swirling

This has been a super busy week.  School shopping, crafting, and enjoying the last few days of summer vacation before school offocially begins again next week.  (can you believe it?)  Hobby Lobby started me off by putting out their halloween goodies...which led to me checking the blogs/etsy/craft sites for fun halloween stuff to make...which led to lots of crafting!  My mind is swirling with all that I want to do....and much like my normal self, I have to step back, make a list, and really prioritize what my goals are!  So here's my to do list:

1.   halloween trifold albums and mini albums...to completion!!!
2.  plan siimple craft ideas for Peanut Festival
3.  find out how to vendor at Brooklet Peanut Festival!
4.  chicken coop!
5.  school involvement
6.  check on line for fall festivals
7.  plan for house closing!!
8.  decide which on line school i am going to attend!  (yeh!)

We had someone come and take a look at doing our deck and patio...that will be a GO! as soon as we close.  I can't tell you  how much closing on our house will do for us.  All the dreams I have been planning may finally come to fruition...so exciting!  All our plans for this house...finally! 

this week though, may have been busy, but it was a homey sort of week.  Close to home, enjoying the kids, and we even had a full day of soggy/boggy rain!  yeh!  I'm sad that my garden didn't work out this year, but with a few tools and a better plan, i hope to come back better nexxt year.  Believe me the temptation to plant a fall garden is so with me, but it's probably better to hold off until I am better prepared. 

So looking forward to the fall...even though it's only August we are heading into...that would still be summer in PA!  School starting definitely makes me want to bake apple pie, make a scarecrow and visit a pumpkin patch! 

did i mention i love my life?  lol...it feels good to finally feel, well, good!

blessings!

sue

summer storm water fun

This is not a pond my friends.  It's my side yard after a super huge

summer thunderstorm came up last week. 

(dont' ask me why emma is wearing a winter coat either!)

The kids had a blast mucking around in it, and it was funny to watch the swirling vortex of rainwater going down the small drainpipe that leads to the pond.

nothing like playing in the water after a rainstorm!

sue

i made this!

I had this leftover checkerboard that had seen better days

 so i decided to transform it into something else.

I dug through my fabric stash and found this pretty yellow and red floral pattern

fabric that I just love.

a little bit of batting, some industrial staples, and some bias tape gave me this!

I added a few buttons at the criss crosses and hung it in my craft room.

Cute, huh?  Lots of room to stash little pieces of this and that.

what did you transform today?

blessings....sue

i love this pinterist!

isn't it so true?  well, maybe not kill it, but put doubt in the mind of the dreamholder? 

I think we all could use a dose of positivity and encouragement. 

Remember...it's much easier to lift someone up than it is to put them down :)

And the rewards are greater for everyone involved.

So, if you meet someone today with a dream, encourage them and wish them well.

Even better, offer to help them make it come true through your advice, wisdom or help.

There's a dreamer in all of us.

Make one step in a positive direction today

and start making your dream (whatever it may be) come true.

blessings

sue

ps i found this pinterest via http://stephaniehowell.typepad.com/my_weblog/

waiting...

still here...waiting...camera's still broke, hoping to get a new one on Friday....ook a total me day on Monday and got a little crafty...thinking about halloween (ha!)....praying that the house settlement goes on without a hitch...searching for contractors to build our deck and pool (so many!)...missing friends and family...excited about a new venture I will be off on in august....and just enjoying the kids during their final two weeks before school starts...

....what have you been up to?

blessings
sue

time out

Please hang on for a temporary hiatus in my blogging!  My camera is dead (screen went kaflooey) and we had company over the past week.  Haven't had much time to get my thoughts together in my head or on a computer screen.  Hopefully I will be up and running with lots of new stuff going on (and maybe a new blog dedicated specifically to crafting ...whoopee!) by the end of next week or so. 

We are also busy planning for the kids back to school (1 days and counting) and can you say HALLELUJAH!!  we have an agreement of sale on our house in PA!!  Hopefully closing by August 19th and then we are sitting pretty!  Thanks to God for helping us through and bringing us a buyer after 3 long months on the market.  I know that's a short time given the current economy but when you are holding two mortgages it seems like forever!  Once we are out under the burden of our former home, all the dreams i have for our life here will hopefully fall into place.  I'd love for you to be able to share them with us and watch the fun unfold!

C u soon!!

Sue

it's all about family

...i've been absent from my little bloggie posts this week for good reason~  My mom in law and father in law have been visiting with us since Saturday afternoon!  We've had fun, enjoyed the fireworks at Mill Creek Park and just hung out and enjoyed each other's company.  I'll be back tomorrow with some pics of our week.....
....my husband is being a PIA right now and keeping from this post as well!!!!

bless you all!

sue 

moving onto simple

Library day yesterday found me picking up a book by Elaine St. James titled "living the simple life".  Now I am pretty sure I read it before, but it's a good read and reminds me of why I am traveling this path I am on.  Some days it's hard, some days I lose focus so I need some grounding.  This book was just it for me.  I guess I felt like i was getting no where so I needed some confirmation that I was going in the right direction.  I made list of things I have done over the past few months to simplify my life.  Then I made another short list of what means the most to me...things I really need to simplify in order to get to my end goal of well, having more free time for me, the kids, and things that are important to me. 

things I've simplified:
     *stopped buying bodywash and use only bar soap  {sounds silly, but I was buying like 3 different kinds every week!}
     *decreased our DirecTV to the least possible channels {now this came after I completely disconnected it, but then felt bad for my 17 year old, and didn't want him to think that it was only done for financial reasons}
     *meal plans
     *buy less processed/more fresh food-easy cause you can eat it plain...less mess, less fuss!
     *massive cleanout of stuff due to the move
     *buying recycled/repurposed household items....God bless Goodwill!
     *very concious of our electric usage...shut off the lights!!
     *budget friendly activites for the kids:  we swim, we go to library, hunt for free stuff to do
    * pizza is usually our only take out meal...usually on a Friday
     *shopping hiatus except for necessities....i have also really put a hold on quick purchases, I don't buy them go home and think about whether I really need it.  I also have a list of large ticket items I want to purchase for the house.
     *got rid of our landline phone
    * only creative, wood toys...no electronic/plastic
     *using homemade cleaning products instead of store bought one's...soap and water/vinegar/peroxide
     *baking from scratch

now some of these items I slip up on, other's I don't.   Some of them take some forethought...like the baking from scratch thing...you need to stock up your pantry for this, but in the long run it works out and as a bonus, you can teach your kids to cook!  Probably the biggest thing I've accomplished it to stop impulse buying and really look at what I bring into my home.  Is it useful, will I keep it, will I maintain it?  I've stopped buying quantity, more quality. 

My next major goals in simplifying have to do with my housework, my job and my commute.  All of these things seem to clutter up my time and take away from what I really want to focus on and that is my family.  I want to be able to spend more quality time with my kids, maybe homeschool and be less stressed out and more fun to be around.  I'd also love to get more involved in my papercraftinghobby and maybe take off on a business with it.  We'll see.

So what have you done to simplify your life?