This Week's Little Lonely Post :)

I can't believe this entire week has gone by and I haven't posted a single thing. So sorry for being a slacker but I promise I've been keeping very busy with my little guy. We've been reading, singing, learning to put the right shape in the corresponding hole in his little wooden toy, rolling the ball back and forth and wherever else it might go, etc. etc. etc. 

He's stood without holding on to anything a couple of times now. The first time he stood for about 20 seconds and then started clapping for himself. It was too cute for words. Today after a very short 30 minute nap, the little guy joined me in the kitchen to "help me" finish getting lunch together. His help includes holding on to my leg and hollering or opening every cupboard and drawer available. I was in the midst of whipping up a yummy chicken curry salad (I'll share the recipe next week) when I realized he was not holding on to my leg anymore and I hadn't felt him slide down to sit. I turned to find him balancing in the middle of the kitchen floor! My little guy is growing up. (I don't know whether I want to smile or tear up after that last sentence.) 

Moving on....

Both my boys and my two little furbabies are sound asleep and now is my chance to get in a little blogging.  :) A moment ago I heard thunder in the distance. The wind blowing through the open window is carrying the smell of rain. That is one of my all-time favorite smells. Everything seems very peaceful and I'm feeling quite content at the moment. :) 

Today marks 12 weeks pregnant with our second little one! I can hardly believe it! After a scare early on, things have been going really well. I would post a picture, but I'm about twice the size I was at this stage of my first pregnancy, so I think I'll refrain. :) We're praying for a healthy and happy little one to be a friend and sibling for our little guy. Our little family is growing. We were just slow starters, but we're making up for lost time now! :D 

I'll do my best to be a better blogger next week. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend and squeeze in some time for a nice cup of coffee. :)

Black and White Monday

Hello, Faithful Friends! :) Happy Monday to you! My little guy and I are up in Mammoth Lakes, CA 

(again) and going just a little nuts. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful here. The mountains, the lakes... it's all breathtaking. But I'm a city girl. I like the mountains for a week or two. But several months and I'm going bonkers. 

Lately, I'm a really homesick city girl. I'm not talking homesick for our home in SoCal. I'm not talking homesick for our home in Oregon. Sigh. I'm talking, this Southern gal is MAJORLY homesick for her FAMILY and for TEXAS. I'm so ready to go home to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and put down roots near my sweet grandmother and my sister and my awesome extended family. Something about having my little guy makes me want to go home and raise him where I'm the happiest and where he can get to know his cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. If I had my way, I'd be buying a house in Frisco about right now.  I don't even care that they've had over 30 days straight of weather over 100 degrees. It'd be worth just being around my folks. :) 

I know I'm rambling and even whining just a bit...but a girl has got to vent every now and then. Thanks for putting up with me. :) But enough of that. On to today's little blog post. 

This morning my little guy woke up way before the sun came up. So... in an effort to get out of the house and do something relatively fun, I packed him up, pjs and all and he and I went out for a little breakfast date. I wish I'd taken the camera with me. He had his first bits of pancake with the tiniest smidge of syrup and he was lovin' it. Folks in the booth nearby were crackin' up. His hands started waving and his feet started kicking and his smile was a mile-wide. Apparently he likes that a bit more than the standard carrots and peas he's been accustomed to. It was too cute. :D Totally made me smile.

After breakfast we made a productive early morning trip to the grocery store and then it was back to the condo (sigh) where he's currently taking a nap - giving me a chance to peruse some favorite blogs and even discover a couple of new ones. I know it's not Friday, but I'm doing some features anyway. There were several projects and posts that stood out to me this morning and, when I realized they were all black and white, I figured it was a sign and I had to blog about them. :)

Random Picture: Here I am with the little guy I'm head over heels in love with. I can't even believe he'll be 10 months this week! The time is flying. He's crawling all over the place, pulling himself up on any and everything, stable or otherwise, and keeping me incredibly busy. Thus the sporadic blogging. :)

Check out this adorable owl art over at Till Death Do Us Part. I so want to do these! I need more rooms in my house to decorate! :D 

Meg over at A Little Knick Knack made these Easy Envelope Pillows. It was one of the first blogs I checked out this morning and the beginning of the black and white theme for the day. :) Thanks, Meg, for sharing. It almost makes me willing to brave the Ikea craziness to try to find this cute fabric! :D

These adorable First Day of School Survival Kits were made over at Sassy Sites for just under $1 apiece! That's hard to beat! Such a cute and thoughtful way to start the school year. 

This is my newest blog discovery. I'm looking forward to exploring it more. Randee over at How About Them Apples looks like a kindred teacher spirit. She's currently teaching kindergarten (brave soul) and is celebrating reaching over 100 followers by hosting this adorable giveaway! Be sure to check it out. It runs through the 12th of August and would make such a cute gift for your favorite teacher or for yourself. :)

Hope your week is off to a great start. My little man is now enjoying a snack of grapes cut into tiny pieces, graham crackers, vanilla yogurt and rice cereal. Fun times. My husband walked in a moment ago with a dozen beautiful roses. Such a surprise!! He must have known his wife needed a pick-me-up today.   :D I don't even remember the last time he brought me roses. His timing today was perfect. :)

Thank you, Honey.

The Blogging Dilemma

So you probably thought I was dead. Sigh. I've been gone SINCE EASTER!! That's craziness! I'm working really hard to keep all my priorities in the right order and, as much as I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all things crafty and creative...It's number 4 on my priority list.

I decided back several months ago that the new order of things in my life would be this...

FAITH

FAMILY

FITNESS

FRIENDS 

(Blogging falls under the "friends" category 'cause that's what I consider you :)

 If the truth be told, I'm doing a really, really good job at only one of the top four priorities right now. Which one, you might ask...

Well, it's this one.

 My little man is growing so fast, I don't want to miss a second. We're up in a condo in Mammoth Lakes, CA. How do you like that make-shift toy box? :) He ignored all the familiar toys and went right for the cardboard box. Awesome. :)

It's June here and we got snowed on the last days in May. It was our little man's first time to see the snow. Happy Summer.

The only way I'm getting some blogging in now is that my two little men are napping. :)

Mammoth Lakes mornings go something like this. :) My little guy watches Baby Einstein on mommy's laptop while I have a cup of coffee and try to gear up for a busy day. :) 

My husband and a friend of ours are both up here to train at altitude. They're gearing up for the marathon olympic trials that will be taking place in Houston this coming January. My husband has had an incredible running career and I'm so proud of him. He's persevered through so many obstacles and injuries. This is his last big push as an athlete before we transition over to the coaching side of this sport. I'm up here taking care of our little man and cooking like a crazy woman. You try feeding two elite runners who are training like mad twice a day. These boys can eat! If you have easy, healthy and make-ahead meals in your kitchen arsenal, please do a girl a favor and share your recipes!! :D If I make 'em and the boys like 'em...I'll feature it here with your permission! :D 

I won't have my crafting supplies up here until later this summer, so this blog may be leaning more toward the family news and family meals for the next month or so. My goal is just to show up here several times a week and keep in touch. :)

Please bear with me and my incredibly sporadic blogging. I WILL get more consistent....after my little man goes to school. :) My goal is to still fit in a run and a devotion today. It's 2:45pm and it's raining outside. Hmmm....what are the chances??? :D

What are your secrets for keeping life in balance? I'd love to hear from you. :)

What I've Really Been Up To

This isn't a post about coffee....or cups...or crafts. I'm sneaking this one in because I wanted to share what I've really been up to this past week while my MIL was visiting. 

I've been running. That's right, people. I've been running and I've been blogging. I'm trying so hard to get back into my jeans  fitness. There have got to be lots more "mes" out there. Mid-30s, baby or two, busy schedules, etc. etc. I'm a great starter and oftentimes, an even greater stopper. This new blog is an effort to hijack my tendancy to stop after barely getting started. :) How can I possibly let myself stop if there are people out there who would know that I quit??? I'm trying to corner myself into doing a good job. Lol.

If you'd like to join me on my journey, or cheer me on so I get up the next day and do it again, or if you'd just like to see what I've been up to, check out My Run of the Mill Life right HERE. 

I'd love some company! :) 

Be sure to check back for a fun feature, discount and another giveaway coming tomorrow and don't forget to enter the giveaway for this pendant here.

The 10% discount over at Haley's etsy shop is good until April 3rd! Be sure to take advantage of it! You can get the details here.

I'm NOT Dead....REALLY! :D

I've just been a crazy nesting woman trying to get ready for our first baby who is due to arrive in less than three weeks. We were out of town for almost two months, so you can just imagine how crazy behind I am and how much of a panic I've been in to get things as close to perfect as possible. I have managed a few projects and recipes in the in-between moments as of late and will be posting those over the coming days provided our little man doesn't make a surprise early appearance. I've worked on carving out a little crafting space for myself and LOVE how it has turned out. It's not roomy, but it's cute. I've made my first coffee cake ever and it was so YUM! I've got an "organizing for baby" project to show you and I've discovered a fun etsy shop with lots of goodies! That's the teaser....now I need to download all my pictures and get to blogging! Don't give up on me, girls! :D I'm a sporadic new crafter wanna-be who will find my groove soon enough. :)

MIA For Way Too Long!

So sorry to have disappeared for such a ridiculously long time. Lots of crazy busyness going on as of late...birthday, holiday, brunches, traveling, getting ready for baby, etc. etc. However, I have fit in a little bit of crafting here and there. I've been making glass tile pendants and magnets for Christmas and birthday gifts. They're turning out so cute. I'll take a picture and post it this afternoon!

For now, let me share a really cute idea that I found over at one of my favorite sites, Brown Paper Packages. :D Click HERE to see this adorable and easy project.

I'm trying my hand at making some today and will post the results this evening! :D

So Behind in the Blogosphere

Ugh! An entire month has gone by and I've fallen embarrassingly behind on my blogs. So sorry for the disappearing act, but with a baby on the way and lots and lots of out-of-town guests, it's been a wonderfully busy month. The blogs, however, have suffered. This is my official apology. We're gonna get back on track. Bear with me, folks! I do have a couple of projects that I've been working on and will post the pictures soon!

Michaels Trip Yesterday!

Well, yesterday I finally made it to a craft store after getting back from Mammoth Lakes and bought a glue gun, along with a plethora of other things. I have two glue guns tucked away in storage in Portland, OR but little good they're doing me there! I bought a pink one 'cause it made me smile. I must say that I was more than a little disappointed with the Michaels prices here in SoCal. WAYYYY more expensive than in Texas or Oregon. :( For example, the two small to medium foam balls that I purchased were $3.99 apiece! Is that normal or is that ridiculous??That's a real question. Feedback here would be appreciated.) I'm tempted to ask my aunt to load up on a few things and bring them with her when she comes to visit me from TX!  As I mentioned before, we've dropped our little camera and my husband is traveling and has the iphone. Therefore, pictures will have to be taken tonight or in the morning when he returns. That or I'll run next door and borrow a camera from my lovely neighbor. Now that I'm back near a Home Depot, Lowes, an overpriced craft store, etc. I can get this ball rollin'-no pun intended. :D

Another exciting piece of news...my sister-in-law is sending me a sewing machine!!!! I can't wait!!! Do I have any clue how to sew? No, I do not!! I told you these blogging women had inspired me! The other day I was going on a three mile walk with my neighbor and told her I didn't even know how to "string it" (referring to the sewing machine). She kindly informed me that the appropriate terminology would be "to thread it." LOL! :D See how little I really know. It should be a journey, Ladies. My first sewing project is already planned. I'm going to try my hand on baby leggings for my adorable little niece - but more on that later when I actually have the sewing machine.

Other little tidbits of news that have nothing to do with crafting...
   After being here for almost a year, I finally joined the public library yesterday. That certainly took me long enough! I also went to Coldstone for the first time in ages. I'm walking three miles later this afternoon as penance.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend. Thanks for the comments of late. They make me smile. Keep 'em coming and I'll do my best to blog away on a more consistent basis! :D

How This Blog Came to Be...

We've been in Mammoth Lakes, CA for the better part of a month. It's the end of April and it's snowing... again. I'm a warm weather kind of gal myself and am more than ready to get home to southern California. While I've been hibernating indoors and trying to keep semi-warm, I've been purusing the web. Nana has a habit of not letting Christmas traditions get too worn out before she changes them. This past Christmas she announced that all gifts for our family's traditional game of "Dirty Santa" (also known as "Chinese Gift Exchange") would have to be homemade. There goes Dan's and my resolution to make it easy on ourselves this year and go the giftcard route. Sigh. Anyway, I digress. With the pending arrival of baby in the fall and the looming gift exchange soon after, I decided I'd better get a headstart on ideas. I'm not the craftiest girl I know. Actually, I don't even make the list. I'm one of the least creative people I've ever encountered. However, I can get very passionate about other people's discoveries and, when properly motivated or interested, can work very earnestly to learn how to mimic someone else's marvelous ideas. That is how I happened to be looking through blogs and websites for homemade Christmas gift ideas for this year's holiday. I was astounded by all that I found! There are some truly talented, gifted and incredibly creative women out there! I spent about three days (while the Mammoth snow kept coming down) looking through blog after blog after blog. I want to emulate these women!

That's when I decided to try my hand at having my own blog. We'll see how it goes.