The Little Girl Giant

I would *LOVE* to take my kids to see this in person...how AMAZING!!!! Love watching just the video~gives me goosebumps...had to share...

As for an update on things- SUPER busy but I'm gettin' a rhythm going so it's all good. Well...mostly! lol.

THuRsdAy rambLin'

First and foremost- behold the newest addition to our family! Little J is the sweetest little thing... my little sister now has two little boys! Very exciting for us all! Can't WAIT to hold this little guy! I got to stroke his cheek several times but we all KNOW that just DOESN'T cut it!!! ..and I just realized each and every sentence in this entry has ended in an exclamation mark!!!! Can you tell this news is exciting and pure happiness to me?! lol.

As far as my schedule, I'm hanging in there...
Figuring out how to best manage my day and get some quality time in with the kidlets. It's coming together but not without some late nights playing "catch up"! Whether that means shuffling papers, clothes, unloading the dishwasher or whatever. One thing that's been a saving grace for me has been making sure I get my daily devotion reading in. It's a high priority for me- to take the time to get in God's word and pray. It's such a lift to my spirits and gives me hope about every little aspect of my life. It's much easier to handle it all knowing *I'm* not the one in control here! Having my head and heart in the right place truly makes all the craziness bearable.

I was EXHAUSTED yesterday! Just couldn't bounce back from lack of sleep and I was working from home, taking care of the kids, doing dishes, laundry, this and that... it just kept me flying ALL day despite my eyes burning. Of course, going to see my new nephew in the middle of the night/morning was COMPLETELY worth it! But I *did* struggle the rest of the day...lol. BUT! Do you think I went to bed early?! NO WAY, dude!! Project Runway was on! Couldn't miss THAT. It was interesting. Loved seeing their reaction to the guest models...and I had a hunch that Angela's mom would get picked last. Punk boy was just outright RUDE and out of line. I respect his talent and determination but man, his attitude just SUCKS sometimes. We found out Laura is pregnant again. That'll be 6 kids. whoa. And her comment about having another one to "toss on the pile"...hmmm! Interesting outlook,yes?! And HELLLOO?! Crazy Vincent won the challenge. unreal. You gotta love this show...

The Ebay venture is going well. Steadily listing all the stuff I have to unload- listing it cheaply so it will MOVE. That's my main concern right now. I've already gotten rid of over 25 things in the last week or two. Didn't make a great profit- but I made a little and those things are OUT OF MY HOUSE!!! THAT is exciting! Downsizing feels good.

Things with my new job are going really well. There's a distinct possibility that I'll be hired on permanently (I was hired as a short term temp a few weeks ago) which would be wonderful!

Fall is in the air here. It seemed to happen overnight...
Love that.

"Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny."
~Thomas Merton

Bella Devellah....

Been busy,busy lately. Good busy.
All kinds of developments lately!!

I tried out for another design team...we'll see what happens. Not feeling uber-confident about it but I still like my pages so I win regardless!! If I *do* get it you'll be SURE to know ASAP! lol. It would be my first and the very idea is exciting. I should know by the end of the month so I don't even have to wait long (thank goodness!)~yeah!

Ebay upped their fees AGAIN- so I had no choice but to close my little store. So now I'm running strictly auctions and trying to get a bunch of my inventory listed to be rid of it! Tired of seeing all of these bins stacked next to my desk... so it's going- and going CHEAP! So far so good! I'm disappointed that I had to close my store because it was such a cheap way to have things listed for months! Oh well...not meant to be I suppose.

In addition to that I have a new JOB! Working for the State of Oregon in a licensing department. Not exactly creative, stimulating work but it's a consistent paycheck that I consider a great blessing right now!!! It's a big change- but I'm hoping things will sort themselves out and I'll be able to balance all the different aspects of my life with this addition.

On top of THAT-- I have my nifty little bella shop. I love my bella shop. I am slow in developing it, but it's going to be wonderful. Easy to view. Easy to use for both creator and shopper. And it brings me so much pleasure to sell things I've created myself. Tonite I took some pictures to add to the site for baby albums. I love how they turned out...





And this was my creative director during the shoot. He yawned alot- which I took as a hint to tweak things here and there. And afterward, he DID seem satisfied. I give you...Mr. Fatty Cat. Seriously. That's his name and it's not without merit. He has the fattest, flabbiest gut I've EVER seen on a cat. The rest of him is "normal"...very strange indeed. And yes. It IS a boy. A snotty, big bellied thing that just decided to adopt us after some neighbors moved. I don't mind him when he's using his manners... you see that he's NOT amused that I've taken his picture. I think he prefers to be anonymous vs. splashed all over the 'net. Oops. My bad, Mr. Fatty.

Feeling better...

I'm trying to find some peace in all the craziness right now. Woke up this morning feeling more serene and rested. Took the kidlets to the store first thing, for breakfast and lunch stuff. Then we stopped at a church rummage sale. Oh my- there's nothing like a little RUMMAGE therapy! lol. I completely SCORED at this little sale! I got 2 pr. Hanna Andersson bike shorts, an adorable CAKEWALK dress, a pair of OILILY/CAKEWALK Wizard of Oz pants AND a pair of pinstripe GAP trousers all for 50 cents! I left there positively GIDDY! Everything but the GAP trousers (mine) were in Josie's size. SCORE!!!

LOVE excellent little unexpecteds like that...one of my favorite things!

Then I came home. And as I scowled, driving through all the construction trying to get home. I looked to my left and saw my home. And despite the lawn needing mowing desperately and weeds trying to rule the world- it was such a cute, comforting site to me! Despite being surrounded by loud, obnoxious machinery and mounds of dirt, piles of torn up concrete and stacks of pipes... there sat my cheerful little abode all light and bright. Even though it's not my dream house. Even though it's on the "wrong" side of town from the fire station. Even though it has issues- it's still a great little place. It makes me happy that we found it when we did. That we've turned it into our "own" until we can buy our own place. Granted, we're still looking for another rental- but I'm not DESPERATE to get out of here. I know the next "perfect" place for us will turn up when it's supposed to. And until then... this is home and I enjoy it.

ANYWAY..it's just a welcome peaceful site and thought during a rough spot. I *love* the arbor we have now! My in-laws gave us that and I'm thrilled! Such a nice touch to our front walkway.

I'm off to make dinner! We're having chicken alfredo with mushrooms, french bread and salad! Mmmm~

Might I Just Add...

BOO
HISS
BOO!!!!!
I cannot BELIEVE they picked that goon Vincent over Allison. I'm in shock. I was screaming (ok. not really SCREAMING. Just like a scream w/the volume turned WAY down- it's 11pm, I've got kids in bed ya know!) at the television. I cannot BELIEVE they voted her off. Just don't know if I can watch it anymore. -sniff-

Well... you know I *WILL* because I've got to see Michael win it now. And the punk dude just needs to go. Like YESTERDAY. I was over his lip a long time ago. What a whiner. And Laura...hmmmm. That lady is the cheshire cat. I sometimes like her- she's talented- but NOT trustworthy or kindhearted. Although I love how she lost it on Vincent. lol. Couldn't help it. Oh man, I'm just SERIOUSLY bummin. Over a show. Over a girls broken dream of winning the show. I hope she makes it big ALL on HER OWN. ..still...Just bummin'.

Anywho... this just DOESN'T help the balance thing AT ALL.

Badumpdadum

Just feeling off balance right now.
SO much going on.
SO much crammed into everyday lately.
Lots of new things being learned.
My typical day is no more.
New schedule.
More on my plate.
I'm glad but I'm sad.
I'm excited but I'm tired.
Just a wee bit off balance--trying to recover and bounce back.
My core is a little flabby so it's taking longer than usual...lol.

More tomorrow?!
We'll see.

Sunnyside!

We just got back from a great weekend of camping! Went up to Sunnyside with Robert's mom and stepdad and then Sue, Dave and their boys! From Friday night to late this Sunday afternoon.... very,very fun!
We got our tent set up despite the hardest ground known to man, and ate yummy food, talked, laughed, watched the kids run around and eat WAYYYYY too many smores... AND we spent LOTS of time on Robyn and John's boat! That was a BLAST. The kids loved it. WE loved it. They bought an inflatable "jet ski" to tow behind the boat and we took turns flying around on that...LOADS of fun! We discovered along the trip, that Pepper does not take kindly to gently winding country roads OR boat excursions. He gets motion sickness! He threw up in the CAR, he threw up in the BOAT... ugh. It wasn't TOO bad but gross, nonetheless. And he was just miserable, poor pugster. He enjoyed the boatride until we got to driving all wild and crazy, so whoever was being towed could get a good ride. His poor little eyes were half mast and a little frown on his mug! lol. Sue told me there's dramamine for dogs! We'll have to try that sometime! lol.

The rest of my little brood is taking a short siesta. I'm happy to be home and anxious to get unpacked and relax. Flowers need watering. Need to do some scrapping. Need a shower. Need shampoo. Need pumice stone for poor summer flipflop feet! Ahhhh....so happy to be home!!!
More camping pics to come...

PSYCHED!!!!

Ok....first, it's Friday! WOOT!
Got up, fixed the kids pancakes- ate my eggs and drank my water!
Took the kidlets to a few garage sales..didn't find much but it was still nice. Gorgeous weather- not too hot and a slight cool breeze...very,very nice! Especially with an iced coffee in hand, browsing through other peoples JUNK and watching my kids ooh and ahh over other peoples JUNK! lol.

Saw an old friend from high school again--hardly ever run into her anymore- so it was nice! Chatted for a bit, browsed through HER junk (lol), made a stop at 7-11 and got a BIG GULP (ahhhhh.) Then, as we were heading home we noticed they're putting up our new sign at church!! The kids made it even more fun-- they noticed first (our church bought an old Walmart building and have been remodeling and the kiddies love watching the changes) and started shrieking and saying "Oh my word! Oh my word! LOOK!" Their enthusiasm is so infectious!! I wish I'd had my camera....perhaps I'll update later...

Came home, checked my email and my Ebay listings and did a chairdance. Yep. I did. You see, I found these hot rollers/curlers recently that apparently are a HOT thing on Ebay right now. I found 'em at my local thrift store for $4. They've got 2 days left and they're at $53!!!! I'm SO thrilled! LOVE when I get a doozy like that. LOVE IT.

Even though I have dishes in the sink and laundry to be folded...I'm anxious to create some scrapbook pages. I don't want to work, I want to PLAY! The reason I'm so psyched is I had an epiphanous moment last night! It was 12:47am and I was in bed. I had just thumbed through a new issue of a magazine and then got ready to go to sleep. I started praying- just thanking God for my life and getting me through recent trials. And when I said "Amen." I just felt WIRED. Wired with overflowing thoughts and ideas for scrapbook pages.

This has NEVER happened to me. I was just complaining day before yesterday to a girlfriend and fellow scrapper, that I have to be inspired by something I see and then I'll get an idea. But I *NEVER* get ideas out of the blue. I don't keep an idea book handy at all times because it wouldn't get used! lol. But last night- I couldn't write fast enough. Couldn't sketch fast enough. I hadn't been thinking about scrapping or looking at a scrap related mag--it was just completely out of the blue! It was the most amazing, happy feeling! My eyes couldn't stay open anymore, but I had the BIGGEST smile on my face as I laid down my pen and paper and turned out the light.
Thanks, God. I *really,really* needed that!

Ahhh...the Smell of New School Supplies

On Tuesday I went through the kidlets closets and purged outgrown clothes, jotting down what things we needed to purchase for their school wardrobe this year. Got rid of LOTS of stuff (yeah! Instant Ebay inventory!lol) and it felt good to have a good knowlege of what's in their closets and drawers right now.

I'd purchased some school supplies earlier in July and pulled those out and compared those to the supply list I just got- and was able to cross off alot. We're ahead of the game!! Double YEAH! Only a few more things and we're all set. What a nice feeling! They're even marked with initials already!

So today we're going school shopping. Get the remaining supplies, new lunchboxes, backpacks and clothes. It'll just be me and the kiddos so we'll see how far I get! lol. I've got my list and plan of attack so hopefully it will be efficient and fruitful.

After we spend the morning/early afternoon shopping we'll be going to spend the afternoon with my girlfriend Kim. We're going to let the kids play while we work on some crafty projects. I'm *SO* looking forward to that!!!

Happy Wednesday!