Celebrating at Disneyland...

Last year, my husband gave us seasons passes to Disneyland as my wedding gift from him. This year for our one year anniversary, we were planning to go down to Disneyland on Sunday after church got out, since my husband wasn't going to get off work on Monday.


We got there and headed over to Disneyland to pick up our "Happy Anniversary" pins, and then went over to California Adventure to get on the soaring over California ride (one of our favorites). It wasn't before long that my husband decided that he should go back to the car and pick up our dinner. I didn't expect him to be long, so I agreed and decided to stay around the Hollywood street.


Neither one of us expected the tram to break down, and wouldn't let them get off until another tram could come and pick them up (which they were only about 50 yds from the parking structure). When he finally got to the car he drove it over to the Grand Californian hotel and had the bell service take our bags up to the room while he checked in. Then he unpacked everything and headed back to where I was. While he was gone I had called him several times to find out where he was, but the whole time I thought it was just the mis-hap with the tram (so in the end it worked to his advantage).

He came back after 1 1/2 hours later with only a salad and told me that the bottles in the back of the car broke and that my gift had been ruined. At this point I was really disappointed, because I had been waiting so long for him to some back, and a good part of the day was already wasted. I also thought he had spent more thought in our dinner plans, since he had made a special trip to Trader Joes the night before to pick up the snacks and food that we would need for the day at Disneyland (which took him about 2 hours... this should have been my first clue).

Ok, I thought to my self, "well, at least he is back and we can spend the rest of our anniversary together." I took one quick visit to the restroom and when I came back he said that the park had called him and said that they had found his wallet and that he needed to go get it. So he ran off, and came back after 20 min. (when in reality he had left the car in the front of the hotel for over an hour, he decided to forgo the plan to self park when he found out it was 3 blocks away, so instead he had them park it in valet, so that he could get back to me quicker). Finally we were together again and enjoyed the rest of the evening, together!


As we were heading out, we decided to pick up some kettle corn (another one of our favorites), and couldn't seem to find any that were open. Then my husband said "well I guess I should give you part of your gift now." He pulled out the key card with my name on it to the hotel, and said "let's stay here tonight, instead of driving all the way home."


Boy was I surprised! He had decorated the hotel room with rose petals, and had unpacked everything. Indeed he had packed thoughtfully afterall, as he had not only packed the salad, but the breakfast, lunch and snacks for the next day... and yes, he had Monday (our actual anniversary) off. :)

Celebrating Our One Year Anniversary!!!

This time last year I was walking down the isle to say I-do to the life long commitment to love and serve my husband-to-be. I can't believe it's already been a year, the time has really flown by. It seems only yesterday that my husband carried me over the threshold of our first place together and getting up early to open all the wedding gifts waiting for us in the living room, as if it were Christmas morning.

It was nice to look over our puritan marriage vows and be reminded of the commitment that we made to each other a year ago today...

I, S.H.,
covenant before God and man
to you J.S.
to be your loving husband and to lead you,
to protect you, and to provide for you in the fear of the lord.
I vow to love you as my wife even as Christ also loved the Church,
To lay down my life for you,
To wash you with the water of the Word,
To love you as my own body
and to nourish and cherish you even as the Lord does the Church,
To render unto you the affection owed you,
knowing that I do not have authority over my own body but you do,
To dwell with you according to knowledge,
giving honor unto you as unto the weaker vessel,
and living together with you as heirs together of the grace of lif.
You alone will be my delight as the wife of my youth.
I will fight for you, for our sons, for our daughters, and for our household.
The lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts you and me.
I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want,
in times of sickness and in times of health,
in times of joy and in times of sorrow,
in times of failure and in times of triumph.
I pledge to you my life as a loyal and faithful husband.

J., repeat after me:

I, J.S.,
covenant before God and man
to you S.H.
to be your loyal wife and to submit myself under your headship.
Just as the Church is subject to Christ so will I be to you in everything.

I will live first unto our God and then unto you,
loving you, caring for you, obeying you,
and ever seeking to please you as my earthly lord.
I will be your discreet, chaste, keeper at home,
diligently, industriously, and faithfully caring for the affairs of your home
so that your heart may always safely trust in me.

 If the Lord chooses so to bless us,
it will be my delight to be your fruitful bearer of children,
and I will help you diligently teach them the commandments of the Lord
as we talk of them in your house, as we walk by the way,
when we lie down and we rise up.
Wherever you go I will go
The Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death part you and me.
I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want,
in times of sickness and in times of health,
in times of joy and in times of sorrow,
in times of failure and times of triumph.
I pledge to you my life as an obedient and faithful wife.

I'm so thankful for God's grace to uphold our commitment to each other this past year. It's been a wonderful first year of marriage getting through various trials and enjoying fun memories together. It's been great to see how God works it all out for His glory and our own good. Praise God for my husband! Praise God for our marriage, and for many years to follow!

The Joy of Baking With The Family in Autumn...

Autumn is finally here! It's time to start dusting out those turkey roaster pans, gravy boats and fine China, that have been pushed to the back of the top shelf, ladies, because you have a thanksgiving meal to plan.

For those of you who have planned Thanksgiving at your home before, it's no easy undertaking... it involves "fall" cleaning and decorating, shopping for the meal and new clothes for the whole family, pulling out the fine china, silverware and extra chairs.

As family and friends start to arrive it's the hostesses job to make sure her guests are comfortable as they gather in the living room to watch the Thanksgiving day parade and/or football game while at the same time preparing the turkey, and all the fixings... while still maintaining her stylish hairdo and keeping her new autumn attire free from turkey grease. Ladies, tie those apron strings tightly, you have your work ahead of you.

I love this time of the year!

Whether it's cooking for Thanksgiving, or baking with your girls, these holiday aprons and mommy and me apron sets are sure to make this holiday special with a splash of vintage. These upcycled aprons recycled from vintage linens are just some of the cute stuff featured in my etsy store.

To check out more aprons visit my etsy store: www.jnsweeney.etsy.com

Sewing a wedding gown... fit for a princess

For about a week now, I have been working on a wedding dress for my friend, Kat P. Last week we went down to the fashion district in LA and picked out all the fabrics she wanted (about 39 yards in total!)

A couple days later I started working on cutting out the pattern for the bustier (adjusting it to match her measurements).

Sewing them together with the boning...

and then finally seeing what it looked like finished. My friend then came to try it on to make sure it fit. I made the adjustments I needed to and then I was off to sewing again...

After finishing the bustier I started working on the lining. Today Kat came over to try everything on. It looks like we are all set for the next step... cutting and sewing the crinoline on the lining.

Right now I only have the bottom layers complete... so you all wont even see the above mentioned steps on her wedding day... the best is yet to come!

... to be continued...

Mrs. Myers vs. Black Widow Spiders...

Mrs. Myers wins again!

(With the help of my husband) It is dead!

Spiders and ants and skunks... oh my!

Things here are pretty busy as usual...babysitting a lot, my husband's job and our various ministries...and recently added to my husband's to do list is pest control. The other day he went over to our friend's place place to pull a dead skunk out from under their house, which must have smelled horrible... decaying skunk... YUCK! I just hope this doesn't happen at our place since we recently found a family of skunks underneath our shed in the back. Hopefully the trauma of my husband spraying them with a garden hose will scare them off for good, but only time will tell.

Before that we had ant infestation issues, but my husband sprayed all places of entry and put some grits right by there ant hill (which apparently makes them gassy, but since ants are unable to pass gas they just blow up), which seems to have worked because the ant population seems to have diminished considerably.


That's all in the back of the house, in the front we have continually crossed paths with some black widows, just the other night my husband reached inside the mailbox to see if there was any mail, and was surprised to find a black widow that had taken up residence in there. My husband sprayed the spider with Mrs. Myers, a non-toxic, lavender scented cleaning solution that killed the ants that had found their way into the house. We are hoping that Mrs. Myers will kill the black widows too. Any other ideas to kill black widow spiders?

What to expect when you have a hernia surgery...part 2

Day 1 of recovery

We set up one of our newly found patio lounge chairs in the living room with a pillow and a blanket so that my husband could recline and take the pressure off his wound. The first day of recovery consisted mostly of rest, lounging around the house, watching movies, and drinking lots of liquids. It was hard for him to do much else with all the pain. The doctor had prescribed him vicodin for the pain, but he didn't want to be dependent on it, so he took them when he couldn't bear it (about 1 or 2 per day).

The doctor said that he wasn't able to take a bath or a shower, because he couldn't get the suture wet, however he still smelled of iodine, so I was able to very carefully give him a sponge bath. This was a difficult task in and of itself as he was still very tender and difficult to move with all the busing and swelling that the surgery had caused.

His diet was very light; I believe he just had some crackers, toast, and lots of water and Gatorade. He had to wear his loose fitting PJ's or scrubs during the first few days of recovery, so that the incision area wasn't causing him pain. All in all the first day was kind of rough and required a lot of time off his feet.

Day 2 of recovery

Going to the bathroom on his own... what an achievement! He was still in a lot of pain, but was able to get up out of bed without holding on to the book shelf or needing me to assist him. He said he felt great and was able to get up and around just fine, so we decided to go to a friend's house for the fourth of July. Today he was also able to shower, however we decided to leave the bandage on just to be safe. He was able to eat regular food again at the fourth of July party, but still ate less then he usually does, but the burger went down just fine, and didn't seem to have any adverse effects. The ice pack was very helpful to reduce the swelling and bruising.

Day 3 of Recovery: Took bandage off

Today he was able to take the bandage off! It was so strange to see a bit of his flesh pieced together by staples, as if his seam had popped and was mended by an amateur seamstress. The Iodine was able to mostly wash off in the shower, but the bruising is still around the effected area. ICE has become his friend.

He is much more mobile, so it looks like he will be able to go back to work after the weekend is over. Since his job requires a lot of heavy lifting, some of his co-workers have offered to help. It should be a fairly relaxed work week ahead.

Day 7 of Recovery: Took staples out

My husband went in for his follow-up appointment and the doctor took the staples are out. There is less pressure on and around the suture area now that the staples have been removed and the skin is released. Half of the incision has healed, and the other half opened up a bit when the staples were removed. The doctor re-assured us that this is normal (even though it's hard to look at) it's actually beneficial to get all the "old blood" (the blood that has been sitting underneath the skin since the surgery).

Fresh bandages and tape are to be applied over the suture area, and needed to be changed often as they would get saturated in "old blood". We had to tape the area really well, as we had a few mishaps with leakage.

Day 11 of Recovery: Bleeding out of suture beginning to lessen and pain is subsiding.

The wound is beginning to heal on it's own, and the need to take the prescribed vicodin is becoming less and less. He is able to get around just fine, but he still has to be careful when lifting heavy things...