chimesblog

A belated happy birthday to me: Margarita time. I had my birthday party last night since I’ve been over-scheduled all month (and into next month too … ugh). What better way to celebrate than cheap [awesome] Mexican food and MARGARITAS.

I didn’t realize it was ISU’s homecoming yesterday until the game let out and everybody got stuck in traffic. Mark, Matt and Katie (front 3 in the photo below) got stuck holding a table for 10 at La Fuente — fending off mostly drunk or hungover college kids who didn’t believe they were SERIOUSLY using all 10 chairs (yes, we are sure we’re using them!).

[me and katie]

[mark and matt]

[coree (my sister) and her friend ayla]

[steph and nathan]

[kelly and danielle]

MARGARITAS! Matt doesn’t believe me that the regular margaritas have more booze in them. They’re kind of gross, but they’re full of tequila, which I guess is probably why they are kind of gross.

After La Fuente we all came back to our place and played Apples to Apples and had some awesome flourless chocolate chipotle cake (recipe coming soon!).

Share on Facebook

Hi. I’m chimes.  If you’ve been reading my blog and are just now figuring this out, well howdy. I’ve decided to try Craftzine’s 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Profile questions.  Enjoy!

One Project You Are Particularly Proud Of

1. My musical flowers pitcher. And the resulting photos of it.  I really miss my little brick wall porch at my old place in Des Moines.

Two Mistakes You’ve Made in the Past

1. Not saying no when I should.  I’m to proud to admit when I can’t take on a project — I love being a jack of all trades. I recently took engagement photos of my friend’s little sister and her (now) hubby.  I really shouldn’t have.  I’m not a photographer.  And I said yes to taking her WEDDING photos too.

[okay, so they didn't turn out too horrible]

2. Using parchment paper to bake these amazing brownies.  The result?  What my roommate coined “reverse brownies” — gooey on the outside, done in the middle.

Three Things That Make Your Work Unique

1. I’m cheap — but in a good way.  I use EVERY scrap of fabric — including the selvedge edges — every discarded dish, every possible inch of batting and use cereal boxes for patterns for sewing projects. I’m currently making a map of the states quilt out of pieces of fabric that are less than 2″ big. Partially because I’m a fabric hoarder too.

2. Asymmetry. I hate symmetrical and being matchy matchy.  I will never make a quilt from a traditional pattern — it has to be wonky.
3. Obviously, I love handmade objects. And as a graphic designer in my professional life, I try to incorporate hand-done items into my work as much as possible — whether it’s my own illustrations, found objects, fabric or paintings created by a friend.

[album cover for a band I was in that never took off]

Four Tools You Love to Use

1. Rotary cutter. I have no idea why, but there is something so damn therapeutic about cutting fabric and placing it in neat piles.
2. Adobe Creative Suite (especially InDesign — use it daily at work)
3. Sewing machine — I sometimes think I need a fancy one with more bells and whistles, but the freebie one I got from my aunt has been kicking out great projects and working just fine. I actually got a new Janome in October and it has been rocking my world! I even completed a quilt last month using that machine with no blips in the fabric or dropped stitches. I’m saving my old machine for threadbangin’ more crafty projects.

4. Sketchbook + Prismacolors.  I don’t just do things. I think them through first and find several ways of accomplishing what my desired end result may be. It’s surprising what you come up with when you take some time to brainstorm.

Five Inspirations

1. Quilters like Fussy Cut and Oh Fransson!
2. Michael Jackson. Yes. I’m serious. If you’ve not read my blog before, then newsflash: I heart MJ.
3. Every DIY and craft blog out there. ever. I think I follow all of them in my google reader.
4. My granny — she left a TON of unfinished projects when she died and I’ve been randomly finishing them up in the past several years. Here’s a quilt I completed out of blocks she made from what we think may have been old clothing (she was also cheap and thrifty).

5. And I have to mention my boyfriend. He’s constantly helping me refine my work and offers up suggestions and critique as well as an incredible amount of support.

Share on Facebook

Yesterday was a fun day, filled with lots of exciting things.

First, we took Mark’s NEW CAR for a long drive to Eastern Iowa.

[brand new mazda 3 hatch in graphite]

He got a new car last week after his poor Rav4 blew a tire. It was on it’s last leg and he was pretty much ready to get a new car, so he went for it. And he is REALLY happy about it.

[it's a manual, of course]

Its got bluetooth, which is really cool because not only can he have handsfree phone convos, but we can hook up my iPod without physically plugging it into anything. This makes ME happy because my iPod Touch is having issues with the headphone jack, and the less i plug things into it, the better off it seems.

Our first stop was in Cedar Rapids to get my hair colored. I’m growing it back out (for now) and it’s starting to look entirely too much like my mom’s hair at this length with my natural color  … so time for an unnatural color.

It’s supposed to be the dark brown color that I had a couple years back, but we added a bit of red to it … and my hair sucked up ALL the red.  So it’s a dark red/brown.  I LOVE being a redhead, so I’m cool with it.

Next, we stopped at my Grandpa’s house in Anamosa. He sent us on our merry way with a BUNCH of tomatoes. I wish I took a photo of his bounty of tomatoes. It covered an entire dining room table. He said he was giving all his visitors a bag of tomatoes because he’s not going to eat them all.

Not sure what we’re going to do with the tomatoes … salsa? marinara? Either way, they are getting eaten!

We headed further north and went to the Shot Tower Inn in Dubuque and met my friend Seth (aka @nerdboner) for some late lunch/early dinner.  Got some amazing taco and BLT pizza (super naughty! But way delicious).  He had just gotten back from Wizard World in Chicago and apparently had picked me up some pretty sweet swag.  He totally underestimated my idea of “sweet swag”.

[all the doctors and the tardis — print by kurt wood]

[limited edition #1 of 25 print of Buffy by kurt wood]

… and the icing on the cake?  The heavy metal pixie <======== that’s me.

[check it out on kurt's blog with all the other superhero sketchies]

AND he got me the hardcover collection of the Metalocalypse comic … which will be my nightly read this week.

After a few hours of pure nerd bonding between Seth and Mark (Seth now swears they were separated at birth), we headed back to my hometown of Monticello to pick up Mr. Barnabus Stinson, II and bring him to his new (and hopefully final for a while) home.

And Mr. Barney acclimated quickly and is now enjoying spending every minute with his best friend Mark.

 
We were pretty exhausted after a long day of driving and our adventures in Eastern Iowa. All in all, a pretty good day!

Share on Facebook

Last month was crazy. Here is a sneak peek at things that happened before I get to blogging about them …

… Mark’s brother Nick’s birthday in Stillwater …

… Mark’s 25th birthday in Chicago …

… awesome new fabric …

… moving …

… a really awesome project for Drake …

... and LOTS and lots of food.

(asian lettuce wraps)

(chicken strips with honey mustard and sweet corn)

(kung pao chicken)

(stovetop creamy mac and cheese made with REAL cheese)

(chicken, broccoli and mushroom alfredo with pappardelle’s tomato cracked pepper pasta)

(tomato, basil and chevré pizza)

so hopefully I will have some time to share these experiences with you!  And of course all the recipes.  I will also try to start sharing points plus numbers with you at the suggestion of Kelly.

Share on Facebook

the week of sheer hell that i’ve lived through.

9:30 AM last wednesday I got a text from my sister asking me to call her ASAP. I thought my grandma had died. I was ready for that.

Not for this.

It was about our 20-year old cousin, who grew up and still lived across the street from my parents house where we grew up and who’s one of my sister’s best friends — Jackie.

Jackie shot herself.

Immediately I knew it was over for her. And was hoping for a quick and painless death or for some miracle of God to let her recover — FULLY.

But I knew what she wanted. If she didn’t want it, she wouldn’t have pulled the trigger.

Before you think I’m a complete asshole, let me say this: I’ve suffered from depression. It runs in our family. A lot of us have felt the black pit it creates.  I know what Jackie was feeling.  I’m guessing not to the extreme at which she’s felt it for the past several months.

So there I was last Wednesday. Wondering what will happen. Finding out on Facebook that Jackie is gone (before she officially was — for the record, thanks to the magic of small town rumors).

But somehow, I’m okay with it. Why? Because I don’t love my cousin? Because I’m 3 hours away from everything?

Yes on the latter.

I’m not insensitive. I absolutely didn’t want Jackie to die. But i just knew that whatever was building up inside her wouldn’t go away. Day in and day out. Misery. For no good reason other than the fact that …

DEPRESSION IS A DISEASE.

Yes. For those of you who think otherwise, fuck off. Right now. And don’t visit my blog again. Facebook friends? Hurry up and defriend me. I don’t like ignorant assholes.

Depression’s like cancer. It can be treated, but some people may never recover. And some people deal with it their whole lives — even if they take good care of themselves and everything is seemingly fine.

You know what makes depression a disease? The fact that people who suffer sometimes have no reason to feel the way they do.  And sometimes don’t even recognize that they are feeling bad.  Their world just starts collapsing left and right.

Which brings me back to Jackie. I can’t say for sure, but I feel like there was no reason for her to feel the way I’m guessing she did. And it probably spiraled so far out of control that she just wanted it all to stop.

I’ve been there. There comes a desperate moment where you want to claw your eyes out just to make the inner dialogue and hysterical thoughts stop. It stops briefly when you sleep, but it comes back tenfold when you wake up. Mornings are the worst.  I got help, and was able to recover for now. But I know it’s something I’m going to have to monitor closely for the rest of my life.

So, Jackie, I understand why you did what you did.

But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss you. I wish depression hadn’t taken you, but it did.  I keep hoping that tomorrow I will wake up and none of this will have happened. But I know that isn’t the case.

I vow to not let depression take me away again. And I promise that I will fight hard to not let it take my life, or any of my friends or family’s life ever again.

In memory of Jackie, to remind myself that I’m loved and to be sure in those desperate moments — should they ever come again — that depression doesn’t take me, I got another tattoo today.

It’s simply the word “love” on my right wrist.  On my handwriting.  I use my right hand for everything.  I can’t pick up anything now without being reminded of Jackie, the love we all felt for her and the sadness we feel now, and the love people (including myself) have for me.

I am going to end this by saying this: fuck you depression.  I will not let you claim another person that I love.

PS I almost forgot.  Jackie was an organ donor. So now somebody has a new beautiful pair of blue eyes. And somebody else has a functioning liver.

Share on Facebook

My niece at her first gig as a flower girl.

So freaking adorable.

Share on Facebook

Last weekend Mark and I went to the Twin Cities to visit his parents and we went to his sister and brother-in-law’s new place that is in a really cute area … and there is a really great ice cream place within walking distance.

So we had to stop. It’s the Grand Ole Creamery. Their homemade  waffle cones are to DIE for. They’re like a sugar cookie. But better.

Oh yes — and I got some new sunglasses. Which Kelly maintains are too large for my face, but they don’t make sunglasses that aren’t and that are stylish, so I figure, get the biggest ones I can find since they’re going to be too big anyway.

AND *drumroll please* Mark got a new phone.  He went from a super crappy lame flip phone that he hated — and that would barely charge — to a freaking sidekick. The coolest phone ever next to an iPhone. I’m actually interested in it. Partially because the packaging is kind of awesome (nerd!).

SO jealous.

Share on Facebook

Happy Fathers Day to my Dad who will probably never read this because I’m still very proud of him for being able to turn a computer on and fumble his way around a cell phone.

My dad is the infamous Calvin Himes (chimes sr.). Who, up until recently, drove around in a little yellow 1989 Ford Festiva with lightening bolts on the side.  Everybody in town (Monticello — around 3500 people) knew that as the Calvinmobile.

In his lifetime he’s run more miles than I probably ever will — and he had to quit running when he was 45 because of knee surgery.  Which ultimately inspired me to keep running further, although much, MUCH slower. And resulted in my running a marathon*.  My half marathon PR is 1:46, my dads: 1:08 — or so he claims. It seems that his race times keep getting faster and faster each time I’ve asked over the years.

My dad is also a hardcore underdog sports team fan. Chicago Bears and the San Francisco Giants.  Although, writing this post this year doesn’t do those teams as much justice as far as their underdog status goes.  Either way, I would have to say that at least 90% of my dad’s wardrobe is orange and navy.

Mom scanned some oldies in for me, so I thought I would share.

Dad and me at Wacky Waters probably in 1986

Dad and me playing in my kiddie pool outside our trailor, also probably 1986. Look at those amazing shorts. And my amazing haircut (thanks MOM!)

The dadstache — not as awesome when not paired with the redfro that went with it before I was born (mom couldn’t find any of those). This was in 1988 when my sister was born. Again, thanks, mom, for the haircut.  When the heck did I have straight hair?!

And since everybody was posting photos of their dads on Facebook, I took this ample opportunity to steal a lovely photo of both sets of my grandparents from my mom and my aunt.

Below is my dad’s parents. I don’t know whose wedding this was at (mom and Dad or my aunt Sheila’s most likely judging by the attire).  Both of them have long passed away — my grandma in 1991 and my grandpa in 2006.  But we still make my grandma’s recipe for sugar cookies every year.  She had the best frosted sugar cookies.  And come to think of it, I’m guessing that’s where my sweet tooth comes from.  I have a recipe book that my aunt Sheila put together and it’s like 35 pages and it’s all desserts, cookies, bars and frostings. Six pages of frostings alone! Which is probably why there is a small container of frosting in the freezer RIGHT NOW that I whipped up to have a spoonful of when I need a sugar fix.

My mom’s parents — who are both still around, but my grandma is only sometimes around. She’s got Alzheimers and has been in a senior community for a few years now. Sometimes she’s still able to hold a conversation, but doesn’t understand much, but other times it’s like she’s long gone.  It’s been really hard to watch, and I wouldn’t wish Alzheimers on anybody.  Which is another reason I’m such a health freak — trying to stave off brain issues as well as health issues that run on both sides of my family.

I think this photo must have been from the mid-eighties — judging by the awesome glasses.

*which, btw, I’m thinking of walking one to see if I can beat my run time because I was injured and I ended up with an embarrassing 13.5ish mile pace. Which is my walk speed.

Share on Facebook

Um, I may have gotten the t-shirts for this in the spring of 2009.  Like March 2009.  Regardless, I finally finished it.  It broke my sewing machine twice.  Twice.  Therefore, not making any more quilts (at least quilting them).  So if you want a quilt, I’ll make the top, but you’re on your own for getting it quilted.

I also hate t-shirt quilts. I think they’re boring and stupid and I am not sure why people love them so much when there are so many beautiful quilting fabrics or vintage fabrics out there to make a quilt from instead. I’ve made 3 t-shirt quilts now — but the first 2 were really deconstructed. And the first 2 were because I wasn’t sure if I was going to like quilting, so I didn’t want to BUY fabric until I knew if I liked it or not.

Anywho — the twist on the regular t-shirt quilt here is adding the lyrics to Lateralus by Tool on the back of the quilt.  I just quilted straight lines to make it easy.  And I used scrap fabric that coordinated for the binding.

Share on Facebook

My mom posted a bunch of pictures of my niece on Facebook today, and as usual, they were frighteningly cute.  I had to share this one with you — it’s Emee reading to my dog, Barney.  He intently listened apparently for quite a while.

I don’t think I’m going to get my dog back. Mom said that Emee said, “Calee just visit. Barney stay here.”

Share on Facebook