Finished: Pocket Pockets

Yesterday, late afternoon, I was busy trying to finish the Pocket Pockets Ryan tasked me with.

I actually finished it! I can put away my sewing machine and supplies (but I won't, I have more projects planned), it's, D-O-N-E, done. :D

Here are the pictures to prove it:

Pocket pockets

Last month, Ryan forwarded me numerous links to his frequented EDC (every day carry) forums, with the expectation that I would make a similar contraption to hold his EDC stash.

Maybe it was my time of the month, or something, because it made me overly emotional. Emotional, not because he expected me to make one for him, but that he believed I could.

So I've been saying lately that I really want to be a crafter, right? I'm not very skillful in sewing, never took a formal class, let alone designed my own pattern. Sure, I can follow a pattern or modify an easy one for simple added features, but create an entirely, customized project?? That's a lot of faith in my abilities! One more reason he's such a great husband: he's supportive.

So, first, we took measurements of three different pants' pockets (shorts, jeans, khakis). Since this is supposed to be for EDC, we wanted to make sure it would fit in all his pockets. Next, we measured the different things he would like to carry: a 4Sevens flash light, Leatherman multi-tool, a pen, with additional space capacity for earbuds, coins, etc.

Using the basic measurements and scrap fabric, I created a prototype.






It isn't perfect, but it was just intended to be a test run -- was the size ok? did the EDC items fit well? It's a good thing I made a prototype. He decided, in lieu of a pen, he wanted to carry a defense device and an emergency whistle.



With the new requirements, I made version 2:




With a few minor adjustments, I'm ready for final production.

What an inventive weekend! I will post up pictures when I have the finished pocket.

Before our Ella

Ryan and I have known each other for over 10 years, and we seemed like such different people a decade ago.

Obviously, we had no financial obligations, no [real] job, no responsibilities. Yet, those years always seemed to be the hardest. We went to school, went drinking, traveled, etc... and I seem to remember not liking those years.

Now, we've got Ella, a house, mortgage, full-time jobs, and numerous obligations. These days fly by so quickly, I feel like I don't have time to enjoy them.

Sometime between these two periods, Ryan and I got married. I have to admit, when I recount those few months, time stood still.






Maybe there is something good about this blogging thing. I never was one to keep a journal -- mainly I never saw a point. My understanding was that it was word vomit, to just get everything out of your head -- at least how my mom did it. I didn't get what she wrote in there, or why. But doing it this way, typing it out, proof-reading it, and revising it. I'm starting to notice things that just don't seem to add up, and recognizing it, I might just do something about it:

I don't want to look back at this time and think how unhappy I was, or how too quickly it passed. I want to remember it being joyful, timeless, and how much I wouldn't want to change a thing.

Reading != Pizza

Remember, Book It!?
In theory, pizza is a great incentive. But reading just wasn't fun as a kid. I think I had an elaborate imagination and vivid dreams (as I do now), but I just didn't get the point of reading. Maybe that was the point. Why read something to paint a picture in my mind, when I could just make it up myself? --which is why, pizza is a great incentive.

The only time I read in elementary school was to get something out of it. I read easy books just to get my parents to drive me to Pizza Hut and claim my pepperoni personal pan pizza. Then, I found out you can read books, write reports, and win stuff! My sister suggested I start reading more elaborate books, such as The Secret Garden and The Hobbit, to compete at a higher caliber and win better prizes. Turns out it was great advice, I won a free backpack, school supplies, more books, etc! Not to mention, during the interview process for secondary school admissions, the interviewer asked if I read and what types of books interested me. Thank goodness I had just finished the stack of "advanced books" my sister helped me select from Waldenbooks (pre-Borders, located on the ground level of Ala Moana, currently occupied by ABC Store).

Now that I'm much older, reading books doesn't equate to a free pizza. Although, I think I should start that up for myself. Read a book, get a large pan pizza. Way better than a personal pan. Bigger books == bigger rewards! Kidding. It's actually corny, but I find reading rewarding in itself. Since I got sucked into the Harry Potter series and the Twilight saga, I realized I enjoy being submerged in a book and escaping into my imagination. I think with all the stresses I've had in the past few years, I was able to handle it because I could get lost in another world, another time, long enough to catch my breath.

Ryan gifted me an Amazon Kindle. But really I think it was to prevent the stacks of unsightly hardcovers that were beginning to clutter our shelves. It's old-fashioned, but I love hardcovers. There's something soothing and romantic about a thick book and the smell of cardboard. Since receiving the Kindle, I've read a lot of random junk. Coming of age books, organizational self-help titles, parenting handbooks, and trashy adult novels. It's fun to read the promotional books. You just have to be careful about the books that belong to a series. That's how they get you. Reel you in with a free book, only to have you rack up the credit card bill on the other 5 to finish the series. I got hooked on the Fever series. It was good. No, it was GREAT. I read through the first four, only to find the fifth, and final book, was a work in progress. I waited over a year! It was finally available this past January and I couldn't wait to read it. I finished it in 3 days (if not for work, cooking, and caring for Ella, I would have read it all in one day, and not even have stopped to eat, it was that great). Most of my questions were answered, plots resolved, happily ever after, the end. After it was through, I felt so lost. I went through the entire series again from start to finish. THAT great.

What should I read next? I was thinking Stephen King's Hearts in Atlantis. That's been on my reading list for a few months now. HA! I just read that last sentence again. I have a "reading list". Bwahahahaha! I don't even consider myself a reader, you know how I want to be a blogger, crafter, or guitarist? Maybe that list will have to wait a little longer. It's about time I get started on the next ambition. Crafter.

Did a hurricane blow through here?

One thing I noticed, since Ella became mobile, things are never where you think she left them.

Ryan and I went on a scavenger hunt for the living room tv remote. He kept checking the couches, under pillows, and in her pile of toys. I could have sworn she was playing with it in the hallway in front of her room. So where was it? In our room, under my side of the bed -- clear across the house from the living room tv.

I don't think hurricanes have aftershocks, but if they did, I think they would be called, Ellas, Randis, and Ryans, based on the path of mess following this activity.