In the name of Love.

Jeremy and I aren't really big Valentine's day celebrators. We like to celebrate love, but on more days than just one. But, with that said, I still remember the 1st grade Valentine's day parties - decorating a valentine's bag, picking out or making valentines for everyone and ... well... getting some fun candy! (My mom also would make heart-shaped cookies with all of my classmates names sometimes ... I wrote about it in this post.) So in lieu of things past, sometimes I like to celebrate. Just a little.

This year, I made just a few things in the name of Love.

Still fun.

Cherry pie for my Dad. Not too shabby huh?

Valentines.

a heart garland - to fill some empty post-Christmas space

Do you celebrate Valentine's day? If so, how?

Rage Against the Minivan - a good post

Hi all!

I follow this blog called Rage Against the Minivan - love the name, just because I drove my family's old minivan for 4 years in college. I was cool. I know. :-)

Anyway, she has this really great series that guest bloggers post for her called "What I Want You to Know" and just this Friday it was on hyperemesis. Her guest blogger, Amanda, did SUCH a great job explaining it ... so if you are interested in reading about what the 0.5-1% of pregnant women go through (ME!) please read.

It is a really, really great post. Click here to read it.

And, Rage Against the Minivan is a fun blog. And watch their adoption story, it's pretty neat!

That's all for my weekend link.

Smiles!
Lisa

Featured Follower Friday: 1/28/2011 edition

So, every Friday, until I run out of people to feature, I'm doing "Featured Follower Friday". Now, if you aren't technically a follower ... (I know there are people read that don't follow publicly) no problem! Anyone is welcome. 

Share a part of your story, write about yourself, be creative, crazy, silly, poetic, whatever - and if you have a blog, make sure to link it too! Then other people can meet you, connect to your blogs, or just find out something interesting! Wanna participate? I'd LOVE volunteers!! Don't be shy ... let me share my blog-space. Send me a picture, email, whatever.

Thanks to my friend, Lucy, for steppin' up to the plate this week!

my sweet girl with said friend ... in the hospital. after she brought me Panera! bless you, Lucy!

Hello! My name is Lucy and Lisa and I were college roommates. I wish I had some outlandish school days stories to tell you about Lisa but she went to bed at 10:00 on the nose every night, killed all the bugs in our room, made pancakes and actually studied. In the library. I, on the other hand, flopped onto my bed sometime around midnight, screamed at the smallest creature and accidentally pulled our curtains down in my sleep once. Or twelve times. Just doing my part to prepare her for motherhood, really.

Anyway, I blog over at To Live Quietly. I told myself I was going to start blogging everyday but then I get distracted by reruns of The Office. A girl has to have her priorities, you know. When I do blog, I tend to talk about hearing loss, Jesus and life in general. I also make waaaaay too many TV references. I’m like Abed on Community. See, I did it again. That's just how I roll.

When I’m not blogging, I enjoy trying to keep the kitchen smoke alarm from not going off... again, accruing fines at the library, taking random drives with my trusty Amelia (I name my car. Doesn’t everyone?), stalking other blogs, playing with babies, longing for spring, daydreaming about international travel, Panera (I learned that one from Lisa) and wandering around Hobby Lobby, pretending that I know what I’m doing there.

Mostly, I just live a quiet little life and I’m okay with that. :)

Thanks for featuring me, Lisa!

Featured Follower Friday - 1/21/11 edition

Hey! I'm starting one of those blog things... like "What I Wore Wednesday" or "Furniture Fridays" or "Multitude Mondays" or... "Transformation Thursdays" ... you get the jist.

So, every Friday, until I run out of people to feature, I'm doing a "Featured Follower Friday". Now, if you aren't technically a follower ... (I know there are people read that don't follow publicly) no problem! Anyone is welcome. Share a part of your story, write about yourself, be creative, crazy, silly, poetic, whatever - and if you have a blog, make sure to link it too! Then other people can meet you, connect to your blogs, or just find out something interesting!

Wanna participate? I'd LOVE volunteers!! But I'll ask you if you don't. :-) Don't be shy ... let me share my bloggy space. Send me a picture, email, whatever.

Don't want your name in cyberspace? We can keep it anonymous or call you "Aunt Betty" or something like that.

Now, for the first edition of Featured Follower Friday:


Hello,

My name is Jeremy and I'm Lisa's husband. Lisa asked me to write a short snippet about who I am for her Featured Follower Fridays. I am the first one to do this, and I hope that many more will do it too. I think it's a pretty cool idea.

So, since I am 'featured,' here is a little bit about me.

I am Lisa's husband, and I am our girl's father. I love them both with all my heart, and I couldn't ask for a better family. I am truly happy with my life right now.

I can't really describe myself in one word, but if I had to, the word "balanced" comes to mind.
I enjoy the outdoors; the natural beauty, the activities, the fresh air, but I am equally content with being indoors; relaxing on the couch with a cup o' coffee, playing video games, surfing the net, reading a book.
I love reading fun, fictional novels, but I am equally at home with deep, academic material as well.
I can be very serious and logical, but I can also be as silly as a teenager.
I can be as hard as stone with people and issues, but I can also be as soft as down as well.

I am originally from Ohio, and no matter where I go, Ohio will always be my home. I continue to push myself spiritually and academically (although progress has been slow as of late) and I hope to get my Ph.D in theology someday. I am very thankful family, friends, and faith communities. God knows we've needed them these past few years.

I, of course, could write much, much more and go into more detail, but I think this will suffice for now. I am working on my own website and will be launching it soon. It is a combination personal and ministry website. It will link to my blog and my reviews of just about anything, and will also feature (I hope) a podcast of biblical/theological messages that I prepare. I hope people can be informed and inspired by it.

Thanks Lisa for featuring me. I love you!

Jeremy, with his 2 kids

Ottoman Slipcover - before and after

So my dear ottoman has been desperately in need of some love.

For quite some time now, it's looked like this ...

Yes, it's been sitting in my house looking like this for a very long time!

Thanks to the dear little puppy I blogged about a year and a half ago here.

I was debating and deciding ... thinking and thinking about what to do. And finally, I found this tutorial that spurred me on this weekend. I went to Home Depot, got a $10 natural colored drop cloth, and decided to try it out.

It ends up that I used some other fabric scraps I had (can we say,"love to the remnants bin!" anyone??) to make it prettier, so I didn't use as much of the drop cloth as I originally had planned. Oh well, more for another project!!

And, here is the final product! Not perfect (I really didn't measure very carefully, but don't judge, just look at it on the whole) but I'm pretty happy with it! :-) What do you think?  

a little peek of fabric from the side

remnant L-O-V-E

Goals are good.

I'm not one for making "resolutions" and following the crowd in making (and breaking) New Year's resolutions every year.

But I recognize that you won't get where you want to go without goals ... and I think that making fresh goals is good. Good goals, reachable goals. And the start of something new (like a year) is a good time to do it - in theory. But, I fail, I forget, I go back to my (lazy?) ways. But really, I want to live well. Live on purpose. And make the most of my existence. Starting today, everyday possible, and not waste my life.

But really, this is hard to do! When I get sick (can we say 2010?), tired, caught up in the details, lazy or just plain forget, my goals fly out the window.

So, this year, I'm starting fresh and want to determine to revisit my goals every month, be accountable for them and take small, do-able steps to make my goals reality. So, if I need to revise, edit, or change my goals ... I will.

Feel free to ask, during the year, how my goals are coming. Actually, I'd appreciate that accountability with you. And I'll mention them here and there as I revisit and revise.

What are your reachable goals for 2011?

Tell me in the comments or link to your blog!


Mine:
- create a family routine in the evening, especially including the spiritual, with the girl
- join a small group (through church)
- get a job :-)
- make and use a budget
- work out 2 times a week (or more)
- meal plan for at least 2 meals a week
- send out more cards of encouragement
- thrift a couple times a month for my ultimate year-end goal, opening an Etsy shop

P.S. Rejoicing

Please, excuse my vanity, but I'm so happy ...

this morning I tried on most of my pre-pregnancy pants ...

and they FIT!

Well, not exactly the same (but can you expect them to after I looked like this?) My belly button will never be the same again, but that little lady is SO worth a stretched out belly button.

I'm just happy I don't have to buy all new clothes! Sincerely, God knows we can't afford that. :-)

Cheers!

Where We Were

my side-table makeover

the BEFORE:




















the AFTER:




















what do you think??? (and, thanks Dad, for your help on managing this before she was born!)

Linking up at Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Friday!

nursery tour ~ unedited version

i decided that if i waited to show you the nursery when it was fully put together, decorated and perfectly organized, it would never happen. (sorry, i hang out with a 5 week old all day.) so... without anymore ado, here is the nursery! small, but sweet. love it! (oh, and i just can't seem to get the color of the walls to photograph well. they always look red, but really it's a dark raspberry color.) :-) enjoy!

 


dresser: Shunk antique (refinished in white), changing pad, diaper pail, changing pad yellow terry cover: BabiesRUs, purple washable pail liner: Gro-Via, star: gift from Germany















stand: $5 Goodwill special (refinished in white), clock: Hobby Lobby, lamp: Target, vase: 75-cent garage sale special












 


rocker: Wal-mart, pillow: see previous post here, shelf: plywood painted blue, brackets from Hobby Lobby clearance
 









 

love these brackets!












 

wall graphic: Leen the Graphics Queen, crib: IKEA, sheets: Target

















cubic shelf: custom made by my dad! of plywood and white paint, baskets: Target














 

do you think this girl has enough clothes?








 

flower hook: Hobby Lobby, shelf: old shelf painted white (this is the "hairbow and other pretties" shelf)

the verge

there are moments in my life when i feel like i'm on the verge of something large. i've been living in that for the last few days, not sure of where it will take me ... hoping it could take me somewhere, but skeptically thinking, "oh, it's probably nothing." how's THAT for optimism?

i lost my job last month. i'll steer clear from this subject, but i'll just say that i need a new one. :-) (a new little girl, a husband in school, monthly rent and bills to pay for, pretty shoes to buy ... you might see why.)

jeremy says that i just need to get out and try something, but i'm a very calculating person. i think (and sometimes, think and think and think) about something before i say it or before i act. needless to say, my life normally involves very little risk. sounds like a normal "planning" personality to me, doesn't it to you? on the flip side, it also sounds like someone who doesn't want to fail at anything. trust me, i'm not used to failing. most things i'm pretty good at. and if i'm not good at it, i tend to just not do it. like playing video games vs. my husband, snow skiing and, well, anything that involves the risk of failure.

i ask God though, "i know there is something out there that would fulfill me (career wise). why don't you just show me what that would be? please?"

i feel as if i'm on the verge of the answer to that question, but then i think, "but I haven't sought God enough, i haven't prayed about it enough, i haven't sat in His presence and given it to him (at all). so, i haven't done anything right, why would 'poof' the answer be there when i have a good feeling?" my inner skeptic says, "it's nothing. forget it. don't listen."

but then i see people who've discovered their passion - and it's beautiful and messy - and it spurs me on to hope that i'll figure mine out (in a tangible way), even if it changes at different points in my life, before too much of my life is lived in only the search. in only my calculating.


Above all, remember that the meaning of life is to live it as if it were a work of art. You're not a machine. When you're young, start working on this great work of art called your own existence.
~Abraham Joshua Heschel
as quoted by Rob Bell in Drops Like Stars

2 more days.

some moments i have to remind myself to breathe - it's so strange to go into it knowing when she'll come! i'm nervous and scared and excited and CAN'T wait to get this baby girl outta me - all at the same time.

here's to praying and hoping that...
- labor is quick
- she comes without complications
- Mama doesn't freak out
- and Daddy doesn't faint on me. :-)

if you are a pray-er and would like to join us in praying for the inevitable appearance of Miss Baby Shunk, please do! Friday, Nov 5, 2010 - 7 am CST time we will be at the hospital getting prepped for induction. Please pray for the above as well as peace and health. And then, be anticipating thanking God with us!!! :-)

Can't wait to share good news.

Love,
Lisa

it's here.

d-day.
Oct. 30
the day we've been saying for 8 months.
the day i thought would be LONG after her arrival.
the day i have been waiting and waiting for.

AND I'M STILL PREGNANT, PEOPLE! :-) 40 weeks to be exact.

and this is the last prego picture of me you will see on here.



















because if she doesn't decide to come before, November 5, 2010 will be her birthday. next Friday i'll be induced at 7 in the morning and we'll have a November Mama and Baby. :-) i'd still really really really like her to come this month (less than 48 hours left, to be sure) and come naturally, but we are confident of her due date and discussed with the doctor the pros and cons of going past 41 weeks and have decided that on Friday, Nov. 5 enough will be enough.

she is VERY low (head down), i am 100% effaced and 3cm dilated, and i have still been having contractions on and off. yesterday was relatively full of them and every time I have some "regular" ones, I think, "is this it?!" and then i fall asleep and nothing happens. so still waiting for those significant call-the-doctor (!) contractions and they haven't come yet.

so hopefully today i can enjoy the beautiful leaves and weekend and wait in expectation for next Friday or before. instead of being a poor, impatient wench. haha.

Sweetie Pea, you still have a chance to come in October! That would make everyone so happy!

Will update the blog when something does happen. Never fear far-away friends, I will. :-)

oh big belly! (39 weeks)

well kids, first of all, thanks for reading this. second of all, can you believe it's the end of October?! due date is drawing near. :-) here we are at 39 weeks - I had to take the picture on a timer and, as you can see, i didn't get it quite right the first time. and the second time the angle is still not super flattering, but you can still see! the Belly is BIG.



















there we go!



















and i even am giving you a sneak peek of the nursery. but, really, i want to wait for the reveal when it's actually finished. :-) like i said before.

so baby update: no girly yet! but we are excited and ready, to say the least. i have had more contractions as of late - just nothing consistent (i.e. that would require a call to the doctor's office and a ride to the hospital). so it looks like we're at least going to make it to Sweetie Pea's due date: October 30! Never thought that would happen. :-) but we are SO thankful she is doing well and will be nice and big when she decides to join us in the outside world.

and, if she decides that she doesn't really want to ever come out, we've discussed with Dr. M that November 5 (a week after) is our best induction date. SO! sometime between now and November 5 we'll have a birthday or November 5 will be it! if it does come to induction (which I'm still praying that it doesn't - not the end of the world, I know, just want her to come naturally) - i don't know if I'll be able to sleep the night before, thinking about it knowing that it really is going to happen! huh.

so those are the thoughts - and our plans - and it truly is coming down to the end. only one more potential belly shot even possible! :-)

oh, and did i mention that i love fall? LOVE it. she is picking a good time to be born. pretty pretty pretty.

P.S. Sweetie Pea - your Halloween onesie is waiting for you to be born! you want to wear it, really you do... :-)

things i've made!

finally! I get to show you all the things I've made since getting up at 36 weeks! so excited.













i had two pillows that desperately needed some love (purple and green corduroy) - but why should I buy new pillow forms when I had pillows just waiting for me?! i wanted to coordinate some to go in the nursery - for floor pillows or a rocker filler.

(which, btw, we still need. oh, rocker, where art thou?)

the blue pillow is slipcovered - with a great blue broadcloth (a.k.a. cheap). then, i splurged on the $2.50/ea square pink wooden buttons.



















for the other, i bought a little more expensive calico - perfectly matching with the blue and raspberry nursery colors and sewed a coordinating ruffle.

have i said before? i LOVE ruffles! way, way too much.














i've been mulling over this chicken wire dilemma for weeks - and finally realized what i could try. in the picture below, you can see where the wire insert for this old nightstand (Salvation Army $5 score) came from. but i didn't just want to stick the ugly thing back in.

so, what could i do?
1) put something else in or
2) find a way to reuse the ugly chicken wire.













so, i decided that i wanted to attempt to reuse it (since it fit and all). i'd spray painted it silver just for kicks, but still didn't like it. so i took pieces of ribbon (all different textures, sizes, etc.) -- mostly from shower gifts we've gotten -- and threaded it through and wa la! i love the whimsy of it.

(when i find a small handle for the door, i'll post the entire before and after pictures. :-) this was a piece I've been holding onto for a before/after post for months ... being sick and pregnant didn't help with my ambition.)













anyone remember this post? itty, bitty (expensive!) shoes! my sweet friend Sharla led me to another tutorial for making tiny Mary Jane shoes and I've adapted it a little bit. it is difficult to sew teeny tiny things just right, so they aren't perfect, but attempting was just so fun! all you need is an 8x10 felt sheet and coordinating 8x10 piece of fabric and with this tutorial, you have it made! try it - they are SO cute!













i actually secured these polka dotted ones with a pearl and forgot to take a picture of the finished product. you get the picture though.













and these sweet shoes are my second attempt. again, not perfect, but I altered the pattern a little bit and I'm much happier with the results. OH SO CUTE! when is she coming out to wear them!?



















finally, i finished my nursing cover from prudentbaby's tutorial. it was SO easy and only took a yard of fabric, a pair of D-rings and 14" of boning. and now i'm ready to nurse in public!! or at least in a public restroom. if she would ever come. GEEZ.

here i am, pretending to hold a baby underneath but trust me, she's still happily in my tummy. not happily for the Mama. :-)

so that is my "things I've made!" post. when the nursery is finally together, I'm planning to do a walk-through too, but we aren't quite ready. ready for baby, not ready for blogging.

:-) cheers! belly picture to come soon.

38!

only a few more of these posts even possible. :-) this makes me glad. i. am. so. ready.



















and so's the Papa.













he was trying on her hooded towel for size. i told him she would be scared to look at him with that big beard-o. he thinks that's all she'll want to see.

too bad my opinion doesn't count. :-)

I've been feeling rather large lately ... and don't tell anyone, but i've officially passed up the hubs in weight. He thinks it's funny. I think it's awfully cruel. (I mean, most girls doesn't wanna weight more than their hubbins!) so despite the trauma, Baby is stretching me to undue proportions - like in church this morning, I think she was trying to stretch as far as she could. A lumpy, wide belly. A little bit weird.

So my guessed due date passed ... a couple people guessed today, Oct. 17, and nothing is happening today. My next guess is at the full moon next Saturday. We're going to walk at the dog park again and see if she doesn't want to come come come! We talked to the doctor about induction and both feel okay about inducing if she's a week late (Nov. 5). I'm still counting on her NOT being late. NO LATE BABY, PLEASE.

Praying for patience. :-) And, in the mean time, trying to stay "busy" by cooking and sewing and baking bread.

More to come! And Baby to come soon! (*we hope, we hope!*)

tidbits

hi.

- i currently have knees in my left rib. it hurts. ouch.

- it is uncomfortable to sit on the couch when knees are in your left rib.

- i am enjoying the peanut M&Ms that i bought for my husband way too much.

- i am praying for patience and trying not to be jealous that Amanda had her baby on Sunday. :-) he is just so sweet and perfect and i want to hold mine too!

- i am trying not to be annoyed with the people who keep telling me, "haha, it would be so funny if after all of this she was OVERDUE!" not funny people. NOT funny.

- my heartburn is worse the last few days. my back hurts like the dickens and i think i might have had some minor contractions last night.

- sitting at work makes my ankles to swell to husband-anxiety-producing proportions. but it's uncomfortable to lay on the couch with your feet up - when there are knees in your left rib and a back that hurts like the dickens

- my guessed "due date" (Oct. 14) is coming up soon! we'll see how close everyone was ...

oh, and has anyone noticed that i *heart* fall time? oh, i do. i DO.

the end.

37 - dum, dum, dum...

:-) here we are!



















Wow, the 36th week of pregnancy FLEW by - compared to the last several weeks of bedrest. What a welcome change! Last week I chronicled the pumpkin patch visit and this week was full of interaction with the outside world. And, thanks to God, I was able to work the ENTIRE week at work! I was sore, sore, sore the first few days/nights and was waddling due to a little bit of back pain, but overall I felt really wonderful to be up.

It won't last long, but even being able to load/unload the dishwasher without any guilty feelings was super! We have eaten at the table for the first time in a LONG time - something I really value - and I was able to cook for the hubbin. Sweet love.

Speaking of him, he got me such a special treat! I love flowers ... and he surprised me with a "getting up day" treat. Here they are! (sorry so dark ... still learning our manual camera exposure.)

Roses and peruvian lilies - a girl's best friend!



















Working has given me a sense of fulfillment that I haven't had in a few months, so I am so thankful for that!

We are impatiently waiting little Baby girl Shunk's arrival - at our weekly doctor's appointment nothing had changed from bedrest through the week that I was up. I, honestly, was expecting something to happen when my change in gravity/weight happened, but NOPE! She's just content to be inside a little bit longer. The only changes that happened were increased back/heel/rearend pain. Haha. One day she felt very, very low (pressure) but hasn't since then. So, we're not sure when she'll come. :-)

Finally, here is a little fall composition that our pumpkin patch treasures yielded. Hope you are enjoying fall as much as I am!! Oh how I love the cooler air and trees changing and thoughts of pumpkin spice lattes and, oh my! :-)













Cheers!

carpe diem - 36!

i decided to "seize the day" on Saturday - and came up exhausted! no surprise there, but we didn't take pictures ... so we snapped one today.



















It was a good day. First Sunday back at church - the new pastor and his family were there for THEIR first Sunday - and my broccoli salad was a hit at the potluck (thanks Rosa!). I'm not normally a chocolate-cherry fan, but there was a delicious chocolate-cherry cake that i nibbled on too. mmm.

After Jeremy helped unload the moving truck (big day for the pastor!) - we went on a pumpkin date. :-) He let me amuse myself by keeping it a secret, but he's good at figuring things out. TOO good sometimes. My friend, Amanda, told me about a pumpkin patch then visited, so we go to go pick out pumpkins! It was dusty and Jackson decided to roll in the dirt, but that's not unusual. Ha. We walked our way (slowly) through the pumpkins until we decided on a couple. We got 2 little ones for Jackson and the Baby - just to be funny - and walked back. It was so fun! And what a beautiful day.

Here's a peek.































Jeremy found one!













Jackson got some sun on his nose!



















and I found my pumpkin too! just as big as the belly. :-)

then we drove to Sheridan's for a latte and a pumpkin pie concrete (SOOO good!).
what a fun day!

one.day.

hi. my name is lisa. and i want to be NAUGHTY, dear friends. plain and simple. i want to say, "screw this! get on with my life already!" 

i got the dog out this morning (requires walking downstairs). jeremy said, "you're being bad!" and i shook my behind and waggled my tongue and said, "yes, i am." 

one day. 

we slept in today, got a shower and watched the Price is Right. and then i said, "what am i going to do all day!?!?!?!?" another whole day. oh, what to do?

tomorrow... the clutter will be cleaned. the trash can back in the bathroom. the tv back on the stand downstairs. the mini-fridge defrosted and put in the trunk with the borrowed microwave. no more eating in bed. no more piles of books and papers and cords and mess mess mess! 

tomorrow ... i will drive myself to my haircut! then go to Hobby Lobby. to SHOP. slowly, but shopping nonetheless. maybe i won't even be able to sleep tonight (although i hope i can - don't want to start off sick!)

i told a friend yesterday how interesting the psychology of bedrest would be. how can the first 4 whole weeks fly by and the last 7 days drag. on. forever?! it's all in my head, i know. it is. can i just sleep until tomorrow? *sigh*

enough from me today. 36 weeks tomorrow!!! c'mon Babe! I'm ready. 

HAPPY OCTOBER FRIENDS!!

a luncheon shower

oh, i work (soon to be past tense...) with some of the sweetest ladies i know and yesterday they threw a shower over their lunch break for me! still on bedrest (3 days today!), they were kind enough to come over and dish me up some lunch and (literally) open the presents for me! haha. it was so much fun to see everyone.

we squished 10 ladies in our little living room - me in the bedrest recliner - on a gorgeous fall day ... here are a few pictures from the day.





















































































we are the proud owners of a stroller! and several more sweet little things... thanks so much DWC ladies for making my afternoon!