{turns out they come in 5's}

So I have two more headaches to add to my ever growing list...1. we have mice in the house. Thanks to Miss Chloe who had one hanging out of her mouth we discovered the little buggers. We caught one more tonight. I'm calling an exterminator asap in the morning! 2. The hubby got a ticket tonight on his way to work for running a red light (he swears it was yellow). Greeeaaaaat.

I seriously need some good luck and positive vibes sent my way.

{sweet dreams?}

I had the weirdest bunch of dreams last night. I'm used to having strange ones, but these were a bit over the top, even for me. It might have something to do with the fact that I stayed up until midnight cleaning the kitchen...probably not so smart.

I had three separate dreams which included 1. my old church and my high school boyfriend, 2. I was in jail and pregnant (this one gets the WTH? award), and 3. telling my ex best friend from high school about the jail dream and both laughing about it.

I think there is really something wrong with me. Seriously! I mean, who dreams about stuff like that, and all in the same night? I do see themes of my old church and my ex friend in a lot of my dreams though. Both bring back lots of bad memories and sadness so maybe that is what they are related to. I was feeling pretty sad yesterday, missing my grandparents who are both resting peacefully in heaven.

Now as for the jail thing...not sure where that came from! We are trying to get pregnant, so that part makes sense. LOL :)

Hope I've entertained you a bit on this Wednesday morning. Happy hump day!

{they come in threes}

You know how people always say that bad things come in threes? Well maybe that is true about good things also (I hope), but it has definitely been true for us the past month in a bad way. Last month was a big repair bill on Dan's car...last Friday we had to have all the brakes replaced on our newer car, and now we are without a refrigerator because the compressor died (this is a 3 year old fridge which is very frustrating). Luckily, it should still be under warranty, so all we'll be out is the service fee. But, we have to wait at least a week to get it fixed. One of my coworkers has been sweet enough to lend us her mini fridge so hopefully we can go pick that up tonight. It is crazy how much we take these appliances for granted!

I did some more scrapbooking last night also...pics from the Ben Harper concert we went to on the 7th. I hid the journaling under the top ticket...thought that was a fun way to use them and I also ran out of room to put it anywhere else! :)



"You put it on me" is one of his new songs and also one of my favorites. It was an amazing concert and I can't wait for the next one!

Hope everyone is having a happy Tuesday!

*sweet* ending

So I had a very tiring weekend...had to be at work from 2-7:30 on Saturday and 8-4 today for special meetings. It was good and I learned quite a bit, but still not fun to be doing on the weekend.

I did sneak in some fun though. Yesterday morning Joyce (my mother-in-law) and I checked out the Everrett Festival, which is a fairly new fall festival in our historic train depot neighborhood. It was a small fair, but tons of fun. I picked up a bunch of cute mini pumpkins, a hobnail milkglass lampshade ---that I turned upside down and used for a bowl--->


and a really cool tray thingy that used to be a part of a food drying rack. It has metal grating on it so I'm going to hang it in the kitchen or my scrapbook room and use it with mangnets as a memo board. :)

I also got some much needed scrapbook time in tonight and got two fall pages done with pics of the fun fall decor I have around the house. I can't put into words how much I love fall, and autumn themed scrapbook stuff. Scenic Route has some gorgeous papers/stickers/chipboard out this year that I used on these two pages. There is also a little Love, Elsie thrown in.




I did these two pages on the front and back of the same sheet of paper. I don't normally do that, but both sides were too pretty to waste one!

I'm wishing tomorrow wasn't Monday and the start of another work week, but trying to find the positives in the mundane everyday tasks of life. Hope everyone has a great start to their week!

feeling squirrely

Aside from cats, I would have to say that my favorite furry animal is the squirrel. I just love them. I think its a combination of the fluffy tail, the way they sit up to eat a nut or listen to the sounds around them, and their just darn adorable faces! The squirrel is the unofficial mascot of the school I work at, which is just perfect. They are all over the campus and every day I wish I had some nuts in my pocket so I could feed them on my way to and from my car.

Seriously.

Yeah, one day I'm going to be the old lady sitting on the park bench with a pocket full of nuts feeding the squirrels. I would really have one for a pet if I could. We have a nut tree right next to our front porch, and every year when it blooms the squirrels go crazy over those things. This year, there was one squirrel that I swear ate every single nut off of that tree, leaving the shells scattered all over our porch. After he was done, I caught him laying on the porch rail, his legs splayed out on either side...it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. I think he was drunk or high...whatever an OD on nuts does to a squirrel, he had a bad case.

Etsy has a huge assortment of adorable squirrel stuff...here are a few of my faves--->

squirrely sprinkle print

cute squirrel pendant

acorn earrings - in honor of my porch buddy

adorable greeting card

squirrel pocket mirror - so stinking cute!!

I could go on forever with the adorable squirrel stuff on Etsy!

If you are a squirrel hater...please reconsider...they are one of God's creatures and just want to be your friend! ;)

Oh *fall* how I love you :)

So I haven't blogged in forever, and any readers I did have probably lost all hope in me returning. But just in case anyone is reading I'm back! ;)

Not even sure where to start other than to say that I'm so in love with fall. Each year the hint of the fall season puts me in a good mood with the cool air, warm colors, pumpkins decorating doorsteps and leaves crunching under my feet (I can wait awhile for that last one). I don't know what it is about fall...I seriously would marry it if at all possible! (and if polygamy were legal.) The first two pics are ones I took in our park two years ago...others are from flickr.

Lots of house projects in the works...kitchen remodel is on schedule for October or November! Still need to refinish the stairs and finish painting our porch railing, install porch light and new front door handle, and get our landscaping under control. Looking at that list really freaks me out! Hopefully it will all get done so we can enjoy the season!

{heirloom}

The weekend has been nice so far. Last night we had dinner with a bunch of Dan's family. His aunt and uncle were in town from Chicago, as well as his cousin and her daughter from Oklahoma. Megan's daughter Montana is the cutest thing and it was so fun to see Dan playing with her. He will be such a cute dad. :)

I got a wonderful gift today...the ring my parents bought for me that has two diamonds from my Grandma Orr's wedding ring. I absolutely love it! I cried when I put it on...makes me feel so close to her. Here's a pic (sorry its blurry)--->

Its a round peridot on a white gold band with a diamond on either side. I'm in love! :)

Here's a layout I did of my 29th b-day...had a lot of fun with this one...

Not much planned for tomorrow. I really need to do some yardwork and put out the new birdbath that Dan got me for my birthday. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

xoxo

{feeling productive}

Last night was such a productive night for me. We cooked dinner and cleaned up the kitchen, I took a walk and did some scrapbooking. This may be how a typical night is for most people, but we usually don't fare so well. I'm lucky if I get one of those things done in an evening! :) Nothing too exciting going on today...a pretty quiet day at work and not sure what will happen this evening. Hopefully I'll have another productive night since the weather has cooled off for my walks and I just got a new stash of scrapbook goodies with a bunch of AC thickers! LOOOVE those things! I also got some fun news this morning...I won a RAK of Hambly goodies from fellow blogger Lizz...thanks girl!!! I'm so excited to get my goodies! Here is the layout I did last night. It has taken me awhile to be ready to work with this photo of me and Grandma...I still got a little teary making it but I'm so proud of how it turned out-->



and here's the journaling (hidden under the photo)



Hope everyone is having a great day!

xoxo

{bye bye weekend}

I had *such* a fabulous weekend! Saturday started with a shopping trip to the mall where I found so many bargains...spent about $95 on over $200 worth of stuff. I got a really cute dress for work, jeans, a t-shirt in my favorite shade of green, two pair of shoes (one of them green) and a new wallet in (you guessed it)...green! :) On my way home from my shopping high, I noticed that there was an arts fair in town, so I called my mother-in-law and we went together. I found a cute pottery business card holder for my desk at work, and we sat and had iced coffee together and some great conversation. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with her. She is so fun to be with and we have great chats when it is just the two of us. The day finished up with watching a movie with Dan and doing some scrapbooking (can you tell what the subject is of two of these layouts???)

Today I did some cleaning when I got up...not my favorite thing but I feel so much better once I've done it. We took a necessary trip to Walmart and then went to visit our little "nephew" Gavin. He is just the cutest. We hadn't seen him in a month and he has grown so much! He is also smiling a lot and a lot more active and animated. I loved watching him react to his dad's kisses and voice. I caught a great picture of him smiling...

Well, tomorrow is another Monday, but with the way the last few weeks have flown by, I'm sure it will be Friday again before we know it!

xoxo

{painting fun}

I'm making a set of four paintings for a friend and I'm having so much fun making them. I hadn't painted in years and I'm rediscovering how much I like it. Granted, these are modern paintings with only 2 colors of paint, but that's a start, right? :) Here is the third in the set --->

Not much else going on today. Work is keeping me super busy but I'm not complaining...makes the days fly by!

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo

{another year wiser?}

So today was the big 2-9 for me. I have a hard time believing that I'm 29 years old...I really still feel like I'm 24 or 25 at the most. I wouldn't go back to those years though...those were some tough ones. Dan and I trying to find our way as a couple, figuring out my career path and going through so many interviews and rejections. 29 has found me in a very good place. I'm in a job that I am really enjoying and that makes me feel fulfilled. I have the most wonderful marriage that I could have ever imagined, and hopefully in the next year or so we will add to our family. ;) I've been exploring my creativity and finding new ways to express myself. I feel very comfortable in my own skin and able to be myself more than ever.

Dan and I had a fun day today to celebrate. We drove to Indianapolis and did some shopping. Despite the super hot and humid weather we had a lot of fun. We had dinner at On the Border...one of our favorites. I found a couple cute things at TJ Maxx...a brown dress for work that I can't wait to wear. Here's a pic of us in the car...hot and exhausted...

And here's another one I took just for fun --->

I'm a big fan of hand holding :)

Hope everyone has had a great Monday!

xoxo

{fun stuff}

Today has been a busy and tiring day. Work has been going well and I feel so blessed to have been giving this opportunity. I had a meeting this afternoon with my old coworkers to help train the person in my old job. After that meeting I was even happier that I have moved on. :)

I'm working on a new set of canvas paintings for a friend...really excited that she asked me to make them for her. I'm using a light blue and dark brown...two with a blue background and two with brown for the background. Here are the two I've completed so far...

I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with them...the floral patterns didn't translate as well to solid color as I thought they would. Oh well...we'll see if she likes them. :)

We also got our new quilt set for our bedroom a couple days ago. Here's a pic of the room in its current state.

I want to get a new sheet set and we still need to paint the walls and trim. We'll get it done one day.

{thanks sharon}

So I'm having an extremely frustrating morning. I won't go into the details but it isn't even 9:00 yet and too many things have happened to count on one hand. When I finally got my email open, I had a message from my friend Sharon which helped me put it all into perspective...

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact
lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him....I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

Thanks Sharon...I really needed that this morning!

xoxo

{life is a waiting game}

I think one major lesson I've learned from the past few years is that life definitely is a waiting game. I don't mean you have to sit around and wait for it to happen, but you really do have to have patience because things don't happen in your own time. And, I've come to realize that things are so much better when they happen in God's time than if they happened when I wanted them to. I'm really trying to stay focused on that lately, as my patience is being tested regarding some major life issues. I pray every night for Dan to find a better job during a day shift. That change would allow us to work on the biggest change our lives will ever experience...having our first child. As my biological clock starts ticking louder and louder, it is hard for me not to think about wanting to get pregnant. I know that God has a plan for everything, and there is a reason why we haven't been able to work toward that yet. The job I have now is truly a blessing, and all of the jobs I had leading up to this, stresses and all, prepared me for what I'm doing now. It amazes me how God works in our lives to help everything fall perfectly into place. I can't wait to see how he works his magic on us in the future.

We're having Mom and Dad over for dinner tonight...really looking forward to that. Mom is bringing her super yummy potato salad which I haven't had yet all summer. Tomorrow night we're having a contractor come over to look at our kitchen! I'm sooooo excited about the thought of starting on the kitchen renovation. I know that a fresh new kitchen will motivate me to cook more...I don't even want to be in that room with the way it is now. Keep your fingers crossed for me that he will work out! Here are a couple inspiration pics that I've saved for ideas...



Other exciting news...Dan bought us tickets to see Ben Harper yesterday!! The concert isn't until September 7th, so we have awhile to wait. We are on the 3rd row dead center...wooohooo!! It will be in Indianapolis at the Murat. Can't 'wait!!!

Happy Thursday!

xoxo

{productive}

I've had a pretty productive weekend. Last night I painted two canvases for our master bedroom. It is the only area of the house that is more modern, and we've gone with a blue and brown color scheme, so I think these are going to look really nice.

I also ordered a blue quilt set and brown rug...can't wait until them come in and we can get the room together. Next up will be painting. The walls and trim both need a new color. Today I'm trying to get the house in order...put things away, de-clutter, clean. It is crazy how fast things can get messy around here. I was going to work on painting our porch railing since the weather is so gorgeous but I just wan't into it at all. It is SUCH a tedious job. I would love to just hire someone to do it...LOL :)

We have a contractor coming on Friday to look at our kitchen...I'm so excited!! Hopefully he will agree to take on the project and we can get started soon. It would be so nice to have a new kitchen for the holidays this year. I would really like to host something for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Mom and Dad are coming up for dinner tonight so I'm looking forward to that. Dan isn't feeling well though...hopefully he'll be up to going out. Guess that is all of my news for today. Happpy Sunday everyone!

xoxo

{mixed feelings}

TGIF! I'm so happy that it is Friday. :)

Dan has the night off of work tonight so we are going to have a date night! We'll probably go see a movie or rent one and have a nice dinner somewhere. I can't wait until he has a day shift job...and we can live like normal people. He has been on 3rd shift ever since we moved in together almost 6 *gasp* years ago...hard to believe it has been that long!! 3rd has been SO tough on him and us and with both of us wanting to try to have a baby, we really want to get him out of there. I just can't imagine being pregnant/having a baby and being alone almost every night...really scares me.

I'm feeling pretty sad today...missing my Grandma and Grandpa. It is just so strange to think that their lives aren't being lived anymore...that everything about them is just a memory. I am having a hard time grasping that. Someone else is living in their house, driving their car, sitting in their seats at church. I just can't get my brain to wrap around it yet. I know with time it will get a little easier, but I will never stop missing them.

On a happy note, I'm really looking forward to the weekend. We are supposed to have really beautiful weather and we have so many house projects to work on. Our porch railing needs to be painted, so hopefully tomorrow I can work on that (even though I am sort of dreading it...such tedious work painting all of those rails). I'll just put some music on and try to make it a party. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and weekend!!

xoxo

{dreary}

It is such a dreary Tuesday morning...but we need the rain so I'm not minding it at all. Kind of makes me feel more mellow when it is overcast outside. Feeling pretty good today. Have my large vanilla latte so I'm ready to face the day. Mailed some purses that I sold on ebay this morning...feels good to get some stuff out of the house that I wasn't using. I did some scrapping last night. Took a pic of me in my new office and had to do a layout about my super cool new job. I was itching to use the new Love, Elsie stuff that I got at Hobby Lobby so this was a fun project. I used my nameplate from my last job too...figured I might as well scrap it!




I really need to focus more on my health and physical fitness. I took a walk both Sunday night and last night and it just makes me feel so much better about myself. Its crazy how just knowing you exercised makes you look at your body in a totally different way. Even if I haven't lost weight, I still feel thinner. I really just want to tone up and have more muscle/less flab. I'm sure almost everyone can relate to that!

Not much else going on around here. Guess I better get back to work! Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

xoxo

{ugh}

So I'm feeling quite chubby today...but only in my belly area. Wish I could blame it on being pregnant, but sadly that isn't the case. I *am* hosting aunty flow right now though...so can I just blame it on bloat? Seriously, I have been on an awful sweets kick the past few weeks. I'm craving everything sweet that I can get my hands on! I haven't been exercising like I should be either. The hot weather took me out of my walking routine, so I've been super lazy lately. I'm still having trouble getting used to the "heavier" me. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and stay a size 6. Granted, I'm a size 10 now and 5'9" tall, so I know that isn't that big, but when I look in the mirror I feel heavy. Guess today is just my pity party day. :(

I have tons of stuff that I need to get started on around the house. Our staircase needs to be sanded and stained...that project has been staring my in the face for months. Maybe this weekend will finally be when I tackle it (that would be a good way to kick start my calorie burning as well!) We also really need to clean the laundry room in the basement...it is just disgusting for lack of a better word....gotta love musty old basements.

Not much else going on in my world. I'm hoping Dan and I can make a trip to Target this weekend to look for bedroom stuff. They have a coverlet set, rug, chair and artwork that I want to get to finally make our bedroom look "finished"...


Hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday (the 13th!) :)

xoxo

{wednesday already?}

I can't believe it is already Wednesday...this week is flying by! It has helped that they are keeping me super busy at work which I don't mind at all. I already have three mailings that I'm working on in addition to a few other things.

Here is a quote I saw on one of my friend's myspace bulletins today...thought it was funny in kind of a sad way...

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." - Ellen Gregory

I would like to think that I work for a sense of personal satisfaction, especially since I work in the non-profit education world, and the job I do (fundraising) is so important. On the other hand, of course we all work for the paycheck so we can have nice things and enjoy life to the fullest. I can't say that I'm not looking forward to getting my first bigger paycheck at the end of this month!

Something random from last night and why I am such a sucker. I gave a little girl $6 for a tiny box of thin mints. Yes...she was cute and I couldn't say no to her. That is a good reason why I should never have cash. I had a fresh $10 bill in my wallet, and I just can't lie to an 8 year old! Dan gave me SUCH a hard time for that one. LOL :) BTW...the thin mints are really good, so that makes me feel a little less jipped.

On a sad note, I'm going to a funeral this morning for Dan's great aunt Caroline. I never met her, but I feel like I should go. If anything I know Dan's mom will appreciate the support. Caroline was an accomplished ballroom dancer and a published ceramic artist...she sounded like quite an interesting lady!

OK...time for me to get to work. Happy hump day everyone!

xoxo

{10 pm}

So its 10 pm on a Sunday night and I'm putting off the inevitable last task for the day...going to bed. I'm such a night owl...if I could I would go to bed at 2 am every morning and sleep until 10. But, its not to be for this 8-5 career girl. *sigh*.

My creativity was really flowing these past few days. I finished quite a few layouts and made a couple mini albums for my Etsy shop. You can take a peak at them here. I also listed some other vintage goodies from my stash. In an effort to narrow down my handbag collection, I listed quite a few of my less loved bags on Ebay today. If they don't find a new home, our local Goodwill willbe inheriting a large stash of purses.

Not much else going on around here. I'm dreading tomorrow simply because I almost always dread Mondays. They are the sign of the beginning of a long work week and the end of a relaxing weekend. Oh well...another Friday is right around the corner. :)

Here are a few of the layouts I did this weekend. Hope everyone has a great Monday!



xoxo