The One with the Past Nine July 9ths


Monday, July 9, 2012

July is always a pretty big month in our lives - from mission farewells, reunions, vacations, trips, and travels, to the 4th of July, Pioneer Day, my brother's anniversary, my sister-in-law
s birthday, and now with a baby being born in July we'll always have a birthday in our own little family to celebrate! I was thinking about what we were doing exactly a year ago - we were in Hawaii which to date is my favorite vacation ever. Then I wondered what we were doing two years ago today, three years ago, four, five, six, seven, and even eight years ago! Well, thanks to digital cameras and Picasa, I can easily look up what I was doing (note that not all of these are on exactly July 9th, but they're pretty close):

2012 - Nothing extraordinary. Just workin' and mommyin' and cookin' a baby. Life is simple. Life is good.
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2011 - Vacation to Kauai, Hawaii. Best. Vacation. Ever.
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2010 - I was in Washington eating lunch at Google with my family, having a last hoorah before Fox was born a couple months later.
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2009 - We were in Colorado for a quick trip to be there when Chris's dad was ordained as Bishop.
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2008 - We were in Washington in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, having fun and vacationing.
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2007 - We were living in Provo, Utah. My brother was leaving on his mission and Chris and I were happy that we were (finally) married.
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2006 - Chris had JUST gotten home from his mission - it was so fun to see him finally after not seeing him for two whole years! This is at the Denver airport, seconds after being reunited.
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2005 - I was in London doing a four month study abroad. Every day was an amazing and fun adventure.
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2004 - I was in Colorado hanging out with my boyfriend Chris (haha, that sounds so funny to say, boyfriend) before he left on his mission.
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2003 - I had just graduated from high school so before I headed off to college at BYU my family went on a trip to New York/Washington D.C.
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It's fun to trace back and see what I've been doing on a certain day for the past 9 years! Try it - it's fun :)

The One with an Induction Date


Friday, July 6, 2012

We're down to the wire folks! Today I'm 37 weeks which means that Jane is full term! We made it! 
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I went to the doctor yesterday, I go every week now until she's born, so up to three more appointments. I love this doctor because the first thing she asks at every appointment is if I have any questions. Since this is my second time being pregnant, most of my first timer questions are answered, but yesterday I did have a question: when can I be induced? The timing is so tricky with this one and not knowing when she's going to make her debut is the hardest part of all! Also, and I'm getting sidetracked here, but it seems like most girls I know who have their second baby pop them out suuuper fast once labor starts. I remember with Fox, once they broke my water after I'd been in the hospital for 14 hours, my contractions started HURTING and I got an epidural right away. I am so scared that my water is going to break and we won't be able to get to the hospital fast enough and I'm going to deliver Jane in the car. That's why I've dog-eared the "how to deliver a baby by yourself" page in my "What to Expect" book and am going to make Chris read and memorize it tonight :) 
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Anyway, so I asked the doctor when I can be induced, or I think my exact words were, "How long after a baby is due do you make people wait to get induced?" 7-10 days. No bueno - my due date is July 27th and we have a family reunion up in Oregon that we really want to go to on August 12th. My plan is to stay at the house with Jane the entire time while Chris takes Fox on all the fun adventures. It'll be nice to have help and planned meals. Having as much time to recover as possible before August 12th would be wonderful. So there's that and my mom flies here from Seattle on July 25th. As much as I'd like to have Jane sooner than that, I just really want my mom to be here to watch Fox and take care of the animals and hold down the fort while we're in the hospital. I told my doctor all of this, I'm sure I sounded anxious and nervous. Being the angel that she is, she looked at her calendar and said, "I'll be working at the hospital on the 29th, so if she isn't born before that, we'll induce you on the 29th." HALELUJAH! There's an end in sight! An actual date to look forward to if Jane doesn't come on her own! Now THAT'S relief. 
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So, like I said, as much as I want Jane to be born early, I mostly want her to keep cooking until the 25th, but then the 26th or 27th or 28th would be great. Or if not then, the 29th it most definitely is!
See you soon Jane!

The One with the 4th of July 2012


Thursday, July 5, 2012

Last year:
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This year:
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For the second (and final, cuz next year we'll be gone!) year we watched the South Pasadena Festival of Balloons. Mission Street was closed off and the streets were lined with spectators.
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We had great seats right under some shady trees. Even though it was overcast, the sun came out mid-parade and we were glad for the shade. Or maybe it was just me cuz I'm a human oven. Our peeps:
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Before the festivities got started a helicopter flew overhead and someone on board was yelling things like "Happy 4th of July!" and "Enjoy the parade everybody!"
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Our favorite was when the kids in the parade threw out candy - we didn't even have to ring doorbells or shout "trick or treat!" to get these sweets!
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Every "float" or group of people had balloons attached to them - hence the Festival of Balloons.
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The adults kids wanted to run out into the street and play with this ginormous soccer ball!
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Tons of vintage cars.
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The coolest group of people was the balloon-twisting school students.
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Chris should learn how to make all of these.

The parade ended with a bunch of confetti. Picture perfect.
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We had plans to see the fireworks show at the Rose Bowl, but then we changed our minds and wanted to go to the fireworks at South Pasadena High School. And then we just got too tired and stayed home and watched The Muppets instead.

Fun 4th! I wonder where we'll be next year?!?

The One with a Pinterest 4th of July Vol. 2


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Independence Day to all my stateside friends! 
And happy regular 4th day of the month of July to everyone else!
Since most of our festive activities haven't come to pass yet, I'll share some 4th of July things I found on Pinterest today and post what we did tomorrow, just like last year. Get it? Got it? Good!

All of the sources for the following photos can be found on my 4th of July Pinterest Board.

An oldie (cuz I shared it last year too) but a goodie! So easy to make and yet so awesome!
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Mmmm, get in my belly!
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I have large apothecary jars leftover from Fox's birthday party last year that just sit on my shelf with nothing in them. What a good idea to fill them with various things for all holidays year-round!
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Cute DIY ruffle shirt.
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Awesome cake!
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The most festive wreath of all wreaths! It really looks like fireworks!
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Such a simple wreath but it makes a big impact!
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Confetti in red/white/blue balloons? Yes please!
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This would be the most perfect 4th of July party invitation!
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I've always wanted to try making these kinds of cookies!
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Thank you Google :)
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Woven painter's tape!
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Festive rice krispie treats!
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Who woulda thunk to do this? I love it!
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I want to make one of these stat!
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Maybe Jane will be born today and I'd have the ultimate excuse to throw a 4th of July party every year :) Here's to hoping!

The One with What I Do


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I've been working at Northridge Publishing for six years now - over 1/4 of my life! I started out as an Assistant Editor to Tammy Morrill for Paper Trends Magazine - which is now Simply Handmade. I wrote instructions and looked through PDFs of the magazines before they went to press. Back then, in 2006, there were only FOUR magazines published. Now, in 2012, there are TEN magazines published (not all are monthly, but most ARE monthly and the others are every other month).

We've been re-structuring and re-organizing and figuring out our titles and today I was asked to list what I do for each magazine. When I meet new people and they ask me what I do for work I usually mutter and stumble something about writing and editing text for a scrapbook magazine. But now I can tell them with complete confidence exactly what I do! It may take me an hour to say it all, but I've figured it out nonetheless :)
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SCRAPBOOK TRENDS
- update calls
- call for projects
- create excel and upload to Google Docs
- follow up with projects
- write One Amazing Album article
- edit PDFs
- create product/address sheet for returning projects
- occasional filler project

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CRICUT MAGAZINE
- update calls
- narrow submissions
- call for projects
- create excel and upload to Google Docs
- follow up with projects
- edit and upload text
- edit PDFs
- create product/address sheet for returning projects
- occasional filler project

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CRICUT IDEA BOOKS
- update calls
- narrow submissions
- call for projects
- create excel and upload to Google Docs
- follow up with projects
- edit and upload text
- edit PDFs
- create product/address sheet for returning projects
- occasional filler project

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- update calls
- call for projects
- create excel and upload to Google Docs
- follow up with projects
- edit PDFs
- create product/address sheet for returning projects
- occasional filler project

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- edit PDFs

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SIMPLY HANDMADE
- update calls
- call for projects
- create excel and upload to Google Docs
- follow up with projects
- edit and upload text
- edit PDFs
- create product/address sheet for returning projects
- occasional filler project

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- update calls
- call for projects
- create excel and upload to Google Docs
- follow up with projects
- edit and upload text
- edit PDFs
- create product/address sheet for returning projects

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BEAD TRENDS
Nothing! I just have a subscription and love looking at all the pretty jewelry that talented people make. As if I need another hobby - but sometimes I really want to "bead"!

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- Nothing! Again, I just have a subscription and love looking through all the recipes and drool-worthy photography - it actually makes me want to cook cuz goodness knows I'm a horrible chef!

So there's my 40-hour work week broken down bit-by-bit! It's such a blessing being able to work from home - gotta love technology, computers, the internet, and flexible co-workers!

The One with the Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go Blog Hop!


Monday, July 2, 2012

I'm so(ooooo!!!) excited to share a sneak peek of Amy Tan's newest collaboration with American Crafts, Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go! 

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Whether at home or abroad, find adventure with Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go. A wide array of warm autumn colors - including navy blue, pink, and woodgrain - create a base for unique travel, home, and school icons: from cameras, cars, and houses, to globes, speech bubbles, and an adorable hand-drawn elephant.

Along with 24 patterned papers, Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go has favorites like Thickers, die cut shapes and spriral-bound Daybooks. New to the scene are puffy mini stickers, woodgrain albums (yep, woodgrain!) and a one-of-a-kind crafting travel kit.

Here's a glimpse of one of the Thickers packs in Ready Set Go. So stinkin' cute!
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Want to see more? Head on over to the next blog in the hop: Kelly Marie.

In case you get a li'l lost, here is the blog hop list:
Amy Tan
Paige Evans <--- you are here!
American Crafts

Make sure to go through the entire hop list and go back to Amy's blog and the American Crafts blog for not one, but TWO chances to win the ENTIRE Read Set Go collection!
Happy hopping!
Paige Taylor Evans © // Quinn Creatives DESIGN