merry christmas to alll

I have come to realize that I definitely need to keep up with my posts more often. Since the last post, I have been pretty busy....for one the new county job is starting to take over my life. Working 9.5 hours is something that I am NOT used to at all. But the great thing is that I have Fridays off, which should be deemed as my "Craft Days". So just recently I've created a few new things. I've made a couple more scarfs, some earrings, and also some more hair pieces. And about a month ago, I received an order for some baby blocks with bells inside for a baby girl, which are absolutely fun to make. To go even further back, I also received an order from one of my Aunt's for the entire baby collection for a girl, and that too came out absolutely wonderful.

In my previous post, I had mentioned that I wanted to buy some of the blackboard vinyls, and sad to say, I still haven't done so yet. Darn! But I do indeed plan on buying them the beginning of next year. I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and keep a lookout for new items in my Etsy Shop.

when there's an ending there's another beginning....

So recently, maybe about a month ago, I applied for a county job with the referral from a friend. I was invited to do the computerized assessment and was called in for not 1, not 2, but for 3 different interviews for 3 different programs. Long story short, one of the interviews liked me and offered me a position as an eligibility technician. For those who don't know, an ET interviews applicants to see if they qualify for public social services. This new position is extremely exciting to me because my major is social work and I will be working alongside social workers. So how I see it....I'm going to get paid to work and gain more knowledge.

I already put in my two weeks to my boss and I'm sad to be leaving this place since I've been here for 4 years. It's crunch time to find someone to take my position and I hope they will live up to my boss' expectations. The earliest I would begin is December 1st. And I am happy to say that my hours will change to a 10/40 schedule, 4 days Mon-Thur 10 hour shifts. Which means I will have Fridays off. Which means more projects I can complete....yay. I have a couple of things in mind I want to do, but first off I need to get organized.

I have decided to purchase a few of these. Chalkboard vinyl panels. At first I was thinking a white board but my walls are already white and since the color scheme of my room is black and maroon, chalkboard seemed to be the more logical choice. The panels have a sticky back and I'm debating on placing them directly on my walls or putting them in a frame and hanging it on my walls.

This product can be found on JanDeeCrafts Etsy Page.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope to be posting more in the future. As some of you may agree being a full-time student and working full-time doesn't really allow much time for fun crafting. Be sure to stop by my Etsy page too....StoryIsEverlasting. Thank you.

xoxo

the latest projects completed...

After completing my "baby shower collection" gifts, I grew a fond of sewing. It was definitely not something that I had anticipated, but I became intrigued by taking simple items and creating beautiful finished products. I posted a few pictures of the "baby shower collection" on Facebook and have been asked to complete a collection for a baby girl. I feel so bad since it is taking me awhile to complete because I am so busy with school. But it is my goal to begin sewing tomorrow. My first baby collection was for a boy and I'm very excited to do this next collection for a girl.

In addition to the "baby shower collection", I was asked by Erica's mom to make a door draft stopper. She already had one but it was getting old. Erica and I made a trip to LA on October 8th to go look for some fabric. Unfortunately because it was a Saturday, not many fabric vendors were open, but nonetheless we were able to find what we needed. We found a beautiful maroon with palm trees for the door draft stopper and I found the printed fabric I wanted to use for the baby collection. On top of that, I offered to make a baby parrot tutu for my baby cousin Taylor. Taylor's older siblings were going to be pirates for Halloween, and Erica suggested having Taylor be the parrot. So my thinking cap came on and I decided it would be cute if Taylor used a tutu with just a red top. So on my trip to LA I also bought red, yellow, blue, and green tulle and ribbon. Below are pictures of the completed projects.

Here are a few pics of the tutu. I have no idea why they are all sideways. Sorry but I guess you'll just have to tilt your head to get the right view. 

Here are pics of the door draft stopper for Erica's mom. I must say she loved it greatly too. :)

And here is a single picture of Susan's door draft stopper.

I am so excited on how wonderful everything is turning out. For Halloween, Erica and I were Mr. Fredrickson and Russell from the movie Up and I made a bow-tie for Erica. The first one I made was way too small and I didn't want to throw it away.....so this is what I did....





I secured the bow in my hair with bobby pins. And the creation of a new idea....with my extra scraps of fabric I will use them for bows. :)

Thank you for reading my post and make sure to check in every once in awhile. I have also been graphic designing birthday cards and invitations. That will be a new post in the future.
I have also created my own Etsy shop where my items are on sale. Please feel free to browse by clicking on the link...Story Is Everlasting

xoxo

homemade baby shower gifts...

This past Saturday I attended a friend's baby shower. She being very creative herself (her blog is {Love:Sparkle:Pretty}, I figured it would be fitting to be creative on her baby shower gifts. For about a full day, I searched and searched online for ideas one what I could make for her and her little man Levi. A few projects I was interested in were burp towels, bibs, and soft block toys with bells inside. I took a trip to the fabric store and was overwhelmed with excitement to find so many cute little boy patterns.

Then it came time to sew everything together. The only setback was....I didn't know how to sew. So with a little crash course from my mommy, I decided to start with the burp towels first since it was just straight line sewing. And here is how they came out. One side is a cute pattern print and the other side is a complimenting color in terry cloth.

Next I worked on the soft block toys. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the blocks completely finished, but here is a picture of one without it being stuffed, and a few scraps of fabric laying around.

Lastly, I put my sewing skills to the test and tried sewing bibs. The first one didn't turn out so well, it was too small, but perfection takes practice. Here are two pics on how they came out:

And instead of purchasing a card, I decided to make the card for her. Here is how it came out with the envelope:

 I "stole" this picture from Kayla's facebook. But thought it would be cute to include the 3 of them.

In addition to the burp cloths, soft block toys, and bibs, my mother made a blanket for the new baby Levi. Again I didn't take a picture of the blanket alone, but it came out wonderful. Instead of putting Levi's gifts in a gift bag Erica and I decided to put it into a basket. A quick trip to the thrift store and we found the perfect basket to fit everything. And here is a layout of everything: (here you can see the blocks and the blanket)

And as much as I hoped, the mommy-to-be enjoyed every bit of it. Thank you Kayla for letting Erica and I be apart of your wonderful baby shower.

progress....

I believe it was a couple of weeks ago I posted about a life-fulfilling experience. Well here is an update on my progress. If you have not read already, I am putting together a fundraiser where proceeds will benefit the Pasadena Ronald McDonald House. Since my family has been bowling for years we figured it would be a fun event to have is be a bowling fundraiser. I contacted multiple bowling centers for pricing and to see if they would be able to accommodate my requests. Luckily, Brunswick Classic Lanes quoted me a reasonable price that includes the bowling, shoes, pizza, and soda. (Next week I will discuss the final details with the event coordinator and put it into the books.)

So the flyers have been created and so has the Facebook page Bowling for Ronald McDonald House. If you click on that page, and look under events there are details about the bowling fundraiser. Next, my family tried to decide how we could also increase revenue for the RMH. We came up with the idea where volunteers will wear custom screen-printed shirts during the event (so people can locate them for assistance) and will also take any orders to purchase the shirts. Also we will be holding a raffle so people can purchase tickets for a variety of prizes.

When dealing with the raffle, it was evident that we needed assistance from our friends and the community to donate anything they can. So far we have received donations of gift certificates to restaurants, hair salons, and 2 skateboards are being donated. I drafted a donation letter last week and mailed them about to about 30 businesses and also emailed a few companies. Hopefully within the next week I will receive a response. I know that I have about 2 months until the fundraiser, but the Capricorn inside of me can't stand to do things in the last minute.

So flyers are done, and donation letters are sent out. Then I began to think about the future. I am hoping to have an annual bowling fundraiser, but wanted to come up with some sort of organization where we can donate to the Make-A-Wish foundation. The Ronald McDonald House and the Make-A-Wish foundation are two things that are dear to my family. Although we were not able to grant my sister's wish due to her passing, my family is grateful for being considered. After deliberating the thought of creating an organization, my family has agreed to come up with "Kanani's Dreamz" (here is the link: Kanani's Dreamz). Our mission is to assist families with ill-children. Although Kanani was not able to fulfill her dreams, we hope to assist other children to fulfill theirs.

Yes all this is very stressful. Especially since I will be starting school again next week. But when I close my eyes to breathe, I remind myself that I'm making progress...

Poetry

Dropped from the face of the earth
Without a warning left to parish.
Why does it feel like I've been here before?
What is this feeling?
It's recognizable but at the same time I'm in denial.
Denial that history doesn't always repeat itself.
I feel warm blood through my veins
But my heart is as cold as ice.
Time stops, the room is silent.
Mind is racing, but I can't move.
I'm afraid to move because
In one instant my heart of ice will break.
So what now? What do I do? How do I survive?
I breathe. Inhale and exhale.
Eventually, one day...
My heart will be warm again.

life-fulfilling experience...

I read my older posts and so happened to come across this one..."half the year has gone by...". for awhile I've been having this need for wanting to do something great. I want to be able to somehow enlighten someone's life and in turn enlighten my own. So, I returned to school to become a social worker. Although, once I have my degree I will be able to help people, it still didn't feel as if it was enough. I want to do something now. Why wait until I graduate?

On August 12, 2011 (my sister's birthday), I was filled with emotions the whole day. I have no idea how this idea came about, but I decided to put on a fundraiser. Initially, I wanted to fund raise for City of Hope since that is where my sister received her care. Finally receiving a response from the Event Department after two weeks, the guidelines and applications were more fitting for an established organization. Next I contacted the Pasadena Ronald McDonald House where my family pretty much lived while my sister was receiving her care. The house manager was extremely nice and the guidelines for donating funds was not as cumbersome as City of Hope.

So here I am, into the 2nd half of the year and I start school next month and will be hosting my first fundraising event in November. The question that lingers is....will it be enough? I know the event is still months away, but I have a feeling this is the life-fulfilling experience I've been searching for.

I will make sure to keep posting on updates for the fundraiser. This is the link to the facebook page...only temporary for now to promote the fundraiser. Bowling for Ronald McDonald House - please like my page and if possible participate in the 1st Annual Bowling Fundraiser

Time to make this happen...

the bucket list

so yes i'm going to start writing (well typing) my "BUCKET LIST" now. that way once a task is completed i can just update this darn thing.

Travel:
- New York (but will def go again)

- Miami
- Cruise (to Mexico and the Carribean)
- Euro / Mediterranean Trip (Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Madrid, Amsterdam, London)
- see the Niagra Falls
- Seattle
- Bora Bora / Fiji / Aruba (either one of those will do)
- go to Lake Havasu or Lake Tahoe
- Yellowstone Park
- club it up in Vegas (for Kayla's 21st birthday 11/11-11/14/10....definitely doing it again)
- DisneyWorld
- San Diego Zoo / Wild Animal Park
- Legoland (Didn't go....but realized it's the same price as SeaWorld and more expensive than the SD Zoo.....so yup scratch that)
- stay in a beach house for a weekend or a week
- stay in the following Vegas Hotels: (Bellagio, Paris, Venetian, Pallazo, Wynn, Mandalay Bay, MGM, Treasure Island, Mirage, Monte Carlo, Hard Rock Hotel, Aria, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan)
- go to New York for NYE and Fourth of July
- go to Canada

Sports:
- Laker game (many more to come in the future)

- hmmm....a playoff Laker game (yesh!!!!)
- go to the Laker Parade

- baseball game (my goal to go once every season)
- hockey game (been before but wanna go again)
- soccer game
- football game (didn't happen in 2010 so let's try this again)
- Olympic Games....we will meet one day
- US Open (it's Tennis ya'll. went to a lil preview in NY but i wanna be there for a match)
- watch Golf live in person
- go to the FIFA World Cup
- bowl another 700 series (oh please happen one day)

Entertainment:
- go to a rap/hip-hop concert (Lil Wayne and Jay-Z)

- how about traveling to another state for a concert

- attend all midnight showings for the Twilight Saga (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn)
- see at least 1 movie in 3D IMAXX
- Justin Bieber concert =)

- front row / floor seats to a concert ( Justin Bieber, Rihanna)
- Wicked
- The Lion King Broadway

- Beauty and the Beast Broadway
- Phantom of the Opera
- Blue Man Group
- Carrie Underwood
- Rihanna

- StageCoach
- Rascal Flatts
- watch 3 movies in one day - at a movie theater
- see ANY Cirque Du Soleil

Dare-Devilish Endeavors:
- skydiving
- parasailing
- surfing
- snowboarding
- scuba diving
- go hiking
- zip lining
- touch the water of a waterfall
- some kind of adventure walk through the jungle (you can blame this on LOST)
- dye my hair red (this is something that probably wont ever happen)

- touch a stingray and a shark
- have a parrot sit on my hand
- take a picture with a monkey
- swim with dolphins
- dance on top of the table like i just don't care

Oh the things I want:
- purses (Coach, Dooney&Bourke, Louie V)
- iphone (iphone4 fa sho :]]]]])
- finish college (yes yes yes....just started back up again)
- get a tattoo in Vegas

The Little Things That Count and Other Stuff:
- do something for someone else that I wouldn't do for myself
- surprise someone with a gift they really wanted (bought a friend Rihanna tickets)
- have a family picture in the living room
- buy someone who's homeless a meal
- take pictures and send out christmas cards
- watch a concert/sports game from a luxury box
- stay up for 24 hours (Black Friday 2010 - shopping in the morning and then casino right after with fam)
- host a charity event

summer breezin

so now that I finished my online class....I would like to say that I passed with a B. yay for me!!! since my last post (although it was about a month ago), I feel as if I have grown up a bit. not saying that I was completely immature before, but I officially now have a sense of independence. I somewhat have a sense of what makes Anela happy. and a main factor that contributes are those who support me. they are the people that know and understand who I truly am and why I am the way I am. in life one will run into very few of these "special" friends....the mission is to try to keep these friends around.

over the past couple of weeks I have been filled with ambition. I've been enjoying my life as a stepping stone towards success and suddenly have this strong urge to help people. I have always wanted to do something for charity, specifically dealing with cancer, and it's now going on my bucket list. which I will post my bucket list after this post.

but moving away from talking about myself....last night I went to the Orange County Fair with Erica and a good friend Betty. Betty is definitely one of those "special" friends that you never want to let go. all 3 of us together is guaranteed a time full of laughter and also deep conversation. here are a couple of pics from last night and might I say....the Ice Museum is amazing!!!

         Pretty Ice Reef                       My Name on Ice      

half the year has gone by.....

...time to take on the rest of the year!!!

so where do I go from here? first year of college is done and now it's summer time. granted I am taking an online summer class, it's not like it's interfering with my life.

when the last day of June arrived I had this weird feeling inside. I realized that half the year has gone by. and then I kept repeating it over and over in my head "half the year has gone by" , "half the year has gone by", "half the year has gone by". and then the dreadful question came up.....during the first half of the year have I accomplished anything? well the answer is 'yes' because I completed my first step of finishing a year of college....but it's not enough. the satisfying feeling of being one step closer to my goal was not enough.

so I have reached this point of thought....what will I do for the last half? and will it be ENOUGH???

flower power

As stated before, I purchased a flower from my friend's Etsy shop {Love:Sparkle:Pretty}. Her items are feminine, vintage, and has the right touch to make any girl feel beautiful. I had asked her if she could make me an ivory flower with lace and feathers. She had an item similar to my request already listed, but I asked for a few additions. For the center, I wanted something that sparkles and wanted two ivory/white feathers to come out from the base of the flower. [picture below]

{the excitement on my face was unexplainable}

 

{with every order Kayla writes a little note to the customer}



{here i am with my beautifully made flower}



Thank you so very much Kayla....this will be perfect for a wedding I will be attending in November.

xoxo

all the reason to smile

so i must say that this week has been great so far.

finished my finals and so that means spring quarter is over and i completed my first year back in school. yay for me. and on top of that...i believe i finished this quarter with all A's. [i hope, i hope, i hope]

so my lovely friend Kayla opened up her own etsy shop. [Love, Sparkle, Pretty] and she has some really creative ideas. i love her handmade flowers and placed an order for a custom flower. so anxious for it to arrive. :)

and yesterday my brother got his first tattoo (and he's only 17). but not i really feel like he's growing up. so proud of him!

but now it's back to some stressing. although spring quarter is over i'm taking a 6-week online summer class on anatomy & physiology--->difficult!!!!

wish you all a wonderful weekend.

xoxo

all I see are $ signs...

i must say this past weekend was simply amazing.

friday - take off for Vegas with the top down all the way. and yes it was soooooo hot. but with the wind blowing through my hair and music playing the 3.5 hour trip seemed like only 2 hours. check into our hotel at the Silverton and then dead to Downtown Vegas for some Hawaiian grub....mmmm mmm mmmm good!!! and then head back to Silverton for some gambling. then it's nite nite time.

saturday - welp since we bowled at 8:30 in the morning it was a must to wake up early. i must say i shot alright...193, 225, 196....finished off with a 719 with handicap. not to shabby i must say. so yup bowling was done, went down to the casino to gamble a bit. and of course lost some money. hehehehe so yay...it's about time for the meeting. let me just throw some numbers out there for ya....$209, $242, $25, $315, $300. add that all up and that's what i won. so yay to me for being the big winner. :) so after i treated my team and family out to lunch. then went to go visit erica's parents at excalibur. stayed to gamble for a bit and of course lost. so we head to the cosmopolitan and ooooo i love it. walk to paris to buy me an Eiffel tower cup. cup was cute-the drink was nasty!!! go back to the silverton to gamble with my family and have some dinner at the buffet which was free. and then it's nite nite time.

sunday - today we slept in a bit which was soooo nice. go to downtown again for some grub and gamble a bit. oooo that was fun. finally head out around 12 noon and of course we hit traffic. we stop at stateline for a potty break which turned into gambling for my dad and shopping for my mom, erica, and i. i felt a little generous so yup i bought my mom a coach purse. after shopping erica and i decide to leave. driving home and i did hw the entire time. 5pm - game time. listened to the game over the radio. actually make it home in the last minutes of the 4th quarter....congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks. :) and hahahahah LeBron!!!! after the game erica and i took my brother out to dinner. was looking forward to Panera buuuuuut it was closed....so we settled for Islands. get home and finished typing up my papers. yikes....then it's nite nite time.

overall i had an awesome weekened and thank you to everyone that was a part of it. i love my family, erica, and my team. you guys are amazing. <3

Some kind of wonderful....

So there are the little things in life that can cause happiness. Overall I would have to say today was highly enjoyable.

First step...drive to Starbucks to meet my friend Jenessa to work on a huge paper for one of our classes. I went to go buy a reusable cup and ordered a drink as well as a pastry. Welp my total was only $6.10. And mind you...the cup alone was $12.95. Big Smile #1.

After working on the assignment for hours, Jenessa and I head to one of our professor's house for a fundraiser for the social work club. It involved personalizing our own t-shirts which I forgot to buy. However I was able to enjoy the company of other social work majors. Big Smile #2.

So it's bowling time. Made it there a little early so automatically put my head in to studying. Received some of our Vegas money early and won a sidepot. Plus I know I am a grown adult but my mom said she did some of my laundry because she knows I have been so busy studying. Big Smile #3.

Bowling is complete and Erica asks me to come over to spend some time with her family. In complete honesty I didn't want to go over. But it was nice to just get away from the books for a bit and relax. Plus her brothers love me. Big Smile #4.

I finally get home and in my yard is a little bunny. A nickname I had for my sister was "Bunnies" and I truly believe that she was paying me a little visit. Big Smile #5.

Walk into my room and my bed is made with this little note. Big Smile #6.

there truly are little things in life that bring a smile to my face.

new camera = new adventures

in high school i loved photo class. the process of shooting pictures, developing the negatives, and then enlarging them in a darkroom was sooooo intriguing. you just never knew what your artistic side captured until the end of the film. and now a days with digital cameras you can easily review the snapshot and if you don't like it....DELETE. but it takes away the curiosity of what was actually captured.

so this is my new camera that my wonderful dear bought for me from Urban Outfitters. I heard about these cameras but didn't really think much of them. Then I started seeing pictures posted all over the web and I was sold.  The difference between these cameras and your regular disposable cameras is that how the camera is structured allows light leaks to develop in pictures. (Light leaks are create streaks of light and makes pictures unpredictable.)

camera in hand...film loaded...time to capture the artistic side of the world.

...can't get enough...

I first heard about these guys from American Idol when they performed. So mom wanted me to buy the CD which i did. and yup it just came in this week....must say...I'm in love with the vibe. love songs sound so much better when you don't understand the language.

...they grow up so fast...

so I missed a 6th grade promotion today. I remember promotions were for 8th graders, but I guess now a days 6th graders qualify too.

anyways although I missed it....thank goodness to technology...I have a few images of the promoter.

Congratulations Josh!!!

What's on my mind?

I have no idea what came over me, but I decided to start a blog. Life is a journey and definitely is an everlasting story.

When I think of the past, there are some things I remember and other things are long lost memories. So for my own sanity, let the journey continue and the blogging begin....