My Crafty Life Lately!

Here's what I've been up to lately!

Loved the cute saying..got it from a catalog on an owl pillow!  This is my version!  LOVE!

Painted the frames and rearranged the pictures

Makayla's dresser..revamped!!!

My canning creations..and yes..this is my original picture..my pantry in the garage where I keep all my homemade canned stuff!

The end table I found at Goodwill for only $8!  I painted it brown (to match our living room)...

Its used for holding alot of Makayla's toys..you can tell she's enjoying it!!

Enjoying the roses...

And sunflowers!

No picture post is complete without this sweet face!



Dreamweaver



I believe that God can be the ultimate "dreamweaver".

Let me explain...

I had a dream last night about a flood.  My husband and I were just down the road from where we live at, helping an elderly lady we know.  She had a tarpaulin just outside her fence that was covered with grass and we were sweeping it off.  From her house, you could see the river that runs by all our houses and it was rising.  FAST.  I saw the water rise out of the banks within seconds and it was up to our necks by time we started to head back to our house.  I remember Damon and I walking down the road to our house..on tiptoes..to keep from going under thats how deep it was.  I prayed out loud in my dream and asked God to let the water go down quickly.  Within seconds..we reached our home and there was no water to be seen anywhere.  And the land was dry like nothing had ever been there.

God heard my prayers.

Of course, I know this was a dream I had.  But..I felt like God was showing me that He does hear my prayers.  You know, we all feel at times like God doesn't hear us.  With Damon having been unemployed for the past 5 months I had been feeling lately like God wasn't hearing our prayers for a new job for him.  Sometimes we need little reminders..whether its a dream, or an encouraging word from others..that God is there and He does hear our prayers. 

I know I feel more uplifted.  :-)

Pinterest Twist

I read a magazine article some time ago on this lady talking about Pinterest, and the obsession it has become for many (including myself).  She couldn't seen to wrap her head around the concept and was hesistant to give it a try and sign up.  So when she 'gave in' and became an official pinner..she thought she would give it a different spin.

Like most of us..she knew some common board themes are recipes, beauty, health, diy, home improvement..and the like.  But she wanted to do something different.

She created 3 boards and 3 boards only. 

Have Been

Am

Becoming

After I read the entire article and saw how she went about pinning for each board..I thought what a brillant idea!!!  Definately a different twist on pinning.  So I went about creating much the same idea for my own pinterest account (of course I already had many of the other common board themes in place) and found it fun to remininse of my childhood/"Have Been" (think barbies and lite brites) and thinking ahead to my future/"Becoming" (think dream vacations).  And of course nice to see what I am now (mommy, wife, blogger) in picture form.

Are you a pinner?  And if so..do you have any board themes that are a little different from the usual?

Anger

"A strong feeling of displeasure aroused by a wrong"

One of my favorite columnists wrote an article in our sunday paper about anger.  Its something that has been on my mind for a while, I'll admit.  So her timing, you might say, was spot on.  Anger is one of those things that we all feel at one time or another.  And it can be something that comes in many forms.  For instance...

Anger at a person

Anger over a situation

Anger at oneself

Anger about the past

Anger that you can't change something (or the feeling thereof)

...and yes even

Anger at God

Anger is often looked at something that is bad or wrong.  But thats not always the case.  God even says in Ephesians 4:26, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath". 

It can be confusing!

Thats not to say that being angry is something we should do all the time.  But..we are human..and we are going to get angry at times.  Its how we handle the anger that matters.  Anger is something I struggle with alot (as I'm sure some of you do as well..at least I hope I'm not alone in this boat!).  The columnist I mentioned before..she was talking about how she used to be the type of person that didn't get angry easily.  That it took her alot to get angry..but then she went through some things in life (some really hard situations) and she got to the point where she angered alot easier than before.  My guess is she didn't like the 'new' trait she had formed (nobody would).  My husband is like this..it really takes alot to get him angry.  In fact..to date (and we've been married 11+ years) I've only truely seen him 'angry' less than a handful of times. 

I wish I were that way!

I have a tendency to get angry easily..but..its something I'm working on.  Some things I've dealt with over the course of the past year have been extremely hard to say the least.  And I've been angry in one form or another over several different situations.  One that I've mentioned on here is Damon's unemployment.  I have handled it better than I did the last time we went through the same situation.  But I still find myself asking God why? at times. 

The key is to not be angry..at a person..situation..yourself..the past..etc...but to pray about it.  Whether its for someone..something..yourself..pray to let go of things that trouble you.  Sometimes praying for the person who made you angry in the first place is harder than being angry itself!  Sometimes praying for a situation (and having the faith that things will change) can be challenging.  Praying for yourself (for me, anyways) has never been easy, because I tend to want to put everyone else's needs before my own.

Sometimes we need to put ourselves first.

If we're not in a good place..then how can we be helpful to anyone else.  If you think about it..'some' anger probably stems from this alone.  If we keep ourselves in check to begin with..becoming angry about 'some' things probably would never even happen.

I'll leave you with a quote my columnist mentioned in her column that stuck out to me the most..because if you sit and think about it..it speaks volumes.

Anger ventilated often hurries toward forgiveness, and concealed often hardens into revenge.



Having Fun at the Fair!

We went to our state fair over the weekend!  I always look forward to going to the state fair.  So much to do..see..take pictures of...

And eat.

Yeah..I admit..the best part of it has to be the food!!  Where else can you find the best calzones, donuts, frozen lemonade and everything else under the sun in one location?  When we went last year..Makayla was just a little over 2 months old.

Where does the time go?

I don't know if I'd say last year was easier or this year (in regards of taking a tot along).  A newborn sleeps most of the time anyways..so they are really easy to handle at that stage.  But the downside..especially if you breast feed..is they eat a whole lot more often..and being in a public place..outdoors..for an extended period of time...well let's just say you have to be creative and do ALOT of planning ahead!  This year..we didn't have to worry about that.  Just bring a sippy with lots of juice..some snacks..and your set!  :-)

What was left of our 'grater tater' before I remembered to snap a picture!

Can we say 'mean face'?!  This cracks me up..she was refusing to eat alot of what we were eating at the fair (she'll regret that one!)..I think teething had ALOT to play in part of that..she has been VERY picky at what she'll eat/not eat lately.

Ever heard of a gourmet funnel cake?  Oh yeah..reece cup..yum!

For the owl obsessed..HOW CUTE IS THIS!?

lots of quilts!

For those of you who may not know..I'm a nascar junkie!  Though Dale Jr. isn't my 'driver'..I do like him..and had to take a pic by his car!

This year I got to drink my favorite fair beverage..Zul's Frozen Lemonade!!  YES..I can have lemon stuff again!!

Flashin' those toothies!

Damon admiring the John Deere

We were matching!

Waiting on mommy to get done browsing

In the car after a long day..yes..that is a snoozin' baby in the backseat!

Too cute....

What the little girl has been up to!

Beating on cans in the kitchen while mommy cooks

Reading books

Playing kitchen

Turning 14 months old!

Lots of food on the face!!

Crawling outside

Sharing with daddy

Going to the farmer's market

and just cruising around!



An anniversary, some canning, and everything in between!

Boy I feel like I have alot of catching up to do!!  I kinda made a promise to myself I'd kick my blogging down a notch over the summer months to spend more time being outside and doing..well..'summery' stuff!  Even though its been a week since my last post I feel like I've got alot to blog about! 

So here goes!

I made some homemade finger paint last week for Makayla.  The paint turned out GREAT..made it with the usual homemade recipes you find using flour, salt, cornstarch, water, and food coloring.  I failed to remember that Makayla could care LESS about getting her fingers into gooey stuff.  She would have been happier crawling around in the grass half naked....

Yeah..she's a girlie-girl when it comes to stuff like that!!  She is definately a daddy's girl though.  Damon has her hooked on the Walton's.  Oh..my..gosh.  Like when the theme song comes on..she stops whatever she's doing and looks at the tv. 

I painted my toenails the other day..using a tip I'd seen on pinterest.  Where else..right?!  Anyways...the whole sponge-on-toenail thing didn't work out quite too well (it was a mess) so I just winged it by doing it the old fashioned way.  I started with a darker shade of blue near the cuticle..went about halfway up then stopped.  I topped the whole nail  off with a lighter shade of blue.  This is what I got..must say..I'm in love!!

(and yes..I have a crazy tan line on my feet..its my sandals fault!)

Over the weekend it was our 11th anniversary!!  We had a GREAT time..went yard saleing..out to eat..to the mall..and had a nice evening at home!  I couldn't have asked for a better day!  I made our cake this year..ususally I get one from the same bakery we got our wedding cake made..but with him being laid off this year I went the more affordable route!  It turned out good...especially since I made my own buttercream!

(not as fancy..but still tasty!)

I also managed to finally get my hair cut last week also!  I wish I had took a before picture because it was REALLY long.  But I'm loving the shorter, easier to manage cut I got!  Won't be long before I'll have to get another perm put in.  *Gasp*....yes..I'm going to do it again!  It makes managing my hair so much easier than before when it was straight.  Or semi-straight. I've got naturally curly hair anyways..fighting with it to stay straight just got old so I went full on curls last fall.  And I haven't looked back since!

I made a color fade tshirt last week also.  The idea came from..you guessed it..pinterest!  It turned out pretty well despite a splotch that turned out near the top part.  But I wore it anyways!

(excuse the mess behind me..I REALLY need to do some de-cluttering!)

And last but not least..the canning!  I made some raspberry jam before the weekend hit.  Sounds normal..right?  Not when you hear what went into it!!  I kid you not..ground up green tomatoes was the main ingredient!!  You would never know it with the end product!  Oh and the raspberry part..no actual raspberries went into it.  Thanks to jello..thats where the raspberry part comes in!  We can't stop eating this stuff either..its awesome!!

I know it was a longer than usual post..but I had so much to catch you guys up on!  Hope you enjoyed it and didn't get bored before you got to the end!  And for all the baby lovers out there..don't worry..I'm doing a post all about Makayla and what she's been up to..so look for that one this week also!  Until then!