I hate to say it, but I'm glad December is over. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays but I think this year more than ever I've been looking forward to the fresh start that 2013 offers.
I've never been one to make resolutions, because we all know how hard they are to keep.
So this year I'm making *NO EXCUSES!* I stole that motto from my lovely mother.
Some of my basics:
~ Blog more! Here's lookin' at you, kids! I love to blog, but always feel too boring. That will change, as I plan on using my blog to keep me motivated to stick to my goals!
~ Eat healthy and shed a few pounds! That one is pretty self explanatory. I've been doing a little P90X with my husband lately so my goal is to add a daily workout to my normal routine and shed a little of the "post wedding weight" I've put on since my wedding last June!
~ Be more active! I'm a homebody by nature, but my husband LOVES to do outdoor activities and so far, he's never been wrong about how fun a new adventure can be! I plan on getting out of the house more in 2013, living life to the fullest and enjoying some new activities, both solo & as a family!
~ Finally give up my vices. I gave up soda a couple years ago and I've given up smoking (I'll admit to a few social cigarettes in the past few months though, a habit I plan on kicking 100% this year). I don't think I could ever give up my beloved Red Bulls...but cutting back almost entirely on my coffee is a fair trade for me. A girl has to have something, right?
~ Finish a quilt...ANY quilt! Actually, I plan on finishing more than one! I want to make a scrap quilt and a baby quilt at least.
~ Make something of myself! My plan is to focus on my sewing and stop making excuses for why it hasn't taken off yet. I'm the problem! I have such a great support team behind me, and I really need to focus on doing something for myself this year. Something that is just for me and makes me happy. I'm going to turn Miss B Design into a reality, something I can actually profit from!
~ Save more! I plan on mildly couponing this year (I have no energy or patience for extreme couponing) and I plan on setting aside money as a regular habit!
~ Work! Whether I'm working from home or somewhere else, I want to make more income this year!
~ Start planning for the future of our family. Maybe that means a baby, maybe it means a college fund! ;)
~ Be more organized! This is something I've been mastering for the past few years. I'm organized almost to a fault. Sometimes I don't put things back where they go but my wicked awesome photographic memory always knows where to find it. I need to work on keeping things where they belong! I also need to invest in some serious shelving or drawers for storage!
~ Finally clear out the garage! We have alot of old boxes out there that have accumulated over the years since we move so much. I got to a point where I didn't unpack everything each time and now that its been stored for a year, you start to realize how much you're not going to miss it!
Tonight, my husband and I will sit down with a couple cold beers and discuss our plans together for 2013. This could be a great year if we play it right!
I hope that you all have a wonderful and safe New Years! We will be visiting family in Tampa.
Bring it on 2013!!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
*A New Quilt!*
Last Monday I received a package in the mail. A large package! I had been waiting for this particular package because I knew it would contain a new quilting square, some assorted scrap fabrics, and a bunch of gifts for Gavin's birthday this past weekend.
BUT THERE WAS A SURPRISE!!
My faaavorite Grandma sent me a BEAUTIFUL new quilt!!
So the story of this quilt is as follows. Listening to my Grandma tell me her side of how this quilt got from Point A years ago to my house in Florida; Point B today lined up perfectly with what I remembered in my mind.
Years ago, this quilt...aptly named "A Bear in the Woods" was the very last quilt my Grandma and her good friend Ruth HAND QUILTED. Yes. That's right. They quilted it BY HAND. Listen, I'm trying to make a mini scrap quilt right now and it is more complicated than it looks. I'm looking forward to just having the pieces sewn together for mine (which has already taken a couple months of my spare time) so I can run it through my sewing machine to quilt over the top and be done with it just to say I've finished a quilt! However, I've been taking my time because I don't do anything unless I'm doing it to the best of my ability. I can't even imagine quilting it by hand. Its that kind of patience that makes Grandma's so amazing I think. Anyway, its incredible how much love and work went into this gorgeous quilt she sent me...and it definitely makes me want to start trucking along to finish up my quilt as well!
Back to the story though... we were up visiting my Grandma and they were having their Church Bazaar. I remember that Grandma didn't go that year but she put this quilt up for sale/auction at the Bazaar. I was watching people look at it, admire it, comment on how beautiful it was and I demanded that we buy the quilt, because it seemed like such a shame to sell it to someone after all that work went into it! Its always been a part of my life...watching her quilt. For years my relationship with my *Granny* centered around watching my Grandma & Granny quilting together. I know my Grandma doesn't keep every quilt she's made. I have 3 of her quilts (now 4), my brother has a couple, my Mom has several, etc. I wanted Grandma to be there to talk about her quilt to whoever planned on buying it. So in between stuffing my face with slices of delicious home baked cherry pie I managed to convince my parents to buy her quilt.
We brought it back to Grandma's house and according to her, *she was in such shock that we returned with it, she never said thank you.* I wish I could rewind back to that moment when she realized it wasn't sold to a stranger (which honestly, is unlikely anyway because in her small town everyone knows everyone and she'd undoubtedly hear about her quilt down the road). Regardless, we got it back for her & although she remembers not saying thank you, I never thought of it that way...I just remember bringing her quilt back and being happy to do so!
It doesn't matter to me what quilt(s) I end up with in the long run. This quilt brought back cherished childhood memories...of watching Grandma sew & quilt, helping her pick fabrics and pair them up for quilt squares, going to the church bazaar and enjoying pie and quilts and beautiful hand crafted items.
Blogging about the church bazaar also reminds me of my Grandpa and his jigsaw down in the basement. Its now collecting dust bunnies, and not saw dust anymore which makes me sad. I remember watching Grandpa from the stairs as he cut out teeny tiny intricate pieces of wood. Everything he made was beautiful! I'm holding out the hope that someday I'll be the very proud owner of one of his Lord's Prayer wall hangings. Nowadays he doesn't have the same energy he used to so he isn't able to do any woodworking...but it still makes me smile to sneak down into my Grandparents' basement for a soda whenever I'm home (even though I gave up soda pop a LONG time ago) where the smell of wood and sawdust still permeates the air.
I'm a sentimental person. My husband can tell you that, because I save the most random things in boxes piled up in our garage where he wants to park his precious motorcycle. He doesn't understand why I saved my old license plate or clothes from when Gav was a baby. Maybe it was because he moved around a lot when he was young. Who knows!? Regardless, I LOVE memories.
Needless to say, this quilt is such a blessing and an honor to have in my home.
BUT THERE WAS A SURPRISE!!
My faaavorite Grandma sent me a BEAUTIFUL new quilt!!
So the story of this quilt is as follows. Listening to my Grandma tell me her side of how this quilt got from Point A years ago to my house in Florida; Point B today lined up perfectly with what I remembered in my mind.
Years ago, this quilt...aptly named "A Bear in the Woods" was the very last quilt my Grandma and her good friend Ruth HAND QUILTED. Yes. That's right. They quilted it BY HAND. Listen, I'm trying to make a mini scrap quilt right now and it is more complicated than it looks. I'm looking forward to just having the pieces sewn together for mine (which has already taken a couple months of my spare time) so I can run it through my sewing machine to quilt over the top and be done with it just to say I've finished a quilt! However, I've been taking my time because I don't do anything unless I'm doing it to the best of my ability. I can't even imagine quilting it by hand. Its that kind of patience that makes Grandma's so amazing I think. Anyway, its incredible how much love and work went into this gorgeous quilt she sent me...and it definitely makes me want to start trucking along to finish up my quilt as well!
Back to the story though... we were up visiting my Grandma and they were having their Church Bazaar. I remember that Grandma didn't go that year but she put this quilt up for sale/auction at the Bazaar. I was watching people look at it, admire it, comment on how beautiful it was and I demanded that we buy the quilt, because it seemed like such a shame to sell it to someone after all that work went into it! Its always been a part of my life...watching her quilt. For years my relationship with my *Granny* centered around watching my Grandma & Granny quilting together. I know my Grandma doesn't keep every quilt she's made. I have 3 of her quilts (now 4), my brother has a couple, my Mom has several, etc. I wanted Grandma to be there to talk about her quilt to whoever planned on buying it. So in between stuffing my face with slices of delicious home baked cherry pie I managed to convince my parents to buy her quilt.
We brought it back to Grandma's house and according to her, *she was in such shock that we returned with it, she never said thank you.* I wish I could rewind back to that moment when she realized it wasn't sold to a stranger (which honestly, is unlikely anyway because in her small town everyone knows everyone and she'd undoubtedly hear about her quilt down the road). Regardless, we got it back for her & although she remembers not saying thank you, I never thought of it that way...I just remember bringing her quilt back and being happy to do so!
It doesn't matter to me what quilt(s) I end up with in the long run. This quilt brought back cherished childhood memories...of watching Grandma sew & quilt, helping her pick fabrics and pair them up for quilt squares, going to the church bazaar and enjoying pie and quilts and beautiful hand crafted items.
Blogging about the church bazaar also reminds me of my Grandpa and his jigsaw down in the basement. Its now collecting dust bunnies, and not saw dust anymore which makes me sad. I remember watching Grandpa from the stairs as he cut out teeny tiny intricate pieces of wood. Everything he made was beautiful! I'm holding out the hope that someday I'll be the very proud owner of one of his Lord's Prayer wall hangings. Nowadays he doesn't have the same energy he used to so he isn't able to do any woodworking...but it still makes me smile to sneak down into my Grandparents' basement for a soda whenever I'm home (even though I gave up soda pop a LONG time ago) where the smell of wood and sawdust still permeates the air.
I'm a sentimental person. My husband can tell you that, because I save the most random things in boxes piled up in our garage where he wants to park his precious motorcycle. He doesn't understand why I saved my old license plate or clothes from when Gav was a baby. Maybe it was because he moved around a lot when he was young. Who knows!? Regardless, I LOVE memories.
Needless to say, this quilt is such a blessing and an honor to have in my home.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Puppy Chow
Yesterday we made one of my favorite holiday treats...*puppy chow.*
It was fun shaking everything together in a good 'ol paper bag!
I'm also working on some homemade Christmas gifts!! ;)
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Oh, December...
December is the craziest month of the year for us, BY FAR!
I have a seasonal job at Things Remembered. This is my second year working for them around the holidays & I honestly love it! Mostly I enjoy interacting with complete strangers. Its always interesting to listen to the stories people tell you. TR is an engraving store. We sell things ranging from jewelry, snow globes, ornaments, fine crystal, frames, watches, keychains, wallets, card holders, jewelry & music boxes, blankets, etc. We customize everything by engraving it. You'd really be amazed by the memories and reasons people share with me about what they're buying.
Today I met a sweet lady with a charming accent from South Africa. She was buying an engagement gift for her daughter & new fiance. She told me all about how she was on her 4th marriage and believed that happiness and love are what define your life and you should stop at nothing to find that.
I met a woman who was buying a memory box to give to her mother, who had just lost her husband. She was going to fill it with momentos and the love notes he had written his wife over the years. How sweet!
I met a lady celebrating her one year anniversary.
I met a man who talked about his daughter's 2 dogs like they were his prized grandchildren (only he called them his *granddogs*).
Long story short, its just an incredibly fulfilling job at times. However, it also keeps me really busy!
Gavin's birthday is coming up next weekend. I have to get a party at the park pulled together STAT! =)
I'm going to be doing Eight Acts of Kindness for his 8th birthday where we go leave quarters at the rides in the mall, fill up gumball machines, leave a dollar at the soda machine, make a donation, etc. I'm really excited to come up with some cool ideas!
But alas, its the weekend and I am relaxing for a brief moment before being whisked away again into the ever exciting life of a housewife. =)
I have a seasonal job at Things Remembered. This is my second year working for them around the holidays & I honestly love it! Mostly I enjoy interacting with complete strangers. Its always interesting to listen to the stories people tell you. TR is an engraving store. We sell things ranging from jewelry, snow globes, ornaments, fine crystal, frames, watches, keychains, wallets, card holders, jewelry & music boxes, blankets, etc. We customize everything by engraving it. You'd really be amazed by the memories and reasons people share with me about what they're buying.
Today I met a sweet lady with a charming accent from South Africa. She was buying an engagement gift for her daughter & new fiance. She told me all about how she was on her 4th marriage and believed that happiness and love are what define your life and you should stop at nothing to find that.
I met a woman who was buying a memory box to give to her mother, who had just lost her husband. She was going to fill it with momentos and the love notes he had written his wife over the years. How sweet!
I met a lady celebrating her one year anniversary.
I met a man who talked about his daughter's 2 dogs like they were his prized grandchildren (only he called them his *granddogs*).
Long story short, its just an incredibly fulfilling job at times. However, it also keeps me really busy!
Gavin's birthday is coming up next weekend. I have to get a party at the park pulled together STAT! =)
I'm going to be doing Eight Acts of Kindness for his 8th birthday where we go leave quarters at the rides in the mall, fill up gumball machines, leave a dollar at the soda machine, make a donation, etc. I'm really excited to come up with some cool ideas!
But alas, its the weekend and I am relaxing for a brief moment before being whisked away again into the ever exciting life of a housewife. =)
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Sunday = Fun Day!
Sunday Fun Day!
We started this “tradition” when my husband was working long
hours all week but always had the weekends off.
It is our time to catch up, spend time together as a family and just
enjoy life which is honestly way too busy!
Unfortunately my lovely hubby has since changed jobs and doesn’t get
weekends off very often. Today was a
rare treat! That’s not to say that we
nixed the Sunday Fun Day idea, we just changed it to Beef’s Monday where we go
enjoy chicken wings at our local Beef O’ Brady’s and play trivia and chat up
our usual waitress, Jessica. ;) But back to today…Ricky was off on a SUNDAY!
He decided he wanted to go kayaking/canoeing. I was a little iffy about it, because when I
think about canoeing I think about those Olympic rowing routines where everyone
is rowing in sync, left or right, putting all their muscle into it, going
against the current, etc. Hahaha! I’m sure that I built it up more in my mind
to be this terribly exhausting adventure but it was actually a TOTAL BLAST!! Gavin is usually a whiner when it comes to
any kind of physical activity…especially when it involves being somewhere that
there is no bathroom around (his ONE accident happened when he was 4 but it
must have been really traumatizing).
Anyway, we started the day with a delicious lunch at Five
Guys Burgers & Fries and then headed out to Dunnellon, this cute &
quaint little town about 20 minutes away.
Dunnellon reminds me of home (Kansas).
Its small town living, Mom & Pop restaurants, and you can get from
one side of town to the other in 15 minutes or less.
We rented our canoe from the MAYOR of Dunellon! How awesome is that!? He was a super cool guy and told us lots of
stories about how much work he’s doing to make Dunnellon a more tourist
friendly town! Awesome guy.
The river? BEAUTIFUL. Ricky did all the paddling/rowing. I pretty much got to kick back and relax. Gavin was really enjoying pretending to paddle. We had a great 2 hour ride down the Rainbow River!
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