What I Did With [part of] My Day

Kati and I have been busy getting ready for Two Florida Girls‘ first-ever Holiday Handmade Open House. We are participating in this fun day with several other Etsy friends from our area. We are really looking forward to it.

Kati has been busy working on coffee cozies and gadget cozies. I have been busy working on the admin stuff as well as the newest addition to our repetoire–cute hair clips for all those Little Florida Girls.

So…here’s what I did with part of my day:

Christmas Tree Hair Clips

Snowmen Hair Clips

I need a hair model. Anybody have a little girl they can volunteer? I can pay in adorable little hair clips.

If you live in or around Central Florida, you are more than welcome to join us for the Holiday Handmade Open House this Sunday. If you’d like the time and location information, please comment on this post and I’ll be glad to send it to you.

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

Alright…this is too good to pass up. I know I’ve been MIA from blog-land the last week or so…but this is a fun and simple way to re-engage, PLUS be entered to win a ton of cool stuff!

So…check this out. You can enter to win too! TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a Madsen Bike filled with gifts and goodies from Provo Craft to help you create those handmade projects including a Yudu screen-printing machine, a Cuttlebug, a Cricut Expression Machine, a Your Story thermal book binder, and a Knifty Knitter loom set. That’s not all – we’ve got treasures galore – a Dyson Blueprint, an Easy Walker Sky stroller from MamaBargains.com, two Sidekick baby carrier bags from Kemby and anAmber Alert GPS unit and a full year of service. That’s over $3,800 in gifts!

Entering the contest is easy and fun. Just answer and post the meme below on your blog and send them the link. (Don’t have a blog? No problem! You can post this as a note in Facebook and send the link too.)

To participate you must include all of the text, including the links, in bold below:

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year? a job; Primal by Mark Batterson; iTunes card; Starbucks card; some fun stuff from Etsy (like this)

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? the coffee cozies my sister made for my birthday last year that inspired Two Florida Girls

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? I want to get back into sewing so that I can make dresses for my sweet little niece

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? my Mom would probably say a fire truck since I know there was one year that I really wanted one, but I have to say that my memory does not serve me well on all the gifts (sorry Mom & Dad), but I do have plenty of great and vivid memories of Christmas with our family. Maybe those memories, which include a lot of love, are the best gift I could have ever received.

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year? Well…ummm…I don’t have any of those. Kids that is. I know my nephew has been very vocal in what he’d like. I’ll share that story in my next blog post. It’s a good one. Don’t miss it.

6. What is your favorite holiday food? Chicken and Dumplings…it’s not technically a “holiday” food, but we have it every year for Christmas Eve dinner. Part of those memories…(question 4).

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays? Adorable Christmas Tree Hair Clips…and stay tuned for Snowmen (hopefully).

8. What is your favorite holiday movie? Do I have to choose only one? Elf, The Holiday, The Grinch (cartoon and Jim Carrey…I feel the need to watch both every year)

9. Favorite holiday song? Hallelujah Chorus…not technically a “holiday” song, but it seems it’s the only time of the year you are more likely to hear it. LOVE it–traditional or jazzed up. Either way. LOVE it.

10. Favorite holiday pastime? I love that our family does the “gift” part of Christmas on Christmas Eve. As a kid I thought it was cool mostly because we got to open our presents before anyone else. As an adult, I appreciate that we can celebrate Jesus’ birthday, the true cause for celebration, on Christmas Day.

What I’m Dealing with Today…

UGH.

 

Yes...that's my car. Yes...that's a tow truck.

UGH.

 

Old School :: 1

Back on this post, Katie said, “i think it would be cool if you posted a picture from when you were a kid and maybe told a story to go along with it…”

Well…the selection of “old school” pictures on my laptop are lacking.

But…I did find one.

Dad and His Girls

I can tell you that this original picture is actually a Polaroid. How vintage. I scanned it a couple of years ago for a Father’s Day present. The picture was taken at our church, in the fellowship hall. Assuming it was around Valentine’s Day 1987, my sister would have been 6 years old and I would have been 8 years old. Fun, huh?

I’ll have to find some more “Old School” pictures to share. I know there are plennnnty out there!

Happy Weekend!

Etsy Shops :: 3

Another installment of some of my favorite Etsy shops. Finding a shop you love? “Heart” it on Etsy.

• Bird’s Eye View: This shop’s owner, Kim, is another friend of a friend. Her tags are so cute and would be awesome for personalizing any gift. She’s beginning to add Christmas tags…go take a look. You’re sure to find something you love.
• Lusicious: The shirts and onesies in this shop are so incredibly adorable. They are so unique and I am exercising extreme self control by not buying one of each style for my new little niece, Cadence. I have never seen anything like them. Love them. All of them.
• Snappy Shop: I just found this shop last week and the aprons she creates are so stinkin’ cute. They look like something you’d find in a store like Anthropologie. So so fun.

Bird's Eye View

Luscious

Snappy Shop

Etsy Shops :: 2

Here are a few more of my favorite Etsy shops. Don’t forget…this year, consider buying handmade!

• Autumn & Everything After: My friend, Kasey, makes these unique banners for birthdays and holidays. She loves custom orders, too, and makes neat name banners. They are the perfect addition to any holiday or party decor.
• Gongy & Squish: I remember “hearting” this shop early in our early Etsy days. Later on, I found out the creations were those of Kelley, a friend of my friend Cathleen. Knowing this made me “heart” her stuff even more. I love seeing what she’s going to come up with next and I’m looking forward to meeting her next month!
• Little Bit Funky: I don’t even know how I stumbled upon this shop, but it’s so fun. It looks like she’s making way for some new items because everything in her shop is 50% off through this weekend. So, there you go…click on over there now and grab a gift or two for a super deal! (No…no one is paying me to say this!)

(Oh, and thanks Katie& Cheryl for great ideas for future posts. I’ll work on those. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out this post.)

Autumn & Everything After

Gongy & Squish

Little Bit Funky

Something to Blog About…Etsy Shops :: 1

I’ve come up with something to blog about.

I decided that I would share some of my favorite Etsy shops over the next few days. Christmas is coming, and buying handmade is the thing to do this year. “Made-by-machines-in-China” is so last year. So…as you start making your shopping list this year, check it twice and find a fun, handmade gift over on Etsy.

First of all, I know there are many people who still haven’t visited Etsy (www.etsy.com) or who wonder what it is. Etsy is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell items that are handmade, as well as vintage goods and crafting supplies. The Etsy community spans the globe with buyers and sellers coming from more than 150 countries. Etsy sellers number in the hundreds of thousands.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite shops with you–in no particular order.

• hope ink: This shop features Scripture art and design. I think they are so neat, and if I had a home of my own with walls to decorate, I would love to purchase one! She also does custom gifts for babies, kids or weddings. Love it.
• isabellaboo: My college roommate, Lisa, runs this great shop. She makes adorable custom shirts and onesies. Her new Christmas collection is so cute, too! These make great gifts and they would be perfect for family photos.
• triple C designs: These great journals and altered books are hand-crafted by my friend, Cathleen. I own one of her journals and have purchased a few as gifts. The recipients have been so excited to get a personalized journal made just for them. It’s such a unique, one-of-a-kind gift.

hope ink

isabellaboo

triple C designs

The Floor Is Yours

Sitting here tonight…
thinking about what I can blog about…
coming up with not-so-much.

So…the floor is yours.

Anything you want to ask?
Questions for or about me?
Inquiries about anything I’ve said on this blog?
Topics to discuss?
Snide remarks?

I’ll take it all. Bring it on.

Give me something to “talk” about.

365 Days…and Counting.

So…I wanted to write this post a couple of weeks ago, but it just hasn’t been feasible. Warning: it’s a tad long.

It’s been a little more than 365 days ago now that I officially made the move from West Palm Beach back “Home” (Central Florida). Because I feel that I’ve learned so much and experienced so much in the past year, I wanted to take a little bit of time to reflect on where I’ve been and where God’s brought me (literally and figuratively).

October 17, 2008 marked the beginning of this part of my journey. And the following are random lessons learned and experiences had that may not have been possible at this time in my life if I hadn’t listened to God’s quiet voice saying, “It’s time to go ‘home’ now.”

In the last year, I have…

• Had the opportunity to live life on a daily basis with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew for about nine months. And, now have the opportunity to live with two of my best friends.
• Been able to visit my parents without tons of planning and preparation. One hour drives are much easier to make at the last minute than three hour drives.
• Learned to trust God for the “simplest” of provisions…namely, a roof over my head and food to eat.
• Learned to make difficult decisions that defy my human understanding, but that honor God.
• Come to firmly believe that I have all that I need through my relationship with God in Jesus. No amount of friends, mentors, money or alleged circumstantial stability can provide what I need.
• Become a little entrepreneur, launching Two Florida Girls with my sister and doing odd freelance jobs for various non-profit and ministry organizations. I never thought the word “entrepreneur” and my name could ever be in the same sentence!
• Finished my Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Palm Beach Atlantic University and joined the first-ever Orlando Campus cohort, meeting 7 incredible leaders who I now call friends.
• Learned (over and over and over again…and then some more…and do you see a theme here? Think God might be trying to help me grasp something?!) about the process of transition and change at a time that it was most applicable to my life. Thanks, Moses. Thanks, Israelites. Thanks, Dr. Holder.
• Taken steps so far outside of my comfort zone, just because God asked me to.
• Seen God provide me with more than I can begin to lay claim to. Without gainful employment for a year, I’m not sure how I still have a cell phone, health insurance, car insurance and gas money. Praise God for His provision!
• Begun to accept and recognize God’s moving in my circumstances…even when I don’t understand. Even when I thought I “needed” a certain job or position.
• Been available for my family at a time where it has been most needed…because I accepted God’s moving of my circumstances.
• Been able to attend Bible Study Fellowship with Kati, Paul and now, Cadence. What a blessing!
• Found new opportunities to serve. My favorite is my weekly position in Guest Services at Give Kids The World.
• Experienced the early moments of Cadence’s life, and been able to watch her grow so much already.
• Been able to spoil Paul and Cadence even more than I could have from three hours away!
• Completed my first 5K and am signed up for number 2 in December!
• Realized that I do have multiple “jobs”…I’m just not being paid monetarily for all of them.
• Truly begun to live and understand one of my favorite quotes…”Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.” -Oswald Chambers

Sorry…I told you it was long. And, that’s not even all of it…just the highlights!

But, praise God that He continues to work in my life and the lives of those closest to me. I can honestly say, the last year hasn’t been easy and there’s still more adjusting and settling to be done, but I know that God is faithful. He is good. His plan is perfect. And, He knows what He’s doing.

Thanks for reading.

More Pictures from the Tower of Terror 5K

Me and Rachel.

At about 1.25 miles.

We did it! Pam named us "Team Jitters" because we were so nervous before the race.

My official results.