Category: crafty

  • cross stitch #1 : welcome

    cross stitch 1-welcome

    Okay! Today I finally have my first cross stitch project to share.

    This is a pattern that I kind of improvised. I saw something like it in a thrift store, took a picture, and made my own. I chose the colors based on another painting we have hanging in our entryway. I also framed it really quickly so pay no attention to the wrinkles; obviously I have some practice to do. And can you spot the mistake in the second E? I got careless while I was watching a movie and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to fix it.

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    And here is where I hung it up. Someone is testing her boundaries in this photo, seeing if she can escape outside. :)

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    Later that day after I hung this up David pointed it out to me on his own with no prompting on my part and told me that he likes it. So! Success in my book.

  • list 4 : i’m good at

    This month’s Book of Lists topic is “I’m good at.”

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    This was an encouraging thing for me to think about right now because the last month has been kind of crazy and I haven’t felt all that good at life. But I know that’s just the stress and in reality I am good at a lot of things.

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     mothering

    singing

    organization

    nursing (both kinds)

    keeping in touch

    getting enough sleep

    routines

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    There are more little things that I know I’m good at but these are the ones that came to me and encompass a lot of my strengths. On a side note, I think I look sickly or something in the Instax photo I took, but I love the way Meredith’s eyes and cheeks look here.

    Next month: We’ll be posting on April 1 and the topic is “today I saw.”

    ***

    Confused by Book of Lists? Read this post! See all of my lists here.

  • project life 2013 : weeks 3 – 4

    Thanks for all your comments and encouragement on my last post. Each one meant so much to me. I’m feeling a little better about things and I know it will keep improving with time. But now on to Project Life. I’m playing catch-up right now (what else is new), but I’m still loving the whole process. It’s therapeutic for me.

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    I relied heavily on my notes for this spread because the weeks have been blurring together. I’ve been tweaking my note-taking process so I’ll have a separate post on that soon.

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    Week 3:

    This was the rough week where Meredith was throwing horrible tantrums every  night and we were just doing what we had to do to get by. My niece turned one and we celebrated her birthday. We took some family walks because it was one of the only things that calmed Meredith down. My mom had a birthday, and I made mother/daughter friendship bracelets.

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    Loving black and white photos these days.

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    Oh David, I guess it’s a good thing you’re not up-to-date on women’s fashion. :)

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    The walks were one good thing that came out of Meredith’s fussiness.

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    Week 4:

    I took a day off work to take Meredith for her 18-month checkup. I used the opportunity to have coffee with a friend while my mom got some grammy time in. I had a sinus infection that just wouldn’t go away on its own. Meredith had returned to her happy self, the weather was beautiful, and for the most part it was a pretty fun week.

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    This is probably my favorite pocket and one of my favorite photos recently.

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    I included some highlights from this post, and thought the close-up of her face went well with it. I just want to smoosh her.

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    Look at her little legs hanging down!

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    There were a bunch of little things from this week that I didn’t have photos for, so I did a “week in review” card. I did these every week last year, but I like this approach better.

    On to the next…

  • list 3 : perfect day

    Well it’s time for Book of Lists, and the topic is “perfect day.”

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    I chose this topic a month ago when I was anticipating my birthday (which is tomorrow) but now it just seems ironic since I’ve had such a difficult start to the week. My heart is heavy because my beloved uncle, my dad’s twin, passed away yesterday. He was sick and it wasn’t entirely surprising, but he took a downward turn very quickly that we didn’t expect. I have so many thoughts and feelings but mainly I’m sad. Just going through the motions with things for now, so to occupy myself for a short while I made my list to reflect my ideal perfect day.

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    sleep in

    70 degrees & sunny

    M is happy & well behaved

    My whole family is healthy

    No work

    A few hours of alone time

    Some kind of treat

    Fun family time

    Able to relax with David before bed

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    I can think of so many different “perfect days,” but no matter what I would want to be rested, everyone healthy, and have time alone (to recharge), time with family, and time with David. Great weather and a little extra treat – whether that be ice cream, a pedicure, or finding a great deal shopping – would make it that much better.

    Well it’s been nice to dream about days like that even if I’m not currently feeling it. In the midst of all this I know God is watching over my family and I am praying it will bring us closer together and closer to Him.

    Next month: We’ll be posting on March 4 and the topic is “I’m good at.” We can all stand to have a little more self-confidence, I think, so let’s talk about it.

    ***

    Confused by Book of Lists? Read this post! See all of my lists here

  • project life 2013 : weeks 1 – 2

    It’s my first spread of the year and I’m loving it.

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    I printed the photos for these weeks before I had really decided how I want to process and edit them going forward. I wasn’t sure that they would work with my vision but I think they did fine. It really helps to keep within the same color palate – I’m trying to lean heavily on the core kit to keep things looking cohesive and to simplify things for myself. If you ever wonder where I got a specific supply please ask! I don’t plan to share all the details in each post but I will gladly tell you if you want to know.

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    Week 1:

    We spent most of New Years’ day at our good friend’s house out of town. The rest of the week was work, work, work and just survive. We celebrated David’s birthday and watched the Texans in the playoffs. I started playing this Hobbit game on the iPhone.

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    This QR code links to a video of Meredith playing throw the ball with my friend’s husband. She was laughing the whole time.

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    Yay for date nights!

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    Week 2:

    We celebrated my nephew’s third birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. Work eased up and we got back into routine. I chose my quilt size and design, finished The Passage, and did really well with family dinners (there was one dud meal though).

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    I’m going to try to streamline my note-taking for this project. I always work behind so notes are essential. I feel like I’m hitting the high points but not quite telling all the stories. I have some ideas and I’ll let you know what I come up with!