Forever And A Day...

...is how long it's been since I've updated. I keep thinking every day, "I need to do something on the blog today" and then I don't get to it, and now it's been almost 4 months. Holy cow.

You may have noticed the new blog theme, inspired by SPRING! :)
I made the background and header myself using The Cutest Blog on the Block's background tutorial and digital scrapbooking elements from Pixel Scrapper's Birds and the Bees blog train (This link takes you to the forum where all of the designers linked their creations, so in order for it to take you to the correct page, you must first register or log in to Pixel Scrapper's main website).

So, I've been working on some pretty cute things lately and thought I would share some of my favorites. :)

These are a couple of stitch markers I made for my cousin. I've recently been playing with clay a little bit.

Flower headband.
This is still for sale in my shop on Etsy.
Pattern for the flower is here.
Pattern for the headband is here.

Striped hat photography prop (before weaving all ends).
Pattern is mine and will be released sometime in the next couple of months.
The color choices were the photographer's but I fell in LOVE with this while making it!

Frog hat.
This is also my pattern that will be released hopefully sometime soon.
I thought this thing was just SO darn cute!

Rainbow Ripple Baby Blanket.
Pattern from Attic 24's Neat Ripple Pattern starting with 73 chains.
This is my latest finished project. I couldn't STOP working on this blanket. I started it at about 5 pm, worked on it a few hours that night, and finished the edging at about 4 pm the next day. It worked up SO fast! I think I only spent like 5 or 6 hours on it (not including weaving in all the crazy ends!).

I've also been working on getting my photography business started back up again and I got a Canon Rebel t2i to play with. Here's some of my favorite pictures I've taken in the last few weeks:

And finally, last thing (I promise!), a new scrapbook page that I'd like to show off. :)

I've only done a 9 month update before this, so I'm hoping to catch up on all the others. Aiden turns ONE in only TWELVE days so I need to get going on his baby book! 

NOW...let's hope that I remember to get my butt back on here within the next few days! I'm hoping to get a couple of my patterns tested this week and I have lots of Easter photos to edit, so I'll probably make it on here for SOME sort of update. :)

I'm a Hoarder...of Pictures!

I really don't need to be doing this Project 365. I already take way too many pictures as it is! I've been trying to organize my picture folders by year and month, and it's taking FOREVER. Wanna know why? Because...stashed on my computer...is over 13,000 pictures! Mostly from 2006 on, but some are images that were scanned on my computer to make my graduation and my grandpa's 60th birthday slideshows. Half of them are pictures that I took, uploaded on my computer, but never went through them, so I probably only really WANT about 25% of them. Then I'm hoping, when I'm done, I can scrapbook and frame the special ones and put the rest of them in a blurb book by year. It's much cheaper and time saving than trying to print all of the images in 4x6s and put them in photo albums. And a space saver too.

I'm a novice in digital scrapbooking, but I figured since I loved doing paper scrapbooking and I'm learning to play around in photoshop, I might as well try it. I got advice from a friend on finding page and element freebies, but these are what I've done so far:

And here's my pictures for the last few days:

Day 4:
January 5, 2013
Our boots lined up by the sliding glass door.

Day 5:

January 6, 2013

Got a picture on my phone and for some reason, my SD is acting up

and it didn't save. :/

Day 6:
January 7, 2013
Yup...it's that kind of night...

Good night! :)

Sunshine!

Just updating for my Project 365...no big post today. James and I are going to look at a house for rent in Marshall tonight so we're going to be gone for a few hours. Wish us luck! We REALLY need to get out of my parents house soon.

Day 3:
January 4, 2013
I love it when there's snow on the ground,
but I missed the sun during
these last few days!

We Made It To 2013!

In the spirit of resolutions, I'm going to restart my Project 365! I got WAY behind last time and just kind of gave up...like most things I start. :/

BUT...there's a verse in Proverbs that's going to become my new mantra:
"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." -Proverbs 14:23

You are free to steal it as yours if you like. :)
I was looking through Chapter 14 looking for my other favorite Proverb (I couldn't remember which verse it was. It's 14:1.), and this one really caught me. It was exactly what I needed to find. If you can't tell already, I have a hard time following through with ideas. Oops.

Some other resolutions of mine:
-Write, test, and publish a pattern every 1-2 weeks (that includes free patterns included on my blog)
-Lose 100 pounds. That's right, ONE HUNDRED. Wish me luck.
-Journal more, and read more. Journaling includes gratitude and when I need to get my emotions under control by venting. Read more of the Bible and just novels in general. I used to love reading, yet I never do it anymore.
-Use my awesome baby cookbook my godmother got me for Christmas. Made sweet peas and zucchini for Aiden today. You can see in my picture for today that he LOVED them. :)
-Finally...make a granny square a day AND attach them as I go. I'd love to make myself a queen size blanket for our bed, and a throw/lapghan to give someone for Christmas.

Sooo....I'm hoping that I can remember to do an update like once a week or every couple of weeks on here to let you guys know how I'm doing!

Ready to see my pictures?? I started yesterday...

Day 1:
January 2, 2013
Breakfast time! Oatmeal with pears.

Day 2:
January 3, 2013
Aiden LOVES peas! I was expecting different from
him since he'd never had them before,
but he didn't want to stop eating!

Do You Believe in Magic?

Wow! It's been a while! Life has been distracting.

Aiden is now seven months old. He's pulling himself up, testing the limits, and has actually stood by himself a few times. He's eating solid foods and oatmeal twice a day. His personality is constantly growing, and is a challenge and a joy. We're starting sign language with him...right now teaching him mommy, daddy, milk, more, and all done. He can clap and wave and high five.

My AJB Crochet business is taking off. I get an average of 3 orders a week and I have a Christmas craft fair coming up in two weeks. I spent most of today making a clutch for a gift and lining it (with my new found sewing machine skills! :) ).

I learned how to make button holes in fabric with my sewing machine. :)

See my FABULOUS labels from LuckyLu Creations.

James and I are doing an advent thing this Christmas. We have a little tree with Aiden's name train placed in front of it to place an ornament made by me on it every day. I made these mittens for yesterday, and tonight I have to make the angel to go on top of the tree. Then on Christmas day, we'll put Aiden's 1st Christmas ornament on the little tree.:)

Now to explain this post's title. I'm reading The Magic from The Secret series with some of my "associates" and thought I would share some of my own gratitude thoughts here.

"When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies within yourself." -Tecumseh

""Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings counting your troubles." -Maltbie D. Babcock

Here are a few of my ten blessings:
-I am truly blessed to have Aiden because he gives me a reason to wake up in the morning.
-I am so happy and grateful for James because he provides for us in both abundance and love.
-I am truly blessed to have found crochet because it allows me stress relief and the ability to take pride in my work.

:)

Bread...We Need To Break Up.

Bread, bread, bread, bread, bread. Oh, how I love you. But it's over. I'm sorry...it's me, not you....

I've been debating going gluten-free for a long time. Gluten is all around not so good for you, and especially not so good for me (if you want to know why, email me at michigan_nutritionchic@yahoo.com). And finally, after spending the last two nights with terrible stomach pains (especially after last nights Pizza Hut), it's about time. I don't feel good when I eat it...at all.

However, my first line is a lie. I don't REALLY have to give up bread. Just bread with gluten in it. Actually, I also LOVE spelt bread (which technically does have gluten in it but because it's made with spelt instead of wheat, it doesn't cause the same reaction as white or wheat bread).

My mom has a Gluten Free recipe book with some really YUMMY looking food in it, so Saturday I'm going to try to replicate one of them and if it turns out okay, I just might post the recipe. :)

3.

October 4, 2012

I was mad that Aiden woke us up three times last night, and then I ended up waking up like two hours later than I planned. But when we came upstairs, the whole sky was orange, and I HAD to get a picture of it. 

I think I could like this whole taking pictures of everything thing. I bought this $900 camera (Nikon D5000DX) after my graduation, used it the summer after that, and now I don't really take it anywhere. I never really learned how to use it properly, so I got frustrated, and ended up not using it at all. I think it's going to be my best friend from now on. :)