Baby Shower for Sissy

It has been a long journey for my sister, who at 44 gave birth to her first child. They did everything imaginable to bring this precious miracle to this world and Baby Myla is a blessing.

My sister is an amazing person and she will be an amazing mother. Her husband is the same and is a natural at being a dad, according to my sister. Despite the COVID pandemic, I managed to make a small shower for our immediate family to celebrate Baby Myla's arrival.

COVID did make it hard for us to gather like we would have so we did a shower-by-mail and a small in-person shower for just our immediate family at my grandparent's house.

I used the Canva app to create Sissy's Shower by mail invitation. It was a Disney themed but we also wanted it to be feminine since we were excited that Sissy was going to have a girl. I also used Canva's printing service which produced a really nice quality invitation really quick.

We ordered sugar cookies from Lady Cakes Hawaii (you can find her on Instagram - @ladycakeshi). The cookies looked amazing and even tasted really good. Lady Cakes was super easy to work with, especially because I love to use technology, we texted back and forth while she was busy with Easter orders. I got the cookies a day before she promised. We ordered a Mickey and Minnie silhouettes, a pink rose, Baby and Girl decorated sugar cookies. We ordered 40 sets all individually wrapped.

Because we're just "extra" kind of people, we made decorated gift bags for those we hand delivered and packaged for the ones we mailed out. It was a crazy production. As I mentioned in a prior post, we used to run a florist/gift shop from our home and have lots of leftover supplies. So I made gift bags with paper flowers and lots of ribbon.

Invitations were sent and gifts started trickling to Sissy's home directly from Amazon and Target. Those baby registries were pretty cool. Now I had time to work on my gift and family shower decorations. I love Pinterest so I found some cool pins. I decided to make a felt floral Minnie gold ring hanging decoration for the nursery. I got most of my materials from Amazon and had the ribbon and wires from my left over florist supplies.

Supplies used: 1 - 14" metal ring, 2 - 5" metal ring, wire, felt flowers, glue gun, glue sticks, craft glue, burlap ribbon, lace ribbon, Mickey and Minnie Tsum Tsums.

These are affiliate links and if you order something, I may receive a small commission. Thank you, in advance, if you order something.

First, I made my felt flowers. I bought some premade ones from Etsy and bought the kit above to make my own. I thought it would have been cheaper to use the kit versus buying my own felt and looking for the patterns for my Cricut to cut. (BTW, my Cricut is out of the box but never been used. LOL).

Next, I assembled my rings (1 - 14" and 2 - 5") using wire and used burlap and race ribbons for the center.

I added the flowers and placed the Mickey and Minnie Tsum Tsums to the top. I think it came out pretty cute. To be extra, you could add baby's name on it as well.

Moving on to my diaper cake. I didn't want to do the traditional full diaper cake so I thought I would make it a combination diaper cake decoration and packaging for my gift.

Supplies used: Set of 3 round nesting boxes, Burp cloths, Milk Snob, Assorted vinyl Tsum Tsums, ribbons, decorations (minnie cupcake picks, oh baby cupcake picks, jewel picks), tape, safety pins, small gifts for the inside, diapers, rubber bands, curling ribbon, felt flowers, baby head bands

Here are some of the things I used from Amazon. These are affiliate links that have no cost to you, however if you click the link and buy something, I may receive a small commission. Thank you, in advance, for your support!

First, I rolled a pack and a half of diapers holding the with rubber bands. Then I put them around the nesting box in 2 layers. I tied with curling ribbon to hold it in place. I used a clear platter to hold the diaper cake.

Place the gift inside the nesting box. I gave a pack of onesies. Cute bunny set onesies are from Amazon, too. https://amzn.to/3ojc5kx (You can find it here using my affiliate link, which has no cost to you but if you buy using the link, I may get a small commission. Thank you, in advance, if you use it.) I used the milk snob to cover the bottom layer but you could just wrap with a thick ribbon. Continue doing the same for each layer (i had 3). I wrapped the top later with the burp cloth. Then the fun part - add ribbons, felt flowers, jewels and tsum tsums as you like.

For fun, I wrapped the extra rolled diapers into mini cakes and wrapped them with the burp cloths. At set up, I added the cupcake toppers for extra pizzazz. I also made easy banners using cardstock, baker's twine and paper straws.

The tablescape came out pretty cute. I bought gold sequined table cloth from Amazon (click on the photo below to go to my affiliate link, that has no cost to you but if you purchase, I may get a small commission ), used an old sheer backdrop draping for the back, wooden crates, wrapped boxes of tissue paper for risers, wrapped couple of baby bottles in gold paper as risers, had a variety of decorations in pink, baby shower banner, Disney decorations and flowers for the finishing touches.

Final setup with desserts in. Homemade Mickey rice crispies treats, mini strawberry cupcakes, chichi dango (mochi), strawberry bar cake, korean corn snacks, strawberry lemon water and sugar cookies.

For dinner, we had kalbi, spicy kim chee pork, japchae, sushi cake, potato macarroni salad, caesar salad, gyoza, fried saimin, rice and pizza.

Since it was just family, we didn't have any games like a usual shower. I did make simple favors of Mickey rice crispies treats with Mickey dish cloth from Daiso but I forgot to take the final photo. Just in case you want to try and make your own Disney rice crispies treats, you can buy these molds. They worked pretty well.

Here's my affiliate link for the Mickey and Minnie molds. As mentioned, affiliated links do not cost you anything but if you purchase something, I may get a small commission. Thank you, in advance, if you make a purchase. Besides the rice crispies treats, you could use these for cookies, bento making, mini sandwiches, meat and cheese platters, to cut fruit or veggies and even crafting.

Baby Myla did make her magical debut on May 11, 2021 at 12:52 p.m. Mom and baby are doing well, despite the early arrival. Shayna is excited to finally have a girl cousin as she is the only girl grandchild on both sides of the family. I'll be sure to take better pictures when we work on Myla's first birthday party, which is a pretty big deal in Hawaii. But depending on COVID-19, we will see how big or small it will be.

Thank you for reading. Hope it sparked some ideas for your next party. #itsagirl #disneybabyshower #mickeyricecrispies #differentdiapercake #tsumtsumdiapercake #minnienurseryhanging #minniefloralwreath #puppyloveandflowers #ohanaovereverything #stich #mickeymouse #disney #disneythemedparty #minniemouse #aliceinwonderland #poohandfriends #minniemilksnob #onesies #luckywelivehawaii #sushicake #mickeysushicake #ladycakeshi #ladycakeshawaii #sugarcookies #decoratedsugarcookies

I got stung by the K-Pop bug, specifically the BTS one.

Last year during the midst of COVID-19 and with all the talks about layoffs and pay cuts, I started thinking about my "side hustle". How was I going to make up for the potential 15-20% pay cut proposed for my State job or how are we going to cut expenses to make it bearable. That was the reason I started this website and although I didn't really know what I would be doing for my "side hustle", I wanted to share my journey instead of having everything planned out before I went live. As you get to know me, I'm very different and all over the place. I wanted to share my stories (my failures and successes - I hope) and to start selling my crafts and off load my old inventory (we used to be a florist/gift shop from 1999 - 2014). I was excited and despite COVID-19, I was convinced that 2020 could still be an awesome year. Sounded like an amazing plan but unfortunately, I got into a funk with COVID-19 and actually got infected with it during the summer.

In the summer of 2020, I became one of the statistics that got COVID-19 but luckily I had mild symptoms that mimicked my allergies and didn't infect my family, coworkers or friends. It's a possibility that it was a false positive but I'll never know (I participated in a COVID research project and my first blood test showed no antibodies). Anyways, the guilt and shame that I felt, along with the frustrations/anxieties that came with the pandemic, I become sad, lost and depressed. Not too bad but enough that I needed something to help me get out of it.

So, this is my story of how I became a fan of BTS, an ARMY. Little did I know, it all started in 2017, as the first BTS song that I heard on the radio was "Mic Drop". I was like... "I like this", "Ohhhh, sounds like it's Korean", and thought that it was cool to hear music in another language besides Spanish on American radio. I heard the song several more times and ended up buying "Mic Drop" on iTunes. Funny thing is that in the past, I didn't really like music (it never really spoke to me, it was just background noise) and I usually would rather be lost in my thoughts than listen to the radio. Probably the only reason I started to listen to the radio was because my daughter loves music.

I would say around this time, I also started watching a lot Korean Dramas and started getting used to the sound of the Korean language and songs. My husband started to listen to K-Pop, too and introduced me to Black Pink and Ateez. He also found a local station that played K-Pop, too. Pop!99.1 was on every time I was driving to and from work. In 2019, I bought my second K-Pop single, it was a collab with Ava Max and NCT 127, "So Am I". This song spoke to me (Do you ever feel like a misfit? Everything inside you is dark and twisted

Oh, but it's okay to be different. 'Cause baby, so am I) and the Korean addition just made it more cool. At this point, I still never imagined that I would become a BTS fan since I'm not one to have a favorite song or band/musician. I don't even have a favorite movie or actor. LOL! BTS' "Boy with Luv" also came out in 2019, a collab with Halsey so this song also played on American radio. My thought then was good for them. I didn't buy this one. I started hearing chatter about BTS from coworkers, family or on social media but never imagined that I would become a fan.

During my COVID funk, I lost my spark. My coworker Cori, calls me "Unicorn and Rainbows" which is usually how I roll. But during my funk, I felt like a grey little girl in the rain with no umbrella. But luckily, I have a school friend who is a big fan of K-Pop boy band, BTS, who posted little clips and photos of BTS on her social media daily. At first, I didn't really pay attention much but one day, I was curious and watched a couple clips of their variety show. I read some articles to see why this boy band from South Korea was so popular and it was intriguing. After a couple of weeks, I was hooked. As my friend put it, I went down the rabbit hole and there was no coming out. LOL! She was right. I love anime and the BTS members were all just so cute in their mannerism and interactions with each other. At first it's weird to think that this super mega famous K-Pop band as cute but their interactions are just that - cute, warm and fuzzy kind of aura. Some of the posts and comments from fans I've read were that BTS "saved" them, made them feel loved and got them through rough times. "Must be young kids", I thought, how cute is it that these young adults love their idols that much. So I stayed as a distraction but had no expectations for anything in return.

As a woman in her mid forties (ugh! I hate the sound of that), it happened to me, too. BTS pulled me out of my funk. I don't understand a word of Korean so it wasn't like their songs told me to "love myself" or that I'll be fine or whatevers. Even to this day, I'm not exactly sure what it is about BTS that speaks to my soul but all I know is that they fanned my dying flame to bring me back to life, they sparked joy back into my life and made me remember that I am important and if I can't love myself, I cannot continue to be the person that I worked so hard to be.

I'm sure if I read the stories of other artists, I may have been apart of another fandom but here I am, BTS fan, ARMY if you will. The story of their beginning to their current successes brings inspiration; their message and actions help their fans, ARMYs everywhere, to love themselves and to spread love; to not give up and most of all to be thankful. I've always been the person who was kind, helpful and hard working so I didn't change in that sense, but I think I lived my life for others more than for myself. Even prior to BTS, I've always told my daughter that the person you should love the most is yourself because if you don't love and take care of yourself, you cannot do for others. Funny thing was that all this time, I thought I was loving myself by always analyzing what I did and figuring out how I could be a better person but the perspective I used was wrong. I was focused on how my actions benefitted other people and how my presence would make a difference for others. I didn't practice what I preached and that's why at 45, during the pandemic when the whole world stopped, I got lost and fell apart. I cried a lot and in front of people (which is something I don't do). I'm usually good at figuring out what's wrong and usually can easily fix myself or am able to accept what I cannot change, but this time, I was broken.

By this time, I was in deep and streaming all of BTS' songs. One day, a song came on and I really didn't pay attention to the English parts but I started balling. So, I googled the lyrics and felt a sigh of relief. Realization (Epiphany LOL) hit me and almost immediately I felt better.

English translated lyrics: https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-bts-epiphany-english-translation-lyrics

[Verse 1]

So weird, I for sure loved you so much Adapted to you with everything, I wanted to live my life for you But as I keep doing that I just can't bear the storm inside my heart The real myself inside the smiling mask, I reveal it entirely [Chorus] I'm the one I should love in this world Shining me, precious soul of mine I finally realized so I love me Not so perfect but so beautiful I'm the one I should love [Verse 2] I'm shaking and afraid but I keep going forward I'm meeting the real you, hidden in the storm Why did I want to hide my precious self like this? What was I so afraid of? Why did I hide my true self? [Chorus] I'm the one I should love in this world Shining me, precious soul of mine I finally realized so I love me Not so perfect but so beautiful I'm the one I should love [Bridge] I may be a bit blunt, I may lack some things I may not have that shy glow around me But this is me My arms, my legs, my heart, my soul [Chorus] I wanna love in this world Shining me, precious soul of mine I finally realized so I love me Not so perfect but so beautiful I'm the one I should love [Outro] I'm the one I should love I'm the one I should love

And just like that I got my answer. I knew what was wrong and I was determined to fix it. I was on my journey to self love and self care. It did take a while and some money (not going to lie - I was a hot mess) but I feel like I'm at a point where I have balance between making myself a priority and fulfilling my passion to helping others.

Sometimes it may sound like loving yourself is being selfish but that's not it at all. For me, it started with spending a little money for myself to take care of my physical appearance. I bought skin care, make up, new clothes and shoes. Sure, it may seem vain but when I look in the mirror, I like what I see. I can see my flaws while admiring my brows and eye makeup (LOL, it's a thing for me). Before, my attitude was decent enough, nothing to look at here. I am what I am. Love me or leave me. I'm overweight and have been all my life but never felt bad about it. Must be all that "Unicorn and rainbows" thing. Even though I didn't feel bad, I didn't feel good either. It's not about how pretty I look with this new eye shadow or how nice my hair is, it's about making myself a priority, showing myself that I am just as important as the person I want to help. Making time for yourself, making it known that "I" am important, too, does wonders for your mental health. You can see how well your mental health is doing but you can see how your physical self is doing, which in my opinion goes hand in hand. This was the easy and fun part. I'm continuing to re-learn about myself, letting myself enjoy life, making "me" time, setting boundaries and enjoying BTS along the way.

Mental health is just as important as physical health. There are a lot of free resources out there, especially with COVID-19. Talk to a friend, a trusted family member, your doctor, your trusted coworker, your church or seek an online support group. Just know that you're not alone and you don't have struggle alone. If you're in Hawaii, you can contact Hawaii Cares for free help. (https://hicares.hawaii.gov/ For Oʻahu 1-808-832-3100 | toll-free 1-800-753-6879) Take care and stay safe!!

In case you're interested in learning more about BTS,I check out some of their music videos or stream their music. They are everywhere - google them and see what they are all about.

And if you're interested in some BTS Tiny Tan goodies, I have a discount code. This is an affiliate link and I may earn a small commission if you buy something. Thanks!

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by.

#BTS #BTSARMY #BTSsavedme #mentalhealthmatters #covidsurvivor #RM #Jin #Suga #JHope #Jimin #V #Jungkook #BTStinytan #Epiphany #Loveyourself #Imfine #puppyloveandflowers

Sunrise

"Every sunrise gives you a new beginning and a new ending. Let this morning be a new beginning to a better relationship and a new ending to the bad memories. It's an opportunity to enjoy life, breath freely, think and love. Be grateful for this beautiful day."

Norton Juster

I'm definitely not a morning person and rarely see the sun rise. LOL. But regardless if I see it daily, the sun rises everyday bringing blessings and miracles to us all. We might not be able to see it or even appreciate it, but it is there.

It's been a rough 8 months. Back in July 2020, I was optimistic that 2020 was still going to be a great year, despite COVID-19. I was determined to make lemonade out of lemons but I had a hard time. I wouldn't say I failed but I definitely had to put those lemons in the freezer. to deal with later. Hahaha.

It started when I was confirmed COVID-19 positive in August 2000. Because of my job, I thought I was careful - I always wore my mask, washed/sanitized my hands, wiped things down, stayed within my work/family bubble and only left the house to go into work (on my scheduled days) and seldom visits to buy take out food for my family. I guess in a way, I was careful - I had COVID-19 but my family nor the people I had direct contact with got COVID-19 from me. My husband and daughter was fine - it was inconvenient but we were all fine.

I suffer from daily allergies so I didn't even feel sick or any more miserable than usual. The reason I got tested was because my husband had possible exposure at work and because I'm high risk (due to medical conditions), I freaked out and asked my doctor to get tested. To my surprise, my husband tested negative but the day after, I tested positive. I couldn't believe it. It was the weekend before my daughter's birthday and the week that she started school (distance learning). I had to kick her out of her room, hubby cleared out the spare bath so I could have my own bathroom to use and moved my daughter's stuff for school to the living room.

Luckily I felt fine so I was able to telework the whole 10 days I was in isolation but my husband had to stay home from work for 14 days. I missed my daughter's birthday, which hit me hard. I coordinated with my sister and mom to get her birthday decorations and dinner, I managed to put together a last minute Facebook chat room celebration, my in-laws bought the cutest unicorn cake and although I felt heartbroken, my daughter felt like it was a great birthday.

I was the first to get diagnosed with COVID-19 at my office so it was rough. Some of my coworkers were mad, which I understood but it just made me feel worse than I thought I would. I felt shame that I failed to keep myself healthy, shame for possibly spreading it at work or to anyone, shame for the inconvenience that I caused whomever was affected by me being COVID-19 positive. I'm usually a positive person but it beat me down hard. I cried everyday I was in isolation. I cried for months after. I felt lost beyond words.

I usually am the type to know what's wrong and know what I "need" to fix it. But this time, I was lost and drowning. I had a breakdown at work. I wasn't happy and I couldn't breathe. Then a thing happened.... my schoolmate on Facebook was posting lots of BTS videos, articles, clips. I've heard of BTS when Mic Drop started playing on the radio in 2017 and I'm not really a music lover but I did buy their song on iTunes. LOL. Little did I know, BTS would help me refocus and push me up to the surface so I could take a breath.

With each breath, I felt better and was able to feel something more than sorrow. For months, I would watch a music video, an episode of BTS on YouTube and stream their music here and there. It was about the time Dynamite came out so BTS news was big in the US. I wouldn't say I was a true fan yet but I was drawn to their music even though I couldn't understand what they were saying. Their little video clips brought me joy.

I remember one day when I was teleworking and was listening to "Epiphany" and I just remembered being overwhelmed with emotion and started to cry. I listened to the music intently, trying to figure out what it was. I heard Jin sing, "I'm the one that I should love in this world" and it clicked. I went to look what the song title was..... "Epiphany". I thought, really? and just laughed out loud. It was the changing point for me. I'll share my love for BTS in new posts later on.

From Wikipedia - "An epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphanea, "manifestation, striking appearance") is an experience of a sudden and striking realization. ... Epiphanies are relatively rare occurrences and generally follow a process of significant thought about a problem." Epiphany (feeling) - Wikipedia

Although I did have an "epiphany", it took a while before I really changed. I think in general, I always did what made me happy but in more recent times, I think I lost sight of myself a little bit and put people and their needs before mines. I let the darkness consume me, which is what I needed at the time. Maybe a little late to the game but taking care of myself and making sure I practice what I preach to my daughter, will only make me a stronger person and create a path for her to "love herself" in practice and not just words.

Ready for the sunrise? Yup! Bring it on. With every sunrise, it will bring me a new day to enjoy life and love, appreciate my family and friends, make choices that brings me joy, celebrate the little things, see the good in people, say good bye to the darkness and bad memories, and most of all - LOVE MYSELF.