Woe is me? I think not.

So I got a good dose of perspective this weekend.  Saturday was admittedly not a good day but you know how sometimes you get stuck in that rut of "oh poor me"?  That was me.

Started out with my youngest son falling down the stairs.  Every mother's nightmare as you watch your precious child get hurt and there is nothing you can do about it.  It was one of those moments where it all happens in a split second but you can replay every tumble in you mind.  

Luckily he only bruised his hand and arm a bit.  

That afternoon my husband and I went to pick up my car from getting an oil change 

and tire rotation.  Pretty normal and unexciting right?  Well as I pull out of the shop and 

onto the road I feel the car shaking.  As I often think something is wrong when there is not, 

I dismissed it at first.  A second or two later I'm pulling off the road. 

 The car WAS SHAKING....AND BAD.  

I called my hubbie and told him to turn around, there was definitely something wrong with the car.  

Four of the five lug nuts had come off and my tire was diagonal, barely hanging on.  Had I driven a few more feet it would have come off completely.  The mechanics checked to make sure there wasn't more damage to the car being that I drove it without a secure wheel and replaced a few things but acted like it was no big deal and I was really upset.  I could have been in a serious accident or hurt someone else!  This was a major roadway for Pete's sake!  Didn't they understand the severity!  

My anger was getting the best of me.

Later in the evening I was trying to get some laundry done since we have been battling a plumbing clog and not able to use it for a few days until we got it cleared.  Well I put a load in and went down to put it in the dryer and what welcomed me?
A half inch of water all over the floor!  

It had clogged and overflowed again, but even worse than before.  Could this day get any worse!  Needless to say I went to bed in a sour mood.

This morning though....God gave me a good dose of perspective.  I woke up a bit early and couldn't seem to get back to sleep.  As I lay in my bed I realized how unbelievably comfortable I was.  

I was the perfect temperature under my sheets, my pillows were just right, and my husband was snoring softly beside me.  

I started to think how absolutely blessed I am to have a bed, live in a safe neighborhood, and be surrounded by my family.  I laid there for about an hour (very unlike me) and just soaked it up.  God is good.  He deserves all my humble thanks for all the wonderful gifts he has blessed me with.

After all, my son is fine, I was not in any accidents with the car, and I have completed 4 loads of laundry today : ) Goodbye funk!  God always finds a way to reach you through the clouds and show you what he has done for you.

I am so blessed.

  

You know it's love when.....

your 22 month old pretends to get hurt so he can 

get kisses from you ;) 

          

My youngest boy has taken to pretending to get a booboo and then asking mommy to "kith it pees".  His sweet toddler talk and his expressive big brown eyes make me melt every time!  He'll also pretend to be sad so I'll kiss him, then he says "I happy" with a big grin.

Thank God for these sweet moments!

Gotta "love" story to share?  Let's hear it!

Tough guy meets Teddy Bear

In a home full of cars, trains, helicopters, jeeps, and everything remote control under the sun, my jewelry is about the only girly thing you'll find.  Clearly testosterone outweighs estrogen in my household:)  

Aside from the dog, I am the only female..... 

so I thought I'd start a line of men's jewelry to bedeck my hubbie and boys.  After all, guys can be stylish too right?  The first design is a necklace for my husband made from Mabolo wood.

I L O V E the mabolo wood.  

Originating in the Phillipines, the striation of warm tones in this wood are just beautiful.... 

deep dark coffee color mixed with warm chestnut.

I paired it with some silver bicones with a real industrial feel.  I like the juxtiposition the warm wood makes with these colder metal beads.   

Perfect for a guy like my husband....Tough guy meets teddy bear : )

Will be posting to my Etsy Shop soon!

Join in the Wednesday Blog Link Up with The Busy Budgeting Mama for some great blog reads!

Scribble Fancy

I am truly amazed at the entrepreneurial spirit of mamas these days.  We are so blessed to live in the times we do, and in the good 'ol US of A!  Truly the land of opportunity.  I thought I'd share the amazing talents of a great friend of mine and her creation "Scribble Fancy".  

She is very near and dear to me.  I've known her since college and have always been so jealous of her handwriting.  It's sick how beautiful her lettering is....even in a Christmas card!

 She can truly offer the personalized feel you want for your event even if your own handwriting is less than perfect...or chickenscratch like mine :)

Check out some of her work below.

Click here to check out her blog.

Calming Waters Necklace

Planning is underway for my first home showing of my jewelry.  One of the biggest jobs is to ramp up my stock on each of my designs.  I want my guests to be able to leave with the piece they want that day.  I am currently working on my "Calming Waters" Necklace.  I just adore the colors in this necklace.  They remind me of a babbling creek cascading over rocks.  It is made from Aquamarine, Smoky Quartz, and sterling silver and measures approximately 34" long (I'm a big fan of the long necklace).  Here's a look at the finished product as seen on my Etsy shop.

Have a wonderful day!

You know it's love when.....

your husband pre-warms your side of the bed before you get in at night :)

My husband did this very thing for me the other night 

and has been doing it every night since.   I get in and moan with shear delight.  He always says I just love him for his warmth.  Well no, but it's a hell of a perk in the winter time!

Got me thinking how sometimes we take for granted 

the little things our loved ones do for us to show us 

they love us.  I thought "Gee this would really 

be a great thing for people to post about".  

It gets you thinking and maybe not taking it 

for granted quite so much.

So please share some of those little things people have done

for you or maybe you did for them that exemplify 

this great gift of love that God has given us.  

I would really love to hear it!

A Day in the Life.....

A fellow blogger had this wonderful idea to start a blog link up of ladies to share their blogs and mama moments/tips today and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.  Check out Natalie's blog below.

www.thebusybudgetingmama.com

Random kid story.....

I've been pretty busy lately (who hasn't) and feeling bad about it so last night I wanted to dedicate some time to just playing with my boys.  Liam will be 5 in March and Ethan will be 2 in March.  They were born 2 years and 355 days apart.  Almost 3 years to the day and no we did not plan it that way :)

I had a few things to finish up and told Liam if he could play by himself for 15 more minutes that I would have some time to play with him.  

"You're the best Mommy ever"!  

Talk about breaking your heart.

So what did we play you ask?  First we played doctor with their new medical cart they got from Grandpa and Nona for Christmas.  A definite favorite.  Works for me cause I can lay down and be the patient!  Ethan gave me a shot in the cheek and then a kiss to make it all better.  Too sweet that one.

Next it was on to "Barber Shop".  Liam grabbed all his tools (a spraybottle of water, my round brush and pick, a couple barrettes, my eyebrow brush, eyelash curler, and my headband).  Who says you can't have girly fun with boys?  

Liam loves to "do my hair".  Of course he mostly just sprayed it with the water bottle.  He told me he was going to make me Barbie (wow, I'd like to see that one!).  After he had my hair wet, he decided it needed blow dried so he grabs his marshmallow shooter (empty of course) and shoots puffs of air onto my hair.  I was cracking up!  When I asked how I looked he said 

"you're not Barbie"....Well duh!

It was a bunch of fun and I needed it just as much as they did!  It's amazing what a little play time can do for your soul 

so get out there and have some fun!

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So much to do....so little time

As you know the first goal for the business 

this year is to have a 

home showing of my designs.  

Well having a full-time "other job" and two small boys makes this task a bit more daunting than it would normally be.  

Today I'm working on revamping my business cards 

to have a more simplified/uncluttered look.  

Not to mention plugging away on

building up my stock.  

All this has to be accomplished while my boys are napping.  As I look at the clock I see that nap time is just about up 

so I need to get cranking.  I can also hear the 

clinking of coins upstairs, 

this means my oldest son Liam is indeed NOT napping.  

He likes to get out his money from the piggie bank 

and play with it for some reason.
  

My Mom will be here shortly to check out some of my new designs.  Being as she's my Mom, I expect she'll gush over them.

  Aren't Moms great!!!

Wish me luck as a prepare for my first showing...I'm thinking late Feb?  I'll post the date when it's set.

Ta-ta for now....

Spring Fever Already?

Every year when the holidays are over I get a huge craving for spring.  My poor body just can't handle 4 months of winter!  

I know winter is technically only 3 months long 

but in Western PA it's more like 4 months...uugh!

Love the Christmas lights, hate the dark barren winter that follows.

So with a longing for warmer weather, I started working on some 

new jewelry designs for the spring.  

I just couldn't resist the colors I used in this bracelet.  

They look like candy, so bright and irresistable!  

Will be posting to my Etsy shop soon so keep your 

eye out for the finished piece!

Resolutions

Aaaah the New Year.....time for resolutions.  The New Year never seemed to effect me much when I was younger.  I think it's a little different now that I'm older and have kids.  Marking the
passage of time seems to be more important.
 I've been getting more emotional of late.  Just ask my husband...I was going on about how much I love our kids, even what a good dog we have, and basically all the blessings we take for granted on a daily basis.  

"If you haven't guessed, I'm a bit emotional" 

I said.  "Gee, I couldn't tell" was his sarcastic response :)  Anyway like many others I started thinking about how I wanted to improve for 2011.  My list is a bit long....

be a better mother

be a better wife

lose weight

be more involved in my church

call people more often (for those of you that know me, I'm not big on the phone, email is more my style)

read the Bible

cook more

look for the possible good in every situation

play more with my kids

volunteer

Will I be able to do all these?  Who knows but I'm starting with  losing weight (like 99% of the rest of the population) and
looking for the good in every situation 

which will hopefully allow some of the other goals to be accomplished more easily.  This can be tough when people around you are talking negatively.  It's so easy to fall back into that trap but I'm gonna try!

For BTM, I plan to host a jewelry party and want to register for at least 1 or 2 craft shows this year.  I'm really looking forward to growing my online shop and 

making some new contacts with fellow designers.    

I'm very grateful for everyone who supported me this past 

year and look forward to memorable 2011.

Would love to hear what some of your resolutions are!  

Leave me a comment!

I wish a very happy and blessed New Year to all!