Ouch!

Scars and bruises not inflicted by spousal abuse
I was going to post the tutorial for a towel dress yesterday, but something happened and my blogging time went out the window...

A couple days ago, Mr. TRH got in a bike accident. I was just about to step out to take my kids to swim lessons, and then the phone rang...

"Hello?", I said.

Mr. TRH: "Hey, hon, can you come to the Instacare?"

Me: "Sure, but what happen?"(I thought he got sick or something).

Mr. TRH: "I got in a bike accident..."

After I got to the Instacare, he told me the details of what happened.

Before he started work, he decided to get his biking done. He went on the bike trail. He rode some, and was ready to head back to work. Long story short, someone wasn't staying in their own lane and drove Mr. TRH off the trail. He went over the handle bars, landed on his shoulder and skidded off the path down a gravel embankment. The other biker? He kept on going (I think he didn't notice what he had caused, at least that's how I want to think). When he was trying to climb back up to the trail, two bikers noticed him and helped. Mr. TRH rode 4 miles after that to work, and someone took him to Instacare.

I am so grateful for people like that.

Although there were no broken bones, he did pop his shoulder out of joint and back in during the crash. He was injured pretty badly and had road rash on his hands, knees, and right arm. When I first saw him, he was in a wheel chair (he had to go get X-rays on his shoulder), and looked so pale.

Half of his face was swollen up, from his forehead across his right eye and cheek and there was a deep cut under his lips. The first thing the kids said was: "WOW...." (from a distance).

5 to 10 minutes after we got there he started to get his color back. We were talking, making some comments and joking around about the ordeal.

The nurse came in to scrub his wounds to clear out all the dirt and pebbles. Mr. TRH winced and said, "Oh, this is the part I wasn't looking forward to..." Then, I sang a song for him:

Do you really wanna hurt me...
Do you really wanna make me cry...
(this is an 80's song just in case you don't know). Mr. TRH started to shake, he was laughing and in pain at the same time.

Also, he started to sing "I got a dream" off the movie "Tangled". That has been our family's favorite song lately, and the part of the lyrics was perfect for what he looked like. It goes;

I've got scars and lumps and bruises
Plus something here that oozes
And let's not even mention my complexion
As he was singing, he was pointing at all the injuries on his body. The kids started to laugh and they were singing it together.

The doctor and the nurse might have thought that we are an odd family, but that's how we roll most of the times. :)

We were talking that the accident could have been much worse. We were so grateful that even though he is still in pain, it is not life threatening.

There is never a dull moment in our household. I just keep sending signals out there so that good and exciting things will come to our way.

Well, I am off to spend time and take care of my husband. I will see you at the next post!

Note: I am guest posting at Create Often today. Headover to say hi to Jennifer!

Link Party No.62!

That's me. Trying to become best friends with my new camera... and I am ashamed to say that we haven't quite reached that point yet.

I know it is entirely my fault, because whenever I needed to take pictures of my project, I usually don't have a whole lot of time, so I just grab the camera I am familiar with.

Mr. TRH lovingly asked, "Have you been using that camera?" and I would say "yea, every now and then. I will get used to it soon."
Then, he lovingly replies, "Uh-huh" but I can hear the sentence would follow in my mind.
"Uh-huh, just like the time when you got an iPod, a DS, and a Palm Pilot." Ahhhh... I just don't get along with technology, and even though I do know how to use them, I don't get attached to them.
BUT, this is different. I really wanna, should, and ought to become best buddies with my camera... maybe to the point that it is part of my body. Ok, that's a little bit of an exaggeration. I just want to master my camera, so it becomes second nature.

I can picture what I want the picture to look like, in my mind, but I can control my camera to make that happen yet.

One of the reasons why I am so busy is I have been working on guest tutorials that are scheduled for this month and next month. Something AWESOME happened to me a couple weeks ago, and I have been working on that too. It is so hard for me not to tell you, but I will share the good news when it is the time to tell... ( I wish you could see the BIG grin on my face right now).

Ok ladies, it is time for the link party. Go ahead and link up, have fun!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<center><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a></center>

Updates & a Cookbook for a Good Cause

(I will explain the picture later in the post)
I have been asked many times "So...how is your family?"...

After the earthquake, I received an enormous amount of emotional support from different people in different ways. You, dear blogger friends are some of them too. Thank you for being there for me.

I feel like I owe you some updates about my family but not much has changed. My family still lives in Sendai and is trying to live a normal life. They are fairly close to the nuclear reactor (within 80 km), and they still get smaller earthquakes daily. Sometimes, while we are on the phone, they will say "Ah! It's starting again, I gotta go!"...then they hang up the phone. I try not to but I can't help thinking "what if that was the last time I could talk to them..." until I hear from them again.

I am really worried about my small nieces and how the radiation will affect their bodies in the future. I have been trying to convince my family to come to America and stay with us, but their answer is "No". Their reason being is "they don't want to inconvenience us" or "What about school, job and mortgage", and so on. Also, my family still lives in their own house and now they can buy pretty much anything they need, so they don't feel like they have to make such a big decision, at least not yet.

On the other hand, people who lost everything, their living situation is FAR from normal. For example, one of my sister’s friends who lost their house (she is in her mid-30’s and she has two elderly parents and a grandmother who depends on her) sleeps in a tent by the destroyed home, and is working on the clean-up every day.

I have been sending care packages here and there, but I know that is only a fraction of what they really need. There are many stories that I have heard, but I hesitate to even share on my blog, because they are so disturbing...

After the quake, I heard stories and witnessed so many acts of humility and kindness towards the tsunami victims in Japan. It was and still is such a horrific event, but I am astonished that so many people have come together to do something to help and contribute.

I often think about the ways that I can help; a lot more than just my family and friends.

Missy from How Does she contacted me after the quake saying that she is putting a cookbook together to raise money for Japan. She contacted 50 plus bloggers and asked us to contribute their favorite recipes for the cookbook.
Then Heather from ChickaBug designed everything and just kept working hard till this cook book became a reality. You know what is great about them? They are going to donate 100% of the proceeds from the cookbook sale to the Red Cross.

She designed a big cartel site to sell it on so she wouldn't "gain" from any traffic it might send. She just wants to be clear that this is ENTIRELY about raising money for people who need it and has NOTHING to do with her blogging. Also, this book has no direct link to her site.

The book is designed to be used as an e-book, but it can also be printed and bound. It is a pdf, which is also perfect for iPad or e-readers. I have already received my copy, and let me tell you, it looks great! In case you are wondering what kind of recipe I contributed... (whisper) my mom's Kara-age(deep fried)chicken. It is a one of my favorite dishes that my mother made for us growing up. There are so many recipes that look so good and I want to try making them.

I should have a link to the shop on big cartel soon, so check back...

This book will be on sale for 1 week, and 1 week only! August 8th through the 14th.

I am going to ask for your help... Please talk, Facebook, tweet, post on your blog to spread the word. The price is going for $10 or $15; I haven't heard the final decision. Just think... You can gain 50 plus awesome recipes for a small amount of money, and 100% of that money will be donated to help the tsunami victims. Don't you think this is a win-win situation for all?

I just want to say a BIG thank you to Missy and Heather on behalf of the Japanese people who will be benefited by this for their kindness, thoughtfulness and dedication to this project. If we are all like them, the world would be a much better place to live. Don't you think so? :)

Link Love No. 61!

There were many projects that I liked, but I have to do what I have to do... I picked five favorites for this week's link party!

MeiJo's Joy saw this idea at Tip Junkie one day. She loved it so much that she was determined to recreate this mirror. Even though she had some difficulties along the way, she successfully made one for her wall! She used some cardboard, a lid to support the mirror, and sequins. You should be proud yourself! :)


When I saw this post "DIY Tufted Ottoman"'s before and after picture, my jaw dropped. Five days 5 ways shared how she turned a $40 Craigslist table to this amazing designer piece lookalike. I would love love to have something like this in my living room.


Do you have a name card? I have two of them for my stitchery design business, and for my blogging. I carry them with me most of the time, but they especially came in handy when I went to a bloggers meet up and quilt market. Running with Glitter shared how she made her Mommy/Blog business card. It is such a cute card; it would definitely leave an impression for sure.


I love projects that are inexpensive but have maximal effect and use. Claremont Avenue shared such a project with us. She turned $1 tin pails into stylish pots for her herbs. I thought those would be so perfect on the shelves to sort knick-knacks to declutter (yes I am speaking about my house). Thank you for the great idea!


Taylor Made shared how to turn an ordinary beach towel into a "stake your claim" beach towel! How come I have never thought of this? If you ever have been to a beach, you know the frustration when the wind blows the towels. Go check out her blog to see how she did it!


Thank you all for participating. I hope your summer is one big blast!

Date Night

Yup, that's us, Mr. TRH and I. Who needs a diet? :)

I had such a fun night! Mr. Tea Rose Home and I went out on a date tonight. We hardly ever go out without the kids, usually we are too busy, and after paying for a baby sitter, a date becomes so expensive. BUT, we did it. We got out the usual routine and got out the house... just two of us!!

One of the places we went to was an exhibit called "30 strangers" by a talented photographer Justin Hackworth. 30 Strangers is a portrait project fundraiser which raised money for our local women’s shelter, the Center for Women and Children in Crisis. The theme for the pictures was "Mother & Daughter", they were so fun to look at, and there were a few pictures that I really loved. I feel like He captured their moments so nicely. Also, five great writers read essays they wrote on "motherhood". Their words were so true, some were funny, some were so tender and I felt like I connected to what they were talking about as a mother. After we walked out of the exhibit, I felt liberated and ready to take on being a "MOM" again… starting tomorrow.

If you want to know more about the exhibit go to his blog. If you live in the area, You won't wanna miss it!

After that, Mr. Tea Rose Home took me to out to a sushi restaurant, we spent some time in a book store (I LOVE going to a book store) then we went to different restaurant for dessert. :) Mmmm chocolate.

We talked and talked (We are both TALKERS sometimes we are so excited about what we want to say and talk over each other, but somehow we are both satisfied and it works, funny huh?) And, shhhh... Do you hear anything? No, no one was bugging us to go to the bathroom or arguing or those kinds of things. Having a conversation without interruption in grown up space was so nice! Ah...seriously, we need to get out more often.

Big thanks to Mr. TRH, my better half, and best friend for such a fun evening. You are the best!

Link Party No. 61!

I have been in a cooking mood lately. I am still very busy, but the schedule is somewhat more flexible than during the school year. I can cook things that take more time and effort or try out a new recipe or two. One of the recipes that I tried recently and that turned out really good was this "Ultimate Banana Bread". I found the recipe on Cook's Illustrated Magazine that I checked out from the library. (I tried to look for the recipe on their site, but you have to sign up to see the recipe).

It was so moist and flavorful. Mmm... (This doesn't help me with curbing my appetite for carbs, help!).

So, what have you been up to, please show off your creations!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<center><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a></center>

Lemonade Day

I decided that today is a good day to make lemonade...


By the way, the picture below is a little sneak peak for my new tutorial. I made the dress Rachel is wearing out of ordinary kitchen towels. I will have the tutorial ready sometime this week (hopefully...fingers crossed).




She has been busy painting this morning; do you see some paint on her hands?

Who knew that making lemonade can be so much fun? I basically taught them what to do, and they did most of the work. Maybe some of "Sachiko's cooking class" is paying off? I am proud of how he is holding the lemon.


We decided to make lemon limeade with some strawberries.
The results? Oh, it was so good!