So you Think You Can Eat?

Introducing the Big Sandwich. It just so happens to be a Jakob Tobler favorite. It is really quite good but I pick off the cheese. These pictures are precooking so the cheese hasn't melted to perfection yet. Big Sandwich or as our friends say "Manwich" has become a new tradition at Jakob's UFC boys nights and I think Jakob's got it down to an art. Doesn't it look yummy?

Letters From Home

I love getting mail whether it be letters or packages. I get all excited as I turn the key to the mail box. It is my favorite part of the day. Imagine my surprise when I open our mail box to find a care package from my mother. I am even more excited when the package is from home, it makes it feel not so far away and my parents always send some of the best goodies. We opened it up to find this, need I say, wonderful shirt for Jakob.

Just in case you can't read what it says. I think it's hilarious!

And for me, the moose hat and gloves I was drooling over in Banff accompanied by a shirt. Aren't they simply amazing? Thanks Mom and Dad! We love you! xoxox

The Challenge

As we all know I am a control freak. I like things done when I want them done and accomplished how I would accomplish them. Everything must go in it's proper place. I like to be organized so putting things away in a manner in which I am not able to locate them at any giving time, bothers me. I like to have piles consisting of papers, clothing for me to mended or other things of that nature. When in doubt put it in a pile (when really most of the time I should put in the garbage.) I am also a collector. I love having treasures and hiding them away some place. I have several totes filled with what Jakob deems as junk. His philosophy "If you can't remember what is in the box just throw it away" which in all honestly I do not feel is entirely fair seeing as how I have a poor memory to begin with. Most of these things drive my husband insane, however, when it comes to our bedroom I simply do not care. To me I deem it as a lost cause. In our small but quaint one bedroom apartment we have little to no storage space. In our bedroom alone we have 2 very small closets, one dresser, nightstands I picked up on somebody's curb, a very comfortable bed and a computer desk, allowing no more room for an additional dresser.

In addition, I have an addiction to clothing which is counter productive to the cause. At the last count I had 39 pairs of pants, 19 hoodies and enough shirts and sweaters to kill someone. Yes I know I am pathetic. The solution... you guessed it totes. Consequently I find myself throwing clothes on the floor instead of pulling out the appropriate tote to put things away leaving our bedroom in utter chaos. Recently however my mother issued me a challenge. She would work on losing weight if I kept my room clean. Seems easy enough and yes I do feel like a child having my mother whom lives 1, 202 miles away keeping track of how clean my bedroom is, but so far, it's worked. It's been a week now and I must say I am quite proud. I am reorganizing things and consequently finding items to give away. I am also trying to conquer my piles. It is so refreshing having a clean space I can feel the stress dissipating as I clean and organize. With some re arranging our space has opened up and I am thrilled.

Green Thumb?

Jakob and I are looking forward to having children in the FAR future however we thought that we should practice taking care of something not so needy long term first. We have started with plants, then we'll move up to a fish of some sort, perhaps a dog or a cat (if space allows) and finally a child to love. Initially we bought some flowers, decorated the pots , planted the flowers which we had to love and care for. And it worked... for about a week. Our deck is not plant friendly seeing as how there is NO direct sunlight plus it's Vegas, let's be serious nothing grows here without constant attention which brings us to our next fault. Trying to remember something you don't see everyday was not working for us. Inevitably we scrapped that plan and moved on to Silvia our Strawberry. She lasted a whole 3 months until I went to Young Woman's camp and Jakob forgot all about her. Sadly we lost her and she was replaced by Monty the mint plant. Alas in a last minute effort to revive Monty we took him over to Mom and Dad Toblers. Sadly there was nothing that could be done and Monty too passed away.

With a new resolve Jakob and I are determined to make Basolina (our lemon basil plant) last more than a few months. She sits in our kitchen window sill along with Silvia the 2nd. Here's a picture of her after only 5 days.

And here she is after 4 weeks. We are so proud of our little plant!

Jakob's Nemesis

This story begins on a night just like any other night. I called Jakob on my way home from work. Everything was going a usual, simply chatting along when all of a sudden I hear this yelling. I realize that I (the phone) have been thrown to some far off place. Confused I listened to 30 seconds which entailed a combination of shouts, stomping, and hearing random words such as "DIE! DIE! DIE!" I had no clue what was going on. I thought someone had broken into the house or something. The source of all the commotion you ask?

This.... yes he is ugly and quite large. While on the phone this little guy climbed across Jakob's hand. That was it's first and last mistake. I knew that Jakob didn't like spiders but he not only dislikes them but HATES them. This poor guy was brought to his death by a pair of scissors. I came home to find him under a glass cup for me to dispose of just in case he came back to life. All of that over a silly spider. Poor Jakob.

Kickn' It Ol' Skool

Last night Jakob's old friends Ryan, Roel, and Michael came to Vegas for a quick visit. It was nice for Jakob to be able to visit and share some old memories with them. At 8:30 p.m I turned the 4 of them loose on the strip and at 3:00 in the morning they returned Jakob $60 richer. These boys were a bad influence. They had a lot of fun chumming around. It's amazing how time flies. It's been almost 6 years since Jakob graduated high school. Crazy!

Wii Love

Jakob and I have been doing a lot of this... and less cleaning and let me tell you it shows. Jakob and I adopted the Wii while we were in Canada. My parents had bought one and rarely used it so Jakob and I gladly volunteered to take it off of their hands. It is so much fun! Thanks Momma and Papa! Wii Love it!

Sock Monkey

Before I start writing about my hat, I would like to know how one is to properly photograph them (while wearing them) without looking ridiculous. Obviously I failed.. miserably, yet for some people it looks effortless. Please let me in on the secret!

I found the pattern for this hat here. I thought it was adorable and I simply could not resist. I got my yarn on clearance at Michaels so they are different types which I really didn't think made much difference. Because of the different thickness however I added several rows onto my hat to make it longer. I also wanted to have ear flaps so I made those from scratch. I am so pleased with the end result! I want to make a frog one now!

I'm Bringing the 50's Back

... well the late 50's early 60's. For a long time now I have wanted to sew something more than P.J. pants and quilts, I have wanted to make a dress. My mission: Find a pattern that doesn't need to be altered to become modest. I had my work cut out for me boy. Over the past 2 years I have progressively become cheaper and cheaper so naturally I went to Wal-Mart and started my search in the 1.99 pattern bin. I found a cute dress but I had to add sleeves. "No problem" I thought, "My mother-in-law is a seamstress". Little did I know how much work it took to just "whip" something up. I learned a lot along the way and over the course of two days and with a lot of help from dear Mom Tobler I am now the proud owner of a modest yet fabulously classy dress.

I didn't take a single picture of me sewing. At the time I was putting in my very first zipper is when Mom T started to click photos. In the above photo you can see the frustration in my face... I abhor doing hems. I ALWAYS end up rolling them. Clearly this is something that comes with patience and practice and at 10:00 p.m. on day two I had neither. After 4 1/2 hours of struggling with the sleeves I let Mom Tobler take the reins. She really is a super seamstress.

Haza! Here is the final product! I will probably wear it every day for the next week. I've already planned my next one but I have some skirts to alter a bit first. More 50's style and even better yet.. once upon a time they belong to my grandmother. Oh I'm getting sidetracked again.. back to my dress.

I love...

... love...

...LOVE it!! I had to throw this picture in just because I think it is adorable and even though you can't really tell... I'm wearing red shoes. I can't wait for my next dress! I think I've started something I cannot contain!

Happy VERY Belated 4th of July!

Going on vacation puts a few things on hold. One of those things would be blogging. For this I am sorry this is so late but I just had to post out 4th of July fun... late (okay very late) or not.

For the 4th of July we had a busy weekend. Saturday morning Jakob and I were in the Summerlin parade. He was supposed to be Garfield the cat and I a pirate, unfortunately Garfield was made to fit a 5' 5" person with Jakob being 6' 2" lets just say he was singing soprano. As one can see in the picture... it's not working. The frilly feet at his knees were supposed to be touching the ground.

In a last minute effort to make Jakob comfortable we switched him into Papa Bear with friend Britni Richards as his Mrs. He made an adorable Bernstein Bear.

Here are the pirates... well most of them. I do not own flat heeled pirate boots so the heels had to work. I didn't put them on until the last possible second to try and save my feet. I know they aren't even that tall! What can I say.. I'm an LDS girl who wears heels for 3 hours at church and most of that is sitting down. The walk was only about 2 miles but the 45 minute wait for things to get rolling was the killer. The walk in heels jumping and dancing around in the heat it was tough. I will be going to Ross as soon as fall hits to purchase some flat boots even if Jakob thinks they are hideous! Other than my choice of footwear being a pirate was awesome!

It didn't compare to my heat stroked hubby who stood up and waved to the crowd. He's super adorable when he's in costume. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! Even if it was almost 2 months ago!

Dear Followers,

I would like to start out by thanking you for reading my feeble attempts at capturing moments in my life. Your support and comments mean the world to me. This post, however, is not to recognize those that have blogs of their own but those that do not. You know who you are! Please start a blog so I may stalk you. I know your life may seem boring lets be serious have your read some of my posts? (Including this one) Most of the time they are pathetic. Or perhaps you are to busy? But there is so much more to blogging than entertainment. I blog for me, as a journal, having people who are interested in my life is just a bonus. I would love to hear your thoughts, feelings, adventures, creations, triumphs and alas inevitable failures. It would make my day!

With All My Love,

iLove

I must publicly thank my dear friend Jenna. While we were over at her place on Sunday she asked us if we wanted her old iPhone because she just got the new 4G beauty. I love my iPhone and even though Jakob will never admit it he loves them too, just not enough to get one for himself. I think he likes his new-to-him phone after all, he spent all morning playing with it. Thank you so much Jenna! We love it!

The First of Many

I simply cannot believe that Jakob and I have been married for an entire year already. To me it seems like the wedding was an eternity ago however it doesn't seem as though it's been a year since we were sealed in Salt Lake. This however is coming from a girl who still believes that it should be January. Time is simply flying. Our first year of marriage has been wonderful. We have had our ups, downs and learned a lot along our way. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband that loves and cares about me. He is so devoted to everything that he does. He is a hard worker, funny and charming. I love him dearly and am so thankful to be called his wife. I truly am blessed to have such a wonderful man as my eternal companion. I am looking forward to all of the adventures that eternity holds for us but for now I will go on cherishing each day that we are given to grow with one another. Happy Anniversary Jakob I love you.