vito's 3 year anniversary

today is the anniversary of vito's third year with us! he's calmed down a bit (kinda) and is quite a bit bigger than when we first picked him up.

as you can see, some things haven't changed :)

john cusack

the day before i left the great state of alaska, i had an opportunity to help out with a movie. well, not really. my dad and i were security escorts for some of the filming of the frozen ground (look it up here). nicholas cage is in it...along with *girly sigh* john cusack! JOHN freaking CUSACK in anchorage. i just about passed out when my dad told me i could (possibly) meet him.

and for those of you who don't know, i adore john cusack. love his movies.
say anything? a classic - lloyd dobler, you're the key master to my heart. just kidding.
grosse pointe blank - who couldn't love the hit man with a heart of gold?
high fidelity - he has top 10 lists....i always make lists. coincidence? no.
serendipity - who doesn't like the idea of fate?
and let's not forget one crazy summer & better off dead...

long story short, two big name actors were going to need escorts....and neither of them was john cusack. sadness. heart breaking, soul crushing sadness.

however, the day was not lost...i got to hang out ALL DAY with my dad :) which was super fun. and i'm certain that memory will last in my heart much longer than if i had met a movie star.

hooray internet!

hello blogland! we made it to okinawa, safe and sound. after a long and trying month, we have a home and a few adventures under our belts. we just had our internet installed (thank goodness!) and are slowly getting unpacked and organized. since i just found all seven seasons of the gilmore girls, the house organizing is now coming along at a snail's pace. but that's okay with me.

after staying a night in seattle, we started a 26 hour trip to this little island. while the flights were long, we were primarily concerned with our pups welfare. this airplane ride was their first experience flying...and they made it through with flying colors. they are much more resilient than i gave them credit for and am so relieved that they are alright. i'm pretty sure mia and vito have adjusted to okinawan life easier than i have.

we decided to live off base and found a wonderful 3 bedroom home. its so different from homes in the states, partially due to the fact that pretty much every building is made from concrete. one of these days, i'll take some pictures - but it's far too cluttered now :)

i'm 24 weeks into my pregnancy today and things are going well. i have nice bump growing and the baby is kicking quite often. seems to kick more when i eat chocolate....maybe a girl? :) we still haven't found out whether the baby is a boy or a girl and don't plan to unless the doc slips up.

hopefully i'll have some new posts coming up shortly...i do have a few stories to share. i can't wait to catch up on your blogs too!

hi there!

hello friends! it's been quite a while since my last post and i've recently been feeling the urge to blog again. i'll probably be inching my way back into the blog-o-sphere in the near future and have a bunch of catching up on your posts too.

the big move to japan is still on - we have about another week here in snowy alaska and then we start our adventure to the other side of the dateline. two sets of movers have packed up all of our belongings and sent them on their way, not to be seen for another month or two. i finished up my day job in mid september and have been surprisingly busy since then. i honestly thought i would be getting bored, but there's been so much to do day to day that i feel like i haven't had a chance to slow down. i have spent time working on books and printing cards (especially since my big press is going into storage, sadly) - creating all of these items has had a somewhat calming effect on me. i've realized that as things get more and more stressful, i'm going back to doing things that are familiar and comforting - making art and knitting/crocheting.

while the impending move has kept us busy, we've had another surprise come up:


that's right....i've been eating a lot :) hubby & i are expecting our first bipedal kiddo!! i'm at 17 weeks now and finally have a bit of a pooch. it's pretty amazing to see how my body is changing and adjusting to growing a mini-me. i was a bit hesitant on how and when to announce the big news on my blog, but i figured that this community has been incredibly supportive and kind in the past and i'm sure sharing this announcement won't be any different.

i'll do my best to post a few things here and there - i would like to write and share more about my pregnancy, but i don't want this blog to become a journal for baby stuff galore. i want to make sure i maintain my own personality...that being said, if i get a little baby crazy from time to time, try to be understanding :) that's all for tonight....take care friends!

new store!

well, it's official! tama press now has books and cards at the incredibly popular sevigny studio in downtown anchorage! if you are out and about tomorrow for first friday, drop on by and check out the goods. sevigny studio is located at 608 w 4th ave, next to cake studio & the 4th avenue theater.

i met with katie a couple weeks ago to show her some of my products. i was nervous...this is KATIE SEVIGNY - a very well known artist in alaska. i've always admired her work and have wanted to approach her about my products for years...and i finally decided to go for it. and i'm so glad i did...

sorry that posts have been extremely infrequent...things have been so busy around here and there isn't any sign that it'll slow down anytime soon. i will post when i can but i'm not gonna make any promises. i'll try to catch up on your blogs too. i just don't like feeling guilty for not posting when things are so crazy. do you know what i mean? thanks for understanding...

a gift...

as i was working in my studio one evening, i had a great idea to make a gift for my friend. (her birthday was in early july.) i wanted to make something she would use...so i pulled out some sketches and measurements from a project i was toying with months prior. i decided on a portfolio - functional, but beautiful.

here are the results of a few hours of labor and love:

i used japanese book cloth in her favorite colors to cover the entire piece. i wanted to have a nameplate of some kind and went with a handstitched spirograph piece with hearts (also her favorite).

the inside left side contains a pocket for various notes & a small strap to hold business cards. the right side has a couple of strips to hold a legal pad (see below).

this project was challenging and fun - i really love how beautifully this piece came out. i think i'll try making a few and putting them out on the market....

home

i haven't fallen off the face of the earth...but i have been extremely busy. the clock is ticking on the move to okinawa and my to do list is growing a mile a minute.

we met with a realtor for the first time last week. she did a walk through of our home and discussed some things we need to do to spruce up the house. paint, clean, declutter...

one thing stayed with me after that meeting:
as we start making these changes, our home will be less ours...it'll turn into another house on the market. and that fact just breaks my heart.

this place is our first home, from when we were dating to becoming a married couple. this is where we brought home our puppies, where they grew up. there is a height chart on the wall for vito - starting when he was just 10 weeks old.

i know i should be excited about the adventure approaching. but right now, my heart aches as i mourn for the loss of our home.

"home is where the heart is" - i don't know...