Woodworking

I *Love* woodworking.  I am a follower of 'Not JUST a Housewife' it's a DIY blog that features links to cool blog posts from other DIY-er's.  While reading through back posts, I came across the bloggers instructions for making a simple side table.  I thought to myself  "Hmmm, I could do that!" and so I did.  I borrowed tools from Chris's dad and I set to task.  I had to go to the Menards and purchase supplies.  That was very nerve-wracking as I wasn't sure what I was doing.  But Chris came along to help give me direction - but stood back and let me do it myself!  (How else am I going to learn!)  After a short tutorial on how to run the power tools (My dad was a woodworker so I have a basic idea!) I set to work. 

Here I am sanding my table after we put it together. Now I have to be honest; I was a little (a lot) scared. But I love learning new skills and when I was finished I felt so empowered. Chris grabbed a shot with his cell phone. Look at my cheesey grin. I was so relieved that the table didn't wobble.




The table turned out fabulous.  I was going for a worn, barnwood look.  I stained the top and then I sanded the middle to make it look worn.  The next couple of coats I did around the edges and I used a wadded up paper towel and I went around the edges in a circular pattren.  I wanted to slowly fade it into the darker outside edges ...

If anybody tries their hand at making this table - please be sure to send me pictures. =)

Sunny Summer Blessings ...

Jaden's Band Concert

Jaden's First Band Concert

It was a scary decision to let Jaden's be in the band.  He is disorganized and he has a hard time following through on various aspects of his life.  When he brought home the band permission sheet, I was apprehensive.  Jaden decided that he was going to play the French horn.  I think he liked this particular horn because it's big and loud and rather obnoxious looking.  He has become rather fond of his horn and he's nick-named him "horny," 

We were getting ready for his first band concert.  I have to be honest, I was very nervous.  (After all, I had heard him practicing.)  Jaden choose to do a solo.  The song chosen for his debut: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  I must say - I was very impressed.  Bravo Jaden, Bravo!!!


"Even a SMALL star SHINES in the darkness." ~ Finnish Proverb

Sent from my HTC EVO on the Now Network from Sprint!

Welcome Home!

We moved into this big beauty in December.  It's 5 bedroom and 3 bath.  The kids still have to share but it's not like before where we had all 4 boys sharing one bedroom with 2 sets of bunk beds.  We had spent 3 years crammed into a 3 bedroom twinhome.  It's amazing to have space.  The kids really enjoy it too.



Here is our backyard.  There is probably twice as much snow back there now.  We've had a series of blizzards that have made life a ... difficult.  But it's the price we pay for no spiders, snakes, centipedes -- any sort of poisonous creepy crawly.  In our backyard there is a built in fire pit and a coy pond.  The trees provide a lot of shade and there is a sweet flower garden back there too.

and LOOK...  I have a window over my sink.  In the twinhome it was just a hole in the wall where a pretend window could fit.  I am the mother of 6 children - I spend ALOT of time at the sink...

One True Poem From A Housewife: an Excerpt

Posted By: Head Yenta http://www.yoyenta.com/

This morning all I ask; is a wee bit a wisdom before my tasks.
The laundry, the dishes, my children’s needs and wishes.
The packing, the stacking, the order of the house is lacking.
I stand in an old, old house that slopes in the kitchen,
And I reckon the heart of any home is in that dip in front of the sink.
It’s enough to drive me to drink - to think of some other woman who stood here before; Growing old on this here slanted floor.







Stay Warm.

Charm Kits

Do you ever have one of those days when things just aren't going right?  I do all the time.  To help myself and others ask the universe for help, I created Charm Kits. 

Charm Kits are available in a variety of styles (Friendship, Love, Prosperity, Wish...). You can order directly through me or you can order through my ETSY store.  I am always willing to do special orders.  Email me with your circumstances and I will do my best to make a charm kit for you!



I was getting ready to take Gabrielle to school and I went outside to start the car.  It's -34 with wind chill right now.  I need to do a charm kit to help us ease through winter and all the season's demands!!!

Happy 2010!

Happy 2010!  I am so excited for the New Year.  Time for a fresh slate and start things anew.  We had a few friends over and enjoyed each others company as we rung in the New Year (while watching "The Weather Channel").

Jamie, Sara and Chris.  We had so much fun playing board games...

 

Jodi and Gabe's work buddy, Augi

The boys curled in our bed.  Poor Gabrielle - she was up past her bedtime!







We rang in the New Year with kisses for our sweeties and goals for the next year.

Comfort Beads

What a busy holiday season!  I hope eveyone is well.  We survived with the usual amount of casualties (ham, turkey, wrapping paper...). I've been busy this holiday season designing, packaging, and consigning Comfort beads.  I even went so far as to set up an ETSY shop.  I am so excited as I received my first special order this afternoon.  I wanted to share a couple of examples of my handiwork.   

Comfort Beads are a set of beads used for Comfort, Prayer or Meditation. I have carefully selected gemstones to help comfort in times of stress, to help calm during prayer and to help you focus during meditation. You are able to run your fingers over the beads, play with them, make shapes with them, and you will feel comforted. Each set of Comfort Beads have been carefully selected for their metaphysical and healing properties, brought together for a greater purpose (chakra, contentment, clarity).

The CLARITY Comfort Beads are 8" long including the Swarovski Cross and Sodalite Pendent. The gemstones selected are: Sodalite, Blue Quartz and Freshwater Pearls. It is accented with beautiful Swarovski Crystals and Sterling Silver. Included with the CLARITY comfort beads is a organza drawstring bag to store them and a listing of the gemstones and their mystical and/or healing properties.  Sodalite brings inner peace. Blue quartz crystal is a soothing, stress-relief stone.  Pearls symbolize purity of heart and mind, faith and innocence. They remind us to carry ourselves through life with dignity.

CHAKRA Comfort Beads are the perfect accompaniment to your daily yoga or mediation practice.  Religious beliefs including Hindu and Buddhist meditate to open their Chakra. Chakra are believed to be passages in the body, that when aligned correctly connect the physical and the spiritual world unleashing healing powers.

This set of CHAKRA Comfort beads are handmade. I make them in my workroom using the finest quality materials available.  The CHAKRA Comfort Beads are 8" long including the soapstone Zodiac pendent. The gemstones selected are: Red Coral, Carnelian, Tiger's Eye, Green Aventurine, Turquoise, Amethyst and Fluorite. It is accented with beautiful Swarovski Crystals and Sterling Silver. Included with the CHAKRA comfort beads is a organza drawstring bag to store them in and a listing of the gemstones and their mystical and/or healing properties.

My FAVORITE new toy

I am not the greatest photographer.  I recently invested in Adobe Photoshop Lightoom 2 and now my pictures look very professional.  The premise behind Lightroom is by using 'presets' you are able to enhance the lighting of your digital photo.  You also have the option to organize digital images to make them more accessible, you are able to process your photos quickly, and then able to share your edited photos through slide shows, prints and web galleries.  Lightroom allows you to work with your images right from the start when you import the images from your memory card.  You are able to edit the good, delete the bad, group your pics into categories and print the photos you want.  The print module has the ability to print contact sheets.  This feature is one of my favorites.  Alot of Pictures on one sheet makes a nice gift or keepsake.

  

  Over Labor Day weekend, we spent an afternoon out at the BUCKWOODS enjoying the beauty of the season.  Gabe and I were able to steal away on the four - wheeler for a few hours so I could take pictures of the scenery.  This RED MAPLE had already started to change.  In this photo, I am trying to catch the essence of the breath taking beauty of the leaves and season.  The picture by itself wasn't special.  Once I used Lightroom to enhance the photo, the beauty was able to shine through.

Pug NEEDS a Patch and a Parrot

I caught H1N1. No, I didn't grow a snout. But my pug did pop out her eyeball. While I was sick and laid up in living room recliner, my dogs were not getting their regularly scheduled walks. If you have animals, then you know just how important this is ... They were fighting, I mean teeth bared, snapping and snarling. In my flu-induced stupor, I tried to pull them apart. Oh, bad Idea. Somehow, the PUG was wenched just right because her eye popped out. of her head. Gabe took her to the emergency vet and they put it back in and sewed the eyelid shut. It was major surgery.


When she came home wearing the 'cone of shame,' I knew she was miserable. She would rub and scratch on the furniture trying her darndest to remove her cone. After 3 weeks of the cone and having her eye stitched shut, we went to the vet to have the stitches removed. Unfortunately, she lost the vision in the eye. So we joke that our Pug needs a Patch and a Parrot.

Happy Golden Birthday!!

Happy Golden Birthday Forrest!!! Forrest is 15 today!

Scrapbook Pages.

I was going through our Scrapbooks and I found some pages that I wanted to share. **Please forgive the photo quality. I've learned to keep the pages in the albums through an unfortunate incident with Orange Juice!**

This page was to commemorate the Easter Dinner that my auntie cooked wearing an apron that was my grandma. As you can tell, she does NOT like to cooperate for pictures.

The name of this page is "Eat Beef!" I bought that chicken suit at a garage sale while Bree was still in my tummy. I wanted to take a nice picture to frame for my mom's kitchen. But, Bree was not impressed with the suit. Before the meltdown, Gabe grabbed her pig. I thought they turned out cute. I used the paper as part of a challenge. I ended up getting stuck where I'm at...

This was a layout that I did using a page map. The supplies are out of kit from 'Chatterbox!' When we would go to my Aunt Brenda's Bree was obsessed with her doll collection. Here was when auntie melted and let Bree play with one of her dollies.