Wednesday, 08 July 2009

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

  • What do transformers, pirates and owls have in common?

    The answer: quilts!

    I've always been really intimidated by quilting... however, a friend of mine borrowed my sewing machine recently to make a quilt, and she made it seem so fun and easy that I just had to try myself!

    So, here it is! They're just 6x6 squares with a small bird applique on one square as the *point*.

    Bird applique






    After my first quilt, I became so enamored with quilting that I wanted to try out another one right away... So that same weekend, I took a trip to Joanns and bought this awesome fabric to make a quilt that would look good in my living room.


    On the couch... I ended up making pillow covers to match with the quilt! It makes our apartment look really asian and pretty. :)




    Full length


    Close up of the pattern (I love this fabric SO MUCH)




    So after making my first two quilts ever in one weekend you would think I would have wanted to take a break... But no! Instead I decided to up the ante and try to make an actual comforter sized blanket... And here it is! I'm really proud of it -- I didn't have to buy any fabric at all. This was all made from fabrics I had on hand at home. It was really challenging and I probably won't do anything like it again in the near future -- but it was a really great learning experience!

    I kept seeing this "coinstack" pattern everywhere that looked oh-so-pretty, so I just took it by ear, and it came out pretty well, I think!

    Close up: I never in a million years thought I would be using transformers, pirate and owl fabric in the same project.


    Full length


  • Swine Flu Masks! (with tutorial~)

    Anyone who has played RockBand at our apartment knows that I have an obsession with eye patches and face masks. What better excuse to start making some masks than an epidemic?










    Materials needed:
    Fabric
    Elastic
    Fusible Interfacing (optional)

    Cut 2 pieces of fabric, an inner lining and an outer lining (12.5" x 5.5")




    OPTIONAL--
    Cut 2 pieces of fusible interfacing (12" x 5")


    Iron interfacing to back of each piece of fabric


    END OPTIONAL--

    Sew pieces of fabric right sides together along 3 sides (like a pillow case)



    Trim corners


    Turn inside out and sew opening closed



    Pleat each side 1" at the center part and sew or pin to secure



    What it should look like so far:


    Fold front side over to back side and sew down. This will make a tube on the side.


    Cut 2 pieces of elastic (or you can use hair ties)


    Thread elastic through the tube with your preferred method.



    Tie elastic shut


    OPTIONAL--
    Sew a 1/2" pleat at the bottom of the mask to shape to chin

    END OPTIONAL--

    Completed product front:


    Completed product back:






    And enjoy!!! :)

Friday, 17 April 2009

  • When it rains it pours

    I have to say that there are bad days, and then there are days that are just so ridiculously bad that it makes me laugh.

    Take today for example.

    Went to a screening interview for a new casino.  Was told that I was way too overqualified for the job I was applying for.  Strike one.

    Decided to go to the LDS Employment center to get the Mormon hookups.

    On the way there, noticed that my car was stuttering.  Realized I've been driving on E for a while now. Strike two.

    Stopped at a gas station.

    Realized I left my wallet at home. Strike three. (I should be out by now.. but it gets worse!)  Decide to call Brent to have him bail me out.

    Realized I left my phone at home.

    Scrounge the entire car for change and cash.  Find $1.00.

    It was enough to get me here to the LDS Employment center, at least (after 3-4 false starts on the car -- can't be good).

    Finally was able to get in contact with Brent by getting someone on google chat to call him.

    Now I'm waiting for him to come pick me up and give me my money.

     

    It's like I'm in a sitcom!  An unemployed one.

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

  • Endless downward spiral

    Nothing does me in quite as well as being sick. Being sick makes me lose energy and become unable to work. Which causes me to feel massive amounts of guilt and pressure. Which for some strange reason causes me to make a mess out of my house and home. Which then makes me really tired. Which then makes me want to do nothing. Which then leads to even more guilt and pressure. Which then makes me leave things even messier... And the cycle continues.

    I went to bed last night with the resolve to go to work regardless of how crappy I felt, since I've missed work since last Thursday and the only thing that helps me get out of my rut is generally to resume daily activities. I woke up this morning with an eye infection. Really, God? Really?

    The perfect red cherry to sit atop my giant banana split-esque mountain of laundry, dirty dishes, bodily meltdowns and mental woes.

    I write this on my laptop at work as I'm quarantined away to the conference room at work. Coughing away and spreading my disease through this place. Strangely enough, though I feel like poop (and am falling asleep at the keyboard as I type), making it here makes me feel 1000x better mentally than staying at home and nursing my (viral i.e. incurable) infection.

    Proving to myself I'm not a huge loser that stays at home and reads manga all day motivates me.

    What do you do when you're stuck in a rut?

Saturday, 07 March 2009

Friday, 06 March 2009

  • Is it morally wrong to like boy bands when you're married?

    If you know me at all, I am a person with many guilty pleasures. From the super nerdy things like MMOs and MTG, to brainless things like the Girls Next Door and Sex and the City, I love them all. However, one secret hobby that I really am slightly ashamed of and rarely ever talk about is... Japanese boy bands.

    As of late I've been mooning over a certain actor, who has appeared in several of the j-dramas that I watch. Incidentally, he also belongs to the boy band, Arashi, which does the theme songs for said j-dramas.

    Needless to say, this has lead to some late-night guilt-filled sessions of watching things like this:



    And it has also lead to my i-pod being taken over by these pretty boys and their (admittedly sub-par) singing.

    The problem


    Ok, so enough of me explaining the background. Here's the problem I'm having with this whole situation: I'm beginning to feel like it's really weird or morally wrong for me to enjoy boy bands at my age (even though all these stars around the same age as me). Couple this with the fact that I'm married, I'm starting to think that perhaps I'm doing something really perverse.

    On one hand, I know that there are a few actresses and singers that Brent really likes and I really don't have any problem with that -- it seems pretty normal. On the other hand, I can't help but feel that married ladies aren't supposed to really look at other guys like that. It's a weird dichotomy for me, especially since I'm a huge believer in equality between a man and a woman.

    So I think I really need some outsider's opinions on this.

    Is it morally wrong to be an avid fan of an actor or boy band member once you're married?

Wednesday, 04 March 2009

  • Yeah, you know me!

    I got this in an e-mail, but I thought I'd post it here instead. If you do this, please leave a link in the comments! I'd love to read it.


    Welcome to the 2009 edition of Getting to Know Your Friends. Press Forward then change all the answers so they apply to you and then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known.

    1. What time did you get up this morning?
    7am.While that may sound early some, you might like to know that I went to bed at 7:30pm.

    2. Diamonds or pearls?
    Pearls

    3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
    Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li -SUPER AWESOME!!!!
    robin-shou-as-gen-street-fighter-the-legend-of-chun-li-movie-image

    4. What is your favorite TV show?
    Currently: Kuroshitsuji. I find myself eagerly awaiting it every week! I don't even know why I like it so much.
    Kuroshitsuji 01

    5. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
    Water

    6. What is your middle name?
    Quoc

    7. What food do you dislike?
    Cooked carrots! Yucky yucky yucky yucky.

    8. What is your favorite CD at moment?
    I'm really digging the Sailor Moon Best Song Collection right now.
    sailormoon-3

    9. What kind of car do you drive?
    Acura Integra. Wait, I correct myself, Kimtegra.


    10. Favorite sandwich?
    Tomato mayo [kewpie].

    11. What characteristic do you despise?
    People who are holding cooked carrots. Or carrot cake. Ew. Or people who cook carrots. Just say NO to cooked carrots!

    12. Favorite item of clothing?
    Bloomers. Or my Kimono.

    13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
    Japan

    14. Favorite brand of clothing?
    Baby the stars shine bright, Tokidoki, Steve Madden.

    15. Where would you retire to?
    Irvine

    16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
    Do you want my most recent or most memorable?

    Theyea I got this from Eric:


    The year I got this from Brent:



    17. Favorite sport to watch?
    Gymnastics

    18. Furthest place you are sending this?
    THE WORLD

    19. Person you expect to send it back first?
    Brent. He fills in everything.

    20. When is your birthday?
    March 16

    21. Are you a morning person or a night person?
    Neither. I wish I could sleep all the time.

    22. What is your shoe size?
    6
    23. Pets?
    I have a waluigi and a sabakku right now.


    24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
    I'm bleeding!

    25. What did you want to be when you were little?
    Super rich.

    26. How are you today?
    Meh.

    27. What is your favorite candy?
    Chupa chups. Because hey have a plastic handle.

    28. What is your favorite flower?
    Sakura. (Cherry blossoms)
    sakura


    29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
    Any day that doesn't involve going to work.

    30. What is you favorite pastime?
    Preparing for Anime Expo and browsing the interwebs and the 'nets.

    31. What are you listening to right now?
    3 computers 6 monitors and a server.

    32. What was the last thing you ate?
    McDonalds chicken sandwich.

    33. Do you wish on stars?
    Stars wish on me.

    34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
    White. It seems to be the least used, considering you can't see it, so I would have the longest life span. TAKE THAT BLACK!

    35. How is the weather right now?
    Lovely. I wish I were outside.

    36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
    Brent.

    37. Favorite soft drink?
    CoCo Rico

    38. Favorite restaurant?
    Musashi, Five Crowns, Maestro's.
    Hm. I just realized these are all steak houses.


    39. Hair color?
    Black like the darkest of nights.

    40. What was your favorite toy as a child?
    I was happiest with a paper and pencil.

    41. Summer or winter?
    Summer.

    42. Hugs or kisses?
    Depends on who's doing it.

    43. Chocolate or Vanilla?
    Choco.

    44. Coffee or tea?
    Tea.

    45. Do you want your friends to email you back?
    Yes.

    46. When was the last time you cried?
    I honestly can't remember. Probably at my wedding. I was bawling like a baby.

    47. What is under your bed?
    Cutting mat, yardstick, waluigi.

    48. What did you do last night?
    Wii Fit, went to at 7

    49. What are you afraid of?
    Cockroaches. Bugs.

    50. Salty or sweet?
    Salty. Especially flaming hot cheetos.

    51. How many keys on your key ring?
    I will answer with a joke:
    What do you get when an elephant has sex with a rhino? Ellephino!

    52. How many years at your current job?
    2 months at my current workplace. My 12th year doing the same job.

    53. Favorite day of the week?
    Sunday, because I get to sleep all day!

    54. How many towns have you lived in?
    8

    55. Do you make friends easily?
    Yes, but I can't keep them. I'm horrible with correspondence.

    56. How many people will you send this to?
    THE WORLD!!!

    57. How many will respond?
    THE WORLD!!!

Tuesday, 03 March 2009

  • The 21 day challenge

    The other day at church the Stake President spoke to us during Sunday School. (The LDS church is split up by territories, where wards are the smallest municipalities. Stakes generally includes about 10 or so wards... So you could call it something like a district or a division.)

    Anyhow, the Stake President said that studies have shown that habits can be made or broken if they are worked on for 21 days. He then challenged us to try it ourselves and see if we couldn't improve our lives by changing something for 21 days.

    Researched

    Although I've heard this before, I've always wondered about what the studies really were. A quick search on google afforded this answer:

    "The 21-day concept was
    first introduced by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, in a book titled,
    'Psycho-Cybernetics'"
    ...
    "Dr Maxwell Maltz wrote the bestseller Psycho-Cybernetics. Originally a Plastic Surgeon, Maltz noticed that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in the amputated limb. From further observations he found it took 21 days to create a new habit. Since then the '21 Day Habit Theory' has become an accepted part of self-help
    programs.

    Brain circuits take engrams (memory traces), and produce neuroconnections and neuropathways only if they are bombarded for 21 days in a row. This means that our brain does not accept ?new? data for a change of habit unless it is repeated each day for 21 days (without missing a day)."(Link).

    My Struggles

    I've been struggling for quite some time with weight and health issues. Although it may be hard to believe, at one point in my life I was actually pretty slim and fit, but bad eating habits and a lack of excercise have left me hating the mirror.

    My husband and I bought a Wii Fit some time ago but after about two weeks of continuous excersise we just kind of stopped for one reason or another, and although I was definitely seeing a difference, once I stopped I couldn't get myself to start up again.



    So, for my first 21 day experiment, I'm going to try to excercise on the Wii Fit every day for the next 21 days. I'll be posting regular updates here, to help remind myself in the future (if I can keep this up!) of my accomplishments.

    Generally declarations aren't really enough for me to keep to my commitments, so my husband and I devised a backup positive/negative reinforcement plan: If I miss a day in the week, I'm not allowed to go to Joann's Fabrics for the next week. If I don't miss a day, I get to buy myself something nice as a reward.

    Is anyone up to joining me on a 21 day quest (What about you Lent-ers?)? (If you do, link me to your blogs! I want to see your progress!)

    If you could choose a habit to pick up or drop for the next 21 days, what would you choose?

Friday, 27 February 2009

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

  • How to: Budget Hello Kitty Stationery

    These are really simple, cheap and make a great gift! You can technically make these cards with any theme you want. I think a cute couples idea would be a picture of the couple.




    Materials needed:
    White 8x11 cardstock
    Cardstock cut into 1.5-2 inch strips down the length. a 8.5x11 sheet will make around 5 cards... more for the 12x12
    Contrasting blank cards (or more contrasting cardstock folded in half)
    Double sided tape
    Scissors
    A printer


    Directions:

    1. Find a picture you like to use and print it out at about 2-3 inches in size. Print this on the white cardstock. Cut out your shape. This will be your "buckle"

    2. Stick the buckle onto one end of the strip using double sided tape.

    3. Wrap the strip around the card, positioning the buckle wherever you'd like it. Once you're satisfied with placement, crease the strip sharply around the shape of the card.

    4. Stick a piece of double sided tape behind the buckle part and make a loop.

    5. Fill the card with whatever you want and give it away! :)

Monday, 23 February 2009

  • Current Projects: Anime Expo Costume #1

    This year Michelle and I are going to be March and Salsa from Eternal Sonata. I decided to try starting early with the costumes. I think it's looking pretty good so far!

    The ideal final product


    Status: About 85% complete


    Underclothes


    Smock


    I'm so proud! My stitches are getting so much straighter these days.

    <
    Bib


    Ahh! So close, yet so far.


    This has been a really fun project so far! I'm really glad I started early for once, because I don't feel stressed at all! maybe this year I'll get away without any all-nighters :)

Sunday, 22 February 2009

  • How-to: simple (super buget) name-place holder

    I found this concept somewhere on the interwebs (i have no idea where) but loved the idea so much that I ended up doing it for my wedding.




    All this takes is some 18-20 gauge wire -- I bought a roll from from home depot, but you can buy this wire at any craft store -- some wire clippers and some candy.


    Step 1: Cut a 7-8 inch piece of wire (or longer or shorter depending on how tall you want your name-tag holder to be

    Step 2: Create a 1 inch circle on one end of the wire

    Step 3: Twirl the other end of the wire closely around 2-3 times (think key-ring style)

    Step 4: Adhere weight (in this case, the candy) to the bottom of the wire.


    Ta-da! You're done in less than a minute! Of course, if you're like us and are making 250 of these, then it can get pretty rough.


    If you're like me, and just happened to use brown and gold as your decor, a ferero rocher will work out perfectly!


  • Your moment of waluigi zen.

    A WTF moment.


Saturday, 21 February 2009

  • Cookies galore!

    It's a little late, but here's what I made a few weeks ago for a Valentines Day ice cream social and dance.

    These are made with my favorite sugar cookie recipe from martha stewart... I think the secret is really in the buttermilk. I always get compliments on these, so if you ever get a chance, you should try making these yourselves!

    Link to Recipe



    Peach jelly cookies


    Sakura & ume blossoms - they were supposed to be pink and white, but I didn't put enough red food coloring in


    Stars!


    Everyone together now...

Monday, 16 February 2009

  • Sailor Crafty

    Been working on increasing the amount of loli-inspired stuff in my closet. Here's how to get a sailor loli outfit quick and cheap.




    Inspiration:
    1TP00012_01
    (via FanPlusFriend)

    DSC01307
    Buy a $5.99 skirt.

    DSC01304
    Alter it to fit.

    DSC01306
    Find a whole bunch of trims and lace.


    DSC01305
    Sew them on


    DSC01309
    Yay! :) A 1 hour 6 dollar sailor lolita outfit!



    Fun and economical. :) I probably should have put on some proper tights and mary janes, but we were going out that day and I wanted to be more casual.



Sunday, 15 February 2009

  • Dear Blog,

    Let's start over. Somewhere along the way I lost sight of why I began writing you in the first place. Swept up in the idea that I had to entertain others, I've become paranoid about writing anything at all. I hate how I began to regiment my blogging so that I could have enough content for days to come. I hate that it began to feel like a chore and not a hobby. And what I hate the most is that I began to feel that you were of no worth if no one read you.

    This only lead to me losing out on my favorite part of you-- being able to look back on my life and seeing all the things that I had accomplished or was proud of. I feel like I'm missing a whole year of my life! You are of immeasurable worth to me. I'm really the only one who needs you, in the end... but somehow I let myself forget about that.

    So with that... Let's start again. With the right attitude this time.

    Your owner,
    Kim.


Thursday, 08 January 2009

  • Utada Hikaru!

    My favorite artist, Utada Hikaru, is coming out with a second American CD! I loved her first one, but it was somewhat of a flop here in America (Even though a lot of songs were produced by Timberland...go figure).. Anyways... A single was recently released and I think it sounds GREAT!

    Check it out:

Monday, 15 December 2008

Thursday, 23 October 2008