summer was probably one of the nicest weather summers we have had in the Pacific Northwest for YEARS. I mean, just gorgeous sunny days. Ok, maybe towards the end of summer it was a little on the humid side but other than that, it was great! But I really didn't get to enjoy the weather outside as much as I had hoped. I got some jogging in but virtually no hiking. :'(

I did get to do a tiny bit of this: (La Wis Wis & Mt. Rainier)

But that was not even until SEPTEMBER!!! And it wasn't even a hike! I miss hiking and I HAD hoped to do a great deal of it this summer since my cousin had whipped me and our friend Candi into shape last year. But this was a busy summer none-the-less.

My buddy Candi got married at the very end of September and both my cousin and I were also in the wedding party. so we were pretty wrapped up in the planning all summer. No joke, she had her wedding the first week of Fall and it stormed like a berserker! 40-50 MPH gusts of wind! Power outages aside, the wedding was beautiful and the reception was really fun!

This summer was full of baby showers, garage sales, visiting family, and even my very first (and possibly last) Mud Run!

Planning wedding showers and attending bachelorette parties kept us all pretty busy, but the biggest distraction, or commitment I had this summer, starting at the beginning of July was Henry.

No I didn't have a baby, or even adopt, but we did get a new little puppy. Not just any puppy, a hound puppy. Yes, the whole, Roo-Roo-Roo bit and everything.

Henry, as we have so named him, is a Walker Coonhound, bread for hunting and chasing down large prey animals like bears and cougars, as well as racoons or other small animals.

For those of you who might not know me all that well, I have been trying to convince my husband that we need a dog for at least 12 years. I just assumed we could rescue a potty trained angel looking for their "forever home." My husband thought otherwise, believing we would do better training a puppy from the get go and avoiding any possible bad habits... while of course, ignoring the fact that we would be creating them ourselves. 

I wanted a dog I could eventually jog with but not necessarily one that would chase all manner of small critters. So far, he hasn't shown much interest in chasing other animals... but he's only 13 weeks old.

So here is the real reason I have found time to write this update blog post. I am having separation anxiety about Henry's first day alone (in his Kennel). Up until today, Henry has spent time with either my parents or myself or an occasional kind auntie. Thank goodness he's so cute, or I probably wouldn't have had as much help in these first few weeks. I am in serious debt to my supportive family and friends for all their time and advice as well. Henry was a little young when we got him, so he needed tons more babying than a dog you would get at 9 weeks, Henry was only 5!

Puppies that young take a serious amount of effort for potty training and just reassurance. But like a protective mommy that I am, I watched every poo, monitored  his food intake and tried to mold his sleeping habits. We are crate training, but I had a tough time not just snuggling him back to sleep out on the couch. I still take naps with him that way.

The reality is, no matter what dog we would have gotten, they would have to learn to spend some of the workday alone. This is not unusual, and I totally accepted that it was going to happen. Eventually. But my baby is now at a point where he either learns to adjust to some lonesome time, or I pay buco-bucks for puppy day-care. And we simply cannot afford that.

I'll keep you posted about his progress much like new parents do on their mommy blogs, because in a way, I too am a new mommy. My best friend Kyla even sent me a new baby congratulations card, complete with a gift card to PetSmart to get Henry a special prize. (Thanks again Kyla!) 

Here is what Henry looks like as of 13 weeks: 

I work from home one day a week and this is what it looks like: (Hey mom, when can we play again? Whatever you are doing can't possibly be as cute as I am, right?)

Who could say NO to that face? It's tough I tell you!

I'm pretty sure there will be hundreds more photos of Henry to share in the coming months. So please stay tuned. I also have some fun crafts that I made shortly before bin Hank's arrival that I hope to post on here as well.

Thanks for reading!

Where did Summer GO? Part 1

So I can't believe how this summer has FLOWN by! It makes me a little sad even, to see the last post I had was in July. I have read/ listened to tons of books, at least six I can think of off the top of my head, and I might even review a few on here. This post won't be about books though, and it won't be about crafting, though I suspect I'll be doing more in the coming months. I have ambitious plans for this Christmas, but more on that later!

July was crazy, but August, that is the one that flew by. What I think I'll do in this post is just share some of the pictures from my summertime adventures.

July was full of, (miserable) Jogging, Hiking and Biking... Although I didn't do any of the biking. I'll start first with the biking... My step-father did the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride and my mother and I were the "support staff" for him. (I was there to take pictures and just generally be impressed.)

This, in itself may or may not sound impressive except that the bike ride is 204 miles (328.3 km). Crazy.

My step-father did this in ONE day. Crazier.

My step-father is 70 years-old. Has had two knee replacements and a stint put in. Ridiculousness.

They wrote an article about him in our local newspaper. Complete silliness. (but also kinda cool.)

I will share some of those pictures, plus some my mom doesn't like. I don't care because she posts pictures on Facebook of me every now and then, where I look absolutely terrible and this is my payback. :) (I Love you mom!)

I don't know ANY of these people, but I have MUCH respect for them.
It was quite HOT out when they were riding.

View from the road. I think this is in Kelso...

This is the finish line. Hollowday Park in Portland, OR. When people arrive they
immediate find a place to discard their bike then locate the nearest Beer Garden.

My step-father, Corky, pointing out his next destination, the Beer Garden.

Mom and I on the Support Staff for Corky. We got t-shirts. We really did nothing
but follow him and shop our way south but we had fun, and we took video of him
when he crossed  the finish line.

 And then there was the Hiking...  I've been personally making an effort to lose some weight and I'm have some success. Partly because I am driven see fewer crappy pictures of myself showing up on Facebook (thanks to others who clearly hate me), but mostly because of my two motivators, Jenny and Candi.

These two young women have been at it maybe only a couple months longer than I, but they are doing fantastic! I can't even explain how well they are doing, but I know the pictures you are about to see are a month old now. A month is a LONG time in terms of the amount of weight lost between the three of us. I'm not going to talk about numbers, but I want you to know, these girls are my inspiration, and these pictures don't do anyone any justice. With that said, here are a few that I'm willing to share.

First there was the Gifford Pinchot National Forest Hike near White Pass in Washington State:

Caityn, our Mascot, couldn't seem to get this photo-op together...

I love this view because it's so lovely AND it has
Caityn, my cousin's yellow lab swimming out to
a stick in the middle.

Me, trying not to mess up the picture too much. This is Lake
Packwood or maybe it's Packwood Lake. Either way...

The view from the trail! It's Mt. Rainier!

I'm clearly not tired yet... this should be the beginning
photo. I don't even look sweaty yet in this shot!

And then there was Pete's Creek trail in Olympic National Forest... This one was a beast, and we didn't complete it. Photos never do the wilderness ANY justice. I am so impressed by the beauty of this area.

Colonel Bob - Pete's Creek trail side. Steep but shorter than the
Northern side.

This is the GOOD part of this trail.

This is part of the NOT SO GOOD part.

Rain forest trees are huge.

We stopped when we reached the wildflowers. Apparently about
half way to the top. I hear the view is spectacular though.

I am already planning my next hiking weekend. One last hurrah before the end of the summer. We have such short summers here in the Pacific Northwest. This year might be a little longer.

August, what a whirlwind month! So much happened that I think it's worth a whole separate post.

Photo Letter Blocks

I saw these photo message blocks over at the Stories by Me! blog on Pinterest, and thought what a wonderful surprise they would be for my Best Buddy who lives out of state. The poor girl ends up with all my craft attempts. This one, however, turned out pretty slick, even if my photos don't do them any justice. (Maybe she'll take a photo of them for me in their natural setting and share it.)


Pinspiration: Letter Blocks

What I used: 

• 3 to 6 blocks depending on your word(s). I found blocks measuring about 1.5 inches, but these are a little small.
• 3 - 4 coordinating scrapbook papers to match your theme
• ModPodge Matte Decoupage Glue - (Or make your own)
• Laser Printer - Inkjet colors will smear if they get wet! Most home printers are Inkjet.
• Scissors
• Foam Brush
• Sandpaper/Sanding Block
• 9 to 18 photos formatted to fit your blocks. 
• Photo editing software, such as Adobe® PhotoShop® (Gimp a downloadable program or Pixlr, an online photo editing program would work as well)

Optional:

• Finishing Spray
• Distress Ink or Chalk
• Letter Stencils
• Acrylic Paint

How To:

1. GET ORGANIZED. Figure out what you want to spell. I wanted to have two words on opposite sides of the blocks. I chose F-A-M-I-L-Y and F-R-I-E-N-D. Then I picked out some bright and summery colored paper that I knew my friend would like. Then I sorted through a bunch of photos to narrow down which ones I thought were worthy.
   
   
2. I used PhotoShop to re-size my images to what I needed and printed mine in black and white on the laser printer. You could use real photos though, printed from a photo lab.
   
   

3. I printed my letters out onto scrapbook paper that I had to trim to 8.5"x11" in order to run through the printer. Another option could be to paint or stencil your letters on to the paper. You could also cut your letters out and glue just the letters on your blocks like this example from Berlin Patch.
   
   

4. Trim all your images and letters to fit whatever size of blocks you have.
   
   
5. Paint a coat of ModPodge on the cut ends of your blocks, as they will soak up and absorb more of the glue than the other sides. Let this dry before continuing.
   
   
6. Paint a thin layer of glue to the first side of one block. Place your first photo or letter square over glue and press in to place, removing any air bubbles or crookedness. While the glue is drying, continue to repeat the process for your other blocks and squares of paper. Try your best to WAIT for the glue to dry before trimming or sanding any excess paper.
   
   
7. Once the glue is dry, sand the EDGES of each block and avoiding scratching the photos or letters. Optional: If you want an aged or distressed look, rub ink or chalk along the sides of the sanded portions of the blocks. The idea is to darken the exposed wood and disguise any white paper edges. (I chose not to do a distressed look.)
   
   
8. To protect the photos, spray a few layers of finishing Acrylic paint or a few more coats of ModPodge.

Mini Polaroid Magnets

I stumbled on a cute little magnet project from the Ambrosia Creative website for custom Polaroid shaped magnets. I decided I wanted to make them for my best friend who lives a couple states away. But after seeing how cute they were, I decided I wanted a set for myself as well. Here is how mine turned out and how I did it.

Pinspiration: Tiny Polaroid Magnets

Some of the items are a little difficult to find on the Harbor so I also included where I found them below.

You will need:

• Stiff white card stock or photo matte board (I used the same board as is used to Matte a nice photo, because it had the right thickness I wanted. These you can find anywhere they sell picture frames just about, but I bought mine at Walmart.)
• Craft knife OR sturdy scissors (with scissors, you'll need strong hands)
• Metal straight edge/ruler
• Spray mount Or Photo Mounting Squares (I get my photo mounts at Joann's or Micheal's in their scrap-booking section, but I'm sure Walmart or Target has these.)
• Adhesive-backed magnet tape (A little more tricky to find, but I bought mine at Micheal's)
• Photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop (Gimp a downloadable program or Pixlr, an online photo editing program would work as well)
• Photo paper & Printer OR If you are like me, you'll just take them to the local photo lab printers.

How To:

1. You'll need to download the Photoshop file of the Polaroid frames below. One download is for a 4x6 image, handy for taking to the photo printer, and the other is an 8.5x11 that you can use at home. In your photo editing program, place your photographs in a separate layer behind the Polaroid frame layer. Crop and re-size your photos to fit within the mini Polaroid frames.

2. Print out photos onto photo paper. (Or pick them up from the photo lab place, lol. As a side note, I used matte paper for mine, but it works either way.)

My Path diverges here: Either you use A) spray mount adhesive or you use B) photo squares.

3A.Spray the back of your sheet of photos and also the cardboard/card stock with spray mount. Let each dry a minute before mounting the photos to the card stock. 

3B. Trim your photos. I trimmed my photos before I attached them to the card stock because it would be easier to see where to stick the photo mounts. Then attach the photos to the card stock leaving a little space between for easier trimming.

4. Trim around the photos with your craft knife or scissors.  Use the metal ruler/straight edge as a guide for your knife.

NOTE: Scissors can tend to pinch the card stock at the corners if you are not careful. See photo right. If you are using a craft knife, start with a fresh blade.

5. Attach magnets to back of each individual Polaroid. Depending on whether you bought a sheet or a roll of magnets will determine whether you should stick the Polaroids to the sheet first or time the roll to fit the Polaroids and then attach them.


Downloads:

4x6 Photoshop File

8.5x11 Photoshop File