My Girls Crafty...

Check this out!!!

She's crafty!

And she's good!!  :)

The kids have always been interested in craft projects around

the holidays but I didn't think it went beyond that.

I did craft with them throughout the years - little projects here and there 

but sometimes looking back I worry I might have been too stingy 

about my craft time...not really wanting to share that time 

as much as I should have.  Maybe I would have been surprised sooner.

And maybe I started the fire just enough so it would come out at just the right time.

Anywho...

Miss has all these great craft projects she would love to do...

I'm impressed!

Now on to her wreath.  

She made this for her "Big" (her words not mine).

The fun of sorority life.

She used her sorority colors - aqua and grey 

(and we added the black since we couldn't find grey tulle)

She used almost 3 full rolls (at least 2 1/2) in the aqua and black color.

6" spools from Michael's Celebrate It brand.

1 spool of glittery silver/grey ribbon. 

(we had glitter coming out our ears - just ask the boys of the house - they were not amused)

I am not sure of the exact size of the wreath because I have already boxed it up, 

but I think it was a 12" foam wreath form - also from Michael's.

We followed these basic directions.

It's huge!!!  From end of tulle to end of tulle it is about 27".

I Love It.

Now I want to find an online supplier of fun colors of tulle

so she can make me one for:

Valentine's Day

and one for Easter

and one for Birthday months

and one for Halloween

and I think you get the picture!!  :)

Oh and for gifts!  What an awesome gift this would/will make!

My One Little Word...

When I started seeing people talking about picking their words for 2012 

I felt a bug PULL towards really commiting this year.  

I have picked words before but really had to think hard about the word.

It was more or less just a word.  

They didn't have as much meaning to me.

And I didn't do too much to make it a part of my life.  

This time around two words came to mind immediately - without much thought.

Those words were:

TRUTH and REAL

Both completely related.

As I have mentioned in many a blog posts

us moving has brought a lot of changes

it has sent me reeling a bit. 

My ego is getting the best of me…

I tend to make assumptions about situations, people, etc…

and what I am realizing is that they are not factual, 

not necessarily real or the truth.

And sometimes I am not realistic about

what I need to do to achieve desired outcomes.

I make excuses about why things might not be happening.

It's time to get real.

I really want to focus on what is true.

So my word will be...

  re·al, real/ˈrē(ə)l/, /rāˈäl/

1.  true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent.

2.  existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious.

3.  being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary.

4.being actually such; not merely so-called.

5.  genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation; authentic.

How perfect is that?

That is exactly what I'm talkin bout!!! 

To see what is REAL about all situations.

To be REAL about what is needed for a desired outcome.

To be REAL with where I'm at.

To be REAL with my intentions.

To be REAL towards others.  

To show the REAL me.

To be the REAL me.

Be REAL.  See what's REAL.  Feel what's REAL.

Hello Monday...

Hello first Monday in this exciting new year of 2012.  

Looking forward to all that is to come!  

Think it's going to be a good one!

 Hello pain from yesterdays fun day of skiing at a beautiful Meadowlark!

Hello empty girls room.
We are missing our Macey now that she's back in Omaha.

Hello last day of  Christmas break.  

We loved the sleeping in, 

especially after said day of skiing!  :)

Hello messy piles of "stuff" all over my house.  

Thinks it's time for a deep cleaning/organizing of the house!!

Hello nice little surprise on Ali Edwards blog.

I am one of the winner's of a  

Lisa Leonard's Word of the year Necklace!!  

Lucky Lucky Me!!!  I am soooo stinking excited!!!

Hello tasty easy faux Italian sodas.

 Hello Inspired to Scrap sketch class.

 Hello Kung Fu panda and cozied little boy.

Hello One Little Word.

Hello hockey.

Sorry we missed a few practices.

We're back now!

It's that time of year...

...for goals!!!  

I really need to get me straightened out.  Too much to be happy about!!

I think I might be a little cranky these days.  Oh how silly silly silly that is!!

Time for change - time to kick that ego to the curb.

Here are a few things I am thinking about:

Working towards living a life I love. 

As I think I have mentioned before this move has left me rather topsy turvy and stuck. 

Not doing nearly as much as I can to feel good about me and life.

And that's just plum silly - too much too feel good about!!

Create more often!

I want to paint and get messy!! 

I want to sew!  

I want to play with clay!

Get my business up and running full steam ahead.

Will my labels ever be finished?  Oh yes and they will be gorgeous.  

The bath and body product will be perfected and I promise you will love it.  

Because I love it!

And of course lots more jewelry - really want to work more with silver.  

Judge less - love more.

Kick my ego to the curb.

It really get's in the way and trys to hold one down.  

No thanks!!  I've had enough.

(thanks Oprah and Eckhart Tolle)

Keep working through Oprah's Lifeclass

Get real - see the truth - be true. 

Make friends.

Yoga, running, walking, lifting or elliptical every single day of the week!!!

Run a marathon.

Yell less.

Be happy, smile and laugh and sing and dance!! ALOT!!!

Scrapbook.

Thinking

Week in the Life

One Little Word

and

Project Life.

Dream big and work hard to achieve.

Blog.

Wish me luck!  :)  

How about you?  

What do you want to happen this wonderful 2012?

My New Year's Wish for You...

 Comfort on difficult days,
Smiles when sadness intrudes,
Rainbows to follow the clouds,
Laughter to kiss your lips,
Sunsets to warm your heart,
Hugs when spirits sag,
Beauty for your eyes to see,
Friendships to brighten your being,
Faith so that you can believe,
Confidence when you doubt,
Courage to know yourself,
Patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.
-Anonymous

My friend Shelley Kinnison posted this wonderful poem...

I thought it was too perfect no to share.

Christmas was a good one....

...a very good one!!

And now I feel like I can say goodbye to it.  

The decorations have been taken down.  

My girl is safely back in Omaha!  :(
(happy she's safe...just would have loved more time with her here in Wyoming)
Now I'm ready for the fresh start that 2012 will bring.

But before I say goodbye completely, how about a few (or a TON) pictures of

my favorite moments and my favorite people.

 Macey was home for three whole weeks.
How fun it was to have her here for three whole weeks.
It was nice just bumming around with her.
And I found out she's very crafty - like me.
love love love this little tidbit.

Love that we only have to travel 3 hours to get back to my home town.
It soooo beats the 12 hour drive we used to have to make from Omaha.

We celebrated my sister's 40th birthday.
A surprise "Look Who's Turning Awesome" party.
Lots of fun!  And boy was she surprised!  Love it!

 Christmas Eve mass with the family.
Love the comfort that the (mostly) familiar brings.
Love that Joy to the World!

Christmas Eve festivities at my sister and brother in law's home.
Family, friends, YUMMY food, and very thoughtful gifts.
(More on one very special gift later)

 
Christmas morning at Mom and Dad's.

Up soooo early to open those gifts.
Such excitement!!
Wondering if Santa's made his visit yet and if so what he might have left.
Again with really thoughtful gifts!

A scrumptious Christmas feast - eating too much!
A little after dinner napping.
A little dancing with the XBox - oh the laughs.
Mom, Carol, Jo - you rock those dance moves!!!

And that oh so fun game of Quelf.
Have you heard of this?
Definitely a fun one - would be worth the purchase. 

Goodbye Christmas 2011!

It was a good one!
A very very good one!

Lucky Lucky Me

This post is a tad overdue but still filled with as much happiness as November 16th.  :)

Happiness???  What kind of happiness you say?  

Well on Novemeber 16th I won an ORIGINAL painting 

by the extremely talented Mae Chevrette.

This exact piece named Home:

 

Isn't it just gorgeous!!!???!!!

I could not believe my luck!  I ADORE Mae's work.

I have this print in my studio:

and it makes me smile every time I look at/read it.

These prints are on my wish list:

To Be Brave

Heat and Intuition

 

Find the Beautiful

Isn't her work just wonderful???  They would make such terrific Christmas gifts!!

And I just noticed she is having an awesome sale!

Perfect!!!

A HUGE thank you to Mae for the gift of this original piece of art work!  

I truly truly love it!!!

Hello Monday...

Hello real pine wreath - oh how I love that you fragrance the entry way...

Hello frigid winter temperatures! 4 degrees is COLD!

Hello 1000 piece puzzle - will we ever finish you?

Hello Santa...our only Christmas decoration indoors.

Hello Bridges of Madison County - oh how I love watching you!!  :)

Hello Christmas playlist - you sound so lovely!

Hello Christmas paper crafts...I so enjoy our time together!

Hello Boden box - thank you for bringing me such a sweet Christmas outfit.

Hello Monday of this week - fun things happens this week.  X-Man's birthday comes on Wednesday and on Saturday our sweet Macey comes home!!  What a treat!

Thanks to my friend Lee for posting her Hello Monday's!  And to Lisa for inspiring her!  :)

All I Want for Christmas is....

...for my hubs to help me relocate my studio from the basement to our main floor!
And I told him so this morning!!

A bribe of no shopping for Christmas is HUGE!  Right?

Asking for help has not brought my studio up those stairs yet.  

I'd TOTALLY do it myself if I could drag those tables and bookshelves up the stairs all alone.

That might not be advisable?!?!

So here's the story...I have a WONDERFUL studio in our basement.  

A great space...but I HATE HATE HATE working down in the basement all by myself.  

LAME I know.  But I just do...so guess what???  I don't go down there unless I have a deadline.  

Which could be why I am not paper crafting or playing with clay or scrapbooking!?!?! 

I miss my old studio and all the creativity that happened in there!!!

 Now if I had no other option I wouldn't even think about complaining.

I would just be over the moon that I had such a wonderful space all to my own!!!!  

BUT....we have a formal living room that NOBODY ever goes in.

A TOTAL wasted space...on the main floor...right off my kitchen!!!
It's pretty and warm and sunny.
A perfect place to create....

SO there ya have it...

Think I'll get my gift early?  Like maybe this weekend??

Or maybe when Macey gets here she can help me....

:)

in that case...

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is...

 (source Home Decorators)

A NICE BIG ARMOIRE

to hide all of my studio supplies!!

:) he he he (:

Changing...

I need direction.  Here on the blog, creatively, emotionally....all of it....needs direction.  Which is OK - that's not a bad thing - moving makes things topsy turvy and I just need to find my new way.

I haven't created anything other than jewelry and a mug(which was awesome) since we moved.....and that my friends is insanity.  Not a single scrapbook page, not a card, no painting!!  It's no wonder I feel off.  I need creativity to feel normal...many types of creativity...having creative time keeps me centered....makes me not so crabby crazy!!!  Of course jewelry design is creative but it is also my job...I want to create a canvas, or a scrapbook page, of play with clay and write fantastic blog posts.

So wanting the easiest way back in I did a little searching for creativity and blog/writing prompts...
Just what I needed!!!  Over at the Creativity Portal -I found the Imagination Prompt Generator.
And the prompt that pops up could not be more perfect:

What is changing in your life right now?

ALOT!!!  We wanted so badly to move back closer to family and the mountains where we could once again live that outdoorsy lifestyle that we love but that doesn't mean that everything about this move is or has been easy.   Change can be difficult - even when it's good!  Right???  We are just rolling with it...finding our way.

Changes:

1)  I get to see wide open spaces daily - from my deck!  How awesome is that?

2)  Steve works long long hours and if often preoccupied with work.  He's finding his way...hopefully this evens out soon. 

3)  Hockey keeps the boys busier than they have ever been with anything!!  They are learning hard work and dedication and what it's like to really be part of a team.

4)  Not much interaction with friends or even much adult conversation day to day.  I really need to get out more - more time at the AVA, I would really love to join a yoga class and a running group!!  And I would love love love to find a scrapbooking group please?!?!  And while we are at it how about a bunco's group???  :) 

5)  More time to create - now I just need to get busy.

6)  I'm the only girl in the house.  Sadie does not count.  Thank goodness for facebook, texting and cell phones for staying close and connected to my girl. 

7)  My boys get to hunt again.  Did you see those bucks???  Awesome! 

8)  Xander's having a hard time making good friends.  Poor little guy - it really does break my heart.  Kids are a lot different here than what he is used to in Omaha but I have no doubt good friends are here it will just take a little more time. 

9)  We get to see family often.  We have traveled more in the 6 months we have been here than in a whole year living in Omaha.  Love being able to get away!

10)  I don't get to see Macey on a daily basis.  Refer back to number 6!!!  :)

11)  I am only about 90 minutes away from terrific friends (old and new).  This makes me happy!
 
12)  No driveway get-togethers with the neighbors - boy I miss that!!!  We had awesome neighbors in Omaha and we really miss them - it's was so nice for to be able to get together impromptu and all the kids had just as much fun playing outside right along side us!!

13)  Star Hitched Wagon™ is growing!!  No shows for over fours years and I have done three since August!  Fun fun fun!!  Not to mention a new wholesale account!  Which I love! 


The good and the bad....some of these will go away...some will not...this list will "change" because we are always changing.  I am thankful for being here I just need to find my groove - my creative groove and a good group of friends!!  :)  I look forward to just how great it will be.  And it will be because:

:)  he he he

How about you?  What's changing for you???

Successful Hunting Season

So proud of my boys!!  Check out these bucks!

This was Triple C's first year hunting and he was one LUCKY kiddo!!!! 

Next day Steve had awesome luck too!!!

Steve hasn't been hunting for the past four years - since we moved to Nebraska.  Every fall he missed it terribly - now that we are back in Wyoming things will be different - something that these boys are excited about - lots of public land out here in Wyoming. 
This year though - Steve lucked out by FINALLY drawing that Montana tag - so needless to say he was thrilled for the weekends that he could make it work - which with Connor's hockey schedule wasn't looking easy - but they got a couple weekends squeezed in and this one brought success!!

Now our freezer will be FULL!!!  If you are in the family expect some gifts of summer sausage cause it might be coming out our ears!!!

Stay tuned for pics of their European mounts that will be adorning out walls very soon!!

Chronicles of a new hockey mom.....

...so let me start out by stating the obvious....I know very little about hockey...the rules, the proper  etiquette....for the players, for the mom, the dads, the fans....etc. 
I am a hockey mom for one....let's make that two....very simple reasons....because my boys want to be hockey players!!!  That's it...for them not me!  Not me at all!!!  Not ever!
I will learn the ropes as they do...but there are certain things I will NEVER become...I will never become that crazy mother who yells at other players because I feel my son has been roughed up unnecessarily!  NOT EVER!!!  Sure I may get mad - in fact I am very certain of it...I will cringe and have second thoughts about letting the boys play hockey....probably over and over again...but they love it and I  love that about them!!!  And I will learn to love hockey for them.  HOWEVER, I will not become a crazy abusive mother who yells at another woman's child!  Especially not at practice.  NOT EVER!!!  It's just scary!  Bullying is a bad thing....for children and especially for parents. 

Way to go boys!  I'm proud of you!  Skate hard, really hard.  Listen to the tips your given.  Give 110%!  ALWAYS!!!  Prove that you want it and you will get better and better!

And now to add a little humor and perspective - and a good reminder for me:

(taken from John Buccigross)

Hockey is an emotional game and your child has the attention span of a chipmunk on NyQuil. The hockey coach will yell a bit during practice; he might even yell at your precious little Sparky. As long as there is teaching involved and not humiliation, it will be good for your child to be taught the right way, with emphasis.

Hmmm.....

...think I might be able to blog on a regular basis???  I so would like to...seriously as absurd as it may sound I blog in my head ALL.THE.TIME!!!!  I am not even kidding...I have great topics, great thoughts, pearls of wisdom ;)....but then I never sit down to really blog it out.  But I will someday...maybe today, maybe tomorrow....maybe next week.  Because I am so not ready to give up blogging.  I love the process, and who knows maybe one of my posts will inspire someone, make someone laugh, or give them a thought to ponder....just maybe.
Today I am sitting here enjoying being lazy...thinking about hopping on the elliptical...but really thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for.  Of course it's the trend right now because it's that time of year - but can you thinking of a better trend???  A better thing to be a bandwagon-er for???  It's a good thing - whether your the first person aboard or the last...remembering how blessed we truly are is a good thing.

 So for today's blog post I will post 6 things I am truly thankful for.

1)  Thankful for a beautiful family!

2)  Thankful for hubby making all his connecting flights and for his safe trip home.

3)  Thankful for my hubby spending a day working at home.

4)  Thankful for a reality check - maybe I'm too addicted to my cell phone - it's time to update the address/phone book.

5)  Thankful for good coaches which in turn make Xander LOVE hockey while he is learning his way!

6)  Thankful for heat and a nice home to stay cozy in on this cold day.

More to come of course....but what are you thankful for today???