Tuesday Treasures - Patterns

Who doesn't love a good pattern! Oh, the possibilities...totally custom. The choices!

I love a pattern! I love the way a pattern gets my creative juices flowing.

A new pattern is a reason to rummage through all my supplies and find the perfect materials, or even better  a reason to shop!

And then there is the triumph of having it come together just like in the picture! Only better because its my choice of fabrics and details!

And then there is customizing the pattern - taking it to the next level...making adjustments for fitting, moving pockets, adding pockets, making it totally my own!

Oh, I love patterns!

I hope you enjoy today's treasury! And just as a note, my birthday is next week....I would love any of these patterns...well except the ones that involve knitting or crochet...I don't do that...yet!

Made of Monday…

I can’t spell to save my life. I am one of those bad spellers who spell so poorly that spell check can’t figure out what I was trying to spell.  I am blessed to have friends who are great proof readers. I passed up being an English major because of my poor spelling (and the comma – he and I aren’t friends, either!)

I am a bad speller because I am horrible at phonics.  I remember being totally baffled at the hand clapping for syllables…I could make any word just about any number of syllables. How did I know when I had it right? I didn’t! And I was pretty sure the rest of the class was making it all up, too!

Now my daughter is learning to read phonetically…I thought I would be able to help her with her homework at least through middle school. We still have not totally ruled out homeschooling, as an option…okay, well maybe phonics rules out home schooling.

She is in pre-school and brings home this work sheet that is letter blends. There is a note from the teacher that says the parents are to help their student in sounding out the blends, sign the sheet and return it. 

We sat down to work on it and I was lost.

 I tried.

I know what sounds L makes, and I used the sounds for the vowels based on the flashcards that were sent home for reviewing the vowel sounds.  Yet, every last one Grace told me I had wrong!

She is in pres-school and I am already useless!

I am a bad speller and I am NOT made of phonics!

Free Advice Friday

No man is an island….

For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction…

Money talks…

How many ways can it be said? Everything we do has an impact on something else, someone else.

Daily there are stories about the sad state of our world, a new toy that crosses the line, a celebrity who has done something sleazy, a group supporting something outlandish.  It is always followed by pages of comments, shared hundreds or thousands of times, and then….nothing… nothing changes. The same people who complained give in and buy their kids the toy or go to the sleazy celebrity’s next new movie or donate to a “good cause” even though it supports something the donor doesn’t believe in.

How often do we not follow through? How often do we say something and then it stops right there at the end of the statement?

I know I am guilty.

We said no princesses…not that we don’t like Disney, but we want our daughter to grow up knowing more than being a princess. We want her to know she is special and worthy of being treated with respect because of who she is, and we wanted her to grow up with some sense of what being a woman is really all about. She has a few princess things – a story book or two, an Ariel doll, but I feel like that is not bad for 4 ½ years! Not that we are opposed to girly, because believe you me, she is one girly-girl!

We have a whole list of actors, actresses and singers that we don’t watch or listen to because of their politics, who they donate to, and things like that. Is it a drag? Sometimes, especially when it feels like we are the only ones not seeing a certain movie or listening to a certain album, but it feels good to take a stand.

I am always good about it? No…

Sometimes I just choose to not look into something, having a gut feeling that it probably is not in line with our politics or our values…but when it counts (it should always count, right?) I try to stick to my guns…sadly those are the times when my one movie ticket or my one abstaining from liking something on Facebook are such a small drop in the bucket that it does matter…except to me.

All this to say…there is nothing in today’s world that is not political – and by that I don’t mean strictly government politics…

No man is an island….

For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction…

Money talks…

And that is my “free” advice this Friday.

ETC - Embrace the Camera

Today we are embracing the camera....and our silly side.

I am having one of those days that is made of really goods and really bads, leaving me feeling kind of blah. Good thing I have my sweet baby (big) girl to keep things light and sunny. Sticking her tongue out in these pictures was hysterical - at least she thought so. And that is why I love her!

So embrace the camera with me...and check out the other embracers over at The Anderson Crew.
Oh and please disregard the absolute disaster of a house in the background of these photos.

Look, my tongue!

Wrangler doesn't mind looking silly! 

Marley, on the other hand, is far to dignified for all of this!

Wrong Words Wednesday

I have always been a better “writer” than a talker. I suppose that it is the drafting and revision process that I like about writing or that saves me from myself and an abundance of emotions that take over when forced to talk.

My favorite authors and singers (songwriters, really?) have a way with words. They have a way of putting something – a feeling, describing a situation – that I can identify with, usually in a way that opens my eyes to some part of the feeling or situation that I had not considered before.

So tonight when Uncle Kracker’s Follow Me came on the radio the first verse spoke to me…

You don't know how you met me 
You don't know why, you cant turn around and say good-bye 
All you know is when im with you I make you free 
And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea 

Don’t you think God might say something like that? At least that is how I feel about God…especially being raised in faith. I can pinpoint times in my life that pushed my faith to the brink or that God caught me as a was falling, or times that strengthened my faith or affirmed my faith, but not a precise moment when I first knew or began knowing God.

And God does make me free…Granted the rest of the song is a little creepy and not like God at all, but those lines say something to me, for me…and I suppose about me. Maybe that I have a lot to learn about God…and about me…

Tuesday Treasures – Autumn Harvest

I sat down last night to put together the list of items for today’s treasury, and I was still excited about apple picking. We had such a good time on top of the mountain in Charlottesville, surrounded by friends and the juiciest, crispest, yummy apples. Now our countertop is piled high with apples in various shades or red, gold and green just waiting to be baked into even yummier treats. All of these apple picking memories, paired with the need to get a few Thanksgiving items listed in the etsy shop got me thinking about the autumn harvest.

Fall is such a bountiful time of year. Even though the leaves are changing and falling away, and summer’s gardens are soon to be turned under there is so much to be thankful for. Apple and pumpkins, pears, corn, squash, and nuts all are gathered this time of year. Soon the thanksgiving table will over flow with all the blessings of the harvest.

Which got me to thinking about what we give thanks for at Thanksgiving…is it just the harvest? Shouldn’t we also give thanks for the bodies that work the land for the harvest? Shouldn’t we also give thanks for those who gather at the table with us? Shouldn’t we give thanks to God for the seasons and His wisdom in creating them in cycle?

I know that I love breaking into the sweaters and gathering around a fire. I am thankful for these, too, the times to be close and cozy, to gather close and talk softly. There is nothing quite like the soft glow from homes in the twilight of the day. I am thankful for these, too, the call home to family that comes in autumn, when summer travels and play are over and we come inside and gather around a hearty table.

Autumn is such an amazing time of year. As much as spring blooms with new life and promise, autumn is a show of God’s splendor and a reminder to me of His generosity towards us. Today’s treasury highlights these ideas for me…enjoy!

Made of Monday…

I have to hurry and write this before its Tuesday!

Grace's first sleepover! They were asleep by 9:15.
I remember being little and Thursday nights being a
big deal because I got to stay up
 and watch the Cosby Show. It was on at 8!

I always thought I was a morning person. I am not a morning person who just jumps out of bed at the crack of dawn, but if I am awake, let’s get the day rolling!  I love the being up and having all the “have to” stuff done before the day is really even started. I love breakfast – except eggs. I love the quiet and the chill of morning air.

Or so I thought…

Here I sit for the oh, how many days have I been blogging now, time writing as today turns into tomorrow.  This blogging thing sure is teaching me a lot about myself.

My hard-working husband has been working even harder this semester, taking on a job working nights. Well, as I am learning nights turn into mornings, so I am learning to love the wee hours of the day where night meets morning.

I find that folding laundry after midnight works for me, and that a late night chick flick is perfect company for dusting or doing dishes.  Sometimes, though this makes for one tired mommy, and so I still nap when the baby naps, now and again, when there are not phone calls and business to attend to.

Late nights can be lonely at times, especially the nights when the neighborhood college kids are coming and going, enjoying the freedoms that college life affords the young.  But for now this works. The nights my husband is home I do my chores while he studies past midnight. The nights he works I do my chores after the kids are in bed and the house is quite. 

So goes the life of a once morning person, turned night owl…

And this Monday (it is still Monday!) I am made of the hours I keep.