Something New...

I tried something today I've never tried before...making a "print" of one of my paintings. Roderick LOVES it! Me, I'm not so sure....the colors are a bit different from the original. It is really neat to see my painting in print, makes me feel a little more like an actual artist somehow. Plus, I love that you can make the print any size you want! I may try out postcard size next. These will be for sale soon to the public at large.
Did you try anything new this weekend?

Life Happens

I had lofty goals of posting before the end of the week, but obviously that didn't happen. Life has thrown a couple of curve balls our way. First of all almost immediately after I posted the last post I spilled almost an entire glass of coke on my keyboard. Although I tried everything I could to clean it, the spill resulted in the TAB, the letters QWERTY and shift no longer working. The crazy part is that the spill was mainly on the 10-key section of the keyboard. Nevertheless typing on that computer has been quite difficult. Thankfully we have Roderick's laptop. However, he's been on it a lot this week.

This brings us to our second "curve ball." Last week Roderick began complaining of some pain in his back and thought he'd pulled a muscle. A couple of days later I noticed something strange in that same area, but thought it was just a bump. The following day it was a little larger, but we still decided to watch it. After work on Monday, Roderick mentioned that his back was still painful, but really itchy too. Upon seeing the rash beginning to wrap around his side I said, "I think you have shingles." I think this was of the Lord, as I'm not very medical. A quick search on mayo.com helped to confirm my suspicion. So, he's now on some medication, and has joined me in staying home this week. Thankfully he's getting better.

Thankfully I seem to be improving again as well and have been able to help out around the house a little. I can tell I'm starting to get better by my strong desire to clean and straighten my house. Two months take a tole on a house and it could really use a deep clean. On Wednesday I spent the day sitting in my bathroom and scrubbing everything I could while taking numerous breaks. At least that room feels better now. I can also tell I've been in my house too long by my desire to redecorate. I think my bathroom will be getting a overhaul soon!

Fall finally arrived in our home this week. Melody brought me an adorable pumpkin with a nifty ledge that is "perfect for a ribbon." She left it on our doorstep as she hasn't had chicken pox and she doesn't want them! (I certainly don't blame her!) Today I had Roderick get out the fall decor box and it's starting to feel like fall around here. I love it!

 

 

I loved all the comments on the last blog. So many new comments from friends I had no idea were reading the blog..love you NellDell and Aunt Debbie. Melody I know you read my blog, but it meant a ton that you commented! Rachel it was fun visiting your site and thanks for commenting. Sara I always love your comments. So without further ado I'll announce the winner. With Roderick home I decided to have him do the honors. I had to laugh when he pulled out this name...



Sara seems to be the lucky one when it comes to my giveaways! I'm pretty sure she also won my last giveaway as well! Sara, I know I had your address at one point, but I need it again.

Hope you have all had a great week! Next week I hope to do a couple posts throughout the week, but you never know what a week can bring!

:100th post: Jewlery: Giveaway:

This is my 100th post! It's hard to believe. Thanks to those of you who are my faithful readers. I love hearing comments from you! I believe my most faithful follower is my mom. I'm not sure if you notice or not, but she  comments on almost every single post. (And I happen to know she checks the blog almost every single day too!!)

In honor of her faithfulness, I've chosen to use this post to show off some of my Mom's amazing artistic skills. She has many different talents, painting, decorating, sewing, crafting. In this post, however, I'll focus on her newly acquired skill of jewelery making. She began by creating jewelry for friends and family, but is now attempting to sell a few, rather quite a few. She's calling her little business, Feathered Nest Creations. (No, she does not have an etsy shop or a blog...yet that is. My sisters and I are trying to encourage her to do so.) I'll be attempting to sell some of her creations along with my paintings in November at the ladies conference.

Feathered Nest Creations was started in January when my Dad broke his leg in a freak accident taking down the Christmas lights. It was meant to be a quite small hobby my Mom could do as he recovered. Three surgeries, maybe even four I can't remember, and 10 months later he is still in the recovery stage. He is now cast free and walking on it, but its still a long road to complete healing. Actually, he is currently waiting to hear from the doctor if there is ANOTHER infection. Prayers would be greatly appreciated! His Aunt, my Great-Aunt, and a very dear sweet Christian lady went to be with the Lord yesterday after struggling with a bout of pneumonia. So knowing the results of that test will, I'm sure, greatly affect their travel decisions in the coming days. Okay, I digress....not sure why I mentioned all that, but we would all be very grateful for the prayers!

My sister...a budding photographer and good one at that (not that I'm biased or anything).... took these photos of Mom's work. Here's a few of my personal favorites....

So why do I show you these beautiful photos? Well, in honor of my this landmark post, my Mom has graciously allowed me to giveaway this gorgeous pair of earrings!

So how can you win it? Well, I'm going to make it easy... simply comment on this post telling me your favorite post or topic or something you'd like me to post about in the next 100 posts. Only one entry per person, but I'm fine with multiple comments if you'd like. = )

This giveaway will last one week. Next Friday, October 15th, I will pick the winner the "old-fashioned way," by writing down the names of all the entries and randomly choosing a winner.

Thanks to all of you for being readers! I hope you have a great weekend.

*Disclosure: My mom did offer to give away one of her earrings, but she had no idea I was going to brag on her talents in this way. She is not paying me to do this giveaway and all opinions are mine. = ) I love you, Mom!

Life is "Sweet"

No, this is not the post in which I tell you I am finally over mono...actually quite the opposite as I fear I've had another resurgence of the symptoms this week. However, it is the post in which I tell you God is good, life is great, and He's given me so many sweet blessings this week I can't help but post them.

Replacement sunshine flowers from a sweet friend

The resurgence of symptoms actually began last Friday after a very fitful night of sleep. So on Saturday I slept until 2! (Yeah, 2 in the afternoon...however, I will say that I did wake up umpteen times, but I was always able to go back to sleep.) Upon waking my husband tells me he thinks we should go out to eat and suggests Olive Garden. (As he knew I had been craving their soup, salad, and bread sticks. Sweet thing #1) I then preceded inform him I will just take a shower and not wash my hair as it's chilly outside, I don't want to add more symptoms by going outside with wet hair and I don't feel like I have the energy to blow dry my hair after the shower and then go out. (Wow that was quite the run-on sentence....) He then tells me to go ahead and wash my hair and he'll blow dry it for me! Which he did very well I might add! Sweet thing #2

When we finally made it to the car I declined my seat, as car rides seem to take a lot out of me these days. My husband opened the back windows and turns up the heat a little, "so you can get fresh air, but not be too cold." Sweet thing #3

After a wonderful, albeit tiring, meal at Olive Garden, we proceeded to CBTS (my husband's school) where I stayed in the warmed car while my husband picked out a book to read for fun. He choose Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. Which brings me to Sweet thing #4, my dear sweet husband read that book to me until his throat became raw. At which time he would take a little break, read silently for a few pages, and then began reading out loud again.

While he read that wonderful book, I worked on this sweet picture I had begun several days before.

I had a wonderfully sweet time searching out a verse to put on the bottom of the cupcake. Try doing a quick search of sweet or taste in the Bible and you will find several verses talking about how sweet the Lord's words are to us, or how sweet they should be. Such  a good reminder and Sweet thing #5.


We have continued to read a couple of chapters of Pride and Prejudice every night when Roderick gets home from work. Plus we've been watching the long A& E movie, in sections as they go with the book. Sweet thing #6.

One evening, I believe it was Sunday, I was craving something sweet and my husband found an unopened container of chocolate Haagen-Dazs in the freezer. I know it sounds crazy, but that shared sweet was simply marvelous! Sweet thing #7.

Sweet thing #8 has to be mentioned as well. That sweet thing is the number of you that took the time to comment on my last post. (So many first time comments as well!) Ah, life is sweet and those comments mean the world to me!

I must admit that there are SO many more sweet little things I could post...like a friend stopping by last week to give me a stack of the most delicious ginger cookies I have ever eaten (Fall exuded out of every bite!), or another friend that added a pumpkin cake to the meal she brought to us because she knew I was craving pumpkin.....but I think I'll stop here for now.

As this week has progressed and I have remained feeling pretty blah, my husband has done so many sweet things. Just little things that if it were not for my illness and my specific thought process on taking notice of the sweet things, I may have taken for granted. Although I would never have wished to be sick for this long, I can say it has drawn my heart closer to my husband and has caused our relationship to be sweeter. (Which I wouldn't have thought possible as we already had a sweet relationship.)

The illness has also seemed to draw my heart closer to my Saviour. I still see my need for growth so acutely, but I am thankful for the sweetness of my current relationship with Him. My desire is still that my love for Him grows to be wider and deeper. I am so beyond undeserving of His love it sometimes crushes me. Yet I know that despite that unworthiness, He looks at me and He sees the payment His Son made for me on the cross!

This post is not written to make you think I have a perfect life. That is very far from true! It is written to encourage you, and myself as I read this later, that blessings, little and small, abound and we should strive to take notice of them.  Such an effort can cause such great encouragement despite the fact we are at our "lowest" or maybe because we are there. The Lord is good and life is Sweet!

Have you taken the time to reflect on the sweet gifts the Lord has given you this week?