My Guilty Pleasure

If you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE, and I mean LOVE, all things monogrammed!  A friend of mine sometimes jokes that no one would would ever guess our last name begins with a "C".  And, I guess she is right, there are C's all over my house, inside and out!  I even crafted this little wreath before Christmas.  Well, not the wreath, I bought that but I added the C :)

Well, I MUST tell you of my latest purchase!  Since becoming an aunt, I spend slightly too much time browsing etsy and now that my SIL, Kelsey, is expecting (little miss Callie will arrive in mid April), I find myself on etsy at least once a day.  Spending all that time on etsy really allows me to find some pretty cool things.  So, with my love of etsy and my LOVE of monograms and personalized things here is my latest etsy find:

Of course, mine will say "carter" but this is a display picture from the etsy shop.  Isn't is super cute?!  I absolutely cannot wait for it's arrival and I will for sure post a pic when it gets here.

A New Year, A New...ME

This morning I attended a community event for work.  A women's expo entitled "A New Year, A New You" sponsored by a local women's ministry in Owensboro.  I was actually not super excited about it, mainly because I had to arrive before 8am to get things set up before the public was welcomed at 9am....selfishly (do we see a theme here?), I just wanted to sleep in on my Saturday but with my new position at work, it is extremely important for me to make Girl Scouts visible in the community.  So, grumpily, I was on my way.
When I arrived, I noticed that I my table was next to a local writer but, like I said, I was not too interested.  As the day went on, I heard her engaged in conversation with many of the women at the event, her book (co-written with her husband) is about dealing with the struggles of life, through laughter.  How funny?!  I heard her tell several women that her son has autism, but the book isn't a "how to deal with autism" or "all about autism" book, it's mainly about how to take what life gives you and run with it.
What a simple concept that we so often lose sight of.  I'm probably more guilty than many people when it comes to grumbling about this or that, even when I know the grumbling will not get me anywhere (and usually does nothing to improve my situation!).  For example, my fabulous husband and I work opposite shifts, so we rarely get to spend quality time together.  I leave for work at 7:30am and he's asleep, he leaves for work at 3pm and I'm at work, I get home around 6 and he's at work and he gets home at 3:30am and I'm asleep.  It's a great arrangement :)  The simple truth is, I miss  him.  But for now, there is nothing we can do to change it, so my pity party will not help the situation (sometimes I am convinced that it makes me feel better, but I know that's not the truth).
The expo really put something into perspective for me, although, that isn't the reason I attended.  Isn't it funny how God can use something totally unexpected to teach you a lesson?  I'm not big on resolutions because I think that everyone should continuously work to make improvements in their lives so my commitment for the year is to rid myself of the grumbling.  To try to see the best in every situation, in every person, every day.  Because, isn't that what God wants from us?  To become a more positive person at home and at work and more pleasant for others to interact with.  I always tell my Girl Scouts that dealing with a situation is much easier when you are using a positive perspective, so now I guess it's time to practice what I preach (more consistently).  I was really inspired by my expo neighbor, I think I may even purchase her book, listening to her share stories from it was pretty entertaining.  I'm sure it will be a great read! 
Simply put, I'm inspired.

Merry Christmas

Truthful Tuesday

Painting is the pits!

I'm trying to be amazing and transform these dark, ugly cabinets:

into beautiful antique white cabinets like this:

I have a feeling mine will not look nearly as good but I guess it's worth a shot! 

Snow Day Playdate

Since the weather was a little yucky this morning and the roads were slightly slick (and because I live 60 miles from my office), I didn't go to work today.  Luckily, I have a very understanding supervisor and a very flexible job.  We are actually moving our office and today was an unpacking/organizing day so I'll just be a little behind tomorrow when I get to work. I stayed at home and in my, well actually Keil's, pj's almost all day.  I made potato soup for lunch and got a few things accomplished around the house.  Then, I found out that I was going to get our fabulous nephew for a few hours this afternoon.  He is truly my sunshine!  He is growing into such a funny little boy and he has a crazy obsession with shoes (some say he gets that from me, they are probably right) and while I do laundry, he is usually occupied playing with my shoes...even the red high heels I got married in (shhhh, don't tell the men in his life!).  He loves to try and put them on and sometimes he even gets lucky and can walk in them.  It's so amazing to watch him have so much fun with my shoes.  He talks to them and carries them around and when it's time to put them up, he knows where each one goes.  It's pretty cute!
This afternoon, he stumbled on a new pair.  I actually just got them for my birthday from my parents, RAIN BOOTS!  Check him out:

Of course he has to have helping putting these one because they are as tall as his legs.  But, he thought he was big stuff!  And, Levi thought he was going to go for a walk.

I LOVE being an auntie...it's the best job in the world! 

Birthday Blues

I'm going to start this by saying I know I probably sound really spoiled and selfish but this is my venting outlet for the evening.  Today is my birthday, I am 27.  Most of my girlfriends cringe at the thought of celebrating another birthday and becoming another year older but,  I LOVE birthdays...in that really over the top, annoying kind of way.  My parents always made a really big deal about my birthday (I guess because my birthday is so close to Christmas, they didn't want me to feel cheated out of a real birthday).  And, I guess I just feel like my birthday IS a big deal, no matter how old I get.  Actually, I feel like everyone's birthday is a big deal.  It's the only time people celebrate you and you alone (there is that selfish part!). 
I was super excited this year because Keil and I have so much to be thankful for and we've celebrated so much together in the last 12 months, and because my place of employment allows you to have your birthday off (PAID!).  I started my birthday by sleeping in, 8:30...go me!  Keil works second shift so he doesn't get in bed until between 3:30 and 4am each morning but I thought with it being my birthday he might be okay with being woke up a little early (just for a few minutes to show me some birthday love), I was wrong.  I gave up on getting an affection from him and took the dogs for a walk in the freezing cold (but by almost 9am, it was an amazing 10 degrees).  I came back in and started my coffee and headed downstairs to start some laundry, yes I know laundry on a birthday sounds fabulous, but when I started the machine, nothing happened.  There was no water!  Our water pipes had frozen overnight!  So, I called my Dad (mainly to keep Keil from freaking out and being super grumpy but also because I knew he would know what to do), we spent the next hour or so crawling around under my house and setting up a Rediheater to thaw out the pipes.  Talk about birthday excitement!
When Keil got up, he and my Dad discovered that one of our pipes had actually busted and had to be replaced so they headed to the hardware store to get the parts needed to replace it.  Once they got it all taken care of I was sure I could finally be the center of attention (I know, selfishness) for just a few hours before Keil left for work...wrong again!
We did manage to make it to out for a really late lunch before he left for work, actually I followed him there because right after we ate he had to head to work. 
So here I am, at home, ALONE!  No cake, no birthday card, no gift, no husband...nothing.   I'm just suffering from a case of the birthday blues.  If my girlfriends have birthdays like this, I can see why they don't want to celebrate. 

I think I'll head downstairs and befriend a nice bottle of wine and wrap some Christmas presents. 
 

Christmas Card Excitement!

Here is a sneak peek of our very first Christmas Card...can't wait til they arrive :)

Retro Snowflake Bursts Christmas

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

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