Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Challenge


Well, I am just now posting my "5 dollar challenge". Due to crazy schedules, I just finished it today. Please see my earlier post that describes this crafty adventure.
I went to the dollar store and Michaels to get my items. I only had to buy three things, because the rest was at home. I decided to make a "Countdown to Easter" craft. I figured it can be changed for each season to be "countdowns" to the next holiday. Therefore, today it says "7 days". Forgive the top and bottom frames, as they were supposed to have pictures of Jonah and our family. I haven't had a chance to print any off, and the pictures in the daffodils did not go as well as planned.

Here are the items I bought:
2 wooden frames with scrollwork from dollar store: 2.00

1 wooden chalkboard from Michaels: 2.99


Here are the items I had:
white paint
craft paint brush
glue gun (of course)
extra scrap paper
chalk
blue ribbon from a baby shower I hosted awhile back
sandpaper

Directions:
Paint all wooden frames white. Realize that you are running out of patience and paint; therefore, pull out the sandpaper and do a quick "distressing technique" around the edges and make it look old.
Cut out scrapbook paper to fit in frames. (or put appropriate pictures)
Secure the ribbon with glue to the back of the frames, tie bow at top.
Hang on a blank wall (you know the kind...that random area where you still can't quite figure out what to put there...)

I have to say, it is not how I envisioned, as I originally was going to put an "S" in the top frame and a picture of Jonah in the bottom. I had some random pearls laying around, and I made an S on the scrapbook paper. It did not match, and it looked too gaudy. I still secretly like the way it turned out, and all for JUST 5 Bucks!!!


As a side note, the scrapbook paper matches the background paper of two frames over my couch. (I had glued some old spoons from my mom's collection around the world). Here is a snippet



And now, the final product!



Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Go Green

I have never purposefully worn green on St. Patrick's Day. I celebrate every other season/holiday with flair, and I'm plotting my Easter decor as I type. However, after having Jonah, I want to enjoy every holiday, event, National Potato Day that exists. It is all about the small things and enjoying the simple moments.
I have officially crossed over to the green side. Patrick, Jonah, and I wore different shades of green, which together blended horribly.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

We are THOSE neighbors



Every neighborhood has them. It is a family that, despite appearing normal from outward appearance, have a quirky streak. We are THOSE people. We are THOSE neighbors who test the response time of the Winterville Fire Department as well as first responders, Winterville police, and surrounding observant neighbors. Yes, we are impressed.

Sunday night, our outdoor fireplace was in the middle of the yard. We had lit a little fire and ran inside for a second to get burgers for the grill. Less than 5 minutes later, we heard "ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong". Patrick said, "If that woke Jonah....". I ran to the door, and our neighbor from the culdesac, Bryan was at the door. I opened it, and he blurts out "Your YARD is on FIIRREE!". To be honest, the thought ran through my mind, "Of course it is...we set it". However, I saw the alarm in his eyes, and I said "Are you serious?" "YES!", he replies, with his head bobbing up and down.
I ran from the front door through to the back, yelling at Patrick to get out of the bathroom because the yard was burning up. I ran outside, and I see my neighbor Andrea, a very pregnant Andrea, holding our hose and spraying like a professional fireman. Then, our other neighbor Teresa is unraveling the hose while Bryan is pushing the trailer full of "need to be recycled boxes" out of the way. I took the hose from Andrea and finished spraying the ring of fire. Somehow, the fire had spread evenly in an ever-widening circle around the fireplace.
Patrick showed up then with a pitcher of water. That was his contribution, but the fire was out. He later told me that he is a "mountain man", and this fire was nothing:)
Several firetrucks showed up as well as the police. I was embarrassed, but I was thankful that we have such great neighbors who pitched in and helped before we were even outside!
Enjoy the pictures, and I leave you with the lyrics from this song:


I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher
and it burns, burns, burns,
the ring of fire, the ring of fire,



Patrick's Contribution


The weeds that never die

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

10 Things...

This post is in honor of Hailey Kemper, who asked us to write 10 things about ourselves that most of you don't already know. It's actually an award, and I am pleased to accept this, Hailey! I tend to speak before I think, so my life is somewhat of an open book. I will try to dig deep to come up with the 10 nuggets of truth!! Perhaps, I will try to go in chronological order to keep myself on track.

1. I ate a Christmas ball when I was probably a little over 1 year old. It was one of those old-fashioned metaly things. I was crunching away on this ball when my poor mom found me. The doctor told my mom to give me bread and watch me. I guess this may be where my addiction to eating began....

2. In kindergarten, I stole blocks AND convinced the other girls to steal them as well. If asked why we did it, we were to say we got them for our sisters. We put them in the pockets of our peter pan blouses. My parents found out, and I think I probably got spanked. I also had to return the blocks to Mrs. Elam, our teacher, along with a note my parents had written about forgiveness. After Mrs. Elam read the note, she tore it up (which the instructions on the note said to do) to symbolize that when you ask forgiveness, Jesus remembers your sin no more. Obviously made a big impression on me.

3. In 4th grade, Mrs. Emmrich asked me to sing "Trust and Obey" as part of our chapel program. That was the beginning of my love to sing.

4. I was in the Charlotte Children's Choir for a good while. We wore plaid skirts, red vests, and ties. Despite the wonderful attire, I thoroughly enjoyed singing with them (soprano) and can still remember alot of the songs by heart.

5. After years of taking piano lessons, I quit and regret it to this day. My parents still supported me in the decision, and I am thankful they didn't force me to continue even knowing now that I wish I had continued.

6. I knew I was going to marry Patrick the first time I saw him, and I didn't even know his name. That is another story, and some of you may not believe it, but it's true!

7. I never wanted to be a nurse growing up. Even starting college, I was taking classes that were prerequisites to the physician assistant program. My sophomore year, the PA program was changed to a Masters level degree. It is then I decided to major in nursing, as this would open up a wide range of opportunities.

8. In high school, Pastor Mike taught some P.E. classes. I remember running through a park near the school with him leading us. I enjoyed it, and I began running at home. I never really did much at all until two years ago. I got the nike+ system, and I started running around our neighborhood, slowly increasing the time and distance. Since getting pregnant and having Jonah, I would probably keel over trying to do this. I'm tired of making excuses, and I want to fulfill that dream of mine to be a runner. A real one, not one that does a few laps and is done. No wonder my favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 40:31...

9. If money were no issue, I would open a cutesy shop with unique gifts, monogramming, etc and a coffee shop connected. It would be located downtown somewhere (either Greenville or Winterville for now) in an old shop. there would be big overstuffed couches and chairs to plop on. It would be a refreshing haven from the business of life. there is more to life than just working 8 to 5.

10. Last but not least, my left front tooth is half fake/half real. The top half is real. The bottom half was cracked off when my dear sister swung a metal ring from a swingset towards me while we were hanging out after school waiting for my mom to get ready to leave. I didn't know it had chipped, and I went inside to ask my mom why my mouth felt so funny. She sorta gasped/screamed, and we got in to see the dentist pretty quickly. I really need to have it redone, but I hate the dentist...


Thanks, Hailey, for providing an activity that was thought-provoking! Hope you all enjoyed my candid tales...