A Day in the Life of a Common Housewife

A Day in the Life of a Common Housewife

by Celeste Fernandez

It begins with a list of the many to-dos
For each moment of the day that I don’t want to lose,
Spending moments with heaven just after waking,
Then packing hubby’s lunch and doing some baking,
Dishes, laundry, sweeping and mopping,
Planning out meals and then going out shopping,
Gardening, daydreaming, and if I’m real lucky, napping
Then improving my talents, like music and scrapping…
Paying the bills and walking the dog,
Redesigning a room, catching up on the blog,
Freaking out over budget and looking for work,
Spending time with loved ones so I don’t go berserk,
Yearning for children with each child that I see,
Then getting distracted (oh, you know me!)…
Squeezing in exercise when I’m feeling good…
(Which, admittedly, isn't as oft as I should).
This is but a glimpse into my everyday…
But would I really have it any other way?

(Okay, that last line may or may not be true…I can’t decide.) :)

Caida, the Dancer...

So, I bought a tutu/leotard/tiara/shoes for my niece, and finally got to give them to her--and take a few pictures, too!

This one is SO her:

Thanks for playing with me, Caida!

Charissa's Birthday

My little sister turned twenty-six today! Crazy how old we're all getting, huh? :) To celebrate, we ventured with some good friends and family to the Tippecanoe Battlefield, then came back to her apartment for cake and ice cream and, of course, presents. When Mom got home from work, she took us all to dinner, and then we went to our friends' house to watch the latest Psych. The best is yet to come, of course, as we travel to the DUNES on Saturday to play in the waves!!!


As for pictures, my camera/SD card decided to pick today of all days to stop working, so all I have until the data recovery software runs its course (then HOPEFULLY I'll be able to gather a few more before reformatting the card!) are a few pictures of the sand castle cake I made for Charissa:

I'm kinda proud of it. I'd be MORE proud of it if it had been my own idea instead of me stealing it from here. Also, in transporting it from my apartment to hers (only about a 50-foot distance), I managed to drop three of the ice cream cone towers on the floor. At least the dog was happy. :)

Pictures I took that I can't yet show you: opening her present (her very own Diefenbaker), hanging out at the Battlefield, and friends eating cake. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we'll be able to save these files. But if not, it was still a wonderful memory!

Christmas in July

I FINALLY got to throw a little party for Christmas in July this year...it was a small, intimate crowd of my sister and two of my oldest and dearest friends. Not only did we make a few fun holiday crafts and decorate sugar cookies, but mostly it was wonderful because I got to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a REALLY long time! If only anyone had taken me up on the Christmas karaoke...now THAT would've been a party! ;)


Anywho, here are some pics from the big night:

DECORATING SUGAR COOKIES:

POINSETTIA DOLLS (LOOK CLOSELY!):

MAKING CHRISTMAS PLACEMATS:

It was a really fun night for me, and it gave me some great ideas about things to try next year! And YOU'RE invited! :)

Karma

"Let's see how YOU like it in there, buddy!"

More on flower dolls...

I am so ridiculously in love with these things...but I'm thinking I should take a break because I'm enjoying them a little TOO much...maybe...

Anywho, I made some angels and brides out of calla lilies. I seriously wish I had any sewing skills whatsoever...I'd design a whole line of dresses based on the natural shape of different flowers. Here's the one for myself and my wedding colors that I made as an example:

And here's one I made for one of my visiting teachers as a thank-you for taking care of my crazy dog while we were in Utah:

Just because I can and I have nothing else worth blogging about, here are some other things I made today:

A yarn-and-sequins Christmas tree that I'm thinking of having as our Christmas-in-July party craft on Saturday...(it's still drying, or you wouldn't see all the glue...)

A black-and-white photo cube puzzle for my sister-in-law with pictures of her and all her favorite people.

Also, orange-tinged brownies...yum! Visiting teachers, laundry, dishes, and cleaning the whole house (except my craft corner, which is a disaster now!).

Life is good. :)

A Sneak Peak...

A sneak peak into not only how I spent my day, but the giveaway in only a matter of days:

Hanging out with Obsidian...who has been sitting in this exact position pretty much all day...

...yummy, yummy veggie wraps for lunch...

...and working on flower girl dolls.

I also cleaned a little and watched some Lois and Clark, but no pictures of that. :)

Almost to post 200!

I've decided that since I've been on a crafty kick lately and since I've almost reached post 200, I'm going to have a GIVEAWAY for one lucky reader as my 200th post! Details to follow. Get excited!

Snippets of a Storm

Right outside our patio door...
...a few felled trees and the "pond" by our mailboxes...

...and a little of what it looked like once the storm died down a bit...

I thought having our power out for 7 hours was bad, but it turns out compared to a lot of our neighbors and ward members we came out pretty lucky...maybe $15 in groceries we lost, but all the tree limbs fell NOT on our house or our trucks and nothing flooded INDOORS and no roads to our house were closed because of fallen trees and power lines. Also, that pond is completely cleared up because it's 90 degrees outside and the earth was a little thirsty. About two hours after the storm, all the sidewalks around here were already dry, that's how parched the ground has been. Not anymore! Gotta love the crazy Indiana weather!

And...here's a super short video for those of you that missed it (sorry, it's super choppy but I was sitting with my puppy behind the couches so if the windows blew in we'd still be okay):

I'm certified! (or is it certifiable?...)

I am now officially certified by the American Red Cross for basic first aid and CPR/AED on adults, children, and infants. GO ME! Now I can help save a life, too...but hopefully I'll never have to call on my mad skillz! :)

ALSO, everyone should own an AED. Seriously. It tells you what to do, so you don't have to think...which, in an emergency, seems logical to me...

Questions

How do you deal with anger? Especially if that anger is directed at a person?

Sometimes I get really upset with people, and sometimes it's genuinely warranted and sometimes it's just me being human and petty and easily provoked. But either way, whether the person deserves it or not, I RARELY speak my mind, because of a million reasons that don't need to be brought up in public at the moment. Generally speaking, though, I think 75% of my frustrations should be kept to myself rather than brought up and starting an unnecessary fight (think "choose your battles" more than passive-aggressive, though I'm sure there's a bit of that, too). Yet knowing that, and holding it all in, certainly doesn't get rid of it. In fact, it seems to do the opposite. I know you know what I mean.

I'm curious how you all deal with this particular kind of frustration. Thoughts? Advice? I've tried going out of my way to serve the "offenders" in various ways, but I think I'm doing it expecting that it will change our relationships rather than doing it out of genuine charity, so all I end up feeling is more frustration when the outcome isn't what I want. I've tried prayer, and I'll keep trying it, but I feel like I need to do more. Maybe I just need a good workout, or some other cathartic activity? Should I really just learn to voice my opinions and concerns more assertively and deal with the consequences, even when I know how badly it will turn out? What do you think?

The Cutest Niece and Nephew EVER!

I'm so lucky. :) My little sister has a girl that looks just like her, and my brother has a boy that looks a lot like him...and since my siblings all got the good-looking genes in the family, my niece and nephew are the cutest EVER! Here they are, meeting for the first time:



(They hit it off SO well, as you can see below!)


And here's the lot of us (me, my two sisters, my mom, and the kiddos):

Here's an older picture of Caida, all dolled up (literally) for a dance recital:
And here's Tanner, drooly but one of the HAPPIEST babies I've EVER met!


Finally, here's Cerene and James with the kiddos (I think Tanner made her a little baby hungry!...)


Shortcomings and all, I love my family!

10 Things to Do with 1" Cubes

So, for my Ya-Ya reunion, as you may have previously read, I made 6 of these Disney Princess puzzles for me and my roommates:


And since each puzzle used 9 blocks, that meant I used 54 blocks for this. I ordered 100 from Casey's Wood Products online because, even with shipping, it was cheaper than Ebay and easier than hunting them down all over town. Now I have 46 1" wood cubes to use...

So, between my own thoughts (I've done over half of these and WANT to do the rest) and a little online research, I bring you 10 fun, crafty things to do with 1" wooden cubes. Excited? You should be!

#1 Photo Puzzles: Like the princess puzzles above, only using your own photographs! Gather 9 cubes. Simply crop 6 photos down to 3" squares, then cut each one into 1" squares and modpodge each photo onto the 9 different cubes. Black and white photographs make an extra classy (and challenging) puzzle to solve!

#2 Inchie Art: My friend Clair introduced me to the world of inchie art, and it's pretty much amazing. The possibilities are endless! You can use markers, paper/stickers/modpodge, paint, stamps, etc. to create a tiny 1" masterpiece...well, 6 of them, actually! Super fun, even with kids.

#3 Alphabet Blocks: Gather 26 cubes, and make your own alphabet blocks for your kiddos (or yourself). You can draw or paint your own pictures to go with each sound, or just use stickers or family photos and modpodge (a favorite of mine) for something easier. Either way, personalized blocks could be a great addition to your toyroom!

#4 Modern Art Sculpture: Paint any number of cubes in a scale of monochromatic colors and get in touch with the artist inside! Arrange them in a permanent fashion by gluing, or just leave them for guests to rearrange.

#5 Calendar Cubes: You've seen these in the store...just make your own and find something cute at GoodWill or Dollar Tree to show them off in!

#6 Soma Cubes: I haven't done this (YET), but there are complete instructions here...it looks simple enough!

#7 Texture Blocks: If you have scraps of textured cloths, sandpaper, etc. around, cut them into 1" squares and glue them onto the different sides of the blocks. This could be a fun thing to have around for you or your kids...if you have small kids and want to make this for them, I'd go with bigger cubes, though...maybe the 2 1/2" size?

#8 Funny People: Do you remember those paper flip-books that had different heads, bodies, and feet that you could mix and match? Well, with 3 of these blocks you could make your own! Six different heads, bodies, and feet for each one...again, fun to do with kids. :)

#9 Story Blocks: You can put pictures and/or words on several cubes for kids to mix-and-match and make sentences or build stories. If you're using words, try making different parts of speech different colors (like all nouns are blue or all verbs are red) to make patterns more obvious for school-aged kids.

#10 Multi-Sided Stamps: Use adhesive foam (or just glue it on with craft glue) to make different stamps. Just cut out shapes, letters, designs, and more, then glue them onto the wood (backwards!) on 5 of the 6 sides.



Voila! Have fun, and let me know what you end up trying and liking! I'm going to go try at least two of these today, and I'll post photos when I get 'em! :)



7/13: Here they are! I just love the picture puzzles, so I painted some springtime gerberas in different pastels on different colors for a little springtime decor next year:




Also, WAY fast and simple and a little too much fun for me, the funny mix-and-match people (I discovered that the markers bleed a bit on the wood, so you'll want to use fine-tipped markers and be forgiving to the cube a little.)

Weebly.com

Hey, friends! Need a quick and easy (and especially FREE) website for yourself? Check out weebly.com. I wanted a website for my teaching career (even though no administrator really has the time to look at them), something simple both to create and to view, and as far as free websites go, this one isn't bad. I'm sure there's better out there, but I'm not sure where to find it. Also, disclaimer, my website is under construction, so if something doesn't show up, it's probably because nothing is there yet. :) Anywho, check it out HERE!

Luke Christopher Darland's Baptism!

My last little brother got baptized this morning. It was a sweet event. Even better (okay, not really, but still awesomely cool), my step-grandmother inspired me and now I want to make a 13 Articles of Faith quilt...y'know, when I eventually get around to learning how to sew, and have kids to make it with. I think it would be fun to try to pass them off as a family and then decorate a quilt patch with words and symbols for each one when you've done it (even just with fabric paints and markers)...then assemble all 13 together into a quilt as a Primary graduation gift. See why I should be a teacher or mom or something? Seriously. I have a bajillion ideas and no idea when I'll ever get to use them. Maybe Paul and I will just make our own. :) That could be a good FHE activity for the next few months...

Anywho, back to the baptism. Lukey got to pick his songs, and despite poking and prodding to pick baptismal-related songs he chose "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "How Firm a Foundation." Still rocked. It was fun to have so much of the family back--Carri from Iraq, Dad and the boys from California, Kate from other places in Indiana, and Caida from North Carolina--and have so many family members under one roof again. Still not the whole family, but realistically that may not happen, so it was pretty neat.

Now for the good stuff...the pictures! Practicing and posing with Dad:

With brother Ben and niece Caida:
Luke looks more like his dad every day! Here's him showin' off his new suit and scriptures, along with that just-made-perfect smile:

And here is Ella (Caida's "Ella friend"), Luke, Ben, and Caida:

Congratulations, Lukey!!! Everyone, especially our Father in Heaven, is SO proud of you today!

P.S. On a totally unrelated note, feel free to play with the fish up in the right...they're fun to feed (just click the mouse and watch them follow you)!

Oh, July...

July is always a busy month, and this is no exception...already we've celebrated my brother's birthday, seen a movie in the theater (a real treat for us!), traveled to and from Chicago for Emilie's graduation party, rushed home to teach our first primary lesson in almost a month, and cleaned (almost) the entire house from top to bottom since returning from out vacation. I went to Tropicanoe Cove with my mom and sister to beat the heat during the heat wave, and have actually been swimming and taking Obi for walks almost every day (no small feat considering the immense physical pain I've been in the last few weeks!). We did some family history, especially adding several names on Paul's side of the family (those Filipino histories are apparently hard to come by!). Tonight is our weekly family dinner with my mom, but even though Paul picked up an extra shift so he can't make it, my sister and her boyfriend and daughter will be there!!! They moved back to Indiana on the 3rd, so now we're only about an hour and a half or so away!!! I'M SO EXCITED! I love my sisters like nobody's business, and I especially love my niece like crazy. To have them NOT in North Carolina anymore is way exciting news for all of us. All this and we're only just over a week into the month! Here are some of the things I'm looking forward to later in July:

Tomorrow: My little brother Lukey's baptism!!! The last sibling to do so! And I still have to practice the piano for it. :)

July 17: CPR/First Aid certification training all day...okay, not too excited about an 8-5 shift of learning this stuff, but it's important, and after I get my stamp of approval I can finally get my teaching license!!! Then, of course, I have to look for a job in a place that just laid off over 800 teachers...so we'll see how useful this diploma I have here actually is...

Sometime around July 22-23: Kidnapping Emilie and getting started on our "bucket list" of crafts and fun! We LOVE having her with us!

July 24: Christmas in July party! Even though almost no one will be there, the friends that WILL will make it a fun event!

July 28: Charissa's birthday! We're hopefully going to the Dunes sometime around then...and Paul and I got her one of the coolest birthday gifts ever...I can't wait to see how she likes it!

Of course, there are all the daily little things I DON'T look forward to that fill up the days in between...like cleaning, constantly fighting my body for dominance, arguing with companies over our bills, worrying about jobs and my portfolio and Paul's schooling, being sad about still not being pregnant, missing Ya-Yas, dealing with the usual family drama, and being generally bored during the week...but who wants to dwell on THAT when I can look forward to fun things instead? :) I'm also hoping to finally have some people over this summer, especially other young couples who like to be fed, so let me know if you'd be interested in a Friday night dinner/family fun night with me and Paul, our treat! P.S. that goes for our single friends, too. :)

Emilie's Graduation

LOVED this shot! Especially edited (with Picasa 3...it's free!).
With the family.

Charlie's Angels-ish...

Some floral centerpieces I made for her party...I especially liked the kind below!

The actual people pictures are on another camera and I can't find them...probably on Emilie's, actually! Oh well.


And here's a video/slideshow of her life that we made for the party:

Congratulations, Emilie!!!

Utah with the Ya-Yas

My BYU roommates (and best friends) and I had planned a reunion in 2010, and while we didn't have it in Disneyworld, our trip to a beautiful family-owned cabin in Sundance, Utah, was certainly a fun and cheaper second-best (the Ashton family, not mine!). If Mel and Shirley could've made it, it would have been the perfect 10-day vacation. :) Even better, we got to bring along Emilie for the ride, which was a ton of fun! (Even though I graduated high school almost a decade ago, I remember the ups and downs of teenage years well and I especially love being involved in my new sister's life!) I discovered how to change my facebook status using my phone, which allowed me to keep a travel log of sorts throughout our entire trip...so I'm going to basically rehash all of them, add a few of my own comments and pictures in the middle, and hope that this satisfies anyone's curiosity. And to the Ya-Yas: if you want me to send you any pictures (especially those of your kids), just email me and let me know which ones. That way you can have the real file and not some tiny copy online. :)

June 17 at 12:27 pm: Celeste is cleaning, packing, and getting ready to spend three days in a car...to party with old friends!

June 18 at 11:13 am: Goin' to Chicago, then on to UTAH!!!

June 18 at 5:27 pm: First time at six flags, caught in a thunderstorm with wet jeans and sweatshirt and no rides open...still having fun doing the wave with strangers!

After the rain, we discovered that torrential downpours and tornado warnings make for REALLY short lines at Six Flags! Also, I discovered that when there are signs for rides that say you shouldn't go on them if you have back problems, you should heed them...
June 19 at 9:41 am: Survived the thunderstorm and tornado warning and finally got dry and warm enough to fall asleep...but waking up was hard to do!

June 19 at 1:03 pm: Finally got the rental car squared away, and now we're finally on to UTAH!!!


June 20 at 1:39 am: Tornado warning and no open hotels in sight...
Yes, the tornado-y weather followed us almost to the Utah border! We were pleasantly surprised by the sunshine and warm (but not hot) weather in Utah after several days of grey!

June 20 at 3:48 pm: Is 5 miles from the Utah border, and resting for the evening! A short day of traveling tomorrow and then the real fun begins!



June 20 at 5:54 pm: Only on this trip: someone backed up into us in the WalMart parking lot...right after we splurged on ice cream! Thank goodness for liability insurance at Enterprise!



June 21 at 9:45 am: Up early...but that's probably because I fell asleep WAY early! Ten-eleven hours of sleep feels SOOOO good! And now, packing, eating, and on to Sundance!

June 21 at 4:10 pm: Just ate some yummy gyoza at University Mall in Orem, UT! Now, what to do for the next two and a half hours 'til we can hit up the cabin?


June 22 at 1:52 am: Is staying in the cutest, biggest cabin ever! And loving seeing Erin and Jamie again and meeting their kids! Clair, come soon! Mel and Shirley, we miss you!
Okay, "cabin" is just what they called it...I consider it more a mansion in the mountains...here is Paul and my room (Emilie got a separate one, as did each of the families present, and there were rooms to spare...that's how huge it really is): One angle of the cabin, which doesn't even show the part that shoots off behind it into several bedrooms... This deer, which we oh-so-cleverly named "Bambi," was much closer before we got the camera ready!

June 22 at 4:32 pm: is hanging out with roomies and ANNA BANANA!!! And in a place that looks like heaven! Life is good. :)

June 23 at 11:16am:Even waking up with a bloody nose every day can't get me down. :) 8 adorable children under the age of five + 4 Ya-Yas (1 via video chat) = fun times!
These 8 children belong to my 3 roommates that made it up/down/over to Utah...adorable lot, aren't they? We loved being the cool aunt & uncle, and we loved bringing Emilie as our "child". :)

June 23 at 10:44 pm: Went to Thanksgiving Point and Temple Square...thought of so many good memories with even better people! I wish vacation lasted forever!

Right before the cow licked Emilie. :) Yeah, my roommate's husband's family owns Thanksgiving Point...so we got in for FREE! (Free is my favorite number!)



June 24 at 2:23 am: What to do in Provo tomorrow? So many ideas, so little time!
While we planned Thursday's activities, Emilie and Paul got to hike Stewart Falls...my hip was acting up enough I couldn't go, but I LOVED the pictures they took! I felt like I was actually there!


Here's what we ACTUALLY did in Provo...walked around on campus a bit (including meeting up at the Cougareat with the roommates for dinner!)... Went to Trafalga Family Fun Center in Orem, where we played arcade games and drove go-carts...
And played with the animals at the Bean Life Science Museum (where Paul bought me a giraffe and Emilie Puppyopoly, which we played in the hotel on the way home and LOVED).

June 24 at 11:35 am: Dear Indiana,
Please grow or steal or make some mountains. Or else...I may not come home ever again. Just sayin'.
Love,
Celeste
Seriously, with views like this as you drive up Canyon Road, can you blame me for wanting these beautiful views everywhere?

June 24 at 11:21 pm: One more busy day ahead of us, then the dream is over and it's time to wake up and go home... :(
We were blessed to visit (and meet, in my case) President Jacobsen, who was the mission president that taught and baptized Paul and his Dad...he hadn't seen Emilie since she was 2, and every time he looked at her he just giggled with delight. This picture was taken from his porch. He lives REALLY close to the Provo temple, as he is a sealer there now. It was SUCH a joy to meet him! But because we visited him instead of going with my roommates to a quiet outdoorsy area nearby...

June 25 at 1:39 pm: Triggered the alarm at the cabin and doesn't know how to turn it off!!! Where is everybody when you need them?!


June 25 at 2:01 pm: Got it figured out. :)

June 26 at 10:24 am: is packing, cleaning up, and heading out...I'm gonna miss Utah! And the Ya-Yas, of course!



June 26 at 1:56 pm: I feel like I'm in "Goodnight Moon"...goodbye, mountain. Goodbye, speed bump. Goodbye, lake. Goodbye, YaYas. Goodbye, babbling brook. Goodbye, zillion churches.

June 26 at 3:30 pm: envies Paul's and Emilie's ability to sleep in the car! Please, Mr. Sandman, make me sleepy when I'm NOT driving so I can be awake when I am!


June 26 at 5:16 pm: 50 cent cones at Little America!


June 26 at 10:47 pm: is staying in Laramie, Wyoming, for the evening.

June 27 at 10:25 am: Up, up, and away! Today's goal: somewhere in Iowa. But not before we have a nice continental breakfast. :)

June 27 at 5:54 pm: Dear drivers: the left lane is for passing, not trapping eager travelers behind you for miles and miles. Thanks.
Side note: this is a personal pet peeve of mine, especially if the drivers drive semis. It's the one thing that makes me road-rage-y-esque. :)

June 27 at 7:14 pm: Dear Nebraska: you are unnecessarily long. I am not sad to see you go. Just sayin'. Love, Me. We're in Iowa.........NOW!
I should interject here, Paul and I (and now Emilie) have a tradition when we travel that sort of spoofed off a Brian Regan bit. Whenever we see one of those "Welcome to ____" signs, we say "We're in _____....NOW!" and shout, "Now!" as loud as we can the second we pass under the sign...it's a favorite tradition of ours. :)

June 27 at 8:57 pm: Stuart, Iowa! Only about 330-ish miles to go ('til Chicago, anyway...)!

June 28 at 9:32 am: Boo on mornings! Today's quest: back "home" in Chicago before the sun sets...easy peasy. ;)

June 28 at 7:11 pm: is in Chicago for the evening...then home at last. And already there's the dark cloud that accompanies the end of a fantasy vacation...I don't want to be home!

June 29 at 9:04 am: The last of my trip journal series of status updates: off to return the rental car and then rushing home for work and puppy...the end!

June 29 at 10:23 pm: Obi only destroyed 2 of the 4 rooms available to her...and only found one stash of chocolate...could be worse!
Seriously, as soon as my sister gives me the pics of the bathroom, you'll see just how much damage hurricane Obsidian did while Mommy and Daddy were away!

And that's it! It was a blast...WAY more fun than these pictures and snippets can really tell. Seeing my friends for the first time in 5-6 years was a blast. Seeing them as parents was even more entertaining. The weather and landscapes were amazing. Even starting off with the tornadoes, it was all an adventure and a fun story to tell. I can't wait for the next reunion...hopefully sooner than 2015! For more pictures of the trip (not all the ones we took, but still a LOT!), click here and check it out!