For every year since 1999, I've participated somehow in the March of Dimes walk (formerly WalkAmerica, now March for Babies).  This year, I'll be walking at this event to raise money for the prevention of birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. 

This event means a lot to me not just because I've been participating
for so long (9th year, baby!), but because I was a premature baby as
well.  Go babies!!

Help me in my cause by sponsoring me as a walker!  In past years I've collected dimes and dollar bills -- every bit counts, so don't be shy to even just donate a dollar or two.

http://www.marchforbabies.com/npc

Thanks everyone!!

Kim.

I saw mini-pies on Craftster.org recently and decided that I MUST make them.  We made them last night and they were sooo fun, easy to make and super delicious.  We bought all of the food materials, so the only thing we really had to do was cut out the dough, put the filling in, and bake!  Nothing beats freshly baked pies.

Things I would do different next time: egg wash on the dough to give it a nicer color and have the caps of the pies stay on better.

I've been on a real bag kick lately.  Here's the original bag I made for my camera, the night before I found the awesome tutorial for yesterday's bag.  No pattern for this one, I just kind of winged it along the way... It still came out pretty good, though, if I do say so myself.  And I do!

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Drawstring bag:

Last night I made two more drawstring bags!  This time with longer handles.  One of them is in that lovely pear and apple print -- unfortunately, the print is a little too big for the purse, so it didn't look as awesome as I thought it would, but I'm definitely going to try making a larger weekend bag with that print!  I'm going bag-crazy!

Yesterday, Craftzine posted a blog for Oh, Fransson's Vintage Pillowcase Lunch Box tutorial, and the second I saw it, I knew I had to make it.  It was gorgeous!!!  I don't need a lunch box, but I recently bought a camera, and have been looking for a tutorial for a camera bag.  This wasn't a camera bag, but since it's a lunch box, it had instructions for padding on the inside, too!  Perfect.

I'm planning to make a whole bunch more, since it whipped up so quick (about two hours in between commercial breaks while watching American Idol and Top Chef).  So easy, and it takes about 1/2 a yard of fabric only for the outside, so I can buy really nice expensive ones and not feel guilty!

Next time, I'm going to lengthen the handles [currently you can only
hold them in your hand, I like to be able to sling bags over my
shoulder], and probably add a pocket to the lining.

I bought this TO DIE FORRR fabric yesterday on impulse at Joann's, so I'm totally going to be making a bag out of this fabric.  ITS SO FRICKIN CUTE [but expensive $8.99 a yard!]

As another part of my birthday celebration, a few of us went to the Long Beach Aquarium together to look at the fishies.  Things I learned: I don't like sea slugs, bass are very disapproving, and eels look like weiners.

Went to Color Me Mine as one of my birthday activities, and here's what came out of it!

Color Me Mine is a store where you buy blank ceramics and they provide paints and materials for you to decorate the items however you want.  Afterwards, they fire the item for you and a week later you get it back looking like a professional item!    I'd have to say it's one of my favorite activities [even though it's kind of pricey] because I looove the fact that I can use them again and again~

I love color me mine!  The one thing I regret is that we only had about two and a half hours there because we had to go to the aquarium -- you would think that that was enough time, but we were RUSHING to get our pieces done...  Learned our lesson this time, though!

(ha, if you look at the post below, you can spot the teapot sitting on my desk)

For those of you who didn't know, I turned 25 over the past weekend.  I've been meaning to write the obligatory quarter of a century post, but haven't had the motivation to do it.  So, in an effort to make an effort, I leave you with a repost of my 22nd birthday post.  It pretty much says it all.

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Memories:

Since turning 22 (25, now!) is kind of a
boring topic, and I really don't have any idea of what is in store for
me (apparently becoming mormon and engaged at 25). I decided to write about what I DO know. -- Things I will miss
and/or remember about turning 21.

Five things I will remember about being 21:

1. My first strip club experience at Crazy Horse II in Vegas!

2. Using the excuse, "I didn't know I couldn't do that, I just turned 21."

3. Feeling powerful when I could buy things for my underaged friends.

4. Gambling for the first time in Vegas.

5. Pulling my ID card out to show people even when they don't ask, screaming "I'M 21!!!"

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Ah, those days.  I was so young... and had so many less crafts to do.

Dear Bowels,

I don't generally make it a habit to write letters to my body parts, but you, my friend, are very special.  You're important to me.  You were pretty lazy in the past, up until the last few years, you would only work about once a week or every two weeks.  However, lately, you've been pretty good to me... And I've been pretty good to you, with all that brown rice I've been eating as of late.

So, I wanted to ask you: what changed? 

After a day of excruciating pain and nausea, followed by bouts of explosive diarrhea I finally figured out
that the cause of my pain, nausea, etc. in the beginning of the week
was probably caused by fecal impaction.  Again.  This is the second time in less than a year.  WTF, bowels, do your job... It's not THAT difficult.  Billions of other people's bowels do it just fine every day. That's not an exaggeration, either.

The doctor's advice last time (after she decided to stick her fingers up my anus, which wasn't pleasant for either of us, was it?) was to just take laxatives for a while until you get used to pooping again, that's what I've been doing.

Yet, still (STILL) you plague me. 

Now I have back pain, and the need to go at least twice a day... Which is good, I guess.  But PLEASE stop letting go, every time I go pee, making it so that there's only enough to make it a full wiping session, but never enough to even reach the bowl. Ugh. What a waste of toilet paper.

Anyways, we're in this for the long haul, and I know that.  I just want to ask you to be a bit kinder to me, and in return I'll eat as many vegetables and brown rice as you want.  I mean it this time.

Very truly yours,
Kim.

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Side note: I read online about causes of fecal impaction and one of them was taking laxatives.  Which worries me, because the doctor prescribed laxatives to cure the impaction.  WTF?

What body part do you have the most problems with?

After all this time of keeping myself from eating too much, I found out that the best diet is the flu, bronchitis, and some weird throwing up problem in close succession to each other.

I've lost 5 lbs.  I'm not sure if I'm happy about it or not.

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Conflicting Feelings

It's kind of like this picture from Cute Overload.  It's super cute, but then I wonder, where's the mama duck???