Happy Holiday's!

I know it's been a while since I've been on and I promise updates shortly, who am i kidding, eventually is probably more accurate. I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! This is some of the things the boys and I have been up to.

Snow day! To increase their chances of getting one they wore their pj's inside out all day. And it worked! Two snow days in a row! We had a blast.

We did a ton of crafts and baking.

Jamie was tuckered out and this is how I found him taking his nap. Who needs a blanket when you have flannel pajama's?

Merry Christmas!

BackChannel Tweet Up

I'm new to Twitter. For the longest time I refused to acknowledge that it even existed. (Just like I refused to join Facebook) Due to some urging of friends I've finally joined the dark side and it's been a ton of fun. Every time I get a new follower I want to do the happy dance. <--- scary thought. I've met a bunch of really interesting and diverse people, as well as the news cast on WXYZ, at the #Backchannel event last night. I thought it was great that they had this bit about it on the news:

When he's interviewing Howard Collens I'm standing at the next table to the right. Watched the whole thing, which was super fun.

Inspiring - World Clothes Line

Yesterday I had the great opportunity to meet two truly inspiring people at a #Backchannel event, Mallory and Anne of World Clothes Line. Mallory Brown is the founder of the company that for every item you buy one is donated to the country the line is dedicated to (United States, Peru, and Indonesia). You buy a sweatshirt; one is donated to the poor in Peru. How amazing is that?

I have been looking all over the website reading the stories and looking at pictures and the more I learn the more I’m amazed. They love what they do, are a ton of fun to hang out with, and want to make a difference in the world. With the holiday season quickly approaching remember that it’s not about the getting it’s about the giving. Let’s clothe the world!

What-up Etsy? It's been a while

Well, hello friends!

I’ve had an Etsy store for a few years now. I was really active in it for a while and slowly lost interest. It’s been inactive for over a year now. There was just too much information, listings, stuff to get through to even find my tiny little store. I became disillusioned. Funny thing was, I realized, it wasn’t Etsy’s fault. I was not putting in the time or effort necessary to make it a success.

There’s a big movement out there to by handmade, up-cycle, and make things with your hands and I LOVE it!!! I’m crafty but I tend to forget that in order to make something successful you have to work at it. I’m so forgetful! I’m revising my outlook and redefining success. It’s not about making money (that’s just a happy side effect. Don’t look at me like that, I was unemployed for a year and live in Michigan!) It’s about being crafty! It’s about doing something that makes me happy, something that I can share with my boys. So I’ll probably expand my store offerings, maybe revamp the whole thing but I’ll be there again. Drop by and check it out! Senza Rotture. (There is also a nifty button on the right ---> see it?) Let me know what you think. I’m always looking for new ideas, constructive criticism, and helpful suggestions.

Labor Daze (Part 2)

My sister's family came to town for Labor Day weekend and brought a bunch of goodies for a tresure hunt. So we made a bunch of clues and hid them around the yard and the kiddies were off!

Of course the treasure was located in the castle :)

It was a beautiful day in Michigan so we headed to the park after playing we took to the nature trail.

Labor Daze (Part 1)

I realize that this post is a bit late, but better late than never. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm never on time. Ever.

Jamie found the mustaches that we made for Con's birthday a few years back. It was kind funny that he was so excited to play with them since he helped make them.

Here are a few Jamie-isms:

Grandma: "Don't bother the cat."
Jamie: "...or she will piss at me?" (He meant hiss)
Later that day while starting a movie...
Jamie: "Look grandma! It's Godzilla the Elbow, it's Godzillia the Elbow!!!" (He meant album)

I know you can't see his face but I love this picture! Little boy toes!

Just a little backyard magic.

Tent Time

I got it in my head that this summer I wanted to make a tent to play in. Nothing expesnive or time consuming. That in mind I headed to our local Salvation Army and bought a bunch of sheets (3 I think). I brought my purchases home, grabbed some wood planks we had in the basement (?), and twined them together with a bungie cord. Not very elegant but the boys and I had a blast!

Love Jamie's face! Ha!

Connor then wanted a fort so I fugured why not?

Jamisaurs Rex

Jamie wanted me to put hair ties in his hair so he could be a dinosaur. How could I say no?

National Novel Writing Month NaNoWriMo!!!

It's that time of year again! The time of year for literary abandon, for the whole month of November you try to write a 50,000 word novel.

Oh yeah, talk about a challenge. Now cram in time with the family, Thanksgiving, and holiday shopping and you begin to see the mounting obstacles. But who cares?! The fun is in the challenge! I can't believe how excited I am by this as I've never finished. Ever!

Last year I was unemployed and since I had nothing to put off to work on my novel I got all of 2,000 words written. Yes, that statement is illogical, it would makes more since if having no job I finished a novel, but I never claimed to be logical. The year before (my first year) I made it to 30,000 words. This year I have experience, a job, and the fact that I have to have a novel written before I'm thirty (4 month away) looming over my head. This is the year that I get it done!

Join in the craziness here. Adopt a plot, talk about how your character hijacked your storyline, and read the wacky ways other authors deal with life on a deadline.

***Update***

I just received an email from one of my all time FAVORITE Authors, Mercedes Lackey!!! Look what showed up in my email this morning.

Yes, it was a mass email but ask me if i care? NO!!! Not even a little!!! She's been one of my literary hero's for ever! So excited!!!

4 Simple Goals

I think it's funny that after missing my self imposed deadlines I came across this blog post by Elsie on A Beautiful Mess about making 4 simple goals before 2011. I'm hoping that I can do 4 but I've been having an awful time trying to complete just 1 goal!

She had some great guidelines (I was all about this after reading #1):

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish.

2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example.... instead of "lose 10 pounds", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". get what i'm saying? positive actions instead of just the end result!

3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences.
4. choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! it can be a small or large reward.

5. blog your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year! i'll be doing this too! links back to this post are appreciated.

So these are my 4 Simple Goals:

Sunday Project

This Sunday was a recovery day from a pretty jam packed weekend. I went to a friends bonfire on Friday night and they had a live band, Awesome! Then Saturday, I was on the boat most of the day. That evening the boys and I went to a pigroast. The kids had a blast but I was sunburnt and exhausted! Anyhoo, Sunday was calm, relaxing, and still fun. Keys to success right there.

Jamie hard at work on his bird house. Con didn't want to paint his...crazy! (Did you notice that he's making the same face as the dinosaur?)

Dirty little boy hands.

Bonfire group

The Band

The boat

Passed Deadlines

I made a list of things that I wanted to do this summer. Make a dress (currently in progress), have a photo shoot with a friend, make a tent, blog and take pictures everyday in August. <- Yeah... Totally missed that one didn't I?

I brainstormed for a while and wrote down all these ideas of things I want do on the blog. Then the deadline for the first entry, August 1, passed. I told myself "Don't worry self. Just blog on weekdays and take the weekend off." That also fell by the wayside as August keeps on flying by. My revised goal for this month is just to blog more often. So this is me, blogging more often. :)

Like New Again

My sister gave me a bunch of hand me downs that I’ve been meaning to sort and finally did. There was a plain blue button up shirt that was still in good condition I just didn’t like the style anymore. I thought it could be updated a bit.

I took the 3/4 length sleeves off because it's just been so hot lately. I didn’t love the normal collar so I made a new one out of the sleeves I removed. My sister actually gave me two of these blue button ups but the other one can't be warn anymore so I used that one to make the ruffles. I had to take it in a bit (yeah!) but I thought it turned out pretty good. I totally wore it to work! Ha!

Big Day

Today was a big day for Con he had 6 teeth pulled. Yes, 6. No, that's not a typo. He, unfortunately, has my soft mushy teeth. When he was younger he had several pulpectomies (baby root canals), with no inner workings he teeth literally crumbled.

I felt like the worst parent ever taking him to the dentist! I don’t give him much candy or pop because he’s naturally so hyper. He brushes his teeth every morning and night. He wasn’t complaining that they hurt or anything. He just came to me one day and said, “I just lost another tooth!” Not realizing that he had a loose one (he usually shows me every five seconds how loose it is) I asked him where and he goes “Well, not the whole thing just part of it.” Hello red flag! The dentist looks at me and goes “It takes a lot of work to get them in this condition.” I just nod. I wanted to show him my family’s dental history; I can trace my crummy teeth back to England thank you very much!

Skittle Theory

I was lying in bed last night trying to fall asleep and had the most random thought. I was thinking that everyone is a little bit crazy (you laugh but you know it’s true) and when you’re dating you are trying to determine if that person’s crazy will mesh with your crazy. So what’s love then I think to myself? Love is embracing the crazy you discovered while dating. Hello light bulb moment!!

Found the beautiful back picture here.

Which brings me to my skittle theory:

{inage}

You have a bag of skittles, which represent everyone (it’s a REALLY big bag). Now through the dating process you try a red, yellow, another red, and a blue. Then you try a green. And you’re like ‘This is by far my favorite color.’ And you marry it. There are a handful of perfect colors for you. Not just one. So don’t worry if you thought that blue was your soul mate. He was an idiot, your orange will show up when you least expect it. <3