I always said that I'd never stop making my jewelry just because I had a baby. Then again I said a lot of things before I had a baby. :)
I've been hanging on to my past pre-baby life. This Sunday at church I realized that I needed to let go of that past and move forward. Sometimes God makes things really obvious.
So as soon as hubby makes room for me in the garage, my jewelry supplies are going to be packed up and moved out. It's very sad to me but my priorities have definitely shifted in the last 9 months. I'm reconnecting with church and God. My job requires a lot of time and energy right now.
My Etsy shop is still open with pieces that are already created but any made to order items are no longer listed. My mom is kind of bummed and is trying to get me to make some pieces for her before I put things away.
What will the future bring? No idea. Only God knows.
For now, I'll try to answer his calling to be the best mother that I can and to learn as much as I can about my new job. I'll still blog every once in awhile but even that needs to take a back seat. If there is anything that you like from the shop grab it now. Once things expire I'll probably wait to relist them for a long time.
We had a great service at church yesterday in honor of Memorial Day. I had to really bite my lip to not cry. I didn't know it was originally called Decoration day and meant to honor our civil war dead.
To all those who serve and served in honor of our country - thank you.
I remember, oh say about 8 months ago or so, when a weekend meant sleeping in late. When we could decide what to do or not do throughout the day. When I could clip coupons, make jewelry, or just nap.
Oh how I miss those days.
And yet I don't really. I was commenting to hubby on Saturday that we probably get more done now that we have our kiddo. We are forced to work when we can...when he naps or when he's occupied by something.
I definitely feel more exhausted than ever though, but I can't blame it ALL on Marshal man...it's definitely partly (mostly?) my diet. I've been eating so badly lately. I'm going to try to plan better to bring food while I'm out and about. Scheduling meetings near lunch time is killing me. One right after the other means swinging through a drive through somewhere. I've been trying to at least pick healthier items like baked potatoes or Subway sandwiches.
Not that I've ever eaten super healthily. But this crazy schedule is just making the obvious deficiencies more pronounced.
I'm *almost* looking forward to being away for two days of training. At least I can sleep in an hour or so. It's the little things in life.
Am I the only one who doesn't like certain layouts in blogs? The ones that bug me the most, and it's mostly due to my own laziness, are the ones that have a whole bunch of posts listed with headers and a few teaser sentences. But if I want to read the post I need to click another link.
Maybe it's my tendency to get distracted easily, but when I see a site like that I don't know what to do first. I might be interested in several different posts but feel paralized ... which one to read first?!?!
I know...kind of sad right? But it's just the way my brain works...it's easily overloaded apparently.
My blog might not be that fancy or sophisticated, but it's set up so if you aren't interested in the current post you can just scroll down. That's how I prefer to read blogs.
I also HATE with the passion of a thousand suns burning in the heavens forever blogs with music that starts automatically. SERIOUSLY!?!?! What if I'm in an office taking a break and all of a sudden Guns n Roses is blaring out of my computer? Not cool. If you want to have music, that's your choice since it's your blog, but believe me I cannot close the page fast enough when music starts. The only time I'll stick around is if I can stop the music within 2.5 seconds. If I have to search for the player ... I'm gone.
What about you? What are you blog pet peeves? I'm sure I'm guilty of offending folks but if you don't tell me what you hate how can I tell you that I don't care?
ha! Just kidding. I think my blog is pretty tame. I have no ads other than Entrecard. I've tried cleaning it up a bit and know I have more to do...I want it to load quickly. Of course, time is limited so this is pretty much one of my lower priorities.
The weather here lately has looked more like October than May...cold and stormy. Although I suppose in Washington this is technically typical. It's been really nutty. Last night was so windy that our nanny's wrought iron table outside got blown all the way across her deck. Insane!
It's supposed to be stormy for the next few days. I was hoping it would be nice this weekend since hubby needs to plant his dahlias.
The alternative plans for the weekend include moving my desk from the living room (not so productive) into hubby's office (our one spare room). It will take some maneuvering to get enough room in there but it would be good to have more space to file things. Plus it'll give us a more spacious living room.
Marshal is getting very close to walking. =) We are in SOOOOO much trouble with this kid. It's crazy. His teeth are coming in and he wants to walk. He gets in his little Jeep walker and just goes. It's so cute. He's going to be eight months old next week. How in the world did that happen!?!?! I love seeing things through his eyes - utter fascination!
Listening to him giggle is just the sweetest sound in the entire world. Papa is making him laugh hysterically right now and I just LOVE it. It's just so precious and makes my heart swell up. We are so blessed. Life isn't perfect and I'm certainly not doing all that great ... but in the grand scheme of things we have everything we need.
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dove Ice Cream. All opinions are 100% mine.
Oh how I need a moment...in the worst and most desperate way. And somehow my favorite Ice Cream brand - Dove - has made it even more tempting to take some time to myself with their brand new Dove Ice Cream Miniatures. Oh Em Gee! As if I need another reason to eat ice cream.
DOVE® Ice Cream is asking women to share their favorite mini moment of escape and since everyone's idea of luxury is different one lucky winner could win one of THREE different sensational mini-grand prizes:
This new job is kicking my mother luvin butt. Replace key words in your mind as needed because I sure use stronger words in mine. :)
I'm learning tons but I'm such a perfectionist that I am also getting really frustrated when I don't do things just right - and I think I'm screwing up even if it's not a big deal. We had a meeting with a business owner yesterday and I get started with what I'm saying and my mind goes blank.
Hello? Anyone home?
I need to practice more with someone in front of me instead of just in my head or looking in the mirror. Hubby isn't super helpful ... he prefers to laugh and kind of makes fun of me. He means well and he wants me to succeed but it bores him to hear me do my little presentation. I may have to tie him down and make him sit still to listen.
Oh...and of course there's the boy who is STILL teething (does it ever end!?!?!) although he does officially have a REAL tooth showing and another one peeking through. Woohoo! Maybe one of these days they'll stop torturing his little gums.
I'm a big Oreo Cookie fan, which is why I rarely buy them. If I start eating them I have a hard time stopping (although this is a common theme in my life).
So when I got a couple of coupons for the NEW and "improved" cookie from Oreo I was jazzed to try them. Oreo Fudge Cremes aren't exactly what I expected. I think I was expecting an Oreo Cookie covered in fudge - because, um, YUM.
These are more like crisps, with a little filling, covered in fudge. They're good. But they aren't oreo cookie good. At least for me.
There are only 21 cookies in a container, and they are not very big cookies. Smaller than regular oreos.
Not to mention the BEST part of an Oreo is seriously lacking - the filling.
See barely any of the delicious filling that defines Oreo. *sigh* I feel so jipped.
I also tried the mint variety, but they were even worse (as far as any cookie with chocolate and oreo filling can be "worse") than these regular ones. If I had to pick I'd pick the regular, non mint kind any day. They at least remind me of "real" Oreos. And the mint ones are a far cry from Girl Scout Thin Mints.
All in all, I give these a 3 out of 5 stars. They aren't my favorites but if there's nothing else in the house, with a nice cold glass of milk they will work. :)
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Lunchables. All opinions are 100% mine.
Do you remember field trips from school? I think most of us have fond (or not so fond) memories of our school field trips. Or "field" trips with our families. I can recall a few of mine...specifically the James and the Giant Peach field trip to the theater. Oh and we went and saw Peter Pan one year. Other than that, I don't remember a lot of field trips when I was in elementary school.
Our 8th grade class celebrated our "graduation" by going to a water amusement park. That was fun, but I don't really count that as a field trip. Nor do I count the senior trip from high school - we got to go on a "cruise" around the Sound with a Casino night and then to a sports bar that they closed down for the night where we played games. Again...not really a field trip.
I wish I had gone on more hands on field trips because trips when you're young can be huge learning opportunities, disguised as fun.
Lunchables wants more deserving kids across the country to have an opportunity to experience a hands-on inspiring educational experience...in the form of a field trip. They won't even realize they're learning!!!
Field Trips For All is the first effort from Lunchables new initiative called Project Potential. This program has the admirable goal of empowering kids with opportunities to help them reach their full potential. Project Potential will provide enriching experiences kids might otherwise not have. Because let's face it, schools aren't exactly throwing money at teachers to take kids outside the classroom for a wider education.
In 2009, a report from The American Association of School Administrators estimates that in this current school year the number of schools eliminating field trip budgets willi ncrease 56% - more than 30,000 schools. Lunchables Field Trips For All wants to help kids have those opportunities.
I'm not sure I love the idea of pretending that the aliens in this video are "real" but obviously they figure it out in the end. :) And what a cool field trip - they get to be in a commercial!
So how can a classroom win a chance at an awesome field trip? Easy...
Anyone 6 years or old can nominate a classroom by going to THIS website and filling out the nomination form. They're going to pick 50 classrooms!
And seriously, if you nominate a classroom let me know...and if your classroom gets nominated I MUST know about it so I can share the excitement. :)
I know it's been almost a week since Mother's day, but my week has been insane. And next week may be just as crazy, although I'm hoping to at least get some decent sleep.
So on Mother's day, hubby suggested skipping church...big surprise there. :) So we called the MIL and SIL and headed out to IHOP for breakfast.
Marshal did great. He reached for everything on the table - put everything in his mouth - and several times almost poured coffee, water, and juice on himself. But overall was fairly quiet and well behaved for a 7 1/2 month old!
Dropped him off at grandma's, ran and got groceries and doggy treats, then headed home. I've got a ton to do this week with training and meetings so I hadn't planned on any relaxing today. Hubby finally gave me my birthday present - washing and detailing my car. Woohoo! So Marshal and I headed outside to hang out. I tried pruning some roses but it was a little too hot for my delicate nature.
Marshal had a blast driving his little Jeep around the driveway.
My first outdoor Jeep trip!
Oh no! Fender Bender!
I'm stinkin' adorable!
After we got some sun, Marshal and I headed back inside for more chores, lunch, and a well earned nap. Well, he napped. I sat uncomfortably in a chair and held him ... and stare at his precious angel face. He's amazing. Even when he cries I just love him so much.
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