It Is Finished

The baby blanket, not my Etsy store.  I'm almost there on my Etsy store though!  I was shooting for Feb. 1st.  But I think it's more realistic to say, Feb. 5th.  We shall see. 

I did add two more pendants.  I painted them and sealed them with diamond glaze into the pendant.  I used acrylic paints, but watered them down just a bit.  I'm happy with how they turned out.  I should really stick to the painting.  I seem to be more pleased with those. 

I did finish the blanket and since I keep my word...  I'm posting pictures...  even though I'm not really thrilled with how it turned out.  BUT I did learn a lot and I expect my next blanket to turn out even better.  I can't wait to start sewing lessons!!  Learning by trial and error is fun (HA!!) but I'm ready to learn from a professional now. 


I love the next three pictures.  It looks like a great, pretty blanket. 

 

 
This next one is an o.k. picture.  You can see the seam where I totally let the sewing machine get away from me.

And here's the two pictures I really don't like.  I had to hand sew this end and you can really tell it. 

But, of COURSE I'm going to start on my next blanket before my sewing lessons start.  I wouldn't be me if I didn't.   I HAVE to put all I learned into action before I forget right?  Right!

Now, I'm off to tackle the mound of clean clothes that must be folded.  And I'm sure there are plenty of dirty clothes to be washed. 

Getting Ahead of Myself

Do you ever do that?  Get so excited about something, that you just get ahead of yourself? 

Miss a couple of steps? 

Overlook things you shouldn't? 

Proceed without caution? 

I do that. 

A lot.  

I get a great idea and just run with it.  I see something and I just automatically think: "Well I can do that" and then I just "do it".  Sometimes, it turns out really great and I make the impression that I actually know what I'm doing. 

Other times...  you can really tell I had NO CLUE what I was doing.  

I have learned some things though.  And I give credit to my husband.  He taught me, by example, that research is needed to efficiently complete many things that I've never done before.  

So, with my newest project (which, once I get better at, I will add these to my future etsy store), I did just that.  I researched and researched and researched. 

But...  (you knew that was coming!) All the amount of research I did could not truly prepare me for actually sitting down and "doing it". 

Just what in the world am I babbling on about??

SEWING!

I purchased a pattern to make this:

I got my material in the mail yesterday:

And I couldn't wait to get started.  I will be taking sewing lessons soon, but I couldn't wait. 

I've gotten just about everything done w/ the exception of the top stitching.  It got really late (10:15pm) last night, so I set it aside until tonight. 

That fabric?  It's Minky Fabric.  And SO not what a beginner to sewing should be using, but oh well...  I think I've done o.k. but I did get ahead of myself.  I just got SO excited when I saw that gorgeous, colorful, so-so soft fabric!

I got these colors too, so sweet for a baby girl to love on. 

I promise, when I'm done with the first blanket...  no matter what it looks like.  I will post a picture. 

Oh!  I'm also working on my first oil painting.  I've never worked with oil colors before.  It was very evident after I was done for the moment and went to clean my brushes.  Soap and water doesn't cut it.  DUH!  But that's par for the course for me. 

Again, got ahead of myself. 

But that's okay. 

It's how God made me and he don't make mistakes.  I think He gets a kick out of me getting all excited and just plowing through. 

Star Wars and not much else....

This entry is dedicated to my husband.  He.loves.Star.Wars.  Seriously.  Loves it.  He watches the movies (I think he even owns all the movies), he reads the books (well...  listens to them on CD),  he has the posters (I gave him some for Christmas), he has a calendar (again, Christmas present),  AND he has made is own light saber (I kid you not) AND!!! he made (as in sewed, as in labored over) a jedi costume.  Ok. so there is no "light" in the saber, but come to find out, most of the fan-made sabers don't have a light in them.  I'm sure he will remedy that one day. 

So, yeah.  My husband loves Star Wars.  George Lucas would be impressed. 

For the most part, I think it's good that he has such a lame, I mean tame, hobby.  But I must admit.  I don't get it.  And that's okay.  It makes him happy.  And as long as I don't have to go to all the "Cons" (science-fiction conferences) on the East Coast, I'll support his weird beloved Star Wars obssession. 

Stepping Out On Faith

First things first, my Mother is having a hard time dealing with the changes that have come her way.  Please keep her in your prayers.  She has a strong faith in our Lord so I know the prayers will be felt.  Thank you.  :o)

Well...  I got some of my supplies in.  And I started on my pendant necklaces.  I got the idea from FarmgirlPaints.  (you MUST check out her Etsy store.  She makes the coolest leather cuffs, original artwork and glass tile necklaces) She uses the glass tiles, and at first, I did too.  I would make some for my girls at church when they would be saved and baptized. 

One day while browsing through Etsy, I discovered pendant trays and fell in love!  I must admit...  it's not easy.  But then again, most things that are worth your while are NOT easy...  otherwise...  everyone would do it.  Right?  Right.

I have another package coming, hopefully today, that will help smooth things over.  My main trouble??  Bubbles.  And you know what? 

Those little suckers are SO sneaky!  I can set my pendants, clear it of all bubbles, go to bed, wake up...  and those sneaky little buggers are just sitting there in my pendants all smug...  little bubbles, just taunting me... 

But that's okay.  I'll fix them.  I have a plan!

So...  I'm stepping out on faith that my Esty shop will be successful.  I'm not expecting my store to be sold out overnight (that would be awesome though...  wouldn't it?).  I'm stepping out on faith that God will take care of it and I will get out of it what HE wants me to get out of it. 

Once I get my products set and worthy enough of being sold..  I'm going to launch my new blog and have a giveaway!  More on that later...  until then, enjoy the pictures of my bubble-tastic pendants.  HA!

(I would love to hear feedback...  good or bad, just honest feedback)  Thanks!

 (this one WOULD have been my favorite b/c my favorite color is GREEN and I LOVE to SING!!  but those sneaky bubbles had to go and rain on my parade)

Saturday

I should have been cleaning house on Saturday.  I should have washed more clothes on Saturday...  I REALLY should have folded clothes on Saturday.  I did swiffer the floors on Saturday though...  that counts for cleaning...

But instead, I pretended I was in grade school art class.  So the majority of my day was spent painting.  No plan in mind...  I just wanted to paint.  And later on in the afternoon, my little niece stopped by and she wanted to paint too.  (she's just like her Aunt Jodi!)

So...  instead of folded clothes, instead of a tidy office, instead of more clothes being washed...  this is what I accomplished. 

And this is what Jessica accomplished.  

I plan on buying her those stretch nylon necklaces w/ the washer on them and gluing magnets to the back of the tiles.  She wanted to take them home w/ her, but I told her if she left them at my house, I would have a surprise for her in about a week. 

I like painting just to paint.  That normally means I'm bit messier and less detail oriented, but that's okay.  This is not the stuff I will be putting in my Etsy shop for sure.  I have a while to go before I become good enough at painting on such a tiny canvas.  But it sure is fun to practice.  :o)

I think craft time may just become a regular thing for me and Jessica.  Christen loves to paint too, but she was too busy impressing a college coach and her high school coaches Saturday.  ;o)

Cha-Cha-Cha-CHANGES!

First things first.  My Mom did get her "pink slip" on Wednesday.  BUT (you knew that was coming right??) ...  GOD IS GOOD!  ALL the time.  She got a decent severance package, which she was NOT expecting.  And there may be something opening HERE soon.  It's still scary for her but that's ok.  God has her, He knows what's best.    :o) 

Okay...  now on to the entry:

Changes are a'comin'.  New name and new blog for one.  I'm opening up an Etsy shop soon and I want to make sure my blog identifies with the shop and vice-versa. 

The new blog will NOT become all about my shop though.  I'm still here to blog about my life, being a Christian, mother, wife, etc.  (and I'll keep this blog up, with my last post linking to my new blog, once it's up and running)

My daughter is graduating next year...  so the "Un-Soccer Mom" title will soon be something that really doesn't fit anymore.  I know she will continue to play soccer in college (praying & fingers crossed!!), but when your kid is in college, I don't think the term "soccer mom" fits anymore.   

I'm also going to start advertising my blog a bit more, in hopes of getting lots of traffic to my Etsy store (gotta pay for that college tuition some how!). I've got my work cut out for me, especially since I have an 8:30-5:30, M-F job.  BUT, I'm excited!  (so if any of you have any wonderful knowledge to pass my way about how to get more readers, I will be forever grateful, please...  do tell!)

What will I be selling you ask?  Well...  for starters, custom pendant necklaces and original artwork.  I've always been interested in making jewelry (which is odd b/c I don't like to actually WEAR jewelry, the only pieces I wear are my cross necklace and my wedding/engagement rings).  I've done work with beads, glass tiles, etc.  But this pendant jewelry has really caught my eye.  I hope to reveal some pieces soon. 

I've always loved to paint.  And I plan to just start painting up a storm!  Recently, I've gravitated to acrylics, but hope to add oils to my mediums. 

Once I get those items stocked, I plan to try my hand at fabric wall art and scrapbook supplies.  Custom orders on those too. 

So...  I'm not one for changes.  But that's okay.  Sometimes, change is a good thing. 


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

sneak peek......

A list...

I have a lot of things in my head right now and figured I could use some organization.  So...  I'm making a list...  Not really a list of any kind of order.  Some are "to-do's", some are thoughts that I need to write down and some are prayers.  Which reminds me.  I made a prayer box (well...  it's not REALLY a "box", it's a container) and every night before I go to sleep, I write things to pray over on their own piece of paper and put them in my prayer container. 

Ok...  I got a bit off course here...  Here's the list:

• I must pray vigilantly over my Mom's job.  Her bank is going through A LOT of lay offs and she will find out this week if she will have a job next week or not.  It's scary..  and she's 5 hours from home, by herself.  I worry.  I know God is in control and she knows that too.  But it's still a scary time. 

• I must continue to pray over Christen's future.  She's a JUNIOR in HIGH SCHOOL!  How the heck did that happen?? 

• I must sign her up for FSU Soccer camp.  Today. 

• I really need to do more research on the Silhouette SD.  I'm not much of a scrapbooker anymore.  But it does so much more!  I just need to make sure it's a great fit for me.  I do have aspirations of creating a side business with it.  At the most, I would like to earn just enough so we can put back more money for Christen's college expenses.  At the least, I would like to make back the money I use to purchase the Silhouette and supplies.  

• I need to print out the return label to send back a sweater I bought from Gap. It was TOO BIG!  HA!  I hate to send it back, but love that it was TOO BIG! And not too small...  ;o)

• I need to go by Maurices and exchange two dress pants and one pair of jeans.  Guess what?  They were TOO BIG also!!  lovin' it...

• I need to make up my mind about which Sunday School to attend on Sunday.   

• I must research more soccer camps that include college scouts. 

O.k.  I think that's enough for now... 

Be blessed!

Slacker or Sulker

I'm a slacker.  Today, I am a slacker.  It feels like forever since I've been to church.  In reality, I'm there most every Sunday, but this Christmas season, I rarely made it to morning service or stayed for evening service.  One Sunday I was out of town visiting my mother.  Christmas weekend, I had some kind of bug and before then my sinuses were totally out of wack which meant I was TIRED.  It took all of me to make it through the work week so by the time Sunday came around, I was physically done. 
 
I do go to choir practice, and I did make it to the Children's Christmas program.  I did make it last week.  I had nursery and got to play w/ two cute babies!!  :o)
 
But during Sunday School last week, we made the decision to disband.  I kind of knew it was coming.  We've lost four families.  Three I know have gone on to other churches.  One family, I'm thinking they have gone on to another church, but I'm not sure.  Their daughter is very active with golf, so they are gone a lot of weekends.  Our teacher is wonderful.  He's a middle school history teacher, so he knows how to keep you interested.  He gives us all this wonderful background that I would never have figured out on my own and applies a great devotion to each lesson.  He and his wife have two children.  One is three and one is just a few months old.  They both teach 40 miles away from home (her to the east of town and him to the south).  So I don't blame him for being overwhelmed and preparing lessons for a shrinking class surely couldn't help that overwhelming feeling. 
 
I must admit.  This is one of the main reasons why I didn't go to church today.  But with everything else going on, I feel like a slacker.  Or maybe, a "sulker" would be a better way to describe it.  I'm having a little bit of a pity party I believe.  I didn't want those other families to move to another church, I didn't want our class to disband. 
 
But it's not about what I want or what I think others should do.  It's not all about ME!  (my husband will read this and think: "It's about time she realize that")  HA!
 
So, I should really get myself out of this funk, realize it's not all about ME, but about my relationship with God.  I know there are other Sunday School classes out there that will be right for me.  Other families to get to know better. 
 
I should start tonight, after choir, stay for Church Service...  even though it's business meeting night...  ;o)
 
 

 

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

New Year's Day ~ Brought in With a BANG!

New Year's Eve was spent working, putting away Christmas decorations, attempting to take the tree down, going out to eat with Christen and my Nanny and...  playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii with Christen.  If you don't mind making a fool out of yourself, I highly recommend the game!  Jon had to work late.  By the time he got home (10pm), I could barely keep my eyes open.  Poor guy had to ring in the New Year all by himself.  Christen went to church, and I went to sleep!

New Year's Day was a warm, but windy day here in South Georgia.  So, we did what any respectful "country" family would do.  We went a'shootin'.  Families who shoot together, stay together right?

Christen just got into competitive air pistol with our local 4-H.  We realized, after she shot my .38 (I say MY because Jon gave it to me for Christmas, but really, it's Jon's) that her air pistol practice has paid off.  She was a better shot than Jon!

Let me say, the guys are VERY careful.  They take care of their guns, they clean them and they teach us with less experience how to handle the guns and NOT shoot anyone in the process.  Most kids are taught early around here about gun safety.  This was the first time Christen has even touched a real gun.  She's 16, responsible and careful.  So please, if you don't agree with what I'm sure will become a regular family past time for us, feel free to disagree, but do so politely.  K? Thanks!

This is the hardest part to me.  Loading the clip for Jon's automatic.  Christen found it a bit difficult too.  The resistance is pretty strong once you get about 9 bullets in there. 

Here, Jon is going over important information.  I'm really sure of it.  And Christen is paying attention, but ready to shoot! 

And...  more safety instructions....

And then...  she finally.....  gets to shoot!

 

I even got in on the fun.  I'm not a fan of being the center of attention though.  So I only shot twice w/ the automatic.   

Of course Jon shot a few rounds.  He even got to shoot Brian's gun.  That long barrell revolver.  I have no clue what it's called. 

This is Brian, Ashley & Jacob.  We're at Brian's Mom's house.  She lives on farm land and has a bunch of ponds and fields behind her house.  It's a great place!

It's a family affair for Brian and his family too.  Little Jacob was only allowed to handle his BB gun and ONLY with his Mom and Dad standing right beside him. 

Oh yeah...  Check out all the guns!!  Jeez!!!  That's a lot between two people....

 Hello Cheese Ball Jug filled with well water...

 Good bye Cheese Ball Jug filled with well water!!!  This had to be the highlight of the day...  Why is watching things blow up so amusing???

So..  no one was hurt.  Everyone had fun and we're ready to go back out and do it all over again!  May be next time, I will hit the target! 



2010 - Year in Review

I've noticed a lot of bloggers out there do some sort of "year in review".  I've seen picture collages and even month-by-month recollections.  My memory isn't the best, so a month-by-month probably wouldn't work for me.  (good thing I started this blog right?)

So, I'm just going to high-light a few things in words and in three collages. 

The main thing that stuck out in 2010 was Christen going to Sweden to play soccer (without us, or any family or any familiar friends).  That was a true test of faith, for all of us.  We did a lot of planning, fund raising, praying and cheering in 2010.  Christen got pretty far in the ranks with her team.  She had two shut outs as Goal Keeper and her team was 4th out of 20 (something) countries and 60 (something) teams.  (I'm not good with the specifics) 

It was a growing experience for us all for sure. 

Another thing that really sticks out in 2010 was being without my paternal grandmother for the first time.  She passed away on December 28, 2009.  I'm still getting used to her being gone.  I still have days where I just want to call her or go see her, and I can't.  But I know she's in heaven and I know I will see her again someday. 

We had snow in South Georgia.  For real, stuck to the ground, people forgetting how to drive, over an inch thick snow.  I'm praying this does NOT reoccur in 2011. 

Christen also got her drivers license this year.  Enough said!  I think I have some grey hairs coming in....

I have a lot to be thankful for.  God has given me and my family many blessings in 2010.  I'm ready to see what 2011 has in store for us.