other design

More of my recent stuff.
Birthday post cards from the church.
(click on any to enlarge)

(Kids)

(Teens)

(Adult Women)

These are some initial drafts of the adult woman's card that I ended up not going with. I didn't like them really at all.

some design work

The latest project. Did it from scratch. Sent off to print today. It was one of my first big ones. Winter edition Bulletins for both branches. This one is just the Centralia Branch. They both look very similar.

I like it. It makes me excited about the coming winter months.

(It's a tri-fold. 8 1/2 by 14. The big blank space on the outside is where the week's sermon slide or series slide is printed.)

Click on it to enlarge.

(inside)

(outside)

P.S. I do appreciate constructive criticism and also do freelance design work too.

My Seth

Seth got ordained this past Sunday in a very special and memorable celebration service at church. I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing man. He is a man of great integrity and humility. He walks with quiet strength and authority and has a heart of compassion for others. He has the unique ability to just simply love. He is a natural born leader with a rebel's heart for all the right causes. God has placed an anointing on him unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and I am so blessed to be his wife. It’s so easy to see that God has amazing things in store for him. Everyone that surrounds him just watches him with great expectations just to catch a glimpse of God's hand. It's so evident in his life. I’m so glad I get to travel with him on this journey and live this masterpiece of a life with him!

"...And all I can say
Is you blow me away

Like an apple on a tree
Hiding out behind the leaves
I was difficult to reach
But you picked me
Like a shell upon a beach
Just another pretty piece
I was difficult to see
But you picked me
Yeah you picked me"

(This picture is a little blurry, but it's from the ordination...there's a baby bump somewhere in there.)

November

November’s calendar is filling up. Seth is preaching in “big church” at both branches two different Sundays. I am so proud. We have a high school youth girl’s road trip one weekend. We will be going to Cincinnati, staying overnight, doing some shopping and going to the creation museum. The weekend after that our church is having a women’s “Shopping Retreat” in St. Louis where we will basically spend Friday night doing girly things at a hotel all night and then will spend all day Saturday shopping. We are intending on going to Chicago for Thanksgiving and going shopping the day after that. Shopping… in Chicago… the day after Thanksgiving! Just the thought gives me chills! …the good kind.

I’ve had some complaints that I haven’t taken enough pics of the “baby bump” that has just popped out of no where in the past couple of weeks. Being out with ministry 5 nights a week right now leaves little room for anything other than plopping on the couch when we get home. I will work on it.

Let's Talk About Food!

Living in a smaller town, our choices of good quality dining establishments are quite limited...

We have just about every major fast food chain you can think of, a couple Chinese spots, one decent Mexican restaurant (pretty good for not being in Texas), and several mom and pop establishments that specialize in anything deep fried. If you want a good salad... forget it. You're driving to the next town. So basically, the latest trend in the fast food industry to provide healthier options has been a life saver for us. McDonalds Salads, Wendy's Baked Potatoes, and Subway have just about saved our lives. (Or at least added years to it) I definitely cook as often as possible, but with our schedule it's had to be consitant. Regardless of who cooks it, I lean more toward the more fresh things.

One of the most popular pregnancy questions is "What are you craving???" I feel like I'm disappointing people when I give them my list because it's nothing really too incredibly delicious. However, there are a few things that really ALWAYS sound good, ALL the time. I get hungrier more often, but when I sit down to eat, I get pretty full, pretty quick. The hingrier I get, the grumpier and more mean I tend to get. (Sorry Seth!) But, I must be doing something right because I didn't gain one pound during my third month. Apparently this isn't a bad thing... it's probably due to the fact that Centralia food right now just doesn't call to me... or my baby.

Here are a few of my favorite things right now...

Blackberry Sprite or Unsweet Iced Tea from Sonic.
Happy hour indeed!

Soup and Salad!
This tends to be the ONE thing that I always want for any meal.
(along with salad goes raw veggies dipped in ranch!)

Baked Potatoes!
...goes great with soup too!

Sandwiches!
...also a friend to soup!
(oh, and the Fresca in the background too... one of my faves right now!)

Skittles!
I've never been a big Skittle lover but right now the purple bag (and only the purple bag) of skittles just calls to me!

These guys make me happy!

The End... for now.
(we still have 5 and 1/2 months to go!)


I'm glad I wrote this right before lunch...

A Healthy and Active Baby Baltzell!

We got to see our baby today! The little guy or girl was VERY active, I think I need to cut out the caffeine totally from the looks of things. He/she was bouncing around at first and it's little arms and legs were just all over the place! It was sooooo cute! The baby calmed down some and layed on it's side and looked like it was resting it's head on it's arm just in time for a picture. We are so incredibly grateful for a healthy and active baby!

I'm also further along than I thought and I got my official due date, which was a week sooner than the original date I was given. So, the official date is April 23, 2009. I am 13 weeks and 5 days... but was told I can officially say I'm "in my 14th week!" Every little bit helps!

I definitely have a small baby bump forming and am slowly but surely getting accustomed to the idea of maternity clothes. Oh, and some more good news, between last months appt and todays, I hadn't gained any weight. I didn't know if that was good or bad, but they said it was a good dign that I'm eating right and staying active enough to not put on any un-needed lbs!

We will find out in 5 weeks (the week of Thanksgiving) the sex of the baby! I can't wait!

So here's the baby (about the size of a lemon)!!! Click on the pictures to make them bigger!

Our Baby (kind-of)

Magnolia Cupcakes

When I decided to start baking I began looking around online for recipes for delightful pastries, pies, cakes and such. I almost instantly found a charming bakery in NYC called Magnolia Bakery that had the most enchanting cupcakes I've ever seen. Nothing too fancy, just very pretty and delightful cupcakes loaded with icing. After some digging I found the recipe they use and tried it out myself. The cake batter AND the amazing butter cream icing were both homemade. The taste was incredible... it was the perfect cupcake and icing recipe. Not bad for my first attempt at becoming a baker!

The first set of pictures are THEIR cupcakes... the second set are mine.

Theirs...

And mine...

(the lighting was bad in the kitchen, the cupakes look greenish, but they were a very soft blue.)

I had so much batter and icing left over I made a small cake...

Update on the to-do list:

Remember my to-do list that I wrote back in July(ish)?

Well, I thought I'd write an update on how it's going.

Here we go:

Things on my to-do list:

(clockwise from top right)

1.) Get a hair cut… or maybe I should say trim. It’s the longest it’s been since high school and I am loving it, but it is way past time for a trim. I might settle for some new bangs or something. I think a fresh shape will help inspire me in many different ways.

Believe it or not... I still haven't had a haircut. It's so long at the moment and pretty healthy, but still, it's on my list and will be done before the holidays!

2.) Start taking more pictures again. I’ve hit a lull, and I’m not sure why. But it makes me feel connected to the world... which is a good feeling.

I actually forgot that this was even on my to-do list and just today was thinking that I'm definitely slacking in this department. Fall is here and there's no excuse! That and I have a baby on the way! Right now I'm feeling sick all of the time, my clothes are getting slightly tight and I'm not quite in the mood to be taking pictures, but after the first trimester, I'll really make a big effort.

3.) Find some new music that I love.

I DID! And am always on the search, but for now, my playlist is looking up!

4.) Give voice lessons again. I have the students, I just need to make the calls and schedule them.

And CHECK! I now have EIGHT voice students! The number is larger than I though it would be, so split them into groups of 4 and I do group lessons. I am so proud of them! Not only are they developing beautiful voices and stage presence, they are really developing hearts for worship and THAT is why I do what I do! One student is already leading worship at the youth service (that's in front of over 100 people!) and in 2 weeks another one will be leading!

5.) Finish my house. The living room is basically done. The Kitchen is 99% completed. The main bathroom needs wall paper peeled, needs texture, I need to decide on a color scheme, paint, and get creative with the décor! This item on the to-do list also includes my DIY projects that involve refinishing a couple pieces of furniture, painting and freshening up some rummage sale finds and finding a creative way to display wedding pictures in our new home.

The Living Room is totally done... as well as the kitchen. Now with the baby coming our guest room will become the office and the office will become the nursery. We are working on it bit by bit.

6.) Get really good at baking. I’ll just start off with one recipe, get really good at that one, and then go from there.

I am really working hard at this one. Not long after I wrote this I experimented with Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes. I will write a blog after this one and post the pictures. It was a lot of fun and they turned out gorgeous. This past week I made my first coconut cream pie and it turned out wonderful as well. I do this as I have time and right now Seth is doing a lot of free-lance web-design, graphic design, and church media consulting and the nights he is working on that I am usually baking!

7.) Start going on walks with my husband. It’s something he enjoys, and something I would just assume put at the bottom of my list. I need to stop being so selfish.

As sick and tired as I've been... NOT A CHANCE! Although I have been reading that it can actually help with the sickness, but for now, at some points I can't even walk from the couch to the bed, so I'm gonna have to work my way up to the street! It's not an issue of motivation, it's an issue of being crazy tired and sleepy, ALL THE TIME! Hopefully after the first trimester is over I'll feel better!

8.) Look into scrap booking. It’s really big here and although most places are void of creativity in this mundane town, there are at least 2 or 3 nice sized scrapbooking stores. I’ve always been skeptical of this hobby, but I may find great creative release in this. We shall see. I will start by actually stepping foot in one of the stores.

I've looked into it, but haven't had the time to actually start. I REALLY want to and WILL.

9.) Find ways to de-stress. No explanation needed.

Me and Missy are starting a Yoga/Pilates program after this round of small groups is over... possibly before.

10) Learn how to make Grand-ma B’s homemade jelly. (Seth’s Grandma Baltzell, who is 91, lives by herself, is on no medication, is famous for her strawberry and blackberry jelly, has put mayonnaise on her face every night for the past 20 years because she read in a magazine that it’s good for it, and still doesn’t look a day over 70)

Since grandma broke her hip a couple months ago she hasn't done any jelly making, but I have no doubt she'll be at it again very soon.

11.) Improve my skills in my 3 “P” areas….Prayer, Piano, and Photoshop

Check, check, and check. More so in the prayer and Photoshop category than piano, but every little bit counts. Because of my attempt to improve in Photoshop (and prayer) I have received a promotion (of sorts) into the graphic design and creative arts department at the church where I work. It's more of a multimedia position, and I am still doing some administration. but either way I am super happy about it and it was a HUGE answer to prayers. God knew just what I needed when I needed it and opened the doors to give it to me.

12.) Start Reading… and writing… something…anything… at least once a day.

Other than books on pregnancy, this has been a struggle. I usually become very inspired around the fall and winter seasons and will do my best to channel it into expanding my mind.