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