Christmas Around Our House Part 2

Just give me one men’s plaid XL shirt at the thrift store, and this is what I can do with it:

1. Christmas wreath: starting at the sleeves of the shirt, I cut a bunch of fabric strips. I hot glued each piece down to my thrifted straw wreath (50 cents!!!) as I went, overlapping pieces the whole way. Then, I took three more strips and made three rolled roses. To make the red “foliage,” I cut a bunch (maybe a dozen) of squares out of some spare red fabric I had. Fold them in half once, then in half again, and glue them down. You can round the top edges to make it look softer.

2. Christmas garland: starting at the hem of the shirt, I cut long strips of fabric about 1-2 inches thick. I tied three pieces together and braided them. I connected two braids in the middle to get enough to go around the doorway. Don’t mind the little ornaments. Haha! Though I think it would be neat to hang bulbs from the garland at intervals. Hmmmm. Might try that when I get home.

3. Christmas Forest: The three tall trees I thrifted a couple of years ago. Recently, I found two foam cones at the thrift store. I wrapped each in extra fabric strips from the shirt. I wound the strips around and used sewing pins to hold them down. I made the star ornaments several years back with felt and embroidery thread. I hung the last two stragglers on my trees with matching gold buttons for an extra touch.

4. Framed Christmas Greetings: I thrifted this frame for a fun DIY photo shoot at my wine and cheese party last year. I strung two fabric strips from the back of the frame and hot glued them down. I cut out 9 total 2×2 inch squares from some green scrapbook paper I already had. Then, I stenciled in the letters. Then, I just stapled the letter squares to the fabric strips. Voila!

Call me the crafty thrifter, this was so much fun! I loved the project, because it formed a color theme throughout the house. The color-coordination makes all the decorations flow together. I still have a little fabric left, so I might have to drum up another project. We shall see.

December 15, 2011

Christmas Around Our House Part 1

Here are a few sneak peeks into merry Christmas-making around our parts:

Our local community park does a huge Christmas light show during the holidays. A big fellow in a red suit hides out in one of the heated shelters.

Peanut wore his hat for the occasion. Do you see how intent he is here? He had some serious business to do with the Big Guy.

One of the Christmas traditions both my husband and I were adamant about bringing into our family was cutting our own tree every year. We even did this before the Peanut was in the mix. It’s been unusually warm here in Wisconsin, making it much easier to continue that tradition without complaining. Once home, we had a tiny tree-raising ceremony complete with pink cheeks and hot chocolate.

Here is where we remind Peanut about the true meaning of Christmas. And the scene behind our learning the lyrics to Away in a Manger. He likes to point to “the stars in the sky” that look down where he lay.

Putting these meaningful touches all around our house is such a source of joy for me. Seeing my son start to understand all the concepts of Christmas and engaging in all our traditions is just amazing.

More to come!

December 14, 2011

One Scary Moment Equals More Gratitude

I normally wouldn’t post about personal medical topics, but I experienced the scariest moment of my life yesterday morning. I woke up, coughed, and suddenly couldn’t breathe. My throat closed up and I felt like I could’ve died. It was disappointing and terrifying feeling like my body had failed me. After what felt like hours, but probably was more like one minute, I sat down and finally caught a breath and then another. After an ER trip determined I was fine, I went back to life as usual, taking breathing a little less for granted and coughing a little more hesitantly.

With more breaths afforded to me, I thought it appropriate to express my gratitude for what’s been happening lately. I am so thankful for:

1. A healthy family. Everyone in my home is feeling well.
2. An exciting meeting at work this week.
3. Accidentally falling asleep with my son, watching Christmas movies, more than once this week. Daddy came in and carefully transplanted the boy into his own bed and then reclaimed his place next to me.
4. Washing dishes under the light of Christmas lights. This will never get old.
5. Putting the finishing touches of Christmas around the house.
6. Teaching the Peanut Christmas carols. We’re working on Away in a Manger, and he loves to sing it over and over and over while looking at the nativity. I am more-than-happy to oblige.
7. Watching my nephew’s church Christmas program and enjoying lunch afterward with my all-time favorite, beef tips and gravy.
8. Feeling a little like a pioneer with a freezer fully stocked with venison and frozen shredded zucchini.
9. Feeling very supported by my husband who, uncharacteristically, waxed philosophical and offered his massagin’ hands.
10. Seeing my Peanut revel in the simple joy that his own light-up Christmas tree brings him at bedtime. It makes a great night light!

November 29, 2011

Letter to ExerciseTV

Dear ExerciseTV,

Please don’t go!

I went to your site yesterday and saw this:

I am in complete denial that this is true, so please tell me that I am seeing things. Is there a petition I can sign or something? This is the biggest travesty to the fitness community that I could ever imagine. Such a shame.

Yours truly,

Avid ExerciseTV user

P.S. to my readers, you can buy a few of their workouts for download for only $1.00. It’s like the Dollar Store of workout videos, only the quality of the product is much more savory. Best buck ever spent. And I’m really excited to do this workout tonight. At least there are still some free workout videos out there. If you know of any others out there, please let me know.

November 28, 2011

Boun-sing Back!

I had a short little hiatus here from work and blogging, but I’m so glad to be back. Just a few weeks more and I’ll be taking another one for Christmas. I have encountered a surge of ideas this Monday morning after my little “refresher,” which makes every bit of the break sooooo worth it!

This past week I have enjoyed:

1. Making a new Christmas wreath and matching garland (ideas and images coming soon).
2. Thrift shopping for longer than is considered reasonable.
3. Beginning a new exciting project involving old hard covered books, picked up at said thrift store.
4. Staying at a friend’s parent’s house while my husband hunted deer. After finding three deer, our chest freezer is now fully stocked.
5. Making new friends, adult and tot-sized.
6. Feeling genuinely thankful for our home and family, Thanksgiving or not.
7. Putting lots of thought into Christmas gifts, and checking a few names off.
8. Planning Christmas decorations and traditions (daily readings with hot cocoa, Christmas movies, cutting a tree, etc).
9. Working out extra hard and coming out on the other side of the holiday 1lb lighter.
10. Going to a neat indie craft fair and soaking up the art inspiration and holiday excitement.

How was your week?

November 19, 2011

Make the World Lovely

I believe in dining room tablecloths
I believe in hair bows and nice socks
I believe in pretty ribbons wrapped around keys on the pegboard
I believe in a feather tucked behind the ear
I believe in doodled love notes tucked inside pockets
I believe in a sparkly swipe of eyeshadow on date night
I believe in caving to that urge to jump in a puddle
I believe in tucking pretty rocks in with the books on the shelf
I believe in tucking extra treats into gift wrapping
I believe in holding hands while watching TV
I believe in spoiling a tiny boy with “campouts” every weekend because we love it too
I believe in one cupcake at midnight
I believe in dancing while you sweep
I believe in coloring inside the letters in work meetings
I believe in keeping an extra picnic blanket in the car
I believe in anything that can make life just a little prettier.

It’s not about materialism or whittling away time on meaningless things, it’s about finding and adding beauty a little here and a little there.

November 16, 2011

From A Recovering Couch Potato

I was just thinking the other day about how being the Valedictorian–or even the Salutatorian–was as close as one gym class away for me. I hated gym class. Like so many others, I have stories about wheezing through the one-mile run, being picked last for every sport despite real skill in some, and dreading the mandatory swimming semester. OMG, I have to wear my swimming suit in front of those mean kids?

But as I thought about it, I realized gym class was the very reason that I didn’t quite make it to the head of my class. I did graduate #7 out of a class of 366, but #1-4 were the valedictorians and #5-6 were the salutatorians. Yep, I was that close. And gym class (and one *ahem* B in science) was the reason. To guarantee an A for the semester, we had to swim 10 full laps. It took me almost the entire class period, but you can sure as heck bet I eked out those 10 laps. I was retching and dying, but I did it. And somehow I ended up with a B anyway. It was one of those instances where I kick myself for not confronting the teacher about it. But alas, I took my B with my tail between my legs.

Funny thing is, now you would never guess I was that girl. Gym class can “bite me” now. I run at least three days a week, usually around 3 miles each. That one-miler has nothing on my now! I’ve completed a handful of 5ks and a Half Marathon. Take that mean gym teachers! I get a huge thrill from exercise, I have a huge crush on workout videos, I have a “gym” membership, I inhale every exercise magazine I can lay my hands on, and I secretly sometimes think about being a gym instructor. Take that, gym class!

It’s ironic how your body can turn around and do the complete opposite of what you ever thought it could do and that your reason for non-valedictorian-ism is now coughing up the dust you left in your running path.

November 14, 2011

A Magical 3-Mile Run

Image by Judd Patterson

I have been dreaming again about the most amazing run I had over the summer as the weather is getting colder. The in-laws were up from Florida for a visit, and they took our family to the Milwaukee Zoo. We stayed overnight nearby so my MIL could spend some time with her closest friend that lives close by. I, of course, packed my runnin’ shoes.

Just across the street from the motel was the mouth of a nature path. Around dusk, I laced up and left my two boys to unwind in the room with strict instructions that if I didn’t return in 45 minutes to send a search party. I didn’t feel like running. True confession: most of the time I don’t feel like running. But I know exactly how I’ll feel if I do run, so I always do anyway.

The air was perfect for a run. The visual relief of nature was delightful. The departure from the norm was fantastic. Just running in a new place has a way of reviving the spirit of fitness inside me. But it got soooo much better.

I rounded a bend about halfway through my run when I heard some rustling that made my hair stand up. I saw something moving in the brush. Then, a brown neck popped up and I realized I was within feet of a beautiful doe. Right then, I noticed the second one. Those huge eyes, those beautiful bodies standing dead-still waiting to determine if I was a threat. I just smiled at them knowingly as I padded by, trying to send signals with my eyes that I would never hurt them.

Not too far up the path, I reached my halfway point and turned around. Those pretty girls were still there. Those city gals let me get pretty close, so I could snap a shot with my phone as proof. Then, I left them alone again and carried on. Near the end of the run, I saw another flash in the brush. Thinking I’d spied the eyes of a rodent or other little animal, I ran a little faster. But I noticed another flash and another and another until I realized I was completely surrounded by lightning bugs. It was so magical, almost mystical.

I had not seen lightning bugs since I was a kid on a family camping trip. I rode my bike through a small patch of trees and there was a tiny swarm of them. That was another magical moment from another time. I went a little slower for the rest of the run, taking it all in. In fact, I even ran back through one stretch, just so I could run through it again. It was amazing!

Back at the motel, I insisted that the boys retrieve their shoes and follow me back down the path. I got to experience my son’s first encounter with lightning bugs and it was so surreal and beautiful.

Nothing beats a run like that.

November 8, 2011

Fall Reading List

This is what’s on my book list lately. Yep, I’m reading them all at the same time.
I pick up wherever I left off in the tome that matches my mood that day. It’s a terrible habit that I have of starting too many books at one time. I’ll put books on hold at the library at the same time that an Amazon order arrives at the doorstep and the Bible study starts a new book. Aye!

Thankfully fall is a great time to refresh the bookcases, because there’s plenty of dark time to enjoy a few hours of reading.

1. Handmade Marketplace: I’ve been toying with the idea for awhile of starting an Etsy store. This book is great for goal-setting and branding a craft store.

2. Cannery Row: A friend lent this Steinbeck classic to me. It’s great because the chapters are short and they jump around. So, I can pick up where I left off easily. Steinbeck’s descriptions are expert!!!

3. God Girl: This is actually meant for the younger lady, but I love it anyway. It’s so soft and sweet and makes God feel like your best friend. It’s fresh not to be so serious and in-depth once in awhile.

4. Desiring God: I’ve mentioned this one before. Apparently, it’s a Christian classic that’s regaining ground again. I love love love the idea of finding or re-living pure joy in God.

5. Power Thoughts: This is the Christian response to the Law of Attraction movement that’s shaking the ground right now. It puts thoughts into a Christian perspective. Yes, you can use your thoughts for great things, but you can’t “think into being” your favorite house or a million dollars. So helpful for not getting caught up in all those materialistic concepts.

I almost added more to this stack, but I had to stop somewhere. Inevitably, a few will go half-read once the library demands their books back. A book like Desiring God cannot be inhaled in one night. It’s meant to be savored and re-visited for a quite some time. Thankfully, some are short enough to be completely read within a few more days. Happy Reading!

November 7, 2011

De-cluttering Old Schoolwork

I went in the attic to locate a buried research paper example for my husband. He has to write a 10 to 12-pager by the end of the semester and doesn’t even know what one looks like. Well, being an English major, I had 10 to 15-pagers aplenty. So I went on a search to find one that I could easily explain to him. A paper deconstructing literature would’ve been much too difficult to break down for him.

I found the paper I was looking for quite easily and then I tried to pry something…anything…out of the box and into the garbage. After all, I know I will never return to those notes or those posters or any of it really. I paged through one notebook and thought about it in the garbage and immediately returned it to the box. I just.can’t.do.it. Short of someone coming in with a pry bar, I cannot let these papers go. The time invested. The real raw blood, sweat and tears. Those four whole gruelling years of full-time school and full-time work to put myself through college. It feels like trying to amputate my own limb.

I marveled at the way I could write. I mean, I know I can write, but sometimes I forget exactly how keen my intellect can be amidst piles of research and analysis. I’ll admit, looking through the papers calms my inferiority complex a bit. Especially coming across all the letters and stickers I got for being on the Dean’s list almost every semester. I don’t mean to boast, because most of the time I’m pretty hard on myself, but sometimes those gentle reminders of our talents and abilities really do give us a boost.

Then, I think about my kids coming across my old papers one day. I came across old papers from my mom’s elementary school days and I was completely enamored. Seeing her handwriting and her grades and imagining her in cute red polyester jumpsuits sitting at her Catholic school desk was just too sweet to miss. I wondered if somehow I time-traveled and ended up in her same class, if we would instantly be best friends. Wanting to immerse myself in that sentiment, I even swiped one of her rad retro leftover folders.

Being the writer that I am, the back page of every one of my notebook was littered with my word graffiti. Story ideas were born there. Poems originated in the margins. My favorite words were recorded there. The beauty of being a harried student and full-time worker is that the best ideas are born out of the overwhelming chaos. My muse materializes during bouts of over-scheduling and information overload. I built a lot of my best work off of those scribbled-up “back pages.”

A friend and I just had a conversation about decluttering old school papers. She just did it with a shrug of the shoulder and her head turned the other way. I told her that I really tried to channel her in my own purge attempt, but it totally failed. I’m convinced that pieces of my identity are tucked inside the folds in there. It’s only one box anyway. It’s not like Hoarders territory or anything. I’ll think I’ll keep them just a little longer.

Is there anything that you still cling to? Your favorite dolly from childhood (oops, I’m guilty of this one too), your collection of Tonka trucks or pen pal letters?