I just needed the proper motivation...

WE FOUND OUT WHERE WE ARE GOING!!!! COME SEPT. 2010 WE WILL BE MOVING TO ENGLAND!
totally not what i expected to get, but none the less, i'm super stoked!! i was so afraid that we'd get alaska. which i'm totally not knocking because it does look beautiful, and i promised myself that no matter where we went i would look on the bright side; but i am super excited about england. it will definately be interesting!
hopefully we will be there four years so that michael can graduate there (really, four years until graduation?? what the heck?) and i'm really wanting to enroll olivia into the preschool's there. i've heard great things about the schooling, and well, i just think it'll be a good chance to do some travelling. plus, we know quite a few people stationed there, so that's a huge bonus for us! we came to turkey with pretty much no info (minus the limited things that i remember from when i was 15, and that made pcsing so much harder!)
however, now that real countdown begins and i'm so excited to see what's in store for the Trail family!!

buh.

i have so many things that i could be blogging about.
billions and trillions of thoughts floating around my brain.
yet...
i got nothing.
i'm still alive.
and will one day soon put something down.
bear with me.

two things i love:

it's no secret that i love etsy and freebies :)
so check out this super cute shop (Gulf Coast Cottage):
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6192066
and if you feature it in your blog, she'll send you a free sushi pattern! check out her blog for more details!!
everybody wins!!

blog.

can someone help me make my blog pretty??? it's so boring and generic right now.

my day was "s'more" fun than your day! ;)

olivia wanted to make a necklace too!

eventually i just helped her by holding the string and she picked the noodles that she wanted to put on there.
and here's the finished product:

feel free to make fun of her cute face, because that's the face she makes EVERY single time i say cheese; it's so scrunched up and hilarious!

pasta; it's not just for eating these days.

totally worth the $5 i spent a yard sale!

if you look at the picture closely you'll see that brandon has his cars "parked". the best part is that it was rolled up and leaning against the front door, but when i came inside, brandon had our living room carpet (a small one) rolled up and his new carpet down already. excited much? thanks bonnie!

i'll admit it.

generally i'm a quitter.
i have no follow through or commitment when it comes to certain things.
however my new goal is to see things through to the end, and it's become a slight obsession with my latest project.
so without further ado (is that spelled right?) i present to you the fabric letters that have taken over my craft/kitchen/living room the past few nights while mark's been at work:

what i'm working on now.

just when i thought i had enough craftiness, i decided that i wanted to go ahead and try this personalized name pillow that i had seen. my goal is to make one for each of my kids. of course i have more girly fabrics, so this is the one i started with:

this is just the top. i'm debating whether or not to add a strip of the black and white material around the edges. just to make it a bit bigger. i appliqued on the letters and then hand stitched them while i was watching tv. overall i think it's super cute and can't wait to finish it so that i can get started on the boy ones :)

other things we just HAD to make! :)

since we had lots of beads from the day i spent at the bead store (pictures to follow, they're on my other memory stick) olivia NEEDED a bracelet. well, after the third time that i dropped the bracelet i was making, daddy gave it a try and came up with this:

here's a close up; that string was one that was cut on the table (it's not attached to the bracelet, even though it looks like it)

and then we decided that this baby needed a binky:

so a few magnets later, we were all happy; and sort of crafted out!

i'll save the juicebox wallet that i made for another day :)

close ups of the diaper

i meant to post these with the other post; oops!

crafty sunday.

the problem? this poor naked baby!the solution? skip to my lou's really simple diaper tutorial! www.skiptomylou.org/2008/09/19/how-to-make-a-diaper-for-a-childs-doll/
and yes, that is diego fabric; the two little ones both love dora and diego! the only thing i did different with the tutorial is that i sewed little snaps instead of velcro. (despite my best attempts at organizing, i still can never find exactly what i'm looking for, so i tend to improvise A LOT! ;)
problem solved=happy babies!

dear matthew; this one's not for you.

my poor blog lately has been quite bare and sad. not necessarily because i lack things to talk about or that i haven't been taking pictures.
quite the opposite really.
i have lots of things to talk about. lots of things to say.
yet, one day i woke up and realized that right now it's not okay to be me.
my speech is limited and my thoughts are quite polite and unassuming. never before have i ever felt like i should be so apologetic about being myself. if i thought it were appropriate i might even use the F word. instead, let me just say this. right now, i'm just being honest.
(that's for you eloise.)
*lol*
anyways, here's my few random non descript and politically correct thoughts for the day/week/month:
-i believe that God has a plan for everything. sometimes sitting tight and waiting for things to run their course is hard. just because you feel like nothing is changing, and it feels like the whole world is sitting still, it doesn't mean it really is. things are in the works. never doubt that. <--- says the girl who feels stuck.
-goodbyes are hard. and never in my life have i struggled with them the way that i am right now. but this too will pass.
-some things about becoming your mother aren't all bad.
-never let other people make you feel like less. see things for what they are and accept them for what they are. at the end of the day you will always know where you stand.
letting go is something i will never do gracefully.
and i <3 cryptic talk more than anything.
that's it.
for now.

'cause that's how i roll...

this is me:

and this is what i'm driving:

dinner.

so there's this amazing little bakery down in the alley where you can get fresh bread every day. a loaf is 20 kurus (which is seriously way less than 20 cents).

well, if you bring toppings they will put it on for no extra charge. so tonight being lazy i took leftover meatloaf, added some sauce and spices, and brought it down there with a bag of cheese... and this is what i got for 7 lira (which converts to $4.75) basically our dinner tonight was about $12, and there's so much i shared with the neighbors and still have a ton leftover!

this is one of the things i will miss the most about turkey.

turkish bread bowls

not just for bread anymore *lol*

my weekly craft project (from this week!)

okay, here's the purse that i'm working on (with TONS of help from kim and april!)

i think it's coming along really nicely. i still have to sew on the straps and do the inside, but at least you can tell it's really a purse!! yay!! plus, i LOVE this fabric and wanted to use it on something cool. the grey fabric that's on the straps and that will be on the inside is a pair of 50 cent thrift store pants! :)

i also made a cute little fabric ball last night just to see if i could. i'll post pictures of that when i do it again; this time adding taggies to it. it looks a little boring with no taggies.

my weekly craft; from LAST week.

so i'm a little behind with the blogging and trying to catch up!
this was really fun and easy to make:

applique really might be one of my new favorite things!

even the commisary is fun w/ these two! :)

it might surprise you to learn:

i internalize.
A LOT.
i am loud. out spoken. opinionated.
but that's just the slight outer layer.
i am giving myself an ulcer.
doing what's right for you
is easier to imagine
than it is to follow through with.
everyone's got their own agenda.
i don't know why i feel the need to be impressive.

as promised; mersin in pictures.

so fun.