craft: clothespin wreath

This was a Pinterst find that I absolutely fell in love with.

I used to live by my parents who had an AMAZING craft room. My mom had kept a box full of old clothespins from back in the day when she actually hung her laundry out on a clothesline. I grabbed half of what she had and I still had left overs! I also had a bunch of little crafty pins that I used around the inside.

I attached all the clothespins and found out that they did not want to stay where I wanted them; they were slipping and a sliding all over the place. Grrr. So, I pulled out my handy-dandy (did I mention I have 2 kids that watch a lot of public television?) glue gun and glued all of those suckers exactly where I wanted them to go. And wouldn't you know that one of them STILL hangs there limply.

This little craft has yet to be hung on the wall in my laundry/office. Joe is a bit of a perfectionist, and I, well, am not. I've hung pictures in the past by guestimating where the picture looks best as I hold it a few inches away from my face. I then guestimate again where the hooks are and hammer away. I only realize AFTER I try to hang it up that it is not, in fact, the place I wanted it and start the whole process over again. At my worst, I've put 3 nail holes in the wall for one picture. Needless to say, I'm not allowed to hang pictures any more.

i didn't do it

There are a couple of things I hope you can tell from looking at this picture:

1) It is December (the lights on the floor).

2) It is hot enough in said month I had to open the window.

3) The blinds are broken.

I was trying to tape (yes, tape. I didn't have anything else.) the lights around the window. I got hot. I opened the blinds to open the window and the blinds wouldn't go back down! The more I tried pulling on the stupid pull-string the more broken the blinds became! It was all very quite traumatizing. Our neighbors are literally about 6 feet from our front door. I'm sure they got a good laugh at me that day watching me try to close those cursed blinds. 

The way I fixed them was genius! I cut the strings! Joe doesn't know this, I think. All the blinds in our house are crappy any way, so it wasn't a big lose. Now, the blinds just limply sit on the window sill. Oops.

la la

Jovi recently turned 18 months old. Can you believe it?! She is such a fun little girl to have in our home. She is reactive, sweet, sassy, energetic, colorful, and such a princess. And she LOVES to dance! Music doesn't even need to be playing for her to bust a move. She's starting to say a few words, but most is not distinguishable. 

christmas decorations

We moved into our new house the beginning of December. The first thing I did was set up the Christmas tree and get my decorations out, ready to set up where I wanted them. I love Pinterest. I may have been addicted to it a few months ago, but I guess I'm a recovering addict. I wanted to do one of those Christmas wreaths with the ornaments all around it in its magnificence. But it just didn't look good. Yes, I bought all the supplies, had it completely finished, and I did not like it. AT ALL. So, I took four of the ornaments that I had purchased. Got a frame that was lying around. And made this little beauty that I love much more.

"What about the ornaments that weren't used?" you ask. Don't worry. They are tucked away ready to decorate our tree outside next Christmas.

christmas

Christmas has come and gone. All that is left are the few extra pounds I gained and the memories. 

 We had a ward party where they offered to take family photos. Obviously, next time Joe should kneel, or sit, or do anything to get closer to us. :)

 We had a ward dinner, activities, and a show. Corban was more interested in eating the candy then he was in decorating our ginger bread house.

 Joe took over and really did a great job with our gingerbread house. Or, I guess it looks more like a church than anything else.

Me and Jovi. She had been having serious diaper rash since July. It really flared up that night and we had to go home early.

The kids in our ward put on the live version of Jesus Christ's birth. It was so sweet and tender and, yes, I cried a little.

book review: To Honor and Trust

I am a book reviewer for Bethany House publishers. It isn't paid but you do get free books! I got my first book just yesterday. I give "To Honor and Trust" by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller 4 out of 5 stars.

I picked up the book a little skeptical, after all, this was THE very first Christian novel I have ever read, and was surprisingly entertained. "To Honor and Trust" is basically a softer version of "Dirty Dancing": set in a resort for the upper class to spend their vacation; a lower class works hard to support said upper-class including activities such as golf, tennis, and entertainment; lower and upper class mix in a fun/forbidden romance; mystery and intrigue abound with supporting characters; and insert a few crisis' for the main characters. Toward the end of the book, I kept waiting for someone to say, "No one keeps Callie in a corner. No one."!

Some of the characters weren't defined well enough and I had a hard time keeping some of the minor characters straight. It was a fun, easy, quick read. "To Honor and Trust" is full of romance, intrigue, sport, and mystery.

merry christmas