Ok, it's actually my second but the first pillow I sewed I can't find (seriously). It's for my daughter and she's been dragging it around for days. It's probably in a corner of the basement some where.

I really can't believe I'm posting a picture of a pillow but you can blame Goodgirl and Caitlin. They made me do it :)

It doesn't have the straightest seams by any means but not too bad for my first time out. I'll be working on my daughters sundress next along with a few more pillows.

I'm enjoying it so that must mean something!

My daughter and I went to the fabric store a couple of days ago and went a little crazy. Ok, maybe not *crazy* but I spent more than I probably should have. I got everything I need to get started, at least I hope!

I decided to start with something simple so I got some pillow patterns. We need new pillows for our basement and found some very pretty fabric that matches. I also found some purple fabric that matches my daughters room. It was cheap so I thought that would be the fabric to use my first time out. I followed the pattern and thought I was doing a pretty good job. I have to say it's probably the ugliest pillow on earth but it's done. My seams aren't straight and I don't think I put enough stuffing in but my daughter likes it so I guess it's not that bad (well, actually it is).

So, I have my first project under my belt. I have no intentions of posting a picture because it's really that bad but I feel good about it being done. I'm going to tackle the basement pillows then move on. I bought a sundress pattern for my daughter. She picked out some very pretty pink material. After that I'm going to make my son a pair of jammies. He wanted Husker jammies so I found some flannel Hukser fabric. I figure if I screw it up he can still wear it and no one will see it. The sundress is another story. If it's hideous she can just play dress up in it.

Wish me luck! I think I'm going to need it :)

Merry Christmas to all my friends who celebrate and peace, love and happiness to all throughout the coming year!

All the presents are open, the traditional Christmas brisket is in the oven and we're waiting for the family to join us. It's a beautiful day here in Omaha.

The kids were so excited for Santa's arrival last night. It's the one night of the year they can't wait to go to bed. Santa was good to them this year. It was a Transformers Christmas for Colin and Sarah finally got the big doll house she wanted. They're both tired but happy at the same time.

I won't keep you all in suspence any longer. I got a sewing machine and table! It's official. I'm going to learn to sew. I am very excited but a little overwhelmed right now. My question is, where the heck do I start? I was reading the manual and realized I have a lot to learn. Just the terminology alone is a lot to learn. There's a fabric shop in town that offers classes so I'm going to look into that but I'm anxious to get started. I'll be asking a lot of questions so please bear with me. I'm just so excited to be joining this wonderful group of seamstresses (even though I won't earn that title myself for some time).

Thank you to all who have supported and encouraged me to give this a shot. Goodgirl, Caitlin, Red and Raven -  all of your words of encouragement helped me decide this is something I want to do. Thank you all!

I have done it. I have decided I want to learn how to sew. I have done some research on machines and asked for one for Christmas (of course if I don't get one I'll buy one on my own). I have also looked for books for beginners.

Goodgirl and Caitlin have inspired me to do this. They create some amazing garb and I want in on the fun. I just wish we lived in the same city. Unfortunately we're three hours away from each other. I'm sure I'll be bugging them often asking questions and having them look at my work via e-mail. Be prepared ladies :)

I haven't sewn a stitch since junior high home economics class. That was a LONG time ago. I'm not sure how I'm going to do but I'm giving it a shot. I'm excited about it so that should count for something.

Wish me luck on this new endevor. I think I'm going to need it!

We made it back! As usual vacation was too short but we had a lot of fun and we crammed as much in as possible.

Our flights out were great. We made it either on time or early which was unusual. It was a long day as we didn't get to the hotel until 10pm Cali time which is midnight for us. The kids were troopers. They were so excited to see their cousins and go to the theme parks. Colin is a veteran at traveling so he knew what to expect. Sarah didn't quite get it but she went with the flow.

Our room was very nice. We stayed at a timeshare resort my brother had set up. We had a full kitchen and two rooms. It was nice to be able to cook breakfast and try to eat somewhat healthy. The rest of the meals consisted of junk but that's what you expect on a vacation like this.

We began our Disney journey on Thursday to Disneyland. We rode all the big rides. Sarah, my little dare devil, was big enough for most of the big rides and she loved Splash Mountain. She wasn't big enough for Space Mountain so we all went twice so Gary or I could stay behind with her yet still have a chance to ride. You name it we rode on it. There was no one there and the longest we had to wait was 20  minutes. This was the perfect time to go. I'm sure next weekend, Thanksgiving, will be packed.

Day two was spend at California Adventure. None of us had been there before so this was a new adventure for us. There are more "big" rides there. The rollercoaster, California Screamin, was insane. There was one ride Colin was too short for. He was really disappointed. Sarah was only able to ride on a few but I think she was ok with that as her cousin Grace was too small as well. They stayed behing with one of the adults and ran around. We then spent the evening at Downtown Disney which consists of lots of shops. It was nice just to walk around and window shop. There were some very unique stores.

Day three we found ourselves back at Disnleyland. We only stayed for about 5 hours as we had to head back to LA that evening and we wanted to have some time to drive out to the beach. We rode a few of our favorites, had lunch with the cousins, and headed out of Anaheim. The cousins stayed behind to enjoy the park some more and we spent some time as a family.

We did make it to Huntinton Beach. It was about an hour trek but worth it. We got there right at sunset and high tide. It was so beautiful and cold!

We spent the rest of the evening at Medievel Times. We wanted to do one last fun thing with the kids. We've been before without the kids and knew they would really enjoy it. We paid a little extra to be part of the "royalty". This basically gave us front row to the show. We cheered on the black & white knight. Colin was really into it. Twice the knights tossed roses out into their cheering section. Sarah was disappointed she didn't get one. Then our knights stopped right in from of us and handed Sarah a sash that said Queen of Love & Beauty. Being 3 years old she didn't see how special it was that he picked her out as she was still disappointed she didn't get a rose. It was very cute.

Our flight home left LAX at 6am this morning and we just got home a few hours ago. I've included a few pictured but plan on posting the rest later on photobucket. I know this was a little long but there was much to share.

It's great to be home but we did have a lot of fun - lots of great memories.