Yay for play!

Last night we had a playdate with some kiddo friends named Aria and Mason. Aria is younger than Lily, Mason is older. Poor Mason fell asleep before we came over and the kid was knocked out like a teenager. He slept through most of the visit. Lily enjoyed climbing up the stairs, petting the dog, pointing at the kitty cat and most importantly, playing with Aria. Lily was kinda obsessed for a while with trying to hold her...Aria doesn't completely need to be held, she little but quite mobile. They played with a ball and kinda chased each other around for a while...climbed under chairs and other places little ones like to hang. Lily actually spent some time in the dogs area....she climbed in a kept trying to shut the door. She seemed offended that the dog wanted to be in his house...I guess she thought that was her new spot. We ordered some pizza...I managed to break one of their plates on accident...I picked Lily up and turned and my elbow knocked it off the table....I felt really bad and kinda stupid...but it happens. I'm excited because Janette also likes to do crafty art type projects. There was a few projects I've pinned on pinterest to try that she has completed and hanging up. Not going to lie, I'm kinda jealous. I'm hoping to spend some time with them during the off season and get some of my own craft needs taken care of!

I'm happy to say that I did finish my cleanse with AdvoCare. I started off strong, got a little off track, but still finished well. I'm glad I don't have to drink anymore of the fiber, but by the last few days I was able to down it pretty fast and without much distress. Physically I do feel a lot better, post-cleanse. I'm still drinking my Spark, daily...which reminds me I need to order some more! If anyone is interested, please contact me on facebook!

I've made some good headway in some projects that have been nagging at me for some time now. I really hope to be able to continue the progress and finally get some craft show items done. I also need to lock in some more show dates...It's going to be a busy fall, but I want it to be fun as well!

Much Love.

Good weekend/last full time week

We had a pretty busy weekend and I liked it. Friday evening we drove over to Smyrna to drop off a hat I made to a happy customer! We got home and played with Lily for a while until bedtime. It was a nice way to end the week.

Saturday, Dan headed off to work for a few hours and Lily and I played and did some cleaning. We played with dolls and in her princess tent. We watched some episodes of David the Gnome together. I crocheted here and there when I could and she played by herself for a while. After we ate lunch she laid down for a nap. I finished a few cleaning type things and then I laid down too. Why not!?

I woke up when Dan got home from work. We hung out together for a little bit and then got Lily up. We decided to take Lily on a walk at one of the parks by our house. I didn't realize this until we got there, but it's actually part of a larger greenway that goes for several miles.

 At first, Lily wanted Dan to carry her most of the way, but once we got her down and walking, she thought she was pretty cool stuff!

She ran for a while then walked. We stopped along the way and looked at some flowers too.




Lily thought was was pretty cool. We eventually found ourselves at a bridge. I had no idea any of this was back here. We've gone to this park before and lived near it pretty much the entire time we've been in Nashville.

We spent a little bit of time hanging out on the bridge and checking everything out. Lily really seemed to enjoy this. We watched the water for quite a while. Eventually it was time to turn back. We didn't pay very close attention to the map when we started out, so we didn't actually do the loop. We didn't know what all we were getting ourselves into and we didn't bring the stroller with us. We decided to head back to the car. Lily ran and walked most of the way back to the car with a flower in hand. 

We decided to swing by Big Lots and just scope a few things out for Lily's upcoming birthday. We didn't really find anything that we wanted, but we did manage to score Lily a kids swimming pool for next year for $4. Not bad! 

We headed home. Lily was about ready for a nap by the time we got home and the timing couldn't have been much better. We got her to sleep and headed outside for the next project....removing the car! 

We found a guy to buy our wrecked car last week and I'm happy to say we made and cleared the final payment! Woo hoo!!! No more wrecked car and no more wasting money on it! I'm so glad we accomplished this. The guy came over with a friend, we loaded it up and sent them on their way!

It was a huge sense of relief as soon as he pulled away. Add this to our list of accomplishments for this year!

Lily's nap lasted long enough for us to get the car gone, then it was dinner time and cuddles. 

I don't really see this as a comfy position for watched TV, but Lily and Dan seemed to be enjoying themselves. The hung out like this pretty much until her bedtime. I was glad they got to spend some good time together. Dan has been around a little more the past few weekends and it sure does make it easier on me! I was able to get quite a bit of crocheting accomplished, which is great because I have a large order that will be due at the end of Sept. I was glad to make some solid progress on it. 

Sunday wasn't nearly as exciting as Saturday was, but that's okay! Dan got up and headed into work for a few hours. Lily and I hung out, watched a few episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (from when I was young) and we hung out and had our own cuddles for a while. When she started to get restless she got up and played in her tent for a while. I took those few minutes to get some more crocheting in...I always have some sort of project to work on...I suddenly heard this little voice saying, "Help, help." I get up off the couch and Lily has "fallen" into the outside of her tent and she's "stuck." This quickly turned into a game that I kinda had to stop her from playing because I didn't want her tent to break. It's been a lot of fun for her to play in and I'd like to keep that fun going.





She got restless from playing with all of her usual stuff, so Mommy had an idea of something new to try. I pulled her highchair into the living room and got a little bit of Daddy's shaving cream out. This turned out to be quite a bit of fun for both of us. I kept trying to draw things, but she just kept erasing them as I went along. All in all though, it was a fun time.

Another day of heart-breaking news...

Well a few hours ago I saw a story on FB about a reporter and photog killed in the middle of doing a live-shot. Live...on the freakin air...they were not in some war-torn country or in the middle of riots or something else of the sort...they were covering a story and the guy just walks up and kills him. The most recent reports say it was a disgruntled employee. He fled in a vehicle. He attempted to kill himself but from what I gather is still alive and in critical condition. It looks like he was made at the reporter for making "racist" remarks about him and angry with the photog for "reporting him to HR" after only working with him one time. Who knows where the truth lies...I had the pleasure of working in a TV station right after college. I was in the in-studio camera op and I worked some overnights in MC. I cannot imagine what it would have been like for the crew, all those people in the studio on headsets when this went down. They've mentioned that both of these victims were in relationships with people who also worked at the station...my heart is just broken for them. I spent a little time sending some messages to some people I used to work with and go to school with that currently work at a station. I'm not sure there is a safety precaution that could have prevented this. When I was an intern I used to go on live-shots with the guys that cover the Live at Gurley Leep spots. It was honestly kinda boring at times. We'd do our shot and then sit and wait for our turn again. I'm sure that when it comes to fires or riots they have strict protocol to follow as far as how close/far they can be from a situation...but that was not the case here. These two people woke up today, had their coffee and set out to do a live shot and BAM. Gone. Tragic, senseless and sad.

Look up and live.

Much love.

Family weekend! (Finally!!!)

Well, we finally had a family weekend like I've been wanting to do for a while now! Saturday morning we all got up and around and took off for Mt. Juliet. We got Lily's 2 year old pictures done along with a few family poses. While we were waiting for the pictures to be ready, we did a little bit of shopping in JCPenney's! I got a few items I needed and a few that I wanted. We finished up and headed down a few doors to Jo-Ann's. Omg....they've been having a sale and a lot of the yarn I was hoping to purchase was out of stock! I was able to get a few things that I needed, so that's a plus. We headed home. We thought Lily would either fall asleep in the car or shortly after we got home. This turned out to not be the case. We made and ate some lunch. Daniel mowed the lawn and did some general yard cleaning. Lily and I played and boy did we play hard. I found a little bit of time to get some crocheting done. I started working on the Virus Shawl. It's super popular right now and works up nice and quick. I was happy with the progress. We thought Lily was getting sick, but I think now that it was just allergies. She kept refusing to nap and finally she went to bed around 9pm. She was up allllllllllllllllllllllllll day long!  Sunday was kinda similar. We got up and all kinda hung out and cuddled on the couch. We watched some episodes of David the Gnome and I made bacon biscuits for breakfast. Dan spent some of Sunday cleaning out our old wrecked car, taking pictures and posting it for sale. I was pleasantly surprised at the response. By mid afternoon Sunday we had tentatively sold the car. The guy was nice, he asked if he gave us $100 now if we'd hold the car for a week so he could get the rest of the money. Daniel and him talked it over and put it in writing. He said if he doesn't show by Sunday, we made $100 bucks. I was pretty pleased with this. It would be great to get out from under this car payment in the month of August. Starting in about 2 weeks I go down to part time at work. I've saved enough money to pay the rent for the 4 months I'm part time, if I also didn't have to pay a car payment, that would only work to improve the situation. Especially since Daniel's hours will also slow down as it gets colder. I feel more prepared for off season this year than I did last year, and that's a nice feeling!

Just like that....it's been a whole week....

It's so easy for this to just fall by the wayside, especially when it really hasn't become any sort of habit. I've been busy working a few crochet projects. I'm working on making some more dolls similar to the one I posted previously. I've also been making my way through this cool bear. 

I'm not loving his eyes...they snap on tight and I really should have put some white around them or moved them closer together...If I could just pry them apart I might be able to fix it, but so far no luck. At least I'll know for next time, right?! And, this is a gift so as long as the kiddo loves it, who cares what I think, right!?


I started my Advocare cleanse this week. It's a 10 day program that is working to getting my body into a healthier state. I have to say I'm not a fan of the fiber drink and the first day I made the horrible mistake of mixing it with just water....oh god it was awful and I'll never do that again! Second day I used some lemonade and it really wasn't so bad. Overall I feel pretty good. I need to continue working on eating healthier, but steps are being taken at least!

I am excited that we are counting down until Lily's 2nd Birthday and I need to get my shit together an do some real planning. It's not going to be one of those crazy ones like on tv...just a simple party for a 2 year old...I think we'll go to a park, have some snack and cupcakes, play with some bubbles or balls and just let the kids run until they are tired. Nothing super elaborate....just a nice day with some fun people!

Cece Drake is A?!?!?!!??!?!

Well, I stayed up wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too late last night to watch the season finale of PLL. We now know the question that has burned in our hearts and minds for years, the story arc has worked it's way back around and many questions HAVE been answered. There are still a bazillion questions that are unanswered, but I was okay with last nights reveal. There was always a few things that bothered me about Cece, most of which I discuss with my friend Sarah. One of the main ones that sticks out is that the first time Cece meets the girls, she ALREADY knows that Hanna has a history of shoplifting...this was a nasty habit that Hanna picked up AFTER Ali was missing when she became friends with Mona. This isn't something that Ali KNEW about Hanna...at least as far as we know Ali didn't know this about Hanna...but Cece did....she knew because it was Mona who spilled the beans to her in Radley when she was taking a lot of medication and unaware of what she was saying or who she was saying it too.

One of the unanswered questions I have is who came up with this "game"....does the game have rules? Are there other people out in the world playing this game...how does one explain a game of torture to another person and that other persons is like ''oh wow, count me in?!'' I mean I saw the years of anguish that Cece was put through at the hands of her parents....although we don't see Mr. D really interact with Charles, the little that we do see is skewed from both perspectives. I am very interested to see who actually killed Mrs. D if it wasn't Cece. I think the general fandom doesn't think it was Jason...Ali was in NY with the other girls...Peter Hastings can be shady, but not sure how killing Mrs. D would really benefit him personally.

I would like to say that Mrs. D must have the good genetics...Cece, Ali and Jason are all stunningly similar even though Jason has a different father from the other too.

Well, that's about all I have time for right now...and if you aren't a fan of PLL I am sorry that you won't understand this post at all probably.

Much Love.

Another weekend passes me by...

 Friday evening I was playing outside with Lily on the swing. Daniel was inside making dinner and BBQ sauce (so mostly making messes...). As Lily was swinging she looked off to the side and I saw this red blood spot on the white of her eye. I called Daniel out to look at it. Our friend Bill also stopped by so I asked him to take a look. My first thought was that she burst some capillaries. I called my mom to see what she thought. I also called my Daycare lady to see if she fell or played a little too hard. Everyone thought I should go ahead and give the Docs office a ring. This is where I kinda ran into a problem. I called and it rang and rang and rang...No answer, no vmail. It literally rang until the phone just stopped. Okay, next I tried the emergency room. I was getting a little upset this time, especially when the lady on the phone at the ER told me they can't give medical advice over the phone. Of course my brain has already leaped to worse case scenario and I'm worried she'll go blind. My husband suggested I call a former co-worker who is a nurse...figuring she can at least give her 2 cents if we should go to the ER or not. Lily was fine btw, she wasn't crying or scratching. In fact, she didn't seem to notice it at all. After talking to my friend I calmed down and we ended up talking crochet for a little bit. I decided to just watch her carefully, but relax and call the Doc in the morning.


We got up in the morning and had an easy start to the day. She seemed totally normal and her eye even looked a little better. That made this mama feel good. I called the Docs office, not really expecting anyone to be there and someone answered this time. I was able to take her in right away. We got dressed and ready drove to the Doc's office. I'm a nervous driver most days it seems anymore. I was driving MY old car, which I've somehow managed to become afraid of driving. It's not nearly as pretty as it used to be, it has some body damage that we have been meaning to go get fixed among other problems. We made it safe and sound though, no problems. We also didn't have to wait very long in the waiting room.


Miss Lily weighed in at 31 lbs. She got to do the big girl scale this time. They didn't do height this time around since we came for a specific reason. We'll do all of that next month at her two year appt. We sat in the waiting room and waited for the Doc. She played with some toys and checked out a book.

 She finally let me get a picture of her eye. It's wayyyy better in this picture than it was when I first noticed it. The Doc said we were all right with what it was. Burst capillaries. I asked the different causes of something like this....he said even laughing too hard can build enough pressure to cause this....also straining to poop. Either way I was glad she was okay. She did a good job.

We got home and had lunch, played a little bit more and she took a nap. That gave me time to work on a project. I'd made all of the pieces of a doll during the week and needed to sew her together, which is my least favorite part, mostly because of my not so great sewing skills.

I really had a great time making this doll. I tried sewing eyes on using yarn, but I just couldn't get it quite right, so I scrapped that idea and just went with a blank face. While this is a bit on the boring side, the person this gift is for is a small baby and it's probably best that I don't include small pieces that could be chewed off or swallowed. I choose the colors to match the little princesses' room. I'm so excited for Christmas. I hope she loves it as much as a baby girl can!

   Part of the reason I got this pattern was for the hair. I've never done hair like this on a doll before because quite frankly, I didn't realize HOW to do it...once I got the pattern I flipped straight to this part and had a half & half, DUH/A-HA moment. It was so easy...why hadn't I thought of that before??? I stuffed the bun a little bit extra and gave her puffed sleeves as my ode to Anne of Green Gables. The only weird thing about this pattern is the unevenish number of points it creates. When I was sewing the arms on, I was trying to fold the blanket part so I could space them evenly and realized it was a little off. Oh well, She's a lovely doll and I'm excited to make more!

 I'm happy to report that I started another doll last night and I've already finished the dress and arms. I'm going to need to hit up the craft store to get some more flesh colored yarn. I also need to look into the various shades I could use. I want to make some that are made to look like the Princesses...and then some that are just themselves. I found a great pattern for what I'm hoping will be the more boyish version of a doll...although I don't care who wants a doll boy or girl. As long as they are loved and happy, that's the most important thing I could ask for.

I'm getting excited for the quickly approaching craft show time. I need to lock in some more dates and get real about this happening this year. I spent a little bit of time over the weekend going through some of my items from last year and the even we did earlier this year. I needed to get an idea of what all I really need to make. I have a lot of left over items, so I'm not going to panic, I'm going to fill in gaps and make some fun items that I really hope will sell. I know this isn't a full proof way of making extra income, craft shows can go great or not, but I have so much yarn on hand already, I mind as well give it the old college try.

I somehow found a little bit of time this weekend to watch a few movies. I watched a few of the X-Men movies, The Hobbit, The Life of David Gale, and I didn't quite finish J. Edgar, but I was enjoying it. I also finally finished PLL book #4. Although I've already read the 5th book, I'm going to read it again now that I am going in order. I still have a ways to go before I run out. I'm super excited for the summer finale tomorrow, but sad the season went by so fast! At least by this time next month I will be part time and I can watch a full 6 season binge. Daniel will hate that. LOL.

Oh, according to GMA this morning I'm in the 1% of people still using LOL....my birthday is creeping in fast and that didn't help me in the 'I'm getting old' department.

My nephew had an accident and had to have surgery last week. He's doing well and he's been released. My sister in law and family will be staying with my father in law for a while. It's probably for the best and I wish him a very speedy recovery. I was excited to be able to send a stuffed monkey, coloring book and crayons up to his room to help keep him occupied during his stay. He's a strong boy, I know he's going to be okay. His mommy reports he's been a total champ!

I'm kind of going through this weird melancholy state right now where I'm not really able to get excited for anything. I'm not really sure if there's a good way to explain it in words, other than the bigger part of me is okay with things staying the same way they have been on a day to day basis...and there's just this little tiny voice that's begging for some kind of change...I can just barely hear it sometimes, but I know it's always there. Hopefully, I'll snap out of this blah mood soon...Starting today I'm working alone in the office and in less than a month I'll be part time, so that's something great to look forward too, but at the same time I see all of the things I need to do to get from A to B and I'm right back to blahhhhhhh....being able to just put it out in words does help a little bit, makes me feel not so lonely about the whole time. It's hard to explain to people that nothings wrong I've just lost my mojo for now.

Wow, I'd hate to end on such a downer, that's no good...um, let's see....OH! I've gone most of a week without drinking Mt. Dew and I didn't die or kill anyone! YAY!

Much Love.

An update to yesterday's events...

Once I was home from work and able to watch the news, I found out more information about the move theatre attack yesterday. The guy was not 51 years old, he was 29. He had been committed 4 times in the past. His family reported him missing a few days ago from  Murfreesboro which is about half an hour down the highway from where I live. He gun he drew on police was an air soft gun...but I can understand the reaction of the police to shoot. The entire situation lasted about 41 minutes from the time he entered the Mad Max movie til he was down. The whole thing is really sad. I'm thankful that no one was severely injured. Once man was cut and a few others suffered from exposure to pepper spray type chemicals. What happened to this young man? What transpired in the few days he was missing to lead up to this incident? We have to take better care of ourselves and each other.

Much Love.

Too close to home...

I just found out about 45 minutes ago there was a shooting/hatchet attack at a movie theatre near my house. I don't spend a lot of time in that shopping center, but I spend enough. They just redid this area and part of the mall as part of a revitalization effort...the library, playground and ice rink are beautiful. I spent some time out there with my girl friend and our babies a few weeks ago. We both talked about how nice everything was. Since I'll be part time in about a month I've already started looking into programs and activities in this area to do on my days off with my daughter. This is so frightening! I mean seriously some scary stuff! I'm not going to get on a soapbox about guns and violence....I'm just going to say that this needs to stop. WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT OUR PROBLEMS WITHOUT LOSS OF LIFE!



http://interactives.wkrn.com/photomojo/gallery/36816/1/


http://wkrn.com/2015/08/05/heavy-police-presence-at-antioch-movie-theater/

It's only Tuesday.

Yesterday we had my car was in the shop getting looked at. We had to go pick it up kind of late last night when Dan got home from Lodge. I'm not a fan of driving on the highway, but it wasn't too bad on the way there, so on the way home we went the same route. I had Dan drive in front with Lily. I didn't feel the normal anxiety that I usually feel driving on the highway, it was a combination of the music on the radio, the cool night air and light traffic. I haven't felt that free driving in a long time. I ended up getting in front of Dan to let a truck entering the highway have room to merge. Once I got out in front, I lead us the rest of the way home. This may seem silly to some people, that's fine. We all have something that we feel uneasy about....this is my thing (well, one of them!). I was thankful for the safe passage all of the way home. Lily was ready for bed when we arrived. We put her down right away and sunk into the couch and watched one of the newer X-Men movies.

Today I'm full of ideas for craft fairs...one of my problems is that sometimes my ideas are so big, they are hard to accomplish. I managed to get a great pattern for a Princess style lovie for a baby. I was actually having a difficult time choosing between two...the main differences other than the colors had to do with how the hair is attached. I picked the method I hadn't done before. Once I read through the pattern and realized it's a very easy trick my wheels started turning...so my big idea right now is to make several sets of all of the parts of the doll...there's a head, two arms, the hair and the blankie/lovie portion...if I had all of these pre-made in various colors, I could let kids pick out the parts and I could just sew them together on the fly....but what would I charge? How long would it take to actually sew? Would I have time at a craft show to do all of that? What if they don't sell? What if I don't have enough? or the right colors? So many things just bouncing around inside right now...and then, of course, what about little boys? This pattern is more feminine....styled to look like Disney princesses if you follow the pattern....but I can make them more generic or specific just depending on what colors I choose...but still, what about the boys?! What kind of fun, pick your piece thing can I make for the little guys? Should I even worry about it? Who knows. I have so many projects on my plate right now, but I'd hate to pass on a great idea at the same time. I might have to see where I'm at after I finish a few Christmas presents up....

I'm very please with how this project is coming along. It's for one of Lily's cousins. I'm loving the colors so far. Not sure the pictures are doing the charcoal gray justice, but it's going to be very nice and I hope a fun gift to receive!!!

I just have a few more rows of the blue to go, then back to gray until I get to the end. It's going to have some orange accents which will include a border among other things. I'm having a lot of fun with this one! Still work on the playmat for Jase...I need to finish up some more pieces for that soon!

This month is going to be very busy for Daniel. He has a lot going on at the lodge and we are both kind of winding down at our jobs. I'm excited for Fall. I like that I get to be part-time and spend more time with Lily. I'm also excited for the upcoming Craft Shows and I can't wait to head out to the pumpkin patch, although it'll probably be almost 2 months before we get to do that. I've already scoped out storytime at our local library for some fun Mommy/Lily activities. I've also just barely started planning her birthday party. I'm still working on the guest list, so far, it's all boys....what am I going to do with a bunch of boys? LOL

I'm excited for tonight's episode of PLL. There's only a few left before it breaks for the summer. I'm excited to see where it goes from here. I'm still working my way through the books, but I've had a busy couple of days. Maybe I'll get some good time in tonight before bed time!

I'm also super excited that my AdvoCare cleanse product will be coming in the mail soon. Daniel and I are going on this adventure together...I'm excited to see where it leads us. I know we both want to get healthier in our own respects...I'm glad we can do that together.

Much Love.

Wonderful weekends!!

I have to say that I have a very pleasant but busy weekend. I started off Saturday morning doing the dishes and cleaning off our kitchen table (that is very rarely used as a table). I played with my Lily girl in between and we managed to get everything clean enough. I let Lily help me to mix and prepare some bread to bake. It was a very last minute decision to make bread, and I was lucky to be able to use things I had on hand (although I would have preferred to buy them fresh). We made the dough and let it move through the different stages of rising. We stopped at a garage sale to pass some of the time. Lily got a few baby's to play with a little box great for crayons or little toys on the go. We colored and had lunch...then some cuddles before nap time. By the time she was napping, the bread had completed it's 3 stages of rising and I was able to pop it in the oven and have a few quiet minutes to myself.


Pictured here is the 2nd rise:

Pictured here is after the 3rd rise:

Pictured here is fresh out of the oven: 

This is where I got the recipe for the bread: http://commonsensehome.com/french-bread-recipe/

Before Daniel left work for in the morning we went out and did a harvest of our veggies. This is the most we have brought in at one time this year. There's several kinds of peppers and two kinds of tomatoes. I am most excited for the Tomatoes! I've already eaten several this year...They just taste better when they are home grown!!!!





I ended up making some steak in the crockpot, corn on the cob, apples, the bread, and veggies from the garden for dinner. I was very please with how everything turned out!

Saturday/Sunday was considered to be the first of the three harvest holidays...so making bread and eating of our own garden really helped to pull that idea together for a great family meal...plus I mean, it's been ages since I made a nice family dinner. It really felt good to do that for my family. Lily helped when she could, and Daniel helped by staying out of the kitchen (which was pretty easy since he was at work most of the day). 

On a whim and out of a book I was reading from I decided that all this food wasn't enough and that we needed pie. Now there's something you need to know about me as a person. I don't eat pie, I've never had pie, I had to wish for pie...so the idea of me making a pie seemed a little bit crazy, but I went with it! I had my hubby bring home the freshest blackberries he could get his hands on and a pre-made crush. The bread baking went well, but I didn't want to push my luck trying to make a pie crust with out a clue of what I was doing. 

As soon as he got home I went to work mixing the ingredients and using a little bit of  "guess and check" which is my normal method of operation for most things. While I do admit I overfilled the pie....I'm sticking to the fact that I've never made a pie to get me through that one. Also, since there was so much filling I let it bake a little bit too long (in our crazy super hot, needs to be scrubbed clean oven). Daniel and his friend Bill both offered to eat some and both agreed it was a great first attempt, but less filling and a bit less cook time could be the improvements to make for next time.

I washed up all the dishes when everything was done and still got to bed at a good time. It was a really nice evening with the family and good food. I'm glad we were able to spend that time together celebrating the harvest.

Sunday was a bit slower paced for me. Lily was a very hands on player and wanted me sitting right next to her for most of the more. We had a lot of giggles and cuddles. I've been looking for TV shows that aren't well...stupid kids shows for her to watch. I was able to locate a show on Youtube called Mythic Warriors (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPJBovmveOA&list=PL2998z5ux8Zq7RgMo3AMR5Fw0apyP_xEH) We watched several episodes together. It's pretty amazing when my almost 2 yr old climbs up on my lap to snuggle and just watch TV. We don't let her watch too much TV right now because she's so young and we'd rather she play with toys. She already has a great imagination and takes very good care of her baby dolls. This show is fun and somewhat educational...and mommy liked it too. :)

We also found the series David the Gnome (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=navva7LA-0g&list=PLrEuz9dJQmAkIYkhcB4iZpoOlUDnMNDif ) 

I loved David the Gnome when I was a little girl....I watched 3 episodes while the baby was napping and honestly, I wasn't disappointed and it was exactly how I remember it. You can't say that much anymore...and it was a great comfort!

Other highlights from Sunday include a 45 min beautiful drive to take my car to the shop, stopping at not my usual Kroger and finding some great deals (and only spending $45) and coming home and making ANOTHER full meal for the family...not only did I make dinner again last night, but I also cooked turkey legs and pre-made chicken and noodles for my lunches this week....at one point I was cooking turkey, chicken, and hamburgers all at the same time. Daniel was quite impressed and confused by this. Love that guy.

I'm glad to be on this upward swing and I hope the feeling continues. I'm excited to be starting my cleanse soon. Honestly, I think the Spark! I was drinking hand something to do with me being able to accomplish so much in a short amount of time! It really does work!

Pre-Cleanse!

I'm excited to report that I ordered my cleanse from AdvoCare yesterday. Daniel and I are going to do this together and I'm very excited about it. It's a 10 day process. I'm not sure what all the expect, but I know I'm going to have to drink a lot of water. That's not something I really do...drink enough water. I drink more now that I ever did...but "a lot" for me is not quite finishing one whole liter in a day...I'm not sure why it's easier for me to drink tons of pop than it is water, but it's something I've been working towards correcting.

Looks like we won't be traveling to Indiana in Sept. I am disappointed, but as Daniel pointed out we have a lot of things we need to take care of that we could use that kind of money for. We need some minor car repairs and perhaps a trip to the Dentist or Eye Doc. So now, I need to figure out what to do for Lily's birthday next month and who the heck is going to come! We only have a few baby friends here. I'm sure I'll come up with something!

I started working on another Christmas gift for one of Lily's cousins the other day. I'm excited about how it's coming along. I think the kiddo is really going to enjoy it!

I've continued reading through the PLL series. I'm currently on Book 4. I've had a difficult time finding time or staying awake to read lately. Hopefully that will pass and things will get and stay on track.

Well, that's all for now!

Much love.

What I could do with an extra $1,000/mo....

Okay Friends, so if you haven't heard or kept up lately I've made a pretty major life decision recently that I know is going to benefit me and my family! I have joined AdvoCare and I'm excited to share my experiences with you all!!! My husband just texted me to let me know my first package from AdvoCare has arrived with some awesome samples! I can't wait to get home and try it out. I'm ready to take my life and my family to a better standard of living in this crazy world!

One of the first tasks I've been given is to gather a team of people who also want to live a better, healthier, debt-free life! I've been contacting some friends and family and getting some pretty positive results so far. Please, please please let me know if you are interested or if you have a friend or family member that wants to have a better life for themselves! You can contact me on here, through facebook or directly through my link!

www.AdvoCare.com/150737701

Much Love.

Ever feel like...

Ever feel like you have so much to do you can't decide if you want to do all of it, none of it or some of it? I do some days. I have a lot of crochet projects in process. Some just need to be finished up and mailed...so why not finish them up and mail them (get them out of my life--in a nice way)...I'm not sure. Maybe because I'm left with the tedious part...maybe because I'm spending my time a little bit differently lately...maybe because I'm afraid to see how much I have to finish before I can start the big crochet push for the Craft Show Season....I have a large order for a friend I started a while back. She needed it by a certain date, but that date dramatically changed (from like April to Oct) so I shelved that project for a while. I need to get it out of the bag, do a head count and see what else I need to make, but in the mean time I started more fun projects that I'm excited about doing, so it's like the feeling of 'work' versus 'fun'...I'd rather do the fun project right now...but then in the  mean time I got a hat order, well if you know me, hats don't take long...and I could finish that and collect my money before the end of the week if I just played my cards right...but then I feel guilty about putting off projects that just need to be finished and mailed....why not do those first? Ahhhh.....I need to make a list of everything and really and truly rank it so that it's fair...I mean one blanket is for an older relative who is talking about how much time she may or may not have left, seems like she should get cuts in the line over someone else, right?!

In the mean time...I need to like deep clean my house. Really I need to just clean-clean all of the floors. I'm so bad about that. I'd also like to de-clutter everything again, but who has time for that?! How does all this stuff just pile up? It just seems to keep showing up and I'm like how long have you been sitting there, dude?!

I'm a more positive note, I'm excited about this new business venture. I really have some good hopes and ideas for what I'd like to see happen. I just have to be patient and let it flow. I don't think this is the kind of thing that can be or should be forced. I don't want to push something on someone because I don't want anyone to do that to me either...Dear Universe, send the right people my way. I promise I'll do my part if you, Universe, do yours! :)  Here's that link again if you are interested in helping me expand, grow and pay off my student loans!

www.AdvoCare.com/150737701

I had a nice evening with Lily last night. She's taken to throwing just about anything she can get her hands on, so we're working on that. She was so excited when Daddy got home last night. I love the way her face lights up when she realizes he's home. She went to bed pretty much on time and without any major problems (we rarely have bedtime problems though). Dan and I hung out for a bit last night on the couch, discussed our days, etc. Then all of a sudden it was bedtime and then time to get up and do it all again. I managed to read a few more pages of PLL Book 3. I'm enjoying the differences between the books and the shows! If you're interested, here's a great deal on Book 3:

Perfect (Pretty Little Liars, Book 3) by: Sara Shepard $3.59

Well, I have a lot to accomplish today, and it really has been a good day thus far, I just have a lot on my plate and I can't decide what to dive into first!

Much Love.

All types of changes!

Well, on top of starting to blog again after years of nothingness...I've also started a new side gig. I'm now an AdvoCare Rep. A friend from HS contacted me about it and after several conversations and me doubting just about everything there was, I decided to try it. I'm scare I'm going to fail, but I'm also scared it's going to work...and who gets scared about things working? This girl.

I don't have all the details and everything in place yet...but I'm working on it. Here's the link if you want to check it out!  www.AdvoCare.com/150737701

In other news...I had a pretty decent weekend. I got to sleep in until 8 am on Saturday before Daniel and Lily came to wake me up. Dan headed off to work and Lily and I settled in for the day. I got some cleaning done. Lily and I played and played. While she napped I crocheted, watched a movie, read part of a book and even took a nap. Not a bad day! Dan  came home from work and we all hung out together, watched some TV, played with Lily, had some yummy dinner and then Daniel and I watched a movie when Lily went to bed. We went to bed a little late, but not horribly. Sunday morning was kind of the same. Dan shuffled off to work. Lily and I played until she napped. I did more reading and less crocheting. Still got some cleaning done around the house and took a short nap. We had another nice dinner last night and played with Lily until bedtime.

I made some progress on a Christmas gift for my nephew. It's coming along nicely if I do say so myself!

So as you can see, I have a few road blocks, the yellowish ones are bales of hay, the tan is plowed fields, and then I've finished half of the pond. I'm still working on figuring out how large I would like this playmat to be. I also might need to make a few up for craft shows. They seem like they would be a hit with the little kiddos!


There are several different pieces that can be added and they can be sewn together really in any order, so the combinations are endless! It's also great because it's totally gender neutral.

I plan on make a few cars and trucks to go along with it. Who knows, I might come up with all types of fun things to add in...maybe some little animals or even a barn or something!!!

Oh! I finished book 2 of Pretty Little Liars! It was good and very different from the show at this point. I had just enough time to start book 3, but I'm  not that far into it yet. I'm excited for the show tomorrow and to get some more reading done today!

Flawless (Pretty Little Liars, Book 2) by: Sara Shepard $3.59

Book 1, Done!

Well, last night I got home a little after 6pm. I was so excited to see that my book order had arrived! I've been dying to get into them. It was a busy night playing with Lily, hanging out with Daniel and eating dinner, but I managed to find enough time between everything to start reading. Eventually, Lily started coloring and Dan sat down with his own book, so I sat down with mine. Realizing that these books are meant for Young Adults (which I am clearly not)...well it was a quick read. In fact, less than 24 hours after receiving the books in the mail I've already finished the first one. Now I've seen the TV show a lot, I'm definitely one to watch and rewatch because it's a fun show. The first book was basically the first episode of the show, just with a lot more details and some differences. It was a good read. I'm excited to get off work today so I can get home and start book 2! I think they are still on sale, and since these books go for $10-15 each new, it's a great deal if you are interested!

Pretty Little Liars by: Sara Shepard $3.59

Tonight when I get home I'm going to be doing a conference call with an old friend about a Direct Sales type job that she does. I'm interested in trying it because everyone seems to talk about what great money there is to be made with the program, but I still have my reservations...especially because I'm not that great of a sales person and I'm not sure I know enough people who would be interested in the product. I'm going to at least keep an open mind and hear what they have to say before making a final decision. I'll also have to discuss it with Daniel since I know I'll have to put some money into it to get started....I think almost all programs are like that, so I know that's like the "market standard."

Excited to report that I got a hat order today. I met this gentleman in a Walmart nearly 5 years ago and every 6 months or so he calls me for a new hat. I'll have to put it on my ever expanding To-Do list! :)

Yarn Haul and other nonsense...

I went to my crochet group last night and hung out with the ladies. We had a very nice time with a lot of laughs. We're kinda a loud bunch. Afterwards I headed over to Joann's with my coupons and a gift card I'd been saving for the "right time," well I made out like a bandit in my opinion. The total after coupons was $47 something, after my gift card I only paid $27. Those big One Pounds are normally $9.99 each! This is going to be used for Christmas gifts and Craft Shows...so definitely money well spent!

If you are interested in a crocheted Christmas gift, be sure to send me a message on FB to Adventures in Yarnia. I'll be doing some craft shows again this year and I'm getting excited for them! I need to go through what I have left over from last year and start stocking up for this year.

My gift list is a little bit longer this year...Lily has some new cousins! I love the additions to the family. I wish we didn't all live so far away from each other. I'd love to be able to visit more. I'm trying to work out some ideas in my head for getting some of us together for some cousin-adventuring-fun! I'm trying to find a cost effective place that would be kind of in the middle for all of us that would be little-kid friendly. Probably won't have any sort of solid plans until next Summer, but it's on my mind.

My work chair is so hard...and everyday I think I'm going to grab an extra pillow to bring to work and everyday I forget...It's an office chair, but it's like there's no cushion...I kind of forget about it for a while, then my butt hurts. lol. I must have sat too much yesterday because I've only been here an hour and it's already like...time to get up and find something I can do standing.

I am excited to report that my books should be there when I get home! I'm wayyyy to excited for some young adult books, but I just can't seem to get enough of them! I read the one book that I have (Book 5) in like a day and a half. I'm really trying to get myself to read more again. One problem I encounter is having enough time...another is just being like calm enough to sit down and enjoy it. I think that's why I'm excited for these books, because I'm already into the show and I want to see what's different. It'll be like an alternate universe I suppose...and I love the idea of an alternate universe. This is one of the books I got on that great deal...which is still going on right now! You can't find them in stores this cheap, friends! (Well, maybe at McKay's, but that's a different story!)

Pretty Little Liars by: Sara Shepard $3.59

I'm sure I'll have more to report once I get the books in and get some reading done! I do my best to stay excited about reading, but some of the things that interest me, well the books are a little bland in tone...so even though it's something I like or want to learn more about it's just not something I can get myself to sit down and do most days. Most days I am just too tired after working, driving, playing, eating and putting Miss Lily to bed. Once she goes down I have between an hour to an hour and a half to relax before I head to bed with my Hubby. I've got to start and master this habit better...they say when you really want to do something, you find a way. I guess I better keep trying things until I find something that works!

That's all for now!

Much love.

Can I just say how much I love the song Pompeii by Bastille...it just makes me heart smile! I can just feel history through the years flowing through me. And when I close my eyes...Everything else just melts away for a few minutes and I do feel like I've been here before...

Things like this peek my interest.


Wow. So I've never actually watched the video before. The black eyes thing kinda freaked me out a little bit...

The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found by: Mary Beard $8.89

a REAL actual update...

Hi Friends,

So much has changed in the past few years since I started writing this blog. I am still living in the same place, so as I looked back through the pictures and old posts it was fun for me to remember when all of the painting and house prepping was new and fun. Now I just want to get out of this house ASAP. I hate my landlady for various reasons I'd rather not discuss.

I also mentioned in my  mini update earlier that I have a daughter now. Her name is Lily and she's pretty awesome.

Daniel and I have both been working the same jobs for a few years now and working very hard to pay off debt (and not create new debt). There is a big push for us to pay of a car that's wrecked...pay off the debt that was caused by that car accident, and finally start working on those damn student loans.

I've continued to do Craft Shows in the Fall time with my side gig, Adventures in Yarnia. It's a lot of fun and I really enjoy it. Last year I ended up doing 5 shows, which was the most I had ever done. I'm hoping to go back to all of the same places this year and maybe find 1 or 2 new ones. It's fun to meet all the different people from around the community.

If you are interested in checking out Yarnia, please visit: www.facebook.com/adventuresinyarnia

I'm looking forward to the fall time as usual because that's when I'm part time at work. I get (usually) 2 days a week off to hang with my munchkin. It also gives me time to actually make stuff for those craft shows and just time to relax a little bit. I've been stashing away money like a squirrel since the beginning of the year to ease the paycheck pain of switching from 40 hr/wk to 24hr/wk. It's a hard change, but I think this year it will be easier than previous years.

Daniel is working hard all the time...sometimes 7 days a week between Waller and Houston (<--Weekend Gig). We are trying to do smarter things with our money now that we've arrived at our 30s....although I'm rounding the bases to 31 and I'm in total denial that I'm currently 30.

Speaking of being old, so my favorite show is Pretty Little Liars and I'm all but obsessed! Thankfully, my friend Sarah is just as obsessed (and just as old) as I am! While I love to watch it on TV, and rewatch it 1,000s times on Netflix and stalk the blogs and message boards I've just recently read one of the books the show is based on. I found a free copy of the 5th book. Now usually I would hate to start a series in the middle...but I know enough about the show that I felt pretty okay reading the book and being able to keep up. There are some pretty crazy differences between the show and the book, but that's cool and it keeps it interesting. I ended up ordering books 1-4 and 6-9 on....wait for it, wait for it....THRIFTBOOKS....I got 8, count'em 8 books for $24 with FREE shipping!



I seriously love this site. I love it more than Amazon. I love it so much I've become an affilate...so click this link, buy some books and help me pay off my student loans!

So, Sarah and I have known each other since like middle school. We reconnected a while back when she asked me to crochet her a blanket. Even though I live 8 hours away (approx 442 miles)...I've somehow managed to kinda teach her to crochet. So between PLL and crocheting, we're regular gossiping school girls. It's a lot of fun. I know she'll probably read this eventually, so I'm gonna say it. I think I'm more glad that we became friends when we got older than when we were younger. We give each other good perspective on things.

Anyways, I should probably get back to the daily grind. Also, I think it's going to storm. I love storms.


Much Love.

I'm still alive, I swear...

...I really suck at keeping up with a blog...or a journal, or a day planner or life in general really.

This is new:




You should all check it out and buy your books via this link!

I've been doing tons more crocheting. Please also visit me at www.facebook.com/adventuresinyarnia

Craft shows are coming up in a few months. I'm excited for that.

Also, since the last time I posted, I've had a baby...and she's 21 months old. LOL.




Much love.