Goodbye 2011

Well, I finally remembered I have a blog and that I should probably post something to round out this horrible year we call 2011. This has been one of the most trying years financially for my family but I am thrilled to say we came through it and are so looking forwarding to 2012. So, with good New Years Eve fashion, here are my new years resolutions for 2012...

1) Start a savings account. We have always talked about it but never did it. After this year, we need one for lifes emergencies.

2) Make smarter financial decisions.

3) Take a real family vacation.

4) Finish all my projects that are half way done.

5) Send birthday cards to all the nieces and nephews to let them know we still love them :)  This one is a long story and maybe one day I will share.

6) Lose weight and stick to a healthy lifestyle change instead of going with the fad or quick fix. I started Weight Watchers online to help me with this and Im very excited and proud that I commited to something.

7) Have regular family movie/game nights.

Ok well thats my list. My fingers are crossed that I will accomplish all that I have put in writing.

Until next time....  :)

Its finally done!

So I bought this awesome dresser a few weeks ago for my bedroom. It was bigger than what I had, made of good solid wood but it was very blah. (sorry no before pics but my husband started before I could get home and get a picture) So it was sanded and painted and I got some cool awesome antique knobs from Etsy and this is how it turned out...

I love it!! I took a chance on the whole color thing but I think it turned out awesome. Now on to the next project...the pet bed. Until next time...

Linking up to The Sundae Scoop, Miss Mustard Seed, Southern Lovely, At the Picket Fence, Delightful Order

Latest sewing obsession

So I pretty much have my craft area finally set up (picture to come soon) so I needed something to sew since my fingers have been itching to do something for a while. I had ordered some key fob hardware from Etsy a few weeks back and thought that should be easy and quick...and boy was it! I ordered some different types of ribbon and had so much fun trying to decided what ribbon to put with what color. Of course I had to do a UT one for the hubs...

And then I had to support my town with a Portland Panthers one...

(yes I have a strange addiction to Diet Dr Pepper...dont judge lol)
And then I got a little carried away and went a little crazy...

I love them all...I might have to make holiday ones :) My dresser redo is almost done so hopefully I will have a post on it tomorrow so stay tuned for the reveal! Until then....

Linking this to Between Naps on the Porch, Becolorful, Southern Lovely

Its Football time in Tennessee!

Yes! Its finally here! FOOTBALL SEASON! I love this time of year...saturdays spent watching the Vols play, curled up in my chair with my UT blanket and my laptop, with a big pot of chili simmering on the stove, and the smell of my fall smelling scentsy block in the air. Life cant get much better than that :) So Im doing some projects right now but I had time to work in a wreath to support my favorite team...

Its just a simple ribbon wreath but I love it. Now if I can decide what kind of wreath to make for October lol Until next time...
Posting this to http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/09/fall-frenzy-link-party.html and http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/09/beach-front-condo-renovation-part-ii.html#more
Sugar Bee Crafts, A Little Knick Knack, Southern Lovely, At The Picket Fence

Im back!

Hey guys! Long time, no talk :) So sorry I have been MIA for a while. Things have been kinda crazy. With all the changes going on, I feel like Ive just been playing house instead of actually living it. I thought it would be fun to be this great stay at home mom but real life says I cant do that. So, I finally came out of the fog and know what I have to do. I have to get a full time job. I have to for my family to survive and for us to have the things we want in life. I feel like Ive just been floating along and not facing reality. Well, Im here facing it head on and Im ready to take the bulls by the horn! I need to get things back to normal. I need to get our finances back in order. I need to blog more :) I need to get my house back in order. I need to finish my page long of projects. Im saying this to all you so yall can hold me accountable. So hang in there with me...the fun is just beginning! Until next time.... :)

Happy 4th of July

We have a weekend full of cookouts so I wanted to talk some time to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July holiday! I will leave you with my wreath that I made today. I recycled the lima bean wreath and painted it red. I added some blue and white felt rosettes and tied it all together with some polka dot ribbon. Until next time...

Another one bites the dust!

I was able to knock out another project today! Its for my handmade gift exchange...

Its a jewelry holder made out of a picture frame, chicken wire and some cup hooks. The rosettes were from a scrap box of fabric I got at work. What do you think?? I hope my Utah girl likes it :) Until next time...

Finally making some progress!

Hey guys...so I was able to get some painting done before the storms rolled in. Im loving this new job of mine and here is the reason why...I got this beauty for next to nothing

Now I have no space in my house for something this size but I could not pass up that frame! My friend Keyana had been wanting a chalkboard in her new home so I got to work. Here is how it came out

Pretty snazzy right?!?! I so wish I could keep it but I have tons of other projects that are started and I need to finish. Until next time...





Pain pain go away!

Hey peeps in blogland! So sorry I havent posted my many awesome projects but there is a reason for that...cause I havent gotten a chance to do them yet. So many of you know I started a new part time job last week. Love the job! Its so awesome and Im getting major deals on some awesome stuff. The downside...my feet are killing me!! I have had a desk job since I was 17 and have never done any type of manuel labor type work. Well, being on my feet for almost 8 hours straight on concrete is seriously making me come home and cry every night. I finally got some new shoes last night so hopefully I will see a difference soon. Because the pain is so bad, I come home and do nothing. I cant walk so therefore I cant cook dinner or clean or do my projects. This makes me sound like a really lazy person but for real people, I cant walk! lol I did do some clothes tonight and made dinner but now I have to find the strength to go clean the kitchen :) I have Thursday and Friday off and only have to work half day on Saturday so Im hoping to get lots of stuff done. I finally decided on what Im doing for my Handmade Gift Exchange so Im ready to get the ball rolling and get my body back to normal. Until next time...

Back to work I go

I got the job at Portland Cares! Im so excited because these means I can scope out all the cool stuff that comes in for awesome projects :) Its only part time and its here in town so I can still be a semi-stay at home mom. On a different note, did you know that Classico spaghetti/alfredo sauces comes in a mason jar?? Will I just found out last week when I was making chicken alfredo. Its not my normal sauce but it was on the buy 1 get 1 free sale at Publix. Anyway, I emptied the sauce and noticed it said Atlas Mason on two of the sides. It doesnt have the mason lid but a lid is a lid so I decided to turn it into a soap dispenser....

I painted the lid red to match my kitchen and used a pump from an old soap that was empty. I thought about painting the jar but I thought I would be creative and fill it with colored soap so I hope I can find some aqua color or green :) Now on to the next project. Until next time....

Projects Galore!

Hey guys! Well the crafting bug has bit again and I have about 10 different projects Im hoping to get done here in the next week or two. Just wanted to share the first one I finished up tonight. We had a TV cabinet in our living room and we recently won a 42 inch flat screen TV that would not fit in the cabinet. So, my husband being the man that he is just took off the top part of the cabinet and it became a TV stand. I loved this idea but did not love the holes that it left. This is what it looked like after my husband sanded it down for me...

So I got out my trusting can of Mod Podge and got to work with some scrapbook paper I picked up at Hobby Lobby the other day. And this is how it turned out...

I went with a black and creme so the black would pick up the color of the hardware on the cabinet. Dont you love this pattern?

Well stay tuned for more because Im sure I will have a post every day :) Until next time...
I am linking this up to Metamorphosis Monday, Thrifty Decor Chick, House of Grace and The Sundae Scoop

whoop whoop

Just wanted to let everyone know that I a couple of my wreaths were featured on the Liz Marie Blog. I am so excited. Go check it out...
http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2011/06/eclectic-wreaths-featuring-you.html

What a day!

Well today was the day..Jake had his surgery this morning and after being there for 10 hours, we are finally home. It was so much better than last time and even though he had a tough time afterwards, he is doing way better than before. Im so proud of him. So now comes the hard part...recovery! Pretty much he can do nothing all summer. Im sure he hates having to be told he can only play video games :) I am exhausted and relieved. On a side note, I came across a blog that is hosting a Homemade Gift Exchange and anyone can partricipate. Head on over to Craftaholics Anonymous and sign up

<a href="http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/05/handmade-gift-exchange-sign-ups.html"><img src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums

Until next time....

Summer break is here!

The day I have been dreading and anticipating for so long is finally here. The last day of school! lol Jack had a fantastic program with his montessori school. We got to watch preschool kids do the tango! It was too cute and super adorable. So now I will have both boys home with me for 2 1/2 months...not that Im counting or anything. Im really excited because this is the first summer I have been able to stay home with them and I have tons of activities and craft projects planned to keep them super busy. Next week is Jakes surgery so once I get passed that, it should be smooth sailing. I cannot wait to get some projects done around the house. Here is the latest wreath I have hanging on my front door...

Is that not the cutest??? Its made from lima beans!! and I got to use my new cordless glue gun I got for Mothers Day. Well I am off to break up a fight :) Until next time...

What a crazy month!

I just realized I havent blogged in a few weeks. So sorry to neglect all of my loyal followers lol This month has been super crazy. Not only is it my birthday, but it is also my husbands, and mothers day and memorial day and the last month of school. Yay for summer! This will be the first summer I will get to spend with the kids. Please pray for me lol I have lots of activities planned but first I must get through Jakes surgery. I cannot believe it will be next week. Seems like we have been waiting forever for it to get here. Im sure things will go safely but its my baby and you know how we moms worry. As for the 30 day challenge, Im sticking to it for the most part. I did have a couple of set backs but I am back on track and I hope to finish out the month strong. Until next time...

Growing Up in the South

So today I got to eat lunch with my cousin who now lives in LA. We only get to see him a couple of times a year so I was so glad to hear that he wanted to eat lunch with us while he was passing thru. He had two friends with him and one was born and raised in California. She was so facinated with everything in Tennessee. As we were eating our very southern lunch, we got to talking about the cicadas that are coming to visit this year. She had never heard of these bugs and was excited to learn about them. That then got us talking about other summer things which she had never heard of. For example, she had no clue what a lightning bug was, how to creek stomp and catch crawdads, never sucked honeysuckle off a vine or ate at a Krystals. I guess growing up here, I tend to overlook how lucky I am to have been able to grow up and now raise my kids in this awesome place we call The South. I now look forward to poking some holes in a mason jar and have Jack catch his own lightning bugs this summer. And I will have to role up the pants legs and get in the creek to help Jake build a dam :) Until next time....

30 Day Challenge

So I had alot of running around to do today in the rain. Jake got his braces off, got his haircut, then had to get some moss letters done. So during all this, I stopped to grab some lunch at McDonalds and it was great...until I was done and then I felt miserable. It got me thinking of all the processed foods and calories and the saying "you are what you eat" So I text my bff Jessica and told her about my 30 day challenge and now I want to offer the challenge to you guys...Starting May 1st, for 30 days, NO FAST FOOD. This was such a huge challenge that Jessica had to call me several times to see if pizza was the same as fast food lol Im just sick of feeling gross. If you are up to it, weigh yourself the morning of May 1st and write it down. Plan menus and grocery shop for a couple of weeks to make sure you have everything you need and wont be tempted to eat out. Resturants are okay and we determined pizza was ok but other than that, FAST FOOD IS OFF LIMITS. I cant wait to feel better and look leaner :) Until next time...

April Showers bring May Flowers :)

Hey guys..hope everyone had a Happy Easter! We had a great time with family but these storms are getting on my nerves. May 1st is around the corner so I better see some flowers and none of this rain. I think after the Nashville floods, us Tennesseans are a little afraid of rainfall..especially when it lasts 3 days. On a happy note, me and Jessica are having so much fun with Two Mother Hens. We are creating some fun things we have wanted to do and I think our kids will have enough applique shirts to last them a lifetime lol. I have also tried to get some things done here in the house. I have been lusting over some bathroom art from The Land of Nod but in no way could be paying the prices. So with my new cricut, I created this...

Isnt it the cutest! Cant wait to hang it in my boys bathroom. I am having a blast with the cricut. Not sure what I did with my life before it lol Well, Im off to make more stuff. Until next time...

And the winner is....

Well guys, I did it! After much research and pricing and more research and talks with Jessica's mom, I made the choice and craigslist came to the rescue. I decided to get a Jenome brand sewing machine and wouldnt you know that an ad popped up for one in my area for a really good price. So I got it. Meet my very first sewing machine...

Isn't it the cutest??? Im so excited to start helping with the sewing projects at Two Mother Hens. Ive also fallen in love with all the different patterns of fabrics. I swear I would have 500 throw pillows in my house if my husband would let me. lol I will post a picture of my firsts completed project :) Until next time...

Rosettes and Wreaths

Happy Thursday! This week has been super crazy busy trying to get things up and going with Two Mother Hens. I cant begin to thank everyone for their support and the orders are starting to pour in. whoop whoop I finally have a reason to make wreaths and rosettes. I love rosettes. I made one for a moss letter and now Im addicted. I have made a headband and I want to make some hair clips and some for a picture frame. I even included them on this cute argyle wreath I made...

Isnt that the cutest?!?!?! In the mean time, Im counting down the days until the kids get out of school. Im so ready for day trips and playdates. But with summer also comes Jake's surgery. I know things will go well so please keep him in your prayers. Until next time...

New Adventures

Well I am on my second week of being a stay at home mom and I love it! People say I will get bored but right now Im just enjoying my freedom. I started talking to a dear friend of mine and have decided to start making some kids applique and monogrammed type clothes. Not sure where it will take us but we are excited and it keeps us busy. Im looking forward to making some throw pillows for each room of the house :) We even have some office space to spread out and get busy creating so Im super excited to see what all we do. Of course I will post pics! I hear its suppose to be sunny this weekend which is a good thing because I have tons to spray paint. I have so many projects to finish and the weather has not been nice. I also need to get out in my yard and become one with the weeds. Anyone is free to join me :) Now Im going back to Etsy to find more applique designs for our shirts. Stay tuned for the facebook page and let me know if you need anything lol Until next time...

Changes

So...where to begin? My husband finally got a job!! He started Monday with orientation and begins the night shift tomorrow night. Kinda weird having the kids all by myself at night but Im a pro so I can handle it. On a different note, I lost my job Monday. Im ok with this. Its been a long time coming. Trying to decide to go for some jobs or just take my unemployment and have the summer off with the kids??? What would you do? lol Jake does have surgery June 1st so I may just take the unemployment unless something awesome comes up.

Me and my wonderful neighbor went to a rumage sale and a couple of flea markets/thrift store type places last Saturday. We had so much fun and got lots of good deals. We discovered this place called Grumpy Girl thats located off the square in Franklin KY. They have a website so you must check it out for all you non local people. They make everything homemade from scratch with good stuff and not nasty chemicals. The lady who started it cracks me up. She has funny names for the scents like junk in the trunk or hot tranny mess lol But the scents are fantastic. My neighbor got the Arh Carumba which smells just like a margarita in a bar of soap. It has natural salt in it to help exfoliate your skin. I have a Scentsy burner so I got some of her wax melts and let me just say the Vanilla Plum really makes you want to slap somebody it smells so good. My whole house is smelling so yummy...which could be another reason I may take unemployment lol Anyway, they have soap, shower gel, these awesome bath bombs including the cupcake bomb...you name it, they have it. and no, she didnt pay me to say these things :)

So my wonderful husband finally finished my menu board and this is the wonderful result...

My next two projects will be the mail/key area and the dreaded horrible breaker box :) Until then...

St Pattys Day :)

Happy St Patricks Day!! I love that everyone celebrates my heritage and I hope you wore green today :)

It was so beautiful today! I love that spring is finally coming to town. We started walking on our break at work and soaking in all the sun. When I got home, it was so nice outside that we took a family stroll around the neighborhood...even Lillie the wonder pup.

So for those of you that dont know, we recently moved our 4 year old to montessori school. Well, the transition is not going so great. He was great the first two weeks but this week has been a nightmare. Im afraid they are going to kick him out for bad behavior. How great of a mom would I look if my kid got kicked out of preschool??? Im hoping the time change has what brought his attitude out and he just needs this week to adjust. Lets keep our fingers crossed. Besides, how can you get mad at this face??

I promise he gets the attitude from his father :)

Great news...the hubster finally got a job!!! Im so excited to finally not have all the bills on my shoulders! And he will be getting paid more and its closer to home. Jesus does answer prayers :) With the new job, he will have to work nights but its only for 4 nights and he will get Fri-Sun off. That means I need to get back in the routine of prepping everything the night before. *sigh* lol But Im really excited for him and more excited about being able to shop again lol Until next time....

Jersey Shore

Ok so I know Im 32 years old but yes I love the show The Jersey Show. Maybe because its so silly and stupid that it makes me appreciate my life more. Who knows. What I do know is that I love watching it. We didnt start watching it until this season so we had to DVR all the past seasons to catch up. And before you ask, yes I am following them all on twitter lol Make fun of me if you will but its my guilty pleasure :)

On another note, my menu board should be done tomorrow...YAY! And Im almost decided on what to do with the hideous breaker box. My order from Uppercase Living came today so I got to go crazy and put up some super cute expressions in my bedroom...whoop whoop.

So I leave you with this, my most adorable pups Lillie is the only girl I will ever have, but I think shes been around the boys too much. This is what she looked like when she came back in from pottying last night.

Now how am I suppose to snuggle with that??? :) Until next time....

Day One

So I have a huge list of blogs that I follow and decided that I should start my own. Not sure how this will all go but I will give it a try. Right now Im waiting on my husband to finish the wood for my new menu board to go on my pantry door. Starting last week, I decided that we spend too much money eating out and its making us sick. After reading other blogs, I created a menu for two weeks, made a shopping list based on the menu and I have to say, we are sticking to it! yay :) I will most pics when the menu board is done. So I need some suggestions...I have this ugly breaker box in my laundry room.....

Not really sure what to do with it. I thought about covering it with scrapbook paper or maybe spraying painting it with chalboard paint to make a memo area or using it to display my kids school work they come home with..what do you think? what would you do with it? Until next time.....