no more ice cream

Our house has been over 6 months without ice cream. I never thought I would say that, it used to be our favorite dessert and my emotional escape when I was upset.  I stopped missing it around month 4. My husband decided to do it for health reasons and I wanted to support him on that. I feel proud of us. We might still eat it at other houses but it just doesn't live at our house. Hooray for more healthy lifestyle at the Gilgen's!

Denim quilt

I finally finished my denim quilt project after about 4 yrs. I started keeping old jeans really because i was attached to a certain pair that i couldnt bear to throw away. I had some other great donations from family and friends to make more squares than i actually ended up using, in fact. It became my "something-very-productive-to-do" when Ben was away for long periods of time for work trips.
It ended up being more work than I thought but I like the finished product well enough to use for a great picnic blanket.

I wanted the design to be a little less traditional so I decided to do the squares at an angle, used no batting (just a flannel back), machine-tied it with just brown tacking stitch, and did a zig-zag edge of denim triangles. My favorite parts are probably the few pocket details I kept and incorporated as squares.

I really hadn't sewn much since I got married. I'm still trying to find the perfect sewing/craft table so without it, projects like this can be a bit more difficult on a makeshift card table but it worked alright!

My husband loves it for how heavy/warm it is. Perfect for our cold basement room right now.

Seattle/Vancouver trip

To celebrate my newfound health, we went on a weekend trip to Seattle and Vancouver. Although very rainy, it is beautiful there and we enjoyed some time away together.

We loved Horseshoe Bay above Vancouver and the picturesque drive to get there. We took some hikes in the parks, despite the rain, which were sooooo worth it.

 I even got Ben to go on a big suspension bridge across a ravine with waterfalls on both sides. Cool, huh?

Delicious food is always a BIG part of traveling for us. I had to have some sort of seafood every day. We tried out some "Diners, Dives, and Drive-In's" recommendations in Seattle called "Pam's Kitchen" (food from Trinidad), which was Awesome, and "The Crab Pot"

The weather cleared up for a good hour for us to enjoy the views from the Space Needle. Then we got to our hotel and realized the view from our room ion the 32nd floor of the Crowne was just as good.

The area was very reminiscent of Twilight that we thought it appropriate to walk downtown to see Breaking Dawn, part 2 one of the nights.

A Mystery

So, I was plagued with a mysterious illness for the past 4 months, causing me continual belly pain. It was no fun and made it difficult to do most things beyond the essentials most days. I'm sorry if I was less of a friend or no fun to be around. It took loads of energy to just get through work and I often curled up on the couch all evening. On good days, I might get a little cooking, cleaning or Relief Society stuff done but that was all. I went through the whole gamut of medical tests, procedures and consults that 5 doctors came up with... but got no answers. Apparently, I was completely normal... just always in pain.

However, today I am happy to report that I am now 2 weeks free of pain!!! I  don't know what happened or how it decided to resolve itself but I am very thankful for each day. Was it a lesson of patience? Maybe a reminder to not take normal daily living for granted? A warning of things to come? A test of faith? Whatever it was, I hope I learned it well!

I wanted to thank all my family and friends who were so concerned, supportive, and offered up many a prayer in my behalf. They helped me endure and helped me heal, I am certain. Ben was a supporting sweetheart and very understanding through the seemingly endless process. I love you all!

Weird Movie Memories

When you think about the movies we watched as children, it's amazing we didn't turn out weirder.  I actually went back to watch a few as an adult and they were odd and sometimes disturbing. Were we, as children of the 80's, just oblivious to what was going on? I don't ever remember thinking any of these were weird as a kid. I was flipping channels the other day and came across Edward Scissorhands and after 3 minutes, I was completely weirded out. Maybe some of these creepy-ish movies would something to revisit for this Halloween week-without having to watch something truly gory or scary. Here are the ones I can remember off the top of my head:
Dark Crystal
Return to Oz
Secret of Nimh
Labrynth
Edward Scissorhands
Beetlejuice
Little Shop of Horrors
Monty Python Search for the Holy Grail
Encino Man

Can you think of any other random, weird movies you watched as a child and now wonder how it ever got popular?

Paragliding

I got a great birthday present this year from Ben. He gave me a voucher for a tandem paragliding adventure! I used it today and it was soooo fun. I LOVE being up in the air and this was a perfect way to experience it. It was so relaxing to just float there in the air, moving along with the breeze and enjoy the surroundings from up high.

You really don't get super far from the point of the mountain (since that's where the good air movement is) and it wasn't scary at all. Going early in the morning helps keep you away from any pockets of air and sudden movement. I definitely will go again! Maybe I could even learn to do it on my own...seems kind of like flying one of my kites.

Birthday

I had a pretty good birthday this month. It was over Labor Day weekend so I got to enjoy 3 days without work, which was a great way to start. My husband and I enjoyed a lazy, kick-back morning, then he took me to a Vietnamese Noodle House I had never been to before and the food was amazing! I am a lover of soups so the Pho and Bun were right up my alley. Perfect choice, babe! We both really enjoyed all the flavors.

My gut was a lot less painful that day, thanks to a merciful God, so I was itching to get outside and go walking or something, despite the fact that it was raining all afternoon-evening. My in-laws and husband were kind enough to join me on a walk around when it slowed to just a drizzle. Don't you just love the smell in the air in Utah when it rains?

Ben gave me an awesome present, too... a tandem paragliding adventure! I am very excited for this. I am hoping to use it this coming Saturday (weather and health permitting). I love flying. I'll post after that-promise.

My sisters were all out of town for the weekend so we got together at a later date and they did a "choose your own adventure" experience. They asked me 3 random questions and my answers (green, few, fancy) dictated what we did...keeping in mind what they know I like, but it was all a surprise to me. What they came up with was perfect! They picked me up (just a few of us) and we went up the canyon to have a picnic dinner among the (green) trees. After that they made reservations at a (fancy) restaurant at top of a ski lodge for a fancy dessert. We each chose something different and sampled all the desserts. My choice was the best, in my mind (buttermilk panna cotta in a strawberry-rhubarb soup).

Plus, the company was terrific. Those girls can always make me laugh soooo hard, we had a blast. Thanks to my sisters!