Sweet Escape

I LOVE fruit and vegetables. I just went through my kitchen and realized that I had so many choices of fruit to eat. So, I made a little tray, things like this make me really happy. There were kiwis, grapefruits, apples, bananas, and watermelon that I didn't put on the plate.

Aren't they so pretty sitting together on the plate?

By the way, I have been keeping myself really busy last week by sewing a lot;

I made...

8 baby blankets, 9 bibs

Fixed ...

4 of my clothing

Altered...

5 boys pants with holes in to shorts

They were the kind of sewing projects that needed to be done, and I feel so good having them squared away. There are a few refashioning ideas that I have been kneading in my head for a while, I am hoping to do more creative sewing between all the things going on this week.

So, while I am enjoying the plate of fruit in peace and quiet (which is rare in my household... I mean not the plate of fruit, the peace and quiet. LOL), I am going to
plan out this week.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer, I will see you at the next post.

Spring...and About the Link Party

While I was running some errands last weekend I saw a sign of spring... I just had to stop and take some pictures.

Growing up in Japan, I always looked forward to seeing the full blooming cherry blossoms in spring. People in Japan would take a Bento and drinks to the parks, mountains, where ever you can find cherry blossom trees and have a picnic there.

My sister bought a house a few years ago by a river. I have been to this location in spring; there are 1,000 cherry blossom trees along the river bank. Can you imagine how beautiful it is too see such scenery? It gave me really peaceful and happy feeling to just sit and be there.

I saw this in the news the other day that there are about 3000 cherry blossom trees in Washington DC, and they were actually a gift from Japan 100 years ago. I can't go to Washington to just see the cherry blossom, but it is nice to know that a part of Japanese culture is enjoyed by so many people in the United States too.
Perhaps, maybe there are more cherry blossom trees where I live and I just don't know it. I think I better have some snacks with me just in case I need to break out a picnic. :)

Ok...now let's talk about the link party. You guys might have been wondering "Is she ever going to have link party?" or knowing you kind hearted Tea Rose Home readers, you might have been really understanding and patiently waiting until my series of procedures are over. Well, I have been doing some thinking, and I have to make some changes.

Yeah, I took break from hosting link parties, because it got really difficult with so many procedures and long recovery, I simply couldn't keep the regular posting dates every week.

Now though... I am taking a break from the procedures, it's not because I am doing better, but because of MASSIVE medical bills. We received a couple bills, and the first one, we know our old insurance company is supposed to pay, but they are saying that they are not responsible. The second one is for the new insurance company, and we knew we had to pay some but not that much, and we are not sure what is going on and are trying to straighten things out. Until we know exactly what is going on, we decided to take a break... sigh...

There is always a silver lining on things right? Here comes the good news. Since I am taking a break I can host link parties now!!

But, this is the part I need to talk to you about. I have decided that instead of doing the link party every week, I am only going to hold the link party once a month. As much as I enjoy the link party, hosting a link party every week, going through the links, leaving comments and writing a post every week took lots of effort.

While I was recovering I had a lot of thinking to do, and one of them was what I wanted to do with link party. I thought about it long and hard and "Once a month" that's what I decided to do. I think I need to spend more time on designing and working on my projects right now, but I really really want to keep the link party too. I felt like that was part of what makes my humble blog unique and fun.

I will host the Tea Rose Home monthly link parties on the last Wednesday of every month and I will post the link love by the weekend. I thought you could show off what you made or accomplished that month.

So, what do you say friends? Are you in? This 28th happens to be the last Wednesday of the month, so gear up and link up I am so looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to! It has been quite a while, so I will appreciate it if you can spread the word out.

See you at the link party! :)

One Year Later

March 11th is not just any other day passing through anymore. One year ago, the date held heavy and special meaning to me forever as it does to hundreds and thousands of people.

I am originally from Sendai, which was affected deeply by the 9.0 earth quake, and tsunami. Thank goodness, everyone in my family was ok, but they still live in the same area and it is less than 80km (almost 50 miles) away from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Also, they are getting minor earthquakes daily. If you are new to my blog, you can read my posts from last year after the earthquake here, here, andhere.

I just want to say thank you to those of you who ask me about my family in Japan. Right now, there is not much to say except what I wrote above. My husband and I have been trying to convince them to move out here, but they have all the reasons not to, and I don't think it is happening.

Most of the survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives, and their grant money from the government is ending. Because of the one year anniversary, there are special programs on the Japanese television and I have been thinking about what I can do to help lately...

I posted the picture on top, because that picture spoke to me so strongly among so many disaster images. That picture was taken when she was looking at the direction of her son’s kindergarten, and didn't know if he was alive or not at the time. I saw her interview a few days ago, and I am happy to tell you that she was reunited with her husband and son a few days after the photo was taken, and now they are trying to move forward. As a mother of three, I cannot imagine being in her shoes for those several days.

I am going to keep praying for the people of Japan, and hold my family a little tighter today.

I was off but, Here is What Happened...

Hi,I am back!

Before I begin my post to tell you what happened yesterday, let me say "I am so sorry!" for the confusing post yesterday. My Sweater refashion post is up today over at Me Sew Crazy, so if you haven't seen what I have done, and if you have time... Please go check it out. :)


I had a nice slow morning today. I know I need to cut back in sugar, but I couldn't help myself from the homemade sweet potato with whipping cream and some fruit for breakfast. Mmmm they put me in a really good mood.

So... some of you might be wondering, "she was supposed to have a procedure yesterday, what in the world she is doing blogging today". Yeah, that's what I am going to talk about. I was supposed to be at the hospital by 1:30, and I had my blood work done and ready. The procedure was supposed to start at 2:30, but we (Mr.TRH and I) kept waiting in the lobby... 3:30 rolls by...and shortly after that we were taken to the room to change and wait for the anesthesiologist. I thought Oh, finally!

Then... We kept waiting... Waiting...

Let me tell you, usually I have some kind of project in hand, because I hate to be bored. Yesterday wasn't an exception. While I was waiting, I finished binding a small quilt, did some crochet, and I ran out of things to do. Twiddling my fingers for few minute, I guess I fell asleep.

Then, I heard my doctor and nurses talking. I could tell that my doctor was clearly upset; they were trying to reach the anesthesiologist. Basically, the anesthesiologist was tied up in another procedure that was scheduled before mine and couldn't get out of it. Mr.TRH and I had a bad feeling and looked at each other, then, my doctor came in to tell us the bad news.

"Uh… guys, looks like we will have to reschedule, I am sorry."

I got poked once to have my blood drawn. I was buck naked underneath my unflattering hospital gown. Meditated to mentally be ready for the procedure all ready to go... but my response was, "Um...Ok." I knew it wasn't his fault, and it was getting close to 5:00. What else can you say?

It was a bit frustrating when I think about all the scheduling for kids, my in-law's that were taking care of my kids, all the friends and neighbors that offered to help out with meals, one of the first things I thought of was to call them to let them know what happened. Do you know what the second thing that popped into my mind? "They better not charge me for this!"

Seems like I had an awful day; but there were a few good things that came out of it.

I got to spend time with my Mr.TRH. We joked around with each other, laughed and talked a lot. Also, on the way to pick up the kids, he took me out for dinner. I have been fasting since the night before, I could eat a horse! The mini date was nice. :)

Also, while we were waiting in the lobby, this man with a "snack cart" came by. He was offering free drinks and snacks to people who were waiting. Mr.TRH got a small bag of chips. He offered me some too, but I said "Oh, I can't have any". Then, he told me that I could pick some for later. I was so excited, "Really? That's allowed?!" I picked V8, then an Oreo. As he was handing me them, he said "oh, you must be so hungry" and gave me three packs of Oreos. What a nice man! V8 and Oreos totally made my day, Mr. TRH should be so happy that I am easy to please. :)

Then, I ended up with a super duper strong hospital bag. When people are going to a procedure, they give you large plastic bag to put your belongings in. I LOVE this bag. It makes an awesome garbage bag. I use them when I do house cleaning/de-cluttering. I can drag it around the house, throw stuff in, and it will not break. So, I guess I am going to go through the house and clean and organize when I can until my next procedure.

That was my day. Thank you so much for the kind remarks and well wishes. I deeply appreciated them. I have a few projects to share soon, but in the meanwhile, take care of yourselves, everyone! :)

A Christmas Package from Japan

Just before Christmas, I received a package from my mom in Japan. Among many goodies for the whole family, there were two wrapped gifts just for me... do you want to guess what they were?

Ta-da!(followed by a scream of joy)



If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I have a thing for fabrics from Liberty of London. There is a fabric store in the area I used to live and they sell fabrics by "Liberty Japan". There are original designs from Liberty of London, but printed in Japan. Oh how I LOVED going to that store... While my friends spent their money on clothing or for clubbing, I spend mine on sewing books and fabrics after payday. I was one of their loyal customers. :)

Here are some of my favorites...



Most of them are 50 cm long. Right now I am just in the looking and touching stage and haven't decided what I am going to do with them. They are such precious pieces of fabrics, I have to be sure before I cut them. I had this greedy thought that I wish I had more yardage for the ones that I absolutely LOVE, so I could make some dresses or tops for this summer. (bad Sachiko, bad)

I am going to have another procedure on the 29th, so while I am recovering I will have plenty of time to think of what to do with those fabrics. When I called my mom to thank her for the package, she started crying and apologizing for not being here to help me after the procedures. I have to say it was totally her fault that I started crying too, I guess it is contagious even over the phone...

I am so grateful that she is my mother, and it is such a nice feeling to know that I have someone that loves me and cares about me even though we are thousands of miles apart from each other.

Thanks mom for the Christmas packages and so much more.

Sachiko Lately

It has been almost two weeks since the last procedure. Usually I am up and about around the house in 3-4 days and in a week or so I can handle the regular routine. Also the pain is something I can manage, not too bad.

This time it was a whole new experience. The formula the doctors used is different. With the new formula, the area that sclerosed will be permanent. My body may still form new veins, but I don't have to worry about old ones reopening. To me that is amazing news, and again, it is a testament for being hopeful paying off! Who knows, they might find a cure for me someday.

But you know what... this time the recovery is so much more painful and taking a LOT longer. The first three nights I couldn't sleep very well; I would just doze off and wake up with shocking pain. I have a bunch of DVD of Japanese TV shows I didn't have time to watch for a long time, so I just laid on the bed and watched them.

I just have to keep in mind that this treatment is permanent and take them one treatment at a time. It will be worth it right?

They found a bunch of areas that they can treat. So over the next several months, my life will be all about the procedure and recovery. Between those times, if I have some days that are good, I can use the time for my family and creating & blogging... you know, priorities.

I hope you guys will understand when you come back and my posts are little "blah".

Today, for the first time in 12 days I held the needle to start quilting the quilt above. I used a charm pack a got at the bloggers meet up in May to make this quilt. I pieced the top and basted it before the procedure, I am so glad that I have something to work on right now! Ah....I love it.
I love quilting by hand, and especially at times like this, it is so therapeutic. I am so grateful that I found something I LOVE at an early age.

Big thanks to family and friends for your lovely notes, meals and helping hands. I deeply appreciate you. Although I am enjoying the quilting, watching TV and reading books, this is the type of vacation with pain, so I don't think you should envy me. :)

This is my latest, but don't worry I am doing ok. I am keeping my wit and humor, and my spirit is high. Love you all, and I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season! Talk to you soon. :)

A Perfect Night Out

Last night, Mr. Tea Rose Home surprised me with an early Valentine date. He took me to see “Sleeping Beauty”! The kids were supposed to sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's last week but couldn’t; it worked out perfectly. Thank you Mom & Dad for watching the kids!

I have many things that I wish I could, ballet is one of those. I was so excited on the way there. I could hardly wait, in fact I might have squealed a few times.

Besides the dance, the music, the stage setting and the costumes (I was soaking up all of that), it was so nice to be away from reality for a while (you know, the dirty dishes, piles of laundry and all...) and totally immerse myself in a beautiful world.

Although, I realized I was starving after the show. I guess beauty doesn't fill my stomach... He took me to my favorite restaurant. What a nice husband.

It was the perfect, perfect evening. Thank you so much honey!

Motto to Live By

CSN store offers over 1 million products from over 200 online shops. You can find everything from bedding to cookware and wall art and decor. I have wanted to make some changes around the house and keep visiting their site. I think you will enjoy visiting them too. :)

Speaking of wall art...I recently made one for myself.

Ta-da!



If you get around in blogland, you probably have seen this type of decor. It is all over the place. I love the saying; it's simple, but so true and helpful.

One thing I know about myself is, I don't handle stress very well. So I try to keep my schedule organized, simple (if that's possible), and try not to over commit myself to things. Although, life happens. Sometimes, no matter what I do, I get overwhelmingly busy, and yes, I get very stressed out.

The saying I found last year, really helped to keep me grounded. In many occasions, I reminded myself "Sachiko, it's ok, it's not the end of the world, keep calm and carry on". Whatever serious situation or not, the saying "keep calm and carry on" really puts things in perspective for me.

One serious incident that comes to my mind is when my husband lost his job last summer. I was in shock, and scared for a bit, but I have children to take care of. Besides, being fearful doesn't help with anything. To have inner-peace, and just carry on with the things I can do in our everyday life helped to keep our family going, and made our bonds stronger. He found a new job in a little over a month, it was such a relief.

I will share another incident (not so serious, well, to me it was, but probably not to you) the saying "keep calm and carry on" helped me.

We were visiting my in-law's house, and I went to use the bathroom. I was washing my hands, and looking at myself in the mirror, when...!!!

I found my first gray hair! And there were three of them. Well, at first I thought, "No, that can't be. Maybe, MAYBE, when I colored my hair, I bleached it too much, so it turned a lighter color. Yeah, that's it, that's not gray hair."

AND, I did the thing people tell you not to when you find gray hair. I pulled them out. No, I wasn't thinking straight, don't judge me!

I had to make sure and investigate, if they are gray hair or not. My in-laws have dark cabinetry in their bathroom, so I put my hair against it. No matter how much I squinted my eyes, blinked and stared at it, it was gray hair. Gah!!!

I flushed them, got out of the bathroom, and was feeling sad.

It took me a couple days to finally tell my husband about my dark (well more like gray) secret. He thought it was so funny that it took me that long to tell him about it. He laughed "Hehehehe..." and gave me a bear hug.

Now I think of it though, it is a blessing that I got to see my gray hair. When I was born the doctors told my parents that I would not live past my teenage years, even with all the medical stuff I've been through. All in all, I am still here to see my aging process! I can't say that I am ready and bring it on, but I will remember to gracefully carry on.

My hope is that when I am old and mature, I will have beautiful silver gray hair and pretty wrinkles that only so many smiles can engrave. It will be wonderful, if I can offer wisdom to pass on to the next generation and wit and humor to lighten up a room.

I don't know what 2011 will hold for me, but whatever I do, and how I react in certain situations surely leads to what kind person I will be in the future.

"Keep calm and carry on"

Would you like to take a challenge with me?

Material Obsession 2

This book was one of my birthday presenst from my husband. I have been wanting to get this book for a while, so I was soo excited! The first thing I said though...

"Did you use coupon?"

He looked at me with disbelief "What?"

...Ok, I will shut up. It was a gift from my sweet husband, its ok if he paid full price.

I had a 33% off coupon in my purse for Borders. I should have secretly slipped that into his wallet...Oh well.

I don't really have time to sit down and read it cover to cover right now. I am enjoying looking at the beautiful pictures of quilts and dreaming of cutting the fabrics for one of the quilt I really liked. (I have no idea when that is going to happen)

I have "Material Obsession" too. I love both books! The quilt projects in those books are very inspiring and fun to look at. I really appreciate talented people like them. I am 99.9% sure that they don't read my blog, nor don't even know that I exist, but I want to say "Thank you for sharing your talents! I am a big fan!"

Thankful...

First of all, I want to thank all of you who participated in the Thanksgiving giveaway! I read all the "Blessings" in your lives, and they are amazing. Many people are grateful for their spouses, children and friends. Also, there are quite a few people who were able to find something to be thankful for in difficult circumstances. Thank you so much for sharing your stories, and for being an inspiration.


I have so much to be thankful for. Sure, life gets crazy sometimes; I have locked myself in the bathroom for about 5 minute or so to get a moment of Zen in the past (it happens less frequently now). There are ups and downs and meltdowns too.

But I know I have FAR MORE blessings than I can count and far more than those difficult times. Let me share some of the blessings I recognized this year...

I am thankful for "cause" and "effect". Along the way, I always learn something...



I am thankful for ENTHUSIASM. It reminds me that I should be excited about the little things and enjoy the moment...


Although, I am thankful for stillness too. When I take time to do so, I can see the sweet and wonderful things in my life more clearly...


I am thankful for INDIVIDUALITY that makes us unique and makes the world an interesting place to live in.


I am thankful for LOVE and LAUGHTHER; they truly strengthen and enrich my life.


I am thankful for HOPES & POSSIBILITIES. They keep me going through the tough times. I will look ahead and wonder about the possibilities, and hope for the best.


Above all, I am thankful for the Gospel and our Lord Jesus Christ. They glue us together as a family and show us how to live in these uncertain times.

I hope everyone will have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Note: These wonderful pictures were taken by my friend, Michelle. She is an awesome photographer. Please go check out her blog.

My Long Excuse

Oh, let me tell you what happened to our family this week...

Our minivan was having problems lately (again), last week I took the car in to the dealership, and they told me that it will cost us a little over $700.00. Now, this summer alone we spent over $3000.00 on the car. I was thinking to myself, "REALLY?!! AGAIN?!!" The car is a 2003 model and we bought it new in 2004, but after a while it became nothing but problems. We always take care of our cars, tire rotations, oil changes and all the other maintenance required. It was a BIG lemon. I told them that I will discuss this with my husband and return in a few days.

Well, on Monday, we were supposed to go to this fund raising dinner for a local school marching band. On the way there, the car started doing something weird. The heat level kept rising... We stopped the car on the side of the road, and after a while we started the car. Again, the heat level started rising. We repeated that several times and decided to turn around and go back home. Stop and Go, Stop and Go... and all of a sudden we started seeing smoke coming out from the hood...

After that, my husband and my oldest son (9 years old) got out of the car and started pushing. It was over a mile! Thankfully, some very kind motorcyclists stopped and helped push us home. I am extremely thankful for them!

After we got home, we took the other car and went to the fund-raiser, but we got home a lot later than our original plan, and we were all so exhausted... but we decided not to waste any more money on that car and just buy a new one. We were up late and started doing research on which minivan to buy.

The next day, after my husband got off of work, we went car shopping. We went to a couple car dealers, and by the time we decided to buy, we had a looooong discussion and negotiation process. By the time we got the paper work done, it was after 10:30 P.M.! Again, we were sooo exhausted.

We hope this car will last at least 12 years for us(I am crossing my fingers!). It was a long week, but we are all well and happy.

Long story short, all the above are the reasons (or excuses) for why I don't have any decent posts today. :) I hope you all understand.

Have a happy weekend!

I am back!

Some people might have guessed by the pictures from my last post... that's right my family has been gone the entire week last week! We went to Disneyland! At one point we thought that we might have to cancel the family vacation, but thankfully, my husband got a job offer soon enough that we were able to carry on with our plans.

We visited Disneyland for two days. I did some research on what to do and which attractions are fun for my kids' age group and such.

We attended the Jedi Academy... the boys were lucky enough to be picked to be young Jedis...


Rachel got to see her most favorite princess, Ariel, and take pictures with her and got her autograph. She was in heaven! (According to Michael, these princesses freaked him out. I asked him why. His ansewer: "Too much makeup!")


There was so much to see, and so much to do. There was no way that we could cover the whole park in just two days. Although, we were able to hit most of the attractions and rides we wanted to experience. We all had a blast.

 
The second day, we saw the fireworks and fantasmic (light and water show at night). I espescially loved the fireworks. Watching that I understood why people keep going back to Disneyland.


We also went to a beach. I lived closer to the beaches until I moved to Utah. Sitting at the beach, watching the waves, and feeling the wind made me realize how much I miss being near the ocean.




   
The rest of the week, we played in the pool at the hotel we stayed at, had dinner at Mideval times (Dinner & show where mideval knights wwould fight, and show off their skills, the kids LOVED this too).

Also, my husband totally dedicated one day for me to do a Japanese store shop-hop. That was so sweet of him! There are many Japanese grocery stores and book stores in the area. Oh... I was in heaven!!! I love books, and I read some books in english, but it's nothing like reading a book in your own language. In Utah, there are no Japanese book stores. If I buy them online, the cost of shipping is more than the actual price of the book.

I went to three Japanese book stores and one of them was a very large chain used-book store that I used to go to with my mom and my sister. I always have stack of books by my nightstand to read. There I found many books that I wanted to read for $1 each! I was soo excited!

Eventhough I love where I live now, I really wished that I could live right next to the beach and the Japanese bookstores.

On Saturday, we got home at 3:30 AM. And by late afternoon, we headed out to our Fourth of July family picnic.

We were sad to see our fun family vacation come to an end. Although, as I was tucking Rachel in bed she said "I missed my bed..."; I felt the same way. It is good to be home.

I guess we can enjoy our vacation because we know we have a place to go home to.

I Have Been Playing...

I have been playing lately with my kiddos.

I have taken pictures of their findings:

 
I've played with Rachel's hair more


Playing in the sand (this picture is Rachel's art work, I don't know what it is though)


No sewing this week, part of me is antsy that I am not sewing. Although, I know my sewing machine will be there next week, but these moments with the kids won't.

I am gonna keep playing until next week; I have a great idea for the month of July, so come back to see what I am up to soon. Have a great holiday weekend!

Life's Curve Ball

Several posts ago, I mentioned that sometimes life throws a curve ball... and I said that I hope I can laugh about it someday. Well, I will share our experience with you today.

At the end of May, my husband lost his job. The company he was working for decided to close the office in this area. All the people in the same department were let go. Wow...

I had a precedure the week before, so he was working from home to take care of me, and the day the lay off happened he went to work not knowing that it was going to happen.

I was resuming my regular daily routine, then, around the noon, the phone rang...

My husband: Hi hun...I don't have job anymore.

Me:....(ok, my brain was tryiing to process what I just heard and decide, either he is joking or if he is not joking, what to say)

Husband: Umm... are you there?

Me: yeah...really? Why?


What made it harder was, two days before the lay offs, we planned our first Disneyland trip, got reservations, AND told the kids about the special family vacation we are doing. Talk about curve balls, if we would have known, we certainly wouldn't have planned the trip, nor would we have told the kids about the trip.

We had a family conference that afternoon, and told our kids what was happening.

husband: Well, I have something very important to tell you... I don't have a job anymore.

Michael: What!? You lost it!!? (As if he had lost a set of car keys.) How!?

Husband: Well, they closed down the office.

Michael:(his eye were looking somewhere in the air) Are we poor now?

Me: Not now, but if he can't find job, we might become poor.

Then we had to tell them that we probably won't be able to go to the Disneyland, and we have to cut back our spending and pray that daddy will find new job soon.

Michael was thinking about something and shouted, "How about BEST BUY?" at first we looked at each other and thought that "What is he talking about? Is he ok?", then, it came to me that there is a girl, he liked in his class, whose dad works at BEST BUY. He was trying to help find work.

Over the next few days, Michael would call out random company names to his daddy he probably heard on commercials and stuff to see if he could work there. He even told him that may be he could become a "bug killing guy".

They were disappointed about not going to Disneyland, but I think they were more worried about becoming poor and being homeless. I found out from my mother-in-law that, Michael even asked her if it would be ok for us to move in with them; if his daddy couldn't find a job.

They were all very helpful, if they wanted something at the store, and I say no, they didn't complain. I even told them that there were extra chores around the house for them to earn money. I am not paying until daddy gets a job, but they were understanding. Every morning and night, they prayed that their daddy would find a job soon.

My husband's persistant job search, lots and lots of friends' help, recommendations, and many other peoples' prayers (Thank you everyone!!), I am so happy to say that he got job offer today!

We had another family conferance today.

husband: Well, kids, I want to say thank you for your help and prayers over the past few weeks. Today, I got a job offer.

Michael: They gave it to you?!! (As if they returned his lost car keys)

husband:(chuckle) yes they did, and we are going to Disneyland this summer.

Kids:YEAH!!!!!!! (they were jumping up and down in their chairs as they clapped their hands.)

I know we are very fortunate to find a job so quickly in this economy. Life's curve ball came as a shock to us, but I am so grateful that we didn't have to worry for a long time. Although, this experience definately brought us closer as a family; and I know for sure that the kids appreciate thier daddy even more. Because of his hard work, love, and devotion for our family, we have food on our table and clothes on our backs and much more.

Father's day is coming up. I saw Michael writing a letter to his daddy in his room tonight. Chirstopher was asking his daddy what his favorite candy bar was with his piggy bank in his hand( talk about being sneaky and subtle). My husband and I looked at each other and smiled.

Oh, and Rachel told him that she wants to marry him when she is older. That totally melted his heart, and I know that effect will last for many Father's days.

I am going to spend lots of time with my family and I am gonna plan a special Father's day dinner for him.

Everyone, have a happy Father's day!

Note: I will post "Link Love" on Monday. Come back to see me! :)

New Hair Accessories

Thank you all for leaving comments on the "What made you happy lately" post. I really enjoyed reading them. Your comments made me happy! I actually needed them last week.

Two days after my husband got back from Norway, my body decided to crash. I started having fevers (it lasted for four days, so I had to cancel the procedure I was scheduled for), I had side effects from the medicine I was taking for that, so I started taking different medicine. Since then, I have developed massive headaches... I still did things around the house, but it was a rough week for me.

However, that didn't stop me from sewing and crafting. I didn't do anything major, but I was making some new hair clips and brooches. I will share some of them...

This is one of my favorites. On the back, it has a hair clip and pin. I love things that have multiple uses!


I made this for my little girl, who is going to start kindergarden this fall. I thought, it would look nice with her uniform. Guess where I got this ribbon from... It was a handle on a paper bag from GAP. I loved the color combination so much that I had to use it for something.


I was playing with this ribbon, and came up with this. Totally random.


This is one of my favorites; I love how the flowers look so round and full!


The last one, that I LOVE... is a little different than my usual color scheme. Don't you think these colors are so yummy?


I also, started working on a tutorial, If you liked the Ruffle shirt tutorial, you might like this one as well... hopefully, I can share it with you all at the end of this week.

I am planning to do a link party this Wednesday! So, make sure to come back and link up. It will be fun!

Simple Pleasures

I want to write about my life lately...what happend and what I learned.

My husband left the country on a bussiness trip on April 10th. He was supposed to be back on the 16th but that didn't happen. Guess why... (he was in Oslo, Norway.)

He called me few days before his return date and said

"Hey, I don't think I will be home on Friday."

I saw the news that morning, and I had a bad feeling about it when he said that, but I had to ask, "why?"

Those of you who didn't hear what happend in Iceland... a volcano erupted and the wind was blowing so much ash and particles in the air. They are harmful to airplanes. All the airports were closed, and thousands of people were stranded. They had no idea when the sky wwould be clear enough to fly. Everyday, he would call me and told me the latest, but because they were dealing with nature, no one could predict what was going to happen for sure.

At one phone call, he told me that earliest he might be able to come home will be in May! I was so worried about him, also, I was really thinking about how much he helps me day to day around the house and with raising our children. Doing everything alone can be very tiring sometimes.

On the 17th, I took the kids to the park and lost my cell phone. That did it. I was officially one very sad person.

Loosing my cell phone seems like it's not such a big deal, but I had my contacts in the cell, also I thougt there is one less way that he can reach me. I had a good cry that night.

The next day, he called and told me that he and his co-workers are flying to Iceland and coming home. I know, why Iceland?! That is the place that caused all of the problems! He told me that they will fly north over the volcano and be on the opposite side of where the wind was blowing all the ash and spend the night in Iceland.

Long story short, he finally came home on the 21st safe and well. I was so relieved and happy. There were still more people stuck there and couln't come home by the time he got back. I heard that some people even ran out of money and were struggling too. I hope the ash will disperse soon and everyone can go home to their loved ones.

My mini crisis was only 11 days total. Since he called me to tell me that he doesn't know when he will be coming back, my thoughts went out to those who are single mothers or their husbands are serving our country overseas. If you are one of those women, I want to ask, "How do you do it?" I gained tremendous respect for those of you who stay strong and keep going. I pray for all of you...

The evenig he got back, the sun was still out, the kids were playing in the back yard. Michael and Rachel found some flowers and gave them to me.

"Here mommy!"

I put them in the water and took some pictures to remember how happy I felt. The kids were so excited to see thier daddy. They were all over him and basically I had to get in line to talk to him.

We may not be rich and famous, but everyone is well and happy. The moment was just so... perfect. The 11 days reminded me that you never know what will happen tomorrow, so I need to cherish today and let them know how much I love them. I guess sometimes we easily forget that those everyday simple moments are the most precious gifts that we possess.

Some Random Pictures and Thoughts

These are the Roses my husband and kids gave me on the Valentine's day. I cut the stem little by little and enjoyed the flowers for a long time. I even enjoyed the petals too... I don't have a green thumb, but I love having flowers around the house.

It's very therapeutic...

After a few days of warm weather, all of a sudden it started snowing like crazy yesterday. Hmm... Times like this, the kids get sick easily. During these transitional stages, we need to dress flexiblely. Part of me will miss the winter season, but I know I am ready for the warm weather.


Rachel is in her favorite dress and the scarf that I made (looks crocheted, but it is actually a fabric. I just crocheted the edge.)

Right now, I have so many sewing and craft ideas I want to do in my head. It is just not happening at this moment, but I will share some of it this coming week with you all. Meanwhile, I wish you all well and have a nice weekend!

Tea Rose Home in a Bed and Breakfast

Posted by Mr. Tea Rose Home on behalf of Mrs. Tea Rose Home.

Hi everyone! I know I usually update my post on Fridays. Today's post is a little boring, so bear it with me. I went in to the hospital to get a procedure done this morning. Even though I'm home, I can't do much right now. For those of you who are new to this blog you might be wondering, "What procedure?".... No I didn't get plastic surgery or anything like that to improve future pictures of me. If you want to find out go here, it will explain a little of my condition.

The procedure is pretty routine for me, so I am OK. Besides, Mr. Tea Rose Home is taking good care of me. I should be able get up and resume my regular schedule sometime next week.

Meanwhile, It is the perfect time for me to catch up on my reading and I might be having a breakfast in bed. So I can't complain.

So Everyone, Have a nice weekend and see you all next week!

Mr. Tea Rose Home: Well that's it folks, I guess I have to try and figure out what to do for breakfast. "Honey! Where do you keep the milk!?"