Thursday 13

13 totally random things for this Thursday!

1. Happy Birthday to my sister. Last year on this day she got engaged, wonder if my future brother in law even attempted to top that.

2. Speaking of engaged, my youngest sister got engaged on Sunday. Her now fiance went all out. Had a car pick her up at their apartment, took her to the airport, where she flew to St. Louis. He had another car waiting to take her to the Botanical Gardens where there was a map waiting for her. She followed it around to a gazebo where he was waiting in a tux, with a pro photog and got down on 1 knee and proposed. And her ring is GORGEOUS!! When she texted me to tell me about it, she said "Since I know you will ask, yes I cried. I cried like a baby." She never cries at anything and I cry at commercials.

3. I'm trying my best at the moment not to have a heart attack. If I do, it will be brought on by Mizzou's basketball game. UGH!

4. I wonder how the person who discovered peanut butter gets gum out of hair discovered that? Why am I wondering that, because it was a great discovery that was used in my house tonight. Audrey got gum in her hair when Dart tackled her playing football in the house. I love my kids!

5. I have so many crafty things I want to make, I'm hoping this weekend I can knock several of them off my list. Of course losing an hour Sunday might not help.

6. I really wish when the dryer ate socks, it would eat a complete pair, instead of a sock of 2 different pairs.

7. I started reading "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown the other night. OMG! Seriously love this book. I checked it out from the library and it would be one I would buy. So many good things in it.

8. Speaking of books, I have also been listening to "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert while I work. I loved the movie and listening to her read the book is amazing. Thinking I need to get some more books to listen to while I work. My husband is baffled by my ability to listen to a book while I work. He doesn't understand how I can actually remember things.

9. I'm ready for the temps to get warm. I'm done with the rain, cloudy, coldy stuff. I'm normally a girl that doesn't really mind winter, but this winter has taken it's toll on me. Too much snow and cold.

10. I can spend hours browsing on Etsy. Tonight I started searching for robots for my mom to get an idea of something to do for my brothers robotics team and I ended up browsing a shop full of all sorts of cupcakes and that led me to search for cupcake wrappers. I want to make cupcake wrappers to go with my toppers and banners.

11. Pintrest is another site that sucks me in. So much inspiration and ideas in one spot. Can't wait to get my invite so I can start pinning!

12. This week my family has gone through 2 gallons of milk, 2 bunches of bananas, 2 bunches of grapes, and 4 containers of cottage cheese. I think my kids are growing. I'm afraid if my son does, he will soon be taller than me. He only needs 6 inches to be taller than me. Granted I'm only 5'2" on a good day, but he's only 9. Of course having great uncles on both sides of the family that are well over 6 feet, some pushing closer to 7 feet, I think he's going to be tall.

13. Only a few weeks until the greatest day of the year...Opening Day! I cannot wait for baseball season to start.

Pictures of a custom order banner I made a couple of weeks ago. She actually ordered 2. I can't wait to see what she does with them.

Busy Busy Busy

Not complaining at all mind you. I have had a rush of banner requests in the last week and so I have been busy. I love making banners, especially when they are custom orders. I've done one for a small crafty business who wanted it for her table at craft fairs, working on one for a bachelorette party, and one for a birthday party. Got one today for someone who wants to use it in their maternity shoot. What an awesome idea. The only downfall to all of these orders, more ideas for other banners. I have stuff to start making graduation banners. I'm also going to add cupcake toppers to the shop. Had a request for a few of them so I figure that will go good with banners. I can't wait to make some for Easter as well. I got the cutest Easter stamps that will be perfect on cupcake toppers.

When I'm not crafting I seem to be at a PTA meeting of some sort or baseball practice. Last night was our first practice outside and it was COLD!! I was smart and took my own chair and a blanket. Figured the bleachers might be cold. Even with those things I froze. Next time I'm taking hot chocolate too. The boys loved it though. They were so glad to finally get to play outside and not be stuck inside all the time.

A look at a set of cards I made a little while back. Thank you cards or any card sets are great gift ideas for moms and grandmas or any female in your life. We always seem to need a card at the last minute. And if you have a card on hand you are more likely to actually send it than if you have to go out and buy some.

Hope everyone is having a good Fat Tuesday. It is rainy and yucky and cold in Columbia, dreaming of sunshine and 70 degree temperatures.

Friday Favorites

Decided to post some of my favorite things as of lately.

First, I WANT this for my birthday. So adorable...

Would she not look adorable on top of a cake...Found in KidsCakes

These little cuties would be adorable for a birthday party.

I finally saw Despicable Me not to long ago and these little guys were too adorable in the movie. Found in EntirelySweet

I absolutely love this pendant. I have been stalking Etsy for pendants a lot lately, but there are way too many cute ones, I can't decide which one I want. This one was found in TightlyWound

I have this fabric, I just can't decide what I want to make with it. I love this bin. Found on Google Images.

I have been reconnected with my colored pencils the last couple of days and I am really enjoying it. Found on Google Images.

And on to cupcakes. I have a major craving for chocolate cupcakes right now.

 Are these not the cutest cupcake wrappers! I really want to figure out the pattern for making cupcake wrappers. Found in ThatsaWrap

The following are amazing cupcakes I found on Google Images. I am loving Google Images lately.

I don't think I could eat these. WAY TO CUTE to even eat!!!

These make me think of my mom, who loves cows. These would be so cute for Mother's Day.

Audrey would love these for her birthday. These wouldn't even need cupcakes to go down in.

I'm off to find something chocolate, need to give in to this craving, hope ice cream will work.

Have a Great Weekend!!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." Dr. Seuss

That is one of my favorite quotes by the master of rhymes. I love Dr. Seuss, always have!  In honor of his birthday I'm doing a post about books. Only seems fitting to honor him this way.

I am currently reading Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally and am loving it. So many things I have written down and want to remember. I checked it out from the library, but this is one I would own.

I have Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia ready to start also. My awesome sister Leslie bought the movie for me for Christmas and I LOVED IT! I know everyone who read the book said the movie was not as good. I can't wait to read it.

Next on my list is The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--A Love Story I absolutely love her blog and can't wait to read her book.

Now if you are looking for a series or 2 some of my favorites are:
The Alphabet series by Sue Grafton. I just finished L is for Lawless and while it wasn't one of my favorites it still kept my attention and had me reading way past bedtime. Start with...A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries, No. 1)

On a lighter note I love the Number series by Janet Evanovich. I usually read these in one day. So funny. I literally laugh out loud and sometimes to the point of crying. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1)

Also a bit lighter is the Cookie Shop Mysteries by Joanne Fluke. Hannah Swensen is a cookie shop owner who always is coming upon dead bodies. I will warn you that reading these always makes me hungry for cookies. Wonder why??? Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)

I'm also a fan of the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson. I loved the show when it was on too. These are a lot more intense than the previous 2. 1st to Die (The Women's Murder Club)

All of these links are to the traditional paper books, but I would imagine most of them are available for the e devices as well.

Have you heard of goodreads.com? One of my favorite sites when it comes to books. You can't buy them there, but create lists of books want to read, currently reading or have read. Great way to keep track of that. You can also friend other people and see what they are reading and read their reviews. I have added many books to my list because of that. My to-read list is sitting at 640 books right now. WOW!

What are some of your favorite books? What are you currently reading?

Have an avid reader in your lift? These are great for them to put inside any books they might loan out to friends. 

One can never have too many book marks can they?

Update Day

A new month and a new update on my 34 before 35 list . I'm only going to update those that I made progress on, so if you want to read the entire list check out the original post.

Here is my list of 34 Things I want to do before I turn 35!
4. Have 100 sales in my Etsy shop. I've got 2 so far! Another order this month. 2 banners in the order.
5. Have 75 followers on my blog. Working on some fun things for the blog this year. 1 more follower this month. It was a rough blogging month though.
6. Maintain 50 items in my Etsy shop. I have so many things I want to make and hopefully it will be hard to have 50 items in my shop all the time because hopefully things will be selling! I have 21 items in there now and 2 that are ready to go up today or tomorrow.
7. Do more sewing. I want to make doll clothes, clothes for Audrey and lots of stuff to put in the shop. This was probably the biggest thing this month. I made 3 blankets(2 doll blankets and a rag quilt), 1 rag quilt burp cloth, and lots of doll clothes(3 shirts, 2 dresses, 1 pair of pants, a skirt and a headband). I have major sewing fever. Rearranged how my fabric was stored and can't wait to get back to sewing.
9. Create digital cards. Think the cards you get at Christmas. Great for birth announcements, birthday invitations, Graduation open houses, wedding save the dates and more. Got them printed this month and discovered some things that needed to be fixed so I got those done. Have a couple in the works.
10. Declutter. I am tired of all the junk we have. I have started with my scrapbook stuff and actually look forward to creating because I don't get caught up in the stuff. We totally emptied our storage unit and have gone through a ton of stuff. 6 bags to goodwill so far and will probably have a few more.
11. Be proud of me. I have always had a hard time when someone tells me I create beautiful things and I'm talented. Need to learn to accept it.  Going to be an ongoing thing.
12. Do more reading of creative/business books. I have a massive list of them to read. Reading Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally Which is so far really good.
14. Drink 3 bottles of water daily. Mostly to drink less pop each day. I am a huge pop drinker and need to cut back. Doing much better with this. On my 2nd bottle for the day. Still having pop some, but not like I used to.
16. Have 10 custom orders. I would love to have more, but I really want to make more custom items for people. Be it banners, cards or scrapbooks, bring it on. WOW! This has been a huge change from last month. Already mailed 2 banners(1 person ordered 2) and have 2 that I need to finish(both orders came right at the end of the month so they go in that month). On my way to reaching this one.
17. Really learn the ins and outs of PSE. There is so many things I could do that I just haven't taken the time to learn yet. Another one that is going to be a constant ongoing thing.
18. Procrastinate less. I have been working hard on this. I am horrible at procrastinating and then doing everything at the last minute. My timer has become my best friend. Also picking out 3 things that I will get done before I go to bed each day has really helped.
20. Menu Plan. I HATE going to the store constantly to get stuff for dinner. I also would love to see us eat a little better and know that will help us with that as well. Yes and no. Having a blizzard at the beginning of the month, I planned well for that. Done a lot of lets see what we have on hand type thing so that's helped a little.
22. Add photo editing to the business. This one may not happen until later in the year, but I want to figure out how to do this at some point. Hope to have this finalized this month. Working on the nitty gritty details.
23. Clean up my external hard drive. It is a mess. So many things on there that are horrible pictures and on there multiple times. Makes me dread having to look for anything on it. We had a weekend where our internet was out so I attacked my ehd. It was a mess, but I have made huge progress. All pictures are sorted into the correct month, just need to go through them now.
24. Stay better caught up on pictures, editing and uploading. Upload to Shutterfly, Flickr and other spots. Also be better about backing up. Winter pictures on dvd this morning and in external hard drive already. Did better uploading things I made to Flickr and Facebook.
27. Read 1 fun book a month. I love to read, just have a hard time making time for it. Hopefully this will force me to read more. Read L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton. Not one of my favorites of hers, but it was still good.
30. Send more cards. I really want to do more with giving friends birthday cards and just send cards in general. Imagine how much happier we all would be if in the midst of bills and junk there was a card just to let you know someone is thinking about you. Did send a couple.
34. Do more to encourage Handmade Items!! I don't care if it's jewelry or cards or what, I just really want to do more to encourage buying handmade. Had a couple of friends husbands who I encouraged them to check out Etsy for the wives Valentine's Day gifts. Both found something and ordered from there and their wives were very happy with what they got. Both said it was a million times better than flowers or chocolate. 

Another update I wanted to do last week, but was waiting for the final letter to come. My brother is FREE TO RUN AGAIN!!!!! He had his stress test last week and when they were there he was told all looked good, but Friday they got the final letter saying he was released to run. Track practice starts today! Thank you for all the prayers and good thoughts.

He is pretty proud of his scar. He said that next year when he's at Mizzou and the guys are painting their chests for games he will be the exclamation point since his is built in. It goes up pretty high on his chest too. At the top you can feel the metal they used to close his ribs up.

Throwing this one in just because it's so cute. They both think the other is pretty much the best thing in the world.

Make it Monday

This week is going to be a lot of organizing at home as we cleaned out a storage unit to get rid of most of the junk that was in it, however we brought some home that we will be keeping so I have to get it all taken care of. However, I do have some creative stuff I want to make as well.

This weeks projects:

• 2 custom banner orders
• more banners(want to get a birthday one made, some spring type ones and also get started on some for graduation)
• doll blankets
• doll clothes
• cards(have one get well card I need to make for a friend)

So how many of you participated in my send a card or letter just to say hi? Leave me a comment. And if you did and heard from the person you sent it to, what was their reaction? Have you sent any others?

I can't believe tomorrow is March! Spring is coming! Although I was told on Saturday that according to the Farmers Almanac we still have a major snow storm coming at the end of March. The person who told me this said it would be worse than the last blizzard we got. I really hope it is wrong. Usually the Farmer's Almanac is pretty close to correct and she said so far it's been pretty accurate. NO MORE SNOW!!!

Recently made a Mizzou Rag Quilt Burp Cloth. I think when I make them to sell I will make some minor changes, but I really like these. Great for the dads to use!

It's a Beeeeeyou-tiful Day in Heaven

As a life long Chiefs fan today is a sad day. The long time broadcaster Bill Grigsby made heaven a brighter place today with his passing. I can still hear his voice in my head. He had that kind of voice, one that just sticks with you. Even something simple said by him stuck with you because of his voice. He just had one of those voices. His phrase "It's a beeeautiful day at Arrowhead!" regardless of whether or not it really was a beautiful day made you believe it was just that. His voice was also behind the Price Chopper ads in the Kansas City area, which I would imagine is going through many peoples heads today as they hear about the passing of Bill. I think it's a safe bet that  Tony DiPardo, long time bandleader for the Chiefs who passed away less than a month ago was the first to greet Bill at the pearly gates. Bill, you will be missed by Chiefs fans all over. I know it's a beautiful day in heaven with you there. Give Derrick a hug for all of us fans.

Image found via Google Images search.

Back later....