One finished project and some resolutions

One finished project! I would have had two, but I did flock one of the little deers pink and re-glittered its antlers and tail. It was super duper cute and I loved it.....and so did Sam! He felt like it would be really yummy to eat said deer. BAH! Right after I was feeling so squishy lovey towards him, too. I have another ugly red deer and I will flock that one pink and then hide it up really high. So, here's some thank you cards that I made this weekend. They turned out okay. It takes me for-ever! to think of an idea. So, I had been wanting to add in sheet music for awhile and don't really know how - this is closer to what I want but still not perfect. I did try one with some little flowers but it looked like dookie so I scratched that idea.

I'm thinking about some of my resolutions for the upcoming year - are you? I usually try to make at least 5. Here's a preliminary list (in no particular order):

1. Lose weight - I want to be able to wear cute dresses! This year for my work Christmas party I fantasized about wearing a fun party dress only to end up wearing standard black pants with a jacket. My shoes were fun, but no one could see them!

2. Moisturize at least twice a day - my skin is starting to get too dry and wrinkly. This seems super basic, and I do okay most the time, but truly my hands are looking old. And sometimes I skip it at night.

3. Learn how to knit with double pointed needles. There are so many cute little things that I'd like to try to make - first up wrist warmers!

4. Try not so spend so much money on pointless things. I'm really bad about this. Next year at tax time when I get my print out of how much I made last year I don't want to end up saying -"where did it all go???"

5. Do a daily devotional. Even if it is only like 5 minutes. I need to focus on God way more.

So, these are the biggies. I've already started with Weight Loss Wednesdays, so I'm on the right track for that one.

stuffins

So, ladies night at Jan's was great fun! We laughed a ton, which we all needed. Sunday was the scrapbooking crop - I just worked on my Thanksgiving decoration thing. I really should think of an official name for it so I'm not rambling every time I explain what it is. I finally finished it up last night after bible study. I like the way it turned out! I also made this tote bag over the weekend with more of the fabric I'm loving right now. My embroidery skills are still not super fabulous but I really like the way this turned out. I drew the deer freehand and then traced over it onto the white fabric. I'm totally digging deer silhouettes right now so this makes me happy :)
I have a little confession. I think I'm in a "blue" period. I can't even articulate what I mean. I have done bible study after bible study and continue to ask God to change me, change my reactions, my feelings - everything. But I don't think I'm changing. And the sad part is that I know it's me. It's my fault. I have not been drawing close to Him, I have not followed through with scripture memory even though honestly that was helping me tons. And I think I just do that, run out of steam and then feel terrible. When am I ever going to get it through my head that I can't do this on my own energy - that I need to totally rely on God and let Him fill me up and get me through? One thing I am relieved about is that He is so patient and does NOT give up on me - or anyone else for that matter. In our video last night Beth Moore said "We get do-overs", and I thank God for that. Every day right now is a do-over.

giggling is good

Can I please tell you that I laughed so hard this weekend?! It was fabulous and much needed! So, every year a group of ladies I used to work with and I drive up to Bend to visit with another former coworker and friend. We usually go up in the Spring, but on this last trip we all agreed that once a year was just not really as frequent enough as any of us would like to visit Jodi and laugh our faces off! So, Sherry organized a girls weekend here this past weekend. She provided the place and the rest of us all divied up meals and such. We played games, watched movies, caught up and laughed until our sides and faces hurt :) It was great.

I have been assigned my first partners for the swaps I signed up for on Swap-bot and frankly I'm really excited to get my packages together to send out! One of them needs to be mailed by Tuesday so I need to get busy! I have a good idea of a few things I'm thinking of sending. I'll post pics once I have it all together.

wlw and retreat update

Okay, so last weekend the retreat was totally awesome!!! It was so, so good to spend some time just hanging out and scrappin' with Jan and the other ladies. There were these two ladies that had driven from a small town that's like 2 hours away and they were totally hilarious, and mixed with Jan's humour I was laughing all weekend. As predicted, though, I did gain weight! I think mostly because scrapbooking is so sedentary. I did also take my crochet project that I was working on, and finished it up Sunday night when I could not get to sleep. All weekend we were staying up until like 2 in the morning, and unfortunately I am still stuck in the staying up waaay to late cycle! So, these pics I took on the drive back of the brilliant contrast the Fall foliage! So much more beautiful in person, but you get the idea.

So, this little bear was inspired by Ana Paula Rimoli's blog and I have her book "Amigurumi World" which has the pattern for the basic bear. I saw her post where she had made her little bear a little Halloween costume and was like: I have to make one! But, as I think I've mentioned before I am cheap and so therefore did not want to pay for a pattern or ready made costume since I figured I could figure one out! Hers is admittedly way more professional looking. He just cracks me up! I've been keeping him on my desk at work to cheer me up :) I'm planning other little outfits for each season. I know, dorky!

In other news, I joined Swap-Bot. I was thinking I might enjoy swapping some more, and stumbled upon it. I'm glad I did, I've joined 3 swaps so far. I am going to do a Christmas card swap, a scrapbooking swap and a vintage sheet fat quarter swap. I had really wanted to join Jennifer's vintage sheet swap but at the time did not have enough variety to swap! I've gotten a little more stashed so I feel comfortable enough to participate.